tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post4145620175457068791..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: Armor Weapons Tech TableAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-48553095095586719752018-09-27T21:06:32.041-06:002018-09-27T21:06:32.041-06:00Perhaps the best way to think a group's "...Perhaps the best way to think a group's "cultural intelligence" it is as an indicator of how far behind/ahead of the technology curve they are. The highest intelligence groups are the ones most likely to come up with the next advancement. Some other groups will adopt it quickly. Some slowly. Groups would have limits on what they could recreate versus what they must barter for.TPmanWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08415910295872695542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-18979519693160265422013-07-09T22:27:59.603-06:002013-07-09T22:27:59.603-06:00It's an interesting approach. But how do you h...It's an interesting approach. But how do you handle technological dissemination? If I understand correctly, the sentient monster races of your world routinely engage in commerce with humans and such. What stops them from learning how to make better armor, or at the least from trading for better armor, or the like? <br /><br />"Intelligence" in role-playing systems is usually treated as the innate ability of someone or something to comprehend new information and react to new situations. If you're just tracking technological development, then calling the stat "technological development" rather than "intelligence" may avoid some confusion. Homer2101https://www.blogger.com/profile/02241354859306924485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-16551951696809440232013-07-09T21:34:28.596-06:002013-07-09T21:34:28.596-06:00What about cross-culture contamination? Or does th...What about cross-culture contamination? Or does that way lie madness?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11930967848835421797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-52082630017686244352013-07-09T13:59:24.279-06:002013-07-09T13:59:24.279-06:00That's a fair point on hurled weapons. I look ...That's a fair point on hurled weapons. I look forward to reading your thoughts on animals!Jonathonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12424548045152722964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-83994228757181265502013-07-09T12:34:58.992-06:002013-07-09T12:34:58.992-06:00Two things. You forget that clubs can be thrown.
...Two things. You forget that clubs can be thrown.<br /><br />And that since a 'spear' does the same damage as a club, you may presume that the primitive spear may be thought of as a 'club' in relation to the later developed spear of bronze age cultures.<br /><br />What IS missing from this table are animals ... but I haven't quite worked those out yet.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-660066734266964182013-07-09T12:06:14.379-06:002013-07-09T12:06:14.379-06:00And now for a comment that may be more directly re...And now for a comment that may be more directly relevant: I'm curious about the weapon order in the technology table, in that I would have imagined the two lowest ranks would be reversed - Thrown/Battle rather than Battle/Thrown - under the theory that the most primitive technologies would be adapted hunting tools rather than purpose-built weapons of war. <br /><br />So the cultures on the extreme low end of things would be hurling a barrage of rocks or simple spears, and falling back on unarmed and/or natural attacks if a battle came to direct blows. Does that sound like a reasonable alternative structure, Alexis, or do you think I'd be off base in assuming that?Jonathonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12424548045152722964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-42253290949042120632013-07-09T10:47:02.043-06:002013-07-09T10:47:02.043-06:00Hmm. I kind of adore the idea of a 'cultural i...Hmm. I kind of adore the idea of a 'cultural intelligence' stat, but that's partly because it meshes pretty well with how I treat Intelligence as an individual stat. <br /><br />For a while now I've been treating everything above animal intelligence as more of an 'Education' stat than a measurement of mental aptitude. The wise sage, for example, doesn't have an 18 Intelligence because he's quick-witted; he has an 18 intelligence because he's spent the last 20 years boning up on natural history, philosophy, alchemy, engineering, and languages. He has the depth of knowledge to make connections that others don't see and work out problems on that basis. Similarly, the 7-intelligence goblin is hampered by the fact that he can't read and has only the vaguest idea about how the world works beyond his daily experience.<br /><br />A cultural intelligence would become the natural 'upper bound' for a creature of that type; you can't go any higher than that (except possibly by being one of those once-per-era geniuses who ends up raising the cultural stat a notch.)<br /><br />I think this is a different spin than you're taking, as it sounds like you're treating the cultural INT as a harder limit per creature type and I'd see it as potentially more flexible, but this post has certainly given me something to think about.Jonathonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12424548045152722964noreply@blogger.com