7.9 Devices (Int)

The Devices skill represents your ability to to manipulate mechanical devices such as locks, traps, and other contraptions. With enough skill, you can even manipulate magical devices. Each device has a base difficulty value based on its complexity. Some tasks are much easier than others, and modify the difficulty value accordingly.

Many Devices checks require the use of thieves’ tools, which contains items like lockpicks and precision cutting implements. If you do not have a proper set of tools, you may be able to improvise from your surroundings. Generally, this imposes a penalty of at least -5 to the Devices check.

7.9.1 Common Devices Tasks

Activate Device: You can make a Devices check using thieves’ tools to make a device perform a function it was designed to do, even if you lack the normal requirements. For example, you could tie or untie a knot, lock or unlock a lock without its key, or activate a trap without using its normal triggering mechanism (hopefully without being in its line of fire).

Analyze Device: You can make a Devices check to study a device and understand how it functions. The difficulty value to analyze a device is 5 lower than the device’s base difficulty value.

Break Device: You can make a Devices check using thieves’ tools to break a device. The device ceases to function in its intended way, and the sabotage is obvious to an observer. For example, you could jam a lock so it becomes unlocked and can never be locked again. Breaking a trap generally triggers the trap in an unpredictable way, which may be dangerous. The difficulty value to break a device is 2 lower than the device’s base difficulty value.

Create Bindings: You can make a Devices check with a +5 bonus to create bindings from rope or similar materials. Binding a helpless foe in this way generally requires a minute of work, though typing up very large creatures may take longer. The Flexibility difficulty value to escape the binding is equal to your check result.

Improvise: You can make a Devices check to construct ad-hoc devices. This functions like creating the item with a Craft check (see Crafting Items), with two exceptions. First, the item is flimsy, and it breaks after being used once or twice. Second, the time requirement is dramatically reduced. It takes five minutes to make a device of up to Tiny size. You can make a Small device in the time required to make four Tiny devices, a Medium device in the time required to make four Small devices, and so on.

Remove Device: You can make a Devices check using thieves’ tools to fully disable a device and remove it if possible. This can allow you to bypass traps without ever triggering them, and even take them with you if they are small and portable. Magical traps and large-scale physical traps, such as pit traps, are generally not portable. The difficulty value to remove a device is 5 higher than the device’s base difficulty value.