Page 69 - World of Darkness

something (or someone) accidentally or overshooting the + Athletics roll is then made against the thrower’s
target entirely. roll. If the thrower gets more successes, the tar-
Failure: The object misses its mark or simply does get is still hit and those successes are inflicted as
not make it as far as intended. damage. If the target gets more successes, he
Success: Your character hits his intended target. In catches the item. In the case of a tie, the would-
the case of a thrown weapon, each success inflicts one be catcher is hit and the thrower’s successes are
point of damage. inflicted as damage. The Storyteller may rule that
Exceptional Success: The object hits the target with catching a blunt object such as a rock might be
great accuracy and/or force. done completely without harm, but catching a
Suggested Equipment: See the Damage ratings of sharp object such as a knife might still inflict a
thrown weapons in the Combat Chapter, p. 150. point of lethal damage. The receiver cuts open
Possible Penalties: Slippery conditions (-1), strong his hand. Perhaps an exceptional success (five or
wind (-2), bad weather (-1 to -3) more) achieved on a catching roll negates dam-
age from even a sharp item.
Of course, ranged attacks made from guns
or bows cannot normally be caught unless the
Catching Thrown Objects target has some kind of supernatural power that
An object thrown to or at a target could be allows him to see and react to such fast-moving
caught by him. Obviously, the distance between objects.
thrower and target cannot be greater than the
range to which the object can be thrown. The
thrower’s accuracy is also a factor in whether
an intended receiver can successfully catch the Brawl
item.
If an object is thrown to a receiver with the He was the stereotypical biker: big and broad-shoul-
dered, the sleeves of his T-shirt straining around muscled,
intent to be caught, Dexterity + Athletics is rolled
for the receiver. The receiver’s roll gets a num- tattooed arms. He loomed over Miles. “You and me are
gonna have a little fun, college boy,” he said through yellow
ber of bonus dice equal to the number of suc-
cesses achieved in the thrower’s roll. Thus, if teeth. “And then me and your girlfriend here are gonna have
a little party.”
Bill throws a football to Owens and three suc-
cesses are rolled for Bill, Owens’ Dexterity + Miles leaned back and the biker took the bait, bending
Athletics roll to catch the ball gets a +3 bonus. If down to glare at the young history student. Miles’ first punch
the thrower’s roll fails to earn any successes, struck the biker square in the Adam’s apple. The gag reflex
the target is missed. The intended receiver can- doubled the man over, and Miles followed up with a shot to
not catch the item at all. the ear.
If an object is thrown at a target (probably The biker hit the floor like a sack of wet cement. “Party
with the intent to hit and hurt him), and the tar- on, asshole,” Miles said in the silence that followed, and
get is unaware of the object’s approach, the ob- then took Angela’s hand. “Let’s get out of here.”
ject can’t be caught. Indeed, the target gets no
Defense. He is essentially surprised (see p. 151). Brawl defines your character’s prowess at unarmed
Successes achieved in the throw inflict points of combat, whether he’s a black belt in karate, a hard-bitten
street tough or a college student who’s taken a few self-
damage to the target. (Damage might also be
done to an intended receiver of an object if the defense courses. Characters with this Skill know how to
hit an opponent, where to hit for maximum effect and
roll for his catch suffers a dramatic failure. Points
of damage equal the successes achieved in the how to defend themselves from attack. It can mean using
throw.) fists, but also elbows, knees, shoulders, head butts wres-
The Storyteller may allow an unaware tar- tling, joint locks and choke holds. Characters with a sev-
eral dots could be familiar with multiple techniques of
get to recognize an incoming object before he’s
hit. The target’s player makes a reflexive per- unarmed combat. Expertise in such techniques is reflected
in the Fighting Style Merits (see pp. 110-112), which are
ception roll (see p. 45). If it fails, the attack pro-
ceeds as discussed above. If the Wits + Compo- based on Brawl.
sure roll succeeds, the target can try to get out Brawl is added to your character’s Strength to battle
of the way (his Defense applies normally), or he people in unarmed combat.
Possessed by: Bikers, boxers, gangsters, police offic-
can try to catch the object.
If he tries to catch it, he loses his Defense ers, soldiers
Specialties: Blocking, Boxing, Dirty Tricks, Grap-
against the attack (after all, he tries to put him-
self in the object’s path). A contested Dexterity pling, Kung Fu, Throws

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Chapter 3- SKILLS