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<blockquote data-quote="pawsplay" data-source="post: 5379626" data-attributes="member: 15538"><p>No, I was only making a point about alchemy and gunpowder. As I just said, I don't see a problem separating the rapier from the musket, though of course that is astoundingly anachronistic. Different laws of physics do not preclude characters from logically pursuing applications of things that demonstrably work in the setting.</p><p></p><p>Consider the transporter on Star Trek. Absolutely, I can accept the Star Trek universe is probably not our own. But I can't think of any good reason why the transporter memory banks, which we have seen in use many times, cannot be used to create a limitless supply of Jean-Luc Picard clones, enough to defeat every menace in the universe that doesn't take cover behind liberal humanism. </p><p></p><p>So... back to gunpowder. If alchemists can create instant epoxies (tanglefoot bag) and other chemical wonders, and magic can create explosions (explosive fireball), it does seem a little unlikely that alchemy and/or magic can't figure out something to stick into a bomb, bombard, or cannon. Even in consideration of whatever "different physical laws" you want, the worlds of D&D tend to have vastly MORE resources for building guns and bombs, if they chose to do so. The reaons have to be something else.</p><p></p><p>So, it is really more difficult to explain why gunpowder or gunpowderlike weapons are not available than to say that they simply are. And they can continue to exist alongside chivalry and feudalism and cavalry and catapults and archery, just as they did in real history for centuries. The only reason to exclude them is a personal preference. If one were to play in a historical Japanese game, it would be a reason to select an era before the widespread use of muskets rather than after. In D&D, it is a consideration that shapes the genre enacted.</p><p></p><p>There is nothing wrong with plate armor in a world with no guns, but it should be recognized as a fanstastical scape, like a gangster movie in which everyone uses kung fu and no guns, or the various Victoriana/steampunk settings. If you want something more grounded, it's easier to aim for something more like the era of the late Crusades, and then file the edges to include or exclude technology of neighboring centuries. Sometimes I do play a gonzo, all-in fantasy setting, but for serious world-building, I would prefer something more grounded. Not necessarily Earth-like, but something intellible to humans and able to withstand reasonably educated viewpoints coming at the setting from various directions.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pawsplay, post: 5379626, member: 15538"] No, I was only making a point about alchemy and gunpowder. As I just said, I don't see a problem separating the rapier from the musket, though of course that is astoundingly anachronistic. Different laws of physics do not preclude characters from logically pursuing applications of things that demonstrably work in the setting. Consider the transporter on Star Trek. Absolutely, I can accept the Star Trek universe is probably not our own. But I can't think of any good reason why the transporter memory banks, which we have seen in use many times, cannot be used to create a limitless supply of Jean-Luc Picard clones, enough to defeat every menace in the universe that doesn't take cover behind liberal humanism. So... back to gunpowder. If alchemists can create instant epoxies (tanglefoot bag) and other chemical wonders, and magic can create explosions (explosive fireball), it does seem a little unlikely that alchemy and/or magic can't figure out something to stick into a bomb, bombard, or cannon. Even in consideration of whatever "different physical laws" you want, the worlds of D&D tend to have vastly MORE resources for building guns and bombs, if they chose to do so. The reaons have to be something else. So, it is really more difficult to explain why gunpowder or gunpowderlike weapons are not available than to say that they simply are. And they can continue to exist alongside chivalry and feudalism and cavalry and catapults and archery, just as they did in real history for centuries. The only reason to exclude them is a personal preference. If one were to play in a historical Japanese game, it would be a reason to select an era before the widespread use of muskets rather than after. In D&D, it is a consideration that shapes the genre enacted. There is nothing wrong with plate armor in a world with no guns, but it should be recognized as a fanstastical scape, like a gangster movie in which everyone uses kung fu and no guns, or the various Victoriana/steampunk settings. If you want something more grounded, it's easier to aim for something more like the era of the late Crusades, and then file the edges to include or exclude technology of neighboring centuries. Sometimes I do play a gonzo, all-in fantasy setting, but for serious world-building, I would prefer something more grounded. Not necessarily Earth-like, but something intellible to humans and able to withstand reasonably educated viewpoints coming at the setting from various directions. [/QUOTE]
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