Rules Discussion: Did you know?

[Story Teller]

Hello blood sucking creatures of the night. I've created this topic for the sole purpose of rules discussion and helpful hints/suggestions. I want to start out by saying that the most important rule to remember is that the story comes first. This means that the Story Teller, or his assistant can veto any rule at any time, so long as it supports the story. Fun is always the top priority. So please use this thread to its fullest, get your inspirations, ideas, and helpful hints out there! By improving your peers knowledge you create a more challenging game environment, and increase your own fun in the process.

[Solomon Gargoyle]

Reposting some things from the original thread:
This one is about how you cannot have more influence at a time than the sum of your current physical, social and mental traits. This counts against all of your total Influence so your combined levels cannot exceed this total. So a 13th gen Vamp with 10 in all his traits could only have 30 influence total.

[Solomon Gargoyle]

Posting another hard to find "rule" of sorts. Ghouls have a Trait cap of 9, just 1 beneath a 13th gen vampire. That also goes for Kinfolk too I believe.

[Solomon Gargoyle]

Common Disciplines that every clan shares require only a teacher to learn. Clan Specific Disciplines (Such as Thamaturgy for example) require a teacher and for the one learning to imbibe one trait of that clans blood. It only has to be done once ever, to "attune" the blood, but still your now one step blood bound to your teacher so beware!

[Solomon Gargoyle]

This came up during char creation for me and I found a more specific spot for that rule.

Under Morality Traits, page 70 on the second paragraph, first sentence, "During character creation you may choose to lose one Morality Trait in exchange for gaining two Free Traits. You may only do so once-losing a Morality Trait counts as taking two Negative Traits." We had a hard time finding and clarifying it amongst the freebie traits rules when creating a character but it's in far more detail under Morality Traits.

[Solomon Gargoyle]

I didn't know this one myself as I once created a Caitiff with two Derangements, but apparently you cannot start with more than ONE Derangement. Malks can start with TWO of course. (but I think their initial derangement isn't worth any points) Though I think what they really mean is you can only get Free Traits from one Derangement. You can't take two (or three in the case of a Malk.) and then get 4 Neg Traits from them.

[Solomon Gargoyle]

Remember stone cold killers, the lower your humanity is the harder it is to interact with mortals. Even mask of 1000 faces does not help. They still sense your inherent inhumanity. For each point below 4 in Humanity you take a -1 penalty to interactions with Mortals, unless it's Intimidation. No, you don't get a bonus. :-p

For those not even on Humanity you take the full -3 penalty for interactions with Humans. Yes it can suck but hey you can be a nasty person without worrying about Humanity!

Another note about Humanity: Unless you are on Humanity you cannot spend blood for any attempts to look more human. You cannot make your heart beat, get flushed checks, look like you breathing or "get it up" if your male. So take comfort in that while the inhumane Sabbat tough guy may not have to throw for killing someone, for all his toughness he can't get it up. :-p

Just remembered another thing. Humanity affects how long you are in Torpor. The lower it is the longer you stay in Torpor until you wake up on your own. If your not even on humanity it's gonna be forever until you wake on your own. If you go into torpor of your own free will you can halve the time listed. (So Jesus vampire can wake up in one day if he goes into voluntary torpor.)
Humanity 5: Two days
Humanity 4: one week
Humanity 3: One Year
Humanity 2: One Decade
Humanity 1: One Century
Humanity 0: Millennium

[Solomon Gargoyle]

This is a list of all the Archtypes found in Laws of the Night, Guide to the Camarilla and Guide to the Sabbat. If the source is not listed, it is from Laws of the Night. I put this up here so players would know there are a few more archtypes to chose from that are not in Laws of the Night

Archtypes List for Vampire
Architect-You hope to leave a lasting legacy, to build something for the future.
Autocrat-You want to take charge, since nobody else can do the job right.
Bon Vivant-Only a good time can assuage your otherwise empty existence.
Bravo-Other people only get in your way of doing things, and you do not hesitate to bully them into line.
Capitalist-You are the ultimate mercenary, with a keen understanding of how to manipulate others. (Laws of the Night Sabbat Guide)
Caregiver-You protect and comfort others.
Celebrant-You find that joy springs from your overriding passion.
Chameleon-You can blend into any situation, able to pass yourself off as anything. You have no true loyalties. (Laws of the Night Sabbat Guide)
Child-You need others to nurture and help you.
Competitor-Everything is a contest, and you plan to win.
Conformist-You take the lead and cues from someone else, letting others handle the responsibility.
Conniver-There's no point to doing it yourself when you can get someone else to put in the effort.
Creep Show-You strive to shock and disgust, to intimidate and control others. (Laws of the Night Sabbat Guide)
Curmudgeon-Nothing's perfect, everything sucks and you're going to make sure that everybody knows it.
Dabbler-The world is full of new things to learn, and you want to sample all of them. (Laws of the Night Camarilla Guide)
Daredevil-You love taking risks and will seize any opportunity to do so. (Laws of the Night Sabbat Guide)
Dark Pioneer-You can't change the traditions of the past, but you can be the force that drives the future. (Laws of the Night Sabbat Guide)
Dark Poet-You want to share the beauty of darkness with the rest of the world.(Laws of the Night Sabbat Guide)
Deviant-Normal? What's that? You have no use for social norms and mores.
Director-You feel an overriding need to impose order.
Drunk Uncle-When things are going well, you're everyone's best friend. When they are going poorly, you're their worst nightmare. (Laws of the Night Sabbat Guide)
Enigma-Your actions are bizzare, uncontrolled; your erratic behavior is considered insanity by those you meet. (Laws of the Night Sabbat Guide)
Eye of the Storm-Despite your calm outward appearance, you surround yourself with chaos and death. (Laws of the Night Sabbat Guide)
Fanatic-One cause, one truth, one purpose-you serve and proselytize with absolute conviction.
Gallant-Everything you do is geared toward flamboyance and excess, since you need the attentions of those around you.
Guru-You seek enlightenment and cling to your idealism, trying to convert others. (Laws of the Night Sabbat Guide)
Idealist-You are utterly committed to some purpose greater than your own wants and needs. (Laws of the Night Camarilla Guide)
Judge-You have a deep sense of right and wrong, and you see justice measured by your principles.
Loner-You just don't belong, either by choice or by nature.
Martyr-Everyone benefits when you shoulder the burdens of your ideals.
Masochist-You test yourself in suffering and, and find meaning enduring pain.
Monster-Build your purpose from a malignant drive to showcase evil through your actions.
Pedagogue-Everyone can learn from your example and experiences; you were born to teach others.
Penitent-You have sinned, and you cannot rest until you atone for it.
Perfectionist-You do everything with wholehearted zeal aimed at immaculate completion. There's no excuse for flawed efforts.
Rebel-Whether from habit or drive, you lash out at the system and try to break it down.
Recruiter-It makes sense to build up your side before trying to tear theirs down. (Laws of the Night Sabbat Guide)
Rogue-First and foremost, you look out for number one.
Sadist-You exist to inflict pain and suffering. Killing is too easy-they have to know pain. (Laws of the Night Sabbat Guide)
Scientist-Diligent, rational examination can reveal all the secrets of the universe. (Laws of the Night Camarilla Guide)
Sociopath-All inferior beings should be eradicated. You have no remorse of compassion. You are a machine. (Laws of the Night Sabbat Guide)
Solider-You've been given your orders and you take pride in accomplishing them. (Laws of the Night Camarilla Guide)
Stalker-The chase is all; the capture and feeding is almost anticlimactic. (Laws of the Night Sabbat Guide)
Sorority Sister-You do whatever the "in" crowd does and you do it better. (Laws of the Night Sabbat Guide)
Survivor-Nothing stops you, for your drive to pull through is indomitable.
Torturer-Pain isn't a profession for you-it's a calling. (Laws of the Night Sabbat Guide)
Thrill-Seeker-You're always after the next high, by pushing danger to the edge.
Traditionalist-The old ways are the best ways, so you preserve and protect them.
Trickster-Existence is absurd, so you fill it with humor and irreverence to avoid looking too deeply at the pain.
Visionary-A goal fills your mind, and your dreams bring faith to others.[u]

[Solomon Gargoyle]

This is a list of Weapons and Armor from Dark Epics. Some weapons traits and abilities are different from Laws of the Night. (Such as the Longbow) Some weapons have totally new abilities. Some weapons abilities have been changed how they work mechanically, (such as Speed no longer giving a pre-empt action but instead giving a bonus trait vs Heavy, Clumsy, or Slow, Weapons.) Check them out! I've also included weapons from Laws of the East as well, just for the hell of it, although Laws of the East is a prior MET edition from the current Laws of the Night.

Complete Weapons list for WoD LARP

Notes
Concealability: Each weapon has a concealability rating. If the weapon is not concealable, or if you do not have the proper amount of clothing to cover or conceal it, you must display that card 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 opitionally, you could pin the card to your shirt, indicating the weapon is slung over your shoulder.

Someone with Investigation Ability who wins a Mental Challenge may notice when someone is carrying a concealed weapon or item. Searching someone physically will reveal hidden weapons automatically without a test in most cases.

Availability: Serious firearms and archaic melee weapons can take some time to locate. Obtaining firearms also requires a permit, 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 shopping the black market often means shaddy dealings and vastly inflated prices. The Influence values listed under many weapons Availablity indicate the level and type of Influence required in order to procure the weapon through illicit channels. Otherwise, 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 PC has a weapon, he doesn't necessarily keep it forever. Too often, PCs 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 follow irresponsible use. These consequences not only preserve game balance, but they enforce a sense of realism and keep the game from turning into an arms race.

Special Weapons Capabilities
Armor-Piercing: Special rounds, which are generally coated with Teflon, are able to pierce armor with ease. They do not inflict extra damage, but they do ignore any defenses from armor. Such rounds are tricky to aquire and legal inquiry often follows it's use.
Destroy Shield: Although they are rare in this day and age, certain Iquisitors and achronistic elder vampires still use shields. A weapon capable of destroyinga shield will penetrate it automatically and renders it useless after 3 sucessful blows, no matter the size or strength of the shield.
Fully Automatic: A firearm with this ability is capable of empyting dozens of rounds into a single target at close range. By expending 10 bullets in a single attack, this weapon inflicts an extra health level of damage due to the sheer volume of fire. Once the clip is empty, the character must spend one action reolading before he may fire again.
High-Caliber: Firearms of particulary high caliber can cause crippling wounds with only a few shots. When a high caliber bullet hits a target, the attacker makes a simple test. A win or tie indicates that target takes an additional level of damage.
Incendiary: Burning weapons cause aggravated damage to just about anything. Some, such as 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.
Mass-Trama: Certain weapons are so powerful that they inflict massive damage on a target, literally tearing away portions of flesh. Such weapons score an extra health level of damage when used appropiately. (within 5 feet).
Speed: In close combat with someone whose weapon has the Negative Trait of Slow, Clumsy, or Heavy, you gain ONE additional bonus Trait, provided you have at least one level of the Melee Ability.
Spray: The weapon can strike up to 3 closely grouped targets at once, as long as they are farther than five feet from the shooter. The shooter makes one test vs all the targets at the same time. Each target who fails suffers the weapons damage, which each who suceeds avoids the damage. The shooter risks only the traits required to test against each member of the group, and he only loses those traits if any of the defenders win the test. Submachine Guns and Assault Rifles expend 10 rounds to spray, and you CANNOT use this ability at the same time as Fully Automatic.
Staking:Staking weapons can paralyze vampires when a successful blow penetrates one's heart. The attacker must win or tie two simple tests in order to stake a vampire successfully.
Two-Hand Requirement: Characters must employ two-handed weapons with both hands REGARDLESS of their strength, meaning they cannot also use a shield or a second weapon.

Melee Weapons
All Melee Weapons use the Melee Ability for retests.
Broken Bottle
Bonus Traits: 1
Negative Traits: Fragile, Short
Concealability: Pocket
Damage: 1 health level
Availability: Any
Knife/Dagger
Bonus Traits: 2
Negative Traits: Short
Concealability: Pocket
Damage: 1 health level
Availability: Any
Club/Stake
Bonus Traits: 2
Negative Traits: Clumsy
Concealability: Jacket
Damage: One Health Level
Availabilty: Any
Special Ability: Staking (if wooden)
Mace/Small Axe
Bonus Traits: 2
Negative Traits: Clumsy
Concealability: Jacket
Damage: One Health Level
Availabilty: Any
Special Ability: Destroy Shield
Shortsword
Bonus Traits: 2
Negative Traits: Short
Concealability: Jacket
Damage: One Health Level
Availabilty: Any
Special Ability: Speed
Fencing Blade
Bonus Traits: 3
Negative Traits: Fragile
Concealability: Trenchcoat
Damage: One Health Level
Availabilty: Any
Special Ability: Speed
Spear/Staff
Bonus Traits: 3
Negative Traits: Heavy
Concealability: NA
Damage: Two Health Levels
Availabilty: Any
Special Ability: Staking (if wooden), Two Handed Requirement
Broadsword/Longsword/Generic Sword
Bonus Traits: 3
Negative Traits: Heavy
Concealability: Trenchcoat
Damage: Two Health Level
Availabilty: Any
Greatsword/Polearm/Scythe
Bonus Traits: 4
Negative Traits: Clumsy, Heavy
Concealability: NA
Damage: Two Health Levels
Availabilty: Any
Special Ability: Two Handed Requirement

THROWING WEAPONS
These weapons use the Throwing Ability for combat tests.
Thrown Rock
Bonus Traits: 0
Negative Traits: Clumsy
Concealability: Pocket
Damage: One Health Level
Availabilty: Any
Thrown Dagger, Knife or Shuriken
Bonus Traits: 1
Negative Traits: Clumsy
Concealability: Pocket
Damage: One Health Level
Availabilty: Any
Molotov Cocktail
Bonus Traits: 2
Negative Traits: Fragile
Concealability: Jacket (until lit!)
Damage: One Health Level
Availabilty: Any
Special Ability: Incendiary, Spray, Two-Handed Requirement
Grenade
Bonus Traits: 2
Negative Traits: Clumsy
Concealability: Pocket
Damage: Two Health Level
Availabilty: Police 5, or Underworld 4
Special Ability: Spray, Two-Hand Requirement
Thrown Small Axe
Bonus Traits: 2
Negative Traits: Clumsy, Heavy
Concealability: Jacket
Damage: One Health Level
Availabilty: Any
Thrown Spear
Bonus Traits: 3
Negative Traits: Clumsy, Heavy
Concealability: Jacket
Damage: One Health Level
Availabilty: Any
Special Ability: Staking (if wooden)

RANGED WEAPONS
This category covers non-thrown projectile weapons other than firearms. These weapons use the Archery Ability for retests in combat.
Crossbow
Bonus Traits: 2
Negative Traits: Heavy, Slow
Concealability: NA
Damage: Two Health Levels
Availabilty: Any
Rate: One
Special Ability: Destroy Shield, Armor-piercing, Staking (if wooden), Two-Hand Requirement
Shortbow
Bonus Traits: 2
Negative Traits: Fragile
Concealability: Trenchcoat
Damage: One Health Level
Availabilty: Any
Rate: One
Special Ability: Armor-piercing, Staking (if wooden), Two-Hand Requirement
Compound Bow/Longbow
Bonus Traits: 3
Negative Traits: Fragile, Heavy
Concealability: NA
Damage: Two Health Levels
Availabilty: Any
Rate: One
Special Ability: Destroy Shield, Armor-piercing, Staking (if wooden), Two-Hand Requirement

FIREARMS
Firearms, as would be expected, use the Firearms Ability for retests. Unless otherwise noted, Firearms have a clip or magazine capacity of 10 rounds.
Firearms have an additional capacity called rate, which governs their interaction with celerity and other similar powers. The number of times a firearm can be fired in a single turn cannot exceed it's rate. Other special weapon capabilities may be employed without affecting rate.

Derringer-These tin one-shot pistols were built to be hidden nearly anywhere, and they sacrificed rate of fire for improved concealment value.
Bonus Traits: 2
Negative Trait: Loud
Ammunition: One Shot
Concealability: Pocket
Damage: Two Health Levels
Special Note: Many derringers are built to be fired once and are useless afterwards. Even if they are designed to be used more than once, users seldom bother to reload them during a firefight due to their low rate of fire.
Gattling cannon-This bulky weapon is very powerful and fires a large number of bullets very quickly. It requires a tripod mount, though, and two people to operate-one to aim and fire, one to feed the bullets into the cannon. It cannot be operated by a single person, even with Potence and/or Celerity. Period.
Bonus Traits: +5
Negative Traits: Heavy. Loud
Concealability: None
Damage: Three health levels
Special Ability: Spray: A Gattling cannon can 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. Mass-Trauma: A Gattling cannon inflicts an extra level of damage if fired on a single target within five feet. Tripod: Properly emplacing and preparing a Gattling cannon takes a full minute. If the tripod is not properly deployed, the Gattling cannon acquires the additional Negative Traits: Clumsy x3.
Pistol
Bonus Traits: 2
Negative Traits: Loud
Concealability: Pocket
Damage: Two Health Levels
Rate: Five
Availablity: Any if registered, Police 4, Street 3 or Underworld 2 otherwise.
Heavy Pistol
Bonus Traits: 2
Negative Traits: Loud
Concealability: Jacket
Damage: Two Health Levels
Rate: Three
Availablity: Any if registered, Police 4, Street 4 or Underworld 3 otherwise.
Special Ability: High-Caliber
Submachine Gun
Bonus Traits: 2
Negative Traits: Loud
Concealability: Jacket
Damage: Two Health Levels
Rate: Four
Availablity: Any if registered AND non automatic, Police 4, Street 4 or Underworld 3 otherwise.
Special Ability: Fully Automatic, Spray, 30 round clip.
Rifle
Bonus Traits: 3
Negative Traits: Loud
Concealability: NA
Damage: Two Health Levels
Rate: Three
Availablity: Any if registered, Police 4, Street 4 or Underworld 3 otherwise.
Special Ability: Two-Handed
Shotgun
Bonus Traits: 3
Negative Traits: Loud
Concealability: Trenchcoat
Damage: Two Health Levels
Rate: Two
Availablity: Any if registered, Police 4, Street 4 or Underworld 3 otherwise.
Special Ability: Mass Trama, Spray, Two Handed.
Sniper Rifle
Bonus Traits: 3
Negative Traits: Loud
Concealability: NA
Damage: Two Health Levels
Rate: Two
Availablity: Police 4, or Underworld 5
Special Ability: High-Caliber, Two-Hand Requirement
Assault Rifle
Bonus Traits: 3
Negative Traits: Loud
Concealability: NA
Damage: Two Health Levels
Rate: Four
Availablity: Police 5, or Underworld 5
Special Ability: Fully Automatic, Spray, Two-Hand Requirement, 30 round clip.
Combat Shotgun
Bonus Traits: 3
Negative Traits: Loud
Concealability: NA
Damage: Two Health Levels
Rate: Three
Availablity: Police 5, or Underworld 5
Special Ability: Fully Automatic, Mass Trama, Spray, Two-Hand requirement, 20 round magazine.
Flame Thrower
Bonus Traits: 0
Negative Traits: Clumsy, Hot, Heavy
Concealability: NA
Damage: Two Health Levels
Rate: One
Availablity: Underworld 5
Special Ability: Incendiary, Two-Hand Requirement, Spray
Stake Thrower
Bonus Traits: 2
Negative Traits: Loud
Concealability: Jacket
Damage: Two Health Levels
Rate: One
Availablity: Each Stake Thrower must be individually crafted from a shotgun..
Special Ability: Staking

FIREARM ADD-ONS
These modify the stats for firearms as shown:
Armor-Piercing Ammunition
Availablity: Police 4, Street 4 or Underworld 3 [10 rounds]
Special Ability: Armor Piercing
Description: This ammo cannot be used with combat shotguns, shotguns, flamethrowers, and stake throwers.
Incendiary Ammunition
Availablity: Police 5, Underworld 4 [10 rounds]
Special Ability: Incendiary (limited as shown below)
Description: This ammo cannot be used with flame throwers or stake throwers. Incendiary ammo turns the first level of damage from a firearm into aggravated damage, provided the target suffers aggravated wounds from fire. Icendiary ammunition is most often crafted from white phosphorous.
Scope
Availablity: Any
Description: This add on cannot be used with combat shotguns, flame throwers, shotguns and stake throwers. Scopes add a bonus Trait to the weapon if the user aims for the entire turn before firing. Scopes refer to actual scopes of various types or laser sights.
Sound Suppression
Availability: Police 4, Street 4, or Underworld 3
Description: Only pistols, submachine guns and sniper rifles may make use of sound suppression. This hardware removes the Loud Negative Trait by dampening the sound of the weapons discharge. A weapon with sound suppression loses one bonus Trait.

ARMOR
Since it stops incoming damage, armor effectively grants a character extra health levels. These health levels are lost before the character himself suffers any damage in combat. Of course, armor does NOT soak all attacks. A suit of chain mail does little good for a character whose blood is being boiled by Thamaturgy for instance.
Different types of armor can absorb different types of damage before losing their effectiveness. It should be noted that armor that has lost all its health levels is not necessarily completley destroyed. It is more likely that it has been temporarily been rendered useless. Of course, some attacks may destroy armor beyond repair. Fixing armor requires the proper tools and a Static Physical Challenge with the Crafts Ability.
Armor has two different traits for game purposes. Health levels indicate how many levels of damage the armor can take before needing repair. Negative Traits are the drawbacks a wearer gains for donning a particular piece of armor. Multiple armor types cannot be layered.

Antique Armor
Antique armor does not provide protection from firearms.
Leather (Also counts for modern day leather clothes)
Health Levels: 1
Negative Traits: None
Concealability: Leather Armor can be concealed if specifically made to look like normal clothing. (leather pants, jacket and gloves)
Availability: Any
Chain-Mail
Health Levels: 2
Negative Traits: Heavy
Concealability: Trenchcoat. Chain-Mail armor is bulky, and it extends below the waist.
Availability: Any. Chain-mail generally must be custom made, and it can cost upward of $500 or more.
Plate Mail
Health Levels: 3
Negative Traits: Heavy, Clumsy
Concealability: NA
Availability: Any. Plate Mail generally must be custom-ordered, and it can cost upward of $3000 or more.

MODERN ARMOR
Most modern armor is made of materials designed to stop and reduce shock from bullets. A ballistic vest does NOT protect against melee weapons.
Ballistic Vest
Health Levels: 2
Negative Traits: None
Concealability: A ballistic vest can be worn concealed under a normal shirt, or clothing can be disguised to mimic it's effects.
Availability: Any, mail order
Reinforced Vest
Health Levels: 2
Negative Traits: Heavy
Concealability: Jacket
Availability: Police 4, or Underworld 3
Riot Suit
Health Levels: 3
Negative Traits: Heavy, Clumsy
Concealability: NA
Availability: Police 4, Underworld 5

SHIELDS
Shields give their user once or more bonus Traits in hand-to-hand combat, which can add to the Traits that come from a melee weapon. In order to recieve these bonus traits, the wielder must posses at least one level of the Melee Ability.
Small shield
Bonus Traits: 1
Negative Traits: None
Concealability: Jacket
Availablity: Any
Description: Small shield (or bucklers) protect against melee and unarmed attacks.
Large Shield
Bonus Traits: 2
Negative Traits: Heavy
Concealability: NA
Availablity: Any
Description: Large Shields protect against melee and unarmed attacks, as well as ranged weapons and thrown weapons.
Body Shield
Bonus Traits: 2
Negative Traits: Clumsy, Heavy
Concealability: NA
Availablity: Any
Description: Body shields protect against melee attacks and unarmed attacks, as well as ranged weapons and thrown weapons.
Riot Shield
Bonus Traits: 2
Negative Traits: Clumsy, Heavy
Concealability: NA
Availablity: Any
Description: Riot shields protect against all manner of atttacks.

ASIAN WEAPONS
These are Weapons found in Laws of the East. I have included them to have a more complete list of weapons and for the option of perhaps including them for the ST. At least one of them requires the Martial Arts Ability (not the Brawl specialization) which is an ability found exclusively in Laws of the East. The Shuriken here are somewhat more useful than the ones in Dark Epics and lend more of a martial arts/ninja feel to them than a more realistic view of the weapon.

Shuriken-These small thrown weapons-the "throwing stars" of ninja legend-come in a endless variety of shapes, and they are easy to conceal. This category also covers any thrown weapon that does not normally double as a regular melee weapon, such as some throwing knives and even hair needles. A character must posses either Melee or Martial Arts to throw shuriken. Mere Athletics is not enough, though Athletics may be used to throw them if the other requirements are met. (I would suspect Throwing should be appropiate too.)
Bonus Traits: 1
Negative Traits: Tiny
Concealability: Palm
Damage: 1 health level
Special Ability: Spray: Those with at least one level in both Melee or Martial Arts and Athletics Ability may attempt to throw multiple shuriken in a single attack, up to as many shuriken as half their permanent levels of Melee or Martial Arts. (round up).
Sash-A weapon unique to the East, a sash may be used as a weapon by any character with appropiate Martial Arts training. Melee alone is not enough. Skilled practitioners can entangle and blind their foes, and true masters can even whip the sash with sufficient force and precision to slash their foes as if it were metal!
Bonus Traits: 2
Negative Traits: Delicate
Concealabilty: Pocket
Damage: 1 health level
Availablity: Almost any clothing store, though most Kuei-jin prefer sashes of fairly high quality, if only for aesthetic purposes.
Nunchaku-Popularized by Bruce Lee in the West, there are actually thousands of variations on this concept in the East. The manriki-gusari, sa tjat joen and the kawanga are all but a few of the more well-known versions. They deliver their damage primarily through crushing force delivered by lightning fast strikes. Some are bladed, while others are nothing more than a humble length of wood and chain. However, they are considered to have the same basic characteristics for game purposes.
Bonus Traits: 2
Negative Traits: Short
Concealability: Jacket
Damage: 1 health level
Availablity: Any
Special Ability: Speed
Katana-Creations of master swordsmiths, these powerful blades are deadlier than many firearms in close combat, and they are especially favored by elder Kuei-jin both as weapons and as status symbols.
Bonus Traits: 3
Negative Traits: None (Flawed Katana are rejected by their craftsmen)
Concealability: Trenchcoat
Damage: 3 health levels
Availablity: Katana are almost certainly crafted for the individual wielding them. While mass-produced katanas do exist, these are treated the same as longswords due to their inferior craftsmanship. Hand-crafted katana command extremely high prices and are worth every penny. They never dull and they win all ties to resist breaking or shattering.[u]

[Solomon Gargoyle]

Please let me know if you guys are enjoying this and finding it interesting or useful. I'd love to use some of the Dark Epics stuff myself for weapons and new abilities myself. It certainly clarifies how often firearms can be used with Cel and finally shows why you'd want to use a Pistol over a Heavy Pistol. If your a Celerity monster the Pistol is the way to go!

[Demetria Von Hausen]

Very helpful Scott, thank you for taking the time to put this all into a thread for us.

[Solomon Gargoyle]

Will we be using any of this? I think some of the weapons stats sound usefull and not too broken, like the Greatsword and the new Longbow. +6 Traits is just broken. Why use a gun then? A longbow should not give more traits than a gun, at least not DOUBLE the ammount. Also, with +6 traits a mortal maxed out at 8 traits with a bow can show 14 traits. If they specialize they could show 15. That's more than a 9th gen vampire. +3 Traits is much more reasonable AND the bow gets some cool new abilities, like armor piercing, which I don't believe the old bow had. A particularly large bow could maybe give +4 traits but beyond that just sounds disgusting.

[Solomon Gargoyle]

It was said at game that Celerity cannot be used with guns by Laws of the Night. This is not true. It says nothing of this under celerity or under firearms and in fact it acutally implies a gun can indeed be used with celerity. On page 140, third paragraph, sentence 2 says "Actions performed with Celerity can still be retested appropriately (if shooting a gun TWICE for instance." This would seem to imply Celerity can indeed be used with a gun. If people would rather celerity cannot be used with guns that's cool but that rule is not actually in Laws of the Night is all I'm saying.

It was also said by someone, I think Dave? that you cant use Celerity with thrown weapons and that's not true either. The Firearms restriction makes sense as it has moving parts that can only move so fast. Thrown weapons should certainly be able to be drawn and thrown as fast as the user can do this. There are no triggers to worry about. Just the users throwing strength and accuracy. It's been said a bow could be used with Celerity too but I wonder about the strings. Would nocking arrows so fast perhaps cause it to break the string? IF the user was a Potence monster its probably likely his great strength may break a bow not meant to be used with his inhuman strength?

[Theseus Ahroun]

on the celerity issue according to the cam guide as soon as a thrown item leaves your hand regardless of the level of celerity it's thrown at it returns to normal speed so other then being able to take the extra actions you would in theory gain nothing from throwing something with cel. This is of course dependent on storyteller deciding which way it go's. Granted I think the reason they, being white wolf, do this is to make the elder level projectile actually worth anything as with that you can imbue items with a given level of cel allowing you to then throw that item without any loss of speed after it leaves your hand.

[Solomon Gargoyle]

All I wanted was the extra actions. I was more thinking of the combo of celerity and potence. That is true, celerity wouldn't make the object fly any faster once it left your hand, but it would make it so you could throw more objects. Potence however might be able to let you throw something with much more force was what I was thinking.

Edit: Hmm looks like it probably wont as Puissance talks about it only applying to unarmed and melee. Something thrown with Puissance would certainly hurt and have a bit of force, but not enough for extra melee damage it looks like unless staff decides different. I may still carry around throwing items at least for the extra actions and it just sounds cool to throw knives or something else blindingly fast.

[Solomon Gargoyle]

Speaking of throwing things just how much damage do larger thrown objects do? Like if you throw a small car or for those elders running around, if you threw like a truck or boulder, ect?

[Story Teller]

That one is completely story teller discretion. One of those you have to make it up as the situation warrants. Based on things like object weight, strength of the victim, terrain, and finally what's best for the story. With so many parameters it's best not to make a rule on this one.

[Solomon Gargoyle]

I think there was a chart somewhere (in tabletop at least) that said how much weight you could at least pick up with different levels of Potence/Strength

[Solomon Gargoyle]

This isn't so much rules as fluff stuff from the FAQ that can also apply somewhat to RP. These are some things from the tabletop storytellers guide. Since it's not mechanics it applies to LARP as well.

What happens when a Vampire loses a limb? Does it grow back?
Severing appendages affects vampires much the same way it does mortals-a vampire isn't likely to pick anything up if they had their hand cut off. If a vampire loses a limb, consider it gone. However, when the vampire heals the health level associated with limb removal, the limb is considered regrown. In some cases, particularly those in which the character heals the damage quickly, the limb doesn't actually regrow, but rather knits itself back to the body. For example, if an Assamite lops off a Toreador neonates hand and the Toreador spends a blood to heal the damage that scene, their hand reattaches itself to the arm. If the healing happens very quickly (within a turn), the severed bit may never actually touch the ground, as the vampiric vitae "holds" the limb in place and reattaches it.

Because Vampires limbs reattach themselves, exquisite varities of torture have arisen in the chambers of more fiendish Kindred. More than one Tzmice has been known to remove victims appendages and replace them incorrectly, resulting in upside down hands, backwards bending legs and the like.

A severed limb that is left behind or otherwise not immediately healed by the vampire takes on characteristics appropiate to the age of it's former owner. A lopped off-hand from a neonate may simply seem gray and clammy, while a thousand-year-old elders hand hand will turn to ash instantly.

Regrowth does not apply in cases of decapitation-one reason why the Iquisition employs the tactic and why duels between Kindred are grave matters. A beheaded vampire is a vampire who meets the Final Death.

[Solomon Gargoyle]

What happens to a pregnant woman who is Embraced or becomes a ghoul?

Most likely, the pregnancy is terminated immediately, which results in miscarriage, stillbirth, ect, depending on the stage to which the fetus had developed. Revenant mothers don't have this problem and instad produce healthy revenant children.

Far less common, the fetus may become a vampire itself, though it will not continue to grow. In this case, it remains an undead, static little monstrosity, trapped forever in it's mothers womb, taking blood from her like a parasite, (which consumes one additional blood trait per night.) In particularly unpleasant cases, the fetus-vampire chews its way out of the mothers womb, exists as long as others let it in its stunted, vile, undeveloped form.

Some 15th gen Kindred may bear living children of their own, though the rarity of such vampires (not to mention their becoming pregnant and carrying the child to term) is so great that very little concrete data exists to make generalizations about them.

[Solomon Gargoyle]

Do vampires leave fingerprints?

Yes and no. A vampire still has the ridges and whorls at the end of her fingers that constitute "fingerprints" but their dead body does not secrete the oils that leave such marks behind. This means that, while the character doesn't leave normal fingerprints behind, they will leave them in say, piles of printer toner, coagulated honey, dust on a computer monitor, ect. Firing a gun does not leave enough powder behind to have to worry about fingerprints, though cordite will stick to a vampires hands for a few nights, which may identify them as having used a firearm to forensics experts.

[Solomon Gargoyle]

I hope these are still usefull to people?

I have a rules question, I looked in Laws of the Night and it saying nothing whatsoever about not being able to retest on Static or Simple tests at all. So is that an incorrect assumption that you cannot retest on those OR is it just listed somewhere else that you cannot? It doesn't say anything under Retests either.

[Theseus Ahroun]

From what I understand of it there's a case by case basis to it. When there being used to effect a degree of randomness or luck to events unless you have the "lucky" merit there isn't alot of skills or anything else you could use to control that sort of thing. Basically the easiest way to figure that out, unless the ST's chime in here with no these can never be retested, is to ask in the scene itself if you could retest with "X" skill. When I was helping Assist in a Sabbat game a few years back if you could explain why a certain skill would help affect the situation resulting in the simple or static test I'd give the retest to you but I wasn't going to do the work of thinking of some way to do it for you.

[Solomon Gargoyle]

Since a few people seem to have Iron Will I thought I'd post what it does.

Iron Will basically allows you to ignore Dominate after someone tries to use it on you. If your affected with it, then you spend a Willpower point for a retest. If you win that retest then you are immune to it for 5 minutes. If mind altering magics or Thaumaturgy with a Mental Challenge is used against you you then get a Bonus +3 Traits to defend. This Merit does not however, defend against social manipulation or Presence.

[Theseus Ahroun]

Random question on how ep expenditure works in this game as I don't remember seeing the breakdown of this yet. Are there any limits to how much of a particular thing on your character sheet you can buy up during one downtime session? For example if you have the xp built up on your character could you go from 0 ranks in a particular influence to x3 or so? Would you be able to buy all levels of a skill such as melee or some such during a given downtime? Basically what I'm looking for is a generic breakdown of how much you can build your character during a weeks time.

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