Clockwork Limbs

A gnomish invention, clockwork limbs are a very recent breakthrough in medical technology. They are used for patients who have lost limbs.

Development

Although folk with amputated limbs have in the past used wooden or metal faux limbs to take the place of the missing limbs, function - especially with hand or arm prosthetics - is very limited. There is more function than were the limb not to be replaced, but many amputees are still relegated to lives using canes or having to adapt to only using one hand or arm. A group of gnomish doctors is Osna, where many miners and ironworkers suffer from limb loss each year, sought to find an alternative to these stiff, immobile prosthetics.

The first prototypes were made from steel, beaten thin so they were more flexible. Although these worked well for legs to provide some spring to one's gait, they worked very poorly for arms. The extra flexibility made it even more difficult to pick things up using the prosthetic, reducing the already limited precision afforded by prosthetic limbs.

A main goal of producing new prosthetics was to create something that could substitute for the dexterity and precision of fingers. But doing so was difficult, since there was no clear way to connect the patient's mind with any fingers they might be able to create. As the developers worked on creating more functional prototypes, they also began researching ways by which they might connect the mind and prosthetic.

After much trial and error, the developers finally hit upon the perfect construction for these new prosthetics: clockwork. The gears and pistons would allow for much more complex motions in limbs, especially in the hands and feet. If they were to somehow allow the limbs to be controlled by the patient with simply a thought, then these limbs could operate almost at the full capacity of a normal limb. Eventually, the idea of magic as a means to operate the limbs was hit upon, and the experimental process began again. This time, though, it did not take very many trials before the spell was perfected, and the clockwork limbs were ready to be used for amputees across the world by AV 1600.

Components

Clockwork limbs are made from a complex arrangement of gears and pistons. These gears and pistons are made from steel, although some choose to have them coated in a thing layer of another metal for aesthetic purposes. Similarly, parts of the prosthetics can be covered by sheathes of thin steel to prevent the gears from catching on anything. Joints are then covered by stiffer cloth to reduce the risk of snagging.

The fingers and toes of the prosthetics are made from very small, delicate gears. Joints mid-finger allow for fine motor control, and a flexible joint where the thumb joins the hand makes it opposable and helps the user to grab things with the prosthetic. They are usually sheathed in textured metal or wood to provide more grip. These sheathes can be painted to match the wearer's skin tone or patterns, or can be left unpainted.

Use

As a fairly new technological breakthrough, clockwork limbs are not yet in frequent use in most places. In Osna, where the limbs were first created, they have become more widely used, especially among those who have lost limbs thanks to workplace accidents in labor-intensive fields such as mining or ironworking.

Unfortunately, because the limbs are so complex and require magic to function correctly, it takes a long time to manufacture one. Every gear must be made with precision and then the limbs are hand constructed with great are to ensure everything turns smoothly and works as intended. They are also very expensive, running upwards of 30 gold pieces for a single arm or leg. As such, many of these limbs are subsidized by governments or workplace owners, especially in the case of an accident. Some worry that the limited accessibility is prohibitive of a technology mostly designed for use by the working class, who will have more cause to use it that folk in the upper class, who can afford to work in areas with little to no risk of bodily harm. The developers are working on ways to lower the cost of limb construction, but progress is slow.