[UA] Astro, the Amazing Kepling Dog!

[Greg Stolze]

>>RE: TYCHO BRAHE'S NOSE
>>Wouldn't it be cool if a Mechanomancer and an Epideromancer
>>teamed up to construct an orcaular head out of one of Tycho's
>>noses, George Washington's teeth, Sammy Davis Jr.'s glass eye,
>>the skull of Edgar Cayce, Van Gogh's ear, etc.?
>
>I prefer just the idea of building a robotic dog with tracking scent using
>>Tycho Brahe's nose.  That, and likely some navigation using the stars, to
>match >the whole astronomy thing.  Call it "Astro" or some such.

Both ideas get high ratings on the flipout factor.  I'd actually want the
tracking dog to ONLY be able to track people by their astrological scent,
not their physical scent.  That is, if you can tell it exactly when and
where a person was born, it can follow them once it picks up the physical
trail -- and this tracking is undeterred by physical barriers.

On the other hand, I think one of the big problems with mechanomancy is
that its limits are never truly defined.  Can I make a machine that
duplicates the effects of any other spell?  Shit no.  But can I make
machines that do impossible things?  Well, that's an awful lot of fun.  But
I have to weigh in and hate on "weird science" as it's usually portrayed in
gaming -- deadlands and the stuff in Mage just irritates me on a personal
level.  If that's your bag, hey, consenting adults, whatever.  But *I*
don't like it.  And I think it can be a little silly for UA.

If I could go back in time and redo Mechanomancy in the first ed. UA, I'd
make it that the machines can perform lifelike functions that are normally
denied to machines.  (They can also perform mechanical functions as well.)
That is, they're capable of initiative and adaptation.  But stuff like
prophecy?  Well, that gets very, very grey.  Of course, the necessity of
finding relevant artifacts makes that a lot more palatable.  But should
someone be able to build an astral tracking dog just by sacrificing their
own memories to get major charges?  Hm...

-G.

If the reinstatement of capital punishment was clearly doing nothing to
reduce the number of murders in those states permitting it, it certainly
appeared to be cutting down on the number of confessions.
        -Dr. Douglas Ubelaker

www.waylay.com
www.thehungersite.com



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