New Tag System
A weapon may have up to three total points of tags (unarmed strikes have the Bashing, Melee, and Natural tags). There’s no point cost for damage type, but weapons may only have one type. Enhancement bonuses granted by weapon tags do not stack.
Weapon Type
*Note that the tags: Ranged, Firearms, Thrown, and Melee do not stack with each other. They can be purchased on the same item, but represent different modes of use. Some tags may not apply to all modes.
• Firearm (0): The weapon is a gun. It must be used with the Firearms skill, and adds +1 Enhancement to Firearms rolls. You automatically receive the ‘Loud’ tag. You can buy off this tag at the cost of (1)
• Melee (0): This weapon can only be used at close range. It must be used with the Close Combat Skill, and adds +1 Enhancement to Close Combat rolls.
• Ranged (0): This weapon is meant to be fired at range, up to Medium range. These weapons increase the Difficulty of any attacks in the Close range band by 1. It must be used with either Firearms or Athletics, and adds +1 Enhancement.
• Thrown (0): This weapon is meant to be used at range, up to Medium range. These weapons increase the Difficulty of any attacks in the Close range band by 1. It must be used with either Firearms or Athletics, and adds +1 Enhancement.
Damage type
*Note that multiple of these tags can be applied to weapons, however only one can apply to any single attack.
• Lethal (0): The weapon deals lethal damage, which can lead to serious injury. This tag allows for the Scratched, Cut, or Bleeding Out Injury Conditions. A weapon with this tag cannot inflict the Bruised or Battered Injury Conditions.
• Aggravated (2): This weapon deals spiritual damage, such as damage to the soul or permanently dispensing life force. Aggravated Injury Conditions are things like Drained and Soul Tapped and can only be healed by magical abilities. This is meant expressly for magical and supernatural sources of injury. It ignores all Armor unless it has the corresponding Resistant tag.
• Bashing (0): This weapon deals blunt force damage. The tag allows for the Broken and Battered Injury Conditions. It cannot be used to slice or sever objects (or limbs).
• Elemental (1): This weapon deals elemental damage, in addition to any other type of damage tag it may have. This allows for a unique series of Injur y Conditions such as Third Degree Burns or Frostbite. Additionally, this has any appropriate narrative effects for being struck with a fist made of ice or claws of magma. It ignores Armor unless the Armor has a corresponding Resistant Tag.
• Stun (1): When inflicting an Injury, this weapon can only be used to inflict the Minor Injury Conditions Bruised, Staggered, or Stunned, or the Major Injury Condition Battered. When a character is Taken Out by a weapon with the Stun tag, they are knocked unconscious. Skip the Maimed Box entirely doing damage.
• Piercing (1 or 2): This weapon is meant to punch through the protective layers of armor. Reduce a target’s hard armor value by 1 or soft armor value by 2 when dealing damage with a weapon with this quality. If you purchase the 2 point version, reduce the Hard Armor by 2, or the Soft Armor by 4.
• Armor Penetration (2): This weapon is designed specifically to damage hardened targets. It’s Power Scale is treated as one higher when inflicting Lethal damage. It ignores all Soft and Hard Armor for targets of lesser scale. This weapon automatically has the Loud and Messy tags, and is incompatible with these tags.
• Explosive (4): This weapon is designed to do a lot of damage in one decisive blow. It’s Power Scale is treated as two higher when inflicting Lethal damage. This weapon automatically has the Loud and Messy tags, and is incompatible with these tags. This weapon often includes the Area or Shockwave tags, but this must be purchased separately.
Additional Tags
• Arcing (1): This weapon can be fired in an arc, allowing shots to better maneuver around cover. When using this weapon against a target in cover, downgrade its rating by 1: Light cover is ignored, and heavy cover becomes light.
• Area (2): This weapon can be used to attack all enemies within a range band of a single target. Trivial, Mook, or Foe enemies all take the full brunt of the attack, comparing the total successes versus their defense. For all other targets, the player may split the total successes of an Attack Action, and divvy them up between these targets. Each dice pool gains +1 enhancement wile comparing successes against defense. Do not apply stunts against Trival, Mook, or Foe enemies, but do apply stunts against significant enemies.
• Automatic (2): When attacking with this weapon, regardless of whether the target takes damage, this weapon inflicts the Complication 1 “Cover Fire” that applies to any movements and attacks the target makes. If this condition is not bought off, this complication inflicts an Injury.
• Brutal (1): This weapon can inflict massive trauma on a target. This weapon reduces the successes necessary for a Critical Stunt by 1.
• Concealable (1): The weapon can be hidden in a pocket, up a sleeve, or inside a particularly long coat. Gain Enhancement 1 to any tasks involving sneaking the weapon into a location without someone noticing. If the base item does not have the ‘Ranged, Melee, Thrown, or firearms’ tags, this tag is free.
• Blinding (1): Treat the difficulty of the ‘Blinding’ complication as 1 higher when afflicted on an opponent. You can create a Difficulty 1 complication for the cost of 0s
• Grappling (1): This weapon grants +1 Enhancement when making an attack against a grappled opponent.
• Innocuous (1): This weapon resembles an ordinary non-weapon item. Relic weapons may have this tag as a magical property. If the base item does not include the Ranged, Melee, Thrown or Firearms tag this tag is free. This may not be purchased along with Unconcealable or Messy. If the item includes the Two-handed trait, the innocuous item resembles a larger object such as an umbrella.
• Long Range (1): This weapon can be fired at far distances, extending its effective range band to long. These weapons increase the Difficulty of any attacks in the close and short range band by 1.
• Loud (−1): The weapon is noisy, and will surely draw attention if fired in a place where people can hear it. Attacks with this weapon, when trying to be used covertly have Complication 3. If this complication is not bought off, this weapon is overheard.
• Messy (−1): This weapon does not damage cleanly, leaving ragged wounds, or blowing apart cover. A Messy weapon will leave behind a distinctive trail. Attacks with this weapon, when trying to be used covertly have Complication 3. If this complication is not bought off, the source and nature of this weapon’s blows are immediately obvious to everyone.
• Natural (1): This weapon is part of a character’s body, such as bare fists, a ferocious bite, or wicked claws. It cannot be disarmed, though may suffer Complications or increased Difficulty from Injuries. Gain Enhancement 1 to any tasks involving sneaking the weapon into a location without someone noticing this weapon.
• Pushing (1): This weapon is heavy, large, or otherwise well-adapted to pushing foes around the battlefield. Reduce the cost of the Knockdown stunt by 1 (to a minimum of 0s)
• Reach (1): A weapon with a long haft, or one where the end of the weapon can reach up to six feet or more away (like a whip). These weapons can be used to make Close Combat attacks out to short range.
• Returning (1): Often paired with Thrown, this weapon returns when fired or thrown away from the character. A boomerang is the most common example, but a harpoon with a retractable chain would also be Returning. This is not compatible with the Slow tag
• Shockwave (0): This tag can only be placed on attacks of Scale 2 or higher. The action is rolled once, then applied against everyone within range. Each range increment outside of the original target reduces the effect’s Scale by two, as the force peters out.
• Slow (−2): This weapon requires time and effort to set up, reload, move, etc, such as a catapult or trebuchet. An action must be dedicated to the aspect of the weapon that requires work and attention. This also represents having thrown an item and needing to retrieve the item. This is not compatible with the Returning Tag. If you possess the Thrown tag and any other weapon type tag, it only applies to the item when thrown, but the cost benefit is -1. Possessing multiple items of this type ignores this penalty, but does not confer a cost benefit.
• Two-Handed (−1): The weapon requires two hands to use. If a character loses the ability to use one of her hands, she cannot use this weapon.
• Unconcealable (−1): The weapon is too big or bulky to be easily hidden. You may be able to smuggle it into places by putting it in a container or case of some kind, but even this might be difficult without arousing suspicion.
• Versatile (2): The weapon is useful outside of simply causing harm. Decrease the cost of non-Injuring stunt by one (to a minimum of 0s)
• Worn (2): The weapon is strapped to the character’s body or otherwise worn, and cannot be disarmed. Additionally, it does not require a free hand to use.
Limited tags
These tags have abilities that can only be used once per fight. If you possess multiple of these tags, then using one of these tags counts as using all of them.
• Defensive (3): The weapon is intended to be used defensively, aiding with blocking techniques. Once per fight, the character may reroll a Defense roll.
• Accurate (4): Once per fight, convert all enhancement from this weapon into “Enhancement Before a Roll”
Demigod tags
• Resonant (3): The weapon has a powerful relationship with the character and her divine power. Once per session, ignore a mortal failure
Armor Tags
Halve the cost of Armor tags when purchasing using Relic Birthright docs.
• Carried (-1): This armor or shield requires a hand to operate. It can be discarded at any time.
• Cumbersome (−1): The armor is big and bulky, imposing +1 Difficulty to any kind of athletic feats performed while wearing it.
• Concealable (2): Whether a Kevlar vest or a flawlessly made chain shirt forged by dwarves, the armor can be hidden under clothing.
• Hard (1 or 3): Hard armor grants the wearer one additional Injury Condition box. The two-point version of the tag gives one condition box, and the Four-point version gives an additional one. Once filled, the boxes stay filled until the end of the scene. There is no Complication attached to the Injury Condition box provided by Hard armor. Armor cannot be both Hard and Soft.
• Innocuous (2): This armor looks like an ordinary object. Often a motorcycle jacket, or sports pads: things someone won’t be concerned about seeing. Relic armors may have this tag as a magical property.
• Resistant (3): The armor is designed to protect against a certain type of damage. The most common mundane armor is bulletproof, which ignores the Piercing tag on any weapon that also has the Firearms tag. Armors made by Gods may be resistant to fire or frost or acid, protecting the character from any Complication or Condition that may come from those sources. If enough points are available, this tag may be purchased more than once.
• Soft (1): Soft armor increases the Difficulty of the “Inflict Damage” Stunt by 1. Armor cannot be both Hard and Soft, but certain effects may grant both soft and hard armor; so long as they’re from different sources, they stack. You may purchase this stunt multiple times. You may only gain the benefit of 3 Soft Armor across all sources.
• Weighty (−1): The armor is heavy or tiring to wear. If a character performs extended feats of labor or sleeps in it, she must make a Difficulty 3 Athletics + Stamina roll or deal with a Fatigued Condition.