"Anachronisms" in your game
- Thread starter Tinker Gnome
- Start date
dave_o said:
Dude, I am so totally stealing that for my Freeport game.
Daayoo. Daaaayoooo. Daaaay like coming and me wan to home!
Honestly, I’ve never worried about anachronism in the game. It always seemed silly to worry about it in a world with dragons and elves. If your really fussy, the setting should all be ignorant, filthy, warmongering, racist, sexist and all of the religious groups should perennially trying to destroy all of the other religious groups.
Even in the most historically accurate games I’ve run, or been in, (Vamp Dark Ages) anachronism has not been too much of an issue.
That said, I have trouble resisting a joke – the cheaper the better. I’m prone to tossing in pop-culture references in a game as just part of the scenery. Like being in a village, seeing two guys ride by on horse back and one is flipping a coin, looks at what he got after the last flip, looks at the other guy and says “37.” And then they ride on.
Even in the most historically accurate games I’ve run, or been in, (Vamp Dark Ages) anachronism has not been too much of an issue.
That said, I have trouble resisting a joke – the cheaper the better. I’m prone to tossing in pop-culture references in a game as just part of the scenery. Like being in a village, seeing two guys ride by on horse back and one is flipping a coin, looks at what he got after the last flip, looks at the other guy and says “37.” And then they ride on.
The_Universe
First Post
While I do agree that there really can't be an anachronism in fantasy, since we're dealing with stuff that never actually happened, there are probably things that do stand out, a bit....
1) A rough assumption of gender equality, though women warriors are still rare
2) Racial equality and integration, though most races are fairly "pigeonholed" into certain segments of society
However, both of those things coexist with segments of the population that...
3) Actively promote segregation and/or nationalist tendencies (such as a growing demand for a return to the "Orcish Homeland," etc.)
I also have used...
4) Dwarves who routinely use plate armor, alongside
5) Early modern firearms (reliable flintlocks, early rifling), alongside
6) A majority of the population that's still in mid-renaissance level technology, alongside
7) Magic/Steam power using elemental boilers, alongside
8) Mundane steam power
which of course hints at the simultaneous presence of...
9) Large sailed vessels (15th century galleys and warships) and
10) Ironclad steamships
1) A rough assumption of gender equality, though women warriors are still rare
2) Racial equality and integration, though most races are fairly "pigeonholed" into certain segments of society
However, both of those things coexist with segments of the population that...
3) Actively promote segregation and/or nationalist tendencies (such as a growing demand for a return to the "Orcish Homeland," etc.)
I also have used...
4) Dwarves who routinely use plate armor, alongside
5) Early modern firearms (reliable flintlocks, early rifling), alongside
6) A majority of the population that's still in mid-renaissance level technology, alongside
7) Magic/Steam power using elemental boilers, alongside
8) Mundane steam power
which of course hints at the simultaneous presence of...
9) Large sailed vessels (15th century galleys and warships) and
10) Ironclad steamships
scadgrad
First Post
The Grumpy Celt said:
Agreed, I just try to limit the obvious anachromisms. Additionally I try to keep a lid on the "ignorant, filthy, warmongering, racist, sexist, etc." elements that you mentioned, but I don't elmininate them entirely. Some areas of the world are just more enlightened than others.
I believe what I'm trying to do, and what I'm assuming that other DMs try to do, is create a setting that is reminiscent of those settings that we enjoy from fantasy literature and perhaps, <gasp> films. Certain anachronisms I think can spoil the verismilitude of the setting and so one should be very careful when these are included.
glass
(he, him)
My world has the usual stuff: increased gender equality and religious tolerance, disparate weapon technologies meeting, etc.
OTOH, it seems to me that magic would inhibit the technological progress, but with instantaneous travel (and therefore rapid spread of ideas) it might actually speed up social progress. Therefore, I see technological and social ideas being out of whack as a feature rather than a bug.
glass.
OTOH, it seems to me that magic would inhibit the technological progress, but with instantaneous travel (and therefore rapid spread of ideas) it might actually speed up social progress. Therefore, I see technological and social ideas being out of whack as a feature rather than a bug.
glass.
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