Wooden Stake

World of Darkness - Armory

The classic vampire-hunting weapon. In order to stake a vampire, the stake wielder must make a targeted attack against the vampire’s heart (–3 dice to the attack roll) and score an exceptional success. Otherwise, the stake does damage, but doesn’t penetrate far enough to impale the heart fully.

Manufacturing process

Makeshift Stakes

Intrepid vampire-hunters make their stakes beforehand. Stakes in this manner are weighted carefully and sharpened to as fine a point as the wood allows. However, such preparation is not always possible. Perhaps the vampire-hunter is caught unawares, or maybe the victim isn’t a vampire-hunter at all. Whatever the case, sometimes, one has to make a stake on the spot.
Creating a stake involves little actual crafting, and instead requires simply breaking off a piece of wood from an existing object. A character might snap a table leg, a chair back or even a broomstick in half and use the sharp part as the stake. She might kick at it or try to break it in her hands. To do this, roll Strength + Stamina. Assume that the item’s Durability is 1 and has a Structure of 5. She must eliminate three of the item’s Structure points to break an effective stake. This requires a full turn (or more, if she was not successful the first try). The resultant makeshift stake is Damage 0(L) and Size 1; targeting the heart requires an exceptional success.

Item type

Weapon, Melee