Equipment
The following items are indicative of just some of the gear that your character may acquire or use when dealing with the mysteries of the unseen world. The creatures that haunt the shadows may have miraculous capabilities, but modern technology can be used to even the odds somewhat. Sometimes beings in touch with humanity turn to these items to ply them against rivals, and some shepherd the way to new innovations that are eventually shared with the masses.
Most conventional equipment offers a +1 to +3 die bonus. These items are commercially available and not necessarily unusual. The most basic, rudimentary or improvised of tools may add nothing to your character's efforts. A bent coat hanger isn't really so useful in giving your character a bonus at breaking into a car, for example.
Indeed, some activities require tools or devices to be attempted at all. In these cases, bonuses are gained for using good-quality equipment. You can't play in an orchestra without a violin, for example. Possessing any old violin doesn't grant your character an immediate bonus to Expression rolls. The instrument needs to be special to confer bonuses. A finely crafted antique piece might be +2, while a Stradivarius is +4 or +5. Likewise, you can't drive without a vehicle. A beat-up old sedan may offer no bonuses to Drive rolls, while a new sports car can offer four.
Generally speaking, useful but simple items and tools offer a +1 bonus. Most specially made gear that's designed and fabricated for a particular purpose is rated +2. Say, a slimjim for auto theft. Tools at +3 are reliable and precise. Tools rated +4 and +5 are top-of-the-line, craftsman-made and probably expensive devices. Add one dot to the listed costs for items rated +4, and two for items rated +5. Thus, if your character has a set of lock picks (which normally have a cost of 3) with a dice bonus of +4, his tools have a cost of 4.
Equipment created or altered by supernatural or advanced means can be rated +4 or +5 (or higher!), but is probably always assigned an equal cost - if available for purchase at all. An inventor who works beyond the realm of ordinary human technology might design a universal lock set, for example. One tool can open doors of any kind. It confers a +5 die bonus to B&E efforts, and costs five dots to be acquired. Of course, cost has little bearing if someone can steal or barter for an item rather than buy it.
The relative costs of items are listed in dots. Compare these to the dots in your character's Resources Merit (if any) to see if he can afford them with disposable cash. See "Resources," p. 115, for more information.
The items listed here tend to be somewhat unconventional - things you might not see everyday, but that your character might intentionally seek out. It's assumed that you can assess the utility (and die bonuses) of ordinary items such as computers, household tools and handy items such as Swiss Army knives.
Dice bonuses can apply to instant actions - feats performed in the space of one turn. They can also apply to rolls made in extended actions. A project occurs over a period of time, with rolls made at intervals to gauge progress. Having tools (getting dice bonuses) definitely improves your character's chances of success at an extended action, and may help him accomplish it more quickly than without the gear.
When a dramatic failure occurs, something may have gone horribly wrong with the tools used. The Storyteller decides just what has happened. One of your character's picks could be broken, lost, hopelessly jammed in a door, or simply dropped making enough noise to draw attention. In the case of damaged or broken tools, consider their bonus ratings to diminish by one thereafter, along with their cost dots if they're sold.
Cost dots for equipment are ultimately relative assignments. In the free world where commerce is largely open, costs are as listed. In a politically or religiously oppressed locale, forbidden items are rare and more expensive. Illegal items in any region are certainly expensive and must be acquired through underground channels. Consider any illegal or black-market purchase to be at least one dot more expensive than indicated in these rules. There could also be a cost to life, limb and liberty, but that's for the Storyteller to decide in your story.
Die Bonuses
Using equipment and tools to accomplish feats generally improves your character's chances of success. Gear is typically rated 1 to 5 in terms of quality, and that number of dice is added to your dice pools when pertinent actions are performed. For example, an attempt to break into a car involves Dexterity + Larceny. Your character can try it without any tools or devices, but the effort is difficult and probably crude (he busts out a window to get in). But if your character uses a crowbar to help the effort, the Storyteller might grant a +1 bonus. You add one die to your dice pool. Now, if your character has a high-quality, precise set of tools designed specifically for breaking and entering, the Storyteller might grant you as much as a +3 or higher bonus. The better tools brought to bear are simply more effective than a crowbar.Most conventional equipment offers a +1 to +3 die bonus. These items are commercially available and not necessarily unusual. The most basic, rudimentary or improvised of tools may add nothing to your character's efforts. A bent coat hanger isn't really so useful in giving your character a bonus at breaking into a car, for example.
Indeed, some activities require tools or devices to be attempted at all. In these cases, bonuses are gained for using good-quality equipment. You can't play in an orchestra without a violin, for example. Possessing any old violin doesn't grant your character an immediate bonus to Expression rolls. The instrument needs to be special to confer bonuses. A finely crafted antique piece might be +2, while a Stradivarius is +4 or +5. Likewise, you can't drive without a vehicle. A beat-up old sedan may offer no bonuses to Drive rolls, while a new sports car can offer four.
Generally speaking, useful but simple items and tools offer a +1 bonus. Most specially made gear that's designed and fabricated for a particular purpose is rated +2. Say, a slimjim for auto theft. Tools at +3 are reliable and precise. Tools rated +4 and +5 are top-of-the-line, craftsman-made and probably expensive devices. Add one dot to the listed costs for items rated +4, and two for items rated +5. Thus, if your character has a set of lock picks (which normally have a cost of 3) with a dice bonus of +4, his tools have a cost of 4.
Equipment created or altered by supernatural or advanced means can be rated +4 or +5 (or higher!), but is probably always assigned an equal cost - if available for purchase at all. An inventor who works beyond the realm of ordinary human technology might design a universal lock set, for example. One tool can open doors of any kind. It confers a +5 die bonus to B&E efforts, and costs five dots to be acquired. Of course, cost has little bearing if someone can steal or barter for an item rather than buy it.
The relative costs of items are listed in dots. Compare these to the dots in your character's Resources Merit (if any) to see if he can afford them with disposable cash. See "Resources," p. 115, for more information.
The items listed here tend to be somewhat unconventional - things you might not see everyday, but that your character might intentionally seek out. It's assumed that you can assess the utility (and die bonuses) of ordinary items such as computers, household tools and handy items such as Swiss Army knives.
Dice bonuses can apply to instant actions - feats performed in the space of one turn. They can also apply to rolls made in extended actions. A project occurs over a period of time, with rolls made at intervals to gauge progress. Having tools (getting dice bonuses) definitely improves your character's chances of success at an extended action, and may help him accomplish it more quickly than without the gear.
When a dramatic failure occurs, something may have gone horribly wrong with the tools used. The Storyteller decides just what has happened. One of your character's picks could be broken, lost, hopelessly jammed in a door, or simply dropped making enough noise to draw attention. In the case of damaged or broken tools, consider their bonus ratings to diminish by one thereafter, along with their cost dots if they're sold.
Cost dots for equipment are ultimately relative assignments. In the free world where commerce is largely open, costs are as listed. In a politically or religiously oppressed locale, forbidden items are rare and more expensive. Illegal items in any region are certainly expensive and must be acquired through underground channels. Consider any illegal or black-market purchase to be at least one dot more expensive than indicated in these rules. There could also be a cost to life, limb and liberty, but that's for the Storyteller to decide in your story.