|
Post by Queen SD on Jan 6, 2009 14:18:00 GMT
Here's how the Dark SiDe develops through the years. There was a timeline topic but i thought it would be best put here, so people can access it easily. The Island (2006-2014) --- D-SD Vs. LS War (2015-2030) --- Golden Age (2035-2135) --- The Twins (2130-2153) --- Falling Generation (2155-2160) --- Rebirth (2700- ?) EDIT: For the RP to make sense, I have moved the Rebirth RP 200 years later.
|
|
|
Post by Teh HB on Jul 4, 2009 14:54:40 GMT
Well, something else. Just the timelines for my stories.
HB's story (Death Of Innocence) starts around 1998, and ends when he leaves for the D-SD, around 2005. HB was born in 1986.
Darren's Story (The Other Son) starts at 2010, the end has not been decided. Darren was born in 2000. It starts in 2010, but swiftly skips forward to 2016.
To Trace A Demon starts in the stone age and continues pretty much forever.
|
|
|
Post by Queen SD on Jan 12, 2010 22:20:13 GMT
I was just thinking (yeah I do that from time to time)... The dates would look much better if we made them all 1000 years ago, so they don't fit today's dates. Like, 2000 becomes 1000 and so on... What do you think?
|
|
|
Post by One Winged Angel on Jan 13, 2010 5:09:13 GMT
Sounds good, but in one of your stories, doesn't one of your characters use a blackberry(or whatever) cell phone?
|
|
|
Post by Queen SD on Jan 13, 2010 14:46:41 GMT
They do? I don't remember that, but it doesn't make a difference, since it's not our universe... We could have cars in 400 for all i know!
|
|
|
Post by Teh HB on Jan 14, 2010 14:58:44 GMT
Plus, i know sometimes we have moments in stories that also would not be very good for it... In Death Of Innocence, HB uses a Walther P 99... And there's loads of other things. I think we should keep it in the modern timeline, personally. We make it clear that it's an alternate universe, but that the technology is roughly equivalent to our own.
That's just my idea.
|
|
|
Post by TwilightDreamer on Jan 14, 2010 19:15:57 GMT
That's indeed a bit of a problem, but it can be overcome (Especially since it creates several other issues...)
If you consider a compromise, in which - for instance - instead of pistols, magical devices that fire solid projectiles are used (Which can look real cool), there is no need for the technology to be equivalent to our own; Moreover, using technology which is equivalent to our own might raise questions regarding the use of primitive technologies (I'm thinking mainly about swords here) and also about the lack of usage of high level technology: Why the hell do they use griffins when they got aeroplanes and helicopters?
Plus, though that's an extension of that idea, how might magic look in such a world? If it got technology not unlike ours, it will probably have a vast, comprehensive understanding of how magic works - and thus will be able to perform amazing feats with it (If you wish for an example, think of how we do maths today, and how it was done through the middle ages. The improvements that were made are... astronomical, even incomparable.)
So, to conclude: I'm casting my vote toward keeping it rather low-tech, and using magic in place of technology - for the sheer fact that I do not see any other way to harmonize the existing writings.
|
|
Tundra
Sisterhood of daggers
TEDDY BEAR
Tundra, you?re like the Swiss. You?ve got chocolate and everyone loves you.
Posts: 2,157
|
Post by Tundra on Jan 15, 2010 11:45:19 GMT
"Moreover, using technology which is equivalent to our own might raise questions regarding the use of primitive technologies (I'm thinking mainly about swords here) and also about the lack of usage of high level technology: Why the hell do they use griffins when they got aeroplanes and helicopters?"
I don't think that's TOO much of a problem... I mean in Canada they use mounted police forces instead of cars, and in Japan the use of swords are still very prolific and part of their culture...
It could be like... well, in Tundra's village, they were very much split off from the rest of the world, so they got technological advances a lot later from anyone else (the travelling merchant was the only outsider that ever came to the village really), so Tundra only learnt about air travel with airplanes and helicopters and stuff when she was little... before it was relatively unknown.. or shunned.
|
|
|
Post by TwilightDreamer on Jan 15, 2010 12:17:54 GMT
I agree with with what you've said, Tundra; But these are specific solutions to a general problem. If China declares an all out war on Japan, for instance, do you really believe either side will be using swords as a standard issue weapon, as the D-SD does? It seems... inconceivable to me. Yes, they might use certain "low-tech" means at certain times, (And thus my griffin example wasn't quite accurate) however I believe there are just too many such instances.
|
|
|
Post by Teh HB on Jan 16, 2010 13:05:24 GMT
I agree with with what you've said, Tundra; But these are specific solutions to a general problem. If China declares an all out war on Japan, for instance, do you really believe either side will be using swords as a standard issue weapon, as the D-SD does? It seems... inconceivable to me. Yes, they might use certain "low-tech" means at certain times, (And thus my griffin example wasn't quite accurate) however I believe there are just too many such instances. Allow me to quote a real life example. An allied commander in WWII, and an avid fan of surfing, Captain Jack Malcolm Thorpe Fleming Churchill aka "Fighting Jack Churchill" aka "Mad Jack" was basically the craziest motherfucker in the whole damn war. He volunteered for commando duty, not actually knowing what it entailed, but knowing that it sounded dangerous, and therefore fun. He is best known for saying that "any officer who goes into action without his sword is improperly dressed" and, in following with this, for carrying a sword into battle. In WWII. And not one of those sissy ceremonial things the Marines have. No, Jack carried a fucking claymore. And he used it, too. He is credited with capturing a total of 42 Germans and a mortar squad in the middle of the night, using only his sword. Churchill and his team were tasked with capturing a German fortification creatively called "Point 622." Churchill took the lead, charging ahead of the group into the dark through the barbed wire and mines, pitching grenades as he went. Although his unit did their best to catch up, all but six of them were lost to silly things like death. Of those six, half were wounded and all any of them had left were pistols. Then a mortar shell swung in and killed/mortally wounded everyone who wasn't Jack Churchill. When the Germans found him, he was playing "Will Ye No Come Back Again?" on his bagpipes. Oh, we didn't mention that? He carried them right next to his big fucking sword. After being sent to a concentration camp, he got bored and left. Just walked out. They caught him again, and sent him to a new camp. So he left again. After walking 150 miles with only a rusty can of onions for food, he was picked up by the Americans and sent back to Britain, where he demanded to be sent back into the field, only to find out (with great disappointment) the war had ended while he was on his way there. As he later said to his friends, "If it wasn't for those damn Yanks, we could have kept the war going another 10 years!" Jack Churchill, during WW2, carried a claymore sword into battle with him, against people with machine guns, mortars, rifles and all sorts of other nasty shit that will kill a man in seconds, and won. Don't underestimate the sword.
|
|
|
Post by TwilightDreamer on Jan 16, 2010 19:25:23 GMT
Nice anecdote. But will you truly arm an army with these?
Anyway, that's besides the point. I still believe the volatile part is the inclusion of magic and high technology - resulting in possibly extremely strong magic.
To explain - the entire electronic world is based around about five distinct components. Now, imagine that you could find a magical couterpart to each one of them - shouldn't be too hard, since magic is probably an energy either - You could build computers that run on magic, or in other words, are bound to the will of a person. Moreover, you could magically extend existing technology - Think of the greenest car ever, running on magic, or the world's strongest computer - one that can run a simulation of the world and serve you tea at the same time.
Anyway, point is this. What if technology is created by a group inside the Light Side, who instead of spreading it keeps most knowledge to herself? They could give away certain items - be they cars, TVs or guns - to satiate and control the mob, while at the same time keep the knowledge about how to create these things to themselves. In other words, you might find a car mechanic, but not a physicist.
Anyway, these things happen mostly in urban areas: The rural ones are kept mostly ignorant. Walls can still be used. Planes are a "top secret" experiment ran by this group. Guns are very expensive, and are scarcely used, especially by armies (For the risk of loot). The "light" side causes the exact opposite of enlightenment. And more than that: What if the L-SD leadership keeps magic users outside this secret group, so that none of them can ever get strong enough and take them down.
Hell, it might even explain how the L-SD rose into power: They had guns AND swords, when everybody else had only swords.
I hope you get what I'm saying - and of course, that you like it.
|
|
|
Post by One Winged Angel on Jan 16, 2010 20:44:50 GMT
That's a pretty good idea, TD. As you said, it explains how the L-SD rose to power, and could also explain our edge. I haven't thought of it thoroughly but IIRC, the D-SD'ers got their skills and magic from rather unique places, meaning the L-SD doesn't expect enemies with the same, or greater powers as them.
|
|
|
Post by Queen SD on Jan 17, 2010 9:28:41 GMT
I like that idea! There's only one problem.... If the Light Side has guns, how come their army fights with swords? We could say that guns are not too powerful against magic, because a good spell-caster can easily destroy their mechanism, like it happened with SD and Sethus before their final battle....
|
|
|
Post by Teh HB on Jan 17, 2010 12:32:37 GMT
Although we did also have a magical gun at one point... Remember Dante's minigun that never runs out of ammo because of magic mixed with technology that allows 1 bullet to last forever?
|
|
|
Post by TwilightDreamer on Jan 17, 2010 14:43:55 GMT
Oh, of course, such guns are possible - such mixes of magic and technology - Point is, the L-SD bans them in order to keep their rivals relatively weak, so they are rare - As you can see, Dante's one is nearly the only one.
About the army thing - Tech might be kept as a "secret weapon": Once you own the world, why arm your soldiers with advance technology that might fall into enemy hands, when you can just give them simple weapons to quench whatever little resistance you find? In other words, why expose your deathstar when you can use a stick?
Of course, their guns might also be very magic-sensitive. Whatever works...
God, I'm an idiot. Why did I miss it earlier?!
|
|