An important thing for all DMs to keep in mind is that once a campaign is up and running, the basic flavor -- the underpinnings of the whole campaign structure -- usually should not change. If the campaign starts out being a grim and gritty game where the PCs have to fight over every copper piece just to survive, the gold probably shouldn't flow like water by level 5. If you're running a high magic campaign where spells and magic items are common, don't try to change things in mid-stream so that suddenly spells and spellcasters are rare and the PCs should be thrilled to find a +1 dagger.

Likewise, it would be weird to be running a fairly traditional fantasy campaign and suddenly throw in laser guns and force fields. So that means that Chaositech isn't designed for traditional fantasy campaigns, right?

No. That's not the way it's been designed. See, chaositech isn't technology. You don't look at this stuff and think Star Trek. It's meant to fit into a fantasy milieu. How? Well, it will pass as magic as easily as it will pass for technology, for it truly is neither. You'll find no discussion of scientific terms or physics applications in the description of chaositech abilities. You will find discussions on chaositech cults, the dread worship of chaos gods, chaotic spells, and how chaositech interacts with magic.

Chaositech is weird fantasy, but it is fantasy. The material within is designed to work in a standard D&D style fantasy campaign. It's how I used it (and continue to use it) in my own campaign.

In fact, because Chaositech was designed for fantasy games, it wouldn't fit well into a straight-up, hard science fiction game. It's too strange -- too supernatural seeming. It's got more in common with Dr. Frankenstein and his monster than with real science.

So, it's not my intention to change your campaign paradigm with chaositech. It will change it no more drastically than a new book of spells or magic items. Yet at the same time, it will introduce some new flavor and new threats the likes of which you probably (hopefully) have never seen. Here is an excerpt from the book to show you some ways you can bring chaositech into your game:

THE ANCIENT DARK GODS
In the time before time, malevolent and destructive forces moved upon the world, seeking unknowable ends. When it became clear that they would have to leave, they sought to plant the seeds of their own return. These seeds were sealed storehouses of chaositech. The dark gods knew that one day the mortals who would inhabit the world would find these devices and crave their power. In using them, the dark forces—the Galchutt—would gain entry back into the world.

Today, people are beginning to find these vaults of chaositech. Miners discover them when creating a new shaft, dungeon adventurers find them on a delve. Within ancient citadels in far-off lands, and buried deep in cold mountain lakes, chaositech is once again resurfacing. The cults of chaos, having long prophesied of this day, scramble to buy or steal the relics to use for their own ends. The PCs might want to stop them, or they might be the ones who uncover an ancient vault and seek to protect it, sell it, use it, or destroy it.

In this method of introducing it into the campaign, chaositech becomes the legacy of ancient times. It's not something that someone creates or even can repair. It's a resource that must be discovered. Finding caches of chaositech is like striking it rich prospecting, and probably just as dangerous. Not only is the cache most likely guarded, but it's certainly going to draw the attention of chaos cultists and evil organizations who covet its power.

THE NEW WORLD DISORDER
The antithesis of the ancient dark gods approach is to make chaositech something brand new. Perhaps the product of some demented genius(es), chaositech finds its way into the hands of the burgeoning cults of chaos. This new discovery spreads like a virus, with chaositech popping up everywhere—and always in the wrong hands. It becomes a real threat to law and order, as well as whole governments. A prominent church of a lawful deity announces a crusade to wipe out the spread of chaositech, and many cities declare ownership of a chaositech device a severe crime.

Still, the use of chaositech grows and grows. The only way to wipe it out is to discover who is creating it (and how) and stop them. This story arc could encompass a large aspect of an entire campaign, with chaositech introduced slowly, in the hands of the PCs' opponents, until the PCs themselves develop a real hatred for the stuff and how powerful it makes their foes. The PCs find themselves ultimately on the point of the spearhead to stamp out chaositech, which means destroying the cults of chaos and perhaps even the Galchutt themselves.

THE ISOLATED LOCALE
On a cold, wind-swept island, atop a rocky crag, a madman tinkers with ideas no mortal should have ever conceived. In the laboratories of his dark castle, the chaos-tainted lunatic creates machines that should not function, and performs operations that should not work on kidnapped victims from a shipwreck not long ago.

Soon the crazed chaos cultist begins to sell his creations—both the devices and the living beings he has created—to various evil organizations and the followers of gods devoted to mayhem, destruction and murder, all of whom live on nearby islands or on the coast. In this isolated area, chaositech becomes fairly common, at least as common as magic and magic items. When the PCs travel to the area, they encounter the strange devices and learn of the insane creator who crafts them in his island fortress. Do they investigate? Even if they do and put a stop to his work, is it too late?

CHAOSITECH VS. REAL SCIENCE
One great way to introduce chaositech into a campaign is to do so alongside developments of real technology. If you've got dwarves that use steam-powered technology or the occasional firearm, or use "steampunk" technology in your game at all, this is a wonderful chaositech "hook." Because now you can offer up both, as equals but opposites. Chaositech, obviously, is the creation of chaos, and normal technology is the stuff of law. Gods of chaos (the Galchutt) support one, while the gods of law support the other—it's an arms race fueled by religion. The two forces can clash on a spiritual, philosophical, metaphysical, and physical level, and the PCs can choose which to support.

In particular, this option works well with the "tools of the ancient gods" approach, for it creates antoher way in which chaositech differs from conventional technology. While steampowered devices are new, chaositech is old: Chaositech isn't an innovation, it's an artifact.

 

DESIGN DIARY PAST ENTRIES

* Developing a New Subsystem -- October 2, 2003
"Probably one of the biggest challenges that faces a designer when working on a book like Chaositech is the delicate way that you have to institute a whole new subsystem...."

* On the Horizon: Chaositech -- September 11, 2003
"If you'll indulge me, I'm going to divert the Design Diary's contents to what I'm working on now: a book called Chaositech...."

* Magic Items in The Diamond Throne -- August 28, 2003
"Magic items in Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed and in The Diamond Throne sometimes require a little bit of thought on the DM's part. Using them isn't a problem..."

* A Look at the Land -- August 15, 2003
"This week I've prepared an excerpt from The Diamond Throne. As I've said previously, it was my design choice to spend most of the gazetteer portion of the book on the general aspects of the world..."

* Designing a World -- August 7, 2003
"I have mixed feelings about campaign settings. On one hand -- speaking as designer -- it's fun, challenging, and rewarding to create a whole world that's all your own...."

* Weapons and Armor -- July 17, 2003
"I absolutely love the introduction of exotic weapons into D&D. It's one of my favorite things about 3rd Edition. In Arcana Unearthed, I wanted to make sure that the exotic weapons were worth the feat required to use them...."

* Greenbond Notes -- June 26, 2003
"Last week's preview of the greenbond class gives a nice glimpse of a lot of Arcana Unearthed issues. First off, the greenbond is no druid...."

* Spell Templates -- June 12, 2003
"This week I thought I'd discuss an idea that I'm really very happy with. The idea is spell templates..."

* Playtesting -- June 5, 2003
"Playtesting is extremely important to me. When we developed 3rd Edition, we did more playtesting than perhaps any other RPG product, ever...."

* High Magic -- May 29, 2003
"I referred to the Diamond Throne as a high-magic setting. I should clarify..."

* The Diamond Throne -- May 23, 2003
"So it's about time I start talking about the Diamond Throne. The Diamond Throne is a campaign setting for Arcana Unearthed -- the default setting, like Greyhawk for D&D, I suppose...."

* Death's Door -- May 8 , 2003
" I like the D&D death's door rules. I like that at 0 hp, you're still up and can take a limited action, but then you exhaust yourself...."

* Hero Points -- May 1, 2003
"A roleplaying campaign can be like putting up wallpaper...."

* Truenames -- April 18, 2003
"Truenames are common in many fantasy settings. I think I first became aware of the concept in Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea trilogy..."

* Go, Go, Go! -- April 10, 2003
"Short entry this time. I hate spells with 1 minute/level durations...."

* Ceremony -- April 3, 2003
"I think I've already mentioned that one of the goals I set for myself with Arcana Unearthed was to make things a little less generic...."

* Things That Rules Take Away -- March 21, 2003
"There are aspects of fantasy roleplaying that rules, inadvertently, can actually take away...."

* Still Talking Classes -- March 13, 2003
"I've saved some of the best classes for last. Let's talk about the runethane, the mage blade, and the witch...."

* More Classes -- February 27, 2003
"This time, I want to tell you about some of the other classes: akashics, magisters, and greenbonds...."

* Build a Better Fighter -- February 23, 2003
"The title this week is facetious. It really should be 'build a different fighter'...."

* The Magic Balancing Act -- February 13, 2003
"In Arcana Unearthed I'm introducing a new method of magic item pricing. First, I streamlined the item creation feats..."

* More Magic -- January 23, 2003
"This week, I thought I'd talk more about the new magic system in Arcana Unearthed."

* Magic -- January 17, 2003
"As a designer, magic in Arcana Unearthed posed a huge challenge. I knew that I wanted to ditch the Vancian system...."

* Design Decisions, Part Two -- December 24, 2002
"Here's a bit more discussion of some of the general issues I faced as I began designing Arcana Unearthed...."

* Design Decisions, Part One -- December 19, 2002
"Before jumping into another big area of Arcana Unearthed's design, like classes or the magic system, I thought I'd discuss some of the general issues I faced as a designer starting the book...."

* Arcana Unearthed Races -- December 5, 2002
"I started with the races. While I knew that the game needed humans as a basis, I wanted all the other races to be new. I didn't want to just create dwarf and elf analogs with different names...."