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Classic comic reruns every day
<   No. 2733   2010-07-21   >

Comic #2733

1 Kyros: All right. Here goes. Rock... Move!
2 Alvissa: Sunlight! You did it! You opened a passage to the surface!
3 Dwalin: See, thus is why dwarves dinnae go in for magic.
4 Alvissa: Huh? I'd think the ability to move rock would be useful for an underground race.
4 Dwalin: It'd put thoosands o' miners oot o' work!

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It seems to be a common thing that technological progress and labour-saving devices and methods are opposed because they'd put people out of work. It's a theme you don't see explored so much in fantasy settings, where magic has the potential to displace enormous numbers of workers.


2025-04-13 Rerun commentary: This makes this a good idea for a fictional setting, either for stories or for a game world.

Imagine a society where all of the menial jobs like farming and mining and making bread and horseshoes and beer are done by magic. People can devote their time to study and invention, or to art. Or to learning magic. Everyone is middle class or higher, in contrast to the usual pseudo-medieval societies that are built on the backs of a downtrodden peasant class.

There'd probably be more adventurers too!

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