Gadgeteer Genius [PrC]

[The Demented One]

Gadgeteer Genius

Most of Eberron’s artificers are scholars, researchers and experimenters of eldritch and occult magic. Though their knowledge makes them a powerful force on a battlefield, their true environment is in the laboratory or the forge, developing a new magic item. This is not the case with Gadgeteer Geniuses. They rely more on quick wits, limitless resourcefulness, and masterful improvisation more than years of study and experimentation, and prefer to whip up a magic item in the heat of battle than to spend weeks in the lab building it. Using a broad range of skills and a deep pool of inspiration, these adventurer-artificers can modify their infusions and magic items on the fly, and pride themselves on their ability to jury-rig magical items in seconds. Most artificers look down on them as amateurs and upstarts, and organizations such as House Cannith tend to have little to do with their unorthodox ways. Still, when one has the boundless ingenuity and skill of a Gadgeteer Genius, that is rarely a problem.

Hit Dice
d6

Requirements
To qualify to become a Gadgeteer Genius, you must fulfill all the following criteria.
Feats: Magical Aptitude
Skills: Craft (Any) 8 ranks, Use Magic Device 8 ranks
Infusions: Must be capable of casting 2nd-level infusions.
Special: Inspiration class feature

Class Skills
The Gadgeteer Genius’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Disable Device (Int), Knowledge (All) (Int), Open Lock (Dex), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Points per Level
6 + Int modifier.

{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Infusions

1st|

+0

|

+0

|

+0

|

+2

|Versatile Wright|+1 level of existing infusion-using class

2nd|

+1

|

+0

|

+0

|

+3

|Cunning Artifice|+1 level of existing infusion-using class

3rd|

+2

|

+1

|

+1

|

+3

|Resourceful Thaumaturgy|+1 level of existing infusion-using class

4th|

+3

|

+1

|

+1

|

+4

|Jury Rig|

–

5th|

+3

|

+1

|

+1

|

+4

|Bonus Feat|+1 level of existing infusion-using class

6th|

+4

|

+2

|

+2

|

+5

|Brilliant Art|+1 level of existing infusion-using class

7th|

+5

|

+2

|

+2

|

+5

|Bonus Feat|+1 level of existing infusion-using class

8th|

+6

|

+2

|

+2

|

+6

|Mind of Cogs and Gears|

–

9th|

+6

|

+3

|

+3

|

+6

|Bonus Feat|+1 level of existing infusion-using class

10th|

+7

|

+3

|

+3

|

+7

|Mystic Savant|+1 level of existing infusion-using class [/table]

Class Features
All the following are class features of the Gadgeteer Genius prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency
You gain no new weapon or armor proficiencies.

Infusions
Whenever you gain a new Gadgeteer Genius level except 4th or 8th, you gain new infusions per day and spells or infusions known as if you had also gained a level of Artificer. You do not, however, gain any other benefit an Artificer would have gained.

Craft Reserve
Whenever you gain an odd Gadgeteer Genius level, you receive bonus XP for crafting items as if you had also gained a level of Artificer. In addition, you may add half your Gadgeteer Genius level, rounded down, to your Artificer level for determining the size of your craft reserve.

Inspiration
Your Gadgeteer Genius levels stack with your Factotum levels for determining how many inspiration points you receive each encounter.

Versatile Wright (Ex)
At 1st level, you broaden your engineering skills, training yourself to design and build almost anything you can imagine. You are treated as having a number of ranks in all Craft skills equal to the highest number of ranks you have in any Craft skill.

Cunning Artifice (Su)
At 2nd level, you can conserve the power of your magic items with quick thinking and on-the-fly modifications. When using wands, staves, or other magic items that have a limited number of charges, you may expend an inspiration point in place of a charge, as long as that item has at least one charge remaining. You can only spend inspiration points in place of charges used to activate the item, not those expended as part of another ability, such as the Artificer’s metamagic spell trigger class feature. You cannot use this ability when not in an encounter, as you cannot grasp the crucial inspirations needed to make use of cunning artifice.

Resourceful Thaumaturgy (Su)
At 3rd level, your quick thinking and ingenuity allows you to modify your infusions to consume less material components. Whenever you cast an infusion with an expensive material component, you may expend any number of inspiration points. For each point expended, the total cost of components required decreases by up 50 gp, to a minimum of 0. However, casting an infusion in this way limits its duration–if its duration would exceed the length of the encounter it was used in, it instead ends at the encounter’s end. You cannot use this ability when not in an encounter, as you cannot grasp the crucial inspirations needed to make use of resourceful thaumaturgy.

Jury Rig (Su)
At 4th level, you gain the ability to, once per encounter, create temporary magic items, spontaneously enchanting them for use. You must have the base item to enchant on hand, and must make a Use Magic Device check, DC 20 + the item’s caster level, as a standard action. You can only create wondrous items, rods, and rings with this ability, and you must have the appropriate item creation feat for the item you are creating. You cannot create items that have a limited number of charges or are single use items. Within these requirements, you can create any magic item. Once created, the item lasts for the duration of the encounter it was created in. You cannot use this ability when not in an encounter, as you cannot grasp the crucial inspirations needed to jury rig magic items. The amount of inspiration points you must spend to use this ability depends on the cost of the item, and the highest cost of item you can create depends on your class level, as shown below. Finally, you cannot create an item whose caster level exceeds your own for purposes of item crafting.

{table=head]Price|Level|Inspiration
1-4,000 gp|4th-6th|

1

|
4,001-16,000 gp|7th-9th|

2

|
16,001-36,000 gp|

10th

|

3

|
[/table]

Bonus Feat (Ex)
At 5th, 7th, and 9th levels, you may gain any item creation or metamagic feat as a bonus feat. You must meet all of the feat’s requirements.

Brilliant Art (Su)
At 6th level, even the most draining of infusions can be cast easily, as long as you keep your wits about you. Whenever you cast an infusion with an XP cost, you may expend any number of inspiration points. For each point expended, the total XP cost decreases by 10 xp, to a minimum of 0. However, casting an infusion in this way limits its duration–if its duration would exceed the length of the encounter it was used in, it instead ends at the encounter’s end. You cannot use this ability when not in an encounter, as you cannot grasp the crucial inspirations needed to make use of brilliant art.

Mind of Cogs and Gears (Ex)
At 8th level, your understanding of magical items is so developed that you can almost intuitively deduce the operating principles of any magic item. You may add your Intelligence bonus, in addition to your Charisma bonus, to all Use Magic Device checks. In addition, you may take 10 on Use Magic Device checks, even when rushed or threatened.

Mystic Savant (Su)
At 10th level, your ability to modify magic items as needed lets you bend them beyond the constraints of their design, repurposing them to fit any purpose. You may use scrolls, staves, or wands to cast spells other than those stored on them. To do so, you must use the item normally, either consuming it or expending a charge, and spend an inspiration point. If you do, you may use the item to cast any spell of the same level or lower than the one actually stored on it. You cannot cast a spell with an expensive material component, focus, or xp cost using this ability. If you use this ability to cast an arcane spell from an item that contains only divine spells, or vice versa, you must expend an additional inspiration point. You cannot use this ability when not in an encounter, as you cannot grasp the crucial inspirations needed to make use of your talents as a mystic savant.

[The Demented One]

Come on, I know the Artificer and Factotum aren't exactly well-known classes, but can I get at least one response? Would you do it for a Scooby snack?

[Kellus]

I really like this. I love the factotum, and am somewhat familiar with the artificer, and this seems to keep the spirit of both of them intact. It's great for a character concept of making inventions on the fly.

Question: you need to make a Use Magic Device check to use Jury Rig, as well as expend inspiration. If you fail the check, do you still lose the inspiration?

[The Demented One]

Question: you need to make a Use Magic Device check to use Jury Rig, as well as expend inspiration. If you fail the check, do you still lose the inspiration?

Yup, you do.

[DracoDei]

As I said before, give craft reserve every other level leads to a very suspension of disbelief breaking "binge and fast" cycle of item creation.

[dyslexicfaser]

Well, if you dislike the "binge and fast", why not houserule it to be half the craft reserve an artificer would receive, but every level?

[The Demented One]

As I said before, give craft reserve every other level leads to a very suspension of disbelief breaking "binge and fast" cycle of item creation.

Well, Artificers are going to fall into some of that anyway, what with only getting craft reserve when they level up. Plus, they can still craft using XP if they want to.

[DracoDei]

Well, AT LEAST specify that the reserve is not lost when they gain a level that doesn't give a new reserve...