Advanced Armory

# Advanced Armory (Task Force VALKYRIE)

## The Bleeder (••)

Resembling
nothing so much as a jackhammer with a small satellite dish in place of the
drill bit, the Bleeder is one of Task Force: VALKYRIE’s newest developments.
The Bleeder is the latest in what VALKYRIE’s scientists refer to as
“crowd-safe” weaponry, designed to target and eliminate supernatural threats,
specifically vampires and their servants, while presenting little threat to
potential victims or bystanders.

Only recently
moved out of the laboratory, the Bleeder has begun field-testing with a number
of field ops teams around the globe. The Bleeder fires a focused microburst of
energy in a tightly constrained beam. Through processes not fully understood
even by the scientists who discovered them, this energy reacts violently with
the quasi-biological functions of the vampire’s blood, with the net result that
it evacuates the creature’s body, usually in a violent manner. Laboratory tests
have recorded results ranging from a minor leakage of the tear ducts to
vomiting.

In some test
cases, the blood actually shot out of the subject’s pores in a fine red mist.
While not entirely eliminated, the weapon presents a minimal threat level to
humans and natural animals, as they lack the critical meta-biology of vampire
blood. Function: The Bleeder is treated as a ranged weapon, subject to all the
normal rules for ranged combat.

Attacking
with the Bleeder is a Dexterity + Firearms attack.

Roll Results

Dramatic
Failure: The Bleeder overloads and critical components are thrown out of
precise alignment. The wielder takes one point of bashing damage from the
electrical surge, and the device is rendered inoperable until it is
recalibrated. Recalibration requires five successes on an extended Intelligence
+ Science roll, with each roll representing a minute of work.

Failure: As
with an ordinary ranged attack, the target suffers no damage or ill effect.

Success:
Instead of inflicting damage to the target’s Health, the “Bleeder” causes a
vampire, ghoul, or any creature that consumes and stores blood in its own body
to lose one Willpower (or the equivalent) per success rolled. This Willpower
physically leaves the creature’s body in rivulets or sprays of blood, with
velocity and force increasing with successes. If more successes are rolled than
the target has remaining blood in its system, extra successes roll over into
lethal damage. Exceptional Success: Not only does the target lose a large
amount of stored blood, but it also suffers lethal damage equal to one half the
number of successes rolled due to the violence with which the blood leaves its
body. Blood vessels literally explode; skin and muscle are torn by the force of
the exsanguination.

Special: The
“Bleeder” does not have quite the same explosive interaction with non-vampiric
blood, but the energy it pours out can cause premature breakdown of blood cells
or the restriction of blood vessels. Against creatures without a stored pool of
blood, the weapon inflicts intense headaches and malaise: successes on an
attack roll are taken not as damage, but as penalties to the target’s actions,
to a maximum of -5 dice. The penalty lasts for five turns and is often
accompanied by a nosebleed.

## Compound Rounds (•) to (•••••) , Renewable)

Most monsters
have a physical vulnerability to a fairly common substance; it can often be hard
for a hunter to know which weapon he should be using against a given
supernatural. When something tall, dark, and furry moves in the shadows, a
hunter only has seconds to determine if he’s facing a wolf-beast Changeling, a
lycanthrope, a shapeshifting witch, or a vampire wearing a wolf-form — and grab
the right tool for the job.

Compound
Rounds save lives by incorporating trace amounts of the elements most commonly
dangerous to supernatural creatures into a single bullet. This ammunition saves
hunters precious time, and gives them the confidence they are neutralizing
their target — regardless of its specific nature — in the most efficient manner
possible.

Function:
Compound Rounds contain small amounts of just about any substance rumored to
affect supernatural creatures: cold iron, gold, silver, salt, a variety of wood
slivers, holy water (in break-on-impact globules), communion wafer crumbs,
mustard seed, and a smattering of various dried plants like wolfsbane, rose
petals, clover, and St. John’s Wort.

This
combination grants 9-Agains on attacks with these bullets, and always inflicts
lethal damage, even on creatures who normally only take bashing damage from
bullets.

Special: The
Compound Rounds Merit is Renewable, using the same Special rules as for Etheric
Rounds (Hunter: the Vigil, p. 151). Like Etheric Rounds, Compound Rounds can be
used by those who do not possess a Task Force: VALKYRIE RFID chip.

## Etheric Goggles (•• or ••••)

Ghosts,
demons, and witches all have the ability to pass unseen by mortal senses. Even
vampires, according to some stories, have the ability to send their minds out
of their cold, dead bodies and explore the world in secret. With etheric
goggles, Task Force: VALKYRIE can bring the fight to them. Etheric goggles
operate on the same principle as the etheric tracker, utilizing chemically
treated lenses to detect entities in Twilight.

Until
recently, they were standard kit for field agents, but since a rash of
psychosis among agents who used them extensively in the early 2000s, top brass
has restricted their use.

Function:
Etheric goggles look like slightly bulkier, more complicated versions of the
night-vision goggles employed by the United States Armed Forces. In fact,
etheric goggles serve as perfectly functional night-vision goggles, allowing
the wearer to see perfectly — albeit in monochrome — in pitch darkness

Their primary
use comes into play when the hunter flips a pair of oddly purplish lenses down
over the infrared light source on the goggles’ brow, allowing the wearer to see
objects in Twilight as clearly as if they were manifested physically. The
process required to treat the lenses to render Twilight visible creates weird
distortions of the physical world. While the hunter is using the goggles to see
Twilight objects, he suffers a -2 penalty to Perception checks made to notice
anything in the physical world.

For four
dots, a VALKYRIE agent may requisition a more advanced model that can pick up
trace etheric disturbances left behind by incorporeal creatures after they
pass. These traces appear as a softly luminescent purple cloud that trails
behind a spirit or ghost, enabling it to be tracked.

The trail
fades after 10 minutes per point of Power the spirit entity possesses. (In the
case of beings that use the full nine Attribute spread, such as a
Twilight-walking witch, use the highest of Strength, Intelligence or Presence.)
Etheric goggles have a battery life of six hours as a night vision device, or
three hours when used to see Twilight objects.

## Etheric Rounds (• or •••••; Renewable)

Produced in
top-secret, experimental laboratories around the country, these bullets have
been bombarded with a cocktail of exotic, high-energy particles that infuse
peculiar pseudo-physical properties into the lead. Etheric Rounds are delivered
to field operatives in clear, plastic magazines (Task Force: VALKYRIE
manufactures versions in every caliber and magazine style currently on the
market) and emit a faint blue light from their tips.

When fired,
this light becomes as bright as a tracer round, making concealment all but
impossible. The bullet is actually consumed by this light, which converts the
metal into a pseudo-etheric state that VALKYRIE scientists believe to be a
heretofore undiscovered “fifth state” of matter.

Function:
Etheric Rounds allow the hunter to inflict normal firearm damage against
manifested ghosts, spirits and other incorporeal entities. They don’t count as
blessed items, and thus inflict lethal rather than aggravated damage.

Etheric
Rounds can be used against corporeal targets as well, but the attack suffers a
-1 penalty, as the pseudo-etheric harmonics are less disruptive to living
tissue.

Special: The
Etheric Rounds Merit is Renewable; for each dot the character has in this
Merit, Task Force: VALKYRIE supplies him with one clip of Etheric Rounds for a
specific weapon type (e.g. MP-5, Glock 19) every session. A character may
purchase multiple instances of Etheric Rounds, each specifying a different
weapon.

For example,
an assault team leader might have Etheric Rounds (AR-15) ••• and Etheric Rounds
(P90) ••; every session, he has three magazines’ worth of etheric ammo for his
AR-15 and two magazines for his P90. Etheric Rounds, unlike most Advanced
Armory Merits, can be used by anyone, even if they lack a Task Force: VALKYRIE
RFID chip.

## Equalizer Grenade (•••; Renewable)

The old
phrase “monsters in human skin” has its element of truth, but there are things
out there in the dark that hide behind only the thinnest veneer of humanity.
Sometimes, when a Task Force: VALKYRIE strike team storms some unholy
nightmare’s den, what looks like a few hillbillies and drifters turns into a
wall of fur and muscle and savage sharp teeth. The Equalizer grenade helps to
level the playing field. Studies performed on captured monsters of various
classifications have revealed a commonality amongst many: when a living
creature changes its shape, no matter the method behind it, a surge of erratic
brain activity buried deep in the sensory cortex immediately precedes the
change.

VALKYRIE
scientists have speculated that this is the brain trying to process the sensory
overload of radical body morphism, but the truth is countless vivisections have
been unable to give any conclusive answers. Nevertheless, VALKYRIE munitions
experts were able to engineer the equalizer grenade from the test data.

Function:
Operating on the same principles that cause certain patterns of brightly
flashing lights to induce epileptic seizures, the equalizer grenade pulses in a
pattern that causes focused microseizures in that portion of the brain that
seems to govern shapeshifting.

The grenade
is harmless to humans, and in fact to anything not attempting to alter its
form, but the microseizures flood neural channels with “white noise” that
effectively blocks shapeshifting. Throwing an equalizer grenade is a Dexterity
+ Athletics roll.

The grenade
has a “Damage” of 4, but instead of inflicting Health damage, any living
creature within five yards of the grenade must succeed at a roll of (Stamina -
5) or return to its natural shape and be unable to change its shape for five
turns.

Special: The
Equalizer Grenade Merit is Renewable; once per story per instance of the Merit
a hunter possesses, Task Force: VALKYRIE will resupply him with an Equalizer
Grenade. Equalizer grenades work against any living creature, regardless of the
means by which it shapeshifts. A werewolf’s innate shapeshifting, a witch’s
skin-changing spell, or a possessed woman’s flesh warped by the demon that controls
her are equally susceptible.

Vampires and
other undead that are not animated by anything even vaguely resembling biology
are resistant to the grenade’s effects. Treat an undead creature’s stamina as
two points higher when calculating the effect of an Equalizer grenade. An
equalizer grenade can only be used once; the intensity of light required to
trigger the microseizures slags the electronics and turns the battery into a
useless lump.

## Etheric Tracker (••••)

Monsters,
whatever their stripe, tend to be elusive. Whether it’s a vampire’s ability to
cloud men’s minds, a witch’s teleportation spell, or a werewolf’s really damn
disconcerting way of just disappearing sometimes, if Task Force: VALKYRIE can’t
find it, they can’t very well tag it or kill it.

The etheric
tracker is one step toward nullifying that advantage. By marking a target with
a small “tag” that has been bombarded with exotic, high-energy particles
similar to those underlying the creation of etheric rounds, Task Force:
VALKYRIE can track its quarry even through realms beyond mortal ken.

Function: The
etheric tracker consists of two parts: the main unit is roughly the size and
shape of a large pistol (Size 1), which uses precisely aligned electromagnets
to fire a tracking pellet at considerable velocity, embedding it below the
target’s skin.

The pellets
themselves are roughly the size of a grain of sand, and are small enough that
the target must roll Wits + Composure to notice the impact. Even if it is
noticed, the sensation is comparable to the bite of a small insect. A handheld
scanner, the second part of the tracker, picks up the pseudo-etheric radiation
given off by the pellet and displays a location on an LCD screen.

Earlier
models only showed approximate distance and direction; current field models
integrate a GPS locator and street maps of the area, allowing the team to
pinpoint the precise location of its quarry.

Since the
tracker actually follows the etheric signature of the pellet and not a radio
frequency or other, more earthly signatures, it can follow creatures even when
they slip into an invisible, intangible state. Likewise, the pellet’s
pseudo-etheric nature allows it to anchor in the resonant structure of a
manifested ghost or spirit as well as the flesh of a corporeal entity.

The current
model cannot track a target that fully departs this plane of existence, but
Task Force: VALKYRIE researchers are hard at work on cracking that puzzle as
well. An etheric tracker has an effective range of only half a mile, but this
range is not hampered by buildings or other obstructions.

A single
pellet can be tracked for 24 hours before its etheric resonance fades.

Special: An
Etheric Tracker comes with a full magazine of pellets, which resembles a
magazine for a semiautomatic pistol filled with blue sand. The sheer number of
pellets means the Etheric Tracker’s ammunition is effectively unlimited. Should
an agent lose his supply of etheric pellets, a call to his home office and a
successful Wits + Politics roll can get him a replacement within one week,
provided he can get to a population center or military base. An exceptional
success sees the pellets delivered within one day.

==Frequency Pulse Emitter
(••; Renewable)==

Durability 2,
Size 1, Structure 3 Canines can hear noises pitched in ultra-high frequencies
that humans cannot. The scientists who designed the devices for TF:V created
Frequency Pulse Emitters working with the same general principles applied to
werewolves.

A Frequency
Pulse Emitter (sometimes called Dog Whistles by TF:V soldiers) is a modified
flashbang grenade that emits an eardrum rupturing pulse of sound that can only
be heard by canines and werewolves.

Function: A
Frequency Pulse Emitter is used like any other grenade. The operator primes the
grenade and tosses it towards the enemy with a Dexterity + Athletics roll.

Frequency
Pulse Emitter grenades have what is called a short fuse, meaning the grenade will
go off within a few seconds of being primed. This gives an enemy little chance
to pick up the grenade and throw it back at its former owner. Any werewolf
within 10 yards of the Dog Whistle when it “explodes” must succeed at a Stamina
+ Composure roll at a -3 penalty or be stunned.

The penalty
to resist being stunned is increased to -5 if the werewolf is in either wolf or
near-wolf form. A Frequency Pulse Emitter has no effect on humans unless the
character has increased their normal range of hearing in some manner. It may
work on any creature (vampire, witch, etc.) assuming an animal-form or using
heightened senses.

== The Gatekeeper Device
(•••)==

It’s actually
not a device: it’s a thin-skinned black bodysuit lined with tiny white filaments—and,
because it’s been designed by Project FORT, the suit is also marked with a
number of stitched-in occult, spiritual, and scientific symbols. It covers
everything: even the hunter’s face.

The hunter
sees via dark goggles sewn into the bodysuit mask. At present, only five suits
of this type even exist. FORT does not have the resources or materials to make
more.

Function:
Wearing the suit allows one to enter alternate realms (at this moment, that
remains restricted to either the Shadow or the Underworld). Doing so is an act
of will—the hunter must expend a point of Willpower, which charges the suit via
biofeedback.

At that
moment, the hunter will cross over. If she’s at an Avernian Gate (where the
membrane between the world of the living and the Underworld is thin), she will
cross over into the Underworld. If she is anywhere else, she crosses over into
the Shadow. The suit has some notable drawbacks. First is that the suit can
only be used once every 12 hours. Exiting the Shadow or the Underworld
generally means waiting out the downtime between uses, unless alternate means
of exit are discovered. Second, the suit causes a few unpleasant physical side
effects, such as paleness, vertigo, or itching.

## Gleipnir Restraints(••)

In Norse
mythology, the Gleipnir was the bond used to restrain Fenris. Since the great
wolf was capable of breaking any chains used to hold him, Odin commissioned the
Gleipnir from the dwarves — a thin ribbon made from six impossible things. As
far as anyone knows, the device sometimes issued to TFV operatives going up
against Prometheans, or any other superhumanly strong creature, isn’t made from
dwarven magic.

Instead, it
sets up a “kinetic feedback loop.” The harder a subject struggles against it,
the more it restricts movement. The most difficult thing about the Gleipnir is
usually getting the subject properly restrained in the first place.

Function: The
Gleipnir, much like its namesake, is considerably lighter and thinner than one
would expect. It resembles a thin strip of black plastic with a fingerprint
panel on each end that’s coded to a specific agent. Using the Gleipnir requires
the hunter to use a Restrain move while grappling a target. If the target is
successfully restrained, the Gleipnir uses the creature’s force against it.

Breaking free
of the Gleipnir requires a number of successes on a Strength + Athletics roll
equal to twice the creature’s Strength rating. Any effects that increase this
rating also get figured in.

For example,
if a Promethean uses a Dread Power to increase its Strength from 4 to 6, the
Gleipnir requires 12 successes in a single roll to break free from its grip.

## Gungnir Multi-Function Targeting System (••• or ••••)

The Gungnir
System, named for Odin’s never-missing spear, is the boon and the curse of many
Task Force: VALKYRIE field teams. Integrated directly into the latest
generation of standard armament (the three-dot version described here includes
an integrated submachine gun; a four-dot version comes with an assault rifle),
the Gungnir System is VALKYRIE top brass’ new initiative for the future of the
agency, in one fell swoop improving target identification and all but
eliminating collateral damage.

The truth,
according to cynical agents who have field-tested the device, is that target
identification and guy who’s about to kill me identification aren’t necessarily
the same thing, and the only way the Gungnir System is going to prevent
collateral damage is by ensuring that bystanders are only accidentally killed
by the bad guys.

Function: The
integrated scope built into a weapon outfitted with the Gungnir System is a
marvelous thing. A combination night vision scope, thermal imager, and Kirlian
camera, it allows a soldier to engage targets in pitch blackness and easily distinguishes
most monsters from humans: vampires, of course, are well below human body
temperature, while werewolves and their ilk run hot as a byproduct of their
increased metabolism. Witches, psychics and the possessed demonstrate an
unusual Kirlian aura that identifies them as extra-normal.

For an
additional Merit dot, the scope can even have etheric goggle functionality
built into it, allowing the agent to target ghosts and spirits. An LED overlay
tags any known supernatural entity with its Task Force: VALKYRIE designation.
In addition to its target identification features, the scope is a
top-of-the-line sighting system. Penalties for medium range fire are negated
entirely, and long-range penalties are halved. The hunter also ignores any
penalty for fighting blind when using the Gungnir System.

The scope is
tied directly into a fire control computer programmed to recognize the unique
signatures (thermal, etheric, or Kirlian) of every supernatural creature of
which Task Force: VALKYRIE has records. If the gun is pointed at a target that
does not fit any target profile, the safety is automatically engaged and the
gun will not fire.

In theory,
this means that it is impossible for a VALKYRIE soldier to accidentally shoot a
bystander during an engagement. In practice, it means that the weapon tends to
refuse to fire at a monster’s mortal servants, cultists, or slashers.

Special: The
majority of agents issued a Gungnir System weapon quickly learn of a field
modification that strips out the safety controls while leaving the scope and
target recognition software intact.

This hack
requires an extended Dexterity + Computers roll, with each roll representing an
hour’s worth of careful soldering and rewiring. The hunter must achieve 10
successes to complete the modification. Task Force: VALKYRIE comes down hard on
agents discovered to have modified their weapons in this manner, with court
martial the least severe reprimand.

## Huginn Visor (•• or •••)

Vampires seem
to have no end of abilities to sway the minds and will of mankind at their
disposal. There is one drawback, however, and that is a seeming need for eye
contact—the window of the soul, so to speak—on the part of the vampire. That’s
where the Huginn Visor comes in, made of a dark, reflective glass that makes such
contact nearly impossible. Civilian issue sunglasses prove ineffective against
the powers of the enemy, so much so that an agent would not trust his cell’s
integrity to simply wearing dark sunglasses. Doubly so considering the kinds of
sensitive information Task Force: VALKYRIE agents are privy to.

The solution
lies in just the right combination of polarization and treatment with strange
“chemicals.” Field agents used to joke the stuff comes from the wings Top Brass
pulled off of faeries. They aren’t far off. The primary style of Huginn visor
is innocuous enough to be worn in the field, and lends weight to the image of
the prototypical Man in Black. Little do civilians know just how important
those dark glasses can be.

The two-dot
version is the sunglasses. A three-dot version actually represents a contact
lens variant. This variant is stealthier, not to mention with a swift swipe a
vampire can knock a pair of glasses off a hunter’s head. However, the lenses
are slightly less efficient (see below).

Function: If
a monster’s mind-altering Dread Powers (such as Fury, or Sleep) necessitate eye
contact, the creature suffers a -3 penalty when used against an agent equipped
with the two-dot sunglasses variant, and -2 dice if the agent is equipped with
the three-dot contact lens variant. Note that both versions of the Huginn Visor
can damage an agent’s ability to see in poorly-lit areas—in such places, the
wearer suffers -2 to all sight-based Perception rolls.

## Intersticies Calculation Expedient  (•)

VALKYRIE has
long posited the existence of interstitial terrain (see below for more
information), but hasn’t been able to prove it—yes, some agents have
experienced it, but the subjective experiences of individual hunters cannot be
used as proof for anything. Now, they have a device that tracks and records
instances of interstitial terrain.

The device is
portable, though not easily concealable (the screen itself is about as big as
an iPhone or GPS device, but the housing for the tracker necessitates a
backpack that weighs about 30 lbs).

Function: No
roll is necessary to calculate the location of nearby interstices. It only
tracks a half-mile radius, and only identifies instances of interstitial
terrain that have appeared in an area within the last 24 hours. It identifies
signature etheric traces, noting the residue. The screen features a GPS device,
and the terrain is noted on the map via a blinking red pulse.

## Mjolnir Cannon (•••• or •••••)

When facing
off against the unnamed horrors of the night, Task Force: VALKYRIE agents find
it comforting to know they are armed with such stalwarts of high technology as
“ray guns.” The Mjolnir Cannon may not be quite on par with Hollywood’s
offerings, but it packs a wallop that can put down rioting humans and fanged
monstrosities with equal ease.

This weapon,
which resembles an exceptionally bulky assault rifle (Size 3), operates by
firing an intense, high-frequency laser beam that ionizes the air, creating a
channel of extremely conductive plasma. The gun then sends an electrical charge
into this channel, and the ionized air carries the charge to its target and
delivers a long-range, high-impact shock.

Function: The
Mjolnir Cannon operates like a normal ?rearm, with a few exceptions, as
described below.

Dice Pool:
Dexterity + Firearms.

Roll Results

Dramatic
Failure: The gun backfires, delivering its full charge to the wielder instead
of the target.

Failure: The
beam misses its target and inflicts no damage.

Success: The
Mjolnir Cannon inflicts bashing damage from electricity on its target. As long
as a single success is rolled, the target takes the full damage from the
weapon. The man-portable version of the Mjolnir Cannon can be set to one of
three settings, inflicting either 6 or 8 points of bashing damage, or 4 points
of lethal damage.

Exceptional
Success: In addition to taking bashing damage, the target loses its next turn.

Special: A
Mjolnir Cannon has a battery rated for 16 shots before depletion. The more
damaging settings consume more power; inflicting 6 bashing counts as 2 shots,
and 8 bashing damage or 4 lethal costs 4 shots. The Mjolnir Cannon has a range
of 100/200/400.

A larger,
vehicle-mounted version of the Mjolnir Cannon also exists, costing 5 Merit
dots. The vehicle-mounted cannon is seldom issued to urban strike teams, due to
its lack of concealment, but in rural areas or regions already gripped by war,
it can provide vital tactical support.

The
vehicle-mounted version works just like its smaller cousin, with the following
exceptions: the weapon has two additional settings, inflicting 10 bashing or 5
lethal damage, respectively. The range of the vehicle-mounted cannon is
300/600/1,200, and its battery holds the capacity for 50 shots.

The 10
bashing setting counts as 8 shots, while 5 lethal counts as 16.

The Mjolnir
Cannon is essentially man-made lightning; while that makes it a potent tool on
the battlefield, it can interact dangerously when actual lightning is brought
into the mix. The plasma channel created by the cannon attracts lightning;
whenever the weapon is used in a thunderstorm, treat any failed attack roll as
a dramatic failure to represent an errant bolt finding the plasma channel and
following it back to the hapless hunter.

## Munin Serum (••••, Renewable)

No matter how
black the black ops or how covert the covert strike team, on occasion,
witnesses to Task Force: VALKYRIE operations survive the initial fracas.
Sometimes it’s a bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time, sometimes it’s
the newly freed victim of a possessing entity or the liberated thrall of a
warlock. Sometimes, those witnesses start to ask awkward questions. Since
secrecy is one of the organization’s paramount directives, the silence of these
witnesses must be guaranteed.

In the old
days, that meant a couple of ounces of lead in the back of the head; nowadays,
VALKYRIE operatives prefer to use less messy alternatives. Munin serum — or, as
it’s more colloquially known, “memory cleanser” or “Brain-O” — is a cocktail of
narcotics, psychedelics and memory-inhibitor drugs that can completely suppress
the last six hours of a subject’s memory. Extensive application of the drug can
lead to addiction, illness and even death.

New VALKYRIE
recruits are frightened with campfire tales of agents who injected themselves
with Munin serum to forget the horrific things they’d seen, only to end up
wasted, cancer-ravaged addicts desperately jonesing for a taste of the high
they can never quite remember.

Function:
Munin serum must be administered by injection directly into the spinal column
just below the cervical vertebrae. The process is excruciatingly painful and
subjects are usually sedated before being treated. If an agent wishes to
administer Munin serum to an aware and unwilling target, he must first
successfully grapple his target.

Once the
target is held securely, he must succeed on a Strength + Medicine “attack” at a
-2 penalty (the actual penalty is -3 for targeting the victim’s head, but Task
Force: VALKYRIE distributes Munin serum in large, sturdy hypodermics that count
as +1 weapons).

As long as
the hunter scores at least one success on this attack, he may dose the target.
Each dose affects one hour of the subject’s memory; a single syringe of the
serum contains six doses. (Each instance of the Munin Syndrome Merit buys the
hunter one syringe.)

When the
serum is injected, the subject’s player rolls Stamina + Composure in a
contested action against a dice pool of 7, representing the serum’s potency. If
the subject rolls more successes, she is left woozy and disoriented, as though
she had taken a potent (-3) hallucinogen.

If the serum
rolls more successes, the character’s memory is wiped out for an amount of time
corresponding to the number of doses injected. Only one resistance roll is
made, no matter how many doses are injected. The subject experiences the memory
loss as a similar sensation to an alcohol-induced blackout. Some refer to it as
“lost time.”

Special: If
an individual is subject to a number of doses of Munin serum greater than her
Stamina within a week or less, the toxic side effects of the drug build up to
critical levels and the subject is treated as though she had ingested a poison
with a Toxicity of 7.

If a subject
is given more doses of Munin serum than her Stamina over the course of a month
without triggering the overdose described above, she must succeed on a Stamina
+ Resolve roll or develop the Addiction Flaw focused on the serum.

The Munin
Serum Merit is Renewable; once per story per instance of the Merit a hunter
possesses, Task Force: VALKYRIE will resupply him with a syringe of Munin
Serum.

## Odin Reticle (•••)

Prerequisite:
Huginn Visor (••)

The Huginn
Visor (two-dot sunglasses variant only) can be outfitted with a small LCD
attachment called an Odin Reticle. This little display overlays one eye and its
purpose is to pierce the supernatural stealth possessed by vampiric and other
ENEs. Intel suggests vampires are not capable of achieving true invisibility;
rather they cloud the minds of pedestrians to overlook them. Just in case,
R&D didn’t take any chances. Applying the Odin Reticle over one eye, an
agent becomes capable of piercing any ENEs’ attempts to evade detection through
a variety of techniques. The ENE will appear apparent in the eyepiece by way of
a process called Resonant Afterimage Processing (RAP).

Despite early
successes, only a limited amount of Odin Reticle prototypes were made. Agents
interested in field testing equipment should contact their superior officers
for more information.

Function: The
Odin Reticle snaps in place and remains largely concealed by the Huginn Visor.
A thin cord runs back to the power source and processor that rests in the ear,
no larger than a standard issue earpiece. Hunters equipped with an Odin Reticle
gain a bonus of +3 on any dice roll attempting to detect vampiric and other ENEs
using stealth- and evasion-based Dread Powers (such as Lurker in Darkness).

## Screamer Pistol (•••)

A witch who
can’t concentrate can’t work magic. Quantifying and diverting etheric energy is
hard, and fucking with someone’s head is much easier. The screamer pistol
generates a beam of ultra-low frequency sound. At a distance, the low frequency
sound leads to hallucinations and altered states of consciousness as the
vibrations interfere with the target’s inner ear. Up close the effects are more
impressive, wrecking the target’s ability to concentrate.

In some
extreme cases, the vibrations hit the resonant frequency of the human bowel,
causing it to empty — sometimes called the “brown note.” No mage can keep the
mental image of a spell ready through that. The pistol doesn’t just work on
mages. (While it affects higher brain functions, it’s still pretty useless
against werewolves — something in the sounds causes them to go frothing mad,
like dogs hearing a certain pitch.)

Anything with
a sense of balance and coherent thought processes gets the full blast at range,
but only living creatures with human bodies suffer the most extreme effects.

Function: A
Screamer Pistol is a ranged weapon, subject to all normal rules for ranged
combat. Attacking with the Screamer Pistol is a Dexterity + Firearms roll with
a +3 modifier to represent the weapon’s equipment bonus. As a focused beam of
sound, the pistol doesn’t deal damage.

Roll Results

Dramatic
Failure: The Screamer Pistol unleashes a burst of low-frequency sound without
any focus. Anyone within five feet, including the wielder, suffers the effects
of a success. Fixing the focusing apparatus needs five successes on an extended
Intelligence + Crafts roll, with each roll representing one minute of work.

Failure: The
beam misses the intended target, causing no ill effects.

Success: The
target suffers strange hallucinations and cannot concentrate for at least one
turn. Compare the number of successes rolled to the target’s Composure. Each
success above the victim’s Composure is one turn above the first in which the
target cannot focus enough to use any supernatural powers. (If the successes
are equal to or less than the target’s Composure, the victim still suffers that
requisite one turn without powers.)

Exceptional
Success: In addition to any other effects, the target voids his bowels. The
target suffers a -3 penalty to all Social rolls for the remainder of the scene.

Special: A
Screamer Pistol has no effect on creatures that don’t have higher cognitive
functions. Werewolves fly into a frenzy against the wielder when targeted due
to their enhanced hearing.

== Tranq Rounds  (•
to •••••; Renewable) ==
Tranquilizer
bullets are at the cutting-edge of ballistics technology. Ten years from now,
they could be available in gun shops, but until the rounds can be mass
produced, VALKYRIE keeps a close track on them.

Each bullet
is made of the same frangible polymer used in Glaser rounds, but containing a
gel suspension of tranquilizers that are quickly absorbed through the skin and
into the body.

Function:
Tranq Rounds do little appreciable damage. Against objects, they are useless.
Against living targets, a successful roll deals only one point of lethal
damage, no matter how many successes were scored on the attack.

Every hit
also delivers a potent tranquilizer that gives the target a -1 penalty to all
rolls. Once the target’s penalties from the tranquilizer are equal to his
Stamina, he must spend a point of Willpower or lose consciousness.

If he remains
active, each further hit with a Tranq Round requires another Willpower
expenditure. The negative modifier wears off after 10 minutes, but a target
rendered unconscious remains in that state for at least half an hour.

Special: The
Tranq Rounds Merit is Renewable; for each dot the character has in this Merit,
Task Force: VALKYRIE supplies him with one clip of Tranq Rounds for a specific
weapon type (e.g. MP-5, Glock 19) every session. A character may purchase
multiple instances of Tranq Rounds, each specifying a different weapon. For
example, an assault team leader might have Tranq Rounds (AR-15) ••• and Tranq
Rounds (P90) ••; every session, he has three magazines worth of tranquilizer
ammo for his AR-15 and two magazines for his P90.

Tranq Rounds,
unlike most Advanced Armory Merits, can be used by anyone, even if they lack a
Task Force: VALKYRIE RFID chip.

== Urban Response Vehicle
(••; Special) ==
Durability 8,
Size 16, Structure 24, Acceleration 15, Safe Speed 110 (75 mph), Maximum Speed
176 (120 mph), Handling 1. Though it’s difficult to drive an armored car
through town and not draw attention, the fact is that some jobs and locations
require a more forceful and timely response than others. Recently put into
limited production, the Urban Response Vehicle (URV) provides Task Force:
VALKYRIE members with light armored vehicle capability disguised as a standard
full-sized van. As the name implies, the URV was designed for covert urban
operations and would require some serious overhauling for use off-road.

Function:
Every TF:V member of a cell may contribute towards the Merit cost of the URV.

Standard
features of the URV include onboard computer and GPS, bullet-proof glass, RFID
locks (the normal locks are dummies), military winch, run-flat tires (each
blown tire only imposes a -1 penalty to Drive rolls and a 10% speed penalty),
and police cruiser type search lights.

It is
equipped with air conditioning and internal oxygen supply (the URV can quickly
be rigged to operate as air-tight), an overcharged engine, and enough juice
from a mini-generator to power all of the features and any add-ons. The vehicle
sports concealed armor plating that makes the URV nearly invulnerable to small
arms fire and was designed to transport one driver, three passengers and one
gunner.

In addition
to the onboard features, an URV can be further enhanced by Advanced Armory
Endowments:

-Etheric
Windows (functions exactly like Etheric Goggles, may be toggled on and off by
voice command),

-Pintle-mounted
Bleeder (operated by passenger, unfolds from the front passenger side roof and
unlocks a hatch that allows a standing passenger to operate the weapon. ).

-vehicle-mounted
Mjolnir Cannon (5 dot version. To operate, the gunner seats himself in the
gunner chair, pushes a button, the roof of the vehicle slides open and the .50
cal is elevated via hydraulic lift to a height even with the top of the URV.
The machine gun uses both a swivel mount and pedals to achieve an 180 degree
field of fire,).

## VDSB (•••)

Ever since
Murnau’s Nosferatu, the knowledge that vampires are destroyed by the light of
the sun has entered the pop culture lexicon, along with wooden stakes, crosses
and garlic (never mind that, as far as Task Force: VALKYRIE has been able to
determine, two of those are complete nonsense). While VALKYRIE’s scientists
have not yet found the key component of sunlight that causes such deleterious
effects on the bloodsuckers, they have developed the next best thing.

Function: The
VDSB (Victim-Detonated Sun Bomb) is an explosive device that is rigged to
trigger via an infrared sensor and thermal imager; when an object with a core
temperature of less than 94ºF breaks the infrared beam, the device is
triggered. Instead of an explosion, the VDSB (which looks like a generic satchel
charge but contains far more complex innards) uses a combination of
full-spectrum phosphorescent lights and focusing mirrors to create a blinding
flash that is, from an electromagnetic standpoint, identical to sunlight.

While the
light doesn’t actually harm vampires, it can cause a surge of panic that
overwhelms their rational mind and leads them to make tactical errors. Arming
the device is simple enough, necessitating success on an instant Wits + Crafts
roll. However, unless operating in total darkness, the VDSB must also be
concealed, necessitating six successes on an extended Wits + Crafts roll, with
each roll representing 10 minutes’ worth of work. Disarming the bomb is more
time-consuming, requiring six successes on a Wits + Crafts roll, with each roll
representing one minute of work.

Disarming the
bomb is more difficult, requiring six successes on a Wits + Crafts roll, with
each roll representing one minute of work. Once the tampering process starts,
though, the disarmer only has four minutes, or four rolls, in which to disarm
the device. Once that time ticks down, the device detonates if it hasn’t been
neutralized. Humans and monsters not afraid of sunlight within 5 yards must
succeed at a roll of (Stamina - 5) or be temporarily blinded.

When a vampire
or other creature vulnerable to bright light is caught within the area of a
VDSB, the effects are far more pronounced. The vampire’s player must
immediately make an extended Resolve + Composure roll, with each roll
representing one turn.

Each turn in
which the vampire’s player rolls at least one success, he maintains his
composure for one further turn. If at any time the vampire fails to gain any
successes on a roll, he flies into a frenzy of fear in which his only objective
is to flee from the source of the light. He will attack anyone who gets in his
way, but otherwise just tries to get away. If the vampire accumulates five
successes on the extended roll, he shakes off the flight instinct and can act
normally.

Special: A
VDSB can only be used once before it must be refitted; the intensity of the
flash burns out the light sources in a single use. Unlike the Equalizer
grenade, a VDSB can be refitted in the field with a minimum of fuss. Refitting
a Sig mine requires full spectrum lights available from most science-novelty or
pet stores for a Resource cost of • and 15 successes on an extended
Intelligence + Craft roll. Each roll represents 20 minutes of work.

## Witch Buster (•)

Many of the
creatures Task Force: VALKYRIE hunts display an unusual degree of sensitivity
to psychic phenomena. Witches seem to be the most adept at this sort of thing,
displaying an uncanny knack for poking their noses into supernatural affairs
that should be invisible to mere mortals.

As witches
are also among the most difficult antagonists to identify, VALKYRIE scientists
developed a sort of psychic booby trap to identify potential hostiles. Official
rules of engagement state that the “witch buster” is to be used to flush out
known quarry that has gone to ground, but field teams often engage is a game
variously referred to as “wizard baiting” or “fishing for Potters,” in which a
witch buster is set up in a public but discreet location and anyone who drops
by to have a look is tagged and monitored.

Ever since a
Glaswegian cell went a little off the reservation back in ’98 and just started
killing everyone that poked around the witch buster, this tactic is expressly
forbidden by VALKYRIE doctrine. Function: The witch buster is roughly the size
and shape of a hockey puck, with a sticky adhesive backing that allows it to be
mounted on walls or ceilings.

Powered by an
ordinary lithium-ion battery, the kind that can be purchased at any cell phone
store, the witch buster slowly but persistently leaks a small amount of etheric
energy — theoretically, not enough to be harmful (although quite a few field
agents swear otherwise), but enough to register on a witch’s psychic radar. In
game terms, the witch buster triggers a witch’s Unseen Sense Merit.

Because their Unseen Sense Merit registers any
type of supernatural disturbance, mages are the most likely to perceive a witch
buster, but any character with an Unseen Sense Merit relating to ghosts,
spirits, or Twilight phenomena will sense a witch buster. Supernatural powers
or spells that sense disturbances in Twilight or detect ghosts or spirits will
also register the witch buster as an odd, not-immediately-explicable twinge.

A witch
buster has eight hours of battery life before it must be recharged. Three
successes on an extended Intelligence + Crafts roll, with each roll
representing 10 minutes of work, allows a hunter to tap into a building’s
electrical wiring and hook the witch buster in, allowing it to operate as long
as the building has power.