Do hounds vanish when killed on earth?

[Silveressa]

Just a small question raised by a friend of mine who is considering gming a night bane campaign that seemed unable to find an answer for in the books. (and neither could I after an hour or so of looking)

Given no major physical evidence of them has been found of them by the public yet I'm inclined to think they vanish/dissolve into goop several minutes after death.

Also what about their weapons? I vaguely recall a gm from years ago had the weapons vanish several hours after the death of the hound unless it was in the nightlands but I'm not sure if she based it off "by the book" evidence or just made it up..

[Shark_Force]

i'm almost certain the hounds themselves disappear, but i can't recall the reference for it.

i'm unaware of any clear ruling on their weapons, but the nightbane on the cover of the main book is mentioned as wielding one. requiring that the weapons spend some time in the nightlands in order to remain wouldn't be a bad fix (something like once every few days or whatever), but isn't explicitly stated anywhere that i know of (although i don't own book 2 or survival guide). certainly, if the weapons remained, there would be a lot more evidence of the hounds' existence.

perhaps they bind to someone in a similar manner to rune weapons, and if unclaimed shortly after the death of a current owner, they disappear (perhaps back into the nightlands, to be assigned to a different hound/hunter).

the short version: there's nothing specific about the weapons(unless it's in book 2 or survival guide), but it makes sense that something should be made up.

[Silveressa]

perhaps they bind to someone in a similar manner to rune weapons, and if unclaimed shortly after the death of a current owner, they disappear (perhaps back into the nightlands, to be assigned to a different hound/hunter).

I really like that concept for the weapons, especially with a few small side effects of "bonding", like reoccurring nightmares of the tortures the poor souls endured who died to create the weapon and perhaps a psychic presence of evil about the weapon.

[Judas]

hounds do vanish on earth, cannot give you a page number but it is in there, in Between the shadows it does make a note that hounds do not vanish in the NL and in fact have blood.

As for there weapons, from what i gather there is no offical ruling, but lets use a touch of common sense if dark weapons remained, they would be littered all over for every street bum to find. A house ruling in our group is if you disarm a hound and he is not holding the weapon as it dies/dissappears then said weapon will remain.

I like your bonding idea, in one of my quests the group did a hit on a NSB weapons transport, found guns, armour and a crate, when they examined the crate they found that dark weapons were floating in blood, innocent blood...

Made everyone look at there trophey weapons a different way after that.

[Incriptus]

As for there weapons, from what i gather there is no offical ruling, but lets use a touch of common sense if dark weapons remained, they would be littered all over for every street bum to find.

Well either that or the government has men in black who come and sanitise the sight, after any battle with hounds.

[Rallan]

hounds do vanish on earth, cannot give you a page number but it is in there, in Between the shadows it does make a note that hounds do not vanish in the NL and in fact have blood.

As for there weapons, from what i gather there is no offical ruling, but lets use a touch of common sense if dark weapons remained, they would be littered all over for every street bum to find. A house ruling in our group is if you disarm a hound and he is not holding the weapon as it dies/dissappears then said weapon will remain.

Plenty of NPCs have Darkmetal weapons, and it's kinda implied that PCs will end up with them too. So while Hound and Hunter corpses apparently disappear, weapons hang around forever.

And really, it wouldn't be that big a deal if their weapons stay anyway. A corpse with a metal exoskeleton and bizarre anatomy is a big deal. A big black sword is just a big black sword, and it's just gonna wind up in the evidence lockup or some guy's closet anyway. Plus with the police departments of the world hopelessly corrupted in this setting anyway, it's not gonna take much work to make sure those weapons are never submitted to the forensics lab. At worst, people'll start to think that there's a gang or a cult or a terrorist movement or whatever that uses weird black swords and spears in ritual murders.

And of course, the biggest and best-known "good guy" groups (ie every faction in the main book) all have a very good reason for taking the weapons with them. If they leave a bunch of Darkmetal weapons lying around after a battle with some Hounds, those weapons will basically be a big loud neon sign telling the police (who are servants of the Nightlords) that a bunch of Nightbane/Guardians/Wampyrs are active in the area.

[Judas]

hounds do vanish on earth, cannot give you a page number but it is in there, in Between the shadows it does make a note that hounds do not vanish in the NL and in fact have blood.

As for there weapons, from what i gather there is no offical ruling, but lets use a touch of common sense if dark weapons remained, they would be littered all over for every street bum to find. A house ruling in our group is if you disarm a hound and he is not holding the weapon as it dies/dissappears then said weapon will remain.

Plenty of NPCs have Darkmetal weapons, and it's kinda implied that PCs will end up with them too. So while Hound and Hunter corpses apparently disappear, weapons hang around forever.

And really, it wouldn't be that big a deal if their weapons stay anyway. A corpse with a metal exoskeleton and bizarre anatomy is a big deal. A big black sword is just a big black sword, and it's just gonna wind up in the evidence lockup or some guy's closet anyway. Plus with the police departments of the world hopelessly corrupted in this setting anyway, it's not gonna take much work to make sure those weapons are never submitted to the forensics lab. At worst, people'll start to think that there's a gang or a cult or a terrorist movement or whatever that uses weird black swords and spears in ritual murders.

And of course, the biggest and best-known "good guy" groups (ie every faction in the main book) all have a very good reason for taking the weapons with them. If they leave a bunch of Darkmetal weapons lying around after a battle with some Hounds, those weapons will basically be a big loud neon sign telling the police (who are servants of the Nightlords) that a bunch of Nightbane/Guardians/Wampyrs are active in the area.

I see where your coming from, but I have to disagree. Most hounds have spears, I cannot imagine the party after every fight picking up all the spears and off they go. The same principle with MIB turning up and 'cleaning the scene'.

Then again going by the rules it only says hounds fade not dark weapons so you guys would be right, can you imagine the clean up operation of a major raid, dark weapons lying everywhere, new members of the resistance who have yet to earn there stripes on clean up details

Bane 1: "Hey Lou."
Bane 2: "Yeah..."
Bane 1: "Never guess what...another dark spear"
Bane 2" "What the hell...we can't &*^%$£$ give these away!"

[Rallan]

hounds do vanish on earth, cannot give you a page number but it is in there, in Between the shadows it does make a note that hounds do not vanish in the NL and in fact have blood.

As for there weapons, from what i gather there is no offical ruling, but lets use a touch of common sense if dark weapons remained, they would be littered all over for every street bum to find. A house ruling in our group is if you disarm a hound and he is not holding the weapon as it dies/dissappears then said weapon will remain.

Plenty of NPCs have Darkmetal weapons, and it's kinda implied that PCs will end up with them too. So while Hound and Hunter corpses apparently disappear, weapons hang around forever.

And really, it wouldn't be that big a deal if their weapons stay anyway. A corpse with a metal exoskeleton and bizarre anatomy is a big deal. A big black sword is just a big black sword, and it's just gonna wind up in the evidence lockup or some guy's closet anyway. Plus with the police departments of the world hopelessly corrupted in this setting anyway, it's not gonna take much work to make sure those weapons are never submitted to the forensics lab. At worst, people'll start to think that there's a gang or a cult or a terrorist movement or whatever that uses weird black swords and spears in ritual murders.

And of course, the biggest and best-known "good guy" groups (ie every faction in the main book) all have a very good reason for taking the weapons with them. If they leave a bunch of Darkmetal weapons lying around after a battle with some Hounds, those weapons will basically be a big loud neon sign telling the police (who are servants of the Nightlords) that a bunch of Nightbane/Guardians/Wampyrs are active in the area.

I see where your coming from, but I have to disagree. Most hounds have spears, I cannot imagine the party after every fight picking up all the spears and off they go. The same principle with MIB turning up and 'cleaning the scene'.

It's a modern-day game in a setting where the police are actively trying to find and kill the PCs. As long as the PCs don't end up having to flee for their lives, it'd be extremely unrealistic of them not to try and clean up the scene. Everything that's even the teensiest bit supernatural needs to be taken away and stashed or dumped, to make sure the baddies are less likely to realise that a clash between supernatural critters happened on their turf.

And meanwhile on the other side of the fence, the MIB will most certainl "clean up the scene". There's a worldwide conspiracy to make sure the public never realise that monsters walk the Earth, and that conspiracy's gonna be pretty hard to maintain if everyone's leaving weapons which are made from unknown substances and which can cut through solid steel lying around everywhere.

In short, the protagonist factions are gonna clean up the scene whenever they think they've got enough time to do it in safety, the MIB and other Nightlord minions are gonna do it whenever they discover a scene, and the assorted unaligned baddies like demons and vampires are gonna do it whenever possible just to make sure the Nightlords don't have a reason to snoop around in their neighbourhoods. Magic items need to be swiped, inhuman bodies need to be disposed of (because not all kinds of monster are convenient enough to tidy themselves up after death), and all trace of wiggy supernatural phenomena needs to be erased.

[Silveressa]

The real problem with making the weapon so readily available is nearly every pc & npc would be using them for a melee weapon given their rather obvious advantage over more traditional ones. (Also makes breaking and entering a lot easier when you can slash through a lock or chain link fence, or even bank vault door with a little effort)

Even street gangs would have a fair chance of acquiring at least one of these weapons and using it to wreck havoc, and tbh, making them that common would be a bit game balance wrecking. (What's the point of an A.R of any sort if the majority of pcs & npc's have weapons that completely by pass it?)

Another suggestion I had brought up to me, was the weapons emitted a dark energy signature for several hours or days after the owner was killed that would allow hounds/night lord minions to sense the weapons location within a certain radius (perhaps several hundred feet or maybe 5-10 miles?) This would make retrieval of missing weapons rather easy and hanging onto a dark metal weapon long enough for this effect to fade so it can be freely used a real challenge. (and thus appropriately scarce in the hands of pc's & npc's who don't wish to take the risk/effort to acquire one for long term usage)

[The Dark Elf]

I limit them to being very rare.

In the whole Dark Day campaign I believe the PC's only saw one being used once and that was by a hound breaking into their orphanage (thats right NB PC's were orphans back then).

A member of the Golden Posse armed with a darkblade would be a good plot.

If youre not happy with a Darkblades power, you could stat them out by making them MDC weapons?!

[Judas]

I think is going to be one of those each to there own

[Rallan]

I think is going to be one of those each to there own

Well there's a Hound's spear right there in a Nightbane's hands on the main book cover art, and however many NPCs scattered through the books with darkmetal weapons. Apparently some of us are each to our own and some of us are each to canon

[Judas]

I think is going to be one of those each to there own

Well there's a Hound's spear right there in a Nightbane's hands on the main book cover art, and however many NPCs scattered through the books with darkmetal weapons. Apparently some of us are each to our own and some of us are each to canon

*Falls down, dark spear to the chest*

[Jefffar]

To explain why there are not dark-metal weapons littering every dark alley on earth, yet still allow characters to and npc to acquire such weapons I decided that the weapon's presence on earth was linked to the magic which brought it across the mirror wall. In the case of Hounds, Hunters and most Nightlord minions, that magic ceases when they are destroyed and dissolve into shadow, so the weapon goes with them.

However, if someone goes to the Nightlands (like all Nightbane can) and kills a hound there, the weapon can be picked up and brought to earth without risk of it dissolving.

[Rallan]

To explain why there are not dark-metal weapons littering every dark alley on earth, yet still allow characters to and npc to acquire such weapons I decided that the weapon's presence on earth was linked to the magic which brought it across the mirror wall. In the case of Hounds, Hunters and most Nightlord minions, that magic ceases when they are destroyed and dissolve into shadow, so the weapon goes with them.

However, if someone goes to the Nightlands (like all Nightbane can) and kills a hound there, the weapon can be picked up and brought to earth without risk of it dissolving.

Personally I think the "monsters run the government and they're covering everything up" explanation works well enough. Compared to all the vast insidious conspiracies and brutal atrocities that they have to keep a lid on, making sure the general public don't find out about some magically sharp weapons doesn't seem all that hard.

[The ineffible GM]

I seem to recall that the weapons did fade from existence, just like the Hounds, unless you were in the Nightlands.

At least that's how we played it.

[Nekira Sudacne]

I play it as they always stick around and black market trade in Darkmetal weapons is a hot business.

[Nekira Sudacne]

The darkblades stick around. However, using them is problematic because they are instantly recognizable by anyone that's "in" with the Nightlords, and it's hard, in general, to run around with a darkblade staff and not be noticed (of course, if you've got a whacked out morphus, then you've probably already addressed this issue some how, so the blade staff isn't going to make much difference).
The problem is usually how people use Hounds in the setting, most likely. If there are Hounds involved, then there's likely other minions involved. Hounds aren't just wandering on their own in most cases on Earth. Those other minions are likely to call in back up if they see the Hounds getting smacked around. That includes local police, helicopters, NSB special agents, maybe the local SWAT unit (human or not), all coordinating by radio). Altercations have to happen quickly for the Nightbane, or they risk being overwhelmed by an enemy who controls the establishment. That means that in many cases you're not there to kill every hound or hunter and then loot the bodies. You're getting in, doing what you have to do, and getting out again...fast. The only groups I've seen wail on hounds easily and thoroughly every time are groups made almost entirely of nightbane. During an extended campaign, however, it is not unusual for a group to eventually end up with everyone having at least one. However, there should be an issue with taking them everywhere unless they are knives or scimitars. If everyone's second or third level, and they've all got quivers of spare darkblade weapons, you should probably rethink how you're running the nightbane setting...unless of course, you're having fun, in which case don't worry about it.

Pretty much this. Don't take how realitvly easy it is for a nightbane with a powerful morphus to stomp on a hound as an Indicator. Nightbane are really one of the most powerful supernatural races that Palladium has ever made. I'd go so far as to say a Nightbane with one of the more Potent Morphus Layouts, the right skill picks and talents are, pound for pound, more powerful than a Hatchling dragon by a pretty fair amount. If they pick their Talents right, Nightbane can be more powerful than a Godling in terms of sheer Kickassery, and use magic to boot.

But if you have a party like we do in Darkeys game, the differences become Stark. Nightbane like Sapphire and Harry (before he left) can rip though a group of hounds in short order, but when Pearl (the human Psychic character) got cornered by two hounds and an Ashmendi, it looked pretty dark and only some good rolling and fast calvary got us out of that one allive and unharmed.

The Wampyre is sort of an interesting Middle ground. He's not got as many psionics as the Psychic, but supernatural strength and regeneration make up for a lot. He can hold his own pretty well.

And every time we ever fought, no matter how clearly we won, we were always running like hell away after we completed our Objective, because we always knew that even more Calvary was on the way. We've never had the chance to stay and loot Once, and then we passed it up mostly because we were ready to go home by then

[Misfit KotLD]

We looted a couple times, Harry did have a couple Darkblade swords. But as potent as a Nightbane can be, there's always lots more Hounds than Bane. Discretion is the better part of valor.

[Shark_Force]

how long does it really take to pick up a sword or a spear, anyways?

i don't think time should really be an issue. it's probably 1 attack/action to pick up a weapon from a fallen hound anyways. certainly, i couldn't see taking the time to grab 20 of them from your fallen enemies, but i don't think it's particularly unreasonable for a person (or even each person) to grab one as they're getting out of dodge. and i don't think it's unreasonable for a nightbane to have several of them in their possession (if they grab one, put it away somewhere safe, and then get ambushed by hounds without one, i could easily see them getting another, and repeating that indefinitely). the major organisations would probably be able to hand out darkblades if they feel the situation calls for it, even. (the resistance, in particular, i suspect has plenty of darkblades)

[Mercdog]

I've always figured that the hounds fade away when destroyed, but their weapons remain behind, at least temporarily.
I figure that dark metal weapons quickly begin to degrade if they come into contact with daylight (or perhaps any strong light source). Degraded weapons are -1 to damage for every 10 minutes exposed. Once the damage penalty equals or exceeds the original max damage capacity of the weapon, the weapon seemingly disintegrates into a fine black sand. So if you do manage to get your hands on a dark metal weapon, you would have to take care to make sure it stays out of the sun.

[Armorlord]

I roll with that, unless it has been disarmed and knocked clear or claimed before the Hound drops, then it fades with it on Earth.

[Johnathan]

how long does it really take to pick up a sword or a spear, anyways?

i don't think time should really be an issue. it's probably 1 attack/action to pick up a weapon from a fallen hound anyways. certainly, i couldn't see taking the time to grab 20 of them from your fallen enemies, but i don't think it's particularly unreasonable for a person (or even each person) to grab one as they're getting out of dodge. and i don't think it's unreasonable for a nightbane to have several of them in their possession (if they grab one, put it away somewhere safe, and then get ambushed by hounds without one, i could easily see them getting another, and repeating that indefinitely). the major organisations would probably be able to hand out darkblades if they feel the situation calls for it, even. (the resistance, in particular, i suspect has plenty of darkblades)

To attempt to answer this question, at least in regards to the timeliness (especially in Darky's game), the group just doesn't ever have the time to think "Oh hey! Look! seemingly indestructible weapons that are probably worth a pretty penny/inflict better damage than what we currently have/whatever else we can think of! Let's grab those suckers!" Is simply due to what has already been stated several times. The group is usually very much so on the run and if we happen to pick one up when running away from reinforcements, then we got lucky, but that's all it is... Luck.

Our GM also does not spoon-feed us awesome equipment (Like darkblades, which maybe not to Nightbane, but OTHER Character types...). He lets us know that the enemy does HAVE these weapons, but once those enemies have been dealt with, there are three others waiting for us to drop our guard and pounce, box us in, attack, etc. It's a VERY fast paced game. Our PCs usually aren't concerned with acquiring Darkblades from fallen Hounds, cause it's just a good way to get shot in the head, have a hole blown through your chest, get impaled, sliced, stabbed, gutted, etc...

So again, the knowledge that the enemies weapons are there is usually just not that crucial for us to consider grabbing them and running. When you're on the move, picking up EVERY piece of equipment that looks awesome just... isn't practical. Nightbane isn't Palladium Fantasy: Not everyone has a mystical enchanted bag/quiver/pouch/backpack/whatever, that can hold ten times what it looks like it can. Take the best of what you got, or take what your character has skill in using, leave the rest for the (pardon the pun) hounds!

Also, consider MIB (The Movie, not the Nightlord toys), in regards to how fallen Nightlord minions might be treated. If the Nightlords are in control of most of the governments, as well as most of the "secret" agencies that exist, then it only follows to reason that should something go wrong, there is a "Clean Up Crew" there to "deal" with the situation. Incinerating bodies, destroying evidence, keeping the average Joe and Jane out of the know and then pulling some Bull news event trying to pin it on the sun reflecting off of a satelite, gas pipe bursting, etc.

Most Nightlords are exceptionally good at manipulation, especially in regards to the media that they control (which is to say... most of the major media), and can literally get away with Murder (sometimes on a GRAND scale) thanks to it. Or they can try to pin on your group! That's right, your group, the good guys, suddenly shows up in the news as being known terrorists because they're caught on camera fighting NSB agents, or attacking a known Nightlord installation/facility. You did your job, the Clean Up Crew shows up and butchers the facts... and now your PC's are wanted vigilantes... Congratulations! Now, suddenly, normal means of acquisition (want to go grocery shopping? Tough your characters face is posted on wanted posters all over the city), travel (Sorry, any taxi driver worth their salt knows most of the news as well as local rumors. Forget about trying to buy a car...), communication (Want an iPhone? Sorry, those suckers have GPS and the next thing you know you have NSB Agents knocking on your front door!), mostly everything that is done through "the normal means" is out of the question for you and your group. You're all criminals now, or known associates with a criminal organization. Isn't the media fun?

So... there are plans and then there are plans. My reasoning behind, like I said, is that regardless of what Nightlord minions your group manages to kill, there is almost always something more dangerous waiting in the shadows, and once the group beats their hasty retreat, NSB Agents show up to dispose of any evidence, witnesses, or anything (that includes "confiscating evidence", I.E. - whatever proof there could be to the existence of the Nightlords, like Darkblades). Tough to beat out, eh?

[Rallan]

how long does it really take to pick up a sword or a spear, anyways?

i don't think time should really be an issue. it's probably 1 attack/action to pick up a weapon from a fallen hound anyways. certainly, i couldn't see taking the time to grab 20 of them from your fallen enemies, but i don't think it's particularly unreasonable for a person (or even each person) to grab one as they're getting out of dodge. and i don't think it's unreasonable for a nightbane to have several of them in their possession (if they grab one, put it away somewhere safe, and then get ambushed by hounds without one, i could easily see them getting another, and repeating that indefinitely). the major organisations would probably be able to hand out darkblades if they feel the situation calls for it, even. (the resistance, in particular, i suspect has plenty of darkblades)

Snatching and grabbing what's there in front of you is no big deal. Tipping the place upside down for loot and loading as much gear as you can find into your car is probably out of the question though.

The thing to remember in Nightbane is that one of the main reasons the long arm of the law still exists is so the Nightlords can protect what's theirs. Some gangsters can clear out a rival's apartment and run around with guns blazing, but if that guy wasn't connected and there's no reason to believe supernatural wigginess was involved, there's a fair chance the cops will turn up late. But if someone torches a Night Cultist's house, or if an Ashmedai in disguise gets murdered, or someone tries to break into a warehouse where a Night Prince keeps some of his loot, then the cops are going to respond rapidly and in force (and with supernatural backup) just in case it turns out that enemies of the Nightlords were involved. And even when you're going up against other baddies (like demons, sorcerers with a really bad attitude, that sorta thing), if the police rock up and find a crime scene that looks like a monster has rampaged all over the place, they're gonna call the forensic pathologists and go CSI on the place even if it involves shutting down the ongoing investigation of a serial killer to get the specialist manpower they need.

[Johnathan]

how long does it really take to pick up a sword or a spear, anyways?

i don't think time should really be an issue. it's probably 1 attack/action to pick up a weapon from a fallen hound anyways. certainly, i couldn't see taking the time to grab 20 of them from your fallen enemies, but i don't think it's particularly unreasonable for a person (or even each person) to grab one as they're getting out of dodge. and i don't think it's unreasonable for a nightbane to have several of them in their possession (if they grab one, put it away somewhere safe, and then get ambushed by hounds without one, i could easily see them getting another, and repeating that indefinitely). the major organisations would probably be able to hand out darkblades if they feel the situation calls for it, even. (the resistance, in particular, i suspect has plenty of darkblades)

Snatching and grabbing what's there in front of you is no big deal. Tipping the place upside down for loot and loading as much gear as you can find into your car is probably out of the question though.

The thing to remember in Nightbane is that one of the main reasons the long arm of the law still exists is so the Nightlords can protect what's theirs. Some gangsters can clear out a rival's apartment and run around with guns blazing, but if that guy wasn't connected and there's no reason to believe supernatural wigginess was involved, there's a fair chance the cops will turn up late. But if someone torches a Night Cultist's house, or if an Ashmedai in disguise gets murdered, or someone tries to break into a warehouse where a Night Prince keeps some of his loot, then the cops are going to respond rapidly and in force (and with supernatural backup) just in case it turns out that enemies of the Nightlords were involved. And even when you're going up against other baddies (like demons, sorcerers with a really bad attitude, that sorta thing), if the police rock up and find a crime scene that looks like a monster has rampaged all over the place, they're gonna call the forensic pathologists and go CSI on the place even if it involves shutting down the ongoing investigation of a serial killer to get the specialist manpower they need.

I always figured that it also gave them the ability to run around, in disguise of course, and be able to hunt down "degenerates, killers, murderers, rapists and dangerous anarchists". Translation: "Intellectuals, Good Nightbane, Guardians and all other opposition" Yeah, I agree with the fact that it exists so that the Nightlords can protect what they see as theirs now... but don't forget, it's also now "The Laws" civil duty to hunt down the good guys and those who are in the way of the Nightlords agenda... Ain't it grand?

[Rallan]

I always figured that it also gave them the ability to run around, in disguise of course, and be able to hunt down "degenerates, killers, murderers, rapists and dangerous anarchists". Translation: "Intellectuals, Good Nightbane, Guardians and all other opposition" Yeah, I agree with the fact that it exists so that the Nightlords can protect what they see as theirs now... but don't forget, it's also now "The Laws" civil duty to hunt down the good guys and those who are in the way of the Nightlords agenda... Ain't it grand?

Well yeah there's that too. Can't have a reign of terror if you don't have your cops out intimidating witnesses, bullying the lower classes, taking immense bribes from gang lords, and quietly abducting activists and critics. But all of that probably takes a bit of a back seat to security. Protect your bosses first, hunt down their enemies second, and scare the public and line your own pockets when you've got some free time.

[Sir_Spirit]

I cant' think/see why anyone would think Darkblades fade. There's nothing to indicate that they do, nothing to hint or imply that they do, and various people are shown having them.
I think El Magico's campaign shows why it could be hard to get a hold of one, though IMO it seems like the psychic should have had a chance to yank one over(telekinesis?) so they weren't so overmatched...

[GaredBattlespike]

In my campaign, the Dark Blade weapons simply fade unless "Claimed" by a Supernatural type (NightBane,Psychics ECT)! Of course the Evil methods used to make these weapons ensures bad,bad nightmares for the owner-at least! After a while, most people either abandon them, or turn Evil themselves...

[Xar]

Hello, this is my first post here. I have just started a Nightbane campaign in Calgary (hometown of course). I thought I would post my policy in regards to the Nightblade debate.

In my game, I'm taking inspiration from Beyond the Supernatural 2nd Ed. All nightblades are normal weapons unless the following occurs:

1. A supernatural creature wields it.
2. It is used against a supernatural creature.

As for the wolverine-like ability to cut all materials, I will limit that to those with supernatural strength. This would allow all those loose blades lying around can be picked up by regular humans but they would not exhibit anything special. In fact, a 'normal' human can break a nightblade weapon if abused just as he could break a similar weapon. The supernatural however cannot break a nightblade weapon if for example it was wielded by a normal human. As for the number of them around, that's 'explained' by the media as excessive fanboy enthusiasm for the Nightlands television show. Anyway, that's my take on the nightblade debate.

Hey, welcome! I think I like this. I know I like how it basically seems like a normal weapon when used by a normal human.

I might still make it indestructible always, because that just adds a "Huh?" factor to it when under scrutiny. It doesn't leap out as a giant red flag, though.

[Xar]

Hey, welcome! I think I like this. I know I like how it basically seems like a normal weapon when used by a normal human.

I might still make it indestructible always, because that just adds a "Huh?" factor to it when under scrutiny. It doesn't leap out as a giant red flag, though.

Thanks for the welcome. One of the reasons I wanted Nightblades to appear normal is I've always pictured Lilith's Avatar, Janice Hotchkiss (Ref. pg 35 Nightlands Sourcebook) doing a Fox style special "De-bunking Myths of the Nightlands". The irony of the idea amuses me.

Using what I've written above, de-bunking Nightblades would write itself. I have not come up with any other myths that could be busted. Perhaps something for another thread?

Heh. That'd be cool. In this scenario, she would have to have a human cohost, to demonstrate how they didn't have any special properties, because if she wielded a darkblade, they would.

[Specter]

As for there weapons, from what i gather there is no offical ruling, but lets use a touch of common sense if dark weapons remained, they would be littered all over for every street bum to find.

Well either that or the government has men in black who come and sanitise the sight, after any battle with hounds.

THis is how I run my games. There are men in black covering up almost any major event. Even small skirmishes have the g men containing the area.

[tariqus]

Remember the rules are guide lines if a GM feels the weapons or too powerful she he can do as they please for Game content/storyline.
IF your GM wants they can turn in to a circle of flowers from the release of energy that took to forge them. lol

Just a small question raised by a friend of mine who is considering gming a night bane campaign that seemed unable to find an answer for in the books. (and neither could I after an hour or so of looking)

Given no major physical evidence of them has been found of them by the public yet I'm inclined to think they vanish/dissolve into goop several minutes after death.

Also what about their weapons? I vaguely recall a gm from years ago had the weapons vanish several hours after the death of the hound unless it was in the nightlands but I'm not sure if she based it off "by the book" evidence or just made it up..

[Misfit KotLD]

If you can kill the Hound using said Darkblade, you deserve it.

[Fenrir_Lokison]

That's what I was thinking...How I normally play it is, that it has some minor transference power. If someone is holding the weapon prior to its original owner's death, then the weapon stays, if not, it goes with the vanquished owner.

[Xar]

If you can kill the Hound using said Darkblade, you deserve it.

I like that. Killing the Hound and they both fade away. Disarm the Hound and kill it any other way and they both fade away. Take the Darkblade from the Hound and use it to deliver the death blow and you have claimed the Darkblade. The Hound fades away and you have a trophy.

[Misfit KotLD]

If you can kill the Hound using said Darkblade, you deserve it.

I like that. Killing the Hound and they both fade away. Disarm the Hound and kill it any other way and they both fade away. Take the Darkblade from the Hound and use it to deliver the death blow and you have claimed the Darkblade. The Hound fades away and you have a trophy.

I don't care how you take the blade and kill the Hound, but if you kill the Hound, you've earned the blade.