Topic: What do people Know

[egdcltd]

Might I also add that you don't need to read to copy a page down. Just match up the symbols and the printer would quickly read the tray to ensure everything was correct. With that method I think you could get through things pretty fast.


 

I seem to recall reading that a lot of copyists were in fact illiterate. This did cause a problem that, if there was an error in the text, the error was copied, as the person copying it wouldn't know there was anything wrong. A bit like spellchecking a document without reading to see if it actually makes sense.

[Elrik]

As weird as this sounds. Illiterate people can be "trusted" as they will not add their own stuff.

When we learn to read all sorts of special things happen to our brain. We add details, edit text and finish things without reading.

It was also cheaper, faster and caused less problems in the end.

[TomOBedlam]

The magent "Copy" list beats yours hands down.

[markc]

 Another thought I has was once you have your spell list then you could create a magic item to perform the task for you. For example a magical desk in that when a book is placed on the desk it will copy all the information to an approperate book below the desk or just copy the work for binding at a later date.
 So a person comes in to sell there book, ask its value or maybe even offer ot for trade to use the library. The book inspecter meets the client in a special room and sets the book upon the desk to examin and determine if it would be valuable to the library. Poof the library suddenly has a copy even if they do not take the copy the other person has.

 I tend to think of magic as a solution to a problem in that people will try and use magic to make making money/ gathering info/ life/ preventing death/etc more easy.
MDC

[Elrik]

Ouch!

do a lot of magents get their start as a cataloguer and scriber of books? Sort of takes the cool factor away...  

[Elrik]

I would agree markc.

I think a larger library would have a device like that, but have to play fair or people would just stop bringing books in. I would guess larger mage guilds have coping devices as do religious orders.  I expect it would be expensive to ensure the detail and structure. Would it also have to copy the outer cover, binding and back cover. Or they could just use my super cool spell list!

I always thought Nomikos would try to buy a First or second edition, but copy a later edition and give the owner a small snippence. Well known libraries would do similar things. Smaller libraries would/could do about anything depending upon honour, owner and greed.

[TomOBedlam]

I would probably remove such spells from my game. They would make the world a slightly duller place.
What fun is factory style copying desks when you can have hordes of scribes copying and re-copying over and over...

[Dax]

There are (as always) other possibilities to stop that spell from working simply.

The desk may copy the book, but it adds the ink to the papers, arrange them and makes the binding,
the result would be not a copy of the book, but a twin ! Not destinguishable from each other.

For that twin the desk needs the original "ingredients" (like the same paper or worse paper of the same age made
by the same papermaker *, the same leather for the binding etc.).
This might be an impossible task and no book can be copied at the fly.
___

* for the same paper of the same age the desk may need another old book to "overwrite".

[Elrik]

Here is an interesting question... can a Magic Book be copied? Will it resist the xerox machine? Does the book save as the level of the person that magicked it? Or as the person that added the spells? Does it get some bonuses...

[dutch206]

Here is an interesting question... can a Magic Book be copied? Will it resist the xerox machine? Does the book save as the level of the person that magicked it? Or as the person that added the spells? Does it get some bonuses...

Unlike the word "aspirin" (for instance), the word Xerox is trademark protected.  How about using 'facsimile' or 'photocopier'?

[Elrik]

Fair Use my friend. Although this is a public conversation I in no way mean to infringe upon their trademark nor do I wish to sow confusion upon their device. When I used the Xerox term I mean to identify a method of copying, one which they have spend millions to maintain and in some ways contain. I also use it because just about everyone knows what I mean.

If it makes people uncomfortable I will not use the term. 

Sorry to sound snotty.

[yammahoper]

I prefer Xerox, though "copy" is cool too.

Ya have to admit, when someone says "Xerox this.", you know exactly what they mean.  Ironocally, part of our real world cultural literacy.

[Elrik]

Pretty much eh, yammahoper.

I wonder how much longer Xerox can stave off the jerks like me that generalize their products?

[vroomfogle]

Xerox has entered a lexicon as a normal noun and verb, despite the trademark  (look it up in the dictionary, it's listed as trademark, noun, and verb).    Linoleum was the same way, trademark (though now expired) for a specific brand of flooring that become a commonly used word for vinyl flooring. 

Although I doubt Xerox has a problem with people using that term in such common parlance.  It only serves to keep brand recognition strong.

[Elrik]

A number of things are changing now. Thanks to Disney, the trade mark life time is up words of 110 to 120 years when it was 70 years past the death of the person that trade marked it. They are also seeking to further push back the trade mark years, Disney is fighting for 200 plus years. Common sense would guess that Disney wants to keep their trade marks in perpetuity. So they have been fighting hard.

This doesn't pertain 100% to Xerox but it would allow them to keep their TM for much longer. Now they just have to keep control of the Word and what it "means". I also think that with new technologies, they have lost some of their mind share, which has enabled them to maintain control of their name.


Thanks for the input guys.

[Elrik]

Here is another one the PC's have a problem with.

Honour. They make a promise to protect a mage that is being hunted, as her noble wants to return her to his bed... errr service... She accepts the promise and does her best to help the party. The party losses an encounter with a local Noble (different then the mages) and must let her go to be returned. They know where she is, they know the small city that is wrapped around the mages noble but decide to hold off for two years to retrain for different professions.

They make a pledge and bugger off... and they wonder why I gave them 2 exp each. She in the mean time has been raped and tormented, humiliated (beyond the rape) and her bastard child has been taken.

ugggg .... smash head into table again... I miss my old team... smash smash smash

[metallion]

Elrik,  don't forget all the in-game consequences that can come of breaking promises to a mage.  Sometimes it takes a lack of subtlety to tell a party, "Herosim:  you're doin' it wrong!"

[Elrik]

Yes sir Metallion, I am working on it... evil GM grin

One of my players and I had a long conversation about it. He says he is a good guy put drops to crime in the blink of an eye... He himself is a boyscout. But in game he feels that wilful freedom. Lost 2000 exps for it too.

[munchy]

We always handled it that most people would at least know stories of walking dead, undead, but almost none of them would be able to identify one properly, saying whether it was a zombie or ghoul, not even dreaming of having the means of fighting one.
Most people have seen some sort of magic or at least what they think is magic but would still react quite different when faced with a magic user, i.e. we had villages ransacking their witch's house and other villages openly welcoming any spell-user.

[kmanktelow]

Hi, All,

I remember years ago compiling an A4 list of quotes, entitled 'What the Goat herder can tell you.' It was aimed at some new players I had, and listed a variety of rambling conversational type quotes- including things like:

"Andraax died in the great war."
"Andraax was seen in the East."
"Andraax is mad."

The idea was to give the new players information, but also to give them a lot of disinformation, as well.

Which happens in real life- take the recent media attention given the Large Hadron Collider and the totally misinformed comments made by members of the public on various websites about the 'End of the World' if it created a 'Black Hole'. It could, possibly create a singularity, but it's Event Horizon would be smaller than the Planck Distance, so would be inside the Singularity- and it's field of Gravitational attraction would be so small, as to be almost non-existent. Hardly the world destroying monster you think of when someone says 'Black Hole'.

Also, consider that most normal people only have limited access to information- although through the internet we are in general, becoming better informed. Essentially to pinch an analogy from Terry Pratchett, you have four basic sources of information:

"My Dad always said..."
"Well, it stands to reason..." and my personal favourite:
"Some bloke down the pub told me..."
We can add schooling for the limited number of Kulthean's who have access to a formalised  Educational System. (And, that isn't always to be relied on- look at the number of US states that have fought tooth and claw against the inclusion of Evolution in the curriculum over Creationism. And, hands up all those who think that you can see the Great Wall of China from Space? Or, were taught that Glass was a liquid? Neither are actually true- but we've still been told these things, time and time again- which has made them 'True' for a given value of 'True'.)

Essentially, what Kulthean's know in general- meaning the average person, which would include most normally educated Player Characters- would be a hodge-podge of facts, fiction and down-right lies- and you end up with one character 'knowing' that Andraax is dead, another that Andraax is mad and another that Andraax is lost in the East. And, like most people, they will cling to these beliefs until presented with irrefutable proof that things are otherwise.

Then, add to the mixture the fact that most Governments don't tell us the 'Truth', anyway. In many cases they can't afford to- because it would create panic and confusion. Think of the Announcement that the Crown will a 100GP bounty for the head of any Priests Yarthraak? It would be as bad, or possibly worse, than the Inquisition. And, that is bad for political stability, so knowledge of the Priests Arnak, would be extremely limited- maybe just the Loremasters knowing something about them- with some Governmental concerns maybe about these "Priests of Yarthraak- we believe that they may have some form of agenda." Equally, what religious order doesn't have some form of Agenda?

Hopefully, this has given you some idea's to play around with.

All the Best,

Kevin.