Science, Technology and Crafting -- How do you handle it?

[Ulmageist]

How do you handle the creation of technological devices in your games?

 

I'm running a Star HERO game with very heavy SR influences, and I have a player who built their character around being a weapons expert and creator. The issue we're running into the is the lack of item creation rules outside the inventor skill, which he says is only to make new items and not to copy an existing one. So how do you guys handle the making of weapons, armor, and other technological marvels?

 

I don't want the players lack of money to always be able to be worked around easily and for a fraction of the cost and the expense of downtime... which is commonplace in traveling large distances in space .

 

An easy way to limit it is to use the inventor rules for all creations, although my player argues that it is only for the creating of brand-new never before seen items, and not when he tries to recreate the existing plasma pistol the store down the road sells.

 

What are some of your experiences and solutions to this sort of issue?

 

Thanks!!

[sinanju]

Re: Science, Technology and Crafting -- How do you handle it?

 

If the tech level allows for small-scale manufacture of exotic, high-tech items, and the PCs have the time and money to invest, you can't really argue with them spending their "down time" in-flight building things. If I wanted to limit such things, I'd have an out-of-game conversation with the players and tell them that, yes, realistically they could it, but it will make the game harder to GM and less fun to play.

 

Alternatively, if the tech DOESN'T allow for that kind of thing, just explain to them that, yeah, the engineer understands how to build a laser pistol, and maybe even knows how to do some repairs on one. But he doesn't have the multi-billion dollar fabrication facility, including "clean rooms" that make surgical theatres look filthy, required to manufacture some vital component of the laser pistol (or whatever).

 

Sure, anybody with half a brain and a little knowledge (or a good instruction book) can assemble a computer from parts. But only Intel (and their peers) can design and fabricate the integrated chips that make them work. (And, frankly, if it's possible to build batteries or capacitors that can power a laser pistol, the authorities are probably going to keep a firm eye on them. If you can get a case of them, you can build a case of laser weapons...but if you can afford/have the connections to do that, why would you need to build them in the first place? Just place an order.

[Ulmageist]

Re: Science, Technology and Crafting -- How do you handle it?

 

Hahaha he does have the connections to do that, but feels its cheaper to build itself since we are currently using the rules that the cost to craft something is 1/2 its MSRP cost as you would find in a normal store (which we have a list of values and multipliers for the cost of items based on its AP cost).

 

I don't necessarily want to limit he ability to craft, I just feel that it is too easy and cheap at the moment, and with the lack of anything outside the inventor skill to describe building things, I'm having a hard time coming up with something that feels balanced.

 

Maybe putting an AP limit on what he can craft with his portable lab, that increases in cap as he gets better resources.

 

I love your description of "Sure, anybody with half a brain and a little knowledge (or a good instruction book) can assemble a computer from parts. But only Intel (and their peers) can design and fabricate the integrated chips that make them work". I feel that fits VERY well

[Christopher]

Re: Science, Technology and Crafting -- How do you handle it?

 

He is right: Inventing is mostly to make new designs. Note that he may also need SS to know what he is doing (when he slept during physics-lessons, how is he going to build a new polaron capacitor?).

Building them Requires an apropirate Weapons Smith and the plan. He might need to "invent" the plan for a Store Bought Plasma Pistol first - reverse engineer it, thus requireing Inventor + SS Skill. Just because you have the item in front of you, doesn't mean you can just copy it.

 

Like sinaju says, the equipment may be difficulty to obtain. You may need nano-assembler (isn't everything nano-tech in the future?), (exotic) raw materials, time and a lot of knowledge (investing points).

 

Here is how a different Space RPG, Nova, handles it (it uses the same rules for medicine, nano-bot and ship weapons):

Just having the Repair Skill, doesn't allows you to modify or build weapons. It only allows repairs, but is also relevant for building them.

Each specific action (Modify Person Weapons, Design and Build Person Weapons) has to be learned seperately (consider it PS: Person Weapons and SS: Person Weapons respectively). You can't learn Building before you can Modify.

Modification is fast and easy to learn, is easy to do (hours), but cost's the full price difference in Raw Materials and on fail the item is destroyed (you have to test it a some point).

Building/Designing only costs half the price you would pay, but also needs days. Obviously, failing doesn't get you the item you want.

 

What that could mean:

Reparing something, may just fall under System Operation or some easy to learn skill.

Modification may require aproporate PS + Weapon smith

Building one after plan may require apropirate SS.

Makign the Plan (or reverse engineer it), may require Inventor + SS.

 

The more powerfull, the more difficulty:

Give the skills rolls AP-based modifiers: A 20 AP Piece of Armor is easier to build than a 100 AP Plasma Rifle.

Also base the time on the same modifier: a 20 AP Armor is faste to build than a 100 AP Plasma Rifle.

 

For Critical Items (Weapons, Medicine): They are automatically considered highly illiegal (like Military Only Illegel; one central register of weapon types helps). But depending proper use of bribe, you could get a lincense for your self-build (asuming what you build doesn't clearly fall under military tech). Flying around in a ship full of unlicensed self-builds/modifications can become interesting when the ship get's an inspection - even if you just didn't had a chance to license them by now.

[Escafarc]

Re: Science, Technology and Crafting -- How do you handle it?

 

If you're worried about the PCs having too much equipment the Resorce Point System in the APG is your friend. Professional Skills, Weaponsmith and Armorsmith would also help in making things.

[Kraven Kor]

Re: Science, Technology and Crafting -- How do you handle it?

 

Depends on the level of realism vs. dramatic realism you have in the campaign.

 

If MacGuyver is a legit character archetype, then I would give him a VPP Gadget Pool, with Inventor as the Skill Roll, and require him to also take a handful of science and/or crafting skills (Electronics, Mechanics, Computer Programming, Systems Operation, Inventor, SS: Physics, SS: Electrical Engineering, SS: Computer Science, and SS: Metallurgy should be a decent mix, all at 15-)

 

If you want more realism, then yes, first Inventor will need to be at a higher level, and second he'll likely need a LOT of time to design and test, spend money, etc.

 

I don't like the "rules as written" for inventor and prefer the Gadget Pool route; your results may vary.