Stone Age D&D Games?

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

Actually it seems as though Homo Neandertalensis was better suited to life during the last ice age. Modern archaeology is of the opinion that they were highly specialized and not very flexible. This is perhaps one of the main reasons for their disappearance. There are several discussions as to whether or not they were wiped out due to interbreeding with Homo Sapiens or they were extinguished by warfare. There are evidense linked to both theories, though most finds is more supportive of a competion for resources and that Homo Sapiens was better suited for that after the last ice age.

It is also interesting that Homo Neandertalensis was far better flint nappers than Homo Sapiens, It seems as though Homo Sapiens learned advanced flint napping from Homo Neandertalensis and that they only in the late Paleolithic had better flint napping techniques. There are some dicussion as to wether the Homo Neandertalensis further developed their skills, but the finds are very questioned.

Yeah, but homo sapiens didn't too badly. I mean, the Ice Age got us everywhere even into the Americas. Everything since then seems to me to be making the most of a bad situation.

Not to say, that we haven't outdone ourselves at this point. My jaw may be weak and my teeth may be in dire peril with every sip, but coke is ggooodd.

 

[Tonguez]

Not a myth. There are still a few stone age tribes that have refused contact with outsiders and are left alone, usually on small islands. For example, North Sentinel Island, one of the Andaman islands in the Bay of Bengal, is the home of a tribe that has reacted violently to every attempt at contact, by firing bows at ships and helicopters. The local governments leave them alone, and don't permit anyone to travel there other than the occasional anthropologist. The tribe was in the news recently when it was feared they'd been wiped out by the tsunami, but it appears they came through OK.

Um if they are firing bows at helicopters then they have had contact with 'outsiders' (including the occasional anthropologist). Contacts don't have to be friendly and the fact that they are able to refuse contact and react violently to attempts at contact sort of implies that contact is occuring - afterall those helicopters are having an effect on the culture (even one government worker having a meeting with the tribe is an outsider having contact)

 

[Bryan898]

I'm assuming that by stone age we're talking about the time before the agricultural revolution, when they lived in shelters and made a living of hunting and foraging (the Paleolithic Stone Age).

If I were building a campaign in this sort of environment I would make heavy use of Unearthed Arcana as it has some good ideas in it.

The Defense Bonus Variant: A perfect answer to the lack of armor. Of course you could make armor available , such as an armor made of bulette hide, but I couldn't see such armor having a great AC penalty.

I would actually keep most of the classes, and I truthfully don't see how classes are at all defined by their equipment. Many of the classes I would also use variants of from UA (I enjoy that book immensely for creative campaigns). Totem barbarians would work perfectly in tribes displaying animism. The savage bard could easily be someone that plays the drums or signs war chants. Monks are simply warriors that focus on inner peace and the perfection of the self. Paladins could still be the warriors fighting off the enroaching hordes of goblins and such. Or perphaps follow something more akin to the totem barbarian. Sorcerors control the innate magical powers of the world, shaping them to their own desires... however very few can gain such power. The cave wizards idea was excellent.

One of the cooler things you could do with a campaign like this is have it lead into a new campaign setting. They could take part in great battles or build huge monuments that lead into another age. That big stonehenge like monument? It was erected by a small giant tribe in your honor after you saved them from a Behir. The long forgotten tomb of the ancient lich Sardius? That was what happened to your character after the rest of his party died. I always enjoy tying in old characters to newer ones to show that they affect the game world.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Humans, half-elves, and half-orcs would be the only PC races.

I'd highly recommend Neanderthals from Frostburn, also. It might make for an interesting campaign world, where two human races vie to occupy the same niche.

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

I'm liking this thread a great deal.

I think Arcana Unearthed works pretty well with this idea as well. It has an advantage in that spells are 'known' rather than read so you don't have the innate wizard penalty.

The Totem Warrior from that setting works very well, naturally, but so does the warmain. A cave man who specializes in wearing insanely heavy hide armor and using weapons larger than normal men can carry makes a lot of sense to me genre wise.

The Akashic works very well as a sort of magical holder of oral tradition, and the Greenbond makes a lot of sense with its animistic feel.

The Runethane makes a good charm, as in charm bracelet not charming personality, based spell practitioner, and the witch makes a lot of sense.

I also really like the idea of three level racial classes for a setting like this, just because I would guess that in a stone age setting you'd actually have a pretty high level of cultural excellence and valor.

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

How do you think Dragons, Giants, and other more or less iconic things would work in such a setting?

I can totally picture Illithid acting in a sort of morlock, as in the original HG Wells idea but also pun intended, capacity and rising up through the caves every so often to capture more slaves.

With the Illithid cities actually serving as the model for human beings eventually developing the concept.

 

[TheLostSoul]

Yeah, but homo sapiens didn't too badly. I mean, the Ice Age got us everywhere even into the Americas. Everything since then seems to me to be making the most of a bad situation.

Not to say, that we haven't outdone ourselves at this point. My jaw may be weak and my teeth may be in dire peril with every sip, but coke is ggooodd.

Í am not arguing with the fact that we became the most widespread and dominant haman race on the planet. One of the possible reasons for this is that we might be better breeders in comparison to Homo Neandertalensis and Homo Erectus, but that is hard to tell from their few skeletal remains

What we can see is that the two other species, that were simultaneous with the early Homo Sapiens (the two previously mentioned), were somewhat localised in their territory. Homo Neandertalensis lived in Europe and the middle east (mainly along the Mediterranean coast), though I have heard (questionable) rumors of Neandertalensis finds in Finland. Homo Erectus lived in Eastern Asia.

This could be interpreted as a circumstantial evidence to the extend of their breeding. At the same time, their can be little doubt in that they were most likely more specialized than Homo Sapiens and that they therefore died out when their enviroment changed. This is what archaeology and palaeontology suggests today. These theories will probably change within the next decade or so, but that is the way of these sciences

 

[TheLostSoul]

I'm assuming that by stone age we're talking about the time before the agricultural revolution, when they lived in shelters and made a living of hunting and foraging (the Paleolithic Stone Age).

Actually there is a third age. The Palaeolithic lasted up till the end of the last Ice Age, that is ca. 9500 BC. The two other human species that Homo Sapiens was living side by side with also died out at this point in time.

The Mesolithic took over then and lasted until the Neolithisation (which varies highly form area to area). The Middle East saw the first neolithisation in the period from 8000 BC to 7000 BC. Around 6000 BC it had spread along the Mediterreanean coasts and around 4000 BC it had finally arive in Northwestern Europe. It varies more in other parts of the world.

What constitutes a neolithic culture is also somewhat contested. There is no definitive answer to that question. Some archaeologist is of the opinion that herders can be said to be neolithisised (sp?), while other wants a more traditional agricultural system. Others holds that the introduction of ceramics, but that is very problematic as there are plenty of exampels of mesolithic cultures using ceramics.

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

Actually there is a third age. The Palaeolithic lasted up till the end of the last Ice Age, that is ca. 9500 BC. The two other human species that Homo Sapiens was living side by side with also died out at this point in time.

The Mesolithic took over then and lasted until the Neolithisation (which varies highly form area to area). The Middle East saw the first neolithisation in the period from 8000 BC to 7000 BC. Around 6000 BC it had spread along the Mediterreanean coasts and around 4000 BC it had finally arive in Northwestern Europe. It varies more in other parts of the world.

What constitutes a neolithic culture is also somewhat contested. There is no definitive answer to that question. Some archaeologist is of the opinion that herders can be said to be neolithisised (sp?), while other wants a more traditional agricultural system. Others holds that the introduction of ceramics, but that is very problematic as there are plenty of exampels of mesolithic cultures using ceramics.

How do American cultures interact with this chronology?

 

[Tonguez]

From Asia Modern humans reached Australia about 40000 yrs bp, the Solomon Islands were settledt 25000 years bp and another stream reached America about 15000 yrs bp. The Asian populations went south first because of the more fertile conditions - the area north (ie siberia) being cold tundra until after the last glaciations. (NB there is also evidence of Melanesian populations reaching America as early as 30000 years bp - but its still controversial)

Oh and Neolithic Agriculture hit America in about 2000BC

Í am not arguing with the fact that we became the most widespread and dominant haman race on the planet. One of the possible reasons for this is that we might be better breeders in comparison to Homo Neandertalensis and Homo Erectus, but that is hard to tell from their few skeletal remains

As I understand it Homo Sapiens being an africa species simply had it easier than neanderthals. During the Ice Age whilst Europe was a cold land cursed with ice Africa floursihed with extensive fertile savanna and wetlands teeming with animals and thus people. Those people (Homo Sapiens) were able to settle down and form villages and even agriculture (there is evidence of grain cultivation and cattle herding). It was also these people who about 90000 years bp spread north eventually reaching Europe (and Asia) where they encountered Neanderthals and lived with them for approx 10000 years