Keeping an eye on suspects or tracking the moves of potential enemies is a crucial part of the modern adventurer's job.
This device, easily concealed in the palm of one hand, emits digital tones that convince the phone system to make a long-distance connection free of charge. They also let a user "bounce" a call through multiple switches, making the call harder to trace (the DC of any
Computer Use check to trace the call is increased by 5).
When a phone line contains a
caller ID defeater, phones attempting to connect with that line show up as "anonymous" or "unavailable" on a caller ID unit. Such a call can still be traced as normal, however.
About the size of a small
briefcase, a
cellular interceptor can detect and monitor a
cell phone conversation within a 5-mile area by listening in on the cellular
service's own transmitters. Intercepting the calls of a particular
cell phone requires a
Computer Use check (DC 35); if the user knows the phone number of the phone in question, the DC drops by 10. Obviously, the phone must be in use for someone to intercept the call. A
cellular interceptor cannot be used to intercept regular (ground line) phone connections.
This device resembles an oversized telephone handset with a numeric keypad on the back and wire leads hanging from the bottom. It functions as a portable, reusable telephone line tap. With a Repair check (DC 10), a user can connect to a phone wire and hear any conversation that crosses it. A
lineman's buttset is a common tool for telephone repair personnel.
This handheld device provides a +10 equipment bonus on all Search checks involving metal objects.
Night vision goggles use passive light gathering to improve vision in near-dark conditions. They grant the user the ability to see in darkness, also called darkvision (range 120 ft.)-but because of the restricted field of view and lack of depth perception these goggles provide, they impose a -4 penalty on all Spot and Search checks made by someone wearing them.
Night vision goggles must have at least a little light to operate. A cloudy night provides sufficient ambient light, but a pitch-black cave or a sealed room doesn't. For situations of total darkness, the goggles come with an infrared
illuminator that, when switched on, operates like a standard
flashlight whose light is visible only to the wearer (or anyone else wearing
night vision goggles).
Plug this into a telephone line between the phone and the outlet, and it helps detect if the line is tapped. To detect a tap, make a
Computer Use check (the DC varies according to the type of
telephone tap used; see below). With a success, the
tap detector indicates that a tap is present. It does not indicate the type or location of the tap however. Also, it can't be used to detect a
lineman's buttset.
These devices allow a character to listen to conversations over a particular phone line.
Line Tap: This tap can be attached to a phone line at any point between a phone and the nearest junction box (usually on the street nearby). Installing it requires a Repair check (DC 15). It broadcasts all conversations on the line over a radio frequency that can be picked up by any professional
walkie-talkie. Detecting a line tap by using a
tap detector requires a
Computer Use check (DC 25).
Receiver Tap: This item can be easily slipped into a telephone handset as a Repair check (DC 5). It broadcasts all conversations over a radio frequency that can be picked up by any professional
walkie-talkie. Detecting a receiver tap by using a
tap detector requires a
Computer Use check (DC 15).
Essentially a highly specialized
computer, a line tracer hooked to a phone line can trace phone calls made to that line, even if there's a
caller ID defeater hooked up at the other end. All it takes is time.
Operating a line tracer is a
full-round action requiring a
Computer Use check (DC 10). Success gains one digit of the target phone number, starting with the first number of the area code.