---
title: Kitbashing
description: "Kitbashing is slinging together something you need in an emergency using whatever bits and pieces you can find lying about. The thing you build is good for a couple of [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Checks, after which it breaks irreparably or just completely…"
url: "https://openadventurerpg.com/coc/kitbashing/"
updated: "2026-04-27"
category: Rules Modules
---

# Kitbashing

Kitbashing is slinging together something you need in an emergency using whatever bits and pieces you can find lying about. The thing you build is good for a couple of [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Checks, after which it breaks irreparably or just completely falls apart. Examples include:

- A [Grappling Hook](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/grappling-hook/) made from three bent daggers bound together with some old belts.
- A raft assembled from an old wagon bed and four empty barrels.
- A disguise put together using only the items found in a cleaning closet that makes you look like a noble lord—[AS](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/as/) [Long](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/long/) [AS](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/as/) no one looks too closely.

Kitbashing requires the expenditure of [Story Points](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/story-points/). This means Kitbashing, like other forms of Crafting, is always successful. The purpose of a Kitbashing Check is to determine how [Long](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/long/) it takes to assemble the item, not to determine if the item is created successfully.

## Kitbashing vs Stunts

If a character wants to use an object in an improbable way for a single [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Check and that object is already present in its final form, handle the [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) [AS](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/as/) a [Stunt](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/stunt/). For Example, a character uses a merchant’s awning [AS](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/as/) a trampoline to help them [Reach](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/reach/) a high window.

If the character wants to construct something that doesn’t already exist in a usable form, create something persistent to take with them, or assemble an object for repeated use, use the Kitbashing rules. For example, the character constructs a trampoline to [Reach](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/reach/) a high window using an old curtain, a length of [Rope](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/rope/), and a frame built from four discarded spears.

## Effects

Kitbashing is limited to creating relatively simple non-magical items and game effects. The desired outcome or game effects must be reasonably possible using the materials available. Since the character is spending [Story Points](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/story-points/), however, the Adventure Guide may allow game effects that lean toward highly improbable if it makes for a good story.

Characters able to craft magic items may, with the Adventure Guide’s permission, Kitbash items with simple magical effects if this aligns with the way magic works in the setting.

## Story Point Cost

Kitbashed items cost from 1 to 3 [Story Points](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/story-points/) depending on the desired game [Effect](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/effect/). Small, simple items or items of mundane utility cost fewer [Story Points](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/story-points/), while large items or items that produce complex effects cost more. The Adventure Guide sets the Story Point cost.

## Materials, Tools, and Workshops

Unlike other types of Crafting, Kitbashing assumes the characters have the wrong materials, no appropriate tools, and no real workshop. If the characters have access to the right materials, decent tools, or an appropriate workshop, the Adventure Guide should award one or more Benefits to the character’s [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Score for the Kitbashing Check.

## Kitbashing Time

The base time to Kitbash an item is 1 hour. Increasing the base time up front adds a [Benefit](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/benefit/) to the [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Score for each step moved up the time chart. Each decrease of the base crafting time (to a minimum of 1 minute) adds a [Drawback](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/drawback/) to the [Difficulty Score](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/difficulty-score/) per step down the chart. The actual time required to build the item depends on the result of the Kitbashing Check.

### Result and Time

A successful Kitbashing Check may reduce the amount of time it takes to build the item. For each point the result is over the [Difficulty Score](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/difficulty-score/), reduce the time by one step. The minimum time required, regardless of the roll, is 1 minute.

A failed Kitbashing Check increases the time to build the item. Each point rolled under the [Difficulty Score](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/difficulty-score/) increases the time required by one step up the time chart. There is no upper limit to how [Long](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/long/) Kitbashing can take, but the characters may abandon the attempt at any time. If they abandon the attempt, they may not try to Kitbash the same item in the current Adventure, and they expend no less than 1 hour on the effort.

### [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Scores and Difficulty Scores

[Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Scores is determined [AS](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/as/) for a standard [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Check. [Base Difficulty](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/base-difficulty/) Scores are determined in the standard fashion by considering the level of skill required to build such an object under normal circumstances. The Adventure Guide should apply Benefits and [Drawbacks](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/drawbacks/) [AS](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/as/) appropriate.

## Number of Uses

Kitbashed items are useful for at least one [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Check related to its purpose, but they never last more than one [Encounter](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/encounter/). It is up to the Adventure Guide to determine how many times the characters may use the item they Kitbashed, although most Kitbashed items last for about three [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Checks.

### Critical Failures

Any [Critical Failure](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/critical-failure/) on an [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Check using a Kitbashed item causes it to catastrophically fail. The item falls apart, is no longer usable, cannot be repaired, and might even cause additional negative side-effects [AS](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/as/) it fails.

> # Kitbashing vs. Normal [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Checks
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> It isn’t necessary to use Kitbashing rules to construct an improvised item or tool. Characters may instead come up with a plan that is better handled using standard [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Checks. For instance, an Outlander might use their [Intellect](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/intellect/) and Outlander [MO](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/mo/) to build a makeshift raft by making a series of standard [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Checks. The key differences between this type of construction and Kitbashing are the odds of success, the required tools, materials, and conditions, and how the final item is treated in terms of future [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Checks.
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> ### Guaranteed Success
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> Kitbashing costs [Story Points](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/story-points/), so the outcome is guaranteed. No matter what happens, the characters successfully constructs whatever it is they want to build. This is not the case when making normal [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Checks. A failed [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Check when building something by normal means indicates a failure to construct the item and may even result in wasted materials. A failed Kitbashing Check simply increases the construction time.
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> ### Multiple [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Checks
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> Kitbashing requires a single [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Check to determine how [Long](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/long/) it takes to build the item. Depending on the item’s size and complexity, constructing something using standard [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Checks may require a series of checks.
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> ### Appropriate Tools, Conditions, and Materials
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> When using standard [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Checks to build an improvised device, the standard requirements for appropriate tools and conditions apply. If these are not available, the Adventure Guide may add one or more [Drawbacks](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/drawbacks/) to the [Difficulty Score](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/difficulty-score/). The character must also have access to relatively appropriate building materials. Kitbashing has no such requirements.
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> ### Using the Item
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> Using an improvised item built using standard [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Checks (vs a Kitbashed item) typically adds one or more [Drawbacks](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/drawbacks/) to the Difficulty Scores for [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Checks made using the item. For instance, it’s much harder to maneuver a raft slung together out of logs and vines than a properly made boat.
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> Kitbashed items, however, work [AS](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/as/) well [AS](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/as/) the real thing—at least until they fall apart. When making [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Checks using a Kitbashed item, treat it [AS](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/as/) an appropriate tool (and possibly an appropriate condition) for whatever [Action](https://openadventurerpg.com/glossary/action/) Check the character is performing.