Technology

[MT_Juicer]

I've been watching some documentaries on Prime and it got me thinking about ancient or medieval technologies and how they may be applicable to PF. Has anyone worked in more than the standard catapults and basic siege weapons featured in the World Books or Compendium? I've thought about versions of Greek Fire, but have respected canon in regards to black powder. I have roughly thought of the introduction of black powder to Western Europe as the threshold of technology that would be available in the PF realm (roughly 13th century or so).

What other technologies would you add?

[Hotrod]

+Pre-radio navigation tech that doesn't involve mechanical clocks.
+Crucible Steel
+Damascus Steel
+Mechanical Computers

I wouldn't include black powder weapons at all in PF. Those took centuries of deliberate development, and magic/psionics are better than primitive firearms.

[Reagren Wright]

Tinker O.C.C. in Rifter number that I can't recall off the top of my head.

[MT_Juicer]

Metallurgy and tinkerer both had good coverage for ideas, thanks for those suggestions. Navigational equipment is another one I hadn't thought of, so thank you again.

I was trying to see if there were obscure siege engines or building techniques that could be ascribed to the specific races. Perhaps mechanisms or machine. I've been particularly fascinated with Roman engineering and medieval warfare, but was hoping to be shown something new.

[Sambot]

I've been watching some documentaries on Prime and it got me thinking about ancient or medieval technologies and how they may be applicable to PF. Has anyone worked in more than the standard catapults and basic siege weapons featured in the World Books or Compendium? I've thought about versions of Greek Fire, but have respected canon in regards to black powder. I have roughly thought of the introduction of black powder to Western Europe as the threshold of technology that would be available in the PF realm (roughly 13th century or so).

What other technologies would you add?

Maybe weapons like
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_arrow
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hwacha
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_lance
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_cannon
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... e_1400.jpg

I've also heard of black powder landmines and sea mines and seen documentaries with rocket powered torpedoes, and hand held rocket launchers.

[kiralon]

Fireworks

[Colonel_Tetsuya]

+Damascus Steel

Nitpick:

Actual "Damascus" steel - actually called "wootz" - isn't something you can create. Its been pretty well confirmed that its properties and composition were a product of the time and place it was produced, mostly from impurities in the ore and other agents used (like the carbon being added). Thats why we cant re-create it now, because we have absolutely no idea what specific impurities and properties in the ore or materials actually caused that.

Now, if we're talking about "pattern welded" steel - what people in the 20th century common refer to as Damascus (because the wavy lines in it look like the patterns in wootz, even though wootz wasnt pattern-welded) - that should be 100% easily available to PF tech levels. Pre-Christ celts and norse people could do it, as could the Romans, and plenty of other cultures. Its not a revolutionary technology. It also isn't (unlike myth) particularly better in modern times. At the TIME it was, because the folding and pattern welding increased the carbon content and beat out more impurities, but modern steel is actually just as strong or stronger than pattern welding because we can create stock bars out of crucible steel. Now, for places in the PF world where high-quality steel stock isn't available, its quite likely that pattern welding is used to create stronger steel still. But i'd think that with the Dwarves and Kobolds advanced metallurgy skills (and the ability to apply magic to get the heat required to actually melt steel into a liquid) that crucible steel is readily available in at least some areas.

Now its used primarily as decoration, not for actual strength, because actual strength of the steel is determined by the mix of carbon and other additives that make it steel instead of iron. It still looks awesome though.