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The gift Open Seal states that

The werewolf can open nearly any sort of closed or locked physical device. A raccoon-spirit teaches this Gift.

RaW it seems to me that there is nothing explicitly impeding the use of the gift to open an electronic lock with a number pad for example, but at the same time it feels (to me at least) that the spirit of the rule is that it shouldn't be possible, maybe interpreting that physical =/= digital (but then again the lock itself is physical). As in W20 it does not require a gnosis expenditure it seems to overpower for a 1st rank gift.

I would prefer an official answer and if there is none a reasonable explanation in either direction.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ @Mindwin Werewolf 20th anniversary, I have removed the other tag. \$\endgroup\$
    – Daniels
    Commented Aug 10, 2017 at 15:33
  • \$\begingroup\$ Regarding your remark that it is too powerful to be a 1st level gift, there are very few doors with an electronic lock that cannot be broken by a raging ahroun. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Aug 10, 2017 at 21:57

2 Answers 2

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Took me some time to reach the gaming store to browse the book, but here you go...

System: The player rolls Gnosis (difficulty of the local Gauntlet rating).

Since places where an electronic lock would exist are way deep in the Weaver's domain, the gauntlet rating should be at least 8.

But yes it should be able to open, with some luck.

This is assuming there is no supernatural effect strengthening the lock.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ "Since places where an electronic lock would exist are way deep in the Weaver's domain" Plenty of farms in the countryside with electronic locks. \$\endgroup\$
    – nick012000
    Commented Apr 23 at 7:50
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As long as the lock is physical

Open Seal is a little nifty trick that makes a "closed or locked physical device" operate itself to the open or unlocked state. It does not differentiate between a simple tumbler lock, a wafer lock or an electronic, solenoid-actuated deadbolt or strong magnets (aka Maglock): as long as the locking mechanism is somehow physical, the state flips and it opens.

The difficulty gets higher the more technologically advanced the area is, and electronic locks tend to be in either very weavery areas. An oil derrick in the boonies is at least "Rural Countryside" for Gauntlet 6, but more likely notches it to 7 right around it. A chemical plant would be at least Gauntlet 7 for an "Average City Street", but with the many pipes of high tech, it might be better comparable to "Inner City, Downtown". And a laboratory has Gauntlet 9.

Gauntlet isn't static over time!

The Gauntlet in a location can shift depending on activity and the presence of the pattern spiders that create the Gauntlet.

Think of it this way: It's 1990. The An-Nafud Desert has Gauntlet 5 on an average day, as we are in deep wilderness, just a few roaming pattern spiders keeping the Gauntlet existing.

Then some dictator comes along to threaten Kuwait. The August comes, the US calls Desert Shield and with it roll in soldiers, armed with bulldozers. Within less than a day the camp area is at Gauntlet 6 - Deep Wilderness turned Rural Countryside by the sheer amount of pattern spiders in the luggage of the troops. The tents get a sand wall, more tech arrives with pattern-spiders riding shotgun on trucks and dozers and within another day to week, the Gauntlet is up to 7, and using Open Seal to get to the documents in the HQ safe deposit box is getting harder.

As the weeks go on and boredom sets in, the gauntlet might rise as high as 8 in the central areas of the base - HQ and food court - while the area that can be considered "rural countryside" spreads as far as the patrols and training areas go.

The clock strikes 3 AM Bagdad Time on the 17th of January 1991 and Desert Storm starts, the pattern spiders ride in the wake of tanks and jeeps, leaving behind their work in the camp and slowly the pattern unravels. The day the camp is abandoned, the safe left behind in HQ sits only in Gauntlet 7, as human activity plunges towards nonexistence. Some days later, the former hub of the base is back to being at best "Rural Countryside" again, and maybe a month later the deserted lockbox is sitting in "Deep Wilderness" once more.

It doesn't work on "locked" computers

A computer that is "locked" is not in the scope of the gift - the item you want to unlock is not the computer, it is the operating system, which is not actually physical.

While you can't directly attack the computer, you still could open a door-lock which is operated by the computer: You need to use Open Seal on the physical lock, which is part of the door that keeps it shut.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ This was a fascinating and insightful answer, and I don't even play this game. +1. A couple of trivialities . . . "August strikes" seems like strange phrasing to me, and I'm not sure if you just mean August comes along, or something else. Also, "operation system" seems a bit unusual, or maybe it's just me? I see "operating system" much more often, or maybe the -tion is game-specific. \$\endgroup\$
    – Jack
    Commented Apr 22 at 14:03
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Jack August is not just a month but also a title for a "ruler" \$\endgroup\$
    – Trish
    Commented Apr 22 at 21:59

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