Mechanical Arts

[Samloyal23]

I have one group of dwarves in the campaign I am working on that is very resistant to magic. Their natural resistance makes it hard for them to cast spells, so they use more tech than the other races in the setting, including some simple firearms. Anyone have any suggestions what other types of tech they could develop? I'm thinking Renaissance level tech with a few simple steam powered device...

 

[Dandu]

 

[Loonook]

Why would they not use all possible avenues including hired help to cast their spells for them? Also magic is so wide-spread in the setting that they are at a disadvantage for not using it... Hrmm, let us go from there.

First, firearms would be widely popular among any group of people who want to go a'hunting for some spellcasters. Any culture with sufficient technology will gain 'magic' effects, and to be honest most of the objects we consider municipal magic are just tech work-arounds for people who just decided to throw their hands in the air and say a Wizard did it.

All kidding aside, I think that it depends on what they do as a people. If they are Golem-level resistant they're not worrying too much about assault by spells on their people, but they do need healing. They would be amazing surgeons, probably all the way past that whole 'you're sick because there is a demon inside of you' thing. They know how to set bones, understand chemistry and the basic model of organic chemistry and pharmacology, and may even be on their way for creators of poultices and poisons for use in warcraft.

Dwarves do not worry so much about poison due to their racial benefits, and wouldn't find it more than a bit of season to meat. They would be focused on creation of energy, agricultural, biology, etc. They may be highly specialized due to this and make great architects, masons, viticulturalists/brewers (due to their understanding of soils and their composition a techie Dwarf would put Elvish wines and beers to shame) an medics. Think something along the lines of the natural progression of a proto-Egyptian culture, without all of those religious trappings.

Gunpowder is simple once they have it down... These dwarves are looking to more interesting sport. They are excellent smiths due to their long lifespan and stubbornness. Give a man seventy years and he can become the greatest craftsman in the land, but then there's that whole 'death' thing... Give a man several hundred years and see what he can do without worrying about translating someone else's notes into practice. If they are isolationists they are really missing out on some of the benefits around them, but it isn't insurmountable. Geothermal heat and refined work with flame could lead to fine glasswork and optics, and Dwarven spyglasses and even optic frames could be worth their weight in gems to a ruler who is shortsighted or wants to mark the stars.

If they are slow to reproduce they wish to keep themselves safe and secret. They probably know the 'rules' of magic and can take advantage of their age and fine works to 'proof' themselves against most attacks. Lead-lined walls, iron bars in masonry to reinforce and prevent passwall attempts, liberal use of mentally damaging effects and 'magekillers' that are set to react to spellcasting. They probably have the ability to make sophisticated gear systems and pulleys and, even if they lack internal combustion, could make up some very interesting machines.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[Samloyal23]

They live in an area rich in a metal that slows down magic so spells are harder to cast and their own bodies are now resistant to magic. The few spell casters they have must overcome their own resistance to cast spells, so they do it only when necessary and only in laboratorty conditions, so what magic they have is an investment in something permanent, an item, not a spontaneous spell. They are adept at alchemy, so they may choose either Fighter or Alchemist (but not both) as a preferred class. Artificers are more common than Wizards, Sorcerers, or Warlocks. Divine magic works a little better than arcane, but casting times are still too long to make it easy to use in combat. So I'm thinking anything DaVinci thought up they have tried at least once...

 

[Loonook]

They live in an area rich in a metal that slows down magic so spells are harder to cast and their own bodies are now resistant to magic. The few spell casters they have most overcome their own resistance to cast spells, so they do it only when necessary and only in laboratorty conditions, so what magic they have is an investment in something permanent, an item, not a spontaneous spell. They are adept at alchemy, so they may choose either Fighter or Alchemist (but not both) as a preferred class. Artificers are more common than Wizards, Sorcerers, or Warlocks. Divine magice works a little better than arcane, but casting times are still too long to make it easy to use in combat. So I'm thinking anything DaVinci thought up they have tried at least once...

Don't think DaVinci. DaVinci was one man who had 40 years to work up to it, and he didn't have the available materials that these individuals seem to have. What is the actual makeup of the area ecologically? DaVinci worked with what he had because he was just not able to really dig into it. And they have the ability to really go into depth with their experiments. The DaVinci models are really just silly to matter to a normal society, and were drawn up for a little noble who wanted a fancy thinker in his court.

So they have the ability to create items and overcome their natural resistance. Light sources with Continual Flame line the locales, they bring in various useful items (Decanters of Endless Water, heatstones, etc.). They have developed parabolic furnaces for their use in smithing to turn this extremely hard, obdurate material into alloys with their iron to produce strong, pliant, and magical-resistant arms and armor. They focus the power of the stones through channeling and optics to create the Dragon's Gate, a powerful furnace that removes impurities in the metals they work, creating a level of masterwork steel used for royalty.

They experiment with various materials, becoming the experts. They have begun their works in viticulture, animal husbandry, etc. They may be a source of Mageborn animals... All kinds of different things but I would need more information on the ecology and available materials.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[Samloyal23]

Don't think DaVinci. DaVinci was one man who had 40 years to work up to it, and he didn't have the available materials that these individuals seem to have. What is the actual makeup of the area ecologically? DaVinci worked with what he had because he was just not able to really dig into it. And they have the ability to really go into depth with their experiments. The DaVinci models are really just silly to matter to a normal society, and were drawn up for a little noble who wanted a fancy thinker in his court.

So they have the ability to create items and overcome their natural resistance. Light sources with Continual Flame line the locales, they bring in various useful items (Decanters of Endless Water, heatstones, etc.). They have developed parabolic furnaces for their use in smithing to turn this extremely hard, obdurate material into alloys with their iron to produce strong, pliant, and magical-resistant arms and armor. They focus the power of the stones through channeling and optics to create the Dragon's Gate, a powerful furnace that removes impurities in the metals they work, creating a level of masterwork steel used for royalty.

They experiment with various materials, becoming the experts. They have begun their works in viticulture, animal husbandry, etc. They may be a source of Mageborn animals... All kinds of different things but I would need more information on the ecology and available materials.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

A dragon's gate sounds right up their alley, I like that idea.

The dwarves live on the mountainous side of a large island with a temperate climate and dense forests, they sit on top of the only known veins of an ore that makes casting spells difficult and throughout the area, but they have turned that into fine armour and weapons that resist magic. They have a small amount of coal, a few volcanic hot springs, and an extensive seaport. So spells cast in the area near their mines, say within 5 miles of their main city, have to overcome a 20% failure rate and take 1 round/spell level to cast. Divine spells are slightly easier, with a 15% failure rate and a casting time of 1 round/2 spell levels. Magic items that do not need to be activated, like most weapons and armour, are not affected. Any item that needs to be triggered has a 10% failure rate. They have no immediate enemies at their gates, but spies and assassins from another city on the island are a problem and there are bandits and pirates to be dealt with. I may tweak these numbers, I'm open to suggestions...

 

[Loonook]

A dragon's gate sounds right up their alley, I like that idea.

And they also have the ability to use constant items such as heatstones or perhaps even a sort of light-focusing device to really get it handled. Yes, you can enter through the front gates... You're going to be dealt the damage of a blast furnace when you do . Also could perhaps allow them to have an elemental bonus to protect them against their penalties. Fire Elementals summoned from within the Dragon's Gate to help protect their completely stone andiron fortress and burn the Hells out of paths through the forests?

The dwarves live on the mountainous side of a large island with a temperate climate and dense forests, they sit on top of the only known veins of an ore that makes casting spells difficult and throughout the area, but they have turned that into fine armour and weapons that resist magic.

So we're talking an almost Mediterranean climate. Ready forests for charcoal and coke, and plenty of wood for use in fortifications that can suffer in a 'scorched earth' policy.

They have a small amount of coal, a few volcanic hot springs, and an extensive seaport. So spells cast in the area near their mines, say within 5 miles of their main city, have to overcome a 20% failure rate and take 1 round/spell level to cast. Divine spells are slightly easier, with a 15% failure rate and a casting time of 1 round/2 spell levels. Magic items that do not need to be activated, like most weapons and armour, are not affected. Any item that needs to be triggered has a 10% failure rate. They have no immediate enemies at their gates, but spies and assassins from another city on the island are a problem and there are bandits and pirates to be dealt with. I may tweak these numbers, I'm open to suggestions...

Hot springs provide for geothermal energy to help keep them in a state of permanent spring even when the snows come and hurricanes. The mountains provide hidey-holes for them within their mines, to keep their University deep in the former mines. The Deep Scholars occasionally make noise with their inventions, but the rulers of the Land Above are fine with that because they provide for so many nifty inventions. They have learned to collect natural gas and purify it through use of their natural climate.

Their level of metalworking has allowed them to create waste processing facilities including anaerobic lagoon processing. They have learned to 'bottle fire' in the form of this gas, which they learned to extract when a young dwarf set forth to learn the secrets of the 'killing vapors' deep in the earth. Using brass and glass that they created through mineral deposits and the smooth white sands of their beaches through dredging, the dwarf made the first 'ghost flames', and much of the city is powered or controlled through the ghost glass pipes that can be found throughout the area.

There is a natural gas processing plant within a mine shaft, kept under strict conditions. The pressurized gas is filtered using a three-step process of filtration through leech beds. This use of leech-bed filtration also inspired other filtration methods. The dwarven city has learned the power of clean water, and the production of charcoal-filtered spirits.

Yes, the dwarves have learned to make Jack Daniels during their evolution. They have also learned to create activated charcoal through their pressurization processing, and have been able to distill pure spirits for the use in cleansing. Most of their spirits are drawn from grapes and other fruits that come to use in their orchards and vineyards maintained through their use of viticulture and plant crossbreeding.

Oh, and due to their ability to perform pyrolysis they would be able to create simple biogas and biofuels, coke, and many of the chemicals which we have come to know and love for blowing stuff up. Stabilized nitroglycerin in form of dynamite and other explosives would be possible, and so many other things...

Really just depends on how far the rabbit hole goes for you personally. But definitely they could produce many fuels without the need for coal, natural gas, and other sources, and through the utilization of these methods could easily light the city, produce plants for heating, etc.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Look at the alchemical items in Oriental Adventures p.78. Start your imagination by wrapping Poison Smoke or Flashpowder Eggshell Granades in Flash Paper for throwing. Once you've got that idea, build upwards!

Here's an imcomplete but very good index of alchemical items.
Another list here.
Page 13 here.
More Stuff Here.

Consider the Artificer class. Not a caster.

 

[xigbar]

Look at the alchemical items in Oriental Adventures p.78. Start your imagination by wrapping Poison Smoke or Flashpowder Eggshell Granades in Flash Paper for throwing. Once you've got that idea, build upwards!

Here's an imcomplete but very good index of alchemical items.
Another list here.
Page 13 here.
More Stuff Here.

Consider the Artificer class. Not a caster.

I suggested the Oriental Adventures stuff in the other thread about this. Also, not just Artificer, but most of the Eberron setting will have stuff that you're likely looking for.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

I suggested the Oriental Adventures stuff in the other thread about this. Also, not just Artificer, but most of the Eberron setting will have stuff that you're likely looking for.

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