Tinkering 303 – Matroishka Automatons

This installment of the Tinker-expansions clocks in at 5 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 3 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

This supplement links into the Happy Little Automatons, Rocket’s Red Glare and Pimp My Alpha Tinker-expansions, as the pdf helpfully notes. We also get a nice little list of invention subtypes noted in a cheat-sheet.

The pdf includes 4 different innovations – all of which are based on the Matroishkabot greater innovation and require it: This greater innovation that nets two special, additional blueprints: The child blueprint can have a maximum BP of ½ tinker level and may not be deployed directly. The second is the matroishka blueprint, which is a standard automaton blueprint that requires two uses of deploy automaton to be deployed. These are also always associated with a child blueprint: When the matroishka is destroyed, it cracks open, immediately deploying the child bluebrint’s automaton associated with the matroishka. This child automaton, upon being deployed, may be directed upon being deployed as an immediate action, executing the directive on your next turn. It cannot execute kamikaze, but it can use contingent kamikaze.

The 4 innovations build on this: Efficient Matroishka lets the first two matroishkabots deployed only cost one deploy automaton use. Instant Matroishka lets you, twice per day as a standard action, associate an already deployed automaton with a child blueprint, retroactively making it’s a matroishka. Matroishka Study nets an additional child and matroishkabot blueprint. Matroishkas All The Way Down lets you, whenever a child blueprint automaton is destroyed, extend your reach by +30 ft. to determine deploying automatons to where the child automaton was, but only until the end of your turn on the round of the child automaton’s destruction.

There are 8 new inventions: Morale Module, at 1 BP, nets a +1 morale bonus to the next d20 roll when the master of the automaton with this invention deploys an automaton; this is explicitly in spite of automata being mindless. Inheritance Procedure, at 3 BP, lets a child of a destroyed automaton with this invention inherit a parent’s invention that does not require other inventions at BP-cost 1. Waste Oil Harvest Unit clocks in at 1 BP, and when an automaton is destroyed within 30 ft., it harvests waste oil that inflicts 1d4 acid damage +1 electricity damage + 1 fire damage, working otherwise as a flask of acid. This is contingent on the unit having a spare container, obviously. There also is a Design invention at 1 BP, Prototypical Paint Punnett Process, which lets a child inherit a paint invention of a destroyed matroishkabot automaton.

There are three different alpha inventions: Matroishka Matrix, at 5 BP, can only be installed on alphas, megadroids or gigadroids. This makes the respective alpha/droid behave as a matroishka, including the immediate action directive for the child of Matroishka All the Way Down. If you do have the Matroishkabot greater innovation, the costs are reduced by -2. Now, I assume a child of an alpha n longer counts as an alpha, but I am not 100% sure there. The intent here is to allow for dabbling, I get that, but the alpha interaction could use a bit of clarification. Premature Deployment Apparatus costs 2 BP and lets an automaton with the invention, as a directed standard action, cause another automaton within 30 ft. prematurely deploy a child automaton, without being destroyed. Cool one that also gets squares etc. right. Secondary Command Module, at 3 BP, is another combo facilitator: If the automaton has an Int of 3 or higher, it can deploy child automata as a directed standard action, consuming the master’s resources and maximum number of automata deployed. This is an exception to the caveat that prevents direct deployment of child automata. Alphas get to use this once for free per day, sans consuming the master’s resources. Secondary Command Booster requires secondary command module adds another free child deployment.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting is very good on a formal and rules-language level. Layout adheres to an elegant two-column b/w-standard and the pdf has no bookmarks or artwork, but needs none at this length.

Bradley Crouch’s matroishka automata are another massive combo engine for the tinker that allows you to expand the unique options available for the complex class. The idea is cool, and while it could probably have carried even more tricks, for the low price, this is most assuredly worth getting for fans of the tinker-class. My final verdict will clock in at 4.5 stars, rounded up for the purpose of this platform.

You can get this inexpensive class expansion here on OBS!

Want teh whole tinker-bundle? You can find it here on OBS!

Endzeitgeist out.

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