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Kender

2022-08-01T20:25:39Z

2600:1003:B120:1897:8CE3:4F3:B17B:EC41: /* Who the hell thought this was a good idea? */

[[Image:Kender.png|thumb|right|"He gave it to me because he didn't wake up when I took it."]]

{{topquote|The thieves. The thieves. The filthy little thieves.|Gollum}}
'''Kender''' are a fantasy race in [[Dungeons & Dragons]]' [[Dragonlance]] setting. They are basically [[Halfling]]s with double-doses of ADHD, kleptomania, and Tourette's Syndrome thrown in, and no sense of self-preservation, as if someone was deliberately trying to take the annoying habits of every [[Chaotic Stupid]] character in the game's history and merge them all into a playable race. No one apparently saw how terrible a decision that was. We're absolutely not making this shit up; the ''Dragonlance Campaign Setting'' itself explicitly says "Their propensity to act on impulse at the expense of common sense makes them reckless in dangerous situations", "Nothing on Krynn is as dangerous as a bored Kender or as terrifying as hearing a kender say 'oops'", "Kender appropriate absolutely anything that catches their eye. Physical boundaries or notions of privacy are both alien concepts to them", "Kender cannot keep secrets to save their lives and happily blurt out intensely personal information about themselves or anyone else", and "Even the threat of imminent demise does not deter kender"; and their racial stats reflect this by giving them a -4 penalty to concentration checks, a +2 bonus on lockpicking and sleight of hand checks, and an immunity to all fear effects. They survive getting the shit kicked out of them only because every one of the little shits seems to be wearing [[plot armor]] which they undoubtedly stole from more interesting species now tragically extinct. Again, we are not making this shit up; this is something that is explicitly confirmed in their racial stats with their +1 bonus on all saving throws.

Most of their fluff involves them stealing things and getting pissed when they are accused of it ("It must have fallen into my pocket"). What fluff doesn't involve theft directly is more focused on how much everyone hates them. Other races' opinions of them range from "annoying pests" to "baffled or irritated by kender behavior" to "thieving nuisances" to "the only good kender is a roasted kender" to "can drive victims to forget years of training and experience, sending them into a rage with only one thought - murdering the taunting kender". Again, we must reiterate, ''we are not making this shit up, these are quotes directly from the goddamn rulebooks''.

You might have noticed that we don't like Kender very much. Indeed, what was supposed to be a comedic foil to the more serious halflings turned out to be an obnoxious foil that reminded everyone of their baby sister's shitty grab-all-your-toys phase. The only person who likes playing Kender is [[That Guy]]. Some are so brazen as to try to play a Kender ''outside'' of the Dragonlance setting. In this situation, feel free to have your PC use lethal force against the offending character, the rest of the party will gladly help you. Don't even allow the little shit to suicide his character; justice must be done and he cannot be allowed to die on his own terms.

They generally cause a lot of [[rage]] in anyone who reads anything about them.
[[Image:1247364875051.png|thumb|right|What the--? I left an image RIGHT HERE. Fucking Kender.]]
Ironically, 2e produced only two other groups that were quite as [[Chaotic Stupid]] as Kender, and ''neither'' of them are as hated. [[Planescape]] gave us the [[Xaositect]]s faction (who do approach Kender-levels of annoying in the eyes of many DMs -- a Kender Xaositect PC is generally regarded as a concept horrifying enough to make a DM's brain explode) and the [[Slaad]] (who were explicitly done up as monsters to avoid and/or kill, so far less irritating by any measure).

Even the other two races of Dragonlance generally hated by DMs and players alike aren't as bad as Kender. The [[Tinker Gnomes]] are generally idiots, but can actually be kind of funny. Sometimes. Plus even the writers at TSR got a little jab at them by noting how ''normal'' gnomes like to hunt down and destroy Tinker Gnome spelljammers in [[Spelljammer]]. As for [[Gully dwarf|Gully Dwarves]], frankly, most people prefer to pretend they never existed, since an entire race of ugly, smelly, hairy, retarded baby-people is the kind of concept that should have been purged with fire at birth.

So, basically they're like young children stuck in the "sticky fingers" stage of development. Except they don't feel guilty about it later. Alternatively, they can be thought of as little Terminators, except that instead of being unstoppable, unthinking, unfeeling machines bent on killing Sarah Connor, they are unstoppable, unthinking, unfeeling machines bent on stealing everyone's shit and getting themselves and everyone around them killed, and the only person that they will fail to get killed is themselves because God hates us and wants us to suffer.

Horrifically, Kender and humans can actually ''breed'' together, creating abominations called half-kender, who inherit the kender knack for sticky fingers but aren't so cutesy that they don't realize that stealing is wrong. How this is possible is a long story, but basically, kender descend from tinker gnomes (making them cousins of [[dwarf]]s, who have the same ancestry), who descend from humans cursed by [[Reorx]]. This is why Krynn is also home to half-gnomes and [[half-dwarf|half-dwarves]].

For those wondering more directly how kender and humans mate, well, beyond some human women giving in to their shota fetishes or falling for the "he's so cute!" air of kender males, most half-kender are actually the result of human men banging female kenders. Why? To put it simply: cute [[loli]] (or [[shortstack]], but canonically kender women are supposed to look like little girls) whose natural instinct to you asking "wanna fuck?" is "hey, sounds fun!" and then dragging you to the bedroom. Although apparently a lot of Krynnish men somehow "don't realize" they're banging a female kender until after they've gotten her pregnant -- there's even a Pre-Cataclysm story featuring a knight who spends the story unknowingly getting close to his own half-kender son, having never realized his mom was a kender when they were together before she left him. Which has the disturbing implication that Dragonlance is a setting full of pedophiles. How the pointed ears don't give kender away is, like all things kender, best left unexplored.

==Why Kender are hated so much==
[[Image:Kender_race_description_annotated.png|thumb|right|500px]]
There's no good reason why Kender should have survived this long anyways:
* Physically diminutive in an environment rife with monsters, with nothing but agility and pickpocketing to defend themselves with.
* Repeatedly referred to as having no concept of fear or self preservation. As if that wasn't bad enough alone, combined with their stupid "curiosity" it would have them licking mushrooms, going near dangerous beasts and leaping into canyons regularly.
* There's no trade nor commerce with outsiders; nobody would let a kender get near a marketplace or bazaar, and even if they were trading one-on-one at village borders, some other Kender would probably steal the wares while you were still discussing the prices or pick your pocket while your back was turned.
* Hell, being pathological liars about theft means any non-Kenders would treat them as little sociopaths.
* There's no construction; the minute you turn your back on any materials, it's gone to be used in someone else's building project. (and while they were stealing your building materials someone else was stealing theirs.)
* No Kender is going to have the attention span to do the boring but necessary work like stockpiling food, learning to write, or digging latrines.
** The only way they could survive a frosty winter is by raiding villages and travelers with their cute smiles and compulsive thieving behavior... leaving any villages that didn't exterminate the tail-less rats starving themselves.
:Fuck! Any villages in cold climates that DIDN'T threaten Kenders with violence to stay the fuck away would just starve during winter and die out from their unwilling charity and insufficient locks on the granary. There shouldn't be any Kender sympathizers left, they should've died out generations ago. Kenders are a plague.
* Basically any civilization composed entirely of kender will last approximately as long as a civilization composed entirely of 4-year-olds.

See, here's the thing: while the kender themselves might not know exactly what they are and what they're doing, [[that guy| the smug asshole with a shit-eating grin sitting across the table from you, leafing through your book with cheeto-stained fingers]] absolutely does. Kender are hated because they are all-but purpose-built to enable the absolute worst sort of griefing, and let any and all such pricks throw up a thin but impenetrable forcefield of "I'm just roleplaying! Why don't you just let me roleplay my character?!"

==Who the ''hell'' thought this was a good idea?==

So, you may ask, just ''what the '''fuck''' were they smoking to come up with these shitheads''? Well, the answer is, alas, fairly simple, in an absolutely tragic way. See, [[Dragonlance]] began as a series of modules for 1st edition [[Dungeons & Dragons]]. The iconic party members were supposed to be the default player-characters for the players to assume the roles of. Thing was, in 1e, [[halflings]] could only take [[Rogue|the Thief class]] (this being a dead-brained holdover from ''The Hobbit'' and Bilbo Baggins, despite the fact that the very sequel to that book, still published decades ahead of 1e, ended up providing two ''very'' good examples of "halflings" becoming Warriors and even one with enough of a nature connection that you could justify Druid, Ranger at the very least), which left the authors of the module/novels, Margaret Weiss and Tracey Hickmann, with a pair of dilemmas that they felt they ''had'' to answer to try and make the wider setting coherent: the first, ''why'' are all [[halflings]] always thieves? Second, how can halflings be all thieves and still be part of the heroic races?

The kender were their answer; an entire race of fey children who basically never grow out of that inquisitive stage of their lives, their incessant need to know why and vulnerability to boredom conspiring with their racial propensity towards sticky fingers to make them constantly picking pockets, opening locks, and generally getting out in the world making a nuisance of themselves. And thusly, all /tg/dom has suffered ever since.

==Legacy==

To give them the very small credit they're due, they were the inspiration for WoTC to push halflings into a more adventurous characterization in 3rd ed. If only to ensure that such atrocities as the existence of Kender would never seem a necessity again.

Fortunately, Kender are inextricably linked with [[Dragonlance]], which WoTC has more or less ignored in terms of actual tabletop and /tg/ content ever since the new millenium. Dozens of books have rolled out, but the whole "War of Souls" thing has kind of undercut the series' popularity, and may well have killed it off entirely. The last appearance of the Kender on the tabletop game front was in 3.5, where despite all the novels, the Dragonlance D20 books basically wound up being mostly ignored.

The Kender never made an appearance in 4th edition, and though they were brought up in the initial 5e playtesting, they failed to make the cut for the corebook. Perhaps because of the sheer backlash from the outraged fandom. <strike>''So, unless a Dragonlance Unearthed Arcana or 5e sourcebook comes out, Kender are likely to never appear on the tabletop game again.''</strike>

[[Kender#Unearthed_Arcana|Oh, dear Lord, they're here.]]

==Kender Weren't Always Bad?==
Hard as it may be to believe, there are people who defend kender. <strike>Kender defenders.</strike> These people argue that the real problem with kender lies in the writeup they received for 3rd edition, asserting that it unrealistically softened their reputation amongst other races and didn't emphasize the fact that kender are supposed to go after "neat stuff" and not valuable stuff for their collection. Is this the case? Well, here's the original [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] writeup of the race from the "Player's Guide to the Dragonlance Campaign", which was later reprinted with stats for the kender and their unique weapons in "Tales of the Lance". As to whether or not the kender-defenders are right... you be the judge.

For what it's worth, rather than double and triple down on kender's idiot-child tendencies, 5e instead, to the extent that it's addressed them at all, instead tried to focus on their tradition of storytelling and their physiological differences with "other" halflings. Unfortunately, it partially did so by attempting to dilute down the kender's thieving magpie nature via spreading it across the entire halfling race, which... worked, in that it was diluted down. Even if excising it completely would've been even better.

[[Image:2e Kender PC Writeup.jpg|thumb|right|500px]]

==Racial Stats==
What's that? You want to know what their PC stats were? Why? Morbidly curious? Or were you thinking that maybe you could rescue the mechanics from the fluff? Well, whatever, it's your funeral.

===AD&D Statblock===
[[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] presented two versions of the Kender's statblock - one in Tales of the Lance, and one in the Complete Book of [[Gnome]]s & [[Halfling]]s.

'''Tales of the Lance Kender:'''
::Ability Score Minimum/Maximum: Strength 6/16, Dexterity 8/19, Constitution 8/18, Intelligence 6/18, Wisdom 3/16, Charisma 6/18
::Ability Score Adjustments: +1 Dexterity, roll 2d6+4 for Strength
::Class & Level Restrictions: [[Fighter]] 9, [[Barbarian]] 10, [[Ranger]] 9, [[Cleric]] 8 (Heathen only), [[Druid]] 8 (Heathen only), [[Thief]] 15, [[Bard]] 6, Handler Unlimited
:::"Heathen" Priests do not worship the Gods of Krynn, and so lose all of their spelcasting abilities.
:::"Handlers" are a kender-exclusive Thief variant. They follow all of the normal rules for thieves, except that they cannot Backstab, they gain no bonus XP for money, and their followers are always more Handlers.
::Infravision 30 feet
::Magic/Poison Resistance: +1 to saves vs. rod/staff/wand/spell/poison for every 3.5 points of [[Constitution]], cannot learn [[Wizard]] spells.
::+1 to attck rolls with slings and thrown weapons.
::Opponent surprise rolls are penalized by -4.
::Fearless: Immune to both natural and magical fear.
::Taunting: Creatures taunted by a kender must make a save vs. spell. If they fail, they fly into a mindless rage for 1d10 rounds, during which time they suffer a -2 penalty to [[THAC0]] and action rolls, and a +2 penalty to Armor Class.
::Thieving Skills: All kender have the following [[thief]] skills at character creation; Pick Pockets 25%, Open Locks 25%, Find/Remove Traps 25%, Move Silently 25%, Hide in Shadows 25%, Detect Noise 25%, Climb Walls 50%, Read Languages 10%

'''CBoG&H Kender:'''
::Ability Score Minimum/Maximum: Strength 6/16, Dexterity 8/19, Constitution 10/18, Intelligence 6/18, Wisdom 3/16, Charisma 6/18
::Ability Score Adjustments: +2 Dexterity, -1 Strength
::Class & Level Restrictions: [[Cleric]] 8, [[Fighter]] 9, [[Thief]] 15, [[Multiclassing|Fighter/Thief]] (9/15) - increase level limits by +4 if the kender has a 15+ in that class's prime requisite
::Infravision 30 feet
::Magic/Poison Resistance: +1 to saves vs. rod/staff/wand/spell/poison for every 3.5 points of [[Constitution]], cannot learn [[Wizard]] spells.
::+1 to attck rolls with slings and thrown weapons.
::Opponent surprise rolls are penalized by -4.
::Fearless: Immune to both natural and magical fear.
::Taunting: Creatures taunted by a kender must make a save vs. spell. If they fail, they fly into a mindless rage for 1d10 rounds, attacking the kender exclusively during that time with penalties of -2 to [[THAC0]] and +2 to Armor Class.
::Thieving Skills: All kender have the following [[thief]] skills at character creation; Pick Pockets 5%, Open Locks 5%, Find/Remove Traps 5%, Move Silently 5%, Hide in Shadows 5%, Detect Noise 5%, Climb Walls 40%, Read Languages 0%

===3e Statblock===
True Kender appeared in the Dragonlance 3rd edition corebook, whilst Half-Kender appeared in the Age of Mortals 3rd ed splatbook. Races of Ansalon, meanwhile, featured Afflicted Kender, and a beefed up version of both the True Kender and the Half-Kender, which are the stats repeated here.

====True Kender====
These are the standard thieving bastard shitheads we've spilled so much electronic vitriol describing.

::Humanoid with the Kender subtype
::+2 Dexterity, -2 Strength, -2 Wisdom
::Small
::Base speed: 30 feet
::Weapon Familiarity: Kender Weapons
::+1 racial bonus to all saving throws
::+2 racial bonus to Spot checks
::+2 racial bonus to Open Locks and Sleight of Hand checks, and are always considered to have Training in both skills
::Lack of Focus: -4 racial penalty to Concentration checks.
::Taunt: +4 racial bonus to Bluff (Taunt) checks
::Fearlessness: Immunity to Fear
::Favored Class: Rogue

====Afflicted Kender====
These are magically cursed kender who appeared during the Age of the Dragon Overlords, after the Chaos War; the first Overlord, Malystryx, chose to settle in the kender homeland of the Goodlund Penninsula, where her magical aura transformed it into a blighted, arid wasteland as she unconsciously warped the land to be more to her taste. This magical corruption, combined with a devastating attack on Kendermore that massacred thousands of the little runts and drove the rest into fleeing, permanently shattered their previous immunity to fear, thus creating a more wary, paranoid, duplicitous and deceitful form of kender.

::Humanoid with the Kender subtype
::+2 Dexterity, -2 Strength, -2 Wisdom
::Small
::Base speed: 30 feet
::Weapon Familiarity: Kender Weapons
::+1 racial bonus to all saving throws
::+2 racial bonus to Spot checks
::+2 racial bonus to Open Locks and Sleight of Hand checks, and are always considered to have Training in both skills
::+2 racial bonus to Climb, Hide, Jump and Move Silently checks
::Favored Class: Rogue

====Half-Kender====
As mentioned above, due to various reasons, kender and humans can make babies together, and while it doesn't happen often, it happens enough. Half-Kender are the "eternal teenagers" to their kender parents' "eternal children", inheriting many of the kender affinity for thieving and lying but also enough conscience and brains to realize that doing shit like that ain't right.

::Humanoid with the Kender subtype
::Medium
::Base land speed: 30 feet
::+4 racial bonus to saving throws vs. Fear
::+1 racial bonus to Spot checks
::+1 racial bonus to Open Locks and Sleight of Hand checks, and are always considered to have Training in both skills
::Taunt: +2 racial bonus to Bluff (Taunt) checks
::Weapon Familiarity: Kender Weapons
::Favored Class: Any

===5e Statblock===
While not present in the final release of [[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition]], Kender did feature in the final playtest packet released in October of 2013.

* '''Ability Score Adjustment''': Dexterity +1, Charisma +1
* '''Size''': Small
* Speed: 25ft
* '''Fearless''': You cannot be frightened
* '''Taunt''': You have an uncanny insight into the motivations and characteristics of other races, and you can use this insight to infuriate them. As an action, you can unleash a verbal barrage of sarcasm, insults, and crude comments against a creature. Make a Charisma (Performance) check contested by the target’s Wisdom (Insight) check. You fail the contest if the target can’t understand you. If you win the contest, the target must use its next action to attack only you. If you are out of range, it must charge at you or, failing that, hustle toward you. The target attacks you with disadvantage during this action. If the target wins the contest, it is immune to your Taunt for 24 hours.
* '''Kender Pockets''': Kender constantly pick things up and pocket them, and then often forget about them. If you find yourself in need of a piece of nonmagical equipment, there is a 25 percent chance you have it. Roll a d4. If you roll a 4, you find the item in your pocket, pack, or pouch. If you roll anything else, you don’t have such an item on you, and you can’t search again for the same item until you’ve spent at least one day in a town or city. Rummaging through your pouches, pack, and pockets in this way takes 1 minute.
* '''Languages''': You can speak, read, and write Common and Kenderspeak. (Kenderspeak is a language unique to the DRAGONLANCE setting. If you are playing a kender in a different setting, check with your DM.)

====Unearthed Arcana====
On March 8th, 2022, WOTC released an Unearthed Arcana piece on the "Heroes of Krynn," finally giving some attention to the Dragonlance setting after many years of neglect. And to begin this article, they introduced the playtest version of the 5e Kender.

Thankfully, it seems that Wizards realized that no one but problem players want to play as a race of [[That Guy|kleptomaniacs]]. So the Kender lore was retconned to tone down the ADHD kleptomania, and they instead obtain a magical ability at 3rd level to pull random but useful bullshit out of a bag. It's unclear whether this will actually stop obnoxious assholes from stealing, but it's something.

As a kender, you have the following racial traits.
* '''Creature Type'''. You are a Humanoid.
* '''Size'''. You are Small.
* '''Speed'''. Your walking speed is 30 feet.
* '''Brave'''. You have advantage on saving throws you make to avoid or end the frightened condition on yourself.
* '''Kender Ace'''. Starting at 3rd level, you possess a magical ability to pull an item out of a bag or another container; as a bonus action, you can reach into a container you’re carrying and roll on the Kender Aces table to determine what item you pull out. The object glimmers softly and disappears after 1 hour. You can use this bonus action a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
** '''KENDER ACES'''
{| class="wikitable"
|d6 ||Item
|-
|1 ||5d6 gold pieces
|-
|2
|1 simple weapon of your choice that has the light property
|-
|3
|1 item of your choice from the Adventuring Gear table in the Player’s Handbook. The item must cost no more than 1 gp and weigh no more than 1 lb.
|-
|4
|1 random item from the Trinkets table in the Player’s Handbook.
|-
|5
|Your choice of a crowbar or a grappling hook
|-
|6
|1 item of your choice from the Tools table in the Player’s Handbook. The item must cost no more than 10 gp.
|}
* '''Taunt'''. You have a supernatural ability to home in on a creature’s emotional raw nerves and craft a taunt that flusters that creature. As a bonus action, you can unleash a barrage of insults at a creature within 60 feet of you that can hear and understand you. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier), or it has disadvantage on attack rolls until the start of your next turn. You can use this bonus action a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

In April 2022 a new version of the Kender was released in "Heroes of Krynn Revisited." This version drops the ability to pull stuff out of nowhere, and replaces it with immunity to fear and an extra proficiency.

* '''''Creature Type.''''' You are a Humanoid.
* '''''Size.''''' You are Small.
* '''''Speed.''''' Your walking speed is 30 feet.
* '''''Fearless.''''' You are immune to the frightened condition.
* '''''Kender Curiosity.''''' Thanks to the mystical origin of your people, you gain proficiency with one of the following skills of your choice: Insight, Investigation, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, or Survival.
* '''''Taunt.''''' You have an extraordinary ability to fluster creatures. As a bonus action, you can unleash a string of provoking words at a creature within 60 feet of you that can hear and understand you. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or it has disadvantage on attack rolls against targets other than you until the start of your next turn. The DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifier (choose when you select this race). You can use this bonus action a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest

==Lord Stevil's Final Word==
"You also need to know that they are terribly annoying. And that black
dragons will, at every opportunity, carry them off and bugger them until
they die from internal bleeding (with prodigious use of Cure spells to keep
them alive longer). Note that black dragon semen, at the DM's discretion,
does acid damage.

"Assuming there are no black dragons around, or the dragons need help, the
strange effect a kender's presence has on a plane allows Athasian thri-keen
and yagnoloths to gate in from their home realms/planes. While normally
these races have no love for one another, they will team up to capture and
"treat" kender. First, the Asthasian thri-kreen will grip the little
degenerate halflings, often by impaling them through the limbs with their
sharp claws and mandibles. They will use the psionic power Double Pain
while the yagnoloths grease up their large left arms and proceed to fist
the squirming kender, often achieving penetration up to the elbow before
the little bloody bastards split apart. Priests and paladins will often
sense the disturbance and will come to assist in the activity, performing
Cure spells and Resurrections to make sure the little fucks stick around
for another round of yagnoloth-delivered "punch-the-diaphram" (even Good
priests run no danger of losing favor with their dieties for participation in this necessary activity)."

So posted Friday 27 January 1998 to rec.games.frp.dnd.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Kender vampire MC Ravenloft 1.jpg|Vampire Kender
Undead kender GH3.jpg|Ghost Kender
</gallery>

==External Links==
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20140820220304/http://challengerating25.blogspot.com/2008/12/kendaaagh.html Why kender need to be drowned in a fire.]
* [http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?479865-The-Kender-Conspiracy Why kender have survived this long. They are all PCs! RUN!]

{{D&D2e-Races}}

[[Category:Dragonlance]][[Category:RAGE]]

Setting Aesthetics

2022-07-31T23:46:40Z

2600:1003:B120:1897:8CE3:4F3:B17B:EC41: /* Sci-Fi */

[[File:Yvgg0vixpa341.png|thumb|right|520px|How it works. And if you're thinking there's only like five original settings in the world, you're absolutely right.]]

Worldbuilding can be hard. If you're creating a story that isn't already set on Earth at some point in history, you'll have to come up with a lot of different things on your own. And not just the names of places and what transpired, or what kind of culture each different people has, but also the more subtle parts of a setting that include tone and visual aesthetics.

That's why a lot of fictional worlds tend to cling to a particular '''setting aesthetic''', an amalgamation of different ideas that can loosely be thought of as "setting genres". These aesthetics aren't set in stone, as the edges of one aesthetic frequently blend into another. Writers do generally tend to stick (primarily) to one type of aesthetic, because all aesthetics are just amalgams of individual characteristics, and the popular ones tend to be the most coherent or compelling. Remember that when talking about genre, terms can be applied across all media: literature, movies, games, etc.

==Fantasy==
*'''[[High Fantasy]]''' - The default type of setting for most fantasy settings. Magic is commonplace, as is anything we normally associate with fairy tales and mythology. High Fantasy tends to be a bit more upbeat, as many civilizations tend to exist quite comfortably (apart from the odd dragon or zombie attack). Big focus on cosmological conflicts, namely Good vs Evil or if on the edgier "everyone is neutral or evil" side Order vs Chaos.

Examples: [[Lord of the Rings]], [[Dungeons and Dragons]], [[Age of Sigmar]] for a particularly High Fantasy, [[the Stormlight Archive]]

*'''[[Low Fantasy]]''' - The dark and gritty counterpart to High Fantasy. Not necessarily Grimdark, although life does tend to be harsher. The biggest exemplar of Low Fantasy is [[Conan the Barbarian]]; magic is uncommon but very powerful, political strife is more commonplace, and violence is the norm.

Examples: [[Conan the Barbarian]], [[Game of Thrones]], [[Mistborn]]

*'''[[Heroic Fantasy]]''' - Intermediary point between High & Low Fantasy; High Fantasy backdrops and upbeat take on the world, but Low Fantasy-esque focus on [[Your Dudes]]. Grittier and more grimdark examples do exist - Warhammer Fantasy Battles and Roleplay are technically Heroic Fantasy.

Examples: [[Dungeons & Dragons]], [[Exalted]]

*'''[[Sword & Sorcery]]''' - The pulp magazine version of [[Heroic Fantasy]], traditionally leaning more towards the Low end of the scale and incorporating some level of [[Science Fantasy]] elements in it.

*'''[[Dungeonpunk]]''' - [[Heroic Fantasy]] with Punk stylings and [[magitek]], usually of the "industrialized magic" variety.

Examples: [[Eberron]], [[Planescape]], [[Iron Kingdoms]]

*'''[[Gaslamp Fantasy]]''' - Victorian-themed (or at least painted) world with magic in it, the fantasy analogue to [[steampunk]].

Examples: [[Masque of the Red Death]], [[Castle Falkenstein]], [[Unhallowed Metropolis]]

*'''[[Dark Fantasy]]''' - Grimdark or Horror take on your standard fantasy world. This can be either Low Fantasy or High Fantasy, it does not strictly preclude it.

Examples: [[Warhammer Fantasy]] for Low-Dark, [[Age of Sigmar]] for High-Dark (AoS is also an example of setting evolution over classic Fantasy and demonstrates that sequels can shift genre without retconning the core building blocks)

*'''Modern Fantasy''' - An alternate take on [[Urban Fantasy]], where you have a fantasy world that's developed magic and/or technology until it's reached a semblance of the modern world. Or at least a historical/futuristic analogue to our world.

Examples: [[Arcanum]] (fantasy analogue to Victorian England), [[Shadowrun]] (fantasy world gone [[cyberpunk]])

*'''Weird Western''' - Either a Western version of [[Urban Fantasy]], or a fantasy world that has Western themes.

Examples: [[Deadlands]], [[Horizons]]: [[Spellslinger]]

Trying to draw strict lines between Low and High Fantasy is something of a folly as it is perfectly possible to present epic High Fantasy battles in one side of the setting and have a shit ass peasant toiling in low fantasy in the other.

==Sci-Fi==
*'''[[Cyberpunk]]''' - The original "-punk" genre, and the creator of the concept of naming aesthetics by ending in "punk", Atompunk's son (in terms of tech level). If you've ever seen The Matrix, that's pretty much Cyberpunk in a nutshell, although Blade Runner is probably a more classic example. Dystopian urban environments and highly advanced technology is commonplace, as are dark and brooding heroes wearing black trench coats and sporting unconventional haircuts, and megacorporations which have more power than any government. '''''High tech, low life.'''''
** Some modern Cyberpunk is called "post-Cyberpunk" and is not quite as pessimistic, though still pretty grim compared to other settings. In post-Cyberpunk, augmentation and technology is seen as a powerful tool that can be used to control or liberate people, and is used globally in political and economical powerstruggl- Wait, where have I seen this before?

Examples: The Matrix, [[Cyberpunk 2020]], Blade Runner, Shadowrun. Post-cyberpunk examples: Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, most modern shooters with robots and augmentations. And it's "just" a novel, but let's not forget the first cyberpunk, and his creator: William Gibson's Neuromancer. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson is also a high seminal piece of literature for the genre, if one that treats its conventions tongue-in-cheek even as it helps to codify them.

*'''[[Steampunk]]''' - One of the first derivatives of Cyberpunk, at least in name only. In actuality, the aesthetic draws quite a bit from the works of Jules Verne, which taking place in Victorian times and features more advanced versions of the steam-powered technology of the day. These kinds of settings can swing between [[noblebright]] and dystopian, since the Victorian Era was a time of wondrous progress, ''and'' huge inequality.

Examples: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, [[Warmachine]], [[Dishonored]]

*'''[[Clockpunk]]''' - Steampunk's father. Borrowing aesthetics from the Renaissance Era, the Baroque Era, the Ming Dynasty, or the Song Dynasty, Clockpunk focuses on complex mechanisms made from wood or traditional metals, and is generally powered by water wheels, wind mills, draft animals, or slowly falling weights. This aesthetic is typically found in genres that don't explicitly focus on it, such as Historical Fiction works. Expect plenty of overlap with historical themes of the time period.

Examples: [[Deadlands]], [[Dragonmech]], [[Mechanus]], [[Mage: The Ascension]], [[Unknown Armies]]

*'''[[Dieselpunk]]''' - Steampunk's son, but typically grittier, inspired by the era between the World Wars. Tyranny and warfare is commonplace, as are machines capable of deadly efficiency. Expect Noir cities, petrochemical engines, stamped and riveted metal, and the aesthetic synthesis between traditional rural lifestyles and mechanization. Typically features [[nazis]] in one way or another, sometimes as the winning side of WW2.

Examples: [[Command and Conquer|Command and Conquer: Red Alert]], Fullmetal Alchemist, Wolfenstein: The New Order, The Leviathan Series (partially)

*'''[[Decopunk]]''' - A [[noblebright]] version of it's twin dieselpunk. Art deco everywhere, hence the name. Not a particularly common aesthetic however.

Examples: Bioshock, especially before the fall of Rapture

*'''[[Atompunk]]''' - Dieselpunk/Decopunk's son. The name applied to anything inspired by the science fiction of the 1930s to the 1950s and early 1960s. The difference between Atom- and Dieselpunk is that Atompunk is based on the stories told in that era, while Dieselpunk is about the actual technology and zeitgeist of the day. Space exploration is the norm, and technology is mostly based on what was slowly beginning to emerge at the time that we would now take for granted (such as video chat, portable phones, robots capable of walking) or else has proven to be wildly impractical if not impossible (Jetpacks, flying cars, ray guns, robots capable of independent thought). Features a sub-genre named Raypunk or Raygun Gothic, which is similar in most ways but ditches references to nuclear power.

Examples: Buck Rogers, [[Fallout]], [[Star Trek]] The Original Series, too many 1950s movies to count

*'''[[Screampunk]]''' - A weird mishmash of steampunk with horror tropes, especially those associated with [[Gothic Horror]], which it is often conflated with. It is also commonly conflated with [[Dark Fantasy]] and [[Gaslamp Fantasy]] as well, due to being set in the same time period as the latter, and being very similar to the former. A very new genre that has yet to find large popularity.

Examples: [[GURPS]] Screampunk (where the name came from), [[Unhallowed Metropolis]], [[Magic: The Gathering]] (the plane of Innistrad specifically)

*'''[[Casette Futurism]]''' - An aesthetic based on the "futuristic" styles of the 70s and especially the 80s. This aesthetic also refers to the unique style of "futuristic-looking" devices made during that time. Expect CRT-screens, fake woodgrain, wedge-cars synthwave music, neon lights, hard-edged plastic shells on all technology, and ''of course'' VHS-tapes and cassettes.

Examples: Alien, Terminator, Stranger Things

*'''[[Biopunk]]''' - An aesthetic which revolves around use of biotechnology and DNA manipulation. Other than that core conceit, the actual look and feel of the aesthetic isn't set in stone. Some incarnations might look modern, some might look futuristic, some might look historical. Can be mixed into post-Atompunk tech levels, with possibly early experiments starting in Atompunk era.

Examples: Bioshock, Resident Evil, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Leviathan Series (partially)

*'''[[Nanopunk]]''' - An aesthetic focusing around the use of nanotechnology, Cyberpunk's son. This aesthetic is still evolving, but typically features organic-looking machines, synthetic meta-materials used create "impossible" things (vantablack clothing, mono-molecular edged blades, synthetic muscles), and transhumanist themes. Can often share many themes with Cyberpunk, but the use of nanotechnology is what sets it apart. While a Cyberpunk setting would have cyborgs with cybernetic implants, a Nanopunk setting would instead have people with nanomachines inside them. Sometimes portrayed as a next step from cyberpunk, where cybernetics are becoming obsolete due to advancements in nanotechnology.

Examples: Crysis, [[Metal Gear|Metal Gear Solid]] (1,2, 4 and ''especially'' [[Meme|Rising: Revengeance]]), Deus Ex (First two games only, rest are cyberpunk)

*'''[[Space Opera]]''' - The grand-daddy of Sci-Fi, Space Opera features a multitude of worlds, races and technology that play loose and fast with the science part for the sake of a wide, bright adventure in SPAAAAACE! Space Operas are filled with larger-than-life characters, space-nations loosely based on different earth societies and great, galaxy-saving adventures, though it can easily be zoomed in to a planet- or even a party-focused story if needed. Can be split into three sub-settings: Hard sci-fi which tries to be as scientifically accurate as possible (which can become obsolete in real life, what [[TVTropes]] terms Science Marches On and Technology Marches On), soft sci-fi where technology works by it's own in-universe rules, somewhere in-between the previous two and science fantasy, which features stuff which is supernatural even by the rules of it's own universe (which can be either hard or soft or in-between, possibly justifying deviance from real life physics/chemistry/biology through the influence of the resident supernatural phenomena).

Examples: [[Star Wars]] for a Neutral one with pretty horrific details but a hopeful story, [[Star Trek]] with full Noblebright with some dark details, [[Warhammer 40000]] for full Grimdark with some bright details, Mass Effect (a textbook example of single point of divergence from real life science), [[Twilight Imperium]], [[Cosmic Encounter]]

*'''[[Solarpunk]]''' - The most [[noblebright]] punk of them all, necessarily more advanced than Atompunk but can slot into any after that. An utopia for all environmentalists, this aesthetic features a world driven primarily through use of renewable energy and people live harmoniously with nature. Expect to see windmills, solar panels, individualized replacements for infrastructure (home-sized wastewater treatment, people sewing their own clothing, household battery walls, etc.), farming and large gardens, and ''lots of plants everywhere''. Settings using this aesthetic are frequently post-apocalyptic.

Examples: All the Good Futures from Sonic CD

*'''[[20 Minutes into the Future]]''' - An aesthetic that is definitely in the future, but not by much. Things are not too different from how they are today. For someone living in the 80s, the 2000's would be this aesthetic. This is a very hard-to-define aesthetic, because it keeps moving as time goes on. Most media written with this aesthetic are archetypical science fiction stories, speculating and warning about how present trends will extrapolate. Usually used to insert whatever Macguffin or plot weasel that is used and as a convenient way to dodge contemporary political issues by sidelining them in favor of the new one created in universe without having to go so far into the future that it becomes irrelevant by default at the cost having to worldbuild the background of the setting.

==History==
Want to make something in a real world setting? Here's some setting aesthetics from real world history.
Are you making a fictional world? Sometimes worldbuilding doesn't have to go into fantasy or sci-fi. Instead, you could also simply make a world inspired by real history. Some might find this pointless, believing that if they are making a story in a medieval setting for example but with no fantasy or sci-fi elements, why not simply set the story in the real medieval period rather than a fictional world? Well the answer to this is simple: Making a story in the real middle ages needs to be historically accurate and making it so requires lots of research into the period.
On top of this, making your own world also allows for you to come up with all the [[fluff]] yourself, something real world historical settings inherently do not allow for, even if you go for alternate history, you must still account for everything from before the point of divergence and are also limited to the geography of Earth.
So if you just want to tell tales of knightly heroism or clashes of empires without fantasy or sci-fi elements but also without feeling constrained by having to make it fit in with real history, making a fictional world based on these settings might be the thing for you.

*'''[[Stone Age]]'''
*'''[[Bronze Age]]'''
*'''[[Classical Period]]'''
*'''[[Dark Age]]'''
*'''[[High Middle Ages]]'''
*'''[[Renaissance]]'''
** Early Clockpunk
*'''[[Age of Enlightenment]]'''
** Late Clockpunk
*'''[[Industrial Revolution]]'''
** Early Steampunk
**'''[[Victoriana]]'''
*'''[[The World Wars]]'''
** Late Steampunk and Early Dieselpunk (World War 1)
** Late Dieselpunk and Early Atompunk (World War 2)
*'''[[The Cold War]]'''
** Late Atompunk, Early Biopunk, Early Cyberpunk
*'''[[Post-Cold War]]'''
** Late Biopunk, Late Cyberpunk, Solarpunk, Nanopunk
===[[Western]]===

:''See also the article [[Western]]''

One term that gets bandied a lot in discussions of Setting Aesthetics is "[[Western]]", which originally referred to stories that took place in the American West in the years between the American Civil War and World War I (although there is also the "Modern Western", which usually takes place sometime after World War II). The most important aspects of a "Western" aesthetic are roughly as follows:

* The single most distinguishing feature of a Western: Outposts of Law exist, but are far apart. While the region is somewhat lawless, this is a factor of the fact that places are distant from each other; the next town could be a week's ride away in some places, meaning reinforcements may be a very long time in coming, so the Sheriff or Rancher is more or less on his own if he can't get local support. The fact that this is actively changing is a frequent plot point of many actual historically-set-and-based Westerns.
** Yes, this means a lot of Westerns center around either [[Bandit]]ry or other outlawry, either as pro- or antagonists, and feature a certain degree of lawlessness.
* Next most important: Open ranges. Large areas where the nearest human being could be miles away. Sort of a consequence of the above, but worth mentioning on its own.
** This low population density leads to a certain degree of casual brutality and cruelty which is a frequent side-aspect of the aesthetic; with very few people to call a body out on their ugly behavior, such behavior is likely to grow into at least a minor problem of many people.
* Usually the next most important after those two: Guns, saloons, and horses. While it's possible to have a "Western" without much of one, you'll need a lot of the other two to cover for the absence.
** If you're doing a pseudo-Western, you may need substitutes for all three. For example, Samurai-themed works usually use swords in place of guns, and limit the availability of horses, but still have some degree of all three.
*** In Science Fiction or Modern Westerns, "Off-road vehicles" can be substituted for horses.
*** Trading outposts can be freely substituted for saloons in sufficiently unsettled regions, or churches in more Christian or poverty-themed works. What matters is that it's a gathering place that's also somewhat neutral ground, where violence more serious than a fistfight is frowned upon.
** Side note: Railroads and stagecoaches are (in historically-set Westerns) the only alternatives to horses (besides donkeys and mules), and both are very restricted in how far away from their paths they can go (stagecoaches are ''heavy'', so hills can act as major barriers), so horses, donkeys and mules are your main travel options if you need to get away from those paths.
* Occasional feature of Fantasy/Science Fiction "Westerns": Natives, along the line of American Indians.
** Historically-set Westerns have plenty of American Indians, historically. It's just that, by the 1960s, most writers decided it was a better idea to center around subjects that weren't so likely to be read as making their protagonists "the real bad guys". Thus, most post-1970 westerns center purely on White vs. White conflict, or have protagonists who are sympathetic with the Indians, with a smattering of works centered on Black characters (most notably ''Blazing Saddles''). (Historically speaking, there were plenty of black cowboys, but this was ignored by most writers and producers historically, and frequently still is in the present day.)

If the above is longer than anything else on this page, it's because the "Western" aesthetic gets glued onto a '''lot''' of stuff that's very different from its historical roots. To give one example, there's been a non-trivial amount of works set in (something based on) historical Japan that have a heavy Western aesthetic--to the point that some of the earliest examples (Kurosawa films) were directly remade into Westerns, with very few changes.

==Other==
*'''[[Science Fantasy]]''' - Science Fiction and Fantasy gleefully mashed up, so you can wind up with [[Awesome|elves with laser pistols, sword-wielding robots, and dragons flying between the stars]].

Examples: [[Dragonmech]], [[Dragonstar]], [[Spelljammer]], [[Numenera]], [[RIFTS]], [[Shadowrun]], [[Warhammer 40,000]], [[Starfinder]]. arguably [[Star Wars]].

*'''Lovecraftian''': A type of horror setting that is either directly based on or inspired by the works of [[H.P. Lovecraft]], especially the Cthulhu Mythos. The main concepts revolve around monsters and deities whose mere existence is so horrible that knowledge or direct perception of them drives people insane, and feature copious amounts of existential dread.

Example: [[Call of Cthulhu]], [[Delta Green]]

*'''[[Supers]]''' - AKA Superheroes, Capeshit. Superpowers and melodrama. Frequently mixed with another aesthetic (Urban Fantasy, Science Fantasy or Science Fiction, usually).

Example: DC and Marvel, [[Worm]]

*'''[[Cattlepunk]]''': Western setting with [[Steampunk]].

Example: [[The Dark Tower]], [[Deadlands]]

*'''Space Western''' - Western elements in a science fiction or [[Space Opera]] setting.

Examples: [[Firefly]], Borderlands, The Mandalorian, [[Star Trek]] was originally pitched as such but doesn't really fit the modern definition

*'''[[Magitek]]''' - Magic has either replaced technology or been assimilated into it. Clarkes third law turned on it's head.

Examples: [[Eberron]], [[Deadlands]], [[Rifts]], [[Iron Kingdoms]], [[Exalted]], [[Hollow World]], [[Technomancer]]

*'''[[Urban Fantasy]]''' - Our world, but with magic and/or science fiction added to it. Considered by many the "easiest" sort of setting to get into by casuals & normies. Can be further seasoned with many other aesthetics. Despite the name, it really just means that it takes place in a post-Industrial-age world<ref>Although if you're more advanced than the current technology, you're either veering into [[Supers]] or [[Science Fantasy]]</ref> and doesn't have to take place in a city.

Examples: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, [[D20 Modern]], The Dresden Files, [[Mutants & Masterminds]], [[World of Darkness]], [[Dark Matter]]

*'''[[Weird Wars]]''' - [[Urban Fantasy]] meets war stories, when one of our world's wars gets magical and/or super-science added to it.

Examples: Pinnacle Games' lines of the same name, [[Wolfenstein]], Dust, [[Call of Cthulhu]], [[GURPS]]

*'''[[Isekai]]''' - Your dudes come from the real world, but have been sent to a fantasy (or, more rarely, sci-fi) land.

Examples: Sword Art Online, GATE, way too many anime from the 2010s

*'''[[Post-Apocalyptic]]''' - The world ended, and now it's time for adventure! Expect rusted metal, moral ambiguity, relatively high-tech, mutants and lots, ''lots'' of sand. Can effectively be divided into three sub-settings: in post-apocalypse, the apocalypse happened fairly recently and as such people are mostly just concerned with simple survival. In post-post-apocalypse, a lot of time has passed since the apocalypse and people have started to rebuild civilization, though it is definitely still a work in progress. In post-post-post-apocalypse, the apocalypse is a distant memory and the world has largely recovered from it.

Examples: [[Fallout]], Mad Max. Commonly combined with sci-fi, but also sometimes with [[Dark Souls|medieval stuff]].

*'''[[Alternate History]]''' - One event in history went differently than in our timeline and this change caused the events past that point to be wildly different from our timeline. What if Rome didn't collapse and survived to the 21st century? What if Nobunagas ambition was realized and after conquering Japan, he went on to successfuly conquer Korea and China? Germany winning WW2 is a particularly popular one. Alternate history can effectively work with anything from real world history, fantasy settings to sci-fi settings but it's usually based on real world history. Alternate history based on real world history does have a tendency to feature sci-fi elements however.

Examples: Command & Conquer: Red Alert, The Man in the High Castle, Wolfenstein The New Order

*'''[[Retro-futuristic]]''' - Setting that tries to imitate how people in the past saw the future. Many of the punk-genres fall under this. Often features technology that would have been futuristic at the time but now are either commonplace or outright outdated. A good example of this is a mobile communication device, something quite futuristic in the time of wired phones and payphones, which often in these types of settings is portrayed as quite cumbersome or of limited functionality, paling in comparison to smart-phones or even mobile phones from the 90s since they allowed for sending of text messages in addition to calls. There is also a type of retro-futurism known as [[TVTropes|Zeerust]] which refers to stuff that was actually made in the past and felt futuristic back then but now feels retro-futuristic.

Examples: Fallout, Alien, Star Trek: The Original Series (Zeerust)

*'''Complete and Utter Clusterfuck/All of the Above''' - Definitely lying on the side of metafictional parody, nonsensical but hilarious combinations can lead to, if it understands that it is a parody that doesn't take itself seriously, hilarious fun.

Example: Warhammer 40000, natch. The entire thing is a hilariously darkly comedic piss-take on everything under the sun.

==Footnotes==

[[Category:Gamer Slang]] [[Category: Setting Aesthetics]]

Setting Aesthetics

2022-07-31T23:42:24Z

2600:1003:B120:1897:8CE3:4F3:B17B:EC41: /* Sci-Fi */

[[File:Yvgg0vixpa341.png|thumb|right|520px|How it works. And if you're thinking there's only like five original settings in the world, you're absolutely right.]]

Worldbuilding can be hard. If you're creating a story that isn't already set on Earth at some point in history, you'll have to come up with a lot of different things on your own. And not just the names of places and what transpired, or what kind of culture each different people has, but also the more subtle parts of a setting that include tone and visual aesthetics.

That's why a lot of fictional worlds tend to cling to a particular '''setting aesthetic''', an amalgamation of different ideas that can loosely be thought of as "setting genres". These aesthetics aren't set in stone, as the edges of one aesthetic frequently blend into another. Writers do generally tend to stick (primarily) to one type of aesthetic, because all aesthetics are just amalgams of individual characteristics, and the popular ones tend to be the most coherent or compelling. Remember that when talking about genre, terms can be applied across all media: literature, movies, games, etc.

==Fantasy==
*'''[[High Fantasy]]''' - The default type of setting for most fantasy settings. Magic is commonplace, as is anything we normally associate with fairy tales and mythology. High Fantasy tends to be a bit more upbeat, as many civilizations tend to exist quite comfortably (apart from the odd dragon or zombie attack). Big focus on cosmological conflicts, namely Good vs Evil or if on the edgier "everyone is neutral or evil" side Order vs Chaos.

Examples: [[Lord of the Rings]], [[Dungeons and Dragons]], [[Age of Sigmar]] for a particularly High Fantasy, [[the Stormlight Archive]]

*'''[[Low Fantasy]]''' - The dark and gritty counterpart to High Fantasy. Not necessarily Grimdark, although life does tend to be harsher. The biggest exemplar of Low Fantasy is [[Conan the Barbarian]]; magic is uncommon but very powerful, political strife is more commonplace, and violence is the norm.

Examples: [[Conan the Barbarian]], [[Game of Thrones]], [[Mistborn]]

*'''[[Heroic Fantasy]]''' - Intermediary point between High & Low Fantasy; High Fantasy backdrops and upbeat take on the world, but Low Fantasy-esque focus on [[Your Dudes]]. Grittier and more grimdark examples do exist - Warhammer Fantasy Battles and Roleplay are technically Heroic Fantasy.

Examples: [[Dungeons & Dragons]], [[Exalted]]

*'''[[Sword & Sorcery]]''' - The pulp magazine version of [[Heroic Fantasy]], traditionally leaning more towards the Low end of the scale and incorporating some level of [[Science Fantasy]] elements in it.

*'''[[Dungeonpunk]]''' - [[Heroic Fantasy]] with Punk stylings and [[magitek]], usually of the "industrialized magic" variety.

Examples: [[Eberron]], [[Planescape]], [[Iron Kingdoms]]

*'''[[Gaslamp Fantasy]]''' - Victorian-themed (or at least painted) world with magic in it, the fantasy analogue to [[steampunk]].

Examples: [[Masque of the Red Death]], [[Castle Falkenstein]], [[Unhallowed Metropolis]]

*'''[[Dark Fantasy]]''' - Grimdark or Horror take on your standard fantasy world. This can be either Low Fantasy or High Fantasy, it does not strictly preclude it.

Examples: [[Warhammer Fantasy]] for Low-Dark, [[Age of Sigmar]] for High-Dark (AoS is also an example of setting evolution over classic Fantasy and demonstrates that sequels can shift genre without retconning the core building blocks)

*'''Modern Fantasy''' - An alternate take on [[Urban Fantasy]], where you have a fantasy world that's developed magic and/or technology until it's reached a semblance of the modern world. Or at least a historical/futuristic analogue to our world.

Examples: [[Arcanum]] (fantasy analogue to Victorian England), [[Shadowrun]] (fantasy world gone [[cyberpunk]])

*'''Weird Western''' - Either a Western version of [[Urban Fantasy]], or a fantasy world that has Western themes.

Examples: [[Deadlands]], [[Horizons]]: [[Spellslinger]]

Trying to draw strict lines between Low and High Fantasy is something of a folly as it is perfectly possible to present epic High Fantasy battles in one side of the setting and have a shit ass peasant toiling in low fantasy in the other.

==Sci-Fi==
*'''[[Cyberpunk]]''' - The original "-punk" genre, and the creator of the concept of naming aesthetics by ending in "punk", Atompunk's son (in terms of tech level). If you've ever seen The Matrix, that's pretty much Cyberpunk in a nutshell, although Blade Runner is probably a more classic example. Dystopian urban environments and highly advanced technology is commonplace, as are dark and brooding heroes wearing black trench coats and sporting unconventional haircuts, and megacorporations which have more power than any government. '''''High tech, low life.'''''
** Some modern Cyberpunk is called "post-Cyberpunk" and is not quite as pessimistic, though still pretty grim compared to other settings. In post-Cyberpunk, augmentation and technology is seen as a powerful tool that can be used to control or liberate people, and is used globally in political and economical powerstruggl- Wait, where have I seen this before?

Examples: The Matrix, [[Cyberpunk 2020]], Blade Runner, Shadowrun. Post-cyberpunk examples: Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, most modern shooters with robots and augmentations. And it's "just" a novel, but let's not forget the first cyberpunk, and his creator: William Gibson's Neuromancer. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson is also a high seminal piece of literature for the genre, if one that treats its conventions tongue-in-cheek even as it helps to actually codify them.

*'''[[Steampunk]]''' - One of the first derivatives of Cyberpunk, at least in name only. In actuality, the aesthetic draws quite a bit from the works of Jules Verne, which taking place in Victorian times and features more advanced versions of the steam-powered technology of the day. These kinds of settings can swing between [[noblebright]] and dystopian, since the Victorian Era was a time of wondrous progress, ''and'' huge inequality.

Examples: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, [[Warmachine]], [[Dishonored]]

*'''[[Clockpunk]]''' - Steampunk's father. Borrowing aesthetics from the Renaissance Era, the Baroque Era, the Ming Dynasty, or the Song Dynasty, Clockpunk focuses on complex mechanisms made from wood or traditional metals, and is generally powered by water wheels, wind mills, draft animals, or slowly falling weights. This aesthetic is typically found in genres that don't explicitly focus on it, such as Historical Fiction works. Expect plenty of overlap with historical themes of the time period.

Examples: [[Deadlands]], [[Dragonmech]], [[Mechanus]], [[Mage: The Ascension]], [[Unknown Armies]]

*'''[[Dieselpunk]]''' - Steampunk's son, but typically grittier, inspired by the era between the World Wars. Tyranny and warfare is commonplace, as are machines capable of deadly efficiency. Expect Noir cities, petrochemical engines, stamped and riveted metal, and the aesthetic synthesis between traditional rural lifestyles and mechanization. Typically features [[nazis]] in one way or another, sometimes as the winning side of WW2.

Examples: [[Command and Conquer|Command and Conquer: Red Alert]], Fullmetal Alchemist, Wolfenstein: The New Order, The Leviathan Series (partially)

*'''[[Decopunk]]''' - A [[noblebright]] version of it's twin dieselpunk. Art deco everywhere, hence the name. Not a particularly common aesthetic however.

Examples: Bioshock, especially before the fall of Rapture

*'''[[Atompunk]]''' - Dieselpunk/Decopunk's son. The name applied to anything inspired by the science fiction of the 1930s to the 1950s and early 1960s. The difference between Atom- and Dieselpunk is that Atompunk is based on the stories told in that era, while Dieselpunk is about the actual technology and zeitgeist of the day. Space exploration is the norm, and technology is mostly based on what was slowly beginning to emerge at the time that we would now take for granted (such as video chat, portable phones, robots capable of walking) or else has proven to be wildly impractical if not impossible (Jetpacks, flying cars, ray guns, robots capable of independent thought). Features a sub-genre named Raypunk or Raygun Gothic, which is similar in most ways but ditches references to nuclear power.

Examples: Buck Rogers, [[Fallout]], [[Star Trek]] The Original Series, too many 1950s movies to count

*'''[[Screampunk]]''' - A weird mishmash of steampunk with horror tropes, especially those associated with [[Gothic Horror]], which it is often conflated with. It is also commonly conflated with [[Dark Fantasy]] and [[Gaslamp Fantasy]] as well, due to being set in the same time period as the latter, and being very similar to the former. A very new genre that has yet to find large popularity.

Examples: [[GURPS]] Screampunk (where the name came from), [[Unhallowed Metropolis]], [[Magic: The Gathering]] (the plane of Innistrad specifically)

*'''[[Casette Futurism]]''' - An aesthetic based on the "futuristic" styles of the 70s and especially the 80s. This aesthetic also refers to the unique style of "futuristic-looking" devices made during that time. Expect CRT-screens, fake woodgrain, wedge-cars synthwave music, neon lights, hard-edged plastic shells on all technology, and ''of course'' VHS-tapes and cassettes.

Examples: Alien, Terminator, Stranger Things

*'''[[Biopunk]]''' - An aesthetic which revolves around use of biotechnology and DNA manipulation. Other than that core conceit, the actual look and feel of the aesthetic isn't set in stone. Some incarnations might look modern, some might look futuristic, some might look historical. Can be mixed into post-Atompunk tech levels, with possibly early experiments starting in Atompunk era.

Examples: Bioshock, Resident Evil, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Leviathan Series (partially)

*'''[[Nanopunk]]''' - An aesthetic focusing around the use of nanotechnology, Cyberpunk's son. This aesthetic is still evolving, but typically features organic-looking machines, synthetic meta-materials used create "impossible" things (vantablack clothing, mono-molecular edged blades, synthetic muscles), and transhumanist themes. Can often share many themes with Cyberpunk, but the use of nanotechnology is what sets it apart. While a Cyberpunk setting would have cyborgs with cybernetic implants, a Nanopunk setting would instead have people with nanomachines inside them. Sometimes portrayed as a next step from cyberpunk, where cybernetics are becoming obsolete due to advancements in nanotechnology.

Examples: Crysis, [[Metal Gear|Metal Gear Solid]] (1,2, 4 and ''especially'' [[Meme|Rising: Revengeance]]), Deus Ex (First two games only, rest are cyberpunk)

*'''[[Space Opera]]''' - The grand-daddy of Sci-Fi, Space Opera features a multitude of worlds, races and technology that play loose and fast with the science part for the sake of a wide, bright adventure in SPAAAAACE! Space Operas are filled with larger-than-life characters, space-nations loosely based on different earth societies and great, galaxy-saving adventures, though it can easily be zoomed in to a planet- or even a party-focused story if needed. Can be split into three sub-settings: Hard sci-fi which tries to be as scientifically accurate as possible (which can become obsolete in real life, what [[TVTropes]] terms Science Marches On and Technology Marches On), soft sci-fi where technology works by it's own in-universe rules, somewhere in-between the previous two and science fantasy, which features stuff which is supernatural even by the rules of it's own universe (which can be either hard or soft or in-between, possibly justifying deviance from real life physics/chemistry/biology through the influence of the resident supernatural phenomena).

Examples: [[Star Wars]] for a Neutral one with pretty horrific details but a hopeful story, [[Star Trek]] with full Noblebright with some dark details, [[Warhammer 40000]] for full Grimdark with some bright details, Mass Effect (a textbook example of single point of divergence from real life science), [[Twilight Imperium]], [[Cosmic Encounter]]

*'''[[Solarpunk]]''' - The most [[noblebright]] punk of them all, necessarily more advanced than Atompunk but can slot into any after that. An utopia for all environmentalists, this aesthetic features a world driven primarily through use of renewable energy and people live harmoniously with nature. Expect to see windmills, solar panels, individualized replacements for infrastructure (home-sized wastewater treatment, people sewing their own clothing, household battery walls, etc.), farming and large gardens, and ''lots of plants everywhere''. Settings using this aesthetic are frequently post-apocalyptic.

Examples: All the Good Futures from Sonic CD

*'''[[20 Minutes into the Future]]''' - An aesthetic that is definitely in the future, but not by much. Things are not too different from how they are today. For someone living in the 80s, the 2000's would be this aesthetic. This is a very hard-to-define aesthetic, because it keeps moving as time goes on. Most media written with this aesthetic are archetypical science fiction stories, speculating and warning about how present trends will extrapolate. Usually used to insert whatever Macguffin or plot weasel that is used and as a convenient way to dodge contemporary political issues by sidelining them in favor of the new one created in universe without having to go so far into the future that it becomes irrelevant by default at the cost having to worldbuild the background of the setting.

==History==
Want to make something in a real world setting? Here's some setting aesthetics from real world history.
Are you making a fictional world? Sometimes worldbuilding doesn't have to go into fantasy or sci-fi. Instead, you could also simply make a world inspired by real history. Some might find this pointless, believing that if they are making a story in a medieval setting for example but with no fantasy or sci-fi elements, why not simply set the story in the real medieval period rather than a fictional world? Well the answer to this is simple: Making a story in the real middle ages needs to be historically accurate and making it so requires lots of research into the period.
On top of this, making your own world also allows for you to come up with all the [[fluff]] yourself, something real world historical settings inherently do not allow for, even if you go for alternate history, you must still account for everything from before the point of divergence and are also limited to the geography of Earth.
So if you just want to tell tales of knightly heroism or clashes of empires without fantasy or sci-fi elements but also without feeling constrained by having to make it fit in with real history, making a fictional world based on these settings might be the thing for you.

*'''[[Stone Age]]'''
*'''[[Bronze Age]]'''
*'''[[Classical Period]]'''
*'''[[Dark Age]]'''
*'''[[High Middle Ages]]'''
*'''[[Renaissance]]'''
** Early Clockpunk
*'''[[Age of Enlightenment]]'''
** Late Clockpunk
*'''[[Industrial Revolution]]'''
** Early Steampunk
**'''[[Victoriana]]'''
*'''[[The World Wars]]'''
** Late Steampunk and Early Dieselpunk (World War 1)
** Late Dieselpunk and Early Atompunk (World War 2)
*'''[[The Cold War]]'''
** Late Atompunk, Early Biopunk, Early Cyberpunk
*'''[[Post-Cold War]]'''
** Late Biopunk, Late Cyberpunk, Solarpunk, Nanopunk
===[[Western]]===

:''See also the article [[Western]]''

One term that gets bandied a lot in discussions of Setting Aesthetics is "[[Western]]", which originally referred to stories that took place in the American West in the years between the American Civil War and World War I (although there is also the "Modern Western", which usually takes place sometime after World War II). The most important aspects of a "Western" aesthetic are roughly as follows:

* The single most distinguishing feature of a Western: Outposts of Law exist, but are far apart. While the region is somewhat lawless, this is a factor of the fact that places are distant from each other; the next town could be a week's ride away in some places, meaning reinforcements may be a very long time in coming, so the Sheriff or Rancher is more or less on his own if he can't get local support. The fact that this is actively changing is a frequent plot point of many actual historically-set-and-based Westerns.
** Yes, this means a lot of Westerns center around either [[Bandit]]ry or other outlawry, either as pro- or antagonists, and feature a certain degree of lawlessness.
* Next most important: Open ranges. Large areas where the nearest human being could be miles away. Sort of a consequence of the above, but worth mentioning on its own.
** This low population density leads to a certain degree of casual brutality and cruelty which is a frequent side-aspect of the aesthetic; with very few people to call a body out on their ugly behavior, such behavior is likely to grow into at least a minor problem of many people.
* Usually the next most important after those two: Guns, saloons, and horses. While it's possible to have a "Western" without much of one, you'll need a lot of the other two to cover for the absence.
** If you're doing a pseudo-Western, you may need substitutes for all three. For example, Samurai-themed works usually use swords in place of guns, and limit the availability of horses, but still have some degree of all three.
*** In Science Fiction or Modern Westerns, "Off-road vehicles" can be substituted for horses.
*** Trading outposts can be freely substituted for saloons in sufficiently unsettled regions, or churches in more Christian or poverty-themed works. What matters is that it's a gathering place that's also somewhat neutral ground, where violence more serious than a fistfight is frowned upon.
** Side note: Railroads and stagecoaches are (in historically-set Westerns) the only alternatives to horses (besides donkeys and mules), and both are very restricted in how far away from their paths they can go (stagecoaches are ''heavy'', so hills can act as major barriers), so horses, donkeys and mules are your main travel options if you need to get away from those paths.
* Occasional feature of Fantasy/Science Fiction "Westerns": Natives, along the line of American Indians.
** Historically-set Westerns have plenty of American Indians, historically. It's just that, by the 1960s, most writers decided it was a better idea to center around subjects that weren't so likely to be read as making their protagonists "the real bad guys". Thus, most post-1970 westerns center purely on White vs. White conflict, or have protagonists who are sympathetic with the Indians, with a smattering of works centered on Black characters (most notably ''Blazing Saddles''). (Historically speaking, there were plenty of black cowboys, but this was ignored by most writers and producers historically, and frequently still is in the present day.)

If the above is longer than anything else on this page, it's because the "Western" aesthetic gets glued onto a '''lot''' of stuff that's very different from its historical roots. To give one example, there's been a non-trivial amount of works set in (something based on) historical Japan that have a heavy Western aesthetic--to the point that some of the earliest examples (Kurosawa films) were directly remade into Westerns, with very few changes.

==Other==
*'''[[Science Fantasy]]''' - Science Fiction and Fantasy gleefully mashed up, so you can wind up with [[Awesome|elves with laser pistols, sword-wielding robots, and dragons flying between the stars]].

Examples: [[Dragonmech]], [[Dragonstar]], [[Spelljammer]], [[Numenera]], [[RIFTS]], [[Shadowrun]], [[Warhammer 40,000]], [[Starfinder]]. arguably [[Star Wars]].

*'''Lovecraftian''': A type of horror setting that is either directly based on or inspired by the works of [[H.P. Lovecraft]], especially the Cthulhu Mythos. The main concepts revolve around monsters and deities whose mere existence is so horrible that knowledge or direct perception of them drives people insane, and feature copious amounts of existential dread.

Example: [[Call of Cthulhu]], [[Delta Green]]

*'''[[Supers]]''' - AKA Superheroes, Capeshit. Superpowers and melodrama. Frequently mixed with another aesthetic (Urban Fantasy, Science Fantasy or Science Fiction, usually).

Example: DC and Marvel, [[Worm]]

*'''[[Cattlepunk]]''': Western setting with [[Steampunk]].

Example: [[The Dark Tower]], [[Deadlands]]

*'''Space Western''' - Western elements in a science fiction or [[Space Opera]] setting.

Examples: [[Firefly]], Borderlands, The Mandalorian, [[Star Trek]] was originally pitched as such but doesn't really fit the modern definition

*'''[[Magitek]]''' - Magic has either replaced technology or been assimilated into it. Clarkes third law turned on it's head.

Examples: [[Eberron]], [[Deadlands]], [[Rifts]], [[Iron Kingdoms]], [[Exalted]], [[Hollow World]], [[Technomancer]]

*'''[[Urban Fantasy]]''' - Our world, but with magic and/or science fiction added to it. Considered by many the "easiest" sort of setting to get into by casuals & normies. Can be further seasoned with many other aesthetics. Despite the name, it really just means that it takes place in a post-Industrial-age world<ref>Although if you're more advanced than the current technology, you're either veering into [[Supers]] or [[Science Fantasy]]</ref> and doesn't have to take place in a city.

Examples: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, [[D20 Modern]], The Dresden Files, [[Mutants & Masterminds]], [[World of Darkness]], [[Dark Matter]]

*'''[[Weird Wars]]''' - [[Urban Fantasy]] meets war stories, when one of our world's wars gets magical and/or super-science added to it.

Examples: Pinnacle Games' lines of the same name, [[Wolfenstein]], Dust, [[Call of Cthulhu]], [[GURPS]]

*'''[[Isekai]]''' - Your dudes come from the real world, but have been sent to a fantasy (or, more rarely, sci-fi) land.

Examples: Sword Art Online, GATE, way too many anime from the 2010s

*'''[[Post-Apocalyptic]]''' - The world ended, and now it's time for adventure! Expect rusted metal, moral ambiguity, relatively high-tech, mutants and lots, ''lots'' of sand. Can effectively be divided into three sub-settings: in post-apocalypse, the apocalypse happened fairly recently and as such people are mostly just concerned with simple survival. In post-post-apocalypse, a lot of time has passed since the apocalypse and people have started to rebuild civilization, though it is definitely still a work in progress. In post-post-post-apocalypse, the apocalypse is a distant memory and the world has largely recovered from it.

Examples: [[Fallout]], Mad Max. Commonly combined with sci-fi, but also sometimes with [[Dark Souls|medieval stuff]].

*'''[[Alternate History]]''' - One event in history went differently than in our timeline and this change caused the events past that point to be wildly different from our timeline. What if Rome didn't collapse and survived to the 21st century? What if Nobunagas ambition was realized and after conquering Japan, he went on to successfuly conquer Korea and China? Germany winning WW2 is a particularly popular one. Alternate history can effectively work with anything from real world history, fantasy settings to sci-fi settings but it's usually based on real world history. Alternate history based on real world history does have a tendency to feature sci-fi elements however.

Examples: Command & Conquer: Red Alert, The Man in the High Castle, Wolfenstein The New Order

*'''[[Retro-futuristic]]''' - Setting that tries to imitate how people in the past saw the future. Many of the punk-genres fall under this. Often features technology that would have been futuristic at the time but now are either commonplace or outright outdated. A good example of this is a mobile communication device, something quite futuristic in the time of wired phones and payphones, which often in these types of settings is portrayed as quite cumbersome or of limited functionality, paling in comparison to smart-phones or even mobile phones from the 90s since they allowed for sending of text messages in addition to calls. There is also a type of retro-futurism known as [[TVTropes|Zeerust]] which refers to stuff that was actually made in the past and felt futuristic back then but now feels retro-futuristic.

Examples: Fallout, Alien, Star Trek: The Original Series (Zeerust)

*'''Complete and Utter Clusterfuck/All of the Above''' - Definitely lying on the side of metafictional parody, nonsensical but hilarious combinations can lead to, if it understands that it is a parody that doesn't take itself seriously, hilarious fun.

Example: Warhammer 40000, natch. The entire thing is a hilariously darkly comedic piss-take on everything under the sun.

==Footnotes==

[[Category:Gamer Slang]] [[Category: Setting Aesthetics]]