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Magic. Magic is a distant thing. Only capable of being wielded by a few select individuals -whether divinely decreed or not. It is powerful, but where are the benefits for society? How does a fireball plow the fields? How does cone of cold increase the standard of living? Why should healing your sick child cost you your farm?
Magic is a crutch. A crutch of the mind and of the soul. Of the mind because it's power is not available to benefit mankind on an easily produceable scale. Of the soul because that power isolates. Makes them think they are so much better than everyone else. Thus mages spend all their time in lonely towers researching forgotten spells that will ultimately matter as much as the abandoned farmhouse down the road. And clerics will continue to hoard the power of their deity, doling out bits here and there inexhange for exhorbitant fees that would break the back of any family.
This is where the Inventor comes in. For what they create can be of benefit to all. And it can be done cheaper and can benefit all.
Adventures: Adventuring is not a common thing for inventors. They spend most of their time fiddling with gadgets or working out equations. But they often will travel in order to learn from some great scholar or see engineering marvels. And of course inventing is an expensive occupation, and many inventors adventure for the potential wealth. And then there are some who feel the need to use their inventions to benefit mankind in a more immediate manner (like killing a demonic creature).
Characteristics: The power of an inventor comes from the power of their mind. They use their keen intellects to analyze situations and solve problems. They also invent. All sorts of glorious inventions and wondrous devices can be created.
Alignments: Inventors can be of any alignment.
Background: Inventors are trained professionals. So a character would have some sort of formal training in the sciences and technology. Of any background, a barbarian would find the life of an inventor most confusing.
Races: Gnomes (especially Tinker Gnomes), and Humans make the best inventors. As such, gnomes may choose the Inventor class as their favored class. Elves are too intertwined with magic to appreciate the physcial sciences, and half-orcs often find the higher mathematical equations to be too daunting. Dwarves make good inventors, but they are more inclined to the violent classes.
Other Classes: Fighters get along best with inventors. Many leaders owe their military victory or bumper harvest of crops to the new inventions of a technologist. Barbarians don't understand inventors and their point of reference, but they at least share sentiments on wizards. Spellcasters tend to dislike technologists, but this may simply be a result of the bias exhibited by inventors.
Game Rule Information
Inventors have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Intelligence is most important for the inventor because it influences their skills and their ability to invent things. Dexterity is important for those more delicate manipulations. Charisma is important for those who want to communicate the wonders of their latest creation.
Alignment: Any.
Hit Die: d6
Class Skills:
The inventor's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Concentration (Con), Craft (any)(Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Dex), Knowledge (Int), Open Lock (Dex), Profession (Wis), and Search (Int).
Skill Points at 1st Level: ( 6+ Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 6 + Int modifier.
Code:
Table 1-1: The Inventor
Level BAB F/R/W Special Tech Points
1st +0 0/0/2 Companion, Invent, Repair, 2
Virtual Ranks
2nd +1 0/0/3 Aptitude 6
3rd +2 1/1/3 ---------- 11
4th +3 1/1/4 Compartmentalization 17
5th +3 1/1/4 Analyze 1/day 25
6th +4 2/2/5 Aptitude 35
7th +5 2/2/5 ---------- 46
8th +6/+1 2/2/6 Special Ability 58
9th +6/+1 3/3/6 ---------- 72
10th +7/+2 3/3/7 Analyze 2/day 88
11th +8/+3 3/3/7 Special Ability 106
12th +9/+4 4/4/8 Aptitude 126
13th +9/+4 4/4/8 ---------- 147
14th +10/+5 4/4/9 Special Ability 170
15th +11/+6/+1 5/5/9 Analyze 3/day 195
16th +12/+7/+2 5/5/10 --------- 221
17th +12/+7/+2 5/5/10 Special Ability 250
18th +13/+8/+3 6/6/11 Aptitude 280
19th +14/+9/+4 6/6/11 --------- 311
20th +15/+10/+5 6/6/12 Analyze 4/day, Special Ability 343Class Information
All of the following are class features of the inventor.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Proficient with all simple weapons and light armor.
Invent: The inventor is constantly creating new things and expanding upon old ones. The inventor uses 'technology points' to determine what abilities he places on items or what items he creates. The total number of modifications that can be placed on any one object at any one time is dependent upon the total number of 'technology points' available from his class level. Thus a 1st level inventor can modify or create an item by spending 2 'points' (plus bonus points). The expenditure of these points applies to each different item. In other words points are not 'used up', they are merely there to show the limit on modifications at that particular level. A 4th level inventor could create an item that contains 17 points worth of modifications (plus bonus points), and upon achieving 5th level could add an additional 8 points to that same item (max. for 5th level is 25 points plus bonus points). It takes approximately 1 day (16 hours work, 8 hours rest) per 30 points 'spent'. It also costs 10 gp of materials per 'technology point' spent on an invention. There is no loss of XP when inventing. Some inventions can be further improved by the listed amount and type at the cost of increased points and more required skill ranks. This can allow lower level items to continue finding use, and allows for further customization. Furthermore, an inventor can use the Craft skill to create most adventuring goods for half the normal creation cost of the item. Most inventions require a workspace or at least access to adequate materials. So it can be difficult to invent new items while 'adventuring' in the wilderness. An inventor must have a minimum Intelligence score of 10 in order to invent or modify something. All inventions require some level of skill and knowledge. This is reflected in the required ranks of various skills for each technological invention. Without those requisite skill ranks, an inventor cannot create the item no matter how many tech points they have. Finally, inventors can also create special types of non-magical constructs. These constructs can be created/modified in much the same way the inventor can make/modify other items. However keeping the constructs running requires some upkeep. Thus an inventor is limited to having only 1 construct/ 5 levels. The construct companion counts against this limit. The inventor cannot create magical constructs, only purely mechanical ones.
Technology Points: These represent how knowledgeable an inventor is in his field. He has a set number of points per level. Normally, any invention cannot have a total number of points more than what is listed for his class level. An Inventor must have a minimum 10 Int score in order to invent anything.
How to Determine Bonus Technology Points: Your Int score grants you additional technology points equal to your Int modifier x your inventor level x 1/2. The following table shows these calculations for class levels 1st through 20th and Int scores from 10 to 41.
Code:
Table 1-2: Int Modifier and Bonus Technology Points
Ability Bonus Technology Points (by Inventor Level)
Score 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th
10-11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12-13 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10
14-15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
16-17 1 3 4 6 7 9 10 12 13 15 16 18 19 21 22 24 25 27 28 30
18-19 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40
20-21 2 5 7 10 12 15 17 20 22 25 27 30 32 35 37 40 42 45 47 50
22-23 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45 48 51 54 57 60
24-25 3 7 10 14 17 21 24 28 31 35 38 42 45 49 52 56 59 63 66 70
26-27 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80
28-29 4 9 13 18 22 27 31 36 40 45 49 54 58 63 67 72 76 81 85 90
30-31 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100
32-33 5 11 16 22 27 33 38 44 49 55 60 66 71 77 82 88 93 99 104 110
34-35 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 44 54 60 66 72 78 84 90 96 102 108 114 120
36-37 6 13 19 26 32 39 45 52 58 65 71 78 84 91 97 104 110 117 123 130
38-39 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56 63 70 77 84 91 98 105 112 119 126 133 140
40-41 7 15 22 30 37 45 52 60 67 75 82 90 97 105 112 120 127 135 142 150
etc...Companion: The Inventor starts with a Tiny Construct. Most inventors prefer the shape of an animal for familiarity's sake. But the construct does not have to be any particular shape and it does not confer any benefits to the Inventor as would a familiar. The construct has the following stats:
Tiny Construct
HD: 2d10 (10 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 20 ft.
AC: 12 (+2 size)
Attacks: none
Damage: none
Reach: 2 1/2 ft. by 2 1/2 ft. /0 ft.
Special Attacks: none
Special Qualities: Construct Traits, Darkvision 60 ft., Hardness 1.
Saves: Fort +0, Ref +0, Will -5
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 10, Con --, Int --, Wis 1, Cha 1.
Construct Traits: Immune to mind-influencing effects, poison, disease, and similar effects. Not subject to critical hits, subdual damage, ability damage, energy drain, or death from massive damage. Destroyed when it reaches 0 hit points.
All abilities must be added onto the construct by the Inventor. The Inventor can spend 'points' on his companion much as he would any other construct. Adding modifications to the construct does not cost anything to the Inventor, as it's assumed that he gathers the parts necessary in the course of his career. Should the companion be destroyed, he can create another as per the invention ability. The Inventor only has one companion at any time. All other constructs created by the Inventor require the normal gp cost for modifications
Repair (Ex): By making a Craft check (armorsmithing, blacksmithing, weaponsmithing, or some other similar type), an inventor can repair damage a construct or item receives. The amount of damage repaired is equal to the Craft check. Use of this ability takes approximately 1 hour per 10 hp repaired.
Virtual Ranks(Ex): Permanent bonuses to Craft, Knowledge, or Profession checks -such as those gained from feats, class abilities, or racial abilities- count as ranks when determining prerequisites for the various inventions. That is, a gnome with the Skill Focus (Blacksmithing) feat would have 2 more alchemy ranks (from their racial +2 bonus) and 3 more blacksmithing ranks (from the feat) when determining which inventions they can make. Bonuses from high ability scores do not count towards virtual ranks, and a character must still meet the minimum tech point limit for each invention.
Aptitude: As an inventor progresses, they get better at various aspects of their class, and this begins to manifest itself in subtle ways. At 2nd level an inventor can choose 1 of the following feats: Alertness, Diligent, Investigator, Learned, Negotiator, Nimble Fingers, Persuasive, or Skill Focus. An inventor can choose another feat from the list again at 6th, 12th, and 18th level.
Compartmentalization (Ex): A 4th level Inventor knows how to increase the efficiency of item creation and modification. Storage items such as backpacks, carts, etc. can store 50% more (in terms of space). When used in conjunction with hollow chamber allows for twice the storage capacity. Furthermore, this ability allows 1 additional pt. of modification to any automaton capacity (above the normal character limit).
Analyze (Ex): The inventor's intellect reigns supreme. He can study any situation and almost always come to the correct conclusion or course of action. After studying a situation for a full round, the inventor can assign himself a +1 bonus to any one type of roll for a number of rounds equal to his level. Thus in a fight the inventor may assign himself a +1 dodge bonus to AC. In making a skill check, the Inventor instead receives a +2 bonus to that one skill check for one roll. At 10th level this bonus increases to +2 and +4 respectively. At 15th level this increases to +3 and +6, and at 20th level this bonus increases to +4 and +8. The Inventor can also analyze the situation and impart this knowledge to his adventuring companions, giving them an assigned bonus for the same length of time (maximum of 1 additional person per 5 Inventor levels). Each bonus can be different, but a character can only receive one bonus at a time. This assumes, of course, that the characters follow his instructions. If a character is told to attack a troll with a torch, and instead the character runs to tip over a giant vat of acid, they lose whatever bonus they had been assigned.
Special Ability: At 8th level and every 3 levels thereafter (11th, 14th, 17th, and 20th), an inventor gets a special ability of his choice from among the following:
Superb Mender: The inventor is an expert in repairing his automatons and companion construct. He may repair twice the Craft check in hp to his machines.
Quick-Thinking: The inventor selects a number of skills equal to 3 + his Intelligence modifier. The inventor becomes so certain in the use of these skills that he can use them reliably even under adverse conditions. When making a skill check with one of these skills, he may take 10 even if stress and distractions would normally prevent him from doing so. An inventor may gain this special ability multiple times, selecting additional skills for it to apply to each time.
Construct Critical: The inventor is so familiar with the inner working and designs of constructs that he may successfully do critical hits against constructs (which are normally immune to critical hits) and he also ignores non-epic construct damage reduction.
Construct Mastery: The maximum limit of 'technology points' the inventor may spend on a construct is equal to total tech points (from level and ability mod) + 6. This stacks with compartmentalization.
Instant Recall: The inventor can remember with perfect clarity anything he has heard or observed.
Self-Compartmentalization: This ability represents the inventor’s ability to separate his logic from his emotions which protects him from magical effects that would otherwise control or compel him. If an inventor with self-compartmentalization is affected by an enchantment spell or effect and fails his saving throw, he can attempt it again 1 round later at the same DC. He gets only this one extra chance to succeed on his saving throw.
Highly Efficient: Knowing how to scrimp and save, the Inventor has construction costs reduced by 25% (minimum 10 gp).
Skill Mastery: The inventor can use any skill untrained except for Use Magic Device or Spellcraft.
Creative Savant: The inventor can 'spend' up to 50 points per day, instead of the normal 30.
Bonus Feat: An inventor may gain a bonus feat in place of a special ability.
Random Starting Gold: 6d4 x 10.
Random Starting Age: As Wizard.
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