Hollows Weapons: the Bludgeon

“You are strong. You are the strongest. The alpha. A perfect machine. An irresistible force. The world breaks around you. Don’t hesitate. Don’t think. Destroy those who would try to slow you down.”

The Bludgeon doesn’t consider itself technology. Technology is unpredictable, fragile, and – honestly – an unfair advantage. It wants you to grab something heavy and mash anyone who would stand against you into a mewling pile of meat and splintered bone.

What is the Bludgeon?

The Bludgeon’s a simple weapon to use. It can be Vicious (more dangerous when you’re flanking or behind an Entity), Brutal (gain extra damage each time you roll a critical success), or Massive (do a lot of damage, but take a little Resolve damage each time). It’s a huge Weapon, and it changes the way you interact with terrain. You can’t benefit from Sheltered terrain in the normal way, but you can claim terrain at the end of your turn then discard it to ignore more damage than usual. 

Bludgeon wielders charge directly at the enemy and deal large amounts of reliable damage. Heal when you hurt the Entity, or draw power from your own pain to restore Resolve. Burst out of cover and close rapidly with the enemy. Scare it even when you miss. You’re a superlative tank.

At Tier 2, you become vindictive and murderous. Get extra actions when you’re badly injured, deal extra damage to the Entity when you break it or when you attack from terrain. When you reach Tier 3, you can beat the enemy into a bloody paste, though you’ll take damage in the process. You can smash up the terrain to deal damage to the Entity, and you can deal as much Resolve damage when you miss as some Weapons can on a hit.

What is the Bludgeon Really?

The Bludgeon speaks of a golden age, long ago, where men were unconcerned with petty squabbles and senseless politicking; an age where the pursuit of physical brilliance was not only expected but celebrated, honoured, and adored. Every technological and societal advancement since then, it says, has been a watering down of a fundamental concept. The world has grown too complicated, and the expectations and restrictions placed upon us have rendered us weak and immoral and less than we used to be.

The Bludgeon tells you: you are already perfect. The instincts that you’ve been told to stamp down were right all along. Your soul, the core of you, wants to be free. It wants to stand on its own two feet. It wants to eat raw meat, bellow at the top of its lungs, and rut until it passes out. 

The Bludgeon is unconcerned with the past or the future, but only the frantic present and the fulfilling of its desperate needs. It has one trick: hit it until it stops moving.

In truth, the Bludgeon is scared everyone thinks it’s stupid, and worse, that everyone is right. Let’s see how stupid they sound, it says, when we knock out all their fucking teeth.