What do you call this genre?

[Citizen Keen]

I am currently creating a world where the technological level is that of the middle of American history (halfway between the revolutionary war and the goldrush, with some areas reaching different extremes). There will be plenty of places without any more technology than the bronze age, and some without. And there is magic, with elves 'n' shit. You know, D&D in the early Industrial Age.

I thought this genre was called Steampunk (I saw a review of Arcanum which called it Steampunk), but good ol' Steve-O pointed out the error of my ways.

What do you call this genre? I think more whitewolf stuff when I think "Urban Fantasy", and "Western Fantasy HERO" doesn't really work for me, and I don't know what to call it.

[Vanguard00]

I've heard it referred to as the "Early National" period in history and in politics, so that might be as good a name as any. It usually covers from about 1800-1850 (which was...um...1825? 1829? Something like that). Some variation on "Western Expansion" or "Exploration" or even "Settler" might work for ya.

G'luck.

[Citizen Keen]

I don't think you quite got what I was asking... (no offense)

What do you call that genre where you have a Fantasy/Magic realm with reliable low-level technology.

[AlHazred]

Uh... "Early National Fantasy"? That's quite a mouthful. When a good genre name doesn't come to me for what I want to run, I tend to go with an element of the setting that helps define it for the players; hence, "Kumite Hero" instead of "Cross-Dimensional Martial Arts Fantasy" or "Vigilance League Hero" instead of "Pulp Heroic/Golden Age Superheroic."

[Just A Guy Name]

I you have to have a moniker to hang on it..How about "Early Industrial Age Fantasy"? (hmm, maybe that evokes another image, though)

[Dr. Anomaly]

"What IF magic worked alongside science?"

"What IF steam locomotive boilers were kept heated by bound fire elementals?"

"IF you were forced to chose between science and magic...how would you chose? Could you chose?"

"Come and find out the answers to these questions, IF you dare...by playing Industrial Fantasy, the genre that mixes magic and machines!!!"

"Enter the world of IF...a world of infinite possibilities!!"


:)

[Lord Liaden]

Well, Shelley Chrystal Mactyre (of PRIMUS fame) has been working on a HERO setting for the late 18th to early 19th centuries called Regency HERO (http://www.mactyre.net/archives/regency/), so called for the periods of madness of British King George III during which his son ruled the Empire - although the American frontier is one of the possible settings explored. Certainly as the world was opening up to European and American explorers, there were many lands still unexplored and pre-industrial cultures not yet encountered, where you could set elves and the like.

If you wanted to give your genre a name, "Regency Fantasy HERO" doesn't sound too bad. ;)

I recommend checking out the link above. There are some good ideas and guidelines there. :)

[Vanguard00]

I you have to have a moniker to hang on it..How about "Early Industrial Age Fantasy"? (hmm, maybe that evokes another image, though)


Even simpler, "Industrial Fantasy".

[Dr. Anomaly]

Even simpler, "Industrial Fantasy".
Yup...exactly as I suggested in my post. :)

[Captain Obvious]

I'd be interested in seeing what kind of ideas you have for this. I've been working on something similar, but earlier in history. Maybe we can steal from each other.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Wasn't there a d20 setting published a while back in which non-magic-using Eurpeans came to the Americas only to disocver that the New World was a highly magical place? Somehow the colonialists doid not get the message and kept on coming back, even though the level of tehcnology they had at the time did not give them a signficant enough advantage to counteract actvie magic.

Move that setting forward in time about three hundred years and you might have something interesting. Or place the setting outside our world althogether, and have fireball-throwing mages squaring off against armies of people with flintlock rifles. In gudnpowder AND magic work, which one would you choose and for what reasons?

[Citizen Keen]

I think I'll put it up under the name "Industrial Fantasy". Look for it on the boards soon.

[PhilFleischmann]

So, why exactly is this not steampunk? What's the difference between steampunk and this "industrial fantasy"? :confused:

[Southern Cross]

Good question.Now where's my copy of GURPS Steampunk...

[Steve Long]

"Industrial Fantasy" doesn't sound quite right. Neither does Regency Hero or something like that.

Given the time period you're talking about, I'd probably be tempted to call it "Jacksonian Fantasy," though that might inaccurately suggest political connotations to the game. Depending on where the game takes place and what's involved, "Frontier Fantasy" or "Cumberland Fantasy" might work.

[Captain Obvious]

Doesn't steampunk generally represent a later time period (on the order of 100 years or so), as well as highlighting fantastic technology? It also generally doesn't involve magic as such, I believe.

The technology here looks to be normal tech, but with more traditional magic.

I like Steve's "Frontier Fantasy" term. When will the sourcebook be out, Steve?

[Doug McCrae]

Derringers & Dragons

[Michael Hopcroft]

Doesn't steampunk generally represent a later time period (on the order of 100 years or so), as well as highlighting fantastic technology? It also generally doesn't involve magic as such, I believe.

The technology here looks to be normal tech, but with more traditional magic.

I like Steve's "Frontier Fantasy" term. When will the sourcebook be out, Steve?
Depends on who you ask. There is certainly magic in steampunk games like Castle Falkenstien and Victoriana (which I highly recommend to anyoen who is interested in gaming in the Victorian period, because it exposes it for what it was -- Hell On Earth if you weren't rich and powerful!).

[Steve Long]

I like Steve's "Frontier Fantasy" term. When will the sourcebook be out, Steve?

LOL. No time soon, I'm afraid -- too many other genre and subgenre books have priority. ;)

[Trencher]

Use the bleeding rules and call it spagetti fantasy.

[Captain Obvious]

Bump.

I plan on posting a write up or two for monsters, spells, etc that fit this subgenre. Anyone else, feel free to beat me to it.

[tancred]

Good sourcebooks: Too Many Magicians, Lord Darcy Investigates, and at least 1 more book (name escapes me), all by Randall Garrett.

Summary of Premise: King Richard the Lionheart in the Crusades, a monk in his time period discovered magic and got the blessing of the Church, and the Plantagenet dynasty never fell.

Fast forward to the 1960's: Magic is a licensed profession (Lord Darcy's companion is a forensic sorceror), but technology exists as well. The Plantagenets STILL rule the Anglo-French empire, and their major enemy is the Polish Empire.

REALLY good reads, and a fabulous world for this kind of setting.

[Captain Obvious]

Quick and dirty writeup for a frontier fantasy beast:

Alligator Horse -

This chimerical creature is obviously the result of some magical joke, arising from the common boast of hunters and boatmen of being half-horse and half-alligator. The original creator hasn't come forward to take credit, however, and it's commonly assumed that he fell victim to his own sense of humor.

Physically the beast resembles a horse with a scaly hide, clawed and webbed feet, a fleshy tail, and an alligator's head. While they enjoy wallowing in mud, they are more generally found on drier land, given that their long legs tend to sink into soft ground.

These creatures are occasionally used as riding animals by the same sort of braggarts that inspired their creation, but their mean temperament and taste for meat keeps them from coming into common usage by decent folk. Most of these animals will be encountered in a feral state, running down slower game in meadows and plains.

STR 25
DEX 18
CON 20
BODY 16
INT 8
EGO 5
PRE 20
COM 4
PD 10
ED 7
SPD 3
REC 9
END 40
STUN 38

Bite 1d6 HKA (2d6 w/STR) restrainable
1d6 HKA Kick (2d6 w/STR)
-3" Knockback
Running +6" (12" total)
Armor 4PD/2ED
+2 PER
Nightvision
+2 OCV with bite
Physical Limitation Animal intelligence
Physical limitation cold-blooded
Physical limitation large
Physical limitation very limited manipulation

[Citizen Keen]

One of my players (who's creating a dwarven thief with a musket) nicknamed it 'Clockwork Fantasy'. I like that. When I start posting my campaign over the next few days (I hope), that'll be what I refer to it as.

[Captain Obvious]

For anyone interested in working up broadsheets and other props for a Frontier Fantasy game, this site has an essay on the proper use of 18th Century ligatures in print, and a link to an appropriate TrueType font.

http://www.orbitals.com/self/ligature/ligature.htm

[Badger]

Well if I remember right I think the time where use of steam became widespread was more after 1850 than before. Though between the Revolution and CivilWars isnt my strongpoint.

[fintach]

The other Lord Darcy book is Murder and Magic. I highly recommend them all, but if you only read one you should probably go with Too Many Magicians -- it's the only actual novel. The other two are compilations of short stories. Now that I think if it, though, there's a new paperback out that has all the stories in one volume. (Note: There is also a fourth book called Ten Little Wizards, but it isn't by Randall Garrett and I haven't bothered to read it yet so I can't say whether or not it's any good). Anyway, I've always thought of the Lord Darcy stuff as Steampunk, though I'm not sure that's technically accurate.

[Wil Hyral]

Revolutionary Fantasy,
Colonial fantasy,
Imperialist Fantasy,
Manifest Destiny Fantasy,
Social Revolution Fantasy,

Those all sort of tailor to the era of which you speak. My favorite is Colonial Fantasy. I mean "High Fantasy" doesn't mean you're all under the influence while playing, and "Dark Fantasy" doesn't mean the sun is always down, so it's not like you NEED colonies in Colonial fantasy, but it does describe the technology era as per European / Western standards.

Edit: Oh holy crap, I didn't even read all of page 2. Frontier Fantasy is so much better. I knew there was some Davy Crockett-esque word I wasn't hitting on, and I think that was it. (I wanted to say Critter fantasy because I was thinking Critterland in Disneyland but now that I reflect, it's Frontierland, with Critter Country. Wow, look how much I type when I drink this school's coffee.)