So we have an Artificer Leech in our group, and I am not fully satisfied with the way I am currently running the game for him. The way we that ability has usually worked historically was flashing back to him making a gadget that was perfect to the situation at hand. On the one hand, that is sweet! We had an rage essence diffusing grenade that sparked a brawl in the ranks of a bluecoat ambush. On the other hand, aside from picking locks, that’s all I’ve seen his sweet sweet Tinker score be used for. Plus, flashbacks, though I like them in principle, also have a bit of detrimental effect on the forward momentum of a scene.
I think this comes down to the fact that I don’t really have a good grasp of the technological backbone of the city. I’d like to be able to close my eyes and automatically see wiring, piping, chugging machinery and know what their purposes are.
So, help me get there! What kind of tinkerable tech is prevalent in your games?
Some ideas:
– Crew gets a job to capture a ghost from some rich bastard’s house but the house has it’s own lightning shield around it.
– Rival gang suddenly has a mob of Hulls. Where the hell did they get those and how can the crew stop them?
– Some new gang in town is dispersing some new drug that everyone wants. Your job to break into their lab and reverse engineer it.
– Someone’s been siphoning off leviathan blood directly from the refining plant. Trouble is no one can figure out how — either that or no one is talking. Your crew has been hired to look through the refining plant plumbworks and figure out what is going on. Of course, no one can see you go in or out.
More ideas:
– Word on the street is that the Deadeyes, have a secret automated electroplasmic munitions factory and are kicking out munitions at a rapid pace and getting ready for a serious turf war. Can you somehow throw a monkey wrench into their plans?
– A mysterious client wants you to stop the train halfway between Duskwall and Whitehollow. They don’t care how you do it and they won’t tell you why they want the train stopped, but hey they are paying well.
Great ideas.
Usually near to hand in Duskwall:
– Electrical power cables and sub stations.
– Plumbing systems.
– Electric street lights.
– Canal water locks.
– Clockwork driven gates, door mechanisms, draw-bridges.
– Factory manufacturing machines.
A bit more rare:
– Hulls.
– Public or private lightning barriers.
– Train tracks and switching boxes.
– Radiant energy lamps .
– Pneumatic systems, steam plumbing, and gas lines are also fun to tinker with.
– If video games have taught me anything, it’s that the world is full of barrels of explosive chemicals. If you see a stack of barrels, stand back!