tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post2849774637048418474..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: ElectricityAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-72972766235352811422013-04-11T13:38:04.473-06:002013-04-11T13:38:04.473-06:00Don't forget that lack of constant lighting ma...Don't forget that lack of constant lighting made people much more accustomed to low-light conditions. Many people today would be quite surprised at how well they can see by starlight after a couple of hours in the dark (actually, shocked to the point that some like a dear friend of mine will continue to insist that they can't see)<br />I can read quite comfortably by the light of a full moon, and on particularly clear nights, you start to be able to discern colors.<br /><br /><a href="http://backstoryradio.org/on-the-clock-a-brief-history-of-time/" rel="nofollow">This podcast</a> has a portion about the effects of the shift to artificial light, you might find it interesting.<br /><br />Re: Sound, you're quite right, however consider also that this mostly applies to still weather. When was the last time you spent time outdoors in a rainstorm? It's positively deafening in a broadleaf forest! I can't comment on weather my subconscious would become attuned to noises that were harmless vs. ones that deserved attention, but even on a still night, There are a lot of noises in the wilderness.Maximillian Boiihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09712157905126165888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-65751352390178261302013-04-11T05:24:55.227-06:002013-04-11T05:24:55.227-06:00My family moved from an urban home to a suburban o...My family moved from an urban home to a suburban one when I was in middles-school and we had trouble sleeping the first couple weeks because suburbia was so darned silent compared to the shabby little city we used to live in. I moved further out in suburbia and it became quiter. More recently I've moved further out and its darker and quiter, my house looks like an illuminatedcastle at night that really stands out because there so few lights nearby.<br />I have a few nearby neighbors and I generally only notice what they are up to because of the noise and the smell of their fires (some neighbors heat with wood all the time, some augment with wood, and some only burn for ambiance).<br />The non-modern, non densely packed world feels different.JDJarvishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07691101939920824546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-82784070723928634752013-04-10T20:12:25.823-06:002013-04-10T20:12:25.823-06:00Per Continual Light, how does that compare to, say...Per Continual Light, how does that compare to, say, telegraph companies versus wire thieves? It takes a lot of specialized guys with training and equipment and logistics to lay wire and make sure it's working, but just a few highly motivated individuals with hand tools and transportation to steal some. <br /><br />I'd think Continual Light would be a rich man's thing, but ostentatious and tacky- something you'd cast on jewelry to hide poor workmanship. The richest districts where armed guards patrol to keep the residents undisturbed might have Continual Light streetlamps. It'd be a very popular spell among those with pretenses to royalty, sainthood, divinity, etc... <br /><br />Finally, I'd heard that Abe Lincoln read not by candle light but by fire light, which makes my eyes hurt to think about.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07649420272387984400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-35067247777406939032013-04-10T14:24:24.964-06:002013-04-10T14:24:24.964-06:00I imagine the DnD world would be noisy in a differ...I imagine the DnD world would be noisy in a different way, making camp in the countryside you'd hear the sleeping of your party members as they shifted and snored, there'd be animals about both domestic and wild. The shuffling of cattle the occassional bray of a goat, the sound of something with hooves moving in the woods. In a city it'd be more the sound of people than of wild animals, I imagine someone getting up to use the chamber pot could be heard a couple of houses down.<br /><br />I'd still agree with you that most of the time a party wouldn't need a night watch. Unless it was a very light night humans would need light to sneak up on you without making enough noise to wake you up. So you'll have forewarning anyway. And you'll probably have taken measures agaisnt a hog rooting around in your supplies.<br /><br />The ability to see in low light conditions might be a game changer though. Races that can see in the dark get four extra hours a day of useful time in midwinter and become every sentry's nightmare, they carry no torches so they can't be seen from a distance, so long as the sound of their movement is difficult to distinguish from that of an animals you have no way of knowing they're there until they jump in and kick out the campfire.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04278455754046118073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-54319786466808874232013-04-10T12:20:37.848-06:002013-04-10T12:20:37.848-06:00Pretty funny, Giordanisti. Whatever the clerics c...Pretty funny, Giordanisti. Whatever the clerics can do, spellcasters in the employ of a thieves' guild can undo.<br /><br />Consider, a host of clerics go throughout the city and light it up at night. Five minutes later, a host of mages in the employ of the thieves guild black it out again. <i>Continual Light</i> is not immune to dispel magic.<br /><br />When it suddenly turns dark, which of the fifty people on the street just did that? <i>Detect magic</i> doesn't detect a spellcaster; making it dark isn't necessarily "evil"; and maybe the people in the area like to sleep in a dark city. They're tired.<br /><br />The problem with magical solutions for earthly problems is that they always break down to hackers vs. non-hackers. No one wins.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-67923888590322992292013-04-10T12:08:43.245-06:002013-04-10T12:08:43.245-06:00Within the realm of D&D (rather than straight ...Within the realm of D&D (rather than straight medieval Europe), the existence of clerics needs to be taken into account, specifically with regards to the Continual Light spell. Depending on the prevalence of fifth-or-higher level Clerics, a town could be well-lit by streetlamps in a matter of weeks (and lamplighters would really be lamp-uncoverers). The rich could afford to have a priest come by and just create a bunch of energy-free lamps for permanent use (a 60' radius means only a few would easily cover even a mansion). Since those with light are so much more productive, I can imagine the demand for such convenience might make light-giving a primary function of a local church.Giordanistihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18375496443176258588noreply@blogger.com