Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

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Zehren
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Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

#1 Post by Zehren » Tue Mar 05, 2013 6:21 pm

(No poll mechanic used, but a poll nonetheless.)

I am immensely curious - how much fantasy do you prefer in your fantasy literature/games/movies/erotic larp sessions? How much realism?

Do you enjoy yourself the most when characters fly, ignore gravity, throw bolts of different colours at each other and jack the excrement out of the laws of physics?

Do you cry if something does not accurately match socioeconomic states in France in 1382?

Where on the scale/chart/coordinate system are you?
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arxthas
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Re: Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

#2 Post by arxthas » Tue Mar 05, 2013 6:24 pm

I totally freak out if there is anything (anything) that does not match the socioeconomic states France 1382.

(I prefer low magic and realism)

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Re: Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

#3 Post by ghalt » Tue Mar 05, 2013 7:15 pm

I'm just gonna say the fantasy type I hate. There's basically an entire genre where an evil mage has magicked evil, and can only be defeated by the good apprentice mage magicking even mightier magic to magic away the evil mage. Basically every Brandon Sanderson story. And the wheel of time. And Belgeriad? Probably Harry Potter counts to?

Some of those are written well, but I can't take the trope of the good mage winning completely by being moar powerful. :) That rant has little or nothing to do with geas. >_>

I don't think I care about high / low magic really, so much as I want the characters do not sound like badly written superheroes. BYSPEL, one of my favorite fantasy novels I recently read involved an orphan girl, ward of a banker, setting up a new bank in a city with precious little support. Please take my word that this was interesting :) The setting wasn't low magic at all--the first person you meet bleeds spiders, but the characters have motivations and stories beyond "and then I bled spiders everywhere."

Realism also is... Not the focus for me I think? I just need a story entertaining enough to convince me to suspend disbelief. :)

For instance, perhaps, if cooking here were made "more realistic", or god forbid, the process of eating, I wouldn't care because omg it's fake cooking. It's never going to be very entertaining (IMO) and the delicious food will always be fake. ^_^

TLDR I want characters to be real (or convincing is a better word) and the world to be unrealistically fantastic.

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Re: Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

#4 Post by glorfindel » Wed Mar 06, 2013 4:39 am

Hmm, a though question.

I feel a bit like ghalt, as I want characters to be convincing and I would nearly rank that at topmost priority. Also those 'mage vs mage' battles relying on strength or skill of one to overcome the other... uhh nope (unless you look for popcorn kino, some of them make good , eh, off topic).

Usually, I enjoy settings in which the world is not 'all fairy shiny' and there's a fight for survial going on. Also seem to have a knack for those unlikely heros. A satho gone to save a city from destruction? that would be my cup of tea.

What I dislike these days about many 'fantasy' settings is that they are black/white mostly. There's no gray in their characters, no depth, just your usual old good vs evil fight.

As for flying bolts and shiny magic, I think I like the more hidden magic best. Also 'chi' is usually something that intrigues me, people doing fancy things by the force of their will, augmenting the reality just slightly by their power.

I guess that's about the tidbits I like more.

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Re: Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

#5 Post by Delia » Wed Mar 06, 2013 5:42 am

I have to agree that the story is what is most important. I usually discern if something is good my standards if I can picture it in my mind or not. A crucial element for my enjoyment.

I prefer magic as a background force and a story element rather than powerful wizards doing stuff. Or if the powerful wizards are what the story is about there should be something more about the magic than flinging fireballs and doing whatever. A personal cost and a sense of doom are amongst my favourites. Ursula LeGuinn's(or somesuchs) The Wizard Of Earthsea is one of my favourite fantasy settings :)

That said, I started my character as a soldier here originally and everything was much more low key. Stumbling across magic was really an accident, I did not even know it was there and it took a long while to even manage a simple firefinger(magical tinderbox). It all was quite cool then. I do not mean I find the present displeasing but the aesthetics of the past were quite different.
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Re: Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

#6 Post by luminier » Wed Mar 06, 2013 10:22 am

Game of Thrones level of realism.
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Re: Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

#7 Post by Zehren » Wed Mar 06, 2013 10:40 am

luminier wrote:Game of Thrones level of realism.
Have you read the books? Do the farsight series' realism match those of the books? I have read some of the books of the A song of Ice and Fire saga... Or do you specifically refer to book one of the series, where there is the least amount of, hmm, mystical thingies (from what I have read so far)? (I watch exceedingly little farsight, and have no plans of seeing the farsight serialisation, really.)
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Re: Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

#8 Post by luminier » Wed Mar 06, 2013 10:51 am

I've read the first four and am slowly reading the fifth awaiting the sixth.

I like how it's essentially traditional medieval background with magic being this almost forgotten mystical unknown thing that some of the most powerful people in the book have access to secretly and pretty much "run show" behind the scenes because of it.
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Re: Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

#9 Post by Zehren » Wed Mar 06, 2013 11:14 am

luminier wrote:I've read the first four and am slowly reading the fifth awaiting the sixth.

I like how it's essentially traditional medieval background with magic being this almost forgotten mystical unknown thing that some of the most powerful people in the book have access to secretly and pretty much "run show" behind the scenes because of it.
Ah, splendid, I know what level of realism/fantasy you voted for, then. I was confused as whether you meant the farsight serialisation or the books, since the serialisation goes by "Game of thrones", but the book saga is "A song of Ice and Fire" ^^ (And because I have no idea whether the serialisation portrays the same "fantasy level" as the books.)
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Re: Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

#10 Post by arxthas » Wed Mar 06, 2013 12:07 pm

luminier wrote:Game of Thrones level of realism.
I second that.. where all the good guys die.

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Re: Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

#11 Post by adanath » Fri Mar 08, 2013 12:41 pm

I like it to be realistic so..

teleportation, telepathic mind control, telekinetic abilities, dragons, flying...ummm...Quantum vibrational energy exchange that makes things look like magic...demons, angels, warlocks, wizards, rainbow candy steps, and gumdrop trees

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Re: Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

#12 Post by Reptar » Fri Mar 08, 2013 12:56 pm

adanath wrote:I like it to be realistic so..

teleportation, telepathic mind control, telekinetic abilities, dragons, flying...ummm...Quantum vibrational energy exchange that makes things look like magic...demons, angels, warlocks, wizards, rainbow candy steps, and gumdrop trees
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Re: Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

#13 Post by muzharab » Wed Jul 17, 2013 11:32 am

Hello,

I would like to continue this discussion a bit since I am somewhat puzzled by the results. This is also mostly Geas-related and therefore somewhat off-topic even.

Based on the answers in this thread it seems clear majority here is a fan of a more "realistic" setting where the fantasy elements are kept low key and highly magical things are rare. I count myself as one these people which is why I have always been somewhat annoyed by some of the high magic/fantasy elements that have been added to the MUD without too much consideration.

Based on the discussions on the boards, requests and other communication (also with other wizards) I have gotten the impression that most people do prefer a very high fantasy setting though and I've been fine with that, trying to adapt to the level that people seem to agree on (although trying to keep things on a level I can personally live with). Now you are saying that this isn't the case?

One aspect of this discussion is that things are not symmetric. Introducing new areas/monsters/whatever with high fantasy concepts brings the whole world up to their level (if there are angels walking around with everyone else and people riding dragons having some guilds without access to any magical or advanced weapons doesn't mean the world becomes lower fantasy because of this aspect but that these particular guilds suck in comparison). It is therefore very easy to get into the "arms race" where every area/guild/character tries to out-concept each other thus diluting everything in the process. Same can be seen in everything from TV series to movies (even if the Nth season is awesome as such, if the heroes save the world in it it still effectively means the end of the series because what are you then going to do on the next season... )

As I mentioned before, I am fine with whatever level of fantasy people appreciate but the answers in this thread being what they are, why are most of the ideas and requests about adding more Demons to the nearby forests or dragons to ride on?

Muzharab

PS Clearly things are not going to change overnight especially to the lower fantasy direction but strong preference to one direction or the other is something I would personally at least want to know and keep in mind when adding new things to the MUD.

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Re: Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

#14 Post by Tatiana » Thu Jul 25, 2013 6:57 pm

I have a very strong preference for low fantasy setting, mostly because I am fed up with the fake grandeur of the SF and fantasy we're being fed with via other media. (look just what they did with the scale in LOTR movies)

Also, as Muzharab said - when you add new astonishing things, the rest pales in comparison and suddenly you have to make it all bigger and more impressive every time.

Actually, what I'd love to see is some more distance introduced between the magical/marvellous and mundane in the MUD, so it all would be used more sparingly. (why Song of Ice and Fire is so good) Same goes for quests and live quests.

Examples:

The heavens for Taniels should hurt much more to use, so it is clear nobody belongs there.

Why does it have to be insects/demon/dragon attacking every time? Why not plain boring orcs, bugbears or ogres or even other humans?

And roleplay - it is the largest part of the low fantasy setting and something the wizards can't really code - let's remember our characters (if they do anything other than fountain sitting) are constantly dirty, smelly, tired, rugged, smeared in blood and other substances, waving away flies, getting dust in their eyes, wind in their sticky hair, their skin is dry from the sun, and they walk always thirsty and hungry. (or maybe it's just Tati ;))

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Re: Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

#15 Post by Delia » Fri Jul 26, 2013 1:19 am

One of the things that appealed to me when I started was the lack of "everyday magic". No +1 longswords sold in stores and no mages blasting everything with fireballs and magic missiles. I am happy to note that this still stands true even if mages and magic have been added to the game.

Priests rule the magic biz and hold most mundane power as well, which appealed to me as well. I liked the strong military traditions of the Legion, I am not that sure about the Crusade even if it has a more solid gameplay function.

This said and even if my character probably ranks amongst the most magically silly things out there, I enjoyed the low key approach of the olden times. Even so, I think magic has been well implemented as repeater blaster mages are very hard to pull off. As work in progress, things look good.

I like what Tati mentioned. Why not some more mundane threats? The old characters will simply laugh at a horde of goblinoids, but with tweaking of equipment and combat behaviour even humble goblins can be presented as more of a threat.

Instead of awesome magical powers and kewl power-up skills, technological advances could be introduced OR taken away.
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Re: Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

#16 Post by fernao » Fri Jul 26, 2013 3:16 am

I agree with the last two notes above.

As for goblinoids being a laugh, well, only numbers won't fix that problem, since you then end up in the situation that codewise the number of opponents for a single char is limited. But yeah. I am all for adding orcish raiding parties or human/elven/dwarven/tshahark raiding bands that make the roads and outer settlements a bit more dangerous.

Oh, and yeah,. I'd love an outer settlement in the north too that "you southerners" could raid and that we sathos would have to defend against your incursions... making cities a lot more safer places that the cruel, dangerous world outside the citywalls.
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Re: Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

#17 Post by Aes » Fri Jul 26, 2013 10:03 am

I'm not really into high fantasy at all. The mundane is what's attractive about this game, to me.

It seems asif too much highly powerful magic would create more of a rift between new and old characters that could be highly discouraging for newer players.

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Re: Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

#18 Post by Zehren » Sat Jul 27, 2013 5:31 pm

Tatiana wrote:I have a very strong preference for low fantasy setting, mostly because I am fed up with the fake grandeur of the SF and fantasy we're being fed with via other media. (look just what they did with the scale in LOTR movies)
What does SF stand for?
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Re: Poll: How much fantasy do you like in your fantasy?

#19 Post by luminier » Sat Jul 27, 2013 6:40 pm

science fiction?
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