Steampunk tinkers

[Viper]

So, I was trying to come up with some other items for my steampunk setting, but I decided my time would be better spent working on a system for incorporating technological items. Magic is severely restricted in my world, but tinkering with technology isn't nearly as much. I want to give my players, should they be interested, the chance to mess around and craft their own items that use technology to mimic spell effects. For example, goggles that grant Cat's Eye, or even something as simple as a cigarette lighter (flame finger). Eventually, I'd like to work out a system similar to abstractions, where players can construct any item they can conceive of, but for now I'm sticking to the spells listed in the book. Obviously, not all of them are suitable for translation into a piece of steampunk technology, but there are plenty that are.

Here's what I've come up with so far, I'd love to hear any comments you have.

Each item will have two stats- quality and capacity.

Quality essentially functions as Will does for a spellcaster. It is the stat which is tested when you want to see if the effect is successful. The obstacle is identical to the obstacle of the spell that is duplicated.

Using the cat's eye goggles as an example, let's say I have a pair of Quality 4 Goggles, a pretty average piece of tech. Cat's Eye is Ob 2. I flick the switch on the goggles, and I need 2 successes on 4 dice in order for them to work. If they don't work, I have to roll a DOF and consult the item failure table.

Item failure:

1- Catastrophic malfunction
2- Irrevocably damaged
3-6- Needs minor repairs

So, most of the time, when an item fails to work it just needs some tinkering, new battery, whatever.

Irrevocably damaged means you have a short, or some vital part cracks, and the item is now just so much junk.

Catastrophic malfunction means that something very very baqd happens. Not only is the item broken, but something happens that harms the caster. Since technology can be so varied, the exact effect is left up to the GM. Using our goggles as an example, something shorts out in the visual display, sending an arc of electricity across the user's eyes. Not only are the goggles completely fried, but the user has +2Ob for all visual perception tests until the spots clear. (Or maybe he goes blind in one or both eyes if you're feeling mean)


The second part of the rules concerns an equivalent for tax, which I've decided to call Capacity. Capacity represents the strength of the item's power source, be it an electric battery, or a coal-fired steam engine.

Each time the item is used, a Capacity test is made. As with tax, the obstacle is the actual obstacle of the spell (in this case the spell-like effect) If the test is passed, the device holds it's power. If it fails, the device loses Capacity equal to the amount of failures below the obstacle. When Capacity reaches zero, the device is out of fuel and cannot be used until it is refueled or recharged.

At first glance, this may seem odd, as a newly recharged device may suddenly lose all of it's power on the next test it makes, but keep in mind this is meant to represent tinkering, not precise science. There are no gauges, no way to tell how much power a device is going to need, or how pure the fuel is. Maybe you got a bum battery, or the charcoal you're using for your steam engine is cut with straw.


So, how does an player determine the quality and capacity of the item he is trying to create?

First, he needs to draw up the plans; this corresponds to the spell's resource cost. As far as the stats go, it's all dependent on his crafting skill.

When crafting the item, the player rolls dice equal to his crafting skill. The number of successes he acheives is the quality of the item. This means that someone with a B6 crafting skill can reliably count on most of his items being B3 quality. He'll create a couple of above average pieces of B6 quality, and a couple of real stinkers with quality of B1 or B2.

He repeats this process to determine the item's Capacity score.

The first time he crafts an item is free; the prototype is included in the RP cost- but what you get is what you get. If he wants to craft another, he needs to gather new materials and test his skill again.

So, taking all these rules into account, lets say my crackpot inventor wants to create a pair of Cat's Eye Goggles. He pays the resource cost to build the prototype. His crafting skill is B5. First, he rolls for the quality: 5,6,3,3,4... 3 successes, a slightly below average but still passable item. Next, he rolls for capacity: 5,4,4,4,6... 5 successes! With mechanical aptitude and a bit of luck, he's created a highly efficient electrical system! What he's got is a pair of Goggles that he might have a bit of trouble getting to work sometimes, but a pair that will work for a long time once he does.

Another part of tinkering is improving items that already exist. This is accomplished by a mechanic similar to the one used to advance attributes, with a little twist.

Each time the item is used successfully, it gains a successful test, which is filled in on the sheet. Each time it passes a capacity test, the same thing happens. As with a character's attributes, it needs to pass 4 difficult and 3 challenging tests. This represents the tinkerer's evolving understanding of his invention, observing it in action and seeing where he can improve things.

Once all tests have been met, he tests his crafting skill. If the test is successful, the item gains one pip of quality. If it fails, it's back to the drawing board, and the item needs to pass another difficult test before another attempt at upgrading can be made.


I'm considering allowing players to fork in applicable skills to their invention rolls... haven't decided.

I'm going to be playtesting these rules in my upcoming game, I'll keep you all posted on how things go.

[Judd]

I'd really like it if the mechanical failure had a wheel just like the spell failure does. That'd be neat.

Looks like it is coming right along, though. Rock on.

[Viper]

I'm aactually working on something like that, but it's not ready for prime time yet. :wink:

[luke]

yeah, i agree with Judd. The failure is too black and white. With sorcery, you have mages using so many dice, that actual spell failure is rare. Usually the spell just fizzles with not quite enough successes to destroy the world.

How about keeping item quality very low (1-3D), and allowing a Tinkering skill to be folded into the roll (kind of like Will + Sorcery)? That way, non-tinkers have a small chance of using simple items, but the really powerful stuff like tractors and machine guns, require a skilled technician. This then reduces the chance of catastrophic failure to the same level it is for Sorcery.

Then you could also come up with a Tinker's Wheel -- I think you would be mostly dealing with the Area of Effect ring on the WoM. It's hard to imagine the Goggles spitting fire...

just tinkerin',
-L

[Kublai]

Is there any penalty for a failed creation? Does the tinkerer put anything at risk when he creates an item?

[Viper]

yeah, i agree with Judd. The failure is too black and white. With sorcery, you have mages using so many dice, that actual spell failure is rare. Usually the spell just fizzles with not quite enough successes to destroy the world.

Working on it... doing a little research :wink:


How about keeping item quality very low (1-3D), and allowing a Tinkering skill to be folded into the roll (kind of like Will + Sorcery)? That way, non-tinkers have a small chance of using simple items, but the really powerful stuff like tractors and machine guns, require a skilled technician. This then reduces the chance of catastrophic failure to the same level it is for Sorcery.

That's a good idea - the only thing is, I want to keep variable item quality when the tinker creates the item- the idea is that they thro the stuf together with available materials, they don't have consistent access to good parts, and have to scavenge and cannibalize everything they make. I like the idea of tinkers being to add their skill to the roll when using the item, though, so that'll be in. Also, I think anyone who doesn't have the tinkering skill should have +1 Ob when trying to use an item.


Is there any penalty for a failed creation? Does the tinkerer put anything at risk when he creates an item?

If he gets no successes on either roll, the tinker must roll on the failure chart posted above. On a 3-6, he can try again, on a 1 or 2, he's going to need to find new materials. The only exception to this rule is items bought with RPs when the character is created... if the player rolls no successes, he just rolls again. The reason for this is that I don't think a player should be forced to waste rps... I mean, when you buy a spell, you buy a spell, right? But once the game is underway, if he wants to invent something new, all bets are off.

[Kublai]

I meant are there failure rules for creation in game?

[Viper]

I meant are there failure rules for creation in game?

Yes, when attempting to create an item, the tinkerer must roll his tinkering skill twice to determine the quality and capacity of the device. If he gets no successes on either roll, he rolls on the item failure chart.

1- catastrophic failure
2- irrevocably damaged
3-6- minor repairs needed

Minor repairs needed means that he needs to pass a tinkering skill test to get the item working. Normally the Ob would be the quality of the item, but since in this case, the item has no quality yet, the Ob is equal to the Ob of the spell effect he is trying to create.

Irrevocable damage means that the materials are ruined, but with no ill effect to the tinker other than to his wallet.

catastrophic failure means that something very bad happens, like an explosion. This will be covered by a tech wheel along the lines of the wheel of magic.

[Kublai]

I would love to see something more whacky!

If there are trying to create the Goggles of Cat Vision and something goes wrong with a critical failure, I would think a spin on the Wheel of Magic would be in order, much like a failed casting result of garbled message! So instead of Cat Vision, you might accidently end up with Goggles of Second Sight or White Fire!

[Viper]

Been doing some more thinking, and I have made some revisions to what I originally posted- Capacity should work more like tax- a failed roll does not mean the item automatically stops working- it means that the item temporarily loses capacity equal to the number of failures rolled. When the item reaches 0 Cap, it is out of fuel.

Also, I felt there needed to be some sort of limiter on the frequency with which an item can be used, similar to how syllables limit the timeframe of spells. To address that,I've come up with something I call cool-down. An item's cool-down is equal to the amount of actions it would take to cast the spell it is mimicing- thus a flamethrower mimicing firebreath would need 3 actions to cool down. The main difference between cool-down and verbal casting is that cool-down happens AFTER the item is used.

I'm thinking about letting players reduce cool-down time in exchange for the possibility of overloading the device.