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Post by Storyteller on Jan 16, 2021 5:21:48 GMT
The first chance I get, I will sit down in one of the wagons and try to figure out what I can of the Ausir spider-thing. I remember the armor the Captain wore, and I wonder about the principles. This little spider, too, seemed much stronger than its size would have indicated.
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Post by Diocles on Jan 16, 2021 5:41:18 GMT
You turn the creepy mechanical thing over in your hands and shiver. The things you do for knowledge... (Engineering check at half)
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Post by Storyteller on Jan 16, 2021 5:47:09 GMT
(I rolled a 2!! Made it!)
Indeed, I shiver a little. This thing obscurely distresses me, perhaps because it is so alien.
But I understand something of it...
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Post by Diocles on Jan 18, 2021 2:13:14 GMT
You reverse engineer the tech and understand the gears and how they work together to simulate spider movements. At the center of the construct glows what appears to be clear glass, and within pulses pure elemental force. Somehow the Ausir are able to harness it, so their contraptions can move about even away from the engine of their ship.
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Post by Storyteller on Jan 18, 2021 2:15:33 GMT
I wonder if it is something like this that would power their ship. It is not magical, I assume? I would definitely feel that.
How big would something like this have to be to provide power for, say, the Captain's powered armor?
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Post by Diocles on Jan 18, 2021 6:23:30 GMT
The same size. It's not about size. It's about how quickly it was spun to set the elemental force in motion. The faster it was spun, the bigger the tech it can power. This means the Ausir must have a device that can spin these jewels.
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Post by Storyteller on Jan 18, 2021 6:35:41 GMT
So without such a spinner it would not be possible to craft one. I wonder if magic might be made to serve? Would it be possible to try to magically start the spinning, then let the technology carry on from there?
(In case it's helpful, I rolled Spellcraft and Engineering. I made them both, the Spellcraft by more than half.)
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Post by Diocles on Jan 18, 2021 22:42:58 GMT
Yes, the spinning effect could be mimicked by magic, and that would ignite the elemental force inside the crystals.
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Post by Storyteller on Jan 18, 2021 23:45:52 GMT
So perhaps I could take this very crystal, set it to spinning with magic, and use it to power--non-magically--a suit of powered armor?
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Post by Diocles on Jan 19, 2021 0:04:58 GMT
INT check
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Post by Storyteller on Jan 19, 2021 0:07:02 GMT
(Made it by 13)
I wonder if that will work...
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Post by Diocles on Jan 19, 2021 0:08:14 GMT
It will work, and then immediately draw a dragon's eye directly down upon you! You realize that the elemental forces inside are born of dragons. Powered by machinery, they are safe, but if magic were to be used to re-stimulate them, the mage would be instantly ensnared.
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Post by Storyteller on Jan 19, 2021 0:19:24 GMT
Well, that is a terrible idea. I would need to find a way to simulate the elemental spinning of the Ausir tech. To do that, though, I would probably have to get a better look at their actual elemental spinning engine. And if I could do that, I could probably just borrow it!
I shake my head. I wonder if there is any sort of "natural" creature whose speed would be sufficient?
In the meantime, I further study the item. What kind of metal is it? Steel? Would it be possible to forge such things in a normal forge? Is the "secret tech" locked entirely in the crystals?
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Post by Diocles on Jan 19, 2021 0:25:42 GMT
What you remember of the Ausir ship you expect it not to be powered by this kind of crystal but rather with fire and steam turning its levers, pumps, and gears. And then it hits you. The Ausir are as mobile as the Grorekathi and the Jarad. If their entire lives are aboard their airships, you guess their engines double as crystal spinners! The foundation of Ausir tech is fire and steam, not the crystals. The crystal is just an evolution for mobile tech, anything used away from the ship.
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Post by Storyteller on Jan 19, 2021 0:31:23 GMT
So fire and steam should be able to replicate for me what fire and steam have done for them!
I have a crystal, which I can power by fire and steam, if I can design an engine.
I want to start drawing up schematics for such an engine. I know that to actually make the engine would require much more metal than I have and a forge, too, but if I could design it, then at Ravenwood, it could be created.
(What do I roll? I successfully rolled Engineering, just in case)
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