Background

Ever since the big bang, the Hunting Grounds have been flooded with the spirits of technology, freed from their physical shells by the blasts of ghost rock bombs. This wasn't a welcome change for most of these spirits, and many turned to the junkers to get them back into the physical plane. There were some, however, who weren't so eager to head back; they wanted revenge for the destruction of their machines, and holding some gun together just didn't cut it. These spirits, who became known as Servers, decided they needed power, and fastest way to get it was to take it from the denizens of the Hunting Grounds. Easier said than done, but over time, many of these tech spirits gained powers on par with the nature spirits and even the manitous. Newly empowered, the Servers began to seek out a way to manifest their abilities in the physical world.
Enter Ian Malcolm.
Just Before the war, Malcolm was a young professor, teaching Unique Organism Biology (monsters) at theUniversity of California Shan Fan, a part of the "alternative sciences" (ie occult studies) department. As a result, he had some knowledge of magic, and was just beginning to learn the arts of the huckster when the bombs began to fall. Afterwards, Malcolm wandered the wastes (don't they all?) for a time, using his rather limited arcane skills to help survivors as best he could. Unfortunately, the manitou became much stronger in the wake of the Big Bang, and it wasn't long before Malcolm caught a nasty case of backlash, and wound up in a coma. It was then that the Servers approached him, offering him a safer source of power. He jumped at the chance, and when he awoke, the first technomancer was born.

How Technomancy Works

Technomancers summon Servers (like a huckster summons a manitou) to create their magic effects, known as "programs." However, since the Servers aid technomancers willingly, there's no need for a battle of wills, making technomancy safer and easier. Unfortunately, this safety comes at a price. Most Servers lack the skill of the manitou in crafting spells, and technomancers have to put forth a great deal of effort to achieve the desired effect. Furthermore, these powers aren't subtle; the energy the technomancers channel warps their bodies, giving them weird mechanical traits.
Fortunately, technomancers have an extra trick up their sleeves. These modern day metal mages have many ties among the normal tech spirits as well as Server spirits, and can cast tricks and have browser spirits just like Junkers (see the Extra tricks section for more info).

Getting with the Program

To make a technomancer, a character must take the Arcane Background:Technomancer edge, as well as at least two levels of Academa: Occult. The character also needs at least three levels of the new skill Science: Occult Programming. It is this skill that the techomancer uses to focus and craft his programs. For every level of Occult Programming a technomancer has he may choose 1 program or trick.
Technomancers fuel their programs with strain, just like sykers and doomies. However, the assistance the Servers provide makes things little easier; technomancers regain a point of strain every 30 minutes of rest instead of every hour.

Booting Up

To run a program, the technomancer makes an Occult Programming roll against the program's TN. If successful, the technomancer spends his strain, the program takes effect, and warping manifests (see the warping section for more information). For the most part, it's just this simple. However, technomancy isn't a perfect science, and sometimes a technomancer summons something besides a Server. Whenever a technomancer busts on an Occult Programming roll, he not only suffers Backlash, but whatever warping the program creates becomes permanent (see backlash and warping respectively).

Warping

The warping that technomancers experience as a result of their programs is a disturbing effect unique to their form of magic. It appears in a variety of ways, from cameras replacing the eyes, to circuit boards erupting from the skin, or even stranger things.
Whenever a technomancer successfully runs a program, he gains a warped feature, which persists for 3d6 minutes after the program ends (reroll aces). Exactly what occurs is up to the Marshal. The important thing is that this warping is obvious and Ug-Ly!
The first warping makes the technomancer Ugly as Sin, and any additional warping he picks up actually gives him a Terror score, starting at 3 and increasing by 2 for any extra warpage he picks up. Needless to say, this kind of thing doesn't get technomancers a lot of dates...