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First, a quick explanation of the world's functioning.

  1. It was home to nature-worshipping tribes, which had such a strong connection to the goddesses that developed to be like super-humans (longevity, bigger stamina, keen sense of strategy...), but also otherworldly skills (manipulation of fire and water, healing,...). However, after the arrival of foreign civilizations, many fell ill and those who remained were victims of genocide.
  2. The story will take place 400 years after first contact, when the main character, who is a warrior discovers that the fae people are still alive and that, in fact, it is against them that they have been fighting for centuries.
  3. The existent technology supports the existence of television and the internet, but I would like to keep body combat and the use of weapons like swords, knives, harpoons, bows and arrows as the main ones (other than guns for example), but I don't know if there's any way to make them justifiable in a context of war.

Can anyone help me? Thank you in advance!

L.Dutch
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alluraetal.
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    Hello @Alluraetal, welcome to [worldbuilding.se]. (a) If you search this Stack for terms like "no guns," "melee only" and "only swords" you'll find a lot of questions that duplicate this one. (b) Per our [help], we help you build the rules of an imaginary world, we specifically do not help people write stories. World rules exist independent of all stories. This feels like storybuilding. (c) Technology is an interdependent chain of innovations. You can't have TV and the Internet without explosives. And since asking what a character might choose is prohibited, it appears your Q is off-topic. – JBH Dec 18 '22 at 20:55
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    Fishing for ideas (a.k.a "Storybuilding" for J.B.H., apparently now) is not something very well-received on Stack-Exchange (see the help-center). You should give us more on what you want and not want to tell : Do you want the reason to be technological or cultural for instance? This will make answers more objectively scalable and more accurate to your actual needs :). Also, J.B.H's right about the existence of similar questions, it'd be helpful to know why the other questions didn't help you much . – Tortliena - inactive Dec 18 '22 at 23:40
  • It feels like this is just as much a valid worldbuilding question as was the other, but it may be reasonably closed as a duplicate if workerjoe's link answers it. – Dewi Morgan Dec 20 '22 at 00:18
  • Your setting already includes magic, is that not enough? (though the reference to genocide in the backstory suggests that bringing knives and bows to a gun fight hasn't worked out too well as a strategy) – Starfish Prime Dec 20 '22 at 15:07
  • Do you need to? Destiny 2's world has bows and sword, without a lick of explanation of why people still use them. Still cool as F. – Mermaker Dec 20 '22 at 17:10
  • It's your world, you get to make up the rules. Don't expect us to use our imaginations to do that for you, that's your job as writer. – Ian Kemp Dec 20 '22 at 18:20
  • Not really a duplicate question. The other one is about a strict sci-fi future, while this one involves fantasy elements. – JamieB Dec 24 '22 at 04:31

7 Answers7

18

The fae cannot perceive technology.

The fae are old. Also pretty weird. They have stone age technology; bows and spears. They do not use modern technology.

Because they cannot perceive modern technology. They can't watch TV. They do not perceive guns, or cars, or phones. Bullets and cars pass through them. The converse is also true. There are things in the fae world that moderns cannot perceive and by which moderns are unaffected.

The world of the fae and the world of technologic moderns do not overlap completely. This is part of how fae persisted all this time. This is also part of what brought about their ruin in the past age.

Tech using moderns shoot each other with guns and zip around in cars and planes all the time. But if a modern wants to fight a thousand year old fae, the modern will need a fae weapon or one made in a similar way.

-- I am reminded of the naked nature spirit from this answer: Why would nature spirits be naked?

Willk
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  • So, basically, any cloth made of synthetic fibers will render the human (and the sword they swing) completely invisible to the fae? Seems like the war won't last long. I mean, the culling. – GuilleOjeda Dec 20 '22 at 00:50
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    @Blueriver - as I envision the fae would see through the polyester blanket and maybe also your clothes. But be impressed by your tattoos! – Willk Dec 20 '22 at 04:27
  • for the fae to be able to see through something, they would need to perceive a different particle than photons, which would pass through "tech" and bounce off of "not tech". Seems pretty hard to explain, but I'll buy into it. I just need a nuclear reactor properly shielded with "tech", and we humans are safe but the fae can still see the light coming from the nuclear reaction (and be incinerated by it). Nuclear reactions aren't "tech", right? I mean, if the fae can see the sun... – GuilleOjeda Dec 21 '22 at 02:28
  • @Blueriver: Fae might also be impervious to that sort of hard thinking like "photons" and "shielded" and especially "explain". "Explain" is the one that is really all the way in the modern world. – Willk Dec 21 '22 at 02:59
8

So there's two universes that immediately sprang to mind:

Dune and Warhammer 40K

Both have Ranged combat, both however have a significant focus on Melee:

In the case of Dune, it's because of (according to Lore) the interaction between a Laser weapon and a personal shield creates an explosion that can vary from individual scale all the way up to the size of Atomic Weapons. Since everyone uses personal shields, no one uses Lasers in combat as it could trigger total annihilation.

Depending on what the Fae have, a similar limitation might be applicable (Magical sheilds that reflect/deflect the energy of a ranged weapon which could cause collateral damage)

40K has several reasons for Melee combat:

1: To please the Gods of Chaos (Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull throne!) - The chaos god of Khorne (think the manifestation of Humanities innate desire to kill each other) strongly favors Melee combat, believing it to be more skill based and thus 'honorable' (despite being a Chaos God, Khorne is strongly aligned with Honor, so things like 1v1 duels earn his favor). Linking back to your world, the Fae may likewise have a similar honor system - such as it being bad to kill an enemy without being able to look them in the eye or that to kill someone leaving them alone to take their last breath is seen as cruel/evil or that to kill someone without giving them a fair chance to escape or retaliate is shameful. Depending on your real world inspirations - some of the Native American honor code(s) around combat may be applicable.

2: Ranged weapons need Ammunition, A Sword never needs to be reloaded. In 40K this is often justified by a few genetically enhanced super-soldiers (The Space Marines!) facing down against hordes of enemies (Filthy Xenos!) and so a ranged weapon would so quickly run out of ammunition making it pointless. In your story, it's the few against the Many - so it's possibly they might opt for a Melee focus since they couldn't possibly carry enough Ammunition.

3: Different worlds have different Tech levels - in 40K some worlds are at a feudal level, others are hyper advanced. In the real world - we have the Amish and the Luddites - those who actively reject technology due to a particular belief - it's entirely possible your Fae feel the same way.

4: Melee doesn't have to be weaker than Ranged. 40K is infamous for it's ludicrously overpowered weaponary, such as the Chainsword, Lightning Claws, Thunder Hammers Monomolecular blades etc. There is no reason why you cannot make your Melee weapons imbued with some reason why they are intrinsically better - a Sword might be able to be enchanted or otherwise enhanced by a physical connection with the being that wields it, something that a Projectile cannot maintain once it leaves the barrel - thus making a flaming sword bolstered by the Users otherworldly skills that requires it to be held in order to work is plausible.

Putting aside some of my favourite universes:

There's no reason why a planet that supports the Internet and TV would have to have the natural minerals to make gunpowder.

It could be that atmospheric conditions (too much oxygen, not enough oxygen, significantly higher atmospheric pressure) provide a limitation that makes Firearms impractical.

It could be that the report of a Firearm being discharged draws some dangerous predator to the location making use of Firearms extremely hazardous and only a last-resort option.

TheDemonLord
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    +1 as I was about to mention Dune as an example of laser weapons/shields :) – lukaszkups Dec 19 '22 at 16:15
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    1: Bullets are too small for the required runic arrays. 2: Lasers are light. How do you engrave a beam of light? (as examples). Maybe there's a battleship with rune enhanced shells – Hecatonchires Dec 20 '22 at 03:09
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    If we mention Dune, we might add that even if laser isn't used because of mutually assured destruction, simple gunpowder is made obsolete by shields. The energy shields stop everything above a certain speed, this is why you can stab someone as it's slow enough to pass the shield, but bullets are too fast and would be deflected. – vsz Dec 20 '22 at 18:26
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Magical trees provide all

You've already established that a godddess provides supernatural abilities. She also gives trees supernatural abilities. All of the weapons come from varying trees, and are vastly more powerful than any tech they can make. A bow made from a goddess touched tree will fire an arrow faster, harder, and more accurately than a gun. A sharpened branch can block bullets and rip through metal armor like paper.

Guns require too many small parts, and destroy the magic of the trees.

Show guns failing at some point

Have guns be a minor plot element at some point, and have them just be nakedly inferior to bows and swords, and the wielders get destroyed. This shows your civilization is smart to avoid them.

Nepene Nep
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  • Possible reasons why guns might not be efficient enough: (1) Even a very inexperienced magic user knows the basic spell to make the gunpowder explode in your own hand. (2) Guns are very loud, which might be bad if there are monsters in the forest or other entities that you don't want to disturb. – Stef Dec 19 '22 at 14:32
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Guns don’t work in the fae kingdom.

No modern technology works in fae kingdoms, as a matter of fact.

JK Rowling used this idea in Harry Potter: although TVs and telephones and PlayStations exists, the strong magic around Hogwarts prevents it from working there.

So your fae can use guns etc when they are on human territory. But surrounded by their own, the supernatural powers of the fae prevent modern technology from working. Hence, swords and other ancient weapons are their primary method of war.

Theresa Kay
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    Oxidization is not really "modern technology". If gunpowder wouldn't ignite then neither normal fire (like a campfire burning wood), nor metabolic processes could work. TVs and computers as in the Harry Potter series is completely different, that can be justified by magic having enough electromagnetic interference to jam the signal, but most guns don't rely on any sort of electronic signal processing, they work by purely mechanical means. – vsz Dec 19 '22 at 07:11
  • Do you have a quote to back your statement that guns don't work at hogwarts? I have read most of the Harry Potter books several times, yet I have no recollection of that information. – Stef Dec 19 '22 at 14:30
  • @Stef You’re right. The reason guns weren’t used in Harry Potter was likely because they had no effect on wizards, or because wands were more effective. But the same logic can still be applied: guns don’t work on fae. – Theresa Kay Dec 19 '22 at 21:27
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    I don't remember anything about guns being ineffective against wizards. I think wizards are just not very knowledgeable about muggle things, as pointed out by Ron Weasley's father several times. And guns could be hard to come by, whereas every wizard has a wand which they get at 11-year-old and keep their whole life. – Stef Dec 19 '22 at 21:51
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    England has much stronger gun laws than the US. Reaching for a gun to solve a problem might be a cultural blindspot for her. – Hecatonchires Dec 20 '22 at 03:12
  • @TheresaKay : no, wizards would be affected by guns just fine. Even the author said in an interview that a muggle with a shotgun could be a threat against an unprepared wizard. However, in Britain guns aren't all that common, and wizards are very secretive around muggles anyway. They just don't interact enough with each other for it to become a question. – vsz Dec 20 '22 at 18:32
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I challenge your question.

You don't have to justify anything.

Destiny's world is similar to our own, plus space magic. People use the usual - shotguns, auto rifles, etc - plus some technomagical stuff, like pew-pew blasters and laser beams.

But they also use bows and swords.

Sometimes shields and warhammers, even.

Or a pointy stick with a built-in laser blaster on it. Because why not?

It may not always make sense. Why using a big sword when you can go pew-pew on your enemy? Why pulling a bow to snipe someone far away when a sniper rifle would do a better job, theoretically?

Nobody cares. It's just awesome, and that's good enough.

So, go a similar route - make using swords or bows or whatever weapon you want awesome, by means of tech or magic, and you're set.

Those weapons look cool. It's fine to use them, as long as you do your own twist to make them awesome.

If Lucas was able to pull it off the way he did on Star Wars, everyone else also has the right to their wild, strange, fantasy weapons with an archaic flavor, too.

Just make sure to add some spice to them, and you're set.

Mermaker
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1

You can't enchant bullets.

These "otherworldly skills"? They've proven quite useful and humans have learned to cast them on weapons. However, for some reason or other (materials necessary, incompatibility with supersonic speeds, etc.) you can't put them on bullets, so people tend to fight with enhanced melee weapons and arrows instead.

Medinoc
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    I like it. Perhaps bullets are literally too small to enchant. The runes or what-not have a certain minimum size to function. Or maybe you totally can, except "enchantment" is extraordinarily expensive so doing it to one weapon will break the bank. 6 bullets? Wow. And then the bullet gets smashed and there goes your enchantment. (Though it could be an amusing "silver bullet" scenario.... the old "you have ONE SHOT, make it count!") – JamieB Dec 24 '22 at 04:29
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Lasers (with visible light wavelengths) are... visible.

Guns and cannons (gunpowdery stuff throwing projectiles) are loud.

Bows and arrows, and knives (and others) are both invisible and silent (at the time of using them). So they reveal neither the location of the attacker, nor the attack itself. That's why they are always valuable in under-cover operations.

virolino
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