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I've been reading and preparing to run Iron Gods, but have hit a potential snag. There are several magical items that reference 'mechanical' items, such as the Engineer's Workgloves. My question is whether those would apply to technological items as well, and why or why not?
Part of the confusion come from how the craft (mechanical) skill is used with the technology crafting feats instead of spellcraft. After all, craft (mechanical) can be used for other things even without the feats, such as clocks, resetting trap mechanisms, and things like the moving parts of steam engine trains. It is something used for automated, non-magical processes in devices. The non-magical switching on and off of electrical currents that makes up a computer's programs would fall under that too, wouldn't it? It is because of this I'm half convinced they fall under the same category of items.
However, technological items are often super-science. They're even stated to be able to be effectively re-skinned magic items. Not quite the same, but roughly equivalent to magic. If that's the case, wouldn't they be a different type of item as a mechanical item?
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Ah, I misread your post, I thought you were asking about magical items vs technological items.
As for mechanical items vs technological items, there really isn't anything in the book. I would think they would be interchangeable. It's the same type of item, just more complex and capable of replicating effects that would otherwise require magic.
The way I've been sorting it out is that technological items required energy charges in themselves or in their construction. Since they need a lab that uses charges I find this consistent.