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.

Autofire

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.

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 generally 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.

Charge

Inherent

If you move at least 3 meters in a straight line just before making Normal Melee Attack, add +3 to the damage inflicted.

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

Stance

You gain a +2 bonus on Dodge. 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. The damage increases by +2 and uses the lesser soak value. Several kinds of additional damage does not further increase the damage of the attack, but uses the lowest soak value among the types. See also Touch

Entangle

Basic Action

You can make an attack that does no damage, but entangles your target so that he loses three shots. If you score an Outcome matching the target's Reflexes, he loses six shots instead. The target can spend no shots until his next shot comes up.

Extra Damage

Inherent

The weapon has a condition under which it does extra damage. If the condition is fulfilled, add +2 to the damage value. This DOES stack with other damage bonuses, the rationale is that it is the weapons own damage value that is different against different creatures.

• Armor Defeating The weapon does extra damage against all objects and against creatures with at least two points of armor.
• Armor Exploiting The weapon does extra damage against creatures with no armor.

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 flèche, impale, or roundhouse blow. For a ranged weapon, this is generally an extended burst (and the subsequent reload).

Improvised

Inherent - Limitation

You can improvise a weapon from materials at hand. Improvised means it's not made as a dedicated weapon - it has been found or scrounged from civilian gear. 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 less durable than the real thing, and are unreliable. A purpose-made version of the weapon does not have this drawback.

This does not imply that other weapons cannot be improvised using the Create skill. But anyone can improvise weapons that have this quality.

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, 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.

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, giving a +5 Dodge bonus for the shot, but only against melee attacks.

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.

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.

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

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.

There are several variants of second strike, with various additional rules.

• Butt strike You deliver the second strike with the butt end of your weapon. Such a strike always does Body +2 blunt damage, regardless of what weapon you are using.

• Double strike Your weapon has two weapon heads, and uses the same damage for both.

• Offhand strike You must be holding two weapons to use this second strike, and the attack that triggered it must be held in the other (main) hand. This can be a different one-handed weapon or a paired, identical weapon.

Slick

Inherent

The weapon does not look like a weapon, and can pass observation by all but the most astute observers. It can be hidden in plain sight.

Slow

Inherent - Limitation

The weapon is slow to reload (or otherwise prepare for repeated use). It cannot combine several attacks into one action, such as firing at several targets or over an area.

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, requiring a Basic Action to sort out, or the weapon is dropped. 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.