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<blockquote data-quote="Irda Ranger" data-source="post: 3696638" data-attributes="member: 1003"><p>Greetings to you, SHARK!</p><p></p><p>To answer your question, yes ... and no.</p><p></p><p></p><p>There's some of this IMC too, but no one is organized enough to really put a stop to progress. There's no all-powerful Catholic Church or Chinese Emperor equivalent. BUT, I (as world-designer) want to avoid technological progress because it's just to darn fast. If you consider real human history you'll realize that we went from pyramids to rocket ships in six(?) elven generations, or the single lifetime of a dragon. That's just too fast! </p><p></p><p>Luckily, I'm a pretty inventive fellow when it comes to post-rationalizing outcomes I've already decided on, and I've thought of several reasons why technological progress bounces around (geographically, from kingdom to kingdom) between the iron age and the medieval period without advancing much beyond.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Absolutely! Imagine the effect a fireball would have on a castle's powder supply! </p><p></p><p>My answer to why technological solutions have not invented black powder is ... it has been invented! but it's far, far to dangerous. Recall that the Wizard's spell list is essentially infinite, subject only to the GM's discretion of power. If Faction A invents a revolutionary technological weapon, it is only common sense that Faction B will seek to counter that weapon with the cheapest and easiest solution possible. Further, it is a perfectly conceivable and reasonable 1st level spell to create a torch-sized flame at any distance, subject to vision or known coordinates. Therefore, no right-thinking castle defender will allow black powder inside his walls - the chance that an enemy spellcaster will scry its position and blow the cache (taking the tower and defenses it's in with it) is just too great.</p><p></p><p>So that's the "No" part of my answer. Certain technologies are simply too fragile or combustible to exist is a world with magic. Some Gnomes have toyed with electrical generators, for instance, but any <em>Lightning Bolt</em> spell, breath weapon or electrical shock weapon in the wrong place can blow the whole grid.</p><p></p><p>But there is a "Yes" part of my answer too. Different races, kingdoms and regions have different levels of technology. In a non-Google world ruled by Guilds who seek to protect their "Guild secrets", technological exchange can be glacial, if at all. I mix it up too. Some kingdoms have may have bronze-age metallurgy but tall ships akin to the Spanish galleons that came to the New World (there's no reason they have to have advanced at the same rate and direction as "real" history). Certain races also display certain affinities: the fey cannot bear the touch of iron or steel; the Marshborn (a human sub-type) can hold their breath under water for quite a while, they favor the crossbow over the bow, and avoid swinging weapons in favor of thrusting weapons; etc.</p><p></p><p>I also have some simple house rules explaining the benefits of various materials from a weapons and armor p.o.v. First, all metal weapons have the ratings in the book - against armor and shields of the same material. Bronze weapons suffer a -1 dmg vs. iron or steel armor, and bronze armor suffers a -1 DR vs. iron or steel weapons. Iron suffers no penalties vs. steel, but is 1.5x as heavy as the ratings in the book, which matters for purposes of fatigue, encumbrance and environmental effects (like heat). As a GM I find this useful because I can load up my Orcs and goblins with lots of bronze weapons and armor, but the PC's don't try carting it all back with them to sell - they know from experience that their steel-using culture has no use for such weapons, and merchants won't buy them.</p><p></p><p>Lastly, certain technologies are somewhat more advanced than real-Earth developed, driven by the need to adapt to the fantasy world they live in. Many castles and towers in the wealthier and more advanced nations are made with a cement that's made with lead rebar (or ward against scrying) and inset with Oak planks blessed and enruned by certain faiths (to ward off curses intended to spoil the food and water supplies). Good cement is largely as immune to magical effects as solid, naturally occurring granite, and so technological progress has advanced beyond the standard medieval in that respect (but only in the most advanced kingdoms).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Irda Ranger, post: 3696638, member: 1003"] Greetings to you, SHARK! To answer your question, yes ... and no. There's some of this IMC too, but no one is organized enough to really put a stop to progress. There's no all-powerful Catholic Church or Chinese Emperor equivalent. BUT, I (as world-designer) want to avoid technological progress because it's just to darn fast. If you consider real human history you'll realize that we went from pyramids to rocket ships in six(?) elven generations, or the single lifetime of a dragon. That's just too fast! Luckily, I'm a pretty inventive fellow when it comes to post-rationalizing outcomes I've already decided on, and I've thought of several reasons why technological progress bounces around (geographically, from kingdom to kingdom) between the iron age and the medieval period without advancing much beyond. Absolutely! Imagine the effect a fireball would have on a castle's powder supply! My answer to why technological solutions have not invented black powder is ... it has been invented! but it's far, far to dangerous. Recall that the Wizard's spell list is essentially infinite, subject only to the GM's discretion of power. If Faction A invents a revolutionary technological weapon, it is only common sense that Faction B will seek to counter that weapon with the cheapest and easiest solution possible. Further, it is a perfectly conceivable and reasonable 1st level spell to create a torch-sized flame at any distance, subject to vision or known coordinates. Therefore, no right-thinking castle defender will allow black powder inside his walls - the chance that an enemy spellcaster will scry its position and blow the cache (taking the tower and defenses it's in with it) is just too great. So that's the "No" part of my answer. Certain technologies are simply too fragile or combustible to exist is a world with magic. Some Gnomes have toyed with electrical generators, for instance, but any [I]Lightning Bolt[/I] spell, breath weapon or electrical shock weapon in the wrong place can blow the whole grid. But there is a "Yes" part of my answer too. Different races, kingdoms and regions have different levels of technology. In a non-Google world ruled by Guilds who seek to protect their "Guild secrets", technological exchange can be glacial, if at all. I mix it up too. Some kingdoms have may have bronze-age metallurgy but tall ships akin to the Spanish galleons that came to the New World (there's no reason they have to have advanced at the same rate and direction as "real" history). Certain races also display certain affinities: the fey cannot bear the touch of iron or steel; the Marshborn (a human sub-type) can hold their breath under water for quite a while, they favor the crossbow over the bow, and avoid swinging weapons in favor of thrusting weapons; etc. I also have some simple house rules explaining the benefits of various materials from a weapons and armor p.o.v. First, all metal weapons have the ratings in the book - against armor and shields of the same material. Bronze weapons suffer a -1 dmg vs. iron or steel armor, and bronze armor suffers a -1 DR vs. iron or steel weapons. Iron suffers no penalties vs. steel, but is 1.5x as heavy as the ratings in the book, which matters for purposes of fatigue, encumbrance and environmental effects (like heat). As a GM I find this useful because I can load up my Orcs and goblins with lots of bronze weapons and armor, but the PC's don't try carting it all back with them to sell - they know from experience that their steel-using culture has no use for such weapons, and merchants won't buy them. Lastly, certain technologies are somewhat more advanced than real-Earth developed, driven by the need to adapt to the fantasy world they live in. Many castles and towers in the wealthier and more advanced nations are made with a cement that's made with lead rebar (or ward against scrying) and inset with Oak planks blessed and enruned by certain faiths (to ward off curses intended to spoil the food and water supplies). Good cement is largely as immune to magical effects as solid, naturally occurring granite, and so technological progress has advanced beyond the standard medieval in that respect (but only in the most advanced kingdoms). [/QUOTE]
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