An alternate set of tech levels (especially for low-tech games)

Cyberzombie said:

My current goal is to use the lower tech levels -- up to about the Renaissance-level -- in a gaming product I'm working on. But I want consistant upper tech levels for future products. I like consistancy.

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What product is this (if you can say)? What company? Do you have a planned release date yet?

Cyberzombie said:

Again, thanks; these are things I need to think about. TL 13 is, basically, our world. The internet, "smart" weaponry, the beginnings of private space flight. TL 14 would presumably include the start of colonies on the moon, and trips to Mars. TL 15 would feature space travel by means other than chemical rockets -- light sails, ramjets, maybe even fission reactors. It would feature the start of Mars colonies. TL 16 would have more advanced space flight -- say, fusion reactors -- as well as serious terraforming of Mars, a la Kim Stanley Robinson. That would probably continue on into the next couple of tech levels, though; terraforming Mars wouldn't be a simple task.

That make things any clearer? Can you see any major things I'm overlooking here?

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The only real issues I see:
* New names for early/middle/late where possible. Here are some suggestions, though off the top of my head and as such not too great: age 0 "paleolithic", age 1 "neolithic", age 2 "agriculture", age 2.5 "copper age".
* Expanded descriptions -- though I presume those will be saved for the book
* Differentiation of early/middle/late ages, though I suspect that naming will go a long way toward this. I think you should find at least one major technology for each age and expand on its impact for the age. (Plundering d20 Modern may help here.)
* Impact of each age on actual gameplay should be included. Yes, weapon and armor selection will be limited, but what about, say, price changes with the Industrial Revolution? If possible, having at least one change (other than more equipment) that will matter to PCs every two levels or so keeps it interesting, rather than 'just' feeling like a heavy-handed restriction. ("No, you can't buy full plate since the TL is only 4.")

Edit: Any chance of an updated TL list?

Feel free to use these ideas, modified as needed, for your product. Good luck with it! It sounds interesting to me.

I think an even better idea (especially for later tech levels, but appropriate for early ones as well) is to have several parallel tech levels. For futuristic, for instance, you could have a nuclear technology level, a genetics tech level, etc. Sometimes a tech level would require another tech level to be at a specific level to advance. (For instance, materials technology has to improve for space travel to be workable).

I've worked out something like this for futuristic tech before and I thought the result was much better for achieving a certain effect within a culture. It also allows for different cultures to excel at different things.

reanjr said:

I think an even better idea (especially for later tech levels, but appropriate for early ones as well) is to have several parallel tech levels. For futuristic, for instance, you could have a nuclear technology level, a genetics tech level, etc. Sometimes a tech level would require another tech level to be at a specific level to advance. (For instance, materials technology has to improve for space travel to be workable).

I've worked out something like this for futuristic tech before and I thought the result was much better for achieving a certain effect within a culture. It also allows for different cultures to excel at different things.

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This is generally a good idea. It would help divorce the system from Earth's past as well (with the side effect of making the Renaissance a bad name).

Metalwork (none/copper/bronze/iron/steel)
Power sources (human only/domestication/blah/coal/blah)

CRGreathouse said:

What product is this (if you can say)? What company? Do you have a planned release date yet?

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It's a book on creating believable new races. Adamant. No release date, but I'm going to have the first draft done by next Friday.

CRGreathouse said:

The only real issues I see:
* New names for early/middle/late where possible. Here are some suggestions, though off the top of my head and as such not too great: age 0 "paleolithic", age 1 "neolithic", age 2 "agriculture", age 2.5 "copper age".

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Agreed. The placeholder names need to go, even if I keep the concepts in the detailed descriptions.

CRGreathouse said:

* Expanded descriptions -- though I presume those will be saved for the book
* Differentiation of early/middle/late ages, though I suspect that naming will go a long way toward this. I think you should find at least one major technology for each age and expand on its impact for the age. (Plundering d20 Modern may help here.)
* Impact of each age on actual gameplay should be included. Yes, weapon and armor selection will be limited, but what about, say, price changes with the Industrial Revolution? If possible, having at least one change (other than more equipment) that will matter to PCs every two levels or so keeps it interesting, rather than 'just' feeling like a heavy-handed restriction. ("No, you can't buy full plate since the TL is only 4.")

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All good points. I'll have everything besides the price changes; that's well beyond the scope of the book I'm working on.

CRGreathouse said:

Edit: Any chance of an updated TL list?

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I'm attaching an update, but it's only through the posts made before my last one. I'll have a more complete update later today or tomorrow.

CRGreathouse said:

Feel free to use these ideas, modified as needed, for your product. Good luck with it! It sounds interesting to me.

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Thanks. I love this forum.

reanjr said:

I think an even better idea (especially for later tech levels, but appropriate for early ones as well) is to have several parallel tech levels.

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That's pretty similar to what one Traveller book did. It's a bit beyond the scope of my project, but I'll keep that in mind. I might be able to do a simplified version of that.


I will ditch the Renaissance name. My mind was blanking out "age of reason" until I looked at the Progress Levels again last night. I'll just steal that name instead.


Edit: Rather than make 3 posts in a row, here's my latest version of the tech level names.