Disable a Device

You attempt to pick a lock or disarm a mechanical trap. You must have a lock pick kit to make the attempt, but you can make the attempt with a weapon if you lack the proper tools.

To disable a device, you will need to earn a number of success points before accumulating a number of failure points. For most simple locks or traps, you will require four success points before accumulating two failure points. More complex devices will increase the number of success points required and failure points permitted.

Roll+DEX or Roll+EDU, whichever is better. You suffer slight to this Roll unless you have the Mechanical Aptitude trait on your character. You also suffer slight if you are using a weapon rather than the proper tools. Each attempt is a Main Activity; if you are not currently in an encounter, treat each attempt as requiring six seconds.

• Complete Success: You gain one success point, and may also select one Good Thing from the list below.
• Success: You gain one success point.
• Partial Success: You gain one success point, but must also select one Bad Thing from the list below.
• Failure: You gain one failure point.
• Complete Failure: You gain one failure point, and must also select one Bad Thing from the list below.

• You find a shortcut or a weakness in the device. You gain an additional success point.
• You manage to compensate for an earlier error. Discard one failure point.

• If you are using a lockpick kit, you manage to break one of your picks.
• You have managed to attract some attention.
• You have left the device in a precarious state. The next time you gain a failure point, you will gain one additional failure point. You cannot select this Bad Thing again until it has triggered.
• You thought you had made progress, but you were wrong. Lose one success point.

If you accumulate sufficient failures, choose one of the following failure states. Your choice must be appropriate to the circumstances.

• The device is beyond your capability to bypass. You cannot make another attempt until you Gain a Level. Another person may attempt to do so, but they start with neither success points nor failure points.
• If the device was a trap, you accidentally trigger it. You are attacked by the trap, but no other member of the party is struck. If the trap is persistent, each other party member becomes a valid target once they have taken one Main Activity. If it was a one-time trap, it is now disabled.
• If you were attempting to use a weapon to disarm the device, that weapon gains the Broken condition.
• If there was something valuable being protected by the device, it is damaged, and the Director will determine how its value or usefulness has been decreased.
• An ally is upset by your failure. If an NPC whose affinity is Helpful or better witnesses the failure, they suffer a one-level reduction to their affinity.