Ad Astra Per Arcana
Not all alchemists are masters of chemistry and biology. Some prefer to focus their mad talents on the mysteries of mechanical engineering—the creation of lethal machines.
Death Ray (Su): Every engineer starts with a basic creative impulse—the urge to destroy those that mock or deride him. To this end, engineers start their career with the construction of a death ray, a personal weapon that can inflict lethal harm against their foes.
The “death ray” is a two-handed ranged weapon with a range increment of 30 feet. It makes attacks as a ranged touch attack and deals electricity damage equal to 1d8 + the engineer’s Intelligence bonus. Firing the death ray is a standard action. The death ray can be used a number of times each day equal to twice the engineer’s class level + the engineer’s Intelligence bonus. Each day, the alchemist must spend one minute per daily use recharging the device with his own magical aura (generally by sitting quietly and tinkering with the device for that time). The engineer is considered to be proficient in his own death ray, though he cannot use another engineer’s death ray any more than anyone else.
The death ray only works for the alchemist, and he can only have one in existence at a time; if his death ray is stolen or destroyed, it takes one day of work and appropriate tools to build a new one. The death ray is a physical device; it must be stored and drawn like any other weapon, it can be stolen, and it is vulnerable to being destroyed. The death ray has a hardness of 5 + the engineer’s class level, and hit points equal to 20 + the engineer’s class level.
The damage of an engineer’s death ray increases by 1d6 points at every odd-numbered class level (this bonus damage is not multiplied on a critical hit or by using feats such as Vital Strike).
This ability replaces the bombs class feature, and the engineer cannot select any discovery that would affect or modify that class ability.
Trapfinding (Ex): An engineer is a master of clockwork machines and infernal devices. An engineer adds 1/2 his level to Perception skill checks made to locate traps and to Disable Device skill checks (minimum +1). An engineer can use Disable Device to disarm magic traps. This replaces the alchemist’s Throw Anything bonus feat, poison use, and swift poisoning.
Swift Engineering (Ex): Beginning at 3rd level, when an alchemist creates alchemical items or clockwork devices of any sort, it takes him only half the normal amount of time. This replaces the swift alchemy class ability.
Instant Engineering (Ex): At 18th level, the engineer can create alchemical items with almost supernatural speed, and none can match his proficiency at fixing or breaking machines. He can create any alchemical item as a full-round action if he succeeds at the Craft (alchemy) check and has the appropriate resources at hand to fund the creation. Additionally, he can perform any Disable Device check that would normally take up to a minute as a swift action. This feature replaces the instant alchemy class feature.
Grand Discovery (Su): The engineer does not gain access to the poison touch grand discovery, though he can still utilize the others normally. The following abilities are available in place of poison touch:
Clockwork Heart: The engineer performs the most delicate procedure of his career when he removes his own still-beating heart and replaces it with a construct of brass, tubes, and wires. The engineer’s Constitution is increased by 4 points and his age limits at each age category are doubled, but he gains vulnerability to electricity.
Steel Limbs: The engineer must spend a month performing grotesque acts of surgery on himself, gradually whittling away his own weak flesh and replacing it with sterner stuff. When he is finished, all four of his limbs (and a good portion of his skeleton) are made of gleaming steel and hissing steam vents. The engineer’s Strength is increased by 2 points, he gains +2 natural armor, and his base land speed is increased by 10 feet. Due to his new frame’s heat conductivity, he gains vulnerability to fire.
Caustic blast: When the engineer makes an attack with his death ray, he can choose to have it inflict acid damage, but the death ray’s range increment is halved. Creatures struck by a caustic blast take an additional 1d6 points of acid damage 1 round later.
Concussive blast: When the engineer makes an attack with his death ray, he can choose to have it inflict sonic damage. A concussive blast deals only 1d4 points of bonus damage per odd-numbered level (instead of 1d6). Creatures struck by a concussive blast are deafened for 1 minute unless they succeed at a Fortitude save.
Delicate death ray: The engineer’s death ray is particularly compact. It is a one-handed weapon rather than a two-handed weapon.
Disintegration beam: When the engineer fires his death ray, he can spend 2 of its daily uses to produce a disintegration beam, inflicting untyped damage. Any creature brought below 0 hit points by the beam is reduced to fine dust, as per the disintegrate spell. Additionally, the engineer can use the beam to disintegrate inanimate matter as per the disintegrate spell. The engineer must be at least 10th level before selecting this discovery.
Dispelling beam: When the engineer fires his death ray, he can choose to have it dispel magic effects. A creature hit by a dispelling beam is subject to a targeted dispel magic, using the engineer’s class level as the caster level. This cannot be used to target a specific spell effect. If a spell is successfully dispelled, the target suffers damage equal to the caster level + the engineer’s Intelligence bonus. The engineer must be at least 6th level before selecting this discovery.
Force beam: When the engineer fires his death ray, he can choose to have it inflict force damage. Force beams inflict 1d6 points of force damage, plus 1d4 points of force damage for every odd-numbered level (instead of 1d6). A creature that is struck by a force beam is knocked prone unless it succeeds on a Reflex save. The engineer can fine-tune this output as well, sacrificing 1d4 points of bonus damage to instead push the creature back 5 feet on a failed save. The engineer must make this choice before firing the death ray, and if the creature cannot be pushed back the whole distance, it simply falls prone in the last square into which it moved with no additional effect; this movement does no provoke attacks of opportunity. An engineer must be at least 8th level before selecting this discovery.
Frost beam: When the engineer fires his death ray, he can choose to have it inflict cold damage. A creature struck by a frost beam is staggered on its next turn unless it succeeds on a Fortitude save.
Inferno beam: When the engineer fires his death ray, he can choose to have it inflict fire damage. A creature struck by an inferno beam is sickened for 1d4 rounds.
Mind control beam: Some engineers prefer to handle things in a more subtle way than usual. When the engineer fires his death ray, he can choose to inflict no damage to instead fire an invisible beam of energy that scrambles the target’s mind, leaving them vulnerable to outside influence. Using the mind control beam is a full-round action, since the controls must be carefully calibrated. On a successful attack, the target is entitled to a Will save to avoid the effect. If the target fails the save, it is subject to the suggestion spell, except that the target does not need to know the engineer’s language; the command is input directly into his mind. The engineer uses his class level as the caster level for this effect. An engineer must be at least 8th level to select this discovery.
Overcharge: A mad enough engineer finds ways to overcome the raw limitations on his death ray’s output. By spending a full round charging his death ray, the engineer can expends 2 of the death ray’s daily uses on any shot made the following round to increase the bonus damage from 1d6 per odd-numbered class level to 1d8 per odd-numbered class level, and double the engineer’s Intelligence bonus on damage. If the overcharge is not used during the following round, a daily use of the death ray is expended with no effect.
Quick rays: An engineer with this discovery can toggle the energy output on his death ray fast enough to produce multiple rays in a single round. The engineer can fire additional rays as a full-round action if his base attack bonus is high enough to grant him additional attacks. This functions just like a full-attack with a ranged weapon, and cannot be combined with any other discovery that turns the death ray into a full-round action to use. An engineer must be at least 8th level before selecting this discovery.
Shock blast: When the engineer fires his death ray, he can choose to have it inflict electricity damage, and gain a +2 bonus to hit creatures wearing metal armor or composed primarily of metal (such as an iron golem). A creature struck by a shock beam is dazzled for 1d4 rounds.
Strafing beam: When the engineer fires his death ray, he can expend 2 of its daily uses to change the ray to a 30-foot line, or 3 daily uses to create a 60-foot line. The ray no longer has a range increment and does not require a touch attack, but any creature in the line can attempt a Reflex save for reduced damage. On a successful save, any affected creature suffers the ray’s minimum normal damage and none of its additional effects. (So, a death ray that dealt 1d8+5d6+5 damage normally would inflict 11 points of damage.) This damage is negated as usual for a creature with evasion; a creature with improved evasion takes the minimum damage on a failed save. The engineer must be at least 8th level to select this discovery.
Widen beam: When the engineer fires his death ray, he can expend 2 of its daily uses to widen the beam, potentially catching multiple creatures in the area. The targeted creature now receives a Reflex save to become a splash target instead of a primary target. All other creatures within 5 feet of the original target are now splash targets. Any creature hit as a splash target suffers none of the beam’s primary effects (including any additional effects, such as the extra damage from a caustic blast), but suffer damage equal to the minimum damage of the ray. So, a death ray that dealt 1d8+5d6+5 damage normally would inflict 11 points of damage (of the same energy type) to all creatures within 5 feet of the main target. The engineer must be at least 4th level to select this discovery.