Funding

As explained under Tech Level and Starting Wealth (p. 27), the high-
er the tech level, the greater the starting wealth. However, the cash out-
lay required for inventing and gadgeteering doesn’t scale with TL – it’s
fixed. Thus, the lower the TL, the higher the relative cost of innovation.
This might model reality well, but it takes a lot of the fun out of
being a low-tech gadgeteer. The GM may use these optional (but realis-
tic) rules to remedy this:
Patrons: Historically, many inventors had wealthy patrons to pay
their way. If you have a Patron with the +100% “Equipment” enhance-
ment, you may attempt a single roll against your Patron’s frequency of
appearance when you start a new invention. On a success, the Patron
foots the bill. Most Patrons will demand access to the invention; if you
deny this, you are likely to lose your Patron!
Professional Inventors: You can pay the costs gradually by building
the tools, facilities, etc. yourself. You must pay at least 10% “up front.”
Divide the remainder by your monthly income and add that many
months to the time required. You earn no money during this time, but
you must still pay your monthly cost of living. Independent Income
(p. 26) can be helpful here – it might represent royalties from your last
invention.
Investors: If your invention promises to be profitable, others might
be willing to cover your costs. Make a Finance roll with the same mod-
ifiers as your Concept roll (this represents perceived risk). On a success,
you receive funding. Note that your investors own shares of your inven-
tion and any profits!
skill (e.g., Driving for a car, Electronics
Operation for a radio) at -3. Each suc-
cess finds one bug; a critical success
finds all bugs. A failure triggers a
major bug, if present, or finds nothing.
A critical failure causes a problem
similar to a major bug without
encountering any real bugs; alterna-
tively, the tester is convinced, erro-
neously, that no bugs remain.
Bugs that remain after testing sur-
face on any operation skill roll that
fails by 5 or more. A major bug always
surfaces on a critical failure.