Basic Technology Overview
The World of Mythania is currently undergoing a renaissance of science and engineering--a renaissance heralded today as the Glorious Age of Progress. Powered by wheels of iron and bellowing steam, the might of industry has begun to take hold. Still, much of the world remains locked in the agrarian mentality of a pre-industrial society.
Science
More has been learned in the past 100 years than in all the centuries after the fall of Marada. Much of what is now known about science is, in truth, a re-discovery of those secrets lost in the cataclysmic war that wiped civilization from the face of the world 1,000 years ago. Scientists still work to recover the ancient knowledge, and with the advent of steam and ichor locomotion, powered flight, and advanced mechanical computers and automatons, many believe we are mere decades from achieving the glory of that lost empire.Industry
Only a few manufactories exist as such (mostly in the Dark Kingdoms). Instead, most products are still produced in smaller millworks that employ professional craftsmen, artisans, and apprentices. Though machines have improved the speed and quality of production, most items are still handcrafted with skill and precision, which, though slower, results in higher quality. The art of metallurgy is highly developed, but special metals and alloys are still very expensive. For this reason, the most common building materials remain wood, brick, stone, and wrought iron.Warfare
Guns and cannons have dominated the battlefield since the War of Tyranny, but armies and fighters still make use of traditional melee weapons--nothing beats a good sword in close combat, and axes and maces can inflict considerably more damage than a bullet. Most guns in use today are flintlocks, but guns with percussion caps and cartridges are now becoming increasingly prevalent. The most advanced (and rarest) weapons are mechanical, engine-driven guns that can fire dozens of shots in quick succession.Medical Science
Knowledge of medicine and surgery is highly developed in most of the civilized world. Every town has at least one or two doctors; no army will last long without skilled surgeons. Apothecaries can be found in every city; the art of acupuncture and other exotic arts are quickly spreading. Combined with magic and alchemy, it is a rarity today for anyone to die from injuries or treatable illnesses if attention is given quickly enough.Material Science
In the World of Mythania, there are many magical and alchemical materials that go above and beyond ordinary materials such as wood, stone, iron, and steel. Though some such materials can be found in nature (such as novarite from Nuram or starshard and tektite from meteors), alchemical metals can only be forged by an alchemist. Most special materials have a detectable magical aura.Mechanics
Mechanics is the science of the relationship between objects, motion, and the forces exerted upon them. A mechanism is a device that implements these principles, either for experimentation and demonstration or for practical usage (that is, to do work). Automatic machines are now common, and these include clockwork devices, flying machines, and siege weapons. Some of these are magical in some way, incorporating magical energy sources, alchemical metals, or enchantments. More ordinary and everyday mechanisms include windmills, clocks, and mining equipment. The most advanced machines are steam and ichor engines, powered aerodynes, electrical turbines, and complex calculating machines.Airships
The first airships (technically known as aerostats) were simple hot-air balloons; with the discovery of cavenic gas, lighter-than-air blimps became the preferred choice for most airships (despite their explosive tendency). The first blimps were small and only carried a few passengers. Their role was generally for military surveillance or transporting cargo over great distances. The second generation of airships was the product of the War of Tyranny, and these vessels had a semi-rigid frame that allowed them to be built larger and better armored. The largest of these were deployed near the end of the war and were powered by steam-engine airscrews.
The third generation of airships was a further refinement of the semi-rigid design, being the full rigid airship. Rigid airships are the largest kind of airship, and can be completely covered in armor plating. Most steam powered rigid airships have four or six steam engines. Military airships range from small semi-rigid scout ships to hulking air battle cruisers that are mounted with cannons, bombs, and guns. There are only a few passenger airships in existence, most notably in Armillia.
Over-Science
Over-science is the usage of magic in man-made devices to power them or enhance them, or to create devices that are in some way magical. Many of these devices are "magines", which simply means "magical engines". Magines are devices that either create energy from aethergy or aethergy from energy; they can also simply channel aethergy from an elemental or astral source. Orichalcum is the basic material used in all magines and over-science devices, but other materials, such as novarite and rarefied gold, are also used to some extent.Other types of over-science include devices that create spell effects. Though they must be supplied with aethergy, the mechanisms of the device tick and turn to weave the aethergy into a spell-pattern.
Magical Engines
Magines, or Magical Engines, are techno-magical machines that create aethergy to power magic items, spells, and devices. Most magines output aethergy and make it available through magical conduction (through orichalcum wires) by directly connecting to the item that is to use the power, or by broadcasting it over an area where anyone or anything can use the power. This distinction should be specified when the magine is designed.The key material for most all magines is orichalcum. This comes primarily in the form of the aethergy dynamo, which operates much like an electric dynamo, except that the conductive plates are made of orichalcum rather than copper. Orichalcum, or "orich", is a red-colored metal that is highly malleable and ductile, but has a high melting point. Orich can conduct energy of any type with nearly superconductive potential (99.8% efficiency), including thermal, electrical, magnetic, and even magical and psychic energy. It can be made into wires, sheets, plates, or any other form. The Triclopes are experts of its usage, and have created orichalcum condensers, batteries, and other devices. By this means, anything that creates electrical energy can be made to create aethergy instead.
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