History AnachronismStew / TabletopGames

* ''KingArthur Pendragon'' takes a mix of all the main Arthurian myths, mostly Malory, and sets it in sub-Roman Britain. The appearance of medieval technology later in Arthur's reign is [[AWizardDidIt explained by magic]] and it all fades away after the Battle of Camlann with history re-asserting itself.
** ''Pendragon'' is not above {{shout out}}s to later history either, including Merlin prophesying that the Pope would live in Avignon, and KingArthur quoting UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy "ask not what your country can do for you..." before the Battle of Badon Hill.

* The old Atlantean Trilogy by Bar Games mixed AnachronismStew with AllMythsAreTrue, and came up with an alternate Earth where Atlantis coexists with Avalon, Amazons rub shoulders with gypsies, and you can sail from Hyperborea to Nazca. Never mind it's supposed to be set in 15,000 BC, and the continents' geographies are radically different?
* The defunct trading card game Anachronism was built on this trope. The idea was that you could play as, say, Ivan the Terrible while wielding a claymore, wearing Japanese armor, and with Aphrodite on your side.

** A prime example being the Imperial Guard, where you can have horse cavalry, World War I-style tanks, ChickenWalkers and {{Future Copter}}s all in the same force.

* HoylesRulesOfDragonPoker: The author never bothers to explain why a game played at ancient Pompeii has rules for surge protectors and Weird Al.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer40000}}'' has this as well, with many troops (especially Orks) being armed with bladed melee weapons such as swords, [[AnAxeToGrind axes]], and [[DropTheHammer warhammers]], while others have machine guns, lasers, automatic bazookas, and space ships.

* Even ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' and it's derivatives have this. Many settings (and many more [=DMs=]) [[FantasyGunControl don't allow firearms]], but will gladly allow many weapons that, in real life, came about after, and sometimes as a direct consequence of, the invention and proliferation of guns in real life. Rapiers, a longtime standard of Bards and Rogues, are just one example.

*** In fact, the Empire has knights and archers of its own, deployed right alongside the cannons, guns and tanks.

* Parodied in the TabletopGames ''Diana: Warrior Princess'' and ''Elvis: The Legendary Tours'', which take the AnachronismStew approach to modern-day pop-culture.

** The one most people have pointed out in Fantasy Battles is Bretonnia, which is an Arthurian-style Fuedal Kingdom with your traditional knights, bows, and trebuchets, right next door to the Empire, which is nearly 2-3 centuries ahead with cannons, guns, and ''tanks''.

* Even ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' and it's derivatives have this. Many settings (and many more[=DMs=] [[FantasyGunControl don't allow firearms]], but will gladly allow many weapons that, in real life, came about after, and sometimes as a direct consequence of, the invention and proliferation of guns in real life. Rapiers, a longtime standard of Bards and Rogues, are just one example.

* Let's begin at the beginning: ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''(and most other MedievalEuropeanFantasy settings for that matter) normally does not have firearms, yet you can usually get your hands on a rapier, a type of sword that wasn't developed until(and ''because of'') the proliferation of early guns.

** Vikings ({{Handwave}}d as being northerners who believe NorseMythology)

** ''Pendragon'' is not above {{shout out}}s to later history either, including Merlin prophesying that the Pope would live in Avignon, and KingArthur quoting JohnFKennedy "ask not what your country can do for you..." before the Battle of Badon Hill.

** Note that this isn't even the most notable example. From the very start, where were magicians, knights, dragons, and the like along side stuff like tanks, military infantry, and [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot ridiculously human]] and {{Super Robot}}s.

* {{Warhammer}}

* {{Warhammer40000}} has this as well, with many troops (especially Orks) being armed with bladed melee weapons such as swords, [[AnAxeToGrind axes]], and warhammers, while others have machine guns, lasers, automatic bazookas, and space ships.
** Characterized even farther by the fact that the lore states there are planets that have slid back technologically to a MedievalStasis from being cut-off from other worlds, which may have been used at one point in early source books to try and incorporate the {{Warhammer}} Fantasy Battle universe into that of 40k.

* Parodied in the TabletopGames ''Diana Warrior Princess'' and ''Elvis The Legendary Tours'', which take the AnachronismStew approach to modern-day pop-culture.

* {{Warhammer40000}} has this as well, with many troops (especially Orks) being armed with bladed melee weapons such as swords, [[AnAxeToGrind axes]], and [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin warhammers]] while others have machine guns, lasers, automatic bazookas, and space ships.

* {{Warhammer}}
** The one most people have pointed out in Fantasy Battles is Bretonnia, which is an Arthurian-style Fuedal Kingdom with your traditional knights, bows, and trebuchets, right next door to the Empire, which is nearly 2-3 centuries ahead with cannons, guns, and ''tanks''.
** Other examples in the game (there are many) include the Skaven, who have access to Gatling- oh wait - ''[[IncrediblyLamePun Ratling]]'' guns and ''Lightning cannons'', while other races, such as the Elves or the Tomb Kings, still use ballistae, bows and chariots.
* {{Warhammer40000}} has this as well, with many troops (especially Orks) being armed with bladed melee weapons such as swords, [[AnAxeToGrind axes]], and [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin warhammers]] while others have machine guns, lasers, automatic bazookas, and space ships.
** Characterized even farther by the fact that the lore states there are planets that have slid back technologically to a MedievalStasis from being cut-off from other worlds, which may have been used at one point in early source books to try and incorporate the {{Warhammer}} Fantasy Battle universe into that of 40k.