[freeroleplay] Re: equipment lists
- From: Edward Terry <eterry@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: freeroleplay@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 03 Apr 2005 19:10:06 -0400
Ricardo Gladwell wrote:
> As an aside: Inspired by all this talk I've come up with an alternative
> to the a linear scale for technology. Instead of having tech levels, all
> societies have a set of skills, like characters, defining the level of
> knowledge available. For example:
>
> * Stone Age: Craft (Stonework) 1.
> * Bronze Age: Craft (Metalwork) 1, Craft (Stonework) 2.
> * Iron Age: Craft (Metalwork) 2, Craft (Stonework) 2.
> * Medieval: Craft (Stonework) 3, Craft (Metalwork) 3.
> * Renaissance: Craft (Stonework) 5, Craft (Metalwork) 4, Craft
> (Clockwork) 2.
>
> The different levels correspond to certain aspects of work. For example,
> Craft (Stonework) 1 would equate to simple working of flint, whilst
> Craft (Stonework) 5 would mean Renaissance-levels of elegant stone
> construction. Similarly, Craft (Metalwork) 1 could correspond with
> simple Bronze Age metal work whilst Craft (Metalwork) 5 could correspond
> with fine swordsmanship of, say, Shogunate Japan or the Renaissance.
>
> All skills are capped by the levels in their particular culture. So, a
> medieval blacksmith could only gain Craft (Metalwork) 3 at most. In this
> way, all metal objects from the Medieval period are of a poorer quality
> than, say, Renaissance.
>
> Similarly, all objects have a prerequisite levels of Craft skills
> required to manufacture them. For example:
>
> * Flint Axe: Requires Craft (Stonework) 1.
> * Short-sword: Requires Craft (Metalwork) 2.
>
> In this way, a steel short-sword will not exist in the Stone Age but a
> Medieval flint axe will be superior to a Stone Age one.
I like it for rating the skill level of a culture, but I think we would
need to use a different ranking system for the skill levels of
individuals. For example, creating a Stonework 1 flint axe might
require 5 skill ranks in Stoneworking, while creating a Stonework 2
flint axe might require 8 skill ranks. Also, craftsmen might be able to
achieve the same result using different skills. Three different
craftsmen from different parts of the world (or from different time
periods) could use three unrelated skills to create a Stonework 2 flint
axe, in the same way that three different programmers can use different
languages to create programs that appear to the user to be essentially
identical.
We would also need to allow for high-quality and low-quality items, and
for items made from different materials.
Other related posts:
