Players in my campaign, stay out! You know who you are.
So, I've had an idea brewing for a while; what if my home-brew world was a science fiction setting, but the planet was low in technology? At first I rejected the idea, thinking it would require too much re-working.
Then it hit me; I had already put hints of it being sic-fi without realizing it.
First, all the Lawfully aligned outsiders have some sort of mechanical theme to them; archons look like men made of living metal, inevitables appear as the do in the Bestiary, and devils look like rusted, old machines of a bygone era. The three planes of heaven, hell, and utopia are layered as a massive space station might be. Sentient androids left on an old space station?
The Abyss (called the Pit in my setting) is a massive prison to contain the demons, floating in the Void. Asteroid prison, anyone?
The Lovecraftian entity Azathoth is pretty involved in my setting. Long story short, the Proteans, natives of the Void, were enslaved by him and morphed into the Qlippoths via "experiments." Could be a result of radiation?
I've hinted at Humans having been "children of the heavens," falling from the sky in a large city, not the capitol of a major nation. Space ship?
Magic could be form of psionics.
The gods could be "aliens" a la Stargate.
Thoughts? Anyone have experience with this kind of a setting, good or bad?
Really? No one has ideas? I thought the Paizo community would have been all over this idea.
Your examples of Sci-Fi are essentially refluffed or reflavoured Fantasy, so there's really not that much to say about it all.
Its a clever idea. I think it would be fun. Are your players into this kind of thing? Would knowledge like the above be as rare as it is in a standard setting, or do people know about the space craft?
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
--Arthur C. Clarke
"Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology."
-- ???
I have no idea who said the latter, but you can see it if you play World of Warcraft -- the Draenei have such sophisticated magic that they treat it as technology, even down to requiring spare parts for broken machines that run on magic. If you're going to say magic = technology, then really, there's not much to say.
Wand of Burning Hands -> Flamethrower
Its a clever idea. I think it would be fun. Are your players into this kind of thing? Would knowledge like the above be as rare as it is in a standard setting, or do people know about the space craft?
My players like science-fiction as well as fantasy. I'm thinking it would be kind of a thing that only those who have delved deep into a dungeon underneath the city would eventually find out. I.E. a terminal explaining the mission of the ship, something like that.
I'd think the government of the city might know, but they would keep it pretty hush-hush. How would the real world react if everything was a farce, and we could go to a different, possibly better world any time you would like?
Also, I seemed to have some funky wording in my OP. I'll edit that now.
Edit: Herpaderp, can't edit it. Too long has gone by. Basically, change the word "not" in the bit about the flying city to "now."
Science Fiction is actually a sub-section of fantasy, so I say: Anything goes!
Science Fiction is actually a sub-section of fantasy, so I say: Anything goes!
-1
No, let me correct. -infinity.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_fog
Nano machines could be used for some magic. Wand of clw could have nano machines that repair the body, but it only has enough for 50 uses.
I was thinking about running a game where the gods were AIs that ran everything. Most of the world would have utility fog that certain people can control. I figured druid magic could bio engineering.
Science Fiction is actually a sub-section of fantasy, so I say: Anything goes!-1
No, let me correct. -infinity.
Perhaps that is an over simplification, but the first science fiction literary works were labelled as fantasy, with an underlying element of scientific fact. Hence subgenre!
Take a look at Elizabeth Bear's Jacob's Ladder books for similar ideas, particularly the first book, Dust. It's set on a broken generation ship. The nobility are descendants of the officers from the "moving days", enhanced by nanotech. There are nanotech AI's, treated as Angels.
Neat concepts. Good story too.Takes it in a different direction, but probably some stuff you could mine.
I'll check it out.
I was thinking wizards and such could be like the priests in Asimov's Foundation Trilogy. As part of their training, they are taught how to use the "sacred machines," and memorize certain "incantations" that give the computers commands to manipulate the environment on the ships.
So basically, Pern? Setting feel wise anyway.
Science Fiction is actually a sub-section of fantasy, so I say: Anything goes!-1
No, let me correct. -infinity.
Wait I'm confused.
Are you seriously suggesting that Sci-Fi is not a sub-set of Fantasy, or are you just being sarcastic? Please tell me it's option 2.
I really, really, really like this. The utility fog is an awesome idea, as i've run games with mass effect style tech level, and all of the fantasy races and such were really just alien species. Basically ripped off Spelljammer until I had ship stats formed via pathfinder.
The planes had always proven a challenge for me, but I really like the idea of them just being powerful alien systems and stations and clusters and such. I have always found DnD cosmology more than a little...silly.
The fact that it was so blatantly tied in with so many spells bothered me as I dislike the religions of standard DnD as well. While some areas did have named, humanoid depictions of gods and goddesses, what about those areas with animism, animatism, monotheism, gnosticism, secular humanism with atheism as a purpose, metaphysical sciences such as neoplatonic schools and alchemy, and then there is the worship and veneration of the potential of the individual soul, or atman. So I pretty much discount core deities as a major facet in my games, but it requires me to rework the cosmology.
Since I always run in the same gaming universe, I love the idea that these outsiders are just advanced creatures in exotic locales. The way I handle it is that mysteries such as 'what happens after I die?' aren't so clearcut and well, cheesy. You pretty much have a hazy memory upon resurrection, etc. Because really, if a bunch of people returned from the dead with definitive proof, that'd kill a lot of interesting religious and philosophical diversity.
On another note, I may be able to help out further mechanically with your concept. Today in the homebrew subforum I will be posting enchantments on a building and vehicular scale, which would be great for fleshing out magically juiced civic technology.
So basically, Pern? Setting feel wise anyway.
Science Fiction is actually a sub-section of fantasy, so I say: Anything goes!-1
No, let me correct. -infinity.
Wait I'm confused.
Are you seriously suggesting that Sci-Fi is not a sub-set of Fantasy, or are you just being sarcastic? Please tell me it's option 2.
I think it was humor.
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The Lovecraftian entity Azathoth is pretty involved in my setting. Long story short, the Proteans, natives of the Void, were enslaved by him and morphed into the Qlippoths via "experiments." Could be a result of radiation?
As a Lovecraft purist, a few bits of this are "off" to me. Azathoth's isn't evil, so why would beings he enslaved become inherently evil. Also, he is literally mindless, so the concept of him enslaving anything doesn't really make sense.
However, I realize that very few people are as much of Lovecraft purist as I am....so happy gaming!
If the Qlippoths are evil, they may have chosen that after they were twisted. There may be a few trying to use their power for caotic good. Some manifestations of Azathoth may be evil. The one that appears to the MiGoo enabling them to reproduce is sort of good.
As for SF being a subset of fantasy, that's history, like people thinking the Earth is flat. To be fair, there wasn't that much Science Fiction at the time and much of it was pretty fantastic.
Extra-dimensional spaces connected (to each other and the material plane) by a network of portals -- inhabited by incorporeal energy beings (wizards + ghost template) that possess "avatars" to enter the material realm -- and rule as gods... a la Stargate (actually C.J.Cherryh's Chronicles of Morgaine, most definitely the original influence for the movie -- contains all the key themes/concepts of Stargate). Outsiders as ultra-terrestrials (i.e. alien life-forms from a different dimension). Demons as some sort of exotic ET nano-tech gone wild -- chewing up vast areas of the planet (terra-forming it to suit their own ecological needs).
Dune's Bene Gesserit witches, guild navigators (psions bending reality with their mind) -- more fantasy than sci-fi (hard sci-fi anyway), but great concepts lending themselves to easy adaptation within the pathfinder rules set.
Just some ideas...
Sandworms can easily be refluffed from purple worms.
A lot of the giant vermin were inspired by Food of the Gods, a Science Fiction story.
Neil Stephenson's The Diamond Age is a good inspiration. Imagine huge clouds of competing nano-particles (3.5 living spell template? -- but as swarms instead of oozes) constantly trying to infiltrate each others zones of influence. Large walls of these nano-particles fencing off different areas of your campaign map perhaps. Attacking/scrying anyone who attempts unauthorised entry?
I like this idea -- going to use it myself ;)