super_science
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super_science [2014/02/08 18:58] storyteller [Devices] |
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| ====== Super Science ====== | ====== Super Science ====== | ||
| - | The science of tomorrow brought to you today. Wonders come in many shapes, sizes and categories. | + | The science of tomorrow brought to you today! Wonders come in many shapes, sizes and categories. |
| ===== Wonders ===== | ===== Wonders ===== | ||
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| ==== Gizmos ==== | ==== Gizmos ==== | ||
| - | 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. | + | Gizmos are single-use Wonders such as super-serums, chemical candles, camouflage 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. | 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. | ||
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| ==== Power Matrixes==== | ==== Power Matrixes==== | ||
| - | 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!'' | + | ''Matrixes store Inspirational power. However, as with some sources of Inspiration, Matrixes have a Facet. This facet derives from the fact that Matrixes are, in fact, sublimated Tulleraian power. 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 Matrixes, or Relic, like a "bloodrose" or a "moonflower" (although such is done less commonly, since those items are less portable). The Matrixes 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 Matrixes'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. | + | ''Matrixes 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 Matrixes 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, Matrixes 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. | + | When set into Talismans or Artifacts, a Matrixes'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 Matrixes's Resonance would match its host, but the host's Resonance would have also slowly changed to reflect the power of the Matrixes. |
| '' | '' | ||
| - | ''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.'' | + | ''All power, of course, has its inverse, and Quintessence is mirrored by the force of Paradox. Whenever a 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 Matrix is used in the future, this Paradox counts as part of the mage's pool for purposes of Backlash. Matrixes used for one too many vulgar Effect become the infamous "cursed gems" and "grid overloads" of so many stories. A powerful Matrixes 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.'' | + | ''Despite the name, Matrixes do not have to be small gems or crystals or pretty flowers. A 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.'' | ''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.'' | ||
super_science.1391885896.txt.gz · Last modified: 2021/12/04 00:40 (external edit)
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