Editing The Wyzard Setting Essays (section)

== Technology ==

The really notable difference here is that while vast knowledge is available (and easily so – PCs are likely to have at least a modern understanding of the sciences, and Mages may be well-versed in theoretical physics or unreal mathematics), material culture lags far behind. That being said, the situation in most civilized lands is not at all comparable to medieval Europe. In the distant past humanity had the wherewithal to re-engineer species to their liking, and so there are many extraordinarily convenient plants still cultivated. Some have use as contraceptives or make effective healing salves. The Library Tree produces broad, regular leaves that when dried and cut into shape can be used as archival-quality paper. A wide variety of food plants and several types of mushroom are known to be results of the original sequencing project; they can be easily and rapidly farmed, and are tailored to human dietary needs. Etc.  For this reason, simply supplying the population with food is not the crushing burden it was in real-world medieval societies, and even impoverished areas have sufficient time for leisure and social or intellectual pursuits.

Many technologies that have an extremely high payoff to effort ratio if you are already at a high Roman or Renaissance-era level of technology are still used. Movable-type printing presses are not common, but they have supplanted scriptoriums in all but the most remote regions. They’re just too easy to build in comparison to how much effort they save. 

The essential difficulty is that the creation of an industrial economy is a great deal of work, and nobody is really inclined to go to that kind of effort. Anyone with the resources, ambition, and will to build a steam train or an air conditioner factory is probably better off becoming an archmage and summoning various demonic servants and succubi to while away the decades of ennui. Also, the creation of industrial facilities is occasionally interfered with by powerful druids or angry Great Red Wyrms, and so sometimes it’s just better to stay discrete.

There are many resources and artifacts which can be recovered from the underground sites of previous cultures, and those can be of use to the people of today. Powerful mages are capable of crafting science-fantasy gadgetry of all kinds. There are a few places in the world where devices of advanced technology are still manufactured on a small scale, but the expense to obtain them is phenomenal.

Some powerful persons make use of wireless communication sets, there are Spelljamming ships in extremely rare circulation, Baleful Rods (a variety of self-regenerating energy weapon) are comparable in availability to magical items, and there are places where Spike Throwers (electromagnetic acceleration weapons – touchy, but effective) can still be purchased new. Generally, though, items of advanced technology should resemble early-to-mid twentieth century science fiction. See Jack Vance and Barsoom, rather than Star Trek or Peter Watts.

=== Bio-Engineering ===

The humans of this world have received a number of genetic tweaks from their ancestors. While this doesn’t mean superpowers or anything crazy like that, it does mean that disease and infection are extremely rare, that people live longer and stay healthier than should be possible at their tech level, etc. Extensive exposure to stress and equally-extensive training can unlock the potential for incredible physical feats, provided it’s kept up over time. Basically, the world runs according to D&D rules, and part of that is that humans are slightly less susceptible to some problems and have just a bit more potential. Also, people tend to be better-looking, so picturing things like an action movie isn’t completely inaccurate.

Additionally, humans have phenotypes that do not exist on our world. Unusual hair or eye colors, or complexions, or an extra joint on one’s thumbs or pointed ears or what-have-you are common in some areas, and are not usually remarked upon.

Powerful mage-scientists are also able to make exotic hybrid creatures, which can be useful (lizards of burden), pathetic (duckbunnies), or terrifying (owlbears).