Techie Class

Requirements:
Skills: Computer Use 3 ranks, Disable Device 3 ranks, either Craft (mechanical or electronic) 3 ranks

Class Features:
Hit Die: The Techie gains 1d6 hit points per level. The character's Con bonus applies.

Class Skills:  The Techie's class skills are: Computer Use (Int), Craft (Chemical, Electronic, Mechanical, Pharmaceutical, Structural) (Int), Demolitions (Int), Disable Device (Int), Investigate (Int), Knowledge (Art, Behavioral Sciences, Business, Civics, Current Events, Earth & Life Sciences, History, Physical Sciences, Technology, Theology & Philosophy) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Profession (Wis), Repair (Int), and Research (Int).

Skill Ranks per level: 8 + Int Modifier

Action Points: The Techie has an Action Pool equal to 5 + half his character level.

Special Abilities:
Intellectual Training: A Techie may treat her class levels as Smart levels for any talent for which Smart levels are used.

Jury-Rig: At 1st level a Techie gains a +2 competence bonus on Repair skills checks made to attempt temporary or jury-rigging repairs. At 7th level this bonus increases to +4.

Extreme Machine: At 2nd level the Techie learns to soup-up ordinary machines to get maximum performance out of them, sometimes even greater than maximum. By spending an Action Point and making the relevant Craft check, the Techie can temporarily improve the target machine's performance. Having its performance increased in such a fashion can often be detrimental to its normal function, sometimes requiring repairs afterwards. The performance increase lasts 1 minute per class level after the item is first used, after which a roll is made. If this roll is failed, the item gains the broken condition. Bonus Feats: At 3rd, 6th, and 9th level the Techie gains a bonus feat from the following list. Builder, Cautious, Combat Expertise, Educated, Gearhead, Personal Firearms Proficiency, Point Blank Shot, Studious

Mastercraft: At 3rd level a Techie learns to create items of higher than normal quality. He must select either Craft (mechanical or electronic) for this ability. He can thereafter create items of this type that give a +1 bonus to its quality compared to normal items of its type. All weapons and armor, as well as many mechanical and electronic devices, may be constructed as Mastercraft objects. At 6th and 9th level he may either add the Mastercraft ability to another Craft skill or increase an existing bonus.

Quick Craft: At 4th level the Techie learns to use his signature skills more rapidly than other characters. He may reduce the time necessary to construct a normal quality item from scratch by one-quarter. At 8th level this ability improves to a one-half reduction and applies to Mastercraft items as well.

Build Robot: A Techie of 4th level or higher can build remote-controlled robots that are Tiny or Diminutive in size. These robots serve as the Techie’s eyes, ears, or hands out to a predetermined distance away from the character when the Techie wants to use one of the following skills: Computer Use, Demolitions, Disable Device, Listen, Repair, or Spot.

The Techie must have at least 1 rank in the skill that he wants to program into the robot. The Techie can only control one robot at a time, and only one of his robots can be active at any time.

Follow these steps to build a robot.

Wealth Check: The purchase DC for the components needed to construct a robot is based on the robot’s size. Make the Wealth check to purchase and gather the necessary components prior to starting construction.

Construct Frame: The robot’s body determines its size, shape, locomotion, and hit points. The DC of the Craft (mechanical) check is set by the robot’s size and modified by the form of locomotion selected.

Components
Select a frame size and form, add manipulators and sensors as necessary, and choose a type of remote control link. Add all the modifiers to determine the check’s DC. Make the Craft (mechanical) check to construct the robot’s frame.

It takes a Techie 30 hours to construct a Diminutive robot frame or 12 hours to construct a Tiny robot frame.

A Diminutive robot can be 6 to 12 inches long or tall and weighs about 1 pound. A Tiny robot can be 13 to 24 inches long or tall and weighs up to 3 pounds. Statistics for these robots can be found in the Creature listings.

Construct the Electronics: The next step is to build the internal electronics for the robot and install them in the frame. The DC is based on the size of the robot and modified by the number of components that need to be wired together. For a Diminutive robot, the DC is 20. For a Tiny robot, the DC is 15. Add +1 to the DC for each external component and +2 for the remote link. Make the Craft (electronic)check.

It takes a Techie 12 hours to wire a Diminutive robot or 6 hours to wire a Tiny robot.

Program the Robot: The Techie programs the robot as the final step. Decide how many ranks of the appropriate skill to program into the robot, up to the number of ranks the Techie has in the skill. A Techie’s robot can only contain programming for one skill. Make the Computer Use check to program the robot.

The DC for the Computer Use check is 20, modified by the number of ranks the Techie wants to program into the robot (+1 to the DC for each rank). It takes 1 hour to program the robot.

Reprogramming: A robot can be reprogrammed at any time. Doing this requires 1 hour of work and a Computer Use check (DC 20 + the number of ranks programmed into the robot).