Technology

Fantasy Science

A Red Orc Caravel
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Turiel is a fantasy based world with technology reaching between the 1400s to the mid 1500s. This means that while technology like the Printing Press is possible it is not wide spread enough to be considered normal and medicine has already taken leaps and bounds though it is by no means even close to modern levels to allow things like safe surgery. A quirk of fantasy though does exist in that some technology is pushed back due to the existence of magic and others are pushed forward. The best example is the Red Orc Pride and Joy The Square Rigged Caravel sailing ship which in the real world was invented in the late 15th century and puts them ahead of most other countries and races in terms of Seafaring technology.

This also means that things like black power weapons and more recently advancements in medicine have taken a back seat to magic. The return of magic has stopped most of the study into medicine and not many people would agree to the need for Black Powder when you can throw bolts of fire with a year or so's practice. Magic has actually destabilized technological advancement to a fairly high degree to the point that clean burning oil such as whale oil(yes people do that in Turiel. Its a thing that happened in real life too.) to the use of any kind of surgery has almost been abolished since you can accomplish better and safer results with Light spells(mostly in major cities) and healing magic.

On the other hand some pieces of technology have been given quite a lot of attention to assist in the return of magic or were given a kingdoms financing because of it. The biggest one is the Printing press which while very newly designed out of the Temere Trade Union and not spread around too much yet has already caused the price of books to drop. Many temples have already put in many requests for these rare items. Others such as Telescopes, modern compasses, and other such items have made sea trade and overland travel much easier. And Trigger use Crossbows are much more common now.


Technology and You

From an out of character point of view science in Turiel only advances steadily in fields where magic doesn't make better easier results. But the people of Turiel also understand certain things in what we call science very differently than we do today. Below are a few examples with more to come.

  • Bacteria and Viruses: The people, Scholars, and Priests of Turiel do not understand a difference between a Bacteria and a Virus and likely will not for a very long time. While things like the Microscope are theorized in Turiel they are a ways off from being focused or accurate. As such bacteria is called 'Miasma' or 'Pestilence' for the terms of medicine and no Cleric or Scholar would be able to give you accurate advice on how to avoid it that doesnt conflict with someone elses theory. This means that while a Scholar might suggest that Miasma comes from vapors released by the sick a Cleric from most temples will tell you it is a sign of displeasure from a patron god or it is a bane from demons. You are likely to get any number of answers from any number of sources, But at no time will it be considered to be microorganisms that live in everything around you and players are not encouraged to say this.
  • Steel and Alloys: Metal Alloys are fairly common in Turiel as they were in the 1400s, most expert smiths and scholars know generally how to make steel and brass with decent accuracy. This is mostly through the use of Charcoal to add carbon to steel or the mixing of raw zinc. Both of these methods are expensive and not used for normal products though unless someone is willing to pay a lot extra. This means most people will end up using inferior products of pig iron and other less pure metals. This also means that a Smelter or smith that knows how to make steel keeps it as a family secret since they learned it either from there father(or mother in some places) or they learned it themselves through expensive trial and error. As such many Smelters release interesting and different products making which you prefer a manner of taste as the Mohs Scale does not exist in Turiel.
  • Black Powder:As of right now Black Powder(cheap Gunpowder) is at best an -incredibly- rare and expensive curiosity to the most eccentric scholars. The methods to making it are hidden far outside the bounds of the Turiel territories that make up most of the game world and even 1 gram of the stuff would set anyone back thousands of gold coins if they had ever even heard of the stuff before. This means that the use of Gunpowder is not wide spread in the least with the invention of Muskets and Bombs being very far away unless something very drastic changes. Black Powder or as its known by the few scholars who know of it 'powdered flames' is mainly used as a medicine for extremely wealthy nobles from before the return of magic. Ingested orally or mixed with water normally(this was actually one of its original uses in china) it is used to return vigor to the one who ingests it. Players are not allowed to attempt to mix there own Black Powder, Yes we all know its not that hard. Your character is not a chemist and would not know how to make it. Do not ask.

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