- Location
- an unseen void
- Pronouns
- Any
no big deal this turn, we only (re?) invented artificial life, discovered a universal solvent, can cure any disease, and discovered a source of immortality
GODSTAR - a Science Fantasy Civilization Quest
- Thread starter ScottishMongol
- Start date
-
- Tags
- civ quest
Wow this was a great update we got a lot done and think our mil improved a lot tbh these were cruical change for the coming conflicts. Also like our writing system it look pretty good
yah alchemy shit is wild
...yah I am currently leaning pretty negative toward this cause they are producing human with short lifespan and weak bodies which they may treat well are ultimately toward furthering alchemical technology which yah....
yah alchemy shit is wild
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Cassiemouse
Market Atheist
Artificial wombs are very important once we perfect them because they can free women from the burden of pregnancy which is a major social advance in the structure of our society.
I don't know at the moment they are being grown artificial separate from women so sure you be able to grow separate humans and will have a separate way of population growth separate from women. However it seem like that any women who want to have kids from them would have to do it the old fashioned way...with the way Artificial wombs are being done here which is quite different than the usual methods(the usual method to me at least is that they put in the artifcal womb after it fertilzed not growing them from nothing) it may not be possible to do artifcal wombs from the women so not biological like sure they could adopt them but that around right now. Either way at the moment and the way it is potentially never or a very long time doesn't decrease the burden on women
edit: I feel like have may phrased this poorly and this whole thing inquest with artifcal wombs is complicated. Adoption is a total valid way and it is not less so in anyway tbc is just already avabavile avuene and I am not sure this path is a path for women to have their biological kids to devolp in the artifcal wombs instead of in their womb. It seem more like a path toward magic mass...not cloning but something like that where you are able to churn out people on indrustial scale... I don't know....
edit edit also to improve on this techongly we have to expermient on humans....that a absouletly no go for me and I already dislike since it making humans with genetics defects
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Anchises
Le Charismeur
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
We are on the verge of greatness now! Its certainly important to use ressources like the elixir of immortality in an egalitarian and smart way. Life extension instead immortality but this is too valuable to just throw it away.
Same for our children the homunculi, many voters already fear them but I do not. If we treat them with love and if we refine our understanding they are destined to be a foundational part of our Great League. Their understanding of magic is going to be unparalleled.
Next split seems to be between biocons and transhuman magocrats. An even more interesting debate than the writing debate.
Same for our children the homunculi, many voters already fear them but I do not. If we treat them with love and if we refine our understanding they are destined to be a foundational part of our Great League. Their understanding of magic is going to be unparalleled.
Next split seems to be between biocons and transhuman magocrats. An even more interesting debate than the writing debate.
Cassiemouse
Market Atheist
I think we should use some of our philosopher stones to produce immortality and panacea potions for our homunculi so that they don't have the suffer the defects of their creation! Our techniques may be imperfect but we should care for them as best we can. They are our brothers and sisters, after all!
Professor Vesca
Good News Everyone!
I wonder what sanctuary thinks of us now. 
Sons and daughters more like, but I can get behind the sentiment. I'm definitely liking the alchemy tech tree, the synergy with gunpowder 2 was particularly nice in my opinion.
We have, we had combat applications for our magic at the start of the quest and have only expanded from there. Not that that's particularly unique, most civilizations that exist in this Age of Unreason use at least a little magic. Our magic is pretty advanced for a backwater world like Paradisea though.
We are mainly brought down by our pitiful starting mat-sci stat. we're pretty lucky that Sanctuary is willing to help us out on that front.
IamtooSleepy
I came here to be an ant
I wonder what sanctuary thinks of us now.
Yeah, I really wonder how their believe in reincarnation would play out with our immortality.
- Location
- an unseen void
- Pronouns
- Any
I updated my changelog with this turn's stuff. Of particular note, the QM clarified where all of our research point gains came from:
+1 MatSci each from Schools and Universities.
+1 SocSci each from Permanent Councils and cultural exchange from contacting Sanctuary.
+1 ExoSci each from Rituals and Leyline Network.
Less notably, I added 'Social Specialization' and 'Trade' to the arbitrary categories when I was in search of places to put Merchant Guilds, and 'Public Works' and 'Industry' are now way higher in the list because they gained the weight of Solar Power.
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- Pronouns
- Male
Just had an Idea, while reading through the Alchemy II part. We can collectively say, that we hate currency and everything it entails down the line such as printed money, which has only so much value as we give it.
The problem therefore is, that the value of the currency is imaginary and has no concrete influence on the world other than that. But what if it had? What if, we can sidestep many modern problems such as rapid inflation...etc. with a currency which possess "true" value?
The potential solution? Crystalised Energy/Mana.
Something that be used to affect the "real" world(powering machines/rituals) and thus retains a stable form of value.
@ScottishMongol would that be possible in the future?
The problem therefore is, that the value of the currency is imaginary and has no concrete influence on the world other than that. But what if it had? What if, we can sidestep many modern problems such as rapid inflation...etc. with a currency which possess "true" value?
The potential solution? Crystalised Energy/Mana.
Something that be used to affect the "real" world(powering machines/rituals) and thus retains a stable form of value.
@ScottishMongol would that be possible in the future?
Cassiemouse
Market Atheist
We are seeing rapid growth in our technological and industrial sectors because we are in something of a magitech industrial revolution at the moment. If couldn't make these mana crystals fast enough to keep up with demand the prices of goods and services increase while profits decrease leading to a deflationary spiral that crashes the economy. This would end up with the merchant guilds squeezing labor to try to keep profits up in order to stave off the crash.
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Archivist Grim
Totally not AI
- Location
- The abyss
- Pronouns
- He/Him/They
That does give me an idea. Now if any of you played project E mod for minecraft, you would know of EMC. Maybe we can establish a general measurement system based on ther alchemical value and then use that to define general value of goods like raw resources and the like. It probably wont work for stuff like art and the like but will make it far easier to acquire and transfer raw materials.
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- Pronouns
- Male
Dear lord, not now. That would be a terrible idea as you said. This was an Idea for the future, when we have established/stabilized ourselves and are not constantly in danger of being attacked.
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Anchises
Le Charismeur
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
We need to establish some ground rules but I definitively want to explore and refine alchemy further. Immortality serum and homunculi are techs I'm very interested in for the benefit of our society.
Is the immortality serum a one and done for biological immortality (I.e can't die of old age), or do you need to keep taking it in doses to maintain it? Obviously they're very different scenarios for a society.
Another thing is we're well placed to set up a deathless society within a couple generations.
We already know that reincarnation is a thing, where souls are reborn. We have also unlocked Afterlife as an option to research, as well as have advanced homonculus research. So eventually we should be able to create bodies for those that are in our afterlife and wish to be reborn, to advance the reincarnation cycle faster. Those within the afterlife and those within the living world will also still be able to communicate to create a unique perspective, as well as greatly increase our societies population numbers. After all every soul within our society will continue to exist so its just constant growth, where as others will be births - deaths.
Another thing is we're well placed to set up a deathless society within a couple generations.
We already know that reincarnation is a thing, where souls are reborn. We have also unlocked Afterlife as an option to research, as well as have advanced homonculus research. So eventually we should be able to create bodies for those that are in our afterlife and wish to be reborn, to advance the reincarnation cycle faster. Those within the afterlife and those within the living world will also still be able to communicate to create a unique perspective, as well as greatly increase our societies population numbers. After all every soul within our society will continue to exist so its just constant growth, where as others will be births - deaths.
- Pronouns
- Male
Immortality can lead to MASSIVE overpulation problems, if we are not careful. Nobody dies of old age and probably stays young. They can continue to have children, which further boosts the pop growth. This can escalate very quickly. Without natural death to balance it out, the pop growth may not be 1-2% per year but in the double digits.
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Cassiemouse
Market Atheist
Our current technology is more like life extension than true immortality right now. And we can't make much of it right now. Making philosopher stones then grinding them up into magic potions ain't cheap. It's one reason we are worried about the alchemists just keeping it for themselves and becoming an immortal ruling class.
Immortality will only effect the earth population, those people will still be existing regardless in the spirit world/afterlife.
Then there's the consideration of how machine spirits, animal spirits, plant spirits, and sapient creatures will end up fitting within our society.
Anchises
Le Charismeur
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
We are a very egalitarian society that has a deep seated interest in sustainable living. I'm pretty certain we would figure out a way to handle overpopulation. I'm also pretty convinced most people wouldn't want to live forever. Not with the afterlife being a real and reincarnation being a possibility. Realistically I think we are looking at a century or two of live extension before people move on to the next stage.
Edit: Like usually such powerful magical research corrupts the equivalent of low soc-sci societies but we are actually super well equipped to embrace magical transhumanism without turning into an evil empire.
Like our people are extremely communal and collectivist. I don't see a narrow elite selfishly hoarding all the immortality serum. Its going to be distributed fairly and equitably allowing our society to grow into using it on larger scale. With average life spans rising over decades families and councils will work out rules and procedures to handle the process. I honestly don't think our society is structured in a way where anyone makes the decision alone of how long they want to live. You likely talk it out with your community and family and decide together when its time to move on together.
Same with the homunculi, most societies would likely greedily fall into the trap of enslaving them or trying to breed a ruling caste of uber-magical rulers. I think the True People are just going to accept them. Ultimately they are just brother and sisters born a little differently that will integrate well into our families.
I think its quite interesting to see a society that is not corrupted by ultimate magical power and just decides to use it responsibly. Imo people tend to have kneejerk anti-progress reactions to this kind of opportunity because they are conditioned to view everything through a capitalist lense but its important to keep in mind that the True People (well not the LoS you know those mfers would create space marines in a heartbeat) are far more evolved and exactly the kind of people you would trust with such power.
Thanks for listening to my TEDtalk
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- Location
- Great Khanate of Scotland
- Pronouns
- She/Her
The elixir of immorality is more like life extension, it requires one use per person per year and consumes the materials used to create it.
In Lord of the Rings, when Numenor was at its height its people didn't grow feeble or senile as they aged and could voluntarily choose when to die, rather than clinging to death and suffering the deleterious effects of old age.
Turn 5 Sanctuary Actions
- Location
- Great Khanate of Scotland
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Common Power Grid
The League has undertaken mass infrastructure projects before; your extensive monument and road systems are as large in scale, and your spiritual efforts such as the binding of the river spirits are no less impressive. Still, this is a technological scale you haven't witnessed before.
Thankfully, the engineers of Sanctuary are here to help you. With their assistance, you copy the plans for solar panels, wind turbines, and hydroelectric dams, and begin the process of manufacturing these things. Initially Sanctuary does much of the production, but eventually your own manufacturing potential increases and you pick up the slack. Your planners work together to map out the power grid, aligning it with your leyline and road systems for maximum efficiency, and they begin to build power plants.
Solar panels are affixed to rooftops in major cities, with their first household use being to pump water and heat it. Fields of wind turbines appear, each one dedicated to the wind spirits, their engineers trained in weather magic. Dams are converted into hydroelectric dams, shrines to the river-spirits are rededicated to thank them for providing energy to the League as well as other forms of sustenance.
They are of course connected with miles of electrical wires, with transformers and substations to distribute it. The grid is connected to Sanctuary; the League's larger size allows them to produce more energy than they need, relieving Sanctuary's demands and allowing them to devote resources away from energy production and into other fields.
Initially, the power demands of the League are very low, but with electrification things start to change; new electrical pumps are designed to bring water to cities, while locks and sluicegates are now powered by giant pistons and gears. Electricity powers lifts, cranks, and pulleys, which helps in construction and mining, while the greatest revolution of all is in food production: new mills which can grind acorns into flour free up hundreds of man-hours of work per person every week. And this is only the beginning, as new devices are designed by Mechanicals which will help production of goods; they are only waiting to be implemented.
To be sure, this effort requires a huge increase in demand for metals, especially copper, but with your new strengthened relationship to the land, these deposits are easier to find and exploit, especially as electrification helps alleviate manpower concerns and move larger quantities.
Many of these new machines develop spirits of their own, and when one of your holy men is accidentally electrocuted while blessing a substation, he awakens with new powers over lightning and declares that the electrical grid itself has an animating spirit, one that manages the flow of currents and communicates in electrical signals. Under the direction of this new prophet, power plants are turned into temples, transformers into shrines, venerating the patron of your infrastructure.
Assembly
The Sheik listens as your Speakers outline the benefits of an Assembly. It will allow the people to make their voices heard, it will allow them to address their disagreements in a public forum, it will let the Sheik receive input from his people more easily. In a magnanimous mood, he agrees. The Assembly of Sanctuary is summoned, with all adult citizens of the city invited to make their voices heard.
While the Assembly is by no means a disaster, it does not exactly go as planned. Unused to this sort of political engagement, initial meetings are chaotic as long lines of citizens come forward to discuss their concerns, grievances, proposals, and rebuttals to the same. Disagreements blow up into arguments, and it quickly becomes obvious there are factions, especially along the syncretist-nativist divide. The merchants appear to be the most in favor of syncretism, as many of them have intermarried with neighboring tribes of the True People. Meanwhile, the mullahs and other prominent families are split, with the strongest nativists among the entrenched conservative legal scholars. The majority of the city's population in the form of craftsmen are evenly divided, with most being neutral on the conflict.
The Sheik attempts to maintain order through it, listening to proposals and concerns and trying to mediate between the sides, and with time and experience the Assembly becomes more productive – although the divide never quite goes away, and descends into arguments and shoving matches more often than not. Still, despite the heated nature of the forum most feel better for having their voices heard, and as far as a first taste of self-government it could have gone worse.
Study Sacred Architecture
They call it a dargah. It is both a mosque – that is, a place of worship – and a combination library, school, hostel, infirmary, storehouse, bank, and all-round community center. In recent times, it has become a place for Sanctuary's Assembly to meet in addition to being the home of the Sheik. However, your holy men are more concerned with its magical properties.
Every line and angle of the building is precise and drafted with intent to harness and direct mystic energies. The ratios involved perfectly match Astra's Sequence, creating patterns that mimic natural spirals. The principles of harmony and proportion are present both in the architecture and the mystic energy of the building, as it is purified both by collective worship and by the geometry of the space itself. This is of course not the only aspect of sacred architecture; domes, concentric circles and squares, tessellated shapes and a host of other geometric patterns are meant to invoke special principles, each with their own meaning.
The underlying metaphysics of this, the Sheik explains, is that the universe was created according to mathematical and geometrical principles. All is number and shape, and this divine logic is invoked in architecture which itself is layered with geometric and mathematical importance. The architecture and artistry is certainly something to behold, and as your Historians are taught geometric principles that have magical connotations, they are already beginning to plan adjustments to your existing Religious Lodges and monuments and even ordinary buildings.
What follows in the League is an explosion of architectural innovation, as builders take inspiration from Sanctuary's styles to create domes, minarets, halls of horseshoe columns, all decorated with geometric shapes and flowing Arabesques – and, of course, your Historians are there to ensure the sacred geometrical principles are understood. The new Religious Lodges being built to house the newly-expanded Orders are constructed entirely in this new style, while many older Religious Lodges find themselves outfitted with new columns and domes and decorated in tessellated tiles or Arabesque murals that incorporate traditional designs and symbols.
The League has undertaken mass infrastructure projects before; your extensive monument and road systems are as large in scale, and your spiritual efforts such as the binding of the river spirits are no less impressive. Still, this is a technological scale you haven't witnessed before.
Thankfully, the engineers of Sanctuary are here to help you. With their assistance, you copy the plans for solar panels, wind turbines, and hydroelectric dams, and begin the process of manufacturing these things. Initially Sanctuary does much of the production, but eventually your own manufacturing potential increases and you pick up the slack. Your planners work together to map out the power grid, aligning it with your leyline and road systems for maximum efficiency, and they begin to build power plants.
Solar panels are affixed to rooftops in major cities, with their first household use being to pump water and heat it. Fields of wind turbines appear, each one dedicated to the wind spirits, their engineers trained in weather magic. Dams are converted into hydroelectric dams, shrines to the river-spirits are rededicated to thank them for providing energy to the League as well as other forms of sustenance.
They are of course connected with miles of electrical wires, with transformers and substations to distribute it. The grid is connected to Sanctuary; the League's larger size allows them to produce more energy than they need, relieving Sanctuary's demands and allowing them to devote resources away from energy production and into other fields.
Initially, the power demands of the League are very low, but with electrification things start to change; new electrical pumps are designed to bring water to cities, while locks and sluicegates are now powered by giant pistons and gears. Electricity powers lifts, cranks, and pulleys, which helps in construction and mining, while the greatest revolution of all is in food production: new mills which can grind acorns into flour free up hundreds of man-hours of work per person every week. And this is only the beginning, as new devices are designed by Mechanicals which will help production of goods; they are only waiting to be implemented.
To be sure, this effort requires a huge increase in demand for metals, especially copper, but with your new strengthened relationship to the land, these deposits are easier to find and exploit, especially as electrification helps alleviate manpower concerns and move larger quantities.
Many of these new machines develop spirits of their own, and when one of your holy men is accidentally electrocuted while blessing a substation, he awakens with new powers over lightning and declares that the electrical grid itself has an animating spirit, one that manages the flow of currents and communicates in electrical signals. Under the direction of this new prophet, power plants are turned into temples, transformers into shrines, venerating the patron of your infrastructure.
Assembly
The Sheik listens as your Speakers outline the benefits of an Assembly. It will allow the people to make their voices heard, it will allow them to address their disagreements in a public forum, it will let the Sheik receive input from his people more easily. In a magnanimous mood, he agrees. The Assembly of Sanctuary is summoned, with all adult citizens of the city invited to make their voices heard.
While the Assembly is by no means a disaster, it does not exactly go as planned. Unused to this sort of political engagement, initial meetings are chaotic as long lines of citizens come forward to discuss their concerns, grievances, proposals, and rebuttals to the same. Disagreements blow up into arguments, and it quickly becomes obvious there are factions, especially along the syncretist-nativist divide. The merchants appear to be the most in favor of syncretism, as many of them have intermarried with neighboring tribes of the True People. Meanwhile, the mullahs and other prominent families are split, with the strongest nativists among the entrenched conservative legal scholars. The majority of the city's population in the form of craftsmen are evenly divided, with most being neutral on the conflict.
The Sheik attempts to maintain order through it, listening to proposals and concerns and trying to mediate between the sides, and with time and experience the Assembly becomes more productive – although the divide never quite goes away, and descends into arguments and shoving matches more often than not. Still, despite the heated nature of the forum most feel better for having their voices heard, and as far as a first taste of self-government it could have gone worse.
Study Sacred Architecture
They call it a dargah. It is both a mosque – that is, a place of worship – and a combination library, school, hostel, infirmary, storehouse, bank, and all-round community center. In recent times, it has become a place for Sanctuary's Assembly to meet in addition to being the home of the Sheik. However, your holy men are more concerned with its magical properties.
Every line and angle of the building is precise and drafted with intent to harness and direct mystic energies. The ratios involved perfectly match Astra's Sequence, creating patterns that mimic natural spirals. The principles of harmony and proportion are present both in the architecture and the mystic energy of the building, as it is purified both by collective worship and by the geometry of the space itself. This is of course not the only aspect of sacred architecture; domes, concentric circles and squares, tessellated shapes and a host of other geometric patterns are meant to invoke special principles, each with their own meaning.
The underlying metaphysics of this, the Sheik explains, is that the universe was created according to mathematical and geometrical principles. All is number and shape, and this divine logic is invoked in architecture which itself is layered with geometric and mathematical importance. The architecture and artistry is certainly something to behold, and as your Historians are taught geometric principles that have magical connotations, they are already beginning to plan adjustments to your existing Religious Lodges and monuments and even ordinary buildings.
What follows in the League is an explosion of architectural innovation, as builders take inspiration from Sanctuary's styles to create domes, minarets, halls of horseshoe columns, all decorated with geometric shapes and flowing Arabesques – and, of course, your Historians are there to ensure the sacred geometrical principles are understood. The new Religious Lodges being built to house the newly-expanded Orders are constructed entirely in this new style, while many older Religious Lodges find themselves outfitted with new columns and domes and decorated in tessellated tiles or Arabesque murals that incorporate traditional designs and symbols.