Temporal Travels Inc was founded by Dungeon Masters for Dungeon Masters, to present solutions for certain flaws that we’ve seen across all game systems. Consider the following:
The lockpicking skill is irrelevant
Rogues always take it. They always maximize it. No other classes bother with it.
Have you noticed that even in life and death situations, rogues are relegated to one skill check per round? Then the player is rewarded by going back to their phone until their turn comes up, ten minutes later?
Or worse, as the Dungeon Master trying to instill tension into the game by trapping the party in a rapidly flooding crypt, has the party rogue declaring on round one, “So I rolled a 32 to pick the lock on the door. Does that succeed?”
The Simulockrum is a game system agnostic accessory
Imagine holding a small wooden box in your hand and having eight lockpicks at your disposal. The party is depending on you to get that door open while they fend off the monsters. Starting with your favorite pick, you slide it into the keyway and hear the clicks of the magnetic pins and feel the vibration as they impact your lockpick. From that, you deduce the first pin is likely positively oriented, then select the next likely lockpick to further narrow down the combination. Eventually, a drawer pulls free in your hand and the party is saved!
Here are some of the benefits of the Simulockrum:
- The final product is made out of real, lacquered cherry. These are not cheap, injection mold plastics whose paint will wear off over time.
- There are four locking pins that can be easily re-keyed into any one of sixteen possible combinations, so you can reset and present a new puzzle in seconds.
- The Simulockrum is useful for streaming as well – all the player needs to do is randomize the locking pins on camera, then start working while the party tackles an encounter.
- It has a visually impaired friendly design. Each lockpick has divots on the side corresponding to the magnet pattern.
- We will honor your purchase’s monetary value by maintaining an archive of how many EXIST per manufacturing run. These will never be dumped for cheap on eBay.
- We are partnered with Datamancer (datamancer.com), a fantastic workshop located in California so we can say it MADE IN THE USA!
- How can you use it in a game?
- Deductive Challenge: Roll a skill check. In D&D, if you roll in the 20s, you get two tries at the combination. If you roll in the 30s, you get to try three. Or you can use the number of successes in alternate game systems.
- Timed Challenge: Start the stopwatch on your phone and let the rogue pick the lock in real time. Roll a skill check and subtract that value from the number of seconds they took. For harder locks, halve the skill check. Easier locks, double the check. Or if you are LARPing, there is an insert that once removed, makes the Simulockrum vulnerable to “raking” attacks, much like a real lock!
- What about traps you say? As the DM, choose the number of tries a player has before a trap goes off. That number can be reset with a skill check, making the rogue choose between taking another try at the combination or pressing their luck.
- This lets ALL character classes attempt to pick a lock. The rogue is just better at it – both in real life through practice, and in game terms – but there’s a one in sixteen chance the party barbarian picks the right lockpick on the first try. Cross training for lockpicking also matters for once.
What does the Simulockrum look like? Check us out:
These are hand crafted items and limited in stock, but purchase with confidence on Etsy!