Communicating on Cidri

[Shadekeep]

I'm working on an adventure which is set in a very primitive area of Cidri and in which news and communiques are relayed between communities using runners, as in ancient Greece. That got me thinking about what various ways messages and news might be disseminated across Cidri. I came up with five basic methods, see if you can think of any others.

Courier - A runner, rider, or in some cases flier, could carry a verbal or written message across a distance. A carrier pigeon or other kind of animal messenger could do the same with a written message. The message itself may be encoded in some way, too.

Crier - A town crier, herald, or annunciator may declaim the news in a public space. This news may be filtered or controlled by powerful interests in larger cities, or the news gathering body may be a powerful organisation in its own right.

Grapevine - News travels quickly within a community, especially between individuals with a lot of social connections. So too does gossip and hearsay. This is popular rumour mechanism of TFT adventures.

Print - I presume that most of Cidri exists in a pre-printing-press phase, so things like printed broadsides and newsheets would not be common. But written handbills and posters are certainly feasible methods of public communication, at least in areas where literacy is common enough.

Magic - There may be spells that one could use to send a message over a distance. An expensive and dangerous method would be to employ a demon to do so. Possibly one could also use an image/illusion to carry a verbal message. In dire circumstances one might also use astral projection. Simpler magic means no doubt exist, and possibly organisations like the Wizards Guild use palantirs or such to stay in touch over distances. In fact, I just now had the idea for a new magic item, which I'll post separately in this thread.

[Shadekeep]

Paired Parchment (Lesser Magic Item)

requires knowledge of Lesser Magic Item Creation, Delete Writing, Duplicate Writing
4 weeks creation time, 30 ST & $1500 a week
costs $16,000 for a pair to purchase

This magic item consists of two sheets of enchanted parchment which are mystically connected to each other so that anything written on one parchment becomes visible on the other. Distance is not a strict limiting factor, though it has been noticed that as distance increases the writing becomes fainter, and sometimes is delayed.

The parchments contain both the Duplicate Writing and Delete Writing spell, so it is possible to "clear" the parchment by holding it and willing the writing to vanish. The same characteristics and limitations of the Duplicate Writing spell apply to the parchment, so one cannot relay a magic scroll or transmit coloured inks in their original colours.

If one of the parchments is burnt its twin will also go up in ashes. Also, it's a good idea to have some kind of symbol or sign between you and the other parchment owner in order to ensure that you are writing to them and not someone else who has obtained the parchment.

[hcobb]

Maintain Image is a lot easier to cast than Proxy.

Scrying is only IQ 13 and you can read the writing on the wall in front of the mirror in the wizard's guild at least 74% of the time.

[TippetsTX]

Originally Posted by Shadekeep

Print - I presume that most of Cidri exists in a pre-printing-press phase, so things like printed broadsides and newsheets would not be common. But written handbills and posters are certainly feasible methods of public communication, at least in areas where literacy is common enough.

Magic - There may be spells that one could use to send a message over a distance. An expensive and dangerous method would be to employ a demon to do so. Possibly one could also use an image/illusion to carry a verbal message. In dire circumstances one might also use astral projection. Simpler magic means no doubt exist, and possibly organisations like the Wizards Guild use palantirs or such to stay in touch over distances. In fact, I just now had the idea for a new magic item, which I'll post separately in this thread.

I was wondering about the availability of printing technology myself recently. Specifically in the context of all the conversations around religion and the function of priests in the society. Do the masses have access to religious texts or are they reliant on clergy for that content?

As far as long-distance magical communication, however, I'm thinking that there could be something left behind by the Mnoren... some kind of 'network' that mages can tap into (or maybe restricted to the upper levels of the Wizard Guilds scattered across Cidri).

[hcobb]

Originally Posted by TippetsTX

I was wondering about the availability of printing technology myself recently.

It would vastly reduce the price of books for spells, enchantments, potions, etc.

What happens when your bright young wizard discovers a potion book that the "Half-blood Prince" (or whoever) has corrected?

[TippetsTX]

Originally Posted by hcobb

It would vastly reduce the price of books for spells, enchantments, potions, etc.

What happens when your bright young wizard discovers a potion book that the "Half-blood Prince" (or whoever) has corrected?

True, though I think the Wizard Guilds would actively seek out and destroy any attempt to mass-produce spells and like. You could also decide that the actual creation of magical tomes requires a bit of magic so any printed copies would just be gibberish with no power.

[Shadekeep]

Originally Posted by TippetsTX

True, though I think the Wizard Guilds would actively seek out and destroy any attempt to mass-produce spells and like. You could also decide that the actual creation of magical tomes requires a bit of magic so any printed copies would just be gibberish with no power.

Yes, I lean in that direction as well. Magical scrolls definitely can't be printed but must be transcribed, due to the magical rituals that go into laying down the symbols. I would apply the same to grimoires.

And as for religious texts, I suspect they are pretty rare too and most are tightly held by the clergy. Part of what made the papacy so powerful, and the reformation so dangerous, was that the holy texts were kept out of the hands of the common folk. This gave only an elite group direct access to the purported word of god, and through that power.

Lastly, based on your suggestion, I would indeed add another category - Technological - which would include Mnoren artifacts as well as anything that Engineers might dream up.

[Shadekeep]

Originally Posted by hcobb

Scrying is only IQ 13 and you can read the writing on the wall in front of the mirror in the wizard's guild at least 74% of the time.

Yep, I meant to add Scrying to the list as well under magical means. Probably the Wizards Guild has "scrye-safe" spaces where the spell is permitted and even encouraged, in order to facilitate one-way communication.

[hcobb]

Originally Posted by Shadekeep

Yes, I lean in that direction as well. Magical scrolls definitely can't be printed but must be transcribed, due to the magical rituals that go into laying down the symbols. I would apply the same to grimoires.

That would put the scribes listed on page 141 out of business.

Writing grimoires is then a job for wizards and the page costs increase to:

$19 a page for IQ 8 to 10 (Same as scribes, assumes DX 12 and a good proofreader, one in 777 pages has an uncaught error. Add $4 per page for a second check to drive this to one in 16K)
$32 a page for IQ 11 to 13
$46 a page for IQ 14

The spell cost is 20 pages per IQ level times the per-page cost.

Duplicate Writing cost is only around $3 per raw sheet at one "meaningful error" per 54 pages. Adding $4 per page check drives this down to one error in 1k pages. Adding another $4 check per page makes this one error in 25k pages.

[Shadekeep]

Originally Posted by hcobb

That would put the scribes listed on page 141 out of business.

Nah, I just presume that whatever scribes are writing such things have a modicum of magical expertise as part of their training. Just like anyone writing a shared/commercial text in that period would have had education in the basics of calligraphy, and then if they went on to a specific scribal duty they would have further education along those proper lines. For example, a religious scribe would likely have further training in illuminating text and applying gold leaf to ornamental capitals.

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.