Subplot Design Tables: Equipment

The equipment subplot tool is used to add a realistic technological element to the game. After all in real life not everything turn out as we except. Technology is no different; maybe you could not get the crucial spare part you needed to get your gear in working order. Maybe you did get that piece of equipment, but it is faulty, whatever the nature of the subplot it could be used as the motivation needed to take the game into a new direction. After all if your targeting computer goes on the blink in the middle of a combat situation, you might need to infiltrate and enemy base and steal a replacement.

Poor Maintenance: Your equipment has been improperly maintained and has suffered damage as a result. While the affected equipment still functions, its proficiency is severely reduced. Any system linked or that relies of the equipment functions at half its normal efficiency level. You must procure replacement parts and have time to correct the problem before you enter a dangerous situation where the equipment could cost lives.

Faulty Ammunition: Your ammunition supply is faulty. The rounds are duds or have been mistakenly switched with training rounds or non-lethal crowd control rubber bullets. You guns are firing plastic pellets and your missiles are flares, smoke canisters and phosphorus chalk warheads. You will have to rely on your other skills to get you out of any bad situations until you have the opportunity to rearm your weapons with a new ammunition supply.

Low Priority: You specifically, or your team has been given a low priority for equipment. Thus you are sent into the field with the minimum of equipment. But the mission you find yourself in requires more equipment then you have. You must think quickly, making the best of the equipment you have. Or perhaps to make up for the lack of equipment you decide to borrow some from you enemy. They will never miss an Exo or two, and what’s a few rockets between enemies.

Bad Intelligence: You walk into a situation completely unprepared because your intelligence was very wrong. You are outgunned, outnumber and outclassed. You must think quickly to survive the situation. Instead of numerical superiority you are going to have to rely on guile and cunning to survive. If you make it back you are going to have a long and very painful talk to the intelligence boys back at HQ.

Malfunction: Your equipment malfunctions at a critical moment. A weapon does not fire, a sensor misreads a target or an engine quits at the worst possible moment. In the case of weapons the melee action is wasted, sensors ma misread a friend-or-foe signal (F-O-F) allowing you to let an enemy escape of accidentally fire on a friendly target. Whatever the malfunction it has consequences; they may be small incontinences or major disasters. You must repair the malfunction ASAP, or risk endangering you and your team again.

Sabotage: Your equipment has been sabotaged! During some point in the campaign your Exo, car, plane, computer, etc was intentionally sabotaged. Not only are you going to need to find replacement parts to fix the thing, but also now you have a saboteur to deal with. Was it a one-time event by an enemy agent working the area, or do you have a traitor/double agent in your midst? From now on you are going to have to be very careful of your teammates, one of them may be the enemy. To settle things down you may chose to track the saboteur down or ferret out the mole. Or maybe you chose to let this incident slip in the hope the saboteur strikes again and you can catch them read handed.