Fighting Style: Improvised Weaponry
(• to •••)
During the course of their journeys upon the Road, wanderers find themselves in bad circumstances with nothing even remotely resembling a respectable weapon at hand. Perhaps the first, best rule of the nomadic life, however, is to make do with what you’ve got. Thus, certain improvisational fighting strategies have become time-honored traditions for people who get knocked on their asses and have to reach for the nearest solid object to avoid a serious beating, or worse.
Note that, unlike most other Fighting Style Merits, Improvised Weaponry isn’t formally taught. Characters invariably pick up this brutal, sloppy style of combat at the school of hard knocks.
Always Armed (•): The character has an instinct for grabbing something dangerous in almost any situation and maximizing its lethality once in hand. On her character’s initiative in any given turn, the player may make a reflexive Wits + Weaponry roll to have the character pick up an object suitable for use as a weapon in any save the most barren environment. (The player is encouraged to work with the Storyteller to determine an appropriate item — a large, jagged Rock outdoors, for example, or a heavy glass ashtray with one sharp, broken edge in a dive bar.) Regardless of what it is, this object is treated as a Size 1, one lethal weapon with a Durability of 2. On an exceptional success, provided that her surroundings allow for it, the character may instead grab a Size 2, two lethal improvised weapon with a Durability of 2
In Harm’s Way (••): By interposing her weapon (no matter how small or inappropriate for parrying it might be) in the path of an oncoming Brawl or Weaponry attack, the character learns to increase her chances of walking away from a given attack unscathed. While wielding an improvised weapon acquired with the first technique of this Fighting Style, the character may, at the beginning of a turn, treat the Structure of her weapon as armor, but any damage inflicted upon her also inflicts an equal amount of damage to the improvised weapon, bypassing its Durability.
Breaking Point (•••): One sure way to win a fight is to hit the other guy so hard that he doesn’t get back up, even if that means losing a weapon in the process. When the character uses the all-out-attack option in a fight while wielding an improvised weapon acquired with the first technique of this Fighting Style, her player may exchange points of the weapon’s Structure, down to a minimum of zero, for added Equipment bonus for the duration of a single strike. The player must declare the use of this option before the attack is made, and the weapon still takes the damage even if the attack is unsuccessful (perhaps striking a brick wall, a parked car or some other heavy object.) If the weapon is reduced to zero Structure, the weapon is automatically destroyed after the attack is resolved, though the target is still damaged as normal if successfully struck. Note that the character may use this technique in conjunction with the previous one, allowing her to parry an attack made on a higher Initiative than her own and then go on the offensive with her improvised weapon, provided that it didn’t sustain enough damage to destroy it.
Note that, unlike most other Fighting Style Merits, Improvised Weaponry isn’t formally taught. Characters invariably pick up this brutal, sloppy style of combat at the school of hard knocks.
Always Armed (•): The character has an instinct for grabbing something dangerous in almost any situation and maximizing its lethality once in hand. On her character’s initiative in any given turn, the player may make a reflexive Wits + Weaponry roll to have the character pick up an object suitable for use as a weapon in any save the most barren environment. (The player is encouraged to work with the Storyteller to determine an appropriate item — a large, jagged Rock outdoors, for example, or a heavy glass ashtray with one sharp, broken edge in a dive bar.) Regardless of what it is, this object is treated as a Size 1, one lethal weapon with a Durability of 2. On an exceptional success, provided that her surroundings allow for it, the character may instead grab a Size 2, two lethal improvised weapon with a Durability of 2
In Harm’s Way (••): By interposing her weapon (no matter how small or inappropriate for parrying it might be) in the path of an oncoming Brawl or Weaponry attack, the character learns to increase her chances of walking away from a given attack unscathed. While wielding an improvised weapon acquired with the first technique of this Fighting Style, the character may, at the beginning of a turn, treat the Structure of her weapon as armor, but any damage inflicted upon her also inflicts an equal amount of damage to the improvised weapon, bypassing its Durability.
Breaking Point (•••): One sure way to win a fight is to hit the other guy so hard that he doesn’t get back up, even if that means losing a weapon in the process. When the character uses the all-out-attack option in a fight while wielding an improvised weapon acquired with the first technique of this Fighting Style, her player may exchange points of the weapon’s Structure, down to a minimum of zero, for added Equipment bonus for the duration of a single strike. The player must declare the use of this option before the attack is made, and the weapon still takes the damage even if the attack is unsuccessful (perhaps striking a brick wall, a parked car or some other heavy object.) If the weapon is reduced to zero Structure, the weapon is automatically destroyed after the attack is resolved, though the target is still damaged as normal if successfully struck. Note that the character may use this technique in conjunction with the previous one, allowing her to parry an attack made on a higher Initiative than her own and then go on the offensive with her improvised weapon, provided that it didn’t sustain enough damage to destroy it.
Prerequisites: Wits •••, Weaponry •