TL2 (The Iron Age)

TL2 (The Iron Age) started somewhere between 1200 BCE and 600 B.C.

Generally TL1 (The Bronze Age) proceeds this and TL3 (The Middle Ages) comes after.

General Developments

Note: these are a combination of the material in the Basic Set and GURPS Low-Tech

• Signature Technology: Iron; Geometry; Scrolls
• Transportation: Saddle; roads; triremes
• Weapons and Armor: Iron weapons; iron armor (including mail); siege engines
  • War: Cavalry; war elephants; phalanx warfare; mechanical artillery; specialized war galleys
• Power: Horses; water wheels
• Biotechnology/Medicine: Bleeding the sick; chemical remedies.
• Other Technologies: Riding horses and mounted herdsmen; concrete; large glass objects; arches, vaults, and domes; theoretical mathematics; humoral medicine
• Social Organization: Multiethnic empires; founding of universal religions; philosophy; historical scholarship; coinage

Worlds of TL2

• The world of Orichalcum and its Athenian-Atlantean war is primarily TL1/TL2 (with some Atlantean tech at TL4)
• The cursed world of Nergal is entering a new Ice Age among TL2/TL3, and the Patrol is unsure why.
• A few Gotha Parallels

Magical Settings at this TL

• Classic: Imperial Rome: "The religious beliefs of Rome at its height can support either spell-based magic or ritual magic." Magic items are the product of gods and spirits.
• Roma Arcana: A roman empire with magic and where arcane and divine power are at odds with each other.

Related Material

• TL
• TL2 Armor
• TL2 Equipment
• TL2 Weapons
• Iron Age (Wikipedia)

References

• GURPS Low-Tech