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View Full Version : I want MAD SCIENCE! [3.5]



Morph Bark
2010-08-16, 10:33 AM
In my campaign setting I have decided on the go that elves will be mad scientists rather than the typical stuff (they'll also live between the sea and desert, but that's a side thing). So I got to wondering... there are many magic items, alchemical items and small contraptions one can carry on one's person in DnD, but what about big machines and such?

I want as many machines as possible, magical or not - I plan on changing the magical ones to non-magical ones that can be disabled with a Disable Device check of 10 + caster (creator) level with someone with trapfinding.

Homebrew is perfectly fine too.

Boci
2010-08-16, 10:34 AM
Artificer is pretty good. Effigy can be made with the craft contruct feat available at level 9. Wizard / effigy master can do it earlier, but they aren't as good.

dsmiles
2010-08-16, 10:34 AM
Seriously? Look at Iron Kingdoms for tech and magic/tech items.

Greenish
2010-08-16, 10:35 AM
Animated Object.

Besides, when doing mad science, don't forged grafts!

Hirax
2010-08-16, 10:35 AM
I saw mad scientist and immediately thought of the fleshwarper in Lords of Madness. Not what you're looking for exactly, but it might be worth featuring one or two.

hamishspence
2010-08-16, 10:35 AM
Eberron has a few artifact-type super-machines.

Starbuck_II
2010-08-16, 10:36 AM
In my campaign setting I have decided on the go that elves will be mad scientists rather than the typical stuff (they'll also live between the sea and desert, but that's a side thing). So I got to wondering... there are many magic items, alchemical items and small contraptions one can carry on one's person in DnD, but what about big machines and such?

I want as many machines as possible, magical or not - I plan on changing the magical ones to non-magical ones that can be disabled with a Disable Device check of 10 + caster (creator) level with someone with trapfinding.

Homebrew is perfectly fine too.

Warcraft has some good Alchemy/machines to plunder.
Dragonmech does as well.

Morph Bark
2010-08-16, 10:55 AM
Animated Object.

Besides, when doing mad science, don't forged grafts!


I saw mad scientist and immediately thought of the fleshwarper in Lords of Madness. Not what you're looking for exactly, but it might be worth featuring one or two.

I'm not really looking for specific builds or spells... moreso items and the like. I also recall that one of the Book of Fiends had a machine that forcefully put a fiendish graft on you. I mean something like that.


Eberron has a few artifact-type super-machines.

Great! Are they also in specific books? I don't know how many Eberron books there are...


Warcraft has some good Alchemy/machines to plunder.
Dragonmech does as well.

I sadly don't have access to many books (at all) outside 3.5, so I'm moreso looking at things specifically 3.5-statted or perhaps open source somewhere or statless (like the stuff of Grimtooth's Traps).

Dusk Eclipse
2010-08-16, 10:55 AM
Warforged Titans!!!!
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/eberron/eb_WarforgedTitan.jpg

Greenish
2010-08-16, 11:02 AM
I'm not really looking for specific builds or spells... moreso items and the like.I meant Animated Objects as the monsters. That could easily provide a baseline for a number of Clockwork constructs, say. Grafts are very item-like.

hamishspence
2010-08-16, 01:16 PM
Great! Are they also in specific books? I don't know how many Eberron books there are...

I think most are in the main campaign book as "eldritch machines"- I might check and see if the others have any though.

GoatBoy
2010-08-16, 01:23 PM
"Player's Guide to Faerun" is 3.0, but its "Gnome Artificer" PrC is based on mimicking spells via non-magical effects, and could offer some suggestions on how to create/rule for such devices, including their size/volume.

Alleine
2010-08-16, 01:29 PM
The BoVD has both a cauldron that can make lots of zombies and an infernal grafting machine, you might also want to look into the liquid pain extractor. The first two are technically minor artifacts, and the pain extractor is a standard magic item though it would be easy to make it into a large machine capable of doing its thing to large numbers of creatures.

Morph Bark
2010-08-16, 03:14 PM
I think most are in the main campaign book as "eldritch machines"- I might check and see if the others have any though.

That would be peachy. Really very much so. :smallbiggrin:


"Player's Guide to Faerun" is 3.0, but its "Gnome Artificer" PrC is based on mimicking spells via non-magical effects, and could offer some suggestions on how to create/rule for such devices, including their size/volume.

Ah, that's exactly the kind of thing I intend to do, except with Elves (though, ironically, in an earlier session I told the players there is one noble Elven house with Gnomish blood).


The BoVD has both a cauldron that can make lots of zombies and an infernal grafting machine, you might also want to look into the liquid pain extractor. The first two are technically minor artifacts, and the pain extractor is a standard magic item though it would be easy to make it into a large machine capable of doing its thing to large numbers of creatures.

Yes! That's the machine I was talking about, though I thought it was in one of the Fiend books, though it could always have been reprinted for them I guess. I suppose there might be more Mad Science-like artifacts around then there are as magic items.

hamishspence
2010-08-16, 03:59 PM
That would be peachy. Really very much so. :smallbiggrin:

Aside from ther basic Eldritch Machine in the campaign guide, there isn't much. Secrets of Xendrik has a few wondrous locations, Secrets of Sarlona has one. And the DMG2 has a few.

Randel
2010-08-16, 06:37 PM
The rules for magic traps could be used to make stationary magic devices that cast a spell over and over. Stuff like Create Food and Water traps being the ones I remember most.

You could just refluff them to make big machines or magic items that repeatedly cast a useful spell.

Healing tubes that cast Cure Light Wounds on whoever is inside them until they are fully revived. Maybe regeneration or something could be used as well.

Fabricate machines that take raw materials and instantly turn them into finished products... could be used to mass-produce masterwork weapons for their army.

Stationary devices that cast barrier spells like Force Wall or Prismatic Sphere... use it as a protective shield to surround their mad scientist lab.



The there are permanent walls of flame that could be used to create boilers that never run out of heat. Use it to heat water and have an unlimited supply of steam. Use the steam to power all sorts of engines and such.


Then, the eberron setting has various homunculi that could be treated as robots or such. Expiditious messengers are useful for having them watch over the place and maybe direct their vision to display on mirrors or windows... have a security guard somewhere watching a group of monitors to spot invaders.