Yes, that’s it. I can’t comment on the content and precision of it, but it’s useful, compact and contains everything you need. I found it handy since I don’t have the Technician sourcebook.
Quick one today:
Maintenance Droid (AoR CRB/EotE CRB).
Priced at 7,500, which is incredibly high for a minion with 1 in all Characteristics and only Mechanics as a group skill.
However, each comes fully equipped with tools.
For contrast, a DUM-Series Pit Droid has a cost of 450 and although it has a slightly lower Characteristic spread (with 0 in Int and Cun), it has two extra group skills and a couple other bonuses.
Fix: Decrease the cost of the Maintenance Droid to 750.
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Bipod:
Currently, this does virtually nothing. The only person I knew to use it was a Chadra-Fan with a ridiculously oversized custom heavy blaster rifle.
For almost everyone, a Weapon Sling is enough. If it isn’t, a Tripod is likely necessary, and there’s always the alternative of a Weapon Harness. Yes, it’s more expensive, but it also doesn’t take a Maneuver to brace it.
The catch with “fixing” it is to not make its usefulness outstrip its low cost. However, considering its drawbacks (+1 Encumbrance, 1 HP), that gives us a little bit more flexibility, especially if we make it a Mod Option.
Fix: Change Modification Options to: “1 When taking a Maneuver to aim the weapon, reduce Strain cost by 1 to a minimum of 1 mod.”
Yes, “aim” is intentionally broad here. Not only would it include “Aiming” but also talents like Precise Aim or True Aim. If there are anything I’m not thinking of that shouldn’t count, please let me know.
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Oh, that bugged me since forever! Nice
Try the nubian design collective’s whole vehicle crafting handbook, it’s intended to be the minimum departure from RAW that reproduces 95% of official ships with a 95% or better quality match. It also let’s you create completely new ships that are comparable in power level to official ships. There’s a thread for it in this forums and a link to it in my profile.
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Nubian Design Collective’s WHOLE Vehicle Crafting handbook.
The thread is here
What about the Fusion Cutter? Breach 1, Sunder, Burn & Vicious 3, but no downside for using the tool as a weapon.
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The stats make sense for some practical reasons, but not one whit for game balance.
There is literally no counter-balancing mechanical concern, as the price is negligible and the encumbrance minor. The stats place it above a vibro-ax for damage potential, especially against more well-armored targets.
My balance suggestions:
As a tool, it’s balanced. It’s one of those “Right Tool for the Job” items that can grant a Boost under the right conditions.
The issue is the attack profile.
I have two suggestions:
- Reduce Base Damage to 0 and Crit to 2.
- OR replace Breach 1 with Pierce 4 and remove Burn.
- AND add “When used as a weapon, one Threat may be spent to damage the Fusion Cutter one step.”
Justifications:
The Fusion Cutter isn’t really a blow torch, although it has similar qualities. One of the most important things to consider is that it’s a pretty small “fire blade.” If I were statting it, I might not even make it usable as a weapon for this and a couple other reasons, one being the seeming fragility of the “point” of the weapon (see 3).
To this end, either reducing the weapon’s ability to ignore Soak (it’s short, it can’t go through as much), or damage (it doesn’t cleave flesh from bone, but it can do serious damage in the right spot) would seem appropriate.
My preferred course is to set the damage to 0. Because of Breach, it’ll do damage against non-Cortosis targets, but the damage is solely reliant on the skill of the user. What it’s useful for is strong crits. The drawback is that given the delicate emitter, it can be very easily damaged into non-usefulness.
I believe that this is both justified by the narrative and the mechanics, to limit the potency of such a cheap weapon.
I like this idea, especially #3. We were thinking Inaccurate 3 but that doesn’t capture the same risk of using as Threat to damage, and swingy damage 0.
Why 1 Threat and not 2? Will very easily get damaged. But yes, it’s only 175, so have to make them feel the pain.
1 Threat because that makes it much more likely to happen. But as GM, you don’t have to spend the Threat that way unless you want to.
The “bit” is very slender, and since it isn’t made to actually drill into anything, I don’t think it would be hard to snap. If you use power drills or have been around anyone who uses them, you likely know how easy it is for really thin bits to break. Now picture a hollow “bit” that you’re swinging around and using like a weapon. Even if it doesn’t snap, it may well bend.
(That’s if you don’t handle the fusion cutter precisely and actually strike it on something)
It’s NOT a weapon, and not designed to be used as one. For the cheap cost and dangerous potential, the chance for the weapon to fail do to misuse seems appropriate to me.
Agreed.
What about there is no value to retain Burn with damage 0, since it causes “base damage” for rounds. Should you boost the damage, or just drop Burn? Burn 1 doesn’t really do much since it is subject to soak.
I think Damage 0 closely reflects that you need to hold a torch over the same point for a while to cause significant damage.
Oh, I forgot that Burn was strictly base damage, unlike Blast which adds Success. In that case, it should either be dropped altogether as it (obviously) does nothing.
Now, if Breach applies to Burn, then damage could be increased to 1, and a successful Burn would deal a total of 3 Wounds (assuming it isn’t put out). However, I don’t think it does apply, even if the book doesn’t outright say that. If it did, then you’d be looking at 15 Wounds from the weapon as originally written, for a total of ~22 Wounds on the single check, on par with a Thermal Detonator.
Final version, pending further feedback:
Reduce Base Damage to 0 and Crit to 2, remove Burn. Add “When used as a weapon, one Threat may be spent to damage the Fusion Cutter one step and Despair may be spent to damage it three steps, which can potentially take it from undamaged to unusable in one result, or from minor damage to destroyed.”
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I like option 3 for damaging with threat, I’d also give it Unwieldy 3. Tax that melee PC with some XP 
Fire Suppression Droid (EotE SoF):
Priced at 8,000, which is incredibly high for what it does, especially when compared to its contemporaries (similar to the situation with the Maintenance Droid).
Fix: Decrease the cost of the Fire Suppression Droid to 600.
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Amplifying Chamber attachment is the only Blast attachment that doesn’t shorten the range of the weapon. Shouldn’t it?
And it’s the only one with 5 +1 Blast Mods, on top of its base 4. So why use any of the other Blast attachments??
Good mark! I think I might have noted something on it in my sheet, but regardless, I will examine it and its contemporaries and get back to you soon.
In the spreadsheet, I recommend simply deleting it from the game. The other two attachments do their jobs well, and are far more balanced.
HOWEVER, you requested a fix and so I will provide a fix.
Base Modifiers: “As a Maneuver, the character may charge the weapon to expend all of its ammunition in a single unstable shot. When charged in this way, the weapon gains the Blast 5, Inaccurate +1, and Limited Ammo 1 qualities.”
Modification Options: 5 Item Quality (Blast +1) mods, 1 Item Quality (Inaccurate -1) mod.
I think that’s acceptable at the price (350) and HP requirements (1), what do you think? It differentiates it from the other “shotgun” attachments and balances it (in comparison) by situationality, trading consistency for price and convenience (HP requirement).
I like it.
Do the other Blast attachments cost more than 1 HP? I didn’t notice.
3 for one, 2 for the other.
Wow, that’s a significant difference, then.
I like the option to keep it around for those players that want the Blast 9 occasionally. They’ll likely have to carry a spare power pack with it.