Tinwound Hydroplant

The Tinwound Hydroplant, sometimes called the Tinwound Hydroforge, is a marvel of technomancy and eldritch engineering in Alkenstar City.

History

The Hydroplant was initially built as a power plant atop the ruins of a Nexian mage's tower in 4608 AR. It later became the focus of an optimization project under the direction of Professor Radpol, a renowned expert in repurposing ancient Nexian devices in modern engineering projects, who designed the Hydroplant's mechanical and steam water purification functionalities.

Structure and function

The Hydroplant relies on a combination of complex mechanical designs, magic, and electricity to function. The structure is located on a small island in the Ustradi River near the Capital District, perched on the edge of the Alken Falls. It consists of three floors, the bottom two of which are underground, and an accessible roof.

Electric plant

The ground floor contains offices, a machinist's shop, and the eight large turbines that generate most of the Hydroplant's output of electricity from the water flowing through the Alken Falls.✝ Large electric cables transfer this power throughout the Hydrdoforge, up to the electric pillars on the roof and down to the gear-driven pumps in its lower levels.

Technomancy increases the electricity's power and transfers it from the rooftop pillars into a large metal rail that transmits the power to other parts of Alkenstar, though with limited range and at great expense.

The electricity generated by the Hydroplant powers the most impressive large-scale machines of Alkenstar City, such as the Screw, the elevators of Graeson's Fingers, and the research lab of visionary gnome Professor Radpole in the nearby Unburdened Tower.

Steam plant

The Hydroplant also serves as a steam plant that powers much of Alkenstar's steam-powered technology.

Water filtration

The Hydroplant's most important function is the purification of the city's drinking water, which comes from the polluted Ustradi River. Water passes through a series of physical and chemical filters in the Hydroplant's first lower level, where the purified water is collected and stored in a 40-foot-deep steel cistern for distribution to the city via a complex system of pumps and plumbing originating in the facility's bottom level. Gears from the Nexian ruins atop which the Hydroplant was built were still winding when the site was first excavated and incorporated into its six-piston pump system.

The mechanical filtration process produces a premium form of filtered water distributed at great expense, while a separate steam purification process creates affordable, but less appealing, potable drinking water.

Reception

While the Hydroforge is recognized as a marvel of engineering, few in Alkenstar City can afford its filtered water.

Opponents of the factory frequently warn of the unstable nature of the primal magic that the factory relies upon, and many workers have gone missing in the dark depths of the factory's clockwork labyrinth.

In cuisine

The Hydroforge's mechanically filtered water is perfectly balanced in acidity and alkali for the brewing of coffee, which is served in many Skyside homes and businesses. Its steam-purified water has a relatively flatter taste but is more affordable and used in sweetened teas to reduce its bitter acidity, though the Smokesiders who drink it consider its tang to be a source of patriotic pride.

Staff

The Hydroplant is staffed by about 50 Alkenstari citizens, who wear work uniforms of blue and gray. Its complexity requires around-the-clock supervision and maintenance, and the first lower level includes rooms of bunks for workers to remain on site, often for several consecutive days at a time.

References

Paizo set part of the Outlaws of Alkenstar Pathfinder Adventure Path issue The Smoking Gun in the Tinwound Hydroplant, which includes a map of the facility.