Determine DC & Device Complexity

  To create a gnomish device, you must first determine its abilities, size, and the Difficulty Class of its construction (based on the level of complexity of the device). A gnome character's player should follow these steps:

  Table 1: Gnome Device Complexity shows the complexity modifiers for the various effects that gnomes commonly like to see on their devices. To determine the Difficulty Class of building the device, find the highest complexity modifier and add one point for each effect beyond the first.
  The DM is the final arbiter of just which effects are needed to make a device function.
  Ask all of the following questions when designing a gnomish device:

  Will it inflict damage, protect a character from damage, or restrain a creature?
  Refer to Table 1: Gnome Device Complexity to determine the complexity modifier from the amount of damage or the level of protection required.
  If the device is designed to restrain a creature, then determine the complexity modifier by the maximum Size of creatures that it can restrain.

  Does it move something or itself?
  Determine if the device moves another object (e.g. throws a victim) or moves itself (e.g. a flying machine). If the device throws things, then consult the column labeled “Move Object” on Table 1. If the device moves objects within itself (e.g. a steam-ship), then check the column labeled “Speed.” The numbers given in these movement columns can be either a total distance or a distance per round, whichever is most appropriate).

  Does it alter the environment or have an area of effect?
  The amount of material altered and whether the affected region is inside the device are an important consideration. If altering material inside the device, remember that the final size of the device will dictate how much material can be altered at once. If altering an external environment, then the size rating of the environment altered should be added to the complexity modifier (see Table 2: Size of Gnomish Devices).
  Note that gnomish devices are often larger than the environments that they alter.

  Does it alter an existing object?
  Gnomes commonly build devices to help them build devices. If the device takes an unfinished or partially finished object and changes it into a more finished object, then the device has this effect.

  Do the effects last for more than one round?
  Check the Duration column for the complexity modifier, if appropriate.

  Determine the complexity difference between the original object and its final state. This is done by subtracting the complexity modifier of the finished object from the complexity of the original object.
  For example, a machine designed to craft raw quartz into finished lenses takes an object of complexity modifier 20 and makes it into an object of complexity modifier 1, a difference of 19. A machine that takes glass (complexity modifier 8) and makes it into finished lenses (complexity modifier 1) has a complexity modifier of 7.

Final Difficulty Class
  Each effect has a complexity modifier. Often a gnome will build a device with multiple effects; for example, a machine that moves along the ground and fires flaming metallic rocks has modifiers for both speed and damage. To determine the final Difficulty Class to build a device, first find the highest complexity modifier among the effects listed. Increase this modifier by 1 for each effect beyond the one listed. In the case of the vehicle mentioned above, that is one additional effect so 1 is added to its highest complexity modifier to determine the final Difficulty Class.

Difficulty Class = highest modifier + 1 per additional modifier

Table 1: Gnome Device Complexity

DC Modifier	Damage	Protection	Restrain	Move Object 1	Speed 1	Light /Sound	Temp. 2	Atmos-phere 3	Information	Alter Object 5	Duration
1	1 hp	—	Fine	5'	10 feet	Darkness /Silence	±1°	Normal Air	Ruler	Perfect Optics	1-3 rounds
2	1d3 hp	+1 AC	—	10'	10 feet (Water)	Starlight /Whisper	±5°	Slight Odour	Protractor	Pipes & Wires	4-6 rounds
3	1d4 hp	—	Diminutive	15'	15 feet	Moonlight /Low Voices	±10°	Tainted	Compass	Springs & Gears	7-9 rounds
4	1d6 hp	+2 AC	—	20'	15 feet (water)	Candlelight /Talking	±20°	Stink	Abacus	Tools	1-3 minutes
5	1d8 hp	—	Tiny	25'	20 feet	Lamp/Shout	±30°	Stench	Theodolite	Steel	4-5 minutes
6	1d10 hp	+3 AC	—	40'	20 feet (water)	Daylight /Yelling	±50°	5,000' alt.	Pressure Gauge	Processed Food	10-20 minutes
7	1d12 hp	—	Small	80'	30 feet	Desert Sun/ Noisy	±100°	10,000' alt.	Clockwork Sequencer	Iron	30-60 minutes
8	2d6 hp	+4 AC	—	120'	30 feet (water)	Lightning /Loud	±200°	—	Inertial measure	Glass	—
9	2d8 hp	—	Medium	160'	40 feet	Blinding /Roar	±300°	Stinking cloud	Sound recording	Polished Wood	—
10	1d20 hp	+5 AC	—	200'	40 feet (water)	Deafening	Burn Wood	—	Programmed Sequencer	Cooked Food	—
11	2d10 hp	—	Large	240'	20 feet (air)	—	Liquid to Gas	Sickening	Picture recording	Refined ore	1-3 hours
12	2d12 hp	+6 A	—	300'	80 feet	—	Solid to Gas	Vacuum	Automated Calculator	Tooled Wood	4-6 hours
13	3d8 hp	—	Huge	600'	80 feet (water)	—	Solid to Liquid	Poisonous	Light Measure	Cut Wood	7-12 hours
14	3d10 hp	+7 AC	—	1,000'	30 feet (air)	—	Liquid to Solid	—	Direct Wire Control	Plowed Field	1 day
15	3d12 hp	—	Gargantuan	2,000'	150 feet	—	Solid to Gas	—	Transmit Directly	Raw Ore/ Raw Food	2-3 days
16	3d20 hp	+8 AC	—	5,000'	150 feet (water)	—	Gas to Solid	—	Remote control	Broken Ground	1 week
17	1d100 hp	—	Colossal	5 miles	60 feet (air)	—	—	—	Transmit Sound	Broken or Cut Trees	—
18	—	+9 AC	—	10 miles	300 feet (land/water)	—	—	—	—	Cleared Ground	1 month
19	—	—	—	20 miles	Forward in Time	—	—	—	—	Wooded Ground	—
20	—	+10 AC	—	50 miles	Backward in Time	—	Transmut-ation 4	—	—	Raw Stone	Permanent

1. This represents the distance that an object is moved in one round.
2. The change of elements from one state to another is not permanent, lasting only while the device is in operation. Note that this column does not take into account the secondary effects as a result of the heat or cold involved. For example, the heating of sand to melt it into glass is figured on the Alter Object column rather than this one.
3. Transmutation is the permanent alteration of an items basic properties (e.g. lead to gold).
4. Not only does this column deal with the state of the atmosphere, but with differences in air pressure as well. Hypoxia (a drunken condition due to lack of sufficient atmosphere) occurs at altitudes over 10,000 feet.
5. This column is used differently than the other columns; refer to the text for details.

Size of the Device
  The size of a gnomish device greatly affects the ease of its creation and determines whether sufficient materials are available to build it. Generally speaking, the larger the device, the less complicated it is (i.e. the gnome has a better chance of building it successfully), while the smaller the device, the more complicated it is (i.e. the gnome is likely to fail). This reflects the gnomish philosophy of engineering. However, larger devices require more materials to build, are more expensive, and are harder to move.
  After determining the Difficulty Class of the device, the player then chooses the size (based on the descriptions on Table 2: Size of Gnomish Device). This grants the character a modifier (either a bonus or a penalty) to his Craft skill check.

Table 2: Size of Gnomish Devices

Size	Example	Check Mod.
1	Small Sack	–9
2	Knife	–8
3	Sword/Pouch	–7
4	Crossbow	–6
5	Backpack	–5
6	Chest	–4
7	Couch	–3
8	Small Cabinet/Human	–2
9	Large Cabinet	–1
10	Large Wagon	0
11	Small Cottage	+1
12	Large Cottage	+2
13	Mansion	+3
14	Tower (3 stories)	+4
15	Tower (6 stories)	+5
16	Tower (10 stories)	+6
17	Small Keep	+7
18	Castle	+8
19	Township	+9
20	Mountain	+10

Cost of the Device
  Each device must have a number of components equal to its Difficulty Class. If the device has a DC 15, then it must have 15 separate parts. The components used are determined by the desires of the gnome designer, with at least one part from each of the first four groups. Parts from group #5 are required for any device that has a delayed action, an automatic sequence, or has anything to do with information storage or communication.
  Multiply the total costs of all components by the size of the device to determine the cost of building the device. Gnomes often think up items that are far too expensive to build!
  It must be noted that a gnome can construct any of these items from elementary materials (cut wood from trees for frames, cut gears from sheets of metal, etc.), but this doubles the construction time of the device.

Table 3: Device Components and Their Costs
Part Group #1: Mechanical Transmissions

Pulleys	5 stl
Shafts	10 stl
Gears	20 stl
Belts	100 stl
Screws	500 stl
Blades	1,000 stl

Part Group #2: Other Transmissions

Fins (Vanes)	10 stl
Rods (Steel)	20 stl
Glass Rods and Panes	40 stl
Bellows	200 stl
Pumps	1,000 stl
Tuning Forks	2,000 stl

Part Group #3: Drive Sources

Counterweights	30 stl
Coiled/ Wound Springs	60 stl
Waterwheel	100 stl
Windmill/Coal Fire	200 stl
Steam Pipes and Boiler	1,000 stl
Sun Mirror	2,000 stl

Part Group #4: Basic Frames

Stonework	5 stl
Wood Frames	10 stl
Iron Frames	20 stl

Part Group #5: Mechanical Components

Clockworks

30 stl

Building the Device
  The time required to build the device depends upon its size and complexity. According to the following table. Multiply the size of the device by its Difficulty Class and then refer to Table 4: Construction Time. Having additional gnomes assisting does not decrease the construction time (if you have worked with gnomes, you know why).

Table 4: Construction Time

	Size x DC	Time to Construct
	1-3	1d10 x 10 minutes
	4-10	2d20 x 10 minutes
	11-25	2d20 hours
	26-50	2d6 days
	51-100	1d4 weeks
	101-400	2d20 monks
	401+	4d12 months

  At the end of the construction period, the gnome character must make a Craft skill check to determine whether he has created the device as designed:

1d20 + Size modifier + Craft skill modifier
(Craft skill modifier = skill rank + Int modifier + miscellaneous modifiers)

  If this check fails, the gnome character should make an Intelligence check (same DC as the device). A success indicates that the device simply fails; however, a failure indicates that the device suffers a mishap.

  Success: This means that the device works as intended. It will move, inflict damage, send messages, heat food, make light, or whatever it was created to do.
  Failure: The device totally fails to function. Any gnome whose level is equal to or greater than the Difficulty Class of the device can attempt to repair it (the modifier for Size applies). The repair time is two hours times the DC of the device. However, each time that a device fails, a –1 modifier is subtracted from the Craft skill check.
  Mishap: The device does not act as the designer originally intended. The precise effects vary, but in general the referee should consult Table 5: Gnome Mishaps. A misfiring device may be repaired as above.
  Roll 1d20; if the roll is equal to or less than the gnome's level, then the player may choose any result from the Table 5. Otherwise, apply the result rolled.