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View Full Version : Crafting Mechanical Items (Magitek/Steampunk) [Pathfinder/3.5]



Thomar_of_Uointer
2012-09-04, 03:56 PM
Rant

So I understand that there are certain high fantasy genres that are pretty popular, and which also have very, very loaded labels. "Steampunk" has a whole load of aesthetic qualities involving brass wheels and a broad variety of technologies, character archetypes which don't quite fit into D&D, and social unrest with dystopian. "Magitek" comes from Final Fantasy 6 where it was used as a label for military technology based on harvesting the souls of magical sentients in a world where magic was rare, but it has grown to encompass any kind of technology based on magic, especially Eberron and settings similar to Eberron. The Tippyverse also deserves mention for its analysis of the use of magic as technology. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=222007)

And every homebrew system I've seen for either of them is large, cumbersome, and not really portable to many other settings. The crazy thing is that just about every fantasy setting invented in the last 30 years has had magical technologies but never called attention to them them, they just hand waved them as either ancient technologies or practical forms of magic. There's no need to heavily modify the D&D rules or add new classes, skills, and feats to support fantastic technologies because the rules are already there!


So, I put together some really simple ideas for how to incorporate any flavor of magitek, steampunch technology, or even sci-fi technology into a D&D game. The goal here is to be portable and simple. This is specific to Pathfinder, but shouldn't be too hard to make it work in other systems.

Crunch

Mechanical Magic
Mechanical items are crafted using the same rules as normal magic items. In fact, many mechanical items are simply magic items with a few drawbacks (like a chainsword, which is simply a +2 longsword that makes a lot of noise and requires fuel).

Choose any of the following rules for mechanical items:

Mechanical items are unaffected by dispel magic and antimagic fields, but have two of the Mechanical Item Drawbacks. They have the same market and crafting prices as equivalent magic items.
Mechanical items cost 10% less per additional Mechanical Item Drawback, up to a 30% price reduction.
All mass-produced magic items in the setting have at least one mechanical item drawback.


Mechanical Item Drawbacks

The following is a list of suggested drawbacks for magic items which rely on technology. The GM should choose drawbacks appropriate to the item. A medical clank in a surgery ward could be bolted in place, but it's not much of a drawback if it's noisy. On the other hand, a suit of stealth field armor that requires exotic proficiency and makes a telltale humming noise is quite appropriate.


Item weighs twice as much as normal or 10 pounds (whichever is greater). While held or in use it imposes a -2 armor check penalty.
Item requires 25 gp of fuel weighing 5 pounds per day. If left unused for more than a week it has a 25% chance to be nonfunctional when activated, which requires 1d6 minutes, an appropriate toolkit, and a DC 20 skill check to repair.
Item is incredibly noisy when active (must require a standard action to activate or deactivate). When active anyone nearby suffers a -5 penalty to Perception checks, and the user suffers a -20 penalty to Stealth checks.
Item has a chance of backfiring (the item must require an attack roll or skill check). On a natural 1 the item immediately gains the broken condition. If a natural 1 is rolled while the item is broken it explodes, completely destroying it and dealing 1d6 damage per caster level to the user and everyone within 15' (damage type is based on the item, Reflex DC 15 for half damage, the user gets no save).
Item has a chance of overheating (the item must require an attack roll or skill check). On a natural 1 the item becomes nonfunctional for 2d6 rounds and deals 1 point of fire damage per caster level to any creature in the same square as it. If the item is handheld the user is allowed a DC 20 Reflex save to throw it into an immediate square and take no damage.
If the item ever gains the broken condition it will explode in 1d4-2 rounds, completely destroying it and dealing 1d6 damage per caster level to everyone within 60' (damage type is based on the item, Reflex DC 10 + caster level for half damage).
The item must be securerly bolted in place for safety. The item can be relocated, but it requires an hour of work and an appropriate tool kit to erect or dismantle it. Anytime the item is activated when not bolted down (20% chance per round if continuous) it gains the broken condition.
The item requires a mechanical item exotic proficiency feat to use (weapons and armors only).



Example Items

Chainsword
This weapon is a modified chainsaw designed for cutting through barbed wire and penetrating power armor. While active its engine produces a significant amount of noise, imposing a -5 penalty to Perception checks and a -20 penalty to Stealth checks. Activating or deactivating it is a standard action. It functions as a +2 keen bastard sword while active or as a nonmasterwork club while inactive. It also requires 25 gp of fuel weighing 5 pounds per day. If left unused for more than a week it has a 25% chance to be nonfunctional when activated, which requires 1d6 minutes, a mechanic's toolkit, and a DC 20 Craft (engines) check to repair.
14,400 gp, keen edges, CL 10th, Craft Magic Arms And Armor, 6 lbs

Ice Ray
This flamethrower has been modified to spray superchilled water which freezes on contact with anything solid. Its attack is a 25' ray dealing 1d3 cold damage on a successful touch attack. It comes with a two-gallon container which can hold 15 pounds of water, each shot requires one pound of water. Characters without the Magitek Firearms proficiency feat suffer a -4 penalty to attack rolls with it. If it is used to make more than one attack per round it begins to freeze over for 2d6 rounds, as the chill metal spell.
700 gp, ray of frost, CL 1st, Craft Wondrous Item, 5 lbs.

Medical Injector
This disposable medical device functions as a potion of cure moderate wounds, though it's considerably heavier.
270 gp, cure moderate wounds, CL 3rd, Brew Potion, 10 lbs.

Street Lamp
Phlostigion lamps use a mixture of elemental fluid coupled with light spells, illuminating a 20' radius with an additional 20' of shadowy illumination. Moving an active lamp is dangerous, it has a 20% chance per round to explode when moved. If a street lamp takes 2 hp of damage it will explode in 1d4-2 rounds, dealing 1d6 fire damage to everyone within 60' (Reflex DC 11 for half). Hardness 2 4 hp.
700 gp, light, CL 1st, Craft Wondrous Item, 10 lbs


Mass Production

Mass-producing magic items is possible, but it requires a significant amount of setup. The costs involved usually require government backing, and the most commonly mass-produced items are armor or weapons. To start, a mage capable of crafting the item in question must spend the setup time (indicated on the table below) preparing the assembly line to create a specific magic item and make the necessary skill checks, and enough raw materials to create the minimum number of items (as indicated on the table) must be present as the mage prepares it. All persons working on the assembly line must be trained workers with ranks in Spellcraft. Mass-produced magic items require 85% of their market price in raw materials, as efficiency is traded for speed.

{table=head]Type|Maximum Caster Level|Workers Required|Setup Time|Crafting Rate|Minimum Number of Items
Simple|5|3|1 week|2000 gp/day|10
Small|10|9|2 weeks|4000 gp/day|25
Medium|15|30|3 weeks|6000 gp/day|50
Large|20|100|4 weeks|8000 gp/day|100[/table]





I'd love to hear some feedback and ideas for other types of drawbacks.

tl;dr: Everybody's steampunk/magitek rules are too complex, just use normal magic item rules, tack on a few flavorful drawbacks and call it a day.