Tinker's Tools - v 1.1
Your set of tools may be dirty and grimy, your blueprints smudged up, but that's never stopped you from creating wonderful and magnificent creations!
Tinker's Tools
The following text replaces the text found on pg. 85 of Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Tinker's Tools include a variety of hand tools, saws, screwdrivers, wrenches, small oil dropper, rubber tubing, and other strange gadgets.
Tinker's Tools weigh 10 lbs and cost 50 gp.
Crafting
To craft an object, you must have proficiency in the use of tinker's tools and you must know the object you wish to craft. After choosing the item to craft, you then must gather the required ingredients and then begin crafting the item.
You can craft three different types of objects: Mundane, Mechanical, and Magical. Generally, the more complex an item is, the more likely it is going to be magical. Crafted items, once created, last until they are broken and any item that is more complex than Mundane requires a blueprint to build.
Using Your Tools
When you wish to construct an object, you must first have blueprints to work from, unless you are attempting to make a Mundane object.
Blueprints
To create blueprints, you must spend 8 hours working on your blueprints and then make an Intelligence (Tinker's Tools) check. The DC is determined by the type of object you are attempting to create and it's complexity. When you are creating your blueprints, there are no gold costs for this day. On a failed check, you make no progress for this day and must spend another day creating a set of blueprints.
Crafting the Object
Once you have your blueprints, you can begin assembling your object. You must gather the raw materials and then spend several hours crafting the item. The raw materials are abstracted out into a gold cost for the object, and you must spend that amount of gold for every 8 hours of work on the object. Once you finish 8 hours of work on the object, you must attempt a Dexterity (Tinker's Tools) check to make progress on your object.
On a failed check, the gold cost for the past 8 hours is expended but you make no progress on your object. You must pay the gold cost again and re-attempt the check after 8 hours.
The DC for crafting an object is based on the object you are attempting to create and it's complexity.
Mundane Objects
Mundane objects are simple items that don't require much work to produce. They often feature very few moving parts and very simple in their construction. These items don't require a blueprint to produce them, only time and a few raw materials.
Mechanical Objects
For more complex and mechanical pieces, Mechanical objects use a tiny bit of magic but largely rely on your engineering abilities and skill. These objects are often seen as marvels of magic by the general population, even if they use no magic in them. These items require a blueprint to produce them due to their complexity.
Magical Objects
For some of the most complicated objects, magical objects are a blend of magic and technology that must be powered and can only work if magic is placed in them. While a tinkerer doesn't have to be proficient in magic to craft such an item, they need something magical to power the item. This could be miasma, residue from a slain elemental, or something else that contains magic in its essence.
This tool will use miasma as it's base, but your world may feature something else like a runestone with a small reservoir of magic.
Miasma
This strange, blue-white liquid gas is known as miasma and is produced as a by-product by alchemists and can even be harvested in the Elemental Chaos. Miasma is highly magical and volatile, capable of exploding in a poisonous gas that strangles and suffocates those unlucky enough to be touched by it.
This liquid gas can be bought from a Tinkerer's Guild, alchemist, or other suitable locations for 15 gp for 1 vial. This vial can then be used to provide the necessary magic to power your Magical Objects for a certain amount of time as decided by the object. To remove an old vial from a gadget, you must spend an action to carefully remove it, and then use another action to insert a new vial.
Using your Objects
With your tools, you can create problem-solving objects to help you on your adventures, or just make life easier. These objects are largely restricted to solving problems in the world, not necessarily for harming your opponents. These objects can be as complicated as a breathing apparatus to allow you to breathe underwater to a bag of ball bearings to trip up your foes.
Malfunctions & Magical Objects
After each use, a Magical object has been put under strain and may suffer from a Malfunction or even a Catastrophic Failure. To determine what strain your object has gone through, after each use of the object and no matter how long, you must roll a Dexterity (Tinker's Check) against the Malfunction DC of the object.
On a failed check, the object suffers a Malfunction and the object is not usable until you take a short rest to repair it (no check required). If you fail the check by 5 or more, your object suffers a Catastrophic Failure and is broken. To repair your object, you must spend half the time required to build the object, this requires you to pay the gold cost if it will take more than 8 hours to repair the object.
Workshops
Some objects you might wish to create might make travel with them impossible. The DM may decide that some objects are too large or heavy to carry around, forcing you to use a workshop to work on the object.
Complexity
The complexity of an object is based on its designation; Mundane, Mechanical, and Magical.
- Mundane objects are the easiest to create and have the lowest DC, as well as require the least amount of time to craft. These objects can't malfunction.
- Mechanical objects require some engineering skill and have higher DCs.
- Magical objects are complex and require a power source to charge them. They are prone to malfunctioning and breaking down.
Sample DCs
| Object | Type | Craft DC |
|---|---|---|
| Abacus | Mundane | 8 |
| Backpack | Mundane | 5 |
| Mechanical | ||
| Mechanical | ||
| Gills | Magical | 13 |
| Wings | Magical | 16 |
Mundane Objects
Abacus
A standard tool used to make calculations.
- Complexity Mundane
- Crafting Time 1 hour
- Cost 1 gp
- Materials Needed Any
- Craft DC 8
Backpack
A backpack is a leather pack carried on the back, typically with straps to secure it. A backpack can hold 1 cubic foot / 30 pounds of gear.
- Complexity Mundane
- Crafting Time 1 hour
- Cost 1 gp
- Materials Needed Cloth, Leather
- Craft DC 5
Ball Bearings (Bag of 1,000)
As an action, you can spill these tiny metal balls from their pouch to cover a level, square area that is 10 feet on a side. A creature moving across the covered area must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or fall prone. A creature moving through the area at half speed doesn't need to make the save.
- Complexity Mundane
- Crafting Time 8 hours
- Cost 5 sp
- Materials Needed Metal
- Craft DC 8
Book
A book might contain poetry, historical accounts, information pertaining to a particular field of lore, diagrams and notes on gnomish contraptions, or just about anything else that can be represented using text or pictures. A book of spells is a spellbook.
- Complexity Mundane
- Crafting Time 8 hours
- Cost 12 gp 5 sp
- Materials Needed Parchment
- Craft DC 8
Grappling Hook
When tied to the end of a rope, a grappling hook can secure the rope to a battlement, window ledge, tree limb, or other protrusion.
- Complexity Mundane
- Crafting Time 1 hour
- Cost 1 gp
- Materials Needed Metal
- Craft DC 5
Hourglass
A standard hourglass used to measure the passage of time.
- Complexity Mundane
- Crafting Time 8 hours
- Cost 12 gp 5 sp
- Materials Needed Glass, Metal, Sand
- Craft DC 8
Spyglass
Objects viewed through a spyglass are magnified to twice their size.
- Complexity Mundane
- Crafting Time 16 hours
- Cost 500 gp
- Materials Needed Glass, Metal
- Craft DC 8
Mechanical Objects
Alarm Clock
This hourglass is attached to a set of weights that produces a great noise when the sand runs out after a certain amount of time. Any creature asleep within 15 feet of the alarm clock awakens when the time runs out. As an action, you can set the time to up to 8 hours.
- Complexity Mechanical
- Blueprint DC 13
- Crafting Time 16 hours
- Cost 15 gp / 8 Hours
- Materials Needed Glass, Metal, Sand
- Craft DC 13
Automatic Lockpicker
This automatic lockpicker fits easily into a lock and, as an action, you can attempt to pick a simple lock with it. Instead of making a Dexterity (Thieves' Tools) check to pick the lock, you can instead make a Dexterity (Tinkerer's Tools) check.
- Complexity Mechanical
- Blueprint DC 15
- Crafting Time 24 hours
- Cost 10 gp / 8 Hours
- Materials Needed Metal, Wood
- Craft DC 15
Grappler Attachment
This attachment is designed to be equipped onto a heavy crossbow. When the crossbow is fired, it shoots out a grappling hook attached to a 50-foot rope. This does not create the grappling hook, the rope, or the heavy crossbow.
- Complexity Mechanical
- Blueprint DC 10
- Crafting Time 8 hours
- Cost 10 gp
- Materials Needed Metal, Wood
- Craft DC 10
Improvised Light Crossbow
This hastily constructed crossbow operates like a light crossbow and allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.
- Complexity Mechanical
- Blueprint DC 13
- Crafting Time 16 hours
- Cost 6 gp / 8 Hours
- Materials Needed Linen, Metal, Wood
- Craft DC 13
Windup Toy
This small windup toy bears a vague resemblance to a duck. As an action, you can wind up this toy and release it on the ground. Roll initiative for this toy, and on its turn will walk up to 30 feet in a straight line. On its next turn, it produces a huge amount of noise, like that of cymbals crashing together. It produces this noise a number of rounds equal to the number of feet it walked, divided by 5.
- Complexity Mechanical
- Blueprint DC 13
- Crafting Time 16 hours
- Cost 5 gp / 8 Hours
- Materials Needed Cloth, Metal
- Craft DC 13
Magical
Gills
This device allows you to breathe underwater, so long as no magical effect is stopping it. This does not purify the water you are breathing, so if it is laden with poison or salt, you will suffer the effects, like salt making you thirstier than normal.
- Complexity Magical
- Blueprint DC 20
- Crafting Time 24 hours
- Cost 30 gp / 8 Hours
- Materials Needed Rubber, Metal
- Duration per Vial 10 minutes
- Craft DC 20
- Malfunction DC 18
- Catastrophic Failure 13
Night Goggles
This device allows you to see in the dark up to 30 feet away from you as if you had darkvision. It has no effect on magical darkness. While on, your googles give off a dim green glow for 15 feet from you. If the device suffers a Malfunction while you are wearing it, it short circuits and your eyes are blasted by a bright white light. This effect impairs your vision for 1 hour, giving you disadvantage on any checks that require sight.
- Complexity Magical
- Blueprint DC 18
- Crafting Time 16 hours
- Cost 20 gp / 8 Hours
- Materials Needed Glass, Metal, Wood
- Duration per Vial 1 hour
- Craft DC 18
- Malfunction DC 15
- Catastrophic Failure 10
Trumpet Horn of Comprehension
This device appears to be a set of clunky earmuffs with arcane runes etched into the frame. While it is powered and you hold it up to your ear, you can understand the literal meaning of any spoken language that you hear, though it comes across as slightly distorted as if hearing it through a tube. ___
- Complexity Magical
- Blueprint DC 15
- Crafting Time 8 hours
- Cost 10 gp / 8 Hours
- Materials Needed Horn, Metal, Wood
- Duration per Vial 1 hour
- Craft DC 15
- Malfunction DC 13
- Catastrophic Failure 8
Wings
This device allows you to fly up to 50 feet up. Upon losing power, it will glide to the ground and deposit you safely on the ground, unless you suffer a Malfunction while up in the air. It can only hold you and half your maximum carrying capacity. While flying with this pack, your Fly speed is equal to half your Speed.
- Complexity Magical
- Blueprint DC 20
- Crafting Time 24 hours
- Cost 30 gp / 8 Hours
- Materials Needed Cloth, Metal, Wood
- Duration per Vial 10 minutes
- Craft DC 20
- Malfunction DC 18
- Catastrophic Failure 13
Determining DCs
Mundane Objects
Most Mundane objects are very easy to craft and only take a few hours at most. To decide on a DC, the DM should decide how many moving parts or pieces the object is made out of and reference the chart below:
| Complexity | DC | Average Cost | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | 5 | 1 gp / 8 hours | 8 Hours |
| Complex | 8 | 2 gp / 8 hours | 16 Hours |
| Intricate | 10 | 5 gp / 8 hours | 24 Hours |
Mechanical Objects
Mechanical objects are more complex than the Mundane and involve some skill to produce them. To decide on a DC, the DM should decide how many moving parts of pieces the object is made out of and reference the chart below:
| Complexity | DC | Average Cost | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | 10 | 5 gp / 8 hours | 8 Hours |
| Complex | 13 | 10 gp / 8 hours | 16 Hours |
| Intricate | 15 | 15 gp / 8 hours | 24 Hours |
Most Mechanical objects will rarely be made with magic and instead require the marvels of science and technology.
Magical Objects
Magical objects are extremely complex and require a large amount of skill and magic to operate. To decide on a DC, the DM should decide how powerful it is compared to similar spells and reference the chart below:
| Complexity (Spell Level) |
DC | Average Cost | Hours | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple (1st-level) |
15 | 10 gp / 8 hours | 8 Hours | 1 hour |
| Complex (2nd-level) |
18 | 20 gp / 8 hours | 16 Hours | 1 hour |
| Intricate (3rd-level) |
20 | 30 gp / 8 hours | 24 Hours | 10 minutes |
Most Mechanical objects will rarely be made with magic and instead require the marvels of science and technology.
Variant Rules
Expending Spells
Instead of requiring material to fuel a Magical object, you can instead require that the character expends a spell slot of an appropriate level and the object works for the listed duration in its statblock.
Exploding Miasma
If you want a mechanical effect associated with mishandled miasma, a character may throw the vial of miasma. A miasma vial has a range of 30 ft, and it explodes in a 5 ft diameter sphere and all creatures in that area must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, they take 2d4 fire damage, or half on a success. The creature must then succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 minute, they can repeat this save at the end of their turn. If you throw more than one miasma vial at the same time, it increases the amount of fire damage by 1d4 up to a maximum of 10d4 fire damage.
Magical Runes
If you dislike the idea of a magical gas such as miasma, you could have small etched rune stones laced with latent magic that can power a Magical object.
Mechanical Only
Not all tinkerers can create magical devices, you may decide that a tinkerer can only create Mundane and Mechanical objects.