Re: [DL] upcoming books [Goff]

["Nick Zachariasen" <zacharin@pluto.dsu.edu>]

> > Is there going to be a Reverse Engineering Aptitude in The Collegium?  I
> > think this one makes a lot of sense for a Mad Scientist >
>
> I've got a little time left for fixes, but I don't know about this one for
a
> couple of reasons. I'll think it over though and if I can make one make
> sense to me and be game-balanced, I'll try to fit it in...

O.K., how about this (hey, you used that one guy's fix for GSo'D!):

Reverse Engineerin'
Aptitude: Smarts
"These must be some o' them extra parts they put in there for Koreans"- Al
Bundy
This Aptitude allows an egghead to take some piece of complicated equipment
apart and figure out how it's made.  Your Posse's Mad Scientist (or maybe a
gunslinger with too much time on his hands, too much money in his pockets,
and more brains than sense) can take apart a Winchester rifle and learn how
to make one himself.  He can also Reverse Engineer mad science gizmos, but
it gets a bit trickier there.
To Reverse Engineer a piece of standard technology (such as the
aforementioned Winchester rifle or a riverboat's boiler), roll against a TN
set by the Marshal relative to the complexity of the devices.  For instance,
a crossbow might have a TN of Fair (5), while a firearm might have a TN of
Onerous (7) and a Swiss wristwatch Incredible (11).  Then make a roll
against the same TN to figure out exactly how to put the thing back
together.  If you succeed, then in the future you can build that particular
item should you have the parts.  If you fail, not only do you not know how
to build it, but you missed a part or two and the device now has a
Reliability rating of 16 (if it had one already, drop it by 4).  If you go
bust, you lost some major parts and can't put the original back together at
all.  If you're trying to fix the type of item in question, you get a +2 to
your Tinkerin' roll.  Attempting to Reverse Engineer a device similar to one
you know (for instance, Reverse Engineering a .45 Colt Peacemaker when you
know how to build a .44 Smith & Wesson Frontier) gives a +2 bonus to your
Reverse Engineerin' roll.  The Marshal has the final call as to similarity
of devices.  Cooperative Reverse Engineerin' adds +2 to the roll for every
other Reverse Engineer working on the project, to a maximum of +6.  Only
people who actually have this Aptitude count towards contribution- no
defaulting for a cheap bonus!
To construct a device, roll the appropriate Aptitude, if applicable (such as
Trade: Gunsmith for building a gun) against a TN one slot higher (the
crossbow becomes TN 7).  If you don't have the appropriate Aptitude,
Tinkerin' can suffice, but at a -4 penalty to the roll.  When constructing a
device you know, it helps to not be working solely from memory.  If visual
notes, like a drawing (make an Arts: Sketchin'- or similar- roll against a
TN of 3 at the same time as your Reverse Engineerin' roll to get a
successful blueprint;the Marshal may adjust this as (s)he sees fit), are
kept and followed, there is no adjustment to the TN of the construction
roll.  If the notes kept are purely textual, apply a -2 to the roll due to
the fact that you have to try to remember how things looked and that you
might not remember which part is which.  If NO notes were used, the roll is
made at -5.
Devices constructed through the use of this Aptitude all have Reliability
ratings.  Reliability starts at 16, and with every raise on the construction
roll the Reliability increases by 1.  Therefore, for a simple success, the
device has a Reliability of 16.  Witha raise, the Reliability goes up to 17,
2 raises gets an 18, and so on.  If the roll drives the Reliability up to a
20 or higher, congratulations!  You've managed to make a perfect copy of the
original.  However, if you were working from broken or El Cheapo gear when
you originally figured out how the things was made, the maximum Reliability
for the device you've built can be no higher than that of the original
device.  For instance, if you Reverse Engineered an El Cheapo item of half
value, then the item you build can have a Reliability no higher than 18
regardless of raises.
Mad Science is where this Aptitude can start to get a bit tricky.  When
attempting to Reverse Engineer a device that is the product of Mad Science,
the TN is equal to that required to build the item in the first place (refer
to the chart in the Player's Guide) plus 2 ranks.  For instance, Reverse
Engineerin' a Steamwagon would take a TN of 17.  Hey, if the manitous wanted
to tell you how to make it, they would have!  Non-Mad Scientists attempting
to Reverse Engineer a gizmo double any penalties involved.  Also, the
Reliability for any devices made from Reverse Engineered blueprints starts
at 4 lower than the base Reliability of the original device, with
Reliability no higher than the original.  A poker hand must be drawn as
usual to actually build the thing.  The building roll, however, is made at
only one rank higher than the standard TN for the device.  Failure on the
roll to figure out how the device works can be disasterous.  When someone
fails a Reverse Engineerin' roll when working on a gizmo, that character
must make a Spirit roll against a TN of 13 to avoid a roll on the Dementia
chart.  Note that only mad Scientists get the Spirit roll.  Your average
cowpoke just goes plum loco.  Going bust means the roll is automatic AND the
Marshal gets a +6 on the roll. Ain't science grand?


Well, what's everybody think?

Nick "worked on this for damn near two hours" Zachariasen