12-05-2008, 10:14 PM | #1 |
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Join Date: Oct 2006
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small polities for Yrth
If I ever get around to running a game set set on Yrth, I plan on including a desert city in a no or very low mana zone, which acts as a haven for Underground Engineers. The city will be early T5, I think.
Does anyone else have ideas for city -states- pocket baronies, island realms,etc? We've got a half-dozen major powers, what about the little guys? |
12-05-2008, 10:38 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: small polities for Yrth
The big problem is that you have serious Orc and Reptile Man roving bands, particularly on the western side. If the city uses gunpowder, Megalos WILL send over a couple of Legions and even if none return consider it a win IF the enclave is wiped out. And two legions is enough to ensure that it will be wiped out.
So we're dealing with some TL 5 development with black powder either very recently reinvented or perhaps about to be. The lightning spells would have inevitably produced some evidence of electrolysis and that elements can be extracted. If your engineers have pulled a Ben Franklin and associated Lightning with Electricity, they may be identifying rocks which contain goodly amounts of valuable minerals and find more efficient ways of extracting them from the ores. Heat treating gems and coating them with other minerals to give them unique non-magical colors. That remain so even in no mana. This is beyond low TL 5, but if they make one more advanced breakthrough, they could generate electricity. Lack of waterfalls in the desert limit one form of electrical generation, but Wind Mills might work quite well for their needs. And a better knowledge and use of better refined materials would allow UE smiths to make superior blades and armor, which would pay for a lot of what they do.
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12-05-2008, 11:18 PM | #3 | |
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Re: small polities for Yrth
Quote:
Sure. What if the city has made alliances with the local reptile men? There could be some mutual benefit in such an arrangement. Now, as for Megalan legions- they will be far from home, with either no magic or unreliable/very expensive magic to use, and fighting off orc and reptile man night raids. Their supply lines will be long and vulnerable. The city may have excellent natural or manmade defenses [will need such, because of the possibility of orc attacks]. Now, throw in a small corps of disciplined riflemen [backed by the city militia] and some well placed cannon...and you've got the makings of a major Megalan debacle. Maybe the Megalans did send a legion, maybe more than one. The first expedition failed in the desert, after the supply lines were cut by nomad raiders. The second made it to the city, but was smashed trying to storm the place [Napoleons loaded with grapeshot tore the poor Megalans to shreds, and their battle mages were powerless to stop it]. The third expedition made it to the city and besieged it. The city outlasted them [rain collection cisterns, artesian wells, water recycling,etc]. Scurvy, or a plague, or a mutiny [maybe all three] disntegrated the army below the city walls. I think the city should use underground canals- like the qanats of Persia or the puquios of the Nazca country. If it can be done at TL2, then I think clever TL5 engineers [maybe with a renagde dwarf or two on their side] ought to be able to manage. I like your notion about windmills. That's cool. Even if they don't have much in the way of electricty, they could use wind power for other stuff. Last edited by combatmedic; 12-05-2008 at 11:56 PM. |
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12-05-2008, 11:39 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: small polities for Yrth
An alliance between the Engineeers and the Reptile Men would work. Dwarf Renegades have been organizing the orcs making them better combatants. The Reptile Men and the UE city would be inclined to try and make an alliance.
Question: Would the UE city be one of the ruined elven cities? I think a basic theme of Banestorm is "Gunpowder loses". The Legions might well bribe the orcs to join them in the attack, promising them the full share of any loot they might find. So an orc tribal chief has a gun he doesn't understand and if he fails to properly clean it, blows his face off within a year or two. The fact remains even without magic, the Legions are disciplined troops with generally good often superb leaders. The UE folks are probably contentious and poorly organized. Most Geeky science types are not military strategists and the few who are happen to be armchair types who'll be up against veterans of 20 plus years. Megalos is SERIOUS about suppressing gunpowder. If the first Legions fall, more WILL come. The Empire has a lot of resouces to pour into this campaign and is willing to use them.
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12-05-2008, 11:54 PM | #5 | |
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Re: small polities for Yrth
Quote:
Who says it's all geeky UE types? The city is a haven for them -they don't necessarily run everything. There will be professional soldiers [some of whom may be rock jawed, Heinlein style UEs] running civic defense. I'm picturing the common folk as being tough dryland agriculturalists, miners, ranchhands,etc. As far as Megalos' insane [and it is crazy] hatred of GP- well, they don't care for Muslims, Lazarite heretics, independent Caithness,etc and all those things are still going strong. If Abydos can beat Megalos with zombies, then these guys should have a fighting chance with rifles. Oh, and I'm deliberately trying to bust the ''guns lose'' paradigm. It's fun to see a place where the usual situation is reversed. EDIT- I really love your notion of using one of the ancient elf cities for this place! Maybe Megalos concentrates on containing the threat, rather than wasting more soldiers in a vain attempt to eradicate it. Maybe some faction among the mages or at court has decided that the city isn't all bad, as it serves to draw UE types out of the emprire- and into an isolated locale where they do less immediate harm [which is a bit short sighted, but who says mages and nobles are always wise]? EDIT#2 Another possibility is Megalos' enemies secretly helping the city- just a bit. Don't want the city to get too strong, but keeping it around bleeds Megalos and keeps those pesky imperials preoccupied. Last edited by combatmedic; 12-06-2008 at 12:07 AM. |
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12-06-2008, 01:17 AM | #6 |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: small polities for Yrth
Like much of Banestorm's GP issues, this thread will soon devolve into 'How much does the local GM want to suppress/allow gunpowder'.
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12-06-2008, 01:20 AM | #7 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: small polities for Yrth
Quote:
So, the water source should be relatively small or increased dramatically in recent years. The odds fall heavily towards 'small'. Then there's the fact the city in the desert is SECRET/Hidden. This also tends to mean it's small in population. Big cities mean more food is needed etc. Edit: One problem with aid from other nations. At least if you want to stay in canon. Most of them are part of the tech suppression conspiracy. A secret Branch of the Silver hand acts as the Ministry of Serendipity in Caithness, with the King's Blessing, Cardiel has a Chaplaincy of somebody or other doing the work, Al Wazif, Sahud and Al Haz are also in on it. Djinn isn't in it, but they have little fear of Megalos. The Orcs aren't in it and would love to get guns. The Underground Engineers probably DON'T want to arm the Orcs. Now Lady Bronwyn in Caithness is secretly supporting the Engineers but emphasis on SECRET here. She can't send that much support either. You may have to openly break with canonic Yrth to pull what you want off.
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12-06-2008, 01:34 AM | #8 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: small polities for Yrth
And as soon as I wrote the above, I realized you have a way.
In the depths of the ruined city lies a low or even normal mana zone and within it is a pocket universe, a HUGE Sanctuary spell where permanent create water and food spells provided it's people with food and water to withstand sieges. This gives the city dwelers two commodities to trade with the Reptile Men that won't risk a 'We Have Tech!" security breach. Food and water.
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12-06-2008, 01:48 AM | #9 |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Vienna, Austria
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Re: small polities for Yrth
combatmedic, Having TL5 peeking out of the underground would kill off the TL3.5 of Yrth over the long run: News would get around, and people would see the advantages of industry over the pre-industry. For example, artificial fertilisers were a German TL5 development and rose crop yields dramatically, not to speak of modern medication, which begun in TL5, too. Although I'm personally skeptical about artificial fertilisers (less about the medication), they both are one of the main reasons why Earth can bear the current 6,500,000,000 humans.
If your campaign shall run toward the mix of tech and magic, so do! Why not, by the way? Rudran, my own game world, mixes that up, too, and lives... Considering Yrthian non-humans with guns: * Orcs would love them. * Elves would hate them, but maybe they could cope with the dangers of high tech to the woods and seas and their living space. They are not stupid, after all. * Dwarves could definitely live with them. Going the tech scale further up, an ICBM launched from Zarak would be a threat to be reckoned with. * Other races? Just take a look on their mindset. Most are human enough just to take up firearam like any other arm, I think... Last edited by Diogenes; 12-06-2008 at 05:06 AM. |
12-06-2008, 02:04 AM | #10 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: small polities for Yrth
Never mind missile tech. The Dwarves would have the sort of canon that could potentially put a shell into orbit. With teleport spells and a lot of energy they could move that cannon with relative ease compared to towing it.
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