In honor of the Does High Magic=High Tech? thread I present the following problem. It involves the effect a single magic trick may have upon a society. Below I describe a magical effect. Your challenge is to describe its affect upon society. Primitive, ancient, feudal, Rennaissance, early modern, industrial revolution, industrial, post industrial, informational society. How would it change society? Make it better? Make it worse?
If you really have to, you can create a spell that would create the effect, and the magic items that go along with the dweomer.
So here's the effect:
Full sunlight. Sunlight equivalent to the light of the noonday summer sun in a clear sky, if such is desired, though the light can be "dimmed" if such is desired. In the case of larger spaces the sunlight can be increased to handle the greater volume. But it can not be increased in a smaller volume thanks to an arcane feedback effect. That is, a certain level of light intensity per cubic foot acts as a brake on further increases.
It is sunlight, not something equivalent to sunlight. As such it burns vampires, crops grow, people suffer heatstroke unless they take steps to avoid it. As noted above, it can be adjusted to a level as low as the faint glow on the horizon after the sun set for romantic interludes and sleeping.
***I have ideas myself, but rather than influence your thinking, I'll leave them a deep, dark secret.
Where do you see the effect being used? Why do you see it being used? What benefits would it bring? What harm? How would it change things? Why would it change things?
That's the challenge, have fun with it.
If you really have to, you can create a spell that would create the effect, and the magic items that go along with the dweomer.
So here's the effect:
Full sunlight. Sunlight equivalent to the light of the noonday summer sun in a clear sky, if such is desired, though the light can be "dimmed" if such is desired. In the case of larger spaces the sunlight can be increased to handle the greater volume. But it can not be increased in a smaller volume thanks to an arcane feedback effect. That is, a certain level of light intensity per cubic foot acts as a brake on further increases.
It is sunlight, not something equivalent to sunlight. As such it burns vampires, crops grow, people suffer heatstroke unless they take steps to avoid it. As noted above, it can be adjusted to a level as low as the faint glow on the horizon after the sun set for romantic interludes and sleeping.
***I have ideas myself, but rather than influence your thinking, I'll leave them a deep, dark secret.
Where do you see the effect being used? Why do you see it being used? What benefits would it bring? What harm? How would it change things? Why would it change things?
That's the challenge, have fun with it.
