Two ideas for articles

[rat_bastard]

So I have two ideas for articles,

One is for all game systems, it would be an in depth look at archery. Looking into its use as and providing new toys for archers. The reason I want an article on Archery is because of the lack of toys and information for archers relative to what melee fighters get.

the other idea is a right up on nomadic groups in rifts, how they eat how they resupply and how they life in "relative" saftey.

the problem is that I am not sure if either topic is meaty enough for a full article, so advice is welcome.

[The Galactus Kid]

both of them can be made "meaty" As an amateur archer myself, there are so many modifications that can be made to bows and arrows to make them more accurate, have longer ranges, do more damage, etc. I think that would be a great article.

The nomadic people article could also be fleshed out. Once you actually sit down and try to do them, you will be surprised how fast the words come out. Also, if you need help writing or need someone to look over work, just PM me, rat.

[Josh Sinsapaugh]

I once quipped that I could write a Care Bears RPG if I was assigned to it.

Why do I bring this up (and no it is not because of any alleged furry penchant)?

Well, because any topic can be made meaty... or even over meaty if there is such a term.

They're both great ideas for articles, though I think that you may find that "Nomads of Rifts" to be too broad of a topic, lest you hedge in the focus a bit.

~ Josh

[rat_bastard]

I once quipped that I could write a Care Bears RPG if I was assigned to it.

Why do I bring this up (and no it is not because of any alleged furry penchant)?

Well, because any topic can be made meaty... or even over meaty if there is such a term.

They're both great ideas for articles, though I think that you may find that "Nomads of Rifts" to be too broad of a topic, lest you hedge in the focus a bit.

~ Josh

I'm trying to make "Josh Singsapaugh is a Furry pervert" the new "We are all Jason Richards".

[Novastar]

I would love either article.

In my HU Demo, I have an Ancient Weapon Master who specializes in the bow. I also give the player carte blanche to come up with "gimmick" arrows, a la Green Arrow or Hawkeye. It'd be nice to have something to fall back on.

I do agree with Josh though; limiting it to how SDC groups of humans/D-bee's survive in Rifts, might narrow the focus down a bit. I'd probably focus it on Gypsy's in the NGR, or Vagabond's in NA...

(Or you could always make "Vagabond Uprising" into a series of articles! )

[rat_bastard]

I once quipped that I could write a Care Bears RPG if I was assigned to it.

Why do I bring this up (and no it is not because of any alleged furry penchant)?

Well, because any topic can be made meaty... or even over meaty if there is such a term.

They're both great ideas for articles, though I think that you may find that "Nomads of Rifts" to be too broad of a topic, lest you hedge in the focus a bit.

~ Josh

I'm trying to make "Josh Singsapaugh is a Furry pervert" the new "We are all Jason Richards".

I thought that was a given.

All I know is that Josh is banned from the central park zoo for life, he can't enter most pet stores either...

[rat_bastard]

I heard someone say that every single human civilization used Archery at some point in its history, but I cannot find a source on this, anybody? I felt that that would be a good starting point for an article, talking about how ubiquitous archery is. Can anybody help me with a source?

[Library Ogre]

I heard someone say that every single human civilization used Archery at some point in its history, but I cannot find a source on this, anybody? I felt that that would be a good starting point for an article, talking about how ubiquitous archery is. Can anybody help me with a source?

Not true, IIRC. I believe that the Sumerians and Babylonians, in their first go-round, were pre-archery, as were the Indus River Valley civilizations.

[Ziggurat the Eternal]

I heard someone say that every single human civilization used Archery at some point in its history, but I cannot find a source on this, anybody? I felt that that would be a good starting point for an article, talking about how ubiquitous archery is. Can anybody help me with a source?

wrong, the spatans are the only ones who didnt use archery. no, i dont consider throwing spears to be archery. that's called throwing spears.
*edit* and what the guy above me said. i would have gotten right if i really cared.

[rat_bastard]

I heard someone say that every single human civilization used Archery at some point in its history, but I cannot find a source on this, anybody? I felt that that would be a good starting point for an article, talking about how ubiquitous archery is. Can anybody help me with a source?

Not true, IIRC. I believe that the Sumerians and Babylonians, in their first go-round, were pre-archery, as were the Indus River Valley civilizations.

I can't say with certainty, but the Indus civilizations did discover bows, or learned their use from the Aryans.

the earliest arrowheads are believed to be from 50,000 BC, long before any known civilization.

[rat_bastard]

I heard someone say that every single human civilization used Archery at some point in its history, but I cannot find a source on this, anybody? I felt that that would be a good starting point for an article, talking about how ubiquitous archery is. Can anybody help me with a source?

Not true, IIRC. I believe that the Sumerians and Babylonians, in their first go-round, were pre-archery, as were the Indus River Valley civilizations.

I can't say with certainty, but the Indus civilizations did discover bows, or learned their use from the Aryans.

the earliest arrowheads are believed to be from 50,000 BC, long before any known civilization.

But where? Civilization A can have bows while Civilization B, a continent away does not have bows.

make that 25000-50000 years and in africa.

[rat_bastard]

well netflix has no documentary's on Archery (though they do have a cool one on the crusades I have not seen yet.), and the History channel sites not to detailed on the subject.

[rat_bastard]

11,000 BC - In a burial tomb in San Teodoro Cave, Sicily, a skeleton was found with a fragment of a flint arrow head embedded in the pelvis.

Arrow shafts found in Germany are dated to approx. 9,000 BC.

there is your first European archery that we know of.

[rat_bastard]

11,000 BC - In a burial tomb in San Teodoro Cave, Sicily, a skeleton was found with a fragment of a flint arrow head embedded in the pelvis.

Arrow shafts found in Germany are dated to approx. 9,000 BC.

there is your first European archery that we know of.

I was speaking as an example, not an archaeological fact. Go, hit the library, and research. Don't trust the History Channel or Wikipedia.

Did not use either for that tidbit.

[Novastar]

And note, the Spartans would have had bows available to them They may have not been their weapons of choice, but they were available.

Hence the quote, "Good. Then we will battle in the shade.", eh?

And bows were apparently around during the Trojan War too, since IIRC Paris shoots Archides with one, and Odysseus's wife's challenge to suitor's was to string his bow.

Heck, doesn't most cave art depict hunters with spears & bows?

[rat_bastard]

And note, the Spartans would have had bows available to them They may have not been their weapons of choice, but they were available.

Hence the quote, "Good. Then we will battle in the shade.", eh?

And bows were apparently around during the Trojan War too, since IIRC Paris shoots Archides with one, and Odysseus's wife's challenge to suitor's was to string his bow.

Heck, doesn't most cave art depict hunters with spears & bows?

It is more than fair to say any that any civilization that used metal used bows. Most long before they used metal.

[Novastar]

I'd say any civilization with a resilient flexible wood, and more importantly, a material that could make a good bowstring, made a bow.

At it's basis, it's really an easy, simple design. Making it more effective, is where you get inventive...

[shiiv-a]

go from throwing stones ... to using a sling to hunt for food.

who's to say that the 'spear slingers' were'nt a method of making the throw longer.

heck ... the arrow shaft might have been junior's spear once .. and some teen grabbed it to defend .. say the interest in his life .. and suddenly ... the 'mini spears' became more known ... now to have something to throw that Mini further .. would lead to the bow ... they had the bow for fire-making .. so why not explore the possibilities ...

oh dear .. did the reality lecture once again ... my bad .. sorry

[glitterboy2098]

i regards to nomads, i always figured the "wild dangerous frontier" of rifts to be the kind of overhyped scare-tales they used to tell about any place the teller doesn't have experiance with. look at the sensationalist tales about africa, south america, heck even look at the modern popular idea about downtown LA...
people hear about events that occured, and blow them out of proportion in the retelling.

so Africa gets filled with killer Gorillas, man eating lions, and hostile tribes, south america gets filled with wierd jungle anmals, man eating ants, and hostile tribes, and LA gets filled with gang wars on every street corner.


from an ecological perspective, humanity and SDC animals have little to fear from MDC animals. MDC animals would need MDC meat to survive, eating an SDC animal would be like a human trying to survive on a diet of cottoncandy. all fluff, minimal nutrition. MDC creatures need the nutrition packed into that dense MDC flesh. MDC herbivores would be eating machines, chowing down on entire trees, trunk and all, to try and keep their metabolism going on the SDC plants. so an SDC deer has little to fear from a T-rex, aside from territory issues and instinct to avoid anyting that smells like a predator.

humans only have to worry about MDC predators when they do something stupid like try to fight it off, or barge in on territory in cars and bots, making noise and scaring off the prey. and even then, it would be a case of the predator just trying to scare off the intruders, if the humans leave it wouldn't chase them. but humans tend to panic, and try to fight back, which causes the problems.


now, intellegent MDC predators are a threat. they will usually prefer MDC prey too, but will see other intellegent prey, regardless of SDC or MDC, as sport. they may not eat you, but if you put up a fight or try to run, they'll chase you down and kill you because it entertains them. if you don't, they'll likely to kill you out of spite, for ruining their fun.


the best way to survive in the wilderness is caution. get a local guide, pay attention to them, avoid following game trails, make as little noise as possible, don't leave trash or obvious tracks behind. if an animal attacks, the first thing you do is try to get away, it probably will probably stop chasing you if you don't fight back.

[Aramanthus]

That is an interesting idea GB.

[asajosh]

I heard someone say that every single human civilization used Archery at some point in its history, but I cannot find a source on this, anybody? I felt that that would be a good starting point for an article, talking about how ubiquitous archery is. Can anybody help me with a source?

Not true, IIRC. I believe that the Sumerians and Babylonians, in their first go-round, were pre-archery, as were the Indus River Valley civilizations.

I can't say with certainty, but the Indus civilizations did discover bows, or learned their use from the Aryans.

the earliest arrowheads are believed to be from 50,000 BC, long before any known civilization.

But where? Civilization A can have bows while Civilization B, a continent away does not have bows.

I think what Rat means is the fact that general human civilization is only about 11,000 years old. This is the very broad period of time when humans more or less gave up the hunter/gatherer life style and grouped together in permanent settlements. Coincidentally, this is about the same time they started writing down histories.

Edit: And some societies simply didn't develope technologies they didn't need. Like the Aztecs had amazing calendars and buildings, but no wheel. Even though they are regarded as the most technological people on the continent (prior to Eurpoean settlement), they NEVER developed a wheel. Why? No need for where they live (hard to roll around on a cart in the jungle).

[asajosh]

Something else occurs to me. A good example of a nomadic SDC society? How about the Mongles! Conquered all of Asia (from China to Europe) with the horse and bow alone! Quite a feat, considdering it has never been duplicated.

[glitterboy2098]

That is an interesting idea GB.

basically modern ecological theory and animal behaviorism applied to the Rifts enviroment. i'm no expert, but i read a lot and a layman's knowledge is sufficent to get across the idea.

even in the modern world, people don't understand animal behavior. take wolves for example. people fear wolves, they have a bloodthirsty reputation. but there has been no confirmed record of a non-rabid wolf ever attacking a human. plenty of wolf hybrids, dogs, and rabid animals, but none with wolves. some have been known to threaten humans, but only when the humans in question are tresspassing on wolf territory, threatening the wolf, or otherwise putting it on edge. normally wolves ignore humans and leave them alone.
the tales of the bloodthirty wolves seem to stem more from wolf predation on livestock in area's where humans severly reduced the natural prey animals. the wolves turn to alternate food sources, and the locals, usually being ignorant of the wolves problems, tend to assume the wolves will attack anything and the people become frightened of wolves.

this pattern can be seen everywhere humanity interacts with the animal kingdom. elephants are fairly easy going animals, but because humanity usually doesn't see them without either hunting them or travelling in large groups, encounters often result in the bulls or cows charging the people to scare off a threat. such behavior looks like an attack, not a bluff, so you get tales of dangerous animals.

or look at gorilla's. they used ot have a reputation for cannibilism, raping women, and murder, ect. none of it was true, and it took a few researchers and a long uphill struggle to prove that gorilla's are fairly gentle herbivores. sure they can be violent, but usually its a case of a dominance display that people reacted incorrectly to.

wilderness scouts in rifts, and other nomadic groups like such, would by nessescity have learned the behavior and habits of the local animals, and would know how to avoid drawing notice, how to behave when threatened, ect. this would allow them to survive in the "harsh wilderness".

[Aramanthus]

GB I knew that about wolves. As a matter of fact I have the oppportunity to talk to a person who worked on the Alaskan pipeline when it was being first constructed. He told me of an encounter he had with a wolf. The wolf approached him very gently without any sort of anger. Then very gently it took his screwdriver from his hand and ran off with it. The guy really controlled his fear, but later he was laughing about the wolf.

[glitterboy2098]

then you know what i mean. i like to use wolves and gorilla's when explaining this stuff because wolves are the classic misunderstood creature, and the gorilla is a perfect example of how reality and stories can be totally unconnected.

[Borast]

rat_bastard, both could have plenty of meat added to the bones and gristle quite successfully. In the case of the Nomads, you coud even touch on what has been previously written - specifically that most MDC preds leave humans and other SDC prey alone because they are not "energy efficient" to capture/consume ... on a regular basis! I believe it was the "Cooking" article, but could be wrong.