Poll: Fantasy Earth 2.0
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Absolutely. There are ways that it can be done, but there's also my Secret Plans (er, which is to say, how I'd like to see it done).
While handwaving magic is always an option, consider what a computer does, and what is required to make it do it. Between the complexity of its infrastructure and complexity of its internals, maintaining our modern technology is very difficult.
Not to say that I can't find a way, but that suit-wearing goblins getting into their Lexus from a good day on Wall Street is not going to be a thing.
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@zombiegenesis Give Shadowrun: Anarchy a try. Its Catalyst's attempt at Shadowrun using a more rules-light narrative system like Apocalypse World
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@Runescryer Huh, just watched some videos on it. Looks very interesting! Ordered it from Amazon, excited to get it on Monday. Thanks!
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A lot of people prefer Modern over Noir for their D&D Earth. I'll be honest, I'm rather surprised; are people Noir'd out?
“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”
― Carl Sagan, Cosmos -
@thenomain said in Poll: Fantasy Earth 2.0:
A lot of people prefer Modern over Noir for their D&D Earth. I'll be honest, I'm rather surprised; are people Noir'd out?
I think that modern is a setting that's easier to grasp than noir.
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@thenomain said in Poll: Fantasy Earth 2.0:
A lot of people prefer Modern over Noir for their D&D Earth. I'll be honest, I'm rather surprised; are people Noir'd out?
If you could translate the theme/feel of Noir to a modern timeperiod, that'd be one thing. For me, its the 1920's thing that bugs me.
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What about the 20s bugs you? If it's the social dynamics, they're wiped out with the human race.
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@thenomain said in Poll: Fantasy Earth 2.0:
What about the 20s bugs you? If it's the social dynamics, they're wiped out with the human race.
Fair point I had forgotten to consider. I have a knee-jerk reaction to historical settings.
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I'd want late 1800's/early 1900's. Maybe even Old West
With the caveat that the 'transplanted' people weren't modern themselves, but rather maintained the outlook and mentality of whatever medieval tech level they came from. Why? Because they'll still look at everything as 'sorcery!', but technology of the day is both durable enough to endure a few barbarian-smashes, and ignorant enough of anything resembling 'safety' to hit back when struck in creative ways. -
For me the noir setting works for certain things. I love City of Mist and its modern noir take but for something like this I think I would prefer a modern setting. That or like Victorian/Edwardian maybe.
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To me noir isn't really about the time period as much as the people and society... and all those would be gone. It would be orcs and elves with radio and Tommy guns instead of iPhones and ar-15s
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Noir is a style and a theme.
The Big O and Cowboy Bebop are both noir in places, despite one having mechs and the other spaceships and lasers.
Sin City and Sam and Twitch, also both noir, despite not happening in the 20s (especially the latter, which happens in the 90s).
The Dresden Files and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo are noir, despite the magic in the first and the focus on computer technology in the latter.
Veronica Mars, Jessica Jones, and Terriers are all noir despite happening in the modern age (and one of them with super powers, even).And that's just stuff that has noir permeating its entire make-up, not mentioning things like how noir can fit into settings like Samurai Jack ("The Tale of X-9") or Adventure Time ("BMO Noir").
I think noir gets unjustly pigeonholed into the 1920s because that's when it was born, but its themes and the style are by no means limited to a setting's technology or inhabitants.
Shit, I would play the fucking HELLLLLLL our of a noir version of The Witcher, with witchers being akin to down-and-out detectives for supernatural shenanigans (which they are and I would actually argue that The Witcher, especially the third installment, is definitely noir in many aspects, just not with the trappings we commonly ascribe to it, and that combination is what would make me giggle and want to play. Silver bullets in one gun, lead bullets in the other, awyissss.)
"Excuse the hell out of you. He's a bag of dicks. I'm a carefully curated box of cocks." -- to @GirlCalledBlu upon being misrepresented.
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@wildbaboons said in Poll: Fantasy Earth 2.0:
To me noir isn't really about the time period as much as the people and society... and all those would be gone. It would be orcs and elves with radio and Tommy guns instead of iPhones and ar-15s
As long as the orcs and elves behave in a way that harkens back to the themes and style of noir, then that society--which doesn't need to be human for it to be dysfunctional, depressing, and nihilistic--is still in tact.
If you need it to be human society, then that's just aesthetic.
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@coin said in Poll: Fantasy Earth 2.0:
Noir is a style and a theme.
Yeah but how do you do "noir" with medieval-fantasy people transplanted to 1920's earth? Not saying it's impossible, but it's hard to picture what that would even look like.
If it's purely a question of tech level, I think the 20s are kind of a weird dead zone of popular culture compared to the more popular late-1800's (Wild West), 30s (gangsters) and 40s (WWII).
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100% modern. Seeing/playing them struggling to unlock things home computers and smart phones to try and understand how the world works would be amazing.
i mean, players wouldn't do it on their own. But it would be cool.
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@faraday said in Poll: Fantasy Earth 2.0:
@coin said in Poll: Fantasy Earth 2.0:
Noir is a style and a theme.
Yeah but how do you do "noir" with medieval-fantasy people transplanted to 1920's earth? Not saying it's impossible, but it's hard to picture what that would even look like.
“In a few years, they might be looking for a piece of OUR action.”
- Cpt. J.T. Kirk, USS Enterprise.
Fedoras and tommy guns, hill giants in vests, flapper goblins.
I’ve started playing a point and click adventure called Pendula Swing which is a fantasy world that advanced to its version of the 20s. It’s buggy as hell right now but I’m hoping they fix it so I can seep in it.
If it's purely a question of tech level, I think the 20s are kind of a weird dead zone of popular culture compared to the more popular late-1800's (Wild West), 30s (gangsters) and 40s (WWII).
It’s entirely about the technology (more on that later). WW2 ushers in the modern era, especially the nuclear and informational age, and that would be just as well served by setting it today.
30s as good as the 20s. 50s would be fine, but I’d want to skip WW2 because I don’t want a world about fantasy races encountering global war machines. At least not to start.
50s would be funny for the Americana and Soviet Bloc trappings.
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@kanye-qwest said in Poll: Fantasy Earth 2.0:
100% modern. Seeing/playing them struggling to unlock things home computers and smart phones to try and understand how the world works would be amazing.
And this is where I started. A “The Walking Dead” motif to people who have to survive in such diverse locales.
I know that Pax, for instance, would rather humanity dropped into fantasy world, but I want the opposite of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. (“The flagon with the dragon.”) I want to see a world where a pixie tribe tries to work out freeze drying, and what direction that would take.
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This would be far easier if it happened even 20 or 30 years ago. Sure the transistor would be a closed book for a good long while, but fewer cars would be closed systems, CRTs are still around, more traditional methods of using paper to track shipments are very evident.
As for why the 20s? @coin was pondering Noir Witcher.
Fuck. Yes.
“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”
― Carl Sagan, Cosmos -
@thenomain said in Poll: Fantasy Earth 2.0:
Fedoras and tommy guns, hill giants in vests, flapper goblins.
So... that all just sounds like fashion and tech. I still don't see what makes it "noir".
Downton Abbey is set in the 1920's, fedoras abound, but there's nothing remotely noir about it. Jessica Jones is noir-ish and set in modern day.
But hey - if you want orcs in fedoras then you could have orcs in fedoras! Sounds amusing.
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@thenomain Like as a setting, it appeals. But as a game, it surely doesn't. You'd have players injecting 20s and 30s biases and sterotypes and sexism and racism and other stupidity because HISTORY even if it made no sense and all the people had been replaced by much more egalitarian people.
I predict it would be annoying af.
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I think I am having trouble wrapping my head around how this:
@thenomain said in Poll: Fantasy Earth 2.0:
And this is where I started. A “The Walking Dead” motif to people who have to survive in such diverse locales.
gets to this:
Fedoras and tommy guns, hill giants in vests, flapper goblins.
The tommy guns are more obvious. They're a tool laying around to use.. but the fashion and society? If all those people are gone why would the goblins, giants and orcs emulate it?
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Pictures and other bits of pop culture laying around? They learn to read and think old school dime novels are history books? Maybe. I dunno.
