D-Infinity Live - "Day at the Races" Tie-in - The Shard!
In our show last night, D-Infinity Live: A Day at the Races, in which we talked about race and species design for RPGs, we had an opportunity to speak about the Shard, a race I created for my Knights-Marshal of the Commonwealth setting, which Skirmisher Publishing will be publishing using the Ragnarok Game Engine.
I am pretty happy with the development that I did with the Shard, who (along with the Sagati) are one of the Founding Signatories of the Commonwealth and upon whose technology the Commonwealth relies. I did blog posts about the Shard, their history and their tech, which we discussed somewhat last night.
Shard crystallurgy informed, and was altered by, ancient beliefs about the nature of the soul and afterlife. Centuries of debate and strife focused around the various doctrinal differences that existed or arose. Over time, these doctrines influenced crystal technology as well. Modern Shard, though they have in many ways moved beyond an identification of bodily remains with the generation of energy and advancement of technology, still see crystallurgy as having a spiritual component.
I like the mystic/science blend in Shard Crystallurgy, which humans would certainly consider a form of necromancy. To the Shard, the crystals of "today" are a convenience and necessity because the technology has outstripped the supply of "natural" crystal. There just is not enough of the natural stuff around to meet demand - so artificial crystal was created to make up the difference.
At least this is what the Shard tell those who inquire. In truth, many Shard still feel that the crystal that once comprised the bodies of their ancestors retains a portion of the ancient Shard's essence. The development of artificial crystal was partially driven by Shard who felt that the widespread use of the bodies of their ancestors by others was disrespectful, or sacrilegious. The most extreme form of this doctrine is to be found among the Obsidian Shard.
On a scientific note: I consulted with Brendan Cass, who knows a lot more about computers, and their engineering, for what I have done with Shard Crystallurgy, especially as it has to do with energy projection, and the storage of information. SO - thanks go to him for helping base my artistically inspired notion about using the bodies of dead crystalline beings as computer parts, etc.
If you are interested, here is the index to all the Knights-Marshal of the Commonwealth posts if have done so far. There will be more in the coming months,
