Tinker Gnome Projects (5e Other)/Examples
Example 1: Heat Torch[edit]
Flibber t'Gibbet is a 1st-level rock gnome. His adventuring group wants him to make some kind of weapon because they aren't yet aware of how ... overengineered ... gnomish inventions are.
Flibber selects the Weaponized idea, then rolls 1d12 for idea B. The result is 4, so this is a Weaponized Lantern.
Lantern. The device needs to be portable – Size 5 (Small) perhaps, so Flibber chooses Complexity 5 for the Lantern idea. He also chooses the light to be shed in a cone, since he doesn't want to hurt everyone around him. So, it will emit dim light in a 90-foot cone (actually 100-foot, but rounded down to better fit D&D's standardized range increments)
Weaponized.Next he chooses Complexity 5 for the Weaponized idea (Base 1, +4 to fill the 90-foot cone.) and Size 4. This will deal 3d4 fire damage to creatures in the cone unless they pass a DC 12 Constitution save (representing a "heat ray".)
Final Complexity. The final Complexity is 5+2 = 7
Final Size and Hit Points. The final Size is 5+1 = 6. It is the size of a large chest, but is extremely fragile (Rolled a 1 for hit points).
Construction. The heat torch needs 7 components. We choose pulleys, vanes, counterweights, stone block, wooden truss, shafts and steel rods. The total cost is (5 + 10 + 30 + 5 + 20 + 10 + 20) ×6 = 600 gp. It will take 24 days to build.
Charges and Activation. The heat torch has 2 charges, and resetting it takes 14 minutes. When it activates (1 charge), it emits a dim light for 1 minute. Within this duration, the operator can spend an action to attack with the heat torch (1 charge).
Completion and Mishaps. After 3 weeks of waiting, Flibber presents the heat torch to his adventuring friends. Excitedly they take it into the dungeon to test on some goblins. They dash into the lair, and Flibber flips the switch...
He rolls twice on the mishap table, percentile + 1 (his level). He rolls 24 and 72. The heat torch becomes unbearably hot in a 35-foot radius, and it vibrates horribly. It isn't active long enough for the temperature to be a problem. The goblins are defeated with this machine's help, but it shakes itself to pieces by the time the dim light expires.
Example 2: "Hover" Sentry[edit]
Flibber t'Gibbet wants to make something like a Hover Sentry Mk1. This has several required ideas: Sensor, Hover, Automaton and Weaponized, so Flibber needs to be 9th level.
Flibber first picks Communication/Sensor for idea B, then rolls 1d12 for idea A. The result is Tunneling - as is often the case with gnomish inventions, it doesn't move quite as intended. He decides to stick with this.
Sensor. The sentry needs to be able to see, but not in detail. Complexity 8 gives us low-quality 60 ft. vision. It doesn't need to be transmitted, so there's no further adjustment. Size 8.
Tunneling. The sentry doesn't need to leave a big passage behind, but it does need a reasonable speed. Speed 20 ft.; Complexity 4, Size 1.
We now add the extra ideas.
Automaton. The sentry needs to patrol, detect things in its vision, and fire its weapon. We make it look like a badger (Size 3, Complexity 3) with crude movement (+1 complexity). It has complex reactive routines (+6 complexity), so this is Complexity 10, Size 3.
Weaponized. It fires a crossbow bolt dealing 1d6 piercing damage (Size 2 on the size table), with an attack bonus of +3 (Complexity 2). It can fire to 60 feet, (+2 Complexity). So this is Complexity 4, Size 2.
Final Complexity. The highest complexity is the Automaton's 10. We add 1 from the Sensor (as its complexity is at least half of 10). Final complexity is 11.
Final Size and Hit Points. The highest size is the Sensor's 8. There are no further adjustments (since the other ideas are all smaller than Size 4). Final size is 8 (the size of two Medium creatures, or a small cabinet) and it has 8 hit points.
Construction. The sentry needs 11 components: Pulleys, shafts, vanes, steel rods, counterweights, coiled sprints, aeolipile, stone block, wooden truss, iron plates, clockworks (required!), for a cost of (5 + 10 + 10 + 20 + 30 + 60 + 100 + 5 + 20 + 40 + 50) ×8 = 2,800 gp. It takes 112 days to build.
Charges and Activation. The sentry has 10 charges, and resetting it takes 110 minutes. It follows a patrol path. On land it has a speed of 10 feet, expending 1 charge per hour. It can burrow at a speed of 20 feet, expending 1 charge per minute. It expends 1 charge each time it fires the crossbow.
Completion and Mishaps. Flibber flips the switch. He rolls percentile and adds his level four times, the results are 18, 43, 23 and 73: Suffocating, needs another part, unbearable heat, and no further mishap.
The sentry sucks in all the air and causes extreme heat within 55 ft., and exhaustion checks must be made every minute. However, it immediately stops working, and a new project must be constructed to make this one work again!