Basics
Many (most?) of our players are residents of, or most familiar with, the United States. The UK is a much different place in many ways, but particularly when it comes to weapons. Even the possession of most weapons is highly regulated, to say nothing of their use. Additionally, London is under one of the most intensive electronic surveillance regimes in the world, meaning that open display or use of weapons is difficult to hide.
Note that this article refers to conditions in the London of the surface (and also the Tube). Subterranean London is its own special case, and, while you won’t have to worry about the police once you’re there, you will still need to find some way to obtain weapons and transport them to the underworld.
Firearms
UK law tightly restricts possession of firearms. Possession of most handguns, semi-automatic or pump-action rifles, machine guns, tasers or stun guns, and pepper spray or CS gas is generally prohibited for civilians, including protective personnel. There is no license or permit that will make owning, much less carrying, weapons of this type legal. Even most police officers do not routinely carry or have access to these weapons. While characters who have sufficiently high levels of Background may be able to purchase them (usually for exorbitant prices), being caught in possession of one — or even captured on video with one — is most likely to be a Game Over moment, absent some ability to completely change their appearance and adopt an entirely new identity.
A Shotgun Certificate is available to most UK residents who the police cannot show a compelling reason to refuse it to. It allows possession of shotguns of any sort that have a magazine capacity of no more than 2 shells (detachable magazines are forbidden). Pump-action or semi-automatic shotguns may carry an additional shell in the chamber, for a total of 3.
A Firearms Certificate allows the holder to own firearms that are not otherwise prohibited, including bolt-action, single-shot, and lever-action rifles; shotguns with a capacity of more than 2 rounds or with a detachable magazine; “long-barreled pistols”, which must be over 24″ long and have a minimum barrel length of 12″; and muzzle-loading black-powder firearms, such as reproduction 19th-century revolvers. Each individual weapon must be registered with the police, including serial number and caliber, and approval for each must be sought before purchase.
The Firearms Certificate requires legitimate (to the police) sporting, collecting, or work-related reasons for ownership of firearms; in general, membership in some sort of licensed target-shooting, hunting, or collecting club is obligatory except in cases of work requirements. Unlike the Shotgun Certificate, where the police must show a reason to refuse, what constitutes a legitimate reason for having a Firearms Certificate is entirely up to the police. Applicants must supply character references, the approval of their physician, and inspection of the premises where firearms will be stored. The police may impose additional conditions they see fit, over and above those requirements.
Even a Firearms Certificate does not permit the actual carry of a firearm, much less its use in self-defense. Firearms and ammunition are expected to be securely stored when not in some locale in which their use has been approved (most commonly, one’s shooting club); using one to defend yourself or your home will generally be interpreted by the police as evidence that it was not properly secured, and that therefore you are guilty of a crime.
Melee Weapons
Most modern melee weapons are also prohibited from carry in public — collapsible batons, fighting knives, martial-arts weapons, and so forth. Some — “zombie knives” and sword canes, for example — are prohibited from possession even in the home.
Exceptions apply for small (sub-3″) non-locking pocketknives, and also for persons who have a good reason. What exactly constitutes a “good reason” is up to the police, but generally, something being a requirement of your employment will suffice — if you’re a chef on your way to work, for instance, having a roll of kitchen knives on your person is probably acceptable. If you’re on a hike in the wilderness, having a fixed-blade knife is probably fine. Having a walking stick or a large flashlight or an umbrella is likely to pass muster almost anywhere, as long as any use of it as a weapon is incidental to the ostensible reason you’re carrying it.
British law places high importance on your possession and use of a weapon being “reasonable” and not intended as “offensive”. If you have an established history of taking your walking stick with you whenever you leave the house, then having it with you and using it to fight off attackers will most likely meet that test. On the other hand, if the police can show that you knew you at fight was in the offing, and brought a walking stick with you for the very first time, then having and using the exact same item will probably be classified as a crime. The more an item looks like something specifically intended to hurt someone, rather than like a workaday tool, the harder a time you’ll have convincing the law that your possession and use of it is “reasonable.”
Unless, of course, the police have reason to not want to charge you with something. High levels of influence with law enforcement or government can sometimes help persuade them to your point of view — if it’s something they can cover up. When you’ve just run through Trafalgar Square dismembering passersby with a broadsword, no amount of influence is going to get you out of trouble.
Nonlethal Weapons
Even what Americans would think of as nonlethal defensive weapons are either illegal or heavily restricted under UK law. Pepper spray, stun guns, tasers, et al. are not merely forbidden for carry, they are actually considered prohibited firearms, meaning you’re technically in just as much legal jeopardy for having and/or carrying one as you would be with a gun. Having one that’s “disguised” as something else — a stun gun built into a flashlight, for instance — will net you a minimum prison sentence of five years.
The only truly legal “self-defense weapons” in the UK are rape alarms. Dye spray (to mark an assailant for future identification) is legal to purchase, but even then, if you spray an attacker with it and cause them injury — spraying them in the eyes, say — you may be charged with assault.
Archaic Weapons
Britain has a rich history of warfare, and tasteful reminders of that are not prohibited. Wealthy people with an interest in history sometimes have swords, maces, axes, and so forth for display in their homes, and if those weapons are maintained more stringently than absolutely necessary, well, being excessively diligent is not a crime. (Not yet, at least.) Modern reproductions are treated somewhat similarly, albeit with a bit more skepticism. As always, the key is their presentation. Having a Victorian-style officer’s sword on your wall along with a print of the Battle of Balaclava, a bullet-riddled Union Jack from said battle, and a deactivated Martini-Henry rifle might earn you an odd look or two, but probably nothing more than that. Having a freshly oiled, razor-sharp reproduction sword by your bedside is evidence that you were intending to use it against intruders.
With the exception of some very specific situations — for instance, if you’re working at a “medieval experience” for tourists and it’s your job to go around costumed as a knight — carrying archaic weapons in public is treated in much the same way as carrying modern melee weapons. You may be treated more gently by the police if they believe that you’re just weird, rather than potentially threatening, but this probably still amounts to having your weapons confiscated, only with a stern admonishment not to do it again rather than arrest. As far as their actual use — well, while it’s plausible that someone might have a walking stick strictly for its utility, exactly no one is going to believe that your bringing a sword out to a street fight was anything other than premeditated.
Armour
It is not illegal to own or wear armour — either of archaic or modern design — in Britain, but it is likely to earn you some strange looks. It is, however, advisable not to carry anything that the police might classify as a weapon when you’re doing so. Wearing a Kevlar vest is a protective measure; wearing a Kevlar vest and carrying a truncheon suggests that you’re looking for a fight.
Archaic armour (chain mail, plate armour, etc.), is less likely to provoke police attention, but more likely to garner attention from passersby. Not all of that attention will be negative — tourists and young children may think you’re just the ticket.
In either case, while it’s not against the law, neither are businesses obligated to allow it, and you may be asked to leave if your attire is causing, or if the business thinks it might cause, some difficulty.
It’s worth noting that gun crime is extremely rare in the UK. While it’s not against the law, having modern body armour is still a little sketchy, and if you don’t have a very compelling reason for doing so, you might find yourself facing unusual levels of scrutiny from law enforcement. Particularly so if you happen to be wearing the heavier, bulkier sort that’s obvious to the eye.