12 thoughts on “Lurk: Infiltrator.”

  1. I’d say it means that there isn’t a difference between a tier 1 vault and tier 6 vault. That doesn’t mean that you couldn’t include other complications related to a vault. It just removes the mechanical difference from tiers.

  2. I like to see the lurk shine by offering them scores that they shouldn’t really tackle without the infiltrator ability. Like a Tier-0 crew breaking into the Tier-4 Sparkwrights tremendous workshop factory in Coalridge. So I don’t worry that this ability overwhelms things that would previously have been obstacles. I’m looking for opportunities to see the lurk do precisely that, and they’re that much cooler when they do.

    However, while the Infiltrator ability removes the Quality/Tier as an effect factor, there are other factors you should still consider.

    Potency could relate to things making it easier or harder to pick the lock. Frequent patrols put a strict time window on the cracking. Arcane wards protect the lock from interference. The lock crackles with electricity, requiring heavy protection to pick safely, turning the most sensitive dexterous fingers into clumsy logs of leather. These could easily worsen position, effect or both.

    Scale could mean there is just more lock to pick, either through depth (numerous locks or layers of security) or through breadth (requires multiple actors working across areas simultaneously). Either way, bypassing will more challenging/less effective.

  6. The reduced effect consequence is off the table but that still means you have complication, lost opportunity, worse position, and harm consequences left in your toolkit.

  7. Thanks all for the feedback.

    So you’d throw in a clock on a complex lock and treat the rolls as ticks within it? Potency could scale the outcome up or down in effect and the danger can be time.

  8. Why switch the reason for the reduced effect on the clock at all? (in this case from Tier to Potency)

    Is it an actual problem if the PC with Infiltrate is actually good at infiltrating? At the end of the day the ability doesn’t grant auto success; they still have to roll for it…

  9. Yeah, Adam I took your original question to be more about how. Potency and scale are options for how to make cracking a bank vault more challenging than picking a pantry door. But why you’d want to still reduce effect is a separate question.

    I tweak effect to control pacing, be honest about the world, reflect the PCs competence, and impress the deadliness of their foes.

    I can think of loads of scenarios where I have and would just go standard effect, because the quality of the security measures is the main factor.

    But that’s not always the case. For example, I consider:

    – how prepared are their enemies?

    – how are their enemies interfering?

    – is the score hitting targets where they’re strongest?

    – how dangerous will the security response be?

    – how much time do they have?

    – are the PCs ignoring threats or opportunities?

    – are the PCs using the right tools for the job?

    – are their any other complications or circumstances in the local area that make things difficult or dangerous?

    – any relevant devil’s bargains?

    – any relevant clocks filled or nearly filled?

    Any of these could make bypassing a security measure more challenging, even if you ignore the security measures quality or tier.

  10. Cheers for the comments everyone. I was asking because I had a PC Lurk in the V7 and no a PC Lurk with the V8.1, and wow did I see a drastic change in the way picking locks has become. The Tier change used to be a factor in the planning: acquiring asset for better tools or using downtime to get more details to beat the system etc. Now it’s like the V8 Lurk (a different player/group) feels none of this necessity and calls Fine Tools and Infiltrator on anything, which is a touch underwhelming. I’d say the lock is special, or is a puzzle or something non mechanical, but the phrasing on Infiltrator is “Security Measures” which is a pretty broad metric.

    You’ve given me food for thought though.

  12. The challenge has evolved.

    Now it isn’t about HOW to get through anymore, it’s about locating a target in the first place, dealing with the target behind security measures, and possibly dealing with getting away clean (any less than 6 might mean evidence is left behind that is discovered in a timely enough manner to warrant a chase, etc.)

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