this post was submitted on 29 Mar 2024
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No.250341473
>fantasy setting has magic and flying creatures
>still using horses as main transportation

No.250341651
>>250341473 (OP) #
>setting has nuclear energy
>still using coal as main energy source

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[–] Estiar@sh.itjust.works 133 points 6 months ago (13 children)

There's a lot of hidden costs and infrastructure needed for magical flying beasts. Not to mention limited capacity. Little can compete with the horse drawn cart when it comes to capacity for price though.

[–] Cypher@lemmy.world 53 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Boats beat out horse drawn carts by an insane amount.

It’s why trade hubs and major cities were practically always on a major river and/or in a favourable location for a port.

[–] EmptySlime@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 6 months ago (5 children)

Yep, not having a bunch of your trade going to feeding and caring for your horses makes a huge difference.

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[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 35 points 6 months ago (2 children)

This message brought to you by Big Equestrian.

[–] TheFriar@lemm.ee 10 points 6 months ago (3 children)
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[–] NegativeInf@lemmy.world 15 points 6 months ago (2 children)

All magic comes with a price.

[–] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 13 points 6 months ago (1 children)

What can I get for tree-fiddy?

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[–] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 9 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

I have giant hummingbird mounts in my game, but guess what? They need nectar from giant flowers, or just barrels full of sugar water, and/or they sometimes pick fights with giant insects in order to try and eat them. (Fun fact, hummingbirds eat small insects IRL) They're dead useful and loads of fun, but it exacts its price.

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[–] Noodle07@lemmy.world 7 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Big chocobo disagree with you

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[–] jaybone@lemmy.world 68 points 6 months ago (3 children)

setting has lemmy

still using 4chan

[–] Gullible@sh.itjust.works 17 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (5 children)

There are positives and negatives to both platforms. Lemmy has an abundance of information about Linux and memes about Star Trek but misses out on literature discussion and completely lacks the ability to recognize sarcasm. 4chan is a concentrated discussion hub where every interaction is seen and evaluated, but occasionally it hosts a slight hint of bigotry.

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[–] three@lemm.ee 9 points 6 months ago
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[–] thechadwick@lemmy.world 56 points 6 months ago

You would just not believe the regulatory burden of maintaining magical creature flying safety regime too.

You drop a simple glove off directing and 30min later, boom. You've got a gnome commission setting up barriers around it and paperwork for weeks to come..

[–] ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 38 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Setting has electric cars

Car enthusiasts of the setting are fanatical about petrol cars instead

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 15 points 6 months ago (2 children)

They are now because you can still get petrol reasonably cheaply. When the price rises because everyone else has gone over to electric I think they'll be less interested. Part of the problem is that there's a whole generation of people who've grown up with loud noise equals cool car.

Pretty soon though there'll be a whole generation for whom the vast majority of cars were electric their whole lives and I suspect they'll be less interested in petrol cars. It'll become a much more niche hobby.

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[–] Default_Defect@midwest.social 9 points 6 months ago (8 children)

I bought my 30 year old car 15 years ago for $2000 and it still runs well and hasn't needed too much in the way of repair. Find me an electric that can do the same and I'll make the jump in a second.

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[–] uis@lemm.ee 8 points 6 months ago (1 children)

> Setting has public transport

> Setting is still full of carbrained petrolheads

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[–] MargotRobbie@lemm.ee 30 points 6 months ago (1 children)

A more accurate analogy would be along the lines of having jets and helicopters in the world but still using cars or trains as the main form of transportation.

[–] Gabu@lemmy.world 19 points 6 months ago (10 children)

Not sure how it applies, when trains are the superior form of transportation

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[–] agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 28 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Fall off a horse -> dust yourself off and get back on. There's a whole idiom about how falling off horses is a frustrating but ultimately minor inconvenience.

Fall off a gryphon -> you are dead.

[–] multifariace@lemmy.world 20 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Superman was paralyzed from falling off a horse. It can be way more than an inconvenience.

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[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 17 points 6 months ago (1 children)

There’s a whole idiom about how falling off horses is a frustrating but ultimately minor inconvenience.

There's also a whole list of people who have died falling off of horses. So there's that.

[–] agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 12 points 6 months ago (1 children)

It is possible to die falling off a horse. It is nearly impossible to live falling off a flying mount.

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[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 9 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Most fantasy settings that allow for gryphon / dragon / other winged mode of transport, also have saddles for such beasts that tether the user to the saddle/ animal. If you fall off, you unclipped your harness and deserved it.

[–] agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 6 points 6 months ago (6 children)

It's considerable extra risk and cost for insignificant benefit. Helicopters exist but I don't take one to work.

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[–] Sanctus@lemmy.world 27 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Both of these can be explained with the same reasoning.

[–] squid_slime@lemmy.world 16 points 6 months ago (24 children)
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[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 19 points 6 months ago (12 children)

Makes me wanna link the thread where people were making the argument that wheelchair users and deaf people wouldn't exist in fantasy settings.

[–] webghost0101@sopuli.xyz 15 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Just because there is magic doesn’t mean everyone can afford it.

Also interesting to think about, if a deaf person has a magic amulet that grants different hearing, are they no longer a deaf person or are they a deaf person with a magical aid?

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 6 points 6 months ago (2 children)

are they a deaf person with a magical aid?

I think they'd still identify as deaf for community purposes.

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[–] yamanii@lemmy.world 9 points 6 months ago (2 children)

I remember seeing the same for trans people, but in granblue fantasy some people still weaponized how Cagliostro was a born a man to make her mad, doesn't matter how she looks or what she has down there, bigots will exist even in fantasy.

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[–] Etterra@lemmy.world 17 points 6 months ago (3 children)

A horse costs way less than a scroll of Teleport, or seven Fly. Like how it's cheaper to drive than take a plane. You also don't take a plane when an hour long drive will do, and you don't cast Teleport to go from your room at the inn to the nearby village to clear out some goblins.

[–] elshandra@lemmy.world 11 points 6 months ago

you don't cast Teleport to go from your room at the inn to the nearby village to clear out some goblins.

Me who casts teleport to go from the inn, or my house, to the centre of town in games.

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[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 12 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (3 children)

Dystopian Fantasy; only the rich and powerful have access to magic.

Edit: Bright would actually be that, now that I think about it. 🤔

[–] daemoz@lemmy.world 7 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Sounds like mistborn nobles

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[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago

only the rich and powerful have access to magic

You need lots of free time, rare books, expensive materials... I can totally see the random farmer getting into it.

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[–] johannesvanderwhales@lemmy.world 9 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Discworld really handled the overlap of magic and technology the best.

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[–] VirtualOdour@sh.itjust.works 9 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Coal 675 billion kwh

Nuclear 775 billion kwh

Renewables 894 billion kwh

Natural Gas 1802 billion kwh

This meme is dumb and wrong. Funny tho.

[–] lessthanluigi@lemmy.world 38 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Setting has Nuclear energy

Still using Natural Gas as main energy source

[–] whoreticulture@lemmy.world 13 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Natural gas is not really an improvement 😭

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[–] DudeImMacGyver@sh.itjust.works 8 points 6 months ago

"We need to subsidize the horse industry to protect jobs!"

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