"Realistic" D&D Setting Brainstorm

[sparkletwist]

A few more thoughts...

One thing that is holding back certain aspects of "modernity" is that, unlike modern technology, D&D magic items do not seem to improve over time-- they are what they are-- and they cost the same amount to produce no matter what. There is no provision (at least in the rules as strictly written) for any kind of "industry" or expansion of capabilities or economics of scale or anything like that. This means that, essentially, the kinds of mechanics that allow technology and its benefits to "trickle down" in the real world simply don't exist in the D&D world: there is no better version around the corner for rich people to buy and sell the old one used, nor will improvements in technology drive the price down. A D&D magic item that costs 1000 gp to make and does a certain thing costs 1000 gp to make and does what it does, forever.

So, in light of that, I think an important distinction needs to be made between "public works" sorts of magic items and items such as rings of sustenance that are ultimately only of benefit to one person. Benevolent rulers may be able to construct public goods that help the population as a whole, like a source of clean water, but they're unlikely to bother with anything that would specifically have to be given/sold to individual people, unless it's specifically to help out their nobles or other important sorts. Forget about this stuff ever getting in the hands of a commoner, though. They're just too poor and too unimportant.

Still, even with that caveat, quite a good society could be theoretically built with decanters of clean water and light at night and well-supported buildings and the eradication of plague and such. However, there's another problem: D&D-land is swarming with monsters. Not just the monsters from "here," but there are all kinds of extraplanar monsters that seem to always find their way in, as well. Never mind brigands or orcs who would just want to steal the stuff to use it for themselves, or even dragons who want to steal the stuff just to put it in a big pile and sit on top of it... some of these monsters are chaotic evil and would seriously want to destroy a prosperous society just because it's prosperous and people aren't suffering and they're just that mean. This makes me think that any society that manages to pull itself out of the dirt will have to be kind of dystopian police state. Security would have to be extremely important in order to prevent everything they've built up from being smashed quite abruptly.

Hey, maybe the "medieval" state of D&D-land isn't so much medieval stasis but a perpetual post-apocalyptic state after a more prosperous nation has been crushed by forces from within and without. The "ancient magical empire where everything was great" is, after all, a staple of the genre.

[Xeviat]

Great points sparkletwist (and as an aside, my headache is making me read your handle as sparklet wist). You put into words something that had been nagging in the back of my mind. Perhaps there would be some industry in the world, as the rules are just a snapshot of now; the creation of magic items doesn't require an actual burning of X pounds of gold, it's items that are worth that much. Perhaps those values could change with time. Also, magical research is a part of the genre, so again, maybe things will grow more efficient with time. After all, real world weapon technology went from copper to bronze to iron to steel ... perhaps magic develops similarly.

But I do agree that public works projects should be more common than items for the individual. Those items for the individual cost money, and NPCs do have a listed gear value:

level 1: 900 gp
2: 2,000
3: 2,500
4: 3,300 ...

This doesn't mean this is the spending money they have in their pocket, just like the 100 gp 1st level characters start with it is accumulated over a long time. Still, I don't think those really work out for "commoners"; either that, or the 1 sp per week for unskilled laborers is rather low (there's no reason anyone is going to be "unskilled", since a level 1 human commoner with an Int of 10 is going to be rank 4 in three skills, so there will be some profession they're good at).

I do really like the notion that the medieval state is due to a constant police state, and frequent destruction. Perhaps humans society is "the law". Law is a concrete, cosmic force, after all.

[Xathan]

One thing to consider - that 900gp at first level could be considered to include all worldly possessions, including their herds and the house and that one sword that grandpa brought home from the war that never seems to get dull and the land they live on (including the ore beneath it)...which would mean a level 1 commoner would technically have 900gp worth of possessions, but very little by way of liquid assets.

[Stargate525]

Yes, that 900gp is all wealth, not just liquid assets.

And the 5sp thing is preposterous, as 99% of the population will have a lower cap of whatever they can make with their +3 profession check (or a fixed income around that value for employed workers). This makes gold actually a fairly fluid thing. There's a LOT of it sloshing about in the economy.

As far as your metropolis, you'll also need to figure that the size of the city will both limit the effectiveness of public works projects, and assist in the bleeding off of that wealth (the adventurers have to be getting it from somewhere). Your city is going to be at least three square miles in size (larger, if you give the middle class more modern land allowances, and the noblemen urban estates). That's a lot of area for a city to police, as well as the farmland that's feeding this monster.

I agree with the above posters; either this society will quickly become a beacon of standard of living for people through magic, or it'll be a crater. The amount of money flowing around and the cost of mass public works through magic are too high and too low, respectively. The only thing that could stop that, I feel, is if the city existed in a permanent state of war. Either against intelligent outsiders, or organized crime, or hordes of beasts. SOMETHING has to be bleeding off enough wealth and resources that the society never quite manages to sock enough away to finish that water system, or the everburning flame streetlamps, or the endless food delivery services.

That is, if you want to maintain the classical D&D feel.