Artifice

File:ArtificeSkill.jpg

An Artificer is doing his thing.

Artifice

 An overview of Artifice. Artifice requires at least 25 Experience in Ensorcelling and Engineering, as well as a Minor Merit to pursue.

=Artifice A brief history of Artifice

Concepts Automata: - Anything given the rudimentary intelligence of a Cognition powered by a Nexus 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 an 'Engrafted' within or 'Grafted' upon Automata. Tools Artificers work with mundane tools, together with the Glyphics of Ensorcelling, trade skills like smithing or carpentry, and the various machinistry an Engineer might employ. Many Artificers either work with, or are Terra or Draoidh themselves. Otherwise, they employ smiths or utilize Automatons to manufacture the components they need from their designs. Artifice is not undone by other forms of magical alteration to its make, meaning that Crested can make them appear more lifelike or organic with additional properties, while maintaining functionality. Modules Modules are components which may be swapped, installed, or forcibly inserted into Automata, effectively hijacking or patching their Diction, adding a new Nexus or Cognition, or adding an entirely new extension. Techniques Diction As Artificing relies upon the Argumentation of Glyphics, one's ability to dictate how Automata 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. Cognition The Cognition of an Automata can be thought of as a rudimentary Operating System or motherboard. These are carefully jeweled lines of Diction logic containing the routines, understanding, and memory banks of an Automata, if any. Cognition dictates how Automata should act, and determines how it should process the information of its components. Within the Cognition are logic statements, written against phrases or variable machine language. The more specific the language, the less likely Automata are to misinterpret their own logic, and the more non-specific, the less it will understand about itself - it cannot be told that it is a human without first writing everything into its Cognition that a human should be. Cognition may be astoundingly complex even for small machines powered by a single Gram of Dust. Creating a Cognition takes a considerable amount of time, with weeks, months, and sometimes years and even decades of effort being poured into a single Cognition. Nexus A Nexus serves as the engine of power for Automata, and for this Alkahest is commonly used, paired with the Alchemical symbol for that Metaphor inscribed upon the Alkahest itself, or its housing, and then connected to with lines of Diction to its Cognition. The size of Alkahest used dictates the length its Diction can travel instantaneously across its network, slowing to around a meter per second beyond this additive distance. The upper limit of weight it may support is also determined by this, provided the material does not buckle. However, talented engineers can get around these limitations by designing machines which are in turn controlled by the Automata rather than 'being' the Automata. Size Radius Weight Dust (Gram) 1 Meter 10 Kg Sliver 10 Meters 100 Kg Shard 100 Meters 1 Tonne Crystal 1,000 Meters 10 Tonnes Sphere 10,000 Meters 100 Tonnes Globe 100,000 Meters 1 Kiloton Examples: Two grams of Dust would equate to a machine that could support the movement of 20 kilograms at once, as an Automata with a maximum radius of 2 meters. Automatrick Armor uses the power of its Nexus to enhance its wearers strength, allowing them to perform unnatural feats or benefit from its deference. Alignment Automata possess an Alignment to the Metaphor of their Nexus. This is an ability While multiple Nexuses are possible, they must be fashioned into the creation with parallel lines of Diction to wherever its Alignment should overlap. The simplest Automata without any moving parts are referred to as Aligned, such as an Aligned Pickaxe which does not wear from striking the earth. Alkahest Alignment Ability Aetherite Able to learn (spend experience on) Skills following the same rules as a Personal NPC, provided their Cognition is adequate enough to carry out or understand it, from Novice at Dust, up to Grandmaster with a Globe. Automata may not wield Arcana unless they are using the Conjurations of Ensorcelling, or they have become a Djinn. Fabulite Able to better glean more sensory information from inferior components. A Gram of Dust is enough to make a vibrating Tuning Fork sound barely intelligible, while a Crystal would make them able to converse, smell, see, or hear from any component as a human might. Superhuman senses beyond the mechanical are possible with Spheres and Globes. Luxiumite Able to fill translucent objects such as bulbs or crystals with light; a Gram able to make a single palm-sized bulb shine brightly, while a single Globe could fill an infinite number across its Diction, or something as luminous as the sun itself. Aerisite Able to now float, supporting up to the tonnage of its Aerisite Nexus. Other forms of propulsion must be built into the Automata in order for it to move through the air. It also possesses an equivalent level of the Flying Skill without needing to be taught, provided its Cognition is adequate enough to understand how. It will not rust, wherever its Diction can reach. Geomenite Able to carry out an equivalent level of the Deepcraft Skill without needing to be taught, provided their Cognition is adequate enough to do so, while conferring the ability to dig or move through softer minerals than itself without being worn down or scratched. They will also resist the sway of lesser-tiered Terrari trying to manipulate its materials directly. Imberite Able to regulate buoyancy underwater, while utilizing an equivalent level of the Swimming Skill without needing to be taught, provided its Cognition is adequate enough to do so. Imberite confers a resistance to water pressure, with a Crystal adequately safeguarding even the most fragile of materials from the deepest depths of Lacon. Somniite Able to better understand the aspirations behind its Cognition, allowing for poorly or hastily written Cognitions to achieve tangible results while. Somniite Modules are used to program slapdash Cognitions in mere moments to jury rig solutions, add context to weapons in the heat of battle, to prototype, or to patch existing Automata with concurrent cognitions, even hacking them. Somniite is used with implants and prosthetics to better understand the body without need for an exact logical breakdown of something so complex. Saolite Able to regenerate slowly if made of organic materials such as flesh, bone, or plant material, and able to regenerate most damage provided its Nexus and Cognition both remain intact. Saolite Alignment Modules may be woven into living tissues by a competent surgeon or Maltrician Grafts and Engrafts in order to create intelligent, immune-safe prosthetics, artificial organs, or implants. Saolite confers immunity to the sway of a lesser-tiered Draoidh upon its materials. Ardorite Able to function in cold weather without freezing, while resisting Abation of a lesser tier. It will also be able to tell the time down to the current nanosecond, without needing any other way to first deduce the time. Miasmite Able to sense Apparationists of an equivalent tier while preventing them from moving through itself, barring weaker Apparationists from traveling through it - this is how Aligned structures such as vaults and fortresses are protected from such mages and beings, and suits of armor that deny Possession might be made. Anathemite Able to resist acids of a lesser tier, and it will appear pitch black standing within a shadow or the darkness no matter its material. Absentite Able to feel the sway of Nihilos, Diction slowly subverted until the Automata goes awry with time. These are commonly woven into machines by saboteurs and Blighted agents well ahead of any conflict. Like Aetherite, it may learn or be taught additional skills up to its tier, provided it is given an adequate Cognition to understand these. Example: An Automata Air Bike with a Shard of Aerisite as its Nexus may support the floating of 1 Tonne at a dead wind while granting it the Journeyman Flying Skill to operate its fin-like wings. This small personal craft has a Gram of Imber as a secondary Nexus to prevent its exterior surface from rusting, while conferring the Novice Swimming skill. They want their bike to serve as a calculator on the fly, so they install an Aetherite Sliver Calculator Module between the handlebars, allowing it to move abacus beads which solve equations. Out of character, they have spent 25 XP on their bike to teach it Apprentice Mathematics as they would any other NPC they owned. They might have also funded the skill as part of a Formation, or a Hired Hand. Imitation The process of teaching Aetherite-Aligned Automata a skill which cannot be conveyed through Diction is referred to as Imitation, and is performed by getting the machine to follow along with their movements, or those of another they are watching. This might be as simple as placing a Module with the correct sensory components to observe and record several sessions of a training regimen, and then collecting it later for installation into a machine. Components Components are mundane contraptions designed by Engineers who then take their plans to Tradesmen or manufacture these themselves. Most Artificers prefer to reduce their reliance on Alkahest by manufacturing highly complex machinery. The most complex of these - a fully-functional hand as good as a human's - would require Expert skill in Engineering, and an Apprentice smith to forge its pieces. Below are common components utilized or commissioned by Artificers. See Engineering. With a powered fuel source and adequate machining, a single Gram of Dust wielded by a Nexus could empower a Cognition to manipulate a clockwork machine far larger than it should normally be able to. 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 liquids 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. Wheel: A Wheel, with an axel. With or without a source of Steam power which may be used in place of a more powerful Nexus or far-reaching Diction. 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. Technology Warning: Please consult with a Storyteller before introducing a new technology to the setting, if it did not exist in the industrial era. Acquiring Alkahest See Seasonal Points and Duties to acquire Alkahest.

Skill Tiers

Artificers are themselves Ensorcellers, so they understand with some degree the Glyphics behind their Diction. Much of the complexity exists behind the logic. Novice A Novice can fully utilize up to a gram of Alkahest Dust in one creation. Their Cognitions are extremely rudimentary, able to handle Novice-level tasks with a high risk of going haywire. Apprentice An Apprentice can utilize up to two Slivers of Alkahest by themselves in one creation. Their Cognitions are adequate for Apprentice-level tasks, with some level of risk for going haywire. Journeyman A Journeyman can utilize up to a Crystal of Alkahest by themselves in one creation. Their Cognitions are robust enough for Journeyman-level tasks, able to partially mimic human personas with enough time and dedication with bombastic or cold personalities. They can intentionally manufacture highly volatile Cognitions that handle basic tasks in just a few minutes if they so choose. Expert An Expert can utilize up to a Sphere of Alkahest by themselves in one creation. Their Cognitions can handle Expert-level skills, able to mimic personalities almost exactly with enough time and effort. Master A Master can utilize up to a Globe of Alkahest by themselves in one creation. Their Cognitions can handle Master-level skills, and their Cognitions can be entirely custom creations with adaptive personalities. Grandmaster The Grandmaster can successfully utilize any amount of Alkahest by themselves in one creation. Their Cognitions can handle Grandmaster skills, even able to Imitate a Dominion.

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