Items
There are many items of several varieties in Blood Secrets. Some are equipped to be used automatically, others are selected in the inventory to be used that turn. Items fall into the following categories:
Weapons are genereally the first thing that players are interested in when they start the game. Weapons are equipped in the weapons slot, and are used automatically when an enemy is selected in the game.
Each weapon has numerous statistics. Speed affects when a character strikes in the round, how easy the attack is to dodge, and also how effective the weapons is in parrying if the character has the necessary level of Parry skill and is using a close-range weapon. Range is only relevant for ranged weapons; it controls how many squares away a target can be hit, and also how accurate the weapon is, affecting both damage and the victim's dodging attempts. Like Range, Reach affects the damage and ease of dodging of close-range weapons. It also reduces the damage from certain ranged weapons if fired at close range; this is known as "spoil".
Damage controls the base damage of the weapons. Note also that damage can come in many types. Some damage is "normal", i.e. based on direct physical injury; this includes normal, ap (armour piercing), wood and silver attacks. Other damage is "environmental", including shock, charge, flame, burn, cold, chill, acid, poison, weaken, sleep, paralyze, confuse and control damage. Note also some damage is applied once, on striking; this includes all "normal" types, and also shock, flame and cold damage. All other types of damage work over time; their effect weakens as time passes. Each turn, the strength of the original attack is rolled against the character's Fortitude or Willpower as applicable to see how much the victim can overcome the effect. Finally, "kb" ("knockback") damage can push an enemy away from the character.
Some weapons have a Magazine statistic; this indicates how many shots they can use before being reloaded. Load the weapon with the appropriate Ammo by clicking on that ammunition in the character's inventory.
Bulk is extremely important. A character can only wield a weapon in one hand if the bulk is less than the character's Strength. They can wield a weapon two-handed wth a bulk up to three times the character's Strength, but will then be unable to use an item in the Support slot.
Hand weapons refer to items which primarily reinforce the fist as the character performs unarmed combat. They generally add a small factor to the character's unarmed attacks. Their effectiveness is determined by the character's Dexterity or Strength, whichever is highest.
Cutting weapons are good all-round close-range weapons, with decent speed and damage. They are governed by Strength.
Bashing weapons also use Strength and are generally slower than Cutting weapons, but are often slower with added knockback damage. They also make Bashing actions on doors more effective.
Thrusting weapons are instead governed by Dexterity. They tend to have lower damage than Bashing and Cutting weapons, but are frequently faster and may do armour-piercing damage.
Throwing weapons are slow, and have limited range. However, they do not require reloading (this is factored into the weapon's Speed), and unlike other ranged weapons do not provoke Spoil against enemies with melee weapons at close range. They are governed by Dexterity.
Grenades are similarly slow and limited in range. They are useful first-strike weapons as they attack all creatures in an area around the target creature, and may also do non-standard damage. Their usefulness over the course of a battle is limited, however, as the user often runs the risk of catching themself or an ally in the blast. Dexterity is also used to determine the effectiveness of Grenade attacks.
Handguns are the most straightforward of the firearms. They have moderate range and good speed, but limited in the damage they can do compared to Rifle-class firearms and Automatics. All firearms use Perception.
Rifles also includes Shotguns. Both classes have good damage and range, but are generally slow.
Automatics run the gamut from compact submachineguns to full-blown multi-barrel machine guns. The former are fast but only moderate range and low damage, with limited burst capability. Larger machine guns have high damage and impressive burst capabilities, but are slow and extremely heavy.
Bows, while outdated compared with Firearms, may still be useful as they combine acceptable range and damage with a much lower noise profile, and consequently draw less attention. As with the other Projectile weapons, Throwers and Launchers, these use Dexterity in attacks.
Throwers throw gas and inflammable substances. Thus they can deliver many non-standard damage types over a moderate range. They are also the only weapons which can never be parried. However, they are generally slow and heavy.
Launchers fire grenades and rockets over distances. They can thus do high damage to wide areas at long range. However, they are slow, heavy, and a liability in close combat where they are likely to harm the character and their allies.
Support items are held in the character's non-weapon hand. Some support items have automatic effects; for example, some are light sources, lighting a certain radius, while others are shields, adding to the character's armour (see Clothing below). Still others are "active" items, such as healing packs which are used by clicking on the character or an ally, or lockpicks which are used by clicking on a door.
The main purpose of clothing is to provide the character with armour. "Normal" armour protects against "normal", impact-type damage, as described above in Weapons. "Environ" armour protects against all other types of damage. "Shell" armour protects against all types of damage. Note that armour-piercing attacks can still be resisted, but all armour is less effective at stopping ap damage.
Certain clothing can have other effects, such as camouflage giving a bonus to Hide attempts.
Headgear plays a role somewhat similar to the passive support items. Some headgear provides defence in the form of helmets; some provides light, and others provide bonuses when using certain skills.
Ammunition must be loaded into weapons with magazines. Click on the desired ammo and it will be loaded into the weapon equipped if appropriate. Note that a single weapon may use many types of ammo with various damage types.
Traps are a special kind of one-use weapon. When clicked on in the character's inventory, the character will lay the trap in the square they are currently operating. If a creature subsequently steps on that square, they must roll their Perception against the Obfuscation of the trap-layer to avoid the trap; otherwise they will be dealt damage as if the trap were to make a single strike against the creature, with effectiveness governed by the trap-layer's Obfuscation.
Don't worry, you can't set off your own traps. Also note that creatures will not set off traps that have been laid to catch the character.
Explosives are use to make Bombs, another form of trap. Clicking on the explosive in the character's inventory will lay the explosive. When it explodes, it will do damage according to its power and the character's Intelligence. It will also destroy any door within one square of the explosion. Note that the explosion makes a lot of noise, and will attract creatures from a considerable distance.
Laying an Explosive charge by itself, however, does nothing. The complete Bomb must be set with a Fuse.
When a Fuse is clicked on, it will be attacked to any Explosive charge laid on square in which the character is standing. Some Fuses work on proximity (including Contact fuses, which are set off when the creature enters the square itself). Such traps may be avoided by checking the victim's Perception against the Bomb layer's Intelligence. Other Fuses are timed, and will go off in a certain number of turns; these cannot be detected.