D&D Technology

[Thornir Alekeg]

My only issue isn't with the technologies available, it is with the lack of change given the often long histories some campaign settings have. I have definitely seen settings where thousands of years ago, things were very similar in terms of tech (and sometimes politics as well) as they are in the "current" time of the setting. Things just don't change and advance they way you would think they should (I blame those blasted long-living elves for holding things back).

 

[Woas]

Ohhh. Buttons! All this time reading the thread, I thought everyone was talking about the little things on phones or on walls that you push and then the lights magically turn on.

 

[Umbran]

Things just don't change and advance they way you would think they should (I blame those blasted long-living elves for holding things back).

The history of human "civilization" covers something on the order of 10,000 years. It is only in relatively recent times that technological change has happened swiftly. Large swaths of the time were relatively slow in terms of change. Consider that the time between the arrival of iron-working tech in Europe and the beginning of the Renaissance was over two millennia.

 

[Andor]

Even if we were, the original two items mentioned would still be available and in use. Buttons, both decorative and functional, were in use in England in the 14th century. Because of tight fitting clothing style originating in the 13th century, they are required for period clothing.

Arabic numbering, and thereby the decimal point, were in use at the time as well. I would go into detail, but why belabor the point?

According to Wikipedia the first known use of arabic numerals in England was 1487 and they weren't in common use untill the mid-16th century. And decimal numbers didn't replace fractions in common usage until later than that. Heck Britain only switched to decimal money in the '70s and yet D&D uses decimal money.

The idea of base 10 numerals was invented in 400 BCE but it took 2000 years to diffuse into common european usage.

As for buttons I usually think of D&D worlds as being about 12th century so that's kind of a quibble.

But yeah, the static yet advanced technology/sociology of the standard campaign world often strains my credulity. That's part of why I like Eberron so much.

 

[Clueless]

The history of human "civilization" covers something on the order of 10,000 years. It is only in relatively recent times that technological change has happened swiftly. Large swaths of the time were relatively slow in terms of change. Consider that the time between the arrival of iron-working tech in Europe and the beginning of the Renaissance was over two millennia.

Yet the time between Custer's Last Stand and the Man on the Moon was only 100 years. Technological advancements seem to go in spurts, right now it seems we're on an exponential advancement.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

The history of human "civilization" covers something on the order of 10,000 years. It is only in relatively recent times that technological change has happened swiftly. Large swaths of the time were relatively slow in terms of change. Consider that the time between the arrival of iron-working tech in Europe and the beginning of the Renaissance was over two millennia.

True, but look at the geopolitical upheaval during those same two millenia. I realize that often the lack of changes is to simplify the setting backstory for the DM, but it still bothers me at times.

My half-kidding blame of the elves centers on a home brew or two I've encountered that needed certain elements to be lost to history. Unfortunately when elves live 1000 years you can't make an event from seven centuries ago be truly lost, so suddenly the event took place 4000 years ago instead.

Now, the real question is did they have buttons in the setting four thousand years ago?

 

[Clueless]

LOL
My solution to that was to just... kill off the elves.

 

[Jim Hague]

Like they do in half of Europe, most of the Americas and various parts of Africa and Asia?

Two other interesting technology quirks

1) Bronze age people had plenty of iron. They just didn't know how to make steel.
2) The wheel was invented as a way to make round pots. It wasn't used for transport until the axle was invented.

Excepting that few of us speak Latin, but many speak Latin-derived languages, point of fact. For that matter, English is such a mishmash as to what it's eaten up lingiusitcally that its pedigree is akin to a mutt, to say the least. No, I was referring to the alt-history conceit you find in VALIS - the Empire never died, thus, we'd be speaking Latin and not a descendant language.

 

[Tinker Gnome]

Now that I think of it ... it is not technology that gets my goat ... it's fashion.

Medieval bras ... BURN THOSE ABOMINATIONS!
The "Anti-bra" ... common on a number of minis. Can't suspend disbelief! They can't work!
The bicini ... a 20th century fashion statement ...
The chain mail bicini ... Fredricks of Hollywood perhaps, but not on any real adventurer.

What is an anti-bra? Where hve you seen bras in DnD? Why does my post consist of asking about womens unmentionables?

 

[JEL]

Are you sure about that? IIRC reducing iron from ore takes a temperature much higher, and more advanced technology, than the the furnaces and temperature needed to melt copper and tin and make bronze. After that, regulating the carbon content is not so complex.

It wasn't until tin became scarce that it became advantagous to switch to iron. Even though they knew of it, there was no reason to use it (except as a precous metal ironically enough) when bronze was easier.