Editing Mood and Themes (section)

== Alchemy, Technology, and Magic==

Magic is correspondingly rarer in Winterweir than in Eberron.  There is no House Cannith and science is the product of individual inventors and the Children of the Divine Spark (who function more as a guild of mad scientists than anyone).  There's numerous magical works of art and devices in the city but they're mostly one of a kind items.  No one has ever succeeded in mass producing magical items and if a train is ever constructed in Winterweir, it'd probably be out of steam.  The exception to this lack of magical marvels is Airships, which are the main export of Lartan.  Otherwise, Alfein is about Renaissance levels of technology with the added benefit of Roman plumbing and running water.  This means that Muskets and Canon do exist, they're just mostly the products of the military.

Alchemy, on the other hand, does exist.  Fundamentally, the biggest problem with it is that one never really knows if technology created by Alchemists will function without their creator (since literally, a lot of it is held together by their wills).  Thus, Winterweir has numerous Frankenstein and Submersible style experiments in the work well ahead of regular technology.  None of it is likely to be mass produced either.  Instead, Alchemists are mostly comissioned on a individual device basis by the wealthy.

The exception is '''Scrolls''' and '''Potions'''.  It's actually much easier in Winterweir to get a Potion of Healing rather than actually get a priest who can work miracles to lay their hands on you.  This is mostly due to Alchemists and Priests performing ceremonies to create healing in bulk over artifacts on holy days from magical fountains (and other such nonsense). Frankly, they're very stingy with them and Alchemists tend to sell them for prices in a hundred gold or more (in a bronze coin based economy).

Finally, the issue for the prevalence of Wizards and Magic users.  Wizards are considered something of a specialist education and there's probably two hundred or so trained ones in the city.  They're constantly on the look out for new members but one should note that the Grand Arcanum tends to only accept those candidates who are able to meet their rigorous (and honestly pointless) academic standards.  Sorcerers and Clerics are about equal in number, bringing the total to about six hundred total in Alfein.  If this seems like a lot, take note its about equal to the number of genuinely trained Doctors or other specialists.  Also, there's a vast number of fakes in the city as well.

Of the six hundred magic users in the city, perhaps six or so are above 9th level.  Including the Archwizard of the Grand Arcanum.

[[(Winterweir) In Search of the Unknown]]