Appraising

[Federico]

Hey Fellow Travellers,

I wonder what you use to appraise items, I have a rogue in my player group and she is specialized in breaking and entering. At a point she asked me what is worthy in the places she breaks in and I told her to roll a int check to see how much it is worth and if the items correspond with a skill she has she can add that to the roll.

Now I wonder, how would you guys deal with this kind of appraising?

 

[BP]

Int/Edu and related skill for 'appraisal' value... Broker for estimated fence value...

Use Effect for percentage of accuracy... marginal = +/-50%; normal = +/- Effect*5%; exceptional = 100%.

Note: I'd roll for the PC in this case - and descriptively indicate their level of confidence on their appraisal.

Broker/Streetwise and Int for actual sale (Player roll... but opposed).

 

[CosmicGamer]

got an app for that
If the tech level supports it, you could probably take a picture of an item and get a list of sellers and prices, and of course adds for similar products, products totally unrelated but with similar names, accessories for the product, used items currently available but you must bid now, links to the latest social news, possible dating partners, increase the size of your...

The average person has a pretty good clue as to the value of everyday items. Specialized items might require a related skill, like medic for which prescription drugs are most profitable. (Firefly episode) Being able to price paintings, sculptures and other such items might not be obvious without some art skill. Of course if you are in the projects vs a mansion you don't need to be a brainiac to know which has the more lucrative items.

On the other hand, I like to role play and if the character has a background that would support this ability, then the career thief shouldn't need to have a wide variety of skills such as art, electronics, steward, weapons skills, computers, comms, drive, and so on.

On the third hand (you didn't know I was a 4 handed alien?) it also seams that if two thieves with similar thieving skill were to appraise something, like a vehicle, the automotive enthusiast with drive 3 should be better at it than one with drive 0. I'd role play a thief with medic skill stealing from clinics and a thief with computer skill targeting someone they see use the latest greatest model in the coffee shop.

On the forth hand, similar to above, two thieves with similar thieving skill but one has high Int (observant of peoples culture and current trends) or high Edu (reading and educating themselves in a variety of topics), should be better at appraising than the one with lower attributes.

Was any of this helpful?

 

[BP]

... Of course if you are in the projects vs a mansion you don't need to be a brainiac to know which has the more lucrative items.

Sid: Thanks for the lift - this cellophane wrapped package I found under the floorboards of that gutted shack sure is heavy... I think it might be worth a load of credits to the right buyer.

Joe: Geez Sid. You need to move upscale like me. Check out this shiny six-balled thing I got from that palace. Swiped it right off this huge fancy desk. It clacks like some fancy clock or something... bet its worth truckloads more coin than what you swiped. And it don't leak powder all over the place none, either...

:mrgreen:

 

[locarno24]

Sounds about right.
I'd be tempted to make it two stages, though.

Recon is pretty much the tailor-made skill for "you are in a room. Find the things which (a) look valuable or (b) have been deliberately concealed, suggesting they are valuable."

Subsequently, when evaluating the shiny thing, Broker+EDU is the main skill, although I'd accept another 'relevant' skill - Computers, Art, Drive, etc.

 

[Federico]

Those are all great ways to do the appraisal, I will try them out and see what works best with my players.

Thanks a lot for the help guys

 

[BP]

Good point locarno24.

I'd use Recon rolls for spotting hidey holes and such (and alarms). Spotting interesting/potentially valuable stuff, I wouldn't roll for though. That is more my prose (you see shiny X, expensive looking Y, original looking Z) and player RP (I look for any crystal objects or old stuff).

How valuable - that's the broker/relevant skill and attrib.

Don't forget the timing DMs. :wink:

 

[Galadrion]

Hm. Broker would be the skill for legal goods, yes, but Streetwise would be more applicable for illegal - for instance, that earlier-referenced cellophane-wrapped, powder-leaking package. I would also suggest that, in most cases, fencing the loot would rely more on Streetwise than Broker - this is not, after all, a legitimate business transaction.

 

[BP]

Quite true.

Broker was aimed at the OP's appraising the value. And streetwise might indeed be the relevant 'skill' for certain, er, goods - though that would be more dependent on the character (a Rogue with Broker skill vs. a Scout, perhaps).

When it comes time for selling... Streetwise would better cover locating and dealing with a fence, while Broker would probably better cover direct sale to more, er, legitimate buyers (or at least ones not aware of the nature of the goods). In the former, I still might give an edge to the Broker skill for getting the higher price - but, not necessarily the better deal. (Streetwise would know better when to stop and who not to deal with/screw over - and who might not turn them in for a re-ward. :twisted: )

 

[CosmicGamer]

The other thing to keep in mind is the skills a thief can acquire in their career. In my opinion, you shouldn't need skills from outside your career to perform the routine activities required of such a career.

Recon is under the overall Rogue service skills.

For a thief, definitely streetwise and not broker.
Athletics (co-ordination) is perhaps for picking mechanical locks.
Computers skill for hacking and also perhaps for card swipe, biometric and other computerized locks.

Remote operations?

 

[locarno24]

Remote operations?

Depends how high-tech the thief gets. But possibly. One of the simplest ways to make a system secure is not make it physically accessible from outside the area it controls access to - in which case a suitable remote might prove very useful indeed for some...ah...creative rewiring.

 

[BP]

The other thing to keep in mind is the skills a thief can acquire in their career. In my opinion, you shouldn't need skills from outside your career to perform the routine activities required of such a career.
... For a thief, definitely streetwise and not broker. ...

Agreed - and typical Rogues wouldn't make the best appraisers, nor get top credits for their, er, acquisitions. That would be a Rogue/Merchant. Or a Rogue in the company of a Merchant. :wink:

 

[IanW]

Now I wonder, how would you guys deal with this kind of appraising?

Test on Streetwise, test on Merchant/Broker and take the worst result