technomages

A technomage, sometimes called a technomancer, is a fictional figure whose power derives from the fusion of magical and technological principles. They are portrayed as practitioners who manipulate both arcane forces and advanced devices, blending spellcraft with circuitry, software, and hardware. The concept appears most often in science fantasy and cyberpunk-adjacent settings, where magic and technology are not enemies but complementary engines of power.

Conceptually, technomages draw on a shared premise: reality can be structured by rules that resemble both sorcery and engineering. Techniques may include programming as incantation, sigils drawn as circuit diagrams, or rituals conducted through augmented reality and AI interfaces. Training, when depicted, combines traditional magical lore with engineering, cybersecurity, or experimental sciences. Their artifacts range from enchanted implants to ritualized networks and golem-like automata.

In fiction, technomages serve as a vehicle to explore themes such as control of information, the ethics of artificial intelligence, and the costs of merging human will with machines. They can function as rebels, scholars, or political actors, illustrating tensions between tradition and innovation. The trope also appears in role-playing games and video games, often under variants like magitech or technomancy, where the boundaries between sorcery and science are deliberately porous.

Overall, technomages exemplify the magitech impulse: a speculative synthesis where magic and technology illuminate one another, creating a distinct, narratively flexible archetype. See also magitech, technomancy.