Fantasy, technology, and you.

[Townopolis]

So, I recently started a new character, Erfel, who is a gnome technologist. An alchemist, mechanic, and inventor. I'm excited to play him. I have an awesome hat, and what promises to be a fun personality, and I think it will be a delight if and when (I'll be optimistic and say when) he finally gets to invent something cool.

On the other hand, this is a fantasy game, and fantasy games and inventor characters can have some friction between them. After all, it can be quite irritating when the paladin is sweating and hacking away at mythical creatures with his cold iron longsword and mithril heavy shield, the wizard is chanting eldritch words and bending the very forces of nature to his will with ancient knowledge, the cleric says a prayer to the god of the morning and brings about a miraculous blessing of life to his allies, and then tommy pulls out a ray gun. Sorry tommy, "biophagic photon accelerator beam."

Then again, FR has Gond, and Lantan, and Sundren itself has the Exigo Syndicate and their slicers and such.

Technology in a fantasy setting can go a great many ways. You can Real-World-High-Tech (I build an M-16), Real-World-Low-Tech (I build a windmill), Fantasy-Logic (I use copper tubing and a heat source to achieve invisibility), Fantasy-Materials (running carrion crawler stomach acid over blink dog hide releases the latent phlebotinum), to Magitech (we'll use the gyrations of the sprockets to contain the instability of the seated polymorph matrix)

My question, for you my fellow players, is how do you like your fantasy technology? Do you hate anything more advanced than a crossbow, do you think it's fine as long as the really useful stuff is either magitech or at least fantasy-materials-logic? Whatever your opinions are, I'd like to hear them. I'd like to know how other players will generally feel if/when the little guy goes on a tangent about harnessing the properties of green rocks.

And, for the devs and DMs, what about are the official tech levels and types in Sundren? Is anything more complex than an automatic crossbow required to be magitech? Is anything possible with the latent phlebotinum in carrion crawler stomach acid and blink dog hide?

Sincerely, Erfel Wedsegadinadd.

[Saulus]

Steampunk is as good as it will get in Sundren I think.

[Aratil Lafaer]

I like this guy already. Even if you couldn't make Mortarion a cold iron scythe, you still get cool points in my book for that amazingly entertaining post.

"Sorry Tommy, 'biophagic photon accelerator beam.'"

But yeah, as far as tech goes, they've got that new golem prototype that the Exigo are working on, and they already have mechanical spiders, but those are about as far-fetched as you're gonna get. They do have an automatic crossbow, but it's not like the P&P one, because I can only imagine the dev team pulling their hair out over having to make a whole new weapon type. They've got enough work as it is, and they do a great job.

[Jai_V]

I'm a big fan of cyber-punk.

That said, the steam-punk genre has always held a special place in my heart. I remember playing Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura and finding it very satisfying...especially the idea that magic and technology don't mix (i.e. too much tech causes magic to fail, too much magic causes tech to fail, usually with explosive results).

Although there's another D&D P&P campaign setting called Eberron where they've blended magic with technology in an interesting way. If you have to have "magical technology," that's my chosen format.

[Gabryal]

I can just picture Pom driving around in a steam powered tank...

[Urithrand]

I say it's more fun *failing* to invent something than suddenly developing uber technological magical wares. Trying to make something then having it blow up in your face is a gag that never gets old. But in terms of what you could actually make in-game you'd be limited on what other people would be willing for you to have (nothing that gave you an unfair advantage) and what the devs would be willing to make. In a nutshell, very little. Like I said, likely it would be RP only.

[Jai_V]

You could explain that the stat bonuses provided by that various object in your possession is a tech-based attribute rather then magic.

Let's use that simple "Bright Leather Armor" you can buy in Sundren City Trade Tier as an example. Instead of that leather armor shining because of magic, maybe it's been treated with a chemical solution, using a compound present in the bioluminescent mushrooms that grow in the Underdark.

Or maybe that +1 to attk/dam short-sword has been made of a better metal alloy and mechanically sharpened.

Then, it becomes a matter of aesthetics and doesn't interfere with the game mechanic.

[Townopolis]

That's a very good idea, Jai_V, and I will definitely use it.

I agree with Uri, although I do hope that, eventually, Erfel will succeed in building something nifty. A plot device (pun intended), maybe, or some trinket. Those, of course, will require much time and effort on mine and Erfel's parts before anything happens. In the meantime, there are explosive failures and combustion traps to play around with.

[nickbeat]

Great post man, really appreciate the analysis. I've been playing a mechanic for a long while now, a dwarf that learned his trade from a gnome who found him one day. He hasn't really been able to get much in the way of real game effects that allow for him to appear as an artificer, but there are several ways to get a similar effect.

1. Use lots of items that give bonus effects.

2. Get skills that involve gadgets, such as disable device and set trap, or UMD. Get a few ranks in UMD and you can do a lot with all the instruments in the music store.

3. Stand around the slicers a lot and talk about how you are trying to fix a broken seal in the 'fiddlegrommet' or whatever.

You can do a lot just with DM help and good RP. I know there is a mage trying to build a golem shop, she will bring a lot to the game with what she is trying to do. You could even get the DMs to summon a slicer for you and have it used in a fight.

I recall some time ago, everyone was trying to build a machine to save the town and the Exigo HQ was involved. In echange for fixing the busted golem there, they offered a discount of 20 stags. All it took was a good disable device roll and search check.

[AnonyD99]

Whatever it is Id love to get involved with that character See you In game Sprocket Gnome Mister-A-Bob

[Kaeldorn]

I like the idea of fantasy themed technology, blended with magic and non existant materials with magical properties. Though not lazer guns or nonsense like that..

As a heads up, some things you might be interested in could become craftable not only with alchemy but also with 'craft trap' if the items get approval of the higher-ups. But they would mostly be supplemental things used for other crafts, or simple magic-mechanical trinkets. Just thought I'd mention that as an addition to Nickbeat's skill suggestions. Maybe even make some usable only with the UMD skill...

Before you go 'Huh? Craft traps for making anything other than traps?', I'd like that crafting skill to have a broader array of uses, generally the production of mechanical things. It's not any less logical than making a delicate bow by smashing wood with a smithing hammer on an anvil using the craft weapon skill

[MithrilBlade]

I'm not sure if it's implemented in NWN2, but NWN1 had alternative appearances for crossbows which were old pirate-style flintlock pistol and rifle.
Concidering that in Lantan they have already made up semi-magical smokepowder which can be used for explosives and rifles, it could be technically possible to have those in FR settings, they're just a bit rare.

Other than that, most constructs and such are usually only crafted to some shape, but animation is all magic.

Overall I think if you want to go tech in FR settings, you'll likely want to be both wizard (in this case sorcerer doesn't work so well) and have lots of skill points in all sorts of crafting areas like Kaeldorn mentioned. In addition of Alchemy, Craft armor/weapon/traps, also UMD and Lore are pretty important.

At least the update some time ago gave you proper looking mad-gnome goggles you can walk about at all times!

[Sammael]

I'd keep all technology in a D+D world strickly pre-Rennaisance, but then D+D is high fantasy - other sub-genres have different rules, of course

[Aratil Lafaer]

What I'd like to see as far as RP storyline with the technology is maybe that prototype golem in the Exigo Warehouse finished with the help of the tinker-esque characters? That would be cool.