Gadgets


Inventor Class

Sczarni

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

What will gadgets be like? Will they just be like alchemical items but a different name, same concept? Or will they be something different and feel different? Anyone know?


Verzen wrote:
What will gadgets be like? Will they just be like alchemical items but a different name, same concept? Or will they be something different and feel different? Anyone know?

Unless there's a new version of the playtest document, the only references to gadgets for the Inventor class just seems like flavor text, at least to me.

Kind of a "You have these marginally defined doodads that you use your class abilities through".

Although I suppose if they wanted to add something like that, they could give the class something like the temporary talismans that the Talisman Dabbler archetype gets.

Grand Archive

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Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

It has been confirmed we're getting a feat to have a certain number of free "gadgets" each day, like the Ranger feat to get free snares per day.
No more details on that.
I don't think they will be mechanically "groundbreaking", but they will surely find a way to make them *feel* different.

Sczarni

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Var Sardos wrote:
Verzen wrote:
What will gadgets be like? Will they just be like alchemical items but a different name, same concept? Or will they be something different and feel different? Anyone know?

Unless there's a new version of the playtest document, the only references to gadgets for the Inventor class just seems like flavor text, at least to me.

Kind of a "You have these marginally defined doodads that you use your class abilities through".

Although I suppose if they wanted to add something like that, they could give the class something like the temporary talismans that the Talisman Dabbler archetype gets.

Gadgets were mentioned in the guns and gears aftermath in the playtest. There will be a feat path that gives gadgets.


Mark mentioned a few times during the playtest that a possible direction for Inventor to go would be like the alchemist but for gadgets. I don't know how they'll differentiate the two, but I hope we get a class archetype some day that makes that possible. Having at on of little thing to pull out as opposed to a single big thing seems like fun. And I don't really care about overdrive, so I'd happily trade it away for something else.


Pathfinder Adventure, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Maybe they could make Gadgets a 4th Innovation choice.


Winkie_Phace wrote:

Mark mentioned a few times during the playtest that a possible direction for Inventor to go would be like the alchemist but for gadgets. I don't know how they'll differentiate the two, but I hope we get a class archetype some day that makes that possible. Having at on of little thing to pull out as opposed to a single big thing seems like fun. And I don't really care about overdrive, so I'd happily trade it away for something else.

A "gadgeteer" archetype similar to the herbalist or the poisoner bit for gadgets would be sweet, so my alchemist can have even more little things to pull out


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber

I'm playing around with a house rule that would make Gadgetry work exactly as Alchemy, except that instead of creating Alchemical Items you can create snares, ammunition, and talismans. I hope they do something similar, leveraging the items we already have in some manner.


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I would like something distinct from alchemy. By the nature of how potions work (drinking or throwing), alchemy has to be single use. I'd like gadgets to be something that I can use multiple times, or even all day. I think the simplest execution would be class feats that represent the different gadgets you build. That way they are balanced against other all day abilities. The playtest class feat that gives you dark vision is a great example. They can be given a gadget tag with its own rules for limited sharing or breaking and such.

As these are tied to leveling up, each invention would be a significant achievement representing hours of research and work. They aren't things you just break down and build as you want each morning. You maintain and take care of your babies. Too much work went each one to replace it the next morning.

And you wouldn't need to conserve for suitable moments. As they are mechanically class feats, you can use your gadgets all day. So from small flavorful moments to actually important ones, gadget away!

I think there is room for jury rigging a feat you don't have for a specific purpose that only works once. Or maybe like switching out fighter feats, you can trade a gadget or two each day. But this is my hope for gadgets!


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That's not a gadget. That's a second (or third, or fourth) Innovation.

Which is fine, let's do it. But no need to take the name of a completely different concept when we have a working one already.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber
Jedi Maester wrote:

I'd like gadgets to be something that I can use multiple times, or even all day. I think the simplest execution would be class feats that represent the different gadgets you build. That way they are balanced against other all day abilities. The playtest class feat that gives you dark vision is a great example. They can be given a gadget tag with its own rules for limited sharing or breaking and such.

As these are tied to leveling up, each invention would be a significant achievement representing hours of research and work. They aren't things you just break down and build as you want each morning. You maintain and take care of your babies. Too much work went each one to replace it the next morning.

And you wouldn't need to conserve for suitable moments. As they are mechanically class feats, you can use your gadgets all day. So from small flavorful moments to actually important ones, gadget away!

I think there is room for jury rigging a feat you don't have for a specific purpose that only works once. Or maybe like switching out fighter feats, you can trade a gadget or two each day. But this is my hope for gadgets!

I have something I'm using as a class feat for Inventors to get something similar. It is a conversion of the Legendary Item Mythic Class Ability. In this case, a Legendary Item is an Inventor Class Feat available at Level One which can be taken more than once assuming it is applied to a different item each time. The Legendary Item gains six levels from whatever it's current level is, gaining new abilities to match the new level. I'm eschewing keeping track of gold for simply using levels for items (my players start level 7, so they get two level 8 items or their equivalents, two level seven items or their equivalents, and whatever common mundane equipment they desire and can carry), but if you're using gold you can just as easily fit the amount of gold they want to spend into a "level slot" and calculate from there.

For the purposes of this feat, getting the usage of a spell once a day is the equivalent of a rune of the lowest level in which the spell can be cast plus two; this is taken from the Create Magic Item rules. Using Talking Corpse once a day, as a 4th level spell, would be the equivalent of a 9th level rune; twice a day would be 11th level, and three times a day would be 13th level. Similarly, two items of the same level cost roughly as much as an item of two levels higher. Most 7th level items, for example, cost between 325 and 375, while most 9th level items run roughly between 600 and 700 gp.

As an example, we converted the DC comics superhero Katana as a 7th level character that took a Dedication in Inventor to have a Legendary Item. She drops the equivalent of gold for a 7th level item (about 350 gp), but now has the equivalent of a 13th level item. The blade Soultaker needs to be a hard-to-destroy item with the ability to talk to ghosts, which we chose to call the Talking Corpse spell. An adamantium longsword is an 11th level item; adding on an 11th level rune would complete the 13th level item. Talking Corpse twice a day is also 11th level. So for the cost of a 7th level item, Katana can have an Adamantine sword that can talk to dead bodies twice a day.

The system isn't designed for permanent abilities, mostly because the item creation rules imply moving away from that. We haven't considered what happens if one loses an item because no one has let anything close to that happen to one of their Legendary Items. :D


Verzen wrote:
What will gadgets be like? Will they just be like alchemical items but a different name, same concept? Or will they be something different and feel different? Anyone know?

Good post

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