Dire Panda
2012-07-12, 09:28 AM
One of the campaigns I'm running takes place in a fantasy world that has recently industrialized. Most of the usual steampunk tropes (airships, goggles, Tesla coils) apply, but I've been trying to integrate a decent amount of magic into the world's technology. For example, from an engineering perspective, a simple Decanter of Endless Water has a variety of uses that would never come up in a standard fantasy campaign: you could use it as a pressure source for hydraulic systems, or link dozens of them together as part of a city's plumbing. My question to the playgrounders, then, is what creative synergies can you find between existing magic and industrial-age technology?
The only restrictions:
-The world is E6, but items with up to CL 10 can be created. More powerful items exist as relics from previous ages when the E6 limit didn't apply, but they're much too rare to use.
-No divine magic; the gods died at the end of the last campaign. (Actually, this is the primary reason the world was able to industrialize in the first place)
Some examples I've come up with, all invented by the players' favorite gnome NPC:
Dr. Pengo's Thaumic Dynamo
This odd-looking device's gears sit at odd angles to one another and are flecked with bits of crystal. Still odder materials, including a rabbit's foot and dragon scales, sit at the end of rotating protuberances. In the hands of a knowledgeable magic user, however, its oddness can be overlooked - the thaumic dynamo is a revolutionary gadget capable of converting arcane magic to physical force. With a DC 10 Spellcraft check and a standard action, an arcane caster can feed one of her prepared spells or spell slots into the device, generating 10 Energy Units of electrical or mechanical power per level of the spell. Warlocks are a special case; their eldritch blasts and invocations always produce only 10EU.
Weight 100lbs, price 5000gp
Dr. Pengo's Paranormascope
This hand-cranked gadget looks similar to the Thaumic Dynamo at first glance, but its purpose is to detect nearby supernatural activity. When cranked and pointed at something (a standard action that does not provoke AoO's), the Paranormascope emits different beeps depending upon what variety of supernatural entity is detected. The three categories are: active spells or supernatural effects (including magic items); incorporeal entities; creatures with spells, SLA's, or supernatural abilities. When two or three beeps sound at the same time (for example, in the case of spellcasting ghosts), it takes a DC 10 Listen check to determine which categories the subject falls into. The Paranormascope scans a 60ft cone per use.
Weight 5lbs, price 1000gp
Dr. Pengo's Garlic-Lubricated Stake-O-Matic
In a world where vampires exist and their weaknesses are known, it's inevitable that someone will capitalize on the need for dedicated anti-vampire weaponry. This large and unwieldy device features a rotating drum magazine which holds six silver-tipped wooden stakes, launched with pneumatic force and lubricated with an internal reservoir of garlic oil. Its stakes strike as silvered crossbow bolts against the living and most undead, but vampires are horribly wounded; they take double damage from stakes, which continues to deal 1d6 damage each round until removed. One standard action (which provokes AoO's) removes all stakes. A critical hit from this gadget stakes the vampire through the heart, rendering it helpless. Replacing a depleted magazine is a full-round action (standard action with Rapid Reload), and the internal pneumatic cylinder holds enough gas for eighteen shots.
Damage 1d8 (2d8 to vampires), crit range 19-20, crit multiplier x2, range increment 120ft, weight 15lb, firearms proficiency required, price 2000gp
Dr. Pengo's Hydromatic Battle Gear
Powered battle suits offering superior protection to full plate have existed for a few years now, but their steam engines are quite bulky and tend to encumber the wearer. Worse, suit failures often fatally scald the wearer with steam. Dr. Pengo's improved design incorporates a Decanter of Endless Water as a pressure source for hydraulic lines, giving motion assistance with less heat, weight, or risk. Of course, this technology is in its infancy, and excess water sometimes needs to be vented from valves located in eight positions across the suit. This regular squirting makes stealth all but impossible (-8 penalty to Hide and Move Silently, plus the DC to track the wearer decreases by 8) but has the advantage of giving the wearer fire resistance 5 and preventing her from being set on fire.
Armor bonus +12, max DEX +1, armor check penalty -6, spell failure chance 35%, max speed 20ft, adds +4 STR and 5 fire resistance, price 36,000gp
Now let's see what the Playground can come up with!
The only restrictions:
-The world is E6, but items with up to CL 10 can be created. More powerful items exist as relics from previous ages when the E6 limit didn't apply, but they're much too rare to use.
-No divine magic; the gods died at the end of the last campaign. (Actually, this is the primary reason the world was able to industrialize in the first place)
Some examples I've come up with, all invented by the players' favorite gnome NPC:
Dr. Pengo's Thaumic Dynamo
This odd-looking device's gears sit at odd angles to one another and are flecked with bits of crystal. Still odder materials, including a rabbit's foot and dragon scales, sit at the end of rotating protuberances. In the hands of a knowledgeable magic user, however, its oddness can be overlooked - the thaumic dynamo is a revolutionary gadget capable of converting arcane magic to physical force. With a DC 10 Spellcraft check and a standard action, an arcane caster can feed one of her prepared spells or spell slots into the device, generating 10 Energy Units of electrical or mechanical power per level of the spell. Warlocks are a special case; their eldritch blasts and invocations always produce only 10EU.
Weight 100lbs, price 5000gp
Dr. Pengo's Paranormascope
This hand-cranked gadget looks similar to the Thaumic Dynamo at first glance, but its purpose is to detect nearby supernatural activity. When cranked and pointed at something (a standard action that does not provoke AoO's), the Paranormascope emits different beeps depending upon what variety of supernatural entity is detected. The three categories are: active spells or supernatural effects (including magic items); incorporeal entities; creatures with spells, SLA's, or supernatural abilities. When two or three beeps sound at the same time (for example, in the case of spellcasting ghosts), it takes a DC 10 Listen check to determine which categories the subject falls into. The Paranormascope scans a 60ft cone per use.
Weight 5lbs, price 1000gp
Dr. Pengo's Garlic-Lubricated Stake-O-Matic
In a world where vampires exist and their weaknesses are known, it's inevitable that someone will capitalize on the need for dedicated anti-vampire weaponry. This large and unwieldy device features a rotating drum magazine which holds six silver-tipped wooden stakes, launched with pneumatic force and lubricated with an internal reservoir of garlic oil. Its stakes strike as silvered crossbow bolts against the living and most undead, but vampires are horribly wounded; they take double damage from stakes, which continues to deal 1d6 damage each round until removed. One standard action (which provokes AoO's) removes all stakes. A critical hit from this gadget stakes the vampire through the heart, rendering it helpless. Replacing a depleted magazine is a full-round action (standard action with Rapid Reload), and the internal pneumatic cylinder holds enough gas for eighteen shots.
Damage 1d8 (2d8 to vampires), crit range 19-20, crit multiplier x2, range increment 120ft, weight 15lb, firearms proficiency required, price 2000gp
Dr. Pengo's Hydromatic Battle Gear
Powered battle suits offering superior protection to full plate have existed for a few years now, but their steam engines are quite bulky and tend to encumber the wearer. Worse, suit failures often fatally scald the wearer with steam. Dr. Pengo's improved design incorporates a Decanter of Endless Water as a pressure source for hydraulic lines, giving motion assistance with less heat, weight, or risk. Of course, this technology is in its infancy, and excess water sometimes needs to be vented from valves located in eight positions across the suit. This regular squirting makes stealth all but impossible (-8 penalty to Hide and Move Silently, plus the DC to track the wearer decreases by 8) but has the advantage of giving the wearer fire resistance 5 and preventing her from being set on fire.
Armor bonus +12, max DEX +1, armor check penalty -6, spell failure chance 35%, max speed 20ft, adds +4 STR and 5 fire resistance, price 36,000gp
Now let's see what the Playground can come up with!