A Tool is an object of purpose, an extension of the user’s will designed to solve a problem or perform a task. It is a piece of knowledge made manifest, a physical solution to a specific need. A hammer is the answer to a nail; a medkit, the answer to a wound.

Within ATET, a tool is never just a collection of stats. It is an object that carries the intent of its creator and the history of its use. Its existence implies a challenge that was overcome, a problem that was solved, or a process that was refined. Tools are the building blocks of technology, culture, and survival.

Philosophy of Utility

The core of a Tool is its utility. Unlike an Artifact, which is defined by its story, or a Weapon, which is defined by its capacity for violence, a Tool is defined by what it enables. It is the bridge between an agent’s intention and their ability to act upon the world. The design of a tool reflects the philosophy of its creator: a Luddite culture might create elegant hand-drills from polished wood, while a transhumanist faction might produce self-repairing nanite multitools. The form of the solution speaks volumes about how the problem was perceived.

Mechanics of Application

Tools are the primary mechanical interface for many non-combat Skills. Their function is to enable or enhance an agent’s ability to perform specific actions.

• Enabling Verbs: Many actions are impossible without the appropriate tool. An agent cannot perform the Lockpicking skill without a lockpick, or HealWound without a medical kit. A tool is often the physical key that unlocks a specific gameplay verb.

• Skill Interaction: A tool’s effectiveness is a dialogue between its own quality and the user’s competence.

  • A novice engineer using a masterwork Plasma Welder may still create a weak, unreliable seal. Their lack of skill limits the tool’s potential.
  • A master artisan, however, can use a rudimentary Stone Chisel to create a work of breathtaking beauty. Their skill transcends the limitations of the tool.

• Quality and Properties: As with all crafted items, tools have a quality level (from Rudimentary to Masterwork) and are defined by their constituent materials. These properties determine the tool’s objective function:

  • Durability: How many uses a tool can withstand before breaking.
  • Efficiency: How quickly a task can be performed.
  • Precision: The potential quality of the outcome.
  • Unique Properties: A Geiger Counter made with a Krystallos Ancestor-Shell Shard might not just detect radiation, but also faintly hum when near a source of potent Eidos.

The Subjective Experience

An Incarnation’s relationship with a tool is shaped by its knowledge and beliefs. The Subjective Interface renders a tool not as an objective object, but as a familiar friend, a complex puzzle, or an alien artifact.

• Perception by Skill: To a skilled agent, a tool is an extension of the self. The UI might highlight its familiar grip, its perfect balance, and its potential uses. The description is one of intimate understanding: “My favorite wrench. Perfectly weighted for tight spaces.”
• Perception by Belief: To an agent with a conflicting Faith, the same tool can be an object of suspicion or disgust. A member of a nature-worshipping cult might perceive a Chainsaw not as a wood-cutting tool, but as a “Screaming Metal Blasphemy,” its UI representation warped and its sound rendered as a painful, dissonant shriek.

A Tool is the most basic form of physical narrative. It is a story of a problem and its solution, a story that is retold and reinterpreted with every use.