Wow! TechnoWizardry is cost effective!

[flatline]

I just read the new TW rules in RUE and did some basic calculations for some quick test items. Technowizardy, as presented, should have totally destroyed the economy as presented in the books.

For instance: TW repair kit using Mend the Broken (lvl 5, 10 PPE base + 30 PPE to repair 1 MDC = 40 PPE)
PPE cost to create: (casting cost * 10 * device level)/carats = (40 * 10 * 1)/2.5 = 160PPE
PPE cost to activate: 8 PPE per 1 MDC repair or 60 SDC repaired
Cost to create: $3100.
Not using rounding rules to your advantage:
5 carats yields 4 PPE per 1MDC/60SDC to activate and costs $3800.
10 carats yields 2 PPE per 1MDC/60SDC to activate and costs $6400.
20 carats yields 1 PPE per 1MDC/60SDC to activate and costs $12200.

If your GM allows taking advantage of rounding, using 13.5 carats gives you a cost to create of $8400 for a device that will repair 1 MDC or 60 SDC per PPE point spent to activate.

Skimming through RUE, it looks like an operator can repair 1 MDC for $1200. Using that as a baseline, the TW repair kit would pay for itself in no time. At 1 PPE per MDC, you could repair 40 MDC a minute on a ley line (80 if you were a Ley Line walker or had one non-LLW assistant). If you charged a "mere" $100/MDC, that would make you $4k a minute or more if you could stay busy.

Similar thing for recharging E-clips (although not so dramatic):
TW E-clip charger using Sub-Particle Acceleration
PPE cost to create: 20 * 10 * 1/3.5 = 57PPE
PPE cost to activate: 3 PPE to recharge 6 shots
Cost to create: $7570

Not using rounding rules to your advantage, it would cost $20200 to make a charger that charges 6 shots per PPE.

Do you guys have items like these in your games? If not, why not? If so, how has it affected prices of related services?

--flatline

[Colt47]

I just read the new TW rules in RUE and did some basic calculations for some quick test items. Technowizardy, as presented, should have totally destroyed the economy as presented in the books.

For instance: TW repair kit using Mend the Broken (lvl 5, 10 PPE base + 30 PPE to repair 1 MDC = 40 PPE)
PPE cost to create: (casting cost * 10 * device level)/carats = (40 * 10 * 1)/2.5 = 160PPE
PPE cost to activate: 8 PPE per 1 MDC repair or 60 SDC repaired
Cost to create: $3100.
Not using rounding rules to your advantage:
5 carats yields 4 PPE per 1MDC/60SDC to activate and costs $3800.
10 carats yields 2 PPE per 1MDC/60SDC to activate and costs $6400.
20 carats yields 1 PPE per 1MDC/60SDC to activate and costs $12200.

If your GM allows taking advantage of rounding, using 13.5 carats gives you a cost to create of $8400 for a device that will repair 1 MDC or 60 SDC per PPE point spent to activate.

Skimming through RUE, it looks like an operator can repair 1 MDC for $1200. Using that as a baseline, the TW repair kit would pay for itself in no time. At 1 PPE per MDC, you could repair 40 MDC a minute on a ley line (80 if you were a Ley Line walker or had one non-LLW assistant). If you charged a "mere" $100/MDC, that would make you $4k a minute or more if you could stay busy.

Similar thing for recharging E-clips (although not so dramatic):
TW E-clip charger using Sub-Particle Acceleration
PPE cost to create: 20 * 10 * 1/3.5 = 57PPE
PPE cost to activate: 3 PPE to recharge 6 shots
Cost to create: $7570

Not using rounding rules to your advantage, it would cost $20200 to make a charger that charges 6 shots per PPE.

Do you guys have items like these in your games? If not, why not? If so, how has it affected prices of related services?

--flatline

I know! I thought I was going crazy when I tried making a few different tools using the creation rules and they blew some of the tech stuff out of the water. Techno-wizards have it made.

[flatline]

Both of those devices assume a spell chain of just the primary spell. How do you decide if secondary spells are required to generate the primary spell effect?

--flatline

[Pepsi Jedi]

Not everyone has magic.

In large swaths of North America it's illegal. As is possessing TW Devices (( I think.))

Cost does matter, but life matters a lil more to some folks.

But the "Statistically, few people have magic" thing is likely why you don't see huge piles of TW devices. Coupled with "They actually take specialized knowledge to create" and Techno wizards are likely even more rare than operators.

Yeah places like New Lazlo and Dewour (How ever it's spelled)) love it, but they're isolated and the exception rather than the rule.

[flatline]

Not everyone has magic.

In large swaths of North America it's illegal. As is possessing TW Devices (( I think.))

Cost does matter, but life matters a lil more to some folks.

But the "Statistically, few people have magic" thing is likely why you don't see huge piles of TW devices. Coupled with "They actually take specialized knowledge to create" and Techno wizards are likely even more rare than operators.

Yeah places like New Lazlo and Dewour (How ever it's spelled)) love it, but they're isolated and the exception rather than the rule.

And that's what makes the whole thing so unbelievable. A single 1st level technowizard can crank out 2 of these a day (amber is easy to get, I have no idea about zircon) and even if his society doesn't use magic in any other way, just that single technowizard would give his society a huge advantage over a pure tech society. Selective pressures being what they are in Rifts Earth, we should quickly see the following evolve:
1. Pure tech societies should be out competed by tech societies that accept magic
2. A significant portion of every non-declining society should be magic users if only to be operators of TW devices (enough TW devices will exist to saturate the society's need for them, plus some surplus as a buffer).

Of course, it's possible that Rifts Earth simply hasn't had enough time to reach steady-state equilibrium, but given the awesome advantage given by just a small amount of TW devices, we should already be seeing this in Rifts Earth yet it appears to be heading in the opposite direction.

Just food for thought.

Edit: just think of the impact if one side had tanks that could heal quickly during an encounter rather than waiting to be repaired afterwards? And I'm completely ignoring the other advantages of magic like becoming immune to whole categories of weapons and such.

--flatline

[Killer Cyborg]

A single 1st level technowizard can crank out 2 of these a day

Well, he can try.
It's entirely up to the GM if the devices work, and to what extent, and what the actual effects are.

[Pepsi Jedi]

Not everyone has magic.

In large swaths of North America it's illegal. As is possessing TW Devices (( I think.))

Cost does matter, but life matters a lil more to some folks.

But the "Statistically, few people have magic" thing is likely why you don't see huge piles of TW devices. Coupled with "They actually take specialized knowledge to create" and Techno wizards are likely even more rare than operators.

Yeah places like New Lazlo and Dewour (How ever it's spelled)) love it, but they're isolated and the exception rather than the rule.

And that's what makes the whole thing so unbelievable. A single 1st level technowizard can crank out 2 of these a day (amber is easy to get, I have no idea about zircon) and even if his society doesn't use magic in any other way, just that single technowizard would give his society a huge advantage over a pure tech society. Selective pressures being what they are in Rifts Earth, we should quickly see the following evolve:
1. Pure tech societies should be out competed by tech societies that accept magic
2. A significant portion of every non-declining society should be magic users if only to be operators of TW devices (enough TW devices will exist to saturate the society's need for them, plus some surplus as a buffer).

Of course, it's possible that Rifts Earth simply hasn't had enough time to reach steady-state equilibrium, but given the awesome advantage given by just a small amount of TW devices, we should already be seeing this in Rifts Earth yet it appears to be heading in the opposite direction.

Just food for thought.

Edit: just think of the impact if one side had tanks that could heal quickly during an encounter rather than waiting to be repaired afterwards? And I'm completely ignoring the other advantages of magic like becoming immune to whole categories of weapons and such.

--flatline

I'm not sure but it's possible you're missing my point.

TW devices are neato, but they do nothing if you can't pump magic into them to fuel them. And most people can't.

Likewise, you can't build them assembly line. (( At least I don't think.)) It's been my understanding these things are steampunk in their complexity and overly styalized and difficult to make. It's not like field stripping your 1911. These things are each hand made, personalized, and intricate in their construction, requiring jems and special metal and stuff. In Rifts earth you can't just put an order in on line and get them.

Amber isn't THAT hard to find in our time, but really, when was the last time you saw some? It's not what you'd call common.

Now, multiply that by the fact that 90% of Rifts earth is monster/alien/debee/dragon/god/godknows what infested wilderness. And it makes it -----alot----- harder to get some. Much less the amounts needed to produce more than one or two of these things in X amount of time. Not only that you gotta transport it, ect.

Add in the complex nature of the construction, the TRAINING to be able to do so (( People also forget the mages of rifts earth put in years of not decades of training before they reach level 1.)). Technowizards are not only mages they're engineers too. That's like being an astronaut and a neuro surgeon both, in a world that's 90% wild and wooly wilderness.

Are there some out there? SURE. In some places where they train and congregate, they might even be some what common (( New Lazlo. Lazlo. Dweueer (( Still don't know how to spell it)). But out side of those very few high magic communities, you could live 100 lifetimes and never SEE a technowizard. They are thin on the ground. lol If you're in the CS territory, even more so.

You're not wrong, that 1) if you have the tech, then it's nifty, and 2) Mages no doubt make good use of them if/when they can find/afford/aquire.

But they're not ultra common and in much of 'Civilized" North America they're a Jail sentence if not death warrant even to have them.

I imagine, that's why they're not 'more prevalent' than they are now. Mages use um. But noone else can 'turn um on'. They're very nitch.

[Akashic Soldier]

First, you need the money to make the TW item. 3,800 might not seem like much but its a year and a half wages more expensive than the cheapest M.D.C laser rifle and it is only part of the cost, numbers will vary but the idea is the same. Now, to Adventurers, Military Organizations and the Wealthy this is relatively inexpensive but for the most part those groups are controlled and do not use private distributes (military) or are minorities on Rifts Earth (Adventurers and the wealthy).

We see the same thing with electric cars today, better on fuel, safer, cheaper to produce and maintain, yet...

The other thing is that most people in North America are not comfortable with magic (the exceptions are a minority, though they still have significant numbers) but of them how many have enough P.P.E to casually use these devices? If the average person has 2D6 P.P.E and having low P.P.E makes you feel drained and weak how many times are you going to use something in a day that costs 8 P.P.E? Especially when it is cheaper (and this is the important part) easier to just use a piece of regular technology or have someone else (a professional) do it for you?

Finally, you are overlooking general maintenance. Although there are no hard rules for it, TW devices break down and you need to get them fixed just like everything else. This is one of the major reasons that TW Devices are not employed as the primary energy source for robotic engines. (Rifts: Sourcebook 1, Revised)--if the device breaks down it can be difficult (almost impossible) finding someone to repair it for you.

Thus, the economy is stable. The Techno-Wizard has a difficult time marketing his products and those who do break through find they are a niche market and quickly become wealth individuals.

If we ignore the setting and public opinion than it is obvious that Techno-Wizardry is a cleaner, safer and cheaper alternative for life on Rifts Earth. However, doing so neglects a large part of the theme of Rifts and should not be done lightly. To offer a little perspective, each day the western world dumps enough food in the ocean to feed every single person on the planet three meals a day. We could eliminate famine with the resources available to us planet wide but we do not for financial reasons and most people simply are not aware of the fact and even less actually care. It is much the same thing here. Likewise, if someone took all the money it takes to produce the average Hollywood film and donated that to the government they could provide public healthcare to North America for the better half of a decade. There would be countless benefits to this, including extended lifespans and improved quality of living and yet, they do not.

Welcome to Rifts, it is still Earth and it still sucks.

[Nightmask]

Not everyone has magic.

In large swaths of North America it's illegal. As is possessing TW Devices (( I think.))

Cost does matter, but life matters a lil more to some folks.

But the "Statistically, few people have magic" thing is likely why you don't see huge piles of TW devices. Coupled with "They actually take specialized knowledge to create" and Techno wizards are likely even more rare than operators.

Yeah places like New Lazlo and Dewour (How ever it's spelled)) love it, but they're isolated and the exception rather than the rule.

And that's what makes the whole thing so unbelievable. A single 1st level technowizard can crank out 2 of these a day (amber is easy to get, I have no idea about zircon) and even if his society doesn't use magic in any other way, just that single technowizard would give his society a huge advantage over a pure tech society. Selective pressures being what they are in Rifts Earth, we should quickly see the following evolve:
1. Pure tech societies should be out competed by tech societies that accept magic
2. A significant portion of every non-declining society should be magic users if only to be operators of TW devices (enough TW devices will exist to saturate the society's need for them, plus some surplus as a buffer).

Of course, it's possible that Rifts Earth simply hasn't had enough time to reach steady-state equilibrium, but given the awesome advantage given by just a small amount of TW devices, we should already be seeing this in Rifts Earth yet it appears to be heading in the opposite direction.

Just food for thought.

Edit: just think of the impact if one side had tanks that could heal quickly during an encounter rather than waiting to be repaired afterwards? And I'm completely ignoring the other advantages of magic like becoming immune to whole categories of weapons and such.

--flatline

All you have to do is look back in history to see such an advantage can end up a liability as people attack you looking for it to serve them or to destroy competition before it's strong enough to eliminate them. Nowadays such things aren't as common because of all the centuries of hard-fought protections but they don't exist in Rifts Earth.

[Mack]

Hmmm... now who'd a thunk....

[taalismn]

Well, that little factoid is why Technowizardry's one of the hottest magic schools, due to bright folks doing a little math and speculating that a few decades or so down the road they may well have conquered the mass production problem and streamlined the production process, especially if enough TWizards pool their resources and talents.
It's also one of the reasons, IMHO, why the older and more conservative schools of magic look down on it and try to discourage it....it has the potential to upset the current magic economic relationship, and bastardize magic into a commercialized horse.
And the Vanguard may well be whispering in CS ears "These technowizard guys have the potential of transforming, nay, WRECKING, the regular economies. Worse yet, they'll POPULARIZE magic by turning it into a tool! You gotta stomp 'em!"

[Razzinold]

Someone mentioned that magic is frowned upon by a large population of North America so how's this for an idea.
The TW has a "repair" shop, he spends a bit of money to make the front look like a traditional repair shop/e-clip recharging store but he's really just doing it via TW devices in the back. He takes the guys armour in the back and pretends to fix it, but really he just uses the device that repairs the MDC or he tells you he has to take your e-clips in the back to charge them but once again he's just using PPE to recharge them.

It would cost the TW guy some money up front to build the devices, but it would save in the long run, he wouldn't have to buy expensive tools/equipment (other than the initial TW equipment) and he wouldn't have to hire any assistants and nobody would be the wiser, unless someone who can sense magic happens to walk in. I'm not saying to build the shop in the heart of CS territory, build it somewhere where magic is tolerated, like say Merc Town.

[Razzinold]

Someone mentioned that magic is frowned upon by a large population of North America so how's this for an idea.
The TW has a "repair" shop, he spends a bit of money to make the front look like a traditional repair shop/e-clip recharging store but he's really just doing it via TW devices in the back. He takes the guys armour in the back and pretends to fix it, but really he just uses the device that repairs the MDC or he tells you he has to take your eclips in the back to charge them but once again he's just using PPE to recharge them.

It would cost the TW guy some money up front to build the devices, but it would save in the long run, he wouldn't have to buy expensive tools/equipment (other than the initial TW equipment) and he wouldn't have to hire any assistants and nobody would be the wiser, unless someone who can sense magic happens to walk in. I'm not saying to build the shop in the heart of CS territory, build it somewhere where magic is tolerated, like say Merc Town.

I really like this idea, then you could cut your cost so instead of 1200 per MD like RUE says of armor repaired, you could charge 800 and make a mint. I'm totally going to build one for my TW. There is a ley line pretty close to where my shop is so that I could bring the armor in, wait until night, go fix it at the line and then not even break a sweat repairing tons of armor.

Glad you like it. I think it would be very helpful in your situation, based on where your shop is. I like how you added you would wait until night to do it, if you gave the armour back right away it would arouse suspicion. All you have to do is be a little bit quicker and a little cheaper than the average operator and you would clean up. Mechanic shops undercut each other like that all the time, don't see why it wouldn't work on Rifts Earth.
Depending on the size of the equipment, it would be pretty easy to ditch in a hurry if some hardcore anti-magic folk catch wind of your scheme. All you would loose is the furniture in your waiting area, and any staged pieces/equipment visible by customers.
It'd be funny, they raid you thinking they will score some equipment/weapons and all they get are the fake props like the kind cellphone/department store uses. They grab the computer and it's hollow, lol, stuff like that.

[MikelAmroni]

So umm, yeah, My TW will have to develop that item for his mercenary company.

Of course the biggest cost for a TW (and the reason why it sucks to be an adventuring TW) is time. Adventure doesn't wait ("I just need two more hours!" "Yeah, well that marauding gang that wants to kill us isn't exactly waiting, sorry!")

The flip side is the non-adventuring TW doesn't have the breadth of knowledge as the adventuring one, unless he's retired, of course.

And the nice part about a TW running a repair shop is that he CAN fix their items regularly, and use his magic for "rush jobs" where time is more important than 100% thoroughness and making sure every component is individually stress tested and up to spec. Weapons Engineering and Mechanical Engineering for the win!

[flatline]

Let's get a little more extreme.

For $65490, you can create a TW Mend the Broken device that repairs 100MDC per 1PPE. It requires 107 carats of amber (still less than an ounce) but that's trivial.

Imagine a tank with such a TW device and has a crew member whose sole job is to activate the device every time the tank takes a hit, instantly repairing up to 100MDC for every action that crew member has. This $65k upgrade is a tiny fraction of the cost of the tank, yet the tank is now hundreds of times more durable.

--flatline

[Faceless Dude]

Let's get a little more extreme.

For $65490, you can create a TW Mend the Broken device that repairs 100MDC per 1PPE. It requires 107 carats of amber (still less than an ounce) but that's trivial.

Imagine a tank with such a TW device and has a crew member whose sole job is to activate the device every time the tank takes a hit, instantly repairing up to 100MDC for every action that crew member has. This $65k upgrade is a tiny fraction of the cost of the tank, yet the tank is now hundreds of times more durable.

--flatline

i think you're also forgetting that not everyone can use TW devices. It's a requirement that a TW user needs to have at least a minimum of ability to wield/manipulate PPE or ISP in order to use TW devices. Yeah, everyone has some PPE but they can't use it for activating TW unless they are trained in using magic or Psionics. Both these people might back a little at being sealed up in a tank for any length of time.

Wait, almost forgot. a small child can activate TW devices too. I suppose you can have Billy from down the street buttoned up in your tank with the job of fixing it every time it gets hit. Me, I'd rather give him a Derringer that fire Annihilation balls for 10 ppe and let him loose in town

[Mack]

Let's get a little more extreme.

For $65490, you can create a TW Mend the Broken device that repairs 100MDC per 1PPE. It requires 107 carats of amber (still less than an ounce) but that's trivial.

Imagine a tank with such a TW device and has a crew member whose sole job is to activate the device every time the tank takes a hit, instantly repairing up to 100MDC for every action that crew member has. This $65k upgrade is a tiny fraction of the cost of the tank, yet the tank is now hundreds of times more durable.

--flatline

i think you're also forgetting that not everyone can use TW devices. It's a requirement that a TW user needs to have at least a minimum of ability to wield/manipulate PPE or ISP in order to use TW devices. Yeah, everyone has some PPE but they can't use it for activating TW unless they are trained in using magic or Psionics. Both these people might back a little at being sealed up in a tank for any length of time.

Wait, almost forgot. a small child can activate TW devices too. I suppose you can have Billy from down the street buttoned up in your tank with the job of fixing it every time it gets hit. Me, I'd rather give him a Derringer that fire Annihilation balls for 10 ppe and let him loose in town

Not according to RUE. Even 'mundane" humans can activate a TW device if the maker includes PPE storage in the device.

[Faceless Dude]

Let's get a little more extreme.

For $65490, you can create a TW Mend the Broken device that repairs 100MDC per 1PPE. It requires 107 carats of amber (still less than an ounce) but that's trivial.

Imagine a tank with such a TW device and has a crew member whose sole job is to activate the device every time the tank takes a hit, instantly repairing up to 100MDC for every action that crew member has. This $65k upgrade is a tiny fraction of the cost of the tank, yet the tank is now hundreds of times more durable.

--flatline

i think you're also forgetting that not everyone can use TW devices. It's a requirement that a TW user needs to have at least a minimum of ability to wield/manipulate PPE or ISP in order to use TW devices. Yeah, everyone has some PPE but they can't use it for activating TW unless they are trained in using magic or Psionics. Both these people might back a little at being sealed up in a tank for any length of time.

Wait, almost forgot. a small child can activate TW devices too. I suppose you can have Billy from down the street buttoned up in your tank with the job of fixing it every time it gets hit. Me, I'd rather give him a Derringer that fire Annihilation balls for 10 ppe and let him loose in town

Not according to RUE. Even 'mundane" humans can activate a TW device if the maker includes PPE storage in the device.

-Hangs head in shame-

Forgot all about ppe batteries. Sorry. Then yes, the instant repairing tank idea is better now



Can I still give little Billy an Annihilation derringer?

[flatline]

Why would someone trained in the use of PPE/ISP be more resistant to being part of a tank crew than someone not trained in the use of PPE/ISP?

I don't follow.

--flatline

[Faceless Dude]

Why would someone trained in the use of PPE/ISP be more resistant to being part of a tank crew than someone not trained in the use of PPE/ISP?

I don't follow.

--flatline

The same rationale that a magic occ doest want to be sealed up in modern, environmental armor. All a tank is is just a larger modern box they're sealed up in.

[Nightmask]

Why would someone trained in the use of PPE/ISP be more resistant to being part of a tank crew than someone not trained in the use of PPE/ISP?

I don't follow.

--flatline

The same rationale that a magic occ doest want to be sealed up in modern, environmental armor. All a tank is is just a larger modern box they're sealed up in.

Except not all magical or psionic sorts hold to that rationale. Psi-Tech for example are the opposite and LOVE being in vehicles and power armor, and Warlock Marines are trained as power armor warriors who can cast spells in their specialized armor that they're linked to. Plus outside of some nature mages like Biomancers the average mage or psionic is just as happy being inside protective armor like a tank as anyone else is.

[Faceless Dude]

Why would someone trained in the use of PPE/ISP be more resistant to being part of a tank crew than someone not trained in the use of PPE/ISP?

I don't follow.

--flatline

The same rationale that a magic occ doest want to be sealed up in modern, environmental armor. All a tank is is just a larger modern box they're sealed up in.

Except not all magical or psionic sorts hold to that rationale. Psi-Tech for example are the opposite and LOVE being in vehicles and power armor, and Warlock Marines are trained as power armor warriors who can cast spells in their specialized armor that they're linked to. Plus outside of some nature mages like Biomancers the average mage or psionic is just as happy being inside protective armor like a tank as anyone else is.

As would probably a t-man, temporal warrior, or battle Mage/controller. Sorry, really didn't think this one through. M going to sit over here in my wrongness and be wrong for a while now.

[Nightmask]

Why would someone trained in the use of PPE/ISP be more resistant to being part of a tank crew than someone not trained in the use of PPE/ISP?

I don't follow.

--flatline

The same rationale that a magic occ doest want to be sealed up in modern, environmental armor. All a tank is is just a larger modern box they're sealed up in.

Except not all magical or psionic sorts hold to that rationale. Psi-Tech for example are the opposite and LOVE being in vehicles and power armor, and Warlock Marines are trained as power armor warriors who can cast spells in their specialized armor that they're linked to. Plus outside of some nature mages like Biomancers the average mage or psionic is just as happy being inside protective armor like a tank as anyone else is.

As would probably a t-man, temporal warrior, or battle Mage/controller. Sorry, really didn't think this one through. M going to sit over here in my wrongness and be wrong for a while now.

Nothing to apologize for, even online it's easy to act in haste and 'speak' without thinking things over. God knows I've done it enough times.

[Nightmask]

So while you're doing TW devices of mundane usefulness what's your TW sewage treatment plant going to cost to provide easy cleaning up of waste from those growing communities? Or TW pollution clean-up gear for that matter. You always need that kind of stuff (at least if you like living under conditions suited to human beings).

[flatline]

So while you're doing TW devices of mundane usefulness what's your TW sewage treatment plant going to cost to provide easy cleaning up of waste from those growing communities? Or TW pollution clean-up gear for that matter. You always need that kind of stuff (at least if you like living under conditions suited to human beings).

Infrastructure is too big a topic for a single post, but we could could probably come up with some decent ground rules and work from there.

Rule 1: if something can be easily accomplished without the assistance of magic, it would be a waste to use magic to solve the same problem. PPE is a finite resource, as are folks who can use it.
Rule 2: if magic is part of the solution, attempt to contain the magic to one part of the solution. Better to do a bunch of magic in one place than it is to do lots of smaller magics spread around.
Rule 3: ignore small optimizations. if the magic solution doesn't have huge advantages over the tech solution, go with the tech solution at least until enough of your population can use TW devices to make PPE users no longer scarce.

So, easy wins:
-- make Cleanse easily available. Perhaps build it into the entrances of public buildings.
-- Purge Self or Purge Other should be built into the entrances of hospitals, jails, and anywhere else communicable diseases might otherwise proliferate (along with Cleanse, of course).
-- Create Wood + Iron Wood to easily make plumbing that will never rot or wear.
-- Mystic Portal to connect culverts and septic tanks where plumbing is hard to do (or where you must defy gravity)
-- Negate Poison/Toxin at every sewer input. I'm hesitant to aggressively destroy solid waste since it's actually a valuable resource, but it's always an option.

That would address many 3rd world infrastructure issues.

--flatline

[Nightmask]

So while you're doing TW devices of mundane usefulness what's your TW sewage treatment plant going to cost to provide easy cleaning up of waste from those growing communities? Or TW pollution clean-up gear for that matter. You always need that kind of stuff (at least if you like living under conditions suited to human beings).

Infrastructure is too big a topic for a single post, but we could could probably come up with some decent ground rules and work from there.

Rule 1: if something can be easily accomplished without the assistance of magic, it would be a waste to use magic to solve the same problem. PPE is a finite resource, as are folks who can use it.
Rule 2: if magic is part of the solution, attempt to contain the magic to one part of the solution. Better to do a bunch of magic in one place than it is to do lots of smaller magics spread around.
Rule 3: ignore small optimizations. if the magic solution doesn't have huge advantages over the tech solution, go with the tech solution at least until enough of your population can use TW devices to make PPE users no longer scarce.

So, easy wins:
-- make Cleanse easily available. Perhaps build it into the entrances of public buildings.
-- Purge Self or Purge Other should be built into the entrances of hospitals, jails, and anywhere else communicable diseases might otherwise proliferate (along with Cleanse, of course).
-- Create Wood + Iron Wood to easily make plumbing that will never rot or wear.
-- Mystic Portal to connect culverts and septic tanks where plumbing is hard to do (or where you must defy gravity)
-- Negate Poison/Toxin at every sewer input. I'm hesitant to aggressively destroy solid waste since it's actually a valuable resource, but it's always an option.

That would address many 3rd world infrastructure issues.

--flatline

Nice suggestions there. Certainly you'd think there'd be far more mundane TW items around (although one correction there, PPE is infinite rather than in finite availability even if you aren't parked around a ley line or nexus, it constantly renews itself as long as people are alive), if only because people want those gadgets to improve things for them (like the farmer wanting that TW rat repeller to protect his grain), and even if the magic was a bit more expensive it'd pay off in the long run.

[Prince Artemis]

Fun cannon fact...TW's are the second highest mage on the hit list...both for their propagation of magic and the fact the CS are worried that TW's will figure out how to bind souls an things time items and create rune weaponry (and considering the demon-bound stuff in New West, like the train, it's not a baseless worry either).

[Jedrious]

You all need to read Rifter #58's Lazlo article, it deals specifically with a TW Infrastructure for a community

[Balabanto]

Yeah. Believe it or not, the secret to destroying magic hatred is modern conveniences. Things like TW showers, TW bedrolls, TW portable ovens, TW portable grills, etc.

This is actually the stupidity of the Coalition in full flower.

"It's magic, destroy it!"

"Dude, it's grilling a hamburger."

"It's a demonburger! Destroy it!"

BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM! "You, Mage! You're under arrest for committing crimes against the coalition states! We are confiscating your foodstuffs as evidence. Break out the charcoal!"

[Nightmask]

Yeah. Believe it or not, the secret to destroying magic hatred is modern conveniences. Things like TW showers, TW bedrolls, TW portable ovens, TW portable grills, etc.

This is actually the stupidity of the Coalition in full flower.

"It's magic, destroy it!"

"Dude, it's grilling a hamburger."

"It's a demonburger! Destroy it!"

BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM! "You, Mage! You're under arrest for committing crimes against the coalition states! We are confiscating your foodstuffs as evidence. Break out the charcoal!"

Well see they have to in order to maintain their lie and keep the populace under their control. So they have to paint that convenience as inherently evil as it weakens their power and ultimately will destroy them (at least as an evil empire if nothing else) if they give any shades of grey. So that TW grill is made using blood sacrifice (because all magic uses that whenever possible don't you know? ) and eventually leads to serving evil demonic powers to acquire more of these magical goods.

[Shorty Lickens]

Oh yeah, thats something we discovered a LONG time ago. It makes sense to have an Operator and Techno-Wizard in every party. Too much useful stuff to ignore. But as others already pointed out, any sort of magic can be a liability in the wrong place. The CS in particular does not care at all for its use, even benign or utilitarian.