Technomancer

[Haru]

The wizard with the wireless keyboard is INSIDE the circle
All the other tech is outside.

That'll still fry the keyboard. Pretty quickly as well, since the building magical energies can't escape the circle.

I think simpler solution would be one of two ways. Either you go ancient tech or you build a magic to technology adapter.

The first is pretty simple. Build a keyboard like an old mechanical typewriter and have them work through pulleys and wires to be a long distance away, before it gets in contact with the electronics. The image can be projected through lenses and mirrors, so the only thing that arrives at the wizard is the image itself, without anything electronic.

The magic to technology adapter works similar, though it replaces the pulleys and wires with magic. There are multiple ways to do this. For example, you can create a magical keyboard that projects an image of the pressed keys and a camera sends it to the computer.

Another way to go would be completely magical, but I guess it's going to be a full time job just maintaining it. The main benefit to having a computer would probably be the internet. You can't really emulate a regular computer, but you can emulate an internet machine. There are some basic protocols, and you'll have to build a magical construct that is able to interpret the information through the right protocol. After that, you'll need a connection to the internet. Again, the most robust way to do so seems to be using light to transmit the information. Get an optic cable, create a magical construct to communicate with the internet in the right way, and you are golden.

Then again, it's probably easier to bribe a spirit of intellect to hook up to a cable and do all that for you.

[solbergb]

Thought of another approach a photomancer might do.

Ok...we know light can travel through a circle without issue.  Wizards are always bringing up light and it illuminates stuff inside circles, or stuff outside if the wizard's inside.

So set up the wireless computer as above, with wizard inside the circle, except our high-scholarship, high-lore "Bleeding Edge Technophile" with thaumaturgical specialization and foci in Photomancy uses his Sight to analyze what signals that the wireless keyboard is sending to the computer and because "X-Rays to Radar, It's all Light" he works out a spell that magically generates the correct wireless signals inside the circle, then they travel in a mundane fashion outside the circle and into the receptors of the computer.

Heck, it's the same principle Loadrunner uses to pretend to be thousands of users of web-forms for stress testing.  It doesn't use an actual browser, it just simulates the signals browsers would send to the server.  Except with hardware, not software.   Because the magic's all happening inside the circle, and only an indirect effect is sending signals to the computer it shouldn't hex anything.   (Same principle as some of the evocations we see Harry doing in Skin Game near the end to bother magically-resistant critters).

Heck, part of your ritual component could be an old-school mechanical keyboard, unpowered, if you need the typing metaphor to help make it work.

[solbergb]

Why no one thinks of the obvious solutions? Magic evolved again and changed its quirk. It doesn't hex anymore. You are the first wizard of this generation.

I actually like better the other approach.  You're so old your magic just sours milk, etc.  But the impression I got from the Dresdenverse (or at least Bob) is that magic changes for everybody, not just individuals, although there is also individual variation.  So this approach is a fairly major change for the entire universe, where a magus working with the existing restrictions to minimize the risk (actually understanding tech as it evolves via scholarship, being low conviction, being good at thaumaturgy that blocks hexes, using circles when major work must be done) uses the existing paradigm and, for me, would be more fun because you'd have the "how do you DO that" from other practitioners aspect, including the suspicion that you might not be mortal at all.

[jstomel]

I actually like better the other approach.  You're so old your magic just sours milk, etc.  But the impression I got from the Dresdenverse (or at least Bob) is that magic changes for everybody, not just individuals, although there is also individual variation.  So this approach is a fairly major change for the entire universe, where a magus working with the existing restrictions to minimize the risk (actually understanding tech as it evolves via scholarship, being low conviction, being good at thaumaturgy that blocks hexes, using circles when major work must be done) uses the existing paradigm and, for me, would be more fun because you'd have the "how do you DO that" from other practitioners aspect, including the suspicion that you might not be mortal at all.

While magic might change for everyone, we don't know if it changes all at the same time. I mean, there probably wasn't a single day when every wizard woke up in the morning and found that their magic was frying telegraphs rather than souring milk. Maybe it is a gradual process. We have a technomage in my campaign and the way I am handling it is that the nature of magic is starting to change, but right now it only affects a few individuals. In a century, everyone will be on the new system.

[potestas]

Depends on...
First, there has to be a wizard in the group... Second, the technomancer would have different possibilities to use his power. The more obvious, the more are the chances that the characters will find out and start to detroy all his little toys. But things like using public surveillance cameras for his purpose, shutting down all automatic doors in a mall and things like that aren't that much obvious and can easily explained by a hacker or some other kind of competent tech. And the characters will have to think a long way before starting to suspect something like a technomancer...

But anyway, it is only an idea and a crude one...

i dont think its a bad idea at all as long as you dont mix it with mortal magic for a few more decades or centuries. Theere are gods dedicated building Hephistus (sp) comes to mind, he could be the sponser, all sorts of ritual and evaothum to control stuff, you could have the ultimate spymaster. Nick could only read some shadows, s=you would have eery camera in the city. Or if you really need to go the mortal route redirect it into items but your items look like normal stuff.