Page 60 - World of Darkness

Investigation but more successes may be required to gather extensive
clues. The Storyteller may offer small insights with each
All the other detectives were convinced. An arsonist had success in an examination, starting with the obvious and
set the hotel fire and vandalized the fire hydrant out front so ending with the obscure.
firefighters couldn’t put out the blaze. But Janet wasn’t so Exceptional Success: Your character studies and not
sure. The hydrant was literally ripped from of its moorings. only discovers useful details about a person or situation,
Who could do that without something like a truck and tow but notices additional clues that provide more in-depth
chains? Who could do that so quickly, without being seen? information. Not only have the murder victims at two
She contemplated the answer as she picked through the separate scenes been killed elsewhere and dumped, they
building’s smoldering remains. When she stumbled across a both possess matchbooks from the same bar.
charred wooden stake, she knew something was not as it
seemed. Examining a Crime Scene
Investigation is the art and science of solving myster- Dice Pool: Wits + Investigation + equipment
ies, examining seemingly disparate evidence to find a con- Action: Extended (3-10+ successes; one roll repre-
nection, answering riddles and overcoming paradoxes. It sents 10 minutes of activity)
not only allows your character to get into the head of a Examining a crime scene involves studying evidence
killer to grasp his motives or plans, it allows her to look and clues to piece together useful facts about events, per-
beyond the mundane world to guess at answers to myste- petrators or a mystery. Roll Wits + Investigation. Each
rious problems, or to have a “eureka” moment that offers roll represents 10 minutes of observation and interpreta-
insight into baffling circumstances. Your character might tion, and possibly referencing databases and calling ex-
realize that all murder victims have the same digits jumbled pert witnesses. Depending on the size of the crime scene
in their phone numbers, she might interpret a dream that and the complexity and obscurity of details, the task could
has striking similarities to events in the real world, or she demand anywhere from three to 10 successes (or more)
could recognize why an intruder took the time to paint a for your character to make sense of things.
room red. Certain individuals such as law-enforcement Unlike many tasks, this isn’t an all-or-nothing effort.
officers, forensic specialists, scientists and investigators are If your character has to abandon the project before it’s
trained in the art of examination, while others simply completed, he may still come away with some useful in-
develop the knack through years of practice. formation depending on the number of successes earned.
Note that Investigation is different from the percep- The Storyteller should share information each time a roll
tion Attribute task detailed on p. 45. Perception (Wits + yields a success, starting with the most obvious facts and
Composure or Wits + another Skill) is typically checked revealing increasingly obscure bits as the investigation
when a character could spot something unusual or amiss continues. At no time should the player know how many
when she isn’t actually looking for it. Investigation-based successes are needed to complete the analysis — he should
rolls are typically made when a character actively studies a always wonder whether his character should invest a little
situation. Dots in Investigation don’t give a character sud- more time and dig deeper. Storytellers may choose to make
den insight or capability in the realms of other Skills, how- these rolls for players in secret to add uncertainty and sus-
ever. She can’t miraculously identify changing brushstrokes pense.
in a painting, for example. That would be the realm of Example: Janet is called to the scene of a murder at a
Academics or Crafts. But she might identify how the place- local park. Taking stock of the situation, she studies the area
ment of paintings throughout a house creates a pattern around the body to try and piece together what happened.
and imparts a message. The Storyteller decides that it takes eight successes to gather
Possessed by: Criminals, doctors, forensic examin- all the clues available. Janet’s Wits is 3 and her Investigation
ers, police officers, scientists, scholars, soldiers is 2. The first roll is 5,6,7,8,9. With two successes, Janet
Specialties: Artifacts, Body Language, Crime Scenes, has gathered a quarter of the information available. The
Cryptography, Dreams, Autopsy Diagnoses, Puzzles, Storyteller reveals that the victim died due to massive blood
Riddles, Scientific Experiments loss, but there are no bloodstains around the corpse. At this
point, Janet can continue to investigate or decide that she’s
Roll Results seen enough and move on.
Dramatic Failure: Your character studies an indi-
vidual or situation and draws an incorrect conclusion or Roll Results
focuses on the wrong details. Dramatic Failure: Your character draws incorrect
Failure: Your character fails to notice the details or conclusions from the information she gathers.
information for which she searches. It might be right un- Failure: Your character uncovers no useful informa-
der her nose but she overlooks it. tion.
Success: Your character studies the situation or prob- Success: Your character uncovers useful information,
lem and finds useful details that answer her questions. A but is that all there is to learn?
single success might be sufficient to solve a simple puzzle, Exceptional Success: Your character gains a wealth
of useful information from a few minutes’ careful study.

59
MENTAL SKILLS- INVESTIGATION