"Here you go, James" AKA, Technologies

[Alec_Shadowkin]

As an ongoing part of my world, Terescence, a school simply named The Academy spends its time re-discovering renaissance and fantasy-renaissance type technologies. Basically, I'm looking for any ideas of interesting and unusual steam-punk type inventions. Here's a small list of some of the things I've so far compiled:

~Revolver
~Rifle
~Glycerin 48(an explosive goo, much like nitro, used basically in contruction and mining)
~Ornithoper(a small flying vehicle with wings like a bird)
~Steam engine(used to create power for many things, such as electric current, steam-boats and locomotives)
~Black power(used in firearms, as well as various explosives)
~Tesla Gun(fires short electric bursts using a chemical electric battery for charges)


This is just a tiny sample, but I'm looking for much, much more. It can be somewhat unrealistic, such as the ornithopter, but it must be unmagical. Think of the creations of Atremis Gordon from "Wild,Wild West" or Friar Carl in "Van Helsing".

[EchoMirage]

Think about what theories have been proven wrong in our world, and make some of them ... right.
Say, if there was a luminiferous ether, you could have a vehicle with a propeller or wings using ether as their medium, thus ignoring wind.
If the theory about passing on acquired characteristics to your offspring is true, you can have a whole science dedicated to that.
If it is possible to transmute metals, you might have a MutaBlaster, which can transform an opponent's weapon into lead... or his wealth to tin.

[Maggot]

Freeze blaster-Large iron device that resembles an over sized hair dryer.When the dial operating it is activated,the freeze blaster sucks in air that is immediately converted into hail stones.(Don't ask to me to explain the science behind the process.)

[EchoMirage]

This leads me to a nice idea - what if there are cold-waves, much like there are heat waves (while, IRL, it is impossible to 'focus cold', in an alternative reality it could be)
So, there could be a frequence of radiations that cools stuff it hits, some sorts of flame could emit cold, ... simply, there could be a cold energy on the other side of absolute zero, unlike our definition of cold, which is an absence of heat...

[MoonHunter]

There are hundreds of things that would/ could be discovered. The catch is, would your people think to rediscover them?  Or would they try to duplicate superior technology items (like hang gliders) with lower tech, or adapt existing tech they have access to to future problems (fax machines could be developed once you have primitive camera technology AND telegraph machines... in fact... if you thought about it and had the need to develop it... it would of been developed BEFORE the telephone).  

The big thing you are fogetting is clockwork mechanisms. Besides from clocks, there are autonoma of all sorts (repetive action robot arms and other mechanika are possible if one chose to develop them), wind up toys, grinding/ drilling tools (allowing you to make more accurate and precise mechanical devices.  

Of course, there is the Babbage Engine.

Suggestions: Search for the following: Steam Technology, Anacro-tech, retro-tech, steam punk.   Ninja Technology or Ninja Equipment might be a fruitful search as well

To find out what is really possible... choose what "time period" you want your technology to roughly emmulate. Then select a history of technology page that would have it. Just don't concentrate on "adventuring items". The changes to the world made by some of the most simple devices (paper clip) is pretty incredible.


PLEASE REMEMBER, JUST BECAUSE IT IS POSSIBLE DOES NOT MEAN SOMEONE WOULD ACTUALLY DEVELOP IT... THERE MUST BE A NEED.

BEST LINKS
**** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Science_and_Technology
***   http://inventors.about.com/od/timelines/
**     http://www.northwinds.net/bchris/
http://www.regent.edu/acad/schcom/rojc/mdic/history.html

These are good, but they are sites you have to dig in deeply to study.
http://echo.gmu.edu/center.php
http://shot.press.jhu.edu/
http://www.as.wvu.edu/ihtia/
http://www.chstm.man.ac.uk/links.htm
http://www.refstar.com/techhist/




The SteamPunk technology reminds me of Castle Falkenstein. You could check these sites for good inspiration.
http://www.talsorian.com/cfindex.shtml
http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/zenith/134/cfalk.htm
http://www.tlucretius.net/Sophie/Castle/
http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/castlefalkenstein/ (and follow these to other sites)
http://www.pcis.net/ardan/adcom.htm

[MoonHunter]

Here are some of my favorite lower tech toys

*)Micro-crossbow that shoots grappling lines. The micro-crossbow is made by combining several toiletry items.
*)Smoke Bombs, sometimes the smoke creates eye buring irritation. They appear to be buttons or glass gems.
*)Clawed Gloves that allow him to climb efficently and strike in hand to hand combat visciously.
*Armbands with retractable garrote lines.
*)Bootheels with acid hidden in a secret compartment.
*)Boots with hidden blades.
*)Armbands that shoot blades ready into the palms of the wearer (or throws them weakly).
*) HangGlider Parachute (both possible as early at 1100 with the ready existance of silk)
*) Repeating Crossbow (Of Chinese Design... small and not very powerful, it still allows you to hit several people).

If you want some other cool toys, do a google search on Leondardo DaVinci. Once you wade past all the Art things, you can see some of his intersting designs for automata/ early animatronics, tanks, gliders, and a variety of other things.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davinci is also a good source.

[Kinslayer]

Fibre optics are essentially stone-age technology, with a very modern usage.  It's just high-quality strands of glass.  By carefully containing and aiming, even a very small amount of light can be used for a large area.  In Midian, there's a lost Dwarven Mountain Kingdom that utilises this.  

Fog machines can be built using dark-ages technology.  The hard part is creating metal strong enough for the compressor so that you can make dry ice.  This was created by a real-life engineer for another player's necromancer's tower, so that it would be suitably creepy.

[Anteaus]

Just wanted to thank everyone for the ideas, and let you know that I am working on turning them into Posts....so any more info would be great.....

And should I post a bird-man animatronic under NPCs or under Items???

[MoonHunter]

And should I post a bird-man animatronic under NPCs or under Items???

It depends. If the bird-man is sentient and makes its own decision, then it is an NPC. If not, it will be an item (remote controlled? cable controlled? pre-programmed with gears?). This is not a hard rule. Many of my ORBs are items are sentient, but if it can interact normally as a PC/ person, then it is a NPC. Otherwise it is an item.

I hope that helps.. :/

[Anteaus]

Thanks, that answered the question, it sould be under Items (preprogrammed with gears)

[CaptainPenguin]

The Hypermomentus

The Hypermomentus is a device of clockwork and sciomechanical pistons which has the amazing capability to allow the user to exist in one-thousand parallel moments all at the same time, effectively making it possible for them to exist everywhere in a small area at once; while this does not actually affect the user's natural abilities and aptitudes, the very fact that they have the optimum possibility to avoid every possible attack and simultaneously make ever possible action (if you've got any other uses for such an item, chime in).
The center of a hypermomentus is the pleromatic core, an orichalchum coil charged with highly-vibrating thaumaturgons. The coil, charged with magical particles, whirls within the chamber of the core (which is filled with sciochemical fluid) faster and faster until the thaumaturgon charge of the coil is transformed into a chronomantic charge. This chronomantic charge is transferred out of the pleromatic core into the time-chains, which pull a clockwork system of gears. The gears, rolling together, generate energy which is transferred through steel cords into special insets in the user's armor, thereby expanding the chronomantic charge outward through the user's body.
When a hypermomentus is first made, a special key is inserted into the pleromatic core, and the coil within the core is wound tighter and tighter. As the hypermomentus is used, the whirling of the coil causes it to become looser and looser, progressively. When the coil in a hypermomentus comes unravelled, the pleromatic core must be replaced (some cores may need to be replaced due to natural transmission of the sciochemical fluid into ordinary water, but this is very rare). The best-constructed hypermomentus units are about the size of a small jewelry box, appear much like a small metal box, which, when opened, is a mass of gears, copper wires, chains and the pleromatic core; such a unit can function for up to 20 hours before the coil comes unwound, but it must not operate for more than 3 minutes at a time, lest it overload (in which case it would violently detonate).

[CaptainPenguin]

I'm not sure if my items really fit exactly the sort of thing you're looking for, but I need a place to write gadgets down for my setting.

Necrotronic Instigator

The Necrotronic Instigator is the basic tool of necromantic magic, along with the Five Puissant Incantations of r'Amz, which are the first magical charms which every necromancer or sciologist learns.
The Instigator is, simply put, a tool for raising the dead. When applied to a corpse which still has flesh (a fleshless corpse does not have enough leftover lifeforce for the Instigator to work with, and requires a stronger tool) in conjunction with the correct Incantation of r'Amz, it instigates said corpse to rise up in obedience to the necromancer, powered by a necrotronic charge.
In appearance, the Instigator resembles a strange sort of pistol, with a handle (generally of bone or cold iron), a thin, curved trigger, a bulbous body with many tubes and chambers, and, rather than a barrel, a long, curved, talon-like spike. The basic component of an Instigator is a small iron bulb, filled with a sciochemical brew. In the center of the bulb, a catalyst is placed- generally, this catalyst is an object which naturally holds a necromantic charge, such as dried blood, a shred of funeral wrappings, gas from a corpse, or a fingerbone from an individual fitting certain characteristics (only a sciologist would know the necessary characteristics). When primary fuels (such as fresh blood, bile, or screams compressed into a liquid) and secondary fuels (magnesium powder, as well as such materals ground coal-dust, copper dust, or iron shavings) are packed into the chambers on the Instigator's body, the hammer is pulled back, and the Incantation of r'Amz is spoken, the device is ready to fire. The necromancer stabs the talon-spike of the Instigator into the corpse and pulls the trigger. The hammer slams down onto the secondary fuels, igniting them. The explosion triggers the primary fuels, which are evaporated away into a necrotronic charge; this charge is transferred into the bulb, and thence through the sciochemical liquid within, causing the catalyst to sublime away into pure necromantic energy, which is forced by the boiling chemicals through the spike at high speeds into the corpse.
If all has functioned correctly, the necrotronic charge, acting in concert with the free necrotrons in the air (released by the Incantations of r'Amz), will cause the corpse to rise up in a grisly parody of life, ready to recieve and carry out the orders of the necromancer or sciologist for a period of up to 3 weeks, at which point, by virtue of the accelerating properties of magical residue, it rapidly completes the cycle of decay and is generally quickly disposed of.

[MoonHunter]

Captain: Both of those items should be in other threads (perhaps one of their own) or should be entered as "items" on the main page (which they will end up in V2.0). Given the amount of alchemical and demonic fantasy cyberware we are entering currently (6/12/05), I think they will be well received.

Admittedly, this was not the best started thread, but it goes on. This thread was about technology or technical items that could of been invented decades or centuries earlier, if someone thought to combine existing things. So we can do things with batteries, steam, clockwork, or with such things as the printing press or the hang glider.  You could also write about the impact.

[Incarnadine]

The Hypermomentus

The Hypermomentus is a device of clockwork and sciomechanical pistons which has the amazing capability to allow the user to exist in one-thousand parallel moments all at the same time, effectively making it possible for them to exist everywhere in a small area at once; while this does not actually affect the user's natural abilities and aptitudes, the very fact that they have the optimum possibility to avoid every possible attack and simultaneously make ever possible action (if you've got any other uses for such an item, chime in).
The center of a hypermomentus is the pleromatic core, an orichalchum coil charged with highly-vibrating thaumaturgons. The coil, charged with magical particles, whirls within the chamber of the core (which is filled with sciochemical fluid) faster and faster until the thaumaturgon charge of the coil is transformed into a chronomantic charge. This chronomantic charge is transferred out of the pleromatic core into the time-chains, which pull a clockwork system of gears. The gears, rolling together, generate energy which is transferred through steel cords into special insets in the user's armor, thereby expanding the chronomantic charge outward through the user's body.
When a hypermomentus is first made, a special key is inserted into the pleromatic core, and the coil within the core is wound tighter and tighter. As the hypermomentus is used, the whirling of the coil causes it to become looser and looser, progressively. When the coil in a hypermomentus comes unravelled, the pleromatic core must be replaced (some cores may need to be replaced due to natural transmission of the sciochemical fluid into ordinary water, but this is very rare). The best-constructed hypermomentus units are about the size of a small jewelry box, appear much like a small metal box, which, when opened, is a mass of gears, copper wires, chains and the pleromatic core; such a unit can function for up to 20 hours before the coil comes unwound, but it must not operate for more than 3 minutes at a time, lest it overload (in which case it would violently detonate).

I'd just like to comment that is possibly the best fantasy techno-babble I've ever seen... kudos, Captain.