Gadgeteer

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Overview & Creation

As a Gadgeteer you have a strange “spark” which allows you to build devices (gadgets) others can’t even dream of. While most are content to use the standard guns and gear and some even brave enough to try to use experimental devices, you are the consummate inventor, boldly building things that no sane person would ever even go near. Most gadgeteers (if there are any other than yourself) would scoff at the idea that these abilities are magical but they can’t deny that they have leaps of logic that others simply don’t have. You can use simple scrapped together items or pieces of scavenged material to build gadgets that function much like magictech, and without the dangerous backlashes of most experimental devices. However these gadgets tend to be finicky.   It were the brave gadgeteers that gave humanity it's edge in gaining dominance, their usage of magitech and a lack of fear to try what is deemed impossible.

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Class Features

Gadgetry

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Gadgets are devices that take the technological know how of the current age and take to beyond the realms thought possible. While Soldiers might be content with standard guns and gear you are brave enough to try to use experimental devices, most of which no sane person would even go near. Your inventions, how wonderful they may be, are quite finicky and require constant personal maintenance from you. This means you are limited how many devices you can maintain at a time. In addition these gadgets tend to be so complicated that most are unable to use them, even other gadgeteers.  

Schematics

You have a collection of schematics that contains the knowledge of all the gadgets you know how to build. It starts with 3 gadgets of your choice, chosen from the simple list available at level 1. Each time you gain a gadgeteer level you invent a new gadget, adding that gadget's schematic to your collection. You can add schematics for any gadget chosen from any list whose complexity you're able to draw from. You start out only being able to choose from the simple list, but you add subsequent lists at higher levels as seen on the gadgeteer class chart. Unlike an Alchemist's formula book your schematics don't usually fit inside a single small volume. Instead they are scattered papers, folded up sheets stuffed into your pack and notes hastily scrawled on the back of other items. No one, not even another gadgeteer, can easily make sense of your schematics, since most are half done and are just there to jog your memory. You can recreate any lost schematic from memory with an Intelligence check (DC 8 +2 for each complexity level of the gadget you're remembering the schematic for).   On your adventures you might find other schematics that you can add to your collection, or might find other gadgets you can reverse engineer. In either case it takes some puzzling out before you're able to add it to your collection. To do so you must spend 4 hours per complexity level studying the gadget or schematic and succeed at an Intelligence check (DC 10 + 5 for each complexity level of the gadget beyond that of simple). If you succeed you can add the schematic to your collection. In either case reverse engineering a gadget destroys it. If you fail you must wait a week before you can try studying your schematic again.  

Building a Gadget

Once you have a working schematic of a gadget (either one you invented or one you reverse engineered) you can build that gadget. It takes time, tools and parts to do so, however you can usually improvise your own tools and parts as long as you have access to a source of scrap material. In any case it shouldn’t cost you anything to build most of your gadgets. The only time cost enters in is if you try to produce enough to mass market (which wouldn’t work anyway, see using gadgets below). It does take time to build these gadgets though, which is based on the complexity of the gadget. You can build as many of any copy of a gadget you have a schematic for, although you can only maintain a certain number of gadgets at a time (see using gadgets.)  

Using Gadgets

The types of gadgets you build are not the standard, tried and true gear that others purchase from an equipment list. Nor are they the experimental devices that, while often dangerous, at least are relatively easy to use and operate. No, the gadgets you build are essentially prototypes, complicated devices that are barely held together. Only someone of your gifts could even hope to be able to use even the simplest of your gadgets and some are so personalized that nobody but you can use them no matter what. It is the dream of every gadgeteer to be able to simplify their devices to such a degree that others can use them but such work requires years of study and experience. If someone tries to use one of your gadgets they must make an Intelligence check (DC is 15 +5 for every complexity level of the gadget beyond simple). If they succeed they can use your gadget for 5 minutes. That does not make them proficient in the gadget (they are only proficient if the device resembles a weapon or tool they are proficient in). If they fail they must wait 5 minutes before they can try again. If they fail by 5 or more the gadget is ruined and must be rebuilt before it can be used again. The same rules apply if you attempt to use the gadget of another gadgeteer, only in that case if the gadget is ruined it cannot be rebuilt or reverse engineered. Even if someone were to figure out how to use one of your gadgets they won’t be able to use it for long.   In addition to being difficult to use your gadgets require constant upkeep and maintenance. Dials have to be tweaked, pressure valves have to be turned, and damaged pieces have to be replaced. You can only maintain a certain number of gadgets based on your level as indicated in the gadgeteer class list. Any gadget beyond that (or any gadget that is out of your possession) breaks down after 5 minutes and must be rebuilt before it can be used again. You can maintain the gadgets of other gadgeteers (although they do count against your total) even if you don’t know how to use them (in fact you have to keep maintaining them if you want to reverse engineer them, otherwise they will break and be ruined).   You are automatically proficient in any gadget you know how to build (including armor and weapon like gadgets). Most gadgets can be used repeatedly without refuelling or reloading (aside from maintenance work) although some require you to spend time giving extra special care. These gadgets can be used only a few times and you must take either a short rest or long rest in order to recharge them. Even when they are not in use such gadgets still need to be maintained and they still count against your total.   The DC to resist one of your gadgets equals 8 + your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus.  

Identify Device

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You know more about gadgets than anybody. During a short rest you can identify any number of devices as per the identify magic spell. This does not apply to MagicTech Devices.  

Signature Invention

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When you reach 3^rd level you build a signature invention, a gadget of outstanding genius that becomes you most prized invention for the rest of your career. You choose from the available signature inventions (power glove, or omnigun) and get the associated benefit. Signature inventions need to be maintained like any other gadget but they do not count against your total devices maintained. A signature invention can not be used by anyone other than you, no matter what. You cannot reverse engineer another gadgeteer's signature invention and once chosen you cannot change your signature invention.  

Ability Score Improvement

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When you reach certain levels noted in the gadgeteer table, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. You cannot increase an ability score above 20 using this feature. Alternatively, when you reach one of the noted levels, you can forgo improving any of your ability scores to take a feat.  

Simplify Device

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At 11^th level, you discover a way to create simpler versions of your gadgets so that other people can use them. When you first build a gadget you can specify if it's simple or regular. If you build it simplified the DC to figure out how to use it is 5 less than normal and once someone has figured out how to use a gadget they can use that gadget again without having to roll (as long as it's your simplified version of this particular gadget). Gadgets still need to be maintained and still count against your allotment of gadgets you can maintain at once. You can use this ability to hand off a gadget to someone else. However, this makes it easier for other gadgeteers to reverse engineer your gadgets as well. Any gadget built simplified has the DC to reverse engineer it reduced by 5.  

Gadgets List

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Gadgets come in five increasing levels of complexity: Simple, Complex, Intricate, Marvellous, MagiTech. Gadgets and what they do (Sorted by complexity) are described below. Unless otherwise specified all gadgets require an action in order to be used.  

Simple Gadgets

It takes 1 hour to build a simple gadget chosen from this list, which is available at 1^st level.  

All Purpose Assistant

Weight: 1 lbs Type: Utility
The all purpose assistant is a useful little gadget that performs a variety of simple tasks for the user. It's easier to maintain than other devices and doesn't count against your total of devices you can maintain in a day. It still breaks if not maintained by you and you can't maintain more than one of these devices for free (Subsequent ones count against your daily allotment). The APA is capable of doing any of the following:

• Instantly light or snuff out a candle
• Act as a knife or simple tool
• Clean an item no larger than 1 cubic foot (including organic matter and your teeth)
• Chill or warm up to 1 pound of nonliving material
• Tell time as a pocketwatch
• Set an alarm to go off at a certain time
• Provide dim light out to a 20' radius

You can customize your APA by adding additional affects but in general no such affect can duplicate any device, not already listed here and can't be used to damage another creature in anyway. If you meet those requirements you can add that function to your APA as long as you have your DM's approval.  

Big Boom Bomb

Weight: 1 lbs Type: Area Weapon
This device is small enough to be carried or stored in a pocket. When you activated it you choose how many rounds later (to a max of 3 rounds) before it explodes in a 25' radius spread. Everyone in the area of affect must make a dexterity save. On a failed save they take 1d12 + intelligence modifier fire and piercing damage and are knocked prone. On a successful they take half damage. You learn to build better bombs as you level, which increases the damage. Increasing it to 2d12 at 5^th level and 3d12 at 11^th. Big Boom Bombs are especially good against objects. All untended objects and structures in the area take double damage, which also ignores hardness less than that of steel. Building this actually produces three such bombs but each time a bomb is used it is destroyed and must be rebuilt.  

Extend-O-Fist

Weight: 3 lbs Type: Ranged Weapon/Utility
This device is worn like a glove, and uses a spring loaded mechanism to launch off. It allows you to make a ranged attack out to 10ft that deals 2d6 + Intelligence modifier bludgeoning damage on a successful hit. Additionally, any target hit by the fist must make a Con save or be shoved back 15ft. The fist can also be used to grab small untended objects (less than 5 lbs) out to the max range of the fist and automatically pull those objects back to you. It can't disarm a creature but (with a successful ranged attack and the DM's permission) it might be able to pull objects off of a creature's belt or hanging off a hook.  

Flare Gun

Weight: 1 lbs Type: Utility
With this device, which looks like a small metal tube with a metal clasp on the end, you can fire a flare of light up to 120 feet away. Choose a point within range and fire the gun as a bonus action. The area within 20 foot sphere around that area is lit by blue, green, orange, or red light (your choice) which acts as bright light and lasts for 10 minutes. In addition, for the round it takes to travel, every location between you and the point you designate is also lit by bright light. If fired at a flammable object (such as oil or grease) the flare gun has a 25% chance of catching fire. Roll a D4 and a roll of 1 the flare causes the object to catch fire.  

Frost Ray

Weight: 2 lbs Type: Ranged Weapon
This device looks like a small pistol, albeit one covered in tubes and pressure gauges and with a canister of some sort of liquid stuck on top. Firing this gun allows you to make a ranged attack against a target up to 45 feet away. On a hit the target takes 1d8 cold damage and has to make a constitution saving throw, on a failed save they lose 30 feet of their movement until the end of their next turn. On a successful saving throw they lose 10 feet of movement until the end of their next turn. At 5^th level you can build a more powerful version of the ray that does 2d8 cold damage. At 11^th level the damage increases to 3d8 and at 17^th level the damage becomes 4d8.  
 

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Starting Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) Leather armour or (b) a Chain shirt
• (a) a Pistol with 20 bullets, or (b) a Light crossbow with 20 bolts
• a Simple melee weapon
• an explorer's pack

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Subclass Options

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