BUILD YOUR OWN WORLD Like what you see? Become the Master of your own Universe!

Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild

Mechankia

Steam-powered constructs and other advanced technologies have existed in one form or another since the first colossal strode across the field of battle, crushing Orgoth invaders beneath its immense metal fists. This science has proven as potent as the Gift of Magic and has progressed just as swiftly. As a result of centuries of innovation and study, Magic in the form of mechanika has become commonplace today throughout western Immoren.

Mechanika is the application of magic to augment physical science. Steam pistons and hydraulics work in concert to provide power to magical conduits. Mechanika runes enable arcane mechaniks to create devices that function consistently and are easy to use despite their extraordinary workings (Runes and Formulae).

MECHANIKAL ITEMS



A mechanikal item has three components: a housing, a capacitor, and a runeplate. The housing is the shell that contains the item’s mechanikal components. In the case of a mechanikal weapon, this is the weapon itself. The capacitor is the arcane power source that powers the mechanikal components. The runeplate is the special plate inscribed with the arcane glyphs that give the item its magical effects. The runes inscribed on the runeplate determine the mechanikal item’s particular magical properties.

Some items require specialized runes and runeplates that function only with items of a particular type. Other devices can work with a host of different runes, and switching between runeplates gives an item different arcane effects, provided that the runeplates are appropriate for the item. For example, a mechanikal sword can function with either a Cold rune or a Fire rune, each of which produces different arcane effects, but it cannot be made to function with the Fleet rune from a suit of mechanikal armor.

Some runes provide a constant benefit while the item is powered, and others are activated only briefly for a short-term effect. For example, some mechanikal weapons are set with force triggers that activate only when a blow is struck in combat.

All runeplates for mechanikal weapons and armor integrate glyphs that compensate for the added weight of mechanikal augmentation. These glyphs are constantly active but draw only a minute amount of power from the device’s capacitor.

NECROTECH

The necromancers of the Cryxian Empire acquired the secrets of mechanika from the mainland. After stealing the corpses of arcane Mechaniks and arcanists, they were able to compel the dead to share their secrets. In just a few decades, the servants of Cryx had not only learned the fundamentals of fabricating mechanika but also managed to modify and improve these processes to suit their own methods. By using necromantic shortcuts (Necromancy), they were able to craft their devices more quickly, giving birth to a hideous fusion of mechanika and the magic of death, an arcane science known as necrotech. The existence of this dark science is abhorrent in the eyes of those who dwell in the mainland kingdoms, and the use of such technologies there is punishable by death.

Necrotechs also benefit from access to sources of fuel and energy too grotesque for others to consider. The foul mineral called necrotite, found in grounds thick with carnage and resonating with atrocity, is one example. Extremely concentrated, it functions similarly to coal but is able to burn far longer. Necrotite is as toxic as it is efficient, however, and the smoke and residue produced from burning it is harmful to the living.

Necrotechs have also toyed with older, darker power sources, including those adapted from the Orgoth. One of these inherited pieces of nefarious technology is the soul cage, a device that captures souls freed from the body during death and traps them indefinitely until they can be tormented and drained to fuel other necromantic devices.

MECHANIKAL WEAPONS

While its capacitor has charges, a mechanikal Weapons is considered a magic weapon.

If a mechanikal weapon’s capacitor is reduced to 0 charges, attacks with the weapon are made with disadvantage until the capacitor has been recharged or replaced.

MECHANIKAL ARMOR



The housing for mechanikal armor is based on rigid armors, such as infantry armor and plate mail (Armor). Chain mail and leather armor tend to be useless for mechanikal housing, but a suit of mechanikal armor can integrate elements of chain mail and leather armor into its design.

If the capacitor in a suit of mechanikal armor is reduced to 0 charges, the wearer suffers –2 AC until the capacitor has been recharged or replaced.

ACTIVATING A MECHANIKAL ITEM



Depending on the nature of its runes, a mechanikal device must be activated either in advance by using a bonus action or as part of an attack action

Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild

Comments

Please Login in order to comment!