1879: Profession High Tiers: Brassman

Brassman

The Brassman focuses on gadgetry, small, hand-held devices, those wonderful toys that heroes and villains always seem to be able to pull out of a pocket at just the right moment. They’re also a dab hand with machinery in general, although not on the scale of the Engineer. They’re also known for skirting the edge of the law, or flatly crossing the line. Thus, the Warden and Master Tiers for the Profession put their emphasis on rogue Skills, getting into and out of sticky situations, and achieving broader mastery of technology.

At Warden, the Brassman’s Perception gets a Karma bump, and Awareness and Evidence Analysis are added as Core Skills. The ability to improve armour and weaponry shows up, as does the ability to point out problems with other people’s armour. The Optional Skills get a bit shady, with Stealthy Stride and Escape Plan for the aforementioned getting-into and getting-out-of, and Forgery, for outright fraud. We round off the Tier with a couple of technological Options. The special ability was one we just couldn’t resist. How many of us have seen a movie or TV show where the mechanic hit the machine in just the right way and made it work?

At Master, we toss in the usual Skills every Profession gets, like Second Chance and Perfect Focus, and then we round out the Brassman with a few Social and technical Skills. Their Arcane Mutterings Skill allows them to wave a tool or device at someone and make them nervous, unsure what the item might actually do. They can now ignore insults, as they’ve grown into the self-assuredness that comes with perfecting their craft. And, yes, we added another “whack it and make it work” ability, this time to get something broken moving again. The duration of the ability is in days instead of minutes, since we’re talking about a Master Tier effect. Forthwith, the actual progression.

Skills and Abilities

  • Warden
    • Core Skills
      • Awareness, Evidence Analysis, Fast Hand, Forge Armor, Forge Weapon, Impressive Display, Show Armor Flaw
    • Optional Skills
      • Diplomacy, Engine Programming, Escape Plan, Forgery, Knowledge (Telegraphy), Leadership, Stealthy Stride
    • Abilities
      • The character’s Physical Defense increases by +1.
      • The character may use Karma for PER-only Tests.
      • The character gains +1 Recovery Test per day.
      • Percussive Operation: The Brassman may coerce a device to work by striking it. The character must spend at least one minute studying the device. The Brassman then taps, strikes, or thumps the device, possibly with a tool, spends 3 points of Strain, and makes a Clockwork + PER Test at +3 Steps against the device’s Physical Defense or Hardware Defense, whichever is greater. If successful, the device performs as required. If the operation requires extended performance, the device works as demanded for ten minutes per success. On a Rule Of One result, the device breaks spectacularly, with pieces flying off in multiple directions. Further attempts at Percussive Operation are at -2 Steps per attempt, and do the Brassman’s STR in damage to the device as an armor defeating hit.
  • Master
    • Core Skills
      • Arcane Mutterings, Lasting Impression, Perfect Focus, Resist Taunt, Second Chance
    • Optional Skills
      • Acting, Craftsman (Woodworking), Knowledge (Chemistry), Lip Reading, Shake It Off
    • Abilities
      • The character may use Karma on any WIL-based Test.
      • The character’s Max Karma increases by 15 points.
      • Percussive Repair: Given at least five minutes of study, the Brassman can spend 5 points of Strain, strike a malfunctioning device, and knock its workings back into place, restoring it to function. This is a temporary repair, and will hold for the Brassman’s Clockwork Skill Rank in days. At the end of that time, the device malfunctions spectacularly, and requires double the usual effort to restore it to working order again.

Notes:

  • The Knowledge Skills listed use the standard definitions and mechanics, as described in the Skills chapter (pg.XX), with the following modifications and considerations.
    • Craftsman (Woodworking) allows the Brassman to build their own cabinetry for their devices instead of having to specify the enclosure for someone else to build.