Though abstractly powered by the arcano-scientific engine, located within the heart of the ‘Thinking Bell’ on board, the DeepEye relies primarily on its more conventional machinery to move. Resident amongst the huge, oil slaked gearing and whirring axels of the DeepEye’s boiler engine, the Engineer Player has the essential role of keeping everyone in the crew moving, in one piece, and most importantly, breathing. Whereas the energy required to keep the lights on is sent by the Chief Scientist Player each turn, the Engineer is responsible for balancing that energy across the digger’s necessary systems. The Engineer will need to make a call, each turn as to whether to send their energy to;

• The Manoeuvring Treads
• The Main Drill
• Energy boosts for other stations
• Or, life-support for extra vehicular missions

Engineering -

The energy produced by the Thinking Bell’s arcano-scientific core, once transferred by the Chief Scientist on board, is used primarily by the engine deck to heat the enormous boiler that drives both the digger’s manoeuvring treads as well as the primary drill. How much energy is pushed through to either is up to the discretion of the Engineer whose primary mandate is to keep both spinning, no matter what the DeepEye may come up against.

The total amount of energy put towards the engine is split out over either the drill or the treads adds up the turns 'Speed' number. This number represents how far the digger can move and the distribution over multiple parts of the engine balance the force of the drill, versus the overall distance travelled. The total amount of energy put to the engines overall adds up to that turn’s speed number, which will be requested by the Navigation Officer before the digger can begin to move.

The layout of that energy to the differential will affect the strength of the drill or the speed of the tracks. By routing more energy to the drill itself the DeepEye will be able to move through more dense obstructions without stalling. If more energy is routed to the treads instead, the DeepEye will travel further each turn. Communication with the other stations is key for the Engineer, as knowing what to preference, each turn, will be a huge advantage to the entire crew.

The Engineer Player is a support role, able to affect the overall reliability and success of actions within the digger. They are also, essential to keeping the digger running at all times.

Mundane Generators -

Though the energy to drive the DeepEye at all comes from the conspiracy of arcane forces at play within the vehicle’s Thinking Bell, the steam engine itself has a small generator that turns rotary force into electrical output and can be utilised by the digger platform to supplement the overall output of energy.

In each turn the Engineer Player will receive one additional energy over that dispensed by the Chief Scientist, for use in the current turn. This may potentially be increased, under the right circumstances. This additional energy does not count towards causing surges, but it does take up an energy usage slot for the purposes of calculating surges when they happen.

Temporary Grid Boost -

In addition to balancing the output of the treads and the drill, the Engineer Player may also send additional energy to one other station to boost their effectiveness that turn. It can be any station that uses energy as a resource but can only affect one station per turn. Because of this ability, it could be argued that more energy be redirected to the Engine as it can then be redirected elsewhere at need. Keep in mind that if a surge occurs, any stations at max energy capacity may be damaged.

Air Pump for EVA -

Any crew member, except the Engineer may choose to forgo their R&R Phase in order to exit the vehicle and perform an Extra Vehicular Activity. The rules for such will be elaborated later, but important for the Engineer Player to know is that per-EVA, one energy must be put aside to pump air into their EVA suit otherwise they will perish. Only one crew member may EVA at any one time.

Engineering Prowess -

The Engineer may also send any green cards used in the start up/power down procedure to another station’s hand, in exchange for an equivalent number of red cards in any one turn. The process for how this works will be elaborated on in the ‘Station Activation Order’ section of the handbook.

Stalling the Engine -

If not enough energy is given to the drill before the digger manoeuvres, then the digger may stall. Control will alert the Engineer Player whether or not this is likely to happen. If it is, the Engineer must draw a new hand of cards from their readiness deck to the number of however many points of energy were put into the drill and treads, total. If the number of red cards held is more than the number of green cards, then the engine has stalled and the movement will be aborted somewhere in the middle of the chosen bearing. Players will not be informed where along the chosen route they have stopped, if that is relevant. In either result the Engineer Player must discard their hand and shuffle it back into their readiness deck ready for the next turn. If there is equal numbers of green to red cards, the stall is avoided but an Amber card is added to the Engineering readiness deck. Read the section on 'Readiness' for more details.