Non-Dystopian Magical Cyber Futurism

[doctorbadwolf]

It’s what I’m building, as one could probably guess if you read my last thread on this topic.

Now, I’d like to discuss what the future might look like in that same world.

So, the era is 2290 through 2330. Probably. I mean, if I can make it make sense to have space colonies and orbital cities and personal spacecraft 70-100 years from now, that would be cool, but even with acceleration of advancement from magitech, it’s hard to imagine. If we can figure that out, it’s 2090-2130.

Either way, at least 100 years ago, the world changed. Over the course of less than a century, the world rediscovered magic, found out we’d never been alone on our planet, went to space, negotiated treaties with nature spirits to save the world from climate apocalypse, colonized space, and learned to live with other species just in time to make first contact with non-Terran aliens, and form a fledgling Commonwealth.

What does the world look like, now?

What sort of spirits agrees to live in the park on an orbital city, or what sort of spirit is formed over the years in that place?

What sorts of science fiction tech almost makes sense, and just needs a boost from efficient energy conversion, small scale transmutation, or something like that, to function?

What sort of character do you want to play, in such a world?

 

[generic]

It’s what I’m building, as one could probably guess if you read my last thread on this topic.

Now, I’d like to discuss what the future might look like in that same world.

So, the era is 2290 through 2330. Probably. I mean, if I can make it make sense to have space colonies and orbital cities and personal spacecraft 70-100 years from now, that would be cool, but even with acceleration of advancement from magitech, it’s hard to imagine. If we can figure that out, it’s 2090-2130.

Either way, at least 100 years ago, the world changed. Over the course of less than a century, the world rediscovered magic, found out we’d never been alone on our planet, went to space, negotiated treaties with nature spirits to save the world from climate apocalypse, colonized space, and learned to live with other species just in time to make first contact with non-Terran aliens, and form a fledgling Commonwealth.

What does the world look like, now?

What sort of spirits agrees to live in the park on an orbital city, or what sort of spirit is formed over the years in that place?

What sorts of science fiction tech almost makes sense, and just needs a boost from efficient energy conversion, small scale transmutation, or something like that, to function?

What sort of character do you want to play, in such a world?

One thing you might want to consider is the near-immortality which might be reached through the introduction of high-level medical technology.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

One thing you might want to consider is the near-immortality which might be reached through the introduction of high-level medical technology.

Hrrmm yeah, between prosthetic organs, lab grown replacements, magical healing (takes energy from the recipient, and isn’t fast like dnd healing, but outside of adventuring is still quite potent), etc I can see some wild longevity.

The ultimate question is whether future medicine can reverse the biological “signal” to stop puberty basically start dying (aging is basically just your body’s healing slowing down too much to keep up with deterioration). If it can, it can make a person “naturally” live forever, at about the level of health they’d have in their early to mid twenties (when you finish “growing up” and all those growth related healing processes start slowing down).

If not, I mean, it’s certainly not a given that we will ever attain effective immortality, much less within the next couple hundred years.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I’m thinking “elemental” nature spirits connected to minerals, fire, cold and possibly light/radiance/energy would be most common. Especially on asteroids.

I could see water or plant/fungus/life spirits might partner with humanity to make for biologically efficient starships and bases, possibly in exchange for the possibility of expanding their influence. It might be just be equally seductive to be the first plant spirit to colonize a new planet as to be among the first human colonists.

If the setting includes ancestral spirits, there’s probably alien ones as well as human.

Depending on how you envision the presence of Fey, their realm may be directly connected to all places life exists/could exist, meaning a trip to Europa might just be a week’s journey through “Underhill”. They could greet humanity (or other species) as they expand to habitable planets through the universe.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

In such a setting, a “techno-mage” could be cool. So might a subtle psion/psychic, like a precog, empath, pyro or teke.

Or I’d go the other way and try out something cybernetic.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I’m thinking “elemental” nature spirits connected to minerals, fire, cold and possibly light/radiance/energy would be most common. Especially on asteroids.

Yeah! I like that! Especially since they’d be about as old as whatever they’re part of, and have these extremely long lived and alien consciousness and like, perception of time.

I could see water or plant/fungus/life spirits might partner with humanity to make for biologically efficient starships and bases, possibly in exchange for the possibility of expanding their influence. It might be just be equally seductive to be the first plant spirit to colonize a new planet as to be among the first human colonists.

Absolutely! Spirits of wind and storms, of curious animals, etc, are easy to recruit for terraforming. The tough sells are dryads and earth spirits and the like.

Although, some dryads find they love the stars, and whole forests eventually form together into living ships to explore the 9 Worlds.

If the setting includes ancestral spirits, there’s probably alien ones as well as human.

Depending on how you envision the presence of Fey, their realm may be directly connected to all places life exists/could exist, meaning a trip to Europa might just be a week’s joune through “Underhill”. They could greet humanity (or other species) as they expand to habitable planets through the universe.

Otherworld is definitely part of the world, and the magic of bridging connections between worlds (called Crossroads) helps make long distance travel faster, if you know how to do it safely, and don’t have bad luck.

The Vaettr are a mix of land and ancestor spirits, and no one knows how that whole thing works. But there are definitely alien spirits of both sorts.

In such a setting, a “techno-mage” could be cool. So might a subtle psion/psychic, like a precog, empath, pyro or teke.

Or I’d go the other way and try out something cybernetic.

Cybernetics are rad, for sure. One element of the setting I mentioned briefly in the other thread is using spirit magic to connect your consciousness to a computer system and other users, creating a sort of consciousness mesh-net. Cybernetic characters would be better at this, and would be able to do things like defend against attacks with their Computers skill, hack a security system and gain its sensors and cameras as effectively temporary new physical senses, etc.

A technomage might have gear like a flashprinting sword that creates different edges with different enchantments and properties as the situation changes, or a gun that delivers compressed spells, or a flight suit covered in runes where every system is built to enhance and relay your magical skills, or create spell circles and glyphs without a need to draw them, perhaps using small precise laser etching.

Psychic/empathy could combine Beguiling (one specialty of Beguile is Empathy) magic with Divination, and a bit of mundane skill like Con (Read) and Investigation for filling in what magic doesn’t give.

A more physical “psionic” might use Geomancy in ways that most Geomancers have a hard time with, while a tech-psychic of sorts might mix Electromancy and Divination with Computers and Shamanism (spirit magic) to find the ghosts in the machine.

 

[Leatherhead]

So, a Star Trek and Spelljammer Mashup?

 

[doctorbadwolf]

So, a Star Trek and Spelljammer Mashup?

In very very vague terms, I suppose?

But mostly no, I think.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

There are ma sci-fi stories that include using hollowed-out asteroids as ships and bases. An earth elemental in such a place could be a bane or boon.

Boon if it arrived with the humans. Bane if it were native to the asteroid.*

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Speaking of Star Trek...”Wolf in the Fold” might as well be a tale of demonic possession. Such an alien- or spirit- could definitely fit your setting.