{ WEAPONS COMPENDIUM } Full Weapons Information

[Zoobey]

General Summary:

Hunters are unique in their ability to carry weapons. While Reapers also carry weapons, the Fear of the weapon compliments and acts as a small portion of the Fear of the Reaper. This is not the case with Hunters. Without their Weapons or other Fear inducing Artifacts, they gave no Fear capabilities. Unlike unawakened humans however, Hunters have the unique ability to be aware and susceptible to Fear influences. The way Hunters bond with their weapons is more an awakening than simply a power up.

exclaim Please read about weapons restrictions OOCly HERE exclaim

Weapons and Bonding:

Weapons bonding : In order to bond with a weapon a human must first of all be susceptible to Fear. It can be genetic, and often, the ability to see the other "world" is gained through traumatic near-death experiences. Sometimes, it is simply due to exposure to too much Fear in one area.

When a human gains the ability to see, and thus be exposed to Fear, they become Hunter Candidates. They are tested to see if they have the endurance and integrity to become a Trainee.

Lastly, if they pass, they will go through the Weapons Initiation Ceremony. The ability for a Trainee to attract and be a host of Fear is what attracts a weapon. Each weapon has different temperaments and thus require a unique sort of personality to wield them. The weapon exposes its Fear to the Trainee and they bond. In addition, if successful, the weapon inhabits a small portion of the Hunters essence, filling the Fear susceptible niche, and they become almost symbiotic partners. This experience is very difficult to replicate twice: Hunters almost always bond to only one weapon their entire lives. In addition , weapons can and may choose to extinguish themselves with the Hunter, though many do not out of self-preservation. Weapons were once creatures of Halloween, for many their survival instincts are still dominant. Weapons once bonded can now use trainees as a catalyst to unleash their sealed Fear, it also often makes them stronger than they were in their past form.

See: Weapons Initiation Ceremony on the actual process.

 

[Zoobey]

Weapon Classes:

All weapons are able to grow with their Hunter. In fact this is a two way path, as the Hunter becomes stronger and more understanding of their weapons Fear, the weapon will in return be able to cooperate with the Hunter to unleash more devastating attacks. Weapons can be ranked by their current ability:

Weapon Rankings

S Class There are less than a handful of these in the world. Most are unsuccessful and remain dormant. Of those that are not dormant, they have been permanently sealed to a state of hibernation. They are also known as Ancient weapons. S class weapons are unwieldable and unbondable. They exist only as states of pure, raw Fear.
Example: Excalibur, Merlin




A class: A class weapons are able to utilize the full extent of their Fear. Some weapons never reach this level because they do not have strong enough Fear to begin with. All the faction leaders have A class weapons.




B Class: Most of their power is unsealed, and the weapon considerably powerful, able to fend off almost all Halloween invaders in single combat. They also can unleash several charged attacks, advanced Hunters that are highly skilled can wield these weapons, and often become faction leader assistants.




C class A weapon with fair power and ability. Most Hunters (Advanced/ non-trainee Hunters rank) have C class weapons, able to use a small arsenal of charged attacks,with strong synchronization between Hunter and weapon. C-Class weapons can unleash four charged attacks per battle.




D class: The first growth development of a weapon as it stretches out its Fear for the first time, unlocking more of its dormant ability. D-Class weapons can use three charged attacks per battle. Intermediate hunters wield these.





E class: The beginning bonding stage of a weapon, it is able to use two charged attacks in battle and has the basics of Hunter and weapon communication. Trainee hunters wield these.

Weapon Types:

Weapon types: Almost all weapons are based as their names suggest: as offensive, mobile weapons. The conversion of a Halloween creature into something non arms based is considered a failure. There are different types of weapons:

Weapon Types

Long Ranged: These are agile weapons that are very vulnerable at close range, but perform better in firing long ranged or missile based attacks. Gun, missile, and bow based weapons fall in this category.



Sword Based: these are close ranged weapons with a sharp sword or blade edge with a smaller handle. They have strong flexibility in close range and are the fastest of the melee type weapons. These include general swords, daggers and rapiers.



Pole-arm: Pole-arms have a longer reach than a sword, but sacrifice that ability with speed and often accuracy. Pole-arms have a larger blindspot than swords due to their long handles, but perform well in crowd control situations. Polearms include axes, scythes, spears and staves.



Close Combat: Close combat weapons require the wielder to be adept at hand- to-hand, or physical, combat. They are any weapon that enhances the wielder's body and enhances their fighting style instead of just relying on the weapon itself. This can include hand and feet gloved or bladed weapons as well as claws and knuckle weapons.



Heavy weapons: In a class of their own are heavy weapons, weapons that are unwieldy to hold and require a lot of effort and concentration on the user's part. Heavy weapons are usually impractical and slower, but have the ability to hit hard. Very hard. Any weapon could potentially become a heavy weapon, though they are usually classified with a small warning tag.


Chain weapons: Chain, or also known as whip-type weapons, are any weapons that require the use of a chain or some sort of whip to maneuver the weapon. They are tricky to master and often have a wide range of friendly fire. They require more practice to master but have the ability to act as close and medium ranged attacks.

 

[Zoobey]

What kind of Fear makes the weapon?
It depends on several different elements, the Fear of the creature, their appearance and form, and often times, what prototype Weapons Conversion Apparatus they are using. For example, Prototype Z was scrapped after all it managed to produce were tiny club weapons.

Are weapons sentient/intelligent?

Yes, as much as their partners are, if not more so. Often though, weapons may choose to keep things to themselves, despite their general love for self preservation. While weapons can become weak enough to temporarily be summoned or even dissipate, they will eventually regain enough Fear to appear back in their weapon forms again.

Weapons can only see and hear through their owners: should the owner lose consciousness, the weapon will also lose all its senses.

Weapons and ranges:

Weapons as they are symbiotic with the Hunter, relying on their connection with the Hunter to wield them and bring them to their greatest power However, if separated from the Hunter for a long period of time, a weapon can choose to force dissipate and re-summon itself next to their partner, though this move almost immediately drains all their Fear.

Weapon voices can only talk to their Hunters, though there have been cases of Fear leaking enough for others to temporarily hear other weapons. Weapons cannot communicate with each other. They fall silent until they bond with a Hunter.

 

[Zoobey]

Weapons and Fear charges:

One charge of Fear per successful charged attack for E level weapons. This goes up every rank the weapon grows. For more information on types of Fear abilities, please read the battle guilde.

Weapons and Fear addiction:

Due to Hunters consistently using a weapon's Fear, many weapons become Fear starved, constantly trying to find a Fear source to replenish its energies and maintain a proper state of awareness. Many weapons become frenzied, as if in a state of addiction , when there is ambient and usable Fear nearby. Depending on the experience of the Hunter, weapons may find themselves having difficulty managing their consistent state of Fear starvation versus replenishment.

Weapons and the Fear Shield:

While weapons have charged attacks and offensive abilities, they also by nature have a Fear buffer: that is, the ability to create a Fear shield to absorb or take the oncoming damage. Once the Fear shield is used up, the Hunter becomes susceptible to any and all physical damage. This will lead to permanent retirement ie: death of the Hunter. Weapons will usually do their very best to prevent this from happening to their partner within their capabilities.

 

[WE ARE HALLOWEEN]

Passive Weapon abilities:

When a weapon is invoked/ its Fear is invoked, a weapon will also have passive abilities. These are very minor abilities that affect the Hunter in usually beneficial ways, related to the original Natural abilities that it once had. However, instead of having unique ones, weapons instead have broken their passive abilities into certain identifiable traits that immediately help its owner. All weapons share the same passive abilities that may fluctuate depending on the original property of the weapon.
- This varies of course on the rank of the weapon, the lower the rank, the less chance for them to invoke the maximum potential of a passive ability
- Passive abilities fall into various groups, all weapons have certain types of strengths and weaknesses in their passive abilities depending on what they were. This is once again, to be only played ICly on a small change basis, nothing groundbreaking amazing (your char doesn't develop instant superpowers okay, its a subtle shift that continues to grow)
- All passive abilities of course depend on the weapon's Fear, if they are entirely drained/ cannot be summoned/ called, passive abilities also become locked.
- ((OOC: You can choose ONE attribute that your weapon perhaps is more attuned with/ depending on what type of weapon they were, and give them a better "innate understanding" of that passive ability. Think of it as a natural understanding of that passive ability as opposed to a learning curve))

[ Speed healing ] : All weapons have this passive ability, which gets stronger the higher rank the weapon and Hunter become/ the stronger their bond. For trainees starting out, serious injuries may only take them for example, 1 week to heal instead of 2 weeks, for regular Hunters 3-4 days. Having a weapon who's Fear is based on healing may speed up the Hunter's healing process even faster, just by a small margin.

[ Fear Shield ]: All Hunters have this passive ability. This protects them from damage which would otherwise be catastrophic, buffering any damage they take through a Fear-based shield that the weapons can create. Once again, generally the closer the bond between Hunter and weapon, the stronger the Fear shield, though having certain weapons attuned to blocking may also up the Fear shield a little further, though not by a noteable amount during the earlier stages.

[ Weapon Bond ]: All Hunters can communicate with their weapons. Their weapons can see through the Hunters eyes, though not vice versa. If a weapon strays too far from a Hunter, especially during the earlier years of bonding, it will become entirely "blind", the connection cut off temporarily. The automatic trigger mechanism of instantly desummoning and reappearing with the Hunter in dormant form helps combat this weakness.

[ Fear Draining ] All Hunters can drain Fear with their weapon, this is how they build charges to use their weapon. Weapons can drain more Fear as they rank up, and convert this to stronger skills. Higher ranked weapons can also store Fear charges for longer periods of time.

[ Physical and Elemental Resistance ]: As opposed to Fear shields, for elemental weapons ONLY, the Hunter may also have a passive resistance to certain skills or forces, more so than usual. For example, a fire-based weapon can develop more resistence passively to frostbite, and an ice-based weapon keep its Hunter cooler during hot climates. Again this is very minimal, it only acts as a self defense mechanism that triggers the user only, and its effectiveness is usually dictated by the bond the weapon shares with its owner.

[ Power and Speed Boost ]: Hunters have slightly increased strength and speed compared to regular humans, especially ones without weapons. Their ability to manipulate this also depends on their weapon type (for instance, weapons with a physical attribute may show enhanced ability to manipulate strength), and their bond with the weapon.

Unique Passive Weapon abilities:


- Unique passive weapon abilities are reflective of the power/ abilities of the weapon/ Natural Abilities before the weapon was converted, though they may also be unlocked with a strong enough bond between Hunter and weapon.
- There are only a 5 hunters in Deus Ex who have unique passive abilities

 

[Zoobey]

The Quick and Dirty Fear Shield Guide!

gaia_crown What is a Fear Shield: A Hunter is very squishy on their own! They have no magical powers or abilities. However, when they receive their weapon, they are granted abilities just like a magical girl transformation!*

Along with very comparable strength and good reflexes, which you can read more about Weapons here, a Hunter is granted a damage buffer also known as a Fear Shield. Fear Shields have two states: in battle and outside of battle. The Fear Shield is what prevents a Hunter from being very squishy, like wearing a very good coat of armour. Like weapons natures in general, Fear Shields will evolve over time, differently depending on the Hunter involved! Some Fear Shields focus more on recovery afterwards while some are more focused on how much damage they can absorb (your general HP pool). Long story short, your Fear Shield is your HP pool. Once it is broken, you will take full damage, like your armour breaking.

*Disclaimer: You don't get a cute** costume, all you get is a power boost.
** Disclaimer 2: You aren't cute seriously. Gross

gaia_crown Fear Shield appearance:
- Most Fear Shields are not too obvious, but can be seen by reflected light: a bullet or weapon bouncing off or into it, and it rippling the space around the Hunter. Otherwise, they are not that obvious.

- Fear Shields may vary in shape and size depending on the Hunter. Y1 Hunters would obviously start off with a smaller range, like a coat of protection.

gaia_crown Fear Shields In Battle: Occurs in battle when a weapon is summoned. This is where a Hunter's Fear Shield has full effect. As long as your Hunter has HP, they take the damage buffer/ have the protective armour. All attacks that hit them can hurt but they are drastically drastically decreased in actual physical damage, once again, like hitting a very solid coat of armour or wall.

- Fear Shields are given their name because they are generated of Fear. In the case of stabbing or pierced bullet wounds, the Fear spreads to absorb the damage one would normally retain from that area. Normally getting past a Fear shield is a pretty big feat on its own. Bullets are in general deflected, stab wounds graze.

- Fear Shields are only as strong as the Hunter! Some Fear Shields cannot sustain a very massive attack and can collapse instantly! In this scenario, which is very, very rare, your Hunter will immediately be susceptible to damage!

- At Trainee stage, Fear shields are once again like suits of armour. Once the armour durability wears out, Hunters will take full damage. Otherwise, they take the dents and bruises the armour can get, but not the full wound.

- At full Hunter stage, the Fear shield acts as a protective layer of Fear. They can take most damage, and sustain a lot longer. Full Hunters when hit by a powerful force will still take and feel damage, but the impact is lessened by an incredible amount. A giant Insanity Titan flying straight at you could send you flying, but it at least didn't kill you in one blow. Their ability to take this damage and get up repeatedly is what makes Fear Shields rather incredible.

- In battle, when your HP reaches 0 your Fear shield is gone. You can still move around, however you are now highly susceptible to injury, and your weapon has lost almost all its ability to maintain itself in battle. That is, if you are hit by a bullet the bullet will now go -into- you rather than being reflected off and (at worst) leaving a bruise. Instead you now have a bullet-sized hole and you may or may not have a bullet-sized bullet lodged within you.

gaia_crown Fear Shields out of battle: When a weapon is desummoned and in its totem form, the Fear shield is at its very minimal state. It is very easy to take damage when a weapon is desummoned; a weapon cannot buffer damage already taken though its passive healing ability will still be in effect.

gaia_crown Fear Shields and Time: - Over time, the Fear shield takes wear and tear. This is represented by your HP. The more direct damage you take, ie the closer to the skin, for instance, being stabbed directly, the faster your Fear Shield will drain.

- Direct contact damage if not removed immediate ie: removing a weapon, will have a very negative effect on the body if the damage persists as the Fear Shield is busy protecting just that one part of the body. So an arrow to the head may hurt slightly and you will most definitely feel drained terribly long moments after, but at least you're not dead. Brain damage is may or may not occur due to the Fear surrounding the area and the fact that there is an arrow in your head.

gaia_crown [ Fear Shields and Training ]: Weapon dampeners have now been set up in the training fields. In the event a Hunter's Fear Shield breaks, the dampener will absorb a majority of the attacking Hunter's power!
What that means for PVP is once your Hunter has hit 0 HP, they will still take damage in PVP but much less so, as if they still had a Fear Shield. This is only in effect on the training fields.