So far, I’ve talked about how technology affects the party, and some of the mechanics regarding technological characters; this week, I’m going to talk more about how technology affects your campaign setting.

Integration of technology into a setting is a big deal, and isn’t something to be done lightly. Just as with psionics or any of the other myriad different magic systems in d20, the impact of technology should be deeply considered before you begin using it. If you’re designing a fresh new setting with technology in mind, great - but chances are that you already have an established setting, and technology will be a newcomer. SteamWorks goes over a few different methods you can use to ease technology into your game.

In SteamWorks, three primary ways of introduction are discussed, those being ancient technology, gradual technology, and rapid technology. All three models allow you at least a degree of control over the proliferation of technology, as well as the types of technology available.

Ancient technology is the idea that some ancient culture had technology at its disposal, and is just beginning to be uncovered; this allows you to limit technological supplies and knowledge, making it a rather limited resource - at least until someone figures out how to replicate the technology. The section on ancient technology introduces the archaeologist prestige class, a class with a smattering of technological knowledge mixed with various dungeon-delving abilities.

Gradual technology is the concept that technology has begun to sprung up, but the various peoples of the setting are slow on the uptake - adoption of technology is slow, or it is not taken seriously by the majority of the population just yet. In this model, technology is something brand new, but seen only as a curiosity. Gradual technology allows you to control the kinds of technology and the pace at which it is introduced, but provides a solid enough background for technological classes to be reasonable choices. This section also introduces the researcher prestige class, essentially a precursor to the technological base classes: the researcher gains a handful of devices, all with fewer charges and higher malfunction rates - indications that technology is still in its infancy.

Rapid technology takes the route that, somewhere in the world, there is either an individual or a small group that is making frenzied progress in the field of technology. While the technology that person or group constructs becomes rapidly more complex and intriguing over a rather short period of time, the impact on the setting can be controlled, based upon how easily the lone inventor or group can distribute their work. This framework allows you to use the full extent of technology without changing the entire face of your setting: technology becomes an exotic, eccentric option.

There are also other campaign options detailed, such as how arcane magic and psionics interact with technology. In addition to these, the nature of technology developed by the various humanoid races - including orcs, kobolds, and goblins - is discussed. While these descriptions may not fit all settings, they at least provide a springboard for thinking about how the various races regard and interact with technology. The integration of technology, as discussed in SteamWorks, is not meant to be comprehensive, but instead it is meant to act as a starting point, to give you at least an idea of how to begin dealing with the complex task of integrating technology into your setting.

Everyone should extend Mike "Bloodshadows" Dukes some holiday cheer, because we all have him to thank for a special Christmas-themed Bite of Midnight. That’s right! Just in time for some holiday gaming, we are pleased to offer you a new, free adventure called Five Days Until Christmas. In this adventure for the Savage Worlds system, not all is merry in Pinebox. A series of strange, "accidental" deaths plague a family mere days before Christmas. Five Days Until Christmas expands upon Pinebox lore, bringing greater detail to a previously mentioned location. Get your copy today!

We are taking off the month of December with regard to the ETU Designer’s Journal to instead bring you a series of articles on Autism in support of the Midnight Charity Project. Even though this isn’t game related, we hope you’ll take a few moments to read it. 

There are many theories regarding Autism and its causes. A majority of the medical community believe it’s a developmental problem of the brain that occurs in the womb. Others believe it has to do with high levels of mercury introduced via inoculations, particularly the MMR (for measles, mumps and rubella). The traditional treatments include various teaching methodologies and the prescription of various drugs.

What follows is a really basic treatment of the GF/CF diet as my wife and I have come to understand it. We have spent many hours on the internet and read a wonderful book by Karyn Seroussi entitled Unraveling the Mystery of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Quotes used herein are taken from her book.

Many autistic kids have been found to be allergic to Glutin (which comes from wheat, bran, oats, etc) and casienates which come from dairy (milk products, not eggs). Many parents and doctors have also experienced that while children are being introduced to wheat and dairy, many begin suffering from chronic ear infections and are placed on antibiotics on a very regular basis. (With our kids it was every two months like clockwork!) Unfortunately, antibiotics also attack good bacteria in the stomach and intestinal walls, and this can have the effect of leaving only candida-the bad yeasts and fungus in the intestinal linings.
Whatever the cause, many autistic children have been proven to have high levels of candida (gastrointestinal yeasts and fungus). Normally, candida exists at very tiny levels in the gastrointestinal linings, but something is killing the “good-guy” bacteria, which allows candida to grow. Candida can be considered the “bad-guys” and is barbed, toxic and difficult to kill. A healthy intestinal system allows only nutrients to pass into the bloodstream and blocks out larger products like “incompletely digested fats, proteins, starches, and bacteria.”

When candida grows and takes over the system, many professionals refer to it as “leaky-gut syndrome.” The theory is that when this occurs, certain proteins are not broken down and pass through the intestinal lining into the blood stream. These proteins are toxic and foreign in the bloodstream and act almost like narcotics or opiates in the human system. Hence ADHD, ADD, Autism and many other disorders could possibly be traced to someone with “leaky-gut” syndrome. A 1995 article in the journal Gastroenterology, “found increased evidence of leaky gut in diabetics and schizophrenics” as well.

DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!), an organization put together by Dr. Rimland states the following: (taken from Seroussis’ book)

• Children may be born with a genetic predisposition toward food or other allergies.
• As some point in their development, they develop an abnormal immune response.
• The children become ill and are given antibiotics.
• The candida grows and becomes a nastier version that attacks their guts, causing changes in the GI immune system and a leaky gut.
• This is seen with the malprocessing of certain proteins; such as casein and gluten. Instead of being properly utilized, they are broken down into neurotransmitters, which affect their brains.

Remarkably many autistic children (1 in 3) respond very well to a glutin-free/casein-free diet, and begin expressing normal behaviors, communication, and development. Mrs. Seroussi’s child had been diagnosed as a moderately autistic on the spectrum at a very young age. She investigated and learned that many parents were having wonderful results on this diet. She became a pioneer, and now her son is fully recovered and on level with the rest of his schoolmates. He no longer exhibits the signs of autism. There are now many parents and doctors who have come to accept this diet as one possible treatment for children with autism.

You have our permission to pass this along to anyone interested in the diet, but please understand that my wife and I are not doctors and this description is our best understanding of it. We are still learning, and have a long way to go.

I highly recommend Seroussi’s book, as well as Special Diets for Special Kids by Lisa Lewis, Ph.D.

For more information check out:

• www.autismndi.com
• www.Gfcfdiet.com
• www.Foodyoucaneat.com

PINEBOX, TX – 12 to Midnight is auctioning off a role in their upcoming college horror campaign book ETU: Degrees of Horror to benefit the Autism Research Institute. The auction is just one of the fundraisers being held this month as part of the Midnight Charity Project. All fundraisers are in support of autism research.

 The winner of the Ebay auction will be written into an ETU “Midnight Tale” (adventure outline) and includes a piece of interior art in his or her likeness. 12 to Midnight pledges to let the winner choose whether the character in this horror setting is killed in a spectacular style or allowed to survive as a potential victim another day. 

 “This is a great opportunity to not only become a part of RPG ‘canon’ in a campaign world, but also to help advance the mission of defeating autism,” says 12 to Midnight president Preston P. DuBose. “Not many people know that at least some forms of autism are treatable, but the Autism Research Institute is literally changing people’s lives. The RPG community has been very supportive of us for the last four years, so we felt it was past time to ‘pay forward’ and help a very worthy cause.”

 The ETU auction runs until December 21. Other fundraisers include an auction for an autographed copy Bloodlines (modern d20 System edition) and donations of sales made at the Midnight Cellar online store.

Last time, I talked about how technology’s feel compares to the flavor of other similar classes. This week, I’m going to focus more on mechanics, and how a technological character works from the perspective of a player.

Balancing technology is tricky work. On the one hand, it doesn’t have to be a limited resource like magic: in the real world, we use technology all the time, and its power is seemingly unlimited. This is a far cry from the wizard who begins his career being able to throw magic missile two or three times a day. However, allowing technology this sort of free reign would rapidly throw the balance of the game out of whack.

Fortunately, there was a rather simple solution. Technology as presented in SteamWorks is not ubiquitous - it is either relatively new or recently rediscovered. As such, only the knowledgeable can make use of technology, and even then, the devices the technological character makes use of are not always guaranteed to work. Even if technology in your setting is everywhere, the small chance of failure for technology makes sense: not everything works perfectly every time.

To use their devices, technological characters must ready them; a readied device has a set number of charges, which can be used freely. Each time a device is used, it has a chance to fail; a malfunctioned device must be repaired before it can be used again (even if it has charges remaining), while a device that functions has a slightly higher chance to malfunction the next time it is used. The resources a technological character uses to ready devices are also used to repair and recharge them, leading to a bit of a balancing act on the part of the player in the event of an extended adventure: repairing and recharging devices means that you have less available firepower for that day.

The resources to use their devices that a technological character uses are usable only once a day, much like a wizard’s preparation of spells. Like a wizard, not all of the character’s resources have to be spent in one go, meaning that you can hold resources in reserve to repair or recharge devices after a major fight.

In playtesting, the technologist (one of the technological classes presented in SteamWorks) has proven to be quite useful, effectively able to replace a wizard but with a feel of its own, throwing grenades instead of magic missiles.

Technology as per SteamWorks takes a little getting used to, not only in terms of feel, but also in terms of game mechanics. However, the end result is a mechanical system for technology that reinforces the idea that it is not magic, while retaining balance with existing "caster" classes.