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Message: <blockquote data-quote="s/LaSH" data-source="post: 928238" data-attributes="member: 6929">If we assume that we're talking about a standard D&D paradigm here, then things get easy to answer.Magic equals elitism. There are those who cast spells, and those who don't. While anyone can fire a gun, not anyone can read a Fireball scroll (in fact, probably around 1% of the population, I'm guessing). Wheras technology distributes power to a number of people, magic concentrates that power - a gang of peasants with muskets is all well and good, but one archmage can rain meteors down upon them, call up monsters from other planes of existance, build minions to protect himselt, etc.Magic can be concentrated into one place much more than technology. A peasant with twenty muskets is no match for a wizard with one Fireball. Magic items simply accelerate this elitism - a wizard won't make too many, because of the XP cost, and it makes sense for the items to be very powerful and for one recipient, turning that recipient into an unstoppable juggernaut.Basically, magic enhances about the same absolute quantity as technology, but rather than enhance a lot of people a little it enhances a few people a lot. This enforces a mindset of 'the little people' which few would be willing to break - medieval culture simply wasn't as advanced as we are now. Why teach the peasants how to read? Or count? They don't need it!Right, another concept: psionics. No! Don't run! Stop and listen. I'm talking about scifi 'induced psionics', a science often based upon genetic and neurological principles (and quantum mechanics) where volunteers are enhanced with some treatment that gives them psi powers that greatly resemble magic. This is often the plan of a mad wizard, right? Create underlings with unstoppable powers! But how does the wizard do this? Food for thought.Another concept: Education. The primary reason wizards are such a mythological force is because they're insular - they keep their power to themselves. What if they started teaching everyone how to operate magic? Now, to be fair, only about half the NPC population could ever cast even a cantrip (INT 10), but hey, how many people can do calculus in the modern world? An educated populace can advance faster than an uneducated one - and has certain other benefits, as education is simply concentrated experience. I honestly believe I'm higher level than most people from medieval times. Anyway, if you educate the populace, you get innovation, and some of that's going to be technological - some wizard zaps a group of slaad with a lightning bolt and notices that the dead one's legs still twitch when the bolt goes by. A little experimentation later, and you've got conductivity. That sorta thing.Education is an increase in regional power. If everyone in the region is better trained than the people in a neighbouring region, you'll probably conquer them soon. It also lends itself to other things, like democracy and equality, simply because every citizen has this advantage and wants to keep it. So elitism suffers a crippling blow. Soon, easily-distributed tools are favoured over tools that give one person power. Technology is the best way to implement this, unless someone discovers an XP siphon/generator (not unlikely, but not in the core rules). Technology becomes an area of interest. The elites still stay elite, trying to keep ahead, which leads to more advancement, more techniques and insights that make existing spells more powerful, etc etc. Pretty soon, the standard of living is greatly advanced and level 1 spells can rival Fireball.Um... looks like I'm ranting. I'll stop now.</blockquote>

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