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Old 11-27-2018, 12:08 PM   #11
hcobb
 
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Default Re: Communicating on Cidri

Put four books of 250 pages each in Igor's backpack and then cast Long Distance Teleport ($27) on him.

Less than 4 cents per page sent.
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Old 11-27-2018, 12:53 PM   #12
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One other possible magical item would be a pair of Linked Telepathy crowns/helm/whathaveyou. Assuming such a thing could be successfully researched and distance telepathy could be achieved, this has the potential to be a highly efficient means of communication. It has some inherent dangers too, of course. Paired parchments are safer in most circumstances, but linked telepathy would offer some significant benefits.

Naturally, the price of these would be exorbitant and out of reach for most individuals. Linked telepathy devices would more likely be in the hands of rich and powerful guilds and governments. Again, that's assuming the distance telepathy hurdle can be overcome first.
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Old 11-27-2018, 01:31 PM   #13
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Default Re: Communicating on Cidri

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One other possible magical item would be a pair of Linked Telepathy crowns/helm/whathaveyou.
See page 161.
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Old 11-27-2018, 01:45 PM   #14
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I'm also debating whether I want to add some form of limited psionic communication (not Telepathy) to be available via a magic item or as a learned spell/talent. I would base this ability on that found within Steven Brust's Dragaeran novels which I have a penchant for.
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Old 11-27-2018, 01:57 PM   #15
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Default Re: Communicating on Cidri

There is an intimation of non-direct-contact telepathy in the new ITL book, though not explicit, when discussing the Mobbers. So there is certainly scope for innate psionic abilities. Telepathy and Telekinesis are already magical powers, and Insight might cover precognition/clairvoyance for some folks, but there's nothing to prevent them from being a natural wild talent as well, alongside things like empathy and pyrokinesis. After all, flight is both a natural ability and a spell.

I'm kind of wandering astray of the original thread now, but a natural telepathic or empathic talent would fit into the general framework of communication options.
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Old 11-27-2018, 02:52 PM   #16
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Default Re: Communicating on Cidri

IQ 13 talent: Sense Emotion(2): Prerequisite: Detect Lies. Using the same procedure and roll sense the target's emotional state. On a critical success the GM should offer some additional hints. For example it's not that the target is nervous in general, but he's nervous about something that might happen or appear from a specific direction.
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Old 11-27-2018, 05:48 PM   #17
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Coming back around to primitive technologies, there are techniques like signal drums, pinnacle bells, and watchfire lines that can deliver very simple messages and signals over a great distance. Also the somewhat more apocryphal things like smoke signals. I'd probably lump all those in at the basic end of the Technological spectrum, as they are pretty limited and have low information capacity. But they can still be crucial at the right time. And since my adventure centers on a very primitive culture, it's interesting for me to think about what they might have devised to overcome the challenge of reaching those far away.
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Old 11-27-2018, 08:40 PM   #18
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Default Re: Communicating on Cidri

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Originally Posted by hcobb View Post
Put four books of 250 pages each in Igor's backpack and then cast Long Distance Teleport ($27) on him.

Less than 4 cents per page sent.
ISTR that long distance teleport has a non-negligible chance of killing the traveler. Igor might ask for a premium for that trip.

...

Overland flight is surprisingly generous, IIRC. Gargoyles who were willing to take employment as postal officers might be well compensated, and have safe passage medallions. Interference with them by those seeking gallbladders might invite the wrath of the king, since interfering with the post or messengers generally has been seen as a serious breach of the law in many times and places.
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Old 11-28-2018, 03:04 AM   #19
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Personally I'm more interested in sociological structures and holistic systems than I am in picayune fiscal details and rule minutae. My primary goal is an interesting and believable worlds with well thought-out backstories that are fun to play in. Happily, TFT can accommodate both the lawyerly grognard and the creative storyteller.
Sure. But one thing that I find interesting is how some of the picayune fiscal details, if thought through, sometimes have enormous social and political implications. Similar to how cheap technology radically changes our present circumstances, but maybe even more so.

For example, the idea that lesser wishes are cheap, in the sense of a few months of income (a bit like cars today). This is so radical I can't imagine how to play this out. But it arises from the details. If you don't like this (not sure anyone does) and you start trying to make wishes more expensive, then you can get into interesting things like demons and what they're like.

Another example, there was a really good discussion about gates months back, where again the political and social implications were really interesting, almost staggering to think through, and depending very much on the details, like how frequently do gates turn unstable and how long do you have to fix.
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Old 11-28-2018, 07:02 AM   #20
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Another example, there was a really good discussion about gates months back, where again the political and social implications were really interesting, almost staggering to think through, and depending very much on the details, like how frequently do gates turn unstable and how long do you have to fix.
That's easy.

Once every 216 crossings you have a gate instability that requires an IQ 15 wizard with a 50 point powerstone standing by. (Given that the rental on that powerstone is $750 a week and mana doesn't exist, we must use raw wizard power here.)

Therefore you need two wizards and eight apprentices. That's $700/wk to handle one event every other hour. That's 100 crossings an hour, 800 per day, 4000 per week.

Gate fare is no more than $1. (Wizards are cheap and plentiful.)

And obviously there is some gate stability enchantment that's not listed.
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