Voadam said:
Is this normal tech or Fantasy Tech like in the (very good) EN Publishing book? (In the EN book the fantasy tech is handled like a new branch of magic different from arcane/psionic/divine and requires localized suppression of normal magic for its operation).
I never read the EN Book. I am not aware of the details. The important thing is that this is not Fantasy Tech. It is real tech. There are no steam powered mechs, no mono-filiment swords. It is real technology--advances we may achieve or are close to achieving now. We painstakingly researched every detail of technology.
Magic, for us, is the spilling of new rules of the universe from another which run different from our own. These altered rules messes around with scientific laws preventing most technology from working (though never enough to prevent life from sustaining itself). It shorts through high technology like an electromagnetic pulse. The higher the tech, the greater the chance for disruption. There are rules in place detailing the saving throws gear must make if such saturation were to occur. The equipment lists were built around D20 modern and heavily enhanced for our purposes. The Mechanic techan class' key feature is his ability to keep the technology of the group operational. That's why millions of humans hide in walled bastions of technology where the magic is kept out and they can remember the old age when man held dominion over the entire world.
Here is an excerpt from a chapter which offers some details:
(Basically, the book is full of excerpts from fictional fantasy and science books, just so you know)
(It should also be noted that the average IQ of my group is like 150--I am the drag factor. Two of them have degrees. One is a computer engineer. In comparison, I was tutored in writing by a dude who wrote Fraggle Rock.)
Studying sample 345B
Subject: Larena Senarius, Damaskan Elf (Volunteer)
Analyzing sample discovered a standard long polymer of nucleotides in a double helix configuration. Initial investigation found the helix to be super coiled. Twenty-three pairs of chromosomes were identified. However, chemical imperfections have been located along several pairs. A few nucleotides are missing in key areas for life to sustain itself.
Defects have been detected on the adenine, thymine, and cytosine. Five copying errors have been located, leading evidence towards extensive somatic mutations of a severe variety. At least two chromosome inversions appear along the strand. Many of these mutations seem of a dominant phenotype. These anomalies cover the spec-trum of patterned genetic diseases, some being autosomal dominant, while another is autosomal recessive, and yet another will be mitochondrial.
Thinking logically towards this subject, the patient should be affected by sickle cell anemia, hypophosphatemia, and leber's hereditary optic neuropathy. I also personally identified two other defects connecting to hemophilia and spinal muscular atrophy. This subject should be dead. I have confirmed that EDF had no part in corrupting this data.
I am in no way experienced with this level of genetic abnormality. By all accounts, the patient should not be able to walk, talk, or even breathe, let alone hunt and have a family. I will thank the volunteer for her services and forward my data to the Tilthe. Personally, I find this breakdown of scientific reasoning disturbing and hope that my data is flawed.
Walter Krause
Porto Medical Journal, smuggled to York
January 2, 1995 AE
(Here is another)
Most techan humans adept in the knowledge of chemistry looked bewildered when magic refused to follow certain rules of science. Controlled laboratory experiments confirmed that in the presence of magic (which many claim prevents controlled laboratory experiments) certain elemental properties changed, some in minor ways, a few in major ways. Heavier radioactive isotopes, (like Uranium 235 and 238) stop degrading while others (like Radium 226) break down more rapidly. This makes nuclear energy a hazardous technological path for bastions seeking alternative energy sources.
Chemical reactions also change. Thankfully, not enough occurs to impede the continued existence of evolved creatures but it does prevent the progression of natural evolution. Most scientists failed trying to explain the new rules of magic scientifically. Bastions continue to find new and unconventional applications to materials with altered capabilities. Even more frustrating is the unpredictability of magic, which almost takes an intelligent delight in suspending these rules almost on a whim.
