Back when the Blackmoor D20 books were coming out, I got into some serious argument with the creators of that book.
My argument: they were fucking up, royally, by ignoring the ONE thing that made Blackmoor very special and unique.  
Blackmoor was always an interesting fantasy setting, but made much more interesting by the presence of the Temple of the Frog, and the sci-fi technology that emanated from there.

I guess they felt this was too "old school", and of course the new Blackmoor book contained no light sabers or laser rifles.
And of course, it was a flop.

That said, for some reason conventional RPG wisdom is that people don't like putting sci-fi elements into their fantasy games.  Now, maybe its just that I'm a serious grognard; but its one of the things I absolutely adored about both Blackmoor and the Wilderlands. The whole thing that you could be travelling with your mage, your elf, and your dwarf, and end up running into a cyborg that was left over guarding the ruins of a long-dead civilization's starcruiser.  That sort of stuff...

So what do the rest of you think; is occasional dropping of some sci-fi material into your fantasy setting something that makes you think "cool!" or makes you think "lame"?

RPGPundit

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It all dates back to the "old school" of speculative fiction, when genres were much less rigorously defined. This is the background that Arneson, Gygax and the Judge's Guild guys were coming from. That's why we had rules for cowboys and laser guns in the DMG!

Is it cool or lame? Kinda both, actually. For the most part, it's fun as hell, but supremely goofy. That kind of shit doesn't fly for many in this post-White Wolf age when everything in your setting just has to be taken so damn seriously. Silliness is verboten.

Hell, did you see what those bums did to my beloved Gamma World back in 03?

I'm a big fan of Arduin, so, yeah, I think it's fine to drop it in there.  Plus, its fun to describe basic/higher technology to your players as if its magic.

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May I say that, even as combination parody/practical joke, Encounter Critical absolutely ROCKS.

RPGPundit

I don't mind mixing both genres. Final Fantasy is a great example of when it's done right.

I've thought about taking Monte Cook's Chaositech (another example), and change the background. What if this tech comes from a long lost starship? What if demons corrupted it, and the only hope is to recover the original tech?

Anyone who's played X-Com UFO (and Terror from the Deep) knows this ends with a raid in a dung--er, sunken city-starship.

Quote from: YamoHell, did you see what those bums did to my beloved Gamma World back in 03?

If you think that I have been Vitriolic on some posts on here; you have not seen the level of Vitriol that I rise to, an almost orgiastic symphony of unbridled hate, for that worthless fucker Baugh and how he and White Wolf intentionally butchered Gamma World.

RPGPundit

Quote from: YamoIs it cool or lame? Kinda both, actually. For the most part, it's fun as hell, but supremely goofy. That kind of shit doesn't fly for many in this post-White Wolf age when everything in your setting just has to be taken so damn seriously. Silliness is verboten.

One of the major influences of the old school, Vance's Dying Earth (first book) mixed both freely, and it is the exact opposite of lame/silly. Howard's Conan stories have implications of SF elements (cthuloid gods, crazy elephant aliens and some other stuff too) and are also made from awesome. Gene Wolfe's Book of The New Sun (arguably) mixes  SF and F as well, and does so really nicely- although some might say any perceived fantasy elements could probably be explained away by forgotten super science... Anyway, I agree it can be lame when done poorly, but it can also be cool as hell when done right.

Science Fantasy is easily my favorite genre,

I dig the mix up. Anybody else but me who played Ultima 1-3? They even had Tie Fighters, and a princess to rescue!

Quote from: RPGPunditMay I say that, even as combination parody/practical joke, Encounter Critical absolutely ROCKS.

Thank you; it was an enjoyable way to dispose of a few weeks of my life.

Quote from: S. John RossThank you; it was an enjoyable way to dispose of a few weeks of my life.

I don't know if you've seen it, but Jeff's Gameblog has a great article on "Apocryphal Gaming", wherein he talks about games with "phantom" backgrounds, such as EC, Spaceship Zero, Mazes N' Minotaurs, and, of course, the Epic Legends of the Hierarchs RPG.  Fun read.

Quote from: Zachary The FirstI don't know if you've seen it, but Jeff's Gameblog has a great article on "Apocryphal Gaming", wherein he talks about games with "phantom" backgrounds, such as EC, Spaceship Zero, Mazes N' Minotaurs, and, of course, the Epic Legends of the Hierarchs RPG.  Fun read.

I have, yeah, and it is. I keep meaning to write my own article on related topics, giving due credit to a certain old article in Roleplayer magazine and also exploring some non-gaming influences on stuff (including that brilliant website with the fake episode guide for Galaxy Quest).

I think it's a matter of expectations.

If I sit down to play Dragonstar or RIFTS, mixing technology and fantasy is going to be what I expect.

If you put it in a classical fantasy setting with little in the way of gonzo world-hopping, I might find it a bit less in-genre for what I was brought to expect.

I don't really mind the two mixing, as long as it has that kind of gonzo charm of the older games, or the kick-ass with the kitchen sink style that RIFTS has. That can be hard to do, you can miss both targets and just end up with lame.

All I know is my Book of Jalan is the only game I wrote that doesn't sell well, and it is SF/Fantasy. I sold more copies of In Harm's Way in a week than I have sold of Jalan in two years.

-mice