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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mercurius" data-source="post: 8618314" data-attributes="member: 59082">I think the term "dystopia" is being used in a very broad sense, to such a degree that it loses its original meaning, at least in the context of literature (and by extension, RPGs).Dystopia is basically a counter-utopia. Where a utopia is an author's attempt to present an idealized society, a dystopia is the opposite: a society that is antithetical to the author's values. Furthermore, dystopias were often written as social commentary on contemporary society, even warnings.The archetypal dystopia stories are 1984 and Brave New World, although technically We preceded both. And of course there are many other variations, as well as "quasi-dystopias": future societies that have major dystopian elements, but aren't necessarily as oppressive as 1984.In that sense, Conan's Hyboria is not a dystopia. It could be post-apocalyptic, but that isn't the same thing (even if sometimes crossing over). Furthermore, as far as I understand it, Robert E Howard wasn't deliberately writing allegorically - whereas most/all dystopias are strongly allegorical. In fact, I think this is a key component of sword and sorcery and adventure/pulp fiction in general: the point of the story is the adventure itself, and any allegory or deeper meaning is secondary and largely a matter of the reader's discretion, if present at all.Now if we use the word as dystopian, then the umbrella broadens to the point at which the word loses its central meaning. Just about anything can be dystopian, or have dystopian elements, but I think it is key that dystopian doesn't simply mean "dark" or "not good."</blockquote>

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