Logos Location #10: The Dungeons of Kalaxar

Introduction and Background

Thanks to Dyson Logos' generosity, he has made a large number of his high quality maps available for use. I have decided (with his approval) to incorporate these into locations within Mystara. This is a B/X D&D adventure for a party of  characters of levels 3-4 set in the southeast of Darokin.

House Kalaxar was a merchant house to the south of Selenica in eastern Darokin until twenty years ago. The family members, although ostensibly respectable merchants, used underhand and violent methods to deal with competitors. Ten miles to the south of Selenica they had a secret base, with a farmer’s cottage on the surface but dungeons excavated underneath. This they used to launch bandit raids against the caravans of rivals and then having the audacity to sell the looted goods as their own. House Kalaxar came undone and was disgraced, with its members no longer allowed to do business in Darokin, and most of their property was seized by the authorities once their banditry was uncovered. The farmer’s cottage and dungeon were abandoned but not properly searched by the authorities. This has frustrated surviving victims of the bandits as they are sure there is evidence within the ruined cottage that would explain more about Kalaxar and the bandits’ activities. 

After two decades the dungeon has now been taken over by the Cragged Maw tribe of bugbears. However, the bugbears have resumed banditry, attacking merchants and other travellers on the road between Selenica and the Grand Duchy of Karameikos. It is this that the PCs get involved in - maybe they are with a caravan that gets ambushed by bugbears or else they are in Duke’s Road Keep when survivors of an attacked caravan arrive and ask for help and taking the PCs to the site of the ambush, with tracks leading to the farm cottage. 

Cartography by Dyson Logos, source

Surface Level:

1) Empty. The whole of the surface level is intentionally kept as abandoned and uninteresting as possible. However, the inhabitants have not hidden the stairs going down. 

Dungeon Level 1

2) Guard Post. This room has 4 bugbears guarding it.

3) Home to a pet grizzly bear kept here by the bugbears.

Grizzly Bear: AC 6, Mv 120ft, HD 5, 25hp, THAC0 15, Att 2 claws/1 bite for 1d4/1d4/1d8, Spec Abil: Hug for 2d8 dam if both claws hit, Ml 8, Save F2, Align N, 175xp 

4) Bear-keeper's lair. The bear keeper is a bugbear who also has a whistle carved from ivory (worth 60gp) that produces a distinctive tone that calls the bear's attention. 

5) Empty apart from rubble from a partial ceiling collapse in the southeast corner. 

6) Bugbear leader quarters. This Bugbear Leader is an oversized brute who also has 2 normal bugbear companions. He wields a magic two-handed sword and has an iron-bound chest containing much of the tribe's treasure, and has the key to this chest around his neck on a leather cord. The chest contains 7,500sp, 1250gp and 800pp and an emerald worth 1000gp.

Bugbear Leader: AC 5, Mv 120ft, HD 5+2, hp 27, THAC0 14, Att 1 sword for 1d10+2, Spec Abil: Stealth (surprise opponents on 1-3 in 6), Ml 9, Save F5, Align C, 225xp, equipment: Bugbear armour (large scale mail), Two-Handed Sword +1, 2 throwing axes, key to treasure chest. 

7) The Upper Pit. This area drops down into the pool in #21 30ft below. However, there are 3 alcoves with ledges that overlook this drop. Getting to the ledges could require some magic or problem solving or thief skills. 

    a) North alcove: There is a plank from the west side to the north alcove. What look like four large leather sacks hanging from the ceiling are in fact 4 giant bats that will awaken and attack if disturbed. 

Giant Bat: AC 6, Mv Fly 180ft/crawl 30ft, HD 2 (9hp each), THAC0 18, Att 1 bite for 1d4, Ml 7, Save F1, Align N, 20xp

    b) East alcove: This is home to a roost of 10 stirges. They will fly up and attack anyone who tries to cross the gap to get to any of the alcoves, or if they are otherwise disturbed.  There is a ladder from this alcove down into the water in room 21.

Stirge: AC 7, Mv Fly 180ft/crawl 30ft, HD 1 (4hp), THAC0 19, Att 1 beak for 1d3, Spec abil Swooping strike (+2 to first hit roll), Blood drain (automatic 1d3 damage/round after successful hit), Ml 9, Save F2, Align N, 13xp

    c) South alcove: This has a statue of an immortal, Loki, although with all the guano on the statue it is not easy to recognise. The statue has no magical properties but behind it out of sight is a wooden box with 250gp and 1600sp.  

8) Stairs down. This is guarded by 2 bugbears. 

9) The Crypts. The bugbears don't go in here and the door is bolted on the outside. The bugbears have written in Goblinish "Don't go in. Dead Danger."

Inside is a passage with 5 alcoves, each with a stone sarcophagus. The last on the right (the north eastern alcove) holds an angry wight that will attack anything including PCs or bugbears. There are also 4 zombies, each in one of the other alcoves, that will follow the wight. The wight used to be the bandit chief hired by the Kalaxars, and the zombies some of his fellow brigands. In the wight’s alcove in his sarcophagus is his treasure: 4800sp, 240gp and a silver and gold ceremonial sword worth 900gp and a gold and steel ceremonial helmet worth 600gp (both are non-magical).

Wight: AC 5, Mv 90ft, HD 3 (16hp), THAC0 17, Att 1 claw for Energy Drain, spec abil Energy Drain (1 level per hit), Immune to normal weapons (magic or silver weapons needed to hit),Undead properties, Ml 12, Save F3, Align C, 65xp 

Zombie: AC 8, Mv 120ft, HD 2,  THAC0 18, Att 1 weapon for 1d8, spec abil: undead properties, attack last in combat, Ml 12, Save F1, Align C, 20xp

10) Family quarters. Here are 8 bugbears + 6 bugbear young. There are numerous mattresses on the floor. 

Bugbear Young: AC 8, Mv 90ft, HD 1+1, 5hp, THAC0 19, Att 1 bite for 1d2, Spec Abil: Stealth (surprise opponents on 1-3 in 6), Ml 5, Save F1, Align C, 15xp

11) Kitchen and storeroom. This has 2 normal bugbears  + 1 bugbear novice who also doubles as the cook. There is a big fireplace on the east wall and cooking cauldron in the middle of the room The west side is raised up by several steps and has over a dozen boxes and barrels of food and drink, most of which the bugbears have looted from raided caravans. 

12) The Old Dining Room. This still has two huge dining tables. However, these days it is more used as an armoury and training room. There are 3 normal bugbears in here sparring. At the south end there is an upturned table with a humanoid figure drawn on the table top now serving as a target - there are 3 hand axes and 2 javelins stuck into the table. 

Laid out on the big dining tables are 

• 3 morning stars
• 2 bastard swords
• 2 heavy battleaxes (2d4 damage)
• 4 sets of bugbear armour (equivalent of scale mail but too large for humans)
• 6 hand/throwing axes
• 4 javelins
• 4 throwing hammers

Dungeon Level 2

13) This large chamber is empty though to the south there are wooden screens between slim pillars. There are also two unoccupied beds. 

    a) This cordened off section has 3 alcoves each with a bed. This is the quarters of 3 bugbear novices. 

14) Bugbear Shaman quarters. The shaman in charge of the novices is usually found here. Underneath his bed is a large box. Inside is the shaman's pet Pit Viper which is never happy about being disturbed.  Next to the viper is a silk bag with the shaman's treasure (1800gp, 120pp and a walrus-ivory statuette of Huggrek worth 200gp). Note that the shaman always wears his Periapt of Poison Protection as his pet viper is not entirely tame. 

Bugbear Shaman: AC 5, Mv 90ft, HD 5+2, (20hp), THAC0 16, Att 1 weapon for 2d4 or by spell, Spec abil: Stealth (surprise opponents on 1-3 in 6), Clerical spells, Ml 9, Save C5, Align C, 400xp, equipment: bugbear armour (large-size scale mail), morning star, unholy symbol, Periapt of Poison Protection (see below), prepared spells: Cure Light Wounds, Darkness, Hold Person, Aura of Shadows 

Pit Viper: AC 6, Mv 90ft, HD 2, hp 12, THAC0 18, Att 1 bite for 1d4 + poison, Spec Abil: Always wins initiative, infravision (heat sensing pits), poisonous bite (save vs poison or die), Ml 9, Save F1, Align N, 25xp

15) Shrine of Huggrekk. There is a crude stone altar set up in the east side of this room. This place is usually unoccupied though the shaman and his novices occasionally come in here for daily rituals. 

16) The old chief's quarters. Here is an old bugbear chief called Shalkneeth, although he does not get involved in the leadership of this tribe. According to the shaman (in room 14, the only one he confides in), he was expelled from another larger tribe of bugbears, narrowly escaping with his life, and found his way here to recuperate and reconsider his options. The current bugbear leader (room #6) respects this chief but is also wary - what if the chief's ambition reawakens and decides to take over this tribe? There is a set of shelves on the west wall that hold various trinkets and trophies, most of which are worthless (coloured feathers, severed hands, helmets etc). However, there is a skull of a slain ogre enemy that has a removable top. Inside the braincase is the chief’s treasure: 200pp and a small but perfect ruby worth 800gp.  

Shalkneeth the Bugbear Chief: AC 3, Mv 90ft, HD 7+3, 30hp, THAC0 12, Att 1 weapon for 2d4+2, Ml 10, Save F7, Align C, Equipment: Morning Star, large-size chain mail, Shield +1

17) Bruldoo the Cave Bear lives here. He came with the chief and is his loyal pet. The area is split between the excavated part and the natural cavern part by a large wall of iron bars. There is no normal way through within this room. 

Bruldoo the Cave Bear: AC 5, Mv120ft,  HD 7, 38hp, THAC0 12, Att 2 claws/1 bite for 1d8/1d8/2d6, Spec abil: hug for 2d8 if both claws hit, Ml 9, Save F3, Align N, 450xp

18) Empty. This is a natural cave with steps leading up to room 13.

19) Cavern junction. There is a steep drop here in the passage from areas 17 & 18. This stops the gelatinous cube in room 20 from getting into the rest of the dungeon. 

20) A Gelatinous Cube lives here. The bugbears are careful to keep the door to the corridor shut, so the cube wanders into areas 19, 21 and 22. Suspended in the body of the cube are 23gp, 40sp and 2 gems (an aquamarine worth 50gp and a polished sardonyx worth 30gp)

Gelatinous Cube: AC 8, Mv 60ft, HD 4, hp 22, THAC0 16, Att 1 slam for 2d4 + special, spec abil: transparent (surprise opponents on 1-4 on d6), Paralysing hit (opponents must save vs paralysis or be paralysed for 2d4 turns), Ml 12, Save F2, Align N, 125xp

21) This pool is about 10ft deep. Anyone falling from any of the alcoves in area 7 (30ft above) will only take 1d6 fall damage but swimming and drowning rules apply. Furthermore the creatures in area 7 (the giant bats and stirges) will be disturbed by the splash and may swoop down to attack. The west side is a raised dry platform, and anyone falling from the west ledge in area 7 takes the usual 3d6 falling damage.  The gelatinous cube in area 20 will sometimes pass through this.

22) This small cave is guarded by a carrion crawler. It has a locked chest left by the previous residents that contains a series of letters written by the head of the Kalaxar merchant house to the former master of this dungeon (the bandit chief), informing about potential targets for robbery and also explaining that House Velasquer, another merchant house, has provided this information and therefore their caravans are not to be attacked. This evidence that House Velasquer was involved in House Kalaxar’s criminal activities would be of great use to the Darokin City and Selenica authorities. The key to this has long since been lost but  a thief could pick the lock or a Knock spell would work. Also in the chest are 800gp and 4 spinel gems worth 100gp each. 

Carrion Crawler: AC 7, Move 120ft, HD 3+1, hp 13, THAC0 16, Att 8 tentacles, each causing paralysis.Spec Abil: Tentacle hit means save vs paralysis or be paralysed for 2d4 turns, Ml 9, Save F2, Align N, 75xp 

Stats for common monsters

Source

Bugbear (normal): AC 5, Mv 90ft, HD 3+1 (15hp), THAC0 16, Att 1 weapon for 2d4, Spec Abil Stealth (surprise opponents on 1-3 in 6), Ml 9, Save F3, Align C, 50XP, equipment: Bugbear armour (large-sized scale mail), morning star, 2 throwing axes or javelins, 2d4gp each

Bugbear Novice: AC 5, Mv 90ft, HD 3+1 (15hp), THAC0 16, Att 1 weapon for 2d4, Spec Abil Stealth (surprise opponents on 1-3 in 6), Clerical spells, Ml 9, Save F3, Align C, 50xp, equipment: Bugbear armour (large-size scale mail), morning star, 2d4gp. Prepared spells: Cure Light Wounds, Vigour  

New Magic Item

Periapt of Poison Protection: This is a green jade amulet often carved into the shape of a venomous creature such as a spider, scorpion or snake. While wearing it once per day the user may automatically succeed on a saving throw vs poison (before the roll is made: it cannot work retroactively after a failed save). After that for the rest of the day the periapt gives +2 to further saving throws against poison but no more automatic successes. 

The Lich-Tower of Westria

Source

 On the north shore of the Great Bay of Norwold west of Barathmir is the village of Westria, part of the domain of Panteria. It is small, only 300 folks living here, mostly Alphatian human colonists and a few halfling families. The village is dominated by the massive square-based tower that looms over it, over 240ft, 15 storeys high. Built by an Alphatian mage, Dorsennos the Dour, it is a menacing structure built of dark grey basalt and minimal style or decoration. Some say he was inspired by Arvorian ruins found much further north in the desolate tundra, while others say the tower simply reflects his character. 

Dorsennos technically no longer lives here: He resides in the top of the tower but he has become a lich, an undead creature no longer requiring normal sustenance or sleep. A little like Ellaria the Studious (from the floating city of Aalthir) he still maintains some contact with living humans though usually through his junior mages who act as intermediaries.  It is believed that Dorsennos moved here from Alphatia after being confronted by powerful archmage neighbours about his unsavoury experiments in necromancy. He arrived here in Westria about 40 years ago and started the construction of his tower (mostly through magical means, with minimal human labour).  Around five years later he underwent the transformation from mortal human into undead lich.  

The ground floor includes a number of human employees including servants who live in the village and mercenary guards (human male fighters, levels 5-8) but above them the upper levels hold laboratories, libraries, store rooms and holding cells. There are very few living humans here, and most of them wish they were somewhere else. The top floors include a rooftop stable that holds a Nightmare and late at night it can be seen galloping off the rooftop into the night sky with a rider, either Dorsennos himself or Nagleth. Rellifross of course does not need a nightmare as a steed - he can fly by himself. 

There are probably dungeons below the ground floor though this has never been confirmed by those who have got out alive. The domestic servants and mercenary guards say there are no stairs going down on the ground floor but one Alphatian mage who visited Dorsennos to discuss magical matters says that on the tenth floor of the tower there is a magical portal. When he and Dorsennos stepped through they were transported underground, finding himself next to a similar portal. Stepping back through that he found himself returned to the tenth floor.  He speculated that there is a dungeon under the tower but it can only be reached via this portal. 

Dorsennos is crotchety, unpleasant and knows he is powerful enough to obliterate most foes - what might seem like arrogance is actually well-placed self-confidence. He is currently experimenting with various forms of undead and these occasionally escape to terrorise the village. He is still predominantly interested in research and experimentation, though he views political power as a useful tool in this regard - the more territory or money he controls, the easier it is to acquire the resources for his experiments. However, his influence is mostly behind the scenes - although he could simply take control of Panteria he considers it more useful to threaten and bribe the rulers there in both leaving him alone and giving him what he needs. Dorsennos is aware that there are powerful mages in Alpha across the Great Bay who could threaten and maybe destroy him, so he is careful not to overplay his hand.  

From a campaign point of view Dorsennos is predominantly a villain, a threat to be dealt with at least once the PCs are powerful enough. Dorsennos is neither interested in the political manoevrings of Thyatis and Alphatia, nor is he involved in the Arvorians, so at least for the moment he is an independent menace. However, it is possible to negotiate with him, particularly if the PCs have something he wants that he cannot take from them by force, such as information. 

Dorsennos has spent some of his time studying eldritch crystals, which he now has a basic understanding of (his Staff of Conjuring Elementals is powered by one). He is also aware of the Arvorians though not of their long-term plans. He might be willing to discuss such matters with mortals on a quid-pro-quo basis - if they retrieve the body of an unusual undead creature for him to study, he might help them out. Spellbooks with spells he has not seen before are also a big attraction though he is brutal enough to kill one who carries such a book and simply take it from their dead body, particularly if they demand a ridiculous price or are rude when negotiating.  

NPCs of Westria

Dorsennos the Dour: 29th level magic user lich (formerly human male), align Chaotic. Str 16, Int 19, Wis 14, Dex 10, Con - (undead), Cha 6

Notable equipment: Staff of Power, Staff of Conjuring Elementals (once per 8 hours), Ring of Undead Control 

Nagleth the Weird-talker: 18th level magic user, human female, align Chaotic, Str 10, Int 17, Wis 15, Dex 11, Con 12, Cha 15

Nagleth is Dorsennos’s principle protege, a powerful mage in her own right. She is also the public face of Dorsennos in the village of Westria and the town of  Panteria. Like her master she has travelled the dark path of necromancy and is considering how to achieve lichdom as well.  She occasionally hires unwitting mercenaries to perform tasks that benefit Dorsennos such as removing an irritating foe like a band of lupins or else retrieving an item from a dungeon. She may approach the PCs with such an offer. 

Master Ibbraxe: 5th level fighter, human male, align Neutral, Str 15, Int 12, Wis 14, Dex 10, Con 10, Cha 13

Master Ibbraxe is the nominal head of the village of Westria, though he is well aware that his main duty is to keep Dorsennos placated. He is resigned to his situation and simply tries to keep himself and his fellow villagers alive. He can seem quite cowardly but he has seen Dorsennos and his lieutenants kill off plenty of "heroes" with impunity.

Rellifross: 14th level magic user vampire (formerly human male), align Chaotic, Str 18, Int 17, Dex 16, Con - (undead), Cha 14

Rellifross is another of Dorsennos’ apprentices, and is undead as well, although his transition was not voluntary. He was a handsome happy-go-lucky mage in Alphatia when he visited the Isle of Dawn and was seduced, drained and turned by a vampire madame in charge of a brothel. He fled here seeking advice from Dorsennos who was already an expert in the undead and has stayed here since. He only rarely feeds off villagers, and then usually as a punishment for offending him or Dorsennos, but he has preyed on elves and lupins in the nearby woods. He has also sometimes attacked adventurers who have found themselves near Westria late at night.   

Nordredd: 17th level cleric, human male, align Chaotic, Str 12, Int 15, Wis 17, Dex 9, Con 10, Cha 13

Nordredd is the lich’s undead-wrangler, creating and commanding all sorts of lesser undead. He is also adept at finding fresh corpses and has been known to lead a contingent of skeletons and ghouls on grave robbing expeditions to nearby towns and villages, sometimes sailing along the coast of the Great Bay in a pitch black longship with a skeleton crew. He has a twisted sense of humour and will often laugh at things that would horrify most folks. 

Tereellion Sureshot: 4th level Elf Ranger, elf male, align Lawful, Str 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Dex 16, Con 9, Cha 12

Tereellion is a resident of Westria who is not happy about the state of the village or the creatures that rule over it. He will try to warn visitors about the inhabitants of the tower. He ideally wants to see Dorsennos removed permanently but is aware there are very few people in the area powerful enough to actually do this. He has been compiling a report (which he keeps in a locked chest) documenting the necromantic goings-on and he hopes to pass this on to authorities in Alpha where there may be powerful wizards capable of stopping Dorsennos. However, unbeknownst to him Rellifross the vampire has already found out about these papers and is considering killing Tereellion and burning his incriminating documents. 

Gnome Tinkers

 I have previously described gnomes in a previous post where I turned them from entries in the monsters section of the rules into NPCs with two classes, the gnome warrior (essentially a gnomish fighter) and the gnome trickster (similar to a gnome magic-user/thief with a slant towards illusion and mischief). This post introduces the gnome tinker, a new class for gnomes that involves the utilisation of magi-tech - the magic of clockwork, steam and gunpowder. 

Art by Jesper Ejsing, source

There are different cultures of gnomes (sometimes referred to as subraces though the biological differences are minimal). The gnomes around Highforge in Karameikos are commonly known as rock gnomes. They are lighthearted but shy and rarely get involved in large-scale politics, preferring to focus on their families and craftsmanship of gem-cutting and jewelry crafting. They make friends with burrowing animals and are equally at home in sylvan forests, rolling hills or dwarf-style mines.  

However, there is another culture known collectively as Tinker gnomes. These are found west of the Sea of Dawn, on the Isle of Dawn, Alphatia and Bellissaria. There are some straightforward warriors and even a few tricksters (from my first post on gnomes). But about a third develop an interest, some might call it an obsession, with tools and machinery, starting with crossbows and ending up with the flying city of Serraine. They use a craft called magi-tech which is, as the name suggests, a combination of magic and mechanical technology. The magic means this is not entirely scientific - indeed the whole tinker gnome world could be described as science fantasy - technology is the outward appearance, but anything that people point out could not work in the real world is simply explained as magic. Most tinker gnome devices are sensed when a magic user casts Detect Magic. Magical forms of energy such as Eldritch Crystals from Norwold and the Radiance from Glantri will gladly be harnessed by these gnomes to power their contraptions, as will elemental magic and dimensional magic.  

Gnome Tinker Class Basics

Gnome Tinkers				Spells Per Day
Level	Hit Dice	THAC0	Title	1st Level	2nd Level	3rd Level	4th Level
1	1d6	20	Labourer	1	-	-	-
2	2d6	19	Toolsmith	2	-	-	-
3	3d6	19	Handyman	3	-	-	-
4	4d6	18	Operator	3	1	-	-
5	5d6	17	Mechanic	3	2	-	-
6	6d6	17	Magi-Technician	3	3	-	-
7	7d6	16	Tinkerer	3	3	1	-
8	8d6	15	Magi-Engineer	3	3	2	-
9	9d6	15	Boffin	4	3	3	-
10	9d6+2	14	Inventor	4	4	3	1
11	9d6+4	13	Inventor	4	4	3	2
12	9d6+6	13	Inventor	5	4	4	3

Note that gnome tinkers save as magic users of the same level. They can use leather armour and any weapon that a halfling can use (as they are approximately the same size and strength). They can be of any alignment though are often neutral (most of them are not interested in the conflicts of Law or Chaos). 

Tinker gnomes also cast spells, both normal MU spells and their own 

Spell List for Gnome Tinkers
1st level	2nd Level	3rd Level	4th level
Find Materials	Detect Mechanical Traps	Create Base Metal	Summon Grade II device
Detect MagiTech	Malfunction	Expand Bag	Re-Energise
Summon Tool	Reliability	Summon Grade I device	Summon Mechanical Trap
Counting	Create Wood	Create Glass
Understand Blueprints	Create Cloth	Locate Components
Mend simple item	Summon Weapon	Arcane Repair

Tinker Devices

Tinker devices are generally treated as magic items with chance of malfunction. Each will have Construction time and materials, and chance of malfunction per use. I intend to detail them in a separate blog post. 

Tinker devices are categorised into Grades, with Grade I being the simplest and easiest to make, and subsequently considered the least powerful. Grade I devices are considered little more than neat versions of mundane items, while Grade VI items are weird and powerful enough to rival minor artefacts in their rarity and effect on the campaign. 

• Grade I: Repeating Crossbow, multitool (Swiss Army Penknife meets Leatherman),  Folding Boat, Beam Lantern (like electric torch), Mechanical Trap Goggles, Replicating Printing Press (photocopier!)
• Grade II: Chainsword (like chaos space marines!), Climbing Boots & Gloves (like spiderman!), Parabolic Shield (reflects gaze attacks back at gazer), Smoke grenade, Telescopic Ladder, Ether-sensing goggles (see ethereal creatures etc)
• Grade III: Rock-drilling bore, mechanical steed, Faraday Suit (protects wearer from lightning), Fire Extinguisher, Entropic Net (entangles and magically slows ensnared targets), Backpack of Holding (like bag of holding), Helms of Telecommunication, Rapid Fire Ballista, Guided Missile Catapult
• Grade IV: Flamethrower, Submersible, Ornithopter, Document Teleporter (mail system!)
• Grade V: Hot Air Dirigible, Juggernaut (X4 Desert Nomads), Clockwork Golem, Umbrella of Protection (inc. resistance vs rays, wands & breath weapons)
• Grade VI: Teleportation Pad, Apparatus of Kwalish, Scaladar (Undermountain),  

A tinker gnome can attempt three main tasks with magi-tech devices. All of these actions are dependent on having correct tools, materials, time and maybe assistance from other gnomes and the situation can modify the chance of success. A single gnome without a workshop or supplies (i.e. out adventuring) will suffer a penalty in their chance of success, while a gnome with a full workshop and another gnome assisting will have a bonus to their chances.  Any attempt will take time and resources regardless of success. The good news is that the tinker gnome can attempt the same task once per month, thus even the most difficult of tasks can succumb if the tenacious gnome keeps on working on it over many months. 

Repair: The gnome has a chance to put a malfunctioning or broken device back into use

Replicate: Given either a blueprint or a working example the gnome can study (often refered to as a prototype) the gnome tinker can recreate the device. 

Innovate. This means inventing a new device of the given grade. It is up to the DM as to what grade a device should fit into. Innovating can also be used to create a device that already exists but the gnome cannot study in detail. 

Their basic chances of success are given below:

Gnome Tinker Level	Action	Grade I Device	Grade II Device	Grade III Device	Grade IV Device	Grade V Device	Grade VI Device
1	Repair	70%	30%	-	-	-	-
1	Replicate	50%	10%	-	-	-	-
1	Innovate	20%	-	-	-	-	-
2	Repair	80%	40%	-	-	-	-
2	Replicate	60%	20%	-	-	-	-
2	Innovate	30%	-	-	-	-	-
3	Repair	90%	50%	10%	-	-	-
3	Replicate	70%	30%	-	-	-	-
3	Innovate	40%	10%	-	-	-	-
4	Repair	100%	60%	20%	-	-	-
4	Replicate	80%	40%	-	-	-	-
4	Innovate	50%	20%	-	-	-	-
5	Repair	100%	70%	30%	-	-	-
5	Replicate	90%	50%	10%	-	-	-
5	Innovate	60%	30%	-	-	-	-
6	Repair	100%	80%	40%	10%	-	-
6	Replicate	100%	50%	20%	-	-	-
6	Innovate	70%	30%	-	-	-	-
7	Repair	100%	90%	50%	20%	-	-
7	Replicate	100%	60%	30%	-	-	-
7	Innovate	80%	40%	10%	-	-	-
8	Repair	100%	100%	60%	30%	10%	-
8	Replicate	100%	70%	40%	10%	-
8	Innovate	90%	50%	20%	-	-	-
9	Repair	100%	100%	70%	40%	20%	-
9	Replicate	100%	80%	50%	20%	-	-
9	Innovate	100%	60%	30%	-	-	-
10	Repair	100%	100%	80%	50%	30%	10%
10	Replicate	100%	90%	60%	30%	10%	5%
10	Innovate	100%	70%	40%	10%	-
11	Repair	100%	100%	90%	60%	40%	20%
11	Replicate	100%	100%	70%	40%	20%	10%
11	Innovate	100%	80%	50%	20%	-	-
12	Repair	100%	100%	100%	70%	50%	30%
12	Replicate	100%	100%	80%	50%	30%	15%
12	Innovate	100%	90%	60%	30%	10%	5%

 

As tinker gnomes are expected to be NPCs only the rules for inventions are more like guidelines for the DM and are not particularly rigorous. There are established designs that, like standard spells or well-known magic items, can be copied or found as blueprints. Or else the gnome can try to create something completely new but with much longer time and much higher chance of failure. Having said that, many gnomes will happily embark on research projects to invent a new gadget just as a proof of concept or out of curiosity. Some of these will be complete failures, while others are sort of functional but are really not efficient or effective - a gnome might invent an excavating machine that is actually slower than a dwarf with a shovel and pick-axe. Another might invent a cooking machine similar to a microwave oven, but it doesn’t do anything better than a normal wood burning stove (except explode - gnomish devices have a tendency to explode…) . Rarely the gnome manages to craft something that actually works well and is worth the time and effort, and these devices are highly prized. 

Finding components, blueprints and materials to build new devices or maintain existing devices could be a powerful motive to go adventuring. 

Author's Inspiration 

I first encountered tinker gnomes in the Dragonlance Saga, particularly the novel Dragons of Winter Night. These tinker gnomes clearly influenced not just me on what gnomes could be like - PC2 Creature Crucible Top Ballista came out in 1989. And then in 2004 World of Warcraft launched across the internet, and I think the creators of WoW had read the Dragonlance stories of tinker gnomes as well. The engineering skill (that any character in World of Warcraft can learn, not just gnomes) is similar to the magi-tech that I envision. One final influence was the dwarves of Warhammer, with their war machines such as the Ornithopter. Since 2016 they have evolved into the Kharadron Overlords, dwarves clad in armoured suits who fly the skies of the Realms in quasi-mechanical airships. Although their attitude is quite different from gnomes (much more dour and also profit-driven) their aptitude for fantasy machinery is spot on.