Extra Successes with weapons

Question

Since my native tongue is not English I just wanted something cleared for myself.

In the New World of Darkness Core Rulebook there is a text that does not quite make sense to me:

Extra Successes: The trick, tool or power used packs a real wallop. A number of extra successes are added to any rolled for the effect, automatically improving its results. A massive weapon might inflict crippling harm, for example. Its Damage rating (see p. 170) is applied not as bonus dice to your attack roll but as extra successes to your roll. If the weapons Damage rating is 4, it adds four to any successes achieved. If you roll no successes at all, the extra successes go to waste. They can only be added to any that you achieve. Typically, this modification is reserved for extremely powerful supernatural affects or tools.

The thing is on the mentioned page 170 there only stands the Damage without any other special sign or anything except for the "cross" which say its to be use with both hands.

Does this mean that with an revolver I have a pool of dexterity+firearms+2 AND if I used the rifle instead it would be just dexterity+firearms but as long as I at least score 1 success it would upgrade to 6 successes?

I hope it´s clearly written and thanks for reading/helping me with this.

Answer 1

The confusing thing is that none of the weapons in the book (ranged or melee) have the Extra Successes characteristic. As the book says "Typically, this modification is reserved for extremely powerful supernatural affects or tools." But you have the gist of the rule correct.

To use your pistol, you'd roll Dexterity + Firearms + 2 dice for the pistol. (If the enemy has Defenses, they remove dice at this point.) Then, any successes you have are done as damage.

If you are using Samuel Colt's Magical Revolver (TM) that's rated at 5 damage with Extra Successes, you'd roll Dexterity + Firearms, without any dice for the weapon. If you get at least one success, you get to add the additional damage there. So your one success becomes five damage, two successes becomes six damage, etc.

The idea is that the weapon doesn't help you to hit, but if you hit, it will blow a huge hole in something.