tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post4150870046575366537..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: Technology 6Alexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-54529869369138309682015-11-19T04:00:19.414-07:002015-11-19T04:00:19.414-07:00These posts are really intriguing. My only questio...These posts are really intriguing. My only question is, do you need a different tech level for every point of intelligence? Wouldn't every 2 or 3 points be enough?<br /><br />This is not meanot to belittle your work, or desire for heavily detailed information, but I'm just wondering if that level of granularity is needed for this specific idea.<br /><br />I'm probably wrong.J. Cormierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06775658681126093604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-75052885636031443152015-11-18T21:44:08.921-07:002015-11-18T21:44:08.921-07:00'likely to ask' . . . not answer. bleh.'likely to ask' . . . not answer. bleh.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-64214706594594232672015-11-18T21:43:42.359-07:002015-11-18T21:43:42.359-07:00My chief concern is with the way the details above...My chief concern is with the way the details above give answers to questions the players are likely to answer. Is there beer (agriculture, yes, pre-agriculture, no)? What weapons are the townspeople using? What do things look like? Can we get a room for the night? Are the people friendly? Who is in charge? Who won't like what we're doing right now? What sort of valuables can we steal? Are there guards? Can we buy food? Do these people know anything about the dungeon where we have to go to find the MacGuffin? Does the leader of the village look tough? My dog needs fresh meat - is there any? Can these people fix the axle on our wagon? Can they tell us where this river goes?<br /><br />And on and on. The details above should be enough that anyone can now answer those questions. That's my goal.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-82134167492278527272015-11-18T19:06:08.029-07:002015-11-18T19:06:08.029-07:00Tim, you make me think of something I read in a Ne...Tim, you make me think of something I read in a Neil Gaiman comic: a story about the art of telling stories. It could be the basis of a chain of technologies related to story-telling and art.<br /><br />Tech 5: campfire stories. Tales that are passed from parent to child, that have no real purpose except what the teller chooses to focus on.<br /><br />Tech 6: family stories. Meant to entertain, to be an activity at night or to help the family relax and drift to sleep. But also, the start of keeping records or the start of morality tales.<br /><br />And yet, while I like the notion, it seems like there's no justification for tying this kind of development to a technology. Every culture has storytelling. The real advancements came from things like religion, writing or paper crafting.Ozymandiashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01065642299277380465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-86516308581262714492015-11-18T15:34:30.294-07:002015-11-18T15:34:30.294-07:00Would this level of tech perform any crafts or art...Would this level of tech perform any crafts or arts? You mention wooden tokens at tech 5, so I'd expect that would be the case, but I'd be curious to know if anything was different, such as carved stone idols like Venuses. There's been a lot of interesting stuff dug up at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk" rel="nofollow">Catalhoyuk</a> for instance. I'd wonder how that example compares.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03496502173819113887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-7975478995536152752015-11-18T14:49:50.261-07:002015-11-18T14:49:50.261-07:00Yes, but the DnD Guide's shaman doesn't co...Yes, but the DnD Guide's shaman doesn't conform to actual shamans. Plus tech 6 can't build Stonehenge - no masonry.<br /><br />But I get your point. It's only that I need a more primitive religious-magic from than the original game makers imagined.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-61863535183299113472015-11-18T14:32:23.566-07:002015-11-18T14:32:23.566-07:00I seem to remember in the DMG that shamans (as des...I seem to remember in the DMG that shamans (as described by the DMG) had access to a limited selection of clerical spells. This allowed goblins to have "healers" that weren't as fully powerful as a cleric, but still within the scope of the rules. A similar mechanic was used for magic-user spells.<br /><br />It makes sense: If you can't create a proper worship site, your god won't really pay much attention to your pleas. <br /><br />Could that then explain something like Stonehenge, where a priest only had additional powers if within the borders of the site? <br /><br />Time to open up my notebook of ideas and make some entries.<br />Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15657793356913767894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-62413266427942251062015-11-18T12:40:58.776-07:002015-11-18T12:40:58.776-07:00Personally, I find it fascinating. I realize it...Personally, I find it fascinating. I realize it's a lot of work, but I can't help but hope we'll see some of the higher tech levels (in the teens) to get an idea of what THAT looks like compared to these more primitive cultures.<br /><br />The stuff above 18 (the other planes) can certainly be left to the imagination, being beyond normal human understanding.<br />; )JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03263662621289630246noreply@blogger.com