House Rules · GURPS 4e
Enchantment Gadgeteer
House advantage [25]/[50] — Quick and Dirty Enchantment with compressed time only; Strain, registration, Fast-Bound.
Enchantment Gadgeteer — house advantage
Game: Orion Corridor — 2277 · Rules: GURPS 4e Type: House advantage (written canon Jul 2026)
Companion: Khesret Magic System · Life-Cells · Magical Null
Summary
Like Gadgeteer (Basic Set p.475), but only for Quick and Dirty Enchantment (GURPS Magic). Same pattern as Gadgeteer Alchemists (Magic p.211) — compress time, not costs, rolls, or failure modes.
Does not affect: Slow and Sure enchantment · Ultra-Tech Gadgeteer invention · Powerstone growth castings (default: normal spell time + 20 energy per +1 capacity).
Prerequisites
- Magery 1+
- Enchant skill 12+
- No mundane enchanters with this advantage unless GM exception
Point buy: Either [25] or [50] — not both by default.
Levels
| Advantage | Cost | Q&D time scale |
|---|---|---|
| Enchantment Gadgeteer | [25] | 1 minute per 100 energy (round up); min 1 minute |
| Quick Enchantment Gadgeteer | [50] | 1 turn per 20 energy (round up); min 1 turn |
| (Neither) | — | 1 hour per 100 energy (core GURPS Q&D) |
Examples — Quick [50]
| Item energy | Time |
|---|---|
| 20 | 1 turn |
| 30 | 2 turns |
| 50 | 3 turns |
| 100 | 5 turns |
| 250 | 13 turns |
Examples — Standard [25]
| Item energy | Time |
|---|---|
| 100 | 1 minute |
| 500 | 5 minutes |
What does not change
- Full energy cost — FP, HP, Powerstones, assistants
- Materials per Magic item listing
- Enchant roll — effective skill 15+; GM may roll in secret
- Assistants — −1 each; max = Enchant skill − 15
- Interference — others within 10 yards (not in circle): −1
- Failure → item perverts (quirk, wrong spell, GM call)
- Critical failure → item and materials destroyed
Quick and Dirty procedure
- Declare item, total energy, materials.
- Check mana zone and garden pool (Magic System).
- Gather circle; clear 10-yard interference.
- Pay energy — all spent when GM rolls.
- Wait (advantage sets duration).
- Roll Enchant (or required spell skill).
- Apply Strain, astral signature, registration deadline, garden overdraw if any.
On Verdigris: Workshop = engineer bench + circle or greenhouse annex — not mid-firefight in cargo.
| Location | Fast enchant |
|---|---|
| Dead void | Forbidden |
| Ship (garden) | Yes — capped by garden step |
| Hub / planet | Yes — registration applies |
| High preserve | Yes if legally on-site |
Khesret enforcement (mandatory)
> Enchantment Gadgeteer changes time, not physics, law, or mana.
Strain (after each session)
| Energy in item | Strain |
|---|---|
| ≤ 50 | +0 |
| 51–100 | +1 |
| 101–250 | +2 |
| 251+ | +3 |
Registration (Astral Court)
| Item energy | Requirement |
|---|---|
| ≤ 50 | Log within 7 days (recommended) |
| 51–200 | Register within 72 hours |
| 201+ | Guild sealed job |
Fast-Bound (Quick [50] only)
Items made with Quick Enchantment Gadgeteer are Fast-Bound:
- Major break → magic burns out (mundane item), or
- GM option: expires after sessions = energy ÷ 50 unless lodge Slow and Sure anchor
- Ivan Null-touch on active Fast-Bound gear → always 3d Burn-Out when shut off (11+ kills the enchant)
[25] items are not Fast-Bound by default — still lose power when broken (core GURPS).
Player contract
You keep fast enchant. The table enforces energy math, rolls, garden limits, Strain, and paperwork. You are not a factory — you are a mage on a life-powered ship in a tech galaxy.
Source canon: WCP_Website/campaign-authoring/palimpsest/KHESRET-MAGIC-AND-ENCHANTMENT.md