Page 73 - World of Darkness

the ostentation or obviousness of the pursuer’s vehicle. If barbed wire and sensitive motion detectors. Cameras
the tail drives a blue sedan, the subject probably gets no covered every inch of his property. Armed guards patrolled
bonus because the pursuing car blends in with all the other the grounds 24 hours a day, accompanied by huge dogs.
vehicles on the road. A tailing motorcycle offers a +1 bo- And then there was the fortress-like manor itself.
nus, a tailing sports car offers a +3, and a tailing 18-wheeler Simon checked the wind speed once more and noted it
or Porsche offers a +4 or +5 bonus. A tailing vehicle as on his homemade range card. It had taken him almost a
subtle as an airplane flying overhead probably eludes a week to find the perfect vantage point on a hilltop nearly a
subject altogether or imposes a -5 penalty to recognize mile from Logan’s property. From here, he had a clear view
the aerial shadow. of the man’s heated pool. Logan was a creature of habit. He
The contested roll is made when the tail begins. If liked his nightly swim. And habits, as Simon had learned in
the subject wins he notices he’s being followed and can sniper school, could get you killed.
attempt to escape (in which case it becomes a pursuit; see
the above task). If the tail wins, he follows the subject Reaching into his pocket, Simon pulled out the heavy,
without being detected. If this is a short drive, one roll silver-tipped bullet, carefully loaded the scope-sighted rifle,
may be sufficient. For longer rides, the Storyteller may and raised the stock to his shoulder. The night-vision sight
call for a roll every 10 miles or so. revealed the poolside in eerie shades of green. Logan was
climbing from the pool as Simon settled the crosshairs over
Roll Results the man’s heart.
Dramatic Failure: Your character’s divided attention Firearms allows your character to identify, operate
results in a crash, damaging or wrecking the car and po- and maintain most types of guns, from pistols to rifles to
tentially injuring its occupants. Alternately, a low-speed military weapons such as submachine guns, assault rifles
(or low-intensity) tail might end with your character try- and machine guns. This Skill can represent the kind of
ing to take a shortcut and finding his path blocked by a formal training provided to police and the military, or
delivery truck or other obstacle. the basic, hands-on experience common to hunters, crimi-
Failure: If the pursuer’s roll fails, he has not main- nals and gun enthusiasts. Firearms also applies to using
tained enough distance from his subject and has been bows. Your character can use guns and bows equally.
noticed. If the subject chooses to run for it the task be- Note that dots in Firearms do not apply to manually
comes a pursuit. If the subject’s roll fails he does not no- fixing or building guns, only to wielding them. Construc-
tice the strange car pacing his every move. If both fail, re- tion and repair is the province of the Crafts Skill (see p.
roll. 57).
Success: If the pursuer wins the contested action, he Possessed by: Criminals, gun dealers, hunters, po-
remains hidden from his subject and can follow for up to lice officers, soldiers, survivalists
10 miles without requiring another contested roll. If the Specialties: Autofire, Bow, Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun,
subject wins he sees that he’s being followed and can at- Sniping, Trick Shot
tempt to escape.
If both sides get an equal number of successes, the Roll Results
pursuer doesn’t give himself away completely, but he’s Dramatic Failure: The weapon malfunctions in some
gotten close enough to arouse the subject’s suspicion. Make way or your character accidentally hits a different target
a second contested roll to decide the situation. (possibly himself). The most common type of dramatic
Exceptional Success: If the pursuer wins the con- failure is a misfire — the bullet simply does not go off
tested action with five or more successes on his roll, he when the trigger is pulled, and your character is free to
has found the perfect distance and position in traffic to shoot again in the next turn. Other mechanical failures
remain undetected for the duration of the trip. No further such as a jam can be cleared in the following turn.
rolls are required until the Storyteller deems otherwise. If Failure: Your character misses his intended target.
the subject wins the contested action with a similar roll, The Storyteller determines what, if anything, the bullet
he not only detects that he’s being tailed but he gets a actually hits.
good look at his pursuer. Success: Your character hits his intended target. See
Suggested Equipment: Handling of the tailing car; Chapter 7 for details on inflicting damage with firearms.
see above for the obviousness of the tailing car; binocu- Exceptional Success: Not only does your character
lars (+1), second tail car (+3) hit the target, he strikes a particularly vital area, magni-
Possible Penalties: Cracked (-1) or missing (-3) rear- fying the damage as reflected by your stellar roll.
view mirrors, intervening traffic (-1 to -3), bad weather (- Suggested Equipment: See Chapter 7 for a list of
1 to -3), twisting roads (-2) sample firearms and their Damage ratings, which are added
to ranged attacks as equipment modifiers.
Firearms Possible Penalties: Target’s armor, target’s conceal-
ment, target is prone. See the Combat Chapter for de-
Theodore Logan was a well-protected man. His hillside tails on all the preceding factors. High winds (-1 to -3)
mansion was surrounded by a high stone wall, topped with

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Chapter 3- SKILLS