D. Gray Warrior
Sage
So, an idea I have been brainstorming for some time now is a modern world (either our world or a fictional analog) experiencing a global cataclysmic event that causes societies everywhere to collapse.
After awhile, things settle down. The apocalypse is still recent enough for people to be dealing with the effects of the cataclysm, but whatever caused it is no longer an active threat to the current inhabitants. Some rebuilding has occurred, but things will never return to the same level before the apocalypse.
The basic theme of the setting is a mish-mash of tech levels, as is standard for post apocalyptic stories. I'm thinking of making it Medieval at its base, but more Dark Ages instead of High or Late Middle Ages.
Instead of knights in shining armor, most soldiers wear leather, gambeson or lamellar, maybe wirh some more modern material and equipment mixed in. Most people are gonna be armed with swords, shields and crossbows. So, no firearms.
The castles look more like the motte-and-bailey style fortifications rather than your standard stone castles you typically see in fantasy.
As for the anachronistic tech, I'm thinking of allowing more "primitive", for lack of a better term forms of tech. Sure, there's no Internet, but nothing's stopping people from using type-writers again. There also might be limited electricity created by hand-crank generators and maybe even a telegraph system.
Some fantasy stuff is gonna be harder to incorporate, especially if it's supposed be set in our world. I am leaning towards alchemy, as I feel like it would be the least jarring kind of magic in a RL based setting. I kinda see alchemy as "proto-science," or the science before we had science. Then again, one could opt for the "sufficiently advanced tech" route.
I think fantasy races could be easily explained as mutants. Initially, I had a race that were basically uplifted mamals like wolves and bears, but changed my mind as that's probably straying too far into furry territory, and that's just not what I'm going for.
Perhaps the biggest issue with the setting is believability. I'll admit it's probably not very realistic for everyone to go back to living like they're in the Dark Ages, as opposed to maybe more lare 1800's or early 1900's, but I like the aesthetic. It's basically Medieval stasis with a post apocalyptic twist. I am leaning towards using bullets and other ammunition as the world's primary currency, mostly as a way to justify the lack of firearms (since firing a gun is basically burning money) but I also feel like at this point after the apocalypse, some kind of coin or banknote would eventually be in circulation.
I'm still undecided about what caused the apocalypse, but leaning towards asteroid impact, volcanic winter or good ol' reliable nuclear war. Or, now that I think about it, perhaps a pandemic would be most fitting so there could be parallels with the bubonic plague and portray history as repeating itself.
After awhile, things settle down. The apocalypse is still recent enough for people to be dealing with the effects of the cataclysm, but whatever caused it is no longer an active threat to the current inhabitants. Some rebuilding has occurred, but things will never return to the same level before the apocalypse.
The basic theme of the setting is a mish-mash of tech levels, as is standard for post apocalyptic stories. I'm thinking of making it Medieval at its base, but more Dark Ages instead of High or Late Middle Ages.
Instead of knights in shining armor, most soldiers wear leather, gambeson or lamellar, maybe wirh some more modern material and equipment mixed in. Most people are gonna be armed with swords, shields and crossbows. So, no firearms.
The castles look more like the motte-and-bailey style fortifications rather than your standard stone castles you typically see in fantasy.
As for the anachronistic tech, I'm thinking of allowing more "primitive", for lack of a better term forms of tech. Sure, there's no Internet, but nothing's stopping people from using type-writers again. There also might be limited electricity created by hand-crank generators and maybe even a telegraph system.
Some fantasy stuff is gonna be harder to incorporate, especially if it's supposed be set in our world. I am leaning towards alchemy, as I feel like it would be the least jarring kind of magic in a RL based setting. I kinda see alchemy as "proto-science," or the science before we had science. Then again, one could opt for the "sufficiently advanced tech" route.
I think fantasy races could be easily explained as mutants. Initially, I had a race that were basically uplifted mamals like wolves and bears, but changed my mind as that's probably straying too far into furry territory, and that's just not what I'm going for.
Perhaps the biggest issue with the setting is believability. I'll admit it's probably not very realistic for everyone to go back to living like they're in the Dark Ages, as opposed to maybe more lare 1800's or early 1900's, but I like the aesthetic. It's basically Medieval stasis with a post apocalyptic twist. I am leaning towards using bullets and other ammunition as the world's primary currency, mostly as a way to justify the lack of firearms (since firing a gun is basically burning money) but I also feel like at this point after the apocalypse, some kind of coin or banknote would eventually be in circulation.
I'm still undecided about what caused the apocalypse, but leaning towards asteroid impact, volcanic winter or good ol' reliable nuclear war. Or, now that I think about it, perhaps a pandemic would be most fitting so there could be parallels with the bubonic plague and portray history as repeating itself.
Last edited:
Istar
Myth Weaver
Inkling
