What would a medieval fantasy world (like GH or FR) be like in the far future?

[dead]

I was thinking about my Greyhawk campaign and just wondering what the world would be like in the far, far future. Would it be a sci-fi/fantasy setting? Would it just be a sci-fi setting because magic has faded? Would it stay the same (caught in the perpetual whimsy of medieval swords & sorcery)?

How long would it take to advance civilization? The same amount as Earth? Twice as long because gods and magic resist technological "progress"?

I think it would be fascinating to see a medieval fantasy setting get a makeover like this. To present how it would be in the far future. Has anyone published something like this?

I mean, I know you've got fantasy/sci-fi settings out there, but I'd like to see what was "then", and what is "now".

I seem to recall an article in Dragon featuring a future Greyhawk. Could someone please tell me what issue that was in and if it's worth its salt?

I wonder what the Realms would be like in 10,000 years. Battlemechs and starships alongside space-faring dragons? Or, would folks just be belting out chainmail and swords like they always did?

Thanks.

 

[Stone Angel]

Well I wonder what social implications would also be in place

A unified church

Will the clerics of Gond lead an industrial revolution

Is Gold still the major form of currency.

Is it magic vs. tech, magi-tech, or magic as the old science and technology as the new?


The Seraph of Earth and Stone

 

[S'mon]

QV the Dark Sun campaign setting.

 

[diaglo]

think Metamorphosis Alpha or Gamma World

 

[philreed]

Isn't there a post-apocalyptic fantasy D20 campaign setting? Damn, I need to search my brain to see if I can dig up what I'm thinking of. Anyone know what I'm thinking of?

 

[Turanil]

Some suggestions:

-- Star Wars d20: Indeed magic almost disappeared, but the technology and physical laws of this universe, is based on something "magic", not something rationale. Plus the classes and rules are fairly consistent with D&D rules.

-- Dragonstar: A setting of pure D&D set in the distant future with starships that teleport, etc.

-- Dark Sun: As already mentioned, this is supposed to be a setting in a far future from a typical medieval fantasy D&D world.

 

[WayneLigon]

I was thinking about me Greyhawk campaign and just wondering what the world would be like in the far, far future. Would it be a sci-fi/fantasy setting? Would it just be a sci-fi setting because magic has faded?

One of the early 3E Dragon issues did that: Greyhawk 2001. The original city state was this tiny ghetto in a huge metropolis that stretched almost to the Wooly Bay.

As to how magic does, that depends on the philosophy of magic in your world. If magic is 'dreams, wishes, intentions, emotions' then it might well fade away into the background or disappear altogether. If it's the 'standard D&D vision of magic ', then it won't matter. It works whether or not you beleive in it or not. Some things would be done by magic instead of technology but probably surprisingly little, especially if you carry over the normal D&D rules. A wizard can disintergrate a lot more earth than a steam shovel, but a steam shovel doesn't have to go have a lie down after it does it's job three times.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

Dragonstar did a good job of D&D in space.

WayneLigon raises an excellent point. A lot of this is going to depend entirely on your own personal philosophy. So you're going to get a zillion different answers and all of them are totally valid.

For example, I think the existance of magic would impede technological development. Why do I think this? I was a bio major in college. Given the choice between studying cell membranes and lateral diffusion versus spending my time figuring out how to cast ... um ... well, basically any spell of a libidinous nature, which do you think a college student is gonna do?

Plus it's pretty easy for the standard PHB spells to muck up technology. I mean a magic missile always hits its target. Whoops! There goes your 10 million dollar heliocopter!

The only advantage technology has -- to my mind -- is that any chump can use it. Guns weren't better than longbows until reasonably late in their development cycle. But it takes forever to learn how to use a longbow and you can train someone to be good enough with a gun in a matter of weeks. But once a fireball takes out the manufacturing plants, you're pretty much boned technology wise.

Magic essentially concentrates power into the hands of an elite. Technology is more libertarian.

So, I can see some technologies improving to a point, but I think development would stagnate once you needed a large infrastructure to support a given technology. Progress would still march on, but only very slowly.

Well, until they come out with TiVo, because TiVo rocks.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Dragonstar did a good job of D&D in space.

WayneLigon raises an excellent point. A lot of this is going to depend entirely on your own personal philosophy. So you're going to get a zillion different answers and all of them are totally valid.

For example, I think the existance of magic would impede technological development. Why do I think this? I was a bio major in college. Given the choice between studying cell membranes and lateral diffusion versus spending my time figuring out how to cast ... um ... well, basically any spell of a libidinous nature, which do you think a college student is gonna do?
.

Sure, but getting a college student to study anything in place of drinking and/or chasing girls or just playing cards with the guys is always going to be an effort. That's part of what college is all about.

But, I agree, it all depends on your viewpoint. Magic could fade away or it could still be around. Is somebody going to develop a biological weapon that affects just goblinoids? How does a WW1 era biplane fare against a young dragon? How about a WW2 era P-51 Mustang or a modern era jet with missiles?

 

[fusangite]

The idea of progressive rather than declensionist or cyclical history is something I associate with the world I inhabit (to the extent that I believe in it at all). In my view, fantasy worlds generally are not governed by the whig theory of popular history (that of progressive technological and social advancement) that most people believe our world to be governed by.

In fact, I would argue that most fantasy worlds have declension histories -- those of inevitable decline. Certainly, Tolkien's Middle Earth functions this way, as do many pre-modern theories of history, be they biblical or pagan. Generally, in fantasy and myth histories, people's lifespans get shorter, kingdoms get smaller, magic loses its power, rulers become less noble and the greatest and most beautiful things fade away.

Personally, I'm into worlds that have cyclical histories -- measures of cultural and material progress that look like sine waves. Sometimes these cyclical histories are combined with declensionist or progressive patterns (ie. in each cycle, things get more or less impressive). Ancient Greek theories of history combine cyclical and declensionist aspects with each age bracketed by civilization-destroying natural disasters but each age, even at its height, being less impressive than the previous one.

One of the things I game to escape is any sense of the march of progress. And I get the sense that other people do too.