Skills & Feats

NewGen is a unqiue world, full of one-of-kind people, places and technologies. As such, it is also full of unique skills and feats to interact and exploit those things which make the world its own.

Craft: Necrotech (INT)

Necrotech is the growing, manipulating and refining of Spark powered, fleshvat grown tissue and components to accomplish mechanical means. The pseudo-undead Defiled of South Drak Isle created this technology out of desperation after a necromantic calamity befell their lands. Nearly any mundane item, weapon or armor can be crafted as necrotech. Items crafted in this way are often dark in color, chitinous, fibrous and usually twitch, spark or otherwise subtly move, revealing the items biological background. In the place of metal, alchemically hardened bone is often used and in place of ropes or chains, fibrously muscled sinew is usually used. The living muscle and bone used in necrotech is grown in special vats, called fleshvats. Bioluminescent light, nutrients and oxygen make up the sickly green effervescent fluid in which necrotech is grown. As the components grow and form, Spark is occasionally applied to the mix to bring the biomass to "life". Using different breeding stocks and rigid casts or templates, a wide array of biological components can be grown.

Once the individual components are grown and shaped, they can be combined to form all manner of machines. Cranes, mills, lantern, swords and even replacements or enhancements to living (or nearly living) creatures are possible with necrotech. All necrotech items heal over time in much the same way that living creatures do. Left alone, a necrotech item will heal 1 hp per day or 2 hp per day if left totally unused and undisturbed for that time. Hardness is not healed, it can only be repaired (through mundane means or by use of the mend spell, etc.).

In the place of magical enhancement for weapons and armor, necrotech items confer a plus bonus based on the quality and power of the Spark they contain. Weapons have necrotech muscle attached to the blades, heads or other striking surfaces that enhance the wielder's aim and damage. Armor reacts subtly, by either strengthening at the point of impact or by nudging the wearing just out of harms way. In any case, the bonus' that necrotech weapons and armor confer are Equipment based and are not magical.

Spark is the electrically-based "spark of life" that separates living flesh from dead. Even dead flesh, when fortified with the proper alchemical nutrients and the correct amount and form of Spark, can reanimate and regain most of its living properties. In fact, this is how the Defiled themselves came into being. Spark is most commonly created in special fleshvats full of living muscle tissue. This tissue is forced to continuously contract, and in doing so, produces a small amount of Spark. This spark is siphoned off with blackened cables into large spark capacitors. The largest of these capacitors, found only in the Defiled homeland, are capable of storing thousands of charges of Spark. Since Spark is naturally created within all living tissue, less morally inclined Defiled have created ways to more directly siphon Spark from living creatures, including people. Besides being incredibly painful, this direct siphoning is often fatal. Only recently have the Defiled discovered Onyx's ability (when combined with pre-existing necrotech) to produce Spark as well.

Necroware is the subset of necrotech that can be grafted, replaced or modified on a creature (living or Defiled). Here are some examples of Necroware:
Note: details coming soon.

Fleshcrafting (INT)

This skill covers a wide set of applications of the ability to surgically and magically alter living and non-living tissue. Related to Necrotech, fleshcrafting is almost solely used and taught by the Defiled of South Drak Isle. Fleshcrafting requires a Fleshcrafting Kit (which includes strange and wicked looking scalpels, sinewy thread, needles, sutures, clamps, serial links of miniature meat-hooks, bits and pieces of Necrotech flesh and variously shaped Spark batteries). Attempts to Fleshcraft without a kit are done at a -4 penalty. Masterwork Fleshcrafting Kits provide an additional +2 to checks and a fully stocked Fleshcrafting laboratory (which costs 2,000gp) gives a +4 bonus. There are rumors of highly advanced Masterwork laboratories (+6 to Fleshcrafting checks) found in the Defiled home city, but no living creature has yet seen them.

When used to repair Hit Points to a Defiled character, use the following rules. To repair Hit Point damage to a Defiled character, you must make a Fleshcrafting check (DC 15) to repair 1 hit point. For every point you make over the DC, you repair an additional Hit Point of damage. Thus, making a 21 on a Fleshcrafting check will repair 6 HPs. Making a Fleshcrafting check takes 6 minutes and, if circumstances allow, you can take 10 (1 hour) or 20 (2 hours) on the check. Attempting to perform a Fleshcrafting check on yourself imposes a -2 penalty.

When used to alter the appearance of a creature, Fleshcrafting is more effective than a simple disguise (such as one gained by the Disguise Skill), but is more time-consuming, costly, invasive and is generally permanent. When using Fleshcrafting to make a disguise, roll a Disguise check, and then roll a Fleshcrafting check. For every point over 20 on the Fleshcrafting check, add an additional point to the total Disguise check. Augmenting a Disguise check with a Fleshcrafting check takes an additional 5d6 minutes (to the 1d3x10 minutes of the normal Disguise check) of work. All other modifiers apply; see the Disguise skill, PHB pg.72.

Cosmetic and aesthetic changes to a creature are simpler and more common. Alchemical preservation of Defiled flesh (to prevent decay and odor) is an example of this common use. Tattoos, piercing, scarification, branding, and hair removal/addition are considered Simple tasks and have a DC of 15. Failure on this check causes 1 point of HP damage and a failure of 10 or more causes 1 point of Charisma damage that is permanent until repaired or magically healed. A Critical Failure causes 3 points of Charisma damage that is permanent until repaired or magically healed. Some modifications can be enhanced with magic (to be caused to glow, blink, shift colors, animate, etc) at an additional cost.

Implanting an object, either sub-dermally or trans-dermally, is considered a Standard task and has a DC of 20. Most implantations of Necrotech components are considered Standard tasks. Failure on this check causes 5 HP damage and a failure by 10 or more causes 2 points of CON damage (CHR for Defiled characters). A critical failure causes 10 points of damage and 4 points of CON damage (CHR for Defiled characters). See the Craft: Necrotech skill for additional information.

The addition/replacement of working digits or limbs, sensory organs, and advanced or bulky Necrotech is considered a Complex task and has a base DC of 25. See the Craft: Necrotech skill for individual DC modifiers.

Synergy: Having 5 or more ranks in Heal gives an additional +2 to Fleshcrafting checks. Having 5 or more ranks in Fleshcrafting gives a +2 bonus to Disguise checks.