A tactical scanner is one of the most useful items of technology a being can have and it is rare to find someone without one. There are three main uses of a tactical scanner: line of sight vision enhancement, general dimension analysis, and etheric scanning. A basic tactical scanner will cost 11 credits. It is worn at the eyes and generally looks like either goggles or sunglasses.
A tactical scanner can enhance your vision in a number of ways. It can provide approximately 100 times magnification. It allows for low light enhancement, intense light shielding, as well as viewing in different wavelengths of light such as infrared and ultraviolet.
Tactical scanners will be able to judge distances and sizes for you. You will be able to look at a person some distance away and the scanner will be able to tell you that he is 185.3 meters away and that he is exactly 1.8 meters tall. Or it could tell you the chasm you have to jump across is exactly 3.4 meters across.
An etheric scanner can detect two things, mass and energy, and is the means that vessels can navigate while travelling faster than light and scientists can detect fundamental properties of matter and energy. Etheric scanning capabilities are usually blinded by the proximity mass by being on a planet's surface, deadening the ability to detect anything other than dramatic changes in mass or energy within about a 1 km range. Practically speaking, this means that the etheric scanning capability of a tactical scanner only have one use - detecting incoming attacks.
For projectile attacks, the scanner will be able to detect the high speed mass approaching and warn the user. This allows the user to actually be able to spend dice to duck. If the target had no tactical scanner, his first indication he was under attack would be when the projectile hit him or went flying by.
Similarly, for energy attacks, the tactical scanner can detect the energy potential building up just before a weapon discharges. The alignment of the energy potential can be determined and if it is aligned towards the vicinity of the scanner, the scanner will warn the target that there is incoming fire. Each energy weapon needs a brief build up of power before discharging, allowing this detection. It is possible for a weapon to be modified for continuous build up, but that tends to point him out as a threat to everyone in the vicinity who has a tactical scanner.
It is worth noting that if a group of people are close together and one person is shot at, the tactical scanners may not be able to determine precisely who is the target.
| Bonus to Hit | Add to cost |
| +1 | 22 |
| +2 | 44 |
| +3 | 361 |
A tactical scanner can be configured to provide visual targeting. All types will detect the weapon (or weapons) you are holding and extrapolate your aim, showing you a line of delivery and impact point of a potential shot. It accomplishes this by imprinted a beam of light on your vision, superimposing it on what you see. The +2 variant adds the ability to predict probabilities of your shots, showing where it is likely to land, and a expanding cone of where it might land in decreasing probabilities. The +3 variant includes with it a semi-intelligent computer that will attempt to guess at your target depending on where you are aiming and give you a visual or auditory cue when it believes a shot will successfully hit the target.
The cost for targeting is per weapon used. Obviously, targeting of this sort is not usable for hand to hand attacks.
| Bonus to Locate | Add to cost |
| +1 | 1 |
| +2 | 4 |
| +3 | 19 |
| +4 | 53 |
| +5 | 274 |
Additional sensing abilities can be added to a tactical scanner, giving it a bonus to locate. Tactical scanners of this type tend to be quite bulky, often taking the form of large goggles or a full helmet.