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Old 02-13-2015, 12:07 PM   #47
ArchonShiva
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
Default Re: We're gonna have to rethink the TLs

Like much of GURPS, I see TLs as a tool - it's easy to say the Augrishtan Dwarves are TL4, with TL3 medicine and TL5 mining and explosives, but without military applications for explosives above TL3. I can then go on adding and removing specific techs to for a complete whole. This is far more efficient than taking all three tech books and making a speradsheet indicating what societies have what techs and tools individually.

Even historical societies will be described by comparison to known societies, so the system works great there as well.

I think the main issue comes from expectation that TLs should be a strict "build upon the previous TL" universal progression that every society should follow perfectly. It's just a benchmark using relevant but anecdotal examples, or reasonable hyotheses for TL9+.
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