D&D General D&D is now Steampunk (poll)

[cranberry]

You mean 1974?

I meant that they weren't officially connected until 1994 with Planescape. Prior to that time, they were stand alone.

(I'm referring to alternate Prime Material plane worlds, not the "wheel" that contained the 7 heavens, 9 Hells, etc.)

And the "Dream of the Blue Veil" spell didn't come out until around 2020. (Yes you could get around with Teleport and Plane Shift, but this spell was intended to give players an easy way to bridge the prime material worlds

 

[Autumnal]

Obligatory mention: “steampunk” the word was coined by K.W. Jeter, who loathes punk culture(s). He was referring to the “Victorian fantasies” he and his friends James Blaylock and Tim Powers were writing: Morlock Nights, Homunculus, The Anubis Gates, and like that. The name was an intentional mockery of cyberpunk, about as useful as calling a monster manual a BADD resources directory or a players handbook a Southern Baptist etiquette guide.

Obviously the term took on other meanings, because living words in every language and dialect do that. Compare the meanings of words like “republic” and “democracy”, or “church”. But it’s useful to be slow to claim that there is a primal meaning that ought to take precedence, particularly in a case where an origin can be so precisely identified: the April 1987 issue of Locus magazine’s letter column.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I mean, it could be Steampunk, if someone wanted it to be, but it most certainly is not usually or currently.

 

[I'm A Banana]

It seems that "medieval fantasy" no longer applies to D&D.

Edit to add: Historical accuracy has never been a significant part of fantasy, nor should it be. Something not being medieval-accurate doesn't suddenly make it skip genres out of fantasy. It's still fantasy. Fantasy is about modern people, not about historical accuracy.

 

[Zardnaar]

Its not steampunk it's Americanized Renaissance Faire.

Eberron magitech.

 

[Zardnaar]

1E was more 14th century with a few anachronisms eg two handed swords.

 

[AlViking]

Edit to add: Historical accuracy has never been a significant part of fantasy, nor should it be. Something not being medieval-accurate doesn't suddenly make it skip genres out of fantasy. It's still fantasy. Fantasy is about modern people, not about historical accuracy.

In addition, we aren't talking about the real world. It's a world where magic works and there really might be a monster under your bed. We have no idea what the world would look like with such a significant fundamental change to reality.

 

[Reynard]

Its not steampunk it's Americanized Renaissance Faire.

Eberron magitech.

These are two different things, but you aren't wrong.

 

[GMMichael]

Lord of the Rings is one very specific work of fiction; steampunk is an entire genre. You might as well say that Aquaman is closer to Southern Gothic than it is to The Little Mermaid. It’s just a meaningless comparison.

LotR is a specific work, yes. It has also inspired countless, similar works. I'd call the style of that group a genre. Maybe even "medieval fantasy."

I don't understand why people make an issue of this one. Why is this assumed to be an in-game term? It's a rules term. People aren't saying "Character Class", "Background", "Feat", or "Ability Scores" in-game. Why are we assuming that everyone in the fiction is suddenly saying "Species"?

I'd be very surprised to see characters in the next WotC adventure refer to another character's "race."

Punk doesn’t mean pessimistic, it means anti-authoritarian and critical of mainstream society.

This points to all D&D being punk. Or at least every PC party that has run away from the watch, refused the Wretched, Squalid, or Poor Lifestyle Expenses, or has just decided to be "adventurers."

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I run smog-punk, which is dirty steampunk, in my goblin lands, but it takes a lot of work to make the magic feel like dirty tek. There's not enough clockwork tech, springworks, pneumatics, etc for steampunk to be considered the default.

I bet the Iron Kingdoms sourcebooks could get you most of the way there.