Tech Levels
STONE AGE
The most primitive toolmaking capability, characterized by
stone (later, copper) implements, wheeled carts, and firemaking. Among
primates, the hunter-gatherer society is little different from that of their
animal ancestors. Aliens would have a lifestyle patterned analogously. Remote
parts of the Amazon basin and Melanesia can still be considered Stone Age.
BRONZE AGE
Bronze, a combination of tin and copper, is the most
easily smelted hard metal. Tools get better. Agriculture creates cities and the
beginnings of writing. Animal husbandry makes leather and wool available. In
Asia, the Bronze Age began about 5000 B.C.
IRON AGE
In the Iron Age, more of the same gets better. Iron
replaces bronze, writing replaces heiroglyphs, and sailing improves upon
riding. The first iron users may conquer well all of their neighbors, producing
the first large empires. The Iron Age began in Turkey about 1500 B.C.
MEDIEVAL
The Medieval period in Christian and Moslem culture,
roughly 500-1400 A.D., was a period of dissemination and refinement of previous
discoveries. Medicine and astronomy were two notable areas of investigation.
Large empires are common. On another planet, the details of this era will
depend on quirks of history.
RENAISSANCE
The important characteristic of the Renaissance (1400
A.D. in Europe) for Star Hero purposes, is that research and scientific theory
are formalized for the first time. Combined with the invention of printing,
universities become possible. Certain projects begin that are possible only
with good logistics (such as circumnavigating the globe). Standing armies
become common late in this period.
INDUSTRIAL
The two dominant inventions of the Industrial Age are
abundant power (from steam) and instantaneous communications (telegraph, then
radio). The world becomes a smaller place and machines start to free up
manpower. On Earth, the Industrial Age began in 19th century Britain.
MODERN
This name identifies Western culture as of the 20th century.
Electricity, radio, and aircraft give the world a more homogeneous society.
Large numbers of professional scientists and engineers, aided by calculating
machines, make technological discovery explosively fast. The first weapons of
mass destruction are created (gas, diseases, fission).
ADVANCED
This is the era of spaceflight before FTL transport.
Civilization spreads from one planet to fill its entire star system. Fusion
power and widespread automation (computers, robots) create a large leisure
class. In a dark campaign, overpopulation and pollution are serious problems.
HIGH TECH
The High Tech era is marked by one huge discovery:
Faster-Than-Light travel. This era begins perhaps a hundred years after the end
of the Modern Age, depending on whether FTL is a lucky discovery or a product
of diligent research. Civilization spreads among the stars and probably meets
other races. Colony planets evolve separate cultures. Reliable cybernetics and
other man/machine interfaces may turn humans themselves into something
different.
SUPER TECH
This is the most advanced technology that can be
projected, short of magic. FTL travel is not only possible, it's convenient.
Teleportation, regeneration, and antimatter manipulation are all a reality.
Age | Transport | Weapons | Armor | Medical | Communication | Power |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
STONE | Feet | Stone | none | Language | Animals | |
BRONZE | Horse | Bronze | Leather | Herbology | Pictographs | Water Wheel |
IRON | Galley | Iron | Scale | Bleeding | Writing | Windmill |
MEDIEVAL | Sailing | Steel | Plate Mail | Amputations | Printing | |
RENAISSANCE | Hot Air Balloon | Muskets | ||||
INDUSTRIAL | Zeppelin | Repeating Handgun | Anesthetics | Telegraph | Steam Engine | |
MODERN | Aircraft | Machine Gun | Kevlar | Antibiotics | Telephone | Electricity |
ADVANCED | Spaceship | Laser | Reflect/Duralloy | Suspend Animation | Visiphone | Nuclear |
HIGH TECH | Starship | Blaster | Cybernetics | FTL Mail Delivery | Solar | |
SUPER | Teleportation | Disintegrator | Personal Force Fields | Autodoc | FTL Communication | Antimatter |