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Technological Items

Source Starfinder #50: Clockwork Demons pg. 54
Several different types of existing items rely solely on the power produced by the winding of springs and the turning of gears.Many technological items can have clockwork variants for worlds where technology is not as advanced or otherwise unavailable. Building such a variant usually costs the same amount as a technological item would, but due to using gears rather than wires and chips, the bulk is increased by 1 (items of negligible bulk become light, and items of light bulk become 1 bulk). Decrease the item’s charge capacity to half the normal amount, to a minimum of one instance of its normal usage. It takes 1 minute to wind per charge, as described on page 52. The item is treated as analog.
Generally, any technological items level 3 and below other than armor and weapons, such as those found on page 219 of the Core Rulebook, can be made using clockwork if they don’t rely on computer systems, holograms, or vid screens. For example, a clockwork grappler could use cogs and springs to reach the same result as a battery operated one, whereas a comm unit, which includes a tier-0 computer as part of its makeup, couldn’t be replicated with clockwork.
There are exceptions to this rule, and at the GM’s discretion, higher level or more complex devices can be replicated as well. A GM might consider making such an item digital clockwork, or codework, instead, which follows the same rules as converting a technological item into clockwork with the following changes: instead of increasing the item’s bulk, decrease it by 1 bulk (items of 1 bulk become light, and light bulk becomes negligible); instead of becoming analog, the item becomes a hybrid item; instead of being the same price, it costs an additional 20% to make such an item.
Some factions make specialized clockwork equipment; for example, many Free Captains prefer it for the aesthetic. Such captains make use of clockwork time pieces and bespoke manacles that react only to specialized keys. In recent decades, several Xun enforcers of the Golden League have switched to using clockwork weapons, becoming known as “the clicking death” to those who oppose the league.