Gnomish Ministry of Engineering
The Ministry's official name, translated from Gnomish, is The organization charged with granting and recording: patents on all engineered/jury-rigged/built/summoned/otherwise created devices, machines or gadgets; permits to engineer/jury-rig/build/summon/otherwise create devices, machines, or gadgets; membership applications, renewals, or sponsorships; and officiate disputes regarding same.
Resident in Ferrodyne, this guild is composed mostly of gnomes, with a growing percentage of SoulForged. Members are typically artificers, tinkers, inventors, craftsman, and the occasional alchemist - and most would be considered at least a little mad. Entry into the guild requires the registration of at least one original patent with the Ministry, but patents are only awarded to guild members - a paradox that boggles all but the Gnomish mind.
Official Ministry patents are difficult to come by. It is very difficult to fully document, describe, and provide specifications for a gnomish invention, let alone prove beyond doubt that it is unique. Therefore, it is usually a source of pride to hold one.
Despite its name, the Ministry is not technically affiliated with the Church. It controls the research and development of new ideas and was originally only concerned with governing intellectual properties. However, it quickly became concerned with protecting the interests of its members - and protecting its members from the sometimes outraged members of the community, which has often been burned down, blown up, or rendered unlivable due to stench, torrential rain, or giant mechanical constructs on the rampage.
They also have a thriving branch that invented and offers liability insurance. Though this particular invention is not eligible for a patent, it is nevertheless the most profitable division of the Ministry.
Although there are many guilds across Crescent composed of artisans, most take great pains to make sure that they are not confused with "Those crazy gnomes".
Notable Members
- Two of the most famous Ministry members, Barnabus and Nobble, invented the moveable-type printing press to print religious texts (and later moved themselves and their machine to Luminaux).
- Daedelus MatchPocket, father of the SoulForged
- House CopperWire has numerous Ministry-registered engineers, and holds a patent on telegram technology.