Melee Techniques
DRAFT HOUSE RULE
Ref: WoD Combat, page 95
For each dot in Melee, you may choose to be familiar with two classes of weapons (techniques). Using a weapon for which you do not have the relevant technique adds +2 to the difficulty. Exception: Anyone with Melee is assumed to know Fist-Loads.
| Technique | Category | Default Diff | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Axes & Picks | Handheld | 6 | Axe, battle pick, kama |
| Blades | Handheld | 6 | Swords, daggers, hook swords, klaives |
| Blunt Weapons | Handheld | 4 | Clubs, sticks, maces, hammers, sai, tonfa, saps, escrima sticks, batons |
| Fist-Loads (1) | Handheld | 4 | Brass knuckles, yawara, bagh nakh, cestus, roll of quarters |
| Flexible Weapons | Handheld | 6 | Morningstar, nunchaku, chain, 3 section staff, whip, garrote, nets |
| Polearms (2) | Handheld | 6 | Spear, glaive, halberd, guisarme |
| Staff | Handheld | 5 | Quarterstaff, bo, straight sturdy stick 5-7 feet long |
| Blowgun | Ranged | 6 | Blowguns, fukimi-bari |
| Bows (3) | Ranged | 6 | Longbow, hankyu, yumi |
| Crossbow (3) | Ranged | 6 | Crossbow, chu-ko-nu |
| Javelin (4) | Ranged | 6 | Javelin, thrown spear |
| Slings | Ranged | 6 | Sling, staff-sling, slingshot |
| Thrown Blades (4) | Ranged | 7 | Throwing knives, shuriken, throwing hatches, darts, boomerangs |
| Thrown Weapons (4) | Ranged | 5 | Weapons not normally meant to be thrown: swords, clubs, etc. |
(1) At least 1 dot of Brawl is required, although Melee is rolled.
(2) If a polearm is used in a situation where an opponent is able to get inside the blade, then the difficulty of the wielder’s rolls is increased by 3 until the wielder moves back and gets the opponent outside the blade. If the weapon type supports it, the shaft can be used as a staff with no penalty but the character must have the staff technique. Most polearms require 2 hands. You may throw a spear at +1 difficulty if you do not have the Javelin technique.
(3) Characters with the Archery skill do not need to take this technique.
(4) Characters with the Throwing skill do not need to take this technique.