Archetype: Technomancer

In this decidedly non-traditional fantasy, you have emerged as a decidedly non-traditional fantasy wizard. Your specialty falls with the blending of magic with technology. It’s naïve to think that if magic were to exist in the real world that no one would attempt to mix the two in some way. As long you’re not inhabiting that annoying setting where magic breaks down technology, there would be those wanting to combine them. Already, there are spells employing technology in some way, you focus on melding the two in personal ways. While everyone else tries to hide what they can do, you brandish it openly

Mechanical Homunculus

Beginning when you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you build yourself a semi-magical familiar; this is not an animal spirit but a mechanism you have instilled with life and a modicum of intelligence. This machine can take an animal form you choose: bat, cat, crab, frog (toad), hawk, lizard, octopus, owl, snake, fish, rat, raven, sea horse, spider, weasel, or any other Small or smaller animal you can think up (GM’s allowance). The familiar has the statistics of the chosen form, though it is a construct instead of a beast.

Instead of animal forms, the GM may allow you to select a robot from the Antagonists chapter instead. You can take a day of construction to disassemble your familiar and give it a new form.

Your familiar acts independently of you, but it always obeys your commands. In combat, it rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. A familiar can't attack, but it can take other actions as usual. When the familiar drops to 0 Hit Points, it falls apart, requiring a day of engineering work to reassemble. While your familiar is within 100 feet of you, you can communicate with it telepathically. Additionally, as an action, you can see through your familiar's eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses that the familiar has. During this time, you are deaf and blind concerning your own senses. Finally, when you cast a spell with a range of touch, your familiar can deliver the spell as if it had cast the spell. Your familiar must be within 100 feet of you, and it must use its reaction to deliver the spell when you cast it. If the spell requires an attack roll, you use your attack modifier for the roll.

At 3rd level, you can't have more than one familiar at a time. At 11th level, you can operate two familiars at once, or have one familiar replicating an animal form up to Medium size. At 18th level, you can operate three Small or smaller familiars or two Medium familiars at once, or have one familiar replicating an animal form up to Large size.

If you have not selected the magus class, you also gain a +2 bonus to your vessel and a +1 bonus to your asset.

Raw Energy

Starting at 7th level, you can use your vessel to recharge energy cells. Regardless of listed cell capacities, you can spend 3 dark to recharge a B cell, 6 for an M cell, and 12 for an H cell. To recharge a single cell costs an action. If you are proficient with the Engineering skill, you can also use Vigor for Engineering instead of Intelligence.

Additionally, when repairing or crafting technological objects (at least TL1), you can use magic as if it was currency. Each day you can spend 20% more a day in currency in your build schedule; this extra 20% is in magic and does not cost currency. You must be able to provide the regular amount in currency to gain the magical bonus.

If you have not selected the magus class, you also gain a +2 bonus to your vessel and a +1 bonus to your asset.

Vessel

A vessel is a character’s total dark pool; once this value is depleted, a character can no longer cast spells. A character can never possess a dark value larger than her vessel. As a spell is cast, the cost of the spell is reduced from one’s vessel. Thankfully, vessel is the raw potential of dark and is a renewable resource, ever recharging. It can even be quickly replenished with specific concoctions. It is also entirely possible that vessel is not an inherent natural resource at all, and is something held in a physical container, either outside of the body or as an implant (see Dark Gear).

A starting vessel score is equal to half that character’s Vigor ability score (not modifier) + level. All characters with a Vigor score of 8 or higher gain access to vessel—it is not reserved by a specific class. As we will see later, a vessel’s value can be adjusted by background, feats, and archetypes.

For example, a 1st level character with a Vigor score of 16 possesses a vessel of 9, while a 10th level character with a vigor score of 20 possesses a vessel of 20.

Vessel Regeneration

On your turn, you can regenerate your vessel. Select ONE of the following on your turn:

• Use a free action to regain 1 lost point from your vessel.
• Use a bonus action to regain 2 lost points to your vessel.
• Use an action to regain a number of points to your vessel equal to 1+ your Vigor modifier (this is your default VR score and can be modified by class features).

Asset

Unlike vessel, which can be measured, asset is more esoteric. At character generation, you gain an asset value equal to your Vigor modifier. This can be used at character generation and when reaching a new level to purchase dark spells. When a spell is purchased, the asset value is reduced by that spell’s cost.

Your asset value is akin to currency—though it cannot be lost or stolen. It can, however, be saved (banked), allowing the purchase of more expensive spells later on. Like vessel, your asset score can be increased via background selection and the addition of feats.

By default, each time you reach a new level, you gain a bonus to your asset score equal to your Vigor modifier. Asset is the one value that cannot be adjusted through cybernetics, mechanisms, or consumables.

River

While asset and vessel represent constantly adjusting values, your river is relatively fixed. The river is your bank of quick-reference spells that can be called upon in an instant’s notice to be cast. The river is a simple value equal to your Vigor modifier—you can assign any spell into the river except for rituals.

For example, a character with a Vigor modifier of 16 can hold 3 spells in her river.

Any spell with a casting time of one minute is reduced to an action while in the river.

Any spell with a casting time of one action is reduced to a bonus action while in the river.

Any spell with a casting time of one bonus action can be used once per turn as a free action while in the river.

Anytime you finish a short or long rest, you can swap out any spells you possess in your river.

Spells with a casting time longer than one minute cannot be placed in a character’s river. You are not required to put a prerequisite spell of a more powerful spell in the river to cast that more powerful spell from your river.