Infinite Technomancy
for GURPS
by Bobby Derie
In many GURPS games, the technology level (TL) is a fundamental characteristic that provides a general guideline as to how primitive or advanced a character or setting is in comparison to others. Players in GURPS Infinite Worlds campaigns are liable to find themselves encountering many settings and characters with TLs higher, lower, or comparable yet divergent from their own. One popular aspect of the Infinite Worlds alternate TL settings is the technology curve taking strange twists and turns, and defying general conventions. TL(5+1), for example, features equivalents to TL6 technology, but based on TL5 principles or devices with some extra material or application -- perhaps the widespread use of industrial magic in a world that underwent an Alchemical Revolution, or steampunk devices in a setting where electrical circuits were never developed.
Many of the Technological spells presented in GURPS Magic are unique in that, unlike other spells, they are tied to a given tech level. Magicians who learn a Technological spell at a given TL and then have to interact with another TL -- whether higher or lower -- find themselves at a disadvantage, as given on the table for Tech Level Modifiers (p. B168). A rarer yet trickier problem is a character dealing with how Technological spells work in an alternate TL setting, or who learns a spell at an alternate TL and then tries to use it at home. This can readily become a problem in campaigns like GURPS . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: September 19, 2008
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