Introduction

All the noise in the inn died when the old warrior entered. He passed several travelers while striding towards the fireplace. They all gathered around him as soon as he sat down on his chair by the fire.

"Please, old Fareus, tell us about the travels you’ve made. Tell us about all the things you've seen," they begged. Old Fareus sat back, lighting his pipe. He smiled, for their faces expressed such eagerness.

"Well," he began, "I've met some strange people during the adventures me and my group encountered on the way. But I will never forget the day that we met the Inventor."

"An inventor? What might that be, some sort of monster?" It was the innkeeper, who had gathered with them. He stood up and wiped his hands on his apron. He looked at the warrior with an expression of disbelieve on his face. He went back to the bar and started cleaning the glasses.

"No," said Fareus, turning towards the innkeeper, "the inventor was a man like me and you. We met him at the Yafirwoods."

His face was colored yellow and red as he looked into the fire. No one made a sound.

"He addressed us and we went further together. In his right hand he carried a little black suitcase and strange devices were attached to his body. He was mumbling to himself all the way, counting and calculating. We didn't understand a thing of what he was doing, but we didn’t mind his presence. After a few miles an enormous giant came jumping out of the woods. He swung a huge club and shouted loud. We were paralyzed by its sudden appearance. Then we heard a clicking sound from the right. The inventor had opened his suitcase. 'Finally, I get to test this thing,' he muttered, drawing forth a little blindfolded creature. He put the thing down, and only then we saw that something was tied down the creature's back… with a fuse sticking out of it. The inventor placed the shrieking thing on the ground and let it go. Feeling free, it ran blind in the direction of the Giant. The latter bended forward picking up the creature and examined it closely. I don't think he saw very much because the thing exploded right in his face. He was blown backwards and didn't move any more. When we finally realized what had happened the inventor was gone. He had taken his suitcase and left."

Not a single sound was heard in the inn. Even the innkeeper had stopped cleaning his glasses. They all looked dismayed at the old warrior. Suddenly, an enormous explosion was audible. The sound came from outside the inn and everybody rushed at the door, leaving only the old warrior, grinning to himself by the fire.

From: The Warrior's Tales, Fareus’ Gatherings.

The inventor is a person who wants to create items that will make his life, and mostly combat, easier. He can be a fearsome opponent in battle although he will never be in the front. He rather remains at a distance firing his inventions into the enemy ranks. Normal melee weapons are hard to handle for him. He can become proficient in melee weapons but will still suffer a penalty of -2 to attack and +2 to initiative.

Although many of his inventions have the same effect as magic, they work in an entirely different way. They are mostly artificial and handmade. In fact, most inventors detest magic and refuse to use, or even come close to it. Their goal is to create items that will make magic needless. They are technically very advanced and intelligent. Inventors always have new ideas for new inventions, many of them impossible to create because of the lack of suitable material. The inventor’s path of life leads from invention to invention with a lot of explosions in between. An inventor needs a laboratory at 1^st level. This laboratory won’t take up as much space as a wizard’s lab. An adventuring inventor, who has to travel a lot, can do with a movable lab; building it in a covered wagon. Playing an inventor can be a lot of fun when the DM is cooperative. He must make sure that inventing is not too easy and not too hard and he could come up with very funny incidents (misfires, sudden explosions). A lot of things can happen if the inventor mixes the wrong ingredients. Players’ own initiatives on new inventions should be encouraged from 1^st level on.

An inventor cannot be lawful good. Although his intentions are mostly good, some of his inventions will not mix with lawful alignment. The impplosives for instance or the research needed on dead animals (they have to die first). Players can be lawful good, but in this case they will have to behave accordingly. Some inventions will be out of reach for these characters. The inventor can not multiclass.

Besides a backpack the inventor usually carries a little black suitcase to store several inventions. In battle he has his bombs and stuff by hand. The suitcase is drawn further on.

As you read on you will find the ways to create an inventor. You will have a lot of freedom in doing so. That’s the strength of this class, no inventor is the same!

Back         Next