It says in the Brick that you can bring technology in trait by trait. That’s cool, I like it… you trade taking more story resources (time, scenes) to build your Dread Hammer in exchange for doing in on a shoestring Resources budget. I like. Now. If something already has a trait, can you improve that trait with a resources roll? For example, say you have a Bullet Bike.
Bullet Bike
Type: Atmospheric Vehicle (Pilot)
Capacity: pilot only
Tech Index: Low index and higher
Tech Resources Ob 4
Profile -1
Integrity 4
Control 2D
Signals none
Sensors none
Ordnance none
Vehicular Speed Atmospheric 7
Security none
Structural Tolerances: Surface, H5. Breach, H8. Damaged, H11. Destroyed, H13.Agile: +1D to Control (for a total of 2D)
(Skill Advantage, second die, +2 pts)
Light and responsive, the Bullet Bike is one of the most agile vehicles available.Small target: +1 Ob to enemy Sensors rolls
(Obstacle Limitation to enemy, +2 pts)
The Bullet Bike is large enough to show up on Sensors, but just barely: A regular grav sled or even a suit of Iron has a much larger mass and energy signature.No Sensors tools (-4 points)
Room for one (-1 pt)
Not a kilo to spare (-1 pt)Derived from Grav Sled (p. 553}
Designed by Mike [last name here] and Sydney Freedberg
It has no security trait, but you’re leaving it in a rough part of town, so you remember you installed an electronic lock last week. You make an Ob 3 Resources test, and your bike now has Ob 2 to Security Rigging tests. Wunderbar.
But!
What if you’re in a race, and you know your opponent has Atmospheric Speed 8? Can you improve your Atmospheric Speed trait to 9? Would it be an Ob 4 test, since you’re adding 2D to an existing trait? Would it count as buying a new atmospheric speed trait at 2D, which would be Ob 8? Or would you need to buy the whole Atmospheric Speed trait from the bottom up, which would be a wopping Ob 14, which is 8 more than buying a new, fast bike.
And does the dice cap on buying traits for technology (no more than 3 dice can be included in a Low Index tech trait) count for each trait, or for each purchase of a trait? I’m thinking the former, because otherwise someone could, after a few Building Scenes, have a cell phone that granted +7 D on Circles tests