09-08-2017, 09:20 AM | #441 |
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels
"Don't make stupid mistakes" is the very essence of wise council. I mostly recommend Machiavelli over the first two Caesars over time-based translation issues. Much of Julius' ability might have been personal Charisma too.
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Fred Brackin |
09-08-2017, 09:52 AM | #442 | |
Hero of Democracy
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
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Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels
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But if I was fighting in the wars almost rather Germany gets a competent Bismark than some of the possibilities in there. He may have preached blood and iron, but when you look at it the man understood when not to fight. he engineered three very short wars with fixed objectives and designed a stable Europe that lasted for 40 years -- and it only feel apart when some blockheads decided to disregard the advice he left. contrast that with a bloodthirsty fool who wants to conquer all of Europe. --------------------------------------- For a great italy in the mid 1900's, fiddling with WWI may work. If the Italians knock out the Austrians (much more likely if they have different generals), credit for winning the war rests with them, and they're able to make a lot more claims when the war claims are settled. But really, for a great itally, you've got to start with the economy. And even that might not work, because they did get a good economic leader when the rest of the world was in the dumps and they STILL didn't matter.
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09-08-2017, 11:47 AM | #443 |
Join Date: Feb 2011
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Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels
Animus is a series of three worldlines where humans do not exist, but spirits do. Especially large trees, mighty rivers, and particularly charismatic mountains are possessed with spirits, and great coral reefs, too, have spirits. The largest group, however, is the animal spirits that dwell within and motivate the lives of the animals.
Most animals larger than a gram or two and non-sessile have some kind of spirit that effectively grants them a level of intelligence, language, and ability to communicate in a common language. These spirits vary, and the relative intelligence of the animal host seems to play a part. Animus-1 is in 2900 BCE, astronomically, and consists of pristine wilderness populated by what are effectively curiously philosophical critters living otherwise ordinary lives. Lions eat gazelles, orcas eat penguins, and occasionally, the gazelles and penguins complain, but what are you going to do? Animus-2 is in the same astronomical period, but home to scattered TL-4-verging-on-5 settlements made up of mixed populations of critters. The smaller, more dexterous animals provide skilled labor, and the larger, stronger animals provide protection and food. In the most enlightened groups, large numbers of farmed insects are eaten; in others, the big cats, wolves, and bears simply hunt outsiders, or even raise pigs and sheep. Animus-3 is a few centuries later, and now is mid-TL6. A global war between the animal kingdoms is brewing.... |
09-08-2017, 05:26 PM | #444 |
Join Date: Jan 2014
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Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels
I seriously doubt that hunting could provide enough food for a TL4/5 society; herding has footprint problems too.
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09-08-2017, 05:40 PM | #445 |
Join Date: Feb 2011
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Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels
You're assuming a human society.
The technicians are those with manipulators, generally small primates, rodents, and birds. They eat plenty of plant food and insects only sparsely supplemented with scraps from the larger carnivores. The big carnivores just need to support themselves, and can do so with the assistance of the gadgets the technically-capabable individuals can make. When the bears or the wolves are needed for brute effort, (that is, when oxen aren't available,) that takes some substantial extra energy, but at the same time those carnivores are getting shelter or more servants out of the deal, and long-term, it evens out. Now, in an industrialized hawk aerie, where it's exclusively carnivores who double as technicians, then things get a little more problematic. The hawks need to be able to support themselves even after sacrificing hunting-hours to some other labor. Generally the only do so when making tools that enable them to get more food for the same effort. Also, there is some outright magic going on here. Nobody needs to worry about feeding their brain -- it's a kind of ghostly spirit that's bonded to the critter in question. |
09-08-2017, 07:40 PM | #446 | |
Untitled
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: between keyboard and chair
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Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels
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(I suppose the Cabal could tell the difference, but they aren't big on sharing information.)
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Rob Kelk “Every man has a right to his own opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts.” – Bernard Baruch, Deming (New Mexico) Headlight, 6 January 1950 No longer reading these forums regularly. Last edited by robkelk; 09-08-2017 at 07:43 PM. |
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09-08-2017, 08:11 PM | #447 | |
Join Date: Nov 2004
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Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels
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09-08-2017, 11:41 PM | #448 |
Join Date: Feb 2011
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Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels
In a Doyleist sense, I wanted a way to make it clear these are 100% ordinary animals in every material sense, but still act more like people.
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09-09-2017, 12:26 PM | #449 |
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
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Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels
It would certainly mess with some of the PCs heads, to say nothing of the Players.
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Per Ardua Per Astra! Ancora Imparo |
09-09-2017, 12:28 PM | #450 | |
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
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Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels
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