<114.84>
 

The question of duration	Permanent items	Experience point awards	Selling technological items	The case for technology
Magitek	-	Hints for game balance	-	Last words
Dragon 114	-	-	-	Dragon

The technology of science fiction and
the magic of fantasy often meet and mingle in modern literature, and when the
mixture is blended well the result is more
action and excitement for the reader than
either science fiction or fantasy would
have offered by itself.

Can this same mixture be created in the
environment of a role-playing game ?
specifically the AD&D® game? Yes, it can.
Mixing modern or futuristic technology
into the magic-dominated AD&D multiverse is certainly possible, but the DM should not take such a step
without a lot of careful consideration
beforehand. This article offers guidelines
to the DM who wants to try mixing machine guns and magic missiles, in the
interest of achieving a good blend in
which the whole is truly greater than the
sum of its parts.

The most important guideline, which
underlies any other advice on the subject,
is this: The DM must maintain control
over the campaign and the technological
items incorporated in it. Certain controls
should be pre-established, based on common sense and the DM's concept of game
balance. Much as with powerful magic
items, objects of sophisticated technology
can ruin an otherwise well-made campaign
if they are misused or overused. But when
kept in their proper place, they can add a
special zest to the campaign and enhance
the adventuring experience for everyone
involved.

The question of duration

Control starts with the DM's decisions on
what sorts of technological items will be
added to his campaign world, and this is
determined largely by the intended duration of the items. Will the items be temporary, as are those in TSR Module S3,
Expedition to the Barrier Peaks,  or will
they be a permanent part of the campaign? This distinction will be of vital
import, for the methods of awarding and
controlling the technological items will be
vastly different for each case. Temporary
items can be comparatively potent, since
they are not supposed to last for more
than one or two adventures. Permanent
items should be much less powerful; such
an item will have a long-lasting impact on

the campaign, but should not be the pivotal factor in the campaign?s evolution.
Scenarios that offer technological items
as a temporary reward give the DM an
excellent opportunity to spice up the campaign by throwing in a curiosity or two.
Items along this line should be usable only
once or twice, for they are meant only as
diversions and not as mainstay items.
Good examples here are grenades or similar weapons, containers of medicines, and
oddities (such as food pills that supply a
full day?s nourishment). None of these
items (a single grenade, a dose of medicine, a single pill) will last for more than
one use, and the party?s supply of any
temporary item should be gone within a
few adventures at most.

As a good rule of thumb, all of the technological weaponry a party could find in a
temporary-item scenario should not be
able to inflict more dice (d6) of damage
than three times the party?s total number
of levels. (For multiclassed characters,
average their levels and round to the
nearest whole number.) Using this rule, a
party of six 5th-level characters (30 levels
total) should find technological weaponry
that can do no more than 90 dice of damage before being used up. This is not as
much as it might seem; for instance, a
wand of fire  discovered with an average
amount of power remaining (90 charges)
and then used to simulate 45  fireball  spells
will inflict 270 dice of damage before
being exhausted ? and it need not be used
up, since the wand can be recharged.

Example: The DM has decided that the
party mentioned above has no urgent
needs, and elects to give them a chance at
obtaining 90 dice worth of technological
weaponry. In the upcoming adventure, he
has placed 30 fragmentation grenades (he
has decided that each causes 2d6 damage),
a .44 caliber pistol with 20 bullets (each
doing 1d10 damage), and a laser rifle with
sufficient power to fire two more times
(each shot doing 5d6 damage).

The damage die used can vary somewhat, but should be kept to a d6 as much
as possible so that the items in question
can be compared to various damaging
spells. In this way, the DM can be confident of maintaining a good game balance;
it gives him something with which he can
compare his technological weapons. The
.44 pistol above does heavy damage in

terms of the die type used, but there are
only 20 bullets. If you only give out devices that use a d10 or d12 to determine
damage, then the number of damage dice
allowed to the party should be halved.
Of course, not all temporary technological items are weapons. When placing
nondamaging objects or devices, treat
them as you would minor magical items.
These miscellaneous devices should not be
too powerful and should be discovered
only in moderate numbers.
Another rule of thumb goes like this:
The number of miscellaneous temporary
items able to be discovered should be
equal to no more than one-third of the
total number of party levels. Thus, if our
party of six 5th-level characters stumbled
into a hoard of technological items, they
would find at most ten minor, miscellaneous items and 90 dice worth of damaging
weaponry.

Most miscellaneous items found should
duplicate the effects of minor magic items
or spells of no higher than 3rd level. For
example, medicines should heal 4-10
points of damage (as a  potion of healing)
or possibly allow  water breathing  (as the
potion or as the 3rd-level magic-user spell
of the same name). A suit might be found
that contains chemicals to keep the wearer
warm in sub-zero temperatures (once);
this suit can be compared to the lst-level
cleric spell  resist  cold and is perfectly
allowable, using this guideline. These
suggestions and a bit of thought can keep
minor, temporary technological items well
under control.

Permanent items

When the DM decides to make technology a permanent part of his campaign, he
is asking for many hours of labor. Many
questions that did not need to be answered for the temporary-item scenario
now must be examined in depth. The
question of origins must be dealt with:
Where did these items come from? Can
anyone use them (especially the weapons)?
How does a DM deal with the relatively
potent miscellaneous items that might
become part of a long-lasting campaign?

The origin of technology.  If technological
items are introduced to the campaign for a
temporary diversion, then their source
will be of little consequence to play. The

items were perhaps lost by an interdimensional traveler or could have belonged to
a n   a n c i e n t   r a c e .   S p r e a d   a   b i t   o f   oil of
timelessness  on an item made of supermaterials, and who can say how long it
would last? For temporary technological
items, the DM can make up nearly any
explanation he likes. For a long-range
campaign inclusion, however, some reasonable explanation as to the origin and
purpose of these items must be made.
In this author?s campaign world of Crysoberyl, technological items of many sorts
are a permanent part of the campaign.
They are very rare and extremely expensive (when they can be bought at all), but
can be found by the lucky and the persevering. These items come from a dying
city some 6,000 miles out to sea. The people of this city are more than a little depraved and often come to the mainland
for a bit of ?sport? (i.e., tearing up a few
local villages and departing before effective resistance can be mustered). Over the
years, some of these invaders have been
dealt with by the natives, and their items
tossed with their remains into the nearest
deep hole. Once in a while, some lucky
adventurer stumbles upon the items again.
An alternate scenario: A member of the
troubled technological folk steals a small
flier, loads it up, and flees to the continent.
The flier crashes into the jungle for heroes
to find later. Over the centuries, quite a
few of these items have been scattered
across the land, so the characters have
some familiarity with them, and they can
expect to find more. They do not know
where these items come from (the natives
say from over the sea, but who trusts a
stupid barbarian?), but the DM knows, and
the door is open for further adventures.
Perhaps variations on these scenarios
would work for other DMs. The above
reasoning has proven very effective in my
world because the use of technological
items was planned for when the world
was designed. If the DM considering the
origin of technological items in his campaign has already designed his entire
world, it may not initially have room for
such a city ? but this presents little obstacle to the inventive DM.
If you can?t change the surface geography to account for a place that contains
technological items, then go beneath the
surface. For instance, it could be that
these items come from deep inside the
planet, and the subterranean races that
made them have finally all but slaughtered
one another. The survivors are fleeing
upward, only to meet drow elves, kuo-toa,
and other vicious under-dwellers. The
very few who survive that set of encounters reach the surface, only to die when
exposed to sunlight. But now, suddenly,
technological items are turning up. In
small quantities, yes ? but with a bit of
traveling, one might collect quite a few of
them. Some must have fallen into the
hands of the drow or the tentacles of the
mind flayers. Perhaps some members of

the original race are still around, trying to
regather their items.

Class restrictions.  In a scenario involving
temporary technological items, the question of which character classes can use
them is not terribly important. The items
found are not lasting and thus would not
be around long enough to create a gamebalance disturbance. But when such items
are made part of the campaign, the question becomes important. Obviously the
entire party cannot be equipped with
rifles and grenades, nor could all of the
characters use any miscellaneous item.
Miscellaneous technological devices
should be usable by most classes, just as
are the various potions and miscellaneous
magical items. Common sense has to be
the guiding factor here. For instance, a
cleric might not use or sanction the use of
healing drugs. A detect magic spell will
show such an item to be non-magical;
therefore, the gods had no hand in its
making (unlike a  potion of healing).  A thief
might not use any items that fit over the
hands, and would probably not wear or
carry any large, bulky items, for this could
affect the performance of his dexterityrelated skills.

Technological weapons are another
matter entirely, and a moment?s reflection
will show that the fighter class alone is
suited to their use. After all, the fighter is
basically a person who is skilled in weapons use. Since fighters gain no primary
abilities other than their skill at arms, they
are well suited to taking on a new set of
weaponry. The addition of technological
weapons to a campaign gives the fighter a
special ability of his own. In a game where
specialty classes have increasing roles, this
restriction on who can use technological
weapons will help keep fighters a distinctive class.
Being eligible to use a weapon and
knowing how to use it are not the same
thing. No fighter will be able to find a rifle,
pick it up, and start firing right away
(especially if the rifle isn?t loaded to begin
with). For temporary items that just pop
up in the middle of an adventure, and for
most permanent items that are to be a
fixture in the campaign, the would-be user
must first figure out how the weapon or
item works. A system for figuring out the
function of an unknown artifact is given in
the GAMMA WORLD® game rules, and
another one is provided in issue #100 of
DRAGON® Magazine. The DM can devise
his own system, using either of these as a
model; understanding how a technological
item works shouldn't be impossible, but
neither should it be automatic. Even after
a weapon is figured out, the fighter's nonproficiency penalty should apply when he
tries to use it.

For permanent items in a campaign
environment, some of this discovery process may not be necessary. If a fighter or
another member of the party has seen or
heard of a certain weapon, then the dis

covery process might be shortened or
simplified for that weapon. Experience
also counts for something; if a fighter has
learned that pulling the trigger will operate a revolver, then he?ll recognize a trigger the next time he sees one, and
probably will have little trouble figuring
out how to work other weapons with
similar-looking triggers.
For devices that the DM feels the character would not know how to operate ahead
of time, the only way to discover the item?s
function is by trial and error. Sages,  legend lore,  and similar persons and spells
may help but should never reveal all there
is to know about a new technological
weapon.

Technological weapons in the campaign.
When technological weaponry is added to
the campaign on a permanent basis, the
formula given earlier (designed for use
with temporary items) no longer serves as
an effective means to control such devices.
Since the technological weapons will be
found right along with magical weapons in
many cases, there can no longer be as
large a number of them. The old formula
of ?party levels times three? needs to be
changed, reducing the multiplier 3 to 2.
This will reflect the fact that the items are
not temporary; they can be supplemented
later.

When a number of magical weapons are
to be located in a treasure hoard, the 2 in
the equation should be reduced to a 1, or
no technological weaponry should be
given away at all. If this seems harsh,
remember that characters will have
chances later to add to their technological
weapons hoard. And, after all, the AD&D
game is based on magic, not technology.
Technological weaponry should  never
become numerous enough to replace
magic weaponry!

When adding technological weapons to
an AD&D game, the DM needs to remember that all technological weapons have a
weakness ? they need ammunition. This
ammunition can come in two forms, depending upon the sort of weapon used.
For ballistic weapons such as are used in
today?s world (pistols, rifles, etc.), the
ammunition comes in the form of bullets.
With advanced (powered) weaponry, ammunition comes as power cells. Descriptions of the two ammunition types are
given later. For now they are mentioned as
a prelude to the upcoming charts.
For information and examples pertaining
to modern ballistic weapons, the DM is
referred to issue #57 of DRAGON Magazine. Therein can be found an article,
written by Ed Greenwood, entitled "Modern Monsters" (reprinted in the Best of
DRAGON Vol. V anthology). The most
technical aspects of modern weapons are
discussed therein. Portions of that article
were reproduced in DRAGON Magazine
issue #100, in the "City Beyond the Gate"
module written by Robert Schroeck.
There is no need for this article to reiter

ate the work already done by others, so no
examples of modern ballistic weapons are
included here.

The two tables on this page describe
advanced weaponry (purely of the author?s own invention) in AD&D game
terms.

The first table includes examples of
powered missile weapons, and the second
table powered melee weapons.

Table 1: Powered missile weapons                                                                         Range

Weapon type	weight (gp)	Damage *	Fire rate	Charges per shot	S	M	L
Sonic pistol	70	3-18	1	1	8	16	24
Sonic rifle	90	4-24	1	2	10	20	30
Hand atomizer	80	2-20	1	2	5	10	15
Heavy atomizer	150	5-30	1	4	7	14	21

* -- Damage does not vary by target size because the missile is an energy bolt, much
like a spell effect.

Additional
examples of powered technological items
given in AD&D terms may be found in the
A D & D   m o d u l e   S3,  Expedition to the Barrier Peaks.
The weapons described on Table I exist
only for purposes of this article and are
examples only. They share features, however, that all advanced technological missile weapons should have. They are
lightweight, nonreproducible in a medieval
society, and very damaging. Until a DM
has a chance to experiment with such
items in a campaign, he should keep the
fire rate down to one shot per round.
Later the fire rate could be doubled (or
halved) if this proves necessary. Finally,
the user of one of these items does not
need to make a "to hit" roll to strike a
target. However, the target has a chance to
make a saving throw vs. paralyzation to
avoid the damage. This saving throw is
m a d e   a t   a   b o n u s   o f   + 2   i f   t h e   w e a p o n   i s
u s e d   a t   m e d i u m   r a n g e ,   o r   + 5   i f   t h e   t a r g e t
is at long range. Other benefits may also
apply, such as a bonus for the wielder?s
lack of proficiency, a bonus for the target
being protected by cover, and perhaps (at
the DM's discretion) a bonus for the target's dexterity if the weapon is used at
medium or long range. (Maybe there's
time to get out of the way, maybe not. . . .)

The melee weapons described on Table
II are, again, examples only for this article.
The forcesword looks like a sword hilt
until the power is turned on, at which
time a forcefield approximately the size of
a longsword blade appears. A powermace
is a rod of mithril. When activated, it
sprouts a 6-inch-diameter sphere of crackling energy which causes burn damage to
target creatures. Most terrible of all is the
electroflail, a flail made of mithril and
charged with electricity. The slightest
touch of this device delivers a severe electrical shock.
All powered melee weapons share characteristics similar to powered missile
weapons. They are lighter and a bit faster
than their archaic cousins, but require just
as much space to use. Damage is increased
in all cases, but not enough to upset the
game balance.

Table II: Powered melee weapons

Weapon type	Weight  (gp)	Damage *	Charges  per rd.	Weapon  length **	Space  req. (ft.)	SPEED  factor
Forcesword	35	2-16	1	1/2 / 3 1/2	3	4
Powermace	60	2-12	2	2 / 2 1/2	4	6
Electroflail	80	5-10	4	4/4	6	6

* -- As with powered missile weapons, the damage for these devices does not vary
with target size.
** -- Weapon length is given in feet, before and after the weapon is turned on.

Powered melee weapons need only hit
AC 10 to do damage, discounting armor,
but adding dexterity and magical bonuses
f o r   t h e   t a r g e t   a s   a p p l i c a b l e .   N o t e   t h a t
creatures of magic (i.e., demons) are entitled to full armor class when being hit
with a weapon of this sort. These weapons
may or may not harm creatures requiring
magic to hit; this is up to individual DMs.
More examples of powered melee weapons may be found in the GAMMA WORLD

and TRAVELLER® games, although these
will need work before they can be added
to an AD&D game.

Miscellaneous technological devices.  So
far this article has concentrated mainly on
weapons, damage, and other matters
related to combat. Many technological
items, however, can be of a miscellaneous
and helpful nature. Nearly any magical
effect can come into being. Examples
would be a pair of powerful binoculars
that are the equivalent of  eyes of the
eagle,  mirrored sunglasses that reflect
gaze attacks as a  gaze reflection  spell, and
a suit of special cloth that prevents damage done by thrusting weapons. All of
these items are very useful and could be
used by nearly everyone. But they bring
their own distinctive problems to the game
campaign.

Controlling miscellaneous technological
items is trickier than controlling technological weapons. There is no simple conversion of damage dice, and each item is
different from the others. In this case,
there are two helpful hints to aid the DM
in keeping miscellaneous technological
devices under control. One is for the DM
to figure out experience point values for
the items (see the next section for an explanation of how to do this) and award the
technological devices as if they were magical items. The other is to compare the item
to a spell it emulates (if possible). The
technological items should be comparable
to spells of a level that party spell-casters
can throw. If the party cleric can throw
5th-level spells, then a machine that raises
dead (as the 5th-level cleric spell of the
same name) would not be too potent for
the party to have. Even if the cleric were
only 8th level, this machine would not be
too powerful to allow the party to find it
? so long as it only worked once,
Generally speaking, permanent technological items that approximate spell effects
should not be given out until party spell

casters can do them one better. A machine
like the one mentioned above that works
repeatedly will be rarer and more valuable, and should not be found until the
party is at least 16th level (when the cleric
could top its effects with a  resurrection
spell). This brings the item to a subservient position in the party, where it is still
valuable, but will not dominate the party?s
special equipment list. After all, if the
same 8th-level cleric found such a machine, he would probably quit adventuring
and  raise dead  for a living. This is certainly not much of a challenge!
Finally, remember that exceptionally
powerful miscellaneous technological
devices will doubtless require constant
attention, rare materials, or vast amounts
of power to make them work. Once word
of such items circulates, thieves may try to
steal them, nobles may try to buy or take
them, etc. This situation is handled exactly
as a DM would handle characters with
potent magical items ? make sure the
items are not abused! In the end, such
potent technological items should break
down, run out of power, or otherwise fail.
Items like the  raise dead  machine could
prove fatal to a campaign if used too often,
for they would make even death an easily
solved problem.

Experience point awards

From the problems of technological
items origins and users, and the different
uses of technological items, we go on to
address the awarding of experience points
for these items. This section has three
categories. The first concerns technological weaponry, the second ammunition, and
the third miscellaneous technological
items.

Technological weaponry breaks down
into powered melee weapons and two
kinds of missile weapons: ballistic and
powered. Powered melee weapons should
be designed to resemble archaic-type
weaponry, so that their users have some

basis to relate to them. Weapons such as
this are then worth as many XP
as a +1 (magickal) archaic weapon of
the sort they resemble. This relatively low
value for XP reflects the
inferiority of the technological weapons,
in the respect that they require power
cells to operate.

An example of this is the
powermace mentioned earlier, which
compares to a magickal mace +1. The mace
+1 is worth 350 xp, so the powermace is
also worth this XP value.

The forcesword compares to a sword +1
and is worth 400 xp, and so on. If a powered
melee weapon has a special ability
that compares to a magickal function, the
item should be worth half as many XP
as that item. Thus, if the forcesword
has the ability to sever limbs on a
natural roll of 20, it can be compared to a
sword of sharpness. The XP
value for a sword of sharpness is 7000 xp,
so the forcesword (which is dependent
upon power cells) is worth 3500 xp.

For technological missile weapons, experience
awarded depends on the basic sort of weapon,
i.e., ballistic or powered. Ballistic
weapons that can be made by local
metalsmiths are no different from common
bows and crossbows and are worth
no XP. If such a weapon
cannot be bought and must be found,
however, it should be worth experience to
its user. The exact XP award
should be 500 xp for all ballistic pistols
and 100 xp for ballistic rifles (incl.
shotguns). This compares ballistic weapons
to a magickal bow +1, which they resemble
in function. The caliber of the ballistic
item in question is no more important
than the sort of bow; it is the weapon class
which counts here, not individual weapons.
Rifle-type ballistics are always worth
twice the XP as pistols, for
obvious reasons.

Grenades and other explosive (ballistic)
missiles are worth 100 xp per die of damage
they cause. This low value reflects the
temporary nature of such items and allows
the DM to give out many, of these
devices.

Since powered missile weapons will be
more individualistic than ballistic weaponry
(a laser is nothing like a sonicgun,
and so forth), these items must be assigned
individual XP values. An
item of this sort should be categorized by
the type of damage it does, i.e., stunning,
elemental damage (heat, cold, electricity,
etc.), disintegration, etc. The less the damage
done by a technological weapon, the
less experience it is worth. A stunning
item will not harm victims at all, so it
starts the list at a flat 250 xp for a stun
pistol, twice that for a stun rifle (500 xp).
Weapons which do elemental damage are
worth 200 xp per die of damage they
cause. Thus, a sonic pistol which causes
3d6 damage per shot is worth 600 xp.

    The rifle versions of powered missile
weapons are different than the rifle versions
of ballistic weapons, for their damages
will increase, as well as their ranges.
For powered missile rifles, the DM needs
to calculate base xp value (such as 800 xp
for a sonic rifle) by damage, then double
this value (because the weapon is a rifle
version of a pistol). Thus, the sonic rifle is
worth 1600 xp. This makes rifles worth
much more experience than pistols and
should force the DM to make powered
rifles more rare than any other sort of
technological weapon, which is as it
should be.

Powered missile weapons that can kill or
disintegrate their targets with one shot are
worth a flat 3000 xp in pistol form, 10,000
xp as a rifle. Needless to say, these items
should be virtually nonexistent and should
USE many charges per shot (half of a
power cell, for instance).

Ammunition is also awarded an XP
value. Bullets are worth 25 xp
per die of damage they cause. This means
that a bullet causing 1d6 damage is worth
just as much experience as a bullet doing
1d10 damage, just as a magickal crossbow
bolt +1 is worth the same experience as a
magickal arrow +1. Power cells are worth
20 xp per charge, so a fully charged power
cell with twenty charges is worth 400 xp.
Such low values for experience enable the
DM to keep the party well supplied with
such items.

Miscellaneous technological items are
the most difficult to classify, due to the
vast variety of such items which can occur.
These items can be divided into three groups:
misc. technological devices that resemble magickal items,
those that resemble spell effects, and
the devices that are so unusual that they are like no
sort of magick and must stand alone. The
methods for awarding experience for
these, different sorts of items are described
in detail below.

Many misc. technological devices
will resemble some sort of already-
existing magickal item. If this is the case,
the technological item can be awarded
XP as if it were the magickal
item, and the situation is easily resolved.
Using this method, a pair of powerful
binoculars is worth the same experience
value as eyes of the eagle, or 3500 xp. A
dose of medicine which cures 2d6 damage
is like a potion of healing (200 xp), and so
forth.

In many cases, however, the two items
will be alike but will not have the same
duration, In this case, the technological
item in question must suffer a reduction
in, or be granted more experience value.
For a technological item which is permanent
and which emulates a magickal item of
temporary nature, the technological item's
awarded xp are double those of the magickal
item in quesiton. When the technological
item is temporary but the magick item
to which it is compared is permanent, the
technological item is worth only one-quarter
of the xp value of the magick item.

For example, TAKE the first case. Compare
a technological facemask which allows
one to breathe water, much as a
water breathing potion. The mask will last
forever (so long as it has power, anyway),
but the potion only lasts a few hours. The
potion is worth 400 xp, so the mask is
worth 800 xp. In the second case, a necklace of adaptation is compared to a disposable mask
that filters out one dose of
poisonous gas. The necklace is worth 1000
xp and is a permanent item. Since the
mask will only work once, it is worth only
one quarter as much experience as the
necklace, or 250 xp. This system will probably
TAKE care of most misc. technological
devices.

The DM should always try to USE the
above method of awarding experience. It
keeps new items compared to existing
items and provides the simplest, most
direct XP conversions. Sometimes,
however, this method may not
work. There may be times when the technological
item resembles a spell effect
more closely than a magick item. These
items are awarded experience by the level
of the spell they emulate.

An item which resembles a spell is
worth 150 xp per level of the spell it resembles.
This makes a technological drug
which allows its user to run for many
hours without tiring worth 150 xp, for it
duplicates the effects of the 1st-level
M-U spell run. Items that resemble
multiple spell effects are worth the XP
of the highest spell level emulated
and half that of each of the other
spell effects.

For example, a technological item that
allows weather control might also allow
the user to create lightning (as a call lightning spell),
gusts of wind, precipitation, cloudbursts, and zephyrs.
The base experience for the machine is 900 xp, for the
6th-level M-U spell control weather
is the highest level spell that the machine
emulates. The other spell effects are
worth a total of 900 additional XP
(three 3rd-level spells, a 2nd-level
spell, and a 1st-level spell equal 12 spell
levels, times 150 xp per spell level, divided
by two because these spell effects are
secondary to the primary control weather
function), so the entire machine is worth
1800 xp. As a rule of thumb, the spell list
used to determine spell level should be the
M-U list first, for this list contains
most spells of general nature. From here
the DM can go to other spell
lists as necessary.)

These values are modified as above for
comparing permanent and temporary
items. Thus, if the weather machine mentioned
above was a permanent item (as it
would probably be), it is worth 3600 xp.
This is not much experience for such a
potent item, but then it will need many
power cells and possibly other expensive
material components to continue operating.
This method of awarding experience
should TAKE care of all SAVE a very few of
the technological items which do not fit
the guidelines given above.

The item which does not fit either of
these categories will be unusual indeed.
Assigning XP for an item
like this is strictly up to each DM, based
upon the relative power of the item. Compare
the item to magick items or spells it
even remotely resembles and work from
there, using the suggestions give above.
The example for this section is a suit of
ballistic cloth which prevents damage
done by thrusting weapons. This suit is
slightly akin to a stoneskin spell (4th-level
M-U spell) or a periapt of wound closure,
but is not as potent as either. The
spell effect would make the item worth
1200 xp (150 xp per spell level x 4th-level
spell x2 because the spell is temporary
and the suit is permanent), while the
magick item would make it worth 1000 xp.

One solution here could be to average
these two values, to end up at 1100 xp.
This value should then be halved, because
the item is nowhere near as potent as
either the spell or the magick item in question.
The suit ends up being worth 550 xp.
There are, of course, other solutions here,
and it is up to each DM to find them. This
process is a time-consuming bother, so it is
heartily recommended that the DM not
put in too many items of this sort.

Selling technological items
The selling of technological items is
going to be much easier for characters
"than the buying of" such, just as with magick
items. The value of a technological item is
dependent upon its durability. If the item
is temporary, it is worth three times its
XP value in GP.

Items which need ammunition, power, or
other assistance before they will work are
worth five times their XP value in gold.
Technological items of a permanent, non-assisted
nature are worth as much gold as
eight times their XP value.
This system will not work in every case,
but it is a good general guideline to START
with. It allows for the quick sale of most
technological items.

Buying technological items is strictly up
to the DM, if it can be done at all. Ballistic
weapons which can be made by local
craftsmen should sell for about 40-80 gp.
This makes them expensive but not unreachable
to low-level parties. As with
magickal items, technological items which
can normally only be found should have to
be traded for (using other technological
items, magickal items, etc.) or bought at
prices which are grossly unreasonable (10-20
times their experience value in gold).
Special circumstances may mitigate this.
As with buying magickal items, this entire
process is a field where the DM is pretty
much on his own. Skill at handling situations
like this comes only with experience,
and no further explanation can be given in
this article.

Finally, it is important to remember that
to buy or sell technological items, there
must be a seller and a buyer handy! While
some minor items could be bought or sold
in small communities, it will TAKE the
resources of a city to handle larger technological
items. This allows opportunity for
thieves to steal the item, and may lead to a
lot of excitement. Technological items are
just like magickal items in the respect that
experience is gained for keeping or selling
the item -- never both.

The case for technology
    This article has so far discussed only
modern or futuristic weaponry. No mention
has been made of weapons such as
the blunderbuss or the musket, nor will
this article go on to discuss such. There
are two reasons for this. DRAGON Magazine
has already published several excellent
articles on more primitive (or early, if
preferred): technological weaponry. The
best examples of these are "Firearms" by
Ed Greenwood (issue #60) and "A Second
Volley," by the same author, in issue #70.
These articles deal very completely with
the beginning of ballistic weaponry, so no
repeat performance is necessary.

Also, it is this author's opinion that such
weaponry does not belong in the AD&D
game. Once a world is given the secret of,
gunpowder, it can be argued that technology
will follow the same course it did on Earth.
[See, however, "All about Krynn's gnomes,"
in issue #103. -- Editor] From crude ballistics
such as noted above, the human
race has developed a plethora of powerful
ballistic (and nuclear) weapons. Allowing
early ballistics in a campaign world makes
way for advancement down the chronological
road. Technological weapons in an
AD&D campaign world should therefore
be constructed so that the inhabitants of
that world cannot reproduce their vital
components.

While the smiths of an AD&D world
would probably be able to reproduce a
modern ballistic weapon (if in slightly
poorer quality), the ammunition would be
another matter. However, given time and
the aid of a magic-user friend, a clever
alchemist could probably solve that problem
also. Here, then, is the weak link. The
problem is not the weapon (even a machinegun
is nothing except a fancy club,
without its bullets) but the ammunition. In
its modern-day form, ammunition is derived
from natural ingredients which are
easily reproducible in a well-stocked
alchemist's laboratory.

The solution here is to upgrade the vital
component, the ammunition, to such a
point that it cannot be reproduced in a
medieval society. For the modern-type
bullet, this could be accomplished by
replacing the catridge with a wad of
plastic explosives. These explosives are
shaped like a brass cartridge and are
entirely consumed in the firing of the
bullet. This leaves no residue for a busy-body
alchemist to study, and the explosives are
so advanced that an alchemist
could not even break them down to study,
much less reproduce them. In powered
weaponry, power cells are the ammunition.
They are nonreproducible in any
medieval society and must be found. The
average power cell should be about the
size of a watch battery and should contain
about twenty charges. Any less than this,
and the fighter will be changing cells too
often! The problem is solved by leaping
from swords and crossbows, straight into
high technology.

This same general principle applies to other
technological weapons in the campaign.
Grenades are converted to plastic explosives,
and plastic explosive bullets replace
all traditional bullets. The chain of events
which could have led to a low-technology
civilization into an advanced one is now
broken. Characters still have the new
weapons and the DM does not have to
worry about characters reproducing ammunition.
The characters still have to
depend on the DM for resupply, so
control stays with the DM.

Advanced weaponry is even easier to
control. Such devices would have thousands
of parts, nearly all beyond the archaic
craftsman's ability to reproduce.
They would be made of high-tech materials
and could not operate if parts were
replaced with baser substances. These
devices also take power cells -- more
nonreproducible items. They remain, to
the characters, a form of alien magick
which must be supplied by the DM.

Miscellaneous technological items are
handled in the exact same way. If the DM
wants to give away a coffee grinder, he
needs to make it fully automatic, with
forcefields to crush the contents. The
average miscellaneous technological
item should be beyond all comprehension in its
workings, so long as it is usable by those
who find it. Using advanced technological
devices is just one way for the DM to
"stay on top of things" and stave off
trouble before it begins.

Magitek

Undoubtedly, many DMs are already
thinking about combining magickal and
technological items to create "magitek"
items. Unless the DM has much experience,
this is not recommended. Upon this
author's world of Chrysoberyl such experiments
were tried, and nearly all of the resultant
items were simply too powerful.
Technological items, as outlined above and
in the referenced articles, are potent
enough to stand on their own. The addition
of magickal abilities to already-potent
technological items generally creates an
item which upsets the balance of the
Game.

For more experienced DMs, there is one
small sort of magical-technological blending
which could be allowed. Magic-users
of high enough level to enchant an item (12th level and over) could create bullets
or recharge (but not create) power cells.
For bullets, this calls for the wizard to
have dummy bullets made of fine materials,
worth a minimum of 100 gp per bullet.
He then uses the enchant an item spell. If

the spell takes effect, the wizard finishes
t h e   p r o c e s s   w i t h   a   magic missile  spell. One
bullet per level of the caster may be thus
enchanted, with one  enchant an item  spell.
If the initial saving throw for the bullets
fails, the entire lot is ruined, and the
magic-user must start over with a new
batch of bullets.

For power cells, the wizard again uses
the  enchant an item  spell. If this takes
effect, the process is finished with a  shocking grasp  spell, one such spell per power
cell recharged. The wizard may recharge
up to two charges per level of experience
he has, i.e., a 15th-level magic-user may
recharge up to thirty charges. The number of power cells recharged does not
matter, so long as the total number of
charges restored to all involved power
cells is no greater than two per level of the
spell caster. Material components for this
spell cost 100 gp per charge restored.
No other use of ?magitek? items should
ever be allowed. Powered devices which
need no power cells would certainly be
handy, but they defeat the purpose of
technology in the AD&D game as a secondary diversion. If the DM wants technological items to replace magical items in
his world, he is playing the wrong game;
try the GAMMA WORLD or TRAVELLER
games! The items created by the magicuser in the above examples have no ?to
hit? bonuses or damage bonuses. They
merely allow the continued use of technological items which have otherwise run
out of ammunition. They are a minor
compromise between two opposite forces
in the AD&D universe, and should be all
the ?magitek? a DM needs.

Hints for game balance
When all is said and done, everything
which has been suggested in this article is
only a set of guidelines. By using such
guidelines, the DM can avoid many of the
mistakes and pitfalls that this author met
when adding technology to his own game
world. In this final section are three rules
to further aid the DM. They deal with
areas which have been studiously avoided
thus far, so that their import could be
noted by their position at the end of this
article. These problems areas are automatic weapons (machine guns), the use of
bombs and other devastating weapons,
and magic versus technology.

1. Control automatic weapons.  Technological weapons, whether ballistic or powered, are quite powerful. When the DM
decides to add automatic weapons, things
can get out of hand in a hurry. Characters
can begin to hoard bullets and power cells
for that ?burst of glory? that will wipe out
a DM?s best creations and ruin an entire
adventure. The best way to avoid this
problem is not to allow any automatic
weapons at all. If, however, a DM desires
to add such devices, here is all the help
this author can offer.
Generally speaking, automatic powered

weapons are impractical. Charge usage
will run the weapon out of ammo before it
can be used to create much more than one
quick spray, and such use would probably
slag the weapon?s circuitry. The individual
DM may add such an item perhaps once
or twice, for special missions or such, but
continued use of automatic powered
weapons is strongly discouraged.
Automatic ballistic weapons are much
easier to handle. If the ammunition is kept
to small caliber (such as 5 mm), the bullets
can be given poor armor penetration
bonuses. In addition, automatic fire affects
a 90-degree arc in front of the firer and is
nonselective; like an area-effect spell,
friend or foe alike may be hit. Since the
weapon?s user cannot really control each
bullet?s flight, ?to hit? rolls for all bullets
are at -2 on this roll. Automatic weapons
fire no more than 20 bullets at a burst
(that is, per melee round) and should have
10%-40% misses before ?to hit? rolls even
begin (bullets are removed from play,
unless the firer shot into a crowd). Once a
character uses a magazine or two of hardwon ammunition with penalties like these,
automatic weapons use should be drastically cut down. Such weapons can never
be produced by the inhabitants of a medieval society and must always be found.
Ammunition must be found specifically
for these weapons. Again, automatic weapons are not recommended except for
special missions in which large numbers of
weak creatures would be met. Ammunition for the weapon would be next to
impossible to get after such a mission.

2. No bombs.  Grenades should be all of
the heavy artillery a party needs, as far as
technological area-affect weapons go. If
fragmentation grenades doing 2d6 damage
do not seem potent enough to a DM, he
can always add his own grenades which
do more damage. Maximum damage for a
grenade should be 5d6, maximum area of

effect a 20-foot radius. This is the equivalent of a 5th-level magic-user using a  fireball  spell. This rule also encompasses such
devices as artillery, which are also not
needed. Weapons on this scale promote
too much power-playing and make such
activities as seiges and the like too easy.
For special scenarios, the DM may have
characters activate a bomb which blows
up an entire keep or some such, but devices on this scale should never be owned
by player characters.

3. Magic always wins.  The AD&D game
world is a magical one, and in such a
world that power should be ultimate.
When like amounts of magic and technology clash on equal terms, the magic will
always win. Period. This keeps the game
focus where it should be and delegates
technology to the secondary status it
should have in the game.

Last words

Using technology in an AD&Dgame can
give it energy and kindle new excitement,
but the DM must be sure that he is in
command of this new element at all times.
With few established rules to follow, the
DM experimenting with technology has to
know what he wants the technology to
accomplish, how powerful it is in relation
to the magic of his world, and what can be
done with it. In this article, the DM has
been given some suggestions and references to help him find other helpful articles, but this alone is not enough. He must
now sit down and work out his own technological system. Extensive playtesting
with NPCs will show the DM the strengths
and weaknesses of various strategies, so
that the technology introduced will
strengthen, not damage, his campaign.
With the above guidelines in mind, the DM
now has a whole new path to explore on
his way to forging a campaign which will
last a lifetime.