History Main / GunpowderFantasy

* The ''Shadow Campaigns'' series by Django Wexler.

Gunpowder Fantasy is a {{fantasy}} subgenre covering works based on the real-world Early Modern period, roughly corresponding to the 15th-18th centuries -- starting around UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance, through TheCavalierYears, the Age of Exploration, going all the way through the Age of Sail, with the usual endpoint being UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars. This was a time of dynamic and rapid change throughout the world -- conquest, colonization, science, and exploration were all in full swing -- and works featuring these types of settings often center around change, be it a new land to explore, a revolutionary scientific advancement, or warfare that discards the old rules.

* ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity'' straddles the line from MedievalEuropeanFantasy, being roughly based on the Renaissance. Wheel-lock muskets are becoming common enough that wizards are adopting metal armor as a countermeasure, since bullets can penetrate their spell shields.

For whatever reason, even such works explicitly set in fantasy worlds are much less likely to feature the [[FiveRaces stock races]] of the StandardFantasySetting and generally have only humans as characters.

%% Image selected per Image Pickin thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16980840450.75185900
%% Please don't change or remove without starting a new thread.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Early chapters gave the sense that it was a WoodenShipsAndIronMen setting, with several characters possessing either {{Charles Atlas Superpower}}s or else having superhuman abilities from consuming Devil Fruit, and most pirates possessing flintlock firearms, with swords still being a preferred method of combat. However, the series progressed to full SchizoTech as it went on, introducing cyborgs, trains that run over water, and transponder snails, living telepathic telecommunication devices used throughout the Blue Seas and Grand Line.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': Golarion has a ''lot'' of DecadeDissonance, but the more urbane areas near the Inner Sea comes close to this trope: Cannon and early 16th century firearms have been invented and are a major export of the Duchy of Alkenstar, Andoran is experimenting with enlightenment values and have introduced republicanism and widespread use of the printing press, pirates straight out of the golden age of piracy -- complete with guns and cannon -- haunt the major trade routes, and the city of Absalom is a gigantic CityOfAdventure inspired partially by Alexandria and partially by Constantinople under the Ottoman Empire as a major trade hub and crossroads between worlds.

* '''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' generally adheres to FantasyGunControl, but a single plane throughout the known Multiverse fits this trope: Ixalan. The pirates of the Brazen Coalition and the Empire of Dusk both use cannons as they sail the sea between the continents of Torrezon and Ixalan, with the former faction having flintlocks on their person in card art. Add in the fact that all factions on the plane are searching for a CityOfGold in a [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs jungle full of dinosaurs]] inhabited by two different {{Mayincatec}} civilizations -- the human Sun Empire and the merfolk River Heralds -- and you have a plane that will make your inner 8-year-old sing.

[[caption-width-right:350:"Sword and sorcery, shot and shell\\
Send these heathens straight to hell!"]]

Gunpowder Fantasy is a {{fantasy}} subgenre covering works based on the real-world Early Modern period, roughly corresponding to the 15th-18th centuries -- starting around UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance, through TheCavalierYears, the Age of Exploration, going all the way through the Age of Sail -- the usual endpoint is UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars. This was a time of dynamic and rapid change throughout the world -- conquest, colonization, science, and exploration were all in full swing -- and works featuring these types of settings often center around change, be it a new land to explore, a revolutionary scientific advancement, or warfare that discards the old rules.

The early modern period was also a time of unprecedented international contact and trade; accordingly, while the genre is still overwhelmingly European-dominated, Gunpowder Fantasy works tend to feature more non-European-inspired peoples and civilizations. This era was the height of power for many non-Western empires, including the Ottoman Empire, China, India, and Persia -- [[FantasyCounterpartCulture analogues to these cultures]] are very common in this kind of fantasy.

If religion is mentioned, expect themes echoing and referencing UsefulNotes/TheProtestantReformation, Puritans, the Salem witch trials, the Inquisition, and the UsefulNotes/ThirtyYearsWar and other European religious wars.

In nautical-focused works such as PirateStories, it overlaps with WoodenShipsAndIronMen. As the early modern period also saw the invention and widespread adoption of spring-driven clocks, there can also be overlap with ClockPunk.

Note that while the borders of any genre or subgenre are inherently blurry, works based on later periods such as the Victorian era should be categorized as GaslampFantasy. Similarly, for works based on earlier periods such as MedievalEuropeanFantasy, the mere presence of firearms doesn't automatically make it Gunpowder Fantasy -- as elaborated in FantasyGunControl, gunpowder weapons are OlderThanTheyThink and strictly medieval settings can easily feature them. The key here is the ''time period'' that serves as the primary inspiration for a work.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': Golarion has a ''lot'' of DecadeDissonance, but the more urbane areas near the Inner Sea comes close to this trope: Cannon and early 16th century firearms have been invented and are a major export of the Duchy of Alkenstar, Andoran is experimenting with enlightenment values and have introduced republicanism and widespread use of the printing press, pirates straight out of the golden age of piracy -- complete with guns and cannon -- haunt the major trade routes, and the city of Absalom is a gigantic MercantCity inspired partially by Alexandria and partially by Constantinople under the Ottoman Empire as a major trade hub and crossroads between worlds.

* Early chapters of ''Manga/OnePiece'' gave the sense that it was a WoodenShipsAndIronMen setting, with several characters possessing either {{Charles Atlas Superpower}}s or else having superhuman abilities from consuming Devil Fruit, and most pirates possessing flintlock firearms, with swords still being a preferred method of combat. However, the series progressed to full SchizoTech as it went on, introducing cyborgs, trains that run over water, and transponder snails, living telepathic telecommunication devices used throughout the Blue Seas and Grand Line.

* The world of ''Literature/ThePrioryOfTheOrangeTree'' is roughly based on the 17th century; Seiiki is clearly based on the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, Mentendon is heavily inspired by the Dutch Golden Age, etc. Muskets and other weapons coexist with magic.

* The ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'' series by Naomi Novik reimagines the Napoleonic wars with dragons, though lacks other fantasy elements.

[[folder:Tabletop Game]]

* ''[[TabletopGame/SeventhSea 7th Sea]]'' and its spinoff ''[[TabletopGame/SeventhSeaTheEast 7th Sea: The East]]'' are set in a world analogous to the 17th century where gunpowder and firearms are already common place as well as the presence of mystical elements.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': While the setting adheres to some lopsided MedievalStasis and DecadeDissonance, this trope is in full effect within most of the lands of humanity, who are all {{Fantasy Counterpart Culture}}s of 16th century civilizations, with the noted exception of Bretonnia. Within the Empire, Kislev and Cathay, cannon and matchlock firearms are widely deployed in conjunction with early modern-era cavalry like plate-armored knights or winged hussars, and the Empire having access to prototype [[SteamPunk multiple-barrel guns, steam tanks and clockwork steeds]]. In southern Tilea and Estalia, ''tercio'' style pike-and-shot formations are favored by the city states and Tilea has a renown regiment of mercenaries equipped with Leonardo da Vinci-style glider wings. Cannon-armed navies also exist, with an infamous vampire pirate in the New World successfully teaching his zombified crews to operate black-powder weapons. Among the nonhuman races, dwarfs utilize SteamPunk engineering like early helicopters combined with cannon and wheellock firearms, being the earliest innovators of the weapons. The Skaven, meanwhile, employ a MadScientist caste infamous for their ahead-of-the-times invention of [[GatlingGood "ratling" guns]].

* The 2021 MMORPG ''VideoGame/NewWorld'' takes place in a colonial-era fantasy setting as major powers fight for control of Aeternum Island.
* ''VideoGame/FableII'' takes place 500 years after the original in an Albion going through a time period roughly analogous to the Early Modern Period, with a prominent advancement being the introduction of firearms between it and ''Fable I'', and it leading to the downfall of the Heroes Guild as people were no longer as dependent on often amoral magic users.

* ''VideoGame/{{Darklands}}'' takes place in a magical version of 15th-century central Europe, and you can find a few forms of early firearms alongside medieval weaponry and alchemical concoctions. As these firearms are still fairly primitive, they're cumbersome to reload and are only useful against armored opponents, where a bow would cause very little damage.
* ''VideoGame/GranadoEspada'': The game world is based on the Age of Discovery and is set on a newly-discovered continent based on the Americas. A considerable part of the game's identity as a fantasy world is the combination of guns with swords and sorcery. A musketeer class exists separately from standard archers.

[[/folder]]

Gunpowder Fantasy is a {{fantasy}} subgenre covering works based on the real-world Early Modern period, roughly corresponding to the 15th-18th centuries -- starting around UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance, through the Age of Exploration, going all the way through the Age of Sail -- the usual endpoint is UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars. This was a time of dynamic and rapid change throughout the world -- conquest, colonization, science, and exploration were all in full swing -- and works featuring these types of settings often center around change, be it a new land to explore, a revolutionary scientific advancement, or warfare that discards the old rules.

* The ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'' series by Naomi Novik reimagines the Napoleonic wars with dragons, though lacks other fantasy elements.

* ''Literature/TheThieftakerChronicles'' is a HistoricalFantasy series taking place in Boston during the the mid-to-late 1700s, just before the Revolutionary war. Protagonist Ethan Kaile is a conjurer (or [[InsistentTerminology speller]]) who can call on a spirit of an ancient knight to help him use magic in order to find goods and thieves more easily. Unfortunately, this is in the era of [[BurnTheWitch witch hangings]], meaning Ethan must keep his magic secret as best he can.

* ''Literature/ArciaChronicles'': The first duology features early 17th-century level of warfare tactics, with the mix of musketeers and pikemen ruling the field, but from book three onward, technology actually regresses back to high medieval level, with firearms completely abandoned.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': While the setting adheres to some lopsided MedievalStasis and DecadeDissonance, this trope is in full effect within most of the lands of humanity, who are all {{Fantasy Counterpart Culture}}s of 16th century civilizations, with the noted exception of Bretonnia. Within the Empire, Kislev and Cathay, cannon and matchlock firearms are widely deployed in conjunction with early modern-era cavalry like plate-armored knights or winged hussars, with the Empire having access to [[GaslampFantasy steam tanks and clockwork steeds]]. In southern Tilea and Estalia, ''tercio'' style pike-and-shot formations are said to be favored by the city states. Cannon-armed navies also exist, with an infamous vampire pirate in the New World successfully teaching his zombified crews to operate black-powder weapons. Among the nonhuman races, dwarfs utilize SteamPunk engineering like early helicopters combined with cannon and wheellock firearms, being the earliest innovators of the weapons. The Skaven, meanwhile, employ a MadScientist caste infamous for their ahead-of-the-times invention of [[GatlingGood "ratling" guns]].

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': While the setting adheres to some lopsided MedievalStasis, this trope is in full effect within most of the lands of humanity, who are all {{Fantasy Counterpart Culture}}s of 16th century civilizations, with the noted exception of Bretonnia. Within the Empire, Kislev and Cathay, cannon and early gunpowder are widely deployed in conjunction with medieval holdovers like plate-armored knights or winged hussars. In southern Tilea and Estalia, ''tercio'' style pike-and-shot formations are said to be favored by the city states. Cannon-armed navies also exist, with an infamous vampire pirate in the New World successfully teaching his zombified crews to operate black-powder weapons. Among the nonhuman races, dwarfs also utilize cannon and firearms, being the earliest innovators of the weapons. The Skaven, meanwhile, employ a MadScientist caste infamous for their ahead-of-the-times invention of [[GatlingGood "ratling" guns]].

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'': The dwarves and some parts of the Empire have access to flintlocks, occasionally even primitive "pepperbox" revolvers. The Skaven of Clan Skryre, on the other hand, are famous for their [[GatlingGood "ratling" guns]].

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* The ''Literature/SolomonKane'' series is a historical fantasy series set during the late 16th and early 17th Century. The protagonist is a wandering Puritan who fights both evil men and supernatural horrors with his sword and his guns.
* ''Literature/ArciaChronicles'': the first duology features early 17th-century level of warfare tactics, with the mix of musketeers and pikemen ruling the field, but from book three onward, technology actually regresses back to high medieval level, with firearms completely abandoned.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Ironclaw}}'': Calabria is at roughly a 16th century level of technology, including wheellock guns (a precursor to flintlocks), as well as having a fair number of wizards.

* '''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' generally adheres to FantasyGunControl, but a single plane throughout the known Multiverse fits this trope: Ixalan. The pirates of the Brazen Coalition and the Empire of Dusk both use cannons as they sail the sea between the continents of Torrezon and Ixalan, with the former faction having flintlocks on their person in card art. Add in the fact that all factions on the plane are searching for a CityOfGold in a [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs jungle full of dinosaurs]] inhabited by two different {{Mayincatec}} civilizations-- the human Sun Empire and the merfolk River Heralds-- and you have a plane that will make your inner eight-year-old sing.

* ''Videogame/GrimDawn:'' The game takes place in a post-apocalypse of this sort, with 18th Century-level empires collapsing under two simultaneous and brutal extradimensional invasions. You're just as likely to find a legendary magical revolver or rifle as you are a sword or halberd, and warfare is advanced enough one of the game's classes actively uses magical canister bombs and {{Molotov Cocktail}}s filled with actual hellfire, among others.

Alternate titles: BlackPowderFantasy, EarlyModernFantasy
----