The hardest thing about trying to discuss something that is generally not discussed, more specifically when it pertains to breaking the 40k universe into categories, is explaining what you're after in a way that makes sense... "In the grim, dark future there is only imprecise statement."
Alright, a quick bit of further explanation as the replies reveal some confusion, both with what I'm getting at and also seemingly the nature of the material itself. So, quick definition: Anything that derives its power from the warp is inherently 'psychic' and, for all intents and purposes, 'magical'. Both technology (i.e. 'real world' physics, chemistry, materials science, etc.) and 'magic' (psychic powers, etc.) are viewed from an over-arching perspective such that the representation of said 'things' is not subject to Clarkism (e.g. "...so advanced that it appears to be magic...").
For me, that thin red line lies between pieces of equipment that can be used by anyone and artefacts that are attuned to (or are powered by) specific individuals.
Why does the simple ascription as the artefact of an individual make that artefact magical? As above, if it channels warp energy it is essentially magical, whether this is couched in terms of 'science' ('vortex grenades') or 'magic' ("incandescent bolt of psychic energy").
Or the set of runes that help warlocks work their "magic".
The runes are a perfect example of the blend of 'magic' and technology which is peculiar to the eldar, true. Depending on which version of the concept of wraithbone you prefer the actual material itself may be a technological construction...
And as an aside that isn't really an aside, wraithbone is itself something that may potentially straddle both lines. The original version of wraithbone was a 'psychoplastic', the literal translation being plastically malleable psychic energy that was conjured forth out of the warp. Later 'fluff' (i.e. the Tzeentchian daemon trying to create matter) indicates that this might be flawed, though not in assumption just realisation and consideration with the balance of the 'fluff'. There is also the later version which may indicate that it was more to do with a 'psychically reactive plastic' (here possibly a reference to a hydrocarbon)... This latter version is what I prefer since it blends 'magic' and technology, rather than the fact that the eldar conjure up matter and energy from the aether. (E.g. for wraithbone that is used for 'power generation', the ability is 'conjured' into the material through psychic manipulation rather than the material itself being conjured. Instead of being created it is
patterned.)
Or the Exarch armour: Soulstones serving as reservoirs for the experience of former Exarchs are "magic" according to Arthur C. Clarke's word that "technology, if sufficiently advanced, is indistinguishable from magic."
Although for the purpose of the thread that is self-defeating. It's like talking about eldar psychology and then saying that the eldar are "too mysterious" and therefore cannot be discussed!
Yet every Eldar can learn - and is expected to learn! - how to store his Self within such a jewel.
That would imply that the Waystone is a magical artefact pure and simple. But the Waystone does more than store the soul (read psychic energy), it also stores the memories and experiences of the eldar in question. That is something that might be more akin to the 'ghost computers' or 'SQUIDS' (whatever) of sci-fi literature. Thus the Waystone acts doubly as a complex computer (!) and a 'Soul Jar'... ?
The acting Exarch tapping into this collective, possibly merging with it - that is true magic, and the Phoenix Kings are at the end of that road ...
Why? One can say that it is in essence like the sci-fi premise (well, cyberpunk) of the 'skillsoft' whereby information is recorded and used to manipulate the nervous system of the wearer. Yes, super advanced technology but if one assumes that some of the other eldar 'technology' has both a technological and 'magic' side of things entirely within the bounds of plausibility...
Well... Warhammer 40k is magic guns and power armor +2 anyways.
That is
an interpretation, not
the interpretation. It is difficult to ascribe any 'correct' intepretation to the 40k universe. While, as above, it is becoming increasingly obvious that GW is no longer interested in their game being 'sci-fantasy', I try and keep that original essence. I've already got a "40kFantasy" game on the drawing boards so I don't need for them to make their own game a bastardised version of the same.
The eldar do not consider psychic engineering 'magic', it's just another ability of theirs for manipulating the world around them.
Yes, I
know that but in terms of categorisation and representation without the obfuscation of racial interpretation one can divided their 'technology' into both mundane and psychic components.
Kage