Complexity Of Device Modifier
Very Simple +2 Simple +1 Average +0 Complex -2 Very Complex -4 Highly Complex -6 Incredibly Complex -8
Other Rules
EQUIPMENT
Electronics requires equipment. A character needs all sorts of tools, potentially ranging from simple ones like screwdrivers to ohmmeters and other sophisticated analyzers, to create, work with, and modify most electronic devices. As technology advances and becomes more “user-friendly,” the number of tools needed may decrease, though the ones still required likewise become more advanced.
POWERS AND ELECTRONICS
The power to control electronic devices (par- ticularly computers) is known as cyberkinesis. Cyberkinetic powers, such as those described in
The UNTIL Superpowers Databases, allow a charac-
ter to operate and modify electrical systems with- out the need for tools. In many cases a cyberkinetic character doesn’t even need to touch an electronic device to manipulate it.
CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE
The consequences of failing an Electronics roll depend largely on what a character was trying to do.
When a character tries to build, repair, or modify an electronic device, a failed Skill Roll means he doesn’t get the job done. He can’t figure out how to build the gadget, his repairs don’t fix the problem, and so on. Alternately, the device may work... at first. Soon it malfunctions, undoubt- edly at a very bad moment for the character. A badly-failed roll (by 4 or more) often indicates that his efforts have made the situation worse: while working he breaks a crucial tool or hurts himself; his repairs or modifications damage the device or make it work less well.
When a character tries to disable an electronic device, failure means it continues to function prop- erly. A bad failure (by 4 or more) may accidentally activate alarms, cause the device to go into “security lockdown” so that repeated attempts to disable it become even harder, or the like.
When a character tries to identify a strange electronic device, failure means he has no idea what the device does. A bad failure (by 4 or more) means he misinterprets it, deciding it does something that it doesn’t actually do (usually something that will get him in trouble when he tries to make the device do that).
When a character tries to operate a strange electronic device or one he lacks the key for, failure means he can’t get it to work (and perhaps gets hurt by an electrical shock while trying). A bad failure (by 4 or more) means he badly hurts himself, he damages the device, he sets off an alarm, or the like.
BASE TIMES
Electronics tends to be time-consuming work. Some tasks, like hotwiring a car, may only take a few seconds, but most heavy-duty creation and modification work can take hours. For those sorts of tasks, 1 Hour per 10 Active Points in the device (or in the amount of Active Points in the modifica- tion) is a good benchmark for the GM, but he can adjust the final total as appropriate.
Disabling an electronic device usually requires a minimum of 1 Turn per 10 Active Points in the device (and sometimes longer), but again, the GM can adjust this as he sees fit. It’s not uncommon for characters in the comics, action movies, and novels to shut off some devices in just a few seconds.
Identifying the nature and purpose of a strange electronic device usually requires a minimum of 1 Minute per 10 Active Points in the device. User-friendliness features may diminish the time required.
The time required for operating or activat- ing an electronic device varies wildly. Some tasks, like hotwiring a car or turning on an alien sensor system, may take no more than 2-3 Phases, or at most 1 Turn. On the other hand, activating a large, complex system from total shutdown without the proper device or tool may take many minutes or even hours.
SUBDIVIDING ELECTRONICS
The standard rules for Electronics don’t differ- entiate between the types of devices a character can work on — being able to fix one electronic device lets him fix any electronic device. In more realistic campaigns, characters buy Electronics in catego- ries, using the Expanded Systems Operation Table (page 329): a category costs 2 Character Points for an INT-Based Roll (or 1 Character Point for just a subcategory); additional categories or subcategories cost 2 or 1 Character Points respectively; improv- ing the character’s roll with all of his categories and subcategories costs +1 Character Points for each +1 to the roll. The GM may want to expand the available categories based on the types of technol- ogy available in his campaign. For example, in a game with teleportation technology, Teleportation Systems might become a category characters could buy.
If you use this form of Electronics, at the GM’s option a character can try to use his Electronics on a category or subcategory of devices he hasn’t paid for, but he has to make his Electronics rolls for doing so at a -3 (or worse) penalty.
ELECTRONICS BY GENRE
Electronics has no applicability in pre-electric- ity societies, such as most Fantasy and pre-modern campaigns. Electronic devices don’t become com- monplace in major cities until the Victorian period, and in many parts of the world not until quite late in the twentieth century.