Editing Genius The Transgression/Chapter Three:Systems and Foundations (section)

== The International Union of Artifice ==

'''Name: Artificers'''

'''Nicknames: Makers, Tinkers, Artisans'''

Currently the fastest-growing foundation, the Union of Artifice is undergoing growing pains as its influences reaches places not previously contacted, or even noticed, by the Yankee inventors who founded it three centuries ago. A seething cauldron of creativity, anger, and clashing cultural identities, the Artificers have changed, almost overnight, from the Peerage's eccentric hobbyists and harmless tinkers to a politically-charged nest of ideologues stumbling together into a new world.

The traditional image of the Artificers plays off mortals' fears of the irresponsible, disinterested inventor who cares nothing for what he creates or how it changes the world. Artificers were―sometimes still are―compulsive builders and designers who create because they need to create, indifferent to the needs and wants of the outside world, blithely unconcerned with the suffering they unleash. Artificers represent the proliferation of nuclear weaponry, the irresponsible use of pesticides, and―horrors imagined but not yet possible to mortal science―armies of robots taking lives or jobs with equal indifference. The shadow of the Artificer arises whenever people fear the Pandora's box of new technologies, and realize that they are being made to conform to a changing world, not that the world is changing to benefit them.

Now, though, this image of the Artificers has grown tangled with a new one that plays on different but perhaps more intense fears. Humanity, since its inception, has sinned greatly against its fellows, and many people in power today fear that technology will level the old playing fields, letting the poor and the oppressed lash out―or worse, compete―against the people who once held all the cards. The Artificers once built for the sake of building; now, just as many build to claim what they see is theirs. Both behaviors are equally horrifying to those who have a vested interest in the old order of the world.

Despite the fear the Artificers engender, no one better exemplifies the new spirit of creation that has swept the mortal world and now echoes in the society of the Inspired. Artificers literally create their own worlds: a Maker's laboratory, and even her home, takes on the forms and aesthetics she admires. Flowers grow to cover wrought iron when a floral Maker takes up residence. Art spreads across walls and ceilings wherever an artistic Artificer rests his head for the night. Charming electronic machines appear in the windows of a digital Artificer's office. This isn't magic, of course, but the byproduct of creation; Artificers are too full of life and passion to contain it all within their wonders, and it spreads out of them, in their work and free time, to transform the world.

===Focus:===

The Artificers are builders, designers, and engineers, and while their interest can turn to nearly any type of building material, they are typically considered the masters of mad engineering. The early days of the foundation saw a focus on metallurgy and clockwork, although now Artificers turn their hands to alloys and polymers, computer science and robotics, carpentry and masonry, even genetic engineering: if a material can be used to build things, there's an Artificer out there making stuff out of it, from acrylic oil to dead flesh.

Artificers are pathological builders; that's what defines them. Navigators are better at using a wonder, Progenitors at shaping it, Scholastics at explaining it, but no one creates like an Artificer creates. While the traditional focus on metal and gears remains, Artificers are increasingly diverse in their interests. The Union has also traditionally been poor, or at least humble, and the foundation's current focus on the makeshift, the found, and the reused, means there aren't as many aerospace engineers or architects as there are watchmakers, cut-rate robot-builders, and back-alley bladesmiths.

===History:===

Tinkers, builders, and smiths have existed since the dawn of human civilization, and taken thematically, the Artificers are probably the oldest foundation. Groups whose ideas went into the formation of the Artificers have been recorded in ancient Egypt, China, and Rome, all over Medieval Europe from Byzantium to the Iberian Peninsula, and in Japan, India, and the Polynesian islands. Any time geniuses have been more interested in building things than in understanding, using, exploiting, or even perfecting them, the spirit of the Artificers has appeared.

While legend holds that the Artificers appeared in North America in the mid-18th century (and ties them closely to the founding of the United States), the Artificers are actually the result of a great convocation of tinkers, smiths, and builders from all over the world, which took place in Philadelphia in 1752. These individuals―often poor, many foreign, usually eccentric, always ingenious―argued for nearly a month before rejecting Lemuria and founding the Brotherhood of Artifice and Mechanism. Over the next half-century, the Invisible College took interest in the rough-and-tumble group, referring to them as the "Little Brothers." The Artificers were one of the groups to join the Peerage when it was officially created early in the 19th century, after which they adopted their current name.

Always a loose-knit foundation, the Artificers took in geniuses that other peers didn't want to touch: Africans whose rootwork hoodoo medicine the aristocratic Demiurges scoffed at, Jewish watchmakers, tinkers of Rom or other unusual descent, Yankee gunsmiths, and early steam pioneers, none of whom fit in with the clean, reasonable Renaissance Man image of the Invisible College. As new foundations appeared and the Peerage developed and grew more inclusive, the Artificers refined their image, eschewing philosophy (those who would not accept that change became the latest iteration of the Mechanist baramin) and focusing entirely on the creation of wonders. Throughout the 20th century, while the Inspired wars raged, the Artificers were the poor, eccentric auxiliaries to the rest of the Peerage, building what they wanted for the sheer joy of creation, asking little in return, and not being much of a philosophical threat to anyone―though their wonders did occasionally get out of control.

It wasn't until the late 20th century that things started to change. With Lemuria in shambles, the simple "make stuff" philosophy of the Artificers spread to places previously strangled by the Lemurians or wrapped up in the war, such as southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The Artificers also found a following in the traditional territories of the Peerage―the cities of Europe and the Americas―but with a new audience, one that did not traditionally catalyze. The poor, the desperate, and the angry came to the Artificers from slums and barrios, war-torn hellholes and depopulated villages, and their coming transformed the foundation.

These new Artificers were angry, broken, frightened, and desperate. They weren't, as the peers like to believe of themselves, the world's intellectual aristocracy, but a new sort of creature, lean and hungry and very, very dangerous. Born into want and rage all over the world, they had been ignored and derided by the other foundations, enslaved and exterminated by the Lemurians. While the rest of the Peerage reorganized itself and purged its corrupt elements, the Artificers had no natural defense against these New Makers, the scions of the desperate and the disaffected. The Artificers had, since their inception, been the poor, patient cousins of 
the other foundations, too humble or obsessed to ask for much, and all that changed overnight. Today, the Council of Artifice is a disorganized medley of anarchists, cast-offs, failed scientists, and post-punk engineers, desperate for resources and respect.

===Organization:===
The Artificers are the least organized of all the foundations, and they've always been that way, despite occasional attempts to revive the Medieval guild system of Masters, Journeymen, and Apprentices. Currently, however, some Artificers take the "Union" part of their title seriously. In some cities where Artificers are numerous and times are hard, Artificers form into Unions, made up of workers and led by a figure referred to simply as Boss. Artificer Bosses keep in touch at an International level via email and Apokalypsi, but there's no head to the organization, at least not currently, though they do produce a newszine called Collaboration. A Union Hall provides a place to stay, protection, and equipment, forming a sort of extended collaborative that resembles a Lemurian zotheca in its sprawling extent. Most Union Halls don't mind members of other foundations using their facilities, as long as they give back in kind. A few of the more powerful Unions work to regulate Mania and technological supplies, and have begun to encounter harassment and attacks from Lemurians, who don't appreciate a disorganized mess of a foundation honing in on their turf.

Other than the Unions, the Artificers are mostly a bunch of harmless old tinkers and punk kids. The older generations of Artificers, those who haven't been radicalized by the influx of new blood, are almost entirely unaware of the younger generation's activities, or really of anything else. Though there are numerous short-lived zines, forums, and magazines, the newsletter Mechanical Experimenter is the best-regarded piece of print that Artificers reliably produce; everyone reads it, from the most clueless old kitbasher to the most aggressive revolutionary.

===Members:===

The Artificers learn by doing, by getting their hands dirty, and every Maker has an incredible, intuitive grasp of how things fit together. Members of the Union of Artifice are interested primarily in building: the theory behind what they do, and even useful applications for their wonders, come second to the joy of creation.

But the Artificers are about more than just factory-work: all geniuses build, and most build compulsively; they cannot help it. The Artificers are about building from whatever is at hand. The new Union is still young and poor, and so are its members. They are disaffected college students, third-world revolutionaries, first-world revolutionaries, punks, pranksters, and pissed-off super-smart gutter trash. The other foundations are old: they have money and philosophy, but the Union of Artifice has attitude. Anyone who joins the Artificers is expected to be self-sufficient, at least in theory, and to be able to make something wondrous from whatever is lying around, with whatever resources are available.

===Aesthetics:===
Style among the Artificers is eclectic. Older, more traditional members favor mechanical styles, whether spotless brass or dirty, oil-stained gears. Many are also fond of electricity and explosives, but their focus is typically on structure and design, rather than power. Whether elegantly-worked metal or crude plastic, Artificers' wonders look they were put together fast, hard, and with superhuman skill and precision.

The new Makers, drawn from an entirely different society, aim for a raw, authentic look, and in the worst parts of the world, that means building with (for lack of a better word) trash. Katastrofic weapons made of broken bottles and battery acid, wonders of Skafoi carved from the burned-out hulks of abandoned automobiles carried on the backs of metal centipedes, forbidden automata cobbled together from old Nintendos and stray dogs; whatever is in reach is a potential ingredient. More than that, many Artificers delight in deliberately making their wonders difficult to produce (and recreate): why build a wonder with the best biomedical waste when you can drag organic filth from sewers and poisoned wetlands? Of all the foundations, the Artificers are the most keenly aware of their own aesthetic sense. Young Artificers are a profoundly self-aware group; they preen, they strut, and they sneer at anything that doesn't meet their narrow definitions of "New Maker," and they spend their time trying to disgust and outrage their peers without themselves being shocked. Other foundations would worry if it weren't all so juvenile, little more than the super-scientist equivalent of kids sending one-another pictures of dead celebrities while complaining that they were sick of your favorite band (or in this case, engineer) before he sold out and got popular. 

===Character Creation:===
Artificers are hands-down the poorest foundation, and with the exception of the Navigators, the most ethnically diverse. People who catalyze in the world's worst industrial hellholes, from Jakarta to Toledo (Ohio, the other one is pretty nice), often join the Artificers if they're not tempted by the wealth and prestige of other foundations, or have no way of accessing those luxuries. Artificers, in their disorganized way, have recruiting stations all over the world, and their ranks swell every day with the desperate, the disaffected, and the betrayed. Geniuses drawn from non-technical professions, however, are comparatively rare: a Maker must know how to make, and while many Artificers are less than glamorous, having once been car mechanics, refugee nurses, militia members, or unlicensed doctors, most begin their Inspired careers able to create something.

Catalysts of Grimm, Hoffnung, and Neid are common among the Artificers: there is a lot of rage and resentment there, but also a spark of hope. Staunens are comparatively rare: the Artificers want to grow a better world, not admire the detritus of the current one.

Most Artificers, with their interest in creation over theory, favor Craft over Science and Science over Academics. They put little stock in hypotheticals and abstract reasoning, but many are nonetheless gifted mathematicians and draftsmen. Those Artificers who think to record blueprints of their wonders take up Expression. Artificers are increasingly diverse today: hackers and roboticists bolster their Crafts Skills with Computer, while genetic engineers favor Medicine.

Many Artificers have a gift for bashing together an immediate solution, meaning that Wits is as important as traditional brainpower. Embracing the New Makers' gutter-punk ethos means good Survival, Streetwise, and Investigation, to find what they need, and often a bit of Stealth, Larceny, and Subterfuge to grab it. Artificers like their Katastrofi, too, which means that combat training is common, with a focus on unusual Firearms.

The Dumpster Diver Merit is popular among the younger set, though Social Merits are comparatively rare: the New Makers are rarely scions of the powerful. Most Artificers, in addition to their intense focus on whatever helps them build the next wonder, pick up an eclectic mix of Skills and Merits due to their haphazard lives.

===Role:===
Members of The Union of Artifice are often outsiders, loners, and weirdos, as close to rogues as proper members of the Peerage can get. But they still join collaboratives, and within one they make excellent urban scouts, investigators, and intrusion experts. Not every Artificer can double as a low-down dirty thief, but many have a knack for mundane machines, especially those centered around security. Many also have one foot in the world of the street and connections with the culture there, allowing them to get information from mundane sources that might escape even the most polished Director. In addition to this role, the sheer speed with which they can build wonders can make them important in emergencies as walking armories. Many a collaborative has been saved because their Artificer slapped together a weapon before the bad guys could 
kick in the door.

===Axioms:===
Artificers' favored Axioms are Automata and Prostasia. They are natural robot-makers, and often supplement their own creation with factories and duplicators. The Artificers' traditional focus on metallurgy and heavy construction also makes them the best armorers in the business.

Artificers are fond of Katastrofi and Skafoi, two Axioms where building is its own reward. Katastrofi is especially popular, since kitbashing a zipgun is an invaluable talent in the dangerous places many Artificers live. Apokalypsi, Epikrato, and Metaptropi are focused more on application than on the construction process itself, though many Artificers still incorporate those Axioms, putting their own rough spin on things. Artificers who build, then move on, neglect Exelixi, but others appreciate being able to fix the things when they break.

===Grant:===
No one builds faster than an Artificer. From a humble Czech doll-maker to the most revolutionary gunsmith, Artificers can stick the decals on a new wonder when other geniuses are still organizing their screwdrivers. Artificers reduce the time needed to build or fiddle with any wonder by one step (to a minimum of one day for non-kitbashed wonders), and suffer no penalty for doing this.

For kitbashed wonders, this time reduction does not make the wonder fall apart faster. A two-step kitbashing job falls apart after one day for Artificers, not one scene. (See Kitbashed Wonders, Page 138.)

Concepts: Back-alley machinist, caffeine-addled computer hacker, master bladesmith, automotive grease-monkey, pious golem-maker

'''Quote:''' ''"Good, fast, and cheap: you get all three. And if you talk like that to my people again, you're going to wake up as a collection of spare parts."''

===Stereotype:===

Directors: Rich idiots in charge of other rich idiots. They don't own me.

Navigators: Someone needs to test this thing out. I bruise easy.

Progenitors: They make okay stuff, but this "Long live the new flesh" crap has to stop.

Scholastics: They actually believe that we've already figured everything out. Weird.

Rogues: A million wannabe punks all pulling in different directions, getting nothing done.

Lemurians: Oh no! That Lemurian went and built a Tandy-9000! And that other one just designed a steam locomotive! However can I compete?

The Illuminated: A polite reminder that metal and tools go in one category, and your fellow human beings go in another category.

Other Creatures: These monsters might last forever, but the things they make don't.

Mortals: There's no love in what they make. It just gets churned out, then forgotten. What a waste.