Page 240 - Hunter - The Vigil

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swabs, tweezers to avoid fingerprinting samples,

TRACING BACK white cloths for contrast, a large magnifier, a la-

ser pointer (often used for tracing the trajectory

A character who uses any computer to of shots), a powerful flashlight and, quite likely,
make an Internet-related extended roll a digital camera. As opposed to forensics equip-
may fi nd herself traced. Most computer ment, a crime-scene kit is used by the detectives or
users are never traced, or if they do, scientists on the scene. The kit has to help them

it’s only by software that wants their find and isolate evidence for later processing by
bank details or shopping habits. A hunter, a forensics lab, and provides clues enough that a
on the other hand, can fi nd herself with good detective knows in broad strokes what’s hap-
powerful enemies. A dramatic failure when pened before the lab gets back to him.
researching a particular monster online may More expensive kits also include a broad-
bring that monster’s attentions on her. If spectrum lamp that shines into the ultraviolet and
she is canny, uses different access points infrared spectrums as well as visible light, which

or uses a proxy server (common practice makes it easier to see trace amounts of reflective
for hunters with Computer 3 or more), she substances, from semen to soundproof paint. The
stands more of a chance of staying safe. lamp also increases contrast, making it easier to
The monster may not know how to use see depressions in carpet or scratches in a wooden

computers, but he may well have minions floor — assuming the detective isn’t checking the
who can. If so, they must pit their Wits + room after a forensics team has trampled over
Computer in an extended roll. A minion must the carpet. These kits are correspondingly pricy
acquire a number of successes equal to the (•••), and usually only serve to point out things
hunter’s Intelligence + Computer, taking 10 that forensics teams will fi nd later.
minutes per roll — and can only make one roll A crime-scene kit adds two dice to all rolls to
for each roll the hunter made in the course examine a crime scene (World of Darkness Rule-
of her research. If he rolls a dramatic book, p. 59). The more expensive light points out
failure, he gets the wrong location. If things that a normal kit couldn’t (a +3 bonus),

the extended roll is a success, the minion and if the detective is the first one on the scene,
knows enough to trace the hunter back to a his roll becomes 9-again.
region — a specifi c town or city — when that
hunter next makes an extended roll online. Cryptography
On an exceptional success, he knows where Cost •• to •••••
the hunter’s computer is. Codes and ciphers can be a hunter’s best
friend. While a monster may infiltrate an online

community, if all the juicy data is encrypted, the
rolls when she’s at her own desktop. A machine that adds +2 to creature gets nothing of any use. Conversely, a hunter who
Computer and Research rolls and that can host a web site is more intercepts a secret message — be it email, a letter, or tattoo
expensive (•••), and a powerful machine with a wide range of on the skull of a messenger — stands a much better chance of
software adds +3 to applicable rolls but costs ••••. A hunter can stopping the monster if he knows what it says.
also pull up information useful for all other Mental Skills, though A character has two ways of encoding a message. Ci-
rather than providing a bonus using a computer in this way drops phers, formally known as cryptosystems, transform a message
the penalty for unskilled use of a Mental skill to -1.
into another form, from Caesar’s simple alphabetic cipher,
which maps A to N and Z to M, to the key-based Vigenère,
Investigations to current computer cryptography. Code words, on the other
All manner of tools are useful in an investigation. hand, are innocuous-sounding phrases that mean something
Whether a hunter needs to crack the code of an ancient different to people “in the know,” such as a nurse paging Dr.
vampire’s diary or listen in on a pack of werewolves plotting Brown to summon security when dealing with a violent pa-
their latest rampage, she’ll be better off with tools to help her. tient. The former can be broken without inside knowledge;
Most surveillance and investigation equipment add dice to the latter can only be guessed at.
Investigation rolls, while others give a character capabilities Ciphers count as a kind of “negative equipment” when it
he wouldn’t have otherwise. comes to uncovering the underlying message. Cracking cryp-
tography requires an Intelligence + Investigation roll. A simple
Crime-Scene Kit homespun code such as a Caesar cipher (no Cost) subtracts one
Durability 2, Size 3, Structure 2, Cost •• to ••• die, standard computer cryptography programs (•••) give a -2
Most fans of detective shows know a crime-scene kit. modifier, and top-of-the-line military technology (•••••) re-

In addition to latex gloves and Ziploc bags, this briefcase- moves three dice from the attacker’s attempt — and can’t be
sized kit (••) includes clear tape to take fingerprints, cotton cracked without time and powerful computers. Codes require

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