Hi all (posted from my phone so please excuse the bad spelling etc)
I was wondering if you could take some lesser devices and build them into a composite greater device. The effects in the greater could activate the effects in the lesser ones.
Could the effects in the lesser (range touch) effect the greater device?
In theory, I suppose this would be possible, depending on how the device is activated and the other device touching the lesser device could have some power that allowed activation.
A "communications bus" concept does not exists between enchanted devices. Which is where I think you are going with the question?.
I am not so sure about the lesser items targeting the greater one, unless they were designed specifically that way, and are touching. A lesser device could apply an effect to a target which meets it's prescriptively designed target (when triggered, make any chair the blanket is on turn purple). It cannot affect something is not touching without an Arcane connection, or some other method to target the specific thing (detection spell, which prohibits a lesser device), which is usually where the wielder determines the target (like targeting a wand).
If a lesser item "orb" was designed to be activated by being shaken vigorously, anything which shakes the item will cause it to start.
e.g. a dog takes a small orb which has been lesser enchanted to glow when shaken. When the dog shakes it, it lights up. Simple.
The greater device could also use a ReHe effect on the orb. The activation effect could be anything - being thrown, being submersed in water, etc.
Is that what you meant?
Oh, but a set of devices could have trigger actions designed to be in series.
When the blanket is thrown over the chair, it makes the chair change size. (blanket effect is designed for target chairs)
then when the chair changes size, it also makes the room dark. (chair effect is designed for target room)
then when the mantle in the room is in darkness, a warning sound plays (etc)
Just to clarify - R: Voice is a valid range for Lesser Devices (unless I missed something), but it uses the wielder's voice range for targeting purposes. For example, if I have a wand that makes clothing purple at Voice range (my Verditius lost a very stupid bet), I don't have to have an Arcane Connection to the clothing, I just have to be within Voice range and point the wand at it.
Thanks Peregrine_Bjornaer, yup perfect!
I was trying to say that using Voice needed a wielder to target which thingy within Voice range, which precludes an item targeting another item itself.
LoH introduces a ReVi guideline to cause items to directly trigger eachother, if that's any help.
Ofcourse there'd still be a problem with R: Voice effects mind you.
Thanks everyone.
We were trying to make a mind in an item (We're planning to use virtues for this) but a limit that we have set is that the artificial mind would have negative stats.
Trying to add in some CrMe Gift of Reason type effects into the main device would push the vis cost too high.
I was thinking that if we enchant those GoR effects into some gems, then build them into the main device, when the main device is activated it could call on the gems to raise the stats. It would take a round for each stat increase, so to raise all 4 mental stats from -3 to 0 would take 12 rounds.
I want the gems to become part of the main device so that if they are removed it breaks it. Also, as they are being activated by a linked trigger and not a keyword they need to be linked to the main device.
That's your troupe's decision.
Gift of Reason is a Ritual, hence cannot be enchanted into a device - but a non-ritual version with a higher Duration might be. The higher D: GoR (hDGoR) in the gem would then need to be triggered: either relying on the LoH (an adventure book) p.107 upper box ReVi guideline Tellus mentioned, or by using an Intellego effect as a Linked Trigger (ArM5 p.99) in the gem - e. g. an InVi effect determining that an Enchanted Device touching the gem in a specific place is active. With the Linked Trigger that gem cannot be a Lesser Enchantment in the sense of ArM5 p.96, but needs to be an Invested Device. Targeting would not be an issue, as long as the gem touches only the Target item in a specific way. Sequencing the Linked Triggers might require that the gems are aligned in a row touching their neighbours in specific places, too.
Booting the computer? OK, this sounds possible - but by proper configuration the operator might still reduce boot time. 
Why? I don't see how that is needed.
Yes.
Cheers
Hum... Good question. I can't see why not, so long as you're investing the highest-capacity component only and that it is not one of the lesser devices. In other words, no opening something twice.
IMO, it makes sense: You can have a greater device and adorn it with, say, gems that are lesser devices themselves.
Yes. There's a guideline for this in MoH. So long as the lesser effects are in range, you can do it.
One possibility is to have the lesser devices be of the same type (say, rubies) and close enough so as to constitute a Group.
Arguably, as long as your Greater device touches one of the lesser ones AND they all share the same trigger, it can activate them all in one go with a simple touch range, group target effect.
Be careful, though, since it allows the triggering of multiple effects in a single turn. Thus, you should consider whether it is possible in your saga. I believe there's been a published exemple, but serf's parma^^
As long as they touch it, sure!
A possibility that hasn't been raised in this thread, and that you may find useful, is using non-standard ranges.
For exemple, you could have a "close" range, defined as "anything that could be touched" (about 1 pace radius). This would be based on Touch range, +1 magnitude for non-standard = +2 magnitudes, like Voice. The advantage being, of course, that it doesn't relies on your voice, so you could activate it even if mute or wanting to stay silent.