"That is the law of the jungle—hunt, or be hunted—scrap, or BE scrapped."
—Dinobot, "Law of the Jungle"
Cybertron is war; it is a planet based on fighting and conquest. Thus, even the most peaceful-hearted Maximal will be protoformed with a number of weapons at her immediate disposal. She will emerge from her stasis pod knowing how to fight and who to fight.
Weapons can be attached to a Cybertron's main frame, or, they can be separate from it and hand-held. A Cybertron's weapons are "dedicated." They are always assumed to be handy in whichever mode they are purchased for, unless they are destroyed, knocked out of the hand, or lost.
Typically, the heaviest weapons are outfitted for robot mode use, though Transmetals can fit their beast modes with weapons as well. Players are given twelve points to purchase weapons for their character during character generation. Extra weapons can be purchased with freebie points at the cost of one freebie point per point of weaponry. It is not required for a player to spend all her weapon points if she does not want to; however, unused weapon points can not be reapplied to another part of the character. (They can, however, be "saved" for use in combination with Freebie points later, if a player wants one last weapon which is slightly more expensive than she can afford.) Weapons have default costs where a certain amount of weapon points must be spent to gain that weapon. Details for all weapon costs are listed below.
Each type of weapon has a certain skill which is required for use of that weapon. Weapons below are organized based on the Ability required for their use.
Characters can fit themselves with new weapons during the course of a chronicle by paying three times the weapon's listed cost in experience points. If they wish to have an internal weapon added on, or a weapon attached to their body, they must be rebuilt per the rebuilding rules outlined in the Mechanisms section. For an external weapon, they can make an extended Intelligence plus Repair roll to build the weapon themselves, or have an ally fashion the weapon.
Weapons in the list below do not have a concealment rating. Why? Most of the time, Cybertrons don't bother. Everyone knows everyone else was protoformed with arms. In beast mode, no matter the size of the weapon or the beast, all weapons save those attached to the beast mode are automatically concealed. Cybertrons that need to disarm other Cybertrons typically know where to look to take everything away, and attached weapons can't be taken away, only deactivated. If needing to conceal weaponry, use common sense. Eye-lasers are always a hidden weapon; a plasma cannon is going to take up more room.
Characters may use weapons they find or own even if they are not "purchased." However, this weapon will not last if the character should transform, unless he manages to carefully carry the weapon in all of his modes, and no attached weapon can never be ignored in purchasing.
"You fight with a RAT...you'd better fight DIRTY."
—Rattrap, "Other Voices, Part One"
Brawl weapons are common accessories for beast modes, as normal melee weapons cannot be held with animal forms. All brawl weapons do standard damage.
Standard brawling maneuvers such as punches and kicks do not have to be purchased.
Claws
Form accessible: Any
Cost: one point per clawed hand/foot per mode.
Difficulty: 6
Using claws during a brawl situation causes Strength +1 damage. Beast modes with claws can still be attained without spending points on the claws, but these claws cannot be used as weapons. Claws affixed to hands in robot mode are common brawl weapons.
Hand blades
Form accessible: Robot
Cost: one point apiece.
Difficulty: 6
Blades on the hands, which are long as a knife and typically retractable, do Strength +2 damage. These blades can also be fitted to other body parts, such as elbows or knees.
Spikes
Form accessible: Any
Cost: one point per spiked area.
Difficulty: 6
Spikes are a common fixture for robot elbows and knees, but can be fitted to any part of the body. A kick with a spiked knee does Strength +2 damage, as does a shot with a spiked elbow. In beast mode, a "spike" is a horn.
Stinger
Form accessible: Any
Cost: Two points per mode
Difficulty: 9
A common feature for insects and arachnids, a stinger does damage as a spike, Strength +2, and can be adapted for Cybervenom. However, due to its often odd placing, it is difficulty 9 to hit. A Stinger can be declared as a projectile weapon if both a Stinger and a Dart launcher (see Firearms) are purchased; hitting a target with this weapon is the same difficulty as hitting it with a standard dart.
Teeth
Form accessible: Any
Cost: One point per mode
Difficulty: 5
Plenty of animals don't have teeth at all, or have flat herbivore teeth with no bite; therefore, teeth used as weapons must be purchased as such. This savage weapon is typically only accessed in beast mode, though there are those robots with nasty canines in their robot modes, as well, who don't fear getting in close and making the chomp. Biting an opponent does Strength +1 damage. (Avian characters can purchase a beak with this same cost and modifiers.)
Fangs
Form accessible: Any
Cost: Two points per mode
Difficulty: 5
Fangs are teeth which are designed to be used as weapons. The main difference between fangs and ordinary teeth is that fangs can be adapted as a vessel for cyber-venom weaponry, and a character who has taken the Cyber Venom Mechanism can inject this venom through the fangs. Fangs do slightly more damage, as well: Strength +2.
Pinchers
Form accessible: Any
Cost: Three points for two pinchers, per mode. (Cannot be purchased individually)
Difficulty: Special
Pinchers are commonly Predacon weapons, as they are most often used by crustaceans, arachnids, and insects. Pinchers are used as grappling weapons. A Cybertron with pinchers has a -2 to the difficulty of grabbing an opponent (Grappling successfully does damage equal to Strength). Larger Cybertrons may even be able to permanently capture an opponent this way. A Cybertron who has pinchers in robot mode probably does not have hands.
Vice
Form accessible: Any
Cost: Three points per mode.
Difficulty: Special
This single version of a pincher can be added as an accessory to a tail, arm, etc. It is typically a three-pronged claw which is used to grip and subdue an opponent; like the pinchers, allows a -2 to grappling difficulties.
Tail
Form accessible: Beast
Cost: Two points.
Difficulty: 7
A thick tail, used for bashing or tripping opponents, does Strength +1 damage.
A Cybertron who has purchased a tail as a weapon need only pay two points to use this same tail as a Whip in robot mode, or three points for a Javelin, but cannot take advantage of more than one discount. (See Melee for details.)
Non-Cybertrons attempting to use simple attacks, such as fists, etc, on other Cybertrons will have a difficult time doing so, as all damage from ordinary organics who attempt brawling attacks is halved before it is soaked if the Cybertron is in a metal form. This does not apply to the attacks of other Cybertrons who are in beast mode, as they still have metal components beneath their coat of flesh, and teeth and claws are generally still metal. (It also does not apply to supernatural claws or their like in a crossover Chronicle.) However, an ordinary organic can take out a Cyberorganic beast in beast mode with normal brawling attacks.
During a brawl, a character may elect to block an opponent's attack rather than dodging it. As long as there is still dice in the character's pool, the block can be preformed. Due to the Cybertron's metal structure, unarmed blocks can be made against many types of attack, including attacks with melee weapons; however, these types of blocks are more difficult to make without causing damage. The usual difficulty for a block is the same as a straight dodge: 6. Roll Dexterity plus Dodge to dodge an attack, Dexterity plus Brawl to block it.
To grapple an opponent, the difficulty is normally 6. The action of the grapple takes one round, but immobilizes the opponent for one round. After this round, damage equal to the grappler's Strength is done, and characters make contested Strength plus Brawl rolls to see if the grappled foe escapes. To grapple with pinchers or a vice, the difficulty is only 4.
Cybertrons who are especially adept at brawling attacks may choose to take a few modified special attacks, as listed in other White Wolf books such as the Werewolf manual or Combat manual.
"What's a warrior without his weapons?"
—Quickstrike, "Code of Hero"
Melee weapons are only accessible in robot mode. While this list contains a number of common Cybertronian weapons, it cannot possibly contain every melee weapon available to the White Wolf player; consult your Storyteller if wanting to choose a weapon not listed below. White Wolf systems tend to be inconsistent about weapon statistics (certain weapons do different damage and have different difficulties depending on the age of the source book). Use the statistics below for all Cybertronian weapons. Use other White Wolf books as desired for alternate statistics, and use the point totals below as a guide as to the "weapon cost" of any addition to the list.
Knife
Cost: One point
Difficulty: 4
A small switchblade or knife, usually purchased in pairs. This very simple melee weapon does Strength +1 damage. It is too small to be an effective parry weapon.
Club
Cost: Two points
Difficulty: 4
An unadorned club does damage as a knife, Strength +1, but can be used to parry attacks.
Razor wheel
Cost: Two points
Difficulty: 8
A short-range weapon usually taking the form of a single, freely rotating razorblade. Getting a slice in with a single blade is very difficult, but does good damage for its size: Strength +3. Not an effective parry weapon.
Whip
Cost: Three points
Difficulty: 7
Cybertronian whips are usually of a thin metal or wire, and very rarely of cord; most have bladed ends and are fairly rigid in nature. A whip is a common conversion weapon for a Transmetal that has a long tail in beast mode. Whips can also be used to grapple opponents or even objects: the standard difficulty to entrap an opponent in a whip is 9. Whips do Strength +2 damage, and grant the Cybertron two extra dice for any roll to disarm his opponent.
Energon knife
Cost: Three points
Difficulty: 4
A knife composed of raw energon. This weapon is much like an ordinary knife, but rarely is more than one carried due to the penalties to Spark for wielding energon weaponry. Energon knives do aggravated damage, Strength +1, and can be used to pierce enemy sparks, with sometimes explosive results. Cybertrons of generations under Transmetal cannot soak damage from this weapon.
Straight staff
Cost: Three points
Difficulty: 5
A long, unadorned staff, as a bo. Made from metal, as Cybertronian weapons are never made from something as earthly and simple as wood. Strength +2 damage, and very useful for disarming opponents.
Sword (Standard)
Cost: Three points
Difficulty: 6
Use the above cost and statistic for most types of single swords, such as a broadsword or katana, or even a large knife such as a klave. These swords do Strength +3 damage.
Axe
Cost: Four points
Difficulty: 7
A battleaxe, whose appearance can vary greatly based on beast mode, does Strength +5 damage.
Barbed club
Cost: Four points
Difficulty: 4
A club adorned with sharp barbs, which does slightly more damage in an attack: Strength +2.
Javelin
Cost: Four points
Difficulty: 6
Javelins are most often used as a throwing weapon, though they can also be used to attack in close quarters. When used hand-to-hand, treat a Cybertronian Javelin as a sword, doing Strength +3 damage. A thrown Javelin does Strength +2 damage. The throwing range depends on the Cybertron's Strength; use a base range of 40 feet, and modify.
Rotary blade
Cost: Four points
Difficulty: 7
A common addition to the Drill-bit sword, listed below, a rotary blade is a propeller-like weapon with four to six sword-length blades that flower from the center and rotate freely. Its most common function by far is as a shield for deflecting enemy fire—it may not only be designated as a 1-3 point Shield (see Mechanisms), but has a +1 die bonus for deflecting projectile and energy weapons. (If its soak roll as a shield should result in a botch, the weapon is dropped.) Its rotation function is also useful for disarming foes (-1 difficulty). When used to attack an opponent, it does Strength +3 damage.
Spark staff
Cost: Five points
Difficulty: 5
A sort of wizard's staff, with a barbed head, typically only used by the more mystical members of the Cybertron race. This staff, when used in combat, does Strength +2 damage as a regular staff. However, this staff has an added function; when purchased, it may be given a single dot in a single Spark power (See Spark Powers, Chapter Five). It may also be given an additional dot in this one power for every extra Weapon Point spent when it is purchased. It may never have more than one power associated with it. For those powers which require that the Transmetal II's spark be drained, drain Spark from the wielder of the staff. Not to be used by the superstitious.
Spark staffs are very rare weapons, and, as such, each staff is unique to the character that purchases it. If this weapon should ever be lost or destroyed in combat, the character that wields it must find or fashion an entirely new staff, rather than having the weapon restored in ordinary repair cycle. The purchase cost for this weapon must be repaid if it is destroyed.
Paired swords
Cost: Five points
Difficulty: Special
A pair of thick blades is a common Cybertron weapon, as they can be used well for both attack and defense. This type of blade is almost always used with one weapon in each hand, allowing for two attacks per turn with no penalty to either, difficulty 9 to hit. A Cybertron who is taking only one attack with either blade has a difficulty of 6 to hit, as with a single sword. These swords vary greatly in appearance but often reflect the beast mode of the character. They do Strength +3 damage.
For a cost of four points, clubs can be paired, as swords. They are difficulty 7 to hit two attacks per turn; difficulty 4 for one attack, and do Strength +1 damage. Another common modification is to fight with paired javelins—hand-to-hand, these function as swords, above, but they may also be thrown. Spend 6 points for this weapon. Also spend 6 for paired axes (Difficulty 10 to hit with both attacks; Strength +5 damage), or a pair of barbed clubs (Difficulty as paired clubs, Strength +2 damage). Other weapons may be paired at Storyteller's discretion, but are not recommended.
If a Cybertron is declaring a double attack with a paired weapon, and the attack fails, neither the first nor second attack hits the foe.
Drill-bit sword
Cost: Five points
Difficulty: 6
A sword composed of several (4-10) freely rotating blades, layered on each other like the blades of a drill. This weapon, Predacon in origin, was designed for only one thing: piercing the spark. Because of this, the difficulty to pierce through an enemy is significantly lowered, and a called shot to the spark (provided the wielder knows the location) is at a -2 difficulty. The truest of Predacons believe that to take an enemy off-line is to show the greatest mercy. Maximals, however, have all but outlawed this weapon. Under normal circumstances, the drill-bit sword, also called an electron sword, does Strength +4 damage.
Two-handed sword
Cost: Five points
Difficulty: 6
Use this to purchase a large sword, like a claymore, which must be wielded with two hands and is incapable of being paired. This sword can vary in appearance based on beast mode, and does Strength +5 damage.
Energon saber
Cost: Six points
Difficulty: 6
A weapon whose power was utilized during the Great War. Today, few Cybertrons can summon the will to carry one, for even being in the same vicinity as such a weapon can cause injury among members of the race. An energon saber is a long, glowing blade made entirely of raw energon. It does aggravated damage which is unsoakable for Cybertrons of generations below Transmetal. The damage for an energon saber is Strength +4.
Other large weapons made of raw energon are rumored to exist—for example, a raw energon axe once wielded by Optimus Prime. An energon axe would have the same purchase cost as an energon saber, and do Strength +5 aggravated energon damage; its difficulty would be 7.
Most Cybertrons cannot wield an energon weapon of this size, unless they have advanced Energon Shielding or are otherwise immune to its effects. Even an Optimal who carried an energon weapon of this size would be forced to make soak rolls every other round simply from contact with the raw energon.
Heavy energon weapons of any type are considered rare enough that they are unique to the character who purchases them. If a "dedicated" energon saber is destroyed or lost in a combat situation, the character who lost that weapon must fashion a new one over time rather than having that weapon restored instantly in a repair cycle. However, the weapon cost does not need to be repaid.
Add one to a weapon's normal difficulty if attempting to use that weapon to disarm the opponent. It takes at least three successes on the attack roll and successes greater than the enemy's Strength on the damage roll to disarm the opponent. A botch, and you disarm yourself instead. Roll Dexterity plus Melee to parry an attack instead of dodging it.
A called shot with a melee weapon is of variable difficulty. A called shot to the opponent's spark, if the location is known, is typically of difficulty 10, but variable depending on the situation. A Cybertron who is aiming for the spark but does not for certain know its location can guess at the area, and make the called shot as desired. At least four successes on a damage roll are required to pierce the spark, more if the opponent has special armor.
"Hunting from the air with automatic weapons: now THAT'S a SPORT!"
—Terrorsaur, "Call of the Wild"
Firearms are typically only accessible in robot mode. However, a Cybertron of Generation Transmetal or above who wishes to outfit her beast mode with mounted guns may do so, but at twice the normal cost. Firearm weapons already purchased for robot mode may also be fitted to the vehicle mode of a Transmetal or Transmetal Fuzor if two more points are allotted toward that weapon. (For a multiple-function custom gun as below, this cost need only be paid once.)
Firearm weapons come in two basic categories: those which require traditional ammunition, and "energy weapons," which run on Energon. The same gun can be modified to function as more than one type of weapon: for example, a rocket launcher that also fires plasma bursts. To create a custom weapon like this, purchase both weapons and mark this choice on your character sheet. (If more than one is energy-based, allot all Energon pools to this single weapon.) Ammunition does standard damage; energy-based firearms do aggravated damage. However, this damage can always be soaked by a Cybertron target (not dependent on generation, unless the weapon's statistics say otherwise), and is aggravated for non-Cybertron targets and Cybertron targets alike.
Firearm weapons may be either attached or hand-held when purchased. It does not cost any extra points to attach a "dedicated" firearm weapon to a Cybertron's frame, only mark the choice of attached or free on the character sheet. Attached weapons cannot be dropped unless they are shot off or damaged, but run off the character's own Energon pool. Hand-held weapons have their own personal Energon pool, as below. Once a hand-held gun is out of Energon, it cannot be used until refueled. It does not run off the character's own Energon or Spark.
With Firearm weapons, add the number of successes on the attack roll as dice in the damage roll.
This list is more complete than the melee list, but is still imperfect. If a player chooses a firearm which is not on the list below, he should use the point totals as guidelines. Remember that Cybertron weapons are created with the protoform, and as such are unique. They have no specific model number, and must be repaired and reloaded on an individual basis.
Cybertronian ammunition weapons are very rarely emptied. There is no "Clip" listing for the weapons below. If a botch should ever occur on a to-hit roll with a standard gun, the gun is considered out of ammunition, and is useless until reloaded.
Pistol
Cost: One point
Difficulty: 7
Range: 20
Rate: 4
Damage: 4
A regular pistol with regular bullets doesn't stop an advancing Cybertron very much, but if it's all you got, use it while you can.
Automatic machine guns
Cost: One point for two
Difficulty: 5
Range: 50
Rate: 4
Damage: 1
It is typical for a Cybertron to purchase multiple machine guns, as they are fairly small and cost-effective. Machine guns are an extremely common accessory for spiders and insects, for whom they double as extra legs. If an automatic machine gun is being fired, consider every machine gun on the character's person to be fired, all at once, as a single attack. For example, a character who has purchased eight machine guns will have a total of 32 automatic shots available per round; 8 shots without splitting her dice pool. However, these guns typically do a smaller amount of damage than a regular firearm, so do not add attack roll successes to this damage roll.
Rifle
Cost: Two points
Difficulty: 8
Range: 200
Rate: 1
Damage: 8
A rifle fitted with standard ammunition can be used to take down an advancing opponent. Typically, more than one is purchased, or the rifle is paired with another type of gun with a quicker rate of fire.
Rocket launcher
Cost: Two points
Difficulty: 7
Range: 150
Rate: 2
Damage: 5
Rockets are miniature missiles, capable of doing less damage, but nice for taking opponents off guard or knocking flyers out of the air. Rockets typically explode on impact.
Dart launcher
Cost: Three points
Difficulty: 6
Range: 50
Rate: 2
Damage: 3
Darts don't do a lot of damage on their own. However, darts are a fascinatingly variable weapon with many different applications. For example, darts can be adapted to contain Cyber Venom. Also, they can be adapted as carriers for grenades or other explosives (see Demolitions). Dart-launchers themselves are also extremely variable—some are hand-held, some attached; some are blow-guns, others function as miniature crossbows (capable of shooting wooden stakes in a crossover chronicle).
(Also spend three points for a 6-difficulty, 2-damage Slingshot with the same modifications and range variable to Strength. This is included simply for Wheelie purposes, but is not intended to ever be used for such.)
Disk launcher
Cost: Four points
Difficulty: 6
Range: 100
Rate: 3
Damage: 4
Bladed disks, as Razor Wheels, fired as projectiles. A good weapon for the removal of the attached weapons of a foe, this allows a -1 to the difficulty of any called shot to a limb or attached firearm.
Chain gun
Cost: Five points
Difficulty: 6
Range: 100
Rate: 5
Damage: 2 (per bullet, total of 6)
A Cybertronian chain-gun, when fired, is always on triple-burst, and will empty three bullets per shot without a split in the character's dice pool. The rate for the weapon is five, allowing for fifteen total shots per round.
Missile launcher
Cost: Five points
Difficulty: 7
Range: 200
Rate: 3
Damage: 8
Cybertronian missiles typically explode on impact, doing heavy damage. They have an incredible recoil, but this is compensated for by their heat-seeking capabilities.
When a battle begins, pay one Energon—either from your own pool, or from the weapon's personal pool, depending on whether the weapon is attached or hand-held—for each energy-based weapon you plan to activate. This cost need not be paid again until the weapon is deactivated, but a weapon cannot be activated for more than one scene without repaying. Activating weapons does not use up battle time; therefore, weapons can also be activated during battle if needed. However, it is best to activate only weapons you are sure you need to use.
Laser beam
Cost: Two points
Difficulty: 6
Range: 50
Rate: 4
Damage: 3
Energon pool: 3
A common mounted weapon, usually purchased several times, the laser is a small, hot beam of any color. If multiple mounted lasers are purchased, the activation cost for the weapon need be paid only one time to activate the entire suite. However, if the weapons are hand-held, they must be activated separately.
Fusion pistol
Cost: Three points
Difficulty: 6
Range: 50
Rate: 4
Damage: 5
Energon pool: 6
A simple hand-held weapon, easy to aim, quick to fire. Sometimes attached to an arm, but rarely so, given the size of its typical ammunition pool.
Plasma cannon
Cost: Four points
Difficulty: 7
Range: 100
Rate: 3
Damage: 6
Energon pool: 5
A burst of hot plasma; a common secondary energy-based function for a large standard weapon, hand-held or attached.
Fusion rifle
Cost: Five points
Difficulty: 7
Range: 200
Rate: 2
Damage: 8
Energon pool: 5
A primarily Maximal weapon, this rifle has a nice range and does good damage with little recoil. If attached, it is typically within a torso cavity or shoulder-mounted, but is usually hand-held as the fusion pistol. Like all Cybertron weaponry, the appearance of the fusion rifle varies greatly depending on beast form. This weapon is sometimes called a quasar cannon.
Ice cannon
Cost: Five points
Difficulty: 8
Range: 100
Rate: 1
Damage: 6
Energon pool: 4
An ice cannon is like a plasma cannon in many ways, but has one added feature. It operates on an element of cold rather than of heat, and has special effects regarding the number of successes on the attack roll:
1 The target definitely feels a chill, but damage is as normal.
2 Target must check against Stamina + Survival, at standard difficulty. If he botches this roll, one internal Mechanism goes off-line. (Storyteller's choice.)
3 Target must check against Stamina + Survival, at standard difficulty. If he botches this check, one internal Mechanism or Weapon goes off-line. (Storyteller's choice.)
4 Target is trapped in solid ice, and is effectively Incapacitated, instantly. He may use a Spark point to break out of this bond, but only after one round has already passed. If he has no Spark remaining, he is Incapacitated until an ally finds a way to melt the ice.
5+: Target is trapped in solid ice and is Incapacitated in this fashion for a minimum amount of rounds equal to the number of damage success above four that was scored on the initial damage roll. After this time has passed, he may spend Spark to escape as above.
If 4 or 5 successes are gained, do not roll damage on the ice cannon. On organic targets, ignore effects for 2 and 3 successes; apply effects for 4 and above, with modification
Flame thrower
Cost: Five points
Difficulty: 7
Range: 50
Rate: 1
Damage: 8
Energon pool: 5
A flame-thrower is basically a short-range weapon, which creates a sweep of flame in front of its scope. At point-blank range, there is a good chance the flame will cause a target to catch fire, causing additional damage. While "ordinary" fire does not do aggravated damage to a metal frame, the flame from another Cybertron's flame thrower will, as it is energon-created.
Cutlass blaster
Cost: Six points
Difficulty: 8
Range: 200
Rate: 2
Damage: 8
Energon pool: 4
Most energy weapons are capable of shooting only single bursts of laser fire or plasma. However, the cutlass blaster was developed to produce not only burst fire, but a sustained energy pulse: a blast which lasts for an extended period of time and does large amounts of damage. To activate a sustained pulse, the Cybertron must charge the blaster for a number of rounds equal to the number of rounds he wants the blast to be sustained. He can charge for a shorter time if he spends energon (the weapon's own energon, if hand-held) in place of extra rounds, but must charge the weapon for at least one round before firing the sustained pulse. The sustained pulse, if it hits, does 8 dice of energon (unsoakable for low generations, always aggravated) damage for the first round of attack, and four dice every round thereafter. It is most effective in combination with the Focus Mechanism. Therefore, a cutlass blaster is almost always an attached weapon.
A Cybertron who takes multiple guns, one for each hand, or several mounted guns, may fire all guns at once for a single attack as long as there is enough dice in his Dexterity plus Firearms pool to split among all these weapons. The difficulty for a single shot with multiple weapons is the same as the standard difficulty for each weapon. For each shot after the first, the difficulty of the shot is increased by one. Cybertrons can continue to split their dice pools to take multiple shots up to the listed Rate of the firearm, or spend Energon for extra actions to replenish their Dexterity + Firearm pools. As one can imagine, Cybertronian firefights are some of the fastest and most furious in the universe.
Two Cybertrons with sustained-pulse weapons can sometimes engage in a face-off with one-another, where two sustained weapons are matched barrel-to-barrel in a contest of sheer force. This lock-up happens when a Cybertron rolls Dexterity plus Firearms to shoot off a sustained pulse, and his opponent uses Dexterity plus Firearms to block. The blocking opponent does not need to charge his blast to block the opponent's shot. Should such a lock-up take place, the two weapons are feeding off of each other's energy, and thus the sustained weapon pulse may last indefinitely, until one weapon eventually overpowers the other. During a face-off, no to-hit rolls need be made, only damage rolls. One damage roll is made by both competitors, per round. For every success that one Cybertron gets over his opponent's successes, he advances on him by one total damage die. If the damage rolls are even, a stalemate is reached, and the pulse-battle continues without a direction. One Cybertron must beat the total amount of sustained-pulse damage dice of the other to win the stalemate, which will knock his opponent backwards, stunning him for one round, and do the weapon's initial amount of damage.
As an example, take two Cybertrons who are warring with cutlass blasters. They begin the sustained-pulse battle with eight damage dice each, and connect with each other, nullifying the first damage roll. Every round thereafter, they have four damage dice apiece. One rolls 3, 5, 6, 3: only one success, and his opponent rolls 6, 7, 8, 2. The latter Cybertron advances two dice on the former. If the second roll were to have a similar outcome, the latter Cybertron would have advanced on all four of his opponent's damage dice. He then rolls eight dice for his final damage total. His opponent can still roll soak, but only if he is Transmetal or higher; this is energon-type damage.
A common use of firearms is to dispatch flyers from below. The number of health levels for each type of Flight Mechanism has been provided for this reason. If a character using a firearm scores five or more successes on the to-hit roll on an airborne opponent, he has hit the enemy in his Flight area—a wing, rocket engine, etc. The amount of damage successes indicates whether or not the Flight Mechanism has been destroyed. Damage that applies to one of these targets still applies to the Cybertron's health levels in general.
If a Flight mechanism is successfully hit, the damaged Cybertron must make a Wits plus Athletics roll to avoid careening out of control. If he fails the roll, he crashes, and is vulnerable for a round of combat while he collects himself. He may take off again after this, depending on his Mechanism.
Characters with Firearms skill can also target a Flight Mechanism specifically, but the base difficulty for this target is +2.
If a wing designated as a shield is hit in this fashion, use either the shield's soak or the Cybertron's base soak: whichever is greater. Count the damage, if it connects, to the shield, not the body.
Cybertronian characters are encouraged to use their rounds of distance combat to provide "cover fire" for their allies rather than aiming to destroy specific targets. A Cybertronian providing cover fire for an attacking ally makes a single to-hit roll on his weapon of choice. If this roll has five or more successes, an enemy has been hit at Storyteller's choice, and damage is rolled based on the standard damage of the weapon (no added successes). Otherwise, the gun is fired only to cover the attacking ally. A botch on this roll, naturally, means that this ally has been hit. The difficulty for the enemy to shoot at any character for whom cover fire is being provided is increased by one for every ally that character has covering him. Covering an ally counts as an action, but spending Energon can purchase an extra action for a character providing cover fire so that he may logically cover as many allies as the Rate of his weapon. No matter the number of allies being covered in this manner, make only one to-hit roll per turn. In many firefights, it is logical for Cybertrons to protect one another in this manner so that a single "strike force" character may be rendered very difficult to hit.
As with other White Wolf games, the range listed for any given firearm is its median range, in yards. Firing at up to twice this range is possible at +1 difficulty. Point-blank-range shots are at difficulty 4. Shooting at a moving target can increase the difficulty of a shot—typically by one, but sometimes by much more if the target is using a Speed Mechanism. In addition, modifiers may be added to shot difficulty depending on the type of cover a target has.
A character who spends time aiming at a target may add one die from his Perception pool to his Dexterity plus Firearms roll for each round he spends aiming. (Certain Mechanisms may also increase the accuracy of aiming.) He can take no other actions during the aiming rounds.
"Modified" firearms, such as guns with special ammunition, or guns with silencers and scopes, are permitted, at Storyteller's discretion. Assume that standard-ammunition weapons have a "default" type of ammunition which, if other than the ordinary, is chosen during character creation. Other ammunitions can be used, but in limited amounts as opposed to the usual unlimited amount. ("Non-dedicated" firearms have this same restriction.) Cybertrons who have the Cloaking Mechanism can attach a silencer to their gun without a purchase cost; Cybertrons who have the Tracking Mechanism can attach a scope.
"Blow it."
—Optimus Primal, "Other Visits, Part Two"
Demolitions weapons are fairly variable, and not all require a Demoltions roll. The weapons below are usually only used in robot mode (though an animal with prehensile thumbs may still have the manual dexterity to lob a grenade). Demolitions experts are extremely useful in both exploration and war.
Charges
Cost: Three points per charge
Difficulty: 6
Range: 10
Damage: 6
Charges are by no means distance weapons, as they need to be set ahead of time. A charge will effect an entire area—not just one target, so a Cybertron who sets a charge must leave the area immediately. Usually a Cybertron may decide how long to set the charge: whether it will explode in one combat round or a megacycle is up to the Cybertron who sets it. The charge will effect an entire area, not just one target, hence the "range" above, which is the approximate diameter of the area effect. This range may be effected by area energon. Charges are also useful for getting into sealed areas, destroying enemy weapons, and other uses of that variety. Roll Dexterity plus Demolitions to set a Charge. A Charge, once used, is lost until the next repair session.
Grenades
Cost: Five points
Difficulty: 4
Range: 30
Rate: 1
Damage: 6
A Cybertron who purchases grenades as a weapon is assumed to have an unlimited amount of them. Grenades have a short range-basically, as far as they can be thrown-but, like charges, have a 10-foot-diameter area effect and may hit several opponents at once. Strong characters can throw the grenade much further, so add 5 yards to the grenade range for every dot of Strength above two (total x 2 Strength) of the thrower. The usual roll to lob a grenade is Dexterity plus Athletics, but a Cybertron must have at least one Demolitions dot if he wants to purchase this weapon.
For a "Grenade Launcher," have the Cybertron purchase the Dart Launcher listed under Firearms, and follow its rules. The roll to launch grenades is Dexterity plus Firearms.
Energon Nukes
Cost: Six points per charge
Difficulty: 6
Range: 30
Damage: 10
One of the most dangerous types of weapon is one that does damage akin to an energon explosion. Like the standard charges above, this weapon cannot be used at a distance and must be set to explode ahead of time. The "range" above is the diameter of the effect area. This can be increased even more if the Cybertron sets multiple charges, but each single charge must be purchased separately.
Damage from an Energon Nuke is energon-type damage, which is aggravated and unsoakable for lower generations. It is dangerous for all Cybertrons in the area, so, once an Energon Nuke is set, the Cybertron who sets it had better run, or suffer the consequences.
A useful weapon for destroying entire enemy complexes, or—for even more explosive results—enemy energy reserves, though if attempting this trick, take care that the resulting chain reaction does not destroy more than intended.
The weapons in the below list take traits from more than one category of weapon, or require an odd roll to activate, and thus do not fit well in any of the above categories. All of the weapons below are energy weapons; therefore, they have the single-energon activation cost. All are internal and do not have their own energon pools.
Eye-lasers
Form accessible: Robot
Cost: Four points
Difficulty: 7
Range: 100
Rate: 3
A Cybertron with eye-lasers is capable of shooting a laser beam directly from the eye to damage an opponent. Eye-lasers, though technically distance weapons, are accessed only from the Cybertron's internal mechanisms. These lasers are energy-based and do aggravated damage. They are also capable of both blast fire and sustained pulse, as a cutlass blaster. They require a roll of Dexterity plus Alertness to hit (the same roll to block a charged shot). On a single blast, eye lasers do damage equal to the attacker's Manipulation +2. For a sustained pulse, they do Manipulation +2 energon-type damage the first round, and even Manipulation damage for each following round. They can be adapted for use with the Focus mechanism (and often are). As with a firearm weapon, a Cybertron may split his dice pool to take extra shots per round with Eye-lasers, but the difficulty for each consecutive shot is increased by one.
Ultrasonic Scream
Form accessible: Any
Cost: Six points
Difficulty: 6
Range: 200
Rate: 1
The Ultrasonic Scream is a variable energy-based weapon, a beam generated from the vocal receptors of an attacker. It is nearly impossible to predict this weapon's effects and power. It takes a single turn to charge this weapon for attack, as with a sustained blast. After that round, roll Dexterity plus Performance to hit, then roll a single, additional die. The damage from the sonic blast is equal to 5 plus the Cybertron's Attribute score, the Attribute used dependent on the random roll: 1, Strength; 2, Dexterity; 3, Stamina; 4, Charisma, etc. If a 10 is rolled, the blast does an even 10 dice of damage. All Cybertrons in range when this weapon is fired may be subject to hearing difficulties for several rounds; on higher-damage attacks, they may be knocked off their feet just from area energy.
A botch on the to-hit roll with this weapon can have incredibly disastrous results, including wild explosions.
Spark force
Form accessible: Robot
Cost: Six points
Difficulty: 7
Range: 200
Rate: 1
Damage: 6
The ultimate way to appear unarmed is to generate your attacks from within. This type of weapon—most commonly accessed among Transmetal IIs and Optimals, but usable by any Cybertron with sufficient focus—draws out a Cybertron's own energon to create balls of force which can damage an opponent. Although a spark force is much like a firearm weapon, the Cybertron rolls Dexterity plus Matrix to hit with this energy, which typically is generated from the fingertips or the spark cavity. As with firearms, add your attack roll successes to the damage roll. The weapon is named for the spark because it can draw upon the spark's energy; spend a Spark point up front on a spark force attack for an extra automatic success on both the attack and damage rolls. (Multiple points may be spent for this purpose.) Like a cutlass blaster, spark force is also capable of a charged shot, sustained pulse fire, which does 6 energon damage the first round of attack, and 5 damage each additional round.
"Wazzpinator has a headache in his whole body..."
—Waspinator, "Posession"
White Wolf players will be familiar with the term "aggravated damage" from other systems. In the case of the Cybertron race, aggravated damage is done specifically by energon or energy-based weaponry. An aggravated wound can only be healed quickly by outside aid, such as an R Chamber. Otherwise, it will take an entire day for the Cybertron's internal systems to heal the wound.
Cyberorganic Beasts and Fuzors cannot soak energon damage. Those of higher generations can soak damage from energon weaponry, but it will still be considered aggravated damage.
Supernatural weaponry that is considered to do aggravated damage to other races will also do aggravated damage to Cybertrons, unless there is a very specific reason why it should not. For gaming purposes, treat radiation damage as energon damage.
When a character uses Spark to recover from Incapacitating damage, there is a good chance that the character will suffer a system failure. If the damage was standard, roll a ten-sided die; if it was aggravated, roll two ten-sided dice, and check the chart below to see which systems, if any, fail. In special situations, such as a large-scale energon explosion, add ten to the roll, or roll three dice. Use this roll and the chart below to determine which system(s), if any, fail.
Systems damage is applied immediately, not at the end of combat. Systems damage can be repaired after combat is complete; any standard R chamber, bath, or repair session will heal this damage unless noted otherwise below. In desperate situations, Critical System Damage can also be fixed with internal repairs. Pay one Spark up front to use this ability, then roll Stamina plus Repair to fix the damage. Be warned: botching this roll indicates that the System damage is now permanent. A character can take no other action while repairing System Damage. If multiple systems have failed, they must be repaired on a one-for-one basis.
1-3 No systems damage incurred.
4 Damaged audio: Character is at a -2 for all rolls involving hearing. Hearing-related Mechanisms are off-line.
5 Damaged optics: Character is at a -2 for all rolls involving sight. Vision-related Mechanisms are off-line.
6-7 Damaged weapon: One of the character's weapons is off-line. Choose an attached or internal weapon first; if none are available, an unattached weapon has been broken or lost.
8-9 Damaged casing: Character's armor is dented. Soak rolls are now at +2 difficulty.
10 Difficult transformation: Character may transform, but transformation is extremely painful. The character will incur one point of aggravated damage when altering modes. This damage can be soaked, but armor is ignored.
11 Missing arm. One of the character's arms has become detached. This disallows use of whichever weapons that arm was holding. If character is in beast or vehicle mode, adjust accordingly—an insect may lose one or two legs—a bird a wing—a jungle cat its front leg—a car its wheel, etc.
12-13 Damaged Mechanism: One of the character's Mechanisms, chosen randomly by the Storyteller, is now off-line.
14 Missing leg. One of the character's legs has become detached and drops off of the body. The character cannot stand up bipedally and will drop to the ground. Dexterity, not including fine motor work, is at one. If a character is in a quadripedal beast mode, consider this to be a back leg. The leg cannot be reattached until combat ends.
15 No vocal receptors: Character cannot speak and is completely mute until repairs can be made.
16 No audio: Character is completely deafened until repairs can be made.
17 No optic sensors: Character is completely blinded until repairs can be made.
18-19 Missing head: Ooops. Character is okay, relatively speaking, but his head has been detached from his body and thrown 2D10 -2 yards. The head has enough energy to remain active for a while, but will lose consciousness without reattachment to its body. If the character's head is not retrieved within two rounds, the character will become Incapacitated again. They may spend Spark to recover, but must make another systems damage check. For the most part, replacing the head nullifies the effects of this damage. It will not become a permanent problem, save that the head will be slightly loose until complete repairs are made, and it has a fair chance of falling off again. (Characters with the Remote Processor Merit do not have to worry about losing their heads.)
20 Fuel leak: Character will lose Energon at a rate of one point per round until all Energon has been depleted.
21 No transformation: Character cannot change modes until repairs are made.
22-23 Roll two ten-sided dice, twice, and apply both penalties as above.
24-25 Roll two ten-sided dice three times and apply all penalties as above.
26 No internal computer: Internal computer communications are off-line. This includes internal repairs: character cannot recover damage on his own until repairs are made. This also includes most Mechanisms, particularly the ones relating to communication or perception. External or Separate Mechanisms such as Cyber Venom still function, as do attached weapons.
27 Damaged data. Roll one ten-sided die. If the roll comes up 1-4, subtract a permanent point of Wits; 5-7, a permanent point of Intelligence. On an 8, some data tracks have been deleted; character loses all knowledge related to Procedures. A 9 indicates lost Procedures as well as two other missing Knowledges, Storyteller's choice. On a roll of 10, all data tracks are lost, and character is overcome by complete amnesia.
Some or all of this data can be typically be recovered; however, Storytellers reserve the right to make this damage permanent.
28 Roll two ten-sided dice and three ten-sided dice; apply both penalties as above.
29 Roll two ten-sided dice, and apply the penalty as above. This penalty is permanent and cannot be altered by any amount of repair. (If the roll comes up 18-20, re-roll.)
30 Foot-in-the-grave: Subtract one point of permanent Spark. Character gains one Derangement. This is non repairable, though Spark can still be purchased with experience points.
"A STICK? Against a Transmetal?"
—Megatron, "Code of Hero"
Other than damage during combat situations or damage from energon poisoning, there are not a lot of situations nature can throw out that damage a Cybertron. Aging is not a concern, breathing is not a concern, and starvation only effects energy levels. Only those poisons specially formulated to effect a Cybertron system will act on a Cybertron at all, and all but the rarest of diseases are counteracted by internal repairs. However, certain items have been known to cause more trouble than others.
Certain types of electrical disturbances, such as lightning storms or power surges, can be especially harmful. A Cybertron in a metal form is as susceptible to electric shock as a robot would be expected to; a Cybertron in beast mode is as susceptible as an average animal of that type. Electrical shock can do damage in a wild range: from one to ten dice. However, this damage is normal and can be easily soaked.
The Cybertronian race, being mostly robotic, is generally immune to diseases which effect organic creatures. However, their race does have a certain number of diseases which are unique to Cybertrons. Because Cybertronian science is so advanced, the only kind of diseases they allow to survive are those that kill quickly and mercilessly. One such disease, called "The Cosmic Rust," or "The Autobot Plague," is a highly contagious disorder which causes a heavy rust (which the Cybertrons are otherwise immune to) to corrode and destroy the Cybertronian frame. The Plague is caused by a space-borne microbe which clings to certain asteroids in a now forbidden-system. The Plague, though making a brief appearance in the later parts of the Great War, has never reached Cybertron; the cure (a corrosion-resistant coating made from a rare element), once administered, is permanent.
There is also rumor of a viral infection which causes a Cybertron to very violently expel energon at an alarming rate, destroying both himself and everything around him in a matter of megacycles. However, due to the disease's resistance to spread—it must be fluid-transferred once contracted—it is rare indeed.
When a highly combustible source of energy is stockpiled during a war, there's a good chance it is going to be seen as a target.
An area energon explosion can do an average of ten dice of damage—or, even more, depending on its size. The problem with area explosions is that they are quite often fatal.
Storytellers should be fair in judging whether a character's spark is effected by an energon explosion. Spark cannot be drained in an explosion; therefore, if an explosion takes place, the spark is either unharmed or it is destroyed. A good rule of thumb in a large explosion is to have characters make Spark rolls. In most explosions, only a botch means that their spark was caught in the blast, and is now destroyed. In more dramatic situations, require a preset number of successes for survival and/or substitute another logical roll, such as Stamina plus Survival.
This particular source of damage is so rampant on the Beast Wars series that it would be remiss not to mention the system for calculating it. Give a falling rock a rating from one through ten, based on size and velocity. A simple stone might rate a one; a ten would be reserved for a large cascade of wreckage. Have a Cybertron caught beneath the rock roll to soak an amount of damage equal to this rating. If the Cybertron's Strength (this is a rare case when you do not use the robot mode multiplication modifier) plus Stamina is lower than the "rock" rating, that Cybertron is also completely immobilized for a number of rounds equal to the difference between his Strength plus Stamina and the rock rating.
This adjustment is known as "The Wile E. Coyote Modifier." "Serious" gamers and others who dislike the slapstick falling rock element may ignore it entirely. It does have its uses even in a "serious" game, if a rockslide is at hand.
A quick summary of how to recover damage incurred by any of the above sources.
Internal repairs, provided they are still on-line, will be able to recover minor damage automatically. If the damage is standard, use the chart below to gauge recovery, with each increment equal to the amount of time it takes to advance a single health level:
Bruised: 30 cycles
Hurt: 1 megacycle
Injured: 2 megacycles
Wounded: 4 megacycles
Mauled—Incapacitated: Not recoverable
Internal repairs will not function during a combat situation. If wanting to reap the benefits of self-repair during a megacycle which involves combat, a Cybertron must make a Stamina plus Survival roll. Internal repairs do not function in robot mode: only beast or alternate modes.
Internal repairs cannot heal any health levels which were contracted from an aggravated damage source. A single exception to this is environmental energon-source damage, which is recoverable only in beast mode. If the Cybertron has taken a health level of damage from exposure to an energon source, internal repairs can recover it if the Cybertron spends the requisite healing time entirely in his beast mode. This does not account for energon battle damage, which internal repairs cannot correct, only exposure.
Any character with the "Repair" Knowledge can use this ability to recover the health levels of others or of himself. Typically, the character may only recover as many health levels on another as he has dots in this Knowledge, though Storytellers may allow for more recovery on extremely good rolls in tight situations. The typical roll for Repairing another Cybertron is an Intelligence plus Repair roll, though this is only in situations where the character has time to actually work with his "patient." Under more duress, a Wits plus Repair or even Dexterity plus Repair roll is used. Aggravated damage can be recovered by Repair sessions, as well, though the difficulty for the roll will be higher.
Characters with the Repair ability can also use this to recover Critical System Failures in other characters or themselves under great duress, but only the simple external type, such as reattaching an arm. The calmer Repair session listed above can typically recover any System Failure with a megacycle of work or so.
This is really the way to go for characters who need recovery in a flash. An R-chamber or bath, usually located at a unit base, will recover all lost Health Levels and all Critical System Failures in a short amount of time. The time needed for an R-Chamber to function properly is directly related to the extent of the injury. To heal away the Bruised Health Level takes no more than a few nanoclicks, but to heal a character who has been Crippled and had two System Failures will take a long time. Consider the R-Chamber or Bath to need the following amounts of time to recover wounds. The time listed on the chart below is the time required for full recovery.
Bruised: 30 nanoclicks
Hurt: 1 cycle
Injured: 10 cycles
Wounded: 30 cycles
Mauled: 1 megacycle
Crippled: 2 megacycles
Incapacitated: 4 megacycles
Plus, thirty cycles for every Critical System Failure the Cybertron has incurred.
As a bonus, an R-chamber will recover all of the fuel (Energon) of a Cybertron, provided a fuel source can be located easily. The Predacon Recovery Bath does not do this, and refueling must be done separately.
Unless grievously injured, the Cybertron is still partially conscious while in the recovery stage (though more accessible in a bath than a chamber). He may not move during this time, but may use the time to meditate to recover lost Spark.
Expend one point of temporary Spark for a character to recover from the Incapacitated Health Level up to the Mauled Health Level. Spark can heal no more Health Levels besides this on its own.
Spark expenditure for this result may be declared one of two times. It may be declared before the character has dropped to the Incapacitated level, and then must be immediately spent. Afterwards, the character will immediately "bounce back" from the Incapacitated level without ever actually falling unconscious. If the character never actually reaches this level of damage, the Spark is still forfeit.
The character may also opt to wait to expend this until he has already fallen to Incapacitated. If he waits, he will still be unconscious for a number of rounds equal to the number of Health Levels he has fallen below the Mauled level. This is a minimum of two rounds, but if the blow that took him down was very painful, it may be more.
Characters can also use Spark to recover Critical System Failures, as detailed above the Critical System Failure chart. One Spark must be used for each Failure the Cybertron wishes to negate. Willpower can (and should) be spent to ensure that this roll does not botch.