moonfly7
2019-05-05, 10:50 AM
This is my homebrew class made for a game I'm playing in, its called the kobold inventor class, but it could feasibly be adapted to fit any race. Me and my DM want help and opinions about this, thanks for any help.
Kobold Inventor
A kobold sits atop a half orcs back in a wicker basket filled with strange contraptions, while his companions by time, he finishes the clockwork weapon that will defeat their long time foe, and shouts out to his comrades. A kobold is chased out of the dens for constantly taking notes and tinkering, he escapes with a large bag filled with his work, under his breath he whispers the proper combination of ingredients over and over in a calming tune as he sloshes bottles together, as the others catch up to him, he smashes his bottles down, and escapes while the forest blazes. While there are many kobolds who aspire to be inventors, only certain kobold outliers achieve the true aspirations of the inventor. They often take strange materials to try and create the most helpful and perplexing tools. They are often difficult for party members to understand, but when befriended, they become staunch allies, and ingenious inventors.
Class features
As a Kobold inventor, you gain the following class features.
Hit dice: 1d8 per Kobold inventor level
Hit Points at 1st level: 8+your constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per kobold inventor level after 1st
Proficiencies
Armour: light armour, any armour made by the inventor
Weapons: simple weapon, any weapon made by the inventor
Tools: tinkers tools, alchemist tools, smiths tools, thieves tools, and two more tools of your choice
Saving throws: Dexterity, Intelligence
Skills: choose three from investigation, insight, perception, arcana, animal handling, nature, survival, or stealth.
Equipment
You start with this equipment including the equipment granted by your background:
Light crossbow, 40 bolts or b any simple weapon
Two light hammers or B, two simple weapons
Leather armour
Or 5d4 starting gold, you can convert this into material that can be used to craft inventions before the game. 10 pounds of junk, or materials you harvest costs 1 gp. Whether or not you start with wealth, you also start with 2 tool kits of your choice.
Features
Traditional inventions
Kobold inventors have been passing down recipes for inventions for years, but you have taken several of these and made them much more effective. At level one, a kobold inventor knows how to build 3 inventions from this list, this increases to four at seventh level, and 5 at tenth level. Some inventions have saving throws made against your inventor DC, to calculate that, add eight plus your int modifier plus your prof bonus (8+int+prof). If an invention requires an attack roll, you may use either your strength or dex for it, and add your proficiency bonus to it.
One man’s trash, is one kobolds equipment
At level 1 you have gained experience in acting quickly, on gut instinct to invent. As a bonus action on your turn, you can search for items around you, as an action you can turn the random junk around you into useful equipment, depending on what's around you, you may be able to make different things, you always seem to find something of use. When you use this feature, you roll on the gut invention table, which gives you the materials you find to work with. You may combine these materials with any items you have in your pack, as well as generic items that are on the ground like leaves, dirt, rocks, or small twigs, to name a few.
dirty plate, grubby towel, spoon, two rolls on the trinkets table
1-2
A butter knife, a bag of 250 ball bearings, ten feet of hempen rope, three rolls on the trinkets table
3-4
Fork, broken arrow head, 5 feet of piano wire, half full sack of potatoes four rolls on the trinkets table
5-6
Pot of glue, skinning knife, 5 mismatched lead weights, moldy loaf of bread five rolls on the trinkets table
7-8
Torn leather armour, empty bottle, block and tackle, cake of grease, one roll on the trinkets table
9-10
Bag of chalk dust, half full bottle of alcohol, smashed pottery, flask of vinegar, two rolls on the trinkets table.
11-12
Empty scroll (10 feet when unrolled), flint and steel, rusty iron chains, spoiled butter, two rolls on the trinkets table
13-14
Half of a chain shirt, crucifix, gallon of spoiled milk, viscous olive oil, two rolls on the trinkets table
15-16
One human sized glove, half a tent, bone comb, block of soap, one roll on the trinkets table
17-18
Club, hock of ham, tooth picks, candle, donkeys jaw bone, ten feet silken rope, bongos, sulphurous rock.
19-20
Inventor points
As you grow as an inventor, you have begun to develop an instinct for inventions, and have found shortcuts to building them.
At 2nd level you have a number of inventor points as shown in the class progression table. There are a number of things you can do with inventor points, though their main use is to aid you in inventing. Each traditional invention has a inventor point cost, as a bonus action on your turn, you may spend a number of points equal to the cost to create the item. You can regain inventor points during a short or long rest so long as you spend thirty minutes studying your inventors notebook. Additionally, any time a creature scores a critical hit with a weapon you made, you regain a number of inventor points equal to the damage dealt, not exceeding your maximum shown in the table above. You may still craft inventions normally without spending invention points.
You can also use inventor points to augment the one man’s trash is another kobolds equipment feature. To do so, you may spend a number of inventor points when you use your bonus action to search your environment. You roll on the table as normal, and then add a certain number of items of your choice depending on how many points you spend. If you spend 1 inventor point, you gain a number of mundane items worth one gp or less, for two inventor points the total increases to two gp, for three inventor points three gp, and so on and so forth to a maximum of twenty gp.
Additionally, inventor points can be used to speed up inventions made using the complex inventions feature below, the use of points in this way is described below.
Complex inventions
By second level, you have begun to think longer and harder about the things you make, checking the failures and successes of the past, you have begun to create reusable items that appear useful even to non-kobolds! To hold these new catalogs of inventions, you cobble together a large, brick like notebook out of whatever paper you can get, every kobold inventors notebook is different, if the notebook is destroyed, you can make another out of scrap paper and stiff material for a cover during a short rest. Now, whenever you have downtime, and you have access to your notebook and some sort of writing utensil (pen, stick, claw, tooth pick), you can draft a design for an invention. Your invention can only be made out of materials you, as a kobold, have experience with. This includes raw metal ore, wood gathered by you, trash, discarded items, and anything you collect from a beast or device you take apart.
It is up to the DM’s discretion how long an invention takes to complete, but located below is a helpful chart based on complexity which should help.
The chart is based on 5 rankings of complexity: simple, mechanical, complex, highly complex, and sophisticated. The simple rank is for things like weapons, simple or martial, or any invention with one or no moving parts (though that is flexible). Mechanical is for things with simple gear mechanisms, pull cord and tripwire activation, or something similar. Complex handles things like clocks, or other complex systems, such as a timer on dynamite, or an automatic crossbow. Highly complex handles small, intricate work carried out on a massive scale, like a device designed to temporarily operate itself, or a more potent reaction from an explosive or reagent. Sophisticated is for inventions bordering on the fantastical, medieval style tanks powered by clockwork and made of junk, or robotic armour that increases the inventors strength and agility, sophisticated equipment is generally worked on throughout the campaign, and even when it is finished, it is improved upon and upgraded repeatedly as the need arises. Remember these categories are suggestions, some highly complicated gear mechanisms might take only a few hours, while finishing one highly specific weapon could take weeks, in the end, it’s all circumstantial.
When augmenting this feature with inventor points, you may subtract 1d4 hours from the crafting time set by the DM for every 2 inventor points spent.
Complexity
Crafting time
Simple
1-2 hours
Mechanical
5-8 hours
Complex
1-2 days
Highly complex
3-4 days
Sophisticated
6 week-one month
Inventor paths
At 3rd level, you choose a path of invention to follow: Kobold Mage Mimicker, Kobold Weapon Smith, Kobold arsonist, and Kobold Trapper. All detailed at the end of the class description. Your archetype choice grants you features at 3rd level and then again at 6th, 11th, and 17th level.
Improvised mastery
At 5th level you have mastered the art of improvised fighting, you gain proficiency with improvised weapons, the damage for these weapons equals 1d4+your strength/dex modifier (your choice), additionally, if your improvised weapon is similar to an actual weapon, you can use those stats instead. As a bonus action on your turn, you may spend a number of inventor points, up to 2, to add an extra d4 to the damage of your weapon for every inventor point spent. This maximum increases to 4 at ninth level, and 6 at thirteenth level. Any weapons you’ve made are considered improvised for this feature.
Inventors knowledge
At fourteenth level, kobold inventors know good inventions when they see them, and can recreate them easily, provided they have the tools on hand. When attempting to recreate a device, contraption, invention, or idea that is non-magical, you have advantage on the crafting check. And if the item falls under your specialty, you add double proficiency to your proficiency bonus.
Multicultural Inventions
At 15th level, you have seen many of the traditional inventions of other races and cultures, and you have reverse engineered your own, kobold versions of the devices. You gain a number of multicultural inventions equal to your intelligence modifier, chosen from the list at the end of the class description, or from different races inventions from the campaigns world. Some of these inventions are quite complex, and take longer than normal to produce, if there isn’t a crafting time listed, it has the same crafting time as your traditional inventions.
Battle Crafting Mastery
As Kobold Inventors journey throughout the land to study and learn, they begin to become adepts at crafting under pressure. At 18th level, rolling on the search table is a free action that can be done once per turn, and crafting is a bonus action.
Elite inventor
At level 20, your creations are beyond the scope of what any non-magical item can normally achieve, as a bonus action on your turn, you may spend as many inventor points as you wish to do one of two things: choose one of the weapons (any device that deals damage) you have invented, it deals an extra D6 of damage on its next attack corresponding to the amount of points you spend (1 point=1 die, 2 points=2 die etc). Choose one of the armors (anything a single creature can wear) you have created, next time the creature wearing it takes damage, subtract a d10 of damage for every inventor point you spend.
Subclasses
Kobold arsonist
Fire is a fascinating thing for all kobolds, and the use of fire in combat is a thrill few can resist. Even fewer, however, can claim to be an arsonist, a kobold inventor who has taken their pyromania to other levels, as they strive for that perfect explosion, that one, strong flame that makes their lives complete.
Burn baby burn!
Upon taking this class at level 3 you have become a master of explosives, and can make the alchemist's fire traditional invention without it counting against the total number you can make.
Flame familiarity
Also at level three, all inventions you craft cannot be burned or set on fire.
Explosive insurance
At sixth level, you have a built in failsafe in all of your equipment, you can use a bonus action to activate the secret switch, which takes a DC 18 investigation check to discover. Whether the explosion is on a timer or is instantaneous is up to you. Anything caught in the blast must make a dexterity saving throw against your inventor DC. On a failed save, the creature takes 3d6 fire damage, on a successful one, it takes half damage.
BOOM!
at eleventh, you have advantage on crafting inventions that deal fire damage, and traditional and cultural inventions take half as much time as normal to craft if they deal fire damage.
Fire lord!
At fourteenth level, Your weapons ignore resistance to fire damage, immunity to fire damage becomes resistance against your weapons, and you gain resistance to fire damage.
Kobold Mage Mimicker
All kobold inventors strive for something, it’s what leads them down the path to invention, most kobolds become inventors to create from their own minds things that can change the world, new things that they can claim as their own. But some kobolds see invention as a path to attain magic, a thing that they have not been born with, but crave with a fiery passion, having not found a way to connect with the weave, Kobold mage Mage Mimickers seek to recreate magic via the honored and ancient Kobold art of invention.
Magically knowledgeable
Upon taking this subclass as level 3, you gain proficiency in the arcana skill, and may cast the identify spell as a ritual, performed as an “analysis” of a magic item, and not a spell, you may use this feature in this way once, needing a long rest to do so again.
Magical Tinkerer
Also at level three, you have become adept at taking apart magic items to use in your inventions, and may use a magic item of common rarity as an ingredient in your inventions. At level 6 you may use uncommon items, and at level 11 you may use rare magic items.
Magical weapons
At level 6 any weapons you craft are considered magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance.
Magical armour
At level 11 any armour you craft subtract points of damage equal to your intelligence modifier from physical attacks
Magical break through
At level 17 you have finally, through dutiful work and research, figured out how to replicate spells via your inventions. These effects are not spells in themselves, and so are not affected by a anti magic field or similar effects. You can create facsimiles of a number of spells equal to your intelligence modifier, plus half your proficiency modifier, rounded down (int+prof/2). Additionally, you can create inventions that mimic other spells if you have a spell scroll, and can spend a week per spell level studying it, this time is half a week for cantrips.
The number of spells your inventions can copy at 17th level have to be cantrips and 1st level spells, though you can copy scrolls of higher levels as mentioned above. The types of spells you can copy are wizard spells that have a casting time of one action or faster, if its a concentration spell that can be cast in one action but can be held for longer, then it is cast in only one action.
Creating these devices is time consuming and difficult, a device that recreates a cantrip takes one long rest. A device that recreates a 1st level spell takes a whole day of tinkering, a 2nd level spell takes a two days, a 3rd level spell takes three days to craft, a 4th level spell takes four days, a 5th level spell takes a five days You may not spend tinkering points to speed a device that mimics a spell. These devices are one use, so use them sparingly.
Kobold weapon smith
While all kobold inventors have a hand in weapon craft, kobold weapon smiths see it as art in its purest form. Weapons made by kobold weapon smiths are light, and perfectly balanced, and feel alive in the hands of even the most novice fighter. Master warriors who know of this sect of the inventors use only the strangely beautiful and junky weapons of the kobold weapon smiths, knowing that they will dull any blade, and cut through any flesh.
The Kobold’s first weapon
The Kobold weapon smiths pass down a tale that the mighty Kobold god, Kurtulmak, gifted the kobolds with a weapon he crafted with his own two clawed hands, the scorpion on a stick. Every Kobold weaponsmith honors this gift by learning to craft it by heart. Upon taking this subclass at third level, you can make the scorpion on a stick traditional weapon, this doesn’t count against the number of traditional weapons you can craft.
Weapons Are Life
Also at third level, you have advantage on checks made to craft or improve weapons. Additionally, any weapon you craft can have one minor feature of your choice for no extra cost, such as can hold poison, thrown, reach, or a similar bonus that adds a small benefit without being magical.
Light, strong, functional
At sixth level, you have mastered the art of smithing, all weapons you craft have either the light or finesse property, your choice, even if the weapon would normally be heavy.
Critical weapons
At eleventh level any weapons you craft now deal a critical hit on a 19-20. If a feature already improves a critical, then this critical becomes 18-20, if a feature further improves critical, hits with this weapon will be 17-20
Peerless tools, keen edged weapons
At fourteenth level, the weapons you craft have a +1 bonus to hit and to damage rolls, they are not enchanted, and are not treated as magical for overcoming resistance.
Traditional inventions
1. Acid: you craft a flask of acid, as an action, you can hurl it as a ranged attack. range 5/20 ft 1d6 acid damage. This damage increases by a D6 at certain levels, at level 3 (2d6) and again at level 6 (3d6) (2 inventor points)
2. Alchemist's Fire: you craft a flask of alchemist’s fire, as an action, you can hurl it as a ranged attack. range 5/20 ft 1d6 fire damage at the start of each of the target's turns. A creature can end this damage by using its action to make a dexterity check against the inventors save dc. This damage increases by a D6 at certain levels, at level 4 (2d6) and again at level 8 (3d6) (2 points)
3. Basket of Centipedes. You craft a small basket filled with centipedes, as an action you can throw it into a 5-foot-square space within 20 feet of you. A swarm of insects (centipedes) with full health emerges from the basket and rolls initiative. The swarm stays for a number of rounds equal to the inventors intelligence modifier. At level 3, you add your proficiency bonus to the number of rounds (2 inventor points)
4. Green Slime Pot: you can craft a clay jar with a green dungeon slime inside, as an action you can throw it, range 5/20 ft.one target. Hit: The target is covered in a patch of green slime (see chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master's Guide). Miss: A patch of green slime covers a randomly determined 5-foot-square section of wall or floor within 5 feet of the target. (2 inventor points)
5. Rot Grub Pot: you craft a pot filled with rot grubs, as an action you can throw it as an action swarm of rot grubs (see appendix A) emerges from the shattered pot and remains a hazard in five foot square up to 20 feet away. At level 4 this range increases to thirty. (2 inventor points)
6. Scorpion on a Stick: you tie a scorpion to a stick, it has a reach of 5 ft, on a hit it does 1 piercing damage, and the target must make a Constitution saving throw against your inventor DC, taking 2d8 poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. When you roll to attack, if you roll a five or below, the scorpion is killed, and the device becomes a normal 5 foot pole with a dead scorpion tied to it. At level 4, you can make one attack with the scorpion after it dies, after that, the normal rules apply. (1 inventor point)
7. Skunk in a Cage. You catch a skunk and keep it in a cage, you can release the skunk into an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you. The skunk has a walking speed of 20 feet, AC 10, 1 hit point, and no effective attacks. It rolls initiative and, on its turn, uses its action to spray musk at a random creature within 5 feet of it (not you) . The target must make a Constitution saving throw against your inventor DC. On a failed save, the target retches and can't take actions for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. A creature that doesn't need to breathe or is immune to poison automatically succeeds on the saving throw. Once the skunk has sprayed its musk, it can't do so again until it finishes a short or long rest. At level 4, the skunk can attack with its musk twice before a short or long rest (1 inventor point)
8. Wasp Nest in a Bag. You craft a bag with a wasps nest in it, as an action, you can throw it into a 5-foot-square space within 20 feet of it. A swarm of insects (wasps) with full hit points emerges from the bag and rolls initiative. It stays for a number of rounds equal to your intelligence modifier. At level 3, you can add your proficiency bonus to the number of rounds.
(1 inventor point)
Multicultural inventions
Drow smoke orb: you craft a drow weapon known as a smoke orb, you can throw it at a five foot square within 30 feet of you as an action, where it lands, it releases a cloud of smoke that takes up 30 cubic feet, this smoke can only be seen through by you, it disappears after a number of rounds equal to your intelligence modifier, or if a wind stronger than 10 MPH blows it away. (4 inventor points)
Clockwork drone: made originally as a toy for gnomish children, you have turned your enemies plaything into a useful weapon, a clockwork drone has a simple crossbow, and a knife, it can take make one attack a round. Its A.C is eleven, and it has ten hitpoints. It has a movement speed of 25 feet, and its wind up charge lasts for a number of rounds equal to your intelligence modifier. When activated, it’s only action is to move within range of a hostile creature, and attack it, it takes an action to wind up and release, afterwards, your turns progress as normal. Directly after your turn, you may choose whether the clockwork drone uses its crossbow or its knife, if is in not in range to use the weapon of your choice, you may move it as close to range as possible, its movement must be towards a hostile. This device takes 4 long rests to make. (15 inventor points)
Dwarvish exploding hammer: a light hammer which deals the same amount of damage as normal, but on a hit, it explodes, dealing 2d6 fire damage to the creature it hits. On a miss, the hammer hits a random target, and explodes, setting all non worn or carried flammable objects ablaze in a ten foot square. This takes 2 long rests to make (3 inventor points)
Goblin spring knife: a knife with a spring in its hilt, if you use a bonus action to press a button, it shoots its blade out, dealing an extra d6 piercing damage plus normal dagger damage. The dagger has a range of 10/30 feet. (2 inventor points)
Elvish boot knife: a knife that is hidden in a boot, it releases via a hidden catch chosen by you. It take a DC 20 perception or investigation check to find it. This knife deals the same damage as a dagger +DEX or STR. (4 inventor points)
Dragonborn firebellows: you build a dragonborn weapon gifted to creatures without breath weapons. As an action, you can make a 15 foot cone of fire shoot from its mouth, that deals 3d6 points of fire damage, it takes an action to refill the fire bellows with oil for another attack. (3 inventor points)
Tiefling flame shield: you craft a vengeful shield of tiefling origin, if a creature hits this shield, a blast of flame engulfs it, dealing 1d6 fire damage to the creature hitting the shield. This item takes two long rests to craft. (10 inventor points)
Triton ice grenade: you craft a device used by the triton to freeze opponents in their tracks. As an action, you throw the device, it covers an area 10 cubic feet with ice, this becomes difficult terrain. If a creature is within this area, its feet are covered in ice, if it is prone, its body is. It must succeed on a dc 13 strength check to break out of the ice, or it cannot move or take an action on its turn, they may repeat this check at the beginning of each turn. (5 inventor points)
Kobold Inventor
A kobold sits atop a half orcs back in a wicker basket filled with strange contraptions, while his companions by time, he finishes the clockwork weapon that will defeat their long time foe, and shouts out to his comrades. A kobold is chased out of the dens for constantly taking notes and tinkering, he escapes with a large bag filled with his work, under his breath he whispers the proper combination of ingredients over and over in a calming tune as he sloshes bottles together, as the others catch up to him, he smashes his bottles down, and escapes while the forest blazes. While there are many kobolds who aspire to be inventors, only certain kobold outliers achieve the true aspirations of the inventor. They often take strange materials to try and create the most helpful and perplexing tools. They are often difficult for party members to understand, but when befriended, they become staunch allies, and ingenious inventors.
Class features
As a Kobold inventor, you gain the following class features.
Hit dice: 1d8 per Kobold inventor level
Hit Points at 1st level: 8+your constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per kobold inventor level after 1st
Proficiencies
Armour: light armour, any armour made by the inventor
Weapons: simple weapon, any weapon made by the inventor
Tools: tinkers tools, alchemist tools, smiths tools, thieves tools, and two more tools of your choice
Saving throws: Dexterity, Intelligence
Skills: choose three from investigation, insight, perception, arcana, animal handling, nature, survival, or stealth.
Equipment
You start with this equipment including the equipment granted by your background:
Light crossbow, 40 bolts or b any simple weapon
Two light hammers or B, two simple weapons
Leather armour
Or 5d4 starting gold, you can convert this into material that can be used to craft inventions before the game. 10 pounds of junk, or materials you harvest costs 1 gp. Whether or not you start with wealth, you also start with 2 tool kits of your choice.
Features
Traditional inventions
Kobold inventors have been passing down recipes for inventions for years, but you have taken several of these and made them much more effective. At level one, a kobold inventor knows how to build 3 inventions from this list, this increases to four at seventh level, and 5 at tenth level. Some inventions have saving throws made against your inventor DC, to calculate that, add eight plus your int modifier plus your prof bonus (8+int+prof). If an invention requires an attack roll, you may use either your strength or dex for it, and add your proficiency bonus to it.
One man’s trash, is one kobolds equipment
At level 1 you have gained experience in acting quickly, on gut instinct to invent. As a bonus action on your turn, you can search for items around you, as an action you can turn the random junk around you into useful equipment, depending on what's around you, you may be able to make different things, you always seem to find something of use. When you use this feature, you roll on the gut invention table, which gives you the materials you find to work with. You may combine these materials with any items you have in your pack, as well as generic items that are on the ground like leaves, dirt, rocks, or small twigs, to name a few.
dirty plate, grubby towel, spoon, two rolls on the trinkets table
1-2
A butter knife, a bag of 250 ball bearings, ten feet of hempen rope, three rolls on the trinkets table
3-4
Fork, broken arrow head, 5 feet of piano wire, half full sack of potatoes four rolls on the trinkets table
5-6
Pot of glue, skinning knife, 5 mismatched lead weights, moldy loaf of bread five rolls on the trinkets table
7-8
Torn leather armour, empty bottle, block and tackle, cake of grease, one roll on the trinkets table
9-10
Bag of chalk dust, half full bottle of alcohol, smashed pottery, flask of vinegar, two rolls on the trinkets table.
11-12
Empty scroll (10 feet when unrolled), flint and steel, rusty iron chains, spoiled butter, two rolls on the trinkets table
13-14
Half of a chain shirt, crucifix, gallon of spoiled milk, viscous olive oil, two rolls on the trinkets table
15-16
One human sized glove, half a tent, bone comb, block of soap, one roll on the trinkets table
17-18
Club, hock of ham, tooth picks, candle, donkeys jaw bone, ten feet silken rope, bongos, sulphurous rock.
19-20
Inventor points
As you grow as an inventor, you have begun to develop an instinct for inventions, and have found shortcuts to building them.
At 2nd level you have a number of inventor points as shown in the class progression table. There are a number of things you can do with inventor points, though their main use is to aid you in inventing. Each traditional invention has a inventor point cost, as a bonus action on your turn, you may spend a number of points equal to the cost to create the item. You can regain inventor points during a short or long rest so long as you spend thirty minutes studying your inventors notebook. Additionally, any time a creature scores a critical hit with a weapon you made, you regain a number of inventor points equal to the damage dealt, not exceeding your maximum shown in the table above. You may still craft inventions normally without spending invention points.
You can also use inventor points to augment the one man’s trash is another kobolds equipment feature. To do so, you may spend a number of inventor points when you use your bonus action to search your environment. You roll on the table as normal, and then add a certain number of items of your choice depending on how many points you spend. If you spend 1 inventor point, you gain a number of mundane items worth one gp or less, for two inventor points the total increases to two gp, for three inventor points three gp, and so on and so forth to a maximum of twenty gp.
Additionally, inventor points can be used to speed up inventions made using the complex inventions feature below, the use of points in this way is described below.
Complex inventions
By second level, you have begun to think longer and harder about the things you make, checking the failures and successes of the past, you have begun to create reusable items that appear useful even to non-kobolds! To hold these new catalogs of inventions, you cobble together a large, brick like notebook out of whatever paper you can get, every kobold inventors notebook is different, if the notebook is destroyed, you can make another out of scrap paper and stiff material for a cover during a short rest. Now, whenever you have downtime, and you have access to your notebook and some sort of writing utensil (pen, stick, claw, tooth pick), you can draft a design for an invention. Your invention can only be made out of materials you, as a kobold, have experience with. This includes raw metal ore, wood gathered by you, trash, discarded items, and anything you collect from a beast or device you take apart.
It is up to the DM’s discretion how long an invention takes to complete, but located below is a helpful chart based on complexity which should help.
The chart is based on 5 rankings of complexity: simple, mechanical, complex, highly complex, and sophisticated. The simple rank is for things like weapons, simple or martial, or any invention with one or no moving parts (though that is flexible). Mechanical is for things with simple gear mechanisms, pull cord and tripwire activation, or something similar. Complex handles things like clocks, or other complex systems, such as a timer on dynamite, or an automatic crossbow. Highly complex handles small, intricate work carried out on a massive scale, like a device designed to temporarily operate itself, or a more potent reaction from an explosive or reagent. Sophisticated is for inventions bordering on the fantastical, medieval style tanks powered by clockwork and made of junk, or robotic armour that increases the inventors strength and agility, sophisticated equipment is generally worked on throughout the campaign, and even when it is finished, it is improved upon and upgraded repeatedly as the need arises. Remember these categories are suggestions, some highly complicated gear mechanisms might take only a few hours, while finishing one highly specific weapon could take weeks, in the end, it’s all circumstantial.
When augmenting this feature with inventor points, you may subtract 1d4 hours from the crafting time set by the DM for every 2 inventor points spent.
Complexity
Crafting time
Simple
1-2 hours
Mechanical
5-8 hours
Complex
1-2 days
Highly complex
3-4 days
Sophisticated
6 week-one month
Inventor paths
At 3rd level, you choose a path of invention to follow: Kobold Mage Mimicker, Kobold Weapon Smith, Kobold arsonist, and Kobold Trapper. All detailed at the end of the class description. Your archetype choice grants you features at 3rd level and then again at 6th, 11th, and 17th level.
Improvised mastery
At 5th level you have mastered the art of improvised fighting, you gain proficiency with improvised weapons, the damage for these weapons equals 1d4+your strength/dex modifier (your choice), additionally, if your improvised weapon is similar to an actual weapon, you can use those stats instead. As a bonus action on your turn, you may spend a number of inventor points, up to 2, to add an extra d4 to the damage of your weapon for every inventor point spent. This maximum increases to 4 at ninth level, and 6 at thirteenth level. Any weapons you’ve made are considered improvised for this feature.
Inventors knowledge
At fourteenth level, kobold inventors know good inventions when they see them, and can recreate them easily, provided they have the tools on hand. When attempting to recreate a device, contraption, invention, or idea that is non-magical, you have advantage on the crafting check. And if the item falls under your specialty, you add double proficiency to your proficiency bonus.
Multicultural Inventions
At 15th level, you have seen many of the traditional inventions of other races and cultures, and you have reverse engineered your own, kobold versions of the devices. You gain a number of multicultural inventions equal to your intelligence modifier, chosen from the list at the end of the class description, or from different races inventions from the campaigns world. Some of these inventions are quite complex, and take longer than normal to produce, if there isn’t a crafting time listed, it has the same crafting time as your traditional inventions.
Battle Crafting Mastery
As Kobold Inventors journey throughout the land to study and learn, they begin to become adepts at crafting under pressure. At 18th level, rolling on the search table is a free action that can be done once per turn, and crafting is a bonus action.
Elite inventor
At level 20, your creations are beyond the scope of what any non-magical item can normally achieve, as a bonus action on your turn, you may spend as many inventor points as you wish to do one of two things: choose one of the weapons (any device that deals damage) you have invented, it deals an extra D6 of damage on its next attack corresponding to the amount of points you spend (1 point=1 die, 2 points=2 die etc). Choose one of the armors (anything a single creature can wear) you have created, next time the creature wearing it takes damage, subtract a d10 of damage for every inventor point you spend.
Subclasses
Kobold arsonist
Fire is a fascinating thing for all kobolds, and the use of fire in combat is a thrill few can resist. Even fewer, however, can claim to be an arsonist, a kobold inventor who has taken their pyromania to other levels, as they strive for that perfect explosion, that one, strong flame that makes their lives complete.
Burn baby burn!
Upon taking this class at level 3 you have become a master of explosives, and can make the alchemist's fire traditional invention without it counting against the total number you can make.
Flame familiarity
Also at level three, all inventions you craft cannot be burned or set on fire.
Explosive insurance
At sixth level, you have a built in failsafe in all of your equipment, you can use a bonus action to activate the secret switch, which takes a DC 18 investigation check to discover. Whether the explosion is on a timer or is instantaneous is up to you. Anything caught in the blast must make a dexterity saving throw against your inventor DC. On a failed save, the creature takes 3d6 fire damage, on a successful one, it takes half damage.
BOOM!
at eleventh, you have advantage on crafting inventions that deal fire damage, and traditional and cultural inventions take half as much time as normal to craft if they deal fire damage.
Fire lord!
At fourteenth level, Your weapons ignore resistance to fire damage, immunity to fire damage becomes resistance against your weapons, and you gain resistance to fire damage.
Kobold Mage Mimicker
All kobold inventors strive for something, it’s what leads them down the path to invention, most kobolds become inventors to create from their own minds things that can change the world, new things that they can claim as their own. But some kobolds see invention as a path to attain magic, a thing that they have not been born with, but crave with a fiery passion, having not found a way to connect with the weave, Kobold mage Mage Mimickers seek to recreate magic via the honored and ancient Kobold art of invention.
Magically knowledgeable
Upon taking this subclass as level 3, you gain proficiency in the arcana skill, and may cast the identify spell as a ritual, performed as an “analysis” of a magic item, and not a spell, you may use this feature in this way once, needing a long rest to do so again.
Magical Tinkerer
Also at level three, you have become adept at taking apart magic items to use in your inventions, and may use a magic item of common rarity as an ingredient in your inventions. At level 6 you may use uncommon items, and at level 11 you may use rare magic items.
Magical weapons
At level 6 any weapons you craft are considered magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance.
Magical armour
At level 11 any armour you craft subtract points of damage equal to your intelligence modifier from physical attacks
Magical break through
At level 17 you have finally, through dutiful work and research, figured out how to replicate spells via your inventions. These effects are not spells in themselves, and so are not affected by a anti magic field or similar effects. You can create facsimiles of a number of spells equal to your intelligence modifier, plus half your proficiency modifier, rounded down (int+prof/2). Additionally, you can create inventions that mimic other spells if you have a spell scroll, and can spend a week per spell level studying it, this time is half a week for cantrips.
The number of spells your inventions can copy at 17th level have to be cantrips and 1st level spells, though you can copy scrolls of higher levels as mentioned above. The types of spells you can copy are wizard spells that have a casting time of one action or faster, if its a concentration spell that can be cast in one action but can be held for longer, then it is cast in only one action.
Creating these devices is time consuming and difficult, a device that recreates a cantrip takes one long rest. A device that recreates a 1st level spell takes a whole day of tinkering, a 2nd level spell takes a two days, a 3rd level spell takes three days to craft, a 4th level spell takes four days, a 5th level spell takes a five days You may not spend tinkering points to speed a device that mimics a spell. These devices are one use, so use them sparingly.
Kobold weapon smith
While all kobold inventors have a hand in weapon craft, kobold weapon smiths see it as art in its purest form. Weapons made by kobold weapon smiths are light, and perfectly balanced, and feel alive in the hands of even the most novice fighter. Master warriors who know of this sect of the inventors use only the strangely beautiful and junky weapons of the kobold weapon smiths, knowing that they will dull any blade, and cut through any flesh.
The Kobold’s first weapon
The Kobold weapon smiths pass down a tale that the mighty Kobold god, Kurtulmak, gifted the kobolds with a weapon he crafted with his own two clawed hands, the scorpion on a stick. Every Kobold weaponsmith honors this gift by learning to craft it by heart. Upon taking this subclass at third level, you can make the scorpion on a stick traditional weapon, this doesn’t count against the number of traditional weapons you can craft.
Weapons Are Life
Also at third level, you have advantage on checks made to craft or improve weapons. Additionally, any weapon you craft can have one minor feature of your choice for no extra cost, such as can hold poison, thrown, reach, or a similar bonus that adds a small benefit without being magical.
Light, strong, functional
At sixth level, you have mastered the art of smithing, all weapons you craft have either the light or finesse property, your choice, even if the weapon would normally be heavy.
Critical weapons
At eleventh level any weapons you craft now deal a critical hit on a 19-20. If a feature already improves a critical, then this critical becomes 18-20, if a feature further improves critical, hits with this weapon will be 17-20
Peerless tools, keen edged weapons
At fourteenth level, the weapons you craft have a +1 bonus to hit and to damage rolls, they are not enchanted, and are not treated as magical for overcoming resistance.
Traditional inventions
1. Acid: you craft a flask of acid, as an action, you can hurl it as a ranged attack. range 5/20 ft 1d6 acid damage. This damage increases by a D6 at certain levels, at level 3 (2d6) and again at level 6 (3d6) (2 inventor points)
2. Alchemist's Fire: you craft a flask of alchemist’s fire, as an action, you can hurl it as a ranged attack. range 5/20 ft 1d6 fire damage at the start of each of the target's turns. A creature can end this damage by using its action to make a dexterity check against the inventors save dc. This damage increases by a D6 at certain levels, at level 4 (2d6) and again at level 8 (3d6) (2 points)
3. Basket of Centipedes. You craft a small basket filled with centipedes, as an action you can throw it into a 5-foot-square space within 20 feet of you. A swarm of insects (centipedes) with full health emerges from the basket and rolls initiative. The swarm stays for a number of rounds equal to the inventors intelligence modifier. At level 3, you add your proficiency bonus to the number of rounds (2 inventor points)
4. Green Slime Pot: you can craft a clay jar with a green dungeon slime inside, as an action you can throw it, range 5/20 ft.one target. Hit: The target is covered in a patch of green slime (see chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master's Guide). Miss: A patch of green slime covers a randomly determined 5-foot-square section of wall or floor within 5 feet of the target. (2 inventor points)
5. Rot Grub Pot: you craft a pot filled with rot grubs, as an action you can throw it as an action swarm of rot grubs (see appendix A) emerges from the shattered pot and remains a hazard in five foot square up to 20 feet away. At level 4 this range increases to thirty. (2 inventor points)
6. Scorpion on a Stick: you tie a scorpion to a stick, it has a reach of 5 ft, on a hit it does 1 piercing damage, and the target must make a Constitution saving throw against your inventor DC, taking 2d8 poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. When you roll to attack, if you roll a five or below, the scorpion is killed, and the device becomes a normal 5 foot pole with a dead scorpion tied to it. At level 4, you can make one attack with the scorpion after it dies, after that, the normal rules apply. (1 inventor point)
7. Skunk in a Cage. You catch a skunk and keep it in a cage, you can release the skunk into an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you. The skunk has a walking speed of 20 feet, AC 10, 1 hit point, and no effective attacks. It rolls initiative and, on its turn, uses its action to spray musk at a random creature within 5 feet of it (not you) . The target must make a Constitution saving throw against your inventor DC. On a failed save, the target retches and can't take actions for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. A creature that doesn't need to breathe or is immune to poison automatically succeeds on the saving throw. Once the skunk has sprayed its musk, it can't do so again until it finishes a short or long rest. At level 4, the skunk can attack with its musk twice before a short or long rest (1 inventor point)
8. Wasp Nest in a Bag. You craft a bag with a wasps nest in it, as an action, you can throw it into a 5-foot-square space within 20 feet of it. A swarm of insects (wasps) with full hit points emerges from the bag and rolls initiative. It stays for a number of rounds equal to your intelligence modifier. At level 3, you can add your proficiency bonus to the number of rounds.
(1 inventor point)
Multicultural inventions
Drow smoke orb: you craft a drow weapon known as a smoke orb, you can throw it at a five foot square within 30 feet of you as an action, where it lands, it releases a cloud of smoke that takes up 30 cubic feet, this smoke can only be seen through by you, it disappears after a number of rounds equal to your intelligence modifier, or if a wind stronger than 10 MPH blows it away. (4 inventor points)
Clockwork drone: made originally as a toy for gnomish children, you have turned your enemies plaything into a useful weapon, a clockwork drone has a simple crossbow, and a knife, it can take make one attack a round. Its A.C is eleven, and it has ten hitpoints. It has a movement speed of 25 feet, and its wind up charge lasts for a number of rounds equal to your intelligence modifier. When activated, it’s only action is to move within range of a hostile creature, and attack it, it takes an action to wind up and release, afterwards, your turns progress as normal. Directly after your turn, you may choose whether the clockwork drone uses its crossbow or its knife, if is in not in range to use the weapon of your choice, you may move it as close to range as possible, its movement must be towards a hostile. This device takes 4 long rests to make. (15 inventor points)
Dwarvish exploding hammer: a light hammer which deals the same amount of damage as normal, but on a hit, it explodes, dealing 2d6 fire damage to the creature it hits. On a miss, the hammer hits a random target, and explodes, setting all non worn or carried flammable objects ablaze in a ten foot square. This takes 2 long rests to make (3 inventor points)
Goblin spring knife: a knife with a spring in its hilt, if you use a bonus action to press a button, it shoots its blade out, dealing an extra d6 piercing damage plus normal dagger damage. The dagger has a range of 10/30 feet. (2 inventor points)
Elvish boot knife: a knife that is hidden in a boot, it releases via a hidden catch chosen by you. It take a DC 20 perception or investigation check to find it. This knife deals the same damage as a dagger +DEX or STR. (4 inventor points)
Dragonborn firebellows: you build a dragonborn weapon gifted to creatures without breath weapons. As an action, you can make a 15 foot cone of fire shoot from its mouth, that deals 3d6 points of fire damage, it takes an action to refill the fire bellows with oil for another attack. (3 inventor points)
Tiefling flame shield: you craft a vengeful shield of tiefling origin, if a creature hits this shield, a blast of flame engulfs it, dealing 1d6 fire damage to the creature hitting the shield. This item takes two long rests to craft. (10 inventor points)
Triton ice grenade: you craft a device used by the triton to freeze opponents in their tracks. As an action, you throw the device, it covers an area 10 cubic feet with ice, this becomes difficult terrain. If a creature is within this area, its feet are covered in ice, if it is prone, its body is. It must succeed on a dc 13 strength check to break out of the ice, or it cannot move or take an action on its turn, they may repeat this check at the beginning of each turn. (5 inventor points)