In a world of high-tech wonders, the only limits on the types of equipment available to heroes are the inventiveness of manufacturers and the amount of buying power on the heroes’ credit cards. Most of the objects described in this chapter are available through legitimate retailers and dealers. Some objects might be harder to find, and a few might be available only in specific areas or not available at all for purchase. Others might be difficult to obtain due to legal restrictions on ownership or use.
Purchasing Equipment
The game uses Wealth checks to determine what characters can afford and what gear they might reasonably have access to. Every character has a Wealth bonus that reflects his or her buying power. Every object and service has a purchase DC. To purchase an object, make a Wealth check against the purchase DC.
The Wealth Check
A Wealth check is a 1d20 roll plus your current Wealth bonus. Your Wealth bonus is fluid. It increases as you gain Wealth and decreases as you make purchases.
If you succeed on the Wealth check, you gain the object. If you fail, you can’t afford the object at this time – you don’t have the cash on hand, or your credit cards are too close to maxed out.
If your current Wealth bonus is equal to or greater than the DC, you automatically succeed.
Your character can easily afford to buy any object with a DC equal to or less than your current Wealth bonus.
If you successfully purchase an object or service with a purchase DC that’s higher than your current Wealth bonus, your Wealth bonus decreases. This reflects that you increased your debt and reduced your buying power in some fashion to acquire the expensive object or service.
Wealth and the Starting Hero
A newly created 1st-level character’s Wealth bonus is +0 plus:
- Wealth provided by your starting occupation.
- Bonus from the Windfall feat. if taken.
- 2d4 die roll.
- +1 for having 1 to 4 ranks in the Profession skill.
So, a Smart hero with the doctor starting occupation has a possible beginning Wealth bonus of +4 + 2d4. (The doctor occupation increases his Wealth bonus by 4 and he makes a 2d4 die roll.) If the 2d4 result is 5 and he has ranks in the Profession skill, this Smart hero starts out with a Wealth bonus of +10.
Need a Lot of Stuff?
If you’re buying a bunch of stuff at once, especially when you’re first creating your character, it’s almost always best to start by making a reasonable wish list of the items you want. Once you’ve made the list, purchase everything that has a purchase DC equal to or less than your Wealth bonus. (Or, if your Wealth bonus is higher than +14, purchase everything with a purchase DC of 14 or lower first.) Purchasing these
items won’t reduce your Wealth bonus like more expensive items do.
Once you’ve got the small stuff, move on to the expensive things. Generally, you want to start with the most expensive and work your way down, though if there’s anything that’s particularly important, buy it first if you’re worried about running low on Wealth.
Shopping and Time
Common objects and services can be purchased in just the time it takes to go to an appropriate retail outlet or place of business. Buying less common objects generally takes a number of hours equal to the purchase DC of the object or service, reflecting the time needed to locate the wanted materials and close the deal. Getting a license or buying a object with a restriction rating increases the time needed to make purchases, as described below.
Taking 10 and Taking 20
You can usually take 10 or take 20 when making a Wealth check. Taking 20 requires 20 times as long as normal. So, if it normally takes you 30 minutes to go to the store and purchase a certain object, and you decide to take 20 on the Wealth check, then you have to spend 10 hours shopping for
that object.
Also, there is a penalty for spending beyond your means. Whenever you buy an object that has a purchase DC higher than your current Wealth bonus, your Wealth bonus decreases (see below).
Try Again?
You can try again if you fail a Wealth check, but not until you’ve spent additional time shopping – usually a number of hours equal to the purchase DC of the object or service. During character creation, you can’t try again until some-time after the first adventure has begun (Gamemaster’s discretion).
Aid Another
One other character can make an aid another attempt to help you purchase an object or service. If the attempt is successful, that character provides you with a +2 bonus on your Wealth check. There is a cost, however. The character who provides the aid reduces his or her Wealth bonus by +1. As
for you, the character who aided your Wealth check might reasonably demand to borrow the object from you from time to time, and could be considered a co-owner, depending on the object and its cost.
Losing Wealth
Any time you purchase an object or service with a purchase DC higher than your current Wealth bonus, or one with a purchase DC of 15 or higher, your Wealth bonus goes down. (This represents spending your savings, or extending your credit, or increasing your debt.) How much your Wealth bonus is reduced depends on how expensive the object is.
| Onject or Service Purchase DC | Wealth Bonus Decrease |
|---|---|
| 15 or higher | 1 point |
| 1-10 points higher than current Wealth bonus | 1 point |
| 11-15 points higher than current Wealth bonus | 1d6 points |
| 16 or more points higher than current Wealth bonus | 2d6 points |
For example. if you have a current Wealth bonus of +9, and you purchase something that has a purchase DC of 13, your Wealth bonus decreases by 1 (since the object’s DC is 4 points higher than your current Wealth bonus). If the object has a purchase DC of 22 (which is 13 points higher than your
Wealth bonus), you reduce your current Wealth bonus by 1d6 points.
Along with this loss, any time you buy an object or service with a purchase DC of 15 or higher, you reduce your current Wealth bonus by an additional 1 point. So, in the case of the object with a DC of 22, your Wealth bonus decrease would be 1d6+1 points.
Your Wealth bonus only goes down if you successfully buy an object or service. If you attempt to buy something and the check fails, your Wealth bonus is unaffected. (However, see “Try Again?” above.)
Buying Stuff at Character Creation
Russell Whitfield, a newly created 1st-level Strong hero, is ready to outfit himself before the start of his first adventure. He takes the blue collar starting occupation, which increases his Wealth bonus by +2 points. He rolls 2d4 and gets a result of 3. Russell has a starting Wealth bonus of 5 (0 + 2 + 3 = 5).
Russell can afford anything with a purchase DC of 5 or lower. He makes sure that he buys everything he wants that has a DC of 5 or less before he attempts to acquire anything that’s more expensive. When he’s ready, he decides to try to buy a longsword (DC 11).
He can make a Wealth check and try to roll 6 or higher on the d20 to purchase the object (6 + 5 = 11), but if the check fails he has to wait until an appropriate opportunity after the adventure begins to try again on the Wealth check. If the check succeeds, Russell gains the longsword and his Wealth bonus decreases to +4.
He can take 10 on the check, easily making the purchase DC. He is guaranteed the longsword, but after buying it his Wealth bonus is reduced to +4.
If Russell needed to buy an object with a purchase DC of 18, for example, he could decide to take 20 to have a better chance of succeeding. This allows him to purchase the object, but then his Wealth bonus is
reduced by 1d6+1 points (because the DC is 13 points higher than his Wealth bonus and because the DC is also higher than 15).
Lifestyle
What sort of lifestyle does your character live? Does he drive an exotic car and own a speedboat, throwing lavish parties and flying off to Rio for the weekend? Or does he subsist on microwave pizza in a one-room apartment? That question is answered, in part, by the objects you own and your current Wealth bonus.
A character with a mid-range Wealth bonus (say, +7) can generally afford items costing around $50 without his Wealth bonus going down. Such a character can afford a meat at a good restaurant, a ticket to a basketball game, or a new computer game pretty much any time he wants. More expensive lifestyle options are always available, but only at the cost of driving his Wealth bonus down – so he can’t really live beyond his means for long. Of course, if he already owns a Ferrari, having a lower Wealth bonus does not mean he has to give it up. He still drives an expensive car – he just can’t currently afford to do all the other things people associate with that kind of life.
A poorer character-with, say, a current Wealth bonus of +4 – can generally afford a $20 expense without reducing his Wealth bonus. A night at the movies might be a routine entertainment, but he can’t regularly afford anything more expensive. Rich characters, those with Wealth bonuses of +15 or higher, can easily drop about $500 at a time, meaning that they will fly first class more often than not.
Wealth Bonus of +0
Your Wealth bonus can never decrease to less than +0. If your Wealth bonus is +0, you don’t have the buying power to purchase any object or service that has a purchase DC of 10 or higher, and you can’t take 10 or take 20.
Regaining Wealth
Buying expensive objects can drive your Wealth bonus down. Fortunately, your Wealth bonus recovers as your character advances.
Every time you gain a new level, make a Profession check. (If you have no ranks in the skill, this check is a Wisdom check.) The DC is equal to your current Wealth bonus. If you succeed, your current Wealth bonus increases by +1. For every 5 points by which you exceed the DC, you gain an additional +l to your Wealth bonus.
Wealth Awards
Adventuring may result in your finding (or otherwise obtaining) cash, jewels, or other valuable items. In such cases, the benefit translates into a Wealth award. A Wealth award represents an increase in buying power, not a perpetual stream of income. A treasure might grant a character a Wealth award of +4, for example, thereby increasing his current Wealth bonus by +4. When a team of characters gains a Wealth award, they should split it among themselves as evenly as possible.
On-Hand Objects
In the modern world, most people have a lot of stuff – probably a lot more than you’re going to write down on your character sheet. To account for the mundane and innocuous objects that most people have among their possessions and not force every character to specifically purchase such objects in order to employ them-use the following rules.
With your GM’s permission, you can make a Wealth check to see if your character has a mundane object on hand, as long as the object has a purchase DC of 10 or lower. (The GM determines the purchase DC for an object that’s not mentioned in this chapter, using similarly priced objects as a guide.) The Wealth check works the same as for buying the object, except that you take a -10 penalty on the check, and you can’t take 10 or take 20. Also, you can’t make a Wealth check to see if you have a mundane object on hand during character generation or between adventures – only during play. If you succeed, your Wealth bonus is unaffected, even if the object’s purchase DC is higher than your Wealth bonus.
For example, Russell hears faint noises outside the door to his apartment and suspects that someone is about to break in. His gun isn’t handy, but there might be something else in the room, such as a baseball bat or a fireplace poker, that can be used as an impromptu weapon. The GM decides that the purchase DC for such an object is S. To see if the mundane object is on hand, Russell rolls 1d20 and adds his current Wealth bonus, then subtracts 10. On a result of 5 or higher, it is on hand, and Russell grabs it up as quickly as he can. On a result of 4 or lower, nothing of the sort is immediately available, and Russell has to figure out a different course of action.
Depending on the situation, the GM can rule that a certain mundane object is not available; for an object to be obtainable, you must be in a place where the object logically would be (in your house, or apartment, or car); you can’t just come across a baseball bat while walking down the street.
RESTRICTED OBJECTS
Some objects require licenses to own or operate, or are restricted in use to qualifying organizations or individuals. In such cases, a character must purchase a license or pay a fee to legally own the object. A license or fee is a separate item, purchased in addition to (and usually before) the object to which it applies. The four levels of restriction are as follows.
Licensed: The owner must obtain a license to own or operate the object legally. Generally, the license is not expensive, and obtaining it has few if any additional legal requirements.
Restricted: Only specially qualified individuals or organizations are technically allowed to own the object. However, the real obstacles to ownership are time and money; anyone with sufficient patience and cash can eventually acquire the necessary license.
Military: The object is sold primarily to legitimate police and military organizations. A military rating is essentially the same as restricted (see above), except that manufacturers and dealers are generally under tight government scrutiny and are therefore especially wary of selling to private individuals.
Illegal: The object is illegal in all but specific, highly regulated circumstances.
| Restriction Rating | License or Fee Purchase DC | Black Market Purchase DC * | Time Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licensed | 10 | +1 | 1 day |
| Restricted | 15 | +2 | 2 days |
| Military | 20 | +3 | 3 days |
| Illegal | 25 | +4 | 4 days |
Purchasing a License
To purchase a license or pay necessary fees, make a Wealth check against the purchase DC given in table above. With a success, the license is issued to the character after the number of days indicated. To speed up the process, the hero can make a Knowledge (Business) check against a DC equal to the license purchase DC. Success results in the license being issued in 1d6 hours. (During the process of character creation, you just need to purchase the license or pay the fee; the time required takes place before game play begins.)
As a general rule, a character must obtain the appropriate license before buying a restricted object. Legitimate dealers will not sell restricted objects to a character who does not have the necessary license. However, a character may be able to turn to the black market (see below) to obtain restricted objects without a license.
The Black market
Sometimes a character wants to obtain an object without going through the hassle of getting a license first. Almost anything is available on the black market. Knowledge (Streetwise) checks can be used to locate a black market merchant. The DC is based on the location in question, perhaps 15 to find a black market merchant in a big city, or 20, 25, or higher in small towns and rural areas.
Objects purchased on the black market are more expensive than those purchased legally. Add the black market purchase DC modifier to the object’s purchase DC.
Obtaining an object on the black market takes a number of days according to the Time Required column on the above table. For example, purchasing a restricted object on the black market requires two days. The process can be hurried, but each day cut out of the process (to a minimum of one day) increases the purchase DC by an additional +l.
For example, say you want to purchase a machine gun on the black market. You’ve made the necessary contact. The machine gun has a purchase DC of 19 and a military restriction rating (DC +3). The final purchase DC, then, is 22, and it will take three days for the seller to get it for you. You need it tomorrow, however, requiring that he get it in just one day. Cutting two days out of the process increases the DC by another +2, for a total purchase DC of 24. If you fail this Wealth check, you can’t attempt to buy that particular object again for a certain amount of time (in this case, 24 hours).
Rent or Own?
The rules for Wealth don’t say anything about paying rent or having a mortgage. That’s because such day-to-day expenses as a home, utility bills, and groceries are already built into the Wealth system – your Wealth bonus reflects your buying power after paying for such basics.
Since the cost of rent is already built into your Wealth bonus, why should any character want to waste Wealth checks on something as expensive as a home? The answer in game terms is the same as in the real world: When you own your own home, you aren’t subject to someone else’s rules on how to use it. Want to build a secret lab in your garage? That’s kind of difficult in an apartment building – but you can probably do it if you own a house.
To buy a house, you only have to make a Wealth check for the down payment (that’s what the purchase DC in the Housing section represents). You don’t have to worry about the monthly mortgage payment, just as a renter doesn’t have to worry about rent.
Requisitioning Equipment
When a hero working for Department-7 needs more equipment than he has on hand, he may try to requisition it. Department-7 evaluates whether the character really needs the object, how soon the agency can supply it, and whether the agency can reasonably expect to get it back when the hero is done with it.
The result is determined by a level check (1d20 + your character level) against a DC equal to the equipment’s purchase DC. Add your Charisma bonus to the check. The table below lists modifiers that may affect the check.
The result of the check determines whether and how quickly Department-7 can provide the hero with the requested equipment. With a success, the object is issued to the hero. Generally, it takes 24 hours to obtain an object through requisition, but if the object is especially common, or if the hero beats the check DC by 5 or more, it is available in 1d4 hours.
Requisitioned objects are loaned, not given, to the hero. Obviously, expendable objects like ammunition don’t have to be returned if used.
| Situation | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Object is necessary for assignment | +6 |
| Object has obvious application for assignment | +4 |
| Object has peripheral application for assignment | +2 |
| Object has no obvious application for assignment | -2 |
| Object is rare | -2 |
| Object restriction | |
| – Licensed | -2 |
| – Restricted | -4 |
| – Military | -6 |
| – Illegal | -8 |
| Hero is skilled or proficient in use of object | +2 |
| Hero returned all gear undamaged on previous mission | +2 |
For example, you want to requisition a machine gun. Your 5th-level hero receives a mission in which combat is a near certainty, and she turned in all her requisitioned gear undamaged at the end of her last assignment. She has a Charisma bonus of +l. The purchase DC for the weapon is 19. She gains a +5 bonus on the check: +6 for a necessary object, -6 for the military restriction, +2 for proficient in the use of the object, +2 for turning in previous gear, and +1 for Charisma. You roll a 12. Since you’re 5th level, your result is 22 (5 + 12 + 5), which beats the machine gun’s purchase DC. The machine gun is issued to your character.
Selling Stuff
Sometimes heroes end up with more gear than they need. Sometimes they find themselves up against a financial wall, and need to generate some income fast. You can sell things to improve your Wealth bonus. But be warned – doing so is rarely profitable, and selling suspicious or restricted objects has its own dangers.
To sell something, you first need to determine its sale value. Assumìng the object is undamaged and in working condition the sale value is equal to the object’s purchase DC (as if purchased new) minus 3. For example, if you’re
selling your Chevy Cavalier (purchase DC 26), its sale value is 23.
Selling an object can provide an increase to your Wealth bonus. The increase is the same amount as the Wealth bonus loss you would experience if you purchased an object with a purchase DC equal to the sale value. For instance, say you have a Wealth bonus of +9. If you purchased an object with a purchase DC of 23, your Wealth bonus would decrease by 1d6+1 (1d6 for purchase DC 14 higher than Wealth bonus, 1 for purchase DC of 15 or higher). Therefore, when selling your Chevy Cavalier (sale value 23), you receive a Wealth bonus increase of 1d6+l.
Regardless of your current Wealth bonus, you gain a Wealth bonus increase of 1 whenever you sell an object with a sale value of 15 or higher. (if you sell an object with a sale value less than or equal to your current Wealth bonus, and that sale value is 14 or lower, you gain nothing. You might make a few bucks, but it’s not enough to measurably influence your Wealth bonus.)
You cannot legally sell restricted objects unless you are licensed to own them. You also cannot legally sell objects that have been reported as stolen. Selling objects illegally usually requires that you have contacts in the black market, and reduces the sale value by an additional 3.
Mastercraft Objects
Weapons, armor, and some other types of equipment can be constructed as mastercraft objects. The exceptional quality of these objects provides the user a bonus on attack rolls, damage, Defense, or some other characteristic that improves when the object is used.
A mastercraft object that provides a +1 bonus can usually be purchased on the open market as a custom version of a common object. The increased cost of such an object adds +3 to the purchase DC.
A rare few objects are of mastercraft quality even without customization – the off-the-shelf version of the object is of such high quality that it always provides a bonus of +l. The Glock 17 pistol is one such object; it is so well made that it grants a +1 bonus on attack rolls. In these cases, the purchase DC is not increased (such objects are already priced higher than similar objects of lower quality).
Mastercraft objects with a bonus of +2 or +3 are not common and are generally not for sale. If a mastercraft +2 object could be found for purchase, its cost would add +6 to the normal purchase DC. The cost of a mastercraft +3 object would add +9 to the normal purchase DC.
A character with the Techie advanced class and the appropriate specialty can create mastercraft objects.
Concealed Weapons And Objects
Few heroes can carry their weapons openly. Displaying an obvious weapon is rarely appropriate in modern-day society. Even when it is, a hero might want to conceal a backup weapon to supplement the M-16 slung over her shoulder. And weapons aren’t the only objects characters sometimes want to hide – it’s often useful to keep other objects away from prying eyes.
It’s assumed that, when attempting to conceal a weapon or other object, a character is wearing appropriate clothing – something moderately loose and bulky. Tight or skimpy clothes make concealment more difficult, while large items of clothing, such as long coats, make it easier.
Drawing a concealed weapon is more difficult than drawing a regularly holstered weapon, and normally requires an attack action. Keeping the weapon in an easier-to-draw position makes concealing it more difficult.
Sleight of Hand Checks
To conceal a weapon or other object, make a Sleight of Hand check. A character concealing an object before she heads out into public can usually take 10 unless she is rushed, trying to conceal it when others might see her, or under other unusual constraints. Sleight of Hand can be used untrained in this instance, but the character must take 10.
Size and Concealment
The object’s size affects the check result, as shown on the table below. The type of holster used or clothing worn, and any attempt to make a weapon easier to draw, can also affect the check.
| Condition | Sleight of Hand Modifier |
|---|---|
| Size of weapon or object | |
| – Fine | +12 |
| – Diminutive | +8 |
| – Tiny | +4 |
| – Small | +0 |
| – Medium-size | -4 |
| – Large | -8 |
| – Huge or larger | can’t conceal |
| Clothing is tight or small | -4 |
| Clothing is especially loose or bulky | +2 |
| Clothing is specifically modified for concealing object | +2 |
| Weapon is carried in concealed carry holster | +4 |
| Weapon can be drawn normally | -2 |
| Weapon can be drawn as free action – with Quick Draw feat | -4 |
Spotting Concealed Objects
Noticing a concealed weapon or other object requires a Spot check. The DC varies: If the target made a roll when concealing an object, the DC of the Spot check to notice the object is the same as her check result (an opposed check, in other words). If the target took 10 on her Sleight of Hand check, use this formula:
- Spot DC = Target’s Sleight of Hand skill modifier (including modifiers from the table above) + 10
An observer attempting to spot a concealed object receives a -1 penalty for every 10 feet between himself and the target, and a -5 penalty if distracted.
Patting someone down for a hidden weapon requires a similar check. However, the skill employed is Search, and the searcher gets a +4 circumstance bonus for the hands-on act of frisking the target. Some devices may also offer bonuses under certain circumstances (a metal detector offers a bonus to Search checks to find metal objects, for example).
Spotting Concealable Armor
Concealable armor can be worn under clothing if the wearer wants it to go unnoticed. Don’t use the modifiers from the table above when wearing concealable armor. Instead, anyone attempting to notice your armor must make a Spot check (DC 30).