Non magical crafting system design

[Zakier]

I'm trying to design a crafting system but the extent of my knowledge is 3.5 d&d crafting. That's not a terrible system by itself but it had its problems being tied into magic.

What I want to build or get help with is a way to set up a crafting system to create mechanical and computerized items. My setting is post modern. Magic doesn't exist but I want magic to be based on a different system called binding. It isn't relevant for the current crafting.

Imy not sure how to design one based on electronics, machinery and computer programming.
A large part of my game design is based on free form actions from combat to magic so I don't want a list of specific things like class 2 AI programming.

I want players to be able to make nearly whatever thy want. Any suggestions on how this may be done would help.

[inuyasha]

Well, Pathfinder has the Master Craftsman feat, that pretty much requires you to have a certain number of ranks in Craft (whatever), and once you take it you can qualify for the Craft Wondrous Item and Craft Magic Arms & Armor feats. From there you can allow people to build whatever they want by coming up with suitable technological explanations of whatever "magic items" they make, even if it does get a little fantastic.

[nomotag]

I'm trying to design a crafting system but the extent of my knowledge is 3.5 d&d crafting. That's not a terrible system by itself but it had its problems being tied into magic.

What I want to build or get help with is a way to set up a crafting system to create mechanical and computerized items. My setting is post modern. Magic doesn't exist but I want magic to be based on a different system called binding. It isn't relevant for the current crafting.

Imy not sure how to design one based on electronics, machinery and computer programming.
A large part of my game design is based on free form actions from combat to magic so I don't want a list of specific things like class 2 AI programming.

I want players to be able to make nearly whatever thy want. Any suggestions on how this may be done would help.

I am not really sure what the requirements you have are? Like do you want this to be based off skills? Do you want rules for designing items? Do you need rules to figure out who can craft what? Is there some kind of feel you want to invoke by crafting?

A crafting system is a very vague thing. I have a system I drag around because it gives the feeling of inventing and improvisation with simple rules. The rule is that players can craft an item made up of two other items. Like duct taping a flashlight to your shotgun. It's a simple way to do a lot of the projects players want without getting bugged down into balance. (It's very hard to brake a system like this because your not adding new powers, just shuffling them around.)

[Zakier]

Mistake in OP. Magic Does exist.

I want crafting to be based on skill checks. This is not magical crafting. Regular crafting. It's a post modern game and I assume players who want to craft won't be making simple knives or something. Instead they would be making advanced equipment, grappling hook guns, drones,, computers and other electronic devices. Perhaps robots (constructs) later on. And I want what's financially possible to be rank dependent. Like if you have 5 ranks in robotics you could make a simple robot like a toy. Someone with 30+ ranks would be able to make an iron man suit.

[AlmaPenzare]

Check out the Steelforge Nonmagical weapon enhancement sheet

[Morphic tide]

*points at GURPS vehicle system for inspiration*

That thing lets you make basically any vehicle you can dream of, and the rest of GURPS has enough crafting systems, point buy setups and abilities to represent basically anything you can dream of. Which is the entire point of GURPS, anyway...