Cultural Level

This is regarding an unofficial conversion of another RPG to GURPS

Table

Cultural Level	Approximate Year Range	Rough GURPS TL	Approximate start date	Related GURPS books
Stone Age	10000-5000 BCE	TL0	Prehistory and later	Classic: Ice Age; GURPS Low-Tech
Bronze Age	5000-2500 BCE	TL1	3500 BCE+	Classic: Greece; GURPS Low-Tech
Iron Age	2500-1 BCE	TL2	1200 BCE+	Classic: Imperial Rome; GURPS Low-Tech
"Classical"	1-500 CE	TL2	1200 BCE+	Classic: Camelot; Classic: Middle Ages 1; GURPS Low-Tech
Dark Age	500-800 CE	TL2 to TL3	600 CE+	Classic: Camelot; Classic: Middle Ages 1; GURPS Low-Tech
Early Medieval	800-1200 CE	TL3	600 CE+	Classic: Middle Ages 1; GURPS Low-Tech
Medieval	1200-1400 CE	TL3	600 CE+	Classic: Middle Ages 1; GURPS Low-Tech
Chivalric	1400-1550 CE	TL3 to TL4	600 CE+; 1450+	Classic: Middle Ages 1; GURPS Low-Tech; GURPS High-Tech
Renaissance	1550-1700 CE	TL4 to TL5	1450+; 1730+	GURPS High-Tech
"Masque of the Red Death" Ravenloft	1890's	TL5-6	1730+; 1880+	GURPS High-Tech

Errors

The comment that Classical separates the old world of primitive cultures from the more advanced, medieval societies stems from a popular misconception about the progression of technology. Shows like Connections (1978) as well as GURPS itself showed that such a view was incorrect. There is gross misinformation about what is in these Cultural levels as well.

Bronze Age

• "The concept of locks and keys, for example, has not yet been hit upon."

In reality the oldest known lock dates to c. 4000 BCE

• "The most advanced form of armor generally found in these places is studded leather, so those who wear any form of mail will be markedly out of place."

This is only because Iron Age is set 1300 years earlier than it actually occured. By the time the iron age actually stated (c. 1300 BCE) Helmets, Armor, and Shields made of Bronze had appeared

See Also

• List of Domains of Dread

References

• Ravenloft: Domains of Dread (1997) pg 20-22