GURPS Fantasy-Tech 1: The Edge of Reality

[Jamaraq]

Interesting indeed!
I'll be looking into this.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

I'm not sure how to approach the question without knowing far more than I do about your setting. Most of the stuff in it is lower than TL 4+2 (a couple ornithopters excepted).

What about the Alchemy rules? Are they a significant expansion of Alchemy as technology?

[Dinadon]

I have but one question:

Weapon Master(Zweihander) plus Two-Handed Parries from Martial Arts, should the multiple parry progression go;
a) 0, 0 , -1, -1, etc.
b) 0, -1, -1, etc.
or c) something else.

[Edges]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

How useful is it for my TL4+2, New Weird setting? If it is useful will I need to seriously rework the technology in the setting already to fit it?

For $8, it's likely worth it to you. It's got TL 4^ and TL4+x stuff. And as Ulzgoroth points out, there's earlier stuff that can be developed into something more advanced at a higher TL. If the Leonardo Battery was good at TL 4+1, imagine what it can do at 4+2.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

What about the Alchemy rules? Are they a significant expansion of Alchemy as technology?

There's most of two pages which, at a skim, look quite interesting. They aren't about 'alchemy as a technology', as such. I think they're about alchemy as historically practiced except actually working to produce results real chemistry disagrees with. It's TL3^, which is why I didn't mention them.

There's 3 elixers, a hierarchy for transmutation of metals, kit and reagents, and the mechanism for using them.

If your alchemy isn't medieval-looking, or is industrialized, you'd at least have to do some work on it.

[Edges]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

What about the Alchemy rules? Are they a significant expansion of Alchemy as technology?

There's a page on Alchemy. It's got a new piece of crunch, "Refinement." It's nice but not extensive.

[Dinadon]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

What about the Alchemy rules? Are they a significant expansion of Alchemy as technology?

Not really, it spends a page and a half talking about a new speciality Alchemy(Mundane) that works like historical alchemy. Alchemy as technology would be covered by Alchemy(Magical).

[Gudiomen]

Originally Posted by Kromm

And if it's popular, you might just see more GURPS Fantasy-Tech volumes . . .

Fiend! Now I have to convince all my friends to buy it... brilliant.

Edit: hm, that said, and name apart there seems to be a lot of weird tech or alternate tech, rather than proper "fantasy" (as in the genre, such as GURPS Fantasy)... and of that, we have DF series. So I'll postpone this one...

[ehrbar]

Originally Posted by Edges

It says that Aluminum wasn't used until the 19th century. I seem to remember reading somewhere that aluminum was very rare but not unheard of in the pre-modern era.

By Brady's Materials Handbook, it was discovered in 1727. Other sources place it later, with isolation not happening until the 19th Century.

Originally Posted by Edges

It was more precious than platinum and even some king or emperor had some in his crown. An Austrian emperor maybe?

Napoleon III's crown jewels were apparently displayed or stored alongside bars of pure aluminum; there are also claims that a special set of aluminum flatware was used to honor guests at his table above the gold that other guests used. The Washington Monument was capped with aluminum when it was still expensive. Reasonably cheap production of aluminum (through electrolytic refining) didn't happen until 1885.

[lexington]

Originally Posted by Edges

It also says that transparent aluminum is fictional. See ALON for a non-fictional "transparent aluminum." While it doesn't bend like pure aluminum, it's strong enough be a whale tank. And soft x-rays can make ordinary aluminum transparent over small time intervals.

I think the argument would be that those are ceramic, not really just aluminum that's transparent.