Tech

You're not simply good with machines; you're a galactic-level genius. Where others see a pile of junk, a boring appliance, or a simple device, you see potential—circuits, energy conduits, and power cells enabling you to build an explosive, repair a weapon, fashion a new custom-built device, or keep a starship limping along when by all rights that last enemy disintegration beam should have spelled the end.

Others on your team probably celebrate your technical know-how, especially as it usually falls to you to bypass dumb devices like surveillance monitors and force screens. And if they can protect you from direct enemy action, you can produce a gadget that might just be the key to accomplishing the overall objective.

Background Options

• You grew up in a hollowed-out asteroid away from all dangers, learning the secrets of technology from your clade. Now you're ready to step out and share your skills with the universe.
• Until you recently paid off your bond, you spent several years laboring for a megacorporation.
• You barely escaped your homeworld's destruction when the planet mind AI went rogue and converted all mass to computronium. Now you seek out and destroy malignant AI wherever you travel.
• You were paid to produce an explosive device, but recently discovered it was used as a weapon.
• A close friend of yours was murdered a year ago, but by who or why is still unknown.
• Your parents grew and assembled you from a biological printer. Tests say you're normal, but you're always concerned that someone will find out you're not "real."
• The habitat air purification machine you built ten years ago still works, against all odds.
• You were part of a team of bounty hunters until six months ago, when the group disbanded.

Tech Abilities

You gain all of the following benefits:

• Able to take two more minor wounds and one more moderate wound
• Add +1 to Speed Pool
• Add +3 to Intellect Pool
• Add +1 Edge in Pool of your choice
• Freely use light and medium weapons
• Freely use light armor
• Gain one weapon of your choice
• At tier 3 and tier 6, choose an ability from the Science Fiction Genre Abilities list

Always Tinkering: You build a single-use technological device. You can choose its effect from the low-power manifest cypher table. Your device counts toward your cypher limit (or the limit of anyone you give the device to). If you are already at your cypher limit, your choice of one of your current cyphers shorts out, had to be salvaged for parts to create the new device, or something similar, and the new device takes its place. At tier 3, you can choose a low or medium-power manifest cypher as a single-use device. At tier 6, you can choose a low, medium-, or advanced-power manifest cypher as a single-use device. Ten minutes to build.

Craft Device (5+ Intellect): You build a new—but somewhat fragile—device if you succeed at a difficulty 3 engineering task. You can choose its effect from the low-power manifest cypher table. The resulting device is not a cypher, doesn't count toward your cypher limit, and usually isn't limited to one use; instead, it has a depletion of 1 in 1d6. The device is small enough that you can carry it. At tier 3, if you apply a level of Effort to this ability you can choose a medium-power manifest cypher as your device. At tier 6, if you apply two levels of Effort to this ability you can choose an advanced-power manifest cypher as your device. One hour to build.

Cypher Use: You can bear one additional cypher at a time. Enabler.

Tech Equipment Bundle

Choose the following equipment bundle to quickly outfit your character, or assemble your own starting equipment.

A medium blaster and a weapon energy pack (50 shots), appropriate clothing, a set of tools specialized for building your devices (including bolt cutters), a smart device (glasses, badge, ring, and the like), a backpack, a breather, an environmental tent, a single-use vacuum suit, a first aid kit, an everlight, two days of rations and water, a grooming and toiletry kit, and eyeshades. Your character also starts with currency equivalent to a moderately priced item.

Part of Space Opera