6. Chemicals by Palladium-Catalyzed C-C Coupling Reactions of Alkynes
6.1. Alkynylated Arenes
Technology
F
rom the crudely riveted and muck-stained constructs of a goblin artificer to the beauti-ful and masterbeauti-fully crafted implements con-structed by an elven artisan, the quality and sophistication of different examples of steam-work technology is apparent as being widely vari-able. The levels of technology and workmanship here can be used to represent both exceptional and exceptionally bad examples of craftsmanship within a single culture, or to differentiate the advancement and skill of different cultures from one another.The DC modifier indicates the adjustment made to the Maintenance DC of any steamwork device that is made at that level of advancement.
The cost modifier designates the adjustment to the price of such a device in a culture with stan-dard levels of steam technology. The shoddy work of a goblin mechanic, less reliable and poor-ly constructed, would be worth less to a human culture undergoing industrialization, while the sophisticated devices crafted by an advanced elven society would be worth more. However, within the goblin or elf’s own culture, their devices would be worth the standard amount.
Level DDC mmod CCost MMod
Crude +2 -25%
Poor +1 -10%
Standard +0 None
Advanced -1 +50%
High Steam-power -2 +100%
Crude: This is the most basic level of steam technology, consisting of metal crudely welded or hammered together, poorly connected machinery and pipes, and leaky boilers. Fuel burns
ineffi-ciently while magical engines work from basic and unsophisticated spells and rituals. Crude steamworks don’t even approach the practical but brutal industrial appearance of more advanced devices. They look like what they are – crude.
Poor: Poor technology is a bit more unreliable than standard steamworks, usually due to shoddy craftsmanship or cutting corners in the design, and thus also a bit cheaper.
Standard: This is the standard level of steam-work technology used in this guide, with no mod-ifiers to maintenance or cost. Standard steam-work technology can be used on its own to repre-sent any and all steamworks in a campaign if a DM does not wish to bother using other levels of advancement. This form of steamwork technolo-gy is usually, though not always, practical and industrial in appearance.
Advanced: Advanced steam technology is more reliable and better crafted, less likely to break down due to its more efficient and developed processes and mechanisms. Advanced steam-works also tend to be more aesthetically designed and less industrial in appearance.
High SSteam-ppower: Highly sophisticated machinery and far more reliable, this level of technology is usually the result of high steam-power cultures rather than an exceptionally good piece of craftsmanship on the part of an engineer from a culture with standard steamwork advance-ment. Since high steam-power cultures are often the empires of past eras and their devices found only in ruins and dangerous places, the cost of high steam-power items is often increased even further than the base +100% modifier.
a Guide to Fantasy Steamworks
a Guide to Fantasy Steamworks
T
his section details a wide selection of new gear, divided into three categories – equip-ment, weapons and armour. Each part has a number of new items, including steamwork devices and related items such as special fuels and upgrades, as well as mundane items that while not steamwork themselves are of the right kind of flavour for a campaign featuring steam technolo-gy elements.The items here are defined as being either steamwork items, magical items or mundane.
Steamwork items have the [Steamwork] tag, and are operated in the manner laid out in previous sections of this guide. Each entry for a steamwork item includes the creation requirements to be able to build it, which include a minimum number of ranks in Craft (Steamworks) and possibly other skills as well. If a character does not meet these prerequisites then he does not have the needed knowledge to understand how to construct it and cannot craft one with his Craft skill.
In the case of magical items, which have the [Arcana] tag, the entry contains the usual prereq-uisites and caster level for such an item. Some magical items are also steamwork items. Note that a number of steamwork items contain magi-cal pieces or parts or operate in a magimagi-cal way, but not are not necessarily magical enough to deem them as needing an item creation feat to build.
Equipment
A
number of items here are alchemical in nature, and have the following DC’s for the purposes of creating them with the Craft (Alchemy) skill.Item DC
Dragon Spittle 20
Fogger chemicals 25
Kobold’s Fire 25
Metalmist 20
Re-igniter Cartridge 20
Rust-Bile 25
Saboteur’s Elixir 20
Aether Oil
This swirling, milky liquid is sometimes used as a fuel in oil burner engines. A magical sub-stance extracted from a type of ore called aether-stone, found only in seams amidst the high reach-es of tall mountains, aether oil burns with a wispy smoke that smells strangely pleasant. However, it has malign effects on those of a magical nature, as well as those travelling the Ethereal plane.
Anyone within 10ft of an engine burning aether oil who can cast spells or who has supernatural abilities must make a Fortitude save each round (DC 16) or suffer 2d6 damage, feeling as if their minds are on fire. Any ethereal characters within 20ft of such an engine sees the smoke as pulsing, white tendrils of mist that scald to the touch, and suffer 4d6 fire damage each round they remain within 20ft of the device. The exact causes for the formation of aetherstone on high mountains, and for its unpleasant effects on ethereal travellers and magical beings, are unknown. The entry in the equipment table represents enough aether oil to fuel a Medium-size device for one day.
T T oo oo ls of th ls of th e T e T rad rad e e
Alchemechanical Alarm
The alchemechanical alarm is an alchemical device designed to act as a ‘wake-up call’ to an alchemechanical steamwork device if tripped. It is a small device of metal and glass that holds reser-voirs of the same chemicals used in an alchemical mixer engine, attached to a detection device such as pressure plates or integrated into a trap. When activated, the alarm pours the reserves of chemi-cals directly into the engine of the steamwork object (usually a construct), powering it up imme-diately as the chemicals mix and heat the boiler.
The alarm itself is not a steamwork device and needs to have its reservoirs refilled regularly.
Alchemechanical Brewery [Steamwork]
A large steamwork device consisting of a tan-gle of pipes, vents, tubes and vats, an alcheme-chanical brewery is capable of various different purposes. It can be used in an actual brewery to vastly improve the creation of alcoholic bever-ages, pumps and suchlike moving liquids around within the system. Alchemechanical breweries are also often used by alchemists to create large
amounts of chemicals quickly and to conduct very complex experiments. When used in this way an alchemechanical brewery grants a +10 machine bonus to Craft (Alchemy) skill checks.
An alchemechanical brewery can also be set up for the delicate processes of creating potions, its complex innards turned to the task of filtering, distillation and mixing exotic substances. An alchemechanical brewery used in this way greatly speeds up the production of potions, and a charac-ter using it for such may create not one but two potions per day. The character still has to pay the normal gold and experience costs for the potions he creates.
Creation: Craft (Alchemy) 15 ranks, Craft (Steamworks) 12 ranks
Alchemechanical Sniffer [Steamwork]
This steamwork device is a bulky foot-long box full of glass pipes and perforated alcheme-chanical sensors along with reservoirs of dozens of different chemicals. When fired up and activated, the sniffer picks up traces of substances in the
a Guide to Fantasy Steamworks a Guide to Fantasy Steamworks
Name Size Weight Cost Maintenance DDC
Aether Oil Small 10lb 800gp
-Alchemechanical Alarm Diminutive 1lb 50gp
-Alchemechanical Brewery Large 80lb 12,000gp 11
Alchemechanical Sniffer Tiny 7lb 250gp 7
Alchemy Engine Small 30lb 500gp 7
Arcanomech Eye Tiny 8lb 3,000gp 10
Arcanomech Eye, All-Seeing Tiny 5lb 12,000gp 9
Arcanomech Familiar Varies Varies Special
-Arcanomech Lamp Tiny 2lb 100gp 6
Blood Oil Small 10lb 500gp
-Calculation Engine Small 30lb 600gp 7
Climbers Companion Small 20lb 400gp 6
Cloud Dust Small 20lb 150gp
-Dragon Spittle Tiny 1lb 50gp
-Enhanced Smokestack - - +500gp
-Erudite Matrix Tiny 4lb +500gp
-Farsight Lens Tiny ½lb 1,000gp
-Filter Mask Tiny 3lb 300gp
-Fire Coal Diminutive ½lb 50gp
-Flowmetal Tiny 2lb 300gp
-Fogger Small 15lb 600gp 8
Chemical Reserves Tiny 3lb 100gp
-air with its chemical array and a clever character can use it to pick up scents and trails in the air; as a result it’s also often nicknamed the ‘blood-hound’. A character using an alchemical sniffer gains a +4 circumstance bonus to Survival checks that involve tracking.
Prerequisites: Craft (Alchemy) 10 ranks, Craft (Steamworks) 5 ranks
Alchemy Engine [Steamwork]
An alchemy engine is a solid metal steamwork device with an input board of metal keys and small vents, sprouting glass vials and tubes and chemical indicators. Used by alchemists and sci-entists for the purpose of distilling new com-pounds as well as identifying unknown sub-stances, an alchemy engine can provide a fairly sophisticated breakdown analysis with its little engine and complex mesh of alchemical gear.
An alchemy engine improves the bonus to Craft (Alchemy) checks provided by an
alchemist’s lab by an additional +2.
Prerequisites: Craft (Alchemy)
10 ranks, Craft (Steamworks) 5 ranks Arcanomech Eye
[Arcana, Steamwork]
An arcanomech eye is a steam-powered sur-veillance system. Usually placed high on walls or ceilings, arcanomech eyes can take many forms; a golden, impassive face with eyes of glowing blue crystal and the machinery hidden within, a goth-ic dragon or gargoyle head in scarlet- or black-painted metal, or a complex array of cogs and glass lenses in a gyroscopic cradle of steel.
Arcanomech eyes slowly swivel to gaze over the area they are assigned to guard; each is pro-grammed to recognise intruders, and possesses a Spot skill modifier of +12. If an eye spots an intruder it focuses its gaze on the target and acti-vates a klaxon alarm that usually brings reinforce-ments running. An eye has 5 hit points, hardness 5 and AC 14.
Despite the name, an arcanomech eye does not need to have an arcane engine; the workings of the device are highly magical though, and
magic-Steam &
Steam & Steel Steel
Name Size Weight Cost Maintenance DDC
Granite Coal Diminutive ½lb 300gp
-Kobold’s Fire Tiny 1lb 35gp
-Living Oil Tiny 2lb. 18,000gp
-Mechanic’s Assistant Small 12lb 600gp 7
Mechanic’s Lenses Tiny 1lb 80gp
-Mechanic’s Tools Small 13lb 30gp
-Mechanic’s Tools, Masterwork Small 10lb 180gp
-Mechanical Lockpick Tiny 1lb 1,000gp
Metal Mosquito Fine - 2,000gp 10
Metal Mosquito, Scrying Fine - 8,000gp 10
Metalmist Tiny 1lb 30gp
-Meteorometer Small 18lb 2,500gp 11
Necromek Blood-Taster Tiny 2lb +1,000gp
-Necromek Blood-Lock Medium 75lb 10,000gp 7
Necromek Skull Homunculus Tiny 10lb 3,000gp 7
Necromek Surgeon Medium 80lb 10,000gp 8
Poison, Pain Angel Tiny 1lb 300gp
-Poison, Ironroot Tiny 1lb 3,500gp
-Predator Matrix Tiny 4lb +2,000gp
-Re-igniter Tiny 3lb +75gp
-Re-igniter, Advanced Tiny 3lb +200gp
-Re-ignition Cartridge Diminutive - 5gp
-Retch Oil Small 10lb 400gp
-Rolling Eye Diminutive ½lb 50gp 7
wielding intruders often attempt to temporarily knock them out with targeted dispel spells.
Caster LLevel: 10th Creation: Create Wondrous Item, scrying, Craft (Steamworks) 8 ranks
Arcanomech Eye, All-Seeing [Arcana, Steamwork]
This superior version of the normal arcanomech eye also sees invisible creatures, pre-venting thieves and intruders from cloaking their presence with magical spells. It also has enhanced components that need less maintenance.
Caster LLevel: 12th Creation: Create Wondrous Item, see invisibility, scrying, Craft (Steamworks) 15 ranks
Arcanomech Familiar
In a society where steam technology is avail-able, some mechanically minded wizards and sor-cerers create their own arcanomech construct as a familiar. To create the familiar, choose an animal from the list of familiars and apply the Steamwork Creature template to it (see Beasts of Steel). Arcanomech familiars are sentient and bound to their owner in exactly the same way and with the same rules as normal familiars, but do
not grant the usual special benefit of the creature.
Instead their mechanical nature grants the wizard a +2 bonus on all Craft (Steamworks) and Knowledge (Mathematics) skill checks. The process of constructing an arcanomech familiar costs 500gp and, as with normal familiars, if a familiar is destroyed another cannot be created for a year and a day.
The familiar draws its power and strength from its creator, and thus needs neither fuel nor maintenance.
Arcanomech Lamp [Arcana, Steamwork]
Another magical steamwork device, an arcanomech lamp can appear in a variety of elab-orate and eldritch forms. Any form of engine can drive it; the internal workings of the lamp harness the steam power to create heatless magical light.
The light can be any colour or even multi-coloured, and usually performs strange but allur-ing patterns and movements within the glass chamber of the device.
Caster LLevel: 6th Creation: Craft Wondrous Device, Craft (Steamworks) 5 ranks
a Guide to Fantasy Steamworks a Guide to Fantasy Steamworks
Name Size Weight Cost Maintenance DDC
Rust-Bile Tiny 1lb 150gp
-Saboteur’s Elixir Tiny 1lb 160gp
-Saboteur’s Tools Small 5lb 40gp
-Sacred Lock Medium 75lb 10,000gp 7
Scientist’s Assistant Small 30lb 600gp 7
Singing Smokestack - - +3,500gp
-Spirit Matrix Tiny 5lb +5,000gp
-Steamwork Clock Tiny 5lb 400gp 6
Steamwork Clock, Grand Small 15lb 1,800gp 8
Steamwork Drill Small 30lb 200gp 8
Steamwork Grapnel Small 9lb 300gp 8
Steamwork Hammer Medium 100lb 1,000gp 8
Steamwork Lock Medium 75lb 750gp 7
Steamwork Music-Organ Large 300lb 3,000gp 7
Steamwork Orrery Small 50lb 2,500gp 10
Steamwork Press Medium 140lb 1,800gp 10
Steamwork Sentry Small 40lb 800gp 8
Thaumometer Tiny 10lb 14,000gp 9
Volcano Crystals Tiny 1lb 2,000gp
-War-Pack Matrix Tiny 4lb +1,500gp
-Warrior Matrix Tiny 4lb +3,000gp
-Blood Oil
Blood oil is a slick liquid of crimson hue that is an excellent fuel for oil burner engines. It’s a rare occurrence to find blood oil; it seems that occa-sionally rocks in volcanic areas just seem to squeeze some out, forming little pools of what look like gore splashed around the fiery landscape, prompting claims that it is literally the blood of the world seeping from its wounds. More sinister-ly, warriors sometimes report that on battlefields strewn with carnage, blood oil can form where the most blood of the fallen pools. Whatever its ori-gin, blood oil burns fiercely and with no smoke in oil burner engines, giving off only a thin vapour that helps keep the machinery slick and moving.
An engine burning blood oil has the DC for its Maintenance checks reduced by 3. The entry in the equipment table represents enough blood oil to fuel a Medium-sized device for 1 day.
Calculation Engine [Steamwork]
A calculation is a sizeable piece of machinery studded with vents and pipes, filled with complex gears and devices. On one face, input and output keys allow for calculations to be put into the machine and for answers to be given, as well as a slot for program cards to be inserted. These are pieces of card with perforations that gears within lock into and run the engine through a set calcu-lation process within the parameters keyed in. A calculation engine allows for more advanced mathematical computations, granting a character a +4 machine bonus to Knowledge (Mathematics) checks as well as to related fields of study.
Creation: Craft (Steamworks) 10 ranks Climbers Companion
[Steamwork]
This ingenious little invention was designed originally for those wealthy gentry with a taste in the pastime of climbing, but has spread to be used by mountain travellers and adventurers too.
Effectively a very small construct with its own system of pitons and climbing gear, it can be attached to a rock surface and to a climber by some rope, and will slowly climb its way up alongside the climber. If at any time the climber should slip and fall, the
companion will bring him up short and keep him up, the small machine having an amazingly strong grip to the rock. It grants a +2 machine bonus to Climb checks and prevents a character from falling if they fail their Climb check by 5 or more.
Creation: Craft (Steamworks) 9 ranks Cloud Dust
A thin, dusty powder made from crushing spe-cial forms of coal dug up from deep mines, cloud dust can be burned as a fuel for a coal-burning engine. When combusted it pours out great clouds of smoke that curl in the air around the engine, hazing visibility in a 10ft radius. While not thick enough to cause living creatures any problems with breathing, the cloud of smoke does help con-ceal anyone in the cloud, granting ½ concon-cealment and hence a 20% miss chance against those with-in the area. The haze dissipates withwith-in 5 rounds.
Cloud dust is usually used to fuel military con-structs, giving them cover from heavy missile weapons as they approach the enemy lines. The entry in the equipment table represents enough cloud dust to fuel a Medium-sized device for 1 day.
Dragon Spittle
Dragon spittle is a thick, viscous chemical extracted from the internal organs of fire breath-ing creatures through careful selection of the right parts and deft chemical treatment. It consists of the kinds of non-flammable compounds that such creatures use to prevent their own breath weapon from blowing themselves to pieces, and when carefully applied to vulnerable parts of steam-work devices it can help protect a machine from the ravages of fire. Such heat tends to warp and damage delicate parts quite easily and can ignite oils and grease. A machine treated with dragon spittle gains a +2 bonus to saving throws against fire-based attacks; 1 dose of spittle keeps a Medium-size machine protected for a week before a new coat needs to be added. In some places, noblemen and gentry keep farms of small breathing creatures, often stunted breeds of fire-spitting drakes and suchlike, for the manufacture of dragon spittle.
Steam &
Steam & Steel Steel
Enhanced Smokestack
Many types of steamwork device are driven by furnace engines, systems which combust a fuel of some sort or another, and these devices can be fit-ted with an enhanced smokestack. Using slightly more advanced and refined processes, the device’s performance is marginally improved by better venting and cleaning out of exhaust fumes, smoke and pressure. A device with an enhanced smoke-stack allows for a re-roll on the Malfunction table whenever the device malfunctions, although the second result stands.
Creation: Craft (Steamworks) 18 ranks Erudite Matrix
Comprising of a complex crystalline matrix embedded in a chunk of delicate steamwork machinery, this item can be installed into any steamwork construct. Encoded into the matrix is a carefully programmed set of instructions that grants the steamwork a basic capability at per-forming some skill or other that needs more com-plex knowledge than the construct’s awareness possesses. An erudite matrix is keyed to one par-ticular skill, granting the construct 5 ranks in it.
Comprising of a complex crystalline matrix embedded in a chunk of delicate steamwork machinery, this item can be installed into any steamwork construct. Encoded into the matrix is a carefully programmed set of instructions that grants the steamwork a basic capability at per-forming some skill or other that needs more com-plex knowledge than the construct’s awareness possesses. An erudite matrix is keyed to one par-ticular skill, granting the construct 5 ranks in it.