Engineer

Engineer

Curious, insightful, industrious, and intelligent; these words and more describe the sort of individual that walks the path of an engineer. A blend of theory and practice define the actions of the engineer who endeavors to find solutions to problems ranging from the every-day variety to those threatening the doom of entire worlds.

Considered among the cornerstones of a technological society, engineers are an impetus of change and their innovations often lead to easier and better lives. Using their understanding of the physical world engineers craft and shape what is available into objects of every sort, from simple pens to towering offices and weapons to destroy them.

Engineers can be found in a wide variety of settings in which they ply their work. Some are self employed, others prefer the steady work under a company, and still others strike out to find places that need their help the most.

To be an engineer takes time and dedication and so no one really starts out as one. To be a successful engineer requires natural sharpness and the ability to work with their hands.

Requirements

The following criteria must be met before a character can become an engineer.

Skills: Alchemy 6 ranks, Craft (mechanical) 6 ranks, Knowledge (physical science) 6 ranks, Repair 6 ranks.

Class Skills

The engineer class skills and key ability for each are as follows

Craft (alchemy, mechanical, structural)(Int), Disable Device (Int), Knowledge (physical sciences)(Int), Pilot (air, land, water)(Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Profession (Wis), Search (Int).

Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All the following are class features of the engineer prestige class.

Weapons and Armor Proficiency: Engineers gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1^st	+0	+0	+0	+2	Builder
2^nd	+1	+0	+0	+3	Builder’s Wrath 1d6, Superior Repair
3^rd	+1	+1	+1	+3	Shizer Commander
4^th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Builder’s Wrath 2d6, Sabotage
5^th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Pimp My Ride
6^th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Builder’s Wrath 3d6
7^th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Mech Commander
8^th	+4	+2	+2	+6	Builder’s Wrath 4d6, Pimp My Weapon
9^th	+4	+3	+3	+6
10^th	+5	+3	+3	+7	Builder’s Wrath 5d6

Builder

At first level the engineer gains a +2 to all Craft checks unless the Craft skill is trained only and no ranks are yet possessed.

Superior Repair

At second level, an engineer better learns how to repair devices that have not been damaged by use, but abuse.

With a proper set of tools and facilities (dictated by the object to be repaired, such as a hanger for air vehicles, the facility supplying all materials) the engineer can affect repairs on all manner of devices. By taking one hour of work the engineer can restore a number of hit points based on his repair skill check. The engineer can continue to work and repair damage by spending more time until all damage is repaired.

Repair Check Result	Damage Repaired
Less than 20	1 per Engineer Class level
20-29	2d6 + Engineer Class Level
30-39	3d6 + Engineer Class Level
40+	4d6 + Engineer Class Level

Builder’s Wrath

At second level the engineer develops his skills to a point he can use them to wreck or create freely.

With the proper tools at hand the engineer can make a touch attack against any device not protected by armor plating. Hand-held guns, mounted weapons or even vehicles are subject to this attack. If the engineer wishes to attack an armored target a way must be found to remove that armor as a protective layer over his target. Targets which are armored by virtue of reinforced structure are open to attack.

The engineer deals d6 damage which bypasses AC and hardness at level two, and increases by d6 for every two levels gained thereafter to a max of 5d6 at level ten.

Shizer Commander

At third level an engineer can attempt to command a single shizer per round to act (move, target, fire, etc.) even if doing so goes against its current orders. The shizer is permitted a Will save vs. DC 15 + Engineers level to resist the command if the order it is given runs contrary to its current orders. Alternatively, an engineer can give a shizer a set of instructions it is capable of following which will replace its current orders, no save if engineer is considered its superior.

A failed attempt to command a shizer by force will likely have the shizer engage the engineer in combat.

Sabotage

At fourth level the engineer may attempt to cause insidious harm to a device in order to cause it to function improperly. An engineer can only sabotage a device with which he is familiar (has the craft and knowledge ranks to make building one personally possible, if not probable). To sabotage an object the engineer must succeed on a Disable Device check DC20. Noticing that a device has been sabotaged before using or testing a device requires a successful Search check with a DC equal to the engineer’s Disable Device check result. To undo the sabotage damage requires the successful use of the Repair skill.

Sabotage Device: Using a full-round action an engineer can alter a device he is capable of understanding (see above) to incur a skill check penalty equal to the engineers class level for anyone that tries to use it.

Sabotage Weapon: Using a full-round action an engineer can alter a weapon so that it misfires or breaks when it is used next. Once successfully sabotaged a weapon cannot be used until repaired. Both hand-held and mounted weapons can be sabotaged in this way.

Pimp My Ride

At fifth level an engineer can make adjustments and overhaul an engine to focus on one area of performance. Changes to an engine will tend to either lower its top speed, max load while also increasing its weight with additional parts and sub-systems.

Each five-percent increase in Max Speed/Max Load brings a corresponding decrease in the other statistic by five-percent. For each ten-percent increase to either area of performance also increases the engine weight by five-percent. It takes one hour to move any area of performance up or down by five-percent. These modifications are made using the Craft (Mechanical) skill, the DC of which can be found on the table below. The engineer can take 20 in order to do an excellent job, but the time required is also multiplied by 20.

Modified engines are not stable as they exceed the limits of the design even though steps are taken to ease the burden. For each day of normal use the engine must make a check for device failure as a modified tool; +2 on the check. For each hour the engine is put under stress it must also make a device failure check, stress counted as combat, operating within 10% of its Max Load or Max Speed levels or suffering any damage. If the check fails the engine breaks down and ceases to work. The repair DC is 15/20/25 for low/medium/high grade engines with +1 to the DC for every level of modification made and requires 1d10 hours.

The cost is a percentage of the base engine cost found in the cost column.

Percent Max/Weight	DC	Cost	Time Total
+5%/+0%	10	Free	1 hours
+10%/+5%	12	5%	2 hours
+15%/+5%	14	8%	3 hours
+20%/+10%	17	10%	4 hours
+25%/+10%	20	13%	5 hours
+30%/+15%	24	15%	6 hours
+35%/+15%	28	18%	7 hours
+40%/+20%	33	20%	8 hours
+45%/+20%	38	23%	9 hours
+50%/+25%	45	25%	10 hours

If an engineer has direct access to a working engine he can manually tweak it on-the-go to provide temporary boosts to Max Load and Max Speed. Using a standard action and a few tools the engineer chooses the percentage increase desired and obtains the Craft (Mechanical) DC from the table above that matches. Success means the boost succeeded and will last one minute, failure indicates the engine sputters and loses the percentage attempted from the chosen performance area. Each minute thereafter the engineer can attempt to maintain that boost by continuing to succeed at the set DC, failure again leads to the engine sputtering. Once the engine starts to sputter it will continue to do so until it is repaired requiring a Repair check against DC 20; the repair takes 1 minute.

Mech Commander

At seventh level an engineer can command an automated vehicle to act (move, target, fire, etc.) verbally as a free action once per round. When moving automatically the vehicle is considered to have a pilot skill rank equal to its Dex modifier.

Pimp My Weapon

At eighth level an engineer can tweak mechanical weapons of any sort he is familiar with. This list includes hand-sized guns up to mounted cannons.

To make the modification the engineer must spend one hour making adjustments to the weapon and succeed a Craft (mechanical) check against a DC on the table below. If the engineer fails the check he fails but may try again later. If the engineer wishes he may take 20 on this check but requires twenty hours instead of one. A modified weapon has a +2 chance to fail when used and once it fails it may not be used again until repaired. Repairing a failed weapon takes one hour and a Repair check against DC 40 check.

Mounted Weapon Upgrade	DC
Weapon deals an extra two dice of damage	25
Weapon bypasses five points of target’s hardness	30
Weapon’s critical hit multiplier increased by one	35
Weapon ignores ten points of target’s hardness	40

Craft (Structural) (Int)

This skill allows you to build wooden, synthetic stone, or metal structures from scratch, including bookcases, desks, walls, houses and so forth, and includes handyman skills as plumbing, painting, laying cement, and building cabinets.

Type of Scratch-Built Structures(Examples)	Craft DC	Cost	Time
Simple (bookcase, false wall)	5	0-5 w	12 hour
Moderate (catapult, shed, house deck)	10	5-10 w	24 hours
Complex (bunker, domed ceiling)	15	10+ w	60 hours
Advanced (house)	20	High	600+ hours

When building a structure from scratch, the character describes the kind of structure he or she wants to construct; then the GM decides if the structure is simple, moderate, complex, or advanced in scope and difficulty.

Special: A character without a mechanical tool kit takes a -4 penalty on Craft (Structural) checks.

A character with the Builder Feat gets a +2 bonus on all Craft (Structural) checks.

Craft (Mechanical) (Int)

Trained Only

This skill allows you to build mechanical devices from scratch, including engines and engine parts, weapons, armor, and other gadgets. When building a mechanical device from scratch, the character describes the kind of device he or she wants to construct; then the GM decides if the device is simple, moderate, complex, or advanced compaired to the characters technology training background.

Special: A character without a mechanical tool kit takes a -4 penalty on Craft (mechanical) checks.

A character with the Builder feat gets a +2 bonus on all Craft (Mechanical) checks.

Type of Scratch-Built Mechanical Device (Examples)	Craft DC	Cost	Time
Simple (Tripwire Trap)	15	0-5 w	1 hour
Moderate (Engine Component, Light Armor)	20	5-10 w	12 hours
Complex (Whole Engine, Modified Firearm)	25	10+ w	24 hours
Advanced (cutting-edge mechanical device)	30	High	60+ hours

Knowledge (Int)

Trained Only

This skill encompasses several categories, each of them treated as a separate skill. A selection of possible categories is defined below.

The list of knowledge skills should be kept to a minimum. When trying to determine what category a check would fall under try to use broad definitions of those listed rather than trying to make up new ones.

Check: You may make a knowledge check to see if your character knows something about a topic, item, event, law, etc. For example if a piece of jewelry is found a check could be made to determine if it had a cultural significance (History) or where the material may have been found to make it (Earth and Life Sciences).

The basic thirteen Knowledge categories and the topics each encompasses are as follows:

Asprosology: The study of the Positive Material Plane, its energies and their interaction with reality. The manipulation of positive energy and its relationship to living beings.

Arcana: Ancient mysteries, magic traditions, arcane symbols, cryptic phrases, constructs, magic entities.

Arts: Fine arts and graphic arts, including art history and artistic techniques. Antiques, modern art, paintings, performance art such as music and dance, etc.

Behavioral Sciences: Psycoholgy, sociology, and criminology. Identifying and dealing with individuals with abnormal or serious mental states.

Business: Business procedures and corporate structures. Bureaucratic procedures and now to navigate them.

Civics: Law, legislation, litigation, and legal rights and obligations. Political and governmental institutions and processes. Quick study of local law structures.

Earth and Life Sciences: Anatomy, biology, botany, genetics, geology, paleontology, metallurgy, medicine and forensics.

History: Events, personalities, wars, city foundings, and cultures of the past. Archaeology and antiquities.

Necrology: The study of the Negative Material Plane, its energies and their interaction with reality. The manipulation of negative energy and the undead it can produce.

Physical Science: Chemistry, mathematics, architecture, buildings and bridges, fortifications, physics, and engineering.

Streetwise: Street and urban culture, local underworld personalities and events. The unofficial and often hidden layers of society.

Tactics: Techniques and strategies for disposing and maneuvering forces in combat. Large scale combat and defensive preparations.

The Planes: The inner, outer, Astral, Ethereal planes. Outsiders, elementals, magic related to the planes.

Repair (Int)

Trained Only

You can repair or jury-rig damaged objects and devices.

Check: Almost all objects will suffer wear over time and will eventually need repairs to continue to work. Repairing often includes taking the object apart, pinpointing the problem, replacing or performing maintenance on the damaged part and putting the device back together.

Work on simple problems like part replacement on a metro buggy or reconnecting a loose pipe are also the most common and can be done in a short time easily. Other problems are far more demanding and can take time, money and great skill. Most simple repairs range from DC 10 to 15 while more technical repairs are 20 or more. It is up to the DM to come up with the DC based on the sample table below.

It should be noted that part replacement will often have a price tag attached unless a part is freely available or can be improvised or scavenged. If a suitable replacement is not available then repairs cannot be performed no matter the DC.

Repair Task (Example)	Repair DC	Cost	Time
Simple (Tool, simple weapon)	10	Low	1 minute
Moderate (Mechanical component)	15	Moderate	1-10 minutes
Complex (Mechanical device, e.g. hand cannon)	20	Moderate	1 hour
Advanced (cutting-edge mechanical device)	25	High	1-10 hours

Jury-Rig: If you do not have the time, money or parts you can attempt temporary repairs. Jury-rigging reduces the repair DC by 5 and can be done in as little as a single full-round action. Being far from a full repair, jury-rigging only addresses a single problem and the repair is delicate. Placing the jury-rigged object under anything but mild stress will cause the temporary repair to fail and could further damage the object.

The jury-rig application of the Repair skill is based mostly on improvisation and necessity, therefore it can be used untrained.

Try Again: Additional attempts to repair are possible but previous failed attempts may increase the DC or damage the object beyond repair as the DM decides.

Special: You may take 10 or take 20 on a Repair check. It is not possible to take 20 when attempting a jury-rig repair.

Repairs on small or complicated devices require access to tools suitable for the task. If the proper tools are not available then you take a -4 penalty to your check. In some cases repair may be impossible without tools.

Having enough ranks in the appropriate Craft skill can grant a +2 synergy bonus to Repair checks.

Salvage (Wis)

You are skilled in seeking out and removing valuable components from technological objects such as guns and vehicles.

Check: With a little time and getting your hands dirty you can secure components of value that you can later sell or put towards the building of your own projects. The value salvaged is the percent of the total cost of the object (chassis are salvaged at 50% of their listed price).

Action: Varies. Small tools and weapons may take 10 min, something up to the size of a metro buggy 30 min, heavy vehicle 1-3 hours and colossal objects 6 hours or more (a junk yard could take a day or weeks depending on size).

Try again: Any one device can only be salvaged once. Very large objects or regions (like a junkyard) maybe open to more checks by different people or on different days due to restocking. Active junkyards are available for rechecks once a month, each check taking one day.

Special: While anyone can try to salvage something they must have at least a basic understanding of their subject to know the valuable from the junk. Having the correct knowledge or craft skill or coming from a society where the object is common is enough to use this skill.

Synergy: If you have more than 5 ranks in Spot, you get a +2 bonus to Salvage.

Skill Check Result	Percent of value Salvaged	Junkyard Value
1-14	None	1d6+5
15-20	10%	2d6+10
21-25	15%	3d6+15
26-30	20%	4d6+20
31-35	25%	5d6+25
36+	30%	6d6+30

Mechanical Tool Kit

This collection of hand tools and small parts typically include a variety of pliers, drivers, cutting devices, fasteners, and even power tools.

Basic: This kit, which fits in a portable toolbox, allows a character to make Repair checks for mechanical devices without penalty.

Deluxe: This kit fills a good-sized shop cabinet. It includes a broad variety of specialized hand tools and a selection of high-quality power tools. It grants a +2 equipment bonus on Repair checks for mechanical devices and allows a character to make Craft (Mechanical) or Craft (Structural) checks without penalty.

Tool	Size	Weight	Cost
Mechanical Tool Kit, Basic	Large	22 lbs.	40 wafers
Mechanical Tool Kit, Major	Huge	45 lbs.	370 wafers