Shade264
I would suggest looking into the time period when the technology you want to include was created and what factors prevented them from being widely used. Then see if these factors could be overcome by the fantasy aspect.
If that's all there is to your suggestion, I'd say the answer is pretty straightforward. The most comparable time period for our world would be somewhere between the 17th and 18th centuries. As for how the fantastical aspect plays a part... let me use telegraphy as an example.
You could probably find this much out by skimming a Wikipedia article, but an earlier telegraph system before the ever-familiar "HELLO WORLD STOP" electrical telegraphs were these comm-towers called "semaphores," which used mechanical shutters to relay messages. These were invented at the end of the 18th century, but were grandfathered by electrical ones after... like, 1810 or something?
Now that we have that information, let's throw magic into the mix. Any spell-caster can eventually learn how to cast a "sending" spell to send short messages to distant people... within a certain distance, and only if the caster is acquainted with the target. However, magic is at least
somewhat similar to programming or coding - a spell is basically a string of "information" being sent to a clearly-defined target, where that information is then "read" and executed. (Which is why battlemages have a pretty hard time learning new spells.)
With that said, having a skilled mage place certain enchantments on the earlier prototypes of an electrical telegraph would make the implementation of such things *much* easier. The only issue is that they are only useful across one region and don't allow for global communications yet.
Stuff like that isn't too hard to think through; the only "issues" are with weaponry. Firearms have been around for, like, ever - even the first revolver was designed in the 16th century (though at the time it was expensive as hell). Yet with industry starting to make good headway in a fantasy setting, it's not exactly inconceivable to believe that firearms could be made available to the regular person - provided they've got plenty of money to spare, or are just skilled thieves. Melee weapons like swords or pikes are usually held only by adventurers, mercs, nobles (sometimes), guardsmen and soldiers - all of whom are quite likely to also have a gun.
So the "wandering swordsman" or "big dumb warrior" archetypes probably won't get the time of day in battle without technological or magical assistance.
The goal of all this, of course, is to catch as many people's interest as I can with this setting. Someone want to help me brainstorm this out? For all the writing I've done, it's all nothing but underdeveloped ideas and I'm not entirely sure what direction I should be taking this setting at all.
Reply
