As science advances, it becomes more and more arcane. Clark's Law stipulates that sufficiently advanced technology becomes indistinguishable from magic. In some worlds, this is literally true - technology becomes magic, and certain gifted technicians can use machines to change the real world or do things impossible according to the laws of nature as we know them.
Technomagic comes in two main schools - weird science and sufficiently advanced technology. These work out very similarily way in game terms. Despite the differences in background, in practive it works the same way.
Weird science is the simplest type. Some people have the 'gift', 'spark' or whatever, and can build machines that do physically impossible things. In the game, pure weird scientists are single-schtick artificers. All of the other technomagical traditions incorporate at least some weird science.
Sufficiently advanced technology uses force-fields, hyperspace, artificial intelligence, nanomachines, technobabble and suspension of disbelief to create magical effects that are really not magical at all. But it works just like magic. Only those not in the know think this is magic.
Examples and References
Technocrats and Sons of the Ether from MAGE. Tharkold from TORG.
Star Trek. Dirty Pair.
Limitations
Hocus Pocus
Technomages need their gear. Gizmos, force-field generators, holographic cabalistic symbols or virtual reality goggles all do the same thing, they focus your magic. No gear results in no magic.
Manifestation
Technomagical effects manifest through technology. Demons jump off television screens, phazers zap people, power lines send lightning bolts. Without some technological source, natural phenomena, and the right technobabble, your magic will not work.
Common Schticks
- Artificing
- Technomancy
Rare or prohibited Schticks
- Doom
- Law
- Summoning
Summonables
Technomancers rarely use summoning and settle for building robots and bio-constructs. It tould be theoretically possible to pull creatures out of hyper space, but few technomages see a point in this.