The Machinist Class, 1st Playtest
Presented here are the first 8 levels of a new class, the Machinist, along with two subclasses, the time manipulating Chronometer and the peerless arms master Ultimate Weapon.
Machinists eschew the arcane for the mechanical, foregoing the power of magic for the seemingly inevitable progress of technology. These adventurers are not industrialists churning replicas out of factories but inventors, testing their creations in the field and making adjustments on the fly. Play a machinist if you want to portray a visionary at odds with a world whose institutions rely on magic, a believer in the equalizing effects of technological progress, or an obsessive creator hellbent on proving the value of their mechanical marvels.
The machinist is a martial class with three elements that define its identity.
Experimental Armaments. Machinists fight with a unique self-created arsenal called Experimental Armaments. Although mediocre warriors with traditional weapons, the novelty of their own designs emboldens machinists and makes them capable combatants whether they’re using a custom lightning saber, a flail ending in an everburning orb of alchemist’s fire, or a bee hive launcher.
Ingenious Inventions. Although machinists are idiosyncratic by nature, they share a common understanding of mechanics that allows them to create Ingenious Inventions. These inventions enhance a machinist’s abilities, or grant them wholly new abilities, that can help them solve the diverse challenges of adventuring. These inventions are further improved by upgrades machinists can reconfigure during downtime.
Magnum Opuses. Every machinist has a magnum opus, a creation so profound it defines their life and legacy. With these devices, machinists can pilot giant constructs, manipulate the flow of time, and more.
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