Invention of Sparktech Weapons

Date: 698 - 710 GY
Location: Mzizimoto in Razir
Outcome: The first sparktech musket and sparktech pistol are created

The ancient town of Mzizimoto in Razir has been a hub for Artificing and Arcanatech for centuries. In the shadow of the great volcanic mountain, Mount Motomoyo, the nearby Obsidian Field provides a wealth of iron and copper for artificers. Individuals come from all over Tokavah to train under the master artificers both individually and through the College of the Searing Wind.

One of the most renowned masters in the current era is Master Arcanatechnician Jabali Soot Cleverclaw Forgeborn, son of Anvil and Sauda of the Mzizimoto Tribe. In 694, much to everyone’s shock, Master Jabali accepted the role of a Teaching Professor at the college. Jabali was known for his gruff demeanor and high standards for the few apprentices he chose each year.

True to that reputation, his classes are not for the faint of heart. The majority of his students fail or drop out before completing his rigorous four year program, but those who persevere have became some of the best Artificers in this age.

[Any number of Artificer characters may have Master Jabali as a teacher in their character history - this does not count as one of your Historic Event choices].

In 698 GY, Master Jabali was impressed with the graduate project of [3 Artificer students]: an Arcanatech enchanted crossbow that utilized kalzokash to propel the arrow further without sacrificing accuracy. After they graduated, the students stayed in Mzizimoto to continue researching the project. Master Jabali believed the research had great promise, and helped them organize a team of other skilled Artificers (both students and masters). To Jabali, age and level of schooling mattered very little if an individual showed talent. For example, he recruited Ozje Norbu and [a self-taught Artificer] and both contributed to the project's success.

Over the next decade (698 - 708 GY), Master Jabali continued to oversee the project. The item was officially named a “sparktech weapon”, based on both the sparking magic that powered it and Jabali’s Sparkforge Workshop. It almost immediately received the nickname “hand-held dragon” due to its astonishing ability to wound opponents from a distance and the loud “roar” it made when firing. Over the years, this got shortened to “dragon” or just “gun”.

Membership among the team waxed and waned as individuals' interest changed or they traveled away from Mzizimoto. Some notable contributions include: [an Orani Artificer] who designed a stable configuration of all five types of kalzokash to use as the power source; [a Kyrie Artificer] who incorporated a metal tube around the projectile and kalzokash cluster in order to focus the energy and reduce drag from the surrounding Air; [an Vonori Artificer] who designed a more reliable trigger method; [an Ishui Artificer] who developed a sleeker overall design from the original crossbow shape, and [a Raziri Artificer] who developed a sound dampener around the kalzokash cluster that reduced (although did not eliminate) the loud boom each time it fired.

The Sparkforge Explosion of 706 GY

The project was not without its setbacks. Sparktechs are inherently volatile, and the sparktech team gained a reputation for being the most dangerous project in Mzizimoto. Accidents within the workshop were commonplace. The most notorious occurred when Ozje Norbu was experimenting with increasing the strength of the magic’s concussive force with an enchantment of their own design. It technically worked…but the strength of the explosion disintegrated the gun, threw Ozje across the room, and sent shards of magical energy bouncing around the workshop. These unstable magical projectiles caused whatever they touched to catch fire or shatter. When the magic hit other enchanted items or magical materials, it triggered secondary explosions or odd effects.

Jabali was visiting the other Academy colleges, but the workshop still had over a dozen people inside. Everyone fled for their lives. However, Ozje and [3 other Artificers] were so injured they couldn’t escape. An individual outside, [1 Artificer on the project OR someone in Mzizimoto], rallied those around to begin putting out the fire before it could spread. Two brave souls, Aurelia and [an Artificer on the project OR someone in Mzizimoto], charged in to rescue those trapped inside. By some miracle, they managed to get them all out.

Ozje died, but [a Physicker] who happened to be on the scene was able to resuscitate them. However, the four rescued Artificers and the two rescuers were exposed to strong, unstable magic. From that point on, they experienced unique oddities or gained a Soul Bond to a new Aspect. [Unique oddities must be approved by Citadel plot].

Although by the grace of the Goddess no one lost their life in that disaster, the backlash from the community of Mzizimoto and the College of the Soaring Wind was significant. People demanded the research stop. Jabali and everyone else involved in the project fought tooth and nail to continue. Thankfully, after a few months when the initial alarm had passed, the protests faded. Jabali further placated the naysayers by hiring two Physickers, [2 Physickers], to be on standby outside of the workshop, worked with [an Alchemist] to design a fire suppression system within the rebuilt workshop, and personally oversaw each individual’s designs so as to catch fatal flaws before they could occur.

The First Musket & Pistol

After the explosion, the team was much more cautious but also more focused. Two years later (708 GY), they developed the first prototype of what we would now consider to be a sparktech musket. It was prone to having a “dud trigger” - meaning that sometimes when it fired, nothing happened, or (worse) it fired as much as a minute after the trigger was pulled. Over that next year, the team tweaked and re-designed and perfected the prototype until the musket would reliable and safely fire.

During that time, [up to five Artificers] worked together on a different design. They felt like the musket was great, but too large, and a smaller version would be the ultimate sparktech weapon. Jabali had forbidden them to continue after the explosion, worried that trying to encapsulate the power of a sparktech weapon to a smaller size would be too unstable. They continued their research in secret.

In 709 GY, when the sparktech musket was out of the prototype phase and being lauded as the greatest new Artificing invention of the time, the team of five crafted a prototype of their own. Thankfully, they had learned from the mistakes of the past. When they finally revealed it to Jabali (and he got over his fury at their disobedience and insubordination), he couldn’t help but admit that the design was actually very good. He assisted them over the course of the next year with perfecting the design. In 710 GY, the Arcanatech Diagrams for the sparktech musket and sparktech pistol became available for purchase. They remained a specialty item for over a decade, and only in the past five years or so has the popularity of sparktech weaponry increased - especially for adventurers.

PC Roles

  • Aurelia: Ivette R.

  • Ozje Norbu: Chris J.