Tag: science fantasy

Obi-Wan Kenobi:

You can’t win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.

— “Star Wars” (1977)

Obi-Wan Kenobi:

Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him.

Luke Skywalker:

You mean it controls your actions?

Obi-Wan Kenobi:

Partially, but it also obeys your commands.

— “Star Wars” (1977)

I have been giving thought to defining the Rhydin solar system. As Rhydin is a cross-genre campaign world, “Rhydinspace” is likewise. So science fantasy. I am starting my definition from the science end of the spectrum (e.g., space is a vacuum) and “softening” the science with fantasy only as needed.

See also Magical Defenders of the Solar System.

Check out this Mastodon thread

(Republished this preface of a previous post as a standalone.)

The solar system of the Realm of Rhydin defaults to a technological science fiction setting. It is cross-genre, though, so all fictional milieu are allowed: Star Wars, Star Trek, Mass Effect, et. al. Fantasy, too, but that is very rare since those characters already have a cross-genre setting of their own.

It is that rarity that I am focusing on.

I hypothesize that magical threats can and do physically arrive at the edge of the solar system. Being of fantastic origin, such a threat should be difficult-to-impossible to detect by technology. Even detected, perhaps not accepted or believed. Even believed, technology might not be able to counter the threat.

Thus a need for magical defenders in space. The problem lies in the tiny pool of potential recruits. Very few fantasy characters self-select to interact with the science fiction side of the Realm of Rhydin, let alone take a ride on a spaceship to Gateway Station in orbit.

anthropomorphous adjective. Shaped like a human being.

How do non-anthropomorphous aliens participate in a world adapted by hominids (e.g., humans, elves, dwarves, etc.) for themselves?

While fictional worlds may include non-anthropomorphous species, they are structured like the real world: reshaped by intelligent anthropomorphous beings for their own benefit. Hands with opposable thumbs begot tool use and the literal reshaping of the world. Speech communication via a voice box begot mutual understanding and information sharing from one person to many.

Fantasy worlds can utilize the mythological trope of magical animals that can talk and/or use human objects. Snakes do not have voice boxes, so sentient snakes cannot speak as hominids do. Spiders do not have hands, so sentient spiders cannot use hominid tools. How can either sentient species construct spaceships to travel into outer space?

They do have minds. They have psychic abilities inherent to the entire species. (Space magic.)

Telepathy need only be broadcasting to clone speech communication.

Telekinesis would need to clone both the physical strength of the hominid arm and the finely-controlled manual dexterity that fingers are capable of. Also needs the ability to manipulate two objects at once.

This line of thought means that psychic ability is nearly universal. Only in the anthropomorphous would it be optional—they are the exception to the rule.