The primary issue that has been raised regarding MAC is definitely a very good one: What kind of conflicts have occurred in the past that have spurred the development of magitek technology?
Clearly, the construction of such powerful weapons is contingent upon there being a need for them, be it Cold War-style deterrance or actual warfare. However, I don't like the "mages versus technoknights" idea. This isn't because it's patently silly or anything like that, because people have definitely gotten in major wars over smaller differences in opinion; on one hand, it could be a source of tension. However, there's one thing that I think
does make the "magic versus technology" dispute kind of ridiculous unless it is considered from a very specific angle.
The most common reason I've seen for mages and traditional scientists disliking one another is the somewhat absurd notion that "technology" is a
force that is acknowledged by the universal will. Arcanum does this to a certain extent; the more adept a character is with machines, the less adept they can be with magic, and it's not just a matter of training one more thoroughly than the other. Learning skills like engineering actually penalizes your ability to learn spells. This seems sillyt to me mostly because it means that the grand will of the universe a) has a definition of "technology" and b) is willing to create totally arbitrary cutoffs as to what it is. A sword isn't "technology," but a lightbulb is. The ladder isn't technology, but a steam engine is. Levers and pulleys, the foundation of mechanical engineering, are too "simple" to be called "technology." Huh?
The most logical reason (not that a war would have to start for logical reasons, but let's suppose) for mages to dislike scientists who acted independently of magic (and let's not forget that in this world, magic IS a science) is that the mages might feel as though their powers were being trivialized. What's the point of a light spell if any dolt can flick a switch or carry a flashlight? The issue then becomes one of degree; at what point do non-magical devices begin to overshadow magic? Few mages would start a war because candles made their light spells insignificant, or at the very least, there's no precedent for that sort of thing.
If we assume that mages eventually decide that devices like steam engines and toaster ovens and locomotives are a threat to their way of life, then the idea of a "magic vs. science" war could make sense.
The divide between "mages" and "scientists" requires that
scientists are the revolutionaries. As things stand, magic is an established force in the world. Science has to be driven by one of several possible factors:
1. It might be able to do something magic cannot (which is highly unlikely). However, see below.
2. It might be able produce devices that are cheaper or more accessible to the general public than magical equivalents. Researching the light bulb seems silly when even 5% of the population can learn to create permanently glowing glass balls that serve the same function; it's a losing investment unless you're guaranteed to succeed, and you aren't.
3. If large numbers of people suddenly develop a reason to resent magic users, non-magical means of accomplishing tasks will be in demand.
Sheer curiosity
could be a reason to drive the advance of technology separate from magic, but this is ultimately likely to just be a novelty. Look, you can build a huge device that burns coal to boil water and spin a magnet to generate an electric current! Too bad that the mage down the street can throw lightning bolts. It's even possible that much of the "science" done in the world is done by more scholarly mages who enjoy theorizing about how the world would work
without magic and building tools that don't rely on spells to work.
The most likely factor that would drive the continued invention of "complex non-magical tools" would be a shift in attitude toward mages or an inability of magic to solve the problems of the populace. Ultimately, as long as magic can meet the needs of the people, there is no need to develop non-magical solutions to complex problems. Clearly, magic does not always meet the people's needs; someone built the boat, for example, and shipbuilding likely came out of a need to be able to travel across water whether you had a mage with you or not. Besides, even if you have a mage, it's a huge pain in the ass to levitate or fly by
yourself; forget about carrying cargo or a crew. It's probably more efficient to teleport, but hell if most mages can pull that off, either.
The first "complex non-magical tool" that's going to make a huge difference in warfare is gunpowder. As soon as you have rifles, even mages as artillery seem like less of a threat. So the enemy has one mage for every twenty soldiers, all armed with traditional weaponry; you have twenty men with guns. A competent mage will deal a lot of damage at this point (the idea of an invisible, flying spellcaster dropping fireballs on enemy lines from some indistinguishable position is just too nasty), but a mage is going to spend his energy very quickly going "all-out," whereas a group of soldiers armed with guns can stand around shooting for hours if they have a good supply of ammunition.
In real life, gunpowder rapidly made traditional defenses useless. Castles and plate mail couldn't stand up to powder kegs and rifles. Unlike in real life, magical defenses in Gaera might be sufficient to keep gunpowder from totally changing the face of warfare. However, it's still going to eventually become more efficient to equip soldiers with guns than swords.
The bit that's easy to overlook is the fact that if non-mages can get guns and gunpowder, so can mages. A mage carrying a rifle has a great way to conserve his arcane stamina while still dealing damage. There's no good reason why someone would eschew tools like that just because they can cast magic; the "magic versus technology" dichotomy is a false one. And mages are going to improve upon non-magical technology by adding their own tweaks. If a gun is good, what about a gun that conjures its own ammunition so that it never runs out? Or one that makes standard metal slugs fired from it explode like bombs on impact?
Non-magical technologies are
so far behind magic at this point in Gaera's development that it will take some massive divide to spur their growth with any rapidity.
At one point I ran an RP that took place in an "alternate world" (an illusory world, but nevertheless) with a steampunk feel to it. The world's history was explained by a revolution in which mages were hunted down and killed by the masses (let's not forget that 95% of the world's population has no magical ability) because the common people came to resent their powers. Presumably, they were lead by some great and charismatic figure or revolutionary that moved them in that direction.
I'm still thinking about all of this, but I'm looking for some input. The biggest problem I'm facing is that if the "masses" decided to rise up and go to war with mages, they need some reason to make peace so that in modern MAC they can be working together.
I've actually got more stuff figured out regarding why modern MAC
still needs these weapons than why they created them in the first place. A global war actually seems pretty likely to me; I can see a future Prandia and a Federated Countries of Central Igala (Doma, Nekonia, Riva, Inustan, Kalshana, Baron) at war with one another, but currently one of the ideas that I favor is the idea of Ka'thalar's non-drow population being overrun by drow who are sick of sharing their ancestral homeland with outsiders and who ultimately decide to declare war on the rest of the world out of sheer xenophobia. These ideas are not exclusive, and there can certainly be other angles that create political tension, but that's where my head is.
Of note is the fact that the first MAC RP was at least partially about the potential for extraterrestrial invasion; it never finished, so we never got to see the details play out. I'd
personally want to stay away from the subject for now, but it could be an interesting plot thread if someone else wants to deal with it.
As a final aside before I give the rest of the world a chance to comment on my rambling behemoth of a post, a "weapon of mass destruction" is a weapon that is capable of indiscriminately killing a large amount of people. As such, Zem is only half wrong in his statement; a "magical hydrogen bomb" might kill every mortal being within three hundred miles in all directions without damaging structures, terrain, or plants, and no one would doubt its nature as a "WMD" despite the fact that it is arguably much more focused and "clean" than a standard atomic bomb. <p>
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