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Or, at least, modern-ish-izing.
So, I've been working on fast-forwarding my homebrew campaign setting (not fully updated in a while) as a maybe/maybe-not one-shot wherein the main cast is taken roughly 14,000 years into the world's future.
The main difference that I've come up with to this point is that with the rate of population growth, arcology living will almost certainly be essential. For what I mean by arcology, think Megacity One from Judge Dredd. Massive conapts, basically.
I'm planning on keeping both divine and arcane magic, adding a thick coat of steam-punk science (Airships! Magnetic guns! SCIENCE!) and then sprinkling in bits of other elements of modern life.
Gnomes have returned through PC action, and I expect that they'll play a pretty big part in the future of the world. Somewhere between Krynnish tinkers and the Gnome fighter-pilots from Top Ballista!
Elves will probably have recovered a chunk of their antebellum lifespan.
Humans will be a much larger part of the population.
Dwarves will probably still be more of the agricultural hippyish sorts, bucking against modernization and wanting to maintain the balance of nature in a post-industrial era.
Halflings will still want to trade people out of their pants.
Orcs will still have a stick up their posteriors, though after mixing with their Spelljamming kin there will likely be a schism of those seeking to return to their Pre-Tinrisian roots.
There will almost certainly be a massive population of 'non-native' species from Planar and Wildspace influx directly proceeding the current era of play.
But really, what I'm looking for with this post is... what would really change in a fantasy world gone modern that still has active magic on which the Gods still routinely interact with the mortals in a direct fashion?
Thoughts?
*brainstorming*
druids are pissed because the arcologies mess up the flow of ley lines, thus making all the fey insane.
I had a (smallish) bit of this in my pbp; the spriggans are all crazy due to ley line disruptions.
um.....
necromancy for industrial/agricultural labor is a major political flashpoint.
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*brainstorming*
druids are pissed because the arcologies mess up the flow of ley lines, thus making all the fey insane.
I had a (smallish) bit of this in my pbp; the spriggans are all crazy due to ley line disruptions.um.....
necromancy for industrial/agricultural labor is a major political flashpoint.
Ooh, I like the way you think! Thank you!
re: spelljamming....
I'd even have the ship christened "Enterprise" for good measure.
I'd even be sorely tempted to go League of Extraordinary Gentlemen on them and have Martian tripods invade.
Arcology "apartments" where rooms are linked by teleport gates, so the breakfast nook is in the tropics, the kitchen is on a mountain top, the living room is on top of a giant tree, the bathroom is in a swamp, etc. etc.
Teleport gates used for the acquisition of raw materials (elemental water, wood, sugar, stone) and fuel (fire, air), as well as waste removal.
Undead, construct, and summoned outsider servant classes. Most of society is a ghettoized leisure class, possibly addicted to illusionary gladitorial matches and pornography.
The ability to use magic jar to "rent" bodies and neat experiences, and possibly used as a way to "buff" soldiers (human in a dragon, golem, roc, purple worm, griffon, angel, naga, etc., body).
Anti-magic specialists in law enforcement (witch hunter, exorcist, apostate, infidel, whatever).
Enchantment spells used for prisons.
Alchemy used to turn mundane materials into necessities, like dust into flour, water into medicine, etc.
Trees made of meat.
Arcologies designed by druids to be living structures that provide sustenance to their inhabitants, with phantasms and prestidigitation used to make gruel taste like steak.
This looks interesting! I might suggest the web-comic: Girl Genius as an inspiration.
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But really, what I'm looking for with this post is... what would really change in a fantasy world gone modern that still has active magic on which the Gods still routinely interact with the mortals in a direct fashion?
Thoughts?
Depending on the deities, it may never change at all:
Deity: "What's that? Education for the masses? Gunpowder? Questioning if deities are worthy of being worshipped?"
BOOM.
Deity: "Well, there went that."
Remember that magic is being continually refined throughout the time that has gone by. So perhaps certain spells have become banned or obsolete by new magical advances. Is magic regulated, and if so, how much and by what? Maybe all the power is held by one large source, or by many smaller sources. What measures are in place to prevent magical abuse?
Are the gods still the kings of the roost? Or have the mortals enslaved them by going on strike for worship, or maybe the gods weren't what they seemed. Have any gods disappeared? Did they pass on their purviews (To use Scion's vocabulary) to another god, or did a new one emerge in its place? Do people still worship the old gods in the same way, and how does this differ from that of the newer gods?
'Normal' crystal balls are illegal as spy devices.
The new viewing orbs have been taken over by TV networks.
The astral plane has been turned into something like the internet contacted via rock crystal screens. Ghosts have become like AIs who live in the online games.
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I believe you might find interesting ideas in the Rokugan 2000 setting, which is Legend of the 5 Rings a thousand years later (technological advancement similar to our own 2000+). Link here
Another good source is the Dreams of the First Age supplement for Exalted 2nd Ed.
I think the dwarfs would make up a large part of the Teamsters. Possibly a large part of the Swat teams. They would compete with goblinoids for construction contracts.
A book that might give you some ideas is The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump, by Harry Turtledove. Written when he was actually capable of writing books about something other than WWII and the Holocaust.
One of the books subplots is the question of whether or not it would be worth it for the city of L.A. to subsidize the failing cult of Poseidon to gain his help protecting the city from earthquakes.
Kobolds join society at large and form a security company (Meepo Securities LLC) :P ) utilizing their love and mastery of traps.
an Undead president trys to pass legislation allowing for unlimited terms in office.
Some gods are all but dead. faiths Snuffed out in Media Induced Smear campaign perpitrated by another god.
Strange new gods pup up. Like a god of industry, a god of the internet and maybe even a nuclear god.
Magical pollution creates wild-magic areas. With the disintegrate spell normal pollution ceases to be a problem.
A sphere of Anhalation is considered a WMD by the united nations.
Arcology "apartments" where rooms are linked by teleport gates, so the breakfast nook is in the tropics, the kitchen is on a mountain top, the living room is on top of a giant tree, the bathroom is in a swamp, etc. etc.
Dan Simmons fan? I know I am :)
As tempting as it is to think of magic as science, what if continues to defy such examination? In that there are no "easy" ways of learning or using it. While non-magic options have developed it still takes years if dedicated and rigorous training. Nothing has been able replace swallowing a dead spider as part of the ritual of spider climb, except those rare individuals who don't seem to need any componets at all.
Unlike in the a non-magical world there are true predators of humanoids that will act as a check on population. I point to Big T.
And like in our world, centers of knowledge can be destroy and collected works lost. A counter balance is the longer lived raced. If there had been elves during the US revolution there could still be individuals who fought for one side or another still alive. Maybe on who was witness to the writing of US Constitution and could comment on what was intended by the Second Amendment.
The Far Realm consortium sues the prime material because it's expanding into their realm as more powerful telescopes are developed.
That's why the Old Ones hate us.
It's like if a 2D world starts to cut the Earth in half.
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Check out the Dragonstar books from Fantasy Flight Games. They're written in 3.0, but that's easy to convert.
It is exactly what you are suggesting, standard fantasy world advanced to somewhere near Buck Rogers / Star Trek levels. Great stuff on the difference between magic and tech as well as a lot of well thought out rules that can easily be polished.
Look for the Dragonstar Guide to the Galaxy, saw one on Amazon recently for about $10. That's where most of the stuff you're looking for is, although there are only about five or six books. I like them all.
Legend of Korra did a fantastic job of modernizing a fantasy world.