51
votes
Why would mechs be used in underwater combat but not on land?
Heat
Mechs are inefficient temperature-wise, being submerged in water helps them dissipate heat quickly, which allows them to operate longer than few minutes on land before overheating
- 471
45
votes
Which geographic areas within an empire produce the best soldiers?
It isn't Based On Geography... Usually
The idea that a particular country/region (always somewhere inhospitable to most people so as to breed "hard men") is pretty much a lie. The best ...
- 451
42
votes
Could a Roman Empire style civilization exist without slavery?
The necessary labor could be drawn from multiple sources:
The incarcerated - hard labor as part of a sentence for a convicted criminal is not a new concept, and it's one that operated for centuries. ...
- 2,316
42
votes
Why would mechs be used in underwater combat but not on land?
There are a few reasons not to use mechs on land, with one of the main ones being that the joints are unable to support the weight of the body if the mech is too large. For details see
Plausible ...
- 888
35
votes
How can I prevent semi-independent royal families from rebelling against the empire?
If I remember correctly, in ancient Japan all the daiymios had to send their sons to reside in the Shogun's castle, where they were held as hostages, as a warranty for the underling's fidelity. The ...
- 301k
35
votes
Accepted
Which geographic areas within an empire produce the best soldiers?
Do you need warriors or soldiers?
The key ingredient of a warrior is bravery. The key ingredient of a soldier is discipline. One against one, the warrior might win. One thousand against one thousand, ...
- 120k
34
votes
Could a Roman Empire style civilization exist without slavery?
I'm going for a definitive YES
Contrary to what one could think - and apparently, most users in SE think - slavery is bad for the economy. Slavery is the worst form of unequality, and it gives way to ...
- 8,842
34
votes
Accepted
How could a imperial dynasty keep a loose collection of pirates, raiders, etc unified?
There is a problem with raiders. They don't build.
Some historians used the label Gunpowder Empire for an empire where only the central government had the means to produce siege guns and the vast ...
- 120k
33
votes
Could The Spartan Discipline Work on Larger Nations?
Spartan citizens could afford spending years and years on full time military training only because they had a large base of workers/slaves gained with the Messenian wars, who replaced them in all but ...
- 301k
33
votes
Ways to keep a fantasy cold war between dragons and knight sorcerers cold?
Distance - the intervening mountain range, swamp, or near barren grasslands make logistics of open war extremely impractical
Attitude - it just isn't worth the trouble unless they bother us first
...
- 589
27
votes
Accepted
What is the safest and most extravagant place for an interstellar emperor to make his palace?
Think about the purpose of a Royal Palace:
It's NOT to impress the Emperor of their lackeys.
It's to impress the Emperor's potential enemies when they drop by for a chat. I'm so rich and powerful ...
- 28.9k
25
votes
Why would mechs be used in underwater combat but not on land?
They are too heavy to go on land.
These mechs have seriously thick armor. The weight of this metal is balanced by gas filled spaces. The underwater mechs are neutrally buoyant. Because of their ...
- 306k
24
votes
Accepted
Could a Roman Empire style civilization exist without slavery?
I actually think it could, but it would need some very good reason to not have slavery. As others have noted forced labor has been a major factor in civilization. And this is kind of inevitable as the ...
- 43.3k
24
votes
Ways to keep a fantasy cold war between dragons and knight sorcerers cold?
One means to keeping a cold war going is the two antagonistic sides having the means of mutually assured destruction. These two empires could go to full-out war with each, but in the end, at best, one ...
- 3,227
23
votes
Accepted
Could mass production of guns be possible by slaves?
In that time period, firearms (and every other complex product) were handcrafted by an artisan. It was certainly possible to train slaves as artisans, but you had to treat them nearly as well as free ...
- 2,599
21
votes
Why does my island nation start building bridges?
For the same reason why the British filled in the Braye du Valle in Guernsey in the Channel Islands. its a lot easier to defend
Historical Example: the Braye du Valle
The Channel Island of Guernsey ...
- 8,500
21
votes
How Much is Too Much Land for One Province?
This...is a very big question to answer. To start, let's look at some history.
Rome divvied up their empire into provinces, but they kept changing them and redrawing them--as of AD 14, it looked like ...
- 10.9k
20
votes
How can I make money work across separate planets?
I'm going to go against the grain and suggest that not only is it impractical, but it's actually a bad idea to have a common currency across a single planet, let alone a single solar system.
...
- 54.2k
20
votes
Ways to keep a fantasy cold war between dragons and knight sorcerers cold?
One way would be to introduce a third party. It's neutral towards both the dragons and the knights, and it wouldn't stand a chance if it went to war with either of them.
But if both the dragons and ...
- 2,489
19
votes
Could a Roman Empire style civilization exist without slavery?
Slave labour is not necessarily required, but some form of forced labour is
I think it depends on what you mean by slavery. Although some will say this is hairy splitting, I say given the nature of ...
- 38.4k
18
votes
Imperial Kingdoms?
Canonical example
The Holy Roman Empire (HRE) endured for about one thousand years, from the 9th (debatable), certainly from the 10th, to the 19th century. It was a loose confederation of countless ...
- 97.8k
18
votes
Ways to keep a fantasy cold war between dragons and knight sorcerers cold?
Mutually Assured Destruction
Yes, it worked for Earth, it should work for your world.
The main difference is that the means for destruction are asymmetric in your case.
I'll assume for the question ...
- 22.4k
18
votes
Accepted
What drastic changes would occur if an architect went to ancient times
If Ray survives and prospers, it won't be because he's an architect.
Ray is a world-renowned 21st century architect. He is used to designing buildings using concrete rebar, steel, glass. He's used ...
- 9,222
18
votes
Accepted
Could an empire rise by economic power?
Yes: the Athenian Empire is one such example
A Hegemony is an alliance or confederation where a single state holds all of the practical power and say-so. A Hegemony is not formed by conquest, but ...
- 105k
17
votes
Could an empire control the whole planet with today's comunication methods?
Yes... and no...
Is today's communication fast enough and capable enough to manage a planetary empire? Absolutely. The Internet alone could do it.
That's not your problem. Let me suggest a frame ...
- 132k
17
votes
Could an empire rise by economic power?
It's a sort of chicken and egg problem: to fuel an army, you need a supporting economy, and to defend a strong economy you need a supporting army.
So, yes, economic strength is a good starting point ...
- 301k
16
votes
Could a Roman Empire style civilization exist without slavery?
Yes.
Have you ever watched 300? Do you remember the bad guys in that movie, with the scary huge army and spooky masks? Well, it turns out they weren't so bad, after all.
The largest empire in our ...
- 191
16
votes
Why would mechs be used in underwater combat but not on land?
Underwater mechas are already in use
There are many tasks which need to be performed by workers working underwater; tightening bolts on pipelines for example.
People don't do well underwater, because ...
- 97.8k
16
votes
Accepted
How can an interstellar empire prevent its subjects from obtaining advanced computer technology?
You can't just make modern computers in your garage
Manufacturing modern microchips is a very big and expensive operation to get off the ground, and requires a unique set of niche tools and skills to ...
- 105k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible