Technomancer

Overview

The Technomancer is Rifts' magic-and-machinery hybrid: a practitioner who imbues technology with arcane energy and crafts magical-technical devices that exist nowhere else in the setting. Where a Linewalker channels raw magic through their will, a Technomancer channels it through their machines — a Technomancer pistol that fires bolts of force, Technomancer armor that flares with elemental aura when struck, Technomancer drones that run on spells instead of batteries. Technomancers are tinkerers and inventors first, casters second. They don't memorize spells in the traditional sense — they prepare magical-technical components each morning and improvise gadgets from them throughout the day, building devices on the fly when situations demand them.

In the setting, Technomancers are problem-solvers, gadgeteers, and the social link between the magic-using community and the technologically-oriented societies of the Federation States, Naruni Enterprises, and the Northern Gun crafters. They fit roles ranging from inventor-shopkeeper to Technomancer-mech-pilot to military spell-engineer.

The class is built from two engines: an Alchemist-style Reagent pool that fuels improvised gadgets, and an Inventor-style Technomancer Innovation — a persistent signature device. The result is a truly improvised caster: you don't commit to specific spells, you commit to what reagents you have and decide on the spot what to make. That matches the class's "I can rig something up" feel. There are no spell slots and no focus pool — just two things to track, reagents and your Innovation.

At a glance

Class features by level

Technomancer Specialties

Select your Technomancer Specialty at L1; it is permanent. Each grants free specialty-flavored gadget formulas added to your library, plus a distinctive ability.

Technomancer Bombardier (offensive)

• L1 Specialty: Free formulas (Technomancer Force Bomb, Technomancer Concussion Bomb, Technomancer Plasma Bomb, Technomancer Disruption Bomb) added to your library at appropriate levels. Quick Crafted offensive gadgets gain a +1 status bonus to damage rolls.
• L7 Improved Bombardier: When you Quick Craft an offensive gadget and throw it, the burst radius increases by 5 ft (5-ft → 10-ft, 10-ft → 15-ft, and so on).
• L13 Greater Bombardier: Critical hits on offensive Quick Crafted gadgets deal triple damage instead of double — the device exploded fully on the crit.

Technomancer Chirurgeon (healing)

• L1 Specialty: Free formulas (Technomancer Healing Patch, Technomancer Antitoxin Vial, Technomancer Restoration Kit, Technomancer Reanimation Spike) added at appropriate levels. Quick Crafted healing gadgets restore +1 status HP per gadget item-level.
• L7 Master Chirurgeon: Healing gadgets can be applied at range (20 ft) instead of touch only.
• L13 Greater Chirurgeon: Once per long rest, Quick Craft a Technomancer Reanimation Spike for free (no reagent cost) — but only on an ally who died in the past minute.

Technomancer Tinker (modification)

• L1 Specialty: Free formulas (Technomancer Lockpick, Technomancer Stim Shot, Technomancer Field Modifier, Technomancer Tinker Drone) added at appropriate levels. Quick Imbue (spend 1 reagent): a non-Technomancer item gains the magical trait + 1d4 force damage for 1 minute.
• L7 Master Tinker: Quick Imbue becomes a 1-action activity instead of 2 actions.
• L13 Field Engineer: Once per long rest, perform a Field Modification on a creature's cyberware: a 10-minute activity that grants the creature one additional cyberware-feature-like trait (from a GM-approved list) for 24 hours.

Class feats

Class feats available at each feat level — you gain one at every even level, and can always pick a feat of your level or lower.

Level 1

• Technomancer Familiar. Gain a small Technomancer familiar (separate from any Innovation Companion). A standard familiar with the magical and construct traits. Useful for scouting, basic carry, and minor utility.
• Crafter's Eye. +1 status bonus to Recall Knowledge checks involving magical-tech items. After a 1-action examination, you can identify a Technomancer item's rough cost, crafting time, and material requirements.
• Extra Formulas. Gain 4 additional gadget formulas in your Technomancer Gadget Library.
• Calibrated Throw. Your thrown Technomancer gadgets gain a +20-ft range increment, and you don't take the usual penalty for throwing a gadget into or past a creature in melee.

Level 2

• Reagent Reserve. Your daily Technomancer Reagent pool increases by 2.
• Imbued Strike. When you use Imbue Device to channel a gadget into your Technomancer Weapon, the activity is a single action instead of two — the signature gadget-strike comes faster.
• Field Improvisation. Out of combat, you can Quick Craft item-level-1 utility gadgets (light, lockpick, sensor, patch, and similar non-attack gadgets) without spending a reagent.

Level 4

• Improved Quick Crafting. A Quick Crafted gadget persists for 1 minute instead of dissolving at the end of your turn (so a gadget made on round 1 can still be used on round 3 if unused). Holds for one gadget at a time.
• Technomancer Pistol Specialist. Your Technomancer Weapon, if a one-handed firearm, gains the fatal d10 property — critical hits double damage and add an additional d10.
• Companion's Bond. Your Technomancer Companion's attacks gain a +1 status bonus to attack rolls. The Companion's actions can be made as part of your own turn.

Level 6

• Empowered Gadgets. Your damaging Quick Crafted gadgets deal 1 additional die of damage (or +2 damage if the gadget has no damage dice).
• Innovation Surge. Spend 1 reagent. Your Technomancer Innovation's next discharge this turn is enhanced: the Weapon deals +2d6, the Armor grants you 5 temporary HP, or the Companion's next attack gains a +2 circumstance bonus.
• Twin Gadget. When you Quick Craft a gadget, you may spend 1 additional reagent to craft a second copy of the same gadget at the same time.

Level 8

• Magnum Opus Apprentice. Spend 6 reagents to craft a minor Technomancer Magnum Opus — an encounter-duration device with a smaller effect than the L20 capstone (player and GM agree on the effect; rough scale: one Technomancer Innovation upgrade for one encounter). Gated by the steep reagent cost rather than a daily limit.
• Mass Imbue. Imbue Device can store up to three gadget effects simultaneously (vs. two with Imbue Device Mastery). Each additional gadget after the first costs 1 reagent.
• Diverse Library. Gain 4 additional gadget formulas.

Level 10

• Greater Imbue. Your Imbue Device gadgets discharge whether the triggering attack hits or misses, and a stored gadget no longer dissipates after 1 minute (it waits until the Innovation next discharges).
• Adaptive Innovation. As a 10-minute activity, you can rebuild your Technomancer Innovation: change its type (Weapon ↔ Armor ↔ Companion) and re-choose its Modifications. No daily cap.
• Reagent Cache. Your daily reagent pool increases by 3, and you can recover 2 spent reagents during any 10-minute rest (time-gated, no daily cap).

Level 12

• Greater Technomancer Innovation. Your Innovation's Modifications scale faster — gain one additional Modification step ahead of normal class progression (e.g. L11 Modification III's behavior triggers at L9).
• Master Tinkerer. Quick Imbue (the Tinker Specialty's L1 feature) costs you no reagent — you can perform it for free instead of spending 1 reagent.
• Overcharged Innovation. Spend 2 reagents. Until the start of your next turn, your Innovation's Modification effects are doubled (the Weapon's bonus force damage doubled, the Armor's Resistance doubled, or your Companion gains an extra action).

Level 14

• Bomb Cascade. When a creature critically fails its saving throw against a damaging Quick Crafted gadget you threw, the gadget's effect also strikes one other creature within 10 ft of it.
• Master Crafter. Your Quick Craft maximum item level increases to equal your class level (instead of class level − 1), and once per turn you can Quick Craft a gadget as a free action.
• Reinforced Innovation. Your Technomancer Innovation can't be destroyed by anything short of an artifact-tier effect, and if it is disabled (anti-magic, EMP, or similar), it reactivates at the start of your next turn.

Level 16

• Technomancer Mastermind. Your Magnum Opus capstone is enhanced. Spell Cannon Magnum Opus can fire gadgets at item-level equal to your max Quick Craft level + 2.
• Unified Resonance. Each Modification grants both its standard effect AND a +1 status bonus to the Innovation's primary stat (damage for Weapon, Resistance for Armor, HP for Companion).
• Arsenal Innovation. You build and maintain a second Technomancer Innovation of a different type. Both are active at once, and you can use Imbue Device with either.

Level 18

• Perfect Reagents. Your daily reagent pool increases by 4, and your Quick Crafted gadgets gain a +2 status bonus to their save DCs and damage rolls.
• Cascade Imbue. When your Imbued Innovation discharges, every stored gadget releases on each valid target (a Weapon releases on each creature you hit this turn; a Companion on each of its attacks this turn).
• Gadgeteer's Genius. Once per round, when you Quick Craft a gadget, you don't spend a reagent for it — your improvisation has become second nature.

Level 20

• Grand Magnum Opus. When you craft a Magnum Opus (capstone) or a minor Magnum Opus, you may apply two of its options at once instead of one.
• Apex Innovation. Your Technomancer Innovation gains a sixth Modification tier beyond Modification V: the Weapon deals +7d6 force and gains Penetrating 12; the Armor reaches Resistance 18 and Hardness 14; the Companion's HP increases by 75% and it gains an extra action each round.
• Infinite Workshop. Your reagent pool refills completely after any 10-minute rest, not only on a long rest. You are never far from being ready to rig something up.

When the resources run dry

The Technomancer has three resource axes — reagents, the Innovation, and martial baseline. How the class plays when stretched depends on which is depleted.

Without your Technomancer Innovation

• The Innovation is your signature persistent gear, and losing it is significant: you cannot use Imbue Device, your dedicated Technomancer Device combat options are unavailable, and your combat output drops by roughly 30–40%.
• Rebuilding takes 1 week of downtime + 60% wealth.
• Mitigation: your Reagent pool and Quick Crafting still work — you can produce gadgets on the fly with whatever components you have. Sufficient for combat, just less impressive without the Innovation.

With reagents drained

• Quick Crafting is unavailable until refilled on a long rest.
• The Technomancer Innovation still works — you can still Strike with the Technomancer Weapon, take attacks against the Technomancer Armor, or send the Technomancer Companion to fight.
• Imbue Device is unavailable (it requires a reagent).
• Survival mode: rely on the Innovation + martial weapons until you refill.

With both drained

• You're mostly a martial character with light/medium armor and martial weapons — roughly equivalent to a Fighter of class level −3.
• A long rest restores everything.

Where the class shines

• Workshop, downtime, repair-and-tinker: the Technomancer dominates — Crafting bonuses, gadget formula access, and Specialty features (Chirurgeon and Tinker especially) shine.
• Combat: competent. Quick Crafting + Innovation + Imbue Device gives strong "single shot, big effect" tactics. The reagent pool is the primary constraint.
• Anti-magic zones: the Technomancer Innovation is suppressed (it's magical-tech), and Quick Crafted gadgets are also suppressed. Crafting skill and martial features remain.
• Tech-heavy environments: the Technomancer shines — interface with foreign tech, modify devices on the fly, identify magical-tech items.