10-23-2021, 04:41 AM | #1 |
Join Date: Mar 2013
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Tramways In (Dungeon) Fantasy
So tramways, or wagonways, have been around for a long time, as far back as the 12th century according to Wikipedia, or at least their predecessors. Now these tramways didn't use modern rails (cast iron or simply wooden with iron tops shortly before steam was the norm) nor where they hauled by steam locomotives (Horses normally).
Now while all of this is rather fragile and slow in real life, fantasy is a different matter. While all steel construction is not realistic, steel wheel rims and rail tops might be, and while the money might not be there in rural areas, in dense cities it may well be, and cities will be dense, because they have to be walled to keep the monsters out, and building up is cheaper with magic. So would people have problems with trams showing up in fantasy or Dungeon Fantasy games? |
10-23-2021, 04:47 AM | #2 |
Join Date: Apr 2013
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Re: Tramways In (Dungeon) Fantasy
The Dwarven Mine ride zipping dangerously through tunnels is fine. Especially if the lettering says "Made by Gnomeco".
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10-23-2021, 09:00 AM | #3 |
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Denver, CO
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Re: Tramways In (Dungeon) Fantasy
I think it would be fine.
The biggest barrier for high-use in cities would be repairs. I'd have low-level magic users on hand to mend cracks before they spread. Maybe slums have broken-down or bumpy systems waiting for the government to get around to it. Another fun option for more rural areas is horse-drawn boats. This video is about a minute and shows the idea nicely. |
10-23-2021, 09:15 AM | #4 |
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: UK
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Re: Tramways In (Dungeon) Fantasy
Some early wagonways used grooves cut into a stone surface rather than raised rails. So with a suitable stone surface (paved or natural) that might be possible, though you probably couldn't reduce friction enough that way to go all that fast unless you could carve a very smooth track. That might be a job Shape Stone or Earth to Stone could be used for, though.
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10-23-2021, 11:36 AM | #5 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: On the road again...
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Re: Tramways In (Dungeon) Fantasy
Horse-drawn trolleys inside a city and mule-, horse-, and/or oxen-drawn wagon trains between cities can be interesting. One other option, of course, is having the tram go downhill from the mining or lumber town to the port trade city without animals, using gravity and the angle of the track to manage movement, though you'd need the animals to drag supplies the other direction.
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10-23-2021, 03:03 PM | #6 | |
Join Date: Nov 2004
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Re: Tramways In (Dungeon) Fantasy
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10-23-2021, 04:34 PM | #7 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Louisville, Ky
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Re: Tramways In (Dungeon) Fantasy
Quote:
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10-24-2021, 09:57 AM | #8 |
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: UK
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Re: Tramways In (Dungeon) Fantasy
If that sounds too complicated and crazy for anything but a very "dungeonpunk" campaign, nope, this was done pretty frequently. In fact, there's a record of at least one system where the ascending and descending wagons ran on the same track down a steep hillside, with just a small passing-place in the middle where the tracks split and one wagon went up and over the other. (This was at a coal mine in Broseley, Shropshire, in 1754). So if you want complicated and slightly alarming contraptions in the background of your setting, you can have them.
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10-24-2021, 06:53 PM | #9 |
Join Date: Jul 2010
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Re: Tramways In (Dungeon) Fantasy
Since my version of Dungeon Fantasy asks the question "is it cool?" well before it gets to "is it realistic?", I'd say Dwarven tramways are totally in.
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10-25-2021, 06:15 AM | #10 |
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Meifumado
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Re: Tramways In (Dungeon) Fantasy
Depending on how you roll, this is either way too much technical information (and piccies) or just the right amount of technical information (and piccies) on an 11-ton tram counterweight that ran under the street. I guess its usefulness also depends on whether you want to have the PCs running from a runaway counterweight above ground or in a tunnel.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1405...1233797966211/ https://www.busaustralia.com/forum/v...ic.php?t=63811 http://highriser.blogspot.com/2008/0...ain-dummy.html
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dungen fantasy, railroad |
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