fantasytech

Fantasytech is a term used to describe fictional settings, narratives, or systems in which magical and technological elements coexist, interact, or compete for influence. It blends fantasy tropes such as spellcasting, enchanted artifacts, and mythic beings with speculative technology, creating worlds where magic and machines shape society.

The term appears in literary criticism and worldbuilding discourse as a loose umbrella for works that do not fit neatly into straight fantasy or straight science fiction. It overlaps with magitech, thaumatechnology, or magepunk and is used to describe both narrative premises and design aesthetics.

Common features include devices powered by magical energy, runes or naming, alchemical processes, sentient or semi-sentient machinery, and hybrid cultures that regard science and sorcery as complementary. Storytelling often explores the social, political, and ethical implications of powerful technologies derived from or bound to magical sources, including access to power, regulation, and the risks of dependency or corruption.

Examples span novels, tabletop RPGs, and video games. In literature and games, works such as The Stormlight Archive, where fabrials harness stormlight to operate devices; Mistborn’s later eras that blend metal-based magic with industrial-age tech; and Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, a game explicitly examining a world where magic and machinery coexist, are frequently cited. The aesthetic often overlaps with steampunk and magepunk.

See also magitech, thaumaturgy, and magepunk.