Magical laser guns in a fantasy world that hasn't developed any gunpowder weapons yet

Magical laser guns in a fantasy world that hasn't developed any gunpowder weapons yet.

Yea or nae? Why?

Depends on your preferred aesthetic and how you want the setting to be. If that's the kind of thing you're going for, increasingly sophisticated magic resembling technology, then sure.

There are other ways you can embrace that though, without emulating technology. It's also worth noting that you might be in a setting where gunpowder weapons aren't actually possible, so you're not necessarily restricted in timeframe.

Yes, of course. Have you heard of Archimedes?

Nae.

I would argue that Harry Potter effectively does this

Only if its some dinotopia tier sunstone shiet - that would be cool as fuck. Everything powered by crystals and giant beasts.

Same end result- you got guns.

I actually wrote up a Dnd setting a couple of years ago where guns are pretty much just wands but anyone can use them
The higher level spell the bigger the gun had to be so you'd Pistols of magic missile, rifles of scorching ray, big man portable rocket launchers that shot fireball
They were all powered by magic batteries that were charged by spellcasters channeling their spell energy into them, ie cast this spell and recharge the battery a bit

I never got to run the game, and all my writing on that setting was lost to me a few years ago when my pc crashed

It's a cross between a gun and a wand.

A wund.

If it's magical, why not?
A bunch of magitech can skip technological advancements. Heat and cold can be generated using magic, so you can have air conditioner and freezers without using engines, or have engines without using eletricity, with a crystal powered engine or something if that uses less energy.
At some point someone may notice that with a fast, abrupt movement magic you can propel a small metal pellet or stone to harm a target and then make magitech guns without gunpowder.
A laser gun would be just applying a light based magic to the gun. You could put any kind of magic in there, or even better, on a cartridge, so you can have different magics stored and by changing the cartridges you shoot different stuff with the same gun. Fire spells, poison mist splls, sleep spells, instant orgasm spells, you name it.

But, people that can't use magic may start smuggling magic guns around or start an arms race againt the mages and may end up inventing gunpowder and other techs.

Fuck yeah, lasers in fantasy!

If people discover magical guns before they discover normal guns, what incentive is there to devote time and energy to the development of normal guns, even if they eventually discover black powder?

Yes. Why the fuck not? That's basically wands with charges of lvl 1 Magic Missile, at least. I think to remember there was a module with actual magic laser guns.

What does "nae" means? Speak like a white men for gods sake

>What does "nae" means? Speak like a white men for gods sake

Boy, that Carrot Top guy sure is funny.

Harry Potter doesn't effectively do much of anything.

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Make then ineffective weapons of fear and you're Golden

Sorry your nostalgia is so important to you.

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>want a not!Harry potter setting that isn't conceptually broken
>borderline inherently impossible

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indirect fire and blast effects

>t. 4chins edgelord

Not even that guy.

Are you seriously arguing that Harry Potter is coherent?

What's your point.

Would your wunds be waffe?

The term is Gundo.

You prepare special cartidges of mana ahead of time, optimized for specific spells. You can use cartridges for other magic, but the results are always weaker than one made for that task.

Not all spells are long range or even combat related, but the barrel/gear of your Gundo is a hard limit on how far you can cast any spell ever, so you generally want one that looks like its a rifle. Otherwise you might as well be slap fighting.

Casting a spell without a mana supply can be done, but it eats memories out of your head so its never wirth it unless you wanna be a vegetable.

This is, oddly enough, a much more fair and balanced magic system than anything DnD has ever had.

Fuck it, it'll be entertaining.

The fact that there is a consequence and limit to the spell casting is the major fact, something DnD never had beyond arbitrary limits of use that can be easily circumvented.

So wizard pistols are a bad idea? I don't think I can accept a system where wizard pistols are possible, but a bad idea.

How does Dinotopia hold up?

That, and it means that spellcasters need gear like everyone else. A Mark 3 Gundo is just as important at higher levels as a +5 sword it.

I mean, they would have a shorter range and likely would cast weaker spells due to smaller mana shells.

Not worthless, but bigger is better. That said, a tripod mounted 50 cal esq Gundo isnt worth much if you get gibbed by a magic pistol before you can unpacked the damn thing.