As I've built the system, I've been torn about whether this is magic or super-science. In some ways, it doesn't matter. I'm very fond of blurring the line. But here I've come up with a system that doesn't just work along the lines of technology, but feels as technological as it does magical. Additionally, the mages of this system will have to wait for another article. I'm quite pleased with the result though -- a worked TL 4+2^ technology system. This is not to say that it can do everything that TL 6 can do, nor that TL6 can do everything it does: it means the two technology levels are of comparable ability.
The Devices in General
Mystral technology is made out of gently tinted glass and glows with visible energy -- green is the most common color, but complicated devices often have blue, or purple shades in places. The devices never have square corners, but often have edges similar to lenses or have clearly defined edges between two round portions. The essential metals that power the technology are inlaid as stripes running through the glass or coating surfaces of it.Manipulating Mystral technology is operated by touch: some of the control is just mental interaction once you touch the glass, and some of it requires physical movement. There are occasionally moving parts or straps required, but most of the time, its just resting your hand on smooth glass.
Characters
Mystral energy was designed to be used against a TL 4 background, and its arguably powerful enough to raise the Tech level to 4 by simply using the mystral forge. Characters with access to Mystral energy pay the appropriate cost of High tech levels. Occasionally you'll get a character with access to both sides of a tech split. He should only ever pay 5 points past the highest tech level. For example, an intrepid explorer from 1910 who learns to use Mystral energy would pay an additional five points.Its possible for a character to be unable to interact with mystral technology, whether because he's not truly alive, because of other functioning magic, or for other reasons. This is a 10 point disadvantage: Mystral Null [-10]
A variety of technical skills are required: most of the devices listed have their own special skill, and many specialties of skills apply only to mystral technology
Armory: Several specialties are relevant, including small arms, body armor, melee weapons, and heavy weapons.
Engineer: Mystral is a valid specialization. Note that it will not allow the design of weapons, among other things. GMs that anticipate engineering heavy campaigns may wish to break up engineering further, but for most cases, this is no more broad that "Electronics" and a single skill is appropriate.
Mystral Operation: A renamed version of electronics operation. Mystral Operation has the following specialties: Communications, Sensors, Medical, Media, and Melnus. Please note that the TL difference includes the split tech progression
Mystral Repair: A renamed version of electronics repair. In addition to the specialties given by operation, Mystral Forges are also repaired with this skill.
Machinist: Machinist has always been very tech level reliant. To a machinist with access to the right energies, Machinist is about using the mythral forge, which is flexible enough to handle 95% of his work.
Mechanic: Contragrav and Atomoton are relevant specialties.
Piloting: Hover Ships have their own specialty
The Gems and the Mystrium
The energy that drives Mystral devices is produced by a metal known as Mystrium. Mystrium looks a great deal like a bright blue copper. As the power source of the magic system, its extremely valuable. It constantly generates energy, so only the most intensive devices incorporate it. The others use it to charge small glass balls known as 'gems' with Mystral energy. These gems are perfectly transparent, slightly smaller than marbles, and gently glow when they are filled, but don't light up the area around them much (perhaps -8 for the yard around a gem). Gems are inserted into the slots of the devices they power. They only need to be in contact with Mystrium to charge. Mystrium is often shaped into a bowl or plated on something in order to be able to contact lots of gems at once.Mystrium costs $5000 per 1/10th of a pound. That same amount of Mystrium will charge 100 gems in an hour. 100 gems cost $100 and weigh 1 pound. Energy can also be stored in large glass blocks (20 lbs, 5,000 gems, $5000 -- saving is in weight, not cost). Filling up 100 gems costs $2 at normal market prices. Its also possible to replace the gem component with Mystrium, but this is expensive and inefficient unless you intend to run the device continuously. To get a cost, multiply the number of gems used in an hour by $1,250. Some devices accept "Mystrium gems" ($1,250 each). These can be moved from device to device as needed, but are never sufficient for weapons or other devices that use a lot of energy at once.
Energy is always listed in energy/hour, but using these devices on a per minute basis is fine, and devices such as the specus are rarely if ever used for an hour -- in fact, most of the costs translate easily into minutes.
There are more special materials beyond just Mysterium and the glass surrounding it. Amitess is essential for creating motion with the energy, and Psyllium allows interaction with the mind. Urglass is mixed in glass to tint it and achieve a variety of effects (its role is particularly noted in weapons). These materials are rare, but part of the Mystral economy.
All This Glass
Mystral Technology is made largely of glass, with all the fragility that implies. Of course, glass has been highly developed here, and has mystic energy coursing through it. Most of the objects should be treated as though they have DR 4. Some of the more solid pieces (like the blocks used to store large amounts of energy) should be treated as though they have DR 6. Any damage can destroy the device -- roll vs HT even if a single point point of damage is dealt. Great care should be taken in transporting the devices.The Gear
Specus (Viewer):Specus are shaped much like a crystal ball with glass dials and knobs. They allow the user to view things that are far away from himself, without regard to the intervening distance or objects. It takes 10 seconds to power up the device. If it has not been moved it starts out focused at its last point. If not it takes 30 seconds to focus on the current location. Moving the Specus's focus takes 10 seconds to move within 10 yards of the current spot, or 20 x (number of digits from distance in yards) seconds if the Specus is focuses in and then out. If a Specus is bumped while being used, it takes 10 seconds to refocus. If moved farther it looses all focus.
Standard Specus: Can view any object at its currently lighting if there are two clear feet of space in front of it. $5000, LC2, 30 gem/hour, 5lbs, 10 mile range
Dark Specus: As standard specus, but cancels -6 in darkness penalties: +5 lbs, +$5000, double power consumption
Large Specus: As standard specus, but with increased range. $30,000, 50 lbs, 600 gems/ hour, 25 mile range
Comnus (Communicator):
Comnus are shaped much like Specus: crystal balls with glass dials and knobs. A comnus can only focus in on another comnus, and both users have to be set to focus in on each other. Knowing the location of the other comnus is part of the trick, but not all of it. Connecting two the other comnus requires a roll with two range penalties: one for how far away the target is and one for how far away they are from where you think they are. Both range penalties use long distance modifiers. the standard attempt takes 30 seconds to establish contact.
Like the Specus, any movement ruins the focus of the device: a bump allows a roll with no range penalties, more substantial movement requires establishing the connection again.
Standard Comnus: gives +4 to communication rolls. $2000, 5 lbs, 6 gems/hour, LC 4
Light Comnus: +2 to communication rolls. $1000, 2 lbs, 3 gems/ hour, LC 4
Heavy Comnus: +6 to communication rolls. $10,000, 50 lbs, 60 gems/hour, LC 3
Thalmus:
A glass box in which can manipulate the body and life force of a person or creature placed inside of it. The thalmus is most frequently used as a healing device. 1 hour of operation by a trained user and a successful surgery roll heals 1d6+1, or allows a new roll to throw off a disease. This is of course, not the only use of the device -- its been adapted for torture by the ruthless and for pleasure by the decadently rich.
Standard Thalmus: $20,000, 200 lbs, 500 gems/hour, LC 3
Grand Thalmus: +1 to rolls, $75,000, 400 lbs, 1000 gems/ hour, LC 2
Mystral Forge:
A glass box in which materials can be heated and manipulated. These forges allow incredible things to be done with glass and metal, and serves as the 'tool that makes the tools' for Mystral technology. Mystral Forges must heat up the substance they are manipulating -- if you put a stick in it, it will turn to charcoal long before you can do any fine work on it. The heating up process takes a minute for even the smallest of items, and much longer for others. Interestingly, it will not heat up live matter at all.
Small Forge: the chamber is a hemisphere about two feet across. $1000, 15 lbs, 6 gems / hour, LC 3
Standard Forge: A chamber five feet across. $5000, 80 lbs, 30 gems/ hour, LC 3
Grand Forge: A chamber 20 feet across $250,000, 400 lbs, 1200 gems/hour, LC 3
Hover Ships:
Only the engine of a Mystral Hovership has to be formed of the glass that defines the technology. Different materials have been experimented with, from wood to mystrally strengthened glass to metal hulls. Modern designs favor metal hulls, but exceptions are common. A hover ship usually weighs a fifth of what it can carry: half of this is structure, half of it is the great glass engine. Hover ships have a speed of .5/10, a handling of -2, and a stability of 5 -- they are very ponderous indeed, regardless of their size. Some people can get better performance out of their ships by using flaps of cloth to maneuver in the air, but that generally only helps with stopping and turning. The technology doesn't work at quantities less than a ton.
For each ton of capacity: $1000 of engine, $500 of structure, 200 lbs of each, 10 gems/hour or $12500 in Mystral to keep permanently up. LC 3
Holograms:
Using Mystral Energy, images can be stored in thick, heavy glass disks. These disks store a single static three dimensional image, projected above them. A user can turn them around, minorly change the side, or turn it off or on, but most other changes are not possible. The devices used to create the images have extensive lenses and other glass work. These devices can not only record holograms, but also edit and display them. A single image disk can be overwritten many times. See ampulus for other things that can be done with images. Recording an image takes only a second, but afterwards the disk must be changed or it will be over written
Image Disk: $10, 1 lb, 1 gem/ hour, LC 4
Hologram Maker: $250, 20 lbs, 1 gem/hour + 10 gems/changed disk, LC 4
Ampulus:
These devices applify light and sound, whether from an image disk as it happens. They look much like a hologram maker.
Basic Ampulus: Can fill a 20 foot cube with light, accompanied by sound $1000, 20lbs, 60 gem/ hour, LC 3
Large Amplus: Can fill a 60 foot cube with light and sound. $20,000, 400 lbs, 1200 gems/hour, LC 3
Menmus:
Smaller and lighter than the traditional thalmus, the menmus most readily works with emotions rather than proper thoughts. The device can be made as small as a helmet, but as it requires the operator to touch it directly and as the subject is frequently not willing, its just as often incorporated into a table a victim can be strapped to. Of course, not all of its uses require physical restraint: its gained credence as a lie detector, and the truly decadent have used it as a pleasure device.
Detecting emotions is simple, as is causing them. A subject may attempt to ignore caused emotions or hide their real emotions with the mind block skill. In addition to emotions, the menmus can read strong simple thoughts of the user -- this quick contest is at +5 for the subject, equivalent to the will score of someone who is untrained. Besides emotions, the menmus can be used to reproduce any number of physical sensations, from pain to nausea to ecstasy.
The menmus can be used for mental surgery. Its abilities are rather crude: it can be used to remove loyalty to someone, but at the expense of removing all loyalty. Likewise, it can increase loyalty at the expense of making the person overall more trusting. Memory can be effected, but only by damaging all of memory. Similar effects can be achieved. The surgery is quite dangerous: a success by less than 5 has a 50% chance of causing permanent and unintended damage. The most common results include Low Empathy, Oblivious, Hidebound, Nightmares, Lowered Will, Lowered Perception, Indecisive, Impulsive, Stuttering, and Non-Iconographic. Mental Surgery has a base time of 2 hours.
Standard Menmus: $20,000, 10 lbs, 600 gems/ hour, LC 1
Weapons, Armor, Atomatons, and the Blooded:
These are vital parts of the Mystral energy system -- some of the most interesting parts. And as such, they will appear as their own articlesWeapons and Armor focuses mainly on several flavors of energy weapon, suited for low TL 6 power. It also includes powerful blades and armor to protect against these attacks.
Automotons are machines shaped like people or animals, used to save labour. They are both clumsy and have simplistic minds, but that leaves lots and lots of jobs they can perform
Mystral Blood describes those people who can innately generate, store, and use mystral energy. In many ways, they are the equivalent of mages -- they they can't really do anything technology can't.
I hope you enjoy this system. I sure enjoyed creating it!
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