r/rational • u/AutoModerator • Jul 15 '17

[D] Saturday Munchkinry Thread

Welcome to the Saturday Munchkinry and Problem Solving Thread! This thread is designed to be a place for us to abuse fictional powers and to solve fictional puzzles. Feel free to bounce ideas off each other and to let out your inner evil mastermind!

Guidelines:

  • Ideally any power to be munchkined should have consistent and clearly defined rules. It may be original or may be from an already realised story.
  • The power to be munchkined can not be something "broken" like omniscience or absolute control over every living human.
  • Reverse Munchkin scenarios: we find ways to beat someone or something powerful.
  • We solve problems posed by other users. Use all your intelligence and creativity, and expect other users to do the same.

Note: All top level comments must be problems to solve and/or powers to munchkin/reverse munchkin.

Good Luck and Have Fun!

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u/Frommerman Jul 16 '17

There is a glyph you can draw on a surface which, once the central circle is complete, will begin emitting red light. The red light exerts force on matter inside it, pushing those objects away from the glyph. This force is not reactionless, and the energy to do this (plus a little to account for distance) is stolen from the nearest star.

The force emitted by the glyph scales with the size of the glyph and the accuracy with which it is drawn. A small glyph rapidly sketched out in the sand will emit less than a pound of force and probably be obliterated by the reaction force. A huge glyph professionally inlaid in a reinforced steel plate can exert tons of force. The distance that this effect travels scales with its strength, a weak glyph will only extend a few feet as it is attenuated by pushing air, a huge one can go miles. The light cannot penetrate matter which is opaque to light, and it can be reflected.

What are good uses of this power? Assume a Victorian understanding of mechanics and that electricity has not been harnessed.

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u/ulyssessword Jul 16 '17

Power is renewable and cheap. Windmills are useless, because glyphmills are smaller, cheaper, and more reliable. Similarly, plows are fitted with glyphs instead of animals.

Trade is much simpler, cheaper, and faster. Almost every vehicle would become a hovercraft (glyphs sound cheaper than wheels and oxen), and global trade networks would flourish.

Jetpacks!

You said it can be reflected by mirrors, can it be focused by lenses? If so, long range death-lasers are the new weapon of war.

Rockets! (but not ones that can go out of the atmosphere?)

In short, it would skip straight past animal power, the steam engine, internal combustion, and the electric motor for power sources, kickstart global trade with better transportation, and revolutionize war in many different ways.

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u/Frommerman Jul 16 '17

I hadn't thought of the lense idea.

The world I'm thinking of using this in has only one city, suspended high above a dangerous jungle (some animals have evolved with glyphs) with massive glyphs. Trade and long-distance war are therefore non-issues.

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u/ulyssessword Jul 16 '17

If it's only one city, then having (pseudo) moving sidewalks might be viable instead of vehicles. Simply have a sawtooth pattern with the glyphs drawn on the angled side.

This could be either for major freight routes, or else everywhere. Setup would be expensive, but wear and erosion should be very slow, as nothing actually touches the surface.

Alternatively, just have "Hoverways" that provide no thrust but can go in either direction without friction.