Gadgeteer

Thantos

Nice!

I figured +10 for a single bonus to attack was too much. even it if was right it would probably be a combination of other factors that should be spelled out. I also considered that as it was the AI maybe it was supposed to be that it always rolls 10+int... but depending on the enemy AC that is either way to powerful, or useless...

Mage Hand Press

Recharge values are basically reserved for monsters -- it's very unusual when players get that mechanic for any reason. For the time being, I've bumped it to an action to use, which isn't incredibly elegant (since all the other devices in that prototype use a bonus action), but fixes the problem.

Mage Hand Press

I _probably_ won't, since A) there's some loose guidelines in the DMG which should still apply here, and B) I want to give DMs the ability to mess with prices on their own to some extent. The second I affix a price to items, it's a rigid fact.

TheNightNinja

Are you going to provide a suggest pricing scheme for the magic items in Dark Matter? Since it's expected they can be purchased it would be nice to know how much they cost. Figuring something like that out always seems iffy from the dm side. Since you designed it you know roughly how easy they should be to get. :)

TheNightNinja

Could just give it a recharge value. In fiction it needs time to get enough energy to perform that action. It gets energy from the surrounding environment, so the rate is somewhat random.

Mage Hand Press

This is at 17th level, where you expect Intelligence + proficiency bonus to equal 11, but I see what you're saying -- in fact, this is probably a typo. I'll switch it to Int + prof.

For the Autonomous Frame gadget, it states "Its attack bonus equals 10 + your Intelligence modifier" This seems to be a pretty high number for an attack bonus, shouldn't it be proficiency + Intelligence?

Justin Forkner

That's pretty cool! I like it, and I think it would be a cool design space to have an AI focused subclass in the future

Mage Hand Press

A few reasons, but the biggest was that we delegated the different tiers of gameplay to different parts of the class. The core class offers offense (in the Overcharge feature), the prototypes offer defense, the gadgets offer utility, and the AI offers interaction. In this conception, the AI is more of a voice in your ear, rather than something that has a lot of agency on its own.

Justin Forkner

Just curious though what led to the decision to limit AI to knowledge checks and construct disruption? I just see ai pop up in pop culture that can do so much more for example Sam from Mass Effect and Jarvis from Iron Man

Mage Hand Press

It's possible I'll have to make it a 'roll of 10' situation, or have the number scale with your Intelligence or proficiency modifier. I'll take a look at it in detail tonight to see which solutions make the most sense. And any time! Only about half of balancing is getting the numbers to work right; the rest of the time, it's about making options _feel_ right, so I'm always listening and tweaking things to get into the right spot.

Mage Hand Press

It's a new skill in Dark Matter that'll be detailed in full in next month's book, alongside Intelligence (Technology) and Dexterity (Piloting).

Justin Forkner

I know I have been commenting on balance of class features a lot! I really like it and appreicate you guys responding so quickly to my questions, concerns, etc.

Justin Forkner

I know it scales by adding other skill at levels and you can choose between class level or 10, but that means that the bonus isn't adjusted until level 11. Also, in my personal experience most relavent knowledge checks require a DC of 15 so until you are 3/4 through leveling not sure how ofter auto 10s matters Also, if we were to use expertise as an alternative with an 18 in INT you are virtually guarunteed a result of 10 at level 1 (on a roll of 2)

Stephan Gosswiller

This is the first time I've seen an Intelligence (Data) . Was this in Dark Matter?

Justin Forkner

Probably, in line for lvl 1 but this feature seems underwhelming at level 10, where as other classes level 1 features are often more impactful intially or scale with level.

Mage Hand Press

This feature makes the final result a 10, rather than the die roll.

Justin Forkner

Does the AI function similar to Reliable Talent for Rogues and effect the roll or is the acutal skill result treated as a 10. By 11th level, you have refined your chosen skills until they approach perfection. Whenever you make an ability check that lets you add your proficiency bonus, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10.

Mage Hand Press

I haven't done a deep dive into it, but probably blasters and tools, no armor.

Justin Forkner

Whay proficiencies does one get from multiclassing into this?

Justin Forkner

Cool cool because this class is amazing but that was certainly an issue.

Mage Hand Press

This is something I'm looking at modifying. The core idea with that Prototype is that you always have a way out of danger, but the Cloaking Device is seeming too strong in a lot of cases (it's the obvious go-to whenever you can use it.) I'll probably either make it an action or add a times/rest requirement to it.

Justin Forkner

Since it's a bonus action you could just do each at the end of turn to keep up permanent disadvantage for attacks against you.

Justin Forkner

Is cycling between smoke bomb and cloaking device every round a little strong for second level?

Mage Hand Press

Good question: just that particular mode.

Justin Forkner

So on the utility matrix when it says this gadget cannot be used the following round does that mean that particular mode, or the utility matrix itself?

Mage Hand Press

We haven't actually done a substantial multiclassing overview for our classes. It's a job for us to tackle one of these days, but for now I recommend comparing the multiclassing requirements to those of similar classes (in this case, the wizard.)

S L Hall

This reminds me... I can't seem to find multiclassing rules for any Mage Hand Press base classes. Where would I find those

Mage Hand Press

Thanks for pointing that out -- almost an entire sentence got deleted somehow. I'll fix that right away

Richard Ascencio

Hey guys, weird thing on the Utility Matrix for 2nd level the grappling hook feature's description says, "As a reaction when you fall, or as a bonus action on your turn, you can project a grappling normally."

Mage Hand Press

Anytime! Let me know if you have any other questions

I very much missed that connection. Thank you

Mage Hand Press

Yeah, so the drones are actually magic items that are in the equipment chapter (read some poetry to find enlightenment on this point.) They require attunement and they're uncommon IIRC

Maybe its my lack of familiarity with this world that leaves me slightly confused. I didn't realize they should be regularly able to be purchased. It almost makes sense for them to be a gadget unique to the archetype. Also, are they intended to take attunement slots?

Mage Hand Press

Drones are fairly cheap -- I expect that players will be purchasing them pretty regularly by 4th level or so. Do you think this needs more free drones?

The swarmmaster seems to be missing when you gain additional drones

Mage Hand Press

Yup -- it should have Simple Weapons as well. Fixing that soon

Greymire

The proficiencies only mention blasters for the gadgeteer