Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-15888551-20130819093722/@comment-9887604-20130821093455

Gunpowder weaponry already exist in TES lore, there are shore batteries on Stros Mkai and I am fairly certain of a reference to portable muskets on Yokuda at one point. Several navies use cannons on their ships, yet there is one simple thing stagnating most technology. Necessity is the mother of invention, and magic has supplanted a lot of the roles that would require technological innovation.

Now there has been great strides in the magical world since it has been first studied. Major research has gone to explore the realms of Oblivion, Aetherius, and the Void. See the Mannonauts, Sunbirds of Alinor, and the expeditions of the Reman Dynasty.

When enchanting first began, people were using souls willy nilly and accidentally opened themselves up to extreme Daedric corruption. Look to the book Feyfolken for an example there.

Scientific refinement is happening in the TES world, just not in the steam punk/electronic vein of thought. If ever a time came where this would begin to happen, I hope it is done extremely carefully. It is difficult to merge the two cohesively, the best example I know of has already been mention and that is Arcanum.