Adventuring Equipment

#### Ammunition

New Terran gunsmiths have proven remarkably ingenious in finding replacements for conventional gunpowder and brass, but ammunition remains precious and expensive. Most dedicated gunslingers either learn to compound their own or make friends with a skilled scrapsmith.

#### Backpack

Some tribals are lucky enough to have scavenged Old Terran camping gear. Such metasilk backpacks are effectively weightless, fireproof, environmentally sealed, and resistant to tears and punctures that do less than 6 points of damage. Most make do with more primitive packs fashioned of leather or woven plant fibers. Characters without packs or other hauling gear may have difficulty stowing all the items their Strength would normally allow them to carry.

#### Bedroll

Advanced versions of this gear are fashioned of sophisticated Old Terran smart fabrics and self-adjusting inflatable padding. More primitive versions are little more than a roll of furs or blankets. Characters without a bedroll or the equivalent may find it difficult to get sufficiently restful sleep in some environments, preventing them from recovering System Strain.

#### Binoculars

Advanced Old Terran binoculars allow for an image clear enough to read printed text at 1,000 meters distance and recognition of outlines at 2,000 meters. The advanced models have a built-in rangefinder and can be used in any light brighter than that of a moonless night. More primitive varieties are fashioned of salvaged lenses and hand-crafted prisms, and allow for clear view of objects at half those distances.

#### Blueprints

Blueprints are the rare hardcopy printouts or handwritten scrapsmith notes used to assist in building particular devices. Every blueprint is intended for a specific device and grants a +1 bonus to the user’s effective Tech skill when attempting to build it, as per the item creation rules in the Systems chapter. More thorough blueprints exist that grant higher bonuses; +2 schematics cost ten times as much, and full Old Terran manufacturing blueprints capable of granting +3 cost at least fifty times as much when they’re available at all. Even illiterate techs are familiar enough with materials and notations to make use of low-tech blueprints, but TL3+ items require literacy or a literate teammate to make use of their construction helps. Prices for blueprints assume that the design in question is fairly common among the local scrapsmiths. Designs that are unique or rare in an area will almost never be willingly sold, though a scrapsmith might reveal the lore in exchange for an important favor or a design of greater value.

#### Bonding Tape

A silvery tape that can bond to even the grimiest surface, bonding tape is a mainstay of many scrapsmiths of the New Earth. Objects fastened together with bonding tape can only be separated by doing 4 points of damage to the tape. Those attempting to burst the tape with brute strength must succeed on a Str/ Athletics skill check at difficulty 10. A roll of bonding tape usually has 30 meters of the substance on it. Using up a roll grants +1 to any Tech/Postech check.

#### Broadcast Power Modulator

Advanced metadimensional transposition taps allow this backpack-sized device to beam power directly to remote equipment. The modulator is wired into whatever electrical generator is available, and then emits power over a one kilometer radius. Provided a technician knows the correct tuning codes for the modulator, any TL4+ device can be adjusted to draw power through the metadimensional tap feeds. Assuming enough power is being generated for all the devices that draw on the modulator, it effectively amounts to a constant charge for the device. A TL4 converter device can be constructed to provide a lower-tech connection in a remote location. If someone changes the modulator codes, any device that draws power from it will go inert until supplied from another source or retuned to the correct frequencies. Military installations using BPMs usually keep the modulator codes secret to prevent a hostile actor from remotely connecting a massive power sink to the converter.

#### Climbing Kit

These gloves and boot sheaths are Old Terran relics originally designed to aid in outdoor climbing. Microscopic bonding elements allow the wearer to ascend even sheer surfaces so long as the surface is relatively dry and solid. If the wearer moves slowly and carefully at a rate of only 10 meters a minute, they will always succeed at ordinary climbing checks and fail extremely difficult ones only on a natural 2. If climbing at a faster rate, they simply gain a +3 bonus to any climbing skill check.

#### Compass, Magnetic

Large deposits of ferrous wreckage and Old Terran magnetic anomalies make a standard magnetic compass somewhat less reliable than might be desired, but it still grants a +2 to any Survival check made to avoid getting lost.

#### Compad

The Net of Old Terra functioned almost exclusively through ambient nanite relays and personal Links. There was no need for a specific device for communicating, and so the chaos of the Scream left many people helplessly isolated and unable to call for help. Modern compads are little more sophisticated than handheld radios boosted to overcome the electromagnetic static of the Highshine nanites. Shortwave radio and other long-distance communication modes are almost impossible through this channel noise, but two compads tuned to the same frequency can reach up to ten kilometers under most conditions. A compad’s power drain is relatively minimal- a single type A power cell will keep it operating for months under normal use conditions.

#### Crowbar

Primitive, but effective as a tool for smashing up salvage, prying open ordinary Old Terran doors, and handling the sort of abuse that would quickly destroy a weapon. Crowbars can be used as one-handed clubs for 1d4 damage, or two-handed for 2d4 damage, using Strength as the relevant attribute in both cases.

#### Dataslab

Dedicated computers were almost unknown in Old Terra, as the integral Link possessed by the citizenry served all the purposes of a handheld computer. Some rebels found it better to keep their information off of the Net, however, and so some independent dataslabs were created, along with the cruder efforts of those modern scientists who still remember how to build computing hardware. In the absence of a Link, a dataslab is usually necessary for hacking or interfacing with any Old Terran computing hardware that doesn’t have a functioning interface of its own. Dataslabs can also perform any of the usual functions of a handheld computer- recordkeeping, mathematical work, audiovisual recording, and so forth. A type A power cell will keep a dataslab operating for a week.

#### Firebox

A good fire improves any camp and can sometimes make the difference between survival and death by frost. Primitive fireboxes are a set of metal and ceramic plates that can be quickly assembled into an efficient wood-burning stove. Ultra-light Old Terran camping models can also burn wood for extra authenticity, but a single type A power cell will provide 24 hours of ample heat. If wood must be packed in, a small load of charcoal is enough for 8 hours of heat and counts as 2 items of encumbrance. Firestarter: These small devices range from purpose-built Old Terran camping implements to scrap-rigged fire pistons and waxed phosphor matches. All of them create a small, fiercely-burning flame capable of igniting most flammable material in one round. TL4 versions will function indefinitely, while TL2 models are expended after 20 uses.

#### Geiger Counter

Prized tools among wanderers, most geiger counters are relatively crude scrap-built devices. One Type A cell will power it for 48 hours, during which it will alert the bearer if they cross into a radioactive zone by indicating the strength of the field.

#### Generator, Nanofusion

A cutting-edge example of Old Terran science, nanofusion cells use a combination of microscopic metadimensional tap nanites and conventional cold fusion tech to produce 141 enormous amounts of power. Most cells are no larger than a man’s fist, but they can be used to power hundreds of homes or recharge A+ and B+ power cells in unlimited numbers. Even greater outputs are possible with the correct regulating hardware and power infrastructure.

#### Generator, Solar

Small and hyper-efficient, solar electrical generators are usually constructed out of advanced Old Terran absorption panels and photonic bend composites. Provided the generator gets at least 8 hours of direct sunlight per day, it can maintain a steady power output for several dozen homes and recharge type A+ or B+ power cells. Setting up the generator requires an hour to calibrate it properly, but it can be broken down for transport.

#### Generator, Steam

Steam-powered generators are bulky, inefficient, and cantankerous, but they are also the easiest kind of generators for a community to build. Even so, few enclaves have scrapsmiths ingenious or talented enough to keep such generators in operation. The generators are always at least room-sized and require 80 units of spare parts for construction. Steam generators can refuel type A+ or B+ power cells or provide equivalent power to several dozen homes. Steam generators require a constant supply of fuel for operation.

#### Glowbug

A simple, palm-sized Old Terran trinket, glowbugs can be activated to cast a clear, bright light in a 10-meter radius, and can be set to lightly adhere to any solid surface. A focal adjustment can direct their light up to 20 meters in a particular direction. Their light lasts for 24 hours, and they can be daisy-chained together to recharge up to a hundred of them from a single Type A power cell.

#### Lantern

A low-tech lighting solution, these lanterns cast light in a 10 meter radius, or 20 meters if focused in a particular direction. A flask of oil will fuel a lantern for 4 hours.

#### Link, Prosthetic

Virtually every citizen of Old Terra was implanted at birth with a Link- a nanite-grown communications link that kept them in perpetual contact with the Mandate and the rest of their community through the ambient mesh known as the Net. Augmented reality visuals, contextual signage, and virtual reality environments were all commonly available to every citizen. Still, some were unable to use Links, either through natural biological incompatibility, damaged hardware, or by virtue of being an offworld visitor from the frontier. These artificial Links are meant for such unfortunate souls, and operate off the wearer’s body heat. Prosthetic Links usually take the form of a thick torc, with a transduction pad that presses against the wearer’s nape. The user can issue commands to the Link by thought alone, and no training is required to use one. Information is provided through visual or auditory overlays, and the Link is equipped with an integral expert system to assist in its use. Of course, with the Net gone, the Maestros fleeing the wrath of the Bender, and the air clouded with berserk Highshine nanites, most prosthetic Links have little to show a user. A few wispy ghosts of crippled augmented reality or garbled data displays are all that are visible in most ruins. Use of a prosthetic Link does allow a person to communicate with certain sophisticated pretech equipment that was never intended for manual operation. Prosthetic Links also have all the functionality of a normal dataslab or compad. Most significantly to most modern possessors, wearing a Link allows thought-actuated audiovisual contact with any other willing Link wearer within a five kilometer radius. Such contact must be accepted by both parties, but allows either of them to perceive each other’s environment and relative location perfectly and communicate in any shared languages.

#### Low-light goggles

These goggles might come as elaborate eyewear or as a simple pair of Old Terran contact lenses, both operating without need for external power sources. Users have full normal vision in any environment with any ambient light whatsoever. Medkit: These advanced healing kits are usually pieced together out of Old Terran pharmaceuticals, mutated healing plants, and assorted gear for staunching wounds. Medkits grant a +1 bonus to all Tech/Medical rolls. If used on a mortally wounded PC, the medic may check Int/Tech/Medical at difficulty 8, with a +1 difficulty penalty for each round’s delay since the victim was downed. On a success, the victim is stabilized and restored to 1 hit point, and may act normally after ten minutes of rest. No System Strain is accrued from being stabilized by a medkit. Medkits cannot help a victim if more than six rounds have passed since they were mortally injured. When a user rolls a natural 2 on a skill check involving a medkit, it runs out of some critical component and becomes useless. Characters with the ability to reroll skill checks can still reroll the check, but the medkit remains depleted afterwards. Metatool: This small polymorphic hand tool was popular throughout Mandate space for its versatility and compact nature. Its memory composite construction allows it to function as any small hand tool that might be required. Metatools aren’t a replacement for advanced tool kits, but they can be used for spot work and jury-rigging gear. A metatool is also able to perform any work that might normally require a TL0 or TL1 toolkit, and can be used to repair up to TL4 items.

#### Navcomp

A few of these devices were in use as camping and orienteering tools in the days before the Scream, but more of them have since been built by scrapsmiths who had a more pressing and practical need for their benefits. Navcomps use inertial recorders and gravitic assay devices to precisely trace the user’s current position. The navcomp’s owner can key in up to twelve sets of geophysical coordinates, and the navcomp will point the user directly toward them. Those owners who lack cartographic savvy can register a location for tracking simply by pressing a lock key while present there. Old Terran navcomps usually have a host of other location and mapping tools, but almost all of them have been made useless since the collapse of the Net.

#### Oil Flask

Most oils used for illumination are inedible, but quite effective as a light source. A flask of oil will fuel a lantern for 4 hours. If poured out in a pool and lit, it will form a one-meter wide pool that inflicts 1d4 damage on anyone who enters it. The pool will burn for 1d4 rounds before guttering out. 142 Power Cell, Type A: These small cylindrical power cells were ubiquitous before the Scream and served to power most hand-held equipment and personal devices. Old Terran power cells are not rechargeable- the Mandate didn’t want to simplify the logistics for malcontents and rebels, and so fresh cells had to be obtained through Mandate-monitored sources. Once fully discharged, these cells are worthless even as scrap. Six Type A cells can be bundled as one item for encumbrance purposes.

#### Power Cell, Type A+

A few canny rebel techs and modern scrapsmiths were able to reverse-engineer the Mandate power cell specs and build cells that could be recharged off any standard current. Recharging the cell from a live power line requires 30 minutes, level-0 expertise in a Tech skill, and a metatool or other TL3+ toolkit to make the connection.

#### Power Cell, Type B

As large as a human fist, these power cells usually fueled vehicles and other large items of equipment. Like their smaller brethren, they cannot be recharged.

#### Power Cell, Type B+

Much like their smaller relations, B+ cells can be recharged from a live power source in the same fashion as A+ cells. Charge time for a cell is six hours.

#### Solar Cell

For those scrapsmiths and rebel techs not skilled enough to reverse-engineer conventional Mandate power cells, the solar cell is an alternative. The cell itself is permanently attached to a palm-sized solar collector which can be unfolded and set to absorb sunlight. Eight hours of sunshine will charge the attached cell, which can then be spooled out of the device and inserted into an object in need of a type A power cell. The need to keep the device tethered to the solar cell can occasionally be cumbersome, but most users simply sling the cell at their belt and then holster the weapon or device it powers.

#### Ration, Dirty

“Dirty” foodstuffs resemble ordinary dried meats and vegetables, but all have subtle traces of nanite taint, decay, or natural toxins. Provender of this kind is available in many places as a cheap way of stretching a person’s available clean foodstuffs. Eating a dirty ration adds 1 Toxin point to the eater’s total.

#### Ration, Normal

Consisting of roughly a kilo of nutrient-rich edibles, most rations are composed of dried meats, hard bread, parched vegetables, and other food that keeps well.

#### Ration, Old Terran

Old Terran foodstuffs were inevitably packed in sealed bags and trays capable of keeping the contents fresh and wholesome for centuries. In addition to providing a day’s nourishment, the medical nanites pervading the food remove 1d4 Toxin points from the consumer and heal 1d6 lost hit points. A person can benefit from only one Old Terran ration per day Rope, 20 meters: Old Terran metafiber rope is pencil-thin and extremely difficult to cut without specialized tools. Metatools or toolkit implements can trim or splice it freely, but otherwise it absorbs 8 points of edged damage before snapping. More modern rope of woven plant fibers absorbs only 4 points of damage and is substantially heavier.

#### Spare Parts

Usable scrap and salvage comes in innumerable forms in the wastelands, and all of them are treated simply as general “spare parts” of a given tech level. Up to four units of spare parts may be bundled together for encumbrance purposes.

#### Telescoping Pole

Retracting to a 30-centimeter baton, this pole extends and locks into a 3.048-meter extension that can bear as much as a thousand kilograms of weight. In a pinch, it can also serve as a club. Tent: Wanderers often have need of a tent if they’re to find any rest in a rainy clime or contain precious heat in the cold. Desert-landers use them to shelter from a hostile sun and the scourge of windblown sand. This particular leather tent is large enough for two friendly people and can be split into two encumbrance loads if needed. Pretech camping versions are much lighter.

#### Thermal Flare

If triggered in one mode, the flare burns with a bright white light for two hours, illuminating up to twenty meters around the holder. If the guidance fins are extended first, the flare launches up to 200 meters and explodes in a bright white flash. A launched flare does 1d6 damage to anyone it hits, though the clumsy flight gives a -4 penalty on any attempts to hit something.

#### Toolkit, TL1

This primitive toolkit consists of little more than a knife, hammer, saw, and a few other essentials. A craftsman can use it to build or repair any TL0 or TL1 object, provided they have the expertise and spare parts. No special workshop facilities are required.

#### Toolkit, TL2

Largely identical to a TL1 kit, this toolbox includes files, measuring devices, and hardened alloy tools for working to finer mechanical requirements than are necessitated by more primitive technologies. Constructing TL2 devices out of scrap will require a larger workshop, however.

#### Toolkit, TL3

To the basic ingredients of a TL2 toolkit are added cutting tools and electrician’s gear. The toolkit can be used to repair or help build any device of TL3 or less, though creating TL2 or 3 objects from spare parts usually requires a more fully-equipped workshop.

#### Toolkit, TL4

Advanced Old Terran hand tools include basic equipment for nanite manipulation and reprogramming and can serve when working on any device of TL4 or less. Building TL4 devices out of spare parts normally necessitates an Old Terran workshop that is powered and intact.

#### Toolkit, TL5

These toolkits are often little more than glistening silvery spheres of neuroresponsive nanites colored with the logo of the Mandate department that commissioned them. A trained tech can mentally mold them into almost any hand tool that could be required, allowing the repair of any object. Actually building TL5 devices from spare parts is an undertaking that requires access to one of the classified, high-security development centers that served the Mandate elite. Toxin Detector: A Type A cell powers this device for one month, allowing it to identify poisonous or tainted foodstuffs and granting a +1 bonus to Survival checks when foraging

#### Utility Tarp

This paper-thin sheet of opaque, waterproof composite measures a little over three meters on a side, with a small three-state control strip along one edge. In its first state, the tarp is limp and can be folded into a fist-sized bundle. In its second state, the tarp becomes semi-rigid and can be molded into any desired shape. In its third state, the tarp hardens to support as much as five hundred kilos of weight and cannot be shaped. Anyone able to reach the control can change the tarp’s state. Eight points of damage will break a utility tarp and render it useless.

#### Vacc Suit, Pretech

These suits are uncommon, as most trans-stellar traffic with the core worlds took place through the orbital habitats. Still, some have been found in equipment dumps intended for interstellar shipment. The suits are effectively skin-tight and transparent by default, though they respond to Link commands to change colors and outlines. The wearer’s head is bubbled by an unseen tension field that maintains pressure while allowing eating and drinking. The suits can be worn beneath armor and normal clothing without difficulty, and are quite comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. So long as they remain powered, they recycle air and water for the user and render them immune to gases, contact toxins, and radiation weaker than once-per-minute saves. The suits self-seal if torn. A single type A power cell fuels a vacc suit for one day.

**Water Filter:** Every hunter worth his spear knows the usual tricks for purifying tainted water with charcoal and certain types of Old Terran cloth, but a proper Old Terran water filter is far more reliable. A single filter can clean up to 10 rations of dirty water per day