Laundry Files: Equipment
Weapons
| Weapon |
Damage |
Range |
Skill |
Req. Certification |
Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unarmed | 1 | Touch | Brawl | NA | Usually non-lethal |
| Club | 2 | Touch | Melee | None | Usually non-lethal |
| Knife | 1 | Touch | Melee | None | |
| Sword | 2 | Touch | Melee | None | |
| Pistol | 2 | 50 meters | Firearms | Class 1 Weapon | |
| Assault Rifle | 3 | 400 meters | Firearms | Class 2 Weapon | May divide the damage amongst multiple targets |
| Shotgun | 3 | 50 meters | Firearms | Class 2 Weapon | May divide the damage amongst two targets |
| Sniper Rifle | 4 | 1000 meters | Firearms | Class 2 Weapon | -2 to hit unless a round is spent setting up. |
| Rocket Launcher | 4 | 100 meters | Artillery | Class 3 Weapon | Deals full damage to all within 5 meters. |
| Mounted Machine Gun | 4 | 2000 meters | Artillery | Class 3 Weapon | May divide the damage amongst multiple targets |
| Tank Cannon | 5 | 4000 meters | Artillery | Class 3 Weapon | Deals full damage to all within 10 meters. |
| Grenade | 2 | 30 meters | Missile Weapon | Class 2 Weapon | Deals full damage to all within 3 meters. |
| Flash Bang | 0 | 30 meters | Missile Weapon | Class 2 Weapon | Blinds and deafens all within 5 meters. |
| Smoke Grenade | 0 | 30 meters | Missile Weapon | Class 2 Weapon | Fills the area with smoke, obscuring vision. |
| Shaped Charge | 2 | NA | Demolitions | Class 2 Weapon | Deals damage to all within 3 meters in just one direction (180 degree arc). |
| C4 | 3 | 20 meters | Demolitions | Class 3 Weapon | Deals full damage to all within 5 meters. |
| Bow/Crossbow | 2 | 50 meters | Missile Weapon | Class 1 Weapon | |
| Thrown Dagger | 1 | 10 meters | Missile Weapon | None | |
| Mirrored Hand of Glory | Special | 50 meters | Occult | Class 1 Unconventional Weapon | Damage and number of shots based on the Class of the Hand of Glory. |
| Basilisk Gun | 6 | 10 meters | Occult | Class 2 Unconventional Weapon | Ignores Wards, Causes 1 Damage to everything within 2 meters of the target, requires clear line of sight. |
Req. Certification - The Laundry never provides weapons to agents who have not been properly trained in their use, they view an untrained agent as a danger, just as likely to shoot their own team as the enemy. Unfortunately simply having past experience with a weapon or proving competence on a firing range isn't sufficient for the Laundry's bureaucracy, instead agents are required to undergo and complete officially approved training courses which provide the certification needed to wield the weapon.
Mirrored Hand of Glory
Like most Hands of Glory (see below), this is an arcane device made from a severed hand. While they are usually used for invisibility they can be modified with a silver phase-conjugate mirror and a bit of engineering to turn them into a destructive energy weapon. Instead of bending light around the user, it fires it from the finger tips as a beam of coherent light: it's basically a really gruesome laser gun. Once a HOG has been converted into a weapon (a lengthy process), it no longer functions as an invisibility device. Each time it is fired, one of the fingers burns instantly down to the stump and when it runs out it no longer functions. The damage and number of shots is based on the class of the HOG.
| Rating |
Damage |
Shots |
Made from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 5 | Mouse or other tiny animal |
| 2 | 2 | 3 | Pigeon, chicken, or similar |
| 3 | 2 | 5 | Human |
| 4 | 3 | 5 | Gorilla |
| 5 | ?? | ?? | Large demon (purely theoretical) |
Basilisk Gun
A jury-rigged weapon consisting of two digital cameras stuck together and wired to a microprocessor running some very special software. When the two lenses focus on something and a photo is taken, quantum observer effects cause approximately 1% of the carbon atoms in the target to spontaneously turn into silicon atoms. The result is a huge release of energy that instantly incinerates the target, leaving behind a charred corpse that resembles an ashen grey statue with the brittle consistency of glass. Significant levels of radiation are released which can also be dangerous to those standing nearby.
Basilisk Guns are extremely lethal and even well warded occult experts fear them, they bypass all magical and nonmagical defenses and are always lethal, they do have some limitations however: They only affect objects containing carbon (which unfortunately includes people), they have very short range due to autofocusing limitations on the cameras, and most importantly they require clear sight of the target. Because of this last requirement they cannot affect an invisible target and thick smoke (or say the discharge from a fire extinguisher) is sufficient to render them useless.
Basilisk Guns are slow (they need to process the image like a normal camera) and can only be fired once every two rounds.
Invisible Pistol
Requires: Class 1 Weapon Certification and Class 1 Unconventional Weapon Certification
A pistol inscribed with a variation of a quantum observer algorithm that renders it unnoticeable to those who don't possess a Warrant Card. This only works on small items so there are no invisible rifles or shotguns, such weapons are simply too large to go unnoticed. A variation could be placed on other small items however, such as a knife or phone but these are not standard issue.
This effect is particularly useful for carrying firearms in areas where such weapons are heavily restricted. The user can brandish the pistol, load it, clean it, and wave it around and civilians will simply ignore its presence completely. They might still notice the agent doing something strange with their hand and may be confused by the gestures they seem to be making for no reason.
The invisibility breaks for one round if the pistol is fired as the noise it makes draws too much attention. The pistol will vanish again soon after but civilians won't forget that it was there which could leave them startled and confused about where the gun went. Suffice to say the Laundry frowns on letting civilians see your magical disappearing gun. Anyone who possesses a Laundry Warrant Card can see the pistol normally.
Due to Laundry regulations, all weapons fitted with this effect must also be fitted with a Trigger Guard (see below).
Trigger Guard
This enchantment can be inscribed onto a pistol trigger, a car's ignition, or any other switch or lever. Once completed it renders the device usable by only one person. The enchantment must be keyed to a specific person when it's inscribed and a drop of their blood is required. Once completed the effect is permanent and only that person can activate the item.
If anyone else tries, they simple find the surface too slippery or something distracts them or any number of other quantum coincidences occur to prevent them using it no matter how hard they try.
Note that only the inscribed button or trigger is protected in this way. Someone else can still switch an enchanted gun's safety on or off unless that too has been inscribed with the enchantment.
Ammunition
Most modern handguns have 15 or more bullets in a clip which is more than enough for most combat situations.
We will not be keeping track of the exact number of bullets you've fired, but during extended firefights, if the the GM thinks you've probably fired about 15 times they may rule that you've run out of bullets (especially if you roll poorly).
Banishment Rounds
Requires: Class 1 Weapon Certification
These hollow-point bullets are coated in silver and engraved with a demicyclic banishment circuit written in 90 nanometer Enochian.
Banishment rounds can be supplied for most firearms, although not those that shoot explosive rounds (like rocket launchers) and shotgun pellets are not suitable.
In theory it could be applied to arrows, thrown daggers, or crossbow bolts but the Laundry doesn't keep a supply of such items due to their archaic nature.
When these projectiles hit a demon or possessed individual, the horror is subjected to a level 1 Exorcism, hopefully returning it to whence it came.
This could potentially be used to save someone who has been possessed but since it requires shooting them, it is not usually a very good option.
Armour Piercing Rounds
Requires: Class 2 Weapon Certification
Standard full metal jacket armour piercing rounds. They can be supplied for all firearms except shotguns and those that shoot explosive shells.
When armour piercing rounds hit someone wearing body armour, they first subtract 1 point of health from the target's armour and then the bullet's damage is applied normally. They have no additional affect against unarmed targets and don't help in penetrating a ward (which they must do before they can affect the target's armour, making them significantly less effective against warded opponents).
Body Armour
Body armour provides the wearer with extra health. Any damage they take removes these extra health points first before being applied to their normal health.
Naturally these extra points of health cannot be restored by medical means and body armour usually cannot be repaired, it's simply discarded and replaced when damaged.
If a character is using both body armour and a personal ward, the damage is applied to the ward first.
Body armour has a rating that indicates how effective it is:
| Rating |
Health Bonus |
Req. Certification |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class I | +1 | Class 1 Weapon | Designed to stop a pistol. Often used by law enforcement |
| Class II | +2 | Class 2 Weapon | Designed to stop rifles. |
| Class III | +3 | Class 3 Weapon | Designed to protect against heavy weapons. Often used by military. |
Body armour can't be stacked.
Occult Technology
Personal Wards
A personal ward is an enchanted object that protects its carrier from harm and warns them about impending threats. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes but the ones most commonly issued to Laundry agents are disguised as small mundane objects that can be worn around the neck. The ward itself is usually made of any non-conducting material (wood, plastic, etc) etched with a conductive pattern somewhere between a pentagram and a circuit board and concealed within the necklace. Some wards have a cloth covering over them or are concealed withing a small cloth bag just to make sure civilians don't see it.
All wards have a rating, usually described as being between Class 1 and Class 5 that indicates how effectively they protect their wearer, although there are rumors that Class 6 and above also exist.
System:
All wards heat up slightly and cause the wearer's skin to tingle when hostile magic is in the area.
Wards of Class 2 and above will also warn about hostile intent and non-magical threats and this sensitivity increases further for even higher class wards. Very high level wards can actually be a bit over-sensitive and have been known to warn about angry cats in the area.
A ward has an amount of 'health' equal to its rating which protects the wearer by absorbing damage the wearer would take:
- If the amount of damage was lower than or equal to the ward's rating, the ward takes just one damage and the rest of the damage is ignored completely.
- If the amount is higher than the ward's rating, the ward absorbs all the damage and burns out, becoming useless.
Example:
A Class 2 ward has 2 health. If someone wearing it was subjected to an attack that deals 2 damage, the ward loses 1 health and the wearer is unharmed.
If they were instead subjected to a 3 damage attack, the ward loses all 2 health and burns out, the wearer is now vulnerable to further attacks.
If an attack's damage is significantly higher than the ward's rating there may be additional negative effects at GM discretion, for example a character with a class 2 Ward caught in an exploding building that deals 5 damage may be injured and thrown to the ground in addition to their ward burning out.
Wards only protect from direct physical and magical attacks like stabs, gunshots, hostile spells, and the touch of a zombie.
They don't protect from things like poison, fire, acid, starvation, suffocation or electrocution.
If a character is using both body armour and a personal ward, the damage is applied to the ward first.
At the end of a combat scene, if the ward has some health remaining it is restored to full health.
A ward that is reduced to zero health burns out and ceases to function in any way. Burned out wards cannot be repaired.
Necronomiphone
A smart phone loaded with the OFCUT security software suite.
Technically 'necronomiphone' is not its official name, just something an agent dubbed it one day and the name stuck.
OFCUT stands for "Occult Field Countermeasures Utility Trunk" and contains a collection of occult apps that can be used to cast spells at the touch of a button.
Using an OFCUT app requires no knowledge of magic, you simply tap the icon to turn it on and tap it again to turn it off.
To prevent unauthorised spell casting, all installations of OFCUT contain lethal countermeasures. If anyone without a Warrant Cards tries to activate one of the occult apps, the countermeasures kick in, feeding on their victim's essence in an arc of black arcane energy.
For those who are authorised however, OFCUT contains some useful features including:
- Anti-Surveillance App: Distort sound in a 2 meter bubble, preventing eavesdropping from outside without affecting those within.
- Thaumic Camera Filter: Reveal all magical effects on the screen when using the phone's camera.
- Protection App: Protect the carrier from minor harm and effects (As a Class 1 Personal Ward). Chimes when danger is present.
- Thaumometer App: Displays an arrow on the screen which points to the strongest magical source nearby.
Additionally the phone can be used cinematically as a power source and processor when casting spells (Reduces the pesky need for blood rituals and sacrifice) but this has no mechanical effect.
Only one of these features can be active at one time and they all drain the phone's battery very quickly: a fully charged phone has enough battery life to use one of these features 3 times and recharging one use takes about an hour and access to a suitable power source. Swapping batteries takes several minutes due to the time it takes the phone to boot up and load the OFCUT software suite and cannot usually be done in a combat situation.
Tilinghast Resonator
This device alters the users perceptions to allow them to see that which is normally hidden, it gives them direct insight into the true nature of the universe, revealing all magic, demons, possession and worse. Although useful, using this device is not something to do lightly, it twists the users perceptions in ways that are not exactly conducive to keeping ones sanity intact.
While active, the users vision is tinted with strange colours and everything seems to bend and twist alarmingly. Magical effects become visible as a glow around the enchanted person or object, the intensity of the glow can give a good indication of how powerful the effect is but no what it does. Magically concealed people and demons are revealed and the user can see glamours but are still affected by them. When looking at someone who is possessed, the user can see the demon inside and might be able to get hint about what kind of creature it is.
Using a tilinghast resonator can cause nausea and causes a Rank 4 Sanity check.
Hand of Glory
There are legends about hands of glory all throughout Europe, items of power made from a dried severed hand. The details vary, in some cases it requires the left hand of a man hanged for murder, in others it's a hand clutching a candle made from fat taken from the body of a killer. It's powers are said to vary from causing paralysis, to opening locks, to casting light that only the holder can see.
This is of course mostly nonsense and the Laundry has conducted extensive testing on the actual requirements and powers of such items.
They do indeed require the severed 'hand' from something that was 'murdered' but beyond that the details are pretty flexible and the Laundry has been known to mass produce hands of glory using the feet of pigeons and other animals. It doesn't matter which hand is used and claws, paws and feet all seem to work.
The most common hand of glory found within the Laundry is a dried severed pigeon foot, etched with arcane symbols and with a tiny micro-controller inserted into it and copper wires running through the length of each claw.
To activate the HoG, the user must ignite one of the fingers (or claws) which burns steadily like a candle until extinguished or until the fingers have all burned down. So long as it burns it renders the person holding it unnoticeable to all observers including animals, demons and electronic surveillance. The hand of glory itself and the user's clothes and anything they are carrying are also invisible.
The user can also make up to two other people invisible as well by making skin contact with them.
All hands of glory have a rating which is based on what they are made from and determines how long they burn for.
| Rating |
Duration |
Made from |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 seconds | Mouse or other tiny animal |
| 2 | 3 minutes | Pigeon, chicken, or similar |
| 3 | 5 minutes | Human |
| 4 | 10 minutes | Gorilla |
| 5 | ?? minutes | Large demon (purely theoretical) |
The duration that a hand of glory lasts is simply due to how long it takes for all the fingers to burn down. If the user extinguishes it early, it can be lit again and retains any remaining duration.
For example a Class 2 HoG lasts 3 minutes, if used for 2 minutes and then extinguished it can still be reactivated for a further 1 minute of invisibility.
Gravedust Rig
In the early days these devices used a star-shaped array of vacuum tubes and were both fragile and cumbersome. Today they present in an integrated circuit board packed into a radio casing. Placed in close proximity to a mostly-intact body, these highly-specialised circuit boards communicate with the dead.
The models issued to field agents allow two way communication with those who passed less than 24 hours ago. Some more advanced models can speak across weeks, years or possibly even aeons. Care is advised when creating the link between the dead and the living, as sorcerers and other entities may attempt to possess the user.
Personal Panic Button
Only available in extremely limited circumstances when authorised by management or requested by the Weather Service, these are worn by agents deemed to be at high risk of attack and who are not certified to carry weapons. The PPB is a small amulet (with a button to press) that when activated alerts the Laundry. Once activated the Laundry uses sympathetic magic with cellular signal triangulation to to scry the agent's location, dispatches well-armed security teams and activates facial recognition in all primed CCTV cameras to locate the agent and anyone who seems to be following or threatening them. [FURTHER INFORMATION IS REDACTED]
Thaumometer
A basic tool that can be incorporated into other portable electronics, a thaumometer measures ambient magical energy. They can detect hauntings, possessions, energy bound in objects which have crossed dimensions and whether someone is currently casting or using a spell.
It can measure the strength of the occult phenomenon, and can be set in directional (about 15m radius, 45 degree arc) or non-directional mode(5m radius).
Warding Tape
A roll of silver or yellow duct tape, inscribed with symbols which make the average civilian take a Sanity roll, Warding Tape is a very easy way to quickly raise a Level 3 ward. This can be done by marking out an unbroken line on the ground, or taping around every door, window or other opening in a room.
Due to it's effects upon the innocent, warding tape must not be left on site. Agents must peel it back off before leaving the area.
Warrant Card
All Laundry agents carry a warrant card to identify them to others within the agency and to help cut through bureaucratic tape while on mission.
The warrant card is a white square of paper about the size of a credit card housed within a thin black wallet similar to that carried by many government agencies.
The card itself is impregnated with incredibly thin circuitry and embossed with complex patterns of lines that seem to intersect at angles that make the eyes hurt.
The warrant card has two primary purposes:
It can only be used by the person its assigned to and so serves as a means for agents to confirm each others identity. They are impossible to forge and looking at one causes a sharp biting sensation behind the eyes which allows an agent to immediately recognise whether a warrant card is genuine with even a quick glance.
Warrant cards also contain a class four geas that can be used to aid the agent while on a mission, the agent need merely present the card and those who see it will believe everything the agent tells them. Common uses include claiming that the card is police id, that they are authorised to be in the area, or that everyone should leave immediately. Those affected genuinely believe what they are told and rationalise it away afterwards. This geas effect has no affect on other Laundry personnel, and misusing it is a surefire way to wind up in front of the Auditors.
Spy Gear
Not all equipment issued by the Laundry contains eldritch equations etched in silver and blood, sometimes mundane gear re-purposed as spyware is far more efficient.
The following items are not magical in any way although they are highly unusual.
Armoured Vest
This piece of tactical clothing resembles a suit vest, top, jacket or other similar piece of clothing but contains a flexible armoured layer within. If inspected closely it seems slightly too thick and stiff to the touch but easily passes normal visual inspection. When worn, this article of clothing provides all the benefits of Class I body armour without being conspicuous.
Disguised Weapon
It's easier to carry weapons when they don't look like weapons and disguising guns as umbrellas, musical instruments, and walking canes is a spy tradition that dates back decades.
The Laundry doesn't keep many such items in stock but they usually have one or two lying around. Some disguised weapons function as guns while others contain hidden blades or similar devices. The weapon could be concealed in just about anything big enough to contain the mechanisms.
Disguised weapons function like a normal weapon of their type but usually pass as some other mundane item.
Fibre Optic Probe
This device is a thin plastic flexible cable 2-3 feet long, with a tiny lens at both ends. When the user places their eye to the lens at one end, the fibre optics inside allow them to see out the other end as if it contained a small camera. The end can be slipped under a door to allow the agent to see what's occurring on the other side, or it can be used to see around corners without exposing your face to a potentially lethal hail of bullets.
Keystroke Logger
A simple tool for any hacker, a keystroke logger looks like a standard USB flash drive but when plugged into a computer it records all keyboard button presses and mouse movements until it's removed. It has enough internal memory to store several days worth of fairly intensive keyboard use, or weeks or even months of use if button presses are infrequent.
Once the hacker retrieves the keystroke logger, they can plug it into their own computer and see a list of all buttons that were pressed and even replay them at the same speed. Most commonly this is used to acquire passwords and other confidential information.
Laser Microphone
A laser microphone is a handheld device with a set of headphones attached that allows its user to hear what people are talking about in nearby buildings. It works by bouncing a laser off one of the buildings windows. As noise is made in the building, it causes faint vibrations in the glass which in turn cause tiny fluctuations in the laser. The device detects these fluctuations and converts them back into sound, allowing the listener to hear a fairly good approximation of all noises inside the building.
The device has limits however: the laser only has a range of a hundred or so meters, usually requiring the agent to be quite close to the place he wants to eavesdrop on. It also only works on surfaces that are good conductors of the vibrations, such as glass windows and mirrors. Rigid plastics can also work, but wood, stone and metal do not. The user can only hear sounds that occur within about 5 meters of the surface the laser is pointed at, usually enough to cover a small room but not much more.
Locator Bugs
These small electronic tracking devices can be placed on a target to allow an agent to track them and hear what they are saying. The bug is only a few centimeters in size and can be hidden inside just about any mundane item. Once planted, it uses GPS and a satellite uplink to transmit its location and all nearby sound to the agent. It uses standard telecommunications satellites to transmit and so has virtually unlimited range so long as it remains within an area with satellite coverage. Its battery life allows it to remain active for about three days.
Nausea Flash
These devices were invented as a non-lethal weapon for law enforcement. They are basically a high powered LED flashlight except that each LED strobes at a slightly different colour. The resulting light is not only bright enough to blind, but the combination of wavelengths also cause psychophysical effects which vary from person to person but often include nausea, disorientation or vertigo. The effects usually wear off within a few minutes.
Smart Card
An electronic keycard designed to hack virtually any keycard-based lock. The card looks like a normal electronic keycard and corporate logos can be added by the armoury to ensure it blends in with the cards of a specific office building if required. When placed in the keycard lock, the smart card runs rapidly through every single possible combination until it finds the one that opens the door. This can take some time however and looks pretty suspicious to anyone that happens to be walking past at the time.
The keycard takes d6x10 seconds to find the correct combination.
3-W Laser
A 3 watt laser is a dangerous device and although they don't quite live up to the lasers shown in film, they can still be highly effective. There are no laws within the UK limiting the ownership of such lasers, although there are laws about using them as weapons or pointing them at aircraft. A 3 watt laser is about the length of a pen and about twice as thick, it fires a beam that is visible to the naked eye, can start fires and cut (slowly) through most substances. Even brief exposure to the eye is enough to potentially cause permanent blindness.
The lasers cutting ability diminishes rapidly over distance and usually works best if held within a meter of the target. Paper and cardboard burns almost immediately, plastics ignite within 10 seconds and metal can be cut very slowly. It's not as dramatic as the ones in James Bond, but can still be used to cut a pair of handcuffs open in half an hour or so.