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qazzquimby
2014-06-26, 01:37 AM
http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/241/b/8/tf2_engineer_by_biggreenpepper-d5cu4j8.jpg

Metal (Ex): The Engineer works through his mastery of metal. The amount of metal he can easily work with is called a Handfull, and his Handfull size is equal to 1 metal (shortened to 1M)/class level. The Engineer can effortlessly scrounge for materials. At the beginning of his turn, if The Engineer currently has no metal, he automatically finds 1 Handfull of metal regardless of his environment, as long as he has one hand free. For these purposes, metal can take various forms depending on his environment, from bits of wood, to nearby coral, to spare bits he discovers in his back pocket. He can make an additional Handfull by sundering an object worth at least 2 Gp. The Engineer can supply any amount of his metal to a building within 5ft as a standard action.

Buildings (Ex): Buildings are Small constructions that, once built, do the majority of the Engineer's work for him. The Engineer designs his buildings for the day in the morning, as wizards prepare spells. He can have 1+1/3level building designs, and each design can be built any number of times that day. A building design lists the Modifications (see the list of modifications below) found on each level of the building. Buildings have four levels, from 0-3. A level 0 building is a very basic construction with its base hp (2 hp per class level), but no other abilities or stats and no Modifications. Levels 1-3 are progressively improved forms of the level 0 building, and each have Modifications determined during building design.

The Engineer can place a level 0 building and supply it with any amount of his metal in the same standard action. Once the Engineer has supplied enough metal to a building to afford all of the modifications on the next highest level, the building passively begins upgrading and gains the benefits of the modifications after the beginning of the Engineer's next turn. All of the Engineer's buildings act directly after him, in an order of the Engineer's choice. Note that this means the benefit of the modifications is delayed until one round after the required metal is supplied, while the building is upgrading.

The engineer can have up to 2 + 3/level buildings at a time constructed at a time, and no building in it's highest tier can cost more than 5 Handfulls.

Hasty Repair (Ex): The Engineer can repair damage to a building by spending 1M/20 health repaired as an immediate action while within 5ft of the building. If he does so, he can not add metal to a building on his next turn.

Moving that Gear Up (Ex):The Engineer can carry a building by using both hands and moving at half speed. The building then takes 1 round per previously reached stage to deploy.


When reading the modifications list, "M" indicates metal, so 1M/8 would indicate 1 metal being required to allow 2 points of the bonus. The same modification can be purchased multiple times, for example if 1 metal allows 1d8 damage per attack, spending 3 metal allows 3d8 per attack.

All radii referenced originate from a 5ft space, rather than a point. A 0ft radius is the single space, a 5ft radius is a + sign, and from there the pattern continues normally.

Modifications:
Level 0 health: 2 hp per class level


All weapon modifications are controlled by sets of routines, which are trigger and response instructions. Multiple modifications can read from the same set of routines, but a modification can only read one set of routines at a time, and can change which set of routines it reads from as a response. Each building gains one set with one routine for free, and further routines can be bought 2 for 1M each. A single routine can be used in more than one set. Triggers should be short and clearly visible (spot DC 15 or less) criterion such as "anyone but us four," or "anyone not wearing a fruit hat." Responses are similarly simple instructions, such as "attack."

Hearing a weapon modification attack requires a listen check against a base DC of 1M/15.

By spending 3M, all attacks made by a building are considered to be magical.

Attack Bonus
The building gains a 1M/+4 bonus to all attacks.

Standard
Damage: 1M/(1d6)1d8 piercing damage
Range: 1 target within 40+1M/10ft.

Beam
Damage: 1M/(1d4)1d6 positive damage.
Range: 1M/20ft line.

Custom
1M/hand. Can hold, fire, and reload weapons. Gains one set of actions, but cannot make more than one attack per turn.

Flamethrower
Damage: 1M/(1d4)1d6 fire damage.
Range: 1M/10ft cone.

Grenade Launcher
Fires a grenade which functions as a thrown weapon. The grenade goes off at the beginning of the sentry's next turn.
Damage: 1M/(2d4)2d6 bludgeoning damage.
Range: Sentry can throw the grenade up to 40+1M/10ft. Damages 1M/15ft radius around the grenade, minimum 1 5ft space.

Quad Rockets
Damage: 1M/(2d4)2d6 bludgeoning damage, every other round. 5ft knockback per 5 damage dealt.
Range: 1M/15ft radius, minimum 1 5ft space, within 40+1M/10ft.

On the building's turn, area support modifications target all creatures within the radius.

Area support modifications are controlled by routines, like weapon modifications, but buildings start with no free routines for area support modifications, and two routines can be bought for 1M.

Healing
Targeted creatures gain 1M/4 temporary health per round.

Damage Resistance
Targeted creatures gain 1M/DR 2/-.

Energy Resistance
Targeted creatures gain 1M/energy resistance 4 against acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic damage, chosen when the building is designed.

Foil Stealth
[LVL 3] For 10M, targeted creatures lose invisibility and silencing effects. Targeted creatures take a 1m/-6 penalty to hide and move silently checks.

Metal Supply
Targeted creature gains 2M/1M every round at the beginning of your turn. Can only target one creature, and it must have levels in this class.

Change Light
For 1M, the area within the radius is affected by a daylight or darkness spell. The building can switch between the effects or end the effect on its turn.

Align
[LVL 3] For 5M, the area within the radius is affected by a Hallow or Unhallow spell, chosen during building design, with a caster level equal to your class level.


Personal Damage Resistance
The building gains 1M/DR 1/-.

Extension
[LVL 3]For 1M each, building can construct sub-buildings in any formation around it so long as each sub-building is adjacent at least one other sub-building. These sub-buildings can only take defensive modifications (health, damage resistance, ect.) and get the Wall modification for free. While the Engineer is within 5ft of the building with Extension or any of its sub-buildings, it is considered to be adjacent to all of them

Max Health
The building gains 1M/12 max health.

Wall
For 1M the building extend into a wall onto any edge of its space, providing total cover and blocking movement across that border, or making a flat and easily traveled surface if placed above.

Afgncaap5
2014-06-26, 12:37 PM
It's a fun idea, to be sure. In some ways, an Engineer building a building would be a bit like a caster who can initiate a Summon Monster spell and run away as the spell continues casting itself. So, a caster can cast it and run away before that pesky one round casting time ends, but it isn't around to make any concentration checks in the event that someone tries to disrupt the spell by attacking.

I can't do much to test it at the moment, but I like the idea. To a lesser extent, it also reminds me of what little I know about Shamans from WoW (they, like... drop little things on the ground that cause effects, right?)

qazzquimby
2014-06-26, 03:09 PM
You can't really run away, because it takes a full round action to supply metal (maybe shorter actions to supply fractions of your max metal) so if it's just dropped it may be fairly underwhelming.

One problem right now is metal supply. Current rules encourage you to carry a big bag of metal around for the shortest build times, which basically just means there is no cap on max metal. Upside is this is simple, and doesn't break anything, downside is it's kind of boring compared to having party members tossing you helmets and things to sunder into your gun.

The speed of metal acquisition will have huge effects on damage done over the encounter, so it's important that gets figured out so the class can be balanced around it. My current estimates are that the Engineer starts at full metal every turn, which requires that he is prepared with extra, he has a very good dispenser, or people are throwing him supplies.

Here are some numbers at level 10



Round 1
2
3
4
5


Warlock's default eldritch blast
17.5
35
52.5
70
87.5


Max damage (20 health, +0 att)
0 (building)
17.5(level 1, 5d6)
62.5(level 2, 10d8)
130(level 3, 15d8)
197.5(Still level 3)


Build with some att (20 health, +4,8,12 att)
0 (building)
14(level 1, 4d6)
50(level 2, 8d8)
104(level 3, 12d8)
158(Still level 3)



And both of those are putting no metal into defense or repair, so that's just what's possible while safely defended.

SinsI
2014-06-27, 12:02 PM
After the encounter, can you demolish and retrieve all the metal you've used?

qazzquimby
2014-06-29, 05:15 PM
I'm finally back, and will update pretty soon.


After the encounter, can you demolish and retrieve all the metal you've used?
That's a good idea, though it wouldn't be critical since reaching max metal should be easy given out-of-combat time.

Hanuman
2014-07-12, 01:12 AM
@Metal

Rename this class feature and make the unit of measurement Scrap.
Mundane crafted objects up to your light load are considered scrap even when destroyed.

If you want the engineer to transmute things into metal you need to state that, and probably not make it (Ex) and change the balance up a lot.

Sunder is a combat maneuver or the result of one, a sundered object could have taken 0 damage.

@Buildings

If the ability is (Ex) then why does the engineer "prepare" them?

If you have to prepare buildings as if they were spells then what is the purpose of having metal/scrap?

Could you not just have construct summons which you can heal?

@Modifications

Honestly, how I would approach this would be to allow the engineer to modify a magic weapon and replace a bonus of the weapon for ones he chooses from (for party utility), in addition he may choose even more for himself to use to balance out his combat influence.

@Area Support

Have your summons able to cast limited spells per day via set contingency or command word.
You could also have an alchemical chamber and simple ways to apply it.


Overall I like the idea of it, I love that you've worked out clear and concise datapoint tables, but I generally disagree with the premise of Scrap.


I'll come back and peach again when there's more content :smallsmile: