Essence of theImpossible Forge

You receive the power to create and make use of technologies that rely upon nonsensical or nonexistant concepts.

• You achieve your incredible capabilities through the use of Tech Trees that contain and define your technological potential. Upon consuming this Essence, you may choose one of: a Materialistic Tree, a Skilled Tree, or a Ideological Tree. Each of these Tech Trees is only allowed to contain technologies of a certain kind- Materialistic may be defined as 'hardware and materials', while Skilled may be defined as 'practiced personal ability', and 'Ideological' may be defined as 'software and political economics'. Should you somehow consume the Essence of the Impossible Forge multiple times, or otherwise make use of a Meta CYOA effect, you may acquire additional Tech Trees beyond the first. Limited crossover between these Tech Trees is difficult but possible- between Materialistic and Skilled, and between Skilled and Ideological.

• All 'beyond normal' functionalities of your creations rely upon impossible mechanisms, collectively known as Principles. A Principle might be that 'minds generate mana', or that 'modulated EM waves may generate posigravity fields', or that 'training in increments of seven reps is just better'. Principles very much do not need to be consistent with other Principles; two Principles that contradict each other may be used together without issue. Each Principle is part of a specific Tech Tree, built into its Foundation, and cannot be trivially applied to every Tech Tree if you have more than one. Upon consuming this Essence, you gain exactly three Principles of your choice. (Meta CYOA effects and repeated consumption of the Essence of the Impossible Forge may provide additional free Principles.) Whenever something special happens- a story reaching a turning point, you reaching a critical milestone, etc.- there is some chance that you gain additional Principles, which you may define freely. This can be expected to happen reliably, but not quickly, and over a sufficiently long timeframe, there is no limit to the amount of Principles you may acquire.

• Principles are directly exploited with the use of Invention and Iteration Nodes, which are placed 'above' the Foundation of a Tech Tree, stemming directly from a lower Node. Each such Node defines a set of technological capabilities, and the manner in which those capabilities exceed the Nodes directly below. As Invention and Iteration Nodes ultimately stem from the Foundation, which contains all mundane human technology, each thus defines upgraded versions of humanity's techbase. Though any Principle may be used to support any Invention or Iteration Node in theory, Principles that more logically fit with the effects of the Nodes they sustain may be significantly more effective.

• Invention Nodes may be used to acquire new exotic capabilities or special rules; the statistical effectiveness of your technology is largely unchanged, but it is qualitatively different. An Invention Node might redefine 'driving' as 'teleportation', providing a new means of transportation with similar speed, range, vehicle size, and expense, but that is no longer concerned with infrastructure or physical barriers. Sequences of Invention Nodes may build upon each other for much greater effect. You may create a new Invention Node with a few hours of work, placing it above the Foundation or above any existing Node.

• Iteration Nodes may be used to directly increase statistical capabilities by a significant margin. An Iteration Node might increase the memory, processing power, and general durability of all forms of computing technology you can produce massively. Sequences of Iteration Nodes may build upon each other to increase your technological capabilities exponentially. You may create a new Iteration Node with an hour's work, placing it above the Foundation or above any existing Node.

• As you move up from the Foundation, the technologies defined by your Nodes grow increasingly, exponentially more costly to produce. Though it is not possible to use Iteration Nodes to directly counteract this increased expense, even a minor investment in superior manufacturing methodologies can outpace this growth entirely.

• There is a limit to how thoroughly each Principle may be exploited. Once in use by a succession of approximately 10 Invention and/or Iteration Nodes, the Principle is effectively being exploited to the full limits of its potential, and cannot be used to support later nodes: a different Principle must be used in its place. However, a Tech Tree can have many branches. If you need to use a Principle that is already fully exploited for a different purpose, you may branch out from a lower position in the Tech Tree where that was not the case. Thus, you may simultaneously have access to technological paths that use 'the seventeenth fundamental force, blavity' to greatly magnify durability and to others that instead use it to greatly increase battery capacity.

• Should you be exposed to or acquire a sample of a real technology (defined as 'any technology not derived from the Impossible Forge'), you may add it to an appropriate Tech Tree as a Salvage Node. This requires an amount of effort that corresponds with the complexity and potency of the technology to be salvaged, but is never beyond your reach. Salvage Nodes sit below the foundation, and enhance the technological capabilities of all Nodes above them. If an Iteration Node previously let you make 'mundane human materials but 10x stronger', the collection of alien alloys would automatically upgrade it to 'advanced alien alloys but 10x stronger'. In the case that an Invention Node is obsoleted by a form of salvage, you may freely change the qualitative benefit it provides to anything vaguely related to its original benefit.

• Given a minute's work, you may create a Schematic. This is a single specific technology, designed flawlessly with the technological capabilities present at a chosen Invention or Iteration Node. It is entirely possible to develop technologies from your Nodes without creating Schematics, but significantly less convenient under most circumstances. While an Invention Node might define itself as 'everything from real life humanity, plus hovertech', a Schematic drawn from it might be a specific model of hovertank. You will always possess the necessary knowledge and ability to recreate a technology from a Schematic. Even in the case that a Schematic requires advanced manufacturing capabilities far beyond what you have access to, it will be able to provide entire sequences of tools to bootstrap yourself up to the minimum required level.

• You may share the capacity to create your technologies with other people freely. You may designate exactly what a given person has access to (from individual Schematics to entire Trees) with absolute precision, and may grant and revoke permissions to groups of arbitrary size without error. This is such that someone who turns traitor may find their ability to create your technologies lost instantly. Note that, unless you provide lowercase-s schematics or technological data to your chosen, they will need to explore their expanded technological capabilities in a manner very similar to achieving natural scientific progress.

• Your technologies function in all realities, regardless of how physics works or what forms of supernatural power are present or possible. They are immune to anything that attempts to shut down 'technology', 'magic', or any other force your creations seem to rely on in a general manner. Sufficiently specific counters, such as shields around starships that prevent hostile teleportation, may be capable of interfering with the functions of your creations to some degree if you do not take countermeasures.

• The fires of the Impossible Forge burn brightly within you, granting a number of more personal benefits. Should you somehow consume the Essence of the Impossible Forge multiple times, these benefits double each time.

• You may substitute your own labor for any manner of material for the purpose of crafting something from a Schematic. Each second of your personal attentions may be used in place of resource roughly equivalent in value to 1 USD. It is possible to increase the value of your labor through appropriate non-Impossible training. Should the value of your labor invested so far exceed the value of the final item, it will be completed instantly- you could cook a pie worth $5 in five seconds.

• You may form a doppleganger of yourself, identical in form and mind but devoid of soul, self-awareness, or any power not stemming directly from the Impossible Forge. This clone is perfectly, absolutely obedient to you, and may be reformed from a few grains of ash if ever destroyed. With a touch, you may copy your current mindstate over to the clone while simultaneously retrieving all useful memories it has acquired without any risk of corruption or unwanted influence. A convenient way to create necessary items and build up a Tech Tree without wasting your own time.

• Thrice ever, at times of your choosing, you may reforge your body. This takes but a single instant, and causes a brief explosion of flames as your old form is broken down and made anew. On its own, this purges you of physical infirmities, allows you to take on any human form, and perfectly resolves as many mental ailments as you would wish to resolve. The consequences of reckless self-experimentation may be reversed in an instant. Should you have prepared cybernetic implants, transformative elixirs, or similar beforehand, the reforging process may make use of them to upgrade you, providing the best possible result.

• Should you ever truly die, someone you approve of will acquire a diminished version of this Essence. They will be the Inheritor of the Impossible Forge.