I just noticed something with the rules for concealing items, and I can't say I like it. I might have missed something though.


Say someone is trying to walk around with an AK-97 hidden under their sweater without arousing suspiscion (yeah right). This weapon can be discovered in two ways, it can be spotted, or discovered in a pat down search.

Say you try to sneak this past a guard with intuition 3, agility 3 and perception 1.
For spotting the weapon he would roll 10 dice (intuition + perception +6 (concealability modifier)).
For discovering the weapon in a patdown searc he would roll 9 dice (intuition + agility + 3 (half concealablity modifiers on searches)).

For me it doesn't make sense because I can understand that a not too alert guy misses a weapon hidden under a sweater, even if it makes the wearer of the sweater look vaguely AK-shaped. How it is possible to miss an assualt rifle in a search however, escapes me.

So, have I missed something in the rules here? Is there a fix?





And I know the guard doing the search would get a chance to spot the weapon first, before doing the search, but that doesn't change the fact that he has a bigger chance of seeing the hidden AK than feeling it beneath the sweater.

I'd guess they mean x.5 negative modifiers and x1.5 positive modifiers.

During a pat down the weapon should receive no bonus from clothing concealability, relying only on their natural conceal. Clothes might be able to prevent bulging that someone might see, but there is no hiding feeling something the shape and size of an smg. Unless it is very small, they will find everything he is carrying.

"Yo, Trog, how did they miss that AK? I mean, they damn near patted you down all over!"

"They no do full cavity search..."

Trolls getting a universal concealability bonus is an entirely different debate.

That comment reminds me of the Spacious Anus edge/flaw. That was hilarious.

As far as I know, there's no official errata, but I figure there are two ways of fixing it.

1) Only negative modifiers are halved for searches. Positive ones stay the same.
2) The concealability modifier during searches is the original concealability plus the absolute value of half of the concealability. So, in programming terms:

var c = concealability;
cSearch = c + abs(c/2);

So, if concealability = -4, then cSearch = -4 + abs(-4/2) = -4 + 2 = -2

If concealability = +6, then cSearch = 6 + abs(6/2) = 6 + 3 = 9;

That's my fix, anyways.

at the OP:: i believe that you're misreading the rules. during a physical search, concealability modifiers are applied at half their value. that means concealed holsters, deep pockets, etc. only lend half of their benefit, but it by no means infers that an item's concealability rating itself should be halved.

ex. the AK has a concealability rating of +6 [adding dice to any test to detect it] and a loose jacket gives, say, -1. it's modified rating would be +5, but during a physical search, the -1 would be completely nullified due to halving the gear's concealability and then rounding down.

physical searches, in this sense, are more effective than mere perception tests.

Ooh, good point. I hadn't even thought of that.

Though its a little vague, you could rule a character can only roll the opposed Palming + Agility (or agility -1) test to actively hide an item during the perception test and not for a physical patdown on anything other than a "small object" since palming does refer to small objects.

Example:
I could hide a rifle from a guards sight by keeping my front to him and the rifle under the sweater in the back.

But if he pats me down, there isn't any way a rifle (not a small object) could be moved around (under a sweater no less) without him noticing.

However if it was a hold-out pistol, you could palm it for a moment and put it back in your pocket after he patted down that area.

Also perception tests have lots of modifiers on page 117 BBB. Such as your friend distracting said guard with banter for a -2 perception modifier, the distance from the guard, etc. Though cybereyes and the possibility the concealing person looks out of place or is drawing attention could work in the opposite way.

Also another big difference is MAD Scanners to detect weapons (think the wand in the airport). Chances are these are hand held or "walk through" devices mean more for physical searches than a guard watching people entering a building from a balcony.

Basically no matter how you cut it, its pretty damn hard to hide a rifle or panther assault cannon in anyplace but a crowded public with a lined coat and a low low profile.

I agree that in a pat-down the +6 modifier would be halved as well. Touch isn't as dominant a sense as sight is and clothing and body types would get in the way. Plus how thoroughly do you search the trolls crotch exactly? a quick pat or a full grope.

stop looking at a single instance, it gets very annoying (not for me but for whoever is looking at the instance)
you say it should be easier to find a concealed item in a pat down but you say that the +6 for the assault rifle shouldn't be halved...
waht about the -8 for the hold out pistol? if the +6 is not halved then the -8 should not be either...but then you loop the logic because that would make it easier...

I've also applied a bonus to pat down searches if the person doing the pat down has a touch link installed. Granted, there's no rules for what a touch link could give you, but it does say that one "allows for the processing of tactile information (texture, temperature, etc.)" so things that could be missed during a cursory pat down without a touch link might become more obvious with one. 'Course, that's not RAW, it just my attempt to make touch links do something.

I still don't understand Touch Links either. I give them the ability of a set of AR gloves with the added benefit of being like force feedback clothing for AR. But, I still don't understand WTF they do.