Time for me to expose my ignorance but, here is my take on Gadgeteer:
Gadgeteer is a specialized form of Unusual Background. It exist to slap a point cost on access to a less restrictive version of the rules for inventing (or re-inventing) technology that is more advanced than what is current available, whether to just a specific group (like the PCs) or to society in general. Also as a prerequisite (or justification) for taking certain other Advantages. That I haven't seen anyone else say this has me wondering if I've
completely misunderstood the trait, or if it was simply supposed to go without saying.
I wonder if there ought to be a third level of Gadgeteer; not something above Quick Gadgeteer but below the regular Gadgeteer. It is probably better handled through Limitations on Gadgeteer, but given my view of it as an Unusual Background, I just think there's room for a "realistic" version that mostly serves as an after-the-fact, game-mechanic justification for the success of some real-world inventors. This could be borne of me overestimating the difficult of Gadgeteering.
I am curious what Enhancements or Limitations one has applied to Gadgeteer, especially after reading
Quote:
Originally Posted by johndallman
Hidebound is a very poor idea for them...
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I mean, it is sound advice, but then I wondered about those who are better at
refining existing technology rather than inventing wholly new technology. That might be a blurry line - again, I have a weak grasp of the inventing and gadgeteering rules - but it sounds kind of fun in a weird way. You don't invent the car, but you figure out how to make it run better, be produced more efficiently, or be used more safely. Given the major concern of Gadgeteer's advancing technology a little too quickly for the GM to manage, this struck me as a potential compromise. You don't go full on Force (from [i]X-Men[i]), or even
MacGyver on adventures, but if you're still a Quick Gadgeteer you're turning battlefield trash into treasure.
One last thing, though I know I'm already running long. Does Gadgeteer affect things like analyzing existing equipment or plans for equipment? I know, I know; I had to have just missed this somewhere, but especially with a Quick Gadgeteer, this seems like it would come up. Just seems like it might be a satisfying way for the party to discover the "weak point" in a vehicle, structure, robot, etc.