Ghost-Catching Equipment (D20 Modern Equipment)
In conjunction with the arrival of Shadowkind to Earth, paranormal activity has spiked upwards dramatically. Several organizations have sprung up across the globe that are seemingly devoted to catching ghosts; many are charlatans, but a few are sincere. Adventurers and Shadowkind with knowledge of ghosts and the paranormal may be able to make a very good living off "busting" ghosts, either with their current arsenals or with equipment specially designed for the job by an American scientist.
Proton Pack and Proton Pack Mk. II[edit]
Though the jury is still out on how exactly it works, what it does is well-known. The Proton Pack is a backpack-like object with a nozzle attached- it vaguely resembles a flamethrower. In order to be used, it must be powered up first, which takes one attack action. When fired, it emits a stream of charged protons that do significant damage (1d8) to most everything, but it is particularly effective against ghosts. The original version does no damage, but immediately renders the ghost immobile, drags them to a point 20 feet from the user, and allows the user to move them in whatever direction they like. Every turn that a ghost is caught in the beam, the user must make a DC 10 grapple check or lose the ghost. The Mk. II also features the original proton beam, which is useful when a ghost needs to be captured rather than destroyed, but it also has a second setting. This setting simply does 2d8 of damage to whatever ghost it targets, every turn the ghost is in the path of the beam.
Proton Packs of both versions require no ammunition (technically, they have a power pack, but since the half-life of that is 5000 years it's probably not going to require change anytime soon), but must be recharged in a wall socket every 24 hours. Each pack comes with a step-up wire to be plugged in between the pack's plug and the socket- attempting to charge the pack without using this step-up wire will completely destroy the socket.
It is not advised to let two proton beams of any type cross. This is known as "crossing the streams", and doing it will completely end life on the user's current plane. As I said, not advised.
Proton Packs come in several forms, each of which uses a slightly different method to produce the charged protons. The differences are not noticeable, though, and none of them can be bought or sold.
Craft DC: 30 (mechanical). Requirements: 20 Knowledge (technology), 20 Knowledge (physical sciences).
Ghost Trap[edit]
A ghost trap is a small (12 inch by 2 inch), boxlike device that can hold captured ghosts. It is fitted with small wheels on the bottom, and can be rolled up to 20 feet away from the user with a move action. It is activated using a foot switch attached by a 22-foot wire to the trap, and activating a trap is an attack action.
An activated ghost trap immediately opens a cone of effect directly upwards for 15 feet. Anything paranormal which is caught in the cone is immediately sucked into the trap and secured there with no possibility of escape. The trap activates for 30 seconds or until shut off with another press of the foot switch.
Ghost traps can hold up to five ghosts in size from Fine to Small, three ghosts in size from Medium to Gigantic, or one Colossal ghost. Traps are reusable, but if full they must either be emptied into a proper containment system (below) or be opened again, which will release the ghost into the environment in an aggressive state. Traps weigh five pounds and are colored in a hazard pattern (alternating yellow and black stripes).
Like proton packs, ghost traps cannot be purchased or sold at any store, though ghost-catching groups may trade or sell such equipment among themselves.
Craft DC: 25 (mechanical). Requirements: 15 Knowledge (technology), 15 Knowledge (arcane lore).
PKE Meter[edit]
Most types of paranormal entities give off a type of energy similar to that of psionic emissions. The PKE Meter, which is a Tiny hand-held object about the size of a walkie-talkie, is able to detect these emissions and thus help locate a ghost which has made itself invisible, though it cannot identify the precise source. Use of a PKE Meter requires two hands and one attack action, but adds a +4 to all paranormal-related Spot checks.
PKE Meters cannot be bought or sold at any store, and require D-batteries to work.
Craft DC: 25 (mechanical). Requirements: 20 Knowledge (technology).
Ghost Containment System[edit]
A Ghost Containment System is a large-scale version of the Ghost Trap, intended for prolonged containment of paranormal entities. This device is so large that it usually has to be built into a building while the building is being constructed, though with sufficient skill one can be built into an existing structure.
There's no exact template for these systems, but there is always a port for inserting a Ghost Trap to transfer any ghosts in the trap into the system. While there is technically no real limit as to how many ghosts can be held in a GCS, things tend to get dicey if more than two hundred are packed into one at once.
A GCS draws a lot of power, and thus is usually built in a place with ready access to heavy power supplies, such as a large city. Personal generators tend to not provide enough output to run such a system. But, should an occupied GCS be suddenly deprived of power and shut off, any and all ghosts in it will be released in an aggressive state, into a circle about 1000 feet in diameter. Depending on the number of ghosts, the circle of effect may be wider or smaller.
GCS' are, quite obviously, not able to be bought or sold, and making one is not easy.
Craft DC: 30 Craft (mechanical). Requirements: 30 Knowledge (technology), 20 Knowledge (arcane lore), 20 Knowledge (physical sciences).
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