Scientific "Tricks"

[Dannyalcatraz]

Well, one of American TV's classic adventuring scientists- Angus MacGyver- relied mostly on his wits to extricate himself (and others) from sticky situations...but he did have to throw the odd punch or two in combat. AFAIK, he never used a firearm, and carried nothing more intrinsically weapon-like than a folding pocket knife.

The same could be said of Dr. "Indiana" Jones...plus expert whip and pistol use, to boot.

Artemus Gordon, likewise, used brains more than brawn, but was a product of his age: he, too, knew fisticuffs & firearms.

 

[Hand of Evil]

To me it comes down to a few categories that can apply to an obstacle being physical, magic or software:

• Bypass - going around an obstacle
• Re-directed - obstacle is being moved
• Overrode - obstacle is completely replaced with alike model that favors the user

This can be performed by simple skill roles, does it work or not, or as a task list where a number of roles are used to get to the end result.