Yrth technology

[Kaldrin]

Originally Posted by Anthony

As gold is not the standard for modern currencies, it wouldn't really make any difference. Modern currencies are fiat currencies, and are basically backed by the economy of the nation that issues them.

Which really means modern currencies are nothing but a decaying property.

If one were to assume that countries never invested in the bad idea that fiat currencies are, what would then the commodity basis be?

[NineDaysDead]

Originally Posted by Kaldrin

If magic were able to take a valuable substance like gold, which is the standard for most currencies nowadays, relatively valueless, what substance would modern countries make the standard for their currencies?

The Philosophers' Stone maybe?

[KDLadage]

Kromm (et. al),

Perhaps I am missing the point of a lot of the conversation here, but it certainly begins to sound as though (perhaps) a fresh look at a semi-official GURPS Fantasy World is, in fact, in order. Am I wrong here? Am I actually missing the point of what you (and others) are saying?

[Ze'Manel Cunha]

Originally Posted by Kaldrin

If one were to assume that countries never invested in the bad idea that fiat currencies are, what would then the commodity basis be?

Nothing which is mineable can function as the basis for a currency in a global market where the value of currencies far exceeds the value of mere commodities.

But if your goal is to restrict economic development and to create smaller limited economies, then enforcing a gold, silver or orichalcum standard would be perfect for that type of setting.

I use a powerstone backed currency in one of my fantasy worlds.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Kaldrin

If one were to assume that countries never invested in the bad idea that fiat currencies are, what would then the commodity basis be?

Hard to say. Depends on what delusional economic theory is being followed.

[Turhan's Bey Company]

Originally Posted by KDLadage

Perhaps I am missing the point of a lot of the conversation here, but it certainly begins to sound as though (perhaps) a fresh look at a semi-official GURPS Fantasy World is, in fact, in order. Am I wrong here? Am I actually missing the point of what you (and others) are saying?

It's entirely possible. That some number of players (including a guy who works at the company) are dissatisfied with or otherwise wish to alter aspects of a setting does not necessarily indicate a fundamental flaw which must be remedied or the need for a new direction. I suspect that, at most, you're seeing an "if I were king" sort of thing, and lest we forget, SJ is king. Kromm is Lord Privy Seal or something.

That said, I'd love to see a different semi-official fantasy world. Lose the connection with the "real world" (which I believe SJ brought with him from the world of Advanced Melee/Advanced Wizard, so that might be something difficult to pry out of an SJ Games product), turn the Kewl Stuff knobs up to 11, and otherwise make explicit a background so fluid that historical models are not tenable. Yes, there are peasants, but they have intermitten access to ritual magic and enchanted plows, so an arbitrarily small number of them can support an arbitrarily large population if they're lucky, but not if they aren't. Yes, egalitarian ideas can arise, but because you've got dragons, archmages, and evil hordes rampaging all over the landscape, society is in constant crisis across the board and constantly rebuilding itself in little bits, so you've got a thousand flowers blooming rather than broad social and economic movements. And you never get sufficient infrastructure to lift society as a whole above something that looks vaguely like TL3/4.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Apache

In one of my Yrth games, the Secret Uberfaction that is responsible for suppressing firearms, and tech in general, is the Dragons.

I personally thought that was the most plausible proposal for active suppression. The problems with a human faction have always been (1) technology is an advantage to any faction - unless you are already so powerful you have nothing to fear in the first place, you'd use it yourself to further your own goals - and (2) a lot of other stuff that is a much clearer threat *is* being allowed through. It's hard to come up with a plausible scenario where the Megalan government erases everybody's memory of gunpowder, but leaves Protestantism intact.

Dragons on the other hand benefit a lot less from human technology, which they mostly can't use, a pretty obvious motive for stomping on anything remotely related to weapons technology - which really is about the only thing that seems to be smashed hard enough there are no significant leakers - and have no reason to care about human religious or political theories.

[KDLadage]

Originally Posted by Turhan's Bey Company

That said, I'd love to see a different semi-official fantasy world. Lose the connection with the "real world" (which I believe SJ brought with him from the world of Advanced Melee/Advanced Wizard, so that might be something difficult to pry out of an SJ Games product), turn the Kewl Stuff knobs up to 11, and otherwise make explicit a background so fluid that historical models are not tenable. Yes, there are peasants, but they have intermitten access to ritual magic and enchanted plows, so an arbitrarily small number of them can support an arbitrarily large population if they're lucky, but not if they aren't. Yes, egalitarian ideas can arise, but because you've got dragons, archmages, and evil hordes rampaging all over the landscape, society is in constant crisis across the board and constantly rebuilding itself in little bits, so you've got a thousand flowers blooming rather than broad social and economic movements. And you never get sufficient infrastructure to lift society as a whole above something that looks vaguely like TL3/4.

Sounds great!

Where do I send the money to get you to write this up? I am hoping for a full-color hardback at about 248 pages...

[combatmedic]

I love the ties between Yrth and Earth, especially the religious stuff. Making it less tied to the real world would make it less appealing to me.
Now, if y'all want a brand new fantasy setting for GURPS, why not design it on this forum? Draw up an agenda or outline of what you want, then build a shared world from that basis. That would be a new thread, of course.

[Turhan's Bey Company]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

I love the ties between Yrth and Earth, especially the religious stuff. Making it less tied to the real world would make it less intersteing to me.

A fascinating fantasy game which included ties between real-world stuff and the fantasy world could be written, of course, but to my mind, Yrth isn't it. If you're going to drag in the real world religions and institutions, just throw aside all pretense of making it a different world. Just set it on Earth during the earlier Crusades and declare that magic started working a few years ago or something. I'm sure such a world could be created quickly by throwing together a few Suppressed Transmission articles, if you don't mind too many Templars. This whole "it's based on real-world religion/politics/whatever except when it isn't" thing makes it incoherent to me.

Originally Posted by combatmedic

Now, if y'all want a brand new fantasy setting for GURPS, why not design it on this forum? Draw up an agenda or outline of what you want, then build a shared world from that basis. That would be a new thread, of course.

This is true.