John Out West
Explorer
Hey There,
I recently made rules for the Tinkering craft, where players can make mundane contraptions. Contraptions like Automatic Crossbows and Grapple Guns, not sentient spinning tops of doom or iron golems that obey your verbal commands. You can see the whole craft here.
As part of my series on "Crafts for Adventurers," this craft is supposed to be used while adventuring and not during downtime. Its another zero gold system. Creating a contraption takes only an hour if you have the parts, and creating a schematic takes a week of pondering (Thinking about it) with an hour of writing each night. Tinker's can't create their own raw materials, so they need to hire or become a Blacksmith to create gears, cogs, and sprockets.
The craft itself is simple. You take a mundane item, like a Grappling Hook or an Axe, and give it an augment. This augment may be to let it use itself or to spin wildly to give you an advantage in battle, among other options. Players use the Tinker's Tinkering Skill when using a Contraption, so even if you have a -1 to strength, a Gas-Powered Grappling Gun will let you use the tinker's +7. This does not translate to attacks.
After the Augment is added, you add the contraptions Power-source, Triggers, and Faults. These are not determined by the Player, but by the Tinker Character who is actually solving the engineering problems of the design, so they are chosen randomly from a list. Players can choose their Power-source or Trigger, but this strain on the Tinker causes more Faults to show up in the design. Faults are the unresolved issues with the contraption, such as overheating, making noise, or the design itself being finicky. Every design as at least one flaw.
With this Tinkering System you can make Grapple Guns, Portable or Stationary Traps, Automatic Crossbows, and Chainsaw Swords. The current Tinkering system is essentially non-existent, which is why this is necessary.
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The Tinkering craft seems to work well, as far as I can see, but I'm adding in a new system for calculating how to deal with the Powersources. The model i was using before was too simplistic, but I fear this new version might be too complex, or that I might be missing something. I'll post it below, and if you have any suggestions I would love to hear them!
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Powersource
Whenever an Augmentation on an contraption is used, such as a gun rotating a barrel or a shield unfolding, the stored units are expended to make the action possible.
Power Requirements.
The equation to determine the amount of Units a contraption needs, you must determine the Contraption’s weight and the distance it moves. The equation is as such:
(Size Units) x (1 + Distance Units) = Unit Requirement
Ranged:
For some contraptions, the purpose is not to move itself but to propel something else. In this case, the Unit Requirement of the contraption is added to the Unit Requirement of the ammunition. The equation is as such:
(Unit Requirement) + (Ammo Size Units) x (Ammo Distance Units) = Ranged Unit Requirement
Size Units:
1/2 Unit = Tiny (Palm Sized) : about 1/4lb
1 Unit = Light (Two-Weapon) : about 1lb
2 Units = Medium : about 4lbs
4 Units = Large (Two-Handed) : about 8lbs
8 Units = Large, Heavy : about 16lbs
16 Units = Huge, Mounted : about 32lbs
Distance Units
1 Distance Unit is added to the contraption for every 5ft the contraption is required to move, always rounding down to a multiple of 5. If the contraption doesn't move, but rather pivots, then measure the furthest angled distance that the pivoting edge has to travel and treat it as a straight line.
Unit Capacity
Each contraption can only hold a certain amount of Units safely. Most Tinkers put in safeguards to prevent the item from exceeding their unit capacity.
Each contraction has a Unit Capacity that is 10x their Size Units.
Units Generators
These generators will convert energy into Units that the contraption can use to activate its features. The energy transferred from the generator will negate from its origin, reducing total damage or movement in exchange for the units. This cannot reduce the damage from incoming attacks, however, if an attack is blocked and the contraptions function is to defend, it may be able to absorb the appropriate amount of damage or movement.
Generators
Roll 1d6 to determine the Generator randomly, or choose your Generator and add a fault to your design. Reroll on a six.
(1) Impact: This lever turns kinetic energy into mechanical energy.
Gain 1 Unit per Strength or Force damage.
(2) High Gear: This tiny gear requires a lot of strength to wind.
Gain 1 Unit per 5x Strength Check.
(3) Low Gear: This huge gear need a lot of winding to rotate.
Gain 1 Unit per 5x Dexterity Check.
(4) Pull: This cord is almost impossible to pull without anchoring it first.
Gain 1 Unit per 5ft movement.
(5) Boiler: Steam pours out of these superheated vessels. Requires a heat source and 1 ounce of water per 100 units.
Gain 1 Unit per Fire damage.
I recently made rules for the Tinkering craft, where players can make mundane contraptions. Contraptions like Automatic Crossbows and Grapple Guns, not sentient spinning tops of doom or iron golems that obey your verbal commands. You can see the whole craft here.
As part of my series on "Crafts for Adventurers," this craft is supposed to be used while adventuring and not during downtime. Its another zero gold system. Creating a contraption takes only an hour if you have the parts, and creating a schematic takes a week of pondering (Thinking about it) with an hour of writing each night. Tinker's can't create their own raw materials, so they need to hire or become a Blacksmith to create gears, cogs, and sprockets.
The craft itself is simple. You take a mundane item, like a Grappling Hook or an Axe, and give it an augment. This augment may be to let it use itself or to spin wildly to give you an advantage in battle, among other options. Players use the Tinker's Tinkering Skill when using a Contraption, so even if you have a -1 to strength, a Gas-Powered Grappling Gun will let you use the tinker's +7. This does not translate to attacks.
After the Augment is added, you add the contraptions Power-source, Triggers, and Faults. These are not determined by the Player, but by the Tinker Character who is actually solving the engineering problems of the design, so they are chosen randomly from a list. Players can choose their Power-source or Trigger, but this strain on the Tinker causes more Faults to show up in the design. Faults are the unresolved issues with the contraption, such as overheating, making noise, or the design itself being finicky. Every design as at least one flaw.
With this Tinkering System you can make Grapple Guns, Portable or Stationary Traps, Automatic Crossbows, and Chainsaw Swords. The current Tinkering system is essentially non-existent, which is why this is necessary.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Tinkering craft seems to work well, as far as I can see, but I'm adding in a new system for calculating how to deal with the Powersources. The model i was using before was too simplistic, but I fear this new version might be too complex, or that I might be missing something. I'll post it below, and if you have any suggestions I would love to hear them!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Powersource
Whenever an Augmentation on an contraption is used, such as a gun rotating a barrel or a shield unfolding, the stored units are expended to make the action possible.
Power Requirements.
The equation to determine the amount of Units a contraption needs, you must determine the Contraption’s weight and the distance it moves. The equation is as such:
(Size Units) x (1 + Distance Units) = Unit Requirement
Ranged:
For some contraptions, the purpose is not to move itself but to propel something else. In this case, the Unit Requirement of the contraption is added to the Unit Requirement of the ammunition. The equation is as such:
(Unit Requirement) + (Ammo Size Units) x (Ammo Distance Units) = Ranged Unit Requirement
Size Units:
1/2 Unit = Tiny (Palm Sized) : about 1/4lb
1 Unit = Light (Two-Weapon) : about 1lb
2 Units = Medium : about 4lbs
4 Units = Large (Two-Handed) : about 8lbs
8 Units = Large, Heavy : about 16lbs
16 Units = Huge, Mounted : about 32lbs
Distance Units
1 Distance Unit is added to the contraption for every 5ft the contraption is required to move, always rounding down to a multiple of 5. If the contraption doesn't move, but rather pivots, then measure the furthest angled distance that the pivoting edge has to travel and treat it as a straight line.
Unit Capacity
Each contraption can only hold a certain amount of Units safely. Most Tinkers put in safeguards to prevent the item from exceeding their unit capacity.
Each contraction has a Unit Capacity that is 10x their Size Units.
Units Generators
These generators will convert energy into Units that the contraption can use to activate its features. The energy transferred from the generator will negate from its origin, reducing total damage or movement in exchange for the units. This cannot reduce the damage from incoming attacks, however, if an attack is blocked and the contraptions function is to defend, it may be able to absorb the appropriate amount of damage or movement.
Generators
Roll 1d6 to determine the Generator randomly, or choose your Generator and add a fault to your design. Reroll on a six.
(1) Impact: This lever turns kinetic energy into mechanical energy.
Gain 1 Unit per Strength or Force damage.
(2) High Gear: This tiny gear requires a lot of strength to wind.
Gain 1 Unit per 5x Strength Check.
(3) Low Gear: This huge gear need a lot of winding to rotate.
Gain 1 Unit per 5x Dexterity Check.
(4) Pull: This cord is almost impossible to pull without anchoring it first.
Gain 1 Unit per 5ft movement.
(5) Boiler: Steam pours out of these superheated vessels. Requires a heat source and 1 ounce of water per 100 units.
Gain 1 Unit per Fire damage.
