Page 203 - World of Darkness

the main characters of your story. They can be cops, stances, one success doesn’t invoke a sweeping
gangbangers, mafia thugs or militia types. In addition to result. Rather, successes rolled are added to
basic descriptions and roleplaying hints, they include de- determine the final result. Again, the best ex-
tailed profiles of their relevant abilities. The final section ample is combat. Successes achieved in an at-
presents supernatural antagonists in the form of restless tack roll each inflict a wound on the target. The
and angry spirits. These ghosts are profiled with basic de- overall degree of effectiveness achieved is there-
scriptions, Storytelling hints, and details of their unique fore incremental based on successes gathered,
capabilities. rather than being “all or nothing.” Automated
resistance is applied against these kinds of ef-
fects, because it puts aggressor and target on
relatively equal footing game-systems wise.
Rule of Thumb: Resistance
So, as a rule of thumb in your game, if a
As you read this book and play a few games, supernatural power or other phenomenon has
you probably recognize that there are two basic incremental effect on a character based on each
ways in which characters can resist efforts ap- success achieved, allow the target automated
plied against them. That is, two systems are used resistance. One of his Resistance traits is sub-
to allow characters to fight back when pressures tracted from the dice pool of the aggressor be-
and attacks are directed against them. It’s im- fore a roll is made.
portant for you to see how these systems are A character’s wound penalties are not ap-
used throughout this book so you can apply the plied to his Defense or Resistance traits when
same rules on the fly in your games. those traits are subtracted from opponents’ dice
The first type of resistance involves a con- pools.
tested roll. Say a creature intends to ply its will For more information, see “Resistance” in
over a character, and a contested roll is made Chapter 6, p. 133.
for both target and aggressor. The target’s roll
is probably based on a Resistance trait such
Stamina, Resolve or Composure, or even on a
combination of two of them, such as Resolve + Animals
Composure. In these cases, the target’s con-
The following specimens are animals commonly found
tested roll is typically reflexive. The effort to fight
the influence applied against him is automatic and in urban or rural environments. Note: Unlike humans,
Defense traits for animals are determined by whichever
doesn’t interfere with the character’s own ac-
tion in a turn (unless he loses the contested ac- dots are greater between Dexterity and Wits.
Skill Specialties are listed in parentheses following
tion).
In general, “contested” resistance is called their associated Skills. Add one die to a pool whenever a
Skill Specialty comes into play. Each animal’s attack is
for when the effect being used takes full effect if
as little as one success is rolled for the aggres- listed with a total dice pool (including natural weapon
modifiers) for your convenience.
sor. A monster’s attempt to use mind control
over a character is a good example. A contested Bat
roll is called for because it gives the target a rea-
sonable fighting chance; successes rolled for him Description: Bats are small, generally nocturnal ani-
are compared to those rolled for the monster. mals that hunt for food using a sophisticated means of echolo-
Whoever gets the most wins. cation. Though unintelligent, they are swift, agile fliers.
So as a rule of thumb in your game, if a su- While most bats feed on insects or fruit, a few species in
pernatural power or other phenomenon can have Latin America are known to feed on the blood of animals.
a sweeping effect on a character if even one suc- Attributes: Intelligence 0, Wits 1, Resolve 0, Strength
cess is achieved, allow the target a contested (and 1, Dexterity 4, Stamina 1, Presence 1, Manipulation 0,
reflexive) resistance roll. Composure 1
The second type of resistance is more “au- Skills: Athletics (Flight) 4, Brawl 1, Survival 3
tomated.” A target’s Resistance trait is subtracted Willpower: 1
from an aggressor’s dice pool before the roll is
Initiative: 5
made. The best example is in close combat.
When an attacker tries to strike an opponent, Defense: 4
Speed: 15 (flight only; species factor 10)
the target’s Defense is subtracted from the
attacker’s dice pool before a roll is made. Size: 1
In general, “automated” resistance is called Weapons/Attacks:
for when the effectiveness of the effort is mea- Type Damage Dice Pool
sured in successes rolled. Under these circum- Bite 1 (L) 3
Health: 2
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Chapter 8- STORYTELLING