New Technologies

Telegraph

People with urgent messages often rely on a new form of communication called telegraphy. Telegraphy works by transmitting information through electrical cables, radio waves, semaphore signals, and sometimes hand-delivery. A sender may use a special device that encodes text into a series of beeps. On the receiving end, specialists interpret the beeps back into a text message which is typed or written onto a piece of paper which is promptly delivered to its intended recipient.

Some professionals or hobbyists have taken to creating their own portable telegraph kits which allow them to attach to a telegraph network and transmit their own messages without the need to visit a station or pay to transmit.

Photograph

By exposing special photo-sensitive film to the outside world through a lens, people have discovered a way to quickly record images exactly as they appear. Certain images are easier to create a photograph of than others, depending on lighting, distance, and motion. A photograph also takes a certain amount of time before the image is clear. However, these drawbacks have not discouraged those interested in the technology to purchase photography kits which allow them to take simple photos wherever they like.

Curiously, photography is also capable of showing limited features of Faeland, often capturing wandering creatures, immediate surroundings, or even objects and writing. It has also shown to reveal invisible or glamoured things, showing them as they really are. While unproven, some people theorize that the process of capturing photographs of Faeland may even be able to temporarily bridge the two worlds and allow them to interact.

Locomotive

Steam engines are powered vehicles that run on special steel tracks, often dragging behind additional cars for passengers and cargo. The EARL locomotive has been in operation even in the latter decades of the 3rd Age. Now dwarven and gnomish rail companies have both been competing to connect many other cities such as the duchies of Ibania, the industrial plants of Norgir, and even out into the Taesir desert. Soon many smaller settlements will have stations as well.

Locomotives are able to travel at considerable speeds thanks to the evenness of tracks, capable of traveling 25 miles in a single hour without the need to rest or resupply. Other, more advanced locomotives are even capable of travelling 50 miles in an hour.

Automobile

While horse-drawn carriages and carts are the most common form of transportation over road, danjabrium fuel has allowed for combustion engines small enough to drive the wheels of a carriage. Such vehicles are loud, but capable of traveling at speeds comparable to carriages over longer distances without the need to rest or refuel, particularly if containers of extra fuel are brought along.

Automobiles are a stylish way to travel, but as a result are a luxury rarely seen in use for anyone except the wealthy.

Electricity

The discovery of the phenomena of electricity can produce a similar energy to lighting. By connecting other pieces of technology with special wires, a great number of devices can be powered in this way alone. Telegraphs, lanterns, heating coils, radios, and many more of the new inventions of the era can all be powered without magic.

People who create such systems of electrical power are called electricians and carry with them an electrician's kit.

Phonograph

Sound can exert a force on objects, and so it was discovered that by connecting a trumpet to a needle, one can engrave the force of sound onto soft plastic cylinders. Phonographs can then reverse this process to reproduce the sounds recorded this way. This can be useful for dictating notes, recording speeches, or even playing music.

Some people claim to also hear the voices of people never present during the recording, ghostly whispers from beyond our world.

Telephone

Using the technology of the telegraph network, a new invention can transmit sound directly. By connecting two sets of audio transmitters and receivers, two people can have a conversation from vast distances. This telephone is quite rare, and is only found in important government buildings and the homes of the rich and famous.

Radio

Using special towers, information can be broadcasted into the air using special electromagnetic frequencies. Then, with special devices, anyone can listen in on these messages without even connecting to the telegraph network. One of the newer luxuries is this radio, which allows people to receive sounds such as important warnings, news, or even music straight into their home.

Bicycle

The invention or rubber tires led to the creation of the bicycle. These machines are small personal vehicles with two wheels that are driven by the mechanical pedaling of the rider's legs. While this can be tiring, it is far more energy-efficient than walking, and when riding downhill may not even require pedaling at all. Their light weight and low cost in materials makes them convenient and affordable.

Firearms

While muskets were invented in the 3rd Age, new advances in firearm technology have made them more accurate, more deadly, and more convenient. Firstly, by manufacturing aerodynamic bullets with included gunpowder charge, shot is far less likely to be ruined by wetness or personal error. Its shape also makes it easier to load by revolving cylinder or magazine. Then by drilling helical grooves down the barrel of a gun, a bullet fired with travel with a spin that improves its range and accuracy. Finally, by altering the shape, size, weight, and powder of a bullet, they can be further customized for special purposes such as range, damage, and speed. Now many households have such weapons, whether it is the long rifle, the shotgun, or the revolving pistol.

Armor

The evolution of firearms has rendered most armor obsolete when worn in opposition to a gunman. However, many people still choose to wear it as it can be useful in close-quarters combat with knives or thrown weapons. Still, some enterprising armorsmiths have attempted to create armor that may be semi-impervious to bullets and arrows using hardened steel.

Electrostatic Revivification Apparatus

As demonstrated by scientists and modern necromancy, electrical stimulation of a body can cause involuntary convulsions of the muscles, even post-mortem. However, an astounding discovery is that if a patient's heart has stopped, a similar electrical shock can cause it to resume beating. Thusly, a device known as an electrostatic revivification apparatus was invented that, if administered swiftly, can potentially save a person's life without the need for magic.

Fire Extinguisher

This device is a tank of fire suppressant chemicals and compressed air. When releasing the contents through a nozzle, an individual may use it to put out fires more effectively than water, which may be more difficult to acquire.