Fighting Blind

From Edge of Darkness Wiki

Sometimes circumstances arise when your character cannot see, but he still needs to defend himself or seek out a threatening opponent. Maybe he's in pitch darkness, dense smoke fills the area or he's suffered vision damage. Such situations make your character easy prey for the things of the world that stalk him. All the more reason for him to try to fight back, even blind.

Characters who cannot see at all must attack enemies almost as if those opponents are fully concealed. They cannot be targeted at all; shots are taken in the dark, literally. Your character chooses a direction in which he stages his attack -- whether close or ranged combat -- guessing where his intended target might be.

• To even have a hope of hitting, your character must direct his attack at the target's location. If he's not even pointing in the right direction (he fires to the right, but the target is behind him), there is no chance to hit. The Storyteller rolls some dice anyway and ignores the result, to keep you from deducing the target's true location.
• The Storyteller knows where the target actually is, and secretly makes a Chance Roll for you if your character attacks in approximately the right direction. A success means your character hits and does one or more Health points of damage, depending on how many 10's come up. Of course, if a 1 comes up a Dramatic Failure occurs, the circumstances of which are left to the Storyteller's discretion.

Sensing Targets

There are, however, ways to try to sense where a target is rather than stage attacks aimlessly. Ordinary people have some chance of bringing their other senses to bear. Supernatural creatures with inhuman capabilities may have stronger senses, may be able to function unimpaired without vision, or might be able to see in the dark.

Listening

Your character can attempt to listen for a target. The subject must be making noise, no matter how slight, to be heard (walking or breathing heavily makes some noise). Your character must spend an action listening and the Storyteller makes a Wits + Composure roll for you, keeping the result secret (or he may substitute Survival for Composure if the situation applies). Modifiers are based on how noisy the target is (+3 if he walks on dry twigs, +1 if he walks on a leaf-strewn lawn, -5 if he stands perfectly still and does nothing but breathes lightly), and on how noisy the environment is (no modifier if the area is eerily quiet, -3 if heavy traffic passes by). Dramatic Failure: Your character is convinced that he knows the targetÕs location, but is completely off base. Failure: Your character cannot locate the target but can attack blindly where he believes her to be. The Storyteller may make a secret chance roll, as per the rules above, assuming your character attacks in the right direction at all. Success: Your character can attack the target as if she is substantially concealed (-3 penalty). Exceptional Success: Your character can attack the target as if she is partially concealed (-2 penalty). Once your character has succeeded on an attack, a roll must be made for him by the Storyteller each turn to keep an ear on the target. This is a reflexive Wits + Composure roll (although Survival might substitute for Composure if the Storyteller agrees). The Storyteller can decide whether or not the same listening modifiers apply from turn to turn.

Smelling

Characters with a heightened olfactory sense (or more likely bestial creatures) can try to sniff a target out by taking an action to smell. The Storyteller makes a Wits + Composure roll for your character, keeping the result secret (or he may substitute Survival for Composure if the situation applies). He may apply factors based on the strength of the targetÕs odor (+3 if the subject has gone unwashed for days, +1 if she wears strong perfume, -3 if she has showered recently and put on clean clothes), or based on surrounding odors (-1 at a gym, -3 near a paper mill). Dramatic Failure: Your character is convinced that he knows the targetÕs location, but is completely off base. Failure: Your character cannot locate the target but can attack blindly at where he believes she is. The Storyteller may make a secret chance roll, as per the rules above, assuming your character attacks in the right direction at all. Success: Your character can attack the target as if she is substantially concealed (-3 penalty). Exceptional Success: Your character can attack the target as if she is partially concealed (-2 penalty). Once your character has succeeded in an attack, a roll must be made for him by the Storyteller each turn to keep a nose on the target. This is a reflexive Wits + Composure (or Survival) roll. The Storyteller can decide whether or not the same smelling modifiers apply from turn to turn.

Other Notable Combat-related Actions

• Jumping
• Climbing
• Foot chase
• Throwing
• Vehicle pursuit: World of Darkness Sourcebook, 69
• Breaking objects: World of Darkness Sourcebook, 136
• Improvised weapons: World of Darkness Sourcebook, 136
• Car crashes: World of Darkness Sourcebook, 144