Black Vans Excerpt: Advanced Technology (Patreon)

As part of my section on running Deviant in other genres, I recognized a need to address swapping genres in a Deviant chronicle, such as if Remade in a space opera find themselves pulling a Star Trek IV or a modern day cohort winds up traveling in time. These are effectively otherworldly jaunts, which Clades Companion emphasizes should feel less like an escape from all the Renegades' problems and more like an exchange of known problems for unknown ones. As part of that design goal, I wanted to build a system for how to handle Broken who decide to bring a shotgun and a chainsaw into Dark Ages Europe. This was the result.

This is a first draft with all the caveats that implies. A lot could change - and it could even be cut - between now and the final draft.

Advanced Technology

Time travelers and aliens from more technologically advanced worlds often bring some of their tools with them. Whether it’s a shotgun in the Dark Ages or walkie talkies on a distant planet, these high-tech devices can give a visitor a considerable advantage. However, the production and maintenance of advanced technology in itself relies upon the availability of other advanced technology. A gun becomes useless in the absence of ammunition, and creating ammunition for a modern firearm requires the availability of materials and tools suitable for the job, and those tools and materials often rely on the availability of other tools and materials.

Advanced technology deteriorates quickly without regular maintenance, and this maintenance is usually only available in places where that technology is readily available.

System: At the end of any chapter in which a piece of advanced technology is used, roll a dice pool equal to 6 - Availability. On a failed roll, the device’s owner takes a Beat, and the device ceases to function or breaks until it can be repaired using tools and materials at least as advanced as those used in its creation.

Durable: Some advanced devices are built to keep working even in the absence of adequate maintenance and materials. Increase the device’s Availability by one to increase the dice pool above by two – or increase it by two to increase the dice pool by four. So, an assault rifle (Availability 3) normally rolls 3 dice (6 - 3 = 3). A durable one becomes Availability 4 but rolls 4 dice (6 - 4 + 2 = 4) or becomes Availability 5 and rolls 5 dice (6 - 5 + 4 = 5).