D&D General Who put all this Sci-Fi in my soup!?

[Time_Feather]

I've been noticing (obviously purely anecdotal here), that those in circle of DM's have been including more and more science fiction elements in their otherwise Tolkien/medieval/high fantasy games. I have no issue with it and know the rich tradition of slipping sci-fi in at times, but specifically with my peers who run D&D 5e, they are heavily pursuing science fiction elements in their plotlines - Spelljammer space battles, creating pocket realms of mechanical societies with vanishing mysticism, and the like. I could totally be off-base here, but has anyone else noticed this drift or shift occurring and how do you feel about its increasing prevalence?

 

[MGibster]

I've been noticing (obviously purely anecdotal here), that those in circle of DM's have been including more and more science fiction elements in their otherwise Tolkien/medieval/high fantasy games.

They're just going back to D&D's roots with adventures like Expedition to Barrier Peaks or the inclusion of a cowboy complete with six shooters as a god in Greyhawk. Blending fantasy and science fiction was pretty popular in the 70s and 80s with Masters of the Universe, Krull, Thundarr the Barbarian, Blackstar, and I'm sure there were others that weren't cartoons.

I've learned to embrace the silliness of D&D and while I'm not using any science fiction elements in my current campaign I'll be happy to do so in the future.

 

[Stormonu]

It waxes and wanes, and there's been traces of it all the way back to 1E, if not before.

I mean, Spelljammer was created back in 2E. Barrier Mountains was 1E. Tale of the Comet was 2E. The Blackmoor series for Basic were in the 80's/90's. Urban Arcana was in the 3E era. Beyond these TSR/WotC sci-fi drop ins, I've seen DMs and players mixing in sci-fi elements (often as technology-as-magic) here and there all the time. Doesn't seem to be more prevalent than in the past, to me.

About the only thing that irks me these day is sending stones, and that's because I hate modern cell phones anyways (thanks to being on-call regularly).

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

As you say, D&D has a long tradition of sci-fi elements in it, but is there any particular sci-fi media that your peers are fans of? Television, films, other games etc? Has something caught on in your peer group that might have caused the additional interest?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Generic fantasy get pretty boring after a while, you have to mix up the genres to keep it interesting.

But, in the 22 years since the movies, Tolkien has been passing out of fashion in pop culture, and is being incorporated into high culture instead. And I think modern fantasy is itself moving away from Tolkienesque worlds. The last fantasy novel I read was Cinder Spires.

 

[overgeeked]

I've been noticing (obviously purely anecdotal here), that those in circle of DM's have been including more and more science fiction elements in their otherwise Tolkien/medieval/high fantasy games. I have no issue with it and know the rich tradition of slipping sci-fi in at times, but specifically with my peers who run D&D 5e, they are heavily pursuing science fiction elements in their plotlines - Spelljammer space battles, creating pocket realms of mechanical societies with vanishing mysticism, and the like. I could totally be off-base here, but has anyone else noticed this drift or shift occurring and how do you feel about its increasing prevalence?

Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax put all that sci-fi into your soup. OD&D had robots and androids.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax put all that sci-fi into your soup. OD&D had robots and androids.

And Martians from John Carter.

But it was White Dwarf that added Martians from H G Wells.

 

[Zardnaar]

Always been there more in background I suppose.

Did come up today. 5E has power armor!!

 

[Cergorach]

I wouldn't call Spelljammer or pocket realms with mechanical societies sci-fi, I call that space fantasy and steampunk...

Something like Dragonstar or Starfinder have sci-fi elements with tons of space fantasy.

Especially Spelljammer is the more fantastical version of nautical adventures.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I've been noticing (obviously purely anecdotal here), that those in circle of DM's have been including more and more science fiction elements in their otherwise Tolkien/medieval/high fantasy games. I have no issue with it and know the rich tradition of slipping sci-fi in at times, but specifically with my peers who run D&D 5e, they are heavily pursuing science fiction elements in their plotlines - Spelljammer space battles, creating pocket realms of mechanical societies with vanishing mysticism, and the like. I could totally be off-base here, but has anyone else noticed this drift or shift occurring and how do you feel about its increasing prevalence?

I have not so much noticed a drift as a return.

A new D&D always starts from a pretty pure "Standard D&D Setting" point: faux-European, pseudo-medieval (basically "pop history"/"pop sociology" version of medieval Europe), schizotech (15th century armor and 12th century social structures and 17th century politics and 9th century castles, etc., but no 14th century gunpowder weapons), vaguely Tolkien-esque (lost glories in a fallen world, but elves aren't immortal, there is no big-G God, elves are just wistful Because, halflings exist Because), etc. That's pretty much always where things begin. Wiggle-room comes in how bright vs gritty it is, how much modern mores affect things (e.g. greater gender equality), accessibility of magic, etc.

It's natural to start off at this point because, any time you're working with a new system, you need to learn its ins and outs, and it's easier to do so if you have a familiar, comfortable context to see it play out within. For most folks, that "Standard D&D Setting" framework is precisely that. It is, for them, the closest thing to a white canvas. Or, perhaps, to white rice--a simple meal well-made, so to speak.

But white rice can become limiting, unless you start adding things to it. And that's where the sci-fi thing comes in. It necessarily stands out against the presumed "Standard D&D Setting" backdrop. You can't help but notice its effects.