Quote:
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Originally Posted by Pip Boy
Magic defies physics.
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That depends on how you define magic and what actually constitutes a magical effect. "Fairy tale" magic most certainly does so, but a lot of other magic in the sword-and-sorcery genre can be "explained" if you apply enough scientific mumbojumbium to it...anything from Thomas Bearden's applied psychotronic theories to Roger Highfield's books
The Science of Harry Potter and
The Physics of Christmas to Olog-hai's
The Science of Middle-Earth articles on
greenbooks.theonering.net.
Such "justifications" work adequately for my gaming purposes, anyway.*
Back on thread-track..
I still think that things like Franklin stoves and hurricane-style oil lanterns would be pretty nifty ideas. They are not threats to the MoS, and so would probably pass under the radar.
Old-fashioned "boneshaker" bicycles seem to be doable, too...and although they would probably raise more than a few eyebrows at first with the MoS, they seem innocuous enough. I doubt that the MoS would be able to predict the kind of transportation/logistical revolution that reliable bicycles could spawn.
I also really like the idea of the multi-shot crossbows from the old Popular Mechanics article. With that in mind, I'm still holding out for woodcuts of carefully-selected magazine articles...just because the idea is so cool (to me, anyway).
*
I have been told in the past that I don't know anything about this particular subject, so that's all I really have to say regarding it.