Stasian technology

The Gale's Claw, a ship bearing Stasian technology.

See also: Technology and Stasian calendar

Stasian technology is an alien form of technology that harnesses electricity without relying on magic. It was introduced to Golarion from a distant magic-poor planet by Irrisen, where its usage and development were kept a closely guarded secret until Stasian coils were first smuggled from the icy nation to Ustalav.

History

As of 4723 AR, the precise origin of Stasian technology is unknown beyond their secretive introduction in Irrisen. Their arrival to Golarion is imprecisely linked to the arrival of Irrisen's most recent queen, Anastasia Nikolaevna, who was installed in 4713 AR and originally hails from the distant planet of Earth; the name "Stasian" is derived from Anastasia's.

Smugglers have since extracted devices known as Stasian coils from Irrisen and peddled them abroad, particularly in Ustalav where inventors and researchers in Lepidstadt began work to reverse-engineer their function. Known smugglers of Stasian technology include the river pirate Vaskili Demarr.

Their research sparked new fields of academic study and innovation into the unpredictable technological devices, as well as new applications when incorporated with magic.

Ustalavic inventions

Since developing a rudimentary understanding of the technology, Ustalavic inventions deploying the technology quickly appeared. The Ardis Scholars of the eponymous city are among these innovators, particularly the researcher Revecka.

In airships

Stasian technology has accelerated Ustalavic attempts to craft lighter-than-air ships capable of sustained flight. These new metal-framed airships use acid-immersed metals excited by Stasian coils. As of 4723 AR, only two are known to fly: the Twelve-Armed Reaper and the Stormcrow's Curse.

In ethereal studies

Etheric spirit-singers were among the first Ustalavic devices to employ Stasian technology. They use Stasian coils to convert the manipulation of ethereal energies into musical sounds, can detect incorporeal ghosts and haunts, and enhance seances into melodic experiences. These early Stasian devices were iterated upon to develop etheric spirit-catchers that visualized such disturbances and spirit-transcribers capable of transforming melodic disturbances into speech.

In implantation

The chirurgeon Doctor Jerivale of Caliphas has implanted Stasian technology in living animals, resulting in a variety of devices and hybrid beings. These efforts have stirred opposition and claims of cruelty by the druid Kheseban the Pruner, who has lobbied Caliphas's government and raised public dissent against her practices.

Against lycanthropy

Lunar magnets devised by disgraced former University of Lepidstadt professor Gregorias Desmaske are purportedly capable of treating lycanthropy, though its early users have a reputation for vanishing within months. Desmaske credits this to the patients' desire to return to private life but declines to elaborate.

In medicine

Galvaspheres, which animate corpses through metal spheres and Stasian electricity without the use of necromancy, were developed with the intent of being emergency life-sustaining devices. While incapable of keeping a dying or recently dead being alive for treatment, the resulting galvaheart zombies have since been deployed with silver-laced blood as bait to harm or hunt vampires.

Psychological researcher Doctor Sovrok Ostrea developed a Stasian coil-powered device known as the Casket of Unwanted Dreams that purportedly uses electromagnetic energy to extract unsettling thoughts and nightmares from unconscious minds as a form of treatment. Ostrea retains and stores these thoughts for research, though rumors suggest he also keeps them to sell to malevolent entities or develop into new forms of harm.

Stasian technology can be adapted into artificial replacement hearts. Like their clockwork equivalents, these devices require regular repowering.

In planar physics

Umbral vises developed by the Ardis Scholars can reduce the distance between planes and facilitate or stabilize travel with locations in the Netherworld.

In power storage

Stasian coils generate electricity that can be captured and stored in chemical devices known as batteries.

In weapons and armor

The notorious Silverlens Sniper assassin is believed to use an arquebus that employs both Stasian technology and magic.

Stasian actuators enable the use of heavier or more mobile forms of plate armor. Such suits of powered plate armor use stored forms electricity, such as bottled lightning, to make the armor usable by weaker beings and enhance their strength.

An early suit of heavily plated mechanical armor known as the Grobelarch that was powered by Stasian coils claimed the lives of several developers and testers, who then rebelled against their unnamed patron and attempted to destroy the suit. They failed in their attempt as the suit self-animated and carved a gruesome path of death and escaped.

Galafrael, an exiled noble of Lastwall, has invested her fortune into a laboratory of Stasian weapons research in the village of Versex. Witnesses claim that her research has led to the forced labor of scientists and conversion of the living into undead test subjects for her devices.

Other uses

In 4723 AR, the Pathfinder Society and Ardis Scholars together deployed an array of Stasian coils in Thuvia to block travel to and from the Ethereal Plane.

A mesh of Stasian pylons generating an electrical field through conductive metals can disrupt telepathy and other forms of magic.

External links

• Tesla coil (real-world device) on Wikipedia