In the vast expanse of the Core Worlds, magic and technology are not opposing forces but two sides of the same coin—distinct, yet inseparable aspects of reality. Technology is the mastery of the universe’s physical laws, a science of predictable, repeatable results. Magic, in contrast, is the science of bending those laws. It is a controlled “cheat,” a method of momentarily rewriting the source code of reality to achieve an effect that physics alone would deem impossible. Like any science, magic has principles that can be studied, learned, and mastered to accomplish wonders. This chapter outlines the fundamental principles governing both forces and the symbiotic relationship they share.
The Principles of Magic
Magic is the act of channeling supernatural energy to manipulate the fabric of the Manifest, the material reality in which all life exists. While its effects can seem miraculous, its practice is rooted in a set of core principles governing its sources, methods, and the inherent risks involved in its use.
Magical Sources
All magic flows from a source, and in the modern era, these sources trace their origins back to two pivotal cosmic events: the Covenant and the Intervention of Losteroth.
In ages past, before the great Expansion, the deities of the multiverse grew weary of constantly maintaining the machinery of reality. They conceived of the Manifest as a perpetual machine, a self-supporting universe that would allow them to pursue their own designs without needing to micromanage existence. To achieve this, they enacted the Covenant. This divine pact granted free-willed mortals a tiny fraction of divine power, entrusting them with the crucial role of anchoring and stabilizing reality through their faith, will, and actions.
However, the Covenant created an unforeseen opportunity. Other powerful, non-deific entities—demons, archangels, fey lords, and ancient dragons—saw a new path to influence the mortal world. They began to forge their own pacts, offering power in exchange for service, thus corrupting the original purpose of the Covenant. As these pacts proliferated and sorcerous bloodlines arose from their influence, the balance of magical power began to shift unpredictably.
To restore equilibrium, the deity Losteroth intervened. Rather than grant power directly, Losteroth taught mortals how to access the fundamental arcane energies woven into the fabric of the universe itself. This act created the first wizards, establishing a path to power through intellect and discipline, independent of gods or patrons.
Methods of Magic
From these foundational events, four primary methods of accessing magical power have become established:
- Granted: The most common method, this magic is bestowed upon a mortal by a more powerful entity. Those who receive their power from a deity usually do so as part of the Covenant, while others make pacts with lesser celestials, fiends, fey, or other powerful beings that may make greater demands.
- Inherited: Some individuals are born with an innate connection to magic, or obtained through some outside neutral source. This power may manifest due to a bloodline tracing back to a magical ancestor, a latent psionic potential that awakens under specific circumstances, or be transferred to them from an outside source.
- Intuited: Some possess a deep, inexplicable, and intuitive understanding of the fabric of reality, the fundamental nature of the universe or of magic itself. They do not study or receive it as a gift but simply know how to shape magical energies, much as a gifted artist understands color and form without formal training.
- Taught: This is the path of the scholar and the scientist. By studying ancient formulas, cosmic principles, and the underlying structure of reality, these practitioners learn to manipulate arcane energy through rigorous practice, intellectual discipline, and precise execution.
Principles of Technology
Technology is the application of scientific knowledge to achieve practical ends. It is the framework upon which the civilizations of the Core Worlds are built, from the simplest personal datapad to the most complex interstellar dreadnought.
Technological Baseline
The prevailing technological level across the Core Worlds is incredibly advanced, so much so that for the average citizen, it is simply a part of the environment. Energy weapons, such as laser and plasma pistols, are common. Hard-light holograms serve as communication interfaces and entertainment displays. Starships, powered by highly efficient reactors, can operate for months without refueling. Medical science is capable of regrowing tissue and curing diseases with injectable medpatches. Data is stored on crystalline chips of immense capacity, and nearly every citizen carries a com unit or datapad, providing instant access to their local grid and a suite of personal tools.
FTL Travel and Wildspace
Faster-than-light travel is made possible by the feydrive, a specialized engine that allows a starship to slip out of the material plane and into Wildspace. Wildspace is a transient, featureless void that exists within the Wild, the realm of the fey. By traversing this dimension, where the normal laws of physics do not apply, ships can cross vast interstellar distances with impossible speed. A journey to a neighboring star system takes only hours, while crossing the entire expanse of the Core Worlds is a matter of weeks. Navigation is typically handled by onboard computers that lock onto navigational beacons broadcasting from settled worlds, though skilled pilots can plot courses to uncharted coordinates.
The Echonet and Local Grids
Communication across interstellar distances is facilitated by two distinct but related systems.
- A Local Grid is a planet- or system-wide information network, equivalent to a planetary internet. Access within a Grid is instantaneous, providing citizens with news, entertainment, and public data.
- The Echonet is a galaxy-spanning network of communication relays that transmit data through the Astral Sea, allowing for near-instantaneous, long-distance communication. The Echonet is primarily used for person-to-person voice and video calls. While the Echonet also distributes syndicated data like news reports to local Grids, it cannot efficiently browse them. Attempting to access a specific file on a distant Grid via the Echonet is a slow and unreliable process due to incompatible protocols and signal degradation.
Magitech & Technomancy
In a universe where magic and technology coexist, their fusion is inevitable. This synthesis manifests in two primary forms: Magitech, the creation of hybrid devices, and Technomancy, the practice of using magic to influence technology.
Magitech refers to any device that integrates magical principles with technological construction. This can range from a starship’s power core that uses a bound fire elemental as its energy source to a rifle that fires magically conjured bolts of force instead of physical projectiles. Arcane seals that function as computer passwords, enchanted alloys with impossible durability, and teleportation pads that bend space are all examples of magitech. These items are often the product of collaboration between engineers and arcane scholars, resulting in devices that are greater than the sum of their parts.
Technomancy is the specific magical discipline of interfacing directly with technology. A technomancer is a spellcaster who sees the flow of data and the hum of a machine as just another part of the natural world. They can cast spells to decrypt encrypted files, overload systems with a surge of magical energy, or even take control of a hostile drone with a mere force of will. For a technomancer, a computer network is a landscape to be explored, and a machine’s code is a language to be spoken.