D&D 5E World Building: Tech, Magic, and Society

[greg kaye]

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Now so far I have talked about tech, but let's be honest some magic is WAY beyond our tech. The really old version of trek had the red head doctor wave a light stick over wounds to close them. If that isn't a wand of cure wounds I don't know what is.
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the ubiquity of magic amomgst DnD peasants is an anomoly that requires notions of Liberté, égalité, fraternité, mercantilism and industrial scale production to be a thing

Access to magic spells could be ubiquitous but the creation of magic items required levels of time and money that a peasantry might often directly lack. However, people in all groups may have been wary of magic, and the first level ritual, detect magic, could be widely used.

There's a common situation when arriving at functions for weapons to be handed in and, as a parallel to this, it could be possible for a caster (or two in a sequenced pair) to be repeatedly casting detect magic at, say, the entrance to an event. Other security might also keep an eye out for lead boxes.

Authorities might also have agents cast detect magic before going on ten-minute walks around localities so as to see which people were in possession of magic and, presuming the detector has an awareness of the Nystul's Magic Aura spell, a particular interest might be paid to items emanating subtle signs of illusion magic.

(As a side note, the French, post-revolution focus on fraternité contradicts principles of liberté and égalité. This may seem particularly unjust considering the prominent role that women played in aspects of the revolution).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

the ubiquity of magic amongst DnD peasant

Magic means you don't need peasants.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Magic could be used to punish criminals, for example reincarnation into a warforged or an autognome.

If the noble houses can hire spellcasters, then the savage tribes could be invaded too easily.

A divine spellcaster with the help by a congretation in an incantantion ritual could defeat an arcane spellcaster with a higher level.

Very old buildings could help in incantations.

Noble houses could feel unconfortable when the bourgeoisie started to ear more money thanks magic in the industry.

Dragons, giants, vampires, feys could send agents to infiltrate into the high spheres.

Special farmers or peasants could gather ingredients of great quality for potions and magic items.

Clerics blessed with the gift of the prophecy could change the History, literally.

In D&D maybe the technophobia is very common by fault of evil spirits haunting machines.

Haunted Technology - TV Tropes

Take an everyday piece of technology. Maybe a microwave oven, or an MP3 player, or even the very device you're browsing this site with right now. Not very scary, right? But what if... THERE'S A GHOST INSIDE IT?! BETCHA SCARED NOW, HUH?! Putting a …

tvtropes.org

With "biopunk" magic wizards could create (technorganic) living guns, like a crossbow with artificial muscles, based in the real pistol-shrimp.

Pistol Shrimp: The Fastest Gun in the Sea

The pistol shrimp is feared in the ocean for its ability to hit a prey with air bubbles that travel 82 feet per second, pop at 218 decibels and deliver 8,000 degrees Fahrenheit of heat.

animals.howstuffworks.com

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

(As a side note, the French, post-revolution focus on fraternité contradicts principles of liberté and égalité. This may seem particularly unjust considering the prominent role that women played in aspects of the revolution).

fraternité is a French word meaning 'brotherhood'. Despite the maleness of the word, it's common usage is more generic; it's used to indicate a sense of community or common purpose, not a frat house full of bros. Source: me, a native French speaker.

 

[greg kaye]

fraternité is a French word meaning 'brotherhood'. Despite the maleness of the word, it's common usage is more generic; it's used to indicate a sense of community or common purpose, not a frat house full of bros. Source: me, a native French speaker.

French society, among others, has failed "égalité".

 

[greg kaye]

That is a regional exception. (Not a small region) And, to be honest, most people eho had never seen it before would consider caliche rock more than soil. Honestly, the line between caliche and sandstone is a pretty fine hair to split. Give someone a block of both, a shovel and a hammer and ask them which is rock and I doubt many people would see a big difference. (Well, the sandstone is probably softer....)

The little water it gets activates the calcium carbonate in the sand, making essentially mortar. It's the raw material for Portland cement in some areas. Even when there are freezing temps, the water is chemically bound up, so doesn't turn into ice, so no frost heave. No organic matter to decay. Minimal insect activity.

Regular rain would actually dissolve it over a decade or five, which I guess is the deciding vote in "not exactly a rock" . I am not a geologist but if I were working in that area, my estimates would be using "excavation, rock" and not "excavation, dirt"

I am a retired engineer. Moving dirt was kind of my jam for two decades. I did cost estimates on Army Corps of Engineers projects and various regional utilities.

I think mold earth can just move loose earth as it says and not settled soil. The implications otherwise would be that motte castles could be destroyed in minutes by any caster with a thick enough umbrella. I don't think that this is the intension of the spell.

Castle Mottes

 

[Umbran]

French society, among others, has failed "égalité".

Mod Note:
This is not the thread (or, honestly, even the website) to debate the failings of any real-world society. Let's keep it about RPGs, please and thanks.

 

[kigmatzomat]

It has to work on any shovel-able soil. If it can only move soil that is already disturbed, it's useless outside of a garden or a landslide. (Caliche is immune to shovels)

And it can take out a mottled castle...over several hours. The 125cf of dirt moves 5ft / 6s. And it is disturbed dirt so it will collapse into mounds. Do it wrong and the hole will mostly collapse back in. (i have seen a poorly dug trench collapse, scary)

 

[greg kaye]

It has to work on any shovel-able soil. If it can only move soil that is already disturbed, it's useless outside of a garden or a landslide. (Caliche is immune to shovels)

And it can take out a mottled castle...over several hours. The 125cf of dirt moves 5ft / 6s. And it is disturbed dirt so it will collapse into mounds. Do it wrong and the hole will mostly collapse back in. (i have seen a poorly dug trench collapse, scary)

It has to be able to move loose earth.
It can move sand and pebbles on a beach to block a harbour or excavate the sand from a buried tomb pyramid.
I think its relevance, the little it has, would only come in once the soil has been loosened, for instance, to pile up a motte on which to build a castle.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I think mold earth can just move loose earth as it says and not settled soil. The implications otherwise would be that motte castles could be destroyed in minutes by any caster with a thick enough umbrella. I don't think that this is the intension of the spell.

Castle Mottes

Why do you think people in Fantasyland live in underground dungeons and stone towers, not motte and bailey castles?