Originally, this
was designed to be a Vagueposting article, but it's clear enough it
doesn't need to be- though it is quite ranty. This is also a general listing of ideas that
isn't necessarily tied into anything specific, obviously you could
have mix-and-match elements of all of these levels, but it's
organized in this fashion to make it a simple little d4 table, maybe
if you're generating a fantasy setting with random rolls. This table
is also specifically about the appearances of items, either in
their description, materials, or actual artstyle as they appear in a
video game or other visual medium. The actual power level or
fantastical power of these items tends to be related but not always,
and is mostly separate from this table.
Before we begin, I
also want to stress that this is not an objective reviewing of these
aesthetic “levels” as levels of quality or “realism”. I
personally find value and enjoyment in ALL levels of this proposed
grading scale; I see why some people might be bugged by things like
overly decorative armor, huge weapons, bikini-mail and the like; to
some it may detract from the experience. But on the other hand it
also stresses the unreality of the world and plays into willing
suspension of disbelief and can better communicate a growth or power
scale- it totally depends on the story or kind of fantasy setting
scale you want to set in your writing or play.
[1] Mundania
Equipment
is very much based on real world historical or inferred historical
examples. Low tier or starting equipment may be rusted or broken, low
quality stuff. If using a material scale it will typically be very
simple- such as going from Bronze to Iron to Steel to “Better
Steel” or like mythril and meteorite metal and what have you as
fantasy material. High tier or “end game” equipment maybe
extremely well crafted full plate mail or enchanted swords, but they
will mostly just appear as real world swords would, though unusually
shiny or perhaps mildly decorated with gems or gold in the most
extreme of examples.
This
tier of equipment-aesthetics doesn't necessarily mean equipment is
less impactful or less powerful, though there tends to be a
correlation between the two. For example, a sword like Excalibur can
be extremely powerful or just “destined” for greatness in some
way, even if it doesn't appear too much more fantastical then just a
really high quality, somewhat ornate sword.
For
this level of Fantastical Equipment-Aesthetics, I would put things
like folklore/free domain art, The Witcher, Conan, and similar
settings with “low fantasy” aesthetics, even though the actual
magic or supernatural elements in the setting could be quite high.
You could also tie in real world artifacts of special items or
biblical fantasy stuff in a way; the Shroud of Turin for example is
incredibly important and could be a very powerful relic in a modern
fantasy esque world, but it's actual appearance is not fantastic or
especially ornate. Obviously, any historical fantasy game or universe
like Mount & Blade, Chivalry, Kingdom Come Deliverance and so
forth all also belong in this tier. It'd also put Dark Souls at just
a bit above this level; Dark Souls is well known for being really
gritty and dark, but it still has certain fantasy aesthetics in the
form of huge weapons, overly heavy armors, and some unreal designs
for various equipment that the players can use or that enemy
“humanoid” enemies can use- I'd put Dark Souls at something like
a 1.5 to 1.7. Since we're on the subject, Bloodborne gets a much
heavier rating, closer to a 3.5 or even a solid 4 on this list, not
because of its grittiness but because of the unreality of all of its
weapons, since those mechanical weapons are a pretty solid fit in
that upper category.
In
this fantasy world, most equipment, armor, and items tend to fall
into the “close to real world practicality though too ornamental or
unusual to be based on real historical models”. It is also common
to see lower tier items or equipment be based on real historical
examples, with only the end game or highest tier of magical or
powerful weapons or armor be more fantastical or highly ornamental.
Something like a bit of parade gear actually being the most powerful
armor around, or a magic sword actually glowing, being on fire when
drawn, pulsing with energy while otherwise being a mostly practical
blade, etc.
This
tier of fantasy equipment tends to imply worlds where the really
powerful or crazy stuff is uncommon and hidden away, a bit towards
the “low fantasy” spectrum, though obviously these aren't very
defined terms we're using here. (Yes, we all already know the
literary definition, nobody uses it because it's bad, I don't use it
and will not mention it for the remainder of this essay.) Typically
speaking most items may be of a grounded power level, as long as the
world is not operating off of super video game or fantasy TTRPG
logic- a steel sword is just a really good sword. But only the
magical sword of truth which can slay dragons and is crazy
indestructible and sharp and all that is allowed to have an unusual
or unique appearance, and it tends to have a heavy power jump to fit.
I'd also lump here a lot of fantasy stuff where most weapons/items
are relatively grounded with only enchanted items having runes or
special decorations that mark them as such; another good example
might be Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup how you can tell if something is
enchanted (but not necessarily cursed) by it being a “glowing”
item as opposed to just a regular item.
As
for common settings; I'd argue that Lord of the Rings, several TTRPG
settings, and Harry Potter fit under this umbrella. Note- while Harry
Potter is very much higher magic/higher fantasy then most of the
fantasy settings we're discussing here, the actual appearances of the
items and equipment is relatively grounded FOR THE STANDARDS of the
setting. For example, I can't think of any examples of any Wizards
carrying super crazy sparkling magic wands, faster broomsticks aren't
really that much crazier then normal flying broomsticks, they're just
more enchanted or made from a better “brand” of magical item
makers, the “deluxe” model. Lord of the Rings is also relatively
grounded in this sense, but many items are clearly fantastical (such
as elven stuff, or the rings of power) which push it just out of the
range of totally grounded “mundania” for me. Of course, Lord of
the Rings (movies usually) is the poster child for “low fantasy
grounded aesthetics that aren't trying TOO hard to be realistic”.
Orc weapons/armor from the movies are also something that is pretty
grounded in how it is presented while still being totally
fantastical.
I'd
also like to throw my hat in here for Zelda (pre-BotW) to be about
this level. Most things aren't realistic by any means and have a
specific aesthetic, but most things in that fantasy setting don't
break or over complicate that aesthetic. (Also, the only reason I'm
separating Breath of the Wild Zelda is because of the Sheikah
technology and elemental weapons being highly separated from real
world designs. I'd lump BotW Zelda in with the third category where
the high fantasy artstyle of items is more prevalent. For referance,
I'd put the Master Sword at a solid 1 to 2 on this list.)
In
this level, items and equipment may be made of wildly different
materials or be heavily ornamented. This is also where you get things
like constantly glowing or burning magic items, highly ornamented
weapons, extremely oversized weapons, or just straight up fantastical
weapons like chain whips or throwing cards/coins as actual viable
tactics. Once against, it's not like these can't exist at lower
levels, they just aren't as common.
This
out of all the fantasy setting aesthetic levels is most likely to
have a “tier list” of fantasy materials- starting at iron/steel
for low level items, advancing towards magical crystals for
weapons/armors, fantasy metals creating truly absurd gear, things
that are more meant to look cool other then function, though because
of stats or magical power they can still function even better then a
more practical or grounded weapon. We also get a lot of stuff like
bone, wood, or stone armor and weapons to match at around this level.
Usually only the lower tier or starting weapons are in any way based
on real world designs or looks, with fantastical items quickly making
up the ranks or levels of power as opposed to typical metallic
weapons or armors.
I
would say a large number of High-Fantasy video games fit in this
level; Elder Scrolls is a good example, though I'd maybe put it at a
2.8~ level for most of it. This level is pretty strongly fitting
towards most MMORPGs, including World of Warcraft. I know a lot of
people have a problem with the game's aesthetic in terms of realism-
especially the pauldrons. I do think that WoW has some very strong
unreality present in its items, but its stuff is still usually meant
to appear as protective armor or damaging weapons. They are pretty
strongly routed in the 3.5 to 4th
level, with only starting gear resembling a more “realistic”
artstyle. Once again, it's a gradient.
I'd
also put Dota 2 and League of Legends around this level too- some
characters are more grounded, but the art of many of the items you
can buy in the game (if taken literally as being that's what weapon
you'd use to fight with) could be thought of being much more
fantastical then a more grounded setting- I'd put many of these items
in the solid 3.5 to even level 4 for some of them; since some
characters fight with literal rips in space and time, but others are
just fighting with oversized swords and big golden armor.
This
level, which I actually struggle to come up for good examples for, is
for settings with almost no connection to reality. Most equipment or
items have no similarities to real world items or equipment other
then basic forms or general ideas. It's also perfectly possible for
these to be presented in a grounded or mundane way, but the items
themselves are very much made for and designed for the secondary
world space.
In
this level we see two vague categories. In one, we have a total
rejection of real world materials at all; items may be made from
crystals or glowing ores that have no connection to real world items
at all. The second is where materials or basic colors/textures are
not unusual; items may still be made of metals and the like, but they
are simply twisted into forms that are impossible or downright
unfitting- we can see examples like this in various JRPGs with
characters using weapons like dolls or actual volley (blitz) balls as
weapons.
As
above; examples I'd like to give for this level are things like the
Monster Hunter series (where even starting weapons are hugely
oversized because you're fighting huge monsters, of course), and
various JRPGs with their very imagination-driven character design.
Cloud's Buster Sword and Squall's Gunblade are classically cited
examples of unreal/fantastical items and weapons- this level could be considered the quintessential "anime" level and has quite a few Eastern influences, if that wasn't obvious.
As for more Western influences; Warhammer 40k also fits into this level with its super decorated, highly stylized models and artwork. Obviously things like cartoon-inspired settings like Banjo & Kazooie or Kid's Next Door (or 40k Orks) with everything being a jury-rigged contraption could also be roped into this level, if you count the unreality of how the item would actually function and the absurdity of the situation as being part of the “aesthetic” of the item which is otherwise made of relatively normal and understandable materials or in a normalized shape. While not an expert in the subject, I feel as though Warhammer 40k is a bit stronger towards this level then Warhammer fantasy, which for much of it I could put in the high 3 ish level scale, perhaps a 3.8 for fantasy, since we have a higher tolerance for that kind of the thing there as opposed to in science fiction, but that's just my opinion. Finally; truly absurd world-scapes like Wonderland are clearly at about this level of unreality, since that's their intention from the start.
As for more Western influences; Warhammer 40k also fits into this level with its super decorated, highly stylized models and artwork. Obviously things like cartoon-inspired settings like Banjo & Kazooie or Kid's Next Door (or 40k Orks) with everything being a jury-rigged contraption could also be roped into this level, if you count the unreality of how the item would actually function and the absurdity of the situation as being part of the “aesthetic” of the item which is otherwise made of relatively normal and understandable materials or in a normalized shape. While not an expert in the subject, I feel as though Warhammer 40k is a bit stronger towards this level then Warhammer fantasy, which for much of it I could put in the high 3 ish level scale, perhaps a 3.8 for fantasy, since we have a higher tolerance for that kind of the thing there as opposed to in science fiction, but that's just my opinion. Finally; truly absurd world-scapes like Wonderland are clearly at about this level of unreality, since that's their intention from the start.
The Warhammer settings mix their levels by having some elements or factions drawing heavily from Mundania: pikemen and musketeers straight out of Early Modern Germany, for instance, or soldiers who differ most clearly from a soldier of the Red Army in that their gun shoots lasers not bullets. There's a few older illustrations of Imperial Guardsmen that make it clear that they would best be modelled using historical miniatures, not anything space-age.
ReplyDeleteI think it can be stated fairly confidently that Warhammer Fantasy got thrust closer to Absurdia with the Age of Sigmar reboot - hence the bull-helmet elves, or sharks suspended in an aetheric tide, or four-armed skeleton warriors.
Of course, even the mundane can be thrust into the absurd - as the Grail Reliquae, the blessed corpse of a paladin ported about by angry ragged peasants. Not strictly fantastical, but still absurd.