steam power ideas

Medieval fantasy mechs powered by steam, magic, or the labor of a thousand slaves.

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abe
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steam power ideas

Post by abe »

not sure what way to make it but here goes
saw+puppet+puppet+saw+boiler+gripper
not sure what this item would look like or how it would be called.
please help in that department
I have never played this game before!
Last edited by abe on Wed May 27, 2009 4:24 pm, edited 2 times in total.
goodmangames
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Post by goodmangames »

Hi there,

Glad you picked up DragonMech! I'd be happy to help you with making mechs, or other such things.

So with the info above, you realize you're building a steam power creation, not a mech, right? The rules for building a mech can be found in the Mechs chapter of DragonMech. What you've got above would be a coglayer contraption -- sounds like some sort of mean buzzsawin' machine. ;)
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abe
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Post by abe »

thanks! I meant coglayer contraption(I don't have any dragonmech books,so please excuse my ignorance at times.)
abe
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Post by abe »

heres another batch of items for you to puzzle over.
puppet x 3+wheels+chain x 2 +gripper.
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Post by Antman »

a self-animated tow truck perhaps???? i can't be too sure anytrhing that i try to design generally has a purpose behind it, not just throwing parts together and wondering what it is
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Post by mythfish »

I must confess I rather like the "throwing parts together and wondering what it is" game, though. It's an interesting way of looking at the rules that might let you come up with things you wouldn't otherwise think of.
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Post by cssmythe3 »

Gripper wheels and chain?

What/where are these from?
-Chuck Smith
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Post by Guest »

remember I don't have the book so I thot that these were in the book.
Guest

Post by Guest »

heres a sort of reverse
rollor skates with mini tank treads?
Reese
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Post by Reese »

abe, you might want to edit your first post and change the name to "steam power idea" so everyone knows what the thread is about

here's an idea i call "Reese's wonderful elemental rifle" (cause i suck at names :P )

cost: 510gp (+200 per extra amplifyer)
assistants: 2 (amplifyers require two assistants)
size: huge (74 + 6 per extra amplifyer)
weight: 26lb ( + 1 per extra amplifyer)

this huge weapon (thank goodness for integrated parts) can be switched between four attack modes:
line, cone, burst, and touch (raw)

and does either 1d6 fire damage (and sets things on fire in one round of continuous contact) or 1d4 electrical damage (with a +2 on attack rolls against metal targets)

it contains enough fuel for 10 shots of fire damage, and has no known limit on the number of electrical attacks (beyond the nessesary fuel to run the steam engine)

the light function sheds light in a 40' by 40' area centered on the device

it can also shed light in a cone 320' long when using the pump, and will blind targets within 80 feet (ranged touch attack vs. opponents eyes, dc16 reflex save, failure = blinded for 1d6 rounds)

billows + pump + lobber + nozzle + amplifyer (multiple) + nozzle + spark generator + pilot light + light generator

suggestions:

removing the light generator will lower the size to large (making it a two handed weapon for medium sized characters) and allow for a second amplifyer without increasing the size to large again

at first opportunity, use integrated parts to lower size, making room for more amplifyers.
order of integration priority: (integrate with anything size 6 or smaller)
light generator (16)
pump (12)
spark generator (12)
billows (10)
lobber (8)

add more elemental generators as designs (and 'integrated parts' uses) become available, as fire, light, and lightning are somewhat limited...

(i can't just throw parts together and wonder what they'll make, 'cause it goes against what they teach in my programming logic classes, i need a purpose if i'm going get my mind to produce anything)
Namfoodle "Sparklediver" Raulnor
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Post by Guest »

I don't know how to edit the title,sorry.
abe
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Post by abe »

wheels+chains x 6 + bellows=?
thats the next challenge!
abe
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Post by abe »

:bump:
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Post by Harley Stroh »

This story broke too close to the printing of DragonMech to be included in the campaign book, but explorers recently discovered documents from the 1st Age of Walkers proving that the original impetus for experimenting with steam power was to build moonshine stills for dwarf miners.

The title "coglayer" is actually a mistranslation from an Early Dwarf Tongue. The progenitors of today’s steam engineers were actually termed "grog-slayers," or more accurately, "one who slays with grog."

Modern coglayers can imitate their predecessors with the following steam powers: pilot light + amp + dehumidifier.
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abe
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Post by abe »

flame nozzle+gripper+puppet=flame man!
Reese
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Post by Reese »

out of curiosity, what's a gripper, and what does it do? i don't recall ever seeing one in either the homebrew posted here or in the main book
Namfoodle "Sparklediver" Raulnor
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Post by Guest »

basically a gripper is an clockwerk attachment that give the contraption a FIRM grip!
abe
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Post by abe »

:bump:
abe
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Post by abe »

blaster+puppet x2+scanner=?
abe
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Post by abe »

:boing: :oops:
Sword Guy
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Post by Sword Guy »

Okay, here's a few steam power combinations I designed:

Automator + Lobber + Boiler = Grenade Launcher.
Just put a bunch of pressure bombs into the hopper, and pull the trigger! The automator picks up a pressure bomb, lights it, and then activates the lobber. The lobber uses the boiler to simply launch the thing at large distances (range increment 60 feet) and the pressure bomb explodes when it lands! Pretty nifty, eh?

Flame Nozzle + Pump + Nozzle = Flame Cannon.
A flame nozzle has too short a range sometimes, or maybe you're just looking to avoid frying your friends. In any case, this combo allows you to send out the flames in a direct line, without the extra cost of including a pilot light. But, if needed, you can switch it to a cone for that extra punch at short range.

Force Generator + Amplifier + Amplifier + Animator + Flywheel = Barrier System.
This is a great invention. Not only does the force generator reconfigure itself constantly, but if you tune the settings right you can even use it to protect you in melee! It blocks attacks from opponents that attacked you the last round, even if they've moved a square in any direction. Thanks to the complicated flywheel system, though, any opponents that attack you from any of those targeted squares are blocked as well. Then, the machine adds them to the list of things to protect from. All in all, a very useful device.
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Post by Warmonger »

Well, as I've been running a game with a coglayer in it for a while, I suppose I could regale you all with what he hath wraught.

This used up all of his starting steam powers, btw.

Metal legs, on which was mounted; the iron arm+animator+discriminator combo from the book with a human-sized buzzaxe on the end, though I ruled that, as a gnome wanting to use a human size weapon he had to double up the iron arms; the force projector for a shield, and a dehumidifier so that he didn't need to worry about filling up the water tanks. Add a tower shield-sized piece of metal on a swivel mount, a seat in between all this and right next to the legs' controls, and you have 'The Adventuring Boots'. Yes, this gnome coglayer has made himself into a melee combatant. I ruled that he has total cover when he's got his faceplate up, so all the damage goes to the Boots, which have less hit points than he does. He even has a nasty trick of, when he gets into combat, he parks kinda close to the front line, opens up the faceplate, and pelts the enemy with his crossbow. This goads them into attacking, where the buzzaxe chews them up. It's fun to watch.

And now that the party's reached Edge and he bought some more parts, he's planning on putting in a flywheel so he can get into combat faster, and a muffler (homebrew steam power) so he's not quite so noticable in dungeons.
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abe
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Re: steam contraption idea

Post by abe »

puppet times 4 + a pair of bear traps + gripper + chains & boiler? :mrgreen:
abe
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Re: steam power ideas

Post by abe »

blaster+puppet x2+scanner=
automated self-firing gun!
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Re: steam contraption idea

Post by Oaksoul Elite »

abe wrote:puppet times 4 + a pair of bear traps + gripper + chains & boiler? :mrgreen:
I'm getting the idea of the ultimate entangle grenade. It wouldn't quite work with the combo as shown, but throw in a folder and animator (you can remove clockwork puppets), and it sounds amazing. You toss it (or plant it as a trap), and all of a sudden chains spring to life, wrapping around, biting in so they won't let go, and tightening. So it would restrain you and deal ongoing damage, and that damage would probably increase with time. Nasty, nasty thing.
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