Technical Science

This broad skill represents a character’s training in the technical sciences, including the maintenance, repair, and invention of mechanical and electronic devices (not including computers), and general technical knowledge. Skill checks made to determine if a character knows a certain piece of technical information, or if he’s able to research a question and discover an answer, are made the same way as Knowledge skill checks.

Technical Science Situation Modifiers

Technical Knowledge

This skill represents the study of technology and indicates how up-to-date a character is on techniques or procedures that help him manipulate tools and other devices. It is necessary for a character to use certain sophisticated or potentially dangerous tools, such as a cutting torch, without risking personal injury or damage to the tool.

Rank Benefits

⊗ Increased Effect: As a character’s specialty skill rank increases, he receives a bonus to any skill checks involving Technical Science or the other three specialty skills: -1 step at rank 3, -2 at rank 6, -3 at rank 9, and -4 at rank 12.

Invention

Invention lets a character build an electronic or mechanical component or system from scratch, or to modify an existing device to perform a new function. Using this skill requires time; Invention checks are always complex skill checks. Modifying an existing item may be able to be done in rounds, but all other aspects of invention require hours, days, weeks, or months, depending on the determination of the Gamemaster.

Repair

This skill provides a character with training in the repair and maintenance of various types of mechanical and electronic technology. Any use of the repair skill requires a complex skill check and takes a period of time determined by the Gamemaster (minutes, hours, days, or weeks). The complexity of a repair skill check is related to the amount of damage that must be repaired:

• Stun Damage: Fix an object with only stun damage is Ordinary complexity.
• Wound Damage: Fix an object with wound damage is Good complexity.
• Mortal Damage: Fixing an object with any amount of mortal damage is Amazing complexity (and may require 10+ successes).

Juryrig

This skill enables a character to make fast, patchwork repairs in order to get an electronic or mechanical device or system up and running for a short period of time. A juryrig repair, even when successful, adds difficulty to the full repairs that must be made later, but it can get a character through a sticky situation. A juryrig repair can be made successfully once on a specific system or item. If it breaks down after being juryrigged, the system or item won’t work again until it’s completely fixed (using Technical Science—repair). Making a juryrig skill check is a single action, but a character who tries to use this skill must do so on his first available action in a round, and he can’t attempt any other actions for the rest of the round.

Juryrig Results

The amount of difficulty added to the full repairs depends on the result of the juryrig check:

• Critical Failure: The system or item becomes unusable and can’t be made functional again without full repairs.
• Failure: The juryrig attempt doesn’t work but can be tried again.
• Ordinary success: The system or item becomes operational for d6+1 time units, and 3 more successes are needed for full repairs (in addition to those already required).
• Good success: The system or item becomes operational for 2d4+2 time units, and 2 more successes are needed for full repairs.
• Amazing success: The system or item becomes operational for 3d4+2 time units, and 1 more success is needed to make full repairs.

Rank Benefits

▶ Rank 6 [Improved Juryrig]: When a character reaches Rank 6, his ability improves as follows: an Ordinary success produces a Good result, a Good success produces an Amazing result, and an Amazing success means the juryrig works so well that the system or item is considered repaired and in regular working order.