Hey. I primarily do Gnome or Goblin RP and most of us face limits of the world we RP in.
Do you think if scholars of Azeroth have the knowledge of cells?
And maybe even atoms?
I imagine a Gnome “priest” would be interested in researching living beings deeply but I wouldn’t want to overdo it and potentially ruin the RP.
Also, what do you think about words like “biology, physics, chemistry, computer, artificial intelligence, psychology, sociology”? I noticed NPCs avoiding these words but I’m not so sure.
With advanced natural sciences, I don’t think these are alien concepts to the general state of gnome/goblin science, just maybe using slightly different/wackier terms, and not always drawing the scientifically correct conclusions.
Psychology would be quite widespread as a field of study too - considering there’s plenty of methods, magical or otherwise, to very literally explore minds.
The closer your priest gets to uncovering Titan knowledge and technology, though, the closer it gets to contemporary/scifi science and terminology, I’d say.
If I had question like that, which I sometimes have, one thing I did was to search for the term or word on wowhead or wowpedia, to see if it was mentioned anywhere else in-game. I didn’t think many of those words you mentioned would turn anything up, but as it turns out, apparently Antonidas wrote a book called “The Contrast of Orc Tradition, Sociology, and Psychological Practices from Before and After the Second War,” so I suppose that means they’re valid fields of research.
Of course it’s hardly a definitive, absolute way of finding whether something is mentioned or referenced in the game or lore, but it’s easy enough to do and might just hold the answer.
For example, the only mention of “cells” I can find are mostly for things like power cells for mechanical things, so I think the world of microbiology is beyond the grasp of most people. Arthas knew that the Plague didn’t exactly stem from a bad smell like we did in the olden days, but I’m not sure if it was ever elaborated or remarked upon as being more than a “magical disease.” That’s not enough to know for sure they’re aware of things like microbiology, cells and so on.
You could easily play as a physician with an increased understanding of biology, anatomy and chemistry – all those things are mentioned somewhere. I actually play out my human priest as knowing a fair bit of this stuff since A: it’s more interesting than just waving a hand and wooshing things better with Light, and B: it makes sense to “conserve” healing magic for more serious damage, especially when you may treat several injuries a day.
I think the only way you’ll really “ruin” someone else’s immersion in RP is if you go around casually throwing modern medicinal knowledge about, which has been built up over hundreds and hundreds of years of research. So perhaps more interestingly, it might be fun to play out a character arguing a hypothetical theory about the existence of micro-organisms with some true facts, and equally some utterly ridiculous ideas - carrying out all sorts of zany tests that somehow prove both to be true.
I thought there might be a mention of it somewhere - if it doesn’t show up on wowhead or wowpedia as a quest item or something, chances are it might still be in quest or raid dialogue like that.
Still, that indicates at least that the Titans have some microbiology know-how (I’ve not exactly been active with BFA but I’m guessing with the “Uld-” prefix that it’s a Titan area / facility).
The question now then is is how feasible or reasonable is it for the masses of Azeroth to have access to that sort of information if it’s found anywhere else. But I suppose if there are some generic NPCs in the Uldir raid helping out, it wouldn’t be beyond the scope of possibility for some research data to get passed around certain circles of knowledge.
Rik’kal the Dissector says:
Bloodseeker, your regenerative powers fascinate me. I wonder if you would consent to a few tests.
Skeer the Bloodseeker says:
What kind of tests?
Rik’kal the Dissector says:
Just a little cellular trauma induction, maybe a few tissue samples, a session of micro-sonic deep gene-probing. Nothing terribly invasive!
If Mantid know words like “cellular trauma induction” and “gene-probing”, I’m sure your gnome can too. I mean, Klaxxi have “genemancers”.
Despite my last post, I am inclined to agree. As an avid gnome roleplayer, use made up technobabble, make it sound smart, but also make it sound like something people could vaguely understand (at least the general intention) even if they’re not scientifically literate. It doesn’t have to be scientifically accurate, since you can just argue that Goblin/Gnomish scientific conventions are just different to real life’s.
Just use it to give an entertaining story, rather than a lecture.
In terms of psychology, it is studied in lore, seems relatively new, and is called ‘Psylosophy’. Search for Nils Beerot on Wowpedia for more infomation.
Gnomes have reactors and radiation in Gnomeragon, so an understanding of the atom and nuclear physics is implied there. The alchemists of the Scourge and the Forsaken, with their labs and strange concoctions suggest theres an advanced level of chemistry/biology knowledge in the world. The Raptor experiments in Azshara along with Grong show that theres at least some knowledge of genetics and neurology, respectively.
Comclusion: Science! seems pretty advanced in the WoW setting. Go wild with it if you want, its been this strange and out there since day 1. In terms of names, only one that seems solid is psychology -> psylosophy. Otherwise just add ‘zap’, ‘tronic’ or other Science! words into the mix.
seems pretty advanced in the WoW setting. Go wild with it if you want, its been this strange and out there since day 1. In terms of names, only one that seems solid is psychology -> psylosophy. Otherwise just add ‘zap’, ‘tronic’ or other Science!