What would survive?

[Barcode]

My D&D campaign world is set in the far-future, well after the fall of the technological age of man. I have elements that account for the presence of the other races, the presence of magic and magical beasts, and other fantasy items. I am trying to get suggestions on artifacts and ruins that would have survived.

So, if mankind were suddenly plunged into a dark age, and left that way for say, five or ten thousand years, what would remain in North America (or indeed the world in general) of the current state of civilization?

I am assuming no major climate change, although I am prepared to have raised and then lowered the seas to assist in wiping out the remnants of the major cities. I can also explain things away with an apocalypse, but I am trying to stay away from radiation, mutants, and other baggage that comes from post-apocalyptic settings. I am more interested in sparsely flavoring the world with clues like an eroded but still recognizable Mt. Rushmore, or things like railroad tunnels and sheer cut mountain passes (sans railroad, of course) rather than having the PC's find Manhattan as a mass of skeletal skyscrapers.

I am figuring that just about all the metal would rust away unless it is preserved in an airless environment somehow. Similarly concrete should crumble to dust, wood rots, etc.

What else would be left?

 

[BOZ]

"no! god damn you! you blew it all up, didn't you!"

"get your hands off me, you damn dirty apes!"

"oh no, spaceballs? there goes the planet."

 

[megamania]

Underground missiles and military bases. Some of Washington DC's monuments would survive (think of current conditions of the greek temples. For humor- Disney Land's underground complex may still survive holding the monsterous "skins" of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Various other stone monuments would remain though damaged. I live in Vermont and we have the Bennington Monument which until the Effiel Tower was built was the world's tallest manmade object. It was made out of granite.

 

[BiggusGeekus@Work]

5,000 - 10,000 years? That's about as long has humans have had writing. There's some Native American mounds in Ohio near Dayton that have still survived and they're about 20,000 years old. So most large and solid engineering projects would proabably still be around. But also things like the Vietnam Memorial might also make it.

 

[Sir Edgar]

There are a lot of books about post-apocalyptic worlds, but there's one I liked that I read a long time ago. I don't remember the title or author, but I do remember that the survivors lived off of canned goods for a while because they didn't know how to grow their own food. After a while, there was a cult that believed in strange superstitions about which cans were poisoned by botulism and which weren't. That's because the canned goods were starting to go bad and it was a risky affair to eat the contents. That's all I can remember, but that part was the most vivid. I also remember it being a very lonely world because there were few survivors. So in the beginning, the main character had a hard time even finding another living person to talk to.

 

[Zappo]

I think that the clues would usually be subtle. No skeletal Manhattan: concrete is relatively short-lived, and metal rusts until it falls under its own weight. Some monuments would remain, though.

 

[mmu1]

I actually think that the skeletons of many buildings would survive - reinforced concrete, when properly made, can last a surprisingly long time. Although, given enough time, and dirt being deposited by wind, they could very well be badly overgrown, and partially buried by the soil which would build up as plants grew and decayed, and as more dust got trapped by the roots.

Also, think about places like highways and airports - vast expanses of thick concrete where plant growth would be slowed a great deal, arranged in strange geometric patterns... Or perhaps actually being used for travel again, once people found that they were much easier to keep clear of vegetation than most places.

In places with very high concentrations of metals you'd have, at the very least, heaps and piles of rust, making for very strange "earth", perhaps with pockets which were protected from corrosion containing valuable nuggets of refined iron...

Then there are metals like copper or aluminum, which corrode, but the resulting patina ends up protecting what's inside from atmospheric oxygen and water, allowing them to last a very long time - your heroes would definitely run across some of those...

Finally, things like bogs with very low oxygen content could actually prove to contain very well preserved artifacts of the old world - in Finland, they recently pulled a WWII tank out of one, and aside from exhaust pipes which were thin metal and probably badly corroded before the tank got stuck in there anyway, the damn thing was nearly intact, with the paint still on. Granted, there's a difference between 60 years and 5000, but it's still a pretty good bet for keeping something preserved.

 

[WayneLigon]

20 Ways the World Ends is a good start.

 

[Jolly Giant]

I think that the clues would usually be subtle. No skeletal Manhattan: concrete is relatively short-lived, and metal rusts until it falls under its own weight. Some monuments would remain, though.

The pyramids in Egypt are well over 3000 years. They're hardly eroded at all.

The Colosseum in Rome has remained relatively intact for more than 2000 years. It's made from some very primitive form of concrete, reinforced with straw!

Todays concrete structions will easily last the 5000-10000 years you mention, unless outside forces damage them somehow. Airstrips and roads, for example, and other 'down-to-earth' rolleyes: Horrible pun...) constructions, might well be broken up completely by vegetation.

The Statue of Liberty should remain, though fiercly corroded. Her facial features might be completely gone, perhaps. The Eiffel tower (made from iron) will probably be rusted away, though.

 

[Moe Ronalds]

^yeah but if you include the statue of liberty, then unless your characters have never seen a movie they will most likely tease you ruthlessly.