Incompetent Normal
New Member
My money is on "Lumped in with Magic Users", with a caveat that their magic can't be very good since they can't do it without their artifacts, & it's so much cheaper (presumably) than conventional magic.Originally Posted by Shadowsoul
Which won't stop someone weaponising stuff & making a killing... ;P
Millennial Master
Member
Sorry, I never answered this question, did I?
The idea for the project, (possibly an e-book if I'm very, very lucky and/or get my act together), is to create Package Deals and Powers for different kinds of unusual adventurers or heroes which can then be slotted into most Fantasy settings. So, some worlds will have gunpowder and others won't. But I have no objection to devices that use gunpowder; clockwork cannons and gatling guns are always fun. Devices like the one AmadanNaBriona linked to are also an interesting possibility.
As long as it doesn't require electricity, petrol or modern munitions/fuel its probably alright.
Just had another thought.
The Murder Mill. A mobile windmill with sharpened blades. During windy conditions the blades turn and can slice through enemies. However, the blades are connected to various springs and wheels which store tension, (energy), and so can be turned even on a calm day. Other devices, such mechanical crossbows, secondary slashing blades and catapults can be run off the energy gathered by the turning blades.
A stationary Murder Mill could use the wind power it gathers to power various clockwork traps and killing mechanisms inside it. Making it a perfect un-manned defence system for treasure etc.
"But some of us awake in the night with strange phantasms of enchanted hills and gardens, of fountains that sing in the sun, of golden cliffs overhanging murmuring seas, of plains that stretch down to sleeping cities of bronze and stone, and of shadowy companies of heroes that ride caparisoned white horses along the edges of thick forests; and then we know that we have looked back through the ivory gates into that world of wonder which was ours before we were wise and unhappy"
Snarkosaurus Rex
Senior Member
...and that's when the destruction began.
Many talented Fool
Senior Member
"Crazy Old Maurice, he's always good for a laugh!"
There are stories of faeries and banshees and the walking dead; but "the worst of them all," is the Fool of Forth, the Amadan-na-Briona, he whose stroke is, as death, incurable.
As to the fool in this world, the pity for him is mingled with some awe, for who knows what windows may have been opened to those who are under the moon's spell, who do not give in to our limitations, are not "bound by reason to the wheel."
Lady Gregory
"Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland"
Snarkosaurus Rex
Senior Member
I really have to say that "clockwork" as a special effect to me strongly suggests that the primary power source is windup. Obviously, this being fantasy, the clockworks will somehow put out much more power than any windup spring could reasonably deliver. But I'm also amused by the idea of the clockmage frantically rewinding his clockwork poleaxe in combat.
...and that's when the destruction began.
Member
"Clockwork" means exactly that - clockwork. Gears, pendulums, springs and coils that store kinetic energy, etc. "Wind-up" is just one way to store the initial energy. I would hazard a theory that current "clockwork" devices are inferior to those made by masters of the art in the past; a largely lost art. And some of the more phenomenal real-world examples of clockwork mechanisms from centuries past are quite amazing.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknap...ckwork-robots/
The main difference between a "real world" clockwork automaton, and one that would be useful in an RPG, is that the real world examples all had very limited things they could do, and were slow and clunky and probably fragile. While we would want something a bit more functional.
Kraven Kor
"We're making a better world. All of them -- better worlds."
"Learn from History - The only way to buy what you believe is with battle scars." - Scott Rockwood, "The Crazier Life Is"
Technical Kettle Drum Guy
Senior Member
Another clockwork automaton
Patron saint of sore feet, fury, and breaking things
Many talented Fool
Senior Member
I could easily see war machines and war vessels having capstan type arrangements for winding up big springs, or rowing machine style cranks.
my brain is beginning to brew up some interesting designs... let me revisit this after I've pondered and it's not after 3 am
There are stories of faeries and banshees and the walking dead; but "the worst of them all," is the Fool of Forth, the Amadan-na-Briona, he whose stroke is, as death, incurable.
As to the fool in this world, the pity for him is mingled with some awe, for who knows what windows may have been opened to those who are under the moon's spell, who do not give in to our limitations, are not "bound by reason to the wheel."
Lady Gregory
"Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland"
Freedom Fighter
Senior Member
In Clockwork and Chivalry there is a fantastic description of the Battle of Naseby where clockwork was used for the first time in a dramatic fashion.
There were the Ironside cavalry and three Leviathons (Faith, Hope and Charity). The reason the Parliamentarians did not entirely succeed before the alchemists got their magic in place was that the contraptions ran out of power and were effectively stranded. Parliament has been co-opting wind and water mills to power winding stations where machines can be wound quickly and easily and, after Naseby, have devised mobile winding stations that are powered by prisoners and volunteers...
Doc
Come see Christopher's Collection of new mechanics that he has culled from the forums.
"A man's ambition must indeed be small
To write his name upon a sh**house wall
But before I die I'll add my regal scrawl
To show the world I'm left with sweet f*** all"
- Shane McGowan, Sea Shanty
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