Challenge Build: Unshredder

[Sociotard]

Description: It's just a scanner and a lot of computing power. The character lays strips of paper taken from a paper shredder on the scanner. The computer examines all the little strips and, after a few hours of brutish work, it presents its best estimates as to what the original papers looked like before they were destroyed. (as seen on a fictional spy show a while back) naturally, some shredders do a better job than others, and that gets reflected in the results.

 

Now, reasoning from effect, this looks like it could be Precognition (look back in time to see what the paper looked like), but I could see it built as healing or transform as well. What do you think.

[AlHazred]

Re: Challenge Build: Unshredder

 

Depends on how the GM wants to do it (I'm assuming the GM is you).

 

1. You could do it as Clairsentience, Retrocognition, with OAF and Extra Time. Put on a heavy Limitation for paper only.
   
2. You could do it as Major Transform with the same limitations. It has to be Major (IMO) because information has been lost or destroyed and is being remade.
   
3. You could do it as Healing, (Resurrection?) with the same limitations. This would probably be the cheapest method.
   

Personally, in most games I wouldn't even stat it out; I'd just give the computer a Skill Roll with it, have it make the Roll, and then determine how much it got from there. If you want the stats and want to do it that way, buy it as a Power for the Computer, give the Computer the appropriate Skill, and add RSR to one of the above constructs.

[mattingly]

Re: Challenge Build: Unshredder

 

Heck, I'd do it as Speed Reading x1000. It's nothing that anyone couldn't do; it just happens a lot faster.

[Sociotard]

Re: Challenge Build: Unshredder

 

Heck' date=' I'd do it as Speed Reading x1000. It's nothing that anyone couldn't do; it just happens a lot faster.[/quote']

Cool Idea. Unfortuanately, I've given out too much rep in the last 24 hours.

 

The Skill Idea was cool too. Sooooo assign a -4 to -0 modifier depending on how good the shredder is, and then write up exactly what they might learn for each level of success or failure. Sounds about right. I might bump up the cost, just because I think it's too advantages to be worth a mere 3 points. Especially bought through a computer, so its 3/5 of a point.

[Vanguard00]

Re: Challenge Build: Unshredder

 

The character "Monk" did this two seasons ago on the show of the same name, and he did it by himself in a relatively short amount of time.

 

About two weeks ago on the new show "Eyes" they used interns to sort a trash bag full of shredded documents, then scanned them into the computer and sorted appropriately. It took hours only.

 

I don't think it should be as inaccessible as some of y'all think. A decent skill roll would do, but you'd have to allow for extra time depending on how many pages were shredded and/or scanned.