TECHNOLOGY LEVELS
Technology Levels arbitrarily divide the history of a setting into ages or eras based on technological developments or the rise and fall of civilizations with similar technological bases.
Technology Levels place the following in perspective within a setting:
☐ TECHNOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES
What technological achievements have been made so far?
☐ TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS
What technological achievements are in development?
☐ TECHNOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS
What technological achievements remain to be discovered in the future?
| TL | TECHNOLOGY LEVEL | FANTASY/HISTORICAL SETTINGS |
|---|---|---|
| -10 | Prehistoric | Before fire |
| -9 | Stone Age | Paleolithic Age |
| Ice Ages | ||
| -8 | Bronze Age | Ancient Egyptian |
| Ancient Greek | ||
| Ancient Chinese | ||
| Ancient Indian | ||
| -7 | Iron Age | Ancient Greek |
| Ancient Roman | ||
| -6 | Middle Ages ~500-1400AD | Medieval |
| TL | TECHNOLOGY LEVEL | MODERN SETTINGS |
| -5 | Renaissance ~1400-1500 | Shakespearean |
| -4 | Age of Sail / Exploration ~1500-1760 | Swashbuckling Pirates |
| -3 | Industrial Revolution ~1760-1914 | Old West 1780-1920's |
| Horror 1890's-1920's | ||
| -2 | World War I and II ~1914-1945 | Pulp 1920's-1930's |
| -1 | Atomic / Nuclear / Space Age ~1946-1970's | Atomic Age Horror 1945-1970's |
| Superhero Era 1940's-1970's | ||
| Espionage Era 1940's-1980's | ||
| Space Age 1960s-1980s | ||
| 0 | Information Age ~1970s-2020s (Now) | Modern |
| Modem-punk 1980s- | ||
| Modern Conspiracy 1990s- | ||
| Modern Horror 1990s- | ||
| TL | TECHNOLOGY LEVEL | FUTURISTIC SETTINGS |
| +1 | Synthetic Age (Biological / Intelligence) ~2020-2199 | Near Future |
| Cyberpunk | ||
| +2 | Stellar Age ~2100+ | Conquest of the Solar System |
| Trans-humanist | ||
| After the Apocalypse (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical, Technological, Ecological) | ||
| +3 | Slower-Than-Light Interstellar Age | Generation Ships |
| Solar Sailing | ||
| Ram-scoops | ||
| +4 | Mass-less Faster-Than-Light (Communication) | Moving energy/information only above c |
| +5 | Mass Faster-Than-Light (Travel) | Moving energy/information and mass above c |
| +6 | Faster-Than-Light Interstellar Age | Interstellar Expansion |
| Post-Scarcity | ||
| Galactic Federation | ||
| +7 | Galactic Age | Decadent Interstellar |
| Galactic Empires | ||
| +8 | Extra-galactic Age | |
| +9 | Near Ascendance | Limited mass/energy conversion and control |
| Interstellar superstructures | ||
| +10 | Post-Ascendance | Total mass/energy conversion or control |
From the Stellar Age (TL+2) onward, multiple technology levels become possible within the setting as different distant locations diverge in their technological capabilities and social conventions.