How different RPGS handle progress/tech/advancement levels

[Morrus]

The idea of advancement levels in sci-fi RPGs is a common one. I took a quick look at four games to compare them (maily out of curiosity).



[TABLE="width: 100%"] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] Level

[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] N.E.W. Advancement Level
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] D20 Modern/Future Progress Level*
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Traveller
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] GURPS TECH LEVEL
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] 0
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Stone and bronze age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Stone age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Stone age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Stone age
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] 1
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Iron age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Bronze/iron age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Bronze/iron/medieval age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Bronze age
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] 2
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Medieval
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Middle ages
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Age of sail
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Iron age
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] 3
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Rennaissance
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Age of reason
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Industrial revolution
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Medieval
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] 4
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Industrial
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Industrial age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Mechanized age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Age of sail
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] 5
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Information age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Information age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"]

[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Industrial revolution
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] 6
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Fusion
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Fusion age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Nuclear age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Mechanized age
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] 7
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Energy
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Gravity age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"]

[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Nuclear age
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] 8
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Early FTL
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Energy age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Digital age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Digital age
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] 9
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Galactic
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] FTL age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Early stellar
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Microtech age
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] 10
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Dyson age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%, bgcolor: #dddddd"] Subspace radio age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"]

[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Robotic age
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] 11
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Multi-galactic age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%, bgcolor: #dddddd"] Dysonian age
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Average stellar
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Age of exotic matter
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] 12
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Universal
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%, bgcolor: #dddddd"] 2x-Tech
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"]

[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"]

[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] 13
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Galactic design
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%, bgcolor: #dddddd"] 3X-Tech
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"]

[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"]

[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] 14
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Dark energy
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%, bgcolor: #dddddd"]

[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] High stellar
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"]

[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] 15
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Multiverse
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%, bgcolor: #dddddd"]

[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Imperial maximum
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"]

[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] 16
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"]

[/TD] [TD="width: 20%, bgcolor: #dddddd"]

[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"] Darrian historical maximum
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"]

[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] 17
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"]

[/TD] [TD="width: 20%, bgcolor: #dddddd"]

[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"]

[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"]

[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 20%"] 18
[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"]

[/TD] [TD="width: 20%, bgcolor: #dddddd"]

[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"]

[/TD] [TD="width: 20%"]

[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]
*Grey area is from Prime Directive

 

[nomotog]

It's always a straight line progression isn't it. That was the thing that kind of nagged me back when I read the concept in D20 future. It's not that supportive of diversity in tech styles by itself.

 

[Morrus]

At least one of them - is it GURPS? - has different scales for each different type of tech. Or maybe that's Traveller?

 

[nomotog]

At least one of them - is it GURPS? - has different scales for each different type of tech. Or maybe that's Traveller?

I think future mentioned it in a sidebar too. You could have civilizations with different levels in different areas. Like you could have a civilization with PL 6 medical, but PL5 guns. It's not bad. (Though mixing PL levels in that system was kind of a bad idea given how big a gulf they have between them. It was almost a rule that you couldn't mix PLs and have things work.) It's still more of a straight line progression though. My idea that I never bothered to actually make would be to just label items with key words based on what tech is needed to exist. Like lasers need laser, but med-gel needs the tech of genetic engineering and then when you make a civilization you just pick so many techs out of a bag.

 

[Bluenose]

At least one of them - is it GURPS? - has different scales for each different type of tech. Or maybe that's Traveller?

Both of them in various books. Different fields of technology with different levels of advancement is one of the things that more detailed world-generation covers. It's even a "thing" in the OTU, with one race being seriously affected by plagues from another branch of that race due to limited medical knowledge. The Vilani had been transplanted to a world relatively hostile to human life, and while this made it harder for them to do some things (make edible food was a caste secret) it also meant they weren't affected by most of the planets germs and their medical science was quite backward in the area. Then they met humans from Earth, with all our evolved germs, and whoops Plague!

 

[GMMichael]

Nice list! I notice that two distinct tech levels are missing:

- Jedi age

- Fermi paradox onset

I would love to see a Numenera list, if anyone's knowledgeable on the subject. Or is that more Sci-Fantasy?

 

[Umbran]

At least one of them - is it GURPS? - has different scales for each different type of tech. Or maybe that's Traveller?

I find most such systems nonsensical. They tend to assume that areas of understanding are independent, when they generally aren't. Technology from column A is often a required precursor for technology in column B.

As examples:

Understanding of medicine beyond a certain point requires being able to see within the patient without causing them notable harm. If our critters are made from normal materials, that means X-rays and ultrasound technology - and those require certain levels of electronics and computational technology. The ability to safely perform an operation to remove a brain tumor, for example, implies computational power sufficient to run the Space Shuttle.

In the other direction - to get beyond sub-orbital spaceflight, you need a certain understanding of your own species biology and medicine. Space is harsh, and it will kill your astronauts if you don't understand what's killing them, and how to prevent their death.

And then, you have the follow-on chains: Understanding what's killing your astronauts will tell you something about stars. Understanding the stars will tell you about nuclear reactions, if you hadn't already figured them out.

Understanding of biochemistry requires understanding of chemistry, which requires understanding of physics (quantum mechanics, specifically) - you need quantum mechanics to understand how large complex molecules in your body are shaped, as their physical shapes actually matter in function. But, the same equations that tell you how basic chemistry works also hand you how semiconductors work. So, it is hard to explain why a culture with the biochemical knowledge has one without the other.

And so on. Having major differences in tech levels typically requires you to explain why the culture is restricted from developing the technology. With thousands to millions of creatures investigating things on your planet, why do they *not* investigate an area? Because if they do investigate, they *will* learn.

 

[GMMichael]

With thousands to millions of creatures investigating things on your planet, why do they *not* investigate an area? Because if they do investigate, they *will* learn.

Reasons to not investigate:
- Religious prohibition
- Legal prohibition
- More pressing concerns (war, poverty, and soccer games)
- Fear of what might be discovered

The latter, by the way, is intimately tied to Fermi paradox implications. Also, I've recently seen some very divergent tech levels proposed: magic tech, bio tech, and mechanical tech. When you extend these areas to fantasy levels, they can diverge to the point of requiring different scales. Like, discovering further magic levels may require great amounts of historical or spiritual study, unrelated to the incessant biological experiements or genetic breeding necessary for greater bio-tech improvements.