New Technique of the Week: an ongoing thread

[johndallman]

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.

[johndallman]

Reserved in case of need.

[johndallman]

Also reserved against possible need.

[johndallman]

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.

[adm]

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.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by adm

Instead of glue, perhaps resin, epoxy, or caulk, something that dries as a solid mass that is the wrong shape?

Filling space a key needs to occupy works in general.

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.

For combination locks - aha - gumming up the combination wheels works, as does jamming the opening handle or its mechanism for moving the bolts (a combination lock blocks that). So simply removing the dial, handle, or both works, although this is more obvious.