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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Mechanic

No one knows how to get the most out of their equipment better than a mechanic. A mechanic can repair just about any mechanical device you put in front of them with aplomb. However, they can also push the device to achieve more than you ever could have hoped for, provided you do not mind a small explosion every now and again. Don't get distracted by their impressive work, or you might be blindsided by a fast-swinging wrench.

Recall Knowledge - Humanoid (Society): DC 15
Unspecific Lore: DC 13
Specific Lore: DC 10

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

MechanicCreature 1

Medium Human Humanoid 
Source NPC Core pg. 42
Perception +5
Skills Athletics +7, Crafting +16 ((+18 when repairing mechanical devices)), Engineering Lore +16, Thievery +6
Str +4, Dex +1, Con +1, Int +3, Wis +0, Cha +0
Mechanical Repair The mechanic is trained in Crafting, but a master in Crafting for mechanical devices, siege weapons, and vehicles. They can Repair in 1 minute instead of 10 minutes, or in 3 actions for a mechanical device, siege weapon, or vehicle.
Mechanical Specialist For encounters involving mechanical repair, the mechanic is an 8th-level challenge.
Items arbalest (20 bolts), heavy wrench, repair toolkit
AC 14; Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +3
HP 22
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] heavy wrench +7 [+2/-3] (shove), Damage 1d6+4 bludgeoningMelee [one-action] fist +7 [+3/-1] (agile, nonlethal, unarmed), Damage 1d4+4 bludgeoningRanged [one-action] arbalest +8 [+3/-2] (backstabber, range increment 110 feet, reload 1), Damage 1d10 piercingRisky Upgrade [two-actions] (concentrate, manipulate) The mechanic pushes a mechanical device, siege weapon, or vehicle pasts its regular limits with a temporary upgrade chosen from the list below. An item can have only one risky upgrade at a time. If an item has an upgrade at the start of the mechanic's turn, the mechanic must attempt a DC 5 flat check. (These flat checks continue even if the mechanic is dead or otherwise can't take turns.) On a failure, the item explodes, dealing damage equal to the item's level to all adjacent creatures and ending the upgrade.
  • Overheat Weapons If the item would deal damage, it deals an additional 1d6 fire damage. This increases to 2d6 if the item is 8th level or higher.
  • Pressured Plating The item gains a +3 status bonus to its Hardness and gains temporary Hit Points equal to double its level that last for 10 minutes.
  • Propelled Boost If the item has a Speed, the item gains a +15-foot status bonus to Speed.

All Monsters in "Engineer"

NameLevel
Artillerist3
Demolitionist4
Driver2
Dynamo8
Gadgeteer6
Gunsmith1
Juggernaut13
Mechanic1
Rocketeer6
Toymaker3

Engineer

Source NPC Core pg. 42
Although relatively uncommon across much of Golarion, the frequently eccentric but undeniably brilliant minds who create elaborate devices of clockwork, gunpowder, and steam often loom much larger in the public eye than their numbers would suggest.

Engineering Device Malfunctions

When making an attack or activating an ability granted by a mechanical device that has been poorly maintained or is of shoddy construction, an engineer must attempt a DC 5 flat check after making the relevant attack roll or skill check. On a failure, the action is lost and the device misfires spectacularly (roll on the Device Malfunctions table). A device misfire doesn't affect the amount of time that must pass before some abilities can be used again.

Device Malfunctions

d6Effect
1Fizzle The device jams or short-circuits. If the triggering action was an attack, it retroactively becomes a critical failure. The engineer must use an Interact action to reset the device before it can be used again.
2 Backfire The device violently explodes, disabling it and dealing 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 2 levels the engineer has in a 5-foot burst centered on the device. The device is broken until the engineer Repairs it.
3 Off-Target If the triggering action was a targeted attack, the attack instead targets another creature (other than the engineer) within 10 feet of the intended target, determined randomly by the GM. If no such target exists, the attack misses.
4 System Reset A burst of feedback momentarily shuts down all the engineer's devices. The engineer can't use attacks or abilities granted by any personal engineering device, potentially including movement speeds, until the start of their next turn.
5 Overheat The overstressed device generates a wave of intense heat. The device burns the engineer for 4d6 fire damage and 2d4 persistent fire damage, with a basic Reflex save. The DC is equal to the engineer's Fortitude DC. The engineer can Release the item before rolling to improve their degree of success on the save by one step.
6 Delayed Reaction The device fails to function, having no apparent effect. At the start of the engineer's next turn, the device automatically activates. The GM chooses any target or area at random.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Brigh

On Golarion, science and magic coexist, and many engineers worship Brigh, the deity of clockwork, invention, and time. She's often invoked when an inventor needs inspiration or is on the clock and needs the next few hours to go slower. Often, engineers engrave small icons of Brigh's religious symbol—a mask in her likeness.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Crossover Ancestry NPCs

Several of the NPCs elsewhere in NPC Core can fit well in this group: Goblin scavenger (level 4), kobold trapper (level 2)

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Firearms

Multiple engineers use firearms, technology that's present in relatively small numbers on Golarion. These are uncommon, simple, and martial weapons, so many player characters can use them. If you want to avoid putting the items in their hands, swap out the firearms with crossbow or similar weapons. More firearms and the gunslinger class appear in Pathfinder Guns & Gears.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Gadgets For PCs

Since engineers often carry unique gadgets, your player characters will likely want to salvage and reuse those items. If you want to do this in your games, you can either let them use the items primarily as written or convert them into consumable gadgets. In any case, these items are typically unstable when salvaged, usable once to a few times or subject to misfires.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Mechanical Allies

Often, engineers are accompanied by mechanical creatures of their own creation, like clockwork hounds or mechanical birds. To build encounters including such creatures, you can either adapt an existing construct (such as an animated object) or change an animal's trait to construct and give it immunity to bleed, death effects, disease, doomed, drained, fatigued, healing, nonlethal attacks, paralyzed, poison, sickened, spirit, unconscious, vitality, and void. You might want to reduce its HP slightly to compensate.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Misfires

Firearms that are improperly maintained or subjected to unusual strain can misfire. If a creature attempts to fire a firearm that was fired the previous day or earlier and hasn't been cleaned since, it rolls a DC 5 flat check before making its attack roll. If it fails this misfire check, the weapon misfires and jams. The attack is an automatic critical failure, and a creature must use an Interact action to clear the jam before the weapon can be reloaded and fired again. Once a creature has spent at least an hour cleaning a weapon, no one needs to roll for a misfire for that weapon until the next day unless an effect says otherwise.