One way to avoid detection is to hide yourself – either by concealment or by changing your appearance.
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.
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).
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).
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.
For clothing that gives a Holdout bonus, see Long Coat (p. 99) and Undercover Clothing (p. 100).
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).
Getting people and goods past those who are looking for them is hard without specialized equipment. A cunning deception helps, too. When the U.S. embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979, six Americans managed to escape the initial onslaught and reach the Canadian embassy. Deteriorating conditions in Iran meant that the Canadians couldn’t guarantee the embassy staffers’ safety, so the U.S. government turned to the CIA to “exfiltrate” them. The CIA procured forged Canadian passports for the staff, opened a fictitious film company as cover, and whisked the six out of the country disguised as a flashy Hollywood production crew.
Disguise has a long and storied past in espionage. During the American Civil War, Allan Pinkerton’s Union agents disguised themselves as peddlers, trading buttons and thread among unsuspecting Confederate soldiers while collecting rumors and valuable intelligence. More recently, the CIA’s Office of Technical Services tapped John Chambers, the famed special-effects artist responsible for the costumes in the Planet of the Apes films. Chambers and his technicians taught the CIA how to prepare what agents call “advanced disguise”: silicone facemasks complete with hair.
A disguise may require the Disguise and/or Acting skills, depending on the user’s intentions. It might be as simple as a stolen uniform or as elaborate as full-body makeup. A few items easily concealed on the body, such as a wig and a fake heel that alters gait, allow a Disguise roll at -5 for improvised equipment. More advanced equipment is possible.
This attaché case contains makeup, false teeth, wigs and hairpieces, etc. $200, 10 lbs. LC4.
This gear allows elaborate disguises involving custom-made noses and ears, complete facemasks, etc. It gives +2 to Disguise, but the user needs at least a day to prepare a new disguise, which requires two to six hours for fitting each time it’s worn. $4,000, 250 lbs. LC4.
Smuggling is the art of sneaking objects or even people across borders and through checkpoints. There are many motivations for this, including profit, crime, and national interests. Luggage with a hidden compartment or a false bottom can help. The items below have a secret area that holds 1/10 the listed capacity, giving +2 (quality) to Smuggling.
Steamer Trunk (TL5). Holds 400 lbs. or 5 cubic feet. $4,000, 40 lbs. LC3.
Travel Bag (TL5). Holds 100 lbs. or 5 cubic feet. $1,200, 10 lbs. LC3.
Attaché Case (TL6). Holds 20 lbs. or 2 cubic feet. $400, 2 lbs. LC3.
At TL8, the preferred method for carrying drugs across heavily enforced borders is to have the courier – sometimes called a “mule” – swallow a “mule pill.” This is a packet constructed from the finger of a surgical glove sealed with paraffin. Each thumb-sized “pill” holds about half an ounce. Mules practice by swallowing grapes, eventually working up to 50, 100, or even 150 packets. After completing a run, the mule takes a laxative and passes the pellets over several hours. Nothing prevents smugglers from carrying cargoes other than drugs; indeed, counterterrorism experts fear that explosives could be carried onboard a plane this way.
A mule must make a HT roll at -1 per 50 pellets swallowed. Success means the ruse works and the mule survives the ordeal. Failure results in an incident, such as passing pills too quickly or throwing some of them up. On a critical failure, a packet bursts, exposing the mule to its contents – often a lethal dose of cocaine or heroin.
The pressure of the pills in the stomach causes cramps or more intense pain (see Afflictions, p. B428). The mule’s sweating and discomfort can tip off observers. To spot this, a screener must win a Quick Contest of Search or Observation against the mule’s Acting skill. An X-ray machine (pp. 217, 222-223) is more reliable: a successful Electronics Operation (Medical or Security) roll allows a Search attempt to detect the pellets in the mule’s digestive tract. A mule pill is $0.1, neg.
An elaborate set of prosthetic devices, skin-tinting chemicals, and hormone sprays for disguising one person’s appearance. Many components incorporate microelectromechanical systems that can mimic muscle twitches, realistic limps, and other key characteristics.
Suitcase Disguise Kit (TL9): Provides a +1 (quality) bonus to Disguise skill. $200, 10 lbs. LC3.
Disguise Fabricator (TL9): Designed specifically for intelligence agents. Provides a +2 (quality) bonus for the Disguise skill. $800, 50 lbs. LC2.
Memory-plastic and memory-metal technology can disguise weapons and other suspicious items as innocuous devices of the same general shape and size. Another possibility is to break the contraband down into several parts, each of which appears to an unrelated piece of equipment.
Single-Function: While disguised, the gadget doesn’t function (except as much as its basic shape allows). It costs five times as much as a normal version of the original gadget.
Multi-Function: Both the disguise and the disguised gadget are fully functional. Cost is 20 times the sum of the cost of both the gadgets. Both gadgets must be of similar (+/-10%) weight.
Shape-memory devices usually incorporate a power cell (an AA cell for devices up to 0.1 lb. weight, A cell for up to 1 lb., B cell for up to 10 lbs. etc.) to provide an electrical impulse that triggers the change. The cell powers 60 changes, and can be removed and inserted later if power cells would be suspicious. A simple gadget may also use a piezoelectric material that changes if shaken vigorously for 10 seconds.
A gadget with a shape-memory disguise has half its normal LC (rounded up). An LC3 pistol would be LC2 as a shape-memory gadget, but an LC1 gadget is still LC1.
Perfect for the professional courier or smuggler, these items use the latest in electronic countermeasures and stealth materials to spoof scanners and sniffers. A hidden liner compartment provides safety for small packages, while a biometric lock (p. 104) provides security. The liner compartment holds one-tenth the luggage’s capacity and provides a +2 (quality) bonus to Smuggling skill. It is sealed to defeat chemical sniffers and dogs.
Attaché Case (TL9): Holds up to 20 lbs. (or two cubic feet). $400, 2 lbs. LC3.
Travel Bag (TL9): Holds 100 lbs. (or five cubic feet). $1,200, 10 lbs. LC3.
Trunk (TL9): Holds 400 lbs. $4,000, 40 lbs. LC3.
Shipping Container (TL9): Holds 10,000 lbs. Up to four people can hide in the liner compartment, but they’ll need breathing gear. $10,000, 1,000 lbs. LC3.
These items may have a programmable camouflage surface at an extra 50% to cost. Distortion chips or fields can also be added.
This wearable mike obscures the speaker’s voice. He can set it to sound human, but different than his normal voice, or to change his apparent age, race, or sex. It will also alter the speaker’s voiceprint. $200, 0.1 lb., B/20 hr. LC3.
A full-face mask of a specific person, complete with micromotors that move the face in realistic fashion. This is a custom design, and detailed measurements of both the user and the subject’s face (which can be taken by medical examination, or remotely by T-ray scanner, X-rays, or ultra-scan) are needed. It takes 10 seconds to put on, two seconds to remove.
The mask adds +3 to Disguise skill, cumulative with quality modifiers. When impersonating somebody, the GM may treat this as a perfect disguise, but Acting skill will still be required to convince someone who knows the individual being mimicked. The mask’s legality class reflects legal uses in media productions and as a prosthetic for people with extensive facial injuries. It includes a voice mask (p. 98). $10,000, 1 lb., B/24 hr. LC3.
This holographic projector casts a preset three-dimensional image. It will not fool sensors that do not use visible light, such as infrared or hyperspectral imaging. A disk inappropriate to a given planet is more likely to draw attention to the user than it is to conceal him. Because it projects light, it glows in the dark.
Holobelt (TL10^): Casts an image around the wearer, roughly man-sized, for concealment. The image must be bigger than the person concealed! Standard hologram disks let the user choose between a native-looking rock, tree, mailbox, bush, animal, etc., or plug in a disk taken from a 3-D camera. All attacks on the user are at -1 to hit, and aimed shots to specific body areas are not possible unless the image closely resembles the user’s body. $2,000, 2.5 lb., C/10 hr. LC3. Prerecorded holodisks are usually about $50.
Holofield (TL10^): A larger model of the holobelt, used to disguise buildings, camps, and vehicles. The field will cover a radius of up to 10 yards. New images can be captured via a 3-D camera or synthesized with a computer. $50,000, 25 lbs., D/10 hr. LC3.
Want to be prepared, but don’t want to carry a ton of hardware? Need to sneak past low-tech customs with a concealed firearm? No problem. Just buy a few tubes of cannibal nano. It’s a tube, can, or canister of white gooey paste, with countless nanomachines programmed to cannibalize other objects to build a single, specific gadget.
To use it, the paste is applied to a suitable object that has raw materials similar to whatever is to be built. Mechanical devices such as guns and engines require objects made of metal. Plastics are often broken down to make gasses, propellants, etc. Electronic devices or energy weapons require other electronic systems to cannibalize. Within these restrictions, a cannibal nanokit is flexible. It can turn a toaster into a gyroc pistol, or a motorcycle into a suit of powered armor.
It takes the nanokit one minute to build the object per pound of finished weight; the nanokit will usually eat all objects in close proximity. Whether the result works or not depends on whether the nanokit has enough suitable material. In doubtful cases, the GM can roll 3d vs. the kit’s TL+1, with modifiers for availability.
Whatever is cannibalized is, of course, destroyed (or rather, transformed). The process also produces residual heat, so it’s best to start it on a nonflammable surface such as a counter top or concrete garage floor, and to turn off smoke detectors.
Cannibal nanokits are specific to one gadget or weapon. A single kit may build several closely related gadgets as long as they can all be fused into one object, such as a gun with laser sight, or a helmet with built-in infrared goggles.
A tube of cannibal nano costs 300% of the intended gadget’s cost, and is limited to constructing gadgets or weapons that appear at least a TL before the nano’s own TL. Its weight and volume are 1% of the gadget’s normal weight and volume. The LC of cannibal nano is generally the same as the equipment it builds. The exceptions are any weapons or armor, which have half their normal LC (round down).
It’s easy to disguise a small container of cannibal nano. It only takes 0.01 lbs of nano to build a one-pound laser pistol. That could be disguised as lip gloss, or domestic nanocleanser. A cannibal nanokit designed to build a cybersuit (pp. 184-185) would weigh less than a pound, and could be disguised as a bottle of shampoo. And since TL11 lip gloss or shampoo may well use nanomachines, a cursory scan or inspection would turn up nothing unusual!