Futuristic Settings

This supplement recaps some of the RAW rules for more modern or futuristic settings, as well as introducing a new Artificer subclass.

Alien Technology

When adventurers find a piece of technology that isn’t from their world or time period, the players might understand what the object is, but the characters rarely will. To simulate a character’s ignorance about the technology, have the character make a series of Intelligence checks to figure it out.

To determine how the technology works, a character must succeed on a number of Intelligence checks based on the complexity of the item: two successes for a simple item (such as a cigarette lighter, calculator, or revolver) and four successes for a complex item (such a a computer, chainsaw, or hovercraft). Then consult the Figuring Out Alien Technology table. Consider making the item break if a character fails four or more times before taking a long rest.

A character who has seen an item used or has operated a similar item has advantage on Intelligence checks made to figure out its use.

Figuring Out Alien Technology

Int. Check Total	Result
9 or lower	One failure; one charge or use is wasted, if applicable; disadvantage on next check
10–14	One failure
15–19	One success
20 or higher	One success; advantage on next check

Explosives

A campaign might include explosives from the Renaissance or the modern world (the latter are priceless), as presented in the Explosives table.

Bomb

As an action, a character can light this bomb and throw it at a point up to 60 feet away. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 fire damage.

Gunpowder

Gunpowder is chiefly used to propel a bullet out of the barrel of a pistol or rifle, or it is formed into a bomb. Gunpowder is sold in small wooden kegs and in waterresistant powder horns.

Setting fire to a container full of gunpowder can cause it to explode, dealing fire damage to creatures within 10 feet of it (3d6 for a powder horn, 7d6 for a keg). A successful DC 12 Dexterity saving throw halves the damage. Setting fire to an ounce of gunpowder causes it to flare for 1 round, s hedding br ight light in a 30-foot radius and dim light for an add itional 30 feet.

Dynamite

As an action, a creature can light a stick of dynamite and throw it at a point up to 60 feet away. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 3d6 bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

A character can bind sticks of dynamite together so they explode at the same time. Each additional stick increases the damage by 1d6 (to a maximum of 10d6) and the burst radius by 5 feet (to a maximum of 20 feet).

Dynamite can be rigged with a longer fuse to explode after a set amount of time, usually 1 to 6 rounds. Roll initiative for the dynamite. After the set number of rounds goes by, the dynamite explodes on that initiative.

Grenades

As an action, a character can throw a grenade at a point up to 60 feet away. With a grenade launcher, the character can propel the grenade up to 120 feet away. Each creature within 20 feet of an exploding fragmentation grenade must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 5d6 piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. One round after a smoke grenade lands, it emits a cloud of smoke that creates a heavily obscured area in a 20-foot radius. A moderate wind (at least 10 miles per hour) disperses the smoke in 4 rounds; a strong wind (20 or more miles per hour) disperses it in 1 round.

Explosives

Renaissance Item	Cost	Weight
Bomb	150 gp	1 lb.
Gunpowder, keg	250 gp	20 lb.
Gunpowder, powder horn	35 gp	2 lb.

Modern Item	Cost	Weight
Dynamite (stick)	—	1 lb.
Grenade, fragmentation	—	1 lb.
Grenade, smoke	—	21 lb.
Grenade launcher	—	7 lb.

 

 

Firearms

If you want to model the swashbuckling style of The Three Musketeers and similar tales, you can introduce gunpowder weaponry your campaign that are associated with the Renaissance. imilarly. in a campaign where a space hip h era bed or elements of modern-day Earth are pre en . fu uri tic or modern firearms might appear. The Firearms table provides examples of firearms from all three of those periods. The modern and fu turistic items are priceless.

Proficiency

It’s up to you to decide whether a character has proficiency with a firearm. Characters in most D&D worlds wouldn’t have such proficiency. During their downtime, characters can use the training rules in the Player ‘s Handbook to acquire proficiency, assuming that they have enough ammunition to keep the weapons working while mastering their use.

Properties

Firearms use special ammunition, and some of them have the burst fire or reload property.

Ammunition. The ammunition of a firearm is destroyed upon use. Renaissance and modern firearms use bullets. Futuris tic firearms are powered by a special type of ammunition called energy cells. An energy cell contains enough power for all the shots its firearm can make.

Burst Fire. A weapon that has the burst fire property can make a normal single-target attack, or it can spray a 10-foot-cube area within normal range with shots. Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take the weapon’s normal damage. This action uses ten pieces of ammunition.

Reload. A limited number of shots can be made with a weapon that has the reload property. A character must then reload it using an action or a bonus action (the character’s choice).

 

 

Information on Vechiles is based on Seige Weapons from the DMG, Spelljammer vechile weapons, and some extrapolation from the firearms section of the DMG.

 

 

Crafting

Ingots

Ingots are chunks of metal that can be used to craft things. They are assumed to be relatively pure and weigh 2 pounds each. The default ingot listed in all the crafting tables is an ingot of Steel. These cost 2 gp per ingot. There are cheaper metals (such as Iron); pure Iron can’t be used to craft weapons and armor, but can be used for other items, resulting in a cheaper item. On the other end of the spectrum, more advanced metals such as Mithral and Adamantine can be used conferring special properties, but being far more difficult to work with and costing more. Ingots can be assumed to weight 2 pounds each.

Salvaging Ingots

Metal items can be converted back to ingots quite efficiently, but require a forge to do so. With a forge and 2 hours per item, a metal item can be rendered down into its component ingots. Advanced metals may require special tools to smelt.

Smelting Ore

Creating ingots from raw ore is largely out of scope for most adventurers, but you can create ingots from raw ore with a suitable facility. Smelting ore requires specialized factilities. This can usually be accomplished in a fully equiped smithy, but consult your GM for where it might be appropriate. Adventurers rarely smelt their own ore, these are included primarily for informational purposes. Smelting magical ores may require more specialized facilities or locations.

Parts

The term “parts” is used to refer to gears, wires, springs, windy bits, screws, nails, and doodads. Parts can be either found or salvaged or forged from metal scraps (or even straight from ingots by a Blacksmith for those that really want to be industrial about it). The exact nature of each item making up this collection is left abstracted.

In addition, metal scraps are collections of salvaged material that generally fall into the category of things “too small to track” which can then be used for the creations of tinkerers. In addition to all of this, occasionally tinkers will use ingots… particularly ones of tin (which is their namesake, after all).

Like other crafting branches, there are also named components for more iconic pieces of gear—the stock of a crossbow, for example, or other items. The cost for these items can be found on the common component table, and are generally minor.

Lastly, Tinkerers use essences when constructing things that push beyond the mundane principles of plausibility, crafting magical properties into their inventions.

Salvaging parts

The other main way to acquire parts is to salvage them. What can be salvaged is determined by the GM, but in general common items provide parts, uncommon or expensive items may provide fancy parts, and esoteric parts are found only from esoteric sources at your GM’s discretion. Tools, vehicles, and complex items generally return 1d4 metal scraps and 1d4 parts for a Small or smaller item, 2d6 metal scraps for a Medium-sized item, 3d8 metal scraps for a Large-sized item, and more for larger items, though they may return less of rare types of parts.

 

 

Basic Leg Prosthetic

Item, common
A functional replacement leg. While using this in replacement for one of your legs, your speed is reduced by 10 feet and you have disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws and Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks.

Drill

Item, common
Can make holes in things. Can destroy a lock with a DC of 14 or lower to pick or break with 10 minutes of work.

Mechanical Arm

Wondrous item, common
A functional mechanical arm that can replace a missing one. This works for either a biological creature or a construct. This item follows the rules for attunement, but doesn’t require an attunement slot once attuned. While attuned in this way, it functions the same as the limb it replaces.

Mechanical Leg

Wondrous item, common
A functional mechanical leg that can replace a missing one. This works for either a biological creature or a construct. This item follows the rules for attunement, but doesn’t require an attunement slot once attuned. While attuned in this way, it functions the same as the limb it replaces.

Spring Loaded Leg

Wondrous item, common (requires attunement)
A functional mechanical leg that can replace a missing one. While attuned in this way, it functions the same as the limb it replaces. Additionally, it can absorb a great deal of impact when falling and spring to new heights. You can reduce all falling damage by 20 feet, and your jumping distance is doubled. After falling, your jumping distance is further increased by a quarter of the distance fallen.

Specialized Mechanical Arm

Wondrous item, common
A functional mechanical arm that can replace a missing one. This works for either a biological creature or a construct. This item follows the rules for attunement, but doesn’t require an attunement slot once attuned. While attuned in this way, it functions the same as the limb it replaces. Additionally, this arm can house a tool of your choice.

Underwater Breathing Apparatus

Wondrous item, common
The wearer can breath underwater for up to 1 hour. You can’t (intelligibly) speak or perform verbal spell components while wearing this device.

Weaponized Arm

Wondrous item, common
A functional mechanical arm that can replace a missing one. This works for either a biological creature or a construct. This item follows the rules for attunement, but doesn’t require an attunement slot once attuned. While attuned in this way, it functions the same as the limb it replaces. Additionally, this arm can house a one-handed weapon of your choice. This weapon can be swapped out as part of a short or long rest.

 

 

Artificer

Being prepared has its advantages, but so does acting quickly. Scavengers tend to collect as much loot as they can… and they make use of it too.

Firearm Proficiency

Optional 1st-level Artificer feature

In a setting where firearms are readily accessible, artificers receive a passive bonus to their damage equal to one additional weapon damage die when using a firearm.

Scavenger

Brawn Over Brains

3rd-level Scavenger feature

Your combat training and your brute force method of experimenting has paid off in two ways:

• You gain proficiency with martial weapons, heavy armor, and smith’s tools. If you already have this tool proficiency, you gain proficiency with one other type of artisan’s tools of your choice.
• You can use Strength or Dexterity for Artificer class features instead of Intelligence, except for spellcasting.

Prepare Gear

3rd-level Scavenger feature

One of the perks of having a blacksmith in the field is their ability to keep gear in its best condition, giving you an edge (sometimes literally) in the quality of your gear and weapons. Over the course of 2 hours, a Scavenger can maintain a number of weapons or sets of armor equal to their proficiency bonus, granting each weapon or armor maintained a special d6 Quality Die. The Quality Die decreases by one step each time it is rolled until depleted (d6, d4, d2, depleted).

Until the Scavenger takes a Long Rest, a creature using a weapon or set of armor can wait until after it rolls the d20 before deciding to use the Quality Die, but must decide before the GM says whether the roll succeeds or fails.

For a weapon, this can be rolled and added to an attack or damage roll, representing a case where the perfect state of the gear turned a miss into a hit or dealt a bit of extra damage. For a set of armor, the die can be rolled when hit by an attack, and the damage taken from that attack can be reduced by that amount.

Rolling this die doesn’t require an action, but once depleted it can’t be regained until the blacksmith maintains that armor or weapon again. Your Quality Die changes when you reach certain levels in this class. The die becomes a d8 at 9th level and a d10 at 15th level.

While preparing weapons or sets of armor (after a Long Rest), you can prepare one additional piece of gear by expending a spell slot of 1st level or higher for each piece of gear.

Quick Tinker

3rd-level Scavenger feature

Scavengers aren’t very spell savy, thus they make use of what they know. By expending a spell slot of 1st level or higher, a Scavenger can reduce the crafting time of any project by a number of hours equal to the level of the spell slot expended.

You can also reduce the time to prepare gear outside of a rest. Expending a 2nd-level or higher spell slot would allow you to prepare gear as a bonus action.

Repair Gear

5th-level Scavenger feature

Sometime in the course of adventuring, weapons or armor will become severely damaged, suffering a penalty to its attack rolls or AC. Over the course of 2 hours, you can repair this damage, though at the discretion of the GM you may need other materials to perform this task if it is heavily damaged. Weapons that are entirely broken (such as a snapped sword) are generally beyond simple repair.

Extra Attack

5th-level Scavenger feature

You can attack twice, rather than once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Jetpack

9th-level Scavenger feature

By wearing this small object on your back you can gain a fly speed of 30 feet. It has an AC of 15 and hit points equal to twice your Artificer level. If its hit points are reduced to 0, it is damaged and can no longer be used until repaired.

Deconstruct

15th-level Scavenger feature

As a bonus action, you can target one object within 5 feet and disassemble it. Doing so, destroys it and leaves behind crafting materials in a pile in the square you occupy. If used on an object bigger than a 5-foot cube, then only a 5-foot cube is destroyed. This ability cannot be used on natural attacks or grafted weapons.

Construct construct

15th-level Scavenger feature

As an action, you can use the junk you’ve gathered to create constructs to do your bidding. You summon 3 Clockwork Horrors that appear in unoccupied spaces that you can see within 60 feet.

A construct disappears when it drops to 0 hit points.

They are friendly to you and your companions, and roll initiative as a group, which have their own turns. They obey any verbal commands that you issue to them (no action required by you). If you don’t issue any commands to them, they defend themselves from hostile creatures, but otherwise take no actions.

The DM has the constructs’ statistics.