Engineering (Pitch)

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Xandrea
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Engineering (Pitch)

Post by Xandrea »

Considering we have the Khaldeans and they're all about technological advancement. Well. Firstly allow me to touch on something. I'm aware that we're not a full blown steampunk adventure. Though I do think that we can use what elements of steampunkery we have and make something amazing with it!

I've never got my hand on an artifact but, with the contexts I've seen they sound to be like gadgets. If artifacts are made to give little bonuses/abilities with a cooldown then perhaps we can make use of this idea for something man-made. Engineers would require a logistic sense of communication. Tailors for ropes, Smiths for metals and the Engineer themself may have to branch out into other professions to some degree in order to make 'specialty' parts that they invent. Invention would be a cornerstone of being an engineer. You're making what hasn't been made before. (That said other Engineers would likely come up with similar ideas for advancement- this would explain why they make similar inventions)

Going off how I think an Engineer would be. I'd think they would be making things that differ on metal types. Brass for gears/sensitive machines/parts. Iron/Steel for housings or face plates. Really the idea of engineering would be REALLY broad and I understand that this shouldn't make the profession one that becomes a Jack of all Trades but, I do think it should have some token parts for that. Engineers would not be combat classes but, they could make certain limited-use combat mechanisms.

Now that I've said limited-use I should explain how I think these should work. I believe that anything an Engineer makes would have to be powered and there are three methods.

Electric- Anything electric can NOT have a battery. Outside of limited capacitors I do not want to be responsible nor suggest that we're getting ready for the industrial revolution of Tesla. Electricity is poorly understood. Capacitors are crudely made and can only store up a handfull of uses before relying on either GEAR power or STEAM power to recharge. Capacitors should be BIG. My suggestion for these is to make them Engineer specific and something you have to craft that takes up a backpack slot or even two. (So to be clear. You're essentially carrying the battery bank on your back. Using uninsulated wires to power Engineer special tools and mechanisms.) If anyone other than an Engineer picks up a Capacitor Bank they should be able to use them but, be unable to know how to recharge them as they would be unfamiliar with how it is powered and why.

Steam- Anything powered by steam requires to be refuelled at some point. It should be pressure-based. Whether it's launching projectiles or being used to spin a rotary mechanism to build up electric power to power a mechanism. Steam is very pneumatic by design. Similar to the Capacitor Bank idea I think that using up a backpack slot or a belt slot to have pressurized tanks of steam on-person would be the method of carrying it. Unless you're shoving heavy tanks of it into your back which I reiterate would be cumbersome and heavy.

Gear- This is manual and by far the most character-taxing resource to use. Anything that is powered by gears requires you to by hand wind it up. This is both time consuming and energy costly. For all of these drawbacks it is the easiest to maintain and use. From simple time keepers to winding a spring-powered mechanism this would be the only universally usable item made by engineers.



With these ideas of guidelines put down I'll pitch things that I believe could be useful for Engineers, Crafters, and Combat-centric characters alike. ((AKA how would this profession be useful?))

Crafters- Anything that could Limitedly automate or assist certain crafting steps. An Engineer could create a power hammer for Smiths (speeding up bar shaping).. A rotor to automatically spin a Loom (Speeding up crafting)..

Combat-Centric- Pneumatically powered armaments. Best example I have here is a rectangular chamber that builds up pressure from steam or alternatively winding a powerful spring using gears as a transmission box. This would let you use the spear as a regular combat impliment. Where the pressure comes into play? Either this spear will deal an additional set damage for as long as the aping has tension or for as long as there is pressure the spear juts out for extra force. ALTERNATIVELY you could [Activate Spear] which for howevermuch power is stored can deal it all in one HARD blow increasing damage die considerably but, making the weapon a far weaker fighting impliment until it is repressurized or re-wound.


This is about all I think I should say for the time being. What do you all think of it? If the idea is to be entertained more should this be more limited? (I know I tend to really take things far so it probably needs to be more limited)
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Rias
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Re: Engineering (Pitch)

Post by Rias »

Engineering is on the "hopefully I can make this work and feel meaningful" list, so please post more engineering-geared ideas! I'm very wary of electricity, but I'd love to work in steam and spring power in a way that doesn't invalidate/overpower other things.
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Xandrea
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Re: Engineering (Pitch)

Post by Xandrea »

Then i'll curb this more to Steampowered/Pneumatics and gearbox based mechanisms and ideas. I do want to touch on electricity at some point but, that's a SLIPPERY SLOPE. So for now let's omit anything electrical based. I'll move forward with the notion that any and all inventions are physically active. (As in physically activated and powered.)
I will admit that alot of my inspiration comes from Minecraft mod Immersive Engineering. That has the perfect Steampunk feel down and thus it makes me feel slightly more qualified. Because I'm passionate about this stuff!

Alot of engineering ideas to mind are combat-centric but, I don't want Engineering being all about how you can defeat an enemy. It's not a combat class but, is capable of making such armaments.

So my proposition for weapons comes down to a hypothetical guideline.
  • Any weapon made must have a resource to be effective. Be this in the capacity that it only does it's good damage when there are resources in the pool else you expend the resource manually in order to 'activate' an attack.
  • Any weapons made should only be truly repairable by an engineer. (Preferably from the same engineer that created it.)
  • These weapons should be permanent in their construction but, not their effectiveness. Parts will wear down and need to be replaced. (This may be a theme)
To figure out any internal problems an Engineer could likely make use of the MODIFY command ex: MODIFY INSPECT or simply INSPECT.


Now that i've got the murder-hobos covered. What tools should an Engineer expect to be familiar with? It's likely that this number will be higher than most professions.
  • Hammer
  • Allan Wrench
  • Screwdriver
  • Writing Implements
  • Blueprints (Tailors trace on cloth. You trace on Blueprints. Blueprints that make items which can't fit in your hands will be placed on the ground and may possibly be done in stages if the system has that much leeway.)
  • Measuring Implement (this should have a universal version. That suggests Measuring sticks/tape, Protractors, Levels)
  • Toolbelt (You've gotta hold all of that stuff somewhere!)
  • Lathe (Stirling engine powered.)
  • Blowtorch
If you can practically smell the brimstone forge then you already understand this will require alot of smithing. Metal gears, housings. Engineering is a long art-form. It won't be easy or have a sense of instant gratification.

Smithing! The right hand man of an Engineer. The foundation of creation and one of the cornerstones of advancement.
Nails / Screws / Pins / Plates / Gears or Cogs / Flywheels
These are the first set of forgable items I can think of. Yes nails are redundancy to cover bases.
I'll let this information sit to stew whilst i try to come up with a more comprehensive list of ideas of things that could be made with the given items.
How many Sorcerers does it take to read a book?
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