Artifice Wars - Artifice & Infusions

[Brightlord M. Alhstrom]

If you are new to Artifice Wars, please refer yourself back to: Artifice Wars - Hub and General Discussion

Artifice:
Soulfire is what powers Infusions. There are three ways Soulfire will be transferred: It can be infused, it can be spent or it can be stored. Infusing can either be to raise an entity higher along the Sentient Progression (or Sentient Scale), or it can be used to give it an Infusion. If a entity that is somewhere along the Sentient Progression loses all it's Soulfire, it will drop off the Sentient Progression and become a Base-Artifact or less. Infusions will accomplish a specific task. The cost of using the Infusion, the cost of creating the Infusion, and the way an infusion will act depends on the circumstances of it's creation. The more Soulfire has already been infused into an entity, the higher the cost of future infusions. Soulfire is spent to power infusions. Soulfire can only be transferred from Living-Entities++ to Storage-Entities. That Storage-Entity can then be raised to a Living-Entity. Once it has been raised, it cannot receive more Soulfire externally.

Sentient Progression:
As a default, most objects are not within this sentient progression. Any object can be raised along the progression, but as a progression, it must be done step by step. You must get Storage before getting Soul, etc.

• Storage: An entity with Storage can have Soulfire transferred to it. Infusions that are within an entity that has Storage will draw on that entity's internal storage. Otherwise it will use the storage of the user.
• Soul: An entity with Soul is alive. The Soulflame of an entity with Soul will grow according to the size of the existing Soulflame. If an entity does not have Soul, but has Storage, it's Soulflame will die at the same rate it would grow if it has Soul. If left alone, because the Soulflame's death is proportionate to it's size, it will never each zero. Soulfire can only be transferred to a living entity if the giver has Synergy.
• Sentience: An entity with Sentience is aware and has a Will. Any infusions within it are now controlled by it own will. If an Artifact does not have Sentience, then any Sentient-Entity++ in contact with it will have control.
• Synergy: A Synergistic-Entity can connect to other Synergistic-Entities. While connected, the entities will partially meld. They must either work with each other to use an infusion or body, or one must have enough willpower to overpower the other. Any infusions or body in a network will be under the control of one of the Wills within the network, typically whichever one had control when the bond or network was initiated, unless another will wrests control away. It is easier to stop a will from acting than it is to do said action. When an infusion is used while multiple entities that have at least Storage are connected, the distribution of the usage of the various Soulflames will be directly proportional to the sizes of each flame. So if two synergistic entities work together to infuse an entity, and one has twice the flame of the other, then he will be losing twice as much Soulfire. Synergistic entities working together will need less Soulfire to do the same infusion, and the knowledge of both can be worked together. The usage of Sentient-Entities-- by a Sentient-Entity++ is very similar.

Infusions:
Infusions are the core of Artifice. There are theoretically an infinite amount of Infusions that could be discovered, but most societies only have a couple dozen infusions that they are aware of. Because of the lack of travel, the world is relatively isolated, which means in some places certain infusions have been fully implemented and innovated, while in other places they have no idea it's possible or how to create the infusion. Artifice Scholars spend their lives trying to either discover a new infusion or learn different ways to infuse an infusion into an entity to make it work differently. And example: A scrying infusion would allow one to see anywhere, but would cost an immense amount of Soulfire to use, and a much larger amount of Soulfire to infuse. However, an innovation of the scrying spell allows you to see a specific person or place determined when the infusion was created, which would cost much less Soulfire to create and to use.
How an Infusion is powered will depend on whether the host artifact is a Base-Artifact or not. If it isn't, it will draw on the host's storage. Otherwise the infusion will be fueled by the user's own Soulflame.
How an Infusion is controlled depends on who has control. As a general rule, if the artifact is a Sentient-Entity++, then it will control itself. Otherwise whatever Sentient-Entity++ first came in contact with it will control it. The exception is when control is wrestled away by someone else while part of a Synergistic Network.

Definitions/Jargon:
Some of this will find it's way into the books. Some of this purely Jargon for my notes so I don't have to use full sentences to describe the same concept over and over again.

• Artifice - The name for this entire system of magic.
• Artificer - Someone who creates entities or uses infusions regularly.
• Artifice Scholar - Someone who researches Infusions with either the goal of developing a new way of using that infusion, of finding a new infusion, or of understanding more about infusions in general.
• Soulfire - Magical energy that courses through all living entities. It is required for pretty much all of Artifice.
• Soulflame - An entity's Soulfire reserve is called its Soulflame.
• Entity - Anything that has either an Infusion or is somewhere on the Sentient Progression is an entity.
• Infusion - This can refer to multiple things: the action of infusing, the type of infusion you are using (a Scrying Infusion), or the final result that is within an entity after the infusion process is complete. Hopefully this isn't confusing you. Infusing refers both to creating Infusions, and to raising along the sentient progression.
• Sentient Progression - A scale or progression that give entities capabilities that fuel or guide infusions.
• Storage/Soul/Sentience/Synergy - The 4 stages of the Sentient Progression.
• Base-Artifact - An entity that doesn't have any of the stages of the Sentient Progression. Since all entities have either an infusion, or a stage along the Sentient Progression, it is assumed that Base-Artifacts have an infusion.
• Storage-Entity - An entity that has the Storage stage of the Sentient Progression, but not Soul.
• Living-Entity - An entity that has the Soul stage of the Sentient Progression, but not Sentience.
• Sentient-Entity - An entity that has the Sentience stage of the Sentient Progression, but not Synergy.
• Synergistic-Entity - An entity that has the Synergy stage of the Sentient Progression.
• Storage-Entity++ - An entity that has the Storage stage of the Sentient Progression, with or without Soul, etc. Same concept applies to Living-Entity++ and Sentient-Entity++. As a general rule this also applies in reverse to Living-Entity-- as any entity that doesn't have Soul (So in this case, Base-Artifacts and Storage-Entities.)
• Artifact - Any Entity that has been given an infusion.
• <type-name>-Artifact - Any Artifact that has an Infusion of the <type-name> type. Example: Scrying-Artifacts are artifacts with some version of the Scrying Infusion. Since it is possible for Artifacts to have more than one type of Infusion, an Artifact can be in both categories. You could have an artifact that is both a Link-Artifact and a Scrying-Artifact.
• User - Any Sentient-Entity-- Artifact can be controlled by a Sentient-Entity++. Otherwise, it is inactive. The Sentient-Entity++ is referred to as the User as long as it is actively using the Artifact.
• Network - When multiple Synergistic-Entities are in a connection, they are referred to as a network.
• Host - An Infusion's host is whatever Artifact it has been infused into.

That's the core of the Magic system. Now I just need to figure out a bunch of possible infusions, their different variations, and which societies has knowledge of which infusions/innovations.

Edited May 31, 2023 by Brightlord M. Alhstrom
implemented the jargon.

[StrikerEZ]

Dang...this sounds freaking awesome. I absolutely love this idea. I'd love to know more about how Artifice works, what all can exactly be done, what it's limitations are, etc.

Also, I'm not quite sure what a name for the living-constructs could be. I have a similar idea, so I don't want to give you any ideas that I might end up liking, sorry. But I'd totally be willing to help you with anything else! I REALLY love this idea.

[Brightlord M. Alhstrom]

Saved for a post on the various Infusions.

Edited May 7, 2017 by Lord Maelstrom
Moved content around.

[Brightlord M. Alhstrom]

Saved for a discussion on Witches and Druids, the two primary Synergistic Artificers.

[The Voiceless One]

On 5/5/2017 at 4:14 PM, Lord Maelstrom said:

An entity with Synergy can connect to other entities with Synergy

How does the connection work? Is there a range limitation, do all the involved members need to consent to it, or can anyone with synergy connect to another entity with synergy regardless of the other's wishes?  When you spoke of wills, is every thought a will, or only actions?  What are the physical effects of the connection? is it purely mental? do the participants need to remain still during it? are they any external signs of a connection like a glow or a faint hum? Is there a limit to how many synergistic entities can be connected at a time? can the connection be formed between two groups of connected people, and if so would the groups be regarded as a large entity like the cells in our body are regarded as a person, or would the new group be more like a nation that just got more citizens?  For the knowledge sharing, is it only with consent of the holder, or is it just used because it exists in the network?

[Brightlord M. Alhstrom]

7 hours ago, The Voiceless One said:

How does the connection work? Is there a range limitation, do all the involved members need to consent to it, or can anyone with synergy connect to another entity with synergy regardless of the other's wishes?  When you spoke of wills, is every thought a will, or only actions?  What are the physical effects of the connection? is it purely mental? do the participants need to remain still during it? are they any external signs of a connection like a glow or a faint hum? Is there a limit to how many synergistic entities can be connected at a time? can the connection be formed between two groups of connected people, and if so would the groups be regarded as a large entity like the cells in our body are regarded as a person, or would the new group be more like a nation that just got more citizens?  For the knowledge sharing, is it only with consent of the holder, or is it just used because it exists in the network?

Some of those questions should be answered by the latest edit to the main post. The rest should be answered when I write down the stuff about Druids and Witches. BTW, Synergy isn't a very well know part of Artifice. It is closely guarded by those who know of it (mostly Druids and Witches). Most people who know of Artifice are only aware of the first three (Storage->Sentience).

For now general answers: Synergistic bonds happen mostly when two people who have Synergy touch physically. It can thus be forced on someone, though unless you have a much stronger will or something to restrain them, they can probably just flinch back to break physical contact. It is possible to make it work after contact, but this requires some infusions, is impossible to do without consent, and weakens the farther you get from each other. A Wills isn't a specific thought so much as a consciousness. It is "You". All your memories, thoughts, personality, etc. If you were locked within your own mind, unable to control your body, that part of you that is locked up is your will. Strength of will plays a big part in Synergy though. No external signs, other than contact. And no, you do not lose your individual will when you join a network. Though a network could overpower your will and essential make all decisions for you. Limited though, since the network would have to keep physical contact at all times so as to not lose control.

BTW, a lot of this needs to be ironed out. Just answering that has given me a couple questions that will need to be answered, like "what happens if a person's body is wrested from their control, but then their body is disconnected from the wills of others, but yours isn't? NVM. I just found a solution.

[The Voiceless One]

If a large chain of people were to use this in a line, and there were other lines branching off of the main line, would the person at the end of one branch be seen as just another will in the network, or would it work more like a home network, where each person in the branch is an individual there, and the long main chain sees each branch as a single powerful individual?  Is the order of connection important?  sorry if this sounds like a repeat of the previous question.  I just want to understand the synergistic network a little better.

On 5/5/2017 at 4:14 PM, Lord Maelstrom said:

The Soulflame of an entity with Soul will grow according to the size of the existing Soulflame.

This is seems a little vague.  Is the invested Soulflame growing at a rate fixed by the size of the initial investment in the entity, is the rate of growth determined by the size of the Artificer's Soulflame, or is it some other way of determining the growth like compound interest?

[Brightlord M. Alhstrom]

2 hours ago, The Voiceless One said:

If a large chain of people were to use this in a line, and there were other lines branching off of the main line, would the person at the end of one branch be seen as just another will in the network, or would it work more like a home network, where each person in the branch is an individual there, and the long main chain sees each branch as a single powerful individual?  Is the order of connection important?  sorry if this sounds like a repeat of the previous question.  I just want to understand the synergistic network a little better.

This is seems a little vague.  Is the invested Soulflame growing at a rate fixed by the size of the initial investment in the entity, is the rate of growth determined by the size of the Artificer's Soulflame, or is it some other way of determining the growth like compound interest?

OK. I'm currently hashing out the Network system. There are two parts to it, which is complicating it. As a general rule, individuals all have their own personal networks that include their will, their body and any artifacts they are in control of. Synergy allows the melding of these networks as bigger networks. Any elements of the network that were in your control back when you were in your little One-Will Network will still be under your control, in that you have priority over it (can't find a better word), but you have access to all of the elements controlled by any of the wills within the network, and vice versa. Thus it is possible for others within the network to take control of your own body from you (hard, but doable). But don't worry, since your will is what gives that entity (your body) Sentience and Synergy, you cannot be disconnected from it. If your body lets go of the network without your will creating a permanent link (you have to choose that and can cut it off if you want to) then your body and your will and any artifacts that leave the network with your body will return to your control. Makes it hard to coerce people unless you have them physically bound.

As for Soulfire, put it this way: If an entity has Storage, it has a Soulflame. If it loses that Soulflame, it loses Storage. It is impossible to be on the Sentient Progression without having a Soulflame. The Soulflame is a reserve of Soulfire. Soulfire can be Infused into an object, in which point it is transformed into an Infusion, and can no longer be used as Soulfire. Or it can be Expended to use an infusion, in which case it is burned up and no longer exists. Or it can be transferred to a Storage-Entity, in which case it goes from one Soulflame to another.

As for growing/dying, yes it is like compound interest. I haven't chosen what rate (like how long it would take for a flame to double in size), but as a general rule, it's growth has to do with it's size, which is synonymous with the amount of Soulfire it has. If a Soulflame is twice as large, that means that there is twice as much Soulfire. BTW, a Soulflame isn't visible. And whether a flame is growing or dying will depend on whether it has a Soul. And those two speeds are proportionate: It would take just as long for a Living-Entity++ (Read, any entity that has at least Soul) to double it's Soulflame as for a Storage-Entity (read, an entity with Storage but not soul) to halve it's Soulflame.

Thats that for now. I'm currently writing up a storm that should clarify (hopefully) how the networks work.

[The Voiceless One]

On 5/5/2017 at 4:14 PM, Lord Maelstrom said:

Any infusions within it are now controlled by it own will.

Does this apply to incoming infusions as well, such that you need to accept any Soulfire that someone else tries to give you?

 

On 5/5/2017 at 4:14 PM, Lord Maelstrom said:

• Synergistic-Entity - An entity that has the Storage stage of the Sentient Progression.

Also, I think that this may be  a typo.

[Brightlord M. Alhstrom]

3 hours ago, The Voiceless One said:

Does this apply to incoming infusions as well, such that you need to accept any Soulfire that someone else tries to give you? Once you have Soul, you cannot have Soulfire stored or transferred to your Soulflame, so the question is moot. And anyways, in this context "Infusion" refers not to your Soulfire reserve, but to the magical/Artifice affects it has. Like a scrying infusion or a link infusion.

Also, I think that this may be  a typo. Thanks for catching that.

 

[The Voiceless One]

3 minutes ago, Lord Maelstrom said:

in this context "Infusion" refers not to your Soulfire reserve, but to the magical/Artifice affects it has.

Thank you for reminding me.

3 minutes ago, Lord Maelstrom said:

give you? Once you have Soul, you cannot have Soulfire stored or transferred to your Soulflame

If I am understanding everything else, doesn't this make it impossible to get to synergy?

[Brightlord M. Alhstrom]

On 5/10/2017 at 10:24 PM, The Voiceless One said:

If I am understanding everything else, doesn't this make it impossible to get to synergy?

There are three ways you will lose Soulfire: Infusing it, Expending it, and Transferring it. Infusing Soulfire means that your Soulfire is transformed into an infusion, or raises something along the Sentient Progression. This can be done to any entity. The more Soulfire has already been infused into an entity, the higher the cost of future infusions. Expending Soulfire happens when you use an infusion that has already been created. It feeds of your Soulflame to do something magical, based on what the infusion is. Transferring has to do with Soulfire going from one Soulflame to another. In the first two, the Soulfire that you lose doesn't go into another Soulflame; it is no longer usable as Soulfire. In the last one, Any Soulfire lost is gained by another. This can only happen when the recipient is a Storage-Entity.

Thus you can't transfer Soulfire to a Living-Entity++, but you can infuse it either with infusions or to raise it to Sentience or Synergy. However, it is costly in Soulfire, very costly.

Edited May 31, 2023 by Brightlord M. Alhstrom

[StrikerEZ]

What would happen if you completely ran out of Soulfire? Would you become a non-person?

 

[Brightlord M. Alhstrom]

@StrikerEZ

"If a entity that is somewhere along the Sentient Progression loses all it's Soulfire, it will drop off the Sentient Progression and become a Base-Artifact or less." Taken from the next draft of this post. Almost ready to update it. In other words, you die.

[StrikerEZ]

Okay, theta makes sense.

Are there ways to steal Soulfire? Or does the magic system absolutely not allow this?

[Brightlord M. Alhstrom]

@StrikerEZ

That is the basis of Witchcraft which is fairly high on my todo list right now. Essentially, Synergistic Netowrks allow you to drain someone of all their Soulfire into a Storage-Entity or use it directly to infuse an Entity.

Edited May 11, 2017 by Lord Maelstrom

[The Voiceless One]

Is there a minimum time that two entities with synergy must be in contact before they are connected?  Is there a minimum cool-down time between synergistic bonds?

[Brightlord M. Alhstrom]

@The Voiceless One

No. The bond is instantaneous on all counts. The limitations aren't about time, but about the cost of actually going from Sentience to Synergy along the Sentient Progression, the danger of a hostile takeover if the person you come in contact with is already in a network, as well as how you can't drain anyone else without draining yourself.

I'm currently in the process of writing all of this down as a whole, so when I post that I'll insert a link here for you, but until then I won't be answering more questions on Synergy, since that post will answer them anyways.

Edited May 13, 2017 by Lord Maelstrom

[The Voiceless One]

Are there any units for Soulflame, or any way to tell how far along the Sentient Progression an entity is?