Equipment
Bipods
Durability 2, Size 2, Structure 4, Availability
Reduces medium or long range penalty by -1.
Ear Protection
Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2, Availability
Protects ears, but character suffers -3 to sense rolls
Gunsmithing Kit
Die bonus +2, Durability 2, Size 2, Structure 4, Availability
Requires Dexterity + Crafts roll (15mins per roll).
5 successes to clean a barrel / replace a grip.
15 successes to replace a critical part.
Light Mount
Die bonus +1, Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2, Availability
Light mounts are basically flashlights mounted onto a gun’s barrel. Mounts exist for most gun models, and the light subtracts its die bonus from any penalties for darkness or adds to rolls to search in the dark. At an increased cost (Availability ), higherintensity halogen or LED lights have a die bonus of +2 instead.
Light mounts can be used to blind a target like a flashlight can, but also give away the shooter’s position (and thus subtract from darkness penalties on attacks made against the shooter by others).
Reloading Bench
Die bonus +2, Durability 2, Size 5, Structure 6, Availability
A reloading bench provides space and supplies to load bullets: gunpowder, shell casings, bullet press, polisher and more. With a bench, the character can load her own bullets at home — the cost and time required are far greater than if she were to buy them at a local store, but perhaps she wants to arm herself in secrecy, or make special kinds of bullets not found in stores.
Reloading Bullets
Dice Pool: Dexterity + Crafts + equipment
Action: Extended (6–10 successes; one roll represents 30
minutes of work)
Reloading bullet casings is an extended action. Normal bullets and shotgun shells only require 5 successes, but more
complicated rounds (including “special” bullets like those a monster hunter might employ) require as many as 10 or more. Meeting the required amount of successes yields about one box of ammo, approximately 30 shells, but unlike some extended actions, the process is not all-or-nothing. Each successful roll yields about 5 normal bullets or 2 custom shells. Attempting this action without the proper tools (like a reloading bench) incurs a –5 penalty.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: A dramatic failure results in a handful of faulty bullets. They appear functional until fired, where they misfire and potentially injure the shooter as well as damage the gun. Roll the weapon’s Damage rating as a dice pool. Any successes inflict lethal damage to the shooter, most likely wounding her hands, and also damage the gun itself (ignoring its Durability).
Failure: The character might create several bullets if her player scored any successes (and at the Storyteller’s discretion).
Otherwise, no bullets are made.
Success: The character reloads a box of ammunition, about 30 rounds or normal ammo or 24 rounds of unique ammunition.
Exceptional Success: The character creates the ammo faster and more efficiently than expected.
Suggested Equipment: Reloading bench (see above), highquality shells and bullets (+1), quiet work area (+1), Crafts Specialty in Firearms (+1), detailed guides (+1)
Possible Penalties: No reloading bench (–5), no Firearms score (–1), loud noises or distractions (–1)
Sighting Tools
Die bonus +2, Durability 1, Size 2, Structure 3, Availability
Normal wear and tear diminish a gun’s accuracy over time. With proper tools a character can maintain and realign the
gun’s sights (a process called “sighting in”), restoring proper accuracy. This is an extended action using Wits + Firearms,
with a bonus provided by the sighting tools. Ten successes are required.
Successfully sighting in a gun provides a +1 bonus to all medium- and long-range attacks. This effect lasts for a number of uses equal to twice the weapon’s Damage rating (where one “use” is considered a single attack).
Sights
Gun sights help a shooter find her mark at range, and come in many forms: Telescopic sights, laser sights, thermal, night vision, and more. Each type presents its own capabilities and uses. The most common types are listed below.
Fiber Optic
Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2, Availability
Fiber optic sights use colored lights to help the shooter line up a more precise shot. She gains an additional +1 bonus when aiming. These illuminated sights glow red in the daytime and green or yellow at night, making them useful in any conditions. Fiber optic sights apply to any type of firearm, as well as bows.
Laser
Die bonus +1, Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2, Availability
Laser sights greatly improve accuracy at short and medium ranges. They have no effect on long range shots. Add the sight’s bonus to the attack roll.
Laser sights produce a visible red dot. If the shooter is attempting a surprise attack, her target gains the die bonus to his roll to avoid surprise. In foggy or dusty conditions, the entire beam becomes visible, and anyone who might notice the beam gains a +1 bonus to avoid surprise.
Some laser sights use infrared beams (at an additional dot of Availability), which can only be seen by night vision goggles or sights. Characters can benefit from both infrared laser sights and night vision scopes.
Telescopic
Durability 1, Size 2, Structure 3, Availability
Mounted atop a gun, telescopic scopes provide magnification over long distances of a tightly focused area. Using a scope allows the shooter to ignore penalties for shooting at medium range and halves long range penalties.
Telescopic (Night Vision)
Durability 1, Size 2, Structure 3, Availability
Night vision scopes work like regular scopes, but use infrared lenses to provide superior night vision. Using the night vision scope allows the shooter to ignore darkness penalties at short and medium range, and reduces the long range penalty by one (to a total of –3). Night vision lenses are sensitive and the device automatically shuts down when exposed to harsh lights, returning to functionality one turn after exposure ends.
At a greater price (Availability ), characters can purchase advanced day/night scopes that work normally in both light and darkness.
Telescopic (Thermal)
Durability 2, Size 2, Structure 4, Availability
Thermal scopes shows warm targets in bright white against a cooler blue background. They work in both night and day (though some ambient light is required). Shooters using thermal scopes suffer no medium or short range penalties and reduce long range penalties to a –1. Note that thermal scopes only help when shooting at warm targets; the scope offers no help against the undead or entities only as warm as the surrounding environment. At night, the thermal scope negates the penalties for medium range and halves long range penalties.
Speedloader
Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2, Availability
Unlike magazine-fed pistols and rifles, revolvers and actionfed weapons (including some rifles, autoloader shotguns, etc.) must be reloaded one bullet at a time. Speedloaders are tools that exist for many weapons, allowing a character to quickly reload them without having to sacrifice her Defense. It allows the character to load bullets in by small ammunition carousels or load proper shotguns and rifles four rounds at a time.
Collapsible Stocks
Durability 2, Size n/a, Structure 3, Availability
Folding or telescoping stocks allow the wielder to collapse in the butt of a firearm, making the weapon more compact.
Collapsing the stock reduces the weapon’s Size by 1 (to a minimum of 2). Guns with standard stocks may be refitted with collapsible stocks. This requires a Dexterity + Crafts roll, with each roll taking 15 minutes, and 5 successes are required.
A gunsmithing kit (see above) adds its die bonus to this roll, but without one, the character suffers a –1 penalty instead.
Suppressor
Durability 3, Size 1, Structure 4, Availability
Called “silencers” in popular culture, suppressors are slim barrel attachments that dissipate some of the pressure of a discharging firearm. The effect dampens the noise and flash of a firing gun, but not completely. Suppressors can’t muffle sonic booms from supersonic ammunition, so in order to be effective the shooter must use smaller caliber rounds or those specifically designed to be subsonic. Bystanders within 50 meters (55 yards) suffer a –4 penalty to their hearing-based Perception rolls to notice a shot. Using supersonic ammunition only levies a –2 penalty to Perception rolls on all bystanders within 100 meters (109 yards). The flash suppression makes it difficult to pinpoint the shooter’s location, inflicting a –3 penalty on Perception rolls to do so. Using a suppressor with a revolver incurs only a –2 penalty to notice the sound, as revolvers are more difficult to silence effectively.
Crafty characters can jury-rig a suppressor from PVC pipe, cans, rubber tubing, and the like. This requires a Dexterity + Crafts roll as an extended action requiring ten successes. Each roll represents 15 minutes of work. Success yields an effective suppressor, though it’s not as durable as a well-made market version. A failed suppressor will still silence the weapon, but also reduces the Damage by 1. A dramatic failure on the construction creates a suppressor that looks fine but bottles up the barrel and destroys the gun as soon as the character fires it.
Surveillance Gear
Characters use surveillance gear to spy on their enemies, secure important locations, and track or identify the things that roam the night. Many of these items are available on the market at high prices, while some are more difficult to acquire without drawing suspicion.
Binoculars
Durability 2, Size 1, Structure 3, Availability
Binoculars provide magnification over great distances.
Normal sight-based Perception rolls suffer penalties beyond long range. With binoculars, the viewer can see clearly up to extreme range, though she loses clarity beyond long range. At long range, she suffers only a –1 to sight-based Perception rolls, but at extreme range she suffers a –3. Night vision binoculars (Availability ) incur similar penalties and negate penalties for darkness.
Bugs (Listening Devices)
Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2, Availability
Bugs are small audio devices (1–2 inches, 2.5–5 cm
in diameter) that transmit sounds to distant listeners or recording devices. They’re small enough to be hidden in a room or upon one’s person. Police use them frequently in sting operations, criminals use them to gain advance warning of police actions, and jealous spouses use them to spy on their partners.
Because of their small size, bugs can be concealed in ceilings, walls, houseplants, even taped or glued beneath desks and tables. Some bugs use wires (giving rise to the phrase “wearing a wire”) when concealed on the body or in small items like pens and buttons. Bugs relay audio via radio frequencies up to a distance of a quarter-mile (402 meters), but these frequencies are themselves susceptible to notice by outside listeners. Planting the bug requires a Wits + Larceny roll.
Attempting to find one uses a contested Wits + Investigation (or Composure, whichever is greater) roll against the planter’s Wits + Larceny roll. If the searcher wins, she finds the bug. Smaller devices exist that are more difficult to find (Availability , –1 to Perception rolls made to find the bug).
Bug Sweepers
Die bonus +2, Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2, Availability
For the paranoid or simply pragmatic, bug sweepers scan for audio and video recording devices. The devices look like small walkie-talkies. They scan for radio frequencies and electromagnetic radiation and display anything they pick up through a series of lights. The bug sweeper adds its die bonus to the Wits + Investigation roll to find the bug.
Disguised Camera
Durability 1, Size 2, Structure 3, Availability
Hidden cameras come in many disguises, from clock radios, “nanny cams” hidden in stuffed animals, smoke detectors, air purifiers, and more. These devices all function perfectly in addition to being cameras, so for example a clock radio will still tell time as well as record video. Smaller devices (Size 1 and Structure 2) exist but are more expensive (Availability ).
Hidden cameras record video to internal storage, rather than transmitting it to a monitor. The resolution usually isn’t the greatest, and the camera can only record up to about two hours at a time. More advanced models can record more data or at higher resolutions, and even send wireless transmissions, but these can be very expensive (Availability or higher). Attempting to find a hidden camera requires a Wits + Investigation roll, with a penalty equal to the Availability cost of the item.
Tracking Device
Die bonus +2, Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2, Availability
Tracking devices come installed on cars, phones, and electronic cuffs worn by ex-cons. Worried parents can buy them for kids, pets, and valuable electronics. Many such devices are tracked through a third party or a website, or report the location through a phone call. Some use GPS coordinates transmitted to handheld devices (like smartphones) instead.
With an extended Intelligence + Crafts roll (each roll takes half an hour), a technologically-savvy character can reconfigure law enforcement tracking devices to trace them herself. The actual tracking device itself is a tiny microchip, which can be surgically implanted or installed into a larger device like an electronic cuff or collar. These devices are larger (Durability 2, Structure 3) but cost the same since they are less concealable. Hiding a tracking device requires a Wits + Larceny roll with a +2 bonus due to the size of the chip. Surgically implanting a chip instead uses an Intelligence + Medicine roll, while installing one into an existing device like a car or phone uses Wits + Crafts instead. Finding a hidden electronic tag requires a Wits + Investigation roll made against the initial roll to conceal the device.
Keystroke Logger
Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2, Availability
A keystroke logger, true to its name, captures the keystrokes used by a keyboard’s operator. The small flash drivelike device plugs into the computer port and the keyboard plugs into it. A log of the keystrokes pressed on the keyboard is kept in the device, which the user can later retrieve as a text file on (presumably) another PC. The information recovered includes passwords (even BIOS passwords), emails, account numbers, everything the user typed. It’s a simple Wits + Computer roll to install the device surreptitiously.
Reverse Peephole
Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2, Availability
These surprisingly common devices look like a jeweler’s loupe and allow the user to look in through a peephole by fitting over the existing peephole. It doesn’t offer any better a view than a peephole normally does, but if she is looking for something specific that might be visible from the door, the character can make a Wits + Investigation roll at a –4 penalty. Real estate agents, police officers, and some criminals carry reverse peepholes.
Spyware
Die bonus +2, Durability n/a, Size n/a, Structure n/a, Availability
Ubiquitous in the modern Internet-using world, spyware often infects non-savvy users. The software then proceeds to track and monitor computer usage and often spams the user with targeted advertisements. Spyware can be deliberately employed by an individual to record keystrokes, web and document history, and chat logs. Installing the spyware on a target computer can be done remotely over a network or from physical media; the former requires a hacking attempt, with bonuses or penalties based on the computer system used, contested by an administrator or security system.
Wi-Fi Sniffer
Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2, Availability
A small device that scans for wireless networks within medium range. A display shows the signal strength of any present networks. Sniffers are far more discrete than laptops and phones that scan for available networks. The sniffer doesn’t allow access to the networks by itself, but the user can access the available networks via other devices like phones or laptops.
Wiretap
Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2, Availability
When installed in a phone or on a phone line, wiretaps transmit phone conversations to third-party listeners or devices.
Placing the tap requires an Intelligence + Larceny roll, contested by a Wits + Investigation roll if a target suspects the presence of a tap. Once in place, the tap allows listeners to monitor any conversations made over that phone line.
Survival Gear
Sometimes characters find themselves caught in perilous survival situations. A shipwreck or plane crash might land them in the middle of the wilderness. They might have fled the confines of the city in order to escape some foe. They might even be lost in or beneath the city itself, or cast out into the vagrant-filled underground of some urban center. Knowing the proper survival skills like building shelters, catching food, and purifying water are only part of the key to survival; the gear to weather urban decay, environmental conditions, or deal with insurgent warfare is vital in keeping a character alive.
NBC Suit
Die bonus +5, Durability 1, Size 5, Structure 6, Availability
Similar to a HAZMAT suit, NBC suits (which stands for “Nuclear, Biological, Chemical”) safely shield the wearer from exposure to harmful agents. The suit is a bulky plastic bodysuit with a built-in gas mask and air filtration unit. The suit offers its die bonus to all rolls made to resist harm from or contracting NBC agents, including radiation poisoning. While the suit offers top-notch protection, it can only endure for so long, and remains fragile to tears.
A single point of damage that could puncture or tear the suit negates its protection entirely, and after 5 days, its die bonus diminishes by one each day until it can no longer protect the wearer.
Potassium Iodide (Bottle)
Die bonus +1, Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2, Availability
Potassium iodide is used to protect against radiation sickness, both long term and short term. Two pills a day confer a +1 bonus to any rolls a character makes to withstand up to a level three radiation environment. The pills must be taken at least four hours before exposure.
Survival Kit (Basic)
Die bonus +1, Durability 1, Size 2, Structure 3, Availability
Survival kits contain the basic items a character needs to survive in the wild: a sleeping bag, canteen, flashlight, glowstick, food and water to last one person a whole day. Add the kit’s die bonus to any Survival rolls and Stamina + Resolve rolls made to resist harm from exposure.
Survival Kit (Advanced)
Die bonus +2, Durability 2, Size 2, Structure 4, Availability
Advanced survival kits includes all the items found in a basic kit, along with gear like a compass, small tent, solar blanket, heating pads, multi-tool, rope, and survival guide.
Food and water included with the kit allows a single person to survive two days. Add its die bonus to any Survival rolls the character makes, as well as Stamina + Resolve rolls made to resist exposure. Proper use of an advanced survival kit allows the character to negate the effects of a level two environment (except for radiation).
Survival Kit (Superior)
Die bonus +3, Durability 2, Size 3, Structure 5, Availability
Superior survival kits offer everything the lesser two kits provide, in addition to GPS devices, water filtration units, portable fishing rods, machetes, cables, emergency ponchos, survival guides, four-person all-season tent, and food and water for a week. Add its die bonus to any Survival rolls the character makes, as well as Stamina + Resolve rolls made to resist harm from exposure. This kit can negate the effects of up to a level three environment (except for radiation).
Survival Kit (Urban)
Die bonus +3, Durability 2, Size 2, Structure 4, Availability
These kits are made for urban emergencies: city-wide blackouts, chemical attacks, natural disasters. Also called “Go Bags” or “Bug-Out Bags” (BOBs), they contain the items of a basic survival kit as well as some gear tailored to urban conditions: radio, city maps, waterproof matches, antibiotics, flashlights, emergency blankets, protective masks, food and water for up to three days. Add the kit’s die bonus to all Survival rolls and any Stamina + Resolve rolls made to resist harm from exposure. The urban kit can be used in the wilderness, but at reduced efficiency, providing a +1 bonus instead.
Mental Equipment
Mental equipment is all but essential for many character types. Mental Skills without the proper tools are almost useless in most cases. A doctor without medicine is hardly capable of healing, and an auto mechanic without a toolbox couldn’t change even some minor belts on a car.
Automotive Tools
Basic (Kit): Die Bonus +1, Durability 2, Size 2, Structure 3, Availability
Advanced (Garage): Dice Bonus +2, Availability
Effect: Automotive tools are a necessity for all but the simplest automobile repairs. Even then, a fully-stocked garage with heavy equipment is required for more involved tasks such as engine or transmission replacement. If time is not a factor, any trained character with a Crafts Automotive Specialty can repair a vehicle’s mundane issues without rolls. Complex modifications and enhancements, or massive damages, always require a greater effort (an extended Intelligence + Crafts roll) to work out.
Cache
Die Bonus +1 to +3, Durability 2, Size 1-5, Structure 5, Availability to
Effect: A cache is a hidden and defensible place for items, usually weapons. It keeps important items from prying eyes. A cache can never be more than half the Size of its parent object. For example, a Size 6 car can support no larger than a Size 3 cache. A given cache can hold two items of its Size and any reasonable number of smaller-sized items. Its Availability determines its dice bonus, which both adds to concealment rolls and subtracts from rolls to find the items within.
Communications Headset
Dice Bonus +2, Durability 0, Size 1, Structure 1, Availability
Effect: Communications headsets keep characters in constant contact. Different varieties work over different distances, but most commercial models work over about 200 feet. A common alternative is a conference call between cellular phones and Bluetooth headsets. If the users have practiced using their headsets together, they gain the dice bonus on any coordinated efforts. In the case of a teamwork action, the dice bonus only applies to the final roll. If the users are unpracticed, the bonus falls to +1 and actors must make reflexive Wits + Composure rolls to participate successfully. Any heavy objects can obstruct a headset’s signal. Anything obstructing with Durability higher than 3 requires listeners to make a Wits + Composure roll to understand shared messages.
Levy a -1 penalty for each point of Durability over 4.
Crime Scene Kit
Dice Bonus +2, Durability 2, Size 3, Structure 2, Availability
Effect: A crime scene (or CSI) kit is a toolbox full of investigative aids such as magnifiers, fingerprinting dust, cameras, tape, testing chemicals, and sample bags. While the kits offer a dice bonus to Investigation rolls, the more important benefit of the CSI kit is that it allows evidence to be moved and digested elsewhere. Properly applied, it allows investigators to do the bulk of their work offsite and at their own pace.
Code Kit
Dice Bonus +5, Durability 1, Size 2, Structure 1, Availability
Effect: A code kit is a series of tools created for the purpose of making and interpreting a code for a specific audience. A common example is a book code, where a page, paragraph, and word from a certain book are used as the foundation for a cypher. This keeps any uninformed eyes off the intended message. In the case of a book code, a book is often chosen that all message recipients can access easily. This guarantees that the code never has to travel with the code key.
A successfully-designed cypher is difficult to break. The dice bonus acts as a penalty to any rolls to crack the code without the necessary reference key.
Cracking Software
Dice Bonus +2, Durability N/A, Size N/A, Structure N/A, Availability
Effect: Crappy software’s a dime a dozen. Good, reliable cracking software is hard to come by. With solid software, a hacker can force passwords, breach firewalls, and otherwise be a nuisance in computer systems. Beyond the dice pool modification, the benefit such software offers is a sort of buffer between the hacker and security. Any effort to track the hacker takes two steps: one to identify the software, then one to trace it back to the source. Functionally, this means rolling twice on behalf of the security personnel, with an opportunity for the hacker to withdraw before detection.
Digital Recorder
Dice Bonus +1 or +2, Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2, Availability or
Effect: In the last decade, digital audio recorders have gotten smaller, more effective, and more affordable. Now, any student can carry a coin-sized device that would have put intelligence agencies of the 1980s to shame. The cheaper model of recorder gives its +1 bonus to any rolls to catch words or sounds. The bonus also applies to concealment rolls. The more expensive model gives +2. With an Intelligence + Computer roll(with die bonus), a character can contest any rolls to obscure discussion or mask noises.
Duct Tape
Die Bonus +1, Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2, Availability
Effect: Duct tape has as many uses as one can think of, and just as many you never would. It can reinforce barricades, stabilize weapon handles, bind prisoners, repair broken pipes, and so much more. In most cases, duct tape can offer a +1 bonus to Crafts-related rolls. Alternatively, it can add a point of Durability to almost anything. If used as a restraint, rolls to break free suffer a -3 penalty, and must overcome the duct tape’s Structure.
First-Aid Kit
Die Bonus 0 or +1, Durability 1, Size 2, Structure 3,
Availability or
Effect: A first-aid kit contains all the necessary supplies to stabilize an injury and stop wounds from getting worse until the victim can find proper treatment. The one-dot version of the first-aid kit does not offer a die bonus; it simply allows for treatment. The two-dot version offers a +1 to treatment rolls due to superior supplies.
Flashlight
Die Bonus +1, Durability 2, Size 1, Structure 3, Availability
Effect: In a dark world, a flashlight can be a person’s best friend. It generally does what it’s supposed to; it helps cut a path through the unknown. Its die bonus subtracts from any penalties due to darkness, and adds to any rolls to search in the dark. A good flashlight can serve as a club in a pinch. Also, it can blind an unfortunate subject. A Dexterity + Athletics roll, subtracting an informed opponent’s Defense, will put the beam where it needs to be. The victim’s player may make a contested Stamina roll. If your character scores more successes than the subject, they’re blinded for one turn.
Victims with especially acute senses are blinded for two turns.
Glowstick
Dice Bonus +2, Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 1, Availability
Effect: Glowsticks use a chemical mixture to summon forth enough light to see in a small area. Most commercial glowsticks last a couple of hours; police and other professional varieties can last 12. Because they’re small, airtight containers, they serve the added benefit of being useful underwater or in the rain. Functionally, they work the same as a flashlight.
However, they cannot be used to blind a target, since their soft glow is far less obtrusive than a flashlight’s beam. They’re also very conveniently worn, which can serve strategic purposes for a group operating in low-light conditions. A member will not go missing without being noticed so long as they have a glowing neon bar on their belt.
GPS Tracker
Dice Bonus +3, Durability 2, Size 2, Structure 2, Availability
Effect: With the advent of the modern cellular phone, most modern people have a GPS-enabled device on their person at any given time. With a bit of know-how and access to someone’s phone, your character can track their every move (provided those moves are not in caves, tunnels, or sewer systems). Some characters will trade GPS data in case one member of the group becomes lost or if they have to follow someone without notice. Planting a phone on an unwitting subject can serve as a highly-effective tracking device.
Keylogging Software
Dice Bonus +2, Durability N/A, Size N/A, Structure N/A, Availability
Effect: Keylogging software does exactly one thing: it logs keystrokes on a computer. This is usually done to record incriminating data or passwords. Usually, keylogging software is coupled with software to transmit the data once captured. The challenge for the would-be intruder is installing the software. Email scams are an unreliable way to get onto a specific computer, but could fool one member of a large organization. A thumb drive is very effective, but requires direct, physical access to the recipient computer. The software’s dice bonus offers an advantage to breach a network or to find important data.
Luminol
Dice Bonus +2, Durability 0, Size 1, Structure 1, Availability
Effect: Luminol is a chemical that reacts to certain metals in human blood and other bodily fluids. The reaction causes a faint neon glow for about thirty seconds, visible in the dark.
It comes in an aerosol can and will seek out faint traces of bodily fluids, even after a thorough cleaning. In addition to showing the exact locations of violent crimes, luminol can assist in tracking wounded people and animals. Luminol’s dice bonus applies to any roll to track by the fluid traces, or to piece together the details of a crime scene.
Multi-Tool
Die Bonus +1, Durability 3, Size 1, Structure 4, Availability
Effect: Sometimes the need for mobility doesn’t allow for
your character to carry around a full tool kit. In these cases, a multi-tool can be a lifesaver. From sawing to stripping wires, to opening bottles, to filing off serial numbers, a multi-tool can do the job in a pinch. The multi-tool offers a negligible die bonus on numerous Crafts and other assorted tasks, and most importantly, allows for rolls when sometimes they couldn’t be made for lack of proper equipment. While not made for use as a weapon, it can serve as one, causing zero lethal damage, but suffering a -1 penalty to hit.
Personal Computer
Dice Bonus +1 to +4, Durability 2, Size 3, Structure 2, Availability to
Effect: In the developed world, almost every household has access to a personal computer. They can vary in size, functionality, and price, from decade-old models that barely surf the web to high-end machines that process gigabytes of data per second. In today’s world, many lives revolve around computers. For some people, their entire careers and personal lives exist within digital space. The Availability of the computer determines its dice bonus.
Smartphone
Dice Bonus +1 to +2, Durability 2, Size 1, Structure 1, Availability to
Effect: By themselves, smartphones can make calls, send text messages and emails, take pictures, maintain an agenda, and search the web. With a bit of software, the smartphone becomes the multi-tool of the electronic age. While it cannot accomplish the raw computing power of a full-sized personal computer, higher-end smartphones can manage almost all the same tasks with ease.
Most major gadgets have been successfully replicated with smartphone applications. GPS scanning and tracking are staples of the amateur investigator. Facial recognition software finds a face in a crowd with relative accuracy. They can photograph and transcribe text, then translate ancient tomes. They can store a library’s worth of text and allow for automated searches. They offer directions with photographic assistance. Even the value of a mindless video game on a stakeout is often underestimated.
Special Effects
Dice Bonus +2, Durability 2, Size 5, Structure 3, Availability
Effect: “Special effects” is a catch-all term for the tricks and chicanery used by amusement parks and stage magicians to fool witnesses. A character may use these as a distraction or a defense. For example, the Pepper’s Ghost illusion is relatively easy to set up with the right tools. It uses a large mirror and a sheet of glass, along with a model and a light source. It projects an illusion of the model’s reflection, and makes witnesses see a “ghost.”
In addition to the dice bonus, special effects generally fool their audience at first. A witness will fall for the trick unless given good reason to be suspicious. This can waste valuable time or lead the witness into a trap.
Surveillance Equipment
Dice Bonus +2, Durability 2, Size 2, Structure 2, Availability
Effect: Standard surveillance equipment usually consists of motion detectors, cameras, and monitors. High-end versions may include infrared heat sensors, barometric scanners, or even more complex gear. Either way, the point of surveillance equipment is to survey, detect, and otherwise track who enters or leaves a location. Often, this also means locking down breached zones. Unless someone knows surveillance equipment exists and actively avoids it, his presence is noticed and recorded. If he tries to avoid it, contest his Dexterity + Stealth against the installing technician’s Intelligence + Computer or Intelligence + Crafts (for digital and analog systems, respectively). The technician may add the equipment’s dice bonus. If the intruder scores more successes, he remains unnoticed. Otherwise, he goes on record.
Survival Gear
Dice Bonus +1 or +2, Durability 2, Size 2 or 3, Structure 3, Availability or
Effect: Survival gear is the catch-all term for the various kits of equipment needed to survive in harsh environments.
This could include tents, canned foodstuff, raingear, sleeping bags, sterile water, or any of the various things a person can use to survive the world outside their cushy homes. They come in two levels: a basic level and an advanced level. The basic level offers +1 and subtracts one from the effective level of environment, (see Extreme Environments, p. 97), while the advanced offers +2 and subtracts two from the effective environment level. This does not help with a Level 4 environment. A resourceful character can rig or scavenge the necessary supplies for basic survival gear, but an advanced set of gear requires very specialized equipment. Basic survival gear can assist with almost any environment, but advanced survival gear must target one particular type of environment.
Talcum Powder
Dice Bonus +2, Durability N/A, Size 1, Structure N/A, Availability
Effect: Talcum powder can keep a baby’s bottom from getting diaper rash, but it can also show the presence of the unseen, and show evidence of intrusion if placed at a portal of entry. If an area is dusted with talcum powder, a character must achieve five successes on a Dexterity + Stealth roll to enter without a trace. Fewer successes will only obscure the specifics of their feet and hands. Some paranormal investigators use talcum powder as a way to give ghosts and other invisible entities a method for communication.
Ultraviolet Ink
Dice Bonus +2, Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2, Availability
Effect: Ultraviolet ink, or invisible ink, as it’s commonly called, is an outstanding way to relay messages in plain sight.
Since the naked eye cannot perceive the ink without an ultraviolet light, a character can scrawl messages for other recipients who are in the know. It also allows for secret information to be passed around through mundane channels. If someone’s being surveyed by nefarious forces, an ultraviolet message scribbled on a throwaway magazine is much easier to get into their home unmolested than, say, a suspicious letter slid through their doorframe. If you need to mark a path to a secret hiding place, what better way to conceal the guiding marks?
Physical Equipment
Physical equipment enhances the use of Physical Skills.
This often means using simple or complex machines to make things easier, as well as using simple tricks to heighten the effectiveness of a character’s inherent talents.
Battering Ram
Dice Bonus +4, Durability 3, Size 4, Structure 8, Availability
Effect: The purpose of the battering ram is to bring down doors and other barricades with direct, focused force. A battering ram uses a Teamwork action, allowing up to four participants. The primary actor adds the ram’s dice bonus to her roll. A ram ignores two points of Durability.
Bear Trap
Dice Bonus +2, Durability 3, Size 2, Structure 5, Availability
Effect: A bear trap is a large metal contraption that looks something like a set of deadly jaws. For this reason, they’re also commonly called jaw traps. When a human or large animal steps into the bear trap, it snaps shut on their leg. Due to the serrated edges on the trap, this can cause massive bleeding or even broken bones.
The jaw trap causes three lethal damage and ignores two points of armor or Durability. A character trapped in the jaws can attempt to escape as an instant action.
Doing so requires a Strength + Stamina roll, with the trap’s dice bonus as a penalty due to the distracting pain and the strength of the jaws. Failure on this roll causes another point of lethal damage as the jaw digs in further.
Creatures without opposable thumbs cannot escape this way and must rip themselves free.
Any rolls to hide a bear trap suffer its dice bonus as a penalty. They’re difficult to hide due to their awkward shape and weight.
Caltrops
Dice Bonus +2, Durability 2, Size 2, Structure 3, Availability
Effect: Caltrops are small, pointed pieces of metal, arranged in such a way that one point is always facing upward. This makes walking (or driving) through a patch of caltrops inconvenient and painful. These traits assume possession of enough caltrops to fill a doorway or other narrow corridor.
Moving through caltrops causes one point of lethal damage. Caltrops ignore a point of armor or Durability.
To move through safely, a Dexterity + Athletics roll is required with the caltrops’ dice bonus applied as a penalty to the roll.
A character may only move at half Speed (rounded down) while moving safely through caltrops.
A character may hide caltrops, although it is difficult. A Wits + Larceny - 3 roll is required; the caltrops’ dice bonus does not apply to this roll.
Camouflage Clothing
Dice Bonus +2, Durability 1, Size 2, Structure 3, Availability
Effect: Camouflage clothing allows its wearer to blend in with her surroundings enough for the untrained eye to pass over her completely. Effective camouflage must be catered to the environment: greens and browns in the woodlands, shades of grey in an urban area. Proper camouflage adds its bonus to rolls to remain unnoticed.
Climbing Gear
Dice Bonus +2, Durability 3, Size 2, Structure 2, Availability
Effect: Climbing gear includes ropes, pulleys, handles, carabiners, hooks, and other assorted tools for scaling things.
They serve a twofold purpose. First, they add their dice bonus to the normal Strength + Athletics rolls for climbing. Second, if properly applied (with a Wits + Athletics roll), they prevent a character from falling more than 10 feet at a time.
Crowbar
Dice Bonus +2, Durability 3, Size 2, Structure 4, Availability
Effect: A crowbar is a curved piece of steel used to pry open shipping pallets, jammed doors, and other things a normal person would be incapable of doing by hand. It adds to any dice rolls used to establish leverage. When prying things open, it allows your character to ignore two points of Durability on the lock or barricade. A crowbar can also be used as a weapon (see p. 268).
Firearm Suppressor
Dice Bonus +2, Durability 2, Size 1, Structure 2, Availability
Effect: A firearm suppressor is popularly and misleadingly referred to as a silencer in cinema and other media. It’s a cylinder placed on the end of a gun barrel that changes and lightens the sound of a shot. A suppressor delivers many minor benefits, but offers two noteworthy advantages: shortrange accuracy and concealment.
Increased Accuracy: A suppressed firearm travels through a longer barrel and the muzzle crown evens the expulsion of hot gasses that can slightly affect trajectory. In game terms, reduce a suppressed gun’s damage rating by one due to the bullet’s subsonic flight, but increase the attack dice pool by two when firing at short range.
Position Concealer: The sound changes dramatically, to the point where many people do not recognize the sound as that of a gunshot and are often unable to place where the lower tone came from. The muzzle flash is also reduced dramatically with a suppressor, helping to conceal a shooter’s position. A character trying to identify a suppressed shot must roll Wits + Firearms - 2. Any character searching for the shooter using the gun’s tells suffers a -2 penalty.
Gas Mask
Dice Bonus +5, Durability 1, Size 2, Structure 3, Availability
Effect: A gas mask is a filtration device placed over the face that defends the wearer against noxious chemicals in the air. With a working gas mask, a character can stand minor toxins for as long as he needs, whereas other characters might take damage over time or require rolls to remain conscious.
Powerful toxins may still require rolls. A gas mask adds five dice to these rolls.
Handcuffs
Dice Bonus +2, Durability 4, Size 1, Structure 4, Availability
Effect: A solid pair of steel handcuffs is made to restrain even a remarkably strong person. Applying handcuffs to an unwilling combatant is an additional option in a grapple. Roll Strength + Brawl - the opponent’s Strength. Success means the handcuffs are where they need to be.
Breaking out of successfully-applied handcuffs requires a Strength + Stamina - 4 roll. Each success on the roll reduces the Structure of the cuffs by 1. Cuffs reduced to 0 Structure snap open. Each attempt to escape causes one point of bashing damage.
A character may also try to finagle their hands out of the cuffs. This requires a Dexterity + Athletics - 4 roll. Success allows for an escape, and causes one point of bashing damage. Failure on this roll causes one point of lethal damage, as the thumb jerks out of socket.
Attempting to do anything requiring manual dexterity while cuffed incurs a -4 penalty, or -2 if the hands are cuffed in front. Witnesses are unlikely to behave favorably around a cuffed character; Social rolls against strangers incur a -3 penalty.
Many police forces and security companies now prefer heavy-duty plastic zip ties in place of handcuffs. While they’re slightly less durable (Durability 3), they incur a -5 penalty from behind or -3 from the front, because they can be far tighter on the wrists. They can also be cut free.
Lockpicking Kit
Dice Bonus +2, Durability 2, Size 2, Structure 2, Availability
Effect: A lockpicking kit consists of picks, tools, and rods for manipulating tumblers and opening locks. A good kit contains a wide array of tools for all types of locks, but guarantee intrusion of an analog lock. With such a kit and at least a dot of Larceny, a character can pick a lock without a roll if time is not an issue. If time is an issue, the dice bonus applies to the Dexterity + Larceny rolls. At Availability , a character may procure a portable lockpick. It has Size 1, Structure 1, and is far more concealable. However, it only offers a +1 bonus and doesn’t allow for picking without rolls since the kit realistically may not have the right tools for a given job.
A lockpicking kit only works on mechanical locks.
Digital locks require more specific hacking and code prediction. A character may procure a digital lockpick at Availability , but it typically only works on one type of lock, such as the keycard locks used in hotels. Digital lockpicks can be Size 2, or Size 1 if crafted as an extension of a laptop computer or smartphone.
Night Vision Goggles
Die Bonus +2, Durability 1, Size 2, Structure 1, Availability
Effect: Night vision goggles amplify low-light conditions, allowing characters to see when they otherwise could not. A character with night vision goggles does not suffer penalties for acting blind. Bright lights can render the wearer temporarily blinded, as if he had a flashlight shone in his eyes.
Pepper Spray
Die Bonus +1, Durability 2, Size 1, Structure 1, Availability
Effect: Pepper spray is a blend of chemicals (mostly capsaicin, the “hot” part of a chili pepper) contained in a small spray can, designed to debilitate threats. Civilians use these devices in self-defense; police use them to subdue unruly criminals. Use of pepper spray requires a Dexterity + Athletics or Dexterity + Firearms roll. Each yard is a range category, so one yard is short range, two yards is medium, three yards is long range. An opponent’s Defense applies, but in normal wind conditions, the die bonus applies to the roll.
Upon the first attack, the victim suffers the Stun Tilt (see p. 286). An opponent struck suffers a -5 penalty to all actions. This penalty can be reduced by one for every turn spent rinsing the eyes with water. Commercial chemicals designed to clean the eyes will fully remove the penalty after a turn.
Rope
Die Bonus +1, Durability 2, Size 3, Structure 2, Availability
Effect: Rope is one of the oldest tools known to humankind. It’s never left prominent use because of its simple and efficient utility. A good rope adds its die bonus to relevant Crafts rolls and anywhere else it would assist.
As a binding agent, it resists breaking with a Durability (or effective Strength) equal to its user’s Crafts score, due to the multiplicative effect of solid knots. An applicable Specialty adds one to the user’s Crafts score for this purpose. Some interrogators, shibari fetishists, and boy scouts alike specialize in remarkable knot tying, potentially rendering subjects completely and hopelessly immobile.
Stun Gun
No Die Bonus, Durability 2, Size 1, Structure 2, Availability , , or
Effect: A stun gun is designed to deliver an overwhelming amount of electricity to an assailant in order to shut down her muscles and send her to the ground. As a defensive item, this gives the would-be victim time to run or get help. As an offensive item, it leaves the victim ready for restraint or worse.
These devices come in two varieties (handheld and ranged) and three intensities (1-3, corresponding to their Availabilities). The handheld model has live leads on the edge of a handle and can be used as many as 50 times on one battery charge. The ranged model fires small, wired darts up to 15 feet away. While the ranged model has a similar battery life, it uses a compressed air cartridge that must be replaced after each shot.
Use of a handheld stun gun requires a Dexterity + Weaponry roll, penalized by the victim’s Defense. The ranged model uses Dexterity + Firearms, also penalized by the victim’s Defense. On a successful hit with either, the victim takes one point of lethal damage. The successes subtract from the victim’s next dice pool. With the ranged version, the darts remain in the victim’s body, adding three successes automatically each turn. They can be removed with a Strength + Stamina roll, with the initial successes penalizing the action.
With the handheld version, the attacker can attempt to maintain the shock, which takes a Strength + Weaponry roll, penalized by the greater of the opponent’s Strength or Defense. Once the accumulated successes exceed the victim’s Size, the victim collapses into neuromuscular incapacitation. Once the shock ends, this lasts for (10 - victim’s Stamina) turns.
Social Equipment
Social actions deal with people. Social equipment offers tools for leverage, influence, and manipulation.
Cash
Dice Bonus +1 to +5, Durability 1, Size 2, Structure 1, Availability to
Effect: This represents a wad of cash, a briefcase of money, an offshore bank account number, or some other lump sum. It can’t be reflected in the Resources Merit since it’s not a regular income. However, it can be expended to offer a bonus equivalent to its Availability on any social roll where a bribe could be beneficial. Also, it can be expended to purchase one item of equal Availability. For more complex uses, consider it a single month’s allotment of the same Resources.
Disguise
Dice Bonus +1 to +3, Durability 1, Size 3, Structure 2, Availability to
Effect: A good disguise goes a long way to help fit in with a strange group, or to go unnoticed in a crowd where one doesn’t belong. Properly costumed for a situation, no rolls are required to blend into the crowd. Any rolls to actively detect the outsider suffer a penalty equal to the dice bonus of the disguise; the disguised character also gains the bonus to remain hidden.
With a disguise, a character can emulate the first dot of a single Social Merit that would make sense within the scope of the scene. For example, it doesn’t make money appear from thin air, but it would allow a character to get their drinks on a nonexistent tab, reflecting Resources . This requires a Composure + Subterfuge roll to maintain in the face of anyone in the know, contested by the witness’s Wits + Subterfuge. The dice bonus of the disguise applies to the liar, but does not affect the witness.
Fashion
Dice Bonus +1 to +3, Durability 1, Size 2, Structure 1, Availability to
Effect: Never underestimate the value of high fashion.
Like a disguise, fashionable clothing allows a character to fit in. However, the point of fashion is to draw attention, not to fade into the crowd. As opposed to anonymity, fashion means being noticed. Note that the clothing chosen must be appropriate to the setting. Punk chic will not work at a Senator’s fundraiser, for example. When improperly dressed, the dice bonus applies as a penalty to all Social Skill rolls.
The dice bonus for Fashion is equal to half the Availability, rounded up.
