A few gifted individuals have access to powers beyond the ken of science. Psychic abilities are quite real in the Steampunk world and their possessors control them by the sheer force of their will.
Check: A character makes a Psychic Control check in order to activate psychic powers, which he acquires as feats or as features of the occultist class. The DC of a Psychic Control check is determined by the power the character wants to activate. Psychic powers and the uses of Psychic Control checks are covered in full detail in The Occult chapter.
Try Again: Provided that he does not fall out of his trance, a character can retry any failed use of a psychic power.
Special: Characters cannot take 10 or 20 when making Psychic Control checks. Characters must have the Psychic Sensitivity feat before taking their first rank in Psychic Control. Characters without the feat cannot buy any rank in the skill even if it is a class skill for them.
Time: Psychic Control checks are usually standard actions, although some psychic powers may take several minutes or even hours to work.
Repair (Int; Trained Only)
Machines break down, and with so many making their way into homes and factories, the knowledge of how to repair them makes such a craftsman into a valued technician who will undoubtedly find gainful employment.
Specialities: Steam technology, electrical devices, clockwork devices, automata, vehicles, power sources.
Check: Most Repair checks are made to fix complex mechanical devices. The Games Master sets the DC. In general, simple repairs have a DC of 10 to 15 and require no more than a few minutes to accomplish. More complex repair work has a DC of 20 or higher and can require an hour or more to complete. Making repairs also involves a monetary cost when spare parts or new components are needed, represented by a Wealth check. If the Games
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Jerrek tossed and turned for more than an hour, troubled by what had just happened. He did not like elves and he had never expected to be attracted to anyone ever again. Still, Heshia’s face kept appearing every time he closed his eyes. He tried to think of her as just another damned elf. That was not working any more. With a grumble, he turned over one last time and nearly leapt out of his skin to see a translucent face inches away from his own.
‘Damn it, Gail! You looking for company as a ghost?’ he gasped, trying to catch his breath.
The massive, spectral lion-man sat back up and chuckled. The sound was not pleasant. ‘You know,’
he whispered, ‘you really can be an idiot sometimes.
No offence.’
Jerrek stared at him, looking irate. ‘How am I not supposed to take offence at that, fluff-face?’
He mocked a smack at the air where Gail’s head was, which passed through him and left a trail of chilled air and light. That seemed to make Gailion uncomfortable, though it did not, apparently, hurt.
‘I’ve only been dead for a couple of days, Jer, but I am coping with it better than you are at being alive.
You need to let it go, my friend and get on with your life.’ Gail’s face softened, his glowing expression changing from amusement to concern. ‘You need to get over the past while you still have a future.’ The lion hybrid looked over into the far corner of the tunnel passage. ‘And you need to go over there and apologise for being a bolt-head.’
It took about ten more minutes of convincing, but Jerrek finally gave in and crossed over to where Heshia was sitting. He quietly admitted to being upset with her kind, for being torn up inside because of a past loss and for being too dim to realize what she had been trying to tell him. He poured out his heart to her, telling her of his childhood and the years he spent scraping a living out of Megador’s meanest slums. He told her how hard it was for him to feel any more, adding that if she would be willing to let him try just one more time, he would like to talk with her again.
Her silence worried him. He looked more closely at her motionless form. She was in a psychic trance and had been since leaving him at his bedroll. She had sat, completely still and missed everything he had said. He had bared his soul and no one had been there to see it.
Nearby, he heard Thurdin’s gruff voice. ‘That was beautiful, lad, but you’re just not my type. Now shut up. I’m trying to sleep.’
Master decides that this is not necessary for the type of repair the character is attempting, then no Wealth check is needed. If damage is being repaired, a successful Repair check restores 1d4 hit or structure points to the object.
Repair Task
Jury-Rig: A character can choose to attempt jury-rigged, or temporary, repairs. Doing this reduces the purchase DC by 3 and the Repair check DC by 5. Jury-rigging allows the character to make the checks in as little as a full-round action. However, a jury-rigged repair can only fix a single problem with a single check. In addition, the temporary repair only lasts until the end of the current scene or encounter. The jury-rigged object must be fully repaired thereafter if it is to be repaired at all. A character can also use jury-rig to jump-start an engine or device. The DC for this is at least 15, and it can be higher depending on the presence of security devices. The jury-rig application of the Repair skill can be used untrained.
Try Again: Yes, though in some specific cases, the Games Master may decide that a failed Repair check has negative ramifications that prevent repeated checks.
Special: A character can take 10 or take 20 on a Repair check. When making a Repair check to accomplish a jury-rig repair, a character cannot take 20. Repair requires a mechanical tool kit or a multipurpose tool depending on the task. If the character does not have the appropriate tools, he takes a –4 penalty on the check or may be unable to carry out the repair at all, at the Games Master’s discretion. Genius characters of the inventor vocation can make jury-rig repairs permanent by spending an action point.
Synergies: Craft (mechanical) or Craft (electronic) can provide a +2 synergy bonus on Repair checks made for mechanical or electronic devices. A character with the
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Gearhead feat and at least 1 rank in this skill enjoys a +2 bonus to all Repair checks.
Time: See the table for guidelines. A character can make a jury-rig repair as a full-round action, but the work only lasts until the end of the current encounter.
Research (Int)
Scientists stand on the shoulders of giants, using previous knowledge as the basis for their new theories and discoveries. Finding the proper information can save a lot of time that would be more constructively employed in the proving of new ideas.
Check: Researching a topic takes time, skill and some luck. The Games Master determines how obscure a particular topic is (the more obscure, the higher the DC) and what kind of information might be available depending on where the character is conducting his research. Given enough time (usually 1d4 hours) and a successful skill check, the character develops a general idea about a given topic. This assumes that no obvious obstacles exist that would prevent such information from being available and that the character has a way to acquire restricted or protected information. Research is the skill for finding recorded facts. Learning what other people know is usually more appropriately performed as a Gather Information check.
The higher the check result, the better and more complete the information. If the character wants to discover a specific fact, date, map, or similar bit of information, add +5 to +15 to the DC.
Try Again: Yes, though the Games Master may rule that you have exhausted your current research material and that you must find more sources before you can make another attempt.
Special: A character can take 10 or take 20 on a Research check. A character with the Studious feat gets a +2 bonus on all Research checks.
Time: A Research check takes 1d4 hours.
Ride (Dex)
Even when new vehicles are invading the roads and byways, the old tradition of riding will never be lost, as it is not only accessible but also greatly prestigious. Riding is even more flexible than motorised transport, as animals do not break down and their maintenance needs are easier to provide for.
Check: Typical riding actions do not require checks. A character can saddle, mount, ride and
dismount without a problem. Mounting or dismounting an animal is a move action. Some tasks, undertaken in combat or in other extreme circumstances, require checks.
In addition, attempting trick riding or asking the animal to perform an unusual technique also requires a check. It should be kept in mind that a horse-like automaton and a horse-like amazing vehicle are two very different things:
the first uses Ride but the second uses Drive.
Guide with Knees (DC 5): The character can react instantly to guide his mount with his knees so that he can use both hands in combat or perform some other action. Make the check at the start of the character’s round. If the character fails, he can only use one hand this round because he needs to use the other to control his mount. On machine mounts, the knees press particular plates to guide it.
Stay in Saddle (DC 5): The character can react instantly to try to avoid falling when his mount rears or bolts unexpectedly or when the character takes damage.
Fight while Mounted (DC 20): While in combat, the character can attempt to control a mount that is not trained in combat riding; see the Handle Animal skill. If the character succeeds, he uses only a move action and may use his attack action to do something else. If the character
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fails, he can do nothing else that round. If the character fails by more than 5, he loses control of the animal.
For animals trained in combat riding and machine mounts, the character does not need to make this check.
Instead, the character can use his move action to have the animal perform a trick, most commonly to attack. The character can use his attack action normally.
Cover (DC 15): The character can react instantly to drop down and hang alongside his mount, using it as one-half cover. The character cannot attack while using his mount as cover. If the character fails, he does not get the cover benefit.
Soft Fall (DC 15): The character reacts instantly when he falls from his mount, such as when it is killed or when it falls, to try to avoid taking damage. If the character fails, he takes 1d6 points of falling damage.
Leap (DC 15): The character can get his mount to leap obstacles as part of its movement. Use the character’s Ride modifier or the mount’s Jump modifier (whichever is lower) when the mount makes its Jump check, for which see the Jump skill. The character makes a Ride check (DC 15) to stay on the mount when it leaps.
Fast Mount or Dismount (DC 20; armour penalty applies):
The character can mount or dismount as a free action. If the character fails the check, mounting or dismounting is a move action. A character cannot attempt a fast mount or dismount unless he can perform the mount or dismount as a move action this round, should the check fail.
Special: If the character is riding bareback, he takes a –5 penalty on Ride checks. A character can take 10 when making a Ride check but cannot take 20. Animals that are ill suited to be mounts provide a –2 penalty to their rider’s Ride check. A character with five or more ranks in Handle Animal gains a +2 synergy bonus to Ride checks.
Time: Ride is a move action, except when otherwise noted for the special tasks listed above.
Ritual (Int; Trained Only)
The power of magic only comes to those who devote long hours and hard study towards it, as one of the Laws of Magic states that nothing comes for free. Characters in OGL Steampunk do not develop the ability to work magic automatically. Instead, they gain it through study and practice. With the new era of progress opening the doors that keep all secrets locked away, almost anyone with sufficient dedication can learn to perform a few magic tricks.
Check: Like the Craft and Knowledge skills, Ritual is broken up into six different categories corresponding to the six disciplines of magic. The number of Ritual disciplines is kept purposely finite. When trying to
determine what Ritual skill a particular magic effect pertains to, use a broad interpretation of the existing categories. Do not arbitrarily make up new categories.
The DCs of Ritual checks depend wholly on the different parameters of the ritual, such as its subject, scope, reach and duration. Magic rituals and effects are described in full in The Occult chapter.
Divination: Magic that discerns information from past, present and future.
Enticement: Magic that fools the senses, twists perceptions and affect minds.
Invocation: Magic that brings forth matter, energy and even life where none existed before.
Necromancy: Rituals that deal with the dead and the macabre energy of death.
Protection: Effects that ward from harm and repel enemies and threats.
Transformation: Magic that change the properties and shape of objects and creatures.
Try Again: No. If a ritual fails, it is over for that effect.
Failure may also carry more dire consequences that prevent its repetition.
Special: Characters cannot take 10 or 20 in Ritual checks. The Ritual skill is not included in any class skill list. Instead, characters must have the feat corresponding to each Ritual category before taking their first rank in it. These are the Divination Talent, Protection Talent, Invocation Talent, Enticement Talent, Necromancy Talent and Transformation Talent respectively. Characters without the appropriate feat cannot buy any ranks in the skill.
Time: Ritual checks take 10 minutes. Particular rituals may require more than one Ritual check, depending on their complexity. See the rules for magic ritual effects on pg. 281.
Search (Int)
That which lies hidden or lost can be retrieved by anyone with the patience and perception necessary to find it.
Check: The character generally must be within 10 feet of the object or surface to be examined. A character can examine up to a 5-foot-by-5-foot area or a volume of goods 5 feet on a side with a single check. A Search check can turn up individual footprints but does not allow a character to follow tracks, nor does it tell him in which direction the creature or creatures went, nor the direction from which they approached.
DC Task
10 Ransack an area to find a certain object.
20 Notice a typical secret compartment, a simple trap, or an obscure clue.
25+ Find a complex or well-hidden secret compartment or trap; notice an extremely obscure clue.
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Special: A character can take 10 or take 20 when making a Search check. A character with the Meticulous feat gets a +2 bonus on all Search checks. A character with five or more ranks in Search gains a +2 synergy bonus to Survival checks to follow tracks.
Time: A Search check is a full-round action.