Lariats

Like a harpoon, treat a lariat as a
thrown weapon, despite the fact that
you hold onto one end. You may aim a
lariat at any body part. Your target
may dodge or parry – and if he suc-
cessfully parries with a cutting
weapon, he damages the lariat as if he
had tried to cut it (see below). But if he
tries to parry and fails, you automati-
cally ensnare his parrying arm!
If you hit the target’s arm or torso,
you ensnare it. On subsequent turns,
you must take a Ready maneuver to
keep the victim snared. Roll a Quick
Contest of ST on your turn. If you win,
you immobilize your opponent; if you
lose, he pulls the lariat from your
grasp.
If you lasso the neck, use the same
rules, but your victim is at -5 in the
Contest. If you win, the lariat cuts off
the
victim’s
breathing
–
see
Suffocation (p. 436).
If you rope the foot, the target
must make a DX roll to remain stand-
ing (this is instead of the Contest
above). He rolls at -4 if he was run-
ning. If he falls, he takes 1d-4 damage
– or 1d-2 if he was running. On sub-
sequent turns, use the rules above to
keep him entangled.
You must keep the lariat taut at all
times to immobilize or suffocate your
victim. This requires a Ready maneu-
ver each turn. If your horse is trained
to do this for you, substitute its ST for
yours in the Quick Contest.
To escape from a taut lariat, cut the
rope (DR 1, 2 HP). To escape from a
limp lariat (including one pulled from
the attacker’s grasp), use the rules
given under Bolas (p. 410).
A lariat takes 1 turn per 5 yards to
ready after a miss. A typical lariat is 10
yards long.