Sponsored magic might be a good solution, as it makes a technomancer possible and at the same time maintains the philosophy of the dresdenverse.Until the Wizard comes along and hexes all this precious tech to molten scrap... Then the technomancer is practically helpless.
Such a technomancer could be a real headache to the players... ;D
Perhaps the technomancer has also some thaumaturgy spells for guarding his toys against hexing to a certain degree?.....And with Sponsored magic, the "Anti-Hex Ward" can (possibly) be cast with the speed of Evocation!
I must say the idea of sponsored magic is a good one. Iīm thinking about some kind of never never beast which was created through the belief of more and more people nowadays, who donīt believe in god or magic but in tech. This godlike beast isnīt really old and it is like a small child with vast powers. Perhaps it wantīs to create new toys (not necessarily harmless ones) as one agenda of it.
Um... Anti-hex wards are easy. They're called circles.
So are you going to make a circle on every piece of technology in the room, before shooting the enemy?
Could a wizard use a computer if he kept it in a circle, using a wireless (or even wired, run under the circle) mouse and keyboard? Only the mouse and keyboard would be exposed to his mana static, and they really haven't changed much in the last 20-30 years beyond switching from serial to usb... so a younger wizard, molly's age, say, using wired serial keyboard and mouse run under the floorboards and therefore the circle, might not have any problems at all. Even USB or Wireless, you'd burn through them, but not often enough to really suck.huu fher V thrff ur pbhyq whfg "svar" at least for some values of "fine"
huu fher V thrff ur pbhyq whfg "svar" at least for some values of "fine"
Can't stop laughing.I ROT13'd it for anyone who didn't catch it
huu fher V thrff ur pbhyq whfg "svar" at least for some values of "fine"
Q: "Why doesn't Mort influence technology like Dresden does?"
A: "Mort isn't as powerful, and he isn't as conflicted. Lea could play N64 all day long, because she isn't conflicted at all about her nature. 'Yeah I'll turn you into a dog! It'll be /good/ for you.'"
You can't make a circle and use a computer.
You either break the circle by putting your hands through it, its your own circle do it wouldn't be a problem, or if you are in it with the computer, you still hex it making the circle useless.
What part of magic and technology not mixing don't you get? :o If you want magic and technology to be in love, like Mika from Heroes, its not the Dresdenverse.
While I'm here though... no reason sponsored magic should upset tech, right?
Sponsored magic might not come from within you but you still have the "freewill leads to interference" problem.
When Dresden sees a nasty who is able to use a credit card, he goes with "non-human" rather "sponsored magic" because it's the person challenging the magic, not the source of the magic, that causes a problem.
There are some WoJ posts about why magic interferes with the environment and about it going from curdling milk to frying electrons - they make good reading and explain some of what's going on behind the scenes.
Richard
Richard
Come now, do you really need to sign it twice? I already am prostrate before your wisdom, I cannot handle twice that! :D
But seriously, I read those posts, or some of them at least, and I guess I reasoned that Sponsored Magic comes from a non-conflicted source it doesn't interfere. Didn't think about the fact it is a mortal channeling it and thus he can't be 100% committed to it.
You... really don't read the posts you reply to, do you?
Wireless. Keyboard. Outside. The. Circle.
Computer. Inside. Circle.
Wizard. Outside. Circle.
Electrons being sent wilfully by the user through the circle. I don't know how much mass is needed to break a circle. But it would probably erode before too long.
You... really don't read the posts you reply to, do you?
Wireless. Keyboard. Outside. The. Circle.
Computer. Inside. Circle.
Wizard. Outside. Circle.
You'd go through wireless keyboards like mad, but... the computer should be safe.
But- you are right- This is Dresden, and magic/tech are supposed to be inimical. Trying to work around that... not quite appropriate.
My idea about using a circle was more of a funny joke than anything else. That, I thought, was clear from context.
While I'm here though... no reason sponsored magic should upset tech, right?
We're using Technomancers in the game we just started based in Los Alamos, NM. We've taken a different tack on the Technomancer. Technology is magic in our world....Wizards and the like, who change reality through their will and belief, cause havoc with the delicate balance of belief built into newer tech (older tech is believed in more strongly and takes more to overcome).
Meh. Put the power plug (& cable jack) on the floor instead of the wall. Put a Circle around the plug. Put your TV in the circle, along with a little spirit to play remote control.
No, that's agreed. It's not very dresden-y... but I would be amused to see a young mage who just... couldn't give tech up and kept trying to find a way (and of course, failing)- That is dresden-ee.
The Butters-GPS example is a common component of these discussions, so it should be taken as understood that wireless signals aren't Circle-breaking. Nor should light be - electronic or otherwise. Power cables, however, are, and that's the most obvious barrier. Without reliable access to power, peripherals are limited: you can't really hook up a large-screen monitor or a printer.
Just let the power-cables enter the circle through the ceiling or floor et voilā! No physical crossing of the actual circle :)
Again, I believe we are supposed to assume that the circle has a "floor" barrier as well, or else spirits could just go under the Circle and come up to get the occupants. A ceiling is a touchier subject: I don't think anyone really expects it to radiate out to infinity, or a passing bird or bit of space debris would wreck it. So there must be a ceiling as well.
The wizard with the wireless keyboard is INSIDE the circleThat'll still fry the keyboard. Pretty quickly as well, since the building magical energies can't escape the circle.
All the other tech is outside.
Why no one thinks of the obvious solutions? Magic evolved again and changed its quirk. It doesn't hex anymore. You are the first wizard of this generation.
I actually like better the other approach. You're so old your magic just sours milk, etc. But the impression I got from the Dresdenverse (or at least Bob) is that magic changes for everybody, not just individuals, although there is also individual variation. So this approach is a fairly major change for the entire universe, where a magus working with the existing restrictions to minimize the risk (actually understanding tech as it evolves via scholarship, being low conviction, being good at thaumaturgy that blocks hexes, using circles when major work must be done) uses the existing paradigm and, for me, would be more fun because you'd have the "how do you DO that" from other practitioners aspect, including the suspicion that you might not be mortal at all.
Depends on...
First, there has to be a wizard in the group... ;) Second, the technomancer would have different possibilities to use his power. The more obvious, the more are the chances that the characters will find out and start to detroy all his little toys. But things like using public surveillance cameras for his purpose, shutting down all automatic doors in a mall and things like that aren't that much obvious and can easily explained by a hacker or some other kind of competent tech. And the characters will have to think a long way before starting to suspect something like a technomancer...
But anyway, it is only an idea and a crude one...