Concepts
- Automata: - Anything given the rudimentary intelligence of a powered Core is by definition Automata. If made to resemble a person, it would be an Automaton. When implanted into the body, it is referred to as Engrafted or Grafted Automata.
Tools
Artificers work with the tools of their trade, together with the Glyphics of Ensorcelling, and the various machinistry an Engineer might employ. Commonly, Artificers either work with, or are Terra or Draoidh themselves. Otherwise, they employ smiths or utilize Automatons to manufacture the components they need.
Techniques
Diction
As Artificing relies upon the Argumentation of Glyphics, one's ability to dictate how an Autamaton should act, and how it is powered is entirely dependent on this. Unlike a Conjuration, Artificers teach the Metaphor how to act through written and sometimes verbal or Canted.
Metaphor
Inscribed Metaphor, when supplied with embedded Alkahest, dictates what Automata is capable of.
- Aetherite: Paired with the symbol of Aether, Automata created from Aetherite can learn mundane skills taught to them through Imitation, up to the quality of their supplied Aetherite. They are even capable of learning Dominion, if taken on as a CNPC.
- Fabulite: Paired with the symbol of Fabula, Fabulite allows Automata to speak, see, and hear via vibrational eardrums, vocal tuning forks, and gemstones. A Gram of Dust is enough to make them on par with somebody slow, but a Globe would make them able to parse an infinite number of conversations without overwhelming them.
- Luxiumite: Paired with the symbol of Luxium, Luxiumite allows Automata to fill glass bulbs with lights, with a gram able to make a single palm-sized bulb shine brightly, and a single Globe filling an infinite number, or something as blinding as the sun itself. It also allows the machine to exhibit the emotion of hope, and sense hope being displayed around them.
- Aerisite: Paired with the symbol of Aeris, Automata given Aerisite, Automata will develop a sense for controlling its built-in method of aerial propulsion, conveying an equivalent skill of flight to the tier of Alkahest. With a Crystal of Aeristie, it will also never rust or stain, and its paint will not flake, any natural beauty of the machine retained through time.
- Geomenite: Paired with the symbol of Geomena, when given Geomenite Automata may fool others by having the sensation of a pulse, developing a sense for vibrations in the earth. It will also give the Automata an equivalent skill in Deepcraft.
- Imberite: Paired with the symbol of Imber and Imberite, Automata will have an equivalent tier proficiency in Swimming, as well as in any weapon they are supplied, but not a Fighting Style. They will see the world as a predator might, scarcely restrained violence dictated by their Argumentation.
- Somniite: Paired with the symbol of Somnium and given Somniite, Automata may sleep and dream while idle and come up with new ideas, fostering curiosity, creativity, and aiding their Artificers with problem solving or unique perspectives. They also develop an equivalent skill in a Fighting Style that makes sense for them, if they fulfill its prerequisites.
- Saolite: Paired with the symbol of Saol and given Saolite, an Automaton will develop the ability to selectively ignore orders and put itself first regardless of its Diction. As a tradeoff for this, it develops the ability to wield Animism at an equivalent tier, regenerating itself slowly if made of organic materials like bone or wood.
- Ardorite: Paired with the symbol of Ardor and given Ardorite, a machine will be able to maim without killing, knowing instinctively what it must do to keep someone alive. It will also be able to tell time - what day it is with Dust, the hour at a sliver, the minute, the second, and the nanosecond. It will not freeze unless exposed to an equivalent tier of elemental Ardor.
- Miasmite: Paired with the symbol of Miasmata and given Miasmata, a machine may harm and sense Apparationists of an equivalent tier, barring them from possessing or traveling through it - this is how vaults are protected from such mages.
- Anathemite: Paired with the symbol of Anathema, Automata given Anathemite will be able sense the despair in others, and resist corrosion by acids of a tier less.
- Absentite: Paired with the symbol of Absentia and given Absentite, the machine becomes a pawn for Nihilos who will subvert its Diction to make it go awry with time. These are commonly woven into machines by saboteurs and Blighted agents. Like Aetherite, it will possess any skills imparted through Imitation up to its tier.
Imitation
Teaching Automata skills for independent action through mimicked information, limited by the quality of the Core.
Components
Automata are the sum of their parts, and their Components refer to the various distinct parts of their anatomy engineered by the Artificer. This is not a comprehensive list, and only covers some of the more common ones - you are free to devise your own.
The Frame
Among all other Practices, Artificers require the broadest knowledge; they must form and engineer the body of their Automata themselves.
- Body: The type of Automata is dictated by the overall shape of its body. They are designed as mechanisms, tools, implants, extensions buildings - or the buildings themselves - and given examples in life such as people or animals and insects. Sapient, crawling castles and reactive airships are entirely possible through Artifice just as locks and firearms are, only limited by the scarcity of prohibitively expensive Alkahest and the time it takes to create such things. Rarely a live being will be used as a basis for a frame, usually to enslave their body with Welded implants, forcing the use of their skills or Arcana or denying them. There are derelict gnomish Automata the size of cities; the minimum size of an Automata body is as large as the Alkahest used for its core, up to as far as its networked nodes allow.
- Extensions: Extensions are any sources of power irrelevant of Nodes such as Steam Engines or Flywheels. Any Artifacts and Alkemicals or Contrivances derived from Practices are also considered as extensions of the design. If the Body is an implant, then the implantee would be studied as an Extension. Abominations of Routed, Node-embedded bone shaped and reinforced by Malediction are not unheard of, and for some intra-Practice creations are a privilege of living alongside magi or having the time to pursue multiple Practices. Extensions are also all manner of weaponry fitted to Automata or made into such. Guns, blades, spears, hammers, and improvised methods such as of ramming.
- Mechanisms: Mechanisms are components designed by Engineers who then take their plans to Tradesmen or manufacture these themselves. While complexity can be derived from Cores and Nodes, most Artificers prefer to reduce their reliance on Alkahest by manufacturing highly complex machinery. Made from wood in the beginning, they graduate in complexity over time and require extensive Routing to function and bridge their capabilities. The most complex of these - a fully-functional hand as good as a human's - would require Expert skill in Engineering, and an Expert smith to forge its pieces. Below are common mechanisms utilized by Artificers. See Engineering.
- Engines: Engines are highly complex machines with combustion reservoirs, pistons, crankshafts, and rods. They power machines in lieu of higher tier Nodes.
- Synthetic Organs: Objects with thin membranes or reservoirs of acids designed to mimic life. These function as rudimentary eardrums, eyes, or pressure sensors when Routed between in lieu of the more accurate and compact Alkahest sensors. Rarely are these functional enough to satisfy the needs of a living body.
- Wheel: A Wheel, with an axel. With or without a source of Steam power which may be used in place of an Alkahest Node. They serve as internal drivers, or a way of motion.
- Pulley: Pulleys transfer rotation between smooth or toothed wheels at a distance through belts or chains, often providing shock protection for internal gears as the machine moves or receives impacts. These are often but not always housed to prevent debris from snagging them, but larger pulleys such as treads might crush anything that snuck its way into the rollers.
- Gear: Gears are toothed wheels meshing against one another at differing angles and diameters. Their rotation is often driven by a pulley system connected to a source of power - Nodes, or Steam Engines - and they create an internal complexity which might drive the appearance of lifelike motion in Automata. Smaller geartrains referred to as Clockwork might be added so that an automaton can tell the time, move its joints precisely, or navigate with built-in logic such as astrolabes.
- Bladders: Sacs filled with gases or fluids for creating Synthetic Organs, or else increasing the ability for zeppelin-type Airships to float.
- Coptics: Rotor blades for creating helical-type Airships, aerial or watercraft propulsion, and spinning laceration devices.
The Core
The Core is a series of Alkahest housings dedicated to serving as the brain and logic systems of Automata. Most often they are centrally located, or spread across the body. Note that an Automata still needs the necessary frame and engineering to move in the ways required of its Skills, and cannot naturally wield or be initiated into Arcana.
- Logic Gates: Created from Alkahest Dust for each command, Logic Gates allow for basic reactions when their Routing veins connect.
- Mnemonic Sliver: A Sliver of Alkahest which contains an embedded function or idea imparted through Sovereignty and linked up to Logic Gates for further programming. With enough additional Logic Gates, a single skill of Novice or Apprentice level might be conferred by the Artificer. Practices are not yet viable for a Mnemonic Sliver, but they might still assist in other ways like being taught to pan for Alkahest.
- Thought Shard: A Shard of Alkahest imparted with the idea of a soul through Sovereignty. A Shard has the ability to adapt, but with limited ability to reason. Each Thought Shard has up to a single Journeyman skill or Arcana Practice through Imitation, and multiple may be routed together within a single Automata.
- Mind Sphere: A Sphere of Alkahest given some small semblance of a soul through Sovereignty, capable of interpreting and learning with occasional logical errors and mistakes. A Mind Sphere confers up to a single Expert Skill or Practice through Imitation, and cannot yet learn on its own; multiple may be routed together within a single Automata.
- Quintessence: A Globe of Alkahest which has been steeped in Sovereignty, forming a mind of its own that draws personality and Skills from each who held the Quintessence. Each Quintessence confers up to a Master-level Skill or Practice through Imitation, but must have a Master-level node to enact that Skill in the physical world.
- Soul Star: Taboo and often illegal Alkahest which contains the soul of a sentient being, a Soul Star is created by Necromancers. These impart the mind of the sentient while binding their will to Edicts. They possess the skills they had in life including Arcana, but they are limited in how much of their Skill they may access by the tier of Alkahest. Shard: Journeyman, Sphere: Expert, and Globe: Grandmaster. These true soul Automata are referred to as Venator, as they are often enslaved as warriors and beast hunters by magi, and they are the most likely to become Soulforged unless made from flesh or bone, in which case they become Draugr.
Nodes
Nodes are both the nervous system of an Automata, and its power source. They dictate how quickly an Automata can function when spinning or manipulating its own joints and gears without the aid of engines, and the tier of Skill they can operate at. Nodes may also be used as multi-purpose Sensors if left exposed or positioned well by the clever, but this often makes the creation less hardy against violent trauma. Even if the Automata is powered by an engine, it must still have some kind of Node to allow for a Core to control its routed mechanisms.
- Dust: Incapable of moving steel while iron is barely mobile. Wood is favorable while paper is nimble. Can operate engineered clicks and whistles for its voice. 5ft of length per gram. Can operate an engine, but with significant lag time. Supports Known Novice skills.
- Sliver: Incapable of moving stone while steel is barely mobile. Iron is favorable, and wood is nimble. Can be vibrated for monotone voices and improved with engineered mechanisms. 50ft of length. Supports Known Apprentice skills. Can operate an engine with some lag time.
- Shard: Stone is barely mobile while steel is favorable. Iron is nimble. Supports Journeyman skills. Voices are still robotic yet vary in volume, tone, and pitch based on Imitations of what that voice should sound like. 500ft of length. Can operate an engine with minimal lag time. Supports Known Journeyman Skills.
- Sphere: Stone is favorable while steel is nimble. Voices are human-like. 5000ft of length. Can operate an engine as an extension of itself. Supports Known Expert Skills.
- Globe: All materials are nimble. 50,000ft of length. Voices can match those of Imitated orators and singers, or those who participated in its Quintessence. Supports Known Master Skills, and Grandmaster Skills linked to a Quintessence Core.
Sensors
Extending the core to create the five senses, or additional senses based on Metaphor. In the case of eyes, two or more are needed for depth perception. Contrivances might make use of a membrane to hear, or a glass scope to see. More advanced senses depend on exposed crystals of Alkahest which themselves provide one specific sense each through the routed nervous system to its Core.
- Contrivances: Muted senses.
- Sliver: Normal senses.
- Shard: Above average senses.
- Sphere: Superior senses.
- Globe: Supernaturally gifted senses.
Acquiring Alkahest
See Seasonal Points and Duties to acquire Alkahest.
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