D&D General Technology in D&D, the IRL Timeline, and Pausing It.

[Ixal]

Yes, these options would exist - but because magic (as presented) doesn't really benefit from economies of scale, it would only be available to the very wealthy.

Which is pretty much how medieval banking worked anyways.

And yet at some point the demand for banking would outstrip the supply of spellcaster leading to either to more people becoming spellcaster or people looking for an alternative for banking.

 

[Thunderfoot]

Something to remember when applying history is look at the why as much as the how or what. So pre- 1st C. CE the Roman Empire had:
Running water
Mechanical lifts amd elevators
Water and steam driven engines (though not used to the extent or purpose of the later Industrial Age)
A somewhat centralized government
A somewhat centralized and organized economy
Public works
Massive masonry engineering projects
Infrastructure projects (roads, bridges, civil engineering projects)
A centralized military command (at least compared to most other civs)
A network of reliable communication around the Empire (considering)
Public baths and a general sense of personal cleanliness
And so much more...

Forward a few hundred years and we have people living in wood houses framed in poop, mud and straw, living in offal, covered in dirt, dung and fleas and wondering what race of giants built that weird bridge that goes nowhere (aquaduct).
While local Lords raise small armies of personal soldiers based on who they like and what titles they've earned versus actual ability.
Hey, but the swords are amazing.

My point is that even while we advance we regress. The problem with most fantasy histories is that we forget that non god-like beings sometimes cause problems. (Attila, Ghengis Khan, Hitler, etc.) So, I think it's fine that some of these worlds don't advance, but they need better reasons I would say. I don't think any Empire has stood the test of 1000 yrs. without some sort of forking, split, civil war/strife. So, measured regression inside general progression is the key.

 

[MGibster]

Most D&D settings are lousy with the remnants of ancient civilizations that includes dungeons to delve, treasures to plunder, and magic items to discover. That would suggest that maybe some sort of cataclysm of apocalyptic scope interrupted the progression of technology as we understand it.

 

[tetrasodium]

Yes, these options would exist - but because magic (as presented) doesn't really benefit from economies of scale, it would only be available to the very wealthy.

Which is pretty much how medieval banking worked anyways.

absolutely yes but it slingshots the existence of things like the east india trading company wayyyy back when you could have a trader negotiate with a plantation owner & handle pay by wire transfer at the "london" bank branch paid out in notes to the plantation owner from a local bank or just written into the balance sheet at the bank for the plantation owner to use. common people might not ever have reason for wire transfers but they sure as heck will treat paper money as good or better than gold because "The Bank" deals mercilessly with counterfeiters of their bank notes while nobody really deals with tracking down coin shavers & such.

With fractional reserve banking it even makes the local bank branches have an interest in keeping money for the common people... They might not store much individually but there sure are a lot of them. They don't need message for checks that just move the money already in the bank from one account at the local branch to a second account at the local branch

 

[Cadence]

I wonder what difference the assumed gender equality and availability of magical healing at childbirth would make? (Maybe add in some cleric spells offering resistance to disease for children and a reliable birth control cantrip?). Would that lead to smaller family sizes and less pressure for population expansion?

 

[overgeeked]

Building from this, is there an easy way to justify why an x,000 year old civilization with scholars (or PCs whose players' took science classes) hasn't come up with some of the more advanced things without the reason being some god/deity/power stopped it from happening.

With magic they wouldn’t need to. Who cares why diseases happen when even a novice cleric can cure it. Why bother with gunpowder when all you need is some bat guano to launch a fireball. Magic replaces technology.

 

[Cadence]

With magic they wouldn’t need to. Who cares why diseases happen when even a novice cleric can cure it.

Two per day for a third level cleric. What level is a novice cleric, and can they spot it before it's a super spreader event?

Why bother with gunpowder when all you need is some bat guano to launch a fireball. Magic replaces technology.

And training to be 5th level.

 

[MGibster]

I wonder what difference the assumed gender equality and availability of magical healing at childbirth would make? (Maybe add in some cleric spells offering resistance to disease for children and a reliable birth control cantrip?). Would that lead to smaller family sizes and less pressure for population expansion?

For me, when it gets to the point where magic has effectively become the same as technology it stops being fantasy and turns into a magical farce of sorts. Kind of like The Flintstones. (For our younger readers, before the Flintstones were vitamins they were a primetime cartoon series that originally aired in the 60s.) But a fantasy farce is still fantasy so if that's what floats someone's boat that's cool. In addition to disease management and birth control, you need to take away the economic incentive to have large families and that means labor saving devices/magic. In particular in agriculture.

 

[overgeeked]

Two per day for a third level cleric. What level is a novice cleric, and can they spot it before it's a super spreader event?

And training to be 5th level.

And? With how utterly dirty most D&D worlds are with leveled characters in general, and casters in specific, there’s no shortage of 3rd-level clerics and 5th-level wizards.

 

[Cadence]

And? With how utterly dirty most D&D worlds are with leveled characters in general, and casters in specific, there’s no shortage of 3rd-level clerics and 5th-level wizards.

Then why are there ever even adventures for low level characters if the general populace is crawling with 3rd-5th level casters at that high a percent?