Steam engine

Steam engines were a variety of heat engines that used steam to power mechanical processes. They were known to be created by artificer rock gnomes, members of the Church of Gond, members of the Church of Thoth, and by the clockwork mages of Zakhara.
==Usages==
* Some of the clockwork creations of clockwork mages were powered by steam engines, though such creations were few and far between, being rather dangerous to build.
* In the land of Mulhorand the priests of Thoth devised a way to utilize steam engines in conjunction with dams to harness the power of the nation's rivers for the purposes of grinding grain and pumping water out into the farther reaches of Mulhorand's desert.
* The steam dragon, a crude vehicle outfitted with a steam engine that was on display in the Hall of Wonders.
* The Revenge, a Zhentil Keep naval vessel that was secretly worked on by Gondar in 1368 DR, had a steam engine to supplement its sails. However, the engine only worked in brief intervals, allowing the ship much needed maneuverability during naval confrontations.
==Reputation==
In the latter half of the 14 century DR, the coat of arms for the nation of Lantan featured steam engines. The top half of the coat of arms displayed a working steam engine, represented by a complex knot of continuous pipes and valves overlying a circular boiler, and surrounded by a scalloped circle of orange that represented the steam lit by the flames of the engine’s out-of-view firebox. The bottom half of the coat of arms displayed an exploding steam engine, represented by a cloud of gray steam with a leaning smokestack protruding out from the upper right, as pistons and their linkages flew out from the left left and center left of the cloud, and in its center pinwheel of orange flames.
==History==
The use of steam technology in the nation of Mulhorand came to an end when one of the pharaohs decreed a ban on all further development, feeling that technological innovation had gone too far once proposals were made to build a huge dam on the River of Spears. Most of the nation's steam engines fell into disrepair, though a few powered by stones of everburning continued to pump water into isolated areas. Around 1357 DR, a small faction within the Church of Thoth known as the Technologists picked up the work on steam technology in secrecy, seeking to rediscover the lost knowledge of their predecessors and discover further uses for the technology.
Around the 14 century DR, a community of gnomes living in the Vast were obsessed with creating or innovating upon the steam engine, which they referred to as the "Grand Design". They kept the Grand Design under the cover of a tent to protect it from rain. They were convinced that if they succeeded in their efforts they could bring about a new age of leisure and enlightenment to Faerûn.
In addition to feverishly and tirelessly working towards the Grand Design, many of the gnomes within the community tinkered with potential devices to be powered by the steam engine. These included such things as back scratchers, tooth brushes, multi-tiered pipe organs, sausage grinders, as well as devices to trim the hairs of a nose, paint a tent, wash a crock, or clean filth from one's ears or toes.
The chief engineer of this project was one Sassafras Thompson, with his assistants Broccoli Higgins and Rhubarb Smith. Despite the best efforts of Sassafras and his assistants, everyone in their little community was convinced that they alone knew what was the best way to improve upon the Grand Design and thus were prone to tinkering with it without permission. Prior to Sassafras the project was headed by one Leapold Manfeld, who was close to perfecting the Grand Design, but left out of frustration over the frequent unpermitted modifications done by the other gnomes. Later, unhampered by the interference of the other gnomes, Leapold managed to construct his own perfectly working steam engine and had it installed on a prototype submarine.
Due to all this tinkering, tests with these experimental engine often lead to explosions down the mountainside. This caused terrible tremors in the surrounding area, leading to the instability and collapse of the mines of the Torn Tartan clan of dwarves. The chieftain of the Torn Tartans, Boris, attempted to reason with the gnomes but to no avail.
==Appendix==
===Appearances===
===External Links===
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===References===
Category:Gondar items
Category:Mechanical devices
Category:Items from Mulhorand
Category:Items from the Old Empires
Category:Items from Faerûn
Category:Items from Zakhara
Category:Items from Toril