Equipment and Technology

Introduction

In order to successfully adventure, a character needs to be equipped so that they may perform their skills (if equipment is needed). In some cases, equipment can aid a skill due to the quality of the equipment..This chapter will help you to design any necessary equipment for your game. The development of equipment also relies upon the creativity and level of technology present in your game world. This chapter also discusses the basic level of technology and skills and abilities related to it.

Acquiring Equipment

While playing the game you will eventually need to determine whether someone can get hold of a piece of equipment or not. To do this you will need to either decide that the object is so common that it would obviously be available (determine the cost of the equipment according to the system below), that the object sought is so rare that there is no chance of just finding it (that further investigation or adventuring is required to locate it), or you must roll against the industrial capability of the nation to have it on-hand (at the price indicated below). That latter option is explained in more detail in the Game Master's Guide to Borigon.

Weapons

Weapons are an important part of most role-playing games. This section will describe how to develop weapons for your game.

Melee Weapons

Developing melee weapons works as follows:

  1. Describe the physical appearance of the weapon including size and weight. The Cost Factor will be based on the size and weight of the weapon. The base Cost Factor is calculated as if the size of the weapon were in the normal scale. Begin at zero. For every half-meter of length or less along its longest direction add one. If the object is a half meter long or more in either of the other two directions add another one for every half meter length or fraction in either or both. For every kilogram of weight or less add one. For example, a 22 centimeter dagger that weighs 200 grams will have a Cost Factor of 2 while a meter-long sword that weights three kilograms will have a Cost Factor of 7.
  2. Weapons can be of better than average quality. For each +1 to hit that a weapon has due to quality, increase the cost of the weapon by a multiple of its cost factor. For example, if the dagger above is +5 then the new cost would be +10 (+5 x 2 for the cost factor) for a new cost of 12.
  3. Base Damage is based upon the size of the weapon as if it were in normal scale. Any weapon a few centimeters (though less than half a meter) in length will do Light Damage. Any weapon between half a meter and a meter in length will do Medium Damage. Any weapon from a meter up to a meter and a half in length will do Heavy Damage. Any weapon from a meter and a half to three meters in length will do Extreme Damage. Any weapon up to six meters in length will do Great Damage. Any weapon longer than that will do Tremendous Damage. Choose the mode of attack that makes the most sense for the weapon (Strike, Cut, or Thrust). There may be other factors that can add damage: If the weapon has spikes or flanges (+1 or +2 damage and cost factor), the weapon is heavy for its size (+1 to +2 to damage and cost factor), the weapon is light for its size (-1 to -2 the damage and cost factor), the weapon extends from a chain or cord of some kind (+2 to +4 damage and +1 or +2 to cost factor), the weapon consists of many elements (like a double-bladed dagger, or a many headed flail; +1 to +3 to damage and cost factor), or the weapon is made out of a very hard material (+2 to +4 to damage and cost factor). Here are two examples: A dagger is eight inches long (around 22 centimeters) and thus is graded as light thrusting damage, a sword is serrated and four feet long (a little over a meter) and is thus graded as heavy cutting damage with +1 for the serrated blade (and a total cost factor of 8).
  4. The length of time to make an attack or parry will be determined by the size of the weapon in relation to the size of the race wielding it. Divide the Base Cost factor by the Damage Capacity of whomever is wielding the weapon. This is the number of seconds required to make an attack with the weapon. If you chose the weapon to be heavy for its size, treat the weapon as though its Base Cost were increased by 1 or 2, dependeing on the damage increase chosen. The time to attack can be reduced by half by making the weapon well balanced, this will increase the cost by half. For example, the dagger specified above is used by a race having a Damage Capacity of 3, this gives a result of 2/3 or 0.66 seconds (or 1 attack per second) while the sword gives a result of 8/3 or 2.66 seconds (1 attack every three seconds). Say the dagger is well balanced, this makes the attack length 0.33 seconds (3 attacks per second) and the cost becomes 3.
  5. Think about the length of time required to make the weapon. This is a matter of choice, some weapons are simple and can be made in less than a day, others can take a year or more to make. Make the choice based on the size of the weapon, the damage it does, and the level of technology available to make it (an Iron-Age society will take several days to make a decent sword, where a technology with matter fabricators might be able to turn them out by the dozen every minute). The cost of the weapon is modified by the time it takes to make; for every day the daily salary of the weapon-crafter must be added to the cost of the weapon. The time is increased by a number of days equal to any quality above average. For example, the dagger is judged to take twenty days to make (due to its balance and quality) while the sword takes the same length of time due to the special nature of its blade. The weaponsmith making these items makes a silver coin each day, so the length of time adds 20 silver coins for the dagger and 20 silver coins for the sword. The dagger now has a cost of 42 silver coins and the sword 28 silver coins.
  6. Assign a difficulty to make the weapon based on the damage done by the weapon and modified by the base cost factor. Light damage adds nothing to difficulty, Medium damage adds 1, Heavy damage adds 2, Extreme damage adds 4, Great damage adds 8, and Tremendous damage adds 16. All damage adds from step 3 increase the difficulty by the damage increase. The difficulty is also increased by half if the weapon is well balanced from step 4. This number is directly reduced by the time it takes to make the weapon in days (the difficulty can never be easier than 0). The difficulty can also be reduced by increasing the cost of the weapon by two for every point of difficulty reduced. For example, the dagger costs 42 coins and has no difficulty factor while the sword costs 18 coins and has a difficulty of 4 for heavy damage and +1 for the serrated blade for a total of 5. This is further reduced by the ten days required to make the sword, for a difficulty of 0.

Ranged Weapons

Developing ranged weapons works as follows (again assuming normal scale):

  1. Describe the physical appearance of the weapon, including size and weight. The Cost Factor will be based on the size, weight, and mechanical complexity of the weapon. The base Cost Factor is calculated as if the size of the weapon were in the normal scale. For every half meter of length or less add one. For every kilogram of weight or less add one. For every set of ten separate parts add one. A 24 centimeter throwing knife that weighs 150 grams will have a Cost Factor of 2, a two meter long bow that weights one half kilogram has a Cost Factor of 5, and the arrows are a meter long and the Cost Factor is 3.
  2. Weapons can be of better than average quality. For each +1 to hit increase the cost of the weapon by a multiple of its cost factor.
  3. The range of the weapon is determined by the method for projecting the weapon. If the weapon is a missile propelled by being thrown then the maximum effective range will be 2 x Damage Capacity of the thrower x (1 + PF of the character), thus the effective throwing range for each individual will be different. If the weapon is a sling-type then the range will be 25 x length of the weapon in meters. If the weapon is of any other kind, just state the range in meters. For every 100 meters of effective range add (to a minimum of 100 meters) one to the Cost Factor of the weapon. For example, a Borigonian using the throwing dagger can throw it effectively out to 12 meters (approximately 43 feet), this adds 1 to the Cost Factor for a new total of 3; while the long bow can loft an arrow out to 300 meters and the Cost Factor for the bow is now 8.
  4. Base Damage of a missile that is neither spring nor explosively propelled is based upon the length of the projectile: a few centimeters (though less than half a meter) and/or much less than a kilogram does Light Damage, a projectile up to half a meter in length and/or up to a quarter of a kilogram does Medium Damage, a projectile up to a meter in length and/or up to a half a kilogram does Heavy Damage, a projectile up to 3 meters in length and/or up to a kilogram does Extreme Damage, a projectile up to 5 meters in length and/or up to 2 kilograms does Great Damage, and a projectile more than 5 meters in length or more than 2 kilograms does Tremendous Damage. Now choose the mode of attack which makes the most sense for the projectile (Strike, Cut, or Thrust). If the missile is spring propelled use the above guidance, but add +1 to the damage for every 10 meters of maximum range (with the damage dropping by a grade out to 75% of the maximum range). If the missile is explosively propelled the damage should be chosen in a reasonable way (a small handgun might be rated as doing Heavy Damage). If the weapon is directed energy, choose whatever you want the damage to be. The example of the throwing knife does Light Thrusting damage, while a meter-long arrow from the long bow does Heavy Thrusting Damage +30 (this becomes Great Damage out to 200 meters and Extreme Damage out to 300 meters). The dagger is judged to be balanced
  5. The length of time required to make an attack for a non-explosively propelled missile weapon will be determined by the length of the weapon in relation to the length of the limb wielding it. The time to attack with a thrown weapon can be reduced by half by making the weapon well balanced, this will increase the cost by half. Divide the length of the weapon (in meters) by the Damage Capacity of the character, round to the nearest half, and then multiply by ten. This is the number of seconds required to make an attack. For example, the Borigonian dagger above is 0.2 meters long and the average Damage Capacity is 3, this gives us 0.066 which rounds to 0.5 seconds, this is further reduced by half since the weapon is judged to be well balanced so the time to throw the dagger becomes 0.25 seconds. The Borigonian bow has a length of 2 meters, thus average Borigonian gets 2/3 or 0.66 rounding to 1, thus it takes 10 seconds to launch an arrow. If the weapon needs to be loaded each time it is used (such as a thrown weapon or a bow), then add two seconds to the time; thus the time to use the dagger becomes 2.25 seconds and the bow becomes 12 seconds. Explosively-propelled missile weapons have a rate of fire that is reasonable (a modern revolver could probably get one shot per second, while a submachingeun could get 5 or 6 per second). Energy weapons should also be chosen within reason, determined by your theory of their operation.
  6. Think about the length of time required to make the weapon. This is a matter of choice, some weapons are simple and can be made in less than a day, others can take a year or more to make. Make the choice based on the size of the weapon, the damage it does, and the level of technology available to make it (an Iron-Age society will take months to make a decent long bow, where a technology with matter fabricators can turn them out by the dozen every minute). The cost of the weapon is modified by the time it takes to make; for every day the daily salary of the weapon-crafter must be paid. The time is increased by a number of days equal to any quality above average. Let us say that the throwing dagger requires ten days to make due to the balance of the blade; at a silver coin per day this adds 10 silver coins to the cost of the dagger is now 13 silver coins. The bow takes a day to cut the twelve layers of the bow, then another fifty days to treat the layers, then each layer must be glued together over another twenty four days, then the string must be placed and stretched for another ten days for a total of eighty five days for a total cost of 93 silver coins. A batch of 40 arrows could be made in a day, the cost of each arrow is 3 silver coins.
  7. Assign a difficulty to make the weapon based on the damage done by the weapon and modified by the base cost factor. Light damage adds nothing to difficulty, Medium damage adds 1, Heavy damage adds 2, Extreme damage adds 4, Great damage adds 8, and Tremendous damage adds 16. All damage adds from step 3 increase the difficulty by the damage increase. The difficulty is also increased by half if the weapon is well balanced from step 4. This number is directly reduced by the time it takes to make the weapon in days (the difficulty can never be easier than 0). The difficulty can also be reduced by increasing the cost of the weapon by two for every point of difficulty reduced. For example, the dagger costs 13 coins and has no difficulty factor while the bow costs 93 coins and has a difficulty of 8 for great damage and has no difficulty factor.

Armor

Developing armor or shields works as follows (again assuming normal scale):

  1. Describe the physical appearance of the armor or shield, including size and weight. The Cost Factor will be based on the size, weight, and mechanical complexity of the armor. The base Cost Factor is calculated as if the size of the armor were in the normal scale. For every half meter or less of length, width, and height add one. For every kilogram or less of weight add one. For every set of ten separate parts add one. A one meter diameter circular shield that weighs 2 kilograms will have a Cost Factor of 4. A shirt of chainmail one meter long, a half meter wide, and a third of a meter in depth weighing 5 kilograms will have a Cost Factor due to size of 8, since a mail shirt consists of hundreds of chain links we will consider it as having thirty parts adding three for a new cost factor of 11.
  2. Base Protection of flexible armor is Light and rigid armor is Medium. If the armor is made of metal flexible armor becomes Medium and rigid metal armor is Heavy protection. You can increase the Protection of armor by one grade for each multiple of the Cost Factor. The chainmail from the previous example would have a protection of Medium, this can be increased to Extreme (two increases) for an additional 22 Cost, thus the new cost factor is 33. Significant numbers of plates increase the protection by one grade (Light to Medium, Medium to Heavy, etc.) for each multiple of the Cost Factor.
  3. The parry bonus for a shield is a base of 5, +5 for every additional meter (based on the normal scale) of size. The shield above has a parry bonus of 5.
  4. The length of time required to make a parry will be determined by the size of the shield in relation to the size of the race wielding it. Divide the Base Cost factor by Damage Capacity of whomever is wielding the shield. This is the number of seconds required to make a parry with the shield. For example, the shield specified above is used by a race having a Damage Capacity of 3, this gives a result of 4/3 or 1.33 seconds (or 5 parries per three seconds).
  5. Think about the length of time required to make the armor. This is a matter of choice, some armor or shields are simple and can be made in less than a day, others can take a long time as layer after layer of wood is glued together. Make the choice based on the size of the armor, the damage it absorbs, and the level of technology available to make it (an Iron-Age society will take months to make a decent suit of chainmail, where a technology with matter fabricators can turn them out by the dozen every minute). The cost of the armor is modified by the time it takes to make; for every day the daily salary of the armor-crafter must be paid. Let us say that the shield listed above requires a day to make; at a silver coin per day this adds 1 silver coin to the cost of the shield, this is now 5 silver coins. The chainmail takes thirty days to make for a total cost of 63 silver coins.
  6. Assign a difficulty to make the armor based on the protection provided by the weapon and modified by the cost factor. Light protection or a base parry modifier adds nothing to difficulty, Medium protection or a +1 parry modifier adds 1, Heavy protection or a +2 parry modifier adds 2, Extreme protection or a +4 parry modifier adds 4, Great damage or a +8 parry modifier adds 8, and Tremendous damage or a +16 parry modifier adds 16. The result is directly reduced by the time it takes to make the weapon in days (the difficulty can never be easier than 0). The difficulty can also be reduced by increasing the cost of the weapon by two for every point of difficulty reduced. For example, the shield costs 5 coins and has no difficulty factor while the chainmail costs 63 coins and has a difficulty of 4 for extreme protection and has no difficulty factor.

Other Equipment

Developing equipment works as follows (again assuming normal scale):

  1. Describe the physical appearance of the equipment, including size and weight. The Cost Factor will be based on the size, weight, and complexity of the equipment. The base Cost Factor is calculated as if the size of the equipment were in the normal scale. For every half meter or less of length, width, and height add one. For every kilogram or less of weight add one. For every set of ten separate parts add one. A twenty centimeter hammer, weighing 3 kg, and having two parts will have a Cost Factor of 5. A three meter long, meter and a half tall, two meter wide wagon, weighing 200 kilograms with twenty parts will have a Cost Factor 212. A high speed computer one half meter tall, one quarter meter long, and ten centimeters wide, weighing five kilograms, and having two hundred parts will have a Cost Factor of 28.
  2. For every addition to the purpose of the equipment, add a multiple of its cost factor. If the hammer above is judged to be so well balanced that it adds a +1 to any Craftsman rolls, the new CF is 10. If the wagon is so well built that it adds +2 to Animal Driven Carts rolls then the new CF is 636. If the computer has software that adds +2 to a skill roll, the new CF is 84.
  3. Think about the time it takes to make the equipment. This will depend heavily on the technological level of the society you have developed. An iron-age society will be able to make the hammer in a day and the wagon in ten days, adding 1 and 10 to their respective CFs; while the computer is impossible. In a high-tech world all of the equipment can be made in a day, and so they add 1 to the CFs.

Inventing New Equipment and Making Modifications

If a character has Craft skills or similar abilities, they might be able to modify or invent new equipment. Modification of existing equipment is always at least a challenging task. It may take days to years in order to modify something; that decision will be up to the GM. Modifying equipment will require some sort of skill roll, the result will be the equivalent of 1/3 HPs for the skill attempt being modified. For example, a success of three would increase your chance to hit with a modified sword by +1.

Inventing new equipment is also at least challenging, and usually takes at least several days. A good way to approach invention is to require a roll every week during the invention process, the result will be the number of elements of the design that the inventor has figures out less one (that one will be a design flaw that the GM decides on the spot). Design flaws can be discovered if the inventor chooses, without being told, to spend one of more of their design elements to find them. It consts one design element to find one flaw. In the first design attempt no elements can be used to locate flaws.

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