Tell me about the high-tech race(s) in your fantasy setting,

The Gnome/Dwarf analog in our group's long-running setting is a race called the Thaumi, who lived in an Art Deco, "diesel-punk" cities deep underground a century or so before we started campaigning. They tapped into the setting's leylines to power their metropolis, and were widely despised for their secretive, stand-offish natures and for several times launching pre-emptive military strikes on neighboring nations they felt were threatening them.

A century before "modern day," however, a massive leyline catastrophe occurred that affected nearly every nation in the setting in some way or other. For the Thaumi, it blew up the power stations they'd built to tap into that energy, magically irradiating their cities and forcing them up onto the surface. Now, half the survivors live in the crowded, fortified entrances to their cave system, making-do with older but still impressive technologies.

The other half, which is mostly comprised of the younger generation, has decided to go out and explore the rest of world that the pre-catastrophe Thaumi found to be so distasteful and intimidating, hoping to experience new things, oftentimes hoping to make amends and increase their people's reputation in the process. As such they often take jobs as gunslingers or sharp-shooters with caravans where their still-advanced tech can be put to use.

All Elves in my setting belong to a compact called the Elvari, which is somewhat of a communist utopia. Any individual with exceptional enough talents can become part of their civilisation as well. They have no need of manual labour and have their every need and want taken care of by incredibly powerful world shaking magics.

They have golem constructs whose only job is to make their countryside as beautiful as possible. They magically conjure up all the food, drink and building materials they could possibly need. They use demiplanes to make sure they never run out of space. Their entire armies are made up of the equivalent of max level wizards, because even the smallest among them is taught magic from an early age. They are all made immortal, and there is no disease.

Unfortunately, it turns out that magic is a finite resource and to solve this problem they accidentally started pulling power from the Far Realm, and unleashed a great old one on their city. Oops.

>>54461618
They interact with less advanced races by trading - mostly for raw materials and interesting knick-knacks. They pay for these with gold that they conjure out of thin air (but the lesser races don't know that). The reason they trade for odd things is that it's interesting to them, and the reason they buy raw materials is to use them as base materials for transmutation.


They also have Wardens who roam the continent and deal with monsters and problems the populace have, and seek out promising individuals to train.

>>54460341
Source? Google just takes me back here.

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>>54461707
No idea in the slightest.

>>54460341
The most technologically advanced race are the Crushians (A homebrew race, don't ask) who are very militaristic and tech-minded, with a culture of anti-magic 'cause of their history of people trying to abuse it to dominate and bend them to their will.

They use clockwork machinery and general SCIENCE advancement in their endless war with the neighboring nations. They got ye olde rifles and a rudimentary elevator system while everyone else has swords and stairs, so they're doing well.

If you're not one of them, though, they have a shaky peace with others. They interact largely through trade for materials, but they keep a death grip on their tech.

A couple enterprising folk, though, have set up a black market for their stuff, so you'll very occasionally see something from them floating around in some noble person's house or being used by a rich adventurer/thief.

>>54460341
The closest I have are the Elves, who were pretty much the first race on the planet. They quickly mastered magic, specifically Illusions more than anything else, and are currently operating at such peak levels of it that nobody can draw from the same source as them.

With it though, they're basically living in a perfectly secluded utopia city shaped out of hyper realistic illusions, with magically conjured faeries as servants. They don't really interfere with outside affairs though, aside from the occasional Elf who takes interest and sends a faerie to go take a look, possibly making deals with other races to watch their exploits.

The other races see them as little more than myth, having strange magic. The most common thing many people would see of an elf are the occasional magical blade that was left behind or traded away long ago.

>>54460341
Well, it's a science fantasy setting, but the most advanced race are the lost and dwindling servants of a precursor species that committed a slow suicide over a million years.

They have knowledge of all the technology, how to maintain and manufacture it, but are hard wired to never share it and to never produce more of any specific item than the last order they received from their masters.

Also, while they're tolerant of other races outside of the realms defined by their creators, they're murderously hostile to any trespassers.

>>54460341
The Elians, a tribe a few valleys over, are capable of forging bronze. Nobody else has shit like that.

>>54460341
Nice, I've been looking for this pic since forever

>>54460341
I'm not even sure what's going on in this pic.

why is there always the one 'technologically advanced race' and why does technology never spread

>>54466046
>and why does technology never spread
ask black people

>>54460341
Kobolds used to be before they nuked themselves into stupidity, everyone credits their ruins to an ancient dragon civilization, even the kobolds, also the kobolds made the dragons back in the day as a race of super soldiers.

Now it's an alien force at the southern pole, they are essentially not-ilithids with space tech stuff.

>>54466317
Well obviously technology can't reach you if nobody's willing to carry it across the largest sand desert in the world. Had to wait 'till people came on boats with gunpowder.

A better person to ask is any surviving Aztec descendants (if there are any). The Tarascans had copper, and they were fighting for a while. But no copper used against the Spanish. How'd that happen?

>>54466046
Because they covet the technology so that their country/ people/ culture has a distinct advantage over other cultures. If everyone is running around using swords except for the select few that can use magic, when suddenly a group of people have access to weapons and items that turn the random grunt/ peasant with a sharp stick into a peasant with an exploding stick, you're not gonna share that with anybody, and other people's will have to pay through the nose to buy it from you

>>54466014
They're trapped in a room/machine that is slowly forcing them closer and closer, driving their faces towards each other, making them feel the other's breath on their face, staring in to each other's eyes...
Until their lips inevitably touch.

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>>54466933
I just want to be a lesbian, why is life so cruel

>>54466933
Don't forget the music being played in the background. And the mood lighting.

>>54467101
Well wasn't sure... looks like they could just be hearing the way their hearts are beating faster and faster.

>>54467101
And the vibrating seats.

>>54469621
Much as I'd like that, I think that's just motion lines to show them being pushed closer.

>>54463835
Shit boy, that's pretty damn advanced.
Hopefully they don't get something insane, like IRON. Then they'd be straight up mary sues.

>>54460341
My DM isn't super creative - all the magitech/alchemy/coalpunk guys are in one continent (basically, fantasy Detroit mixed with Scarytown - it's kind of a shithole) and dwarves and orcs are the prominent residents.

I'm playing an Elf who wants to steal the technology of mass production, so he doesn't have to hand-twist all the rings for his chain mail.

>>54473531
>I'm playing an Elf who wants to seize the means of production

I'm sorry, I couldn't help it.

sluts

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>>54460341
I've heard of a shipping crate, but this is ridiculous!