My Changing Thoughts on Science Fantasy Games

[aramis erak]

Do you mean for power level in an RPG? I can see that if a spell does 5d6 and a laser blaster does 10d6 kind of setup.

Narratively though when you have a lot of sci fi and a little fantasy you get things like Star Trek Vulcan mind meld, Babylon Five psychics, and Doctor Who. Each of those has RPGs

Star Trek has far more magic than just Psionics...

• Practical fusion tech.
• The Phaser.
• Transporters
• Warp Drive
• Impulse drive with rapid acceleration to as high as 0.75C (and in TOS, implications of up to 10 C - in WNMHGB and in Balance of Terror).
• Gravitics
• incorporeal entities with ability to physically affect and to be visible,
• provable existence of souls.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Star Trek has far more magic than just Psionics...

• Practical fusion tech.
• The Phaser.
• Transporters
• Warp Drive
• Impulse drive with rapid acceleration to as high as 0.75C (and in TOS, implications of up to 10 C - in WNMHGB and in Balance of Terror).
• Gravitics
• incorporeal entities with ability to physically affect and to be visible,
• provable existence of souls.

Most of that is presented as science. It makes a difference.

 

[Tonguez]

Most of that is presented as science. It makes a difference.

does it though? Take Replicators or Programmable Matter as examples - both are sci fi but with minimal justification as to how it works. The Doctors Sonic Screwdriver can do all kinds of 'stuff' that could also be done with Glinda's magic wand. Johnny-5 gets hit by lightning and is suddenly 'alive'

or my Heart of Tarkon example - in which the Shaman merges with the Heart compared to Star Treks Commander Decker merging with the V'ger entity. Both mergers are Human-Technology synthesis leaning in to a mystical transhumanism, but is one more magical than the other?

I dont think so

 

[Micah Sweet]

does it though? Take Replicators or Programmable Matter as examples - both are sci fi but with minimal justification as to how it works. The Doctors Sonic Screwdriver can do all kinds of 'stuff' that could also be done with Glinda's magic wand. Johnny-5 gets hit by lightning and is suddenly 'alive'

or my Heart of Tarkon example - in which the Shaman merges with the Heart compared to Star Treks Commander Decker merging with the V'ger entity. Both mergers are Human-Technology synthesis leaning in to a mystical transhumanism, but is one more magical than the other?

I dont think so

Well, it makes a difference to me. The people of the setting use future scientific data and technology to create these things. They know or can know how they work, and they are generated from objects made by people in the setting who can, generally speaking, make more of them, and they can damaged or destroyed. Those things make it science fiction as far as I'm concerned, not fantasy.