....................................... I don't think it's that so much as people want to start much earlier in the history of the world. I think since the chosen genre was mid? high? fantasy, the focus should be more on magic than technology, and that's rather hard if I can just blast your wizards with a spray of bullets from 1000 feet away.

Also, lack of *guns* doesn't equal oppression, and (especially in a world with magic) guns do not equal power, either.