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Thick as Thieves RP - Equipment : Tools of the Trade
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.
1.) Lockpicking Tools
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 Lockpicking and trap disarming to get an idea on how to pick locks with these tools.
Triangle-toothed lockpick
A metal lockpick with a triangularly shaped, tooth-like tip.
Square-toothed lockpick
A metal lockpick with a squarely shaped, tooth-like tip.
Hooked lockpick
A metal lockpick with a hook-shaped tip.
Half-diamond lockpick
A metal lockpick with a roughly half-diamond shaped tip. It can come in a steep angle variation and a shallow angle variation, as both can be useful for slightly different operations (even on the same lock).
Forked lockpick
A metal lockpick with a vaguely fork-shaped tip.
Snake lockpick
A metal lockpick with a snakingly shaped tip. Also called a “snake rake” lockpick.
“S rake” lockpick
A metal lockpick with a more angularly snaking tip, in the manner of the real world letter “S”.
Long double-ended 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.
Double-round lockpick
A metal lockpick with a rounding tip, roughly in the outside shape of the real world number “8”.
Flat lockpick
A metal lockpick with a flattened, somewhat screwdriver-like tip.
Pointy lockpick
A metal lockpick with a simple, gradually tapering, needle-like tip.
Skeleton key
Part-key, part-lockpick ? Hard to say, but this simple device (also known popularly as a “passing key” or “passingkey”) can nevertheless come in very handy a lot of times. On a purely functional level, it's a key that can open any door. Well, that's a charitable assessment… Let's just say that, more accurately, it should be able to open most doors.
Listening cup
It's one of the oldest tricks in the safecracking or eavesdropping book: Grab a tumbler or a cup, put it bottom next to a safe door and start turning the dial to figure out the combination (or if that fails and the safe is pickable, try it with a lockpick). Now, obviously, a tool like this can be any old cup. However, the maestros of burglary and heists tend to use prefabricated ones, purpose-built to enhance sound waves as best as possible. This particular model of listening cup is based on a popular design widespread among thieves all around Aporue. It is easy to carry and conceal, and also very easy to reproduce in even the humblest-equipped workshops. If you buy one with a basic set of cheap lockpicks, it can be a real bargain.
Stetoscope
Many veteran safecrackers will scoff at the mere thought of hauling along such a new-fangled, if still space-saving gadget. “You whippersnappers ! Back in my day, we had our ears, or our cups at most, and didn't need all this expensive foppery !” Stetoscopes are not particularly hard to manufacture devices, but require some more modern materials and tend to be quite expensive (still being a relatively new invention in Aporue). Then again, as you work in the world of thieving, what's to stop you or someone else from nabbing it from a doctor's workplace or a clinic's supply storage ?
Keyring
It might not seem like much, but a simple keyring can be a very helpful aid if you run into a situation where you need to carry several keys (including skeleton keys) and want to avoid losing them. Naturally, professional burglars tend to modify their keyrings by enveloping them in cushioned material, preventing the keys from potentially catastrophic jingling. Some thieves have a habit of carrying two keyrings while on heists - one for the keys they already brought along for the operation, and another for the keys they might temporarily acquire while exploring the establishment they've decided to rob clean. (Savvy types tend to return these keys to their place before they leave, in order to lenghthen the amount of time until the guards or employees notice some suspicious changes to the environment.)
Lockpick pouch
Like the keyring, this is simply a little something to help carry lockpicks around. Picking locks requires a clockmaker's precision and patience, so they deserve an adequate little case of their own, right ? The better-made (and therefore usually more expensive) lockpick pouches tend to have separate little compartments, in order to avoid the lockpicks accidentally jingling and clicking against each other. You can blame thieves for many things, but you can't really blame them for not being paranoid enough…
2.) Exploration Tools
Thieving is not just about sneaking around, picking locks and avoiding security. A good thief always minds his surroundings, looks as hard as possible for anything he or she could benefit from, and is almost stupidly well-prepared for some unexpected hurdles and small-scale threats along the way.
Pocket compass
TBA.
Magnifying monocle
TBA.
Magnifying glass
TBA.
Foldable spyglass
TBA.
Tinderbox (firestriker included)
TBA.
Friction matches
TBA.
Safety matches
TBA.
Glasscutter kit
TBA.
Paraffin torch
TBA.
Candle lantern
TBA.
Oil lantern
TBA.
Paraffin lantern
TBA.
Spirit lamp
TBA.
Electric cell torch
TBA.
Rebreather device
TBA.
Protective gasmask
TBA.
3.) Special arrows and projectiles
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.
Manual grappling hook
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
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 of carrying.
Stealthiness: TBA.
Grappling bolt
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
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
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 arrow/bolt 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
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
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:
4.) Decoys and defensive tools
“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.
Small mundane items
Improvised, potential noisemaking decoys. Things like coins, pieces of wood, small metal rods, old pottery or glassware, metal candlesticks, or even kids' rattles… Not tools per se, but can be used as such with a bit of ingenuity and the right constellation of opportunities.
Ruckus lure
A purpose-built noisemaking decoy. Uses much of the same mechanical innards as its projectile cousin, the ruckus arrow. You can throw it in a room or space, or roll it on a flat, smooth floor of a corridor.
Impediment wedge
A mechanical door wedge that can only be unlocked by the player character once deployed. It serves to block off possible entrance routes, especially if there is a threat of the player being pursued. A player character can only carry a limited number of these.
Impediment lock
A mechanical warded padlock that can only be unlocked by the player character once deployed. It serves to block off possible entrance routes, especially if there is a threat of the player being pursued. A player character can only carry a limited number of these.
Smokebomb
Part defensive tool, part trick explosive. See main article. A player character can only carry a limited number of these.
Gasbomb
Part defensive tool, part trick explosive. See main article. A player character can only carry a limited number of these.
Flashbomb
Part defensive tool, part trick explosive. See main article. A player character can only carry a limited number of these.
Smokemine
Part deployable trap, part trick explosive. See main article. A player character can only carry a limited number of these.
Gasmine
Part deployable trap, part trick explosive. See main article. A player character can only carry a limited number of these.
Flashmine
Part deployable trap, part trick explosive. See main article. A player character can only carry a limited number of these.
Source
(Last modified 30th September 2014 1:42 AM.)
(Last modified 5th January 2015 12:13 AM and 5th January 2015 3:54 AM.)