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So. I know this has been done before, several iterations of it, actually, and although I really like the Machine Smith on the SRD, my GM thinks it is underpowered and lacks proper amounts of customization. He promised to make an archetype for it (a year ago when the character concept first came up), we just finished session two of a bi-monthly game and hes still preoccupied with naming sub-regions and making shops we will never visit. So I rolled up my sleeves and got to cracking.
What I am going for: Somewhat of a Summoner/Alchemist blend. A character that creates a robot companion out of raw materials, rather than summoning it from another plane. We... actually have rules for summoning robotic eidolons (we commonly play in steampunk and cyberpunk settings, so we need rules for this sort of stuff) but that didn't feel right. I wanted to play Alex Vance and Dog. Not a Digital Summoner. Nitpicky, maybe. But it s a concept I really want to play.
I created this by taking the summoner, taking away all of the mutagen and poison related abilities and discoveries, replacing those with a robotic animal companion, then scouring classes for appropriate abilities to make discoveries out of. Anyway, this is what I have (reduced text to only need to know stuff.)
Engineer:
[b]Class Skills:
Swap Heal for Linguistics
Class Features
The following are class features of the Engineer
Engineering:
An Engineer gains a competence bonus equal to half her class level (minimum 1) to Craft (Mechanics), Knowledge (Engineering) and Disable Device checks.
An engineer can create two special types of magical items- devices and bombs. Bombs are explosive splash weapons and is detailed in its own section below.
(The rest of the engineering text is identical to the alchemy class feature)
Mechanical Creation: The engineer, through time, patience, and a good bit of elbow grease, can craft a mechanical wonder to do his bidding. This can take a number of forms, although the most common is a robotic companion. If the creation is ever destroyed, it costs 100 GP per level and one week to craft a new one.
This ability functions like the druid animal companion ability (which is part of the Nature Bond class feature), except that the engineer must choose to take a robotic companion rather than an animal.
Robotic Companion
Type: The creatures type changes to construct.
Hit Dice: Change the animals hit dice to d10’s instead of d8’s. The robot mount gains bonus hit points depending on their size category.
Construct Size Bonus Hit Points
Small 10
Medium 20
Large 30
Robotic companions cannot heal damage on its own, but often can be repaired through the use of the Craft (blacksmith) skill. Robotic companions can also be healed through spells such as make whole.
BAB: The robotic companion’s base attack bonus is the equal to the robot’s HD. Robotic companions do not gain additional attacks using their natural weapons for a high base attack bonus.
Fort/Ref/Will: A robotic companion has no good saves. Use the animal companion’s Will save progression.
Vision: Robotic companions gain low-light vision and darkvision 60 ft. if they do not already have it.
Ability Scores: A robotic companion posses no Constitution score. Any DCs or other statistics that rely on a Constitution score treat a construct as having a score of 10 (no bonus or penalty).
Bonus Tricks: A robotic companion does not gain any bonus tricks.
(I would like to note that the robotic animal companion rules are not my own, and thus not up for critique.)
This ability replaces the Mutagen and Poison related class features of the Alchemist.
Discoveries:
An Engineer can not take any discoveries that utilize class features he does not posses, but can take the following rogue tricks as discoveries:
(Core)
Quick Disable, Resiliency, Trap Spotter, Weapon Training
(APG)
Cunning Trigger, Fast Picks, Quick Trapsmith,
(UCG)
Esoteric Scholar, Firearm Training, Grit, Terrain Mastery (Urban Only?)
New Discoveries:
Repairing Touch(Ex): The alchemist gains the ability to repair damaged objects. As a standard action, she may touch a creature and apply 1 round’s effect of his spontaneous repairing discovery to that object; this counts toward his spontaneous repairing limit for the day. The engineer’s daily limit for hit points repaired by spontaneous repairing increases to 5 × his engineer level. An engineer must be at least 6th level and must have the spontaneous repair discovery or class ability before selecting this discovery.
Relentless Machina (Ex): The engineer’s Mechanical Creation is considerably more difficult to destroy than normal. His creation is considered to have a Constitution score of 10, and no longer is destroyed at 0. Reducing it to 0 HP makes it inert and unusable until such time as it is repaired, but it is only destroyed at -10.
Spontaneous Repairing (Ex): The engineer gains the ability to repair his creation rapidly and remotely. As a free action once per round, the creation can repair 5 hit points as if he had the fast healing ability. He can repair 5 hit points per day in this manner for every 2 engineer levels he possesses. If the creation is destroyed because of hit point damage and he still has repairing available from this ability, the ability activates automatically, repairing it for five damage, if this would prevent the creation being destroyed, it is not.
Artificer’s Touch (Sp): You can cast mending at will, using your engineer level as the caster level to repair damaged objects. In addition, you can cause damage to objects and construct creatures by striking them with a melee touch attack. Objects and constructs take 1d6 points of damage +1 for every two engineer levels you possess. This attack bypasses an amount of damage reduction and hardness equal to your engineer level. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier.
Combat Programing (Sp) The Mechanical Creation gains a combat feat that it otherwise qualifies for.
Weapons Module (Sp) The Mechanical Creation gains a weapon proficiency feat that it otherwise qualifies for. The robotic companion must have proper appendages or ports for said weaponry.
Shoulder Mounts (Sp) The Mechanical Creation gains two shoulder weapon ports. It can only mount ranged weaponry that it is proficient with in these ports, and they must be one size category smaller than the Creation itself. If the engineer has the Storage Locker discovery, then he can store ammunition here that the creation can use to load his weapons with.
Storage Locker (Sp) The Mechanical Creation has an empy chest compartment, capable of storing 50 lbs of appropriate sized gear if medium, or 75 lbs if large.
Reinforced Chassis (Sp) The Mechanical Creation has been constructed with extra armor plating, granting it an extra +2 Natural Bonus to AC.
Hardened Interior (Sp) The mechanical creation gains hardness 5. At 15th level, this increas to hardness 10. The engineer must be 10th level before selecting this discovery.
Shield Ally (Ex): Whenever an engineer is within his mechanical creation’s reach, the engineer receives a +2 shield bonus to his Armor Class and a +2 circumstance bonus on his saving throws. This bonus does not apply if the creation is grappled, helpless or inert. The engineer must be 4th level before selecting this discovery. At 12th level, the creation can shield the engineer’s allies as well, and the engineer’s bonus goes up to +4.
Teleportation (Su): At 6th level, as a standard action, an engineer can call his mechanical creation to his side. This functions as dimension door, using the engineer’s caster level. When used, the creation appears adjacent to the engineer (or as close as possible if all adjacent spaces are occupied). If the creation is out of range, the ability is wasted. The engineer must be 6th level to select this discovery. The engineer can use this ability once per day at 6th level, plus one additional time per day for every four levels beyond 6th.
Transposition (Su): An engineer can use his teleportation ability to swap locations with his creation. If it is larger than him, he can appear in any square occupied by the creation. The creation must occupy the square that was occupied by the engineer if able, or as close as possible if it is not able. The Engineer must be at least 8th level and have already selected the teleportation discovery to select this discovery.
Repair Matrix(Su): The mechanical creation’s body gains the repair damage very quickly, giving it fast healing 1. The creation repairs 1 point of damage each round, just like natural healing. The repair matrix functions as long as the creation is not destroyed. This repairing is increased by 1 per round for every 2 addition levels the engineer takes (maximum 5). The engineer must be at least 12th level before selecting this discovery.
Overdrive (Ex): The engineer outfits the core inside the mechanical companion to output more power on command, sending the companion beyond operational limits. As a swift action the engineer commands the core augmentation to activate, granting the creation a +6 bonus on strength and a +10 ft bonus to movement speed. This bonus lasts for a number of rounds equal to the engineers’ hit dice. These rounds need not be consecutive. An engineer must be at least 4th level before selecting this discovery.
Eye for Danger (Ex): Being accustomed to the sudden and often explosive hazards of operating mechanical devices hones the engineer to keep an eye out for the sudden and often lethal hazards of adventuring. The engineer gains a +2 luck bonus on Reflex saves and initiative rolls.
Hardening Technique (Ex): The engineer learns special techniques to increase the durability of any item he creates. Any mundane item, gadget, or magic item the engineer creates gains an additional 5 hit points.
Remote Detonation (Su): The engineer learns how to trigger the core in his mechanical companion to detonate. The resulting explosion deals 1d8 points of force damage per engineer level in a 20ft radius from the center of the companion’s location. The companion is immediately destroyed and must be rebuilt as normal. Using this ability is an immediate action.
Thoughts, concerns, criticisms. I am most interested in hearing what people think of the discoveries, if they seem balanced, perhaps other options?
((Edited to cut out irrelevant or redundant information))
The Robotic Companion ability sounds almost like you're taking a living creature and turning it into a robot, which isn't quite what the Mechanical Creation seems to be doing.
I would probably suggest looking at the page for Eidolons and creating automatons using its rules. Instead of an Evolution Pool, you could have an Upgrade Pool.
You might want to include spell/spell-like abilities or Discoveries that include some from the Summoner List like Rejuvenate Eidolon and Restore Eidolon but switch them to be Rejuvenate Automaton and Restore Automaton and so on.
Indagare advice is exactly what I thought about Construct companions when tinkering with possible Engineers/Artificer classes - Eidolons as outsiders share the Constructs' BAB and HD and evolutions are already similar to Animated Object's construction points.
The initial idea was to do the class as a summoner archetype, rather than alchemist, but that idea got scraped by the DM pretty quickly.
The robot companion is a robot shaped like an animal, not an animal turned into a robot, kinda like this:
http://www.businesspundit.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/robot-dog1.jpg
Again, the companion isn't really my rules, and they aren't up for debate.
I may, however, be able to argue for a very limited amount of 'upgrade points' As far as power level goes, mutagens and poisons are about a third of the alchemist class. Is that comparable to what a druid gets for his animal companion? I haven't played a druid before, so my experiences with them are limited.
I could perhaps argue that the animal companion is worth the mutagens, and swap out the poisons for upgrade points? Not sure. From there I could just take normal eidolon evolutions, I would only need to slightly reflavor them. I'd just be going for weapon proficiencies, DR/AC and extra limbs for carrying weapons.
The initial idea was to do the class as a summoner archetype, rather than alchemist, but that idea got scraped by the DM pretty quickly.
The robot companion is a robot shaped like an animal, not an animal turned into a robot, kinda like this:
http://www.businesspundit.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/robot-dog1.jpg
Again, the companion isn't really my rules, and they aren't up for debate.
I may, however, be able to argue for a very limited amount of 'upgrade points' As far as power level goes, mutagens and poisons are about a third of the alchemist class. Is that comparable to what a druid gets for his animal companion? I haven't played a druid before, so my experiences with them are limited.
I could perhaps argue that the animal companion is worth the mutagens, and swap out the poisons for upgrade points? Not sure. From there I could just take normal eidolon evolutions, I would only need to slightly reflavor them. I'd just be going for weapon proficiencies, DR/AC and extra limbs for carrying weapons.
Well, if you're creating a robotic companion, it seems strange not to be able to upgrade it over time. When it's destroyed you can replace it with another that has all the same features (which would make a good, logical explanation for why it's 100 gp per level). Along a similar line, you could spend 100 gp every level to upgrade it (it always takes a week) and you can give it an x amount of new features based on the upgrade pool.
Of course, this is probably still in the area of Robotic Companion debate (which, I know, is not up for debate). If you see the character as an engineer not a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde type, then giving up mutagens and potions would make sense. You can still create bombs, thanks to your knowledge of how various energies and chemicals react, but your real focus is on mechanical engineering.
Thoughts?
no no, thats a good point. I am going to be able to buy technological stuff and add it to my robot, just like I would be able to equip cybernetics to myself or something. (well, I couldn't do that to myself, the character is hemophobic and has no ranks in heal. Plus, ow.) but most of that is simply going to be money and craft checks, not really part of the class feature.
no no, thats a good point. I am going to be able to buy technological stuff and add it to my robot, just like I would be able to equip cybernetics to myself or something. (well, I couldn't do that to myself, the character is hemophobic and has no ranks in heal. Plus, ow.) but most of that is simply going to be money and craft checks, not really part of the class feature.
Summoners gain an eidolon as part of their class features and are able to cause them to 'evolve' - granting them many new features. You're proposing getting a robot companion that you'll be able to upgrade over time.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but I don't know why you can't re-flavor the Eidolons as Automatons as part of your class features. To me, the similarities seem obvious.
no no, thats a good point. I am going to be able to buy technological stuff and add it to my robot, just like I would be able to equip cybernetics to myself or something. (well, I couldn't do that to myself, the character is hemophobic and has no ranks in heal. Plus, ow.) but most of that is simply going to be money and craft checks, not really part of the class feature.Summoners gain an eidolon as part of their class features and are able to cause them to 'evolve' - granting them many new features. You're proposing getting a robot companion that you'll be able to upgrade over time.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but I don't know why you can't re-flavor the Eidolons as Automatons as part of your class features. To me, the similarities seem obvious.
it could work check this outMachinist
The reason I'm not re-flavoring the Eidolons is that I have no clue how to do that and add it to the Alchemist class in a way that isn't broken. I don't know how I could add in evolution points to the construct in a way that doesn't overpower it.
We've tried proposing a few iterations of the class to the DM before, but hes shot all of them down for one reason or another. He really doesn't like any third party products aside from his own. I'll show it to him. Maybe he'll take it.
I was looking at the animated object construction points system, I think that would work very well. Maybe one CP every 4 levels?