Some weapons have Negative Traits that can be used by the wielder’s opponent in precisely the same way as regular Negative Traits. The weapon’s Negative Traits can only be used against the wielder of that weapon. Negative Traits for a weapon must be appropriate to the situation. For instance, if you are firing a pistol and your opponent wants to use the gun’s Negative Trait Loud against you, that Negative Trait could be ignored if you have a silencer on the gun.

 

Concealability

Each weapon has a concealability rating. If the weapon is not concealable, or if you do not have the proper amount of clothing or cover to conceal it, you must have that card on display at all times. You cannot, for example, pull a broadsword out of your pocket. Instead, you must carry that card in hand at all times or, optionally, you could pin the card to your shirt, indicating that the sword is slung over your shoulder.

 

Availability

Serious firearms and archaic melee weapons can take some time to locate. Firearms also require permits to obtain, which involves undergoing background checks or waiting periods in some areas. A character can turn to more “colorful” channels in order to

procure equipment, but the black market often means shady dealings and vastly inflated prices. Weapons that have Influence values listed under Availability indicate the level and type of Influence required in order to procure the weapon through illicit channels.

Finally, of course, there’s cost: A character must have some level of the Finance Ability or money-raising Influence to procure exotic melee weapons and nearly all firearms. Once a character has a weapon, that doesn’t mean he can keep it forever. Too often characters run about firing shotguns and large automatic weapons without facing the massive police manhunts that such battles invariably provoke. Take care that characters with powerful weapons understand the equally powerful repercussions that come from their use. These consequences not only preserve game balance, but enforces a sense of realism and keeps the game from turning into Die Hard with fangs.

 

Special Weapon Capabilities

Some weapons have special abilities, allowing an attacker to inflict extra damage, ignore certain types of protection or strike multiple opponents. (Such powers are noted under the weapon descriptions.)

 

Armor-Piercing

Special rounds, generally Teflon-coated, are able to pierce armor with ease. Although they do not inflict extra damage, armor-piercing rounds ignore any defenses from armor. Such rounds are typically tricky to acquire, though, and legal inquiries often follow their use.

 

Destroy Shield

Although rare in this day and age, certain Inquisitors and anachronistic elders still use shields. A weapon capable of destroying a shield penetrates it automatically and renders it useless after a certain number of blows, no matter what the size or strength of the shield may be.

 

Fully Automatic

A firearm with this ability is capable of emptying dozens of rounds into a single target at close range. This attack inflicts an extra health level of damage automatically due to sheer volume of fire; however, after emptying the clip from fully automatic fire, the character must spend one action reloading the weapon before it may be fired again.

 

High-Caliber

Firearms of particularly high caliber can cause crippling wounds with only a few shots. When a high-caliber weapon hits a target, the attacker should make a Simple Test immediately. A win indicates that the target suffers an additional health level of damage from the shot.

 

Incendiary

Burning weapons cause aggravated wounds to just about anything. Some, like flame-throwers or molotov cocktails, burn the target with streams or explosions of fire, while others such as incendiary rounds (“hot loads”) burn the target with superheated ammunition. See the damage section for the effects of fire.

 

Mass-Trauma

Certain weapons are so powerful they inflict massive damage on a target, literally tearing away portions of flesh. Such weapons score an extra health level of damage when used appropriately.

 

Speed

Fast weapons can be used to “pre-empt” an opponent’s attack, allowing the attacker with the speedier weapon to strike and resolve his challenge first. A character must have the Melee Ability to use this special ability, and he must be attacking or otherwise actively using (parrying, disarming) the weapon in order to gain this benefit. Fast weapons only gain a preemptive strike against opponents in hand-to-hand or melee combat. Since many attacks are handled simultaneously for ease of play (both players testing at once and the winner scoring a hit), this ability is not always very useful. However, if the Storyteller opts to allow each attacker to test individually (attacking striking defender, then defender counter-striking), this ability puts characters with fast weapons on the offensive.

 

Spray

The weapon can strike several targets at once, as noted under the weapon’s specific parameters. The shooter makes one test against all the targets simultaneously. Each target who fails the test suffers the weapon’s damage, while each target who succeeds avoids the

weapon’s damage. The shooter risks only the Traits required to test against each member of the group, and he loses only those Traits if any of the defenders wins the test.

 

Staking

Staking weapons paralyze vampires when a successful blow penetrates one’s heart. The attacker must win or tie two successive Simple Tests in order to successfully stake the vampire.

 

 

Bidding Weapon Traits

During a normal hand-to-hand fight, characters bid Physical Traits against their opponents’ Physical Traits. However, if a character is using firearms, he may use Mental Traits instead. If his opponent is also using a firearm, she bids Mental Traits as well. If the opponent is not using a firearm and is merely trying to dodge, then the attacker uses Mental Traits to attack, while the defender uses her Physical Traits to dodge. This instance is one of the few in which Traits associated with different Attributes may be used against one another.

 

Weapon Examples

Melee Weapons:

 

Knife/Dagger — These easily concealed weapons are very common, lightning fast in the hands of a skilled user, and they can also be                                     used as ranged weapons if a character uses the Athletics Ability properly.

Bonus Traits: 2

Negative Traits: Short

Concealability: Pocket

Damage: One health level

Availability: Any

Special Ability: Speed: In close combat against any weapon that has the Negative Traits: Clumsy, Heavy or Slow, the knife-fighter gains the option to pre-empt the opponent’s attacks and strike first in any turn, as long as he has the Melee Ability.

 

 

Wooden Stake — A short length of wood sharpened at one end, these humble weapons have nonetheless been the downfall of many                                     vampires over the centuries.

Bonus Traits: 2

Negative Traits: Short

Concealability: Jacket

Damage: One health level

Availability: Any

Special Ability: Staking: A wooden stake can pierce the heart of a vampire (thus paralyzing the unfortunate Lick) if the wielder wins or ties two successive Simple Tests after striking.

 

 

Club/Ax — These two common weapon types can be anything from chair legs to hand axes to billy clubs; one bludgeons while the                               other cuts, but the essential function is the same.

Bonus Traits: Club: 2, Ax: 3

Negative Traits: Clumsy

Concealability: Trenchcoat

Damage: Club — One health level; Ax — Two health levels

Availability: Any

Special Ability: Ax: Destroy Shield. Axes render shields useless after three blows.

 

 

Fencing Blades — Still popular with many elders, these thin blades rely on speed instead of strength, and they inflict most of their                                             damage from piercing rather than slashing.

Bonus Traits: 2

Negative Traits: Fragile

Concealability: Trenchcoat

Damage: One health level

Availability: Any.

Concealability: A fencing foil tends to attract less police attention than an ornamental saber, especially if the character is wearing or                                    carrying fencing gear

Special Ability: Speed: In close combat against any weapon that has the Negative

Traits: Clumsy, Heavy or Slow, the fencer gains the option to pre-empt the opponent’s attacks and strike first in any turn, as long as he               has the Melee Ability.

 

 

Archaic Ranged Weapons:

 

Longbow — These huge, powerful bows make mincemeat of regular armor, and many older Cainites are trained in the arts of                                          archery. Modern compound bows are smaller and use pulley systems to generate powerful pull; these bows do not have                            the Negative Trait: Clumsy, but give the user only five Bonus Traits.

Bonus Traits: 6

Negative Traits: Fragile, Clumsy, Heavy

Concealability: No way.

Damage: Two health levels

Availability: Any.

Special Ability: Armor-Piercing: Longbows ignore chain armor. Staking: Arrows may be used to stake a vampire, if the archer wins or                                 ties two Simple Tests after a successful hit. Destroy Shield: One shot from a longbow renders a shield useless.

 

 

Firearms:

 

Pistol — This designation covers nearly any sort of small- and medium-caliber handgun commonly encountered, from zip guns and                       holdout pieces to 9mms and standard police-issue sidearms.

Bonus Traits: 2

Negative Traits: Loud

Concealability: Pocket

Damage: Two health levels

Availability: Any, if registered; Police 4, Street 3 or Underworld 2 otherwise.

 

 

Heavy Pistol — This designation covers the monsters of the handgun range, from the Desert Eagle to a .454 Cassull. These                                                      tremendous guns use high-caliber ammunition to punch large holes in their targets.

Bonus Traits: 2

Negative Traits: Loud

Concealability: Jacket

Damage: Two health levels

Availability: Any, if registered; Police 4, Street 4 or Underworld 3 otherwise.

Special Ability: High-Caliber: Heavy Pistols allow a Simple Test on a successful

hit. Success indicates the target takes an extra level of damage.

 

 

Rifle — Favored by many hunters and snipers.

Bonus Traits: 3

Negative Traits: Loud

Concealability: None.

Damage: Two health levels

Availability: Any, if registered; Police 4, Street 4 or Underworld 3 otherwise.

Special Ability: High-Caliber: Rifles may be loaded with high-caliber ammunition. Note that the character must specifically acquire such ammunition to gain this benefit — it is not included automatically when using a rifle. 

 

 

Shotgun — This powerful weapon fires a spray of pellets, making targets easy to hit.

Bonus Traits: 3

Negative Traits: Loud

Concealability: None

Damage: Two health levels

Availability: Any, if registered. Police 4, Street 4 or Underworld 3 otherwise.

Special Ability: Spray: A shotgun may affect up to three targets if they are standing immediately next to each other and are further than                             20 feet from the person firing the shotgun. This effect can be gained only if the shotgun is loaded with pellets, not slugs.                             Mass-Trauma: A shotgun can cause an extra health level of damage to a single target standing within five feet.

 

 

Submachine Gun — These weapons are very powerful, and they fire a large number of bullets very quickly, making them the                                                        favorite weapons of many gangs, where accuracy isn’t as important as hitting a large number of targets at the                                                same time. The law requires these guns be sold as non-automatic weapons,with only single-shot capability, but                                            a use of the Repair Ability can convert them to fully automatic fire.

Bonus Traits: 2

Negative Traits: Loud

Concealability: Jacket

Damage: Two health levels

Availability: Any, if registered and non-automatic. Police 4, Street 4 or Underworld

3 otherwise.

Special Ability: Spray: A submachine gun may affect up to five targets if they’re standing

immediately next to each other and are further than 10 feet from the person firing

the gun. Fully Automatic: A submachine gun inflicts an additional health level of damage

if the entire clip is emptied into a target standing no more than five feet away.