The Rules of Invention

In the same way magic is central to most fantasy, invention and gadgeteering are the heart of dieselpunk.

1. Determine Required Skills

• Design skill from Engineering Triad or similar appropriate skill
• Weird Science allows +5

2. GM assigns complexity

Complexity	Required Skill Level	Retail Price
Simple	14 or less	Up to $100
Average	15-17	Up to $10,000
Complex	18-20	Up to $1,000,000
Amazing	21 or more	Over $1,000,000

3. Concept Roll

GM roll vs. Character Skill to determine if theory is testable.

Modifiers:

• -6 if the invention is Simple, -10 if Average, -14 if Complex, or -22 if Amazing.

Gadgeteer: -0 if the invention is Simple, -2 if Average, -4 if Complex, or -8 if Amazing.

• +5 if you have a working model you’re trying to copy
• +2 if the device already exists but you don’t have a model
• +1 to +5 if the item is a variant on a existing one
• -5 if the basic technology is totally new to the campaign (regardless of TL)
• -5 if the device is one TL above the inventor’s TL
• Weird Science: +5 if the invention is sufficiently weird

On success, inventor has successful theory and may proceed to Constructing Prototype.

On failure, inventor knows his theory is bad and may roll again next day.

On critical failure, the inventor thinks he has a workable theory and proceeds to Construct Prototype.

4. Construct Prototype

Roll vs. inventor’s skill. Use same modifiers as Concept roll, plus:

• +1 per assistant with skill 15+ (max: +4)

Each Prototype roll requires 1d-2 days if the invention is Simple, 2d days if Average, 1d months if Complex, or 3d months if Amazing.

5. Cost

The prohibitive costs of engineering require a Patron or Wealth 1 or greater.

Reference

• Adapted from Invention rules found in GURPS Basic Set, p. 473.