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Technology in D&D, the IRL Timeline, and Pausing It.
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<blockquote data-quote="Cadence" data-source="post: 8553112" data-attributes="member: 6701124"><p>The issue of different inventions and discoveries comes up in threads now and then (why not have gun powder? what makes a world believable? shouldn't usual physics and chemistry work by default? etc...). And so I was wondering today about when different inventions came about/became widely used in real life. I give a rough timeline below, and if anyone has more to add or corrections to make, please put them in a reply!! I'll edit the list as I see them.</p><p></p><p>Building from this, is there an easy way to justify why an x,000 year old civilization with scholars (or PCs whose players' took science classes) hasn't come up with some of the more advanced things without the reason being some god/deity/power stopped it from happening.</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Does anything break in terms of history, physics, biology or their outcomes if a world just doesn't have much fossil fuels? (No easy heating of metropolises in colder climes? Does this stop large scale industrialization without getting rid of all the forests anywhere close?)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Any good reasons nitro-glycerin would never be discovered, thus stalling things out at black-powder and never getting to smokeless powder?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Does having lodestone be very rare deal with anyone really discovering electrical generation? Does having it be rare mess up how physics would word? Is non-magical electrical generation enough harder than some other things that it can just be handwaved away?</li> </ul><p>Are there any big things besides fossil fuels, nitro and its biproducts, and electricity that could really throw things off?</p><p></p><p>-----</p><p></p><p><strong>pre-1000 </strong></p><p>Abacus</p><p>Aqua regia</p><p>Ballista</p><p>Banknotes</p><p>Cement</p><p>Chain mail</p><p>Cog ships</p><p>Crossbow</p><p>Dulcimer</p><p>Elements discovered: Antimony, Arsenic, Bismuth, Carbon, Copper, Gold, Iron, Lead, Mercury, Platinum, Silver, Sulfur, Tin, Zinc</p><p>Fiddle</p><p>Fireworks</p><p>Firelance</p><p>Glassblowing</p><p>Greek fire</p><p>Gunpowder</p><p>Hardened and tempered steel blades</p><p>Hindu-arabic numerals (but not in Europe)</p><p>Longboats</p><p>Mangonel</p><p>Miasma theory of diseases</p><p>Onager</p><p>O-Yoroi armor</p><p>Paper</p><p>Porcelain</p><p>Quillon (Cross-guard)</p><p>Rebec</p><p>Recurve bow</p><p>Sulfur Matches</p><p>Theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics</p><p>Toilet Paper</p><p>Six trigonometric functions</p><p>Spontaneous generation theory</p><p>Windmill</p><p>Woodblock Printing</p><p>Water Wheel</p><p>Windmill</p><p></p><p><strong>1000s</strong></p><p>Alfahzen refutes extramission theory of vision</p><p>Fauchard</p><p>Moveable Type</p><p>Solving polynomial equations</p><p></p><p><strong>1100s</strong></p><p>Bessemer process</p><p>Bond Trading</p><p>Compass</p><p>Counterweight Trebuchet</p><p></p><p><strong>1200s</strong></p><p>Double-handed Broadsword</p><p>English Longbow</p><p>Eyeglasses</p><p>Falchion</p><p>Hand Cannon</p><p>Landmine</p><p>Modern buttons</p><p>Optical lenses</p><p></p><p><strong>1300s</strong></p><p>Bardiche</p><p>Blast furnace</p><p>Cannon</p><p>Carrack</p><p>Clavichord</p><p>Full plate armour</p><p>Halberd in wide use</p><p>Katana</p><p>Litmus (for acids and bases)</p><p>Multistage Rocket</p><p>Naval mine</p><p>Slide Trumpet</p><p>Viola</p><p></p><p><strong>1400s</strong></p><p>Arabic numerals widely known in Europe</p><p>Arquebus</p><p>Bastard Sword</p><p>Caravel</p><p>Coil spring</p><p>da Vinci (for example) still advocates extramission theory of vision</p><p>Infinite power series expansion of pi</p><p>Mariner's Astrolabe</p><p>Matchlock</p><p>Mechanized clock</p><p>Printing Press</p><p>Ranseur</p><p>Rapier</p><p></p><p><strong>1500s</strong></p><p>Arabic numerals commonly used in Europe</p><p>Floating Dry Dock</p><p>Galleon</p><p>Harpsichord</p><p>Heliocentricism fully worked out</p><p>Mercator Projection Map</p><p>Rifling</p><p>Smoothbore Musket</p><p>Violin</p><p>Wheel lock</p><p></p><p><strong>1600s</strong></p><p>Bacteria discovered</p><p>Barometer</p><p>Elements discovered: Phosphorous</p><p>Flintlock</p><p>Mechanical Calculator</p><p>Microscope</p><p>Newspaper</p><p>Pendulum Clock</p><p>Telescope</p><p>Vacuum Pump</p><p>Slide rule</p><p>Socket bayonet</p><p></p><p><strong>1700-1749</strong></p><p>Alcohol thermometer</p><p>Commercial steam engine (for pumping water)</p><p>Elements identified: Cobalt</p><p>Flying shuttle for looms</p><p>Mechanized Cotton Spinning Machine</p><p>Piano</p><p></p><p><strong>1750-1799</strong></p><p>Artificial Refrigeration</p><p>Carbonated Water</p><p>Cottin gin</p><p>Dueling pistols</p><p>Early Steamboat</p><p>Elements identified: Hyrdrogen, Nickel, Magnesium, Oxygen, etc...</p><p>Hot Air Baloon</p><p>Lithography</p><p>Modern Moldboard Plow</p><p>Modern parachute</p><p>Precursors to evolutionary theory</p><p>Sewing Machine</p><p>Sextant for navigating</p><p>Smallpox vaccine</p><p>Steam Powered vehicles</p><p>Threshing Machine</p><p></p><p><strong>Later</strong></p><p>Arc lamp</p><p>Bolt Action</p><p>Dynamite</p><p>Friction match</p><p>General Anesthetic</p><p>Germ theory</p><p>Heliography</p><p>Internal Compustion engine</p><p>Lawn Mower</p><p>Locking Door handle (post 5)</p><p>Modern woodpulp paper production</p><p>Morphine</p><p>Nitroglycerin</p><p>Pastuerization</p><p>Percussion cap guns</p><p>Smokeless powder</p><p>Spontaneous generation disproven</p><p>Steam Locamotive</p><p>Superphosphate fertilizer</p><p>Valved brass instruments</p><p>Votaic pile</p><p>Workable Steamboat</p><p>Zipper</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cadence, post: 8553112, member: 6701124"] The issue of different inventions and discoveries comes up in threads now and then (why not have gun powder? what makes a world believable? shouldn't usual physics and chemistry work by default? etc...). And so I was wondering today about when different inventions came about/became widely used in real life. I give a rough timeline below, and if anyone has more to add or corrections to make, please put them in a reply!! I'll edit the list as I see them. Building from this, is there an easy way to justify why an x,000 year old civilization with scholars (or PCs whose players' took science classes) hasn't come up with some of the more advanced things without the reason being some god/deity/power stopped it from happening. [LIST] [*]Does anything break in terms of history, physics, biology or their outcomes if a world just doesn't have much fossil fuels? (No easy heating of metropolises in colder climes? Does this stop large scale industrialization without getting rid of all the forests anywhere close?) [*]Any good reasons nitro-glycerin would never be discovered, thus stalling things out at black-powder and never getting to smokeless powder? [*]Does having lodestone be very rare deal with anyone really discovering electrical generation? Does having it be rare mess up how physics would word? Is non-magical electrical generation enough harder than some other things that it can just be handwaved away? [/LIST] Are there any big things besides fossil fuels, nitro and its biproducts, and electricity that could really throw things off? ----- [B]pre-1000 [/B] Abacus Aqua regia Ballista Banknotes Cement Chain mail Cog ships Crossbow Dulcimer Elements discovered: Antimony, Arsenic, Bismuth, Carbon, Copper, Gold, Iron, Lead, Mercury, Platinum, Silver, Sulfur, Tin, Zinc Fiddle Fireworks Firelance Glassblowing Greek fire Gunpowder Hardened and tempered steel blades Hindu-arabic numerals (but not in Europe) Longboats Mangonel Miasma theory of diseases Onager O-Yoroi armor Paper Porcelain Quillon (Cross-guard) Rebec Recurve bow Sulfur Matches Theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics Toilet Paper Six trigonometric functions Spontaneous generation theory Windmill Woodblock Printing Water Wheel Windmill [B]1000s[/B] Alfahzen refutes extramission theory of vision Fauchard Moveable Type Solving polynomial equations [B]1100s[/B] Bessemer process Bond Trading Compass Counterweight Trebuchet [B]1200s[/B] Double-handed Broadsword English Longbow Eyeglasses Falchion Hand Cannon Landmine Modern buttons Optical lenses [B]1300s[/B] Bardiche Blast furnace Cannon Carrack Clavichord Full plate armour Halberd in wide use Katana Litmus (for acids and bases) Multistage Rocket Naval mine Slide Trumpet Viola [B]1400s[/B] Arabic numerals widely known in Europe Arquebus Bastard Sword Caravel Coil spring da Vinci (for example) still advocates extramission theory of vision Infinite power series expansion of pi Mariner's Astrolabe Matchlock Mechanized clock Printing Press Ranseur Rapier [B]1500s[/B] Arabic numerals commonly used in Europe Floating Dry Dock Galleon Harpsichord Heliocentricism fully worked out Mercator Projection Map Rifling Smoothbore Musket Violin Wheel lock [B]1600s[/B] Bacteria discovered Barometer Elements discovered: Phosphorous Flintlock Mechanical Calculator Microscope Newspaper Pendulum Clock Telescope Vacuum Pump Slide rule Socket bayonet [B]1700-1749[/B] Alcohol thermometer Commercial steam engine (for pumping water) Elements identified: Cobalt Flying shuttle for looms Mechanized Cotton Spinning Machine Piano [B]1750-1799[/B] Artificial Refrigeration Carbonated Water Cottin gin Dueling pistols Early Steamboat Elements identified: Hyrdrogen, Nickel, Magnesium, Oxygen, etc... Hot Air Baloon Lithography Modern Moldboard Plow Modern parachute Precursors to evolutionary theory Sewing Machine Sextant for navigating Smallpox vaccine Steam Powered vehicles Threshing Machine [B]Later[/B] Arc lamp Bolt Action Dynamite Friction match General Anesthetic Germ theory Heliography Internal Compustion engine Lawn Mower Locking Door handle (post 5) Modern woodpulp paper production Morphine Nitroglycerin Pastuerization Percussion cap guns Smokeless powder Spontaneous generation disproven Steam Locamotive Superphosphate fertilizer Valved brass instruments Votaic pile Workable Steamboat Zipper [/QUOTE]
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