Weapon Abilities (Action)

Heroic Action Role-Play

Weapons in Action generally have extra maneuvers available to them, and some have inherent effects; these are all explained here. Unlike item schticks, these are not equivalent to full feats but perhaps to half a feat.

Some abilities are noted as limitations. These always apply, training or not.

Area

Limit Break

You attack everyone in a globe with a diameter equal to the damage value in meters centered on the target point. Make a separate attack roll against each target, including friends and bystanders.

Auto

Absorbed by Area

Limit Break

This weapon can fire on full automatic, covering an area with a diameter equal to your Reflexes in meters. Make a separate attack roll against each target, including friends and bystanders.

Block

Stance

You gain a +2 bonus on Dodge that only applies against melee attacks. If using a weapon with both Block and Deflect both abilities can be used as a single stance. Block applies to attacks from your front, if you face several opponents from opposing directions or an opponent successfully Outmaneuvers you, this bonus can be negated.

Boosted

Inherent

Also called power armor, this armor has servo-motors powering it, directed by sensors inside the armor so that it matches body movement. If the power fails, the armor turns rigid and it is time for emergency escape, there are manual explosive bolts that should remove the armor. Another danger is that the armor is computer controlled and can potentially be hacked or remotely controlled. A character with an Exo Link can ignore the Move and Hits limitations of boosted armor.

Bastard

Inherent

The weapon can be used in one or two hands. When used in one hand, decrease the damage add of the weapon by 1.

Butt Strike

Delit

Trigger Action (Combo)

Your weapon can deliver an extra Normal Melee Attack as a follow-up when one of your attack miss. Whenever you make an unsuccessful melee attack, you can use this to make an additional melee attack on the same opponent. You must be using your weapon with two hands to do this. A Butt Strike is done with the rear end of the weapon and always does Body +2 Blunt damage.

Charge

Basic Action

Move 3 meters in a straight line (in addition to normal movement) while Mounted and make a Normal Melee Attack. The damage add of the weapon increases by +3. Modifiers to damage add stack.

Disarm

Basic Action

Add +3 to Melee rolls to Disarm. If you are allowed to make a counterattack, such as the Intercept weapon ability or the Riposte schtick, you can opt to Disarm instead of making a normal attack.

Deflect

Delit

Stance

You gain a +2 bonus on Dodge against ranged attacks only. If using a weapon with both Block and Deflect both abilities can be used as a single stance. Deflect applies to attacks from your front, if you face several opponents from opposing directions or an opponent successfully Outmaneuvers you, this bonus can be negated.

Dual Damage

The does two types of damage. Against a target that has different soak values against the two types of damage, use the lesser soak value but decrease the damage by 2. Additional kinds of damage uses the lowest soak value among the types. See also Touch

Entangle

Basic Action

You can do a Feint, Grab, or Wingclip stunt with a +3 bonus on your Melee or Shoot check (as appropriate).

Great Blow

Basic Action

The weapon is suited for grandiose all-out attacks. This adds +3 to damage. After great blow, you may not take any trigger actions until your next shot comes up.

Example moves include the fleche, impale, or roundhouse blow. For a ranged weapon, this is an extended burst and the subsequent reload.

Improvised

Inherent - Limitation

This weapon can easily be improvised from materials at hand. Examples include broom handles used as quarterstaves or spears, wood cutting axes used for war, signposts used as shields, and so on. Improvised versions are unreliable. A purpose-made version of the weapon does not have this drawback.

Note All weapons can be Tinkered with the Create skill.

Intercept

Trigger Action

You can intercept opponents attacking you in Melee, striking would-be attackers that you manage to keep at bay. Whenever an opponent misses you with a Basic Action attack in Melee, you can use this weapon to make a Normal Melee Attack on them.

Loud

Inherent - Limitation

This gear makes a lot of noise and can be heard a good distance away, depending on its size. A loud weapon alerts neighbors but it is often difficult for witnesses to pinpoint where a ranged weapon is fired, as the trajectory makes as much noise as the weapon itself. Larger items generally make much more noise; a Small or smaller weapon is only audible nearby and dampened by a simple wall, a Medium weapon can be heard a cross a hall or through an interior wall, while a Large weapon is audible over a wide area, possibly kilometers away if conditions are right.

Mirabilia

Inherent

A minor miracle, the power use version of Mundane. An item of power that is so common it is not an Item Schtick and instead considered everyday gear in a setting where this type of power is common. In settings where this kind of power is rare or secret, items that are Mirabilia don't exist.

Mundane

Inherent

This item requires an item schtick at the tech level it is introduced. One tech level later, the item is no longer an item schtick and is now normal equipment available to anyone.

Noisy

Inherent - Limitation

All combat gear makes noise in combat, but this item makes noise with normal use. Any action that requires quiet or stealth is Stymied when using such gear.

Offhand Strike

Delit

Trigger Action (Combo)

When used in the off hand, this weapon can exploit an opening when your primary weapon is blocked. Whenever you make an unsuccessful melee attack with a weapon other than this one, you can use this to make an additional melee attack on the same opponent.

One-Round

Inherent

The piece of kit has a short lifespan and cannot be reloaded in combat, like a fire extinguisher. At the end of a round when it has been used, the item expires and becomes useless.

One-Shot

Inherent

The weapon is one-use and destroyed when used, such as a grenade.

Parry

Trigger Action

The weapon can be used to parry other melee attacks. Use it after an enemy hits you, giving a +3 Dodge bonus for the shot, but only against melee attacks.

Penetrating

Inherent

Against armor of its own tech level and lower, this weapon is soaked by Body rather than Toughness.

Powered

Inherent

A development of Boosted armor, power armor has all the advantages of Boosted armor, but also makes the wearer stronger and tougher, giving a +2 bonus to Action, which further increases Toughness beyond the protection provided by the armor. A character with Superstrength cannot benefit form this ability.

Reload

Basic Action - Limitation

The weapon is slow to reload (or otherwise prepare for a second use) and requires a basic action to reload before each attack. It also suffers the drawbacks of a Slow weapon.

Rending

Inherent

Increase the damage add of the weapon by +2 against opponents whose Toughness is the same as their Body. Modifiers to damage add stack.

Returning

Inherent

After you throw a weapon, you can use this to instantly retrieve it. It might be attacked to a string, bounce back to you, or naturally return to you like a boomerang does in movies.

Saturation

Inherent

The weapon saturates an area, making it immune to all effects of cover. A typical example is the flamethrower. A Saturation weapon also has the Scatter weapon ability.

Scatter

Inherent

The weapon fires in a tight cone, like a shotgun or particle weapon. It does not lose accuracy over range, instead losing damage at the same rate. Apply any range penalties to damage instead of to the attack roll.

Second Strike

Trigger Action (Combo)

Your weapon can deliver an extra Normal Melee Attack as a follow-up when one of your attack miss. Whenever you make an unsuccessful melee attack, you can use this to make an additional melee attack on the same opponent. You must be using your weapon with two hands to do this. A weapon with Second Strike and two weapon heads and the Second Strike does the same damage as the normal attack.

Slick

Inherent

The item does not look dangerous. It can be hidden in plain sight and can pass observation by all but the most astute observers. When required an opposed Charm against Charm or Create can avoid even close inspection.

Slow

Inherent - Limitation

The weapon is slow to reload (or otherwise prepare for repeated use). It cannot be used with schticks or powers combine several attacks into one action such as Combination Action, attacks that are Trigger Actions, or extra actions granted by abilities like Hands-on Leadership. The GM determines when this applies, but you should remind the GM in situations that might qualify.

Static

Inherent - Limitation

The weapon requires preparations to use or is very unwieldy, making it impossible to move in the same action you use it to attack. If you chose to move but fail (but do not fumble) a Free Running check, you can still act instead of moving, which can be a second attempt at movement.

Stowed

Basic Action

A stowed weapon is large and unwieldy and likely worn on your back to be out of the way. It is a Basic Action to draw such a weapon, and while worn it easily gets in your way. On a Snakeyes roll, a worn (not wielded) weapon with this ability snags on something, making the attempted action fail or make you drop the stowed weapon. These weapons are often carried in hand to avoid the encumbrance of wearing one.

Stun

Inherent

This attack does not cause any direct injury on a Damage Setback, instead favoring stun, knockback, and other non-lethal effects.

Throw

Inherent

This weapon can be thrown as a ranged attack using either the Shoot or Melee skill. If it is a melee weapon it can also be used in close combat, but only the Melee skill applies there. If the weapon has no given range category, it has Close range.

Unreliable

Inherent - Limitation

The weapon is mechanically unreliable and sometimes fails spectacularly. Treat any snake eyes roll using this weapon as a fumble, quite often breaking the weapon or harming the user. This is a common drawback with experimental or improvised weapons.