Tech is the legacy of the pre-apocalypse Ancients. It is rare in this age but some still use it in some form or another. In fact, a lot of arcane magical artifacts are really Tech device relics of the old times, unknown to their owners or most observers. Tech is regarded as the cause of the Apocalypse and evil beyond redemption by most of the world's populous, however. People accused of Tech knowledge, or worse usage, tend to be chased down and burnt at the stake by angry villagers scared that the evil ones want to bring even more suffering down on them. Many nations sponsor a Techhunter-General to keep its taint from their borders and many more tolerate the wandering independant Tech Hunters. Nevertheless, there are several people who are willing to take the risk and investigate Tech for themselves, either by upbringing, personal history or in search of knowledge or power.
| Skill | Cost |
| Tech | 10 |
| Governs usage, knowledge and recognition of Tech and its related fields. Normally needed to operate Tech devices and also to see tell they are not magical artifacts. | |
| Mechanology | 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 |
| Build & Repair Mechanology based Devices. Levels 1 - 5 purchased separately. Must have the Tech skill. Only available to Animists and Dwarves. | |
| Bio-Artifice | 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 |
| Build & Repair Bio-Artifice based Devices. Levels 1 - 5 purchased separately. Must have the Tech skill. Only available to Animists and Dwarves. | |
| Credulous Fools | 5 |
| The character can effectively pretend that any Tech devices or skills used are simply a different form of magic. They must read a made up spell verbal before activating each device for this to work, however. The skill must also be backed up with appropriate roleplaying. |
Using Tech in Shattered Reality
The different types of Tech user are listed on the Tech Society page. Most, if not all, users will fall into one of these categories.
Rules for the design and creation of Devices, including ownership at the character creation stage, can be found on the Tech Devices page. The skill 'Tech' is the most important unifying feature. This skill allows any who possess it to use Tech Devices (ie. Fire a gun, activate a hologram etc). Note that in the case of, say, a Tech-enhanced sword the 'Normal Weapons' skill is also necessary in order to wield the sword, 'Tech' alone will only allow the Tech parts to be turned on. This goes for any other skill requirement (eg. Double handed, Projectile etc). Firearm use is covered by the 'Tech' skill, however, as there is not alternate skill available.
The 'Tech' skill is also useful for Tech Hunters as it allows them to adequetely discern whether they are watching magic or Tech in action. Some Tech Hunters even enjoy the irony in using Tech against itself and collect devices from those they have condemned. This knowledge is dangerous of course, if any were to find out it could place the Tech Hunter on the fire as well.
When using a Tech Device it may be necessary to use the call "Tech" to distinguish device effects from those caused by magic or skills. This is especially the case with ranged weaponry as the closest alternative will be magical spells which require a fairly lengthy "Spell Verbal" - simply calling "Double Through" instead of "Tech Double Through" may result in suspicions of cheating and the attack being ignored (or an argument starting). This may not be necessary in all cases of course, only those where some explanation is needed. Note that the call itself is for the benefit of players not characters and so it is Out of Character. Using the call itself does not explicitly reveal that Tech has been used.
Mechanology & Bio-Artifice
Only Animists and Dwarves may have these skills. They both work on a scale of 1 to 5, indicating the level of mastery in that field of Tech. These skills allow those that know them to build new devices and repair those they find. Full rules for this are listed on the Tech Devices page, as already mentioned.
Mechanology covers standard machinary, physics and other strange practices of this sort.
Bio-Artifice covers biology, gene-splicing and so forth.
A Mechanolgy derived suit of armour may have gears, cogs, pistons, polymers and alloys while its
Bio-Artifice equivalent would use muscles, tendons, nerves, bone and flesh.
While the two fields allow for the creation of exactly the same devices they have some differences. The most obvious is the different levels needed to ahieve the same effect in a device, for instance increasing Constitution requires level three Mechanology but only level one Bio-Artifice. Additionally, users of Bio-Artifice can Forage for components rather than buying them, this works at one days worth of food equalling 2T worth of components. Note that this must be personally foraged by the character with Bio-Artifice and cannot be bought from a market. Mechanology has the advantage that its users can put together a device from existing component rather than needing the scratch build each one. Mechanology devices can be recycled into new ones, taking their price out of the new device's price for the purposes of determining component cost and times. The minimum time period for construction is one day, however, although repairs may be effectively instantaneous using this method.
There is also the simple difference in style and roleplaying variations inherent to either approach. A small animal is less obviously Tech to the common people than a humming metal & cog version of the same device after all.