CruelSummerLord
First Post
In the real world, humankind has gradually progressed technologically, and is constantly updating and changing its own thoughts and beliefs, both processes taking places over the centuries.
But in a fantasy world, things often take a different turn. Human and related cultures are still using the same swords and armor they used over two milennia ago when it comes to warfare. Tavern gamblers play poker, blackjack and roulette inspired from real-world gambling, when they did not exist in their current forms, if at all, during the Middle Ages. Social and political theories that are more at home in our modern world than in the medieval one pop up everywhere.
Some parts of art and culture will progress, others remain the same. Some aspects of technology never seem to change at all-man never invents the internal combustion engine and never invents gunpowder. Whatever happens, he and the other races will still be swinging swords and favoring sorcery over science.
To me, this is all good; I make no excusees whatsoever for having such anomalies in my games. But how do you as a worldbuilder justify having mercenaries play the equivalent of Texas Hold 'Em when they're dressed in plate mail and carry around broadswords? How do you justify that none of the highly intelligent and advanced cultures in your world has ever discovered gunpowder? How do you justify that man cannot invent a car or a submarine to save his life, and is forced to rely on grunt labor, whether his own or that of an animal, to get his work done?
I justify them in part by the fact that oil, coal and the like, and resources most necessary to provide the combustion needed to provoke industrialization and gunpowder, are either in too short supply to be able to be used on a mass scale, or they're being used by nonhuman races who have better things to do with it than embark on harebrained schemes of inventing-most notably, using it to stoke their forges, burn trolls and black puddings, or do other conventional things that people in a D&D world use fire for.
Remember, in our real world mankind never had to compete with another race for the use of these resources. If we did, chances are our competition would get control of at least some of those resources and use them for other things that we have no interest in. The presence of nonhuman races in the gameworld opens up all sorts of possibilities for explaining why some humans are still organized into Dark Age-like tribes, while others might be organized into city-states similar to those of Renaissance Italy, all while sharing the same continent.
Also, I have no objection with tinkering with the laws of science to achieve the desired results. Remember, when you cast fireballs and lightning bolts, you're basically creating energy out of nothing, which violates the basic laws of thermodynamics. If we can get away with that, I think we can get away with making gunpowder simply too explosive, reactive and dangerous to use properly. If gunpowder is too dangerous, no one will ever experiment with it, and guns are never invented.
Some might say that having social or religious restrictions might work, but that doesn't prevent "freethinkers" and subversives from still experimenting on these things anyway, and gaining followers. Of course, when the gunpowder is simply too dangerous, too deadly and tragic to use properly, these "freethinkers" are not contributing to the progress of man; they're simply a bunch of destructive nutcases who richly deserve the Darwin Awards they're going to receive.
Thoughts?
But in a fantasy world, things often take a different turn. Human and related cultures are still using the same swords and armor they used over two milennia ago when it comes to warfare. Tavern gamblers play poker, blackjack and roulette inspired from real-world gambling, when they did not exist in their current forms, if at all, during the Middle Ages. Social and political theories that are more at home in our modern world than in the medieval one pop up everywhere.
Some parts of art and culture will progress, others remain the same. Some aspects of technology never seem to change at all-man never invents the internal combustion engine and never invents gunpowder. Whatever happens, he and the other races will still be swinging swords and favoring sorcery over science.
To me, this is all good; I make no excusees whatsoever for having such anomalies in my games. But how do you as a worldbuilder justify having mercenaries play the equivalent of Texas Hold 'Em when they're dressed in plate mail and carry around broadswords? How do you justify that none of the highly intelligent and advanced cultures in your world has ever discovered gunpowder? How do you justify that man cannot invent a car or a submarine to save his life, and is forced to rely on grunt labor, whether his own or that of an animal, to get his work done?
I justify them in part by the fact that oil, coal and the like, and resources most necessary to provide the combustion needed to provoke industrialization and gunpowder, are either in too short supply to be able to be used on a mass scale, or they're being used by nonhuman races who have better things to do with it than embark on harebrained schemes of inventing-most notably, using it to stoke their forges, burn trolls and black puddings, or do other conventional things that people in a D&D world use fire for.
Remember, in our real world mankind never had to compete with another race for the use of these resources. If we did, chances are our competition would get control of at least some of those resources and use them for other things that we have no interest in. The presence of nonhuman races in the gameworld opens up all sorts of possibilities for explaining why some humans are still organized into Dark Age-like tribes, while others might be organized into city-states similar to those of Renaissance Italy, all while sharing the same continent.
Also, I have no objection with tinkering with the laws of science to achieve the desired results. Remember, when you cast fireballs and lightning bolts, you're basically creating energy out of nothing, which violates the basic laws of thermodynamics. If we can get away with that, I think we can get away with making gunpowder simply too explosive, reactive and dangerous to use properly. If gunpowder is too dangerous, no one will ever experiment with it, and guns are never invented.
Some might say that having social or religious restrictions might work, but that doesn't prevent "freethinkers" and subversives from still experimenting on these things anyway, and gaining followers. Of course, when the gunpowder is simply too dangerous, too deadly and tragic to use properly, these "freethinkers" are not contributing to the progress of man; they're simply a bunch of destructive nutcases who richly deserve the Darwin Awards they're going to receive.
Thoughts?
