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Description
Materials Science. The vessel-states utilize a combination of baryonic and alchemical matter as their building material. The vast majority of their construction is made from polycrete, a form of composite stone that visually resembles marble or granite; composite wood, a cheap variant of carbon composites that are grown on genetically engineered trees; and durabronze, a variant of durasteel which is lighter and easier to manipulate, but not as strong and dense. Alchemical earth alloys are used for armor plating and the foundations of world-vessels and starships.

Power. The Vessel-States use fusion power for some independent, low-powered applications, but ships and world-vessels themselves are powered by spinning neutronium cores. This kinetic energy is either converted into electrical energy or stored in smaller spinning neutronium disks or compressed neutronium springs, both of which can store tremendous amounts of mechanical energy. Whenever a world-vessel's neutronium core depletes its mechanical energy, the world-vessel moves to a recharging station: a Second Empire-era station that absorbs entropy and uses it to spin its own neutronium core.

Faster-than-light Travel. The vessel-states predominantly rely on the wormgate networks they control for faster-than-light travel. Wormgate travel allows for instantaneous travel between any two wormgates, but are limited to travel between two wormgates. Vessel-state starships tend not to have any faster-than-light capabilities, relying on dedicated carriers hired from other galactic powers or purpose-built for the vessel-states.

Energy Weaponry. The vessel-states have little in the way of energy weaponry. Some vessel-state warships have primitive superlasers as their primary weapon, and some world-vessels have superlasers which supplement their defenses. Energy weapons manufactured by the vessel-states tend to be of lower quality and have higher rates of failure than their foreign counterparts, because vessel-state engineering is limited by their lack of computers. Vessel-state plasma weapons are heavy, requiring two men to carry them, must be fired from a tripod, and can fire only one shot before having to be reloaded via the muzzle.

Kinetic Weaponry. When the vessel-states are not using alchemical weapons, they are using kinetic weapons. Like the Consortium, the vessel-states prefer railguns and mass drivers, but because of engineering limitations, vessel-state railguns and mass drivers are ancient designs that cannot perform to modern standards. Most vessel-state railguns are muzzle loaders, and require frequent replacement of the disposable magnetic firing coils. They are also incredibly inaccurate. Some vessel-state railguns make up for this by firing grapeshot or canister rounds.

Special Weapons. The vessel-states excel with their alchemical weapons, and they are the only people in the galaxy which manufacture and design these weapons. The most common alchemical weapon is an ignis weapon, which fires rounds of ignis,a compound of alchemical earth and alchemical fire which is hyper-dense and will burn through any baryonic matter once "ignited." Alchemical fire weapon, either in the form of cannons, bombs, or "flamethrowers," are also commonplace.

Shields. The vessel-states use foreign-built energy shields in some instances, but most of the time they use alchemical water. As the permeability of alchemical water can be altered by running an electrical current through it, alchemical water shields can have variable permeability that changes on demand. This means that alchemical water shields can be used to block large areas from projectiles, yet they are still permeable to slower-moving objects. Alchemical water can reliably stop projectiles, but the electromagentic nature of plasma means that plasma weapons will disrupt alchemical water shields. Another disadvantage of alchemical water shields is that they must be physically constructed, and cannot be activated or deactivated like an energy shield. For this purpose, alchemical water shields must be carried to battlefield locations.

Antigravity. The vessel-states use alchemical air for all of their anti-gravity needs. Alchemical air is naturally anti-gravitic, so the issue is altering the anti-gravitic properties of alchemical air and keeping it together in one place. The vessel-states accomplish this through the use of balloons filled with a mix of alchemical air and water, which can be mixed or separated depending on whether the operator wants the balloon to rise or fall. Alchemical air can even be used for slower-than-light space travel, as ships can use it to repel themselves from the gravity wells of planets and stars.

Computers. Having suffered immensely from the War of the Cog Lords, the Vessel-States all have an extreme aversion to computer technology. Vessel-State variants of Rationalism all have the same core virtue: one must never make a machine mind. For this reason, the Vessel-States rely on shortmen who are trained to think like computers, known as polymaths, to take the place of all computers. Polymaths make all necessary spacecraft maneuvering calculations, work with engineers, alchemists and architects on their projects, and serve as the backbone of a Vessel-States' bureaucracy. While their capabilities are impressive, polymaths cannot compete with the speed and processing power of a true computer, limiting the Vessel-States' capabilities.

Automation. The vessel-states have blanket bans on computers, but they do allow for the creation of homunculi, a form of vat-grown human. Not strictly clones, but rather amalgamations of biomass and genetic material, homunculi are unintelligent and require constant supervision by a sapient master. Homunculi are the backbone of vessel-state labor, although there are not enough of them to fully replace human labor. Some daring alchemists create clockwork constructs, although these are also unintelligent and often must be controlled remotely, having no automatic systems whatsoever.

Description
Materials Science. The vessel-states utilize a combination of baryonic and alchemical matter as their building material. The vast majority of their construction is made from polycrete, a form of composite stone that visually resembles marble or granite; composite wood, a cheap variant of carbon composites that are grown on genetically engineered trees; and durabronze, a variant of durasteel which is lighter and easier to manipulate, but not as strong and dense. Alchemical earth alloys are used for armor plating and the foundations of world-vessels and starships.

Power. The Vessel-States use fusion power for some independent, low-powered applications, but ships and world-vessels themselves are powered by spinning neutronium cores. This kinetic energy is either converted into electrical energy or stored in smaller spinning neutronium disks or compressed neutronium springs, both of which can store tremendous amounts of mechanical energy. Whenever a world-vessel's neutronium core depletes its mechanical energy, the world-vessel moves to a recharging station: a Second Empire-era station that absorbs entropy and uses it to spin its own neutronium core.

Faster-than-light Travel. The vessel-states predominantly rely on the wormgate networks they control for faster-than-light travel. Wormgate travel allows for instantaneous travel between any two wormgates, but are limited to travel between two wormgates. Vessel-state starships tend not to have any faster-than-light capabilities, relying on dedicated carriers hired from other galactic powers or purpose-built for the vessel-states.

Energy Weaponry. The vessel-states have little in the way of energy weaponry. Some vessel-state warships have primitive superlasers as their primary weapon, and some world-vessels have superlasers which supplement their defenses. Energy weapons manufactured by the vessel-states tend to be of lower quality and have higher rates of failure than their foreign counterparts, because vessel-state engineering is limited by their lack of computers. Vessel-state plasma weapons are heavy, requiring two men to carry them, must be fired from a tripod, and can fire only one shot before having to be reloaded via the muzzle.

Kinetic Weaponry. When the vessel-states are not using alchemical weapons, they are using kinetic weapons. Like the Consortium, the vessel-states prefer railguns and mass drivers, but because of engineering limitations, vessel-state railguns and mass drivers are ancient designs that cannot perform to modern standards. Most vessel-state railguns are muzzle loaders, and require frequent replacement of the disposable magnetic firing coils. They are also incredibly inaccurate. Some vessel-state railguns make up for this by firing grapeshot or canister rounds.

Special Weapons. The vessel-states excel with their alchemical weapons, and they are the only people in the galaxy which manufacture and design these weapons. The most common alchemical weapon is an ignis weapon, which fires rounds of ignis,a compound of alchemical earth and alchemical fire which is hyper-dense and will burn through any baryonic matter once "ignited." Alchemical fire weapon, either in the form of cannons, bombs, or "flamethrowers," are also commonplace.

Shields. The vessel-states use foreign-built energy shields in some instances, but most of the time they use alchemical water. As the permeability of alchemical water can be altered by running an electrical current through it, alchemical water shields can have variable permeability that changes on demand. This means that alchemical water shields can be used to block large areas from projectiles, yet they are still permeable to slower-moving objects. Alchemical water can reliably stop projectiles, but the electromagentic nature of plasma means that plasma weapons will disrupt alchemical water shields. Another disadvantage of alchemical water shields is that they must be physically constructed, and cannot be activated or deactivated like an energy shield. For this purpose, alchemical water shields must be carried to battlefield locations.

Antigravity. The vessel-states use alchemical air for all of their anti-gravity needs. Alchemical air is naturally anti-gravitic, so the issue is altering the anti-gravitic properties of alchemical air and keeping it together in one place. The vessel-states accomplish this through the use of balloons filled with a mix of alchemical air and water, which can be mixed or separated depending on whether the operator wants the balloon to rise or fall. Alchemical air can even be used for slower-than-light space travel, as ships can use it to repel themselves from the gravity wells of planets and stars.

Computers. Having suffered immensely from the War of the Cog Lords, the Vessel-States all have an extreme aversion to computer technology. Vessel-State variants of Rationalism all have the same core virtue: one must never make a machine mind. For this reason, the Vessel-States rely on shortmen who are trained to think like computers, known as polymaths, to take the place of all computers. Polymaths make all necessary spacecraft maneuvering calculations, work with engineers, alchemists and architects on their projects, and serve as the backbone of a Vessel-States' bureaucracy. While their capabilities are impressive, polymaths cannot compete with the speed and processing power of a true computer, limiting the Vessel-States' capabilities.

Automation. The vessel-states have blanket bans on computers, but they do allow for the creation of homunculi, a form of vat-grown human. Not strictly clones, but rather amalgamations of biomass and genetic material, homunculi are unintelligent and require constant supervision by a sapient master. Homunculi are the backbone of vessel-state labor, although there are not enough of them to fully replace human labor. Some daring alchemists create clockwork constructs, although these are also unintelligent and often must be controlled remotely, having no automatic systems whatsoever.