In situations that call for stealth and deception, it is of great value to be able to separate an item into its parts and transport them in their broken down state. A weapon that makes use of the collapsible gadget is easily disassembled and reassembled at a moment's notice. Breaking down a weapon into its individual parts requires a
full-round action, while reassembling them in the correct order requires another
full-round action. Obviously, the
weapons must be fully assembled to be used. In its disassembled state, a weapon is not easily identified; a Knowledge (technology) check (DC 17) is required to identify a collapsed weapon for what it really is.
By eliminating wasted space and using smaller components, some engineers are capable of producing
weapons far smaller than their standard counterparts. Any weapon that makes use of the
compact gadget is one size smaller than normal, to a minimum size of Diminutive.