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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Clint_L" data-source="post: 8875594" data-attributes="member: 7035894">I deleted my earlier response, but since it's going way off topic anyway: I think there is a MUCH larger distinction between fantasy and science fiction than "just setting." It is obviously true that there can be "science fantasy" (Star Wars; Andor excepted) where the science really is just trappings. But it is also clearly true that the roots of science fiction are extrapolative - asking the question "what if this thing (usually a technology) were to happen - what would that mean for humanity?" Arguably the first science fiction book, Frankenstein, is exactly this sort of narrative, and that "what if?" impulse is deep in the genes of sci-fi. I mean, that question is what lies at the heart of science, as well.Fantasy is quite different, taking its cues from romance and myth. At its heart, fantasy is backwards looking, not forwards. This doesn't have to, but in practice tends to make it a more reactive and conservative genre, less interested in pushing boundaries. Fantasy tends to avoid asking hard questions about its setting, even when those questions are staring right in your face. Morality is often simplified (good vs. evil! dark lords! alignments!) and conflicts more easily resolvable. Characters tend to be sanitized and de-sexualized, with an over reliance on comfortable assumptions about culture, gender, age, and so on.I am well aware that there are exceptions, many of them, in both genres, so I am not claiming that "all sci-fi is this" or "all fantasy is that." But there are meaningful distinctions between the genres that go a lot deeper than setting, and fantasy is a much more conservative genre, driven by idealized and romanticized tropes.This actually does tie around to the topic at hand, because I think part of fantasy's appeal is a kind of wish-fulfillment that has things in common with extreme character optimization and power gaming. The genre tends to be built around super idealized characters, from Conan to Legolas to Harry Potter to John Snow. I think a lot of D&D players are working within fantasy norms by creating as idealized a character as possible. And I know that has a lot of appeal. It's just not my cup of tea.</blockquote>

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