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Old 07-26-2015, 11:06 AM   #21
David Johnston2
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Default Re: Do you have a favorite TL?

Quote:
Originally Posted by vicky_molokh View Post
What does genre have to do with it?
A fair bit with many genres. Yes "horror" exists at every tech level, but that's because horror is more of a mood than a genre. Swords and Sorcery only exists in a settings that have swords. Western exists in a mythic 19th century to early 20th at a stretch. Police procedural goes from the 60s to the near future. Historical mystery covers everything before then back to the invention of writing. Urban fantasy is modern to near future. Science fiction settings in general are future, (there's steampunk and retro science fiction but those are somewhat separate genres from regular science fiction)
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Old 07-26-2015, 11:21 AM   #22
vicky_molokh
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Default Re: Do you have a favorite TL?

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Originally Posted by David Johnston2 View Post
A fair bit with many genres. Yes "horror" exists at every tech level, but that's because horror is more of a mood than a genre. Swords and Sorcery only exists in a settings that have swords. Western exists in a mythic 19th century to early 20th at a stretch. Police procedural goes from the 60s to the near future. Historical mystery covers everything before then back to the invention of writing. Urban fantasy is modern to near future. Science fiction settings in general are future, (there's steampunk and retro science fiction but those are somewhat separate genres from regular science fiction)
There are settings with swords (and sorcery, by another name) that aren't low-tech, e.g. Star Wars.
There's such a thing as Westerns set in higher TLs, in space, e.g. BraveStarr.
I can't name a low-tech procedural example, but I'm inclined to believe one is mentioned in one of the books of GURPS (possibly Mysteries, possibly not).
A fantasy can be urban without being modern - e.g. Urbis.
I've already quoted an example of science-fictional low-tech, but you've cut it.
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Old 07-26-2015, 11:31 AM   #23
johndallman
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Default Re: Do you have a favorite TL?

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Originally Posted by vicky_molokh View Post
I can't name a low-tech procedural example, but I'm inclined to believe one is mentioned in one of the books of GURPS
The Brother Cadfael mysteries are TL3.
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Old 07-26-2015, 11:45 AM   #24
WaterAndWindSpirit
 
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Default Re: Do you have a favorite TL?

TL 8 +1^.

Urban Arcana with a technology/magic mix. Say powering lasers and plasma aircraft reactors (basically heating the air until it becomes plasma and ejecting it it, giving the reactors a light blue color when operating), with arcane power stones, TL 9 medicine and essence engineering (basically magical Bio-Tech) giving the cool toys to one organization of anti heroes who are few in numbers to hold their own against a foe who has massively superior numbers and the advantage of secrecy and/or plausible deniability since most people don't believe in magic and will go to any length to deny it's existence. I tend to like drow giving humans a slightly modified version of Lolth's teachings to humans (and Lolth not minding having new follower, since I see Lolth as a narcissistic and Machiavellian personality disorder mix who wants to see everyone kneel before her and is massively paranoid about her underlings deciding to betray her and as such gets them to fight each other, which means no one would willingly follow drow society if they knew what it involved, aside from criminals who exiled themselves in the Underdark to avoid punishment and had to turn to someone to survive, but most people not believing in drows and the Underdark let the drow recruit normal humans) as the enemy, but a Mind Flayer crime boss who is starting to become powerful enough to become a full blown worldwide terrorist organization can work too. :)
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Old 07-26-2015, 12:22 PM   #25
Whyte
 
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Default Re: Do you have a favorite TL?

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Originally Posted by johndallman View Post
The Brother Cadfael mysteries are TL3.
And Marcus Didius Falco is TL2.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Didius_Falco)
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Old 07-26-2015, 12:38 PM   #26
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Default Re: Do you have a favorite TL?

TL 4, 9 and 11
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Old 07-26-2015, 01:39 PM   #27
whswhs
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
Default Re: Do you have a favorite TL?

Quote:
Originally Posted by vicky_molokh View Post
There are settings with swords (and sorcery, by another name) that aren't low-tech, e.g. Star Wars.
There's such a thing as Westerns set in higher TLs, in space, e.g. BraveStarr.
I can't name a low-tech procedural example, but I'm inclined to believe one is mentioned in one of the books of GURPS (possibly Mysteries, possibly not).
Sure you can do all that stuff. But many genres have a home range, historically, and most naturally fit into the appropriate TL. It's like "birds are a taxon of vertebrates adapted to winged flight" is true even though there are ostriches and penguins.
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Old 07-26-2015, 02:07 PM   #28
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Default Re: Do you have a favorite TL?

Thinking over the things I've run and things I think about running and think about playing in...

I'd say my habit is to stay, as a base, in the even TLs.

TL0, haven't done it yet...but I want to!
TL2, Enjoy my Romans...and I'm pondering a TL2+1 setting where the +1 comes from magic.
TL4, I've done this a lot...Swashbuckling!
TL6, I've done both Old West, Victorian Continental Intrigue, Pulp, Roaring 20s Horror.
TL8, Lots of Espionage
TL10, Interstellar Wars!

Hm...and I seem to have done a lot of TL9 in THS and Cyberpunk as well.
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Old 07-26-2015, 03:05 PM   #29
David Johnston2
 
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Default Re: Do you have a favorite TL?

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Originally Posted by johndallman View Post
The Brother Cadfael mysteries are TL3.
And are historical mysteries. Different genre even if it borrows elements of the modern procedural.
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Old 07-26-2015, 03:39 PM   #30
whswhs
 
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Default Re: Do you have a favorite TL?

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Originally Posted by David Johnston2 View Post
And are historical mysteries. Different genre even if it borrows elements of the modern procedural.
When something is a different genre, and when it's simply the same genre modulated into a different key, can be a somewhat subjective question.
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