
A historian studies the artefact wary of the curse that claimed the last five individuals who touched it. A linguist smiles at the translation of a love letter between two paranatural entities, written in an alien language. The engineer works away tirelessly as a scream erupts from a nearby hallway. If he doesn’t get the generator back online, they’ll be as good as dead.
Researchers in Equinox are specialists in their area – pioneers who lead the way in deciphering the mysteries of the universe and finding scientific solutions to paranatural problems. The price of knowledge however, can be high…
Examples of characters who fulfil the researcher role in fiction include:
- Toshiko Sato (Torchwood);
- Professor Bernard Quatermass (Quatermass);
- Doctor Leopold James “Leo” Fitz (Agents of Shield);
- Maria Kilbride (Injection); and
- Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Dracula).
Class Skill: Research and Development
Researchers can undertake detailed scientific study or experimentation to acquire information or create new items or objects. This is done through Research Proposals – a form of in-character paperwork which allows Researchers to obtain information that may not normally be readily available to them. This can include information which is pertinent to the event or the wider world of The Equinox Institute.
A Researcher can interact with a Research Proposal in one of two ways:
- Leading on a Research Proposal
A Research Proposal requires a Researcher to act as the Research Lead. The Research Lead is the individual who is responsible for completing and submitting the paperwork as well as for any outcome that may come about as a result of the research. Research Leads are free to set out the parameters of what they want to research and will receive the full results of any research conducted.
A character may only act as the Research Lead on a Research Proposal twice per event. - Assisting on a Research Proposal
This is where a character offers assistance in their area of Specialisation to a character acting as a lead on a Research Proposal. By assisting on a Research Proposal, the character ensures that any information pertinent to their Specialisation is included as a result of any research. Once the Research Proposal has been completed, the character will receive information on the results of the research which are pertinent to their Specialisation only.
A character may only assist on a Research Proposal once per Act.
Research Proposals – Submission and Response Cycles
Research Proposals are carried out in up-time during the course of an event. In order to facilitate the smooth running of research, there are select periods during which Research Proposals may be submitted for the Game Team to review and prepare appropriate responses. These periods are tied to each Act.
The period for submission of Research Proposals are:
- Prologue: 22:00 – 00:00
- Act 1: 11:00 – 13:00
- Act 2: 16:30 – 18:30
- Act 3: 22:00 – 00:00
There is no opportunity to submit a Research Proposal on the Sunday of an event.
Once the Game Team has received a Research Proposal, it will consider the contents and will begin to prepare an appropriate response to the research intended to be carried out. Research Proposal responses will arrive with characters in the Act following the Research Proposal’s submission. Some Research Proposals may take longer than a single Act and where this is the case, the Game Team will provide an update on the research’s position accordingly.
The periods by which a Game Team will provide a response or update on a Research Proposal are as follows:
- Act 1: 10:00 – 12:00
- Act 2: 15:30 – 17:30
- Act 3: 21:00 – 23:00
- Epilogue: 10:00 – 12:00
Please note Research Proposals will not carry over between events. If a Research Proposal’s aims and goals fall outside the timeline of the event, then the Game Team will communicate this to the Research Lead as soon as possible.
Specialisations
Researchers can take one of the specialisations below:
Anthropologist
Equinox understands it is not enough to study ruins, artefacts and the accounts of the dead. Sometimes the only way to truly understand the paranatural and the organisations or practices which have developed around them is to study humanity itself. Your character is an expert in the study of human cultures, society and mythology – both past and present. Your character can:
- Identify and study an object, item or symbol to determine whether it has any links to human cultures, societies or faiths. You can also determine the relative monetary value of such an object in select cultures and societies. This can be done by opening envelopes marked for ‘Anthropologists’ only or by speaking with a member of the Game Team; and
- After five minutes of appropriate roleplay studying a piece of artistic craftsmanship, ask one of the following questions of a Game Team member:
- What inspired this piece of art?
- What was the creator feeling during its creation?
- What is the hidden meaning of this piece of art?
- (Where the Anthropologist has explicit knowledge of the creator’s style) Is this piece of art a forgery
Once a character has used this ability, they may not use it again until they received their answer from a Game Team member. A character may only ask each question once per Act.
Take this specialisation if you want your character to have a better understanding of how the paranatural has seeded itself into human culture and what myths and legends may have arisen to give insight into how best to combat these issues. You may also enjoy playing this character if you like studying the motives and background behind the creation of pieces of artistic craftsmanship.
Biologist
From monstrous entities to insidious intelligent microbes, the paranatural takes numerous biological forms and it is Equinox’s elite group of biologists who take the lead in studying them. Whether in the field or in the lab, your character is a specialist in the study of living organisms. Your character can;
- Capable of identifying living organisms (such as animals, flowers, fungi and microbes) including, where appropriate, their behavioural patterns, any risks they may potentially pose and the means of handling, containing or hunting them. You may also be able to identify further uses for fauna and fungi found in the field and the relative monetary value of these if collected. Finally you can also safely collect biological samples with two minutes of appropriate roleplay. This can be done by opening envelopes marked for ‘Biologists’ only or by speaking with a Game Team member;
- After five minutes of appropriate roleplay, read a Disease Condition Card another character might have but they will not be able to treat this themselves. You cannot tell if you yourself are currently under the effects of a Disease Condition Card; and
- With appropriate roleplay you can attempt to calm a feral or aggressive animal or entity by making the call “Sensation Calm” once per Act. This will not work against intelligent entities or humans and the duration by which this effect will last is variable depending on the animal or entity.
Take this specialisation if you want to study paranatural creatures as well as new dangerous supernatural diseases. You may also enjoy taking this role if you like working closely with Physicians to identify and work out a means of treating newly discovered infectious diseases and poisons. If you want to simply identify and treat diseases in the field, please contemplate taking a Physician role with a specialisation in Pathology.
Chemist
Whether researching the chemical composition of paranatural materials or preparing medicine, your character is an expert chemist and pharmacist. Your character is:
- Capable of identifying various elements and compounds so as to determine their strengths, weaknesses and relative monetary value. This can be done by opening envelopes marked for ‘Chemists’ only or by speaking with a member of the Game Team;
- Able to identify all forms of medication except amnestics (drugs that induce memory loss) and mnestis (drugs that enhance a user’s memory) and the means in which these can be safely administered by a Physician with the appropriate Specialisation; and
- Can produce known materials, medication and poisons (without the need for a research request) where they have access to resources that allow them to do so.
Take this specialisation if you want to be able to identify materials for use in the containment or destruction of paranatural entities. You may also enjoy taking this specialisation if you enjoy being able to produce drugs and medicine which are vital for the survival of Equinox’s members. Finally this skill allows you to best research materials which are clearly paranatural in nature to determine their composition and uses.
Engineer
It takes a jack-of-all trades to keep the engine that is Equinox running and your character is no exception. Your character has the practical skills necessary to devise, produce and maintain mundane equipment as well as mechanical and electrical systems such as computer networks. Your character is:
- Capable of identifying all mundane physical items and objects so as to determine whether they are still working, whether they need to be repaired and whether they have any strengths, weaknesses or exploits. They can also determine the relative monetary value of such objects. This can be done by opening envelopes marked for ‘Engineers’ only or by speaking with a Game Team member; and
- Skilled in the production and repair of standard equipment where they have access to resources to allow them to do so.
Take this specialisation if you want to be knowledgeable in the design, repair and creation of things. You may enjoy being able to create items or objects for others to use in their line of work or, alternatively, you may enjoy being able to create new and exciting gear to be used in the capture or destruction of the paranatural.
Historian
Paranatural phenomena have cropped up throughout history and to that end, Equinox employs a small army of archivists, historians and archaeologists to comb through its annals of antiquity to identify how the paranatural has shaped the modern world. Whether focussing on the ancient past or modern history, your character is one such individual. Your character can:
- Study an object, item or symbol to determine the approximate year it was created and any other relevant historic facts surrounding that time period. You can also identify the safest means of handling historic objects and determine the monetary value of such an object to antiquarians and other collectors of historical curios. Finally you can also spot anachronisms in historic documents or items. This can be done by opening envelopes marked for ‘Historians’ only or by speaking with a Game Team member; and
- Once per Act by speaking with a Game Team member, the character can call upon their recollection of reading the Equinox archives to ask whether a Research Proposal or paranatural phenomena has already been carried out or is known to Equinox. If the answer is “yes”, the historian will be told what they remember as well as the means of accessing or obtaining the information more fully. If the answer is “no”, the historian will be told whether Equinox has any knowledge of other organisations having access to this information. Answers may not be immediately forthcoming and take as long as it is necessary for the to obtain this information out of character and bring it to the attention of the player.
Take this specialisation if you enjoy studying the history of the world and how it has been influenced by the paranatural. You may also want to take this specialisation if you want to be able to spot discrepancies in historical documents or wish to save time for your fellow researchers by recalling whether Equinox has already carried out the research or not.
Linguistics and Cryptography
Notwithstanding the thousands of mortal languages in existence, Equinox is aware that several paranatural entities have their own means of corresponding with one another and with humanity. Further to this many of Equinox’s enemies also make use of a variety of techniques to securely communicate with one another. Your character is one such individual hired by Equinox to bypass these issues. Your character:
- can identify if something is written in another human language and translate the document accordingly. This translated document is attached to the original in an envelope marked for “Linguists” only or may be scanned and viewed by QR code where the document is electronic;
- Is aware of commonly used ciphers or codes implemeted by other factions and groups of interest. Your character will be informed of these prior to the start of play and how they can go about translating these documents accordingly; and
- Your character is sufficiently clever enough to know how to create their own ciphers or codes to allow for discrete communication. Once per Act, when another character is attempting to send a message or correspondence to another party, you may offer to assist with encrypting the message. This prevents it from being understood of translated by anyone other than the receiving party should the message be intercepted.
Take this specialisation if you want to be able to read and write in different languages including (potentially) paranatural ones. You may also enjoy breaking codes in order to find hidden information. Please note that, while the game has been prepared in such a way that it will be impossible to hard-skill specific languages (documents written in a different language will be written in nonsense text) – it may still be possible for other attendees to hard-skill codes and ciphers. We would encourage other attendees to avoid doing this where it would take away game from a character with this skill (except where this character expressly requests assistance with any translation they may be carrying out). Finally, please note, we have no intention of including rules or systems that allow for characters to speak other languages during the game.
Occultist
Astrology. Exorcism. Spiritualism. Occultists study all of these and more in order to better understand the paranatural. Often what they find is nonsense and nothing more than speculation but, on occasion, the esoteric and the arcane has more truth to it than imagined. Your character, accordingly, is a specialist in the paranatural and can:
- Identify occult and paranatural influences on places and items. This is wide ranging and can include (but is not limited to) alchemy, exorcism, summoning, divination, sigils, healing crystals, etc. This can be done by opening envelopes marked for ‘Occultists’ only or by speaking with a Game Team member; and
- Once per Act, the character and up to two more participants may conduct an appropriately roleplayed ceremony lasting at least five minutes calling upon something the character believes in (whether this is a higher power, others around them or even themselves). At the conclusion of the ceremony, the character and two assisting participants may call “Resist” to the next Mental or Paranatural Condition Card targeted against them within the course of that Act.
Take this specialisation if you want to have a knack for noticing the strange and esoteric. This is wide ranging and can take many forms – though do note, interacting with the paranatural is, by its nature, dangerous. You may also enjoy being able to steel yourself against paranatural influences on the mind should something try to influence you.