D&D 5E [5E] Engineer class - gadgets and guns!

ko6ux · Feb 28, 2015

I have just uploaded [5E] Engineer class - gadgets and guns! to the downloads area.

I present: the Engineer class for D&D 5E, a gadget based "expert" class.

I put this together for my own amusement as a way to bring a technology based class into my campaign. I thought that perhaps someone else might get some use and/or amusement out of it.

The class has lots of influences including gadget based super heroes like Batman, Dragonlance's tinker gnomes,, plus a bunch of steam punk and dungeon punk fantasy like Arcanum.

Feedback is appreciated. =)

You can find the file here in the downloads section. Please use this thread for comments.

bedir than · Feb 28, 2015

I kind of wish for a discipline that is more springs/waterwheels/perpetual motion machines/steam than two that are essentially based in explosives, but that is a minor quibble. Several of the devices feel too electronic in nature, but I can scrub those if I use this, or I can find a way to write around what they are using (sound waves rather than light feels more steampunk to me).

ko6ux · Mar 1, 2015

Well one subclass is explosives, one is guns and the other is magic-tech.

I tried not to fluff the devices too much because I felt it was better to let the player/DM decide what exactly the devices look like and how exactly they function. It should be pretty simple to reskin any of the gadgets to match whatever sort of cogs/steam/tech level you want.

liedros · Aug 15, 2015

Hi, congrats for your work, your stuff have an amazing look, it seems official stuff. Any chance you can share the image you use for background?

bedir than · Aug 15, 2015

ko6ux said:
Well one subclass is explosives, one is guns and the other is magic-tech.

I missed this reply ages ago. I think guns are just channeling explosives differently.

One of my players is going to pick this up. He's going to be in the explosives subclass. Some of the items will be off limits due to the type of tech, but the basic framework you've built is where we are headed.

Jack Daniel · Aug 16, 2015

Why does the engineer's proficiency bonus hit +6 a level earlier than everyone else?

ko6ux · Aug 17, 2015

Because: typos.

Fixed now.

fuzzymonkey · Jan 25, 2016

Love this class! Great quality and well thought out. I'll be test driving my engineer in our next campaign.

What happens when an engineer loses an equipped gadget? Does it cost him the same time and gp to rebuild as it does to learn a new schematic?

ko6ux · Jan 25, 2016

[MENTION=6812499]fuzzymonkey[/MENTION]

That's an area for DM fiat. I'd probably allow the Engineer to rebuild a "lost" gadget in half the time/GP cost assuming it's a gadget they already know how to make since part of the time/cost is assumed to be testing and tweaking to see what works and "get it right."

Tquacken · Dec 9, 2016

Demolitions Sub-Discipline

Way to go with this class! This is definitely the most fun and balanced homebrew class I've seen, by far!

I do have one question, though--is the Demolitions sub-discipline too underpowered? It seems like everywhere I've seen someone comment that they are playing this version of an engineer, they say they are playing a kinetics engineer (which I am, too). I love the idea of the Demolitions Engineer, since it offers so much in the realm of battlefield control and fun, I just wonder about a few things:

-for every ticker thrown, you have to succeed on a ranged attack to get it even in the right spot, then every creature in the area also gets to make a ST to avoid half the damage.

-a level 5 character deals a flat 2d6 damage in a 5' radius and 1d6 in a 10' radius, about 5-8 times per long rest (a 40% chance to hit with full damage, assuming decent stats). The fire bolt cantrip itself deals 2d10 at 5th level, with only one roll, at will (a 60% chance to hit with full damage, assuming same stats).

Since it seems like the sub-discipline has great effect on the standard damage dealing method of the engineer, I just wonder if this sub-discipline would be more fun if a small change were made. Some of my (completely underdeveloped) ideas to maybe make things a little better:

-make Volatile Overload feature available off the bat, or some variation that would make demolitions engineers really good at controlling the battlefield and debuffing, offsetting the low damage output?

-for attacking with the ticker, maybe reducing the amount of successful rolls to deal decent damage (I love the option for the ticker to land in the wrong spot, it's just a little too common for it to not do damage to the right people, I feel)?

-Increase damage scaling or radius of effects?

-maybe a remote detonation feature? That would make sneaky engineers super fun

Some things I really like about demolitions:

-timed detonation (super fun with a sneaky character who, before combat even starts, rigs up 6 to blow up at the same time, then knocks someone prone into the middle of the bomb ring for 12d6 damage of 6 different types)

-the overcharged effects (the ultimate debuffer)

Anyway, those are just my inexpert opinions! Thanks so much for making the class, I've enjoyed it a ton!

Hopefully others have seen something similar and can offer better advice.