You asked for it and you've bought enough copies for me to shrug and go along with it. Additional FAQs; automaton character sheets; and character sheets for iconic evil gnome tinker Weatherby Knoevenagel, Bouncer the alpha, and automatons Faceplant, Russell, Chuck, and Sidious will be made available as a free expansion to The Tinker Base Class and The Authoritative Tinker.
Still, I need your help.
The tinker needs a couple of updates from the questions in the product thread, but there's certain to be more questions that need answers. The bugger's complex. Ask your tinker questions here and get them answered in a PDF that looks all sparkly and definitive and stuff!
Once the character reaches 20th level and selects gavel kind and all their automitons gain an intelect of 10 do they gainfeats and skill points? What about skill inventions?
After 20 are they still unable to use magic items? Is there an invention to give an automiton a magic item slot?
How do automitons react to spells? I know they are constructs but what happens if a golem with an int score reads the tome of understanding +1?
When an automiton is able to deploy others of his blueprint does it take away from your deployments per day or count against how many you can have out?
Wow, you got me good here!
Okay, so an FAQ section on how to change the game with capstones. Will do, Elias.
Ah, and you're the fellow who was worried about automatons getting instacrushed in an epic campaign.
First up, yep, that is most definitely going to happen. Your options for automatons become a little light near the end of the game, which is one of the things that Tinkering 201 tries to rectify with helicopters. Either way, let's go over a number of automaton builds that are still viable at that point in the game.
I'll also be arranging the abilities in the order I remember their names rather than alphabetical or anything. Consider it me cutting corners, because it is!
Tinker Base Class Content Only
Maxed-out Electroshocker!
Assuming your GM is giving you a 21st build point, I heartily recommend the "Sidious", or "Thunderstruck", if that is the way you think.
Auxiliary Power Source - 1
Auxiliary Power Source, Greater - 2
Electroblaster - 3
Enhanced Electroshocker - 3
Electroshocker - 3
Twin Shock - 3
Superior Electroshocker - 1
Supreme Electroshocker - 2
---
18 BP
Options:
More Hit Points
Augmented Structure - 2
Definitive Structure - 1
---
21 BP
OR
Single-use heal (can use auxiliary power source, greater)
Total Repair Module - 3
---
21 BP
OR
Kamikaze when "OOM"
Additional Blast Charges - 1
Shrapnel Compartment - 1
Singed Earth Module - 1
---
21 BP
This design allows for a high hit point, medic, or kamikaze splashed automaton to crack off 10d4 electricity damage with two saves vs. stun per turn at range five times per day. This is incredibly potent in triplicate, allowing a tinker to essentially turn himself into Captain Lockdown for fights against living creatures. With Prismatic Strike, my favorite greater innovation because it looks like it's terrible until its implications are realized, this becomes 10d4+2.
Chemical Warfare!
Flaskapult --> Lobtube - 4
Point Blank Programming - 2
Rapid Fire Programming - 2
Improved Compartment - 2 (lobtube link)
Faulty Overclock --> Flawed Overclock - 2
Stealth Strike - 3
Static Shield - 2
Static Sheath - 2
Static Shield, Improved - 1
Rapid Reload Progamming - 1
---
21 BP
Alternate build
- Stealth Strike - save 3
+ Flaskapult - 2
+ Compartment - 1
---
21 BP
This design allows the tinker to lay down persistent fire damage on large groups of enemies, fantastic for when the fight isn't against the tarrasque, but rather against a mountain of CR 13s the GM expects you to pile up like cordwood. The lobtube, given it uses actual attack rolls against creatures rather than squares, will make the damage profile on a single round look like this.
Level 21 Tinker - 8 HD
+ Gavelkind
+ Bigger and Better
+ Preferred Blueprint
---
11 HD
11 HD with Manylob and Rapid Fire Programming - 5 attacks
Alchemical good damage (assuming 1d6 fire) + 1d4 electricity (static sheath) + 1d4 bludgeoning (vial) + 1d6 sneak attack (stealth strike) + 1d3 fire (overclock) + 1 point blank shot
Average per shot: 15 damage
With prismatic strike: 18 damage (+1 flask, +1 shield, +1 overclock)
With prismatic strike AND overzealous execution: 28 damage (+2 to all damage rolls, you dirty munchkin, you)
Total per round: 75,90,140 damage, excluding damage over time effects.
If all firing: 225,270,420 damage, excluding damage dealt by the Alpha or your Paint Target that got everything to fire in the first place.
This is likely your highest burst ranged damage design, or very near it. Note your massive weakness against resistance, but also your limited ability to get around it by selecting your ammo. Also note that your ammo runs out in the second round of combat. These little guys are not made for sustained damage. Given the ability to paint target the first round and whip out the Swarm next round, a hard throttle sounded like a good idea at the time.
...Good lord, I just horridly munchkined my own class. I feel dirty.
I also had a massive expansion to this post that got eaten. The gist of it is that a Gigadroid with the Enlarged Design invention can crack a +50 CMB if the player is using Gavelkind for feat generation.
What modifiers do Megadroid and Gigadroid get? Would it be similar to Enlarge Person, or would they have similar stats as their normal small size?
Aldenmoore: They would gain stats via size change as the monster advancement tables in the core books. Let me look that up for you. (Honestly, I have no clue why it's an Endzeitgeist top 10 of 2013 nominee. I look back at the Tinker and wince at the lack of core tables I should have incorporated.)
Loki Smith: Hey there! I'm just coming out of having been in a pretty bad way and am finally cranking out new content. I'm glad you're still interested and I understand I've lost quite a bit of everyone's patience in the last few months, but I'm going to have to upset you just a bit longer, I'm afraid. I can't stop to make a freebie until Interjection Games is once again big enough to cover my non-discretionary spending. There's no day job to fall back on.
If you want the plain paper scans of Weatherby, Bouncer, Chuck, Russell, Faceplant, and the rest of the gang, I can always make that available fairly quickly, though that wouldn't be particularly useful to you as a player.
30, mate.