The science of tomorrow brought to you today. Wonders come in many shapes, sizes and categories.

All Wonders have a specific “point rating” that can be used to determine their relative power level and their cost as a Background item. Each type of Wonder has a different way of calculating its value, but the Storyteller may always override it and choose to assign a value arbitrarily. After all, what's a powerful Wonder in one chronicle may be useless in another, and vice versa.

An Invention is an apparently ordinary object empowered with some extraordinary ability. Flying carpets, laser cannons, cloaks of invisibility and powered armor suits are all examples of an Inventions. An Invention's power is not limited to a preset number of uses. Inventions may be used time and again, their power limited only by the power and understanding of the scientist who wields them.

An Invention typically has one or two powers that are either continuous or able to be activated at need. For instance, a suit of powered armor would give its wearer a constant bonus to Strength, while a cloak of invisibility might only render the wearer invisible upon command. Furthermore, an Invention can also be a Device. In such a case, it has its own Inspiration, and the user can rely on the item's natural power instead of activating it with his own knowledge.

Inventions also occasionally have drawbacks, strange little curses or odd limitations on their power. A Storyteller may increase the overall power of an Invention by adding Flaws to balance the item's power, or afflicting the item with specific facets or annoying quirks. Some Inventions are unreliable and they don't always work the way the user wants. Others are downright jinxed, causing all manner of problems. Unfortunately, most such items bear a curse that prevents the owner from ditching them.

Storytellers may wish to assess penalties for characters who sleep in their powered armor suits or never remove their Rings of Invulnerability. He may dictate that the suit has become grafted to the character's flesh permanently or that the jewelry junkie has become addicted to her precious ring. Perhaps the wearer becomes the slave or cat's paw of the inventor who empowered the Invention, especially if the item is also a Device. After all, Inventions are the greatest creations of the Scientists and other beings who create them. As such, they Resonate with the power of that being's Facets and personality, and those who use them cannot help but be affected when they do so.

An Invention's value is equal to the Sphere rating of each of its powers. The price doubles if the effects remain active continuously. Therefore, if an Invention has a continuous Forces 2 power and a normal Matter 3 power, its total rating is (2 x 2, plus 3) seven points. Continuous Effects are always on, or they can be turned on and off at the whim of the user. Standard Effects are built in, but they can be activated by only an Inspired user — in effect, giving an Adventurer access to a power that she normally wouldn't have.

Gizmos are single-use Wonders such as super-serums, chemical candles, camoflague powders, miracle formulas, Z-Wave bullets, strings of firecrackers, disposable Kirlian photography cameras and so on. Unlike Inventions, which can have an array of mystical Effects, Gizmos are usually created for a single purpose. Occasionally, there are gizmos with an array of uses (“Cleans teeth and freshens breath!” “It's a floor wax! It's a dessert topping!”), but their powers generally come under a single umbrella if one looks hard enough. For example, while true holy water is useful both for dissolving vampires and banishing demons, its main use is to wash away sin, explaining why both the Damned and the Damnable find it so unpleasant.

A gizmo's physical substance is generally used up when its magic is released. These throwaway items can possess mighty effects, but they disappear eventually. At best, they become mere mementos, husks of their former power. For example, while a view screen that was created as a Device would always be Inspired, a Gizmo view screen would only work for a set number of times before its power gave out—possibly with some dramatic effect like exploding once the last use was done. Such items cannot be recharged as with Devices, although their physical remnants might be used in the crafting of another Gizmo or recycled as parts for an entirely new gizmo depending on the circumstances.

Gizmos are good for only a set number of uses or amount of time before their power gives out, but unlike Devices, they may sometimes be more useful thus. For example, a bottle may have only five pills left, but those pills could be divided between the members of a group. Likewise, a glow candle might be good for two hours, but by chopping it in two, you could get two one-hour candles. Not all gizmos are divisible this way — some, like disposable cameras, lose their power when broken, while others, such as individual pills, don't have sufficient potency to share — but most come in sets of charges that can be used as needed. For particularly difficult feats, or in adverse conditions, Gizmos may also be “beefed up” by increasing the number of charges used at a time.

What constitutes a charge or dose and the amount of time for which it's good is a matter of Storyteller arbitration. A candle whose light reveals the presence of Z-Wave auras might be good for five-minutes per charge (one candle obviously consisting of multiple charges), while anti-gravity salve needs to last long enough to get you where you're going. Generally speaking, each charge will last a Scene, whether it's five minutes of non-stop combat or two hours of leisurely chatting over coffee. Multiple doses or charges may also be required for particularly difficult feats. Logical metaphysics should always apply.

Unlike Devices, Gizmos may also be used by the uninspired. Most technological gizmos can be operated by all but the most sheltered native or willfully ignorant shaman. If you believe in them, then they work “like a charm.”

Gizmos are valuable according to their one-shot power. If a Gizmo duplicates a particular Knack or Merit, then its value is one-tenth the Knack or Merit cost. Therefore, it is best to buy Gizmos in groups (like a box of candles, a bunch of flowers or whatnot).

One builds a Charm or gizmo just like an Invention, but because it is not permanently empowered, doing so requires one less level of Prime Sphere skill. With the right Tass, apprentices can forge Charms with Prime 2, so these items are key stepping stones in the creation of more powerful magical Wonders.

Matrixes store Inspirational power. However, as with some sources of Inspiration, Matrixes have a Facet. This Resonance derives from the fact that Periapts are, in fact, sublimated Tass. With 10 pawns of Tass of the same given type — for example, 10 pints of vampire blood or 10 werewolf claws — a Master of Matter can craft, for example, a “bloodstone tear” or a “moonstone crescent,” which has the same Resonance as the Tass from which it's distilled. A Master of Life could use the same materials to make a living Periapt, or Relic, like a “bloodrose” or a “moonflower” (although such is done less commonly, since those items are less portable). The Periapt then becomes something like reusable Tass. It can store additional Quintessential energy, especially of the appropriate type, and absorb that energy naturally in the right surroundings. Better still, the Periapt's power can be used by a mage who doesn't have the Prime Sphere, just because of its own natural ability to channel the power!

Periapts hold small amounts of Quintessence, just like Tass. Unlike Tass, though, they don't need to be destroyed in order to access the power — they're Tass batteries. When placed in an area filled with Tass of the sort from which the Periapt was made, it may even draw out the Quintessence from the Tass automatically. A bloodstone might very well suck up blood from a bucket overnight, recharging its Tass but bringing the concomitant damaging Resonance. Still, for mages without access to Nodes or enough Prime mastery, Periapts are very utilitarian power sources. When set into Talismans or Artifacts, a Periapt's Resonance matches to the item it is used to empower. A bloodstone tear from a brutal vampire or a moonstone crescent from an warrior werewolf could be used as the pommel for a magic sword, since they would both be empowered with a warlike Resonance. The same jewels could also be set in the navel of a sorceress or the forehead of her pet toad, usable for all their vicious and warlike magic, although they would become flavored over time with the Resonance of the familiar's spirit and the sorceress's Avatar. Eventually, the Periapt would become part of the creature, so the Periapt's Resonance would match its host, but the host's Resonance would have also slowly changed to reflect the power of the Periapt. All power, of course, has its inverse, and Quintessence is mirrored by the force of Paradox. Whenever a Periapt or Matrix's Quintessential energy is used to power a vulgar effect, the gem will draw in and store the Paradox generated, colored with the appropriate Resonance. When the Periapt or Matrix is used in the future, this Paradox counts as part of the mage's pool for purposes of Backlash. Periapts and Matrixes used for one too many vulgar Effect become the infamous “cursed gems” and “grid overloads” of so many stories. A powerful Periapt is something every mage would covet, but not when it's filled to the brim with Paradox energies.

Despite the name, Periapts and Matrixes do not have to be small gems or crystals or pretty flowers. A Periapt or Matrix could just as easily be an end table or a chair (or in the classic sense, an altar or a throne) or even a huge plant, like the coven trees of the Verbena. Gems are simply durable and portable, and the same ruby can be used as the eye of your idol, the stone for your Hermetic lodge ring, the tip of your wizard's staffer the laser crystal for your Buck Rogers ray gun. The same can not be said of an end table or 50-foot oak. Then again, altars, thrones and large oak trees are far more difficult to swipe or disguise.

Although agents of the Technocracy assert that they do not use the same props as their mystic counterparts, they do. Thrones are now “Command Chairs” and altars are “Powered Workstations,” and they are still set with the same Matrixes as always.

If a Periapt is set into an Artifact or Talisman (or Invention or Device), the gem's power may be used to fuel the Wonder's Effects. Consequently, jewels for rings, crowns, necklaces, the tips of wands, the hilts of daggers and so on are quite popular as Periapts. However, while they can be swapped out like batteries, you also need to have the right type. Sticking a demon's soulgem into a wand of healing is bound to have evil results.

Each point of a Periapt's power represents five points of Quintessence. To access this power, the mage's player must make a Wits + Meditation roll or use the Prime Sphere as if drawing upon Tass. If the Periapt is actually set into the mage in question, then its Quintessence is considered part of the mage's personal Pattern — but so is any of its Paradox.

Periapts and Matrixes are forged from pure Tass. Each dot of the Periapt's power requires the use of 10 points of similar Tass, which must be fused together with a Matter 5 ritual (or Life 5, for a living Periapt). The Periapt's natural Resonance could then be used to forge it into some Artifact or Talisman that would be appropriate, or it could simply be kept as a “Quintessence battery” of reusable Tass.

If your mage wishes to set a Periapt or Matrix into his flesh permanently, it must also first be attuned. To attune a Periapt or Matrix, empty it of all power, then roll Charisma + Meditation (difficulty 6) until you achieve successes equal to the Periapt's rating. However, a botch on this roll indicates that the mage can never attune that Periapt, and it may injure the mage, damage the Periapt or destroy it outright. Note that a Periapt must be created all at once. Thus, Periapts are fairly rare — how often does a modern mage get his hands on 10 or 20 pawns of Tass ? — and anything beyond five points (made from 50 Quintessence) is as rare as hen's teeth.