Weapon Tags

Artillery (AR)

Artillery weapons are large, powerful weapons which must be operated by a crew of multiple beings, typically at least one artillerist to target the weapon and a slew of loaders, winchmen, pulley operators, and other workers.

Thrown and Archery Charms do not work with artillery unless they specify this is the case. Excellencies are an exception, and may be used with Artillery weapons.

Artillery weapons (with some exceptions that will specify this in the tag) are difficult to aim, but once positions may be fired at the same point again with no need to target once more. This is represented by a Lock On, which allows the artillery to fire again at the same target point without need for an attack roll, though it counts as having zero threshold successes for purposes of damage.

Arrow (AW)

Arrow weapons are not useable in of themselves, save perhaps stunted as improvised weapons. Rather, they are delivered by way of another weapon, a Bow: typically the Bow provides the Speed, Accuracy, Defence, Range, and Rate, while the Arrow provides the Damage. Occasionally one weapon will add a tag or bonus outside its usual category: in such cases the values between that weapon and the Arrow stack. Arrows and the weapon firing them do not count as separate sources when stacking values.

A weapon with the Arrow tag is valid ammunition for weapons with the Bow (BW) tag.

Battering (BA)

Battering weapons, such as battering rams, may only strike targets which are immobile, but do so automatically through a Miscellaneous Action to pull back the Ram and another action for the attack. The listed Strength minimum of a Battering Weapon is for a character that wishes to wield a battering ram alone, without crew.

Cumbersome (CU)

While an archer’s bow can lead a hare on the run and down it with fluid motion, large heavy weapons are not so easily moved. To fire on targets in motion or to engage new targets is an arduous process, requiring a device be hefted into a new position, adjusted, sometimes even taken apart and re-assembled to achieve a new firing angle. Cumbersome weapons will list in brackets the number of ticks required before they can fire on a new target, and in the case of particularly demanding re-adjustments this may be in long ticks.

Dual-Wield (DW)

A Dual-Wield weapon is typically a ranged weapon small enough to be wielded and fired with one hand, allowing the wielder to carry a second weapon f the same type in the other hand. When this is done, rather than counting both weapons separately, use the profile for a single weapon but double the Rate. Weapons must still be loaded separately.

Lance (LA)

Lance weapons are designed to carry the momentum of a charge, or to brace on the ground in order to resist with extra force. When charging or being charged, Strength is tripled rather than doubled when calculating the weapon's damage.

Martial Arts Weapon (MA)

While the Brawl and Melee Abilities each cover a vast array of very different fighting styles, there are weapons which bridge the two categories. A user may decide whether they wish to use their Brawl OR their Melee Ability when attacking or defending with a Martial Arts Weapon.

Natural (N)

Natural weapons are ones primarily of the user’s own flesh and bone (though sometimes clad in gloves, boots, sandals, or even plate gauntlets). As part of the wielder, they are not subject to disarming, but they also cannot be used to parry Lethal or Aggravated damage without a stunt or other supernatural effect. Some Natural weapons can be specifically reinforced to overcome the latter limitation, and these are tagged as Reinforced Natural weapons ( N(R) ).

Natural weapons are always wielded with Brawl (Ability).

Source: Adapted from the Exalted Core.

Piercing (P)

Piercing weapons specialize in penetrating armour to damage the wearer beneath. Such weapons ignore four points of soak from the target’s armor. If this would give the armor in question an effective soak value of less than 2, the weapon does not ignore the armor’s final 2 points of soak.

Source: Scroll of Errata pp.15

Shield (SH)

Shields are weapons designed more for defense than offense: while they can often be used to bash enemies, their purpose is to absorb and deflect enemy blows. The Shield Tag will be listed with a number in brackets: this is the Mobility Penalty the shield imposes.

Ex: A Tower Shield has the tag SH(2). It imposes a -2 Mobility penalty on its wielder.

Source: Scroll of Errata pp.15

Single-Shot (SS)

While many ranged weapons require the wielder to load ammunition for each shot, some are particularly slow or cumbersome to prepare for firing. The Single-Shot tag identifies such weapons, and will display in brackets the number of Miscellaneous actions required to load and ready the weapon for firing. In the case of particularly difficult weapons, this time may instead be expressed in a number of Long Ticks which must be devoted to reloading by the weapon’s crew.

Spike (SK)

A Spike weapon has been designed to fit into the barrel of a flame piece, or any hollow tube of correct shape, blocking the weapon from firing but transforming it into a passable stand-in for a short spear. It takes two miscellaneous actions to fix a Spike weapon in place, and one miscellaneous action to remove it.

Thrusting (TH)

Thrusting weapons are armaments capable of capable of being used for Thrust actions. A Thrust action is identical to an Attack action, save that its DV penalty is -2 and it carries the Piercing tag. Thrust actions cannot be taken on a charge or when a weapon is braced against a charge.

Source: Modified from Scroll of Errata pp.15