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{{trope}}
In the interest of keeping a more traditional medieval setting, many authors decide not to use guns and other explosives in their works. Sometimes reasons are given for this, usually not, despite the fact that in reality gunpowder and derivative inventions existed for most of the medieval ages. This shows up most often in fantasy (hence the name), but can appear in any genre.
Expect lots of [[Epileptic Trees|theories about technology suppression]] and [[Fan Wank]] over why. If guns are present, but [[
▲In the interest of keeping a more traditional medieval setting, many authors decide not to use guns and other explosives in their works. Sometimes reasons are given for this, usually not, despite the fact that in reality gunpowder and derivative inventions existed for most of the medieval ages. This shows up most often in fantasy (hence the name), but can appear in any genre.
▲Expect lots of [[Epileptic Trees|theories about technology suppression]] and [[Fan Wank]] over why. If guns are present, but [[Nerf|nerfed]] -- whether for Gameplay reasons or [[Rule of Cool]] -- it's [[Guns Are Worthless]].
Something to note, though, is that this primarily applies to fantasy set in [[Medieval European Fantasy|the typical medieval-ish setting]], with castles, swords, knights and so on. [[Urban Fantasy]] tends to have no problem mixing guns and vampires, witches, wizards, etc., since this form of [[Fantasy]] tends to use the modern world as we know it. The same goes for [[Science Fantasy]], where the intent is to [[Mix and Match]] things like laser guns and spells.
See the [[Fantasy Gun Control/Analysis|Analysis page]] for theories on why this trope is so prevalent.
{{examples}}
'''Subversions and aversions only, otherwise we'd have [[Omnipresent Tropes|every fantasy book in existence here]]'''
== Anime and Manga ==
* Gunpowder exists in the ''[[Berserk]]'' universe, and at least two characters use steampunk-style cannons: Guts himself, who has [[Arm Cannon|one to replace his left arm]], and the demonic Grunbeld, who has one built into his shield. Nethertheless, while conventional gunpowder weapons such as cannons are used for attack and defense in siege warfare, ordinary soldiers and peasants are never seen with guns and rarely seen with other ranged weapons. Giving background characters the ability to defend themselves at a distance would massively detract from the [[Crapsack World|themes]] [[Low Fantasy|of]] [[Innocence Lost|the]] [[Humans Are
** There's also a long stretch in history where longbows were many times more effective than guns. Cannons, however, overcame other methods of siege warfare pretty early on, and were not entirely without use against certain military tactics. If nothing else, they were loud and intimidating. Also, a cannon would take out heavy cavalry soldiers far more efficiently than a gun would.
* ''[[The Slayers]]'' introduced gunpowder-based weapons as the arsenal of Jillas, a humanoid fox minion of the third season's [[Big Bad]] Valgaav. He has access to guns, bombs, and even built a primitive tank.
** This was given a certain justification in that Jillas came from a region with less magic; without magic, people had to come up with other ways to do
** In ''REVOLUTION'', it's revealed that Seyruun has at least adopted cannons, and its hinted they're designed by Jillas.
* Averted in ''[[Princess Mononoke]]'', where the hand cannons and arquebuses used Lady Eboshi and her men are central to the story.
* Averted in [[One Piece]]. Pirate crews typically have gunmen along with swordsmen, and neither are shown to be any less effective than the other. The only exception is the Straw Hat Pirates - the ranger of their team, Usopp, uses a slingshot instead, as it lets him use [[Abnormal Ammo]].
* [[Inuyasha]] is fully aware of the time period it is set in, where firearms are growing in popularity but haven't quite reached Japan yet. So when one of the [[Quirky Miniboss Squad|Band of Seven]] has guns, they're just handwaved as being imported. Of course, he gets turned into a [[Refuge in Audacity|tank with missiles]] before the arc is over.
* Guns make an appearance in ''[[
* In [[Naruto]], one of Pain's paths is basically a bio-mechanical weapon that can fire missiles.
** The normal [[Word of God]] prohibitions on guns is ignored in [[The Movie
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* Similar to the ''Amber'' example below, guns are simply impractical in ''Necrophim'' because gunpowder spontaneously explodes when brought near a furnace. In prog 1665, one of Astaroth's lieutenants recruits five real-life firearms engineers to develops guns that will function correctly in [[Hell]].
* ''[[Artesia]]'' is set in a fantasy world that looks to be at about 15th-century European technology levels. They have bombards, although they have not been seen on-page as of yet.
* Both justified and subverted in ''[[
== Film ==
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* One of the best examples of this is [[Marion Zimmer Bradley]]'s ''[[Darkover]]'' novels, where magic makes ranged weapons (and [[Fantastic Nuke|weapons of mass destruction]]) possible, but everyone (in the aftermath of several very destructive wars) has agreed not to use it like that, because it makes war just too damned lethal.
* There was a long-standing [[Epileptic Trees|loony theory]] that Matrim Cauthon in Robert Jordan's ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' would invent guns at some point; {{spoiler|[[I Knew It!|this was recently confirmed]] when, in the 11th book, he used bombs against the [[The Empire|Seanchan]], and now he and Aludra are working on designing a cannon}}. Interestingly, a significant portion of the fanbase was seriously averse to the idea of guns, with some even saying that firearms would significantly lessen their enjoyment of the series. It has also been suggested that one of the reasons the Illuminators are so secretive is because they know the potential of gunpowder, and don't want it to be used as a weapon. However, given the premise of the series, it's possible that guns have been invented and forgotten hundreds of times.
** There's also the fact that for hundreds of years in the current Age female Channelers have used distance attacks with the One Power. Aes Sedai are forbidden to use the Power as a weapon, true, but that doesn't stop most other groups of female channelers in the world, or Aes Sedai acting in self-defense or against Shadowspawn, which is the exception to the rule. Also Rand's Asha'man practice using the Power as a weapon, and firing it at targets from a distance, as part of their [[Training
* ''[[The Dark Tower]]'' proves a good fantasy world can work with guns. Just replace [[Knight in Shining Armor]] in military aristocracy with [[The Gunslinger]] and keep a straight face. Then again, ''The Dark Tower'' isn't your run-of-the-mill fantasy.
** It's actually more or less stated that the gunslingers are direct descendants of not just your standard fantasy knight equivalents, but {{spoiler|All-World's equivalent of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. The metal in Roland's guns is supposedly from Arthur Eld's melted-down sword.}} That makes it easy to "keep a straight face."
** Also All-World, Roland world, was once a futuristic world not that different from ours, but there was some type of apocalyptic war went down and now it's "[[After the End]]" besides other guns do show up from time it's just not many are left any more, and of those not many work (thought some new ones do come in from other levels of tower from time to time.)
*** Guns are rare simply because no one knows how to make or fix anything complex. The world has moved on.
** Also averted in another, related, [[Stephen King]] novel, ''The Eyes of the Dragon''. The mediaeval-style kingdom of Delain has gunpowder and cannon, though they are high-tech enough to be rare, {{spoiler|''but'' King Roland killed the eponymous dragon with a bow and arrow, which was was a key point in the climax of the book.}}
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* L. E. Modesitt's ''Recluce'' series. Guns do work and some people know how to make them, but they're considered impractical because chaos mages can cause gunpowder to ignite from a distance, killing the would-be gunslinger. This is subverted both early on and late in the timeline. {{spoiler|The "angels" from another universe in ''Fall of Angels'' possess slug-throwers, rifles, and lasers, but those run out of ammo, energy, or break. In the later books, Hamor perfects a manufacturing process that allows bullets and cannon shell to be virtually immune to chaos magic.}} Other modern weapons make their appearance: anti-personnel mines, rocket guns, and even {{spoiler|[[Frickin' Laser Beams]] on a [[Kill Sat]] when sunlight focused by a lens (and Order) carried on a hot air balloon destroys Fairhaven}}
** The ''Corean Chronicles'', on the other hand, did feature firearms. The prequel trilogy stated that the Cursors tried to ban all rifles used by their subjects other than one standardized caliber - which didn't have the stopping power needed to hurt a Cursor unless the shooter was very lucky. This was to prevent the lower classes from developing large caliber rifles, and any kind of cannon, so that they couldn't make a serious effort at rebelling. This effort fell apart shortly before their empire did (for totally unrelated reasons).
* In the ''[[Coldfire Trilogy]]'', guns exist but generally are not used, as the psychological impact of the fae (which alters the real world based on the subconscious thoughts and fears of
* The ''Monarchies of God'' pentalogy avoids this one, with primitive guns and swords coexisting seamlessly. The guns are only able to be fired twice a minute (three times if the soldier is particularly well trained) and have a limited range, so arrows of various sorts are still useful, and traditional cavalry and infantry are the bulk of forces.
* Steven Erikson's ''[[Malazan Book of the Fallen]]'' does not have guns, but it does have dynamite-like munitions. These are quite nasty: In ''Reaper's Gale'', a few Malazan soldiers armed with munitions manage to fight off and seriously injure {{spoiler|several dragons, including Silchas Ruin, a [[Badass]] [[Physical
** These munitions are still tightly controlled since only the Morath warrior clans are able to manufacture them on a large scale and are picky on who they trade them to. When a Malazan army recruits an alchemist to make their own versions, the final products are very effective but are essentially biological and chemical weapons rather than pure explosives.
** The Morath also keep the most powerful versions for their own use. While the standard munitions are extremely lethal, when an army's sappers get their hands on some stolen advanced munitions, they end up blowing an opposing army to smithereens in the opening action of a battle with a single salvo. It's no wonder that the Morath keep such tight control over these weapons.
* In [[Roger Zelazny]]'s ''[[Book of Amber]]'' series; gunpowder just doesn't work in Amber because the laws of physics are different there. And then subverted quite brutally in ''The Guns Of Avalon'', when Corwin discovers a substance in a nearby Shadow world that ''can'' combust in
* Played with in one of the ''[[Dragaera]]'' books. It is revealed in ''Orca'' that, long ago, soldiers used weapons along the lines of magical
** In a book set later in the series' timeline it's mentioned that flashstones were discontinued after a sorcerer developed a counterspell that could remote detonate an opponent's stone (usually with fatal consequences for the opponent). This counterspell was area effect, and in its first public casting was applied to the ''entire'' opposing side at once. Ouch.
** The absence of guns is probably more a case of Brust's personal fondness for swashbuckling over shoot-em-ups. Note that it's not just firearms that are excluded; even ''archery'' is apparently not much practiced in the Dragaeran Empire, as Vlad doesn't even recognize that the bows ("javelin-throwers") wielded against his unit in ''Dragon'' are weapons until they're explained to him. The fact nobody can believe Vlad could bag wild game without sorcery suggests that arrows aren't used in hunting either.
* Averted in [[Barbara Hambly]]'s ''[[Literature/The Windrose Chronicles|The Windrose Chronicles]]''. Handguns are not uncommon, and anyone expecting to go up against wizards with one has magic-nullifying runes carved on theirs, so it doesn't end up exploding in their hand.
* In the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' series of books, guns exist in the Muggle world; for example, the Muggle news claims escaped criminal Sirius is carrying one (he really has a wand, of course). While the Ministry of Magic has a department to study Muggle artifacts, no wizard (or even squib) is ever seen using or even carrying a gun. This may have something to do with it's being set in 1990s Britain, where guns are far from commonplace even amongst Muggles.
** And, indeed, wizards don't even appear to know what guns are, in spite of the many wars that one must assume they noticed. The Daily Prophet has to explain them as "a kind of metal wand that muggles use to kill each other." Kingsley Shacklebolt also makes a comment to Arthur Weasley, incorrectly referring to them as "firelegs" instead of "firearms," implying that they're completely off the ordinary wizards' radar.
** The Death Eaters despise Muggles, it therefore follows they'd not consider Muggle technology remotely worth using. The "good guy" wizards, though they do kill, aren't seen using Avada Kedavra; combined with the lack of interest in Muggle technology among most wizards in general it figures they wouldn't be interested in firearms.
*** [[Word of God]] has stated that if it came down to [[Science vs. Magic|guns vs wands]], guns would win every time.
* Subverted heavily in ''[[Everworld]]''. 5 modern teenagers find themselves in an [[Alternate Universe]] full of ancient gods and medieval technology. There are several references throughout the books to situations where artillery or handguns would be very useful.{{spoiler|At one point, they trade a modern chemistry textbook to the Coo-Hatch in exchange for attaching their metal that can cut through anything to one of the main characters swiss army knife. The Coo-Hatch use the technology to build a primitive cannon, which is used at the battle of Mount Olympus. }} And of course, later in the series, {{spoiler|Senna uses her powers to bring in a small, heavily-armed group of followers from our universe, and they conquer several cities and kill a minor god, thus threatening all of Everworld.}}
* Garth Nix's ''[[Old Kingdom|Abhorsen]]'' trilogy features a dichotomy between the magical Old Kingdom and the modern (early 20th century) world, Ancelstierre, separated by a wall. The closer one gets to the wall, the more modern technology falls
* [[David Weber]]'s [[The War Gods|Bahzell]] series doesn't have guns, until a short novella has Wencit use magic to summon help from beyond. Bringing a pair of US Army troops in a Stryker gives people who see it ideas. And averted hard in his Safehold series where culturally the whole planet is in stasis, but cannons of varying sizes are commonplace, and then the spirit of a long dead Interstellar naval officer arrives in a cyborg body and teaches them about rifling.
* [[A Song of Ice and Fire]] has no guns, although they the Westerosi do seem to have invented a kind of ersatz napalm in the form of wildfire.
* In Robert Lynn Asprin's ''[[Myth Adventures]]'' series has dimension-hopping, high technology, and plenty of warfare, but no guns. The stereotypical mobsters carry crossbows in their violin cases, and others use magical wands. There ''are'' references to firearms, but for "demons" it's not a best option: in a random dimension one clearly has better chances to get either crude bolts or [[Ley Line]] than ammo for the specific gun.
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** It is then super-averted in the ''Alloy of Law'', which is a fantasy equivalent of the wild west: aluminum guns and bullets that can't be affected by magic, speciality guns with entirely internal triggers and safeties that can only work for certain types of mistlings, new combat counters for mistlings that have arisen in the gun age, and even speciality anti-mistling bullets that exploit those anti-gun counters.
* Averted in ''[[The Last Unicorn]]'' where guns are mentioned though not used. The book itself is a bit of of an [[Anachronism Stew]], because John Henry is mentioned as well.
* Literal
* In the alternate Earth of ''The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump'', mundane firearms (called "mechanicals", to distinguish them from wands) do exist, but in a far more primitive state. Justified in that wild elemental spirits are evidently attracted to explosives, and would cause the weapon to blow up if a gun used powder of greater than medieval-era purity.
* Averted in various "fantasy-of-manners" series, which include firearms as a natural part of their post-Renaissance motif.
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** They are, however, heavily controlled. Attolia, for example, has some handguns on hand for use by the Royal Guard, but no one has an assigned handgun; when the situation calls for a gun, the soldiers report to the armory and collect the weapon, then turn it in when they go off duty.
* Eventually averted in [[Matt Stover]]'s ''[[The Acts of Caine]]''.
* Averted, and then re-established in the [[Discworld]] book ''[[
** That said, they do have black powder, cannons, what have you. The issue appears to be mainly that when they're as portable as the "gonne", the amount of magic in the air even in mundane parts of the Disc makes the little voice in your head telling you how powerful this tiny killing machine makes you move into the weapon itself.
*** The "gonne" itself practices
*** Note that only [[Far East|the Agatean Empire]] has cannons, and it has little contact with the other Discworld countries. Also, its cannons are still on an early stage, exploding as often as not.
* In the ''[[Liavek]]'' books, guns exist, but it's possible to use magic to keep them from working within an enclosed space.
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* Averted in ''[[Septimus Heap]]'', where a gun made out of silver plays a major role in the first and third book.
* In the first two books of ''[[Arcia Chronicles]]'', guns and gunpowder raise no eyebrows (even though they are still too expensive for everyone but the nobles), but after the [[Time Skip]], [[The Church]] finds a magic to remotely detonate all gunpowder in the vicinity, putting this trope into full effect.
* ''[[Saga of the Forgotten Warrior]]'' series slowly builds up the presence of guns in each book. In the first book "Fortress Powder" (black powder) is shown to exist, but it is contraband (making for a literal example) in most of the continent largely because it was invented (or, at least, popularized) by the rebel island of Fortress and its ignition is used to create a distraction rather than launch projectiles. The second has a few "fortress rods" (matchlocks) make minor appearances, yet they are feared because they threaten the [[Fantastic Caste System]] (What use is a warrior caste if a ranged combatant does ''not'' need to spend his entire life mastering the bow, and the legally non-human casteless can put up a fight?), and gives fortress powder a much greater role, where a large quantity is used to blow up a stationary structure to great effect. The third {{spoiler|has a high ranking judge assassinated with a seized self lighting pistol (it's unclear if it's a wheellock, flintlock, or something else), by an agent of the High Inquisitor as part of his plans to remove an opponent while simultaneously increasing support for the genocide of casteless he seeks. On the heroic side, there's a drilled rebel army armed with large blocks of flintlocks, and ends with a master craftsman being approached with an offer to mass produce them for the rebellion.}}
== Tabletop Games ==
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** In First Edition, there's even a martial art dedicated to the use of these weapons. Second Edition has ''two''. This means you could be badass [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|super-ninja dual-wielding flamethrower-pistols]]. This is standard fare for ''Exalted''.
*** And let's not forget the [[BFG]] of the setting, a shoulder-mounted version that can fire molten-hot pearls covered in magical napalm.
** Actual standard projectile handguns were introduced recently in the form of "prayer pieces." In typical ''Exalted'' fashion, they are made of gold and fire golden bullets that are propelled by ''the faith generated from miniature shrines'' engraved on the barrel.
** A rather clear case of [[Guns Are Worthless]], too. Whatever assorted "firearms" of the setting can do, [[Annoying Arrows|arrows]] can do just as good or better, especially considering there are arrow-tips with almost every projectile type aviable for guns. And in hands of namesake Exalted, soon enough toothbrush and nuclear bomb become equally deadly.
* Aversion: The furry Tabletop Game ''[[Ironclaw]]'', which features a Renaissance-era technology level, features guns.
** However it should be noted in this case they're portrayed pretty realistically for the time. They have a chance to not work, or worse, they're expensive and have a very long reload time, can't work well in rain, etc. On the other hand they do twice as much damage.
* Averted in ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'': The Empire and the Dwarfs (''especially'' the Dwarfs) make extensive use of handguns, pistols, cannons, mortars, volley guns, and recently, rockets. Oh, and steam-powered tanks and ''helicopters''. Let's not forget the Skaven, who wield sniper rifles, flamethrowers, <s>Gatling</s> [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Ratling]] guns, laser cannons and... a ''nuke''. A lot of which hilariously backfires. However the Knights of Bretonnia have Fantasy Gun Control in their own kingdom. The whole nobility = lancing people down in 5th edition, in 6th seems to just be pique. In fact, they have Fantasy Gun Control in Bretonnia so hard some knights have magical protection from guns just because they hate them so much.
** Back in the day there was a lot of bleed between ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' and ''[[Warhammer
* The ''Mage Knight'' miniatures game had a whole faction of gun-toting Dwarves & Humans, specifically as a counter to the setting's technomages. They had everything from flintlocks and arquebus to chain guns and ''personal cannons.''
* The ''[[Iron Kingdoms]]'' setting makes use of guns for nearly every faction in the ''Warmachine'' game.
* The makers of ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' have stated this trope explicitly a number of times, but apparently [https://web.archive.org/web/20080513130751/http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=6499 muskets] [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=201149 do] exist in some planes. Also, the [https://web.archive.org/web/20081003120157/http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=33695 Goblin Sharpshooter] appears to be using some sort of [[Gatling Good|gatling gun]]. And sometimes they go straight to magic ray guns. Guns, nothing. This game has [https://web.archive.org/web/20080513130746/http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=1133 rocket launchers].
** A very straightforward practical application of this trope, invoked by the publisher. Some time ago Magic used to have [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=45484 power armors] and [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=21400 laser-armed spaceships] on top of everything abovesaid (which if you check up editions is rather old, too). Nowadays, however, they announced they'd like to keep game's flavor a lot more "fantasy'sh", therefore firearms are remarkably absent from all the recent Magic sets.
*** This became one of the founding pillars of the style of Scars of Mirrodin, where combining with the Machine-ideology of Phyrexia on a wholly metallic plane obviously had the implication that high-tech robots would be running amok, the designers specifically said that while things like armor, gears, levers and pistons can appear, they are to be used so that they are in no way mechanically sound, and must appear as though they're being powered by magic. The result is that most of the inhabitants had high-tech apparatuses used solely to swing around giant blades, and very little way of guns appear.
* In ''[[Dungeons
** The ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'' explicitly states that gunpowder does not work due to the divine will of Gond, god of invention and creativity. Instead, Gond allows an alchemical substitute called "smokepowder" to exist in the hands of his church, so that its use is easily controlled. There's also Thayan
** R.A.Salvatore's novels, particularly Drizzt series, only involved guns and explosives of the non-magical type (usually invented by priests of Gond, a god of creativity and knowledge) as a bad
*** In this universe, smokepowder is just as dangerous to the user as to the target. "One in ten" is a common saying, meaning that one out of every ten uses of a smokepowder gun will end up blowing up on the user.
*** In Waterdeep smokepowder is illegal, and Khelben (Waterdeep's highest-level wizard, and a member of the city's ruling oligarchy) eliminates every pinch he can find, along with those who smuggled it in.
**** Stories in anthologies touching the subject only prove that in a high-magical world explosives are rarely worth the trouble and risk when a foe causes them to go off at the most inconvenient moment. In ''Smoke Powder And Mirrors'' by Jeff Grubb Khelben himself stands next to exploding barrels of smokepowder and isn't even singed or disheveled. And {{spoiler|a stupid wizard-slaying conspiracy}} would do just as "well" with drow-style poisoned quarrels to begin with. In another Waterdhavian story one of the contraband-hunting characters receives a ''point-blank [[Shotguns Are Just Better|blunderbuss shot]] in the face''. He recovers from its flash and thunder in as much time as it takes to say "[[Deflector Shields|Protection from Normal Missiles]]".
** ''[[Eberron]]'' plays this trope straight. Their justification is that a wand of magic missile or an enchanted crossbow is so common (and far safer and effective in the hands of a conscript) that no one ever really bothered to make guns. The fifth edition version briefly mentions them as an optional rule. The setting's creator positions is that you ''can'' include guns if you want to, and (in keeping with the setting policy that "if it exists in D&D, there's a place for it on Eberron if you want it to") even gives a few suggestions, but the default Eberron doesn't because it's a setting of [[Sufficiently Analyzed Magic]], not technology.
** ''[[Spelljammer]]'' has
** Given its roots in post-medieval Gothic horror, [[Ravenloft]] has ''never'' adhered to this trope. One of its earliest published adventures featured a blunderbus-wielding NPC, and its 3E game products include rules for snaplock firearms, early gunpowder traps, and even a sharpshooting prestige class. That is, people can shoot [[Our Werewolves Are Different|them wolfies]] with [[Silver Bullet|silver bullets]], yeah.
** Averted in at least one region in ''[[Pathfinder]]'''s official campaign setting. Then again, magic doesn't work in that part of the world.
*** The Ultimate Combat supplement for Pathfinder spends some time discussing various levels of
** Subverted in the ''[[Dragonlance]]'' setting, where it's noted that some enterprising tinker gnomes have created their own versions of firearms. Most people don't use them, since tinker gnomes are notorious for their [[Bungling Inventor]] tendencies.
** [[Greyhawk]] fans tend to be notoriously gun-phobic and it's generally accepted that guns simply don't work in the setting. Exceptions are sometimes made for the hero-god Murlynd and his paladins, [[Depending on the Writer|depending on the DM]].
** In the Mystara campaign setting, this is played with in odd ways. The backstory of the campaign setting is that the pseudo-medieval setting actually takes place long after the collapse of the high-tech Blackmoor civilization, but every so often, high-tech items from Blackmoor or other sources will show up in a given adventure or campaign module. In the Hollow World campaign setting, which is really part of the Mystara setting, there is a valley containing high-tech elves, but their technology is really [[Magitek]]. Curiously, however, while you will never or hardly ever see firearms, you will see futuristic weapons like ray-guns and so forth. For rules purposes, these weapons will function like similar spells, such as magic missile, fireball, disintegrate, etc.
* Averted in ''[[
* In [[Legend of the Five Rings]], using gunpowder is dishonorable and is illegal by Imperial law. Which, of course, doesn't stop [[
* Averted in Swedish tabletop RPG ''Drakar & Demoner'': the ''Chronopia'' module mentions large siege cannons made by the dwarves.
** ...but in previous editions of the game, it was specifically noted that using out of character knowlege of the correct proportions of charcoal, nitrate and sulphur would only produce a slow burning fire, as the laws of physics in the game world was different than on earth.
* One issue of ''Dragon'' took the Greyhawk world a few centuries into the future and postulated jet fighters dogfighting dragons and a gunpowerless magiteck rifle: the rifle fired by teleporting the projectile close to the sun, allowing it an hour to accelerate due to the sun's gravity, then teleporting it back combined with a time-travel spell so it returned an instant after it left. Gunpowder-using guns were also mentionned as being an outdated technology, still in use by dwarves.
* The ''GURPS'' setting of ''GURPS Banestorm'' has very literal Fantasy Gun Control, in the form of a conspiracy of wizards who keep the technology suppressed, both through flagrant destruction of stores of gunpowder whenever they're found, and by wiping the minds of anyone with the knowledge of making it.
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* In ''[[Blue Rose]]'', although setting is generally around the tech level of [[The Cavalier Years]], there are no guns...but there are "crystons," which are basically just the [[Magitek]] equivalent of flintlock pistols (and are likely a subtle [[Shout-Out]] to the flashstones from the ''[[Dragaera]]'' books, mentioned above).
* The Swedish game ''Gondica'' has a Renaissance-esque technological level, and makes swords still important by making muskets and similar weapons about as efficient as they were in reality. One review suggested PCs use bows instead, because for the kind of combats "adventurers" get into, guns are impractical.
== Video Games ==
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** What about Auru and his bazooka in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]]''? It's not exactly a gun, but still...
* Subverted in ''[[Arcanum]]: Of Steamworks And Magicks Obscura'', where the battle between [[Magic Versus Science|Science and Magick]] is an actual rule of Nature and a major sort of world-point; as to particularities of gun usage, the backstory examines the "conscript versus knight" problem, and firearms are common (though [[Guns Are Worthless|unusually weak]]). It's a recurring plot point as well in many of the sidequests, though it only becomes important to the main quest near the end.
* ''[[Suikoden]]'': The only group to possess firearms is the cult-like [[Murder, Inc.|Howling Voice Guild]], and even those are only issued to their most trusted (read: indoctrinated) members, apparently those of Knight Class or higher. If a non-Knight-Class-Gunner is found in possession of a gun, the Guild's response is immediate and predictable. They don't do this for the technological advantage, though: their technology seems to be of flintlock quality at best. They do it for the psychological advantage, which is why Gunners are also trained in stealth and infiltration. One character actually points out that compared to a bow guns are slower, shorter ranged, and far more expensive. Despite this the gun users are pretty much some of the coolest characters in the games, all being badasses of varying levels.
** A Howling Voice Guildmember in the ''Gaiden'' games provided one exception, as despite owning what looked like a normal flintlock pistol there seemed to be [[Bottomless Magazines|something wrong with the ammo supply]]...
** In ''[[Suikoden V]]'', Cathari's rifle looks like a modern sniper rifle. She also has the highest attack power in the game except for 'Deathblow' Georg Prime.
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* ''[[Warcraft]] II'' had cannon-armed ships and towers and demolition teams on both sides carrying kegs of gunpowder; ''[[Warcraft]] III'' had Dwarven riflemen, flying machines armed with machine guns, and goblin demolition teams available to both sides; and a few classes in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' can learn to use guns. Note, however, that most of the guns in the ''Warcraft'' series fire at rates one would generally associate with cartridge firing repeaters. Hunters in ''World of Warcraft'' do not have to carry powder along with their shot, and both they and the Dwarven riflemen in ''Warcraft III'' reload really, really fast.
** The fact that they reload with superhuman speed may be for [[Competitive Balance]], though.
** Half the "bullets" are magical anyway, so it evens out.
* ''[[Pokémon]]'' uses the Fireball example. While the technology in the Pokémon world is sometimes more advanced than ours, usually it's on par with that of the real world. However, you will notice that, unless it's the Anime canon, there are no guns. You'd think gunpowder would have been invented sooner or later, right? Well it seems that humans in this world never had a need to invent gunpowder or dynamite - you can capture monsters that can do it for you, so it makes a bit of sense that people would turn to technology to control these creatures rather than invent stuff to do it themselves.
** The [[Big Bad]] of [[Pokémon Black and White]] is [[Dangerously Genre Savvy|very aware of this]].
*** [https://web.archive.org/web/20120309151620/http://chzpokememes.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/pokmon-who-needs-guns.jpg Here's what happens when you pit a guy with an AK47 against Venusaur.] {{spoiler|VINE WHIP BEATS GUN.}}
* Bungie's ''[[Myth]]'' series has dwarves, who toss around molotov cocktails, plant bombs and fire mortars (in ''Myth II''), but no guns. There were, however, gun-wielding poachers in one humorous bonus level.
* ''[[Jade Empire]]'' allows the player to claim a [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture|pseudo-European conquistador's]] musket as a prize for besting him in a duel. It does significantly more damage than most weapons, but has a low rate of fire and doesn't work well against magical creatures.
* The ''[[Might and Magic]]'' universe goes stright to Lasers in ''Might and Magic VI'' and ''VII'', although it is [[Lost Technology]]. Unsurprising, considering starting from the first game, the series is heavily influenced by ''[[Star Trek]]'' and contains robots, transporter beams, and computer terminals. For that matter, {{spoiler|the antagonist of the first five games, Sheltem/Alamar, is a robot built by [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien]] precursors}}.
** ''Heroes of Might and Magic V'' has the gremlins, who use some kind of hybrid gun that works on magic.
** ''Might and Magic VIII'' revealed that ''cannons'' certainly are within the technological reach of the natives, even if guns haven't been developed. In fact, a plot-point centres around the development of a super-cannon, capable of sinking entire fleets in a single shot.
* The [[Final Fantasy]] series has an odd relationship with this trope; it's generally played straight in earlier titles, but uses [[Guns Are Worthless]] instead for more modern games.
** ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'', ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'', ''[[Final Fantasy X
** ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'' uses this trope more literally than most; the [[Corrupt Church]] running the world declared technology (including firearms) evil, blaming them for causing [[The End of the World as We Know It]] a thousand years earlier. Guns do show up eventually, though (and [[Guns Are Worthless|they're worthless]]).
*** [[Cutscene Power to the Max|Except in cutscenes,]] where on occasion, the heroes have guns pointed at their heads in a very threatening manner.
** ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]'', ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics Advance|Tactics Advance]]'', and ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics
** ''[[Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Crystal Bearers|Crystal Bearers]]'' averts this entirely. [[Magitek]] is seen all over the place but mechanical carbines are still standard issue for at least part of the Lilty army, and handheld pistols are privately carried and used more than once.
* [[Soul Series]]:
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* ''[[Battle for Wesnoth]]'' has a tech level equivalent to around the middle ages in terms of armour, ship building etc. But only the [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same|Dwarves]] have access to guns. And those are held up as very rare, with their secret unknown to anyone else. This is [[Handwaved]] as being due to the components for gunpowder being rare in-world. Oh, and they're called Thundersticks/Dragonstaves, not guns. Flame wars result otherwise.
* ''[[Skies of Arcadia]]'' plays with the trope. Guns aren't nearly as common as swords or other melee weapons, but they do exist, if in primitive forms; one of the most powerful playable characters in the game, as well as the main character's badass father, fight with flintlock pistols. "Dance for me!"
* A few variants of the Roguelike ''[[Angband]]'' add guns, though they tend to just be different flavours of crossbow aside from Animeband (obviously built on anime tropes, but it kinda sucks because development died) and Steamband, which is set in the Victorian era.
* The technology of the ''[[Geneforge]]'' series is based on biological engineering, so any new inventions would be an application of that. The functional equivalent to guns are projectile-shooting batons that are grown to shoot thorns of varying power and effect.
* Curiously averted in [https://web.archive.org/web/20120625100046/http://lunia.ijji.com/ Lunia], an Action-Arcade MMORPG owned by Ijji; Ryan Hunt, a soon-to-be-released playable character, uses guns. He has a rifle and a gatling gun attatched to his hand, and seems to based off of another of Ijji's games, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120624235236/http://gunz.ijji.com/ Gunz: The Duel]. Seeing as cannons are wide-spread in Lunia, it's a surprise that the only guns that appear are owned by Ryan and some of the pirate enemies.
* [[Guild Wars]] does not have any handheld guns at all, though does have gunpowder explosives and cannons in a few places. [[Guild Wars]] 2, though, will have musket type guns as possible weapons.
** Naturally, the announcement that guns would be available in [[Guild Wars 2]] spawned at least one 30 page thread of [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks]] by proponents of this trope.
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** According to the [[Dragon Age|Awakenings']] epilogue the Qunari have a policy to assassinate anyone else trying to develop gunpowder or non-magic explosives.
** Toyed with further (and eventually averted with a [[Incredibly Lame Pun|bang]]) in ''[[Dragon Age II]]''. While [[Pirate Girl|Isabela]] mentions having seen qunari ships firing cannons, they're never seen in game. However, various people are trying to steal the qunari formula for gunpowder, and some quest plots have to do with this... {{spoiler|and eventually someone DOES come across it or invent it independently - it's not clear which - and destroy the Chantry with a [[Magitek]] bomb.}}
* After being played straight in the first game, this trope was averted hard in ''[[Fable (video game series)|Fable]] II'', where pistols and rifles are used alongside crossbows, swords, axes and maces. In fact, the invention of firearms seems to have been a deciding factor in the destruction of the Heroes Guild, as the availability of pistols meant that people no longer had to be reliant on arrogant Will-users.
** This also holds true for ''Fable III'', where the Hero has a variety of pistols and rifles to use as ranged weapons, and cannons are also seen in use: one side-quest involves killing [[Dem Bones|hollow men]] with a mortar.
* [[Etrian Odyssey]] introduced Gunners in their second installment, characters that had above average attack and technical power, but were slow as rocks. The third game has a [[Spiritual Successor]] in Arbalists, whose weapons of choice are somewhere between a [[Automatic Crossbow|crossbow]] and a [[More Dakka|machine gun]].
* Guns are a very popular topic on the ''[[
** Also, there is a bazooka which shoots frogs. Yes, FROGS.
*** So that would be a ribbit-fire gun?
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** Further averted in Brotherhood and Revelation which both feature gun wielding enemies (which have completely replaced archers as of the latter). Brotherhood also features a carriage-mounted ''machine gun'' developed by Leonardo Da Vinci. And a tank. And a flamethrower. And a goddamned ''aerial bomber''.
** In the previews of the 3rd game, set during the civil war in America, guns are one of the most common weapons for enemies to have, attaching bayonets at the end makes them function as both melee and ranged. Doesn't mean the assassin, who has two flintlock pistols himself, can't be brutal with the enemy's weapons regardless.
* ''[[Sunset Over Imdahl]]'' gets off on a
* Guns are not available in [[Ogre Battle]], but are considered a new development in the sequel [[Tactics Ogre]] - and can only be used effectively by one special class. {{spoiler|If you're not a Gunner, the weapon is merely a ''bludgeon''!}} Not extremely powerful, but can shoot from any tile to any other, provided that there's no interference from the landscape (or other troops getting in the way!)
** However, depending on your stats and your level, they become almost realistic in that you can shoot someone and knock out most of their health. It's a good job for opening, though, or providing support when you don't have Archers, though.
* Averted in the [[Mortal Kombat]] series; In ''[[Mortal Kombat 3]]'', Kano is hired to teach Shao Kahn's soldiers how to use modern weaponry, and in [[Mortal Kombat 9]]'s story mode, Shang Tsung buys several rocket lauchers and machine guns from Kano.
* In the original ''[[Phantasy Star]]'' quadrilogy (which is essentially [[Science Fantasy]]), guns exist, but are rarely used despite the futuristic setting. In ''I'', the only guns available are heavy armor-piercing shotguns used by [[The Big Guy]]. ''II'', pistols are essentially useless and only wielded by weaker support party members, while [[BFG|rifles, shotguns and vulcans]] are (again) [[The Big Guy|Big Guy]] weapons. ''III'' and ''IV'' essentially limit firearms to [[Cyborg
* No characters wield guns in ''[[Knights in The Nightmare]]'', but guns exist in its
* [[Gloria Union]], which has more advanced technology than the other games in the Union series, replaces bows with guns in the weapon triangle. Three recruitable
* Averted by ''[[Touhou]]'' of all things, via largely-justified [[Schizo-Tech]]. The characters who use guns are generally the sorts who pursue science over magic: Rika builds tanks and uses them to fight in ''Story of Eastern Wonderland'', Chiyuri threatens the heroine with "a small but very dangerous weapon" in ''Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dream'' (and Marisa can win an ICBM from Professor Yumemi), and Nitori... "[[Character Title|Super Youkai Warhead]]" is indicated to use things like rocket launchers (and lends Marisa some missiles in ''Subterranean Animism''). For the most part, however, magic is used more, and those who pursue studies of science in Gensokyo are considered heretics.
* ''[[Legacy of Kain]]:'' Averted, though not in the earliest era visited. ''Soul Reaver 2'' has primitive-looking hand cannons and ''Defiance'' has demolition charges. The oracle's museum in ''Blood Omen'' has a more modern-looking gun which is just there not doing anything, maybe referring to the fact that some of the other items there are Chekhov's Guns.
* ''[[Rift]]'' has [[The Magic Versus Technology War|magic vs. technology]] (or rather, "pure" divine power vs. potentially-reality-breaking magitech) as the crux of the conflict between the two factions. Warriors and Rogues can use both bows and rifles, though due to the way stats are applied, warriors usually end up with guns and rogues with bows. The only real gameplay difference between them is the animation used, and if the sound effect is a "bang" or a "twang".
* Bizarrely present in historical fantasy ''[[Kingdom Come: Deliverance]]'' despite it otherwise aiming for historical accuracy. The game is set in what will be in a mere 16 years the area of the Hussite Wars, where guns were common, and the in-game history codex admits there ''should'' be some kind of guns present, but they're entirely absent.
== Web Comics ==
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* In ''[[Endstone]]'', [http://endstone.net/2011/03/03/5-14/ one is introduced] to deal with [[Anti-Magic]].
* Firearms are present in ''[[Strays]]'' which is otherwise [[Medieval European Fantasy]] or thereabouts. The exact kind/"tech level" of firearms available is undetermined as only one has been seen, and even then not clearly.
* Partially averted in ''[[Tales of the Questor]]'': The Racconans figured out not just gunpowder but ''rifling'' '''centuries''' ago - it's just that "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130228063225/http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/00650.html Boomslangs]" capable of killing a hardened target(such as croco-centaurs or thugs with lux-reinforced armor) are too big and heavy for most of them to ''carry'', let alone fire.
* ''[[Skullkickers]]'' has no practical guns EXCEPT for Baldy's surprisingly sophisticated revolver.
* Arguably ''Minecraft''; it has a very vaguely fantastical setting, with swords, dragons, zombies, and yet it has pseudo-electronic circuitry, coal-powered railroads, TNT, Jukeboxes and Records, and more. But no guns. And, arguably, in the community, since any thread on the forums suggesting guns gets shot down pretty quickly.
* ''Dying's Easy'': [http://dyingseasy.blogspot.com/2014/01/browning-ftw.html Browning FTW]" shows one of the problems.
{{quote|'''Blackbeard''': (still reloading his flintlock pistol) You know, action scenes got a lot more exciting with the invention of automatic weapons.}}
== Western Animation ==
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== Real Life ==
* [[Feudal Japan]] adopted firearms and cannon shortly after contact with the Portuguese. They used them in warfare amongst themselves and with foreign powers (for which see ''[[Ran]]''), and even made some modifications of their own. After that, they stopped, because the solidified Shogunate ''liked'' the way things were before guns, when a warrior class ''meant'' something. They managed to keep the whole gun business under tight wraps for over two hundred years. Then Commodore Perry steamed into Tokyo Bay with his "black ships" and the prohibition quickly came to end. Most Edo Period armies still included
** To clarify, the Shogunate restricted firearms so they could control them and make sure that only their supporters would have regular access to them. It didn't have to do with warrior class, but monopoly of force.
* The Chinese, the very people who invented the whole shebang: gunpowder, guns, bombs, rockets, stagnated in their development by the 1700's. By the late 19th century, they were still using matchlock firearms alongside polearms and crossbows. Reasons why one of the most technologically advanced cultures in the world suddenly declined in progress remains debatable to this day. General consensus seems to hold that the Chinese somehow intentionally repressed their development, while others point to a superstitious approach to scientific research.
** One source puts this down to not inventing glass: Famous tea-drinkers, they went with porcelain (china) cups forever, while Europeans used glass vessels to store their wine etc. Glass is of course used to make lenses for spectacles and magnifying glasses, as well as other scientific advancements that China never invented.
** It is not that hard to come up with a plausible explanation. The Chinese by the 1700s were more or less unified under the Manchu Qing Dynasty and lacking enemies with similar sizes and strength as it was (at that time anyway), it was no wonder that they paid little attention in improving their existing military technology. Europe, on the other hand, was
*** Indeed. China's wealth and immense power as an empire wound up biting the Chinese in the ass in the long run, as they withdrew from international trade along the Indian Ocean(which they'd dominated for the better part of the millennium thanks to their very powerful navy) around the middle of the medieval era. As a result, they went into [[Medieval Stasis]] that they were violently jerked out of by the enterprising European countries.
*** The reality is more prosaic than that. Despite China's long history of warfare, they primarily fought against enemies who relied heavily on mobility rather than on massed armies, so the Chinese tactics were designed specifically to combat those threats along with the occasional civil war. They noticed early on the effect of gunpowder weapons and their weaknesses. They decided to stick with crossbows.
* A reasonable explanation as to why a fantasy culture might eschew firearms is that, up until the invention of repeating firearms in the mid-19th century, guns were not actually as effective as longbows. For example, an English longbow from Edward III's time (1300s) had an effective range of 400yds (~366 meters) and could be fired between six times per minute (if the archer was going for endurance) to ten (in a pinch). By contrast, a musket, even in the hands of the most experienced troops, had an effective (accurate) range of only around 100-150yds, and could be fired only five times a minute by a crack company (
** This explanation only seems reasonable for someone who has no idea of the place of archers in medieval warfare: the musket replaced the crossbow, what destroyed the bow was the cannon, while the pistol replaced the lance (although it made a comeback in the west through Napoleon's polish lancers), as archers were indirect artillery weapons. Musketry drills at the time of the
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Guns and Gunplay Tropes]]
[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Fantasy Gun Control]]
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