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Arcane vs. scientific knowledge

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Fri, 07/22/2011 - 23:42
questccg
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I have been thinking about an attribute in my game. It is called "KNOWLEDGE". Originally, like other attributes, it was going to be a value of 1 to 9. Recently I have been thinking, that since the total value of attributes cannot EXCEED 20, I could make the "KNOWLEDGE" attribute from -5 to +5.

Why? Well I thought that NEGATIVE values could be for SCIENTIFIC knowledge and POSITIVE values would be for ARCANE knowledge... This could make for an interesting "duality".

From one perspective the game could have all that sort of D&D stuff such a magic and dragons, and from another perspective could have "real world" elements. Here is the thing... I'm not too certain what could be considered "scientific" knowledge and how it could work in a game which is "medieval" (knights and horsemen).

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Sat, 07/23/2011 - 01:04
#1
questccg
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Two ideas

questccg wrote:
I'm not too certain what could be considered "scientific" knowledge and how it could work in a game which is "medieval" (knights and horsemen).

The only thing that comes to mind is a "catapult" which could give an army of knights the RANGED attack. Or a "battering ram" which could increase their strength.

More precisely two (2) distinct cards, one called "catapult" which gives melee armies the power to attack using range and one called "battering ram" which increases melee attack strength.

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Sat, 07/23/2011 - 02:08
#2
simons
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You could make it "spiritual

You could make it "spiritual knowledge" vs. "scientific knowledge," and that might lead you on an ideas path.

In terms of what is medieval "scientific knowledge," from what I understand, there wasn't a huge amount of that. When people got really scientific, they started calling it the Renaissance (so maybe a high science score and you could get that). Alternatively, you could think of science as really alchemy, and go from there.

That said, maybe it could give you:
Better keep fortifications
Longbows
Better armor
Better siege weapons
Gunpowder, Greek fire, etc
Better agricultural practices
Better animal breeding
Better military tactics
Stronger and taller buildings
Star navigation
Improved ships
Medicine

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Sat, 07/23/2011 - 19:37
#3
questccg
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Spiritual vs. Arcane

simons wrote:
You could make it "spiritual knowledge" vs. "scientific knowledge," and that might lead you on an ideas path.

I was thinking that I keep all things fantastic as "ARCANE" (dragons, wizards, magical spells, etc.). And then maybe add "SPIRITUAL" as monastic (blessing, prayer, resurrection, etc.) Then it becomes CLERIC (negative) vs. WIZARD (positive). Another possibiity.

Still I'm not sure I will have plenty of possibilities with the SPIRITUAL side of things...

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Sun, 07/24/2011 - 03:28
#4
Maaartin
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Mathematically strange?

questccg wrote:
I have been thinking about an attribute in my game. It is called "KNOWLEDGE". Originally, like other attributes, it was going to be a value of 1 to 9. Recently I have been thinking, that since the total value of attributes cannot EXCEED 20, I could make the "KNOWLEDGE" attribute from -5 to +5.

Why? Well I thought that NEGATIVE values could be for SCIENTIFIC knowledge and POSITIVE values would be for ARCANE knowledge... This could make for an interesting "duality".

From a math POV, I can't say I like it. Should the value of +5 represent the maximum possible knowledge of one kind and the value of -5 the maximum possible knowledge of the other kind? And their sum (and average) is the total ignorance represented by 0? Raising knowledge either increases or decreases the total value of attributes, does it make any sense? Maybe it does, but not for me. What's the meaning of the total? Can't you have some of both kinds of knowledge at the same time?

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Sun, 07/24/2011 - 18:27
#5
questccg
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Still not certain...

Maaartin wrote:
From a math POV, I can't say I like it.

20 is the maximum allowable TOTAL of points that can be allotted to four (4) skills: Power, Wealth, Knowledge and Charisma. You can choose how to spread your 20 points amongst the skills. The default would be: 5 PWR, 5 WLT, 5 KNW, and 5 CHR.

And I think the idea is either you are knowledgeable in "science" or "arcane" knowledge but not both. The other variants are "spiritual" and "arcane" (Cleric vs. wizard)...

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Sun, 07/24/2011 - 18:34
#6
questccg
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Added bonus

Maaartin wrote:
From a math POV, I can't say I like it.

Having the knowledge (KNW) vary between -5 and +5 gives you a sort of BONUS points (in the negative numbers). So instead of adding to the total, it subtracts from it. This would then allow you to raise your other skills (having more than 20 points - due to a negative value for the KNW skill)

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Sun, 07/24/2011 - 19:34
#7
questccg
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Too good of a bonus

I think I will return to the having the Knowledge attribute having values from 1-9 instead of -5 to +5. My reasoning is that it is too good of a bonus: lower to -5, your other skills can be 9, 8 and 8 (or 25). So you could maximize your armies (PWR), have high income (WLT) and be very corrupt (CHR).

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