Re: Tech & SJ

So, in the context of the SJ universe, I would see the"state of the art"
ship being something not unlike aMoW, perhaps with a different layout,
with wing-likeSplendid Sails and armed to the teeth with Vodonidouble-
ranged ballista.  Certainly not a steamshiparmed with cannons! :D
Sounds familiar.... http://www.spellflight.com/3DArt/FlynnBeauty.jpg
> Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 16:48:10 -0700> From:
night_druid3000@?????.com> Subject: Re: [SPELLJAMMER] Tech & SJ> To:
SPELLJAMMER-L@??????.???????.com> > --- Steven
<steven.james.1@??????????.??.uk> wrote:> > Thus, like the Internet and
the Renaissance, it> > would indeed, allow and provoke a vast amount of>
> change, new ideas and technology etc. But since> > not all forms of
tech or magic may work in some> > spheres, or practical problems abound,
you'd have a> > mix, as SJ does.> > Heh, time to go into a bit of a
rant.> > Tech & SJ> > One pet peeve of mine that I've developed lately
is> the people saying "the natural progression of SJ is to> steamships &
guns!" Um, no its not. In fact, the two> do not mix well at all, if you
understand the> fundamentals of the SJ universe.> > And why won't they
work? Simple, its all about the> air. In SJ, a ship has a very limited
air supply. > Steam and guns foul air, very quickly in fact. Its> not a
matter for ships on the water; wind quickly> carries the smoke away. But
on a ship with an> enclosed air envelop? Guns would be more deadly to>
the user than the target! A broadside from a galleon,> movie-style,
would instantly foul a ship's air supply.> A big ship could easily kill
itself through simply> firing its guns. And it would create a lovely>
smokescreen that would blind the ship using guns,> while a ship not
using guns would not be so impaired.> > Steam is even worse. For
steamships, you have a> two-fold problems. First, you need a massive
heat> source. Usually, these give off smoke. A smokeless> heat supply
would be needed, and that'd require potent> magic. Secondly would be the
steam itself. There's> no place for it to go! The steam would make a
ship> hot, humid, moldy and rot the ship very quickly. Not> only that,
steamships needed a steady source of water;> on the open water, they
just drew in what they needed> from the water they were sailing across.
In SJ,> they'd have to carry the water they need. Using up> valuable
cargo space. Nevermind room taken up by the> boiler & coal rooms. And
boilers were notoriously> dangerous; more than one ship exploded
spectacularly> when a boiler blew.> > And really, what would a SJ
captain be trying to solve> by using steam engines? An expensive helm &
helmsman.> But a steam engine wouldn't get him anywhere any> faster;
speeds are set at 100 MMPD. It would use up a> lot of valuable space,
and would require an expensive> magic item of some sort to keep the air
clean. In the> end, it wouldn't really buy him anything but more>
headaches than it'd be worth.> > So where do I see SJ tech developing?
Look to the> elves. Starfly plants are ingenious for making ships.>
Firstly, you create a ship that is still a living> plant. Something that
freshens the air, extending the> air a ship has. We have a few examples
of that> happening (namely from Sea of Sorrow). Its slightly> more
flimsy than a thick wood hull (AR 7 for MoW as> opposed to AR 6 for a
hammership), but easier to sail> (MC C vs. MC D). And it may be possible
to grow> enormous orchards of thousands of ships at once,> probably with
only minimal pruning and maintenance. > > For propulsion, I see Splendid
Sails & Onrey Oars as a> more logical progression. They're cheap, and
don't> use a spellcaster. They have their limitations, but> I'd also
keep a minor helm aboard for emergencies like> landing & combat. Its a
far less complex solution to> the "problem" of helms. > > Weapon
evolution would be more along the lines of> developing more powerful
catapults & ballista, such as> dual ballista & the Vodoni weapons, or
for the REALLY> wealthy, magic weapons. Especially magic weapons that>
chuck smokebombs at a their foes. Destroy a foe's> air, you kill them in
one fell swoop.> > So, in the context of the SJ universe, I would see
the> "state of the art" ship being something not unlike a> MoW, perhaps
with a different layout, with wing-like> Splendid Sails and armed to the
teeth with Vodoni> double-ranged ballista. Certainly not a steamship>
armed with cannons! :D> > But that's all just IMHO ;)> > Adam> > >
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