[maximara]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

A couple of new wrinkles on the canal between the Conn and the Smoke.

1) If we allow a river that can be made navigatable by the addition of TL4 locks to within a few miles of the Church territory of Photus, to create a ecconomic boom in the Barony of Durham, and then give Robert Del a Pole the twin problems of digging a canal tunnel through a ridge and draining the swamp on the other side of the ridge, our Engineer/Mage is stuck in one place for a while.

The PCs have the problems that A) the dwellers in the swamp, choose some one that's a serious threat like an inhuman hag, or a demon cult leader, and B) a couple of minor lords in Durham want the canal rerouted either to their benefit or to prevent a neighbor from getting rich from the canal.

2) Another possibility would be set in Donlis which we are told is swampy. One Sir Henry of Mershall, a mage trained by Robert Del a Pole and weilding a magical device that reduces the cost of Earth College Spells by one fatigue has been building Polders. These polders are drained by pumps powered by windmills. These unassuming pumps and windmills are TL5. Sir Henry is also an Underground engineer from a world much like Tales of the Solar Patrol.

Sir Henry has gotten halflings from Oakwood to settle the polders (which are generally a few square miles). The halflings have planted breadoaks and fruit trees, dairying and beekeeping are major occupations. The halflings sell cheese, butter, Bread Acorns, honey, and wax. THe local swamp dwellers are divided between those afraid of losing their homes and those eager to have Sir Henry build polders for them. The swamps being shallow it's a tech level 3 job to build the polders.

Sir Henry is eliminating the feudal ecconomic order slowly but firmly in Donlis. This will lead to violence.

Actually canals and windpumps appeared much earlier then TL4's standard ~1450: "The first artificial canal in Western Europe was the Fossa Carolina built at the end of the 8th century under personal supervision of Charlemagne."

Similarly, "Windpumps were used to pump water since at least the 9th century in what is now Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan."

In Legacy of Time Journeyman Project 3 an Archimedes screw is connected to a windmill in "Atlantis" forming a TL1-2 windpump. While there is superscience in the game the windmill and its Archimedes screw are "normal" even though they are far ahead of when historical they appeared.