Everyone has a multiverse. Brandon Sanderson has it, Spiderman has it, D&D has multiple. I want one of my own too. Not for D&D, for my stories, as well as my games.
I like magic-powered technology that isn't just "re-branded electricity". I also like minimalistic hard magic systems. The number of things they can do could be counted on one, maybe two hands, but it's low either way. Plenty of thoughts have gone into how technology works, and I think I got some details narrowed down. I'd say there are four important elements when it comes to technology that I like (at least, at the moment of writing this article):
- Input: Detecting inputs and activating magic based on that, to provide autonomous machinery.
- Output: Giving sensory outputs (sights, sounds, etc.), to provide easily read data.
- Motion: Giving motoric outputs (moving objects), to provide outputs that affect the physical world.
- Fuel: What the device requires in order to operate, to limit the time for which a device can function.
(I know that Output can be done by Motion, I just like the convenience.)
Coming up with "hard magitech systems" isn't easy for me, but I want to get better at it, maybe to grow my multiverse some more. But I have three worlds that I could work on now. Each of them is built with a magitech system at its heart, and they are all connected in a way I'll keep to myself for now. Of course, the magitech system doesn't need to be the only form of magic that's present in that world. Needless to say, one can't just travel from one of these worlds to another as they wish - none of my worlds will just have a spell, like plane shift in it. That would require an extraordinary amount of effort, and some magic that I already have in one of these worlds.
Let's have a brief rundown of the magitech worlds I've made so far and their technology. I'll use this opportunity to write up updates on the original concepts I wrote before for each of these.
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| I've spent too much time looking for artwork to use here. I've seen too many artworks that are just grids or random assortments of ball-shaped universes, D&D-styled cosmology charts, or abstract trippy nonsense on my search. I wanted to go with something that feels fresher, and... while it's not a multiverse per se, I liked The Game Bakers' portrayal of the universe that Haven takes place in. I couldn't track down the artist right now, but the art seems to be their property. |
Runehack
- Magitech System: runes
- Input: detection runes
- Output: illusion runes, encryption runes
- Motion: telekinesis runes
- Fuel: amber or tree sap
I'm not sure what more is there to say about Runehack. I don't want to update it in any major way, and if you want to know more about it, there are so many articles about it on my blog that I made a reading guide included in the sidebar.
Ælfheim
The world as we know it has become inhospitable. Those who wanted to survive have been converted into a mechanical form.
For the sake of simplicity, I'll refer to the truncated octahedrons as cubes. I chose this shape because it can infinitely tile a 3D space, and it has plenty of sides.
Just like in the original article about divtech, these shapes can produce light that goes through logical gates which operate based on one's belief. You'll get a result out of technology based on what you believe to get. If you have a calculator, and you believe that by inputting 1+1 you'll get 99, you will. Thus, people of this world are trained to have no expectations when using technology.
The first important change I'll make is this: Perhaps I could change how the interior works. While I could say "quantum physics" and it could make some sense, I think I'll just boil it down to one item in particular. A gemstone that can shine light if it's receiving light and if someone believes it should shine. Each cube can be suited for usage by someone specific or left for anyone at all to influence it, perhaps by denoting their name in the crystal somehow. The cheapest solution is to have one of the cubes produce light when a specific person believes in it. The best solution would be for all of the cubes to let their light through only when a specific person believes in them.
Another thing that's different is the energy source. Long story short, the powering cube will require the reception of some form of light in order to power the rest. The most reliable form is the sunlight, but fire works too. Moonlight works only on a full moon, and only when it's fully visible. Starlight is too weak. Light from other cubes explicitly doesn't work.
Now, these mechanical remnants of sapient species are beings that require light in order to operate. When the light is not present, they go into sleep mode - their operation resumes only once they get enough light. Sleep is not something these machines require, so going to sleep is pretty much optional. You could stay up all night working, provided you have light all night long. This could have several interesting implications. For example, at night some of them could try to commit crimes while others "sleep". They can't get too close to others though, because they could accidentally wake them up. This could cause these communities to develop patrols, guards who walk around the town with torches. But that in return could cause these criminals to extinguish torches, pausing the guard in their tracks harmlessly. The other guard passes by, sees a deactivated guard, activates it just by proximity to the torch, and relights their torch, and now they know something's wrong.
What if the displays that the cubes possess are somehow filtering the light of the gems to make it safer again, thus disallowing it from triggering other cubes? What if the light that these gems produce is very destructive? Maybe you could attach them to some weirdly-shaped sticks, point them at people or objects, and do harm that way. In other words, ...
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| Wizard guns. |
Another interesting realization - maybe the cubes could be arranged in any way of sensors and outputs. Maybe they could have outputs that produce sound instead of light if it can somehow be converted. And thus, maybe a majority of the surface of these beings could be made up of inputs, thus allowing for "skin that can feel". The world has enough to be worked on. But I'll have to get working on it. Who knows when possibly when I get tired of Runehack and I'll need a quick distraction.
Part of the inspiration here is Bionicle, surprisingly - a world populated completely by mechanical beings sounds dope to me. Though I'd imagine they used to be not mechanical. Whether there are any non-mechanicals left I have yet to figure out. Perhaps trees, maybe insects. Who knows.
Globus (name WIP)
Let's be honest here - the main reason why I'm writing this article is that I wanted to make some changes to the orbtech, but when I realized I can't come up with a good title, I figured I may as well unveil my larger dream project while doing so instead of hiding it forever and ever.
First of all, fuel. I figured quartz itself being fuel is kind of silly, especially with orbs getting smaller as they get used. They could get smaller if they roll around too much, as most physical things would. But instead of quartz getting consumed, I think I'll go with something else. The dragon blood was just a spontaneous idea I went with while writing the original article, and looking back at it hardly has anything to do with dreams. Instead, I'll go with a mare. Not a horse, mare as in a legendary creature of nightmares. How exactly will it look I can't quite tell, maybe something canine or feline. It will definitely have the ability to paralyze people who are unconscious through touch. The orb is hollow on the inside, and for the sake of keeping the movements predictable, the liquid inside of it hovers, not interacting with the orb's movements.
The dream within the orb is made up of "strings", but they're not actual strings. It's just something people grew to call it because the string is the closest thing they could approximate it to. One can pass through them or touch them whenever they wish to.
The orb can record anything that it could see, and it can record audio it could hear if it was a human ear. However, this audio is only stored inside of the orb, since quartz lacks a way to produce a multitude of sounds. It could technically only produce a ringing sound that sounds like someone striking the orb. If you get multiple orbs of different sizes, and all of them play the recorded audio all at once, they could reproduce the message, but it's much easier to just enter its dream and hear for yourself.
Orbs only allow you to enter their dreams when they are filled with mare blood. If they run out of blood while someone is inside, the person is awakened immediately.
Furthermore, there's a curious race in this world. I'm not sure what I'll call them yet, I'll refer to them as kitsunes for now. Chances are if I keep this name, they could have fox-like traits, although a more feline demeanor, and they would come with a special ability - to enter a dreamscape at will. Whether it's a sleeping person or an orb, they can simply touch it, will themselves to enter, and they immediately appear in this space. What makes them even more unique is that their physical form completely ceases to exist whenever they do this, including objects they are wearing or carrying, except for orbs. Due to the danger that these people present, it is best to ponder your orbs in private spaces, otherwise, you're inviting kitsunes to invade your dreams.
Fun thought: If you make a car that has orbs for wheels, you could have the car move even sideways without really turning its wheel. It could move in any direction, as long as you could somehow transmit that information to all of the wheels. Maybe an orb could work as a steering wheel too. I would however consider reimagining the shape of such cars, and maybe adding more wheels so that if one runs out of fuel, you still have five more.
Have you ever seen the musical marvel called Marble Machine? Imagine if each of those marbles was an orb. Imagine if they could determine what paths they roll up or down in. Imagine if the crank was turned by another orb, perhaps a much bigger one. Or maybe there's a big orb covered in small boxes for the marbles to travel in. And the orbs determine on their own where they roll and when. All of them entangled, working in harmony. Bonus points if they light up in various colors, possibly even changing colors as they travel around the machine.
Right now, I have no clue otherwise about anything else within this world. I just like the fact that I figured out a way to make spherical magical computers.
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| Soulfire Stone, by JoshEiten |
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| No clue if this will be useful for me, it's just cool art I found along the way. Ancient Titan, by Deiv Calviz |
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| It's not a cube, nor a "cube" (that being: truncated octahedron). But hey let's imagine it is. This looks neato! 3D steampunk magic thingy, by dchan |
This was fun. I want more. Some on my to-do list are clothtech, aquatech, and maybe somehow turning language into technology without it seeming like a copy of runes.
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