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--- shared_worlds:thick_as_thieves_tools [2015/07/15 19:16] – [Thick as Thieves RP - Equipment : Tools of the Trade] Petike
+++ shared_worlds:thick_as_thieves_tools [2020/05/25 19:02] (current) – [1.) Lockpicking Tools] petike
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ===== Thick as Thieves RP - Equipment : Tools of the Trade =====
-Essential equipment for committing professional thieving, burglary and heists.\\
+Essential equipment for committing professional thieving, burglary and heists.
 More than any other tools and far more than any sort of weapon, these objects will be the ones you'll be using the most during your thievy endeavours throughout Melza and beyond.
+They come in varied and seemingly disparate categories, but you'll quickly and easily make sense of them. Underestimate any of these items only at your own risk. Use them as best as you can, to your own advantage. From the humblest of tools to impressive and rare gadgets, there is plenty to choose from when deciding about tactics unrelated to your own physical and mental skills as a professional pilferer.
+Remember: Sometimes, you will have no better allies than the tools you carry.
 ----
@@ Line 11: / Line 15: @@
 Tools used to pick locks and open up otherwise inaccessible routes, to crack open safes and gain well-protected valuables, or to disarm traps that might have been laid out in anticipation of a thief like you. As you can see from the following list, there are quite a few types of lockpicks (and added lockpicking accessories). However, the crucial thing to remember is that virtually no lock will ever need to be picked by all of these. See [[thick as thieves lock-n-trap|Lockpicking and trap disarming]] to get an idea on how to pick locks with these tools.
-**Triangle-toothed lockpick**\\
+**Triangular lockpick**\\
 A metal lockpick with a triangularly shaped, tooth-like tip.
-**Square-toothed lockpick**\\
+**Square lockpick**\\
 A metal lockpick with a squarely shaped, tooth-like tip.
 **Hooked lockpick**\\
-A metal lockpick with a hook-shaped tip.
+A metal lockpick with a more slender, hook-shaped tip.
+**Crooked lockpick**\\
+A metal lockpick with a broader, more crooked-shaped tip.
 **Half-diamond lockpick**\\
@@ Line 27: / Line 34: @@
 **Snake lockpick**\\
-A metal lockpick with a snakingly shaped tip. Also called a "snake rake" lockpick.
+A metal lockpick with a snakingly shaped tip.
-**"S rake" lockpick**\\
+**Snake rake lockpick**\\
 A metal lockpick with a more angularly snaking tip, in the manner of the real world letter "S".
-**Long double-ended lockpick**\\
+**Bolt rake lockpick**\\
-A metal lockpick with a lenghthier shaft and a somewhat lightning bolt shaped tip, broader and more robust than either the snake or S rake lockpick tips.
+A metal lockpick with a lenghthier shaft and a somewhat lightning bolt shaped tip, broader and more robust than either the snake lockpick or snake rake lockpick tips.
-**Double-round lockpick**\\
+**Clover lockpick**\\
 A metal lockpick with a rounding tip, roughly in the outside shape of the real world number "8".
@@ Line 125: / Line 132: @@
 Sometimes, the ordinary, combat-oriented ammunition is just not enough to solve your dilemmas (whether those issues are related to snooping around, trying to overcome seemingly impossible obstacles, or just defending yourself and others). In such cases, some special or downright peculiar projectiles can come into play... And believe it or not, they might get you out of many of the trickiest situations you could imagine.
-NOTE: Other than a single exception, all of these devices are exclusively weapon-deployed/weapon-fired.
+__NOTE:__ Other than a single exception, all of these devices are exclusively weapon-deployed/weapon-fired.
 **Manual grappling hook**\\
-A hand-launched tool for climbing on vertical surfaces, such as walls and cliffs. Its mechanism allows it to anchor safely behind wall balustrades, or to anchor into hard surfaces.\\
+__Description:__ A hand-launched tool for climbing on vertical surfaces, such as walls and cliffs. Its mechanism allows it to anchor safely behind wall balustrades, or to anchor into hard surfaces.\\
+__Advantages:__ Allows the climbing/scaling of obstacles and can help create vertical access to locations that would be otherwise inaccessible.\\
+__Drawbacks:__ Cannot be launched from a weapon and cannot anchor itself into soft surfaces or objects. Can be harder to store, even when one brings along a smaller type. Requires good throwing skills.\\
+__Stealthiness:__ TBA.\\
 **Grappling hook**\\
-A crossbow-launched or speargun-launched tool for climbing on vertical surfaces, such as walls and cliffs. Its mechanism allows it to anchor safely behind wall balustrades, or to anchor into hard surfaces. The grappling hook cannot be fired from a bow or a firearm.\\
+__Description:__ A crossbow-launched or speargun-launched tool for climbing on vertical surfaces, such as walls and cliffs. Its mechanism allows it to anchor safely behind wall balustrades, or to anchor into hard surfaces.\\
+__Advantages:__ Allows the climbing/scaling of obstacles and can help create vertical access to locations that would be otherwise inaccessible.\\
+__Drawbacks:__ The grappling hook cannot be fired from a bow or a firearm, and cannot anchor itself into soft surfaces or objects. It requires a quiver or similar arrowbag for concealment and easy carrying.\\
+__Stealthiness:__ TBA.\\
 **Grappling bolt**\\
-A crossbow-launched or speargun-launched tool for climbing vertically. Its mechanism allows it to anchor safely into soft surfaces only (e.g. wood, earth, etc.). The grappling bolt cannot be fired from a bow or a firearm.\\
+__Description:__ A crossbow-launched or speargun-launched tool for vertical climbing. Its mechanism allows it to anchor safely into soft surfaces only (e.g. wood, earth, etc.). \\
+__Advantages:__ Allows the climbing/scaling of obstacles and can help create vertical access to locations that would be otherwise inaccessible.\\
+__Drawbacks:__ The grappling bolt cannot be fired from a bow or a firearm, and cannot anchor itself into hard surfaces or around objects. It requires a quiver or similar arrowbag for concealment and easy carrying.\\
+__Stealthiness:__ TBA.\\
 **Dousing arrow / Dousing bolt**\\
-A bow or crossbow launched projectile with a special arrowhead designed to spread water or a potent liquid for dousing open-air fires. This makes it an invaluable tool for raising the amount of darkness during night time, for the sake of stealthing. Camp fires, fireplaces, torches, braziers and other unshielded fire sources can all be put out with the help of this tool. The filling of the arrowhead in the majority of cases if water, as it's cheap and available literally everywhere. However, Aporuean alchemists have also developed a special liquid solution that increases the probability of a successful dousing. The downside is that this type of filling is much more rare and costs quite a hefty price, so only thieves with the best income tend to use it on a more regular basis. There is also a third supposed filling for dousing projectiles, but its existence remains anecdotal at best: Some say you can fill the arrowhead with holy water and then weaponise the arrowhead against undead monsters. Many are very skeptical of this claim, to say the least. Shafts of dousing arrows and bolts are retrievable, but arrowheads need replacing and refilling once used, since they completely shatter on impact and thus get destroyed. Due to their liquid contents, dousing arrows or bolts can't fly particularly far, even with tiny counterweights built into the other end of the shaft, near the fletching. The person shooting them needs to compensate for gravity and the arrow's or bolt's arcing. A generally recommended trick is to aim the arrow or bolt in such a way that it will impact and shatter slightly above the source of fire, instead of directly in it. This helps create a small shower, in which gravity does the rest, and increases the likelihood of the fire being put out.\\
+__Description:__ A bow or crossbow launched projectile with a special arrowhead designed to spread water or a potent liquid for dousing open-air fires. The filling of the arrowhead in the majority of cases is simply water, as it's cheap and available literally everywhere. However, Aporuean alchemists have also developed a special liquid solution that increases the probability of a successful dousing. \\
+__Advantages:__ It's capability at dousing fires makes it an invaluable tool for raising the amount of darkness during night time, for the sake of stealthing. Camp fires, fireplaces, torches, braziers and other unshielded fire sources can all be put out with the help of this tool. Shafts of dousing arrows and bolts are retrievable. Dousing arrows filled with the special solution put out fires even better and more decisively than dousing arrows filled only with water.\\
+__Drawbacks:__ Shafts of dousing arrows and bolts are retrievable, but arrowheads need replacing and refilling once used, since they completely shatter on impact and thus get destroyed. Due to the weight of their liquid contents, dousing arrows or bolts can't fly particularly far, even with tiny counterweights built into the other end of the shaft, near the fletching. The person shooting them needs to compensate for gravity and the arrow's or bolt's arcing. The downsides to the use of the special solution as a filling for the dousing arrow are that it's much more rare and costs quite a hefty price. Only thieves with the best income tend to use the special solution filling on a more regular basis. Most have to settle for water-filled dousing arrows, as those are a lot more cheaper. \\
+__Stealthiness:__ TBA.\\
+__Usage tip:__  A generally recommended trick is to aim the arrow or bolt in such a way that it will impact and shatter slightly above the source of fire, instead of directly in it. This helps create a small shower, in which gravity does the rest, and increases the likelihood of the fire being put out.\\
+__Trivia:__ Supposedly, there is also a third filling for dousing projectiles. However, its existence remains anecdotal at best. Rumours say the secret of this filling is odd but simple. You can fill the arrowhead with holy water and then weaponise the arrowhead against undead monsters. Naturally, many who have heard of this claim are very skeptical of it, to say the least. \\
 **Knockout arrow / Knockout bolt**\\
-A bow or crossbow launched projectile with a special arrowhead that is functionally similar to the Gasbomb (see below). Like the Gasbomb, the primary role of the knockout arrow or bolt is to create a cloud of gas that will non-lethally incapacitate an enemy. The small mechanical arrowhead is cylindrical in shape. On it, the usual location of an arrowhead tip is taken up by a flat surface with a large button-like part protruding from it. Once the arrow or bolt impacts into a surface, object or even a person, the button is pressed and sets off a small trigger right beneath it. This trigger activates the main mechanism of the tiny cylinder, opening up the compartment that takes up most of the device, and spraying out a cloud of gas. (Due to the size of the arrowhead, it's always a smaller and more pin-point cloud than that of the Gasbomb.) And, in yet another similarity of the knockout <nowiki>arrow/bolt</nowiki> to the Gasbomb, the compartment in the cylindrical arrowhead can be filled with either knockout gas or sleeping gas. Sadly, as you'd expect, these special incapacitating gases are expensive and you can't buy them just around the corner. This makes knockout arrows or bolts (and Gasbombs and Gasmines) rather rare and fairly prized among professional thieves. Given its lighter weight, the knockout arrow or bolt doesn't need to be as compensated for in terms of arcing as the dousing arrow or bolt. Nevertheless, as the arrowhead is metallic and slightly longer, one needs to bear in mind this isn't a particularly long-distance projectile either. A good feature of the knockout arrow or bolt is its reusability, as you can retrieve the entire projectile, shaft and arrowhead intact. The only downside is that, once emptied, the gas compartment in the arrowhead needs to be refilled first - not something you can do during an ongoing mission.\\
+__Description:__ A bow or crossbow launched projectile with a special arrowhead that is functionally similar to the Gasbomb (see below). Like the Gasbomb, the primary role of the knockout arrow or bolt is to create a cloud of gas that will non-lethally incapacitate an enemy. The small mechanical arrowhead is cylindrical in shape. On it, the usual location of an arrowhead tip is taken up by a flat surface with a large button-like part protruding from it. Once the arrow or bolt impacts into a surface, object or even a person, the button is pressed and sets off a small trigger right beneath it. This trigger activates the main mechanism of the tiny cylinder, opening up the compartment that takes up most of the device, and spraying out a cloud of gas. (Due to the size of the arrowhead, it's always a smaller and more pin-point cloud than that of the Gasbomb.) \\
+__Advantages:__ In another similarity of the knockout <nowiki>arrow/bolt</nowiki> to the Gasbomb, the compartment in the cylindrical arrowhead can be filled with either knockout gas or sleeping gas. A good feature of the knockout arrow or bolt is its reusability, as you can retrieve the entire projectile, with shaft and arrowhead intact. Given its lighter weight, the knockout arrow or bolt doesn't need to be as compensated for in terms of arcing as the dousing arrow or bolt. \\
+__Drawbacks:__ Sadly, as you'd expect, these special incapacitating gases are expensive and you can't buy them just around the corner. This makes knockout arrows or bolts (and Gasbombs and Gasmines) rather rare and fairly prized among professional thieves. Once emptied, the gas compartment in the arrowhead needs to be refilled first - not something you can do during an ongoing mission.Though the arrowhead is reasonably light, it is metallic and slightly longer, one needs to bear in mind this isn't a particularly long-distance projectile either. \\
+__Stealthiness:__\\
 **Ruckus arrow / Ruckus bolt**\\
-A bow or crossbow launched projectile with a special arrowhead that contains a purpose-built noisemaking decoy. Physically, the arrowhead has a similar outward appearance to the arrowhead of the knockout arrow, but some of the outside details and the entirety of the inside differ. Once the button-like tip of the arrowhead hits a solid surface, object, or just makes contact with the ground in a rough way, it activates the noisemaking device's mechanical, clockwork innards. These produce a lot of metallic and rustling sounds of a clacking and clapping nature. The ruckus arrow or bolt are incapable of being semi-weaponised like the knockout arrow or bult, but if shot strategically to a different location, they can often be successful in luring away a potential adversary that is otherwise hard to bypass. A particularly good feature of the knockout arrow or bolt is its full reusability, as you can retrieve the entire projectile, shaft and arrowhead intact. Unlike the knockout arrow or bolt, the ruckus arrow or bolt doesn't need to refill any contents in order to work. Its mechanism only needs to be wound up again and it's ready for immediate reuse. (Some say the first ruckus projectiles made by Aporuean thieves were manufactured from children's wind-up toys...)\\
+__Description:__ A bow or crossbow launched projectile with a special arrowhead that contains a purpose-built noisemaking decoy. Physically, the arrowhead has a similar outward appearance to the arrowhead of the knockout arrow, but some of the outside details and the entirety of the inside differ. Once the button-like tip of the arrowhead hits a solid surface, object, or just makes contact with the ground in a rough way, it activates the noisemaking device's mechanical, clockwork innards. These produce a lot of metallic and rustling sounds of a clacking and clapping nature. \\
+__Drawbacks:__ While not weapons, if shot strategically to a different location, ruckus arrows or bolts can often be successful in luring away a potential adversary that is otherwise hard to bypass. A particularly good feature of the ruckus arrow or bolt is its full reusability, as you can retrieve the entire projectile, with shaft and arrowhead intact. Unlike the knockout arrow or bolt, the ruckus arrow or bolt doesn't need to refill any contents in order to work. Its mechanism only needs to be wound up again and it's ready for immediate reuse. (Some say the first ruckus projectiles made by Aporuean thieves were manufactured from children's wind-up toys...)\\
+__Drawbacks:__ The ruckus arrow or bolt are incapable of being semi-weaponised like the knockout arrow or bolt.\\
+__Stealthiness:__\\
 **Igniting arrow / Igniting bolt**\\
-A bow or crossbow launched projectile with a special arrowhead that is used for igniting fires or even creating small explosive blasts.\\
+__Description:__ Not to be confused with regular fire arrows. A bow or crossbow launched projectile with a special arrowhead that is used for igniting fires or even creating small explosive blasts. This is virtually the only special projectile that has a tangible offensive capability, unlike the more utilitarian and defensive nature of the other projectiles. The appearance and construction of the arrowhead actually tends to vary based on what degree of energy it needs to exert on impact, and even moreso based on what source of power it uses to function. That's right ! The arrowhead can utilise either an alchemical or a mechanical basis. Magic or clockwork-and-chemistry, you choose, you decide... Both of these basic types of arrowheads tend to perform somewhat differently, with the main difference being weight and price. \\
+__Advantages:__ The alchemical version is lighter but more expensive, while the mechanical version is heavier but cheaper. This also leads to some differences in compensating for the arrow drop, with the heavier mechanical arrowhead needing to be compensated for more than the alchemical arrowhead. The degree of energy exerted by an impacting arrowhead depends on the amount of dosage of the igniting or explosive powder in the case of the mechanical arrowhead, or on the amount of raw energy trapped via spells and alchemic equipment in the alchemical arrowhead. \\
+__Drawbacks:__ Igniting arrows and bolts make plenty of noise when they detonate, so one should be extra mindful and careful when and where he uses them. Though the shafts of igniting arrows and bolts are retrievable, the arrowheads need replacing once used, since they completely shatter or explode on impact, and thus get destroyed. The mechanical version of the arrowhead is cheaper but doesn't fly as well as the alchemical version, while the alchemical version flies better than the mechanical version, but is more expensive. The alchemical version also has a tendency to glow in the dark while out of the quiver, creating an inconvenient little light source if not covered.\\
+__Stealthiness:__\\
 ----
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 "Worship your life, not the sword", goes a well-meaning old saying among many professional thieves of Aporue. Keeping stealthy or one step ahead of your potential adversaries is always a good idea. With the advent of the industrial revolution, it is only natural that one would want to utilise some clever newer inventions and gadgetry as a solution to the occassional crisis situation. Caught or detected and in need of a distraction, ruse or somewhat theatrical getaway ? Whenever you feel they might help, apply decoy and defense gadgets with extreme prejudice !
-NOTE: All of these devices are exclusively hand-deployed.
+__NOTE:__ All of these devices are exclusively hand-deployed.
 **Small mundane items**\\
@@ Line 190: / Line 220: @@
 ==== Source ====
-**[[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?p=9699912#post9699912|Equipment and Weaponry]]**
+**[[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/1/post-9699912|Equipment and Weaponry]]**
 (Last modified 30th September 2014 1:42 AM.)
-**[[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?p=10164066#post10164066|Lockpicking discussion 01]]**
+**[[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/1/post-10164066|Lockpicking discussion 01]]**
-**[[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?p=10170257#post10170257|Lockpicking discussion 02]]**
+**[[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/1/post-10170257|Lockpicking discussion 02]]**
 (Last modified 5th January 2015 12:13 AM and 5th January 2015 3:54 AM.)
@@ Line 204: / Line 234: @@
 ==== See Also ====
-**[[thick as thieves combat|Gameplay: Stealth]]**
+**[[thick as thieves stealth|Gameplay: Stealth]]**
 **[[thick as thieves lock-n-trap|Gameplay: Lockpicking and Trap Disarming]]**