CoD Library Revised

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Library (• to •••)

Effect: Your character has access to a plethora of information about a given topic. When purchasing this Merit, choose a Mental Skill. The Library covers that purview. A library can be used for both research, and as an equipment bonus (equal to its rating) to extended rolls using that Skill. This Merit can be purchased multiple times to reflect different Skills. Its benefits can be shared by various characters with permission. 

Research

A Library has utility even if someone doesn't possess the Skill it covers, as that Library can be used for research into topics governed by the Skill. The exact benefits are based on the rating of the Merit.

  • Public Sources (0): Research conducted without benefit of the Library Merit are assumed to use basic public library and internet resources. Such research may make a maximum of three rolls, and has an interval of one hour.
  • Collector's Library (•): This is the sort of library an interested collector can usually manage to acquire. Research using this library may make a total of six rolls, and has an interval of two hours.
  • Specialists' Library (••): This is the kind of collection that only those who are specialists in the field are likely to acquire. Research using this library may make a total of nine rolls, and has an interval of four hours.
  • World Class Library (•••): This is a rare world-class library, one whose existence is probably known to those in the field - it is hard to keep this kind of collection secret. Research using this library may make a total of twelve rolls, and has an interval of eight hours.

Size

The amount of space a Library takes up is dependent on how many total dots worth of Library it encompasses. Most Libraries consist of multiple dots worth of multiple subjects, particularly in institutions.

  • Shelves (•): A Library of this size will fit in a couple of bookcases stored in a standard room. They don't take up the entirety of the room.
  • Small Room (•• - •••): The space needed to store these books will fit on shelves that line the wall of a large room, or take up most of the space in a more typical room in a house, for instance.
  • Large Room (•••• - •••••): A large institutional-style chamber, or multiple smaller galleries, are necessary to house the Library of this size.
  • Small Building (••••• • - ••••• •••••): A Library of this size needs multiple rooms, several of which are dedicated to nothing but shelving and other storage space.
  • Large Building (••••• ••••• •+): Libraries of this size are terribly rare, even on large campuses. The few that exist are inevitably housed in large buildings, with multiple floors and galleys, divided by topic.

Add-Ons

These are additional traits that can be "added on" to an existing Library.

  • Indexed (+•): The contents of the Library have been exhaustively indexed, allowing for quick perusal by those with an Academics ••. Instead of research time being based on the Library rating of the archive used, it is based on the Obscurity of the Topic, allowing large libraries to be used to research faster.
  • Computer Indexed (+•): Requires Indexed Add-On. Having been well catalogued, the contents of the library are set up in a user-friendly database, making research quick for those with a modicum of computer skill. In order to gain the benefit from Indexed, the character only needs a Computer •.
  • Specialty (+•): The contents of the library have a wealth of information on a given specialty within the topic: an Occult library with a focus on werewolves, a Medicine library with a focus on diseases, an Academics library with a focus on Law or a Science library with a focus on Engineering all would apply. When researching topics that fall in line with the topic, the library grants one use of the Rote Ability quality to one Research roll in the extended test. This may be purchased multiple times, either to gain additional uses of the Rote Ability in a single extended test, or to apply to other specialties in the topic.