Technological Devices

Creating a Device

Designing and constructing a technological device is a collaborative effort between the player and the GM. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Define the Primary Function
2. Set the Technology Score and Determine Features
3. Determine Complexity Score
4. Decide Time Factor
5. Determine Malfunction Rating
6. Calculate Market Value
7. Fill Out the Details
8. Build the Device

Step One: Define the Primary Function

The first step in creating a device is determining its primary function. Though inventive or desperate heroes may find alternate uses for a device, an inventor typically designs a device with a single function in mind. Think of a device’s primary function as the verb that will be used most often when describing its use. Some possibilities include:

• Magnifying a view of far-away objects.
• Boring through the lock on a door.
• Ferrying cargo and passengers through the clouds.
• Testing floors for traps.
• Assembling a building.
• Communicating with a distant city.
• Translating one language into another.
• Forging swords and axes.

Once you have described the device’s primary function, the GM assigns the function a Difficulty representing the function’s complexity. Note that this Function Difficulty (FD) is not a Difficulty Class and is never used in skill checks. Function Difficulties serve as a way of evaluating how complex a device is and how difficult it is to construct.

While determining the Function Difficulty, the GM should take into account the scale of the function’s operation, how long the function will take to complete, how complicated the function is to perform, and how independent or responsive the device is intended to be. These factors create a wide continuum of possible FDs — a function that produces a small fire without flint or tinder may have an FD of 5, for instance, while a device that follows the tracks of an Etherian ranger without being detected would be considerably higher. The GM may rule that a specific task is impossible to perform with the technology available.

The following table provides suggestions for establishing a Function Difficulty for a device. These are suggestions only; the GM has complete freedom when assigning a device’s FD.

Technological Device Function Difficulty Benchmarks

FD	Function	Examples
10	Simple repetitive task	Mortar shells; steam saw; irrigation system
15	Complex repetitive task	Timed bomb; mechanical calculator; automatic thief
20	Simple responsive task	Stun batons; intruder alarms; slow ground vehicles
30	Complex responsive task	Laser pistol; clockwork guard with pre-determined tactics; devices to record and analyze information
50	Simple creative task	Devices that forge simple weapons, make tools, build walls or copy books
75	Complex creative task	Devices that build complex non-technological equipment such as siege weapons, or make predictions based on a set of information
100	Amazing feat of technology	Devices that build simpler technological devices; devices with humanoid-level intelligence; a device that could hunt down and attack a particular individual

One method of convincing a GM to set a lower FD for a function is to provide as complete a description of a device’s workings as possible. As a certain degree of impossible science is an inventor’s stock in trade in the world of Eternia, a cartoonish but detailed drawing may be just as valid as engineering blueprints.

Step Two: Set the Technology Score and Determine Features

Even devices that perform the same functions can have different forms. A device’s complexity and power determines its Technology Score (TS). Items with lower Technology Scores are cheaper and easier to construct, while those with higher Technology Scores are more powerful.

Certain dimensions have inherent technological traits that might affect the crafting or operation of devices. On Eternia for example, crafters gain a +2 circumstance bonus to their Technological Limit, and may treat the Technology Score of any device as 2 less for the purposes of determining time and cost to craft.

The features of the devices an inventor can create are limited by their experience and ability — their Technological Limit (TL). The features of any device an inventor designs must have Technology Scores less than or equal to their TL, which is determined as follows:

Technological Limit = 1 + total crafting class level + feat modifiers

Crafting classes include Battlesmith, Fleshwarper, Techie, Technosavant, Trapsmith, and any class that provides a Craft Reserve feature, such as Artificer or Engineer. A Factotum can spend an Inspiration point to mimic this ability—they do not gain actual Craft Reserves, but may count their Factotum level toward their TL.

A feature’s Technology Score establishes its power, as shown on the table below. The device’s overall TS is equal to the highest TS among its features. A cannon that deals 5d6 points of damage (TS 5) yet has a range increment of 50 feet (TS 1) has a TS of 5.

Technological Device Features

Feature	Technology Score
Armor bonus	TS
Ability bonus	+(TS/3)
Strength	TS
Constitution	—
Dexterity	TS/3
Intelligence	TS/5
Wisdom	TS/3
Charisma	TS/6
Additional hardness*	TS/2
Additional hit points**	TS × 5
Blast radius†	(TS/2) × 5 ft.
Cargo capacity	TS × 200 lb.
Climb speed	TS × 5 miles per hour
Deals damage	(TS/3)d6 points/round
Damage reduction	TS/3
Fly speed	TS × 5 miles per hour
Land speed	TS × 20 miles per hour
Maneuverability Rating††	TS/2
Projectile weapon‡	3
Range increment‡‡	TS × 50 feet
Swim speed	TS × 10 miles per hour
Underwater capability	10
* All technological devices have hardness, as determined by their sizes (see step seven, below). You can add additional hardness to your device if you like.
** All technological devices have hit points, as determined by their size (see step seven, below). You can add additional hit points to your device if you like.
† Most devices that have a blast radius blow up — they have Time Factors (see below) of 10.
†† Any device that can move also needs a Maneuverability Rating. See “Movement and Maneuverability,” below, for more information.
‡ Any device that shoots something and deals damage is a projectile weapon.
‡‡ For projectile weapons. Thrown weapons generally have range increments of 10 feet.

Step Three: Determine Complexity Score

The more complex a device is, the more difficult it is to construct. A device’s Complexity Score is equal one-half its Function Difficulty plus the combined values of all of its features’ Technology Scores. Add all of the features’ TSs together, then add them to half the FD.

Complexity Score = (FD/2) + TS₁ + TS₂ + … + TSₙ

Step Four: Decide Time Factor

The primary function of a device takes time to perform. For most devices, this time is the interval between initiating the function and completing it. For others, where the function is instantaneous or continuous, the time is that required for the device to be prepared to function — the time required to load a weapon or start a vehicle’s steam engine.

Once you determine the device’s primary function and its features, the GM decides the basic time unit on which it operates — move actions, standard actions, rounds, minutes, hours, days, weeks or months. The time unit chosen should be that most appropriate given the scale of the function and the design of the device.

The inventor then selects a number between 1 and 10. This is the Time Factor (TF), or how many time units the primary function of the device requires to perform its task. The Time Factor is important because slower items are less expensive and can be built more quickly than fast items. The faster an item is, the more it costs.

Personal firearms, for example, usually operate on move actions and have TFs of 1 — they take a single move action to reload.

Some items, such as bombs or disposable flares, work just once and then destroy themselves. These items have Time Factors of 10.

Step Five: Determine Malfunction Rating

Reliable and durable devices are always a possibility, given sufficient skill, time and resources. However, ambitious inventors and the cheapskate adventurers funding them often settle for devices that serve the desired need despite the risks of an occasional explosion.

During the design process, the inventor assigns the primary function of the device a Malfunction Rating (MR) between 1 and 5, representing the chance that the device will fail to operate when used. If the device’s operator makes a Use Technological Device check or attack roll, and the roll is equal to or less than the device’s Malfunction Rating, the device malfunctions. (See “Malfunction Effects” later in this chapter for more information on specifying the details of a device’s malfunctions.)

Step Six: Calculate Market Value

Once you have fully designed a device, you must determine its market value before you can begin construction. The device’s market value takes into account all of the factors you previously determined.

Market value = (FD × TS × CS) / (TF + MR)

Round the market value to the nearest 5 gp. Market values are not set in stone; the GM may adjust it further if they feel it appropriate.

Step Seven: Fill Out the Details

You now have completed the design’s blueprint and the shopping list (and price) of the required materials. Before you begin construction, you and the GM should work together to describe the details that are not explicitly determined in the above process.

Base the device’s size and weight on its function and the materials going into its construction. In most cases, the device’s size and weight are obvious: hand tools are Tiny and weigh a few pounds at most, steam-powered tree saws are Small and can be held and operated in two hands, while self-propelled mechanical lumberjacks may be Huge and weigh thousands of pounds. Devices that are self-powered also require fuel of some sort; perhaps Eternium batteries.

A device’s size determines its hit points and hardness, as shown on the following table. You can add hit points and/or hardness to your device by adding layers, armor plating, supports, solidifying the design and the like. Adding hit points or hardness counts as a feature, as described in step one.

Size	Hit points	Hardness
Fine	1	0
Diminutive	3	1
Tiny	5	3
Small	10	5
Medium	20	5
Large	40	5
Huge	80	5
Gargantuan	160	5
Colossal	320	5

Step Eight: Build the Device

Once you reach this step, the design work is completed and it is time to begin construction using the Craft (mechanical) skill. The construction process follows the normal item crafting rules; the Craft DC is equal to the device’s FD + TS.

Crafting Improvements

Add-Ons

Add-ons perform functions that are peripheral and/or unrelated to a device’s primary function. They are secondary devices included in a larger construction, such as a laser cannon mounted on a suit of robotic armor or a homing beacon in a motorized drill. You design an add-on as an independent device, using steps one through eight in the normal design process, but add-ons do not automatically receive hit points. Either the add-on shares the device’s hit points or it has its own hit points. In the latter case, granting the add-on its own hit points counts as a feature (TS = hp × 5, so granting a Medium add-on its own hit points is a TS 4 feature). Add-ons that possess their own hit points continue to function if the primary device is disabled.

An add-on’s market value is 75% that of an independent device of its type. Construct it using Craft (mechanical) checks.

After you complete the add-on, you must incorporate it into the device. This requires one day and a Craft (mechanical) check with a DC equal to the device’s TS plus the add-on’s TS.

Add-ons are generally smaller and less obtrusive than the device to which they are added, and their reduced market value represents the fact that they make use of the existing device’s capabilities (drawing power from its circuitry, being steadied by its frame, and so on). The GM may rule that a particularly large or unusual add-on, such as a cannon added to a pocket watch, cannot make substantial use of the existing device and does not benefit from the reduced market value.

Upgrades

Upgrades improve a device’s existing functions. An inventor can upgrade a laser pistol to enhance its range or ability to deal damage, or she might upgrade a robotic horse so that it moves faster. To make an upgrade, design the upgraded device as if it were a wholly new device sharing all the device’s existing attributes along with all desired upgrades.

Once you determine the market value of the upgraded device, subtract the market value of the original design from that of the upgraded design. The result is the upgrade cost. Make Craft (mechanical) checks to upgrade the device; the DC equals the upgraded device’s Function Difficulty + its TS – 10. The device cannot be used while you are upgrading it.

Malfunctions and Repairs

Stories of the amazing devices of Eternia and beyond are matched in number by stories of their malfunctions. At best, a vehicle does not move and a weapon fails to fire. At worst, the device’s reactor core explode and those standing nearby are reduced to smoldering messes on the ground.

Every technological device has a Malfunction Rating (MR) between 0 and 5. This number represents the chance that the item fails when used. When making a skill check or attack roll while using the device, if the natural roll (before adding any modifiers) is equal to or below the Malfunction Rating (MR), the object fails to operate correctly. Thus, if your character attempts to use a device with an MR of 2, and you roll a die to use the device and the roll comes up a 1 or a 2, the device malfunctions.

When most devices malfunction, they fail to perform the desired task (the vehicle stalls, the weapon jams, the chicken gets stuck and so forth) and must be repaired. Repairing a technological device probably requires a Craft (mechanical) check. The GM may rule that a malfunction has other effects, as described in the following section.

Malfunction Effects

Two devices may be made from the same plans, but each fouls up in its own way. This section lists a number of possible malfunction effects. While constructing a device, players and the GM should choose an effect from the table that is appropriate to the device. The device sometimes produces this effect when it malfunctions. Alternately, you can elect to have the device produce a random result when it malfunctions. If you do so, roll 1d20 and find the result on the list. (Reroll inapplicable results.) Creating a device with a random malfunction reduces the device’s MR by 1 (to a minimum of 1, with the adjustment made after the device’s construction is complete).

Several malfunctions have permanent effects. In most cases, you can correct these effects by upgrading the device, as described above, returning it to its former capacity. In cases where this does not make sense (for example, the noisemaker or pain machine effect), you can repair the effect by following the normal rules for the Craft skill. (You therefore have to repair the device twice: once to get it working again, and once to correct the permanent malfunction effect.) Malfunction effects are cumulative.

Function Lock (1)

For 2d6 rounds, the device continues to repeat the action taken during the round in which it malfunctioned. Weapons continue to fire and their direction cannot be altered; vehicles continue to move uncontrollably in the same direction at the same speed. All ammunition or fuel loaded into the device is consumed or destroyed in the malfunction.

Mangled (2)

The device can be repaired, but it will never look the same again. For all purposes related to the device’s sale or appraisal, its market value is halved. If a device suffers this malfunction effect twice, it is ravaged beyond recognition and must be replaced.

Leaky (3)

The device now requires regular applications of some substance in order to continue operating. This substance may be a lubricant to keep gears turning, Eternium to recharge power draining from a faulty circuit, or something similar. If the substance is not applied daily, the device ceases to function.

Total Failure (4)

Not only does the malfunctioning device fail, so do all its add-ons. They must be repaired individually.

Inhibited Function (5)

Once the device is repaired, its Time Factor (determined in step four, above) is doubled.

Degradation (6)

Even after being repaired, one feature (randomly determined) is decreased as if the feature’s TS were –1 lower (minimum 0). An armor bonus may be reduced by –1, maximum movement speed might decrease by –20 mph, and so on.

Balky (7)

The device’s Maneuverability Rating decreases by –1.

Pieces Everywhere (8)

The device falls apart into a multitude of tiny components. Craft (mechanical) checks to repair the device have their DCs increased by +4.

Awkward Operation (9)

The device is more difficult to operate after being repaired. All skill checks or attack rolls made with the device take a –2 circumstance penalty.

Backfire (10)

All weapons on the device backfire, dealing their damage to the operator.

Frangible (11)

Though it can be repaired normally, the device is more likely to malfunction in the future. Its Malfunction Rating increases by +1.

Kickback (12)

The device somehow deals damage to its operator, by jerking her around violently, blasting her with steam or the like. She takes 3d6 points of damage.

Bulky (13)

You can repair the device, but it needs extra components. Lots of extra components. For the purposes of repair, its market price increases by 25%. After you repair it, the device is one size larger — Tiny devices become Small, Small devices become Medium and so on. The device’s weight doubles, and its movement speed decreases by –20 mph (if applicable).

Critical Component (14)

The malfunction destroys a critical component. You cannot repair the device until a rare or delicate component worth at least 10% of the device’s total market value can be replaced. (This requirement might spark an adventure if the component is not available on the open market.)

Self-Destructive (15)

After you repair it, the device damages itself, taking 1 point of damage each time it is successfully operated. The device’s hardness does not protect it against this damage.

Noisemaker (16)

The device immediately emits a loud and annoying noise that can be heard by any creature within 60 feet. Even after repair, the function makes the noise continuously during its operation and for a period afterward equal to its Time Factor (but not less than 1 minute).

Fused Function (17)

You cannot upgrade the device and all skill checks made to repair it have their DCs increased by +3.

Fragile (18)

The device’s maximum hit points are halved.

Pain Machine (19)

The device can be repaired normally, but it deals 1d6 points of damage to its operator each time it is used.

Power Cell Explosion (20)

The device’s power cells explode, dealing 1d6 slashing and fire damage per TS of the device to to all characters and creatures within 15 feet. The Craft (mechanical) checks required to repair the device have their DCs increased by +6.