[jason taylor]

Unusual Background: Latest Equipment

This came to me from re-perusing Cliffhangers. Pocket-knife is of course in the equipment table but the thought was that for a thirties American that would probably mean a Buck. Victorinox was not yet fashionable enough to be a household word. So while it would be easy to justify the hero having one(he picked one up in Europe and liked it)at the time, one does have to go to the trouble to justify it. It would be unusual background but only at a perk level.

The same could be said for any number of gadgets that are just on the market or otherwise rare in the hero's neck of the woods. If it is really hard to find the points can be pumped accordingly. For instance it is not to much of a twist to have someone somewhere working on a shoulder launched anti-tank missile but it is almost impossible to imagine a real person getting his hands on one whereas a Swiss Army Knife in the 1930's only requires someone to say,"I got this from a friend who has a friend of a friend who lives in Switzerland. Isn't it cool?" or whatever. The missile would have to be a MacGuffin, whereas the Knife could conceivably be part of the Hero's regular gear, even if a Buck was more probable then a real Victorinox.