He creates strange, almost Rube Goldberg, devices for hire. He is amoral and is willing to hire out and make anything ask for, no matter the consequences to others. Given the right resources he can make almost anything, but actually needs initiative; he generally lacks goals (other than accumulating money) and needs someone else to give him a project.
His base of operations is usually filled with bizarre traps and defense systems. He has also managed to create a substance, which he calls Referite that reflects anything that strikes it. His lairs are usually covered in this material given him unparalleled protection.
Typical encounters to be found in a Chindōgu Lair:
-Riddle of Horror. Characters encounter a riddle next to a button on a box. If they answer correctly and push the button they get something that lets them pass on, such as a key. Otherwise oil sprays out of the box in all directions and then lit matches fall from the ceiling.
-Set of Fear. The characters reach a room where they must reach a hatch at the base of large pit. The pit is filled with acid. Also in the room are stray components of Referite. The players must construct a machine that will carry them down into the pit and allow them to open the hatch. Give them a real erector set.
-Parts of Fright. The room is filled with random construction parts, much like a large erector set. After a couple of minutes in the room, the parts will pull themselves together into Erector Constructs and attack.
-Shadows of Dismay. This large room is filled with pillars and statues and is lit by torches along the walls. The shadows that are cast are not really shadows. They are in fact pits painted to look exactly like shadows.
-Balls of Terror. The walls and floor of this large room are filled with strange contraptions; they look much like large Mouse Trap constructions. As soon as the aprty enters the doors shut and balls start to run through the contraptions. Roll for initiative and when it’s the contraption's turn one or more balls will set off something dangerous that attacks the party (a ball hits a lever that sets off a flame thrower, a ball knocks loose an iron that falls on a character, etc). This is a Skill Challenge as the character work to disable the set of contraptions.
-Floor of Dread. The floor is trapped such that certain tiles will explode. Which tiles will explode changes each turn.
-Corridor of Doom. This long corridor is a series of dangerous things. One section is super-cold, one shoots flames, one has blades on the floor/walls/ceiling, and one has the floor coated in Tabasco sauce. Normally this wouldn’t be a major problem but at the end of the corridor is a contraption that shoots out one or more long cables (made of Referite) that entangles a character and proceeds to drag them down the corridor. There is a set of bars after each section which only opens after a cable has been shot down the hallway. At the end of the hallway it is possible to shut off the contraption, but there is also an Erector Construct here.
-Niche of Death. Something the characters need to progress (such as a key on a string) is at the back end of a narrow and deep niche. If anyone jostles the string or steps on the floor, the walls slam shut causing a good bit of damage.
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