Lift-With Technology
Historical Equivalent: Elevators
Lift-Withs, coloquially known as lifts or sandglasses, are eletech devices which quickly and safely raises or lowers a load or people between different levels of a building or underground structure.
Rarity. Lift-withs are commonly found in most government and commercial buildings, though some nobility have built more artistic lift-withs for display and use in their homes.
Bound Elemental. Earth elementals are considered the safest elementals for use in lift-withs today. Lift-withs are not the only type of elevation machine to have been in development, but after several disastrous mishaps with air and fire based machines, these earth based lifts became the far more popular choice due to safety and stability concerns.
What do they look like?
A lift-with is a tubular structure built into a building which is as tall as all floors needing to be reached. Most of the volume of the structure is then filled with sand. Any free flowing sand will do but the finer grained sands are generally used in more prestigious buildings while coarser varieties are considered good enough for industrial buildings. Also within the tube is the Lift-bell, an enchanted glass compartment with a flat bottom and domed top which seals snugly but not too tightly to the outside sides of the lift tube. The bell is mostly left empty for passengers or loads, though there are smaller tubes, either in the center or along the outside of the bell that allows the lift-with to work.
How are they operated?
Upon the activation of the runic controls in the bell, the earth elemental bound to the device adjusts the amount of sand above and below the bell accordingly. Sand will either rush down the smaller tubes in the bell, causing it to rise, or the opposite mechanism is used to lower the bell again.
Based upon the size of the lift-with and its bell, and the volume of sand involved, precise calculations are needed to calibrate a lift-with for operation so activation runes move the specifically correct volume of sand to arrive at a correct height. While the calibration is difficult, requiring a DC 20 Intelligence (Tinker Tools) check, once set almost anyone can operate the lift by pressing the correct rune for the desired floor. (DC 5)
Where are they found?
Nowadays these ‘sandglasses’ can be found in most tall public buildings, industrial factories, mines, and other even the occasional wealthy household. While the operation mechanism remains the same, the parts for each lift-with are specially designed and suited for the need. Overlarge industrial lifts have the glass of their tubes and bells extra reinforced and enspelled for strength, using coarse sand and larger, more burly and efficient earth elementals bound to the central mechanism. Public buildings strike a balance between safety and form with more elegant lines and finer sand, often colored to match the decor, but also enspelled in tempered glass. Some wealthy private concerns take things a bit too far, looking for the thinnest, most delicate glass and exotic sands. General opinion is that these lifts so often fail because they are made by artists and interior decorators as a lark. Proper Lift-withs are overseen by the government and certified for both operation and safety.
