Plausible medieval technologies for settings and puzzles
Jan 27, 2016 23:12:47 GMT
catcharlie, Tesla Ranger, and 1 more like this
Post by donosaur on Jan 27, 2016 23:12:47 GMT
I know not everyone runs a fantasy campaign, and many who do do so with a healthy smattering of magic powered devices and steampunk hand-wavery. Personally, I like to keep magic devices rare instead of mundane, so I discovered Low Tech Magazine. I recently used a water-based, gravity-powered funicular in a steep mine tunnel in my adventure, and the players had to figure out how to use it before they could progress into the depths (granted, I gave them a magic decanter of endless water to do so).
As DMs living in the modern world, sometimes we don't know how to describe a setting without comparing it to the world around us, and likewise our players visualize a world similar to our own more easily than they do a world with no analogues. But if you describe a growing medieval city full of construction cranes, someone might raise their hand and want to know how that's possible. Or, better yet, during combat someone may want to activate the crane to attack their enemies. How could that work? Boom, history-of-human-powered-cranes.html.
Maybe your party needs to cross a deep ravine. Sure, you could have a perilous rope bridge, or you could have an aerial ropeway. The site is full of puzzle and encounter generating ideas, at least for me. Also, it's just generally interesting to learn how weird the contraptions are in our own world.
As DMs living in the modern world, sometimes we don't know how to describe a setting without comparing it to the world around us, and likewise our players visualize a world similar to our own more easily than they do a world with no analogues. But if you describe a growing medieval city full of construction cranes, someone might raise their hand and want to know how that's possible. Or, better yet, during combat someone may want to activate the crane to attack their enemies. How could that work? Boom, history-of-human-powered-cranes.html.
Maybe your party needs to cross a deep ravine. Sure, you could have a perilous rope bridge, or you could have an aerial ropeway. The site is full of puzzle and encounter generating ideas, at least for me. Also, it's just generally interesting to learn how weird the contraptions are in our own world.
