Ultra-Tech Spells

[dataweaver]

If you were to devise something kind of like Technomancer, but set in a sci-fi setting instead of a modern day one, what sorts of spells would you add?

Off the top of my head, I'd be inclined to add a College for Gravity, and possibly a Technology sub-College for Digital that's to Communications & Empathy as the Machine sub-College is to Making & Breaking. The Gate College already provides a magical counterpart to Jump Drives; but maybe it could be generalized to a Travel College that also includes stuff involving Hyperspace and/or Warp travel.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

Off the top of my head, I'd be inclined to add a College for Gravity,

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Yes, artificial gravity is a noticeable lack inn Magic. A great deal of other desirable features can be handled with existing spells but not artificial gravity.

If you make it reversible so it can produce x Gs towards the floor or the ceiling it could act as at least partial grav compensation. Negating side forces woudl probably have to be another spell.

[whswhs]

A microorganisms college, to go with plants and animals. A nanotech college or subcollege. Perhaps a college of force, if your SF setting includes force fields.

[Rolando]

Gravity is the domain of Movement colleges I think, as it already includes Apportation that may actually be manipulation of gravitational fields to move objects.

technology college may work fine for all nanotech, but may require Microscopic Vision (or a new or Nanoscopic Vision spell).

Microrgaisms may be plant or part of the plants spells, I thing fungy are part of the plant speels already. the Healing college may also deal with bacteria and viruses in other ways.

The Gate college already deals with time and other cosmic forces, so they will be good for faster than light and jump ship travel.

[khorboth]

Depending on realism and TL, I would be tempted to create a detect/seek/control line for nanotech and biotech.

What about a healing-college spell to accept an organ transplant or graft or a new type of limb?

Or something to make someone reject their cyber-gear? Or to take control of it?

[Rolando]

A line of cyber spells, subset of Healing and Tech may be interesting, or that are Healing and Tech spells, like some weather spells are Air and Water.

[ravenfish]

Originally Posted by whswhs

A microorganisms college, to go with plants and animals.

Many modern taxonomists point out that Animal, Plant, and Protist really ought to be a single college, and that the Bacteria college ought to be split. (Of course, the physicists pointing out that there ought to be 100+ elemental colleges rather than four are even more annoying.)

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by ravenfish

Many modern taxonomists point out that Animal, Plant, and Protist really ought to be a single college, and that the Bacteria college ought to be split. (Of course, the physicists pointing out that there ought to be 100+ elemental colleges rather than four are even more annoying.)

Magical thinking tends to be tied to the categories of folk science. In a more advanced era it tacks on additional categories, such as Machines, but doesn't seem to change the original ones, at least not in the GURPS treatment.

[ravenfish]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Magical thinking tends to be tied to the categories of folk science. In a more advanced era it tacks on additional categories, such as Machines, but doesn't seem to change the original ones, at least not in the GURPS treatment.

Oh, I'm merely having some fun. I have, however, had mages in a scientific-revolution-tending setting differentiate between the four "elements of form" and the "elements of composition".

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by ravenfish

Of course, the physicists pointing out that there ought to be 100+ elemental colleges rather than four are even more annoying.

This is what gives us Chlorine and Titanium Elementals. :)

Even so, do you know just how powerful an Oxygen College would be? There's oxygen in rock (silicon dioxide), the air (O2 and occasionally O3/ozone), water (hydrogen dioxide), all air-breathing life, and all carbon dioxide breathing plants (releasing O2) ... and fire is the result of a chemical reaction with O2!