ideas for new tech related feats...

[Reese]

just had an idea for a new tech-related feat...

field maintainance

you can maintain a number of steam powers in the field.

prerequisite: int 13+, 2 ranks in craft(mechcraft), membership in an organization that regularly uses steam powers
benifit:
you can maintain 1 steam power, +1 per five character levels, for one week without any of them ceasing to function. for each day after the first week, make a knowledge (steam engines) check (dc 10 + the number of powers being maintained + the number of days without proper maintainence by a character with steam powers), if you succeed, all functioning powers continue to function for another day. if you fail, one randomly selected power ceases to function. if you fail by 5 or more, one randomly selected power breaks and must be repaired at a cost of 50% of the normal cost to make.
if the power that stops functioning or breaks is part of a larger device, the entire device malfunctions in some way appropriate to the part that malfunctioned (half power, complete non-function, or loss of only the single part's contribution to the whole)

this feat does not allow you to craft steam powers, only maintain them.

Any steam power that ceases to function (or is broken) can only be restored by a character who has steam powers as a class ability (restoring a non-functional steam power counts against a character's normal maximum maintainable steam powers, when a character restores a steam power, he must choose one of his own to allow to stop functioning)

special:
this feat cannot be taken by a character who gains steam powers beacause of class levels, and steam powers that a character can maintain through normal means becasue of class levels gained after taking this feat count against the number of powers this feats allows the maintainence of (each power that can be properly maintained replaces a power that can be field maintained... field maintainence can't replace proper maintainence)

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the idea is that anyone going on a patrol in a mech with one or two steam powers can have this feat and use it to maintain communication devices (or whatever the one or two powers are)

it also provides skilled labor the ability to work to maintain the equipment and steam powers employed in some city mechs that have a low percentage of coglayers (say, a lot of rich dwarves on Durgan-lok who think they deserve lighting fixtures throughout thier homes, for instance)

the special restriction at the end is so a coglayer or steam borg doesn't just take the feat to get even more extra steam powers, but someone who has the feat and later takes levels in a class that grants steam powers doesn't lose the ability to maintain powers

[cssmythe3]

just had an idea for a new tech-related feat...

field maintainance
you can maintain 1 steam power, +1 per five character levels, for one week without any of them ceasing to function.

Great Idea! I would throw in the INT mod:
you can maintain the following number of steam powers:
1+INT_MOD+(1 per five character levels)

Given this is JUST maintaining, I might lower it to 1per four character levels.

Other possibilities: If I can maintain, say 4 powers with this feat, and my mech only has two, I can double all the time scales (extra time paying attention to the devices), so first check in 2 weeks, every 2 days thereafter.

Good Stuff!

[Reese]

and another one:

Self Maintaining

Prerequisite: level 6 steampower user

you can make steam powers that last

Benifit

you can construct steam powers that do not take up a steampower slot because they are self-maintaining

any steam power constructed using this feat uses half again the normal amount of power size units (rounded up), weighs twice as much, and costs 100 times as much to construct as would a normal power of it's type

any power constructed using this feat requires double assistants (or 2, if normally 0) but otherwise follows all normal rules in terms of construction and normal usage

the power requires no regular maintainence from a steam power user, but must have any consumable parts replaced as normal to continue functioning (charges for a pilot light, for instance)

special:
a clockwork puppet does not increase in size catagory through the sue of this feat, even though the number of power size units would indicate otherwise.

the use of this feat doubles the number of hitpoints a power with hitpoints has, however, as the power's parts are better constructed and require more damage cease functioning
such items also gain a heal rate of 1hp/week * size catagory above medium, minimum 1hp/week, as the auto-correcting nature of the design actaully repairs some damage over time

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i was thinking about how mages can make magic items, and i figured that, if anything, coglayers and otehr steam power users should be able to make lasting items as well, hence this idea

i modeled the feat after the craft wonderous item feat, but doubled the minimum level to learn it, i am also considering adding a craft (mechcraft) or knowledge(steam engines) pre-requisite to the feat

the *100 price was supposed to bring the prices of items up to that of comparable magic items... but the nature of the costs of magic items mean that steam powers cost more than comparable magic items that imitate low-level spells, but are much cheaper than magic items that imitate high-level spells (it's a flat curve for technology and a exponential curve for magic items)

pricing needs some work, but i think it's a good rough draft