Working on some cool tech item ideas, looking for advice


Advice


Hello folks!

With the recent tech guide for pathfinder, I'm going to start a campaign using it this autumn. While reflecting on ways to engage my players, I wondered why there where no "datapads/smartphones" in the tech items. It seems like such a mundane thing... but considering the sheer diversity of uses, it could easily be considered an artifact.

So i thought, why not have the players each obtain an "artifact" that, as they raised their skills, could unlock and give more useful stuff. For the datapad example, it could start as a mere journal, and as you raised a skill, you could unlock a camera, a radiation detector, a commset, etc... So I thought some more and came up with a few examples:

Security Unit X
Technological Artifact
Slot none; Weight 2 lbs.; Capacity 50; Usage 1 charge/hour (active); 1 charge (special abilities)
This high-tech technological unit was used by ancient security officers. It’s advanced skeleton-key system allows security officers to gian access to more doors as their security clearance goes up. It also allows them to record incident files.
This device acts as a combined e-pick & lock coder. As a user gains higher security clearance (or manages to unlock the device as their ranks in disable device rise), the quality of the devices rise (from “brown” to “prismatic”. The DC to unlock the next “level” of the device is equal to the lock coder DC-5 for it’s respective color. No more than one “level” can be unlocked per week.

Color Encode
Brown DC 15
Black DC 20
White DC 25
Gray DC 30
Green DC 35
Red DC 40
Blue DC 45
Orange DC 50
Prismatic DC 55

Medical Assistant X
Technological Artifact
Slot none; Weight 2 lbs.; Capacity 50 (power), 10 (nanite); Usage 1 charge/hour (active); Nanite: 1 charge or 5 charges
This high-tech technological system was used by young medical personel. As the physician would rise in skill, the various abilities of the device would be unlocked; making sure the learning physician would never over-extend themselves. The device would also allow the user to maintain medical files of all their patients.
This device is a nanite hypogun that can “unlock” color levels as the user becomes more skilled. No more than one “level” can be unlocked per week. The DC are as is indicated in the following table.
Color Encode
Brown DC 15
Black DC 20
White DC 25
Gray DC 30
Green DC 35
Red DC 40
Blue DC 45
Orange DC 50
Prismatic DC 55

The device also gives a bonus while using the “treat deadly wound”: you can add your intelligence bonus as well as your wisdom bonus to the amount of HP healed, or twice your intelligence bonus if you have the “precise treatment” trait.

Pleasure Pad X
Technological Artifact
Slot none; Weight 2 lbs.; Capacity 50; Usage 1 charge/hour (active); 1 charge (special abilities)
This consumer grade datapad is used by folks to record all kinds of personal data, such as journal entries, photographs, video and sound. They also contained a wide variety of applications with surprisingly diverse uses.
This particular device must have been in use by a student, since it’s various features are locked by a knowledge-based security “quiz”. As the user succeeds at increasingly difficult quizzes, more features get unlocked in the system. No more than one “level” can be unlocked per week.
Color Encode Function
Brown DC 15 Journal & Flashlight
Black DC 20 Camera
White DC 25 Radiation Detector
Gray DC 30 Commset
Green DC 35 Signal Booster
Red DC 40
Blue DC 45
Orange DC 50
Prismatic DC 55

So, I am looking for ways to make these items "better", and to get new item ideas, in case none of these fit with the players. I'm also looking for ideas for the higher levels of the pleasure pad. I'm also looking for more creative ideas than just "auto-upgrading item that already exists", since my own creativity seems to be lacking. In the end, I want each player to have a personalized "tech artifact" that can aid their character (and the party) in unique ways.

Other ideas I have had are:

-Upgradeable Veemod Goggles that gain abilities as perception improves. (cause I aint original...)
-"Evolving" armor: like a lesser version of the "power armor" that unlocks abilities as the player gains BAB. (not fond of the idea, because I would rather avoid battle items)

Any ideas folks? The more I have, the best I can adapt to the party. Eventually, I plan to make a PDF of all items collected so that others may use them in their own games if so desired.


Bump


Quote:
Pleasure Pad X

First thoughts went elsewhere... :-)

Mapper
Show the local area with extra controls as you improve
low: show nearby open area
med: add distance, movement, heat, ...
high: add distance, detected secret doors, tech devices, ....

Scanner
Point at an unknown substance and learn about it
low: ID common substances
med: ID uncommon substances
high: ID rare substances

Sonic Screwdriver
Universal tool
low: can use on screws
med: can use like a regular tool for any mundane job
high: can use to do plot point 1/day.

/cevah


So this really depends on what you want to do with this. If you're just looking to emulate various things in science fiction, then it's as simple as making stuff up. If you're looking for what people in a world based on Pathfinder rules and the already existing technology guide would do, it's a little different. I'll do the second one.

Things I would want if I lived in Golarion and could make up high tech stuff:

Power Source Detector. Maybe it starts out only able to find active generators but as it grows it can detect active batteries, inactive generators, and inactive batteries. Range should increase as well. I'm picturing it starting as a hot/cold thing that beeps when you point it the right way and get closer, then eventually gets a little screen that has dots for the power sources.

Reusable battery. Something that can drain batteries/generators, store it, and not completely drain when you hook it up to another thing that uses power. So you don't lose energy and you can always drain extra from a generator.

Things I would want as a player playing in a high tech area:

Some kind of basic all around functional object to ignore minor details. A helmet with a commlink, chipfinder, tracking chip, flashlight, radiation detector, maybe some way to share video? Something that lets the entire team keep in contact, track each other, and set up "THEY'RE COMING OUT OF THE WALLS" when the expendable NPC gets murdered by swarms of Kythons.

Something to give me a powered exoskeleton like the lifter in Aliens, or in general something that could enhance/replace strength so I could be/fight a rogue kobold/goblin in a giant robot suit. With the option of combining with other similar suits to make a larger creature. Bonus points if they keep their own actions so you can actually have a four on one battle where the one isn't behind on action economy.

Some kind of nanite assembler so I can make whatever I need on demand. 3D printing, essentially, but with more materials.

Things I would want from an evolving item:

Power capacity should increase with each new feature that uses it.
If a feature is so essential I've already bought it myself it should show up much earlier or be more powerful than normal.
If a feature is useless it should either have a twist or come with other, better features.
The best fill-in features are things I wouldn't buy myself. Fire extinguisher is a good one here. Emergency raft is similar.
If an item has a combat use the base should be an item you use in combat. Shields, armor, weapon, etc.

So in that line of discussion here's some items you could set to any scale you please: a hard light shield that gives you the bonus of a scatterlight suit, has a flashlight, a fire extinguisher, and a built-in access card, a gravity clip that also applies the effect of some grenades on a direct hit (shaped charges), and a force field that can also be used as a hologram projector instead and has a signal jammer.


I have no idea what your world is going to be like, but have you considered battery drain? Do they drain?

There was a comic book series Wildcats version 3.0 and it had something called the Halo battery that ran for what amounted to forever.

There was the TV show Star Gate:Universe, (perhaps you have forgotten it?)
They had a place that charged up anything with a battery. It was sort of like what exists now.

I wouldn't have Cellphones unless you have cell towers here and there around your world. That would be interesting considering some have cell towers hidden as trees.

I like the color code thing. It reminds me of the color codes from Barrier Peaks.

You Could throw in the Keno from SGU, the floating video cameras.

Once everyone has all these devices, the players will know what they are. Do you have a good enough group that can say "The magic has died! what do we do now?" Instead of the player saying that the batteries are dead and we need to find out where to recharge them.

Otherwise I like the idea. I never got to play Barrier Peaks.


Advice #1 don't screw with power sources and generators, the limit of them is what keeps Tech from becoming universal.

ideas for pleasure pad functions

biological status monitor : duplicates the deathwatch spell and detect poison

truestar navigation system : never get lost again, this system allows the setting of up to 15 waypoints and the user can always find their position in terms of direction and distance on a map relative to any of those waypoint. note that maps themselves are completely inaccurate and terrain in the world does not match the terrain on the maps.

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