Quantum Devices

Summary of the gadget creation rules based off of the wall of text, the examples, and unified.

Overview

Gadgets are a catch-all term for quantum devices of various sorts, from bioengineered devices to electronics and complex machines. Gadgets are built using extended Engineering or Science rolls, with particularly advanced gadgets requiring either the Engineering, Scientific, or Medical Prodigy Enhancement.

Each roll to create a gadget is one 24-hour period of work, although certain Enhancements may be able to accelerate gadget creation.

Two failures in a row on a gadgeteering roll mean that the project must be started over, while a botch does one of a few things:

• Adds 1 success to the total, the gadget gains a flaw of the ST's choice.
• The device does something entirely different from intended.
• The device blows up, inflicting 1B per success accumulated on the nova and anyone nearby, soakable.

Gadget Properties

All gadgets have these properties:

• Uses Per Scene: A gadget can imitate an inbuilt power a certain number of times per scene without requiring more than trivial quantum expenditures. A baseline user must spend 1Q per use of a gadget's powers, but a nova user may use a gadget's powers for free a limited number of times per scene. This is set separately for every power.
• Dice Pool: The dice pool determines the number of dice rolled to see if a gadget works. This is set per power and split into attributes and abilities.
• Effect Level: The Effect Level determines the effective rating of a gadget's powers. This is also set for a gadget's abilities, determining the maximum number of successes that can be applied from a roll.
• Quantum: The gadget has an intrinsic quantum rating which determines what powers it can possess.
• Power Rating: Power rating determines the level of the gadget's powers, differing from Effect Level in that it doesn't affect the end result (damage, alterations to the environment, mind-reading) but affects things such as power duration or range.
• Quantum Storage: Quantum energy available for extra uses of powers.
• Versatility: Who can use the gadget and under what circumstances. Varies dependent on the power.
• Duration: How long a gadget lasts before wearing out. Set once for an entire gadget.
• Durability: A gadget's ability to withstand damage.

Constructing The Gadget

Uses Per Scene

• 1 success adds one use of a power per scene, up to (builder's Quantum - 1) uses. 2 successes increases that from (Quantum - 1) to (Quantum), and each additional use past that requires double the successes- 4 for (Quantum + 1), 8 for (Quantum + 2), and so on. Abilities do not need uses per scene (although Enhancements do).

Dice Pool

• 1 success gives the gadget one dot in an attribute or ability that the gadgeteer possesses, up to (Trait - 1). 2 successes increases that to (Trait), and spend double the successes for every additional dot thereafter.
• 2 successes gives the gadget one dot in an ability that the gadgeteer does not possess but can see demonstrated in a lab environment. This takes 2 hours of R&D per dot of ability and cannot go higher than (Quantum - 1) or (Engineering/Science - 1), whichever is higher.
• 3 successes gives the gadget one dot in an ability that the gadgeteer does not possess but can study at a distance. This takes 3 hours of R&D per dot of ability and cannot go higher than (Quantum - 2) or (Engineering/Science - 2), whichever is higher.
• A Nova user may pay 1 Quantum point to use their own attributes or abilities in place of the gadget's dice pool. This costs nothing if it's lower, but spend 1 Quantum if the dice pool is higher (whether out of the Nova's own quantum or from the gadget). Baseline users are limited by the gadget's pool.

Effect Level

• 1 success add 1 effect level to an Attribute or Ability up to (Quantum - 1). 2 successes increases that from (Quantum - 1) to (Quantum), and each additional use past that requires double the successes- 4 for (Quantum + 1), 8 for (Quantum + 2), and so on. Each effect level for an Attribute Ability allows the gadget to apply up to that many successes from an (attribute + ability) roll to determine if the roll succeeded or failed. A gadget with an attribute + ability effect level of 3 could roll 10 successes, but it'd still act as 3 successes, for example.
• 2 successes add 1 effect level to a Quantum power up to (Quantum - 1). In this case, effect levels determine the result pool of the power (for example, damage if the power is Quantum Bolt). Similarly, these effect levels can be split between Quantum and the power itself, although there must be at least enough effect levels to cover the minimum Quantum of the power.
• Under no circumstances can there be a total effect level greater than the Gadgeteer's (Quantum x 2).

Quantum

• 2 successes adds 1 dot of Quantum, up to (Quantum - 1). 4 successes increases that from (Quantum - 1) to (Quantum), and 16 successes increases that to (Quantum + 1).
• A gadget may not have more than 1 over the gadgeteer's Quantum.

Power Rating

• 1 success gives the gadget one dot in a power that the gadgeteer possesses, up to (Quantum - 1). 2 successes increases that to (Quantum), and spend double the successes for every additional dot thereafter.
• 2 successes gives the gadget one dot in a power that the gadgeteer does not possess but can see demonstrated in a lab environment. This takes 3 hours of R&D per dot of power and cannot go higher than (Quantum - 1) or (Engineering/Science - 1), whichever is higher. Mega-Attributes are limited to (Mega-Intelligence - 1).
• 3 successes gives the gadget one dot in a power that the gadgeteer does not possess but can study at a distance. This takes 6 hours of R&D per dot of power and cannot go higher than (Quantum - 2) or (Engineering/Science - 2), whichever is higher. Mega-Attributes are limited to (Mega-Intelligence - 2).
• The gadget's total Quantum + Power Rating cannot exceed (Quantum x 2) for any power.

Quantum Storage

• 1 success gives the gadget 2 points of Quantum in a battery. By default, the Nova loses these points until they're spent.
• 2 successes gives the gadget 2 points of Quantum storage that allows the Nova to recharge any quantum used to charge the device batteries (although they still need to be recharged and do not regenerate).
• 3 successes gives the gadget 2 points of Quantum storage that recharge at 1 point/hour.
• A gadget's quantum pool is limited to half the gadgeteer's own Quantum pool.

Versatility

• 3 successes allows other Novas to use the gadget.
• 5 successes allow baselines to use the gadget.
• Baselines must spend 1 quantum per use of the gadget, and an additional 2 quantum over any power costs for each activation past the uses-per-scene limit.
• Novas merely pay 1 additional quantum over the cost of the power after exceeding the uses per scene limit, and pay no quantum at all to use the gadget.

Duration

• A gadget stays operational for 12 - Quantum months, and then its attributes, abilities, and powers degrade by 1 dot per week after that.
• 1 success adds 1 month to its operating lifespan.
• If a gadget no longer has any remaining attributes, abilities, or powers (they're all at 0), then the gadget explodes, doing 1B damage per quantum point it possess to anyone in (Quantum) meters.
• A gadget may be disassembled before that by the creator, releasing the energy explosively or harmlessly.

Durability

• A gadget has 1 less health level and -1B/1L soak compared to the item it was based off of.
• 1 success adds 1 extra HL. The next additional HL costs an additional 2 successes, the following costs 4, and so on.
• 1 success adds 1B/1L additional soak. Increasing that to +2B/2L costs an extra 2 successes, +3B/3L costs a further 4, and so forth.
• A gadget may not have more than (Quantum) added HLs or (+Quantum) soak.