I need serious help with a TechWizard

[Lucimorth]

I started playing rifts and started a techno-wizard, and honestly it is way too much stuff all at once, i am sort of getting overwhelmed. It is literally a level 1. But i am not sure whether it is a fighter, or it is more of a support class? How does one play, lol? Whats a good initial setup?

Here are my stats:

12 - M.A.
12 - P.S.
13 - I.Q.
23 - M.E. - +4 save vs psionic and +6 vs insanity
12 - Spd
13 - P.P.
11 - P.B.

21 - P.E. - coma/death+16% magic/poison+ 4

Aberrant

Psionic Powers
Machine Ghost 12
Mind block 4
Object read 6
Speed reading 2
Telemechanics 10
Total recall 2

Spells
Armor of Ithan 10
Blinding Flash 1
Breath without air 5
Call lightning 15
Cloak of darkness 6
Deflect 10
Electric Arc 8
Energy bolt 5
Energy field 10
Fire ball 10
Fire bolt 7
Fuel flame 5
Fly 15
Forcebonds 25
Globe of Daylight 2
Ignite Fire 6
Impervious to energy 20
Impervious to fire 5
Magic net 7
Magic shield 6
See the invisible 4
Sense magic 4
Shadow meld 10
Superhuman Strength 10
Telekinesis 8


Skills:
Native: English
Languages: Techno-Can, Dragonese-Elven
Pilot: 2 options ??
Radio basic +10%
Computer operations +5%
Computer prog. +5%
Computer repair +10%
Basic elec. +15%
Mechanical engineer +20%
Techno wizardry const. +10%
Sensory eqp. +10%
Math basic +20%
Land navigation+5%
W.P.: sword
W.P.: rifle

OCC related skills:
Electrical Engineer 35% +10%,
Robot Mechanics 35% +10%
Surveillance
Salvage 35% +10%
Computer Hacking 20%+5%
Weapons Engineer 25%+10%
Basic HtH

Secondary skills:
Demon and monster lore
Mythology
Lore: Magic


Equipment:
Hand stitched leather. Leather pants and jacket. Rhyno buffalo. 35 MDC total: (name me)(35 main body, 15 legs, 10 arms.)
=> environmental thingy: reactive, 5 charges, it auto reacts to the environment and last 15 seconds per charge. For 9 PPE recharge all 5.
Breathe without air
Sense magic
(x5 individual defenses)

=> auto decrease visibility / evasion: if something hits me, i get auto deflect and turn into a shadow blob. -8 to hit for 15 seconds right after it triggers. 20 PPE single use, lasts until use.
Deflection 10
Cloak of Darkness 6
Shadow Meld 10


Rifle:
Uses energy bolts. L-20 Pulse Rifle.

Help.... advice? I just need some juice to start the brainstorming going for my equipment etc.

[ShadowLogan]

I started playing rifts and started a techno-wizard, and honestly it is way too much stuff all at once, i am sort of getting overwhelmed. It is literally a level 1. But i am not sure whether it is a fighter, or it is more of a support class? How does one play, lol? Whats a good initial setup?

Palladium classes tend to be front loaded in terms of development so it is understandable on why you are feeling overwhelmed. What are you finding overwhelming specifically?

As for is it a Fighter or Support, it is intended more as a support class but nothing really prevents it either from being a decent fighter even at level 1 (or developing into one) depending on your selections (equipment, spell, skills).

Some things to keep in mind about a Techno-Wizard:
-they build (or combine) magic into tech items, there are lots of examples in RUE and other books, but you can make your own. The guideline construction formulas also mean you can take an existing design and tinker with it (note these guidelines are a newer addition than some of the items in question which might not be 100% compatible), this means you could take an existing Device Level 10 item and build it as Device Level 1, or even the reverse.
-when making TW magic items you are going to need to work with the GM to work out the spell chain and end effects. Also keep in mind most devices likely will require some serious down time to build (which could happen between sessions and such).
-if you are going to cast spells on the fly and not build them into a device, make sure you have devices appropriate that you can channel a spell through or else you take penalties. Not every spell may have a tech item you can channel through, though check with the GM in that regards. Spell channeling in this was does not harm the item in any way. For example you could cast "Ignite Fire" directly, but you will take penalties to it, but if you cast it through a (dead) lighter the penalties will go away, but you couldn't cast it via a canteen.
-spell casters aren't intended to be casting spells for direct damage, the DMG to PPE ratios just aren't there, which is where your TW weapons come in handy with their ability to store PPE (downside is you'll eventually have to find a PPE source to recharge them) and might be more effective in terms of DMG to PPE ratio
-you can learn new spells at any time regardless of your own level or spell level, provided you can find someone to teach you as you don't have to wait until you gain a new level to acquire new spells. This part is going to come down to the GM in how easy they want to allow new spells to be acquired in this fashion
-you have technology orientated skills that can be used without combining it with magic. And nothing requires you to combine magic with tech, so you could fix up a tech item as a tech item and leave it at that.
-as a mage you should not be afraid to use tech where it has the advantage (in this case damage dealing and range).

Pilot: 2 options ??

This means to select 2x skills from the Pilot Category. As to what those skills should be that is up to you, what vehicles do you see this character being able to operate? You will need these skills to operate any TW converted vehicle (when not on a Ley Line).

I do not mean to be overly critical, but Robot Electronics might not be the best selection. Electricity Generation might be more useful if you want to stay in the Electrical Skills category, or if you switch to Mechanical Category going with Auto-mechanics might also be more useful. I am not saying there is anything wrong with the selection, just that it seems of less value in terms of what you are likely to be able to get out of it. TWing up a Car or Generator would seem to be something to come up more often than doing the same to a Robot's electrical systems, though this could vary by GM world to GM world.

[guardiandashi]

the base techno wizard is a hybrid support character
much like the operator is
the tw is a hybrid technology/magic class and its not that they can't fight, they can but they are support classes like modern army combat engineers are they CAN fight directly but thats not playing to their true strengths their real strength is in support roles.

with the techno wizard they CAN repair tech gear, the CAN fight, but ideally what they really do is upgrade things.
the types of things I think of a TW doing is making magical gear that takes advantage of the best of magic and tech.

lets say you have a char that uses guns but you have a herd time getting (or recharging) eclips. they can make a magic enhanced eclip recharger system, or convert guns to fire some magic based attacks.
or defensively they modify armor to have a mystic shield of some kind, or have an impervious to energy making them immune to non kenetic based attacks for a time or similar. so you spend a bit up front (for the enchantment) but you reduce costs by reducing the required repairs afterwards.

I will say that tw are a complex class to play and excel at. it also requires a lot of teamwork and interaction with the GM for them to really shine

[AceTW]

I hope your GM is ok with home-brewing your own TW devices.

I made a toaster and pitcher that ran off of the Create Bread and Milk spell so that our party did not have to bother with tracking our food and drink requirements.

Once I hit 9th level I got to add a couple of temporal magic spells to my list thanks to a blurb about it on page 66 of world book England. So now I had access to D-pocket and Dimensional
Envelope. These have been very useful in creating things like a up-the-sleeve holster that can pop an entire rifle into my hand out of concealment.

I also crafted a set of modified borg limbs that had D-pockets at the shoulders and hips so my character could convert back and forth into a partial borg without surgery.

The best part of the TW is that you can use magic and modern equipment like Power Armor and other robots and not break lore.

And they can stockpile PPE and PPE powered things that lets them keep up with the tech characters in a fight.

[Grazzik]

I hope your GM is ok with home-brewing your own TW devices.

I made a toaster and pitcher that ran off of the Create Bread and Milk spell so that our party did not have to bother with tracking our food and drink requirements.

Once I hit 9th level I got to add a couple of temporal magic spells to my list thanks to a blurb about it on page 66 of world book England. So now I had access to D-pocket and Dimensional
Envelope. These have been very useful in creating things like a up-the-sleeve holster that can pop an entire rifle into my hand out of concealment.

I also crafted a set of modified borg limbs that had D-pockets at the shoulders and hips so my character could convert back and forth into a partial borg without surgery.

The best part of the TW is that you can use magic and modern equipment like Power Armor and other robots and not break lore.

And they can stockpile PPE and PPE powered things that lets them keep up with the tech characters in a fight.

I'd add to this that thinking through what spells the TW will need to pursue to accomplish their life's work will make it easier to focus and add some purpose to why the TW does what they do. E.g. from the outset I had a TW that wanted to have a workshop in a dimensional envelope where time moved at a different speed. They could pop in for a minute or two and re-emerge with a tool needed by the party... like a TW Mary Poppins. That minute or two could have been weeks of time in the DE. So, the DE spell was a given, but the levels before 9th were spent seeking out either the TW devices or the spells to build the devices that would enable the workshop be livable for weeks on end.
- a hustle maker to help get work done fast (Superhuman Speed, RUE pg 209... added benefit of no fatigue from physical exertion)
- a time dilator to adjust speed of time in DE to reduce wait time when "fast" isn't fast enough (a stacked Wink Out spell chain, WB3 pg 82)
- an air recycler for extended stays (Recycle Air, DB13 pg 114... or could use Breathe Without Air, RUE pg 202 but can't smell anything since you're not breathing)
- an endless water cistern (Create Water, BoM pg 111... though an add-on Water to Wine, RUE pg 218 is handy)
- a laundry machine (Cleanse, RUE pg 200) - doubles as a means for making easy money... "instant" service laundromat
- a shower (using the water from the cistern, heated using any fire related spell, or could use Cleanse but not as relaxing as a good shower)
- a toilet (personal favorite - rift waste to a Sewage Dimension... like the Garbage Pit Dimension in DB7 but much more nasty with interesting denizens who might briefly pop their head up out of the bowl when flushed... but admittedly there could be a variety of less fun spell chains to get rid of the unwanted deposits)
- a fixer/recycler device (Mend the Broken, BoM 108 combined with Create Steel, BoM 127)
- a series of PPE batteries and all the other myriad of tools to create TW devices
It took time for the TW to track down the spells or premade objects to accomplish this, in some cases leading their team into side quests like to get the troublesome toilet.

[AceTW]

The idea of a sanctuary where the TW can work at a faster pace can also be made with the level 12 invocation "Time Hole" where time moves at a 6:1 ratio.
Maybe add stacking uses of the level 6 common spell "Time Slip" which has a 2:1 ratio (half a melee per melee).

I actually had one of these built into a portable gateway in the back of my Hover Truck/traveling workshop. It needed intermittent upkeep charges at a nexus to sustain the time hole but we usually didn't have a problem with that.

And I second the idea of the common tools like a MDC welder repair tool, or a Salt Shaker (aka Star Trek prop dept.) healing tool. I think these are stated out in Rifter 83 or the Black Vault book (those along with Rifter 2 and Siege of Tolkeen book 1 are treasure troves of new TW items).