Template:Gadget Bugs Table

Gadget Bugs Table

When a gadgeteer invents a gadget of a higher TL than his own, the GM should roll 3d on the following table for each bug (or simply pick something appropriate).

3 – Roll 3d per use or hour of constant use. On a 6 or less, the gadget attracts the unwelcome attention of aliens, time travelers, Men in Black, Things Man Was Not Meant To Know, etc. (GM's choice.)

4 – The gadget is huge! If it would normally be hand-held, it is so large that it needs a vehicle to move it around; if it would normally be vehicle-borne, it must be mounted in a really big vehicle (like a battleship) or a building; and so on.

5 – Each use or hour of constant use consumes $250 worth of resources – exotic chemicals, radioactives, etc.

6 – The device has 1d+1 side effects; see the Random Side Effects Table.

7 – Anyone carrying the gadget is so inconvenienced by its awkward shape and balance that he has -2 to DX. Vehicles or vehicular gadgets give -2 to vehicle control rolls.

8 – The gadget has 1d-2 (minimum one) side effects.

9 – A powered device requires a big power supply – for instance, a vehicle power plant. If it would normally require this much power, it needs to be tied into a continental power grid, and causes brownouts whenever used. If the device is unpowered, treat this result as 10.

10 – The gadget is twice as large, twice as heavy, and uses twice as much power as it should. If it's a weapon, halve its damage, range, and Accuracy instead.

11 – The gadget gets too hot to handle after being used, and must cool down for 10 minutes before it can be used again. (If used before it cools off, it burns out in a shower of sparks and inflicts 1d burning damage on the user.)

12 – Each use or hour of constant use consumes $25 worth of resources.

13 – The gadget is unreliable, and fails on any operation skill roll of 14 or more.

14 – The gadget requires minor repairs after every use, and does not work until repaired.

15 – The device recoils like a heavy projectile weapon (even if it isn't a gun). The user must make a DX roll for every use or be knocked down.

16 – The gadget is very unreliable, and fails on any operation skill roll of 10 or more.

17 – The device is overly complicated. If it is a weapon, it takes five seconds to ready (this represents pushing buttons, setting dials, etc.). Other gadgets require two hours of painstaking preparation before each use.

18 – On any critical failure using the device, it self-destructs...spectacularly. The user must make a DX roll at -2 or suffer 2d injury as a result. The gadget is gone – it cannot be repaired or cannibalized for parts.