====== Deception and Intrusion ====== Intrusion is bypassing security to gain access to property or information. Equipment for doing so is often taken as evidence of illegal intent – treat LC as 2, 1, or even 0. Such gear is sometimes disguised as innocent (LC3-4) personal items; see Disguised (p. 14). The most important items in an adventurer’s tool kit are sometimes those that let him get into places he shouldn’t, grab items or information he isn’t supposed to have, and then escape undetected. Commandos, spies, and thieves who face the technologies described in Security and Surveillance (pp. 202-213) often deploy gadgetry of their own. Note that plenty of other kit can be useful here – including many items under Tools and Basic Equipment (pp. 28- 30) and Diving Gear (p. 143). * [[:rpg:gurps:core:equipment:covert_ops:deception_intrusion:burglary_infiltration_sabotage|Burglary, Infiltration, and Sabotage]] * [[:rpg:gurps:core:equipment:covert_ops:deception_intrusion:forgery_counterfeiting|Forgery and Counterfeiting]] * [[:rpg:gurps:core:equipment:covert_ops:deception_intrusion:disguise_smuggling|Disguise and Smuggling]] * [[:rpg:gurps:core:equipment:covert_ops:deception_intrusion:ecm_stealth|ECM and Stealth]] * [[:rpg:gurps:core:equipment:covert_ops:deception_intrusion:computer_intrusion|Computer Intrusion]] ==== CAMOUFLAGE AND DISGUISE ==== One way to avoid detection is to hide yourself – either by concealment or by changing your appearance. === Camouflage (TL0) === Camouflage (p. B183) is the skill of concealment. It involves disguising an object in plain sight in order to prevent detection. //Colored Clothing// (TL0). Clothing of a color similar to the background can benefit a Camouflage attempt. If torso, arms, legs, and head are covered in appropriate colors, apply +1 (quality) to Camouflage. An example would be the “Lincoln green” reputedly worn by Robin Hood and his men. Clothing in a bright color, or one that contrasts greatly with the background, actually hinders Camouflage, giving from -1 to -3 to skill. Cost and weight are as for regular clothing; see Clothing (pp. 97-100). Black isn’t the ideal night camouflage. On most nights, if there’s even a faint light source, completely black clothing, paint, etc. appears as suspiciously dark shadows (no Camouflage bonus) – and if there’s no light, camouflage serves no purpose. A darker shade of the patterns used for daylight camouflage gives +1 (quality) to Camouflage. //Camouflage Paint// (TL1). Paint can be used to camouflage the skin. Suitable colors obtained from crushed leaves, moss, algae, mud, soot, and so on are applied to the face, neck, hands, etc. If all exposed skin is covered and appropriate camouflage clothing is worn, this gives an additional +1 (quality) to Camouflage. $10, neg. //Hunting Shirt// (TL1). This is a baggy, thigh-length overshirt of durable material with straps, cords, or loops for attaching suitable foliage. Fringed sleeves help to break up the silhouette even further; optionally, a blotchy dye job completes the effect. A plain shirt gives +1 (quality) to Camouflage; a dyed one, +2. This bonus may be improved further through customization, which requires 20 hours and a Camouflage roll. Each point of success adds another +1, to a maximum of +3, for a total of up to +5. The shirt requires specific preparation for terrain, climate, and season – and like regular clothing, if it’s inappropriate for the background, it might give a Camouflage penalty. Plain: $50, 5 lbs. Dyed: $100, 5 lbs. === Hoods, Veils, and Masks (TL0) === These accessories serve two purposes. First, they prevent facial recognition. Second, they can be colored to assist camouflage. Any head covering that extends over the face can serve the same function as camouflage paint (above). === Padded Boots (TL0) === Footwear designed to muffle footfalls can improve Stealth. Use the rules for skill bonuses under Hand and Footwear (p. 98), and see also Moccasins (p. 98). === Disguise Kit (TL1) === A disguise kit is required for a decent disguise; it’s basic equipment for the Disguise skill (p. B187). It includes things like hairpieces and makeup, as well as a reasonably large mirror. It takes from 30 minutes to an hour for an effective makeover. $200, 10 lbs. === Holdout Clothing (TL1) === For clothing that gives a Holdout bonus, see Long Coat (p. 99) and Undercover Clothing (p. 100). ==== COVERT ENTRY ==== To break into a building, one could simply smash down the door with an axe or a maul (see Breaking and Entering, p. 122)... but finesse calls for dedicated tools. === Lockpicks (TL1) === Lockpicking involves manipulating a lock’s components to open it without its key. Tumbler, rotary, and barb-spring locks can be picked one-handed, while warded rotary locks require two hands; see Locks (pp. 120-121). A set of lockpicks – possible at TL1, but unlikely before TL2 – would include probes and a set of blank keys of different sizes, and be basic equipment: $50, 0.2 lb. A good-quality kit (+1 to skill) includes a more complete set of blank keys: $250, 0.5 lb. === Housebreaker’s Kit (TL2) === Lockpicks, a small pry-bar, a mallet, a chisel, a small saw, 10 yards of 3/8” rope, a padded grappling hook, and a lantern, packed in a sack capacious enough to hold some swag. $255, 16 lbs. === Pry-Bar (TL2) === A 30” crowbar (-4 to Holdout), smaller than the one under Mining and Tunneling (p. 30), optimized for forcing doors and snapping padlocks. It gives +2 to the ST rolls to open barred doors under Breaking and Entering (p. 122). Treat as a small mace in combat. $80, 5 lbs. An even smaller 20” version is easier to conceal (-2 to Holdout) but less effective (+1 to ST). Treat as a light club in combat. $60, 2 lbs. ==== SMUGGLING GEAR ==== Many articles can be modified to conceal something. A ring might contain a dose of poison, a hollow staff may hold a roll of paper or a weapon, a coat could have a hidden pocket, and a boot might have a hollow heel. Locating such hiding places requires a careful tactile search. Bonuses to Smuggling (p. B221) depend on how well the container is made: +1 adds +1 CF, +2 adds +3 CF, +3 adds +7 CF, and +4 (the maximum) adds +15 CF. Weight is unchanged. The container can only hold something of appropriate size and shape. Note that the Smuggling bonus of a secret compartment differs from the Holdout modifier of the item it’s in and the blanket Holdout bonus for gear like undercover clothing (p. 100). ===== Deception ===== Rather than sneak past a sentry, an infiltrator may summon him and present a forged document; a secret message could be encoded within a personal letter to avoid scrutiny; and a criminal might buy goods with counterfeit coins. Such ploys rely on deceptive documents and tokens – especially bogus money and identification. For more personal deceptions (lies and impersonation), see Identification and Authentication (p. 124). Gear for deceiving the eye (e.g., disguise kits) falls under Camouflage and Disguise (p. 126). SECRET MESSAGES The invention of writing brought with it the need to prevent the wrong people from reading documents. The most common methods involved either concealing the text itself (invisible ink) or disguising the message using codes or ciphers. Equipment for sending secret messages is LC4. Codes and Ciphers Codes use symbols or groups of letters to represent words or phrases (a complex message requires a codebook), while ciphers substitute one letter for another using a predefined scheme. Any written language could serve as a secret code if only a select group of people understand how to read it. An example of a cipher was used by Julius Caesar (a cipher now called the “Caesar shift”): He replaced every letter in the alphabet with one three places down in position so that a = D, b = E, c = F, etc. To extract the original message, the recipient simply reversed the process. It’s almost impossible to read a short, coded message if you don’t know the code or cipher. The longer the message, the easier it is to decode. See Cryptography (p. B186) for rules. Skytale (TL2) This seems to have been used first in classical Greece. It consists of a strip of leather or paper wrapped around a cylindrical baton in a helix. A message is written horizontally across the baton so that a single letter takes up the width of the strip. When unwound, the message becomes a jumble of letters. To read it, the strip must be wound around a baton of the same diameter as the original. === Cipher Wheel (TL4) === Invented by Italian scholar Leon Battista Alberti in the 15th century, this mechanism consists of two concentric discs that can be rotated about a shared axis. The discs are divided into equal partitions, and a letter of the alphabet is inscribed in each segment around the edge. The inner wheel is turned so that a predetermined letter (the “key”) corresponds to the letter “A” on the outer wheel. With this done, the message can be ciphered by looking at the letter on the outer circle and writing down the corresponding letter on the inner circle. The message can only be deciphered by someone who has an identical cipher wheel and knows the key letter. Someone with the Jeweler skill (p. B203) can engrave a cipher wheel onto metallic discs the size of large coins to enable easy concealment (+1 to Holdout). $80, neg. === Inks and Papers === Instead of attempting to disguise a message using a code or a cipher, it’s sometimes simpler to hide the whole thing! === Invisible Ink (TL2) === Lemon juice, onion juice, and various other kitchen recipes produce perfectly good secret ink, which becomes visible when heated. Philo of Byzantium (280-220 B.C.) is the first to write about using a reagent to make the writing visible; his recipe uses crushed gallnuts in water, with vitriol as the reagent. Another example, described by Pliny, makes use of the juice of the spurge; rubbing ashes on the paper causes the juice to darken. One curious method involves writing on a boiled egg with a mixture of vinegar and alum; the shell absorbs the writing, and when it’s peeled off, the message is visible on the surface of the egg inside. To use invisible ink requires skill; too much pressure leaves visible indentations, too little results in not enough ink being applied. When a scribe uses improvised equipment or writes a long message in such ink, the GM should roll secretly against DX, or against DX-based Artist (Calligraphy) at +6. Failure means the recipient cannot read the whole message. Critical failure means that anyone who makes a Vision roll can see it – a fact the writer fails to notice. For more about legibility, see GURPS Low-Tech Companion 1. Per vial: $10, neg. === Disposable Paper (TL3) === Some types of paper, such as rice paper, dissolve quickly in warm water, or can be swallowed. This makes them useful for secret messages. Once the recipient reads the message, he can quickly dispose of the evidence. Suitable rice paper was invented in China early in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.). Per sheet: $1, neg. FORGERY AND COUNTERFEITING Forgery is the art of creating false documents (see p. B196), while counterfeiting is that of falsifying currency (see p. B185). These arts are as old as written documentation and coinage, respectively. Perpetrators may be punished harshly – death and mutilation were common sentences (see Enforcement and Coercion, pp. 131-131). Identifying Marks Stolen property may bear identifying marks; for examples, see Brands and Tattoos (p. 124). These must be removed or altered to prevent the goods from being traced back to the original owner. Most are intentionally made difficult to delete, and have to be altered to resemble somebody else’s mark or disguised as something else. Roll a Quick Contest of Forgery vs. Vision or Search whenever such a deception is examined. Coinage For most of history, a coin’s value corresponded to that of the metal from which it was made. One way to profit from counterfeiting such coins is to use a metal that looks like the original but is worth less. This involves two steps. First, the precious metal must be debased with the lessexpensive one; e.g., mixing silver with tin or gold with copper. Alternatively, coins can be made entirely from a base metal and plated with the precious one; e.g., gold-plated lead. Second, the design on the coin must be duplicated. All that’s required is an original sample, some artistic talent, and engraving tools to make the die. For more information, see Counterfeiting (p. B185). An easier method is to take an original coin and cut or shave around the edges (called “clipping”) so that it weighs less than it should. The counterfeiter can simply pocket the shavings. Clipping a coin requires jeweler’s shears (see Smithing, p. 30) and 2 minutes per coin. This still requires the Counterfeiting skill, but now the roll is DX-based. Each 5% that the counterfeiter wishes to shave off gives -1 to skill. However, don’t actually roll against skill until someone examines the coin (see below). There are several ways to detect fake coins. Pure gold coins are quite soft, and simply biting them will tell an experienced trader whether they’re made from gold or debased with a harder, cheaper metal; this requires an unmodified Merchant skill roll. Clipped coins can be noticed if examined closely; this involves winning a Quick Contest of Perbased Merchant, at -2, vs. Counterfeiting modified as explained above. Plated coins can be discovered by digging a blade into them; this calls for a Merchant roll at +1. Another method is to compare the weight of the suspect coins with that of an equal number of authentic coins (or an equivalent scale weight; see Weight, p. 44); if the piles don’t weigh the same, they aren’t made of the same metal. The same test works for clipped coins. Appropriate scales and weights give +5 to Merchant skill rolls to spot fakes. Documents There are two steps to producing false documentation. First, the physical token – usually a signet or a seal (see Hard Solid Media, pp. 45-46) – must be duplicated. Second, the content must be believable. Falsifying the signet of a particular royal official is pointless if everybody knows that he died last year! Documents and seals can be duplicated from memory, but it’s easier if the forger has access to the originals. Basic equipment for Forgery at TL1-4 is paper (see Paper and Its Cousins, p. 25) and ink (see Writing Tools, p. 46). To create false seals and signets, roll against the lower of Forgery and the relevant craft skill (e.g., Jeweler, for a ring). For further details, see Forgery (p. B196). ===== Poisons ===== Poisoning is a low-risk way to eliminate a foe. No fighting is required . . . simply slip something into his food or wineglass and wait. Some poisons do require the blade of a weapon – or at least a needle trap (p. 123) – to get into the bloodstream. Others work by coming into contact with the skin or by being inhaled. Many are slow-acting; they won’t affect the outcome of a battle, but might prevent the enemy from fighting another day. The Basic Set goes into detail about how to handle various types of poison (see pp. B437-439). A roll against Poisons (pp. B214-215) is required to extract and prepare any poison. While some individual agents can be deadly, many historical recipes called for several ingredients – some highly toxic, others mostly harmless (one common ingredient was a mouse that had been stung to death by scorpions!). For example, Herodotus wrote that the Scythians poisoned arrows with a concoction made from decomposed bodies of venomous snakes, horse dung, and human blood, mixed together and left to putrefy. Several TL0-4 examples appear on p. B439. More are given below. Poisons range from LC3 (substances used for pest control or sanitation) down to LC0 (chemicals whose only use is assassination). Poisoning was often punished more harshly than open murder. Belladonna (TL0) The active ingredient of this toxic plant (Atropa belladonna, or “deadly nightshade”) is atropine. Belladonna can be used as a follow-up agent or a digestive agent. As a follow-up poison, it has a one-minute delay; as a digestive agent, it has a 15-minute delay. In either case, it inflicts 1d toxic damage with no resistance roll, repeated at 15-minute intervals for 28 cycles with a HT-2 roll to resist. After injury reaches HP/2, the victim starts hallucinating (p. B429); this normally takes the form of distorted perception rather than visual imagery. Survivors must roll vs. HT to avoid a permanent -1 HT. $8/dose. LC1. Cantharides (TL0) Also known as “Spanish fly” (actually a beetle, Lytta vesicatoria), this can be used as a digestive agent or a contact agent. As a digestive agent, it has a one-hour delay and a HT roll to resist, and inflicts 4d toxic damage with symptoms of nausea (p. B428). As a contact agent, it has no delay but still allows a HT roll to resist; it deals 2d toxic damage and irritates the skin, causing blistering and moderate pain (p. B428). In either case, a victim who reaches 0 HP suffers convulsions; treat as a seizure (p. B429). $14/dose. LC1. Curare (TL0) This poison is extracted from the sap of a vine (Strychnos toxifera). It’s a follow-up agent with a one-minute delay and a HT-6 roll to resist, repeated at 30-minute intervals for four cycles. It causes 2d toxic damage per roll regardless of the result, but any failure indicates paralysis (p. B429), while critical failure indicates choking (p. B428) which may lead to death by suffocation. $50/dose. LC1. Deathcap Mushroom (TL0) This fungus (Amanita phalloides) is a digestive agent with a one-hour delay and a HT-2 roll to resist. Failure means 1d toxic damage and hallucinations (p. B429). It inflicts an additional 2d toxic damage for two cycles at three-hour intervals, with a HT-2 roll to resist. Failure on the first HT-2 roll also causes unconsciousness (p. B429); failure on the second means a heart attack (p. B429). In addition to all this, it causes headache with no delay or roll to resist; treat as moderate pain (p. B428), rising to severe pain when injury reaches HP/2 and to terrible pain when it reaches HP (if the victim is still conscious), and lasting until a successful resistance roll. $25/dose. LC0. Fugu (TL0) The liver of the fugu, or Japanese pufferfish (several species), is deadly. The active ingredient is tetrodotoxin, also found in Australian blue-ringed octopus venom. This can be used as a digestive agent or a follow-up agent. As a digestive poison, it has a 15-minute delay and a HT-6 roll to resist; failure results in paralysis, and critical failure in choking, as for curare (above). As a follow-up agent, it has a one-minute delay and a HT-2 roll to resist; failure and critical failure have the same effects, but failure also causes 1d toxic damage. In either case, victims experience skin tingling during the onset period, have -5 ST and -5 DX after the initial roll, and must repeat the resistance roll at onehour intervals for four cycles, with failure meaning 6d toxic damage. $30/dose. LC0. Hemlock (TL0) The plant Conium maculatum is a digestive agent with a one-hour delay; the victim is at -2 ST and -2 DX, and must make a HT-2 roll to avoid 1d toxic damage. Damage repeats at hourly intervals for five cycles. Injury equal to 1/3 HP causes paralysis (p. B429) of the feet; injury equal to 1/2 HP paralyzes the lower legs; injury equal to 2/3 HP paralyzes the upper legs; and injury equal to full HP paralyzes the abdomen. At this point, the victim must roll against HT to avoid blindness. If injury reaches 2¥HP, the paralysis extends to the heart; treat as a heart attack (p. B429). $5/dose. LC1. Monkshood (TL0) Any of several plants of genus Aconitum, also called “blue rocket” or “wolfsbane”; the active ingredient is aconite, which acts on the nervous system. It can be used as a digestive agent or a follow-up agent. As a digestive agent, it has a five-minute delay, after which the victim feels a tingling sensation on his skin, tongue, and throat, and must make a HT-3 roll to resist; it inflicts 1d toxic damage, repeating at one-hour intervals for six cycles. It also causes nausea (p. B428) after the initial failed roll, persisting until the poison is shaken off; after one hour, it causes retching (p. B429), with a HT+1 roll to resist. As a follow-up agent, it has a one-hour delay and a HT-3 roll to resist; it deals 2d toxic damage, repeating at one-hour intervals for six cycles. In either case, a victim who loses 1/3, 1/2, or 2/3 HP has -2, -4, or -6 DX, respectively. At 0 HP, he has difficulty breathing; treat him as Very Unfit (p. B160) until he shakes off the poison. $6/dose. LC1. Viper Venom (TL0) Extracted from a live viper (snake of family Viperidae) and used as a follow-up agent on weapon points. After a delay of 1d seconds, make a HT roll to resist. Failure inflicts 1d toxic damage per wound; success reduces this to 1d-3 per wound. A viper yields up to four doses; extracting each dose requires a separate Animal Handling roll. Failure means obtaining no further venom from that snake. Critical failure results in snakebite: 2d toxic damage with a HT-2 roll to resist. $10/dose. LC0. Lacquer (TL1) Tapped from the lacquer tree (Toxicodendron vernicifluum) in the spring, this sap is used to preserve wood and leather, but can serve as a contact agent or (when mixed with incense and burned) a respiratory agent. As a contact agent, it has a 10-second delay and a HT roll to resist; failure causing blistering like poison ivy (treat as moderate pain, p. B428) and 1 point of toxic damage. As a respiratory agent it has no delay and a HT+4 roll to resist, inflicting 1d toxic damage; in addition, it causes immediate coughing or sneezing (p. B428). $2/dose. LC3. Lime Powder (TL1) Powdered quicklime (see Mortars and Mineral Adhesives, p. 19) can be used as a respiratory agent or a blood agent (mainly against the eyes). As a respiratory agent, it has a one-second delay and a HT roll to resist. It causes immediate coughing or sneezing (p. B428); if not resisted, it deals 1 point of toxic damage, repeating at one-second intervals for 10 seconds. As a blood agent, it has no delay but allows a HT roll to resist. If not resisted, it causes severe pain (p. B428) – and, if in the eyes, blindness. Both conditions last until the location is flushed with water for 5 minutes. Lime powder loses potency in days unless kept dry, which calls for a sealed container. Free to $1/dose. LC3.