Ancient Gadgets

Caltrops (Tetsubishi)

Primitive, Jacket

Small, multi pointed items that always have at least one point up when scattered on the ground. They are often poisoned. A packet of caltrops is about two dozen. Bare or lightly shod feet are particularly vulnerable but a running man will provide enough pressure for the caltrop to penetrate a typical shoe.

A packet will cover five one-meter squares and can be spread with an action. They need darkness or some concealment, such as grass, to work well.

Caltrops is a trap, and uses the normal rules for discovering traps. An Intrusion or Perception roll against a difficulty of your Fix-It or Intrusion will discover it. Specifically looking for traps gives a +3 bonus.

Caltrops do one Wound Point for each point of negative Outcome. Typical shoes reduce damage by one, while heavy boots reduce damage by two. If any damage is taken, the character stops dead in his tracks to remove the caltrop.

Cutwire

Iron Age, Jacket

This is a crude form of barbed wire used to trip or entangle victims.

The Cutwire is strung across some opening, in a corridor, etc., as a barrier. A roll will cover five one-meter squares. It needs darkness or some concealment, such as high grass or low bushes, to work well.

Cutwire is a trap, and uses the normal rules for discovering traps. An Intrusion or Perception roll against a difficulty of your Fix-It or Intrusion will discover it. Specifically looking for traps gives a +3 bonus.

Walking into the cutwire causes damage equal to the negative outcome of the detection roll. Running adds the victim's Strength score to this. In either case, the victim is entangled. It takes a Strength or Agility roll of 8 to escape. While entangled, he suffers two points of impairment and cannot move about.

Disappearing Powder

Primitive, Pocket

This is a colored, glittering powder that can be thrown into the air as a distraction. More advanced versions can use smoke or flash powders. Often used as a stage-magician prop, the danger is that onlookers might figure you are a genuine magician.

While onlookers are distracted by the pretty cloud, you quietly disappear. The gadget allows the you to use Intrusion to disappear from plain sight, as if you were moving from cover to cover.

Firepot (Doka)

Primitive, Jacket Slick

The Doka is a small, ceramic pot, lashed shut with heat proof twine. It holds a live coal which it will keep burning for 12 hours. It is insulated so that the Ninja may carry it secreted in his clothes. It provides warmth in cold weather, even in thin clothes. The firepot allows access to fire, which will always succeed in igniting combustibles, as opposed to the vagaries of flint and steel fire making. If thrown it will break if the outcome plus the thrower's Strength is 10 or more, igniting a pool of oil, dry straw, or other incendiary material.

Folding Bow (Shinobi-Hankyu)

Primitive, Trenchcoat

The shinobi-hankyu is identical to a normal Hankyu bow when is use, doing damage 10, but it may be taken apart for concealment upon the Ninja's person as well. It takes 3 shots to assemble the bow.

Folding Raft (Kameikada)

Primitive, Unconcealable Slick

The Kameikada is a collapsible, 1-man raft. It has room for the Ninja and his personal gear. In collapsed form, it may be carried slung over one shoulder or as a backpack.

Ninja Diving Gear (Mizu-Kaki)

Primitive, Trenchcoat

A set of Ninja "SCUBA" equipment. This includes a set of flippers, allowing you to double swimming speed, goggles, allowing unimpeded vision underwater, and a weighted "air bag". You can use the air bag to fill your lungs underwater, permitting you to stay underwater for twice as long before having to surface or drown. Several air bags can be used, but they are very bulky and difficult to swim with, causing one point of impairment per bag if you carry more than one.

Parabolic Listening Device

Primitive, Unconcealable

This is a large metal parabola, usually made of brass or paper. It works by concentrating sounds from a certain direction, and allows you to hear as though you were one-tenth of the actual distance from whatever you are listening to. It also blanks out sounds originating more than ten meters from your target point. In this way, a normal discussion can be heard up to a hundred meters away.

Secret Compartment

Primitive, Slick

There is a number of medium-sized personal items considered ubiquitous in each culture; briefcases in modern society, saddles in the old west, crucifixes and codpieces at certain other times. Such items can be fitted with secret compartments, perfect for hiding small weapons, reserve funds or other gadgets. In hi-tech or magical junctures, they can be fitted with anti-detection gear as well. A secret compartment like this will pass most searches automatically, and only a determined search allows a Perception, Fix-It or Investigation roll against your Fix-It to discover the compartment.

Specialized Intrusion Device

Primitive, Jacket Slick

As long as you know what traps and alarms you will face during a break-in, it is always possible to create a gadget to take care of the problem. The only problem with this is that it can be an adventure in itself to find out what protects your target.

A skilled techie can build the perfect tool for every situation. Using this device, that particular lock or alarm can be bypassed automatically, as long as no additional complications crop up.

The technology rating of specialized intrusion devices is the same as the trap or lock it is supposed to bypass. Primitive devices suffice to bypass magical locks and wards.