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Old 01-31-2022, 07:59 PM   #1
whswhs
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
Default Disguise gear

I've been trying to get a handle on the cost of disguise gear, and I'm confused.

Ultra-Tech has a suitcase disguise kit weighing 10 lbs. and costing $200 that gives +1 to Disguise. High-Tech has the same. Low-Tech has a kit that has the same cost and weight, but only counts as basic equipment (no bonus). Action sort of splits the difference, with the disguise kit giving +1 to look like someone else, but no bonus to impersonate a specific person (while not having a disguise kit gives no bonus to look different, but -5 to impersonate a specific person.

It sort of seems as if the suitcase disguise kit is Good equipment. But if so, then if you're making a Disguise roll to change you appearance (but not to impersonate a specific person), what equipment are you using? Is there some simpler and cheaper disguise kit? Are you improvising a disguise using commonplace materials of some sort?

How do clothes figure into this? If you go in wearing a distinctive Hawaiian shirt, for example, and come out wearing that same shirt, I would think that it would be harder for you to avoid being noticed, no matter what you did to your face. An improvised solution might be to rearrange your clothes (easier if you have a layered look); it might work better if you have reversible garments, or an ultra-tech outfit that can change pattern (though likely not cut until you reach a higher TL). Do clothes give you a bonus, or does not having different clothes give you a penalty?

I can imagine that a simple disguise kit might include a wig, several sorts of makeup, and perhaps minor prosthetics to change the shape of your face a little. What else, if anything?
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Old 01-31-2022, 10:05 PM   #2
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Default Re: Disguise gear

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Originally Posted by whswhs View Post
I can imagine that a simple disguise kit might include a wig, several sorts of makeup, and perhaps minor prosthetics to change the shape of your face a little. What else, if anything?
Other makeup supplies: liquid skin, tape, specialty brushes, pencils, razor, scissors.
Accessories: hat(s), scarf, costume jewelry, sunglasses, stethoscope, law enforcement officer's badge, lanyard, clipboard, folding cane, light backpack.
Body prosthetics: shoe lifts, shoulder or breast pads, ace bandages, inflatable paunch.
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Old 01-31-2022, 11:38 PM   #3
Polydamas
 
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Default Re: Disguise gear

Quote:
Originally Posted by whswhs View Post
I've been trying to get a handle on the cost of disguise gear, and I'm confused.

Ultra-Tech has a suitcase disguise kit weighing 10 lbs. and costing $200 that gives +1 to Disguise. High-Tech has the same. Low-Tech has a kit that has the same cost and weight, but only counts as basic equipment (no bonus). Action sort of splits the difference, with the disguise kit giving +1 to look like someone else, but no bonus to impersonate a specific person (while not having a disguise kit gives no bonus to look different, but -5 to impersonate a specific person.
You are the author of GURPS 4e Low Tech, but it seems reasonable that a lower-tech kit gives a smaller bonus for a given weight.

It seems that the basic aspects of disguise are clothes (and accessories), makeup (including things like artificial warts), and hair (including wigs). I'd lean towards making disguise easier the more of those you can change at once. If I wanted more detailed rules, I would start with a cost and weight for a makeup kit, some wigs, and basic shaving and hairdressing equipment (scissors, a razor, a basin, a small mirror, some combs or hair pins, some oils or lotions) and another for collections of clothing. Sherlock Holmes' closet of outfits would give a bigger bonus than a suitcase kit.

The bonus from the makeup and tailoring kit would probably be at least roughly TL-dependant.
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Old 02-01-2022, 12:47 AM   #4
whswhs
 
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Default Re: Disguise gear

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Originally Posted by Polydamas View Post
You are the author of GURPS 4e Low Tech, but it seems reasonable that a lower-tech kit gives a smaller bonus for a given weight.
However, I wasn't the author of that chapter. That was one of Dan's.

Quote:
It seems that the basic aspects of disguise are clothes (and accessories), makeup (including things like artificial warts), and hair (including wigs). I'd lean towards making disguise easier the more of those you can change at once. If I wanted more detailed rules, I would start with a cost and weight for a makeup kit, some wigs, and basic shaving and hairdressing equipment (scissors, a razor, a basin, a small mirror, some combs or hair pins, some oils or lotions) and another for collections of clothing. Sherlock Holmes' closet of outfits would give a bigger bonus than a suitcase kit.

The bonus from the makeup and tailoring kit would probably be at least roughly TL-dependant.
Those seem like productive suggestions, but I'd like to see them further developed, with specific numbers. Do you feel able to propose anything?

For clothing, I'm thinking that having reversible outerwear, or ultra-tech clothing programmed to change its color or pattern, might count as basic equipment, or perhaps as improvised equipment for a -2 penalty (since you can't change the cut, and thus the silhouette will remain the same). What do you think?
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Old 02-01-2022, 06:59 AM   #5
Varyon
 
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Default Re: Disguise gear

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Originally Posted by whswhs View Post
an ultra-tech outfit that can change pattern (though likely not cut until you reach a higher TL).
Over two decades ago, I had several pairs of pants that could readily be turned into shorts by the simple expedient of unzipping some semi-hidden zippers* located just below the knee (I loved those things in the winter, as I could go to - and return from - school in pants to stay warm, but could partially unzip them or fully convert them to shorts while in the building, as they tended to keep things warmer than I liked). I'd imagine TL 9 could manage much more effective "modular" clothing, which could help with adjusting the cut. Something that can actually shift its shape would, of course, be more effective (and more convenient).

*An extra flap of cloth covered the zippers; if you knew what you were looking for, this made the fact the clothing was modular pretty obvious, but something actually designed to be used as part of a disguise would do a much better job of concealing the attachment points.
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Old 02-01-2022, 09:57 AM   #6
Willy
 
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Default Re: Disguise gear

Nowadays some jackets can be worn with either side inside or outside. I own a decades old thing thats on one side a dull blue street jacket and the Inner side is woven fur in a kind of winter camouflage.

It helped me years ago to disguise and hide from some street tugs who were chasing a "Idiot in a blue Jacket, with a neon yellow beanie ( the other side of the beanie was just dull grey) " They really asked me that and went on... . I took a few seconds to change the sides of the clothes that time.

I gues such clothes can be made from a very low TL on, at least in WW II some pilots wore jackets with the inside in signal colours, to help the rescue to find them.
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Old 02-01-2022, 10:59 AM   #7
whswhs
 
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Default Re: Disguise gear

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Originally Posted by Willy View Post
Nowadays some jackets can be worn with either side inside or outside. I own a decades old thing thats on one side a dull blue street jacket and the Inner side is woven fur in a kind of winter camouflage.

It helped me years ago to disguise and hide from some street tugs who were chasing a "Idiot in a blue Jacket, with a neon yellow beanie ( the other side of the beanie was just dull grey) " They really asked me that and went on... . I took a few seconds to change the sides of the clothes that time.

I gues such clothes can be made from a very low TL on, at least in WW II some pilots wore jackets with the inside in signal colours, to help the rescue to find them.
Oh, sure. My guess would be that such garments add 50% to cost, because you may need a little extra material and because you have to tailor both sides to look like the external surface. The TL9+ garments that have cybernetic or nanotech enhancement letting them change color and pattern offer a comparable effect but probably cost more.

Would you consider the reversible garment "basic equipment for not looking like the same person"? Or would it give a bonus? Or would you consider it to be no better than improvised equipment, giving maybe -2 to Disguise? (You'd think that a person who'd just changed their jacket would still be recognizable, but maybe not.)
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Old 02-01-2022, 11:34 AM   #8
RGTraynor
 
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Default Re: Disguise gear

What TL are we talking about here? Heck, right now -- never mind in the future -- a truly effective disguise kit would have to include something that spoofs facial recognition software. Ten years ago, not so much.
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Old 02-01-2022, 11:40 AM   #9
whswhs
 
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Default Re: Disguise gear

The campaign is in a TL10 world, but Mars is still using a lot of TL9, because of the costs of transporting new equipment from Earth.
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Old 02-01-2022, 11:55 AM   #10
Donny Brook
 
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Default Re: Disguise gear

I don't think the described sizes of these kits are sufficient to contain any significant number of costume clothing.
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