Rope Trick

[Wik]

"Lukelighting plays a Pratchett reference for +15 defense against your metaphysical argument!"

Moritheil counters by metareferencing Dresden Codak!

Not to be a total anthropology nerd, but Pratchett lifted that from somewhere else. It's an old Indian story.

An Englishman who, having been told that the world rested on a platform which rested on the back of an elephant which in turn rested upon the back of a turtle, asked "what did the turtle rest on?"
"Another turtle"
"And that turtle?"
"Ah, Sahib, after that it turtles all the way down."

(at least, that's the story I heard from a anthropology book about Clifford Geertz... which I imagine predates Pratchett).

 

[Elethiomel]

Not to be a total anthropology nerd, but Pratchett lifted that from somewhere else. It's an old Indian story.

An Englishman who, having been told that the world rested on a platform which rested on the back of an elephant which in turn rested upon the back of a turtle, asked "what did the turtle rest on?"
"Another turtle"
"And that turtle?"
"Ah, Sahib, after that it turtles all the way down."

(at least, that's the story I heard from a anthropology book about Clifford Geertz... which I imagine predates Pratchett).

This story is also referenced in Discworld literature. Science of Discworld, I believe.

 

[Michael Silverbane]

What planet? Unless you're playing spelljammer, using the concept of planets is optional in DnD. I've mentioned this before, but the physical laws of reality are vastly different: there are only four elements, distance traveled depends on whether you do it across diagonals or along a grid, it's possible for a 1st-level spell to slow you from falling any height at any speed and not be harmed . . . (Yes, it's magic, but bending reality that much ought to be more like a limited wish in terms of how powerful it is, viewed through the lens of physical laws rather than player survival.)

Oh, let's not forget thermodynamics: fireballs can make light and heat and sound, but virtually no pressure change . . .

In the spelljammer game that I ran, I ruled that any object large enough to have its own gravity drug 'immobile' effects along with it. Hence, the rope trick would go with the boat.

Later
silver

 

[mvincent]

In the spelljammer game that I ran, I ruled that any object large enough to have its own gravity drug 'immobile' effects along with it.

In spelljammer, how big must something be to have it's own gravity?

 

[DreadArchon]

I'd (1) make it move with the rope if the rope was left out or (2) make the user declare a frame of reference if pulling up the rope. This leaves a lot of room for creative abuse, but it's not like this is the only such spell.

 

[Michael Silverbane]

In spelljammer, how big must something be to have it's own gravity?

I don't recall off-hand, but I believe that it was something like a 15 foot cube... So, most ships, some big critters, just about any building, etc...

Later
silver