So, recently, I’ve become quite interested in retrofuturism. I’m DMing a campaign about time-travel, and the subject seems fascinating. It’s amazing how many variants are there: Steampunk, Dieselpunk, Formicapunk, even Stonepunk…
However, there are two of them that, even after a long Google search, I still don’t know what they’re about.

However, there are two of them that, even after a long Google search, I still don’t know what they’re about.
- Sandalpunk. I know the technical meaning, being retrofuturism related to classic times, Ancient Rome and Greece. Some people differentiate between bronzepunk and ironpunk. But still, the research hasn’t formed a cohesive picture in my mind. What kind of inventions and anachronisms does a sandalpunk world have? How much “advanced” does this style of retrofuturism get (like, what can they achieve)? And how does it look (and feel) like?
- Candlepunk or Castlepunk. Other than the names, I know only that it’s supposed to be the retrofuturism of medieval times. But that doesn’t tell me much about the genre itself. So, what is candlepunk/castlepunk? (Questions made in the previous item are also valid here).
