Bugs {Covert Listening Devices}
Function: Bugs are small audio devices that transmit sounds, such as conversations, to the user, who is far away. Characters planting bugs may hide them in a room or upon a person’s body in an attempt to hear privileged information. The police use bugs in sting operations, often wiring operatives to obtain proof of ill-doing. Criminals use bugs in sting operations, looking to catch traitors filching cash or giving tips to the other side. Covert listening devices are no longer relegated to the law-enforcement sector. Anybody can buy them from various websites, pawn shops or spy shops.
Most bugs are easily concealable. Characters can attach them to or hide them in the ceiling, or stick them in a houseplant or even under a desk with glue or tape. Some bugs are small enough to fit in the end of a pen or on a button, but most of these have wires that must still be concealed on the body, often taped to the skin (“wearing a wire,” in common parlance).
Bugs relay the audio to a party via a radio frequency. Most listening devices require the listener be within a quarter-mile. One of the problems with bugs is, if they’re transmitting via a radio frequency, somebody else can listen in on what you’re hearing. If the other character finds the proper frequency with a Wits + Computer or Wits + Crafts roll, then she will be privy to the transmission.
Planting a bug requires a Wits + Larceny roll. Anyone attempting to find the device in the future must succeed on a contested Wits + Investigation (or Wits + Composure) roll. If the successes on this roll exceed those achieved on the user’s Larceny roll, the investigator finds the bug. If the successes are lower, the bug remains hidden from view.
Assume that the stats above reflect a bug that is one to two inches in diameter. Smaller bugs are available to characters; these bugs can fit into the ends of a pen or be made to look like a button on one’s shirt. Such devices are small enough to confer a –1 penalty to all Wits + Investigation rolls made to find the device. Smaller devices, however, come with a higher price tag (Cost •••). Some bugs are larger, as well, having the approximate dimensions of a cigarette pack. Larger listening devices tend to be older. Their cost remains the same, but they have +1 to Size and, as a result, +1 to Structure. Hiding such a bulky device, which may have wires that need to be hidden as well, is more difficult. The Wits + Larceny roll to conceal the device is made at a –1 penalty.
Most bugs are easily concealable. Characters can attach them to or hide them in the ceiling, or stick them in a houseplant or even under a desk with glue or tape. Some bugs are small enough to fit in the end of a pen or on a button, but most of these have wires that must still be concealed on the body, often taped to the skin (“wearing a wire,” in common parlance).
Bugs relay the audio to a party via a radio frequency. Most listening devices require the listener be within a quarter-mile. One of the problems with bugs is, if they’re transmitting via a radio frequency, somebody else can listen in on what you’re hearing. If the other character finds the proper frequency with a Wits + Computer or Wits + Crafts roll, then she will be privy to the transmission.
Planting a bug requires a Wits + Larceny roll. Anyone attempting to find the device in the future must succeed on a contested Wits + Investigation (or Wits + Composure) roll. If the successes on this roll exceed those achieved on the user’s Larceny roll, the investigator finds the bug. If the successes are lower, the bug remains hidden from view.
Assume that the stats above reflect a bug that is one to two inches in diameter. Smaller bugs are available to characters; these bugs can fit into the ends of a pen or be made to look like a button on one’s shirt. Such devices are small enough to confer a –1 penalty to all Wits + Investigation rolls made to find the device. Smaller devices, however, come with a higher price tag (Cost •••). Some bugs are larger, as well, having the approximate dimensions of a cigarette pack. Larger listening devices tend to be older. Their cost remains the same, but they have +1 to Size and, as a result, +1 to Structure. Hiding such a bulky device, which may have wires that need to be hidden as well, is more difficult. The Wits + Larceny roll to conceal the device is made at a –1 penalty.
Item type
Communication
Weight
Durability: 1
Dimensions
Size: 1
Base Price
Cost: ••