Enigmatic Devices
Encountering alien or advanced devices that have unknown purposes.
Chose an Operation Skill
The experimenter chooses a skill, guessing, or educated guessing.
Appropriate
The GM decides if that is close enough.
Roll
The GM rolls in secret against the chosen skill and
adds the investigator's margin of success or
subtracts margin of failure.
An inappropriate skill chosen counts as failure by 10.
Checks total on the Enigmatic Device Table
Time
Each attempt takes 1 minute
Repeated attempts are possible but are at a cumulative -1 after the first.
Someone else can start from scratch.
Enigmatic Device Table
| 0 or less | Take 3d damage and device is destroyed (or releases a wave of energy) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Device's primary effect is applied to experimenter (if N/A take 3d damage) |
| 2 | Same as 1, but to someone nearby |
| 3 | Experimenter takes 2d damage |
| 4 | Someone nearby takes 2d damage |
| 5 | Experimenter takes 1d damage |
| 6 | Someone nearby takes 1d damage |
| 7 | Experimenter suffers superficial damage (eg. Eyebrows burnt off, etc.) |
| 8 | Someone nearby suffers superficial damage |
| 9 | Experimenter suffers embarrassing mishap (eg. Body part stuck in device, or minor side effect). |
| 10 | Experimenter forms incorrect theory about device's purpose |
| 11 | Nothing happens |
| 12 | Locates a less obvious control (doesn't learn what it does) |
| 13 | Discovers on/off switch (or safety for a weapon) |
| 14 | Gets a clue concerning the purpose of device |
| 15 | Gets a clear demonstration of the device's primary function (can now operate this function at -4 to skill) |
| 16 | Discovers how to activate a secondary function reliably (no skill penalty) |
| 17 | Deduces location and general nature of all controls for secondary functions and can use them at -4 to skill |
| 18 | Figures out how to activate primary function at no skill penalty |
| 19 | Discovers all functions and can use them at no skill penalty |
| 20 or more | Same as 19 plus finds a useful application of the device that the creators never thought of! |
More Modifiers:
-1 for each attempt after the first.
+2 for Danger Sense
+4 for Intuition
+2 if it has readable labels
+4 for actual manuals
+1 to +5 for simple device
-1 to -5 for a complex device
-1 for manipulating at safe distance via magic, psi
-2 for probing using tools or robotic manipulators
-4 for poking with a stick, hitting with a hammer, etc.