The Technologies of Granulous:

Overview: As stated in ‘The Lands of Granulous,’ the world as we know it is much, much smaller than the true size of Granulous. Due to a combination between Clockworks, mana beasts, and pure untamed wilderness, the true scope of the world we, as people settled around the shores of the Makan Ocean, can access is small. This, however, means that there is a chance that technology far more advanced than our own exists somewhere in the world, simply locked away in forgotten vaults or tombs or cities. 

Tribal Mysticism: Most, when discussing the technology of the world, would start their inquiry with near-industrialized cities or countries. Gribnik in the Vast Dust, Belgram in the Howling Mountains, and the like. There are, however, two ‘steps’ before that.

Tribal mysticism is, in essence, a type of magic that is exclusive to a singular tribe. In my travels, I have run into a half-dozen of such small groups, only one of which was willing to show to me their sacred rites but the others I was shown the effects of their rituals. To not break the trust I was shown by any of the previous groups, I will generalize tribal mysticism in brief. 

The base of most, if not all mysticism is the location of the tribe. This will determine where the power for rituals is derived from and the general effects. A cave-dwelling tribe with abundant glowing moss all around would derive power from the depth of their ritual and the light around the ritual, while a tribe living in the tropic regions of the Makan Ocean would derive power from water, the sun, the moon, or any other celestial body. 

The effects of the rituals are also influenced by the location of the tribe. Our subterranean tribe would be able to calm earthquakes or reinforce their stone while our tropical tribe would calm the waves and attract fish to their islands.

In general, tribal mysticism is the application of secret mana types through rituals, all of which passed down the generations in the effort to make tribes not only stable, but thriving. 

Pre-Gunpowder: While there are only a few societies in the world today beyond mysticism but below gunpowder, they are fascinating to observe in action. All of them, without exception, are in areas where Clockworks do not travel and mana beasts are weak, but also where arable land is uncommon and minerals are sparse. This leads to weak kingdoms too far out of the way to care about but too numerous to be disregarded entirely. They lead a sad existence, in some ways, but most are happy being left to their own devices in these kingdoms. 

Manual vs. Automated Dominant Labor Debate: While type of labor is the most used metric for determining the technological level of an area, there is a big problem with this methodology: it ignores what the society is actually able to produce. 

I met a tribe of chimerics during my travels who were able to perform rituals that imbued carved stones with links that let a person control them with a simple thought or simply do what they wanted without having to control them directly (As an aside, I did receive permission to tell that anecdote). These animated stones, with naught but the direction of a tribesman, were able to produce simple tools at speeds I found incomprehensible, effectively creating a form of automation only used for primitive tools. 

As I was sailing through the Velhu Archipelago, I came across a fishing village situated along the coast of a large island on the archipelago’s western edge. After asking my, frankly, inordinate number of questions, the topic of their technology came up. This fishing village was on a major trade route, a stop between the central City of Velhu and the Affex Isle, and had knowledge of quite advanced technology. The local craftsman, along with his small group of apprentices, were able to produce some of the most advanced firearms I had ever had the pleasure of learning about. Though their production speed was slow, they were able to churn out a whole rifle, complete with self cleaning runes and anti-water runes, and complimentary hundred bullets if supplies were on hand. 

This section, in essence, is to justify my use of another system of ranking technological progress: magical mechanization. A society with the capability of producing an automatic weapon held by hand would, theoretically, be inferior to Mount Averus, who is able to produce an advanced rifle with dozens of enchantments that are all integral to the rifle’s function. A society able to perfectly integrate a bow and arrow with a standard mana type is much more advanced than a society able to produce a rifle. And so on and so on. I will attach a small note explaining the importance of-

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Current Magical Mechanization Score System Category Priority: Putting a society’s cumulative Technological ability into numbers is difficult, as some are more capable in certain fields than others, so this will be a rough estimate. 

In general, for every 10 total ‘points’, a society has 4 ‘points’ of mechanization and 6 ‘points’ of magic. This means that I will weigh magical integration more heavily than I would more complex mechanisms.

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Low Magic, Low Mechanization: In this category, I place small groups that make do with primitive muskets and crude, unreliable lever guns with little to no magical integration. These groups are likely to be scrappers and scavengers with little or no incentive to integrate magic into their tools Without the edge magic gives, nor the sophistication mechanization gives, these groups are small, and likely to be killed or integrated by or into larger, more advanced societies. 

Medium Magic, Medium Mechanization: In this category, the prime example is Green Oasis. They have plenty of magical technology, but they do not integrate it with their preexisting tools. They are on the cusp of high mechanization in my mind, but they don’t compress it to a smaller size.

The societies that are in this category are generic in some ways, but they make up for it in some other factor unmentioned here. Green Oasis, for example, not only is the hub of trade in the Vast Dust, making it a premiere ally, the city is also home to a number of Hunter groups that are willing to fight for the city’s freedom or the like. Not to mention the only city made by orcs in the world.

High Magic, High Mechanization: The only places I am willing to award a high in both categories are Mount Averus and, on the opposite side of the ocean, the Mosshaven. These places both have cutting edge mechanical technology (As well as in every other field) such as ‘bolt action rifles’ or ‘high accuracy artillery.’ These cities are both able to project power on a nearly ridiculous scale, Mount Averus being as powerful as the other nations in the Vast Dust and Mosshaven dictating the trade policies of the Burjak Range. 

These two are likely the beginnings of a world-class superpower solely based on their technology level

Extreme Magic, Extreme Mechanization: This is a category I reserve solely for the legendary dwarves. While most believe (with good reason) that these subterranean people are mere myth, their proposed technology is something that fascinates me. Humor a traveling scholar for a moment. Legends say that they are able to turn stone to gold and gold to stone. Legends say that lances made from stars will be thrown from high mountains and can vaporize anyone they touch. The most extreme of these legends say that-

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“Boss, are you still reading that surface book?” Gruff asked, sitting beside Dunc on the little bench.

Dunc sighed, putting a little sheet of steel on his page and closing it, “I am still reading the ‘surface book.’ Why?”

The dwarf gestured to the massive, cathedral-sized cave the two were resting in, “Boss, I know you’ve always had that weird dream of yours, but why would you want to leave this place? It’s paradise!” he said, pointing to the massive watchtower in the center of the cavern, “I mean, sure, we’re stuck out here, in the squats, with no one around for nearly a hundred miles but we’ve got enough rock to have building contests, enough food to last decades, and enough local game to have fun hunting!”

Dunc gave Gruff a critical look, sliding the book across the table, “Gruff.”

“That’s my name.”

“Do you know what they consider as ‘high technology?’” he asked.

Gruff took a long moment, “I’m pretty sure they aren’t that advanced, right? So, if I were to pick, I think the most advanced thing they have is a sole-mana beam gun. Those things are stupid simple to make, even if a simple mana shield is there to block it. I mean, ancestors forbid they’re actually using gunpowder!” he laughed, turning to Dunc’s serious gaze, “Are you serious?”

“I’m serious. They think bolt action rifles are ‘cutting edge.’ None of them have tried to integrate the ‘mysticism’ into tech. It’s just… odd. I mean, we could probably go up there and wipe out any Clockworks they’re still dealing with by now,” Dunc said, patting his old dual-beam gun on the table.

Gruff rolled his eyes, “Look, Dunc, I may be dumb, but not that much. We both know what happens if we do that.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Clockworks get heavier armor and bigger, better guns, and wipe out the world. I get that. I still wish I could go up there one day. I wonder how hot it gets in the desert.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Gruff replied, tossing a stone across the cavern and embedding it in the far wall, “We aren’t important enough to be the first ones going up there.” There was a long silence as they both looked up at the rocky ceiling, “Hey, do you see that?” Gruff asked, staring at the rock with an unmistakable glow in his eyes.

Dunc followed suit, filling his eyes with special mana and looking up, “Oh, yeah, I see it,” he said, looking at the cracks in the ceiling, “Who’s going up to fix that?”

The two looked at each other, silently speaking, before they snapped their fingers to their fat noses. They both touched their noses at the same time. Gruff grumbled, “C’mon. You should be happy to get the stone-shaping practice in.”

“I could say the same for you,” Dunc nearly spat back, a grin soon lighting up his face, “Y’know what? We’re the only ones here who really know that the ceiling is cracking, right?” 

Gruff raised an eyebrow, “Alright, I’m listening.”

“What if, and hear me out, we don’t say anything,” Dunc suggested, a devious grin on his face.

“Hmm…” Gruff said, “Maybe…  But what if the Keeper heard? Our asses would be on the hook then, wouldn’t they?”

Dunc, smiling, leaned in next to Gruff, “Look man, no one noticed. That’s it, right?” Gruff simply nodded, dropping the topic and going back to his rock-fusing. Having averted another day of work, Dunc leaned back and took his beam gun in his lap like a dog, smiling contently at a job well done.