| Item Name | Tech Level | Typical Price | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rope | Any | $10 for 16m of hemp | Essential adventuring gear, useful in exploring caves, climbing high places, rescuing or restraining people. Comes in various materials |
| Torch | Low-Tech | $3 | Light source used by medieval adventurers. Must be held in one hand. Can cause obscuring smoke and heat in enclosed spaces. |
| Lockpicks | Any | $20 | Essential adventuring gear, useful in breaking into restricted areas. Details vary by society. |
| Pitons | Any | $10 for 10 | Essential adventuring gear, useful in climbing and holding doors open. |
| Medical Kit | Any | $25 | Essential adventuring gear, useful in first aid and diagnosing/healing ailments. Various tech levels are available, from herbal to nanite. | Chemistry Kit | Any | $100 | A portable kit for crafting drugs and bombs when you are away from your laboratory. Includes plenty of bottles. Roll a d4 when you use it, on a 4, you've used all its supplies and you will need a new one. |
| Toolbox | Any | $50 | A portable kit for performing analog crafting, construction or repair of machines. Roll a d4 when you use it, on a 4 you've run out of its supplies and you will need a new one. |
| Musical Instrument | Any | $10 - $1000 | Used for playing music, can be in several forms. |
| Artist's Set | Any | $100 | Used for drawing and painting. Roll a d4 when used, on a 4 its supplies are empty and you need a new one. |
| Flask, Bottle or Hypodermic Needle | Any | $5 per, for empty | Crafted drugs, potions, poisons, curatives, perfumes, ink and oil and other useful liquids can be stored in these vials. |
| Bedroll or Sleeping Bag | Any | $30 | Essential adventuring gear, useful for camping away from civilization. |
| Grappling Hook | Any | $30 | Essential adventuring gear, useful with rope to climb high places. |
| Explosive Charges | Any | $50 [1 kg of dynamite] | Various explosive substances normally used to dig through rock can also be quite useful in adventuring. These need to be triggered somehow with fire or wiring kits, and deal between 4d4 and 8d6 damage in a 1 to 20m radius. |
| Lantern | Any | $25 | Essential adventuring gear. Typical humans cannot see in the dark, so they must have a light source. Lanterns last longer and are less dangerous than using a torch. They must however be refilled with fuel or batteries. |
| Crowbar | Any | $15 | Essential adventuring gear, useful in breaking into things. Can be used as a weapon for 1d6 damage. |
| Disguise Kit | Any | $25 | Used to make yourself appear different, using whatever technology is available. Can use Art skill and/or stealth skill. Roll a d4 when used, on a 4 it's used up. |
| Duelist Wand | Ultra | 1000 gold pieces | Origin unknown, cannot be crafted. Must be held in 1 hand. Adds +1 to spell casting rolls for attack spells. May shatter on miscast. [Loot Reward Item]. |
| Enchanted Staff | Ultra | 1000 gold pieces | Origin unknown, cannot be crafted. Must be held in 2 hands. Adds +1 to spell casting rolls for one specific school of magic. May shatter on miscast. [Loot Reward Item]. |
| Battery | Modern & High | $25 | Standardized Batteries contain stored electrical power. They are generally used to power hand-held tools of modern technology and higher for around 2 hours of use each. |
| Gasoline Canister | Modern | $40 | This type of fuel is often used to power industrial-tech vehicles and machines. If used in this way, it lasts 4 hours. It is also very flammable and potentially explosive. |
| Flashlight | Modern and up | $20 | Battery-powered light source. Held in one hand, and can be used as a club at some risk of breaking it. |
| Geiger Counter | Modern and up | $25 | Device used to detect dangerous levels of ionizing radiation. At higher tech levels these are often integrated into other hazard suits and survey tools. |
| Smartphone/Com-Pad | Modern and up | $300 | Battery-powered communication tool. Can connect to local information databases and other devices in the same network. Special addresses, codes, or other credentials are needed to access secure data networks and individuals' contacts. |
| Power Cell | Hi-Tech and up | $125 | This type of charged ion fuel cell is used to power high-tech vehicles, droids, powered armor, and spaceships. It generally lasts for 1 day per charge. Overcharging the vehicle, damage to the engines, or intentional crafting may cause it to explode. |
| Hyperion Rod | Hi-Tech | $1,000,000 | This 60-lb rod of refined, condensed metallic Hyperium is used to power a space ship's FTL (faster than light) drive. One rod typically provides 1 light year of jump distance. Use it wisely, because these special minerals may be rare and tough to find! |
| Laser Cutter | High-Tech and up | $500 | Battery-powered cutting tool. |
| Gas Analyzer | High-Tech and up | $300 | This battery powered tool can detect unusual particles or gases and help you identify their source. |
| Geoscanner | High-Tech and up | $500 | Battery-powered tool that can help locate nearby mineral deposits and compositions of unknown materials. |
| MicroWelder | High-Tech and up | $500 | Battery-powered repair tool among high-tech societies, often used on vehicles. |
| Translation Device | High-Tech+ | $300 | Battery-powered handheld tool, or software on a handheld computer, which uses AI to translate spoken and written language back and forth. This device exists primarily as a metagame tool to make it easy to communicate with alien civilizations past the frontier of your own. If you want the challenge of communicating to be a focus of your story, omit this device from the campaign. Even if it exists, players may be asked to make a language or computers roll with this device to partially translate particularly alien or ancient tongues. |
| Crate of Spare Parts | Any, but the tech level of the parts must be specified. | $10/$100/$500/$10,000 | Raw ingredients for mechanical repairing or crafting of known devices and modifications to existing machines and devices. Ultra-tech parts are quite valuable and non-reproducible. |
| Stim-pack/Healing Potion | Any | $50 | Prepared drug that heals 2d6 hitpoints when ingested. May not be available in all settings. Does not cure any conditions. If you want more frequent combat in your game, add lots of these. |
| Brain Juice/Mana Potion | Any | $150 | Prepared drug that restores 1d6 Energy Points when ingested. May not be available in all settings, and may be illegal in some settings. May also have side effects, usually addiction and blurred vision. If you want more frequent spell casting in your game, add lots of these. |
| ??? | ??? | ??? | Your game will always include more items than these. Ultra-tech relics, a whistle, sheets of aerogel, ingots of uranium-213, hallucinogenic herbs, almost anything can and will be useful in your game. |
CPA: Items
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The CPA adventure game system is created to equally support fantasy, science fiction, and science fantasy, so the core items list is designed to bridge those settings.
Each of the following lists contains examples of items that can be viable for use in a pure fantasy game, a pure science fiction game, or a game that bridges these genres.
Most specific items should be homebrewed specially for each game. These lists are NOT complete, they are only examples to set the tone and power scale.
Resource Attrition Handling
- Some groups find it fun to track individual use of resources for a tense, exciting survival or exploration game. For those who want a faster way, here are some options:
- Roll a d4 (or another die) when a fuel-consuming machine, supply kit, or other expendable resource is used. If the result is a 4, the resource is expended. Otherwise you can keep using it.
- GM Fiat. Periodically, the GM will simply announce which resources have been expended to which levels. Requires trust in the GM, but saves time for players.
- Unlimited. If the idea of finally finding one unused rifle bullet in a ruin doesn't sound exciting to you, just assume that people always have the fuel, power, and ammunition they need. Note that this decreases the overall challenge level of the story.
Technology Levels
Division of technology levels can be a useful way to divide up the power levels of different types of items in your game.- Low-Tech: Any technology that does not involve either electricity or combustion engines.
- Modern: Technology similar to today's society. From roughly renaissance to information age.
- Hi-Tech: Technology associated with common faster-than-light space travel.
- Ultra: Technology that can only be created by a pan-galactic psionic empire.
The GM will custom design weapons to fit your game setting. But the following weapons are set as baselines to set the high-lethality tone of the game in all settings:
| Weapon | Damage | Range | Hands | Typical Price | Typical Price per Ammunition Round | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knife | 3 | Melee (1m) or thrown 10m | 1 | $5-$500 depending quality and artistry | ~ | Wielding one or two knives grants +2 initiative in combat. Can be thrown. Also a useful tool for art and crafting. |
| Spear | 5 | Melee (2m) or thrown 20m | 1 or 2 (add +2 damage for 2h melee) | $5-25 | ~ | Easy to craft. Reach is +1m. Can be thrown (thrown damage is 4). |
| Mace | 4 | Melee (1m) | 1 | $25. | ~ | One-handed weapon. Stuns on critical hit. |
| Broadsword | 6 | Melee (1m) | 1 | $25. | ~ | One-handed weapon. |
| Rapier | 5 | Melee (1m) | 1 | $50. | ~ | Cannot cleave, but +2 critical strike chance for attacks with this weapon. |
| Claymore | 10 | Melee (1m) | 2 | $75 | ~ | Requires Athletics 2 to use. |
| Maul | 9 | Melee (1m) | 2 | $75 | ~ | Requires Athletics 2 to use. Stuns on critical hit. |
| Chain-Axe | 12 | Melee (1m) | 2 | $5000 | ~ | Turn on and off with a switch on the grip. Motor-powered by a battery, blades spin rapidly. |
| Plasma Sabre | 15 | Melee (1m) | 2 | Priceless | ~ | Turn on and off with a switch on the grip. Gives off bright light. Deals plasma damage. Can cut through steel with 5 minutes of work. Self-powered. Can help deflect energy-based attacks. |
| The Terriblade | 15 | Melee (1m), Shockwave 20m | 2 | Legendary | ~ | Legendary item. When swung, this claymore emits a shockwave of glowing green force that penetrates enemies up to 10m away. |
| The Daikatana | 15 | Melee (1m) | 2 | Legendary | ~ | Legendary item. The wielder of this long, curved sword always has 3 actions per combat round (i.e. Haste). Wielders of the blade can attempt to cast any Chronomancy spells using their total melee accuracy roll, spending HP 1:1 in place of SP. |
| The Edge of Madness | 15 | Pole Melee (2m) | 2 | Legendary | ~ | Legendary item. This long-handled, toothed axe is alive and has one glowing yellow eye. Using this weapon, the player instantly heals 2 HP for every biological enemy combatant they kill with at least 6 hp. |
| Wrist Crossbow | 4 | Ranged (75m) | 1 | $200, rare | $1 | Held in one hand. Clip size 4. Works in vacuum and underwater. Commonly used with tranquilizer darts that cause nonlethal damage and repeat it once per round for 3 rounds. |
| Shortbow | 5 | Ranged (75m) | 2 | $25 | $1 | Clip size 1. |
| Longbow | 6 | Ranged (200m) | 2 | $50 | $1 | Clip size 1. Requires Athletics 2. |
| Crossbow | 7 | Ranged (200m) | 2 | $50 | $1 | Clip size 1. |
| Heavy Crossbow | 10 | Heavy Ranged (200m) | 2 | $10 | $1 | Requires Athletics 2 or mounting. Halves your move speed. Clip size 1. |
| The Moonbow | 8 | Ranged (200m) | 2 | Legendary | ~ | Legendary item. This beautiful longbow fires glowing magical arrows and will penetrate an unlimited number of enemies. |
| Death's Harp | 6 | Ranged (200m) | 2 | Legendary | ~ | Legendary item. This beautiful shortbow is also a portable musical harp carved from bone, with many strings. This bow can shoot at 2 different targets per shot, or 3 if you waive your special attack. Roll only once for your attack vs all targets. |
| Eagle's Glare | 8 | Ranged (200m) | 2 | Legendary | ~ | Legendary item. This beautiful longbow cannot miss. |
| Pistol | 5 | Ranged (50m) | 1 | $250 for revolver, $500 for auto-pistol. | $1 | Clip size 6. Ignore Low-Tech armors. One-handed. Auto-pistols can make auto-shots. |
| Rifle | 7 | Ranged (100m) | 2 | $400 for a hunter rifle, $750 for an assault rifle | $5 | Clip size 5(10). Ignore Low-Tech armors. Two-handed. Minimum range 2m. Auto-rifles can make auto shots. |
| Shotgun | 8 | Ranged (5m) | 2 | $300 for a hunting shotgun, $800 for auto shotgun | $3 | Shotguns must be reloaded after every shot. Autoshotguns only need to be reloaded after an auto shot. Ineffective vs. heavy armor, robots and vehicles. Attacks in a 5m cone, beyond which it is ineffective. Missed targets within range take half damage. |
| Sniper Rifle | 10 | Ranged (2000m) | 2 | $2500 | $20 | Clip size 4. Minimum range 5m. Ignore Low-Tech armors. Takes 5 minutes to assemble from its case, otherwise is extremely long and delicate. +2 to critical strike chance. |
| Laser Pistol | 5 | Ranged (50m) | 1 | $2000 | $25 | Clip size 10. Works in vacuum and underwater. Ignore Low-Tech armors. Uses battery as ammunition, which cannot be recombined. Ability: When you use the aim action with this weapon, you can choose to charge up a shot with +2 damage. You can repeat this. After you fire a shot of any charge, you must reload. |
| Laser Carbine | 7 | Ranged (100m) | 2 | $2000 | $25 | Clip size 20. Works in vacuum and underwater. Ignore Low-Tech armors. Uses battery as ammunition. Can make autoshots. |
| Beam Rifle | 10 | Ranged (200m) | 2 | $10000 | $50 | Must reload after 2 shots. Minimum range 5m. Works in vacuum and underwater. Penetrates all organic targets and up to 3m of stone or concrete. Minimum range 3m. |
| Grenade | 10 | Thrown, dropped or launched | 1 | $50 | $150 | Throw with athletics, shoot with a grenade launcher, set with a timer or use Crafting to attach a motion detector part. It generally explodes violently on contact, radius 4m, damaging enemies and environment. Many different types exist:
|
| Rocket Launcher | 12 | Heavy Ranged (100m) | 2 | $1250 | $100 | Requires Athletics 2 or mounting. Halves your move speed. Clip size 1. Blast radius 4m. |
| Minigun | 16 | Heavy Ranged (50m) | 2 | $5000 | $5 | Requires Athletics 2 or mounting. Halves your move speed. Requires battery in addition to bullets. Always autofires in a 20m cone, 30 bullets per use, beyond which is ineffective. Missed targets take half damage. Unlimited clip size. |
| Fusion Cannon | 20 | Heavy Ranged (100m) | 2 | $100000 | $1250 | Requires Athletics 2 or mounting. Halves your move speed. Requires battery, 2 shots per. 4m radius explosion on hit. Small chance for dimension breach on hit or misfire. |
The GM will custom design armors to fit your game setting. But the following core armors are set as baselines to set the tone of the game in all settings.
Protection Value: An armor's protection value is the amount by which it reduces the damage of incoming hits. It cannot reduce incoming hit damage below 1 point, however.
Some armors can have their own HP values. Including these in some parts of your game will promote longer battles and sturdier players, but also increase the importance of the crafting skill and finding parts to repair them.
| Name | Tech Level | Damage Reduction | Typical Price | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clothing | Any | 0 | $50 | Can be boosted by the talent 'Natural Armor'. |
| Leather Armor | Low-Tech | 2 | $75 | Light Armor. Ignored by modern+ weapons. |
| Chain Mail Armor | Low-Tech | 3 | $250 | Medium Armor. Ignored by modern+ weapons. Disadvantage on stealth rolls. |
| Brigandine Armor | Low-Tech | 3 | $250 | Medium Armor. Ignored by modern+ weapons. Disadvantage on spell rolls. |
| Steel Plate Armor | Low-Tech | 5 | $500 | Heavy Armor. Disadvantage on spell and stealth rolls. Ignored by modern+ weapons. Requires 2+ athletics. |
| Steel Shield | Low-Tech | +1 | $50 | Heavy Armor. Worn on one non-dominant hand. Adds +1 to your protection value. Ignored by modern+ weapons. |
| Kevlar Armor | Modern | 2 | $200 | Light Armor. |
| Ceramic Plate Armor | Modern | 3 | $1000 | Heavy armor that is obvious millitary gear. |
| Vaccuum Suit | Modern | 5/5 hp, 2 DR | $10,000 | Special armor that protects the user from hazardous atmospheres, liquids to a certain depth, small amounts of radiation, or vaccuum. Has 5 hp. Disadvantage on all skill rolls while wearing, due to slowness and clumsiness--Users must take double or more time and care to perform the same tasks. |
| Plasteel Combat Armor | High | 4 | $5,000 | Obvious military gear. |
| Powered Armor | High | 7 | $100,000+ | Blurs the line between armor and vehicle. Requires 1 power cell per 6 hours, and a vacuum seal with 6 hours of O2. Normally makes any fine task nearly impossible. |
Item Crafting and Modifications
Player characters with skills in science, Crafting, and chemistry can easily craft upgrades and modifications to existing items, as well as potentially craft new items if they have the right lore and ingredients.
Basically, each piece of tool, weapon, or armor can have up to 1 modification, by default, unless talents allow more.
Some examples of common crafted upgrades include:
- Crafting a light-emitting helmet by setting a glowing gem into a helmet
- Imprinting a magical rune of fire into an ancient sword
- Applying mirror plates to your shield to improve spell resistance
- Crafting a Scope onto a rifle at a machine shop for +1 accuracy
- Adding a Bayonet onto a rifle at a machine shop to allow melee attacks
- Combining a geiger counter and a particle analyzer into a tool that locates radiation sources
- Combining a plasma gun and a laser cutter into a powerful metal-cutting tool
- Crafting a bomb with metal scraps and explosive powder or plant extracts
- Crafting a drug that both heals and cures disease
- Any other reasonable thing which is allowed by time, ingredients, and workspace
See the Skill Checks sub-section on Crafting for more details.