Hey! I'm going to talk about world development this month! Not that I've been developing any worlds myself, because I've been crazy busy, but that doesn't mean that I can't think about appropriate topics. You see, lately I've been obsessively reading China Miéville's novels, because I was looking for steampunk books that I would actually like (as opposed to The Difference Engine, which left me sadly disappointed). As I was reading Iron Council, which takes place 20-25 years after The Scar, I had a startling realization. The technology level had advanced. Gasp! That never happens in fantasy worlds! Seriously. I don't get these worlds that have the same technology level for not just decades, but centuries. Sometimes even millennia. It's ridiculous! Am I honestly supposed to believe that people living in Feudal European conditions would say "Hey, I guess this is as good as it's going to get, let's not bother trying to improve our lives!" Are we the only world that gets a Renaissance? An Industrial Revolution? I used to tell myself (or maybe someone else told me and I believed them) that it was because of magic. Magic can do so many things that people just never bother with science or inventions. But there are two gaping holes in this argument. One is that no matter how sweet magic is (and it is admittedly pretty awesome), it can't hold a candle to some modern conveniences. I can't imagine life without flushing toilets, hot running water, electric lights (beadwork by candlelight? I think not!) or refrigeration. Not to mention medical advances. I'll take a vaccine over a Cure Disease spell any day. The other is that if magic is really prevalent, it's going to duplicate the technology that we've developed. Instead of flushing toilets, outhouses with tiny spheres of annihilation to dispose of our waste. Instead of hot running water, a showerhead with portals to the Planes of Water and Fire. Instead of electric lights, globes of bright, glowing magic. Instead of refrigeration, a chest with a permanent Chill spell on it. Prevent Disease spells. You get the idea. I think that one of humanity's greatest traits is its curiosity. Unless you've got some world populated by a race utterly devoid of that, there's always going to be some guy who says "what would happen if..." or "I wonder if I could..." And eventually, one of those ideas is going to lead to a technological breakthrough. If you do decide to allow your world to follow a natural path of technological advancement - and I really think you should - then there are a few things to keep in mind. One is that most technology opens the way for others. Another is that if players are aware that you're allowing scientific discoveries, they may very well meta-game and try to force the development of technology that they want to get their hands on. And another is the impact that it will have on your game world. You don't want the advancements to get out of hand and completely change the feel of a game in a single campaign. If your players start out with swords at level 1 and have nukes by level 20, something's wrong. You may not even want a rail system which connects towns, thus greatly cutting down on random encounters. One way that you can keep advancement in check - short of slapping your players upside the head when they get over-eager - is to remember that not everyone likes change and progress. Aside from the ever-popular Luddites, you might also have magicians who feel threatened by technology. Who needs a mage in the party to throw magic missile when you can have a gun? Who needs to pay out the wazoo for teleport spells when you can take the train? And why haul your fallen comrade to the temple to be resurrected when you can bring them back with CPR? (All of you saying that CPR doesn't bring you back when you die from being beheaded can hush up now.) Don't forget to have a little fun with it, too. The annals of history are full of failed inventions. What if some of them worked out? Or what crazy inventions can you come up with, combining the level of technology you've chosen to allow? Throwing magic into the mix can make things extra exciting. What if you could store spells on wax cylinders and play them back on a phonograph? Sure, it's easier to just carry a wand, but you know that some eccentric would think that the Spell-O-Graph was far superior. If you do decide that your world needs to stay at its current technology level, come up with a good reason why. Maybe a secret group of assassins murders everyone who invents something that would upset the status quo. Maybe the wise gods have seen what chaos mankind causes with science, and has crushed the spark of inspiration in every scientific mind in the world. Maybe your world has just reached medieval level technology, and is a few centuries off from its Renaissance. Maybe it lacks the resources for our kind of technology, and players will have to be resourceful as well as inventive. Well, this has been a fun return to this column's original purpose. I hope that I've given all my readers something to think about. In the meantime, if you'll excuse me, I've got a book to read!

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Copyright © 2008 By AJ Reardon E-mail AJ at: ErtheFae@aol.com Visit AJ at: www.erthefae.com