Use this thread to discuss what your characters did in the d20 Fusion game.
CPI Taskforce
The Criminal Paranormal Incident Taskforce is a group of British Police Officers and consultant experts collected from disparate Constabularies and academic institutions to respond to suspected paranormal crimes.
Purpose:
To be a dedicated Taskforce for the policing of paranormal crimes, to centralise said policing in the interests of preventing unofficial information flow, and to increase knowledge and expertise in this growing field
Scope:
The investigation of crimes with suspected paranormal connection, origins and or perpetrators

Public knowledge of CPI cases will be minimised to avoid panic and culture-shock.
The CPI Taskforce is a police organisation, concerned with upholding the law and protecting the public. CPI does not answer to central government and is not politically motivated.

Headquarters:
Central London converted townhouse near South Bank. Incorporating the lab, holding cells, special holding cells, garage / workshop.
DCI (Field) John Salmon [sar'nt major type, grizzled, iron-grey hair, no-nonsense]
DCI (Support) Dr Monty Robinson-Craddock [plump, bespectacled, eccentric, beardy, lecherous]
DSI Asha Marks [slim, brown, crew cut, cold]
Cmdr Sir Charles “Charlie” Castle [big moustache, grey hair, chunky, bluff]
Divisions:
Field (investigation and arrest officers)
Support (research, lab and technical officers)
Blanket (public diversions and cover-up)

But we don't even have characters yet!

Well, I'll be in the shop today, working on characters, if you want to drop in.
It'll cut down the start up time at the first session.

Here are a couple of house rules I've bolted together to allow the purchase of cheap and unreliable equipment.

Wealth: replenishment house rule
Wealth bonuses replenish at one point per day while the character remains regularly employed.

Equipment: Cheap and Second Hand

Basic versions
Basic versions of consumer electronics, (-2 equipment penalty on associated checks) can be purchased at the listed DC - 1.

Upkeep and Maintenance
Computers and associated equipment (including PDAs, Modems, Printers and Scanners) degrade each year of game time – a -1 equipment penalty per year applies to check on a computer over 1 year old (to a maximum penalty of -5). Maintaining a computer (installing latest software, swapping out older components, etc) counteracts this degradation, and has a purchase DC of 1 + one half of the listed computer’s purchase DC. Once a computer or associated item has degraded by 2 points, it is considered “Second-hand” (see below).

Second-hand Items
Second-hand items can be bought at the listed purchase DC – ¼ of the DC (rounded up, with a minimum DC of 1). Second hand items are older, less robust and often unreliable.
All checks with second-hand items are subject to a -2 equipment penalty. Hit points are reduced by 10% (rounding up). Hardness and saves are reduced by 1. Top speed is reduced by 10%.
Any check associated with a second-hand item may result in a failure. The mechanic to resolve this works similarly to a Critical Hit.
If the check result is a 1 on the die, the equipment may have failed to work, and may have broken. Roll the check again with all the same modifiers to confirm the failure. If the confirming skill check is a success, the equipment is not at fault, the character simply failed their check. Any subsequent checks are made as normal.
However, if the confirming skill check is not a success, the equipment has failed to work (a mechanism is jammed, a catch cannot be opened, the engine has stalled, a keyboard has failed to respond) and a move action must be used to try again.
If the “try again” skill check results in a roll of 1 on the die, confirm the failure again as above – however, an equipment failure at this stage means that the equipment is broken and requires a Repair or Computer Use or appropriate Craft check (DC15) as a full round action to fix.
A success on the confirmation check of a “try again” failure means that another check may be made to try the equipment again (as a move action).

Scrap-heap Items
Scrap-heap items may be bought at the listed purchase DC – ¾ of the DC (rounded up, to a minimum DC of 1). Scrap-heap items are rusty, nearly broken and prone to failure.
All checks with scrap-heap items are subject to a -4 equipment penalty. Hit points are reduced by half (rounding up). Hardness and saves are reduced by 2. Top speed is reduced by 15%.
Any check associated with a scrap-heap item may result in an equipment failure. If the check result is 10 or more less than the DC of the attempted task, or a 1 on the die, the equipment has failed to work, and may be broken. Roll the check again with all the same modifiers to confirm the failure. If the confirming skill check is a success, the equipment is not permanently damaged, but has failed to work (a mechanism is jammed, a catch cannot be opened, the engine has stalled, a keyboard has failed to respond). A move action must be used to try again.
If the confirming skill check is a failure, the equipment is broken and requires a Repair or Computer Use or appropriate Craft check (DC15) as a full round action to fix.
If the “try again” skill check results in a roll of 1 on the die, confirm the failure again as above. If the confirming check on a “try again” fails the original DC, then the equipment is broken and damaged, taking 1d4 per size category (starting from Small). This damage must be repaired before the equipment can be used again.

Fixing used items
Second-hand and Scrap-heap items may be repaired into a more reliable state. To fix an item from Scrap-heap to Second-hand quality (or a Second-hand item to be as reliable as new) requires 1d4 Repair (or appropriate Craft) checks of DC20 (Complex checks), each taking at least one hour, and requiring spare parts with a purchase DC of 5. A Scrap-heap item must first be fixed to Second-hand quality before attempting to make it as new.


NOTE: These house rules are on trial - if they work, we'll keep them; if they're broken, we'll ditch them. My intent is to allow characters to buy cheap and shoddy goods at reduced DCs, as some of the DCs listed by the RAW* mean you'll never be likely to own a Ford Fiesta.
Feel free to comment if you can see a glaring hole in my text or intent.

----
*RAW = Rules As Written. Leads to the gamers' exclamation: "By the RAW!"

Added a description of CPI to the first post for you.

The only thing that I would mention here, and far be it from me to turn down free money, but with my current wealth (14) it would take 13 days of employment for a Black Hawk helicopter to be within my grasp - I would have to make a natural 20 (or take 20) to do so but then after only 33 days I could buy one without a check (plus 3 days for a black market purchase)

Unless - and I guess this is what you may do - time spent with the CPI is not regular employment?

What strikes me as slightly ridiculous with the RAW is that a laptop is DC23 but a Honda TRX400FW 4-wheel STV is also DC23. Obviously the DC isn't referring just to the cost of an item but to how much effort it is to get hold of one but I still think that getting hold of a laptop would take considerably less of both money and time than a 4-wheel ATV to get hold of.

I might be getting confused here, but I was thinking that rule actually means that spent wealth points replenish at one point per day - ie it would only go back up to your original total?
I didn't read that as a rule to allow us to gain one new wealth point a day, going above the character's original total. If Pete and I both read it differently, then maybe Alastair needs to clarify it a bit?

You know - that makes a lot more sense than the way I first read it. and it fits nicely with the wealth abstract - if you have spent outside your means (i.e. bought an item way above your wealth, maybe by taking a loan or maxing a credit card) it takes a little time to get back to your previous spending power.

I agree and I am sure that is what is meant. good to have wishful thinking though. It was pointed out to me that these rules are quite a few years old now and the cost of acquiring technology changes rapidly hence laptops historically being expensive but now are 10 a penny! Hence the rule deviations methinks.........still cant afford a Harley Davidson....PAH!!!!

If your wealth is 6 or over you can. Just take 20 on your check and you can make it - but you will lose 2d6+1 points of your wealth bonus.

You can get a rubbish old Harley off the scrap heap and fix it up...

Yes - it's spent wealth points.
You can't "replenish" something that is already full, see.

BTW, taking 20 on the roll for any Wealth check takes 20 times as long, and purchases are already 1 hour per points of the DC.
That Black Hawk, even if you had the Wealth bonus to buy it, would take 1000 hours of bargaining and researching black marketeers...

I blame the stifling heat of my office for my inability to understand the replenishment rule.

As for 1000 hours of buying time - it might be worth it for my very own Black Hawk

Ahem. Can i just clarify......there is no such thing as a 'rubbish' Harley. Outrageous. An old Harley just matures!!!!