Bringing Fantasy Worlds to Modern...What's Old is New Again

An interesting thing to consider in this type of game is what happened to magic... did it disappear or is integrated into the technology.

There are a number of ways you could implement differing magical concepts:

The classic science nullifies magic (have some kind of tech level/magic interference chart so that magical characters couldn't us high tech equipment)

Magicians have all been wiped out in a plague/holy war/genocide. This could make a party who all have magical powers quite interesting.

Magic could be the key component to all the modern tech. For example, analogues for Oil, Explosives and Electricity could all be essentially magical 'stuff' in your world.

I'm sure there's much more if I sat down and thought about it. I only wanted to quickly post as it sounded a cool idea. Shame Wizards would sue me if I wrote it :).

cheerio,

Ben, Malladin's Gate Press
www.malladinsgate.com
 

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It could also be that the two still exist, and that they compete (with technology on the rise and magic on the wane, it's only a matter of time till tech wins over, and the spellslingers must do something trastic to halt technology)

Or the could coexist, and people would use them together, so one complements the other. (There would be spells that influence technology and technology that influences magic. Like some of the spells from d20 Modern, and some EMP-like field, respecively).

Fear the +5 distance sniper rifle with dwarf bane ammunition :D
 

Drow and High Elves

Hmmmm I could see a cool FR futuristic setting, think of having the Drow rampant in the undergroundwith masses of industry and guns. Meanwhile the elves are busy trying to stop the ravaging of men+dwarves on the surface.

Most interestingly of all, if a DM did want to do a modern FR setting he could take the entire point of the existance of elves into account, after all most fantasy settings have elves as a dying race...
 

Ravens Bluff

One thing I am thinking about doing is using the map and book of FR's City of "Ravens Bluff". The map is cool and it makes a good city to base a game out of as most of the locations are still viable places to have even in a modern setting.

I am thinking of placing it somewhere between San Fran and L.A.
 

Re: Drow and High Elves

Kefka_Rowantha said:
Hmmmm I could see a cool FR futuristic setting, think of having the Drow rampant in the undergroundwith masses of industry and guns. Meanwhile the elves are busy trying to stop the ravaging of men+dwarves on the surface.

Most interestingly of all, if a DM did want to do a modern FR setting he could take the entire point of the existance of elves into account, after all most fantasy settings have elves as a dying race...

NO! Cliche! Cliche! Overused!

Come ON! What does everyone have against elves? Why does everyone think that to have a futuristic setting, you have to kill all the elves? WHY???

In the end, most of these scenarios where Elves try to stop technology get WAY out of hand. First, it's small scale eco-terrorism. Then, elves are engaging every other race on the battlefield, and before you know it, the elves are using dragons to burn down cities and casting Karsus' Avatar.
How elvish does that sound to you? Everyone seems to make the elves into a race that are SO set in their ways that they would rather destroy the planet than change anything.

I can see elves becoming more isolationist. I can see the elves protecting forests from anybody who tries to enter with the intent of cutting down trees, or whatever. I can't see them trying to destroy everything technological by force. It's an un-elven thing.
I don't personally think the elves would become more isolationist, rather the opposite, with them working with the other races to make sure there is as little as possible in the way of environmental damage.
 


Elves as eco-terrorists -- not thanks. Not only is that terribly unoriginal, it makes elves into a one-trick pony. I'd much rather have elves that are sophisticated and suave urbanites than backwoods Ralph Nader wannabes.
 

Ranger REG said:

The eldar are descendents of elves? I thought they're descendents of drow

That would be dark eldar.


And I can well imagine the elves as the big players. Think of gold elves in the FR (and I think the grey elves from Grayhawk are about the same). They rarely live in woods and use built houses rather than inhabit trees (although elven houses often incorporate the forest into their design).

I could imagine gold elves as businessmen, pulling the strings. Moon elves would be more or less like normal people (though with much more sense for the environment), maybe doing white collar work, and wild and wood elves would either be isolated or fighting against encroachment of civilization into the forests. Sea elves would adapt technology to live underwater (greatly helped by the fact that they can breathe water).
 

Ranger REG said:

It's the nature of the elves. Even they don't use a crossbow, a successor to the bow and a clear predecessor to firearms.

I'd like to think elves are a bit more well-rounded than that. Everybody's game world is different (well, some are :) ).

In my current D&D campaign, the only two firearms in existence were created by a pair of elf twins. They were created a few thousand years ago. The rifle was presented to a hero, the handgun wasn't finished in time. Both were forgotten but continued to be the only guns in the world. Even after their discovery a few millennia later no one has created another firearm. They don't use gunpowder though, they use spell components to create the propulsion and are closer to being magic items.
 

I can see Elves sticking to the bow, instead of the gun. As a matter of fact, I could see Modern Elves all trying to learn Archaic Weapons, and maintaining their Bladesinger and Arcane Archer traditions in a fashion similar to traditional martial arts schools. Keeping their bows would also be a way of maintaining the Elven identity in a world that's leaning more and more towards humanity.

As for the Elves as ecoterrorists, I think that Wood Elves would retreat into primal rainforests and isolate themselves, while High Elves would adapt to the cities and take long walks in the park. Grey Elves would become city planners and bureaucrats, and they'd pretty much be entirely urban. I think Elves would gradually integrate into human society, or vice versa. None of the Elven subraces make sense as ecoterrorists, as that kind of ambition and intolerance strike me more as Human traits.

The Dwarven Kingdoms would stay strong, though I could see the Dwarves developing into constitutional monarchies and gradually evolving into democracies with figurehead monarchies-- with their love of law, I can easily see them embracing a system of laws that even applies to their monarchs.

Dwarves would definitely become mechanics, and I can see them pioneering mass industry-- or refining it after Humans invent it. They might or might not take charge of electronics. Dwarves would definitely take well to firearms, and would establish themselves as master gunsmiths and deadly gunfighters. I see Dwarves leaning stronger towards Soldier than Gunslinger, however.

The Gnomes and Halflings are already well on their way to integrating fully into Human society, so I think this would have already occurred by a modern analogue. They might be a little clannish within Human society, however.

Orcs and goblinoids would have become civilized, though I could see them leaning towards either anarchy or totalitarian states, based on their alignment. There might be pockets of humanoids in the slums of Human cities, or they could be slowly forced into marginal lands , eking out a living. Goblinoids living in Human lands would be in the lower classes in almost all cases, and would probably lean towards crime. They may or may not be suitable for military service, depending on the nation and which species of humanoid.

I think that upgrading a medieval fantasy setting to a modern fantasy setting would make it even more humanocentric, though this is not necessarily the case. If the elves don't die out, and the dwarves expand their influence, it could still hold onto strong racial nations.

Most of the nonintelligent monsters would probably be wiped out, though some of them might be kept alive in captivity. Intelligent monsters could survive if they could adapt to technology-- Dragons could go in either direction, though Chromatic and Gem Dragons would have to learn how to take human shape like the Metallic dragons in order to maintain much influence in the world. With anti-aircraft guns and fighter jets, dragons would have to learn stealth. Subtlety is already a draconic strong point.

If Dragons survive, they would most likely take up politics and business in an attempt to maintain their power and influence. I see them as being very successful at both pursuits. Metallic Dragons would have several advantages in both fields, as they have longer practice in infiltrating Human society, and a better reputation as Good beings. Draconic power might or might not help protect Draconic races such as Lizardfolk and Kobolds.

Illithids and Drow would still be alive, and I think both races would quickly adapt to modern technology. Both races would present heavy opposition to surface races exploring underground, and might sabotage mining efforts for both minerals and oil. The illithids would use their psionic abilities to manipulate surface society, and would probably maintain a kind of Cold War espionage game with surface nations, while the Drow would stockpile weapons and launch occasional raids.

The Drow's inability to work together effectively would keep them from becoming too powerful, unless their society changed (Lloth out of the picture?). Even with magic and technology, their fractiousness would make them ill-prepared to deal with a unified opponent. Drow assassins and terrorists, however, would pull top dollar with organized crime and as intelligence assets.

If magic persisted into the modern era, magical organizations would evolve along with the rest of society, though they would maintain an air of antiquity and arcane secrets. Some would become secret societies, trying to squirrel away their knowledge, while others might become not-so-secret "secret societies" that operate mostly in public. Magocratic nations are unlikely to change, except to become more complicated, and powerful as more magical secrets are unlocked. Most governments would have several magic-users on payroll in some capacity or another.

As long as magic remained prevalent, it would be integrated into society, for the most part.

Religion would remain a powerful force in society, though polytheism would keep a lot of holy wars from breaking out. State religion would be likewise unpopular except for certain rogue nations like the Zhentarim. If the gods become less accessible, religion may wane, or may become dogmatic, which would lead to a state of affairs more closely resembling our history.

If permanent planar gates can be opened, organized trading and colonizing parties would be sent, expanding each realm's influence and leading Prime worlds to contact each other. As the Planes are full of many beings that would not take kindly to conquest, there might be full-scale interplanar wars outside of the Blood War-- or the conflicts may become intertwined. The many different parties concerned would probably hire mercenaries of all kinds, leading to very strange alliances and interactions between races that normally don't have contact.

Spreading technology through the Planes would also have interesting repercussions for religion and general cosmology, and possibly lead to a very rapid development. Infinite monkeys with typewriters, combined with the monkeys being incredibly intelligent and having full access to the counsel of the gods... not to mention, with an infinite amount of resources and space, and magical aid, the various races and nations would spread out significantly.
 
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