04-16-2018, 09:55 AM | #51 | |
On Notice
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Sumter, SC
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Re: A question about Tech Levels
Off the top of my head:
Shape metal+create water+Create Fire can = steam engine (TL5) Copy spell = printing press (TL4) Cure disease = antibiotics (TL6) and antiviral drugs (TL7-8) Yrth has had influx of knowledge from other worlds (we aren't sure if all the humans who arrived there are from the same "Earth") and some ideas date all the way back to the historical middle ages. For example, when doing research on an anthropological paper I found a work written by a 14th century person on the Black Death being 'an invisible living contagion possibly spread by the increase of rats and by the breath of the victims'. Quote:
There are times I wish GURPS Middle Ages I was a little more informative then its is. I also wish the planned GURPS Middle Ages II had seen the light of day as that would be a treasure trove with regards to culture on the continent which would have been very useful on Yrth. Though GURPS 4e Crusades is better then nothing. Culturally Yrth has other problems. Christianity is far too consistent given what happened; it should be more like the mess it was in the 2nd century where it fragmented all over the place. Greek Orthodox Christianity is noticeable by its absence as are many of the heretical forms of Christianity that existed in the c 1095 to c 1212? period that most of the human arrivals come from (see rationalwiki's Basic history of Christianity for the cliff notes on that mess) Then there is the utter stupidity of 'gunpowder bad; printing press harmless' mentality the wizards had. Sure they woke up to the issues of the printing press being a problems but by that time the horse has left the barn and its foals were having foals. Last edited by maximara; 04-16-2018 at 10:52 AM. |
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04-16-2018, 11:33 AM | #52 | |||||
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Re: A question about Tech Levels
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04-17-2018, 06:58 AM | #53 | |||
On Notice
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Sumter, SC
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Re: A question about Tech Levels
This is true of nearly every spell casting. In fact things should be far worse over on Merlin-1 as spell are cast so often that only Dis itself would have more demons. :-)
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GURPS Fantasy expanded the number of spells that can be enchanted into items. Then there is natural magic. Quote:
For a somewhat darkly comedic view of the actual Middle Ages I recommend Terry Jones Medieval Lives. Any feudal lord or Bishop with a brain in his head understands that a happy and healthy community tends to be a loyal community. He rather then the village would pay for the priest (why risk their minds being poisoned by heretical/pagan ideas that could lead to rebellion or the lost of their immortal souls?) In fact from a feudal lord's position it is a win-win situation. More productive villages on his lands means he can have a larger army then otherwise as the cost of supporting even squires didn't come cheep and knights are insanely expensive. Quote:
In fact it is very unlikely that even the isolated Roman Catholic communities would be all on the same page as it was. It wasn't until the Renaissance that actual meaningful efforts in standardizing the Baskin Robbins version of Christianity that existed in the countryside occurred. |
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04-17-2018, 07:51 AM | #54 | |
Hero of Democracy
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
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Re: A question about Tech Levels
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I'm sure Greek, syriac, and coptic Christianity came along, but not in the sort of numbers that would bring political power. Additionally, Megalos is exactly the sort of political body that would standardize their church. So the monolithic megalan church is at least as solid as the ready of yrth. And there is certainly room for the odd heretical faction in history or in the present.
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04-17-2018, 10:54 AM | #55 | |||
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Re: A question about Tech Levels
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Last edited by David Johnston2; 04-17-2018 at 01:43 PM. |
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04-17-2018, 01:02 PM | #56 | |||
On Notice
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Sumter, SC
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Re: A question about Tech Levels
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A interesting thing is that, the wizard equivalent of "free companies" (effectively for hire mercenaries) may roam the countryside serving whoever can pay them (it may not just be in terms of money as even mercenary knights needed squires and mages need apprentices). In one case a 16,000 member free company was larger then Edward III's own army! Then you have priest-wizards who will always be educated. The Church as a matter of practice will want these priests out and about performing magic to the parishioners...all the more incentive for the faithful to tithe more. No matter how hard a monastery tried to set itself away form the wicked world it would find itself pulled into that world. In fact many St. Benedict monasteries got into the curious situation where their poverty, simplicity and devotion attracted a lot of wealth which could (and often did) destroy the very things that attracted the wealth in the first place. This is one of the reasons Henry VIII went after the monasteries in England...they had wealth he needed and they were thanks to that wealth a threat to his power. To top all this off "In a world of intrinsic magic (pp. 18-19), magical forces may spontaneously create magical objects." (GURPS Fantasy pg 22) Quote:
"A peasant youth identified with Magery will usually train under the nearest trusted hedgewitch or wiseman. No sensible lord objects to this, although he may seek to control a serf-born mage’s career: a competent spellcaster earns far more than just another laborer." (GURPS Banestorm pg 24) Quote:
GUPRS Fantasy pg 91-96 gives a good overview of the trade between ordinary village (no less then 100 people), Market Villages and Towns (1,000 to 4,999 people) Even though dealing with heresy was also one of the Spanish Inquisition's duties they found the Christianity out in the countryside almost alien compared to the by the book version they were familiar with. And this was the days when the Renaissance was a thing. Last edited by maximara; 04-17-2018 at 03:27 PM. |
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