I must confess, I have not played, or seen played, an
ACKS Player’s Companion Dwarven Machinist as a player character. I believe the
reason is that the class invests a lot in its automaton feature, and automatons
are both expensive and fragile. This is especially true at low levels, where
the proficiency Personal Automaton seems almost mandatory. I believe these
factors relegate the Machinist to appearing in game as a Judge’s NPC or,
possibly, as a henchman.
I love the concept of the Machinist, and I would like to
see more players choosing to play one. Building an automaton is potentially a
powerful feature at higher levels, analogous to a spellcaster building a magical
construct. I believe the Machinist needs a similarly flavored class feature
with utility at all levels of play.
Have you read Engines & Empires? It’s available as both
a free PDF and a print-on-demand book,
and I can heartily recommend it for anyone interested in “gaslight fantasy”, or
just adding a little technology to your fantasy roleplaying. I have decided to
experiment with adding Engines & Empires Technology Degrees and Devices to
the Dwarven Machinist, as discussed further below.
A Dwarven Machinist begins his career knowing two
Degrees, increased by his Intelligence bonus, one of which must be a Physics
Degree. Machinists are renowned for their specialization in mechanical
engineering, harnessing energy and mass into steam, gears and iron. Similarly,
a 1st level Dwarven Machinist may prepare and utilize two Devices per day, one
of which must be a Device based upon a Physics Degree. Machinists gain
additional Degrees and Devices as they gain levels, as shown on the Dwarven
Machinist Level Progression table below.
Dwarven Machinist Level Progression with Technology
Degrees and Devices
Level
|
Degrees
|
Devices
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
3
|
3
|
5
|
4
|
4
|
6
|
4
|
4
|
7
|
5
|
5
|
8
|
5
|
5
|
9
|
6
|
6
|
10
|
6
|
6
|
The Dwarven Machinist Proficiency List includes the new
proficiency Mechanical Engineering, but a description for this new proficiency
is missing. I am using this opportunity to add a new proficiency, below.
New Proficiency
Mechanical
Engineering: The character knows one additional Degree, which must be a
Physics Degree, and may prepare and utilize one additional Device per day,
which must be a Device based upon a Physics Degree.
Designer’s Notes
These changes to the Dwarven Machinist envision a
Technology category being added to the ACKS Player’s Companion custom class
creation system. In that context, the original Dwarven Machinist’s three power
investment in Design, Build and Repair Automatons is equivalent to a Technology
Value of 1, which provides a Degrees and Devices progression. Being Dwarven further modifies this with the
mechanical engineering/Physics specialization and the ability to design, build
and repair automatons at a lower level than usual (for other technological
classes).
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