Indoor "Outhouses"

[ravells]

Heh I was going off memory and the last time I saw Young Frankenstein was about 25 years ago!

[RPMiller]

You know its out on DVD? As soon as I saw it I went out and snatched one up. A definite classic to have in the old movie library.

[Valarian]

Although, all this said, we are talking about Fantasy RPGs rather than real life medieval. Fantasy settings are basically a sanitised and idealised take on medieval / renaissance life. Disease, lack of sanitation, the sheer smelliness, the presence of fleas on virtually everyone and general lack of personal hygiene, the utterly back-breaking, hard life that rural peasants led, the almost universal lack of literacy and numeracy, the fact that it was not uncommon to step over the dead bodies of children in city streets in 18th Century London....the list goes on and on.

While this is true of the mundane world, the high magical element of most Fantasy settings could alleviate many of the sanitation issues common in the medieval environment. Thus, not only using the technologies used by the Romans you can also have more modern appliances run using magical means.

The toilet could flush (Create Water) the contents of your toilet down the waste (Dimension Door) to the city midden. Once a month, the content of the midden is disposed of (Disintegrate). Of course, this would be expensive and only prosperous cities could afford such luxuries. Smaller settlements would have to opt for more manual means of waste disposal.

Dishwashers: a cupboard where you place your dirty crockery and conjured water elementals clean the dishes for you.

The magical element would also alleviate disease. If Clerics are common, then even the most poor settlements would have access to magical cures (Cure Wounds, Remove Disease). If magic is more rare, then the supply and demand means that only richer patrons get magical assistance. Response units of clerics travel to famine stricken regions to supply Create Food and Water spells to aid the populace. Get arcane mages involved too and you can have a rapid response unit (Clairvoyance and Teleport). Even disabilities such as blindness and deafness can be cured through magic if the person can afford the services. Some states could have high taxes, but the equivalent of a national health service (using Clerics).

[ravells]

I don't know. It would be a brave fantasy author who would use mages as glorified Dyna-rod staff. Kind of kills the image of magic being something arcane and wonderful.

The juxtaposition of faeces and magic is just...well doesn't work for me!

Ravs

[Naryt]

I don't know. It would be a brave fantasy author who would use mages as glorified Dyna-rod staff. Kind of kills the image of magic being something arcane and wonderful.

The juxtaposition of faeces and magic is just...well doesn't work for me!

Ravs

Apprentices/students need some form of useful work.

Besides, I would see these "conveniences" as enchanted items. There may be some ignominy in enchanting a self-cleaning chamber pot but it's still enchantment work and those students have to practice on something. As far as cleaning the castle cesspit, enchant the entire cistern so it does the hard labor but require it to need a magician's touch to power it. Detention anyone?

[RPMiller]

And he did say a "high magic" setting.

[ravells]

I just have visions of the apprentice wizard extending his telescopic staff and plunging down a pipe to clear the blockage.

In my adventures these calls of nature are just 'assumed and never get mentioned'. Gosh this thread really has, er.... run and run.

[RPMiller]

That is the way it is most of the time in mine as well. However, you miss some great opportunities when a member has to step away for a moment and is separated from the party. One such instance happened in a CoC game, where a demon was killing party members and stealing their skin and rejoining the party. The PC would step away, and the GM would take them to the other room and "kill them" and give them instructions on how they were to not work for the GM. Big fun! Unfortunately he made the mistake of taking the allied prisoners instead of the Japanese and German officers who were holding the guns.

[Lwaxana]

There are games where going potty isn't mentioned? Really? ) Never saw one of those. One of my players has a character who owns a magical chamberpot even (which actually dumbs it's contents on whoever last insulted him).

In our current world, plumbing (and other "modern" stuff) is available but limited, and lots of it is done with magic. but we usually have the potty outside unless it is in castles, large inns or the wizard academy.

[RPMiller]

Hehehe, plumbed from the depths, this thread was.

Thanks Lwaxana, it is good to know that their are others in the RPG world that take this idea into account.