Les Ombres d'Esteren - Forum officiel

So, at present there aren't many artifacts in the game. I'm mulling over ideas for a selection of new artifacts I'll add to my game beyong the rifle and mekone prosthetics mentioned but not detailed. Let's add as many of our ideas to the thread as possible.

THE AUTOSCRIBE
Remember those frame-like toys from your childhood that enabled you to trace/copy pictures with one end, the other end "drawing" what you were tracing over on to another sheet of paper? Like this one:
http://www.nosuchthingaswas.com/2012/01 ... grasp.html
Now imagine a complicated brass one fuelled by flux that does the whole process for you, capable of copying an entire page of text or illustration in only a single minute. Great for copying maps, incriminating evidence, etc.

THE AMBULATORY PORTER
Tired of carrying your gear? Get one of these (or rather, the Magientist equivalent):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu2IXk5Jbag
Easily guided by a handheld control panel attached via a long cord/wires (like old fashioned remote controls).

SOUND RECORDER
A device resembling an old phonograph capable of recording local sounds, etc. on to small metal disks that are 5 minutes long.

NET LAUNCHER
Need to capture that critter alive for study or flux conversion? Grab a flux-powered net projector!
http://maximumtactical.com/Products/Cro ... ncher.html

SUBMERSIBLE OXYGENATOR
Brave the watery deeps with a flux-powered air pump, tubing, and sturdy brass helmet!
http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/origi ... 4b2834.jpg

ORNITHOGLIDER
Can't afford an airship? Well you can instead glide in style with the folding, ornithoglider pack, each short gliding flight enhanced with flux-powered flapping! Imagine a powered version of the da Vinci glider:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n41fW0q6dn8/T ... erWing.jpg

STARBURSTS
Need to signal at distance or night? Need to brightly light up an open area for a minute? Flux starbursts (aka flares) are self-launching, bright, come in flux colours, and are fitted with tiny parachutes or sycamore seed-like wings that keep them airborne for up to a minute.

GRAPPLE GUN AND BELT WINCH
For all those wannabe nighttime vigilantes.

AUTO-ARMS
A backpack-sized motor featuring two articulated metals arms ending in adjustable clamps. Place the motor securely, clamp the arms in place, and after a few adjustments it will begin doing whatever monotonous and repetitive simple manual task you have set it, e.g. rowing those oars, turning that crank, pulling that rope, stirring that mixture, waving that flag, pounding those drums, etc. Can be set to cease after a certain period or when its flux is expended.

More as I think of them.

LEVINSTAFF
A small flux-powered generator at the end of a pole shocks and incapacitates most larger animals (including people), only causing real harm with sustained contact. Basically, a long magientist stunstick or cattle prod.

Your ideas are quite good for most of them !

But even though the magientists are quite advanced in technology, you must remember that if they had no "Flux", the technology level would be barely after discovering steam power, so the "Flux" they created is only a fuel, not a complex energy creator, nor a sensor.

For example, the autoscribe wouldn't really be possible, as it would need a specific AI to "read" the paper, to "get memory" of it, and to write it then.
In magientists technology, there is no such thing, no sensor, no camera, so they wouldn't be able to power a machine which reads something, as there is no technology to read it yet. If we were in a much more advanced world, technologies like petrol-plastic or transistor would be of great use, but there's nothing like that in magience.

For the ambulatory porter, it would need a really HUGE amount of Flux to work, as there are more than 10 engines to animate all parts of the "animal".

The "Ornithoglider" would be either a great wing, and great wing can be created only with light and hard materials, which are not yet accessible to magientists (nylon, etc.). But you can create a plane-like machine which uses Flux as fuel, like the ones used in ultralight aviation. It would use very much Flux, but it may work
Also, about the ornithoglider, flying machines are forbidden since a big magientist aircraft crashed, years ago, and set a city on fire, killing many people. Of course it's for the big zeppelin-like machines used by the first coming magientists, but keep in mind that it would be very silent, and secret, to work on such machine

The levinstaff wouldn't be possible, especially as you mean it. Energy like electricity is not known at all, so they cannot "create" it yet. The only thing they use is the flux, which powers machines, especially engines.
The "cattle prod" you're talking about would be doable if it could punch hardly at the end of the stick, by simply pushing a button at the base, or the grip, which activates a little engine that releases a big powered punch on the animal. But dazing them with electricity is not possible, and throwing them hot Flux is probably very very toxic

The other artifact ideas are very very good, I particularly like the "Starbursts" and the "Net launcher" !

Thanks for the detailed response. So, scratch the autoscribe.

For the ambulatory porter, that can instead be reimagined as a wheeled device, so less complex. Hmm, perhaps something a bit like a powered wheelchair. Ah, just had an idea for a terribly crippled mekones NPC physically connected to their own powered wheelchair.

While visually inspired by da Vinci's work, the ornithoglider was also inspired by the wood and fabric (willow and twill) gliders of individuals such as Otto Lilienthal, one of which glided as far as 250m, no nylon needed. Not greatly controlled, and about as far as they got, but that's still impressive for wood and cloth.

The levinstaff was largely inspired by the energetic gauntlet; I mistenly assumed it generated a burst of electricity, and so envisioned one being mounted on a pole.

Jargogle

I'm a bit surprised by your response Pierstoval, I think you underrate the flux greatly.
The book universe tend to show the almost spiritual reverence magientist got for the flux and the basic artifact proposed include energetic gauntlets, night-vision googles, and healing injectors.
So magientists suposely do have the magiency to creates sensors, electricity and other chemicals applications.
It do seems they haven't reach the point to AI but flux certainly give them many possibilities in the fields of mechanics, chemistries and even automatics.

At least that's what the contend of Universe made me believe.

I totally agree with Deorman here - and I think it is quite an important topic. If you see flux as little more than an energy-source, there is hardly any reason for the "magical" in magience, as flux is at the very heart of the art. And as it is described in the "universe" (which is somewhat thin, to be fair) there has to be MUCH more to it.

For me, flux (except maybe mineral flux) represents the essence of life-force which is inherent in everything. And as such, it strives to create, to be an agent of change and transformation - on differnet levels of physics and chemistry. As such, the machines and artefacts often have an organic "look and feel" to them and often show a great diversity (for me none two vison glasses look identical). I could even see that certain builds (of artifacts) are so complicated, that it is near impossible to replicate them - that they are true artefacts. To be consistent, flux would have to play a major part also when creating new artefacts - not just when running them. Objects like nebulars, lighters or even crude mechanical tools do little more than WASTE the precious flux for an minor effect.

So, in essence, using flux, machines can work and function in ways that would be completely impossible with our understanding of natural laws. I could even see the possiblility of flux actively guiding the progression and creation of new inventions (this is getting a little off topic, though).

That's a very interesting and in-depth analysis, zintars! I can't confirm whether it is exactly what was intended in the official Shadows of Esteren canon, but I can say it's a very interesting concept to implement un a campaign, to make Magience an even more colorful science.