|
|
Post by ripx187 on Jul 11, 2017 17:59:49 GMT -5
This week on my blog I wrote about how world trade can be easy to figure out, and provided some Real World examples. It is these real world examples that I want to share with you. If you want to read the whole article you can find it on my blog, Advanced Gaming & Theory. I also like this map.  Source: www.freeman-pedia.com/classical-600-bce-600-ce/The map is earlier than the medival period, but these routes are probably still used. It tells an interesting story! A google search will show more detailed trade route maps of Europe, but I really like this one because it just shows you how vast this network was. It is a quick visual guide for some very advanced politics at play here. Together, these two things give me a lot to think about, so I thought that I would share. |
|
|
|
Post by Admin Pete on Jul 11, 2017 18:09:08 GMT -5
Have an Exalt ripx187 , this is a great topic and I was reading something somewhere within the last week where someone was trying to downplay the importance of The Silk Road and was trying to make the case that it was insignificant at best. I disagree of course.  Hiring on the guard a merchant caravan is something that my players have done more than once over the years, even in the current campaign. |
|
|
|
Post by ripx187 on Jul 11, 2017 18:55:08 GMT -5
How on earth can one downplay the Silk Roads? They linked the West to the Far East. This is a technological wonder which shows the true grit of what man can accomplish. It opened up the world! It is an interesting thought, what if the Silk Road never happened? That was an evolution of social skills, politics, and quality of life. Rome reaching out to China, historically that was a big deal and it got a wheel rolling that expanded our collective knowledge. We built something, something that made a huge leap to a modern society, it wasn't just spice and cool cloths, it allowed the exchange of ideas.
Society as we know it is due to our ability to trade with one another.
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin Pete on Jul 12, 2017 12:49:26 GMT -5
How on earth can one downplay the Silk Roads? They linked the West to the Far East. This is a technological wonder which shows the true grit of what man can accomplish. It opened up the world! It is an interesting thought, what if the Silk Road never happened? That was an evolution of social skills, politics, and quality of life. Rome reaching out to China, historically that was a big deal and it got a wheel rolling that expanded our collective knowledge. We built something, something that made a huge leap to a modern society, it wasn't just spice and cool cloths, it allowed the exchange of ideas. Society as we know it is due to our ability to trade with one another. This person was claiming that the sea routes made the Silk Road a non-viable route. Silk Road |
|
|
|
Post by ripx187 on Jul 12, 2017 17:21:26 GMT -5
That is a short-sighted statement, isn't it? As if the products automatically appeared in ships. Maybe if the writer of that statement had played D&D he'd understand a bit more about things, or, you know, he could look at the history of the railroad and do some basic social studies in regards to how it restructured the country. Ships are expensive, and can't reach the cities along the Silk Road, and besides, more is better! It is one thing to look at maps, but I think that he forgot that there were people that made it work.
|
|
|
|
Post by ripx187 on Jul 12, 2017 18:11:26 GMT -5
This article was one that convinces me that I have no idea what people want. I personally would have clicked the link in a heartbeat! I expected this one to do a lot better than it has proved to be. Maybe a lot of people figured this stuff out already, or they just don't care, I'm not quite sure. Basic social studies is a fixture of D&D, isn't it? I mean, you don't want to get all preachy about it, but it SHOULD be there, right? It makes everything easier to write if it is, and I find it to be extremely exciting and fun to think about and tinker with, but what if it is just me that feels this way? - Demographics
- Economy
- Politics
These things are important to me. I never outright tell the players that this system is running in the background, the fun is letting them discover things for themselves.
I notice a trend on social media that many users of the game are actively seeking to eliminate politics completely, and then you have me who depends upon it. I keep my personal politics out, I identify it as one of those Impartial Judge concepts. Politics dictate the actions and opinions of large masses of NPCs, it creates culture clash, and makes the game world come alive.
D&D is a political game, isn't it? The alignment tool of early editions has been lost, did the political system go too or is this just an over-correction caused by the world around us?
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin Pete on Jul 12, 2017 18:46:27 GMT -5
Just refer to the book 1984 by George Orwell, it will answer you questions.  |
|
|
|
Post by Mighty Darci on Jul 18, 2017 15:29:56 GMT -5
ripx187 have an exalt for posting this, it is an awesome thing!
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin Pete on Jul 24, 2017 7:24:38 GMT -5
This article was one that convinces me that I have no idea what people want. I personally would have clicked the link in a heartbeat! I expected this one to do a lot better than it has proved to be. Maybe a lot of people figured this stuff out already, or they just don't care, I'm not quite sure. Basic social studies is a fixture of D&D, isn't it? I mean, you don't want to get all preachy about it, but it SHOULD be there, right? It makes everything easier to write if it is, and I find it to be extremely exciting and fun to think about and tinker with, but what if it is just me that feels this way? - Demographics
- Economy
- Politics
These things are important to me. I never outright tell the players that this system is running in the background, the fun is letting them discover things for themselves.
I notice a trend on social media that many users of the game are actively seeking to eliminate politics completely, and then you have me who depends upon it. I keep my personal politics out, I identify it as one of those Impartial Judge concepts. Politics dictate the actions and opinions of large masses of NPCs, it creates culture clash, and makes the game world come alive.
D&D is a political game, isn't it? The alignment tool of early editions has been lost, did the political system go too or is this just an over-correction caused by the world around us?
I know that feeling and I think it is that those who need to read it don't know we are here (the blogs I mean)(well yeah the forum too). Unlike mine your blog looks professional, very sharply done and should have high traffic. I really think a lot of it is the high noise to signal ratio. You have to find the good stuff and follow it. Sorry world, I will not be posting smut to draw you to my site(s). |
|
|
|
Post by Admin Pete on Sept 7, 2017 11:47:03 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by mormonyoyoman on Sept 25, 2017 14:08:00 GMT -5
Mr 187, your observation that young people (by definition, anyone younger than me) "actively seeking to eliminate politics completely" is foredoomed to failure because it has always meant "replace everyone else's politics with mine." Politics is not a thing, per se - it is a term to define and shoehorn how we trade, govern, and deal with each other. People who want to truly eliminate politics might have a simpler time eliminating dictionaries.
Whoops! We're back at Orwellian politics again. Have an exalt, Mr PD.
Just as long as no one tries to eliminate the word "bacon."
PS: I did not mean to say that your observation, Mr 187, is foredoomed; but that the intent to eliminate politics (trade, contracts, promises, government) is foredoomed. Obviously my brain does not work until I have bacon.
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin Pete on Sept 25, 2017 16:10:59 GMT -5
Mr 187, your observation that young people (by definition, anyone younger than me) "actively seeking to eliminate politics completely" is foredoomed to failure because it has always meant "replace everyone else's politics with mine." Politics is not a thing, per se - it is a term to define and shoehorn how we trade, govern, and deal with each other. People who want to truly eliminate politics might have a simpler time eliminating dictionaries. Whoops! We're back at Orwellian politics again. Have an exalt, Mr PD. Just as long as no one tries to eliminate the word "bacon." PS: I did not mean to say that your observation, Mr 187, is foredoomed; but that the intent to eliminate politics (trade, contracts, promises, government) is foredoomed. Obviously my brain does not work until I have bacon. Everything is better with bacon, except heart doctors.  |
|
|
|
Post by ripx187 on Sept 25, 2017 17:52:27 GMT -5
I think that a lot of this stems from the Education System. Everything is geared towards Technology, at the expense of social studies . . . or at least unopinionated social studies. I learned much more outside of school than I ever did inside of it, but I worry about my kids. My oldest graduates this year and he writes like a 3rd grader. I would had gotten bloody knuckles for that! But the thing is, they don't write anything, it is all done on computer. Social studies and history are really sad, but he can do math that was way beyond anything that I ever had to do in school.
My parents talked about me not having a good education as well, maybe it is just us living in the past. There isn't much empathy for others though, not when you aren't taught that the Government of Iran is different from the Culture of Iran. We try our best to correct this, but with media standing against us and pushing the opposite messages, it is difficult.
|
|
