Magitech of Blackmoor: Nacelle Weapons of the First Crusade

Magic items were expensive and consumed entirely too much time to be of use in times of war. There were too few in the Empire of sufficient power or knowledge to create more than a handful of such items, and getting them to do so in peacetime was difficult enough. Most (okay, all of them) wanted nothing to do with dealing with the Ministry of Defense or the Regent’s Council in times of war.

So it was to Blackmoor University that the Empire turned its eyes, and coffers, and a solution to the overly costly manufacture of items of magical power was found with the discovery of latent powers in mysterious stones acquired from the dwarves of the Wyrmsteeth. These ‘dragonstones’ looked to be gems, like any other, but on closer inspection they were found to house curious qualities. Qualities that Men quickly unraveled and put to use in the war efforts against the Afridhi and later Beastman hordes.

While proper and precise cutting was required to attain the most stable and desirable magical effects from a dragonstone, the cast-off fragments and improperly cut stones could also be put to use, with a little help from stasis technology that was being reverse-engineered from the City of the Gods.

The result were so-called dragonstone nacelles: small, self-contained batteries of magical essences that could be channeled through properly configured arms and armor. It might not last the war, but it was enough for a battle or two, and mass produced, they were enough to eventually win.

 Danson's Edge originally belonged to a lowly footman in Blackmoor Town's fifth ward garrison.  It is rumored that it was not so much the Prime Minister's impassioned speech, but a strong desire to impress the Golden General's twin that led Emmet Danson to join the fight in the warfront. His family's blade, fashioned to look similar to the Great Seventy's Maroon was the second generation to be outfitted for use with dragonstone nacelle magitech. Danson's Edge was usually seen socketed with a multitude of red dragonstone nacelles. 

Danson's Edge: Nacelle-empowered longsword: damage 1d8+2d4 fire; grants fire resistance to wielder

Archer's holdout: These long knives were commonly issued to the boltmen and archers of the Imperial Army. They were usually equipped with specially-ensorcelled red dragonstone nacelles tuned to store 2d4 uses of magic missile. Those of the Medico corps carried holdouts laden with white dragonstone-powered nacelles. Deaths due to icefire toxin fell to nearly zero with the discovery of tuning necessary to bring about the remedy function. 

 
Perhaps the nastiest weapon was the lightning blade, fashioned to make exclusive use of black dragonstone nacelles. The hilt and haft-grip were bound with specially-treated eelskin, to protect their wielders from the wild electrical arcs that usually surrounded the blades once their nacelles were activated. The trigger on the hilt was used for a sudden cut in the capacitor's output, which then allowed the lightning bolt to be channeled down the blade and hurled to devastating effect into enemy lines.