Shrine of the Nephilim

Magic can do a lot in fantasy gaming. Not everything, but a lot. And where it's lacking, is where technology comes in. We were talking about this with a friend when dealing with world-building, and he was discussing making it low-tech. We asked, 'why?' "Well, there's magic, so tech isn't needed." If this were true, then you're talking about a stone age culture, right? "Well, no. They have swords and armour, and stuff." That's technology. So, where do you draw the line, then? Our thought is... you don't. And we explained it to him. First and foremost, magic isn't omnipresent. It doesn't permeate every aspect of society. Farmers don't wave a hand to seed their fields or harvest. Masons and architects don't cast spells to build temples and palaces. Swordsmiths don't chant to mould a bar of steel into a sword. Scribes don't use spells to copy books. Are there spells that do any of that? Just maybe. Is it common ? M...

A long time ago, dungeon crawls were multi-session, multi-day trips. If the dungeon was serious, it was a major undertaking. You would go in, push as far as you figured was safe, then retreat back to your camp or to civilization to recover before you went in again. And if the dungeon was a multiple level dungeon, with two or three or even four floors, it might take you weeks to get through it, if not months . It was almost never a one-and-done. This was one reason for henchmen / hirelings. You needed someone to look after the camp at the surface. They handled your horses, your supplies, your tents and food. You took a bit of ratio with you down into the dungeon, because you never know what might happen, but all your other stuff was kept on the surface, where it was (relatively) safe. What, you thought the paladin would be riding her horse down in the dungeon? The reason for this was simple: healing didn't come cheap. A cleric only has so many spells in a day, potions are hard to fi...

One thing we've wondered is why people are so reluctant to bring firearms into fantasy. Alright, we get it. A lot of D&D and fantasy gaming is inspired by things like Conan, and Elric, and Lord of the Rings, and they didn't have guns. This makes sense, since they're all in the ancient past or in another world that's completely different from Earth's. Sure. You've totally got a point there. But here's our counterpoint. Conan was set in the ancient past. Armour? Rare. Swords? Heavy. A lot of weapons you see in games like D&D didn't show up in Conan. Or in Elric. Or in Lord of the Rings. Because it was expected to be 'a long, long time ago'. In Conan, you rarely (if ever) saw crossbows. They were considered an incredibly rare, 'civilized' weapon compared to the more primitive weapons of the time. The Hyborian Age, which Conan's set in, was a blend of various historical periods, sure, but it generally leaned more into the Bronze a...