Weapons

=Overview= This is a sampling of common weapons found in the Protectorate of Seidon.

Blades
Blades are typically wielded with the Melee skill, although Oceanborn may substitute Kruräta or Sikàri as appropriate.

Knife
Description: Knives come in many varieties, ranging from the common ika, a blunt-tipped, saw-toothed instrument used to hack through seaweed or pry open a large clam shell, to the wicked battle knives of the UCM special forces and heavy bladed choppers. Even the most practical Oceanborn-crafted knives tend to have an edge of liquid elegance to them, the style of which that Surfacers often strive to emulate, as shown here. System: A standard fighting knife does STR+1D lethal damage. Knives meant primarily for utility purposes, such as the common ika, might do only STR lethal damage in addition to offering a +1D bonus to a Craft, Forage or Survival roll depending on the situation.

Milk Knife
Description: Milk knives are a traditional weapon of the Oceanborn, though practiced most strongly among the Naians, who have created a rite of passage around its acquisition. A young Naian hunter must demonstrate such mastery of Sikàri that they are able to defeat a voracious eater in single combat. A milk knife is actually a surprisingly long, razor sharp and nearly translucent tooth taken from an abyssal eel, which although seeming fragile is in fact incredibly dense. It flashes an opaque, milky white when reflecting sun filtered through the water, and some claim may even thrum at times with the unique electromagnetic properties of the world ocean. It is also said among the Naian, that exposing a milk knife to air for longer than a few minutes will weaken it, which is why few Surfacers have ever seen it. Once earned, the milk knife is worn close to the flesh for the rest of a Naian's life. Thus, to do something particularly stupid is to 'cut one's self on their own milk knife'. System: There are many rumored mystical qualities associated with a milk knife, which each individual owner must explore on their own. Basically, such a knife does STR+1D+2 lethal damage. An opponent with a Kruräta skill lowers than yours is penalized to parry or dodge a strike from a milk knife, owing to the fact that a skilled wielder can slide it nearly invisibly through the water.

Stinger
Description: A 'stinger' is a catch-all name for any variety of sharp or poisonous barb that has been removed from some variety of lethal aquatic flora or fauna. It is often further sharpened or serrated after the fact and carved in such a way that it can be held in some secret place, such as behind a wrist-band, where it can be retrieved and 'stuck in' at a moment's notice. Since the world-ocean is home to a virtually limitless number of incredibly poisonous creatures, most of which can either kill or paralyze a Surfacer in seconds, stingers in all shapes and sizes are a common form of self defense among the Oceanborn.

System: A stinger is usually hidden and retrieved with a skill such as Sleight, which if successful against the opponent's Alertness , allows for a free attack. Typically, a stinger will only do STR lethal damage by itself, but its poisonous effects are incredibly varied, based on one's knowledge of Toxins. The most common stinger is a barb which has been coated with hauā, a catch-all term for any natural, paralytic poison.

Bolters
Bolters are the predominant form of ranged weaponry among Surfacers in the Protectorate of Seidon. They tend to be heavy, clumsy automatic or bolt-action guns that shoot a solid steel rod which relies on hypercavitation and blunt force trauma to maintain a killing velocity underwater. Since most Surfacers and SCI Security are not skilled enough to account for water 'refraction', the bolter has acquired a contemptuous reputation among the Oceanborn. This is not the case when dealing with hardened UCM marines.

Boltgun
System: The average automatic or semi-automatic boltgun inflicts 5D lethal damage. Raise the difficulty of successfully hitting a target when firing into water.