The following rules were originally proposed by Doyce as an expansion of the single scene/effect mechanic in the Op Tech rules. I want to keep them on file for reference and later thought, but they are not presently in effect for my game.

Gadget Duration:

As noted above, a Gadget is generally only usable for a single scene/effect.

E.g., Gina's player realizes after the mission has begun that X-Ray Glasses would be very useful and uses a Gadget Stunt to play through a flashback in which she was issued them -- in this case, the glasses will only be viable in a single scene.

However, if the player is willing to commit to calling on a Gadget Stunt after the briefing but before actually going on the mission, the Gadget may (depending on its nature) be used throughout the mission, rather than for a single use.

E.g., After the mission briefing, Dylan decides that there is no way that Hypno-Lenses will not be useful in the mission and decides to use a Gadget Stunt to get them prior to the mission. All other rules for using the Gadget stunt apply except that the lenses may be used within several scenes if needed, rather than only one.

Dave - Does that chew up a Stunt circle for the whole mission?

Doyce - Umm... Probably at least for the first session, and... honestly, it's a good trade-off: you chew up a checkbox for the whole scenario, but it's reusable. (I don't use it? Well, says I, that's poor resource management on my part.)

Dave - That's maybe a good point -- rewarding foresight and resource management. If it ties up a circle for the entire mission (yes, that's what I meant), what's the advantage of doing it? Either (a) taking a Gadget costs a circle, and if done in the field should require a Op Tech roll (no cost if it fails, but you can't reroll), but taking it from the Home Office is no roll (but still a circle), or else (b) taking it from the Home Office exacts a cost only for the first session; after that it's free "foresight." I'm inclined to (b) at the moment.

Doyce - I feel I should point out the main difference between picking something up at the beginning of the mission vs. in the field: using a checkbox in the field for a Gadget means the Gadget is, essentially, one-shot (one scene only) -- you'll only see it once in the movie. :) Stuff you decide to pick up before the mission is reuseable. That's probably one good reason why not to bother with the Op Tech roll for gadgets.

Dave - But if you can "find" a Gadget automatically, unless you need it more than one per session, there's no value in doing it beforehand. Look, Calvin grabs x-ray specs during gear-up, allocating a circle for the entire mission. Or, Calvin grabs x-ray specs when they get to the fashion show in Paris (a circle for session 1), and again at the elegant dinner party in Prague (a circle for session 2). Only if he also needed them in the mechanics pits in Monaco is he SOL, otherwise he hasn't gained anything. Indeed, he's lost flexibility, because he may have much more needed that circle for yet another of those damanble magnetic flasks in Milan. From what I've seen, few gadgets are so persistently useful that the loss in flexibility outweighs the multiple-uses per session. I think. On the other hand, it's a simpler mechanic, which is good. I'll ponder.

Doyce - Note also that I personally added the thing about checking off a box pre-mission to use the thing all through the mission -- it's not part of the original Stunt rules, and I added it simply to simulate pre-mission prep if folks wanted it. You've pointed out a good reason to drop it, so drop it. :) Having said that, a side comment: you've got to stop thinking of "find" in air-quotes -- it's going to give you unnecessary stress about this when it's real purpose is simply to give us access to the same stuff we had before but with more roleplaying with more of your cool NPCs that we currently never get to see and less arguing and endless optimizing pre-game. :) (Really all it does is introduce a mechanic that works already (retconned languages) into a situation that desperately needs elegance.)

What? Me? Unnecessary stress? Surely you jest! Okay, for simplicity's sake, no post-briefing gadget mechanics, unless and until I see the need. And no die rolls for the gadgets, either.