Page 68 - World of Darkness

broad jump, a character can cross two feet per success other instant action in the air (say, firing a shot) or upon
rolled. In a running jump, a character can cross a number landing (maybe running up to her Speed), at the
of feet equal to her Size + four more feet per success rolled. Storyteller’s discretion.
So, if a person who’s Size 5 gets three successes in a run- Suggested Equipment: Running shoes (+1), ramp
ning jump, she travels 17 feet. In order to make a running (+1), springboard (+2), vaulting pole (+3)
jump, a character must be able to run a distance of at least Possible Penalties: Slippery conditions (-1), bad
10 feet. If space is limited, every two feet (rounding up) weather (-1 to -3), difficult terrain (-1 to -3), strong wind
short of 10 imposes a -1 penalty on the Strength + Ath- (-2)
letics roll. So, if a character who wants to make jump needs
at least 10 feet in which to get a running start, but she has Throwing
only five feet with which to work, the roll suffers a -3 Dice Pool: Dexterity + Athletics + equipment
penalty. Action: Instant
Before jumping, a character may attempt to gauge the Throwing an object can be a brute-force physical act
distance and her chances of success before committing. or a combination of grace and hand-eye coordination to
Roll Intelligence + Composure or Athletics, at the hit a distant target. Your character can throw a non-aero-
Storyteller’s discretion. If the roll is successful, you learn dynamic object (such as a clay pot or tire) a distance in
the number of successes needed to make the jump and yards equal to his Strength + Dexterity + Athletics, mi-
decide if it’s worth the risk. You may also learn what pen- nus the object’s Size. The result is considered short range.
alties are imposed by having insufficient space to get a Medium range is double that number, and long range is
proper running start. twice medium range. So, a character with 4 Strength, 3
Example: Diana finds herself trapped on the roof of her Dexterity and 2 Athletics can throw a tire with 2 Size a
apartment building with the vampire’s blood slaves charging short range of seven yards, a medium range of 14 yards
up the stairs after her. Her only hope is to jump to the roof of and a long range of 28 yards.
the adjacent building and hope that the thugs won’t have the Aerodynamic objects such as footballs and spears can
nerve to follow. The distance between buildings is 20 feet. be thrown double those distances. Thus, the same char-
Diana is Size 5. A jumping roll must generate at least four acter who throws a football (Size 1) has a short range of
successes (for a total of 21 feet) and she needs at least 10 16 yards, a medium range of 32 yards and a long range of
feet to get a running start, which the Storyteller says is 64 yards.
available. Her Strength is 3 and her Athletics is 3. The roll is An object with a Size that equals or exceeds your
4, 5, 8, 8, 8 and 9 — four successes. Leaping from the character’s Strength simply can’t be thrown far enough to
stone parapet, Diana crosses the intervening distance and constitute range, even if it’s an aerodynamic item. It’s sim-
lands on the far roof. ply too heavy or bulky to be thrown.
It was a dangerous feat, though. Under less stressful While the distance that an item can be thrown is
circumstances, Diana might have gauged her chances before relatively fixed, your character’s accuracy is rolled: Dex-
risking her life. The Storyteller could have allowed her player terity + Athletics + equipment. Weapons such as knives,
an Intelligence + Composure or Athletics roll to determine spears and rocks, however, confer their Damage ratings as
that four successes were required. Or if the Storyteller bonuses when thrown (see the Combat Chapter). Mun-
decided that only eight feet were available to get a running dane items such as baseballs or footballs can be thrown to
start, a successful gauging roll would have told Diana’s hit and hurt (probably unsuspecting) targets, too. These
player that four successes were required, and that a -1 items typically confer a +1 bonus and do bashing damage
penalty would have applied. (see p. 153).
Modifiers to hit targets are -2 at medium and -4 at
Roll Results long range. By no means is long range the limit to which
Dramatic Failure: The task not only fails but your an item can be hurled. Your character could throw it with
character loses her balance. Perhaps she trips on a piece everything he has and achieve greater distance — up to
of debris or catches a part of her clothing on a branch or twice long range. Accuracy is forgone, though. If your
jagged rock. Instead of jumping, she hits the ground and character tries to throw an object at a target beyond long
suffers a bashing wound if it was a vertical jump. See “Fall- range, he can still make the attempt. Make a chance roll
ing,” p. 179, if it was a horizontal jump. to determine success (see p. 125), regardless of what your
Failure: Your character doesn’t achieve any signifi- character’s dice pool might normally be. Any target that’s
cant distance at all — she jumps too early, has a false start more than double long range away is considered com-
or loses her nerve. She gains a few inches vertically or pletely out of range and no throw can hit it.
about a foot horizontally, which could also mean a fall.
Success: Your character leaps a number of feet based Roll Results
on the successes rolled. Dramatic Failure: Your character loses control of the
Exceptional Success: Your character leaps an impres- object. If it’s large or heavy (Size 4 or greater), he loses his
sive distance. If successes gained exceed the amount re- grip and drops it, potentially injuring himself in the pro-
quired to make the jump, your character may attempt an- cess. Smaller objects land wildly off the mark, striking

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PHYSICAL SKILLS- ATHLETICS