Regarding modern technology (computers, robotics and suits, etc.) in an advanced Science-Fantasy Isekai?

[Yetano]

Props to the designer of those fancy suits, just bravo.

So, Robotics, and Isekai. When's the last time I get to see its usage in mangas and novels I saw that well? Countable by fingers, despite the Resurgence the genre's having and you know why?
Look at the setting they mostly go for Middle-Age, Nobles and Peasants, Swords, and Magic. Guns and Artilleries barely count, 'cause Flintlocks and Cannon-volleys barely do jack-shit to the gnawing Dragons that are waiting to burn down a village or two. (That, and Bo~ring tropes!)

And even if there is that centers around Technology, You bet it's gonna be having either Super-mechas or Space-battle (e.g. MobuSekai and Reincarnated as an Evil Intergalactic Emperor), and notice what both have? Dogfight, and Good God, I have no idea what's everyone's fixation on having them for the sake of it, because it does me the same as Superheroes brawling in Mid-air : Obnoxiously and Worryingly, BORING

So here I am trying to construct a story that revolves a world that has Both (Forgive Me).
Now, since there's going to be both Magic and Technology, what's your thoughts about having Suits with a Personal A.I for assisting you in battle, when you can have Body-enhancing Spells and Buffs instead? (No possible way to have both without some compromise, Technology defunct of Mana failure and whatnot)

 

[Sabruness]

a very tough job because the balancing will likely be hell.

 

[ElijahRyne]

View attachment 16027
Props to the designer of those fancy suits, just bravo.

So, Robotics, and Isekai. When's the last time I get to see its usage in mangas and novels I saw that well? Countable by fingers, despite the Resurgence the genre's having and you know why?
Look at the setting they mostly go for Middle-Age, Nobles and Peasants, Swords, and Magic. Guns and Artilleries barely count, 'cause Flintlocks and Cannon-volleys barely do jack-shit to the gnawing Dragons that are waiting to burn down a village or two. (That, and Bo~ring tropes!)

And even if there is that centers around Technology, You bet it's gonna be having either Super-mechas or Space-battle (e.g. MobuSekai and Reincarnated as an Evil Intergalactic Emperor), and notice what both have? Dogfight, and Good God, I have no idea what's everyone's fixation on having them for the sake of it, because it does me the same as Superheroes brawling in Mid-air : Obnoxiously and Worryingly, BORING

So here I am trying to construct a story that revolves a world that has Both (Forgive Me).
Now, since there's going to be both Magic and Technology, what's your thoughts about having Suits with a Personal A.I for assisting you in battle, when you can have Body-enhancing Spells and Buffs instead? (No possible way to have both without some compromise, Technology defunct of Mana failure and whatnot)

Sounds like an interesting but difficult project. There are a couple of reasons why litRPGs are mostly set in a western medieval fantasy world, one because the worlds are based off of DnD or something similar, 2 they follow in the tropes set by the founders of the genre like SAO, 3 they just like in, etc.

Although, I suspect, there is another reason, that being that, typically, Isekai’s are litRPGs based around combat, or crafting things for combat. There are three easy ways to source said combat, 1. War, 2. Colonial expansion that is pushed back by monsters, and 3. Some sort of dungeon system. All of which would are easy to monopolize and focus power into a few warlords, guilds, and/or nobles/royalty. This would create some form of caste system, which makes it hard for society to progress past a snails crawl. Society will be structured around said elites who will need to agree with any form of progress. The fact that there is a system that focuses strength to those with higher levels. And the only way to truly get any freedom is either be born a noble or go off doing your best to survive alone while killing everything you can, while not being caught by the people who claim said land, before you are strong enough to rival a nation. and the And if you add bloodline magic the issue gets worse.

There are only a handful of settings where that premise makes sense, while not being out right colonial/fascist propaganda. One of the more acceptable being mid evil times. And another being the very beginning of said system before said strength is monopolized, as well as some sort of apocalyptic catastrophe like a zombie plague or alien invasion. If that makes sense.

 

[Prince_Azmiran_Myrian]

I have always struggled with combining magic and advanced technology in a way that i am content with. Sufficiently advanced tech can basically look like magic, and we have no idea what the next technological revolution will look like.

So where does magic fit in? In contrast, magic might render technology inferior and lead to stagnation. Then there's tech based on magic, magitech. But this makes realistic tech pointless.

I think the best way to combine them is to have magic do things that technology could never do. Which is hard to predict, and could be impossible, depending on tech level you choose possibly being infinite. magic and technology look like the same thing.

 

[ThrillingHuman]

Tbh, realistic super advanced technology will just make humans unnecessary.

 

[K_Jira]

I think the best way to combine them is to have magic do things that technology could never do. Which is hard to predict, and could be impossible, depending on tech level you choose possibly being infinite. magic and technology look like the same thing.

I agree to this.

To do this, in the end, it's up to the author what restrictions or limit will be put on both sides. Still, to make the combination possible, the restrictions on one side should be able to be accomplished by the other side. As to what kind of restriction is it, it depends on what kind of world the author wants to build I guess.

Edit: For example maybe technologies are not compatible with ecology or anything related to nature and that's where magic comes. Or vice versa, magic is not able to reach up to space where mana is non-existent so only technologies can operate there.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Write about what inspires you, and someone will love it.

 

[Yetano]

Tbh, realistic super advanced technology will just make humans unnecessary.

Being fully robotic won't shield your circuits from being splashed liquids, so No, being fully robotics or just augmented by a degree won't make the humans go fully defunct... My religion will make certain of those...

Write about what inspires you, and someone will love it.

There's this weird thing about me, if they're to say, roast me, it'd yield a better result in comparison of being cheered on.
Sorry, I know you're trying to put some positive at some setting that usually gives a negative vibe (Science? Nay!), but please : Tell Me Something I Don't Know. Now, rough me up with your harsh speculations!

 

[Arkus86]

Sounds like an interesting but difficult project. There are a couple of reasons why litRPGs are mostly set in a western medieval fantasy world, one because the worlds are based off of DnD or something similar, 2 they follow in the tropes set by the founders of the genre like SAO, 3 they just like in, etc.

Although, I suspect, there is another reason, that being that, typically, Isekai’s are litRPGs based around combat, or crafting things for combat. There are three easy ways to source said combat, 1. War, 2. Colonial expansion that is pushed back by monsters, and 3. Some sort of dungeon system. All of which would are easy to monopolize and focus power into a few warlords, guilds, and/or nobles/royalty. This would create some form of caste system, which makes it hard for society to progress past a snails crawl. Society will be structured around said elites who will need to agree with any form of progress. The fact that there is a system that focuses strength to those with higher levels. And the only way to truly get any freedom is either be born a noble or go off doing your best to survive alone while killing everything you can, while not being caught by the people who claim said land, before you are strong enough to rival a nation. and the And if you add bloodline magic the issue gets worse.

There are only a handful of settings where that premise makes sense, while not being out right colonial/fascist propaganda. One of the more acceptable being mid evil times. And another being the very beginning of said system before said strength is monopolized, as well as some sort of apocalyptic catastrophe like a zombie plague or alien invasion. If that makes sense.

Then again, does Isekai need to be litRPG? It is an almost universal trope in the genre that the Isekai world runs on a System, but I do not see a reason why one could not write Isekai without it.

To me, it seems a crutch to help one with writing, standardizing the powers and keeping track of individual strengths, but a crutch that ultimately holds the story back more often than not by forcing it to stay withing those tracks of litRPG trodden my so many others, leading to insane power levels and, among other things, situations where nations still use masses of regular troops, where those troops can hardly match even a low mid-level adventurer and get obliberated in bulk by any powerhouse. Issue that is shared by cultivation novels, by the way.

In this particular case it would also mean that the premise of choosing between technology and magic would be largely moot, as you would have to turn the Suits into magical items anyway, just to keep up with thecurve, or somehow find technology or materials that can counter any magic and system-based physical reinforcement, which is a rabbit hole of its own.

 

[DiscoDream]

View attachment 16027
Props to the designer of those fancy suits, just bravo.

So, Robotics, and Isekai. When's the last time I get to see its usage in mangas and novels I saw that well? Countable by fingers, despite the Resurgence the genre's having and you know why?
Look at the setting they mostly go for Middle-Age, Nobles and Peasants, Swords, and Magic. Guns and Artilleries barely count, 'cause Flintlocks and Cannon-volleys barely do jack-shit to the gnawing Dragons that are waiting to burn down a village or two. (That, and Bo~ring tropes!)

And even if there is that centers around Technology, You bet it's gonna be having either Super-mechas or Space-battle (e.g. MobuSekai and Reincarnated as an Evil Intergalactic Emperor), and notice what both have? Dogfight, and Good God, I have no idea what's everyone's fixation on having them for the sake of it, because it does me the same as Superheroes brawling in Mid-air : Obnoxiously and Worryingly, BORING

So here I am trying to construct a story that revolves a world that has Both (Forgive Me).
Now, since there's going to be both Magic and Technology, what's your thoughts about having Suits with a Personal A.I for assisting you in battle, when you can have Body-enhancing Spells and Buffs instead? (No possible way to have both without some compromise, Technology defunct of Mana failure and whatnot)

Magic has to have an absurd power ceiling to justify anyone using it. Guns invalidate most forms of magic, as a mage who's spent decades to learn how to multi-cast/silent cast and use earth shattering spells. Can just get insta-killed by some random bloke. Mages would have to be a very small but powerful community, like 1/100,000 in the armed forces. Basically state war-slaves as the amount of resources pumped into them would warrant them losing any form of autonomy in fear of defection.

Mages in power armor makes sense, as the armor can be solely focused on having them evade enemies while they cast spells. I can't imagine them having defensive spells, as they're simply inefficient.

I'd recommend not having enchanting. It opens up a rabbit hole of things that 'should' exist, but don't because you're only a single person with a limited worldview. It would also make mages basically factory workers, and remove them from a battlefield

 

[Deleted member 54065]

Eh, it's fantasy, so I always make sure to bend the rules to make my work interesting.

Mix in a few physics concepts for a 'base', then do what you want, as long as you can keep the explanations logical.

 

[Huyrrou]

As someone who tackled a very similiar situation, being a hyper intelligent super A.I got threw in a fantasy world. I got stuck between exploring the A.I's previous world and the fantasy world, things blow out of control very fast the more you think deep about it. How the A.I came to be, it's history, how it affected the world, what are it's thoughts about humanity, what does it think about the fantasy world, what are it's ambitions. Then the fantasy world, you have to make up a history, the magic system, the factions, what is going on when the A.I came. A whole mess that kept me up at night until I decided to scrap it all and developing a whole new concept of post-apocalypse world.

The advices I can give you from my failure.

First make the MC a normal soldier, ground infantry and or a specialize unit that isn't flight. Or a Space Marine level soldier. Or anything that doesn't contain flight.

Second, nanites. Nanite is your best friend, why need healing magic when you have thousands of tiny machines in your body repairing it?

Third, the A.I companion should be biased since, logically, it would hold it's homeworld on a higher pedestal regardless of what MC thinks. Also, the A.I gives an excuse for info dumping about the MC's world, comparing the life between two different world.

Fourth, no higher dimensional eldritch entity. Trust me, your brain will thank you for not dragging them into your novel.

Fifth, for energy resource problem. The robotic suit could run on bio energy as the secondary source once the primary one eventually run out, so as long as MC still lives, the suit will not go offline albeit at half power. This also solve to security problem, as the suit would only fuction when the MC use it via bio signature. Or going my route, a near unlimited power source found in the far future.

Sixth, the MC would need to disguise themselves as a resident, so the best excuse would be the robot armor is a symbotic golem. And vice versa, the residents of the fantasy world would think roughly the same.

Seventh, nanites, again. When the suit is eventually damaged, you can once again use nanites to repair the suit.

Eighth, Runes or magical carving could be the way to upgrade the suit. This give leeway to friction between MC and the A.I, as in the MC want to make the suit stronger by carving runic symbols into the suit itself, much to the horror of the A.I. Though this would contradict with Seventh, the best way to solve it is the nanites only repair major damage and ignore minor ones like scratches and the like. And battle scars are awesome.

Ninth, since MC won't know much about the fantasy world, the typical and best excuse is amnesia. Unless MC wants to be open about being from another world.

Tenth, the most important is how did MC came to the fantasy world. The best way is to use teleportation or warp gate malfuction if you don't want to touch on the subject of gods. For a sci-fi setting, it's logical for the to be warp portals and teleportation devices.

Sorry for the lengthly reply, I got really excited when someone wants to write the genre I adore but seen relatively little of.

And the advices I gave should only be use as advices, do what you want, write what you want to write, it's the freedom that writing gives make it special. <3

 

[Cipiteca396]

This is probably the first time I'll advertise my story. It's not very good, but it definitely fits.

On topic, I'll say that if you're trying to balance magic and science, you're doing it wrong. You do not need to submit to old, outdated clichés just because they already exist. A hammer is a hammer regardless of whether it's made of metal or mana. If there's some ridiculous restriction like mana not working in the presence of technology, everyone and their mom is going to try and overcome that restriction. Eventually someone will get it right.

With that out of the way, you get a stupid list of possibilities. For every pure magic or pure science solution you can come up with for a problem, there are a million solutions that take from both. SO it comes down to personal preference- not yours as the author, but the preference of individual characters, cultures, and governments.

Maybe one faction uses AI-assisted mechs, another uses spirit-infused monster hides, and another uses daemon-possessed power armor. Individual members of those factions may fall in line, or start carving enochian runes into the seat cushions of their mechs.

In a futuristic setting(specifically not using the term sci-fi here), a certain degree of doctrine is going to be in place. Characters will receive some form of education, and that will affect what they can and what they want to do. The son of a cultist in a tech focused empire will probably understand basic principles of engineering, and possibly be able to call on supernatural forces... But he might have trouble figuring out the utility of elemental or natural forces.

Likewise, your newly arrived migrant is going to need to work double time to figure out what the hell everyone else is blabbering about. Imagine explaining Facebook to a caveman! Or invoking the name of the Devil in a place where he can hear and punish you for it...

So, to finish things... Do it all. Redundancy is a failsafe, not a failure. Your armor can be enchanted to the high heavens, but when it gets destroyed, you can fall back on body enhancements. When the enemy is too close to shoot, conjure an elemental spear. When you take damage, douse it in omni-gel and then cast a regeneration spell.

Create.

 

[LilRora]

Now, since there's going to be both Magic and Technology, what's your thoughts about having Suits with a Personal A.I for assisting you in battle, when you can have Body-enhancing Spells and Buffs instead? (No possible way to have both without some compromise, Technology defunct of Mana failure and whatnot)

For me the simplest answer is that technology is stronger in the wide picture, but is less usable, needs maintenance, repairs, apart from that often needs preparations, can malfuntion in battle, and more of those kinds of things.

Magic meanwhile is readily available and can be used whenever as long as the person has mana (or however else your magic would be powered), but its downside is that it can't compete with technology in a fair match.

For instance, in a fight between a person relying only on magic and a person for example is a suit or a mecha, the person in a mecha would win. But, if that same person was attacked without their suit, they wouldn't be able to fight effectively.

Speaking in more general terms, magic should be much more versatile and easier to use, but incapable of achieving the results you can achieve with appropriate technology and sufficient preparation. Not only in battle, but also in all other fields, like research - it should be easy for a magic user to freeze something, but impossible to cool something to near-zero temperatures that can be easily reached in a lab. But that also means that outside of the lab, the person without magic would be incapable of anything.

 

[ElijahRyne]

Magic has to have an absurd power ceiling to justify anyone using it. Guns invalidate most forms of magic, as a mage who's spent decades to learn how to multi-cast/silent cast and use earth shattering spells. Can just get insta-killed by some random bloke. Mages would have to be a very small but powerful community, like 1/100,000 in the armed forces. Basically state war-slaves as the amount of resources pumped into them would warrant them losing any form of autonomy in fear of defection.

Mages in power armor makes sense, as the armor can be solely focused on having them evade enemies while they cast spells. I can't imagine them having defensive spells, as they're simply inefficient.

I'd recommend not having enchanting. It opens up a rabbit hole of things that 'should' exist, but don't because you're only a single person with a limited worldview. It would also make mages basically factory workers, and remove them from a battlefield

It depends on the types of magic used, imo. A fireball is essentially a grenade, but what about a sleep spell? A gun may be stronger than most offensive magic, but what can it do against a fog or illusion spell. A cannon might beat all shield spells, but what about a mud spell?

In the end mages will still be useful tactical weapons or spies. They don’t need to be archmages to defeat a guy with a gun, all they need is wit. Also two other things, what is stopping the mage from using a barrier spell capable of stopping bullets, and how much does it take to train them? Because if it costs significantly less than a tank, then what is the hold up on spending?

 

[Yetano]

In the end mages will still be useful tactical weapons or spies. They don’t need to be archmages to defeat a guy with a gun, all they need is wit. Also two other things, what is stopping the mage from using a barrier spell capable of stopping bullets, and how much does it take to train them? Because if it costs significantly less than a tank, then what is the hold up on spending?

Good Question.


. . . OK, so there's no such thing as 'Easy' in the way of Life, and you bet your ass that 'Free' isn't actually 'Free', like your free will of wanting to jam by yourself in space. There's got to be the sense, when you know your limits.
When a problem comes up, solution(s) is to be brought up ... which'll be likely to bring another problem, like it or not. Sure, we (Humans) are natural-born problem-solvers, and to keep up with that, God just happened to make just living, a challenge in and out of itself.

Now, the thing about Magic is that it's not supposed to (in my opinion, not yours truly), well, EXIST. And in a world where there'll be an increasing percentage of you being mugged or chomped or both or others since there's the option of having some speeding orc in suits flying at you, you'll have more chance to survive when you have it... at a cost.
Whatever that cost is, it'll be the main thing that'll balances out the power hierarchs of both Magic and Technology.
Keep up jabbing yourselves with using Magic ... and you might usurp your own oblivious ass to the shadow realm. Oh, and also accelerated aging. And accumulating invisible 'curses' for that matter. Do I need to repeat myself that you might get to be send to the shadow realm?

Learn, Else . . .

Also, I don't want no easygoers when I'm having a hard time just living, God's Sake. Main reason I can't stand watching OP casts living it without a sweat, I Ain't Impressed nor Mad for their powers, no. From the moment I get to have it easy, We Quit. Having. FUN.
Do I need to state the reason why THE OPM is actually interesting to watch, and fun at that? He gets to have some problems, despite being capable of splitting Earth in half ? It's amusing, simple. I mean, yeah, it'd be rad to have some problems being auto-corrected by Technology, but still...

 

[LilRora]

Now, the thing about Magic is that it's not supposed to (in my opinion, not yours truly), well, EXIST. And in a world where there'll be an increasing percentage of you being mugged or chomped or both or others since there's the option of having some speeding orc in suits flying at you, you'll have more chance to survive when you have it... at a cost.
Whatever that cost is, it'll be the main thing that'll balances out the power hierarchs of both Magic and Technology.
Keep up jabbing yourselves with using Magic ... and you might usurp your own oblivious ass to the shadow realm. Oh, and also accelerated aging. And accumulating invisible 'curses' for that matter. Do I need to repeat myself that you might get to be send to the shadow realm?

Katalepsis, maybe? I really recommend to at least read the very beginning of that story if we're talking about magic at a cost. It provides a really unique take on magic that has very few limits, but very strong downsides (it is an urban fantasy, and very far from anything sci-fi, but what matters is the idea).

 

[Ehitogami]

View attachment 16027
Props to the designer of those fancy suits, just bravo.

So, Robotics, and Isekai. When's the last time I get to see its usage in mangas and novels I saw that well? Countable by fingers, despite the Resurgence the genre's having and you know why?
Look at the setting they mostly go for Middle-Age, Nobles and Peasants, Swords, and Magic. Guns and Artilleries barely count, 'cause Flintlocks and Cannon-volleys barely do jack-shit to the gnawing Dragons that are waiting to burn down a village or two. (That, and Bo~ring tropes!)

And even if there is that centers around Technology, You bet it's gonna be having either Super-mechas or Space-battle (e.g. MobuSekai and Reincarnated as an Evil Intergalactic Emperor), and notice what both have? Dogfight, and Good God, I have no idea what's everyone's fixation on having them for the sake of it, because it does me the same as Superheroes brawling in Mid-air : Obnoxiously and Worryingly, BORING

So here I am trying to construct a story that revolves a world that has Both (Forgive Me).
Now, since there's going to be both Magic and Technology, what's your thoughts about having Suits with a Personal A.I for assisting you in battle, when you can have Body-enhancing Spells and Buffs instead? (No possible way to have both without some compromise, Technology defunct of Mana failure and whatnot)

If the magical and scientifical systems are incompatible, why not have both but have them separated? Like the outside could be marinated in shield spells while the inside could have all the operating systems and AI, or you could use magic materials with technology skirting around it. Or vice versa, with a magically operated suit with technological attachments in the outside, or a hybrid of the two, where there's sections of the outside with exposed technology like communication to allow it to function, and a space bag full of compressed air with a physical valve that opens via electronic controls.

 

[DiscoDream]

It depends on the types of magic used, imo. A fireball is essentially a grenade, but what about a sleep spell? A gun may be stronger than most offensive magic, but what can it do against a fog or illusion spell. A cannon might beat all shield spells, but what about a mud spell?

In the end mages will still be useful tactical weapons or spies. They don’t need to be archmages to defeat a guy with a gun, all they need is wit. Also two other things, what is stopping the mage from using a barrier spell capable of stopping bullets, and how much does it take to train them? Because if it costs significantly less than a tank, then what is the hold up on spending?

Thing is, the mages would have to have been weak enough to allow guns/technology to advance. A civilization advancing poses an existential threat to every mage and any power structure they've built/assimilated into. If the mages were versatile enough to stop bullets with any amount of ease, they'd have crushed said technology, as it would eventually catch up with them. (Barring if the mages became the sole distributors of said technology)

As for why I don't think witt would work. It takes years of training for people to learn how to swing a sword properly. Magic can be interpreted as hundreds of different sword stances that must be shifted through at any given time. Only the most talented of mages could actually do that, the rest would be lucky to be able to properly use three spells during a battle.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

WH40K?