D&D General Portable, Renewable Fuel Sources

[Shades of Eternity]

I've become a fan of this channel and him bringing up fuel sources got me thinking.

In a fantasy world, you can have fuel sources for the average person that just don't exist.

Like marching treants to a lumberyard. is it a deathmarch or a haircut?

What fuel sources could exist, how would affect where your village/towns/castles exist and how does it change power dynamics?

 

[aco175]

I have seen a few of his videos and like them as well.

 

[Shades of Eternity]

yeah like here's what I'm thinking, for example.

Sunstone (Stores Daylight)

Small yellow crystals slowly absorb sunlight during the day.

At night they become warm—not hot enough to burn, but warm enough to: heat cottages, dry clothes, keep livestock alive and warm beds to give a few examples.

Poor families own one or two fist-sized stones.
Wealthy estates own entire cellars lined with them.

The economy revolves around "charging fields" on sunny hills.

Think of them as rechargeable hot water bottles.

 

[aco175]

Naturally there would also be coldstones for those that could afford the air conditioning.

Would there be a limit to the number before it started to affect the climate?

 

[Shades of Eternity]

yeah

I could see mining being the fantasy equivalent of climate change, if not done responsibly.

Plus, what monsters are unleashed on the surface in the hunting of these sun/cold stones?

 

[Deset Gled]

The Decanter of Endless Water powering a turbine seems like an obvious choice.

Or just summon anything to turn a turbine, for that matter. Presto! Endless electricity.

 

[Shades of Eternity]

Yeah, a decanter of endless water always feels like that one item with 101 uses and should have a bigger effect on your world.

 

[kigmatzomat]

High Elves get to keep their forests. Why? They all have a cantrip they can change daily.

So imagine winter in a High Elven village. Most of the adults know Create Bonfire and take turns keeping the massive 25sf fireplaces going. Stones or iron grates even out the heat.

The ceilings stay clean as there is no smoke. A large enough household can have someone cast Light so they don't need oil. Not that High Elves need as much light as darkvision allows many simple tasks.

And High Elf farmers are so efficient. Mold Earth eliminates most of the back breaking digging & dirt hauling. And Shape Water eliminates water hauling. Even Elementalism makes shovels unnecessary as you can turn soil into "kettle bell" shapes that can be picked up easily and then turned to blocks to assemble walls.

 

[Richards]

The Decanter of Endless Water powering a turbine seems like an obvious choice.

Or just summon anything to turn a turbine, for that matter. Presto! Endless electricity.

Summon? That's where animate dead comes in handy. Mindless undead don't get tired of ever turning that millstone.

Johnathan

 

[Stalker0]

Mold Earth eliminates most of the back breaking digging & dirt hauling.

Just noting you would still need the “backbreaking” to break up the dirt into “loose dirt” in the first place.

But your overall point is quite valid. Plentiful access to even basic cantrips would completely transform a society