Page 160 - World of Darkness

opponent’s hand. Taking possession of the item thereafter free. Roll Strength + Brawl - attacker’s Strength.
(in another turn) is the equivalent of drawing a weapon Any successes allow for a maneuver (see below).
(see above). No damage is inflicted. • If the attacker’s grip on the target per-
• Use opponent as protection from ranged attacks — sists, and he is free to do so, the attacker can try
see “Concealment” on p. 162. to apply an overpowering maneuver to the vic-
If multiple people seek to grapple a single target, and tim. Roll the attacker’s Strength + Brawl -
they get a hold, the target can try to break free of all holds opponent’s Strength. Any successes allow a ma-
simultaneously. Roll Strength + Brawl and subtract the neuver (see below).
highest Strength among the grapplers, with an additional • Possible maneuvers. Choose one:
penalty for each grappler after the first. So, if Anton tries Render opponent prone
to break out of a hold imposed by three opponents, and Damage opponent
the highest Strength among them is 4, Anton’s breakout Immobilize opponent
roll suffers a -6 penalty. Draw weapon
Grappling with an opponent has its drawbacks. Grap- Attack with drawn weapon
plers lose the capacity to dodge (see “Dodge,” p. 156) and Turn a drawn weapon
can perform only close-combat attacks. Ranged attacks Disarm opponent
are not allowed. (Wrestling over and using a small gun in Use opponent as protection from ranged
a grapple is not considered a ranged attack for our pur- attacks
poses here.) Also see “Shooting into Close Combat,” Attempting to break free is always an op-
p. 162, and “Autofire,” p. 160. The “All-Out Attack” tech- tion instead of performing an overpowering ma-
nique (p. 157) cannot be used to attempt overpowering neuver.
maneuvers or to break out of a grapple. All-out attack
negates the user’s Defense in close combat, while grap-
plers already ignore each other’s Defense once a hold is
achieved.
Example: Drew seeks to grapple with Anderson. Drew Ranged Combat
first needs to get a grip on Anderson in his part of Initiative.
Doing so requires an action and a successful Strength + Factors
Brawl roll, penalized by Anderson’s Defense. If Anderson’s
order in Initiative comes later in the turn, he can try to break Ranged combat factors apply specifically to thrown
out with a successful Strength + Brawl roll, in this case weapons and guns, the latter of which being the most com-
penalized by Drew’s Strength. Or Anderson can immediately mon.
try to perform a maneuver on Drew since the two are People in tense, potentially violent situations often
already locked. The same roll (Strength + Brawl - Drew’s resort to guns to defend themselves or to kill enemies.
Strength) is applied and any successes rolled allow Anderson Anyone from soldiers to police to government agents to
to perform a task, from doing damage to prying an object criminals to homeowners carry or own guns, whether
from Drew’s free hand. they’re trained and licensed or not. Depending on the
country concerned, guns can be bought at the corner
If in the next turn Drew still has a hold on Anderson, a
Strength + Brawl roll, penalized by Anderson’s Strength, is pawnshop or through dealers, with the formality of some
made to see if Drew can perform any maneuvers on paperwork and a waiting period. Personal arms such as
Anderson. pistols are acquired this way, while rifles, shotguns and
bows can be acquired at sporting-goods stores. In other
Anderson can keep tying to break free each turn, or he countries, gun possession is unheard of outside of the au-
can attempt maneuvers on Drew each turn. Until Anderson thorities. And in some nations, going unarmed is more
breaks free, the grapple continues and Drew may continue to dangerous than going armed, be it with a pistol, rifle or
inflict his own maneuvers. automatic weapon. Finally, no matter what part of the
world you look at, guns are always available illegally.
They’re quicker to get than through conventional chan-
nels, but definitely more expensive. Acquiring pistols and
Grappling Summary street guns through the black market can demand Re-
• Roll Strength + Brawl - opponent’s De- sources dots of anywhere from 3 to 5, depending on what
fense for attacker to get a grip on target. your character wants.
• Target’s next action can be dedicated to People with the Firearms Skill have spent time learn-
breaking free. Roll Strength + Brawl - attacker’s ing to use and understand guns — anything from pistols
Strength. Any successes indicate breaking free. to machineguns to maybe even bows. Owning a gun and
Or, the target can attempt to apply an knowing how to use it are two different things.
overpowering maneuver to the attacker, partici- Homeowners can possess but may have never fired a
pating in the grapple rather than trying to break weapon, and could be as much a threat to themselves as

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RANGED COMBAT FACTORS