2003-04-28: Shopping for Lampshades

For talking about the plot, the art, the dialogue, the characters, the site, and the individual updates...
Post Reply
User avatar
The Comment Golem
Unstoppable Posting Machine
Posts: 0
Joined: June 10th, 2009, 8:04 pm
Location: Tsuiraku Public Library

2003-04-28: Shopping for Lampshades

Post by The Comment Golem »

Discussion thread for Shopping for Lampshades
User avatar
The Comment Golem
Unstoppable Posting Machine
Posts: 0
Joined: June 10th, 2009, 8:04 pm
Location: Tsuiraku Public Library

2012-12-21: [CT]Shopping for Lampshades

Post by The Comment Golem »

Discussion thread for [CT]Shopping for Lampshades
badtux
Forum Trainee
Posts: 21
Joined: May 12th, 2009, 12:01 am

Re: 2012-12-21: [CT]Shopping for Lampshades

Post by badtux »

Indoor plumbing really didn't come to most places until after electricity and electric pumps. The issue is that indoor plumbing requires running water to make it worthwhile, otherwise it's just an indoor privy a.k.a. outhouse a.k.a. as disgusting as implied here. Unless your city is located in a place where aqueducts can bring in water for higher elevations (or you have mages to do water lift spells of some sort to lift entire lakes of water to large tanks levitating above your waterworks), your city is going to be like most U.S. cities prior to the 1860's -- a disease-riddled reeking pool of pestilence where the water supply was wells that were often located only a few feet away from the (outdoor) privy. Changing that situation required investments of huge amounts of money by Big Government to build aqueducts to bring in water from higher elevations and dig sewer systems to end the scourge of people dumping their honey pots in the gutters. Something unlikely to happen in Farrel due to its rather anarchic situation, if I'm recalling correctly. Most homes outside of cities, BTW, did not have running water until the middle of the 20th century, when the extension of electrical service to remote areas allowed electric pumps to pressurize water from wells thereby allowing running water.

In other words, Jon's disgust might be reasonable for Farrel. They've advanced to the point of being able to build revolvers, but indoors plumbing would likely exist only in the large seaport city that would have the resources to build an aqueduct to higher elevations to get water -- and there, only if there's sufficient organized government to have built it, because there is not an example anywhere in history where an anarchist-type situation has created a viable municipal water system of that type.

Of course, if you have a levitating city and mages, you just levitate lakes of freshwater up over your city and drop them into levitating reservoirs from whence pipes can carry the water to homes. And the sewer is just a hole straight to below the city (sucks to be whoever's down below!). But Farrel doesn't appear to have a surplus of mages levitating lakes.
User avatar
Imp-Chan
Not Yet Dead
Posts: 1407
Joined: August 10th, 2007, 11:03 am
Twitter @: ImpChan
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Contact:

Re: 2012-12-21: [CT]Shopping for Lampshades

Post by Imp-Chan »

Actually, Tsuiraku probably has powered running water. They've got golems, and magical anti-gravity generators... so I think it can be safely assumed that they are not dependent upon a gravity-fed system. The elves would have wanted running water in their cities, too. It's just the poor human schmucks who got tossed out of the elven paradise who haven't got running water figured out, yet, though perhaps some wealthy private residences have something of the sort by now.

^-^'
Because scary little devil girls have to stick together.
Image
BloodHenge
Mage/Priest War Veteran
Posts: 932
Joined: August 20th, 2007, 3:09 am
Contact:

Re: 2012-12-21: [CT]Shopping for Lampshades

Post by BloodHenge »

I wonder which would be better: pumps hand-cranked by golems or antigravity-powered aqueducts.
User avatar
Imp-Chan
Not Yet Dead
Posts: 1407
Joined: August 10th, 2007, 11:03 am
Twitter @: ImpChan
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Contact:

Re: 2012-12-21: [CT]Shopping for Lampshades

Post by Imp-Chan »

Interesting side note... the last dungeon I designed was actually a combination of a tower and underground caverns, all set high above sea level. I incorporated heating and plumbing into the floorplan, and then I even made it part of the plot. Because why wouldn't you draw all your maps to scale and think about things like where they get their water?

^-^'
Because scary little devil girls have to stick together.
Image
Venalitor
New Poster
Posts: 5
Joined: September 3rd, 2012, 7:23 am

Re: 2012-12-21: [CT]Shopping for Lampshades

Post by Venalitor »

It is a little bit of a pity isn't it. . . I was hoping for zombies myself, animal rebellion a close second.
User avatar
mindstalk
Typo-Seeking Missile
Posts: 916
Joined: November 9th, 2007, 10:05 am
Contact:

Re: 2012-12-21: [CT]Shopping for Lampshades

Post by mindstalk »

Given mages and magical priests and a glowy god who manifests and trolls and elves and fireballs, why would a talking flying cat be all that extraordinary? :) Maybe makes more sense as a "don't notice the foreign mage" thing than a "magic must be secret from the mundanes" thing.

Did you ever explain what the deal with familiars is?
Bytemite
Resident Wormhole Lawyer
Posts: 170
Joined: May 19th, 2011, 12:32 pm

Re: 2012-12-21: [CT]Shopping for Lampshades

Post by Bytemite »

badtux wrote:and there, only if there's sufficient organized government to have built it, because there is not an example anywhere in history where an anarchist-type situation has created a viable municipal water system of that type.
Well, there's Barcelona, the anarchists did a project to modernize the sewers in 1911, and they were working on it in 1887 as well. Although in fairness, I think they had at least some basic foundations for sewers BEFORE the the whole city became an anarchist commune of some sort, since it was a Roman town for a while.

So I guess it would depend if you mean anarchy as a local system of organization without established leadership positions, or if you mean anarchy as rugged individualism chaos. Both forms exist, sometimes simultaneously.
taltamir
Mage/Priest War Veteran
Posts: 293
Joined: April 17th, 2010, 2:50 am

Re: 2012-12-21: [CT]Shopping for Lampshades

Post by taltamir »

mindstalk wrote:Given mages and magical priests and a glowy god who manifests and trolls and elves and fireballs, why would a talking flying cat be all that extraordinary? :) Maybe makes more sense as a "don't notice the foreign mage" thing than a "magic must be secret from the mundanes" thing.
Because the church of the country they are located at brands non church affiliated mages as evil. Everyone knows those things exist, they are just liable to burn her at the stake or something unless she wears a nun's habit and prays to a non existing god while casting.
Post Reply