02-19-2015, 09:24 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Aug 2013
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Exploration and TL
So I'm making a new campaign that will take place in a very young and alien low tech world that the PCs will be explorers of the mysteries of the world. I have a good idea of the world itself but I don't have a good idea on the TL of the "homebase" of the PCs.
I want a TL or a split of TLs that high enough to have a good variety of tools and able to achieve good social organization, but low enough that they can't explore the world and know it with ease and need talented explorers (AKA the PCs) to go out. I'm think of the range of TL2-4.
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02-19-2015, 09:36 PM | #2 |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Re: Exploration and TL
Environmental dangers determine what TL is required.
Up until TL 4-5 clocks, it was impossible to do more than guess at longitudinal position at sea. So leaving sight of the coast would be extra risky before then. What weapons needed would also depend on wild animals and intelligent enemies. In the alien nation of land sharks, nothing short of rifles would work.
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02-19-2015, 10:20 PM | #3 | |
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Southeast NC
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Re: Exploration and TL
Quote:
Clocks are TL4, but a pendulum is useless on the rolling deck of a ship. The marine chronometer, which used precision springs instead of a pendulum, is a TL5 invention (earlier attempts were made, but were too inaccurate to be of much use). The charts that allow good lunar distancing are also TL5, but were a substitute/backup to chronometers until the latter became relatively cheap.
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RyanW - Actually one normal sized guy in three tiny trenchcoats. Last edited by RyanW; 02-19-2015 at 10:23 PM. |
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02-19-2015, 10:22 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Re: Exploration and TL
If you want actual global exploration rather than just migration, then probably TL 4 to early 5
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02-20-2015, 07:25 AM | #5 | |
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Re: Exploration and TL
Quote:
So if you want long distance ocean voyages you want mid-TL4. Land-based trips can be longer at lower TLs but you run into a "Marco Polo" phenomenon where they take so long that they're once in a lifetime events and there is no mundane return worth the extreme difficulty of the trip. You probably need to be at the higher end of your TL range. You haven't mentioned magic or other exotic abilities but these would basically count as higher TLs in their own right.
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Fred Brackin |
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02-20-2015, 03:19 PM | #6 | |
Join Date: Aug 2013
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Re: Exploration and TL
Quote:
There will be exotic species that PCs could play, I'm thinking of having the homebase being a multispecies society. I'm thinking for species are humans or a humanlike, a balloonlike species, a fourlegged species, rodentlike species and so forth with very odd shapes for sentient species. With that being said, the balloon species can use flight to see in a birds eye few, something that couldn't really be done with tech until TL5 with hotair balloons and efficiently at anytime like the species until TL7-8, and the fourlegged ones can carry more items and act as mounts.
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02-21-2015, 04:39 PM | #7 |
Join Date: Aug 2013
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Re: Exploration and TL
I just posted a thread here of the changed stats I will be using for this campaign.
http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=132976 Because of this, the characters will have double the HP and FP, which will make them more durable and able to make longer journeys.
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Tags |
tech level, world building |
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