To Be Utilized In The Occult Urban Crime Environment

This is the list of weapons and other gear for Demon City. Vehicles will be in another entry. While there are lots of other things not here, it's because I assume say, the cost and game function of--say--a modern backpack is self-explanatory, lemme know if you see anything that isn't...

WEAPONS

Note many “Nonlethal” weapons can actually kill a target if used repeatedly or if the target’s maximum Toughness is 0 to start.

Axe, Wood

Cash Check: 1

Axe-Hatchet/Throwing Axe:

Cash Check: 1

Notes: Can be thrown up to Toughness x 10 feet. Add a Situation Die to hit against any weapon except a knife at extreme close range, otherwise an opponent with a longer weapon has the a Situation Die vs the hatchet-wielder.

Baton/Hammer/Heavy Stick/Crowbar/Iron bar/Baseball bat/Sap/Sack of Pennies, other blunt weapon

Cash Check: 0-2 (expensive telescoping batons are concealable)

Blow torch/Welding torch

Cash Check: 1

Notes: Requires a fuel tank and some require an external spark to get started. 

Bows

Cash Check: 2

Range: Lose a die to hit beyond 1500 ft.

Notes: Including modern hunting bows, crossbows, etc. Quieter than guns but in a stand-up fight a gun gets a Situation Die vs someone using a bow.

Cattle Prod, Stun Baton or Stun Gun

Cash Check: 1

Range: Touch

Notes: Nonlethal, no damage. Make a Toughness check vs a 5 to take any action. No effect on anything above Toughness 5.

Chain Weapons (heavy chain, nunchaku, morningstar, etc)

Cash Check: 1

Notes: Situation Die vs any attempt to block or parry. Lose a die if used without Hand to Hand skill.

Chainsaw/Circular Saw

Cash Check: 1

Notes: Cannot be blocked or parried by most melee weapons. Toughness check vs a 2 to use effectively in melee. Does Massive Damage to an unarmed target, and to the user on a fumble. Seeing an enemy inflict a wound with a power saw triggers a Calm Check of at least 4 in any witness.

Explosives in General (Dynamite, TNT, Pipe bombs, C4, Mines etc)

Cash Check: 2

Notes: Do Massive Damage in a radius determined by the amount used and the Explosives skill of the person setting them up (precision requires a higher check, as does a particularly large or quickly-activated explosion). If the victims know its coming they’re allowed an Agility Check (usually vs the opponent’s Agility if it’s thrown).

Garotte/Piano Wire etc

Cash Check: 0

Notes: Any stout strangling wire. Successfully grapples any target it hits. Lost Die to hit a target who sees it coming.

Grenades 

Cash Check: 2 (damage-causing ones are illegal)

Range: 25 feet per point of thrower’s Toughness

Notes: If the targets are aware of the grenade and mobile, they all get a Agility check vs the thrower’s Agility score to avoid being in the blast radius.

 There are several styles…

Concussion: Massive Damage within a 6 foot radius.

Flashbang/Stun: Targets disoriented and deaf for the first round and until a Toughness check vs a 5 is made. 10’ radius.

Fragmentation: Does Massive Damage to anyone within 50’ radius. 

Gas: Can be anything but a typical gas grenade requires a Toughness check vs a 5 each round to avoid disabling nausea. 20’ radius.

Smoke: Obscures vision within 20’ radius.

Stingball: Full of hard rubber balls, Standard Damage within 10’ radius, nonlethal.

Guns

Guns, like all missile weapons, have an extra die over other distance weapons as well as over melee weapons and the unarmed at most distances greater than arms length. They do Massive Damage to unresisting targets within 5 feet. Regular guns have an effective range of about 10 feet underwater before the short cartridge length gets pulled off course by the water.

Ammunition capacities for specific models of gun are easy to find online. Just type in the name and “capacity”. 

Legality: When you decide where your campaign is set, you can check online for laws regarding high-capacity (over 10 shots for handguns) magazines (always changing, especially in cities) and concealed carry for that place, but practically speaking the main thing is getting noticed brandishing a gun in public for any reason will probably attract police attention and they’ll probably think up a charge if they want to (threatening, reckless endangerment, disturbing the peace, discharging a weapon in city limits, etc). Assault rifles and submachine guns are quasi-legal (it depends when they were made and whether the full-auto setting is enabled, its complicated) and machine guns are illegal for civilians to own (long story).

Characters who would have a concealed carry license (bounty hunters, cops, detectives, gun nuts) can go ahead and have one, other characters who want to already have one have a 10% chance of having one already if they have Firearms skill.

These are the most common kinds:

Handgun/Pistol

Cash Check: 2

Range: Lose a die to hit beyond 300 ft.

Ammunition:  Most revolvers hold 6 rounds, a policeman’s Glock will hold 13-17 rounds and is typical for modern automatics, the highly concealable and very cute Russian PB-4 Osa holds 4 rounds. Unless it's known the gun is fully-loaded, after the first shot a revolver will have d10 divided by 2 rounds left and a typical automatic will have 2d10 rounds left.

Notes:  Handguns have a Situation Die over long guns at ranges up to 15 feet. More concealable, too. 

Shotgun

Cash Check: 2

Range: Lose a die to hit beyond 300 ft.

Ammunition: Shotguns typically hold 2 (old hunting rifles) to 10 (combat shotgun) rounds and are often subjected to magazine-size restrictions.

Notes: Shotguns can be fitted with nonlethal shot rounds (bean bags, rock salt)—these function like normal damage except you can’t die from it. They have a Situation Die over other non-automatic long guns when in their preferred range of less than 75 ft. 

Hunting Rifle

Cash Check: 2

Range: Lose a die to hit beyond 1500 ft.

Ammunition: Typically 3-10 rounds.

Notes: Hunting rifles have a Situation Die over shotguns, machine guns and handguns at long ranges—75 feet or more. 

Sniper Rifle

Cash Check: 3

Range: Lose a die to hit beyond 2200 ft.

Ammunition: Typically holds 3-10 rounds.

Notes: Essentially a really nice hunting rifle. They have a Situation Die over any other gun at long ranges—75 feet or more. 

Assault Rifle (M-16, AK-47 etc--standard army guns)

Cash Check: 2 (quasi legal)

Range: Lose a die to hit beyond 1000 ft.

Ammunition: Typically 30 rounds

Notes: Have a Situation Die over any other handheld gun at ranges of 15-75 feet. Shooters with Firearms skill can fire at a number of targets per round equal to their skill or can do Massive Damage to one target. They will end up using d10 bullets per round (unless they make a point to use a specific number: 1 or 3, in which case they lose a die against other guns) with a minimum of 1 per target. 

Submachine Gun (Uzi, Mac 10, Thompson “Tommy gun”, etc)

Cash Check: 2 (quasi legal)

Range: Lose a die to hit beyond 300 ft.

Ammunition: Typically 30 rounds

Notes: Submachine guns are like assault rifles but less powerful. Have a Situation Die over any other handheld gun except an assault rifle at ranges of 15-75 feet. Shooters with Firearms skill can fire at a number of targets per round equal to their skill or can do Massive Damage to one target. They will end up using d10 bullets per round (unless they make a point to use a specific number: 1 or 3, in which case they lose a die against other guns) with a minimum of 1 per target. 

Machine Gun

Cash Check: 3 (quasi legal)

Range: Lose a die to hit beyond 1000 ft.

Ammunition: 30-100 rounds in a portable magazine—though they’re often belt-fed.

Notes: These are heavy fully-automatic military weapons, illegal to buy, often belt-fed and used with a tripod or mounted on a vehicle. Lighter machine guns can be fired without a tripod but they require a Toughness check vs a 2 or else the shooter loses a die. These do Massive Damage to all targets, and can hit a number of targets per round equal to the shooter’s Firearms score (No firearms skill? You’re at -2 dice). They use d10 bullets per round (minimum of 1 bullet per target hit). 

Air Rifle/BB Gun:

Cash Check: 1-2

Range: 450 ft

Ammunition: 30

Notes: Non-lethal to anything over 0 Toughness, useless against armor and anyone hit can make a Toughness Check against a 0 to avoid taking any damage.

Flare Gun

Cash Check: 1

Range: 30 ft

Ammunition: 1 shot

Notes: Lost Die to hit, the flare itself will likely bounce off and start a fire in a random place within 20 feet of the target. Non-lethal, a result causing damage indicates a face hit, the cartridge penetrating a soft area, or the flare lighting up and scalding the target. Non-lethal to anything over 0 Toughness, useless against armor and anyone hit can make a Toughness Check against a 0 to avoid taking any damage. Also can, like, be used the way it’s supposed to be to light up an area with a signal flare.

Tranquilizer Gun

Cash Check: 2

Range: Lose a die beyond 100 ft (for pistol version), beyond 300 (for rifle version)

Ammunition: 1 shot

Notes: One thing few people know about tranquilizer guns is they kind of suck. It’s very difficult to know how much and what kind of drug to give a human to knock them out without killing them or inflicting permanent damage. In-game, this essentially means that—when used on a person—a tranq gun might as well just be a gun. A hit that does damage but doesn’t kill inflicts its damage in the form of nausea and disorientation rather than putting holes in you.

Harpoon Gun

Cash Check: 1

Range: Underwater—Lose a die beyond 20 ft, On land—up to 50 feet but lose a die immediately

Ammunition: 1 shot

Notes: Regular guns are useless beyond 10 feet underwater because of the short cartridge length. Pneumatic or rubber-band-driven, harpoon guns are hard to control on land because the lack of resistance gives them wicked recoil—a fumble above water indicates the recoil hit you in the face, which loses you a turn.

Paintball Gun

Cash Check: 2

Range: 100 ft

Ammunition: 200+

Notes: Paintballs do 1 point of non-lethal damage but someone with Firearms skill can hit an opponent in the face to blind them if they fire with a Lost Die for a called shot to the head. They can also be loaded with marbles which have an effective range of 50 ft—they are non-lethal to anything over 1 Toughness, useless against armor and anyone hit can make a Toughness Check against a 0 to avoid taking any damage.

Zip Gun

Cash Check: 0-3

Range: 100 + (100xCash Check) ft

Ammunition: Usually 1 shot

Notes: ‘Zip guns’ encompass a variety homemade firearms usually made from salvaged parts and/or other gunlike objects (like cap guns, paintball guns and air rifles). Essentially the more work and skill that’s put into a zip gun the more it behaves like the real thing. They are rare in the US because real firearms are so easy to acquire, but they are more common among criminals and insurgents in other countries and they look cool.

Heavy Things (refrigerators, walls, giant crates, etc)

Things heavier than a person that must be tipped over onto-, dropped on-, or shoved into enemies with machines attack at -2 dice but do Massive Damage.

Improvised Weapon (awkward)

Notes: Lamps, chairs, umbrellas, thrown rocks, etc—things used as weapons in a pinch but neither designed to be nor well-suited to it. Like most weapons, these grant a Situation Die vs unarmed opponents but opponents armed with real weapons or more easily weaponizable objects will give a Situation Die vs the improvised-weapon wielder. 

Knife/Dagger/Letter Opener

Cash Check: 0-1

Range: 5 feet per point of agility/hand-to-hand skill (untrained throwers get are at 2 Lost Dice), Lose a die for knives not designed for it

Notes: A Situation Die vs nearly any weapon at extreme close range. Otherwise an opponent with a distance weapon or longer melee weapon has a Situation Die. Survival knives (Swiss Army, etc) often have compasses, screwdrivers, etc built in.

Knuckledusters/Brass Knuckles

Cash Check: 1 (quasi-legal)

Notes: Like other weapons, a Situation Die vs an unarmed opponent. Also a lot easier to break glass, etc without hurting yourself.

Molotov Cocktail

Cash Check: 1 (to get ingredients)

Range: 20 feet per point of thrower’s Toughness

Notes: If the targets are aware of the grenade and mobile, they all get a Agility check vs the thrower’s Agility score to avoid being in the blast radius. Does standard damage to anyone within 15’.

Pepper Spray/Mace

Cash check: 1

Range: 2’

Notes: Nonlethal, no damage. Make a Toughness check each round vs a 4 to take any action.  No effect on anything above Toughness 5.

Sword/Machete

Cash Check: 2

Notes: If user is trained in hand to hand: a Situation Die if used to block or parry a melee attack and a Situation Die vs other melee weapons that can be blocked or parried when at a distance of 2-5 feet (not cumulative).

Taser

Cash Check: 2

Range: 35’ (legal civilian version: 15’) —they don’t work at less than 5 ft.

Ammunition: 1 shot

Notes: Nonlethal, no damage. Useless against armored targets and people in heavy coats. Make a Toughness check vs a 5 each round to take any action. One failed shot requires two rounds of reloading.  No effect on anything above Toughness 5.

OTHER NOTABLE ITEMS

Airline TIckets

Cash Check: 2-3

Notes: Most flights are Cash Check 2. Last-minute ones or ones to far-flung or unusual locations are 3.

Auto Theft Kit

Cash Check: 2

Notes: Includes a Slim Jim (thin piece of sheet metal that trips a door lock), a long arm to reach in and flip lock switches, auto wedges (force open a gap between door and car using compressed air, just enough to let in a long arm).

Bicycle

Cash Check: 2

Notes: Allows movement at a Speed of 6 a Situation Die if racing vs a skateboard.

Binoculars

Cash Check: 1

“Bug”/Listening Device

Cash Check: 1-3

Notes: Bugs trying to catch anything subtle require a Perception check or an Electronics check (whichever is higher). Bugs that cost 2 add 1 die to the check, bugs that cost 3 add 2 dice to the check. The cost also modifies how hard they are to find, Cost 2 devices are -1 Lost Die to find, Cost 3 are -2 Lost Dice to find.

Bullet Proof Vest

Cash Check: 2

Notes: Increases functional Toughness by 2 and decreases Agility by 1 (to a minimum of 0).

Bullet Proof Outfit (including mask)

Cash Check: 3

Notes: Increases functional Toughness by 3, decreases Perception by 1 and decreases Agility by 2 (to a minimum of 0).

Bump Key

Cash Check: 1

Notes: A specially-prepared house key with a filed-down profile which taps tumblers and pins into place. Long ago replaced lock-picks as the home-intrusion device of choice. Allows quick, quiet entry to a standard home door lock on a Burglary/Theft Check vs a 1. The automotive version is a set of jiggler keys.

Caltrops

Cash Check: 1

Notes: Bits of metal shrapnel that stick up off the ground. They can be purchased or made from nails and scrap. Creates an obstacles for cars, police horses, bicycles, foot pursuers, etc. Agility or driving check vs thrower’s Agility to avoid, if hit they puncture tires and shoes and slow down anyone pursuing.

Camping Gear

Cash Check: 2

Notes: Everything you need for low-grade outdoor survival: tent, sleeping bag, propane stove, etc.

Climbing Gear

Cash Check: 3

Notes: The advantage of professional climbing gear is it makes it much harder to fall very far.

Cold Weather Clothes 

Cash Check: 1

Disguise Kit

Cash Check: 2

Notes: Latex prosthetics, fake mustache, etc. Adds two dice to deception attempts if applied correctly. How do you know if you applied it correctly? Roll Deception (or, if you don't have it, Appeal with a Lost Die) vs a 2 to find out the first time you use it. If you fail, you automatically blow your cover. 

Diversion Safe

Cash Check: 1

Notes: A steel-walled safe disguised as an ordinary household object such as a can of motor oil or a clock.

Fake Identification

Cash Check: 1-3

Notes: Cost 1 items will pass a standard once-over from a bartender, more expensive ones add dice (one per point) to checks to bluff more serious investigation.

Formal Item of Clothing

Cash Check: 2

Formal Outfit

Cash Check: 3

Flashlight

Cash Check: 0-1

Notes: Expensive flashlights can double as weapons— a Situation Die vs an unarmed opponent.

Handcuff Key

Cash Check: 1

Notes: Small metal shim allows escape from handcuffs on a successful Burglary/Theft roll against a 2. Many models are manufactured to hide in coins, pens, etc.

Hotels

Cash Check: 1-5

Notes: Price corresponds to the social class of fellow guests and the quality of the security for Burglary/Theft checks.

Lockpick Gun 

Cash Check: 2 

Notes: Allows quick, quiet entry to a standard home door lock on a Burglary/Theft Check vs a 1. Good chance of damaging the lock. Makes some noise.

Motion Sensor Alarms

Cash Check: 2

Notes: Burglary/Theft roll of 3 or better to bypass.

Roller Skates/Blades

Cash Check: 1

Notes: Allows movement at Speed 6.

Shin-Kickers

Cash Check: 0-1

Notes: Essentially brass knuckles for your shoes—a series of raised metal spikes that anchor between laces. a Situation Die vs an unarmed opponent if you’re trained in hand-to-hand combat.

Skateboard

Cash Check: 2

Notes: Allows movement at Speed 6.

Toolkit

Cash Check: 1

Notes: Standard hardware—screwdrivers, wrenches, etc.

Trains (cross country)

Cash Check: 2

Trains (communter)

Cash Check: 0

UV Powder

Cash Check: 1

Notes: Smeared on any surface, this slightly sticky powder is normally invisible but reveals fingerprints in UV light.

Ride Service, Taxi or Car Rental

Cash Check: 1

Notes: Follow-that-car situations rely on a taxi being there exactly when you want it, which is common in New York and many European capitals, but rare in many American cities. Roll randomly if unsure.

Rope, Nylon, 50’

Cash Check: 1

Silencer

Cash Check: 3

Notes: Silencers don’t really silence things, they just make them quieter than gunshots, so a 1 die difference in terms of being heard. They don’t work on revolvers.

If you're eager to see this finished so you can use any of this stuff on a three-shadowed Qlipoth, donate to the Demon City Patreon.

-

-

-