Search (Draw Steel)

Skills

Definition

Search is the active sweep: pulling a room apart for the loose flagstone, running fingers along a bookcase edge for the catch, going through a dead man's belongings properly rather than quickly. It is an Intuition skill because knowing where people hide things beats examining everything in order. It comes up in dungeon rooms, at crime scenes, in offices the party has ten minutes alone with, and after any fight where the losers may have carried something worth finding.

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How it works

**Characteristic**: Intuition. **Skill group**: Intuition skills. **Test**: 2d10 + Intuition; 11 or lower is tier 1, 12 to 16 tier 2, 17 or higher tier 3. Training grants a benefit and unlocks attempts untrained heroes cannot make. **How it is used**: Tier 3 finds what is hidden, including things the party was not looking for. Tier 2 finds the obvious cache and misses the clever one. Tier 1 finds nothing, and the search may leave visible traces. **Edges and banes**: Time, good light, and a hint about what you seek grant an edge (+2). Searching in the dark, in a hurry, under threat, or against a professionally built hiding place imposes a bane (-2).

Tips

**Best for**: Shadows and any party that wants a room's secrets without opening every container by hand. **Character concepts**: Criminal career burglar, Sage investigator, a Laborer who knows how buildings are put together. **Synergies**: Alertness for what you notice without looking, Mechanics and Pick Lock for what the search uncovers, Architecture to spot the space that should not be empty.

Frequently asked questions

How is Search different from Alertness?

Search is deliberate and takes time. Alertness is passive awareness in the moment, so the Director often rolls or calls for it unprompted.

Does searching take game time?

Yes. The Director sets how long a thorough sweep takes, and rushing it usually means a bane.

Search (Draw Steel)

Definition

How it works

Tips

Frequently asked questions

Further Reading