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I have always thought that this system might evolve
after a world undergoes some type of cataclysm (war,
plague, asteroid strike, etc) which causes a general
collapse of its dominate culture. The world in question
undergoes a general depopulation. First there is the
diaster which causes the chaos and then there is the
"After kill" which is worse in many ways. Civilized
socities create many structures to sustain life -
food distribution, hospitals, police, etc. As these
structures are overwhelmed, the outlook for the
population looks grim.
At some point if the world has not been rendered
completely uninhabitable, there is a rebound of sorts.
The afterkill creates a situation where there are
still too many mouths to feed but not by a factor of
thousands. Civilization begins again but there are major
changes. Skills that once common were replaced by
technology and have to be re-learned. (Imagine an
empty headed valley-girl trying to shoe a horse)
There is technology left over but those skills are
also forgotten except by a few. This "few" soon becomes
an economic force. Over several generations, it
is easy to see how they would become a major economic
force.
As the years pass after the diaster which laid waste
to the world, the lack of education and social structure
causes the people to revert back to a more primative
level. Those who have technology and the skills to use
it evolve into a "priesthood". I use the word priesthood
with care: I don't mean to imply that a cult will grow
around technology users but it could very well be the case.
(see below)
The type of technology the ruling elite use will have
a major impact on the society. A clan of engineers sitting
on a fusion reactor would be very differant from the
decendants of doctors keeping a hospital going. In both
cases they are in a unique economic position offering
a service that can't be had elsewhere. These groups will
likely be very rich (relatively speaking- remember they
are the decendants of a collapsed society) and willing
to fight against challenges to their position.
Another angle of particular importance to explore is
what the common people think about the collapsed culture.
They may revere the "Old Ones" as Gods or revile them
for bringing down the wrath of an angry God". In both cases
it will have a major bearing on how the technology using
and non-technology using cultures interact. In such settings
it is not unthinkable that many religious sects may pop up.
There may well be distrust and open warfare between the
primatives and technology users (witches). This is
fertile ground for the Game Master and can lead to some
very interesting situations. There are many books and
films based on similar themes. Several episodes of Dr. Who
come to mind.
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"The more complicated the plumbing,
the easier it is to stop up the drain." -Mr. Scott
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James R. Ware SysAdmin MS Dept. of Archives
[address removed] day [phone removed]
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