ummm. what if their physics/chemistry are just different than ours? say like nothing exists on par with bat guano that can be played with to make a rudimentary explosive/propellant.... their 'oxygen' isn't fast enough reacting to allow near instantaneous explosions to occur or some other fancy notion... but then i'm recalling those highfalutin terms for pulling ideas outta my a** at the moment.. andy > > > > >Speaking of Vallista, I find myself wondering just how inventive > >they are. This ties in to the whole notion of technology on > >Dragaera possibly being limited by the intervention of the gods, > >or by demons, or by the Orb, or by the Jenoine or *something*. > >After 200,000 years, they've just barely invented bows & arrows? > > > >Are Vallista who are too creative (or are too creative in certain > >areas, such as military applications of chemistry or basic mechanics) > >just disappeared? > > > > Another thought about Vallista: Perhaps it is the Vallista Council > who are the final arbiters of what technologies may be used in the > Empire (and they are presumably backed by the laws of the Empire), and > all Vallista are presumably bound to abide by their decisions. So > perhaps the Vallista know about bows, and maybe even gunpowder, and > have know of such things for many Cycles now - but they make sure that > no-one *uses* it. > > Fornia may have been due to suffer penalties for using bows in his > campaign, but perhaps the penalty would have been light enough (for > such fairly simple tech) that he figured it was worth the risk. > > The question arises about how they might prevent such inventions from > arising in the East, but perhaps there are Vallista agents of the > Empire who keep an eye on technologies outside the Empire, and are > licensed to destroy anything too advanced or being used in a way they > don't like, along with the hapless inventors. Or perhaps the > inventors are conscripted into House Vallista, and kidnapped into the > Empire, where they may work on inventions under the Vallista Council's > strict supervision, thereby increasing the Vallista's knowledgebase > while being under their control. >