I have been thinking about how technology would evolve in a world overflowing with magic, like a generic pathfinder/D&D setting. I came up with a power source in the form of Mana Crystals. Mana Crystals are created when a properly trained spellcaster kills a monster and collects a portion of it's life force, or "mana", and combines it with her own magical power (read: spells slots/spells prepared). These crystals would possess levels based on the spell used in it's creation and a "charge" based on how much mana went into it. These crystals would be the basis of techno magic.
The purpose of this thread is to gather thoughts on what you think of this concept and what kind of devices could be created around Mana Crystals.
What about "flavoring" the crystals based on the spells used, like based on the school of magic, or energy type/healing/offensive/defensive/etc?
Thoughts?
Personally I think it's pretty awesome, but no matter what you call it, someone will call it materia.
I actually have a similar system in my game with different stones (they aren't all crystals) containing different types of energy (fire, light, current, gravity, etc.) The way to charge them depends on what kind of a stone it is.
I so read this thread as "Techno Music"!
Bards need something to dance to!
Like this?
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I can see technology developing right along side magic at a decent pace, if not faster due to the ability to cheat with magic.
Just because Bob can fly with his magic spells, doesn't mean Joe can -- and it's not going to stop Joe from wanting too, or going about finding ways to make it happen without magic. Of course he could fall and die, or any other danger we face in our own world -- but we still developed it and did so without the benefit of raise dead and what have you.
Also technology has a huge advantage over magic -- it works for everyone.
This is a great reason for a wizard to actually promote technology: He doesn't have to stand around casting fly all day -- that's a spell slot he can save to do something else instead. Technology tends to last longer, and have more 'permanent' effect than magic does.
And the two can compliment each other. Fire arms for example -- one of the biggest problems with guns is misfire (not the 'blow up in your hands' kind, but the 'powder didn't catch' kind) -- with a simply spark spell enchanted on the gun you can guarantee the powder will go off every time. It's a low level magical effect (cantrip for crying out loud) that drastically improves the technological device (instead of having to rely on wheellocks, springlocks and flintlock devices).
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I so read this thread as "Techno Music"!Bards need something to dance to!
they can dance to other bards music using THIS
In my Steampunk setting, there is whats called Mana Shards that show up around the the magical ley lines around the world. They're the build up of raw magical energy that has hardened into a crystalline form.
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I can see technology developing right along side magic at a decent pace, if not faster due to the ability to cheat with magic.
Divination magic and the ability to commune with planar outsiders and the existence of races with a higher than human level of intelligence would seem to justify that a high-magic society would potentially *also* accelerate hugely in scientific advancement.
Reasons why that *wouldn't* happen could include;
A) Some sort of uber-powerful mage's guild went around obliterating technological innovation, to keep their monopoly on the power to change the world (keeping it to their rarified elite, willing to devote years to magecraft or those with the special bloodlines to have sorcerous gifts, instead of allow any hoi-polloi to pick up a gun and match their destructive potential).
B) Science doesn't work the way it does in the real world. Gunpowder simply doesn't exist, and never will. All life is the result of mundane meat and bone being animated by otherdimensional positive energy, and the 'life' ends when the unnatural animating positive energy is suppressed or stolen or 'goes away,' making real world biological principles irrelevant.
Also technology has a huge advantage over magic -- it works for everyone.
A huge plus for why everyone who *isn't* a wizard would be a fan of it, and why some old crotchety wizards (and priests, for that matter) would be strongly opposed to it. The powers of wizards and clerics require keen intellect and / or powerful faith. Some members of both professions would take offense that untrained simpletons, or faithless heretics, could use technology to get around these entry requirements...
Still, nothing is likely to be monolithic. Even if 99% of the wizards and clerics in the world have sworn an oath to stamp out any technology more advanced than the repeating crossbow, plate armor or the printing press, there's gonna be the clerics of the god of innovation or forgecraft or artifice who like to buck that tradition, and the occasional eccentric wizard who *loves* that sort of research, and is busy grinding lenses for telescopes and microscopes, and designing new ways to blow things up without magic...
Agreed in general Set -- however technology has a habit of just happening.
In all honesty it's a 'path of least resistance' kind of thing. Someone just happens upon this technique that makes part a easier -- everyone likes things being easier so they start using the technique. Then someone realizes that technique can be used with this unrelated activity over here to do something else. Then someone with a bit of imagination does z that cause something else to pop up and before you know it something mechanical has developed again.
With active and constant suppression this might be prevented... but at that point you'll be spending more of your time trying to monitor everyone's thoughts, actions and activities than you would be living your own life.
It's going to slip at some point.