Tinkering

Is tinkering a boon or a bane? This is an ongoing discussion on the Western Continent of Boresia. The 1st and the 2nd Boresian War have shown that this kind of technological advancement can be used for bad things like waging war. Also, some catastrophic accidents at the Gnome Workshop are a clear sign that building machines and constructs is highly dangerous. The dwarves and the gnomes love it, the elves hate it, the humans of Farenia are used to have the products at their hands, as those make life so much easier for many of them.

Career

Career Progression

• Tinker Apprentice (2 years)
• Tinker Assistant (2 years)
• Tinkerer
• Master Tinkerer (with special certification)
• Elder Tinkerer (based on noriety)
• High Tinkerer (elected from within the Elder Tinkerer rank)

There is only one High Tinkerer at any given time, the current one is Bjarn Gumdrop in Kidim, Technocracy of Magramine.
Every Tinkerer Workshop must have at least one certified Master Tinkerer.

Payment & Reimbursement

Tinkering comes with a danger, so payment is accordingly high. A part of that money is not being paid out but kept by the employer for three things:

• If the Tinkerer has an accident, the money is used as compensation for a lost limb, eye etc, or in case of death the money is paid out to the family.
• Half of that held back money is paid out to the Tinkerer when they retire in that same workshop. This has the effect that Tinkerers usually stay with the workshop they start at.
• There is a third option to get the money: if a Tinkerer becomes a Master Tinkerer and branches out into their own workshop, the owner of their previous workshop has to hand out the money also as starter for the new business. Part of it will automatically get charged by the Tinkerer guild for the certification fee and other expenses, but usually there is enough money left to buy or rent a small workshop and hire the first Tinker Apprentice.

Operations

Tools

Tinker Workshops need a full blacksmith's equipment and often own a proper magic laboratory.

Materials

Tinkering requires all kind of material:

• any kind of metal and alloy
• cotton
• explosives (lots of!)
• fabric (best if tearproof)
• glass
• wood
• Aeum (for magical empowered gadgets)

and more.

Workplace

Most Tinker Workshops include a testing ground huge enough for minor or medium explosions and a containment for storing "critical" material.

Provided Services

Examples of Tinkering results see Gnomish Expeditionary Force.

Dangers & Hazards

Many products of Tinkering contain explosive or otherwise dangerous components, especially gnomish R&D (Research and Development) teams tend to experiment with those until they finally conclude that the explosive bits are not needed or even totally unwanted for a product.

Type

Engineering

Famous in the Field

• Bjarn Gumdrop

Ranks & Titles

• High Tinkerer