Blending Fantasy and Science-Fiction

[Methuslah]

I’ve spent the day penning the second in a series of articles for Almanac, ‘Putting the SF into Fantasy’, and I’ve looking for people’s experiences and ideas of using traditional SF concepts in the fantasy genre, as well as their opinions in its use. (The first of the articles, which will be published in Almanac One, covers a ‘Race to the Moon’ in the fantasy genre, and the second for Almanac Two covers Radioactivity. Future articles will cover such topics as Electricity and Alien Invasions.)

From the earliest days of D&D, there has been some crossover between SF and Fantasy – Blackmoor being the obvious example of this, where the crash of an advanced spaceship with anti-matter reactors was a major feature in the setting (and later Mystara where this detail was an important part of the history). I’m basically looking for people’s thoughts and suggestions on such crossovers.

Richard Tongue,
Transfinite Publications,
http://www.transfinitepublications.com
Methuslah@tongue.fsnet.co.uk

 

[Hecatæus]

I am researching some d20 sf stuff and have noted:

Fading Suns d20 game. While this is a mostly Sci-Fi game, it has many elements of a late middle ages early rennaissance feel.

DragonStar d20; an attempt to make a sci-fi universe with D&D almost directly.

Aether & Flux (sp); d20 system similar in vein to SpellJammer.

While I have no real opinions at the moment, I hope that helps in some way.

 

[Gospog]

Well, I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for, but "back in the day", Expedition to barrier Peaks was a blast!

As for introducing sci-fi into a fantasy game on multiple facets, I think that a little goes a long way, in terms of novelty.

If you introduce too many sci-fi elements into fantasy, it becomes sci-fi. I find the reverse is not always true.

I thing that's the big deal about DragonStar and Spelljammer. These games introduce sci-fi but manage to "keep it fantasy". For the most part.

 

[der_kluge]

There was a computer game I used to play, and I totally am forgetting the name of it now. You had a party of fantasy races and classes, much like D&D, but with more variety. And in the game, you'd fight Giff-like Hippo/man creatures with guns, and there were the kids on flying cars in some places. And occasionally, as loot you could pick up electronic gadgets, in additions to potions and scrolls. It was really pretty awesome. Version 6 of the game, IIRC.

My entire party ended up becoming ninjas, since it was the most absolute bad-*ss class in the game.

Anyone remember the name?

 

[DreamChaser]

Well, I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for, but "back in the day", Expedition to barrier Peaks was a blast!

As for introducing sci-fi into a fantasy game on multiple facets, I think that a little goes a long way, in terms of novelty.

If you introduce too many sci-fi elements into fantasy, it becomes sci-fi. I find the reverse is not always true.

I thing that's the big deal about DragonStar and Spelljammer. These games introduce sci-fi but manage to "keep it fantasy". For the most part.

Are you talking flavor or genre? In terms of flavor, you're right. People tend to notice even a hint of "techi" stuff and start throwing the word fantasy out the window. In terms of genre, it goes the other way.

By the "book" Sci-fi has more exacting standards as to what falls under its umbrella than fantasy does. Sci-fi must be directly based upon scientific principles where as fantasy is basically anything else.

When it comes down to it, people tend to think "If it is breaking the laws of physics with psychic powers or machines then it is sci-fi and if it uses magic then it is fantasy. And this is where the damage starts.

Most things that we call "sci-fi" are in fact nothing more than futuristic fantasy (Star Wars, Star Trek (to a lesser extent), Farscape) and many things that we would not normally think of as sci-fi are actually (Clan of the Cavebear).

When it comes to using D&D in a futuristic setting, I tend to use the term Sci-Fantasy.

DC

 

[Methuslah]

Expedition to the Barrier Peaks is one of the things I was thinknig about - a crashed spaceship on a fantasy world (sorry if that is a spolier to anyone), but one of the other things I'm a thinking in these articles is to rethink traditional SF themes in fantasy terms.

Richard Tongue,
Transfinite Publications,
http://www.transfinitepublications.com
Methuslah@tongue.fsnet.co.uk

 

[Robbert Raets]

There was a computer game I used to play, and I totally am forgetting the name of it now. You had a party of fantasy races and classes, much like D&D, but with more variety. And in the game, you'd fight Giff-like Hippo/man creatures with guns, and there were the kids on flying cars in some places. And occasionally, as loot you could pick up electronic gadgets, in additions to potions and scrolls. It was really pretty awesome. Version 6 of the game, IIRC.

My entire party ended up becoming ninjas, since it was the most absolute bad-*ss class in the game.

Anyone remember the name?

I think a Spelljammer computer game is mentioned at darkwood.org, but I'm not exactly sure what or where....

 

[Mallus]

Anyone remember the name?

My guess would be one of the later Wizardry games... like Crusaders of the Dark Savant...

 

[TiQuinn]

Whenever I think of Sci/Fi and Fantasy crossovers, I think of the movie Krull. I like the idea of a setting where one world (advanced tech.) invades another (medieval/magical). However, I think the thing with this Sci-Fi/Fantasy combination is that magic usually seems like just another form of technology or vice versa. From a player's standpoint, if the laser blaster does as much damage as a blast from a wand of fireballs, then the mystery and wonder quickly leaves.

 

[der_kluge]

My guess would be one of the later Wizardry games... like Crusaders of the Dark Savant...

Aha! That's it. Great game.