04-14-2017, 08:44 AM | #1 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
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New Technique of the Week: an ongoing thread
It seems clear to me that my posting a single new Technique, or even a group of related ones, isn't enough to get a good discussion going. So this thread is another approach: an ongoing thread for discussing new techniques, the technique rules, and ideas that might be techniques. Because Optional Specialisations and One-Task-Wonder perks are closely related to techniques, they're also on-topic for this thread.
Edit: because I hadn't said it in this thread, my New Techniques effort is about non-combat techniques, because there already seem to be plenty of combat techniques. The rules about Techniques are summarised here, and my index of techniques is here.
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The Path of Cunning. Indexes: DFRPG Characters, Advantage of the Week, Disadvantage of the Week, Skill of the Week, Techniques. Last edited by johndallman; 05-29-2017 at 11:35 AM. |
04-14-2017, 08:44 AM | #2 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
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Re: New Technique of the Week: an ongoing thread
Reserved in case of need.
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04-14-2017, 08:45 AM | #3 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
|
Re: New Technique of the Week: an ongoing thread
Also reserved against possible need.
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04-14-2017, 09:12 AM | #4 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
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Lock jaming/blocking - a technique?
This is making a lock very hard to open. There are all sorts of reasons why an adventurer might want to do this; I thought of it in the context of a time bomb in an artillery magazine. Glue is an obvious means, but may not stick to the oily insides of a well-maintained lock. For cylinder locks, inserting the tip half of a key that will go in the cylinder, but won't open the lock, works nicely. Other kinds of lock that use keys can be jammed with tiny stones or pieces of non-ferrous metal (so a magnet can't be used to remove them). It's not obvious to me how you'd do this to a combination lock.
The skills this would be based on are Lockpicking or Mechanic (Locks and Safes), from Pyramid #3/47. The obvious optional specialisations of those are different kinds of lock. Lock-blocking seems a bit narrow for an optional specialisation, but it would clearly make a One-Task Wonder perk. A success would make it impossible to open the lock in the normal way, and the success roll is used in a regular contest with a Lockpicking or Mechanic (Locks and Safes) roll to open the lock. Taking extra time to open a jammed lock is common. There are commercial devices for doing this, and methods for defeating them. If this were a technique, it would probably be Average, default Lockpicking or Mechanic (Locks and Safes), with a limit of prerequisite+4.
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The Path of Cunning. Indexes: DFRPG Characters, Advantage of the Week, Disadvantage of the Week, Skill of the Week, Techniques. |
04-14-2017, 11:19 AM | #5 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: MO, U.S.A.
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Lock jaming/blocking - a technique?
Instead of glue, perhaps resin, epoxy, or caulk, something that dries as a solid mass that is the wrong shape? Depending on how tightly made they are this may work on some combination locks. Another option might be to remove the dial from dial type combination locks.
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Xenophilia is Dr. Who. Plus Lecherous is Jack Harkness.- Anaraxes |
04-14-2017, 11:28 AM | #6 | ||
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
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Re: Lock jaming/blocking - a technique?
Quote:
Quote:
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The Path of Cunning. Indexes: DFRPG Characters, Advantage of the Week, Disadvantage of the Week, Skill of the Week, Techniques. |
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04-14-2017, 11:48 AM | #7 |
Dog of Lysdexics
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Melbourne FL, Formerly Wellington NZ
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Re: New Technique of the Week: an ongoing thread
Tour index missed the technique I posted in 'Skill of the Week:Stealth'
namely Quickstep (Stealth)-5 [6] though Quickstep probably needs to be terrain specialized, (it's meant to buy of the penalty for moving silently faster than move 1) |
04-14-2017, 12:14 PM | #8 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
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Re: New Technique of the Week: an ongoing thread
Indexed, and written up in a little more detail in that thread.
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The Path of Cunning. Indexes: DFRPG Characters, Advantage of the Week, Disadvantage of the Week, Skill of the Week, Techniques. |
04-14-2017, 12:50 PM | #9 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: MO, U.S.A.
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Re: Lock jaming/blocking - a technique?
Quote:
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Xenophilia is Dr. Who. Plus Lecherous is Jack Harkness.- Anaraxes |
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04-17-2017, 07:43 AM | #10 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
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Re: New Technique of the Week: an ongoing thread
OK, how about this as a technique?
Lock-blocking (Lockpicking or Mechanic (Locks and Safes)). Average, default prerequisite, cannot exceed prerequisite+4. This lets you buy up skill in making locks very hard to open. A success makes it impossible to open the lock in the normal way, and the success roll is used in a quick contest with a Lockpicking or Mechanic (Locks and Safes)* roll to open the lock. Taking extra time to open a blocked lock is common. Equipment is important for this technique. Basic equipment is the tools of the prerequisite skill, plus some coarse sand and some kind of space-filling glue, resin, caulk or cement. Improvised equipment might be some clay and ordinary sand. Quality equipment would be modified keys intended to be broken off in the lock, or fluid glues intended to be infiltrated into a combination lock. Removing the opening handle of a safe or the dial of a combination lock also works, although it's obvious. Setting off a safe or vault's relocker* is the best method, if it's available. *See "Safes and how to Open Them", in Pyramid #3/47
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The Path of Cunning. Indexes: DFRPG Characters, Advantage of the Week, Disadvantage of the Week, Skill of the Week, Techniques. |
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