tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post5807651487343059478..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: The Unreliability Of FirearmsAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-6670057593014754922011-08-30T18:33:08.527-06:002011-08-30T18:33:08.527-06:00I agree with you that mages and those of a magical...I agree with you that mages and those of a magical profession would inevitably find a way to make gunpowder useless. Burning hands, an invisibility spell and a good stealth check would spell doom for a gunpowder armory. Also, a good weather spell can make the gunpowder go damp, or a swarm of pixies with screwdrivers can unlatch the firing mechanisms of an entire army, reducing the weapon to, as you say, an "intricate, heavy club".<br /><br />This however set me thinking. Gunpowder is useful as an explosive because it is a volatile compound, relatively easy to make and relatively easy to set off. However, we rarely use gunpowder in our modern world- we use more stable compounds like C-4 and Semtex. Light C-4 on fire, it doesn't explode. Hurl a lightning bolt at it, nothing happens. But put a detonator in it, feed a electrical current and BOOM!<br /><br />I therefore suggest in the face of magic, science (or alchemy) marches on. Instead of giving up on gunpowder, alchemists try to find a paradox: an explosive that is as harmless as a pebble, but can cause destruction like nothing before it. Oh sure, mages will eventually find to neutralize the C-4, but then alchemists will find something else to use, and when that has a countermeasure, they'll find another one. The arms race doesn't atop because of magic.Satchmohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09031664725306343255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-74046343963452042342011-08-10T17:10:22.078-06:002011-08-10T17:10:22.078-06:00Very sound reasoning as to why many D&D worlds...Very sound reasoning as to why many D&D worlds probably wouldn't have to worry too much about black powder ever advancing beyond a sideshow act.<br />There's a lot of mobility and fire in D&D worlds that would indeed make firearms an iffy business.JDJarvishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07691101939920824546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-76140329119596804882011-08-09T11:22:20.201-06:002011-08-09T11:22:20.201-06:00@Brady: Just purify food and drink could make it a...@Brady: Just <i>purify food and drink</i> could make it a LOT easier to keep a large army together and moving without as many casualties from disease.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07649420272387984400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-89589459869864696212011-08-09T08:36:17.253-06:002011-08-09T08:36:17.253-06:00When you think about it, if humans never really go...When you think about it, if humans never really got into gunpowder, that could completely change the colonization of the Americas.<br /><br />Think about it. Guns were a huge help for us because the Natives thought it was "magic," right?<br /><br />But without gunpowder, we'd have to use real magic to astonish them.<br /><br />But it seems likely to me that the Natives would also know magic - including huge ritual magic the conquistadors had never heard of, which could completely change the game.<br /><br />In fact, that could change the game in a lot of ways. Who cares about horses? Get a Potion of Animal Control and we'll be riding bears! Who cares about disease? We've got plenty of 5th level faith healers and shamans to cure that! And so on.<br /><br />I guess I sort of went off on a tangent, but I wanted to throw that out there.Bradyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023135056577390451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-41210280209319109472011-08-08T20:52:56.517-06:002011-08-08T20:52:56.517-06:00Alexis: Cavers still use them, which was news to m...Alexis: Cavers still use them, which was news to me:<br /><br />http://www.patrollersupply.com/gear/category_199.asp <br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbide_lamp#Use_in_caving<br /><br />I'm trying to come up with a good example of an invention that's only affordable because massive quantities of research and money were poured into something similar. Silicon solar panels are kind of a decent example- they depend on the fact that photolithography to make computer chips has had huge amounts of resources put into making it more efficient.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07649420272387984400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-42122583316807044082011-08-08T16:26:26.612-06:002011-08-08T16:26:26.612-06:00Oddbit,
That's the backup plan.
Zzarchov,
W...Oddbit,<br /><br />That's the backup plan.<br /><br />Zzarchov,<br /><br />We consistently disagree on this issue, but I think the link to wikipedia firearms decries the ease with which ordinary persons can be taught to difficulties of using a firearm. Also, I know of no area effect spell in the AD&D lexicon, <i>poison area</i>.<br /><br />True, you can manifestly imagine your way past anything, but the game is D&D, and I don't know which canonical spell can be used in the manners you suggest.<br /><br />Eric,<br /><br />I presume the technology exists, just not the will to exploit it. Today we know how to make acetylene lamps. Do we?Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-25344369578199933522011-08-08T16:15:23.438-06:002011-08-08T16:15:23.438-06:00Ah, I was confused by Anthony's post, as you s...Ah, I was confused by Anthony's post, as you surmised. <br /><br />The other big thing to remember, to my mind, is that the development and use of bombards and cannons significantly predated the use of small arms on the battlefield. Those seriously suffer from the "great big pile of gunpowder" problem. <br /><br />... without cannon, would pistons exist, for steam engines or the ice machine? Cannon provided a very strong incentive to figure out how to bore holes of uniform size.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07649420272387984400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-6606289267406665582011-08-08T16:07:11.171-06:002011-08-08T16:07:11.171-06:00That reminds me much of the Corean Chronicles, a ...That reminds me much of the Corean Chronicles, a fantasy series in a 19th century technology. In one portion a city is besieged and the defenders are caught off guard that cannons are used. Despite being early cannons (while everyone else has a repeating rifle) the sheer presence of artillery is surprising as anyone with even the remotest magical talent can set them ablaze from afar, and that's what happened in short order. But there is a point to this rambling story of a book.<br /><br />That happened because the main character (a marty sue) was secretly gifted with magical abilities that he hid for fear of persecution and enslavement. The enemy army brought them out because they knew the city had no magi at the moment.<br /><br />They were an uncommon specialty weapon brought out in special engagements only.<br /><br />Now true they already had gunpowder being made for bullets so much of the infrastructure is already in place.<br /><br />But if we bring in magic and setting things off an even better target for magic than powder stores is food supplies. A few poison or plague spells and the enemy army is destroyed utterly.<br /><br />Even in a world full of swords and sorcery, the usefulness of an explosive that can be used by a peasant with a torch and a shovel (sappers) outweigh the risk of an enemy sneaking in with a flint and steel (or magical flint and steel equivalent).<br /><br />Hell, in peace time the use of an explosive in mining and quarrying would justify the availability of the knowledge.Zzarchovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07714805545939725730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-79521719823905325212011-08-08T16:01:19.545-06:002011-08-08T16:01:19.545-06:00Burning hands is overkill really. If your invisib...Burning hands is overkill really. If your invisible suicidal lackey got in, they don't even need magic, just flint and tinder right?Oddbithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12091924105175846386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-13176742333753975162011-08-08T15:48:12.263-06:002011-08-08T15:48:12.263-06:00Sometimes an army would transport the powder in an...Sometimes an army would transport the powder in an unmixed state and then mix it on the site of the battle. Problems arise when you need your gunners battle-ready. But it did alleviate transporting large amounts of volatile explosives from place to place. <br /><br />On ships and in fortresses the munitions were stored in a fortified area called the "magazine". A lucky shot with artillery (or maybe a fireball?) could ruin some people's day.By The Swordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16799389743529116360noreply@blogger.com