Countering Criminology with NSLs?

[DataPacRat]

Working on a new character idea, who's been a "not-really-so-evil thief" for a while. Given the prevalence of DNA-tracking techs in modern-day fiction, he obviously wants to avoid leaving even a single hair behind... so I thought of adding some Power-type thing to his bodysuit description, with the effect of making it harder for people to use Criminology rolls against him.

I checked my old, previous-edition of Dark Champions, and it had something of the sort, but used a Transform, which is always the option of last resort.

NSLs seem much closer, but they use END and so on. Would the right way to go about this be adding 0 END, maybe even Persistent? Or am I chasing the goose up the wrong tree?

[Derek Hiemforth]

One elegant idea, if your GM will allow it, might be to use Invisibility as a model for buying some kind of Invisibility to Criminology...

[eightiesboi]

I also think that Invisibility is the way to go. The Ultimate Skill has this:


Invisibility to Detect Blood Type, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½), Persistent (+½), Inherent (+¼) (22 Active Points); Always On (-½), Only Applies When Someone Tries To Detect Blood Type From Other Bodily Fluids (-1). Total cost: 9 points. (p. 148)

Although this obviously only covers blood typing, I think it wouldn't be too difficult to extrapolate from here.

[Wyrm Ouroboros]

I agree. However, I'd also allow Criminology to be 'countered' by Criminology -- a criminal can clean up the crime scene, take particular care in how s/he works the crime, that sort of thing. Knowing how something is done can enable you to circumvent the 'usual methods'. Every one (or two) successes would provide a -1 to the investigative roll.

I like the 'Invisibility to criminology' thing, though...

[Maccabe]

Wouldn't Concealment help?

[McCoy]

I agree. However, I'd also allow Criminology to be 'countered' by Criminology -- a criminal can clean up the crime scene, take particular care in how s/he works the crime, that sort of thing. Knowing how something is done can enable you to circumvent the 'usual methods'. Every one (or two) successes would provide a -1 to the investigative roll.
If it's simply that he prepares and is careful about traces, I think a criminology vs. criminology roll is the way to go. Or crimonology as a complementary skill to Stealth.


I like the 'Invisibility to criminology' thing, though...
Think I would go this way for a high-tech solution, maybe a haz-mat type sealed suit with an ozone bath to destroy any traces where he might have touched the outsiode of the suit.

Ran a campagine once where the Dark Beast had organized the PC team. He was so paranoid about leaving DNA behind that he left at any battle scene a half gram of anti-hydrogen in a rapidly deterorating force field. Resulting gamma flash took care of any forensic evidence. In a several block radius.

[Lucius]

If it's simply that he prepares and is careful about traces, I think a criminology vs. criminology roll is the way to go. Or crimonology as a complementary skill to Stealth.


Think I would go this way for a high-tech solution, maybe a haz-mat type sealed suit with an ozone bath to destroy any traces where he might have touched the outsiode of the suit.

Ran a campagine once where the Dark Beast had organized the PC team. He was so paranoid about leaving DNA behind that he left at any battle scene a half gram of anti-hydrogen in a rapidly deterorating force field. Resulting gamma flash took care of any forensic evidence. In a several block radius.

Err...should I ask what it did to bystanders, artifacts, devices, etc?

Regarding the original question: some people are "non-secreters" whose body traces DON'T actually contain their DNA. Ultimate Skill or maybe Dark Champions had a way to build this as "Invisibility to Criminology" etc. but it came out ridiculously expensive (in my opinion.)


Lucius Alexander

Rapidly retreating on a palindromedary from the rapidly deterio at ng fo c f el

[McCoy]

Err...should I ask what it did to bystanders, artifacts, devices, etc?
Does the name Nagasaki mean anything to you?

E equals m c squared, a half gram of antihydrogen mutually annilates a half gram of normal matter, releasing 89.9 terajoules or 21.5 kilotons of TNT-equivalent energy.

Player characters had to figure out why everywhere they fought, a few minutes after they ported out the ground was fuzed to glass and everything biological disentragrated (with the exception of an occasional green skinned mutant) with no radioactive or explosive residue. They finally figured out it was a gamma bomb the size of a ball point pen.

[Vondy]

I agree. However, I'd also allow Criminology to be 'countered' by Criminology -- a

Bingo.

This is how I would handle it: opposed criminology skill rolls.

If its through a suit as opposed to his own amazing careful planning, then drop the correct lims on the suit.