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Why does fantasy dominate RPGs?
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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 7091646" data-attributes="member: 4937"><p>It's has nothing to do with D&D being first. There are strong pressures that force you toward fantasy.</p><p></p><p>1) Heroic myth is the most important consideration. Or to put it another way, people enjoy thinking of themselves as being really bad ass - if even only by proxy. (If you can think of a less vulgar way to put that, I'll accept it.) Fantasy places the characters in a situation where one individual can conceivably make a big difference and be basically invulnerable to all attack. It's grounded in eras like the early bronze age (Homeric Epic) and the late middle ages (Medieval Romance) this fantasy was actually grounded somewhat in reality - an aristocrat clad in the latest armor technology was relatively invulnerable to attack by more primitive weapons and could reasonably stand alone against a large number of foes.</p><p></p><p>In eras where offense greatly outstrips defense, combat is not heroic in that sense. In an era with realistic firearms, explosives, and heavy weaponry, one persons life is subject to the whims of fate. A person can't reasonably dodge or survive a 155mm shell bursting in close proximity, and a random bullet that happens to have your name on it can instantly kill the most skilled hero. Science fiction generally means the death of the heroic myth.</p><p></p><p>It's worth noting that most of what we think as 'science fiction' is actually fantasy in science fiction clothing. Star Wars for example involves wizards and knights wielding magic that leaves them largely invulnerable to the common weapons of their day. Individuals can say things like, "The power to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the force [that I wield]!" If the story involves chosen ones and forces beyond the explanation of science, chances are its fantasy in a high tech setting with only a few actual science fiction themes. Mass Effect, Dune, The Fifth Element, Babylon 5, and even arguably things like Firefly are actually fantasy.</p><p></p><p>2) Scale of the Setting: In a PnP RPG where characters have free agency, it's far easier for the game to be set in a setting where primitive technology is the default. The DM need only detail a relatively small area, say 60 square miles, and a few scattered cities and villages. Player can only cross a few miles in a session and the DM can foresee what he needs to create or ad hoc fairly easily all the details he needs to get thing done. It's worth noting how many popular fantasy settings are very sparse. Both the Forgotten Realms and Tolkien's Middle Earth involve a few scattered settlements and vast tracts of wilderness. This makes them settings that are relatively easy to detail and conceptualize. In science fiction, players can cross hundreds of miles or hundreds of lightyears in a single bound. In fantasy a village represents a village. In science fiction, the referee finds himself trying to represent an entire planet with a village or say 60 square miles of terrain. Or in other words, in science fiction the sand box is entirely too big, and the scope of play too unpredictable. </p><p></p><p>And this problem extends to individual scenes of the setting. Every DM knows that a bookshelf of books is one of the most problematic things you can put into a scene. If the PC's take interest in the books, it's pretty much essential that he handwave this away as much as possible. Each book contains more details than might exist in his entire game! Well in science fiction, this problem is everywhere and in every form of media that the players might potentially interact with. Science fiction worlds are information rich - books, newspapers, radio, TV, internet - there is just an endless amount you have to improvise. There is no way to keep up.</p><p></p><p>And this problem extends to the player's approach to the game. Smart DMs quickly learn not to build dungeons out of wood. Referees in a science fiction campaign have to deal with plans like 'nuke it from orbit; it's the only way to be safe'. </p><p></p><p>As for why science fiction trappings dominate non-interactive media and why we never really seem to have A rate fantasy, I think it's because heroic myth translate poorly to story telling since mostly its about ego tripping. It's also probably also a money issue, in that its cheaper to make passable science fiction props ('Star Trek pajamas') and sets than good quality believable fantasy sets. Advances in CGI may eventually change that, and its notable that we have just begun to see fantasy with fantasy trappings succeeding in big budget media in the last decade or so.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 7091646, member: 4937"] It's has nothing to do with D&D being first. There are strong pressures that force you toward fantasy. 1) Heroic myth is the most important consideration. Or to put it another way, people enjoy thinking of themselves as being really bad ass - if even only by proxy. (If you can think of a less vulgar way to put that, I'll accept it.) Fantasy places the characters in a situation where one individual can conceivably make a big difference and be basically invulnerable to all attack. It's grounded in eras like the early bronze age (Homeric Epic) and the late middle ages (Medieval Romance) this fantasy was actually grounded somewhat in reality - an aristocrat clad in the latest armor technology was relatively invulnerable to attack by more primitive weapons and could reasonably stand alone against a large number of foes. In eras where offense greatly outstrips defense, combat is not heroic in that sense. In an era with realistic firearms, explosives, and heavy weaponry, one persons life is subject to the whims of fate. A person can't reasonably dodge or survive a 155mm shell bursting in close proximity, and a random bullet that happens to have your name on it can instantly kill the most skilled hero. Science fiction generally means the death of the heroic myth. It's worth noting that most of what we think as 'science fiction' is actually fantasy in science fiction clothing. Star Wars for example involves wizards and knights wielding magic that leaves them largely invulnerable to the common weapons of their day. Individuals can say things like, "The power to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the force [that I wield]!" If the story involves chosen ones and forces beyond the explanation of science, chances are its fantasy in a high tech setting with only a few actual science fiction themes. Mass Effect, Dune, The Fifth Element, Babylon 5, and even arguably things like Firefly are actually fantasy. 2) Scale of the Setting: In a PnP RPG where characters have free agency, it's far easier for the game to be set in a setting where primitive technology is the default. The DM need only detail a relatively small area, say 60 square miles, and a few scattered cities and villages. Player can only cross a few miles in a session and the DM can foresee what he needs to create or ad hoc fairly easily all the details he needs to get thing done. It's worth noting how many popular fantasy settings are very sparse. Both the Forgotten Realms and Tolkien's Middle Earth involve a few scattered settlements and vast tracts of wilderness. This makes them settings that are relatively easy to detail and conceptualize. In science fiction, players can cross hundreds of miles or hundreds of lightyears in a single bound. In fantasy a village represents a village. In science fiction, the referee finds himself trying to represent an entire planet with a village or say 60 square miles of terrain. Or in other words, in science fiction the sand box is entirely too big, and the scope of play too unpredictable. And this problem extends to individual scenes of the setting. Every DM knows that a bookshelf of books is one of the most problematic things you can put into a scene. If the PC's take interest in the books, it's pretty much essential that he handwave this away as much as possible. Each book contains more details than might exist in his entire game! Well in science fiction, this problem is everywhere and in every form of media that the players might potentially interact with. Science fiction worlds are information rich - books, newspapers, radio, TV, internet - there is just an endless amount you have to improvise. There is no way to keep up. And this problem extends to the player's approach to the game. Smart DMs quickly learn not to build dungeons out of wood. Referees in a science fiction campaign have to deal with plans like 'nuke it from orbit; it's the only way to be safe'. As for why science fiction trappings dominate non-interactive media and why we never really seem to have A rate fantasy, I think it's because heroic myth translate poorly to story telling since mostly its about ego tripping. It's also probably also a money issue, in that its cheaper to make passable science fiction props ('Star Trek pajamas') and sets than good quality believable fantasy sets. Advances in CGI may eventually change that, and its notable that we have just begun to see fantasy with fantasy trappings succeeding in big budget media in the last decade or so. [/QUOTE]
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