Domestic Conveniences

Merely being a primitive doesn’t make one uncivilized… well, it can, but it doesn’t mean a lack of desire for comfort. Pleasant temperatures, a nice place to sleep, and a safe place to keep things were as important to wandering tribesmen and feudal warlords as they are to us.

Prior to the refrigeration and efficient furnaces of the industrial age, cooling and heating mostly worked on an individual level.

Brazier (TL1). A footed metal dish in which coals can burn, with a handle or a chain for easy transport. Can be used for cooking, and will raise the temperature of a small room (up to 100 square feet) by 5°F. $65, 3 lbs.

Warming Pan (TL2). An almost entirely enclosed brazier with a long handle. The pan is slid under bedcovers, and the coals within slowly combust through the night, keeping the bed warm. While used primarily for comfort, it allows a bed to qualify as a “heated suit” for the purpose of resisting cold; see Cold (p. B430). $80, 4 lbs.

Water Jug (TL0). An unglazed earthenware jug (see Containers and Storage, p. 34) filled with water slowly loses water to the outer surface, where it evaporates, carrying away heat and cooling the vessel. Water kept in unglazed jugs loses 5% of its weight per day to evaporation, but grants +1 to Survival (Desert) and Survival (Jungle).

Fan (TL1). Folding fans, constructed of wooden slats, or wood with a fabric or paper web, are a convenient way of providing oneself with a light breeze. $10, 0.25 lb.

Parasol (TL2). This collapsible canopy-on-a-stick provides complete protection from sunburn (p. B434). Parasols existed in China by 1000 B.C., and were adopted around the Mediterranean a few centuries later. One-yard-diameter parasol of wood and plain cloth: $12, 3 lbs. Double cost and halve weight for bamboo and silk. In either case, multiply cost and weight by four for a two-yard-diameter parasol, usually held by one person to shelter another.

All of these light sources are precarious: Roll 3d if one is dropped, exposed to strong wind, or carried faster than Move 3. On 12 or less, it goes out! Exceptions are noted.

Oil Lamp (TL0). Oil lamps burn for 24 hours on a pint of fuel. The earliest designs, available by 38,000 B.C., were stone or pottery bowls with a notch to hold the wick. Such lamps were completely open, and prone to spilling if moved quickly. If knocked over, they burn for a second before going out, doing 1d-3 burn damage to the surface onto which they’re spilled. On a dry surface, this may be enough to start a real fire! $10, 4 lbs. At TL2, classical pottery lamps became completely enclosed, with a spout to hold a wick: $20, 2 lbs.

Torch (TL0). A bundle of rushes, providing an hour of light: $3, 1 lb. An improved version – dipped in pitch – burns for twice as long and won’t go out if carried at a run: $7, 1 lb.

Candle (TL2). Burns for 12 hours. Tallow candles are smoky, and burn with a distinct odor: $5, 1 lb. Beeswax burns with a minimum of smoke and smell: $9, 1 lb.

Covered Lantern (TL2). An oil lamp (as above), but with the flame protected by thin sheets of translucent bone (or glass, at late TL3). Doesn’t go out in a strong wind or if moved quickly. $40, 2.5 lbs.

Although furniture could be massive, fragile, or otherwise made for stationary use, these examples are designed for portability.

Collapsible Bed (TL1). A substantial wooden bed frame held together by pegs, which can be removed for rapid dismantling. Mattresses are supported by a network of ropes, which must be tied across the frame. $560, 195 lbs.

X-Frame Chair (TL1). One of the earliest forms of portable furniture was the X-frame chair: a folding wooden frame with a cloth or leather seat, essentially identical to a modern folding director’s chair. $70, 30 lbs.

X-Frame Table (TL1). Similar to an X-frame chair, but larger, and with neither arms nor back. A 3’¥3’ table, seating at least four: $200, 75 lbs.

Low-tech bedding – particularly cheap bedding – is notorious for providing homes to fleas, mice, and other vermin. In addition to offering an uncomfortable night’s sleep, old bedclothes, mattresses, and pillows may spread disease (see Contagion, p. B443).

Headrest (TL0). Some societies use carved wooden headrests instead of pillows. $8, 3 lbs.

Mattress (TL0). Low-tech mattresses resemble modern quilts more than they do modern mattresses. Wealthy folk layer several for greater comfort! Cheap mattress for one person, made from reeds stuffed into a cloth sack, or from woven straw (like a Japanese tatami): $60, 16 lbs. Fine feather mattress: $850, 30 lbs.

Blanket (TL1). For one person: $20, 4 lbs.

Hammock (TL1). Mayan rope hammocks were light, portable bedding, perfect for hot climates but very uncomfortable in the cold: $15, 3 lbs. Old World hammocks used solid cloth sheets instead of open nets: $22, 4 lbs.

Pillow (TL1). Coarse, straw-filled cushion: $5, 1 lb. Top-quality feather pillow: $70, 2 lbs.

Sheets (TL1). Fine but relatively light cloth to cover a bed. For one person: $35, 2 lbs.

The vessels in the Containers Table (below) are appropriate for long-term storage and transport. They come with hinged lids, stoppers, or other covers, as appropriate. Weights are in pounds.

Cloth bags have DR 0, are Fragile (Combustible) (p. B136), and neither take damage from nor protect contents from crushing attacks. They can carry roughly 0.5 oz. of weight per cubic inch of capacity, or 55 lbs. per cubic foot.

Earthenware jars have DR 1 and are Fragile (Brittle) (p. B136). Porcelain vessels have triple cost. Either type can carry about 1.5 oz. of weight per cubic inch, or 160 lbs. per cubic foot. Glass bottles have DR 1 and are Fragile (Brittle). They can carry as much weight as earthenware jars.

Leather pouches have DR 2 and can carry around 0.75 oz. of weight per cubic inch, or 83 lbs. per cubic foot, but otherwise have the same characteristics as cloth bags.

Metal boxes have DR 3. Prices assume iron (TL2). Bronze (TL1) has quadruple cost. Either type can hold approximately 2 oz. of weight per cubic inch, or 215 lbs. per cubic foot.

Wicker baskets have DR 0, are Fragile (Combustible), and neither take damage from nor protect contents from crushing attacks. Their loose, open weave is unsuitable for holding grain, soil, or anything else that could easily run out. They can carry as much weight as leather pouches.

Wooden boxes/barrels have DR 0 and are Fragile (Combustible). They can carry as much weight as earthenware jars.

A container’s buyer may specify minor features for free. For example, a glass or earthenware vessel may have a flared neck, handles, or a pointed bottom (which acts as both a handle and a stand that sinks into soft ground) for easier carrying. Large chests intended for sea voyages typically have short legs or casters, or simply sides that project as much as an inch below the bottom, to help keep the bottom dry and extend the chest’s life.

Other options cost extra:

Compartmentalized: Containers may be given internal compartments (pockets in cloth or leather, dividers in wooden boxes, etc.). This lets someone familiar with the container’s contents find items in less time. Light compartmentalization reduces search times by 10%: +10% weight and +0.25 CF. Heavy compartmentalization reduces search times by 25%: +20% weight and +0.5 CF.

Locked: Wooden and metal containers may have locks (pp. 120-121); add the lock’s cost to the container’s final, modified cost.

Reinforced: Weight can be increased by up to 500%, increasing maximum load by the same percentage. Find HP from the higher weight (see p. B558). CF is 1/100 the added weight percentage, up to +5 CF at +500%.

Waterproof: Waterproof wooden barrels became available at TL2: +100% weight and +3 CF. Completely waterproof pottery vessels – stoneware or glazed earthenware – have +1 CF; porcelain is waterproof without modification. Wicker baskets can have a tighter weave that’s waterproof for 30 minutes: +50% weight and +1 CF.

Whether one is taking a rest between moments of danger or skulking through a home during a black op, the most mundane items can sometimes prove important.

The “Ice Revolution” begins at TL5. Ice cut from ponds, lakes, and rivers is buried under sawdust and kept in icehouses throughout the warm season. In the 19th century, ice-cooled freight cars transported meat by rail to New England from packing plants in Chicago – a common market for rangy Texas longhorns fresh from the cattle drive.

This is a profitable business. The Ice King, Frederic Tudor, shipped thousands of tons of ice from Boston to Charleston and New Orleans – and later to Havana, Calcutta, and Singapore. He secured low freight rates by offering the ice as ballast to ship owners. “Ice speculator” would be an excellent cover for the globetrotting adventurer at TL5.

At TL5, home refrigeration means an icebox of heavy oak, with sawdust and/or a zinc-lined container as insulation. Initially an appliance of the rich, the icebox is common among the middle class by TL6. Door-to-door ice deliveries by wagon are a colorful part of the American landscape until the late 1940s.

The refrigerator gradually replaces the icebox through the second half of TL6. The first “electric icebox” is a big hit, but pricey: in 1925, it cost more than a Ford Model T! Cutting-edge TL8 fridges are “smart,” capable of tracking their contents and ordering replacements over the Internet.

Ice (TL0). At TL5, transportation and storage make harvested ice expensive: $5 a pound. At TL6, mechanically produced ice is much cheaper: $0.05 a pound.

Icebox (TL5). Holds 50 lbs. of ice. Has 3 cubic feet of storage space plus an internal 2-gallon water cooler. A 25-lb. block of ice will last 2-4 days, depending on the temperature. DR 2. $300, 140 lbs. LC4.

Refrigerator (TL6). Holds 9 cubic feet. Includes the newfangled “freezer” for making ice cubes. DR 2. $3,000, 400 lbs., external power. LC4.

Refrigerator (TL8). Holds 20 cubic feet. Has a freezer, ice maker, and water tap. DR 2. $800, 200 lbs., external power. LC4.

At TL5, the cook stove burns wood, is made of heavy cast iron (at least 1/4”), and uses a surprisingly sophisticated arrangement of baffles and louvers to manage air flow, thereby regulating heat and reducing fuel consumption. A night’s fuel is an armload of wood; cooking a meal requires only a log or two. In warmer regions, the stove may not reside in the home – the kitchen is often an outbuilding, for both comfort and safety.

The surface of a cast-iron stove gets hot – red hot. Somebody falling on a hot stove (or held there by a couple of thugs) can get a serious burn. Depending on the temperature, this inflicts from 1d-1 to 2d burn damage per second. Of course, the same is true of the burners and heating elements of modern stoves.

At TL6, kerosene, natural gas, and electric stoves take over. At TL7, microwave ovens come on the scene. The first are water-cooled, refrigerator-sized behemoths, used only in institutional settings – but by TL8, almost every home kitchen has a microwave oven.

Cast-Iron Cook Stove (TL5). A box or “pot-bellied” stove. The stovepipe is fitted with a small baking oven or a waterheating jacket. DR 12. $200, 250 lbs. LC4.

Electric Range (TL6). Three or four burners and an oven. DR 2. $500, 150 lbs., external power. LC4.

Gas Range (TL6). A large oven and six burners, connected to neighborhood gas lines. DR 6. $750, 400 lbs. LC4.

Barbecue Grill (TL7). Henry Ford and Thomas Edison developed charcoal briquettes, which were sold at Ford dealerships until the 1950s. Gas grills (x2 cost) are more common at TL8, and use propane tanks. $75, 30 lbs. LC4.

Microwave (TL7). A heavy-duty institutional model does 1 HP per second to things placed inside it, such as severed zombie hands and annoying little purring furballs. DR 1. $500, 100 lbs., external power. LC4.

Halve the weight of these appliances at TL7-8.

Blender (TL6). A blender can make margaritas and quickly mince a hand (1d-3 cut per second). $50, 4 lbs., external power. LC4.

Coffee Maker (TL6). A pot of scalding coffee does 1d-3 burn. $10, 5 lbs., external power. LC4.

Hotplate (TL6). Does 1d-3 burn to a hand pressed to it. Useful for lab experiments! $20, 8 lbs., external power. LC4.

Toaster (TL6). Does 1d-3 burn to a hand trapped in it. Later models pop up and automatically switch off (rigging one as a time-delay trigger requires a Traps roll). $30, 10 lbs., external power. LC4.

Vacuum Cleaner (TL6). Helpful for collecting specimens, cleaning up alien spores, etc. $200, 20 lbs., external power. LC4.

Waffle Iron (TL6). Damage is as for a hotplate. Handy for making soles for athletic shoes, too. $30, 5 lbs., external power. LC4.

Washing Machine (TL6). Scrubs 10 outfits an hour. Gadgeteers often scavenge the useful motor. $1,000, 250 lbs., external power. LC4.