A Call for Speculation

[Zappo]

My opinion is very similar to Meds'. It would enhance life in a low-tech, low-population setting, but when you've got a few billions people one has to question what would the excess heat do. Thermodynamics being still valid, you would end up heating the planet at least a bit, no matter what you do.

mythusmage, AFAIK plants that can grow on rock (basically only lychenes) take decades to do so. And centuries before producing enough soil to grow something useful... I think there are a couple of enboard members who are from iceland and could tell us; IIRC their government is doing a project for growing trees in a small area of the island and it wasn't easy.
I guess modern tech could help but otherwise, making a cave fertile would take the better part of a lifetime.

 

[mythusmage]

A human lifetime most definitely. A dwarven or elven lifetime...

The update re lichens is appreciated, BTW. So our subterranean agrarianists would need to truck in starter soil to get things going. Then plant nitrogen fixers for a few years.

And now that I remember it...

Drainage. Good drainage, but not so good there is no appreciable water retention.

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

Sunlight at your Command

hmmm, an interesting thought problem with regards to the idea of high magic=high tech.

I was more interested in the problems of production with regard to that problem effects seem fairly interchangeable.

So, to approach the problem we have one very common magickal effect. Let's call it similar to the universal magical effects of our world (healing cripples, driving out demons, and winning battles) so that this becomes the hall mark of a magical guy and magical guys, guys in the gender neutral sense, are very common.

I don't think we have a common institutional response to people who can produce power sources of themselves. Nearest thing I can parallel is bronzesmithing before it becomes common knowledge and one guy in your town represents your only ability to produce and maintain the tools you depend on.

Pretty big difference.

As an effect I think that as long as this sunlight is produced in discrete amounts, that is affecting very limited areas, you would probably see a very early appreciation of the possibilities of solar energy. I mean the most effective use of solar energy today is heating water. How hard would it be for a peasant to see the advantages?

 

[Kilmore]

I suppose all the apopolyptic theories I've seen concerning global warming on this thread apply to an Earthlike planet? How about on a planet out a little further that could use a little toasting? It could be a magical way to terraform a world orbiting a dying sun that would otherwise keep getting a little colder... and colder...

Another important use for 24 hour daylight is security. Can't hide in shadows if there aren't any, and any place crawling with Shadowdancers or other shadow influenced characters would do well to leave the lights on.

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

Light Issues

I wonder about how the people would relate to such 'artificial' light vs. how we react to abundant artificial light.

When I first began camping, and keep in mind I live in a pretty treeless area, I was amazed at how useless flashlight are. They simply blind you to the light of the moon and stars without giving you that much more awareness unless you need really fine detail. After I while I decided that the huge amount of artificial light around modern dwellings must have been a result of overcompensating for the innate crappiness of the small scale artificial light that was available before.

I wonder if a culture that had really early access to such good artificial light as a small area of sunlight might be a lot more cautious about how they used it. People, plants, animals, and some random rocks need nightime, and when your artificial light doesn't so much moderate the darkness as destroy it you're going to view light and darkness much less callously than we view our own artificial light.

Also, I don't know about turning this ability into laser weapons with lenses. Supposedly Archimedes could do that, but noone has ever been able to duplicate the effect.

Allright for ice world!!! One of the first things I thought of was how that sun spell would make it a lot easier for people from warmer climates to migrate northward. Think of the benefits to people with seasonal affective disorder or the need to take vitamin supplements.

Think of the horrifically agravated levels of insomnia!!! Of course, for dwarfs who are already somehow cool with timing themselves for underground life, such things are not really a problem.