Draw your swords, sketch out some spells, and chart the course for your epic adventure. Meet dwarves and elves, dragons and orcs, and navigate the battle raging between good and evil! What kind of hero will you be?
Fantasy Genre Concepts
- rescue good folk from the clutches of evil, a tyrannical overlord, a dastardly band of pirates, a mad mage, a cruel master, a deranged paladin, a psychic force,
- stop the raiding orcs, goblins, trolls, ogre, stone giant, gremlins, brownies, bandits, thugs, troglodytes, dragon,
- seek out the wisdom of monks, ancestral spirits, an oracle, a reclusive elder, the mountain witch, the secret garden keepers, the gods,
- live out the creed of your family, guild, line, order, band,
- find the ring, amulet, talisman, orb, headpiece, sceptre, banner,
- explore a cave system, an ancient forest, the ne’er-before-navigated sea, the impassable mountain range, the wretched swamp, the cursed barrow mound,
- defeat the mad king, unruly crown prince, oppressive empress, possessed monarch, the twisted oligarchy,
- protect the shipment, sacred book, royal caravan, border keep, tower of the ancients, box of secrets, deed to your manor,
- broker a deal between two warring nations, embattled tribes, feuding families, members of a now defunct oligarchy, sorcerers who have cursed one another,
- investigate the strange happening in the borderland hamlet, temple ruins, sacred garden,
- prove the righteousness of your allegiance, honour, love, belonging, ascension, tribal bond, spiritual covenant, moral stance,
- eradicate the invaders, plague, horror, overlords, oppressors, evil, good, skeleton menace,
- battle the sworn enemy, encroaching evil, a crusading army, a vengeful priest, infectious zombies,
- avenge your father, mother, leader, friend, lover, ancestors, master, mentor, deity, hero, those who have fallen,
- remove the curse that hangs over your village, city, citadel, family name, order, house, ancestor’s tomb, children, once beloved mentor,
- remove the sigil of power, monolith of chaos, orb of seeing,
- close the gate to the underworld,
- put out the everflame,
- find the fountain of souls, gem of stars, helm of might, crypt of lost soldiers,
Fantasy Settings
- castle, fortress, fort, tower, wall, citadel, palace, city-state, walled town, outpost, keep,
- medieval town, peasant village, farming hamlet, bustling port,
- borderland, fringe, frontier, outlands, wasteland, desolate stretch,
- old forest, haunted timberland, dark dank jungle, endless woods, fetid bayou, dense pinewood, abandoned plantation, enchanted orchard,
- mountain palace, aerie, cliff town, dwarf megalopolis, kobold borough,
- cursed or enchanted hill, cliff, bluff, copse, knoll, knob, peak, spire, gully, vale, dale, glen, meadow, mesa, desert, island,
- cave system, caverns, underground world, underworld city,
- dungeon, catacomb, tunnels, passages,
- chamber of whispers, secrets, voices, time, ancients, lore, legend, dreams, desire,
- tomb, vault, burial mound, sacred ground, graveyard,
- temple, sanctuary, altar, colonnade, arcade, cloister, refuge,
- elf kingdom, dwarf fortress, gnome town, hobbit shire,
- goblin encampment, dragon’s lair, troglodyte’s hovel, hag’s hut, necromancer’s domain,
- dock, pier, bay, cove, jetty, wharf,
- weir, dam, dyke, levee,
- galleon, ship, man-o-war,
- market, festival, carnival, town fair, harvest fair,
- tavern, pub, bar, cantina, saloon,
- inn, hostel, way station, hotel, villa, chalet, rooming house, barracks, stopping house,
Fantasy Characters
- fighter, warrior, soldier, man-at-arms, sellsword, swordfighter, swashbuckler, mercenary, cavalier, pickeman,
- archer, crossbowman,
- knight, paladin, king’s guard, champion,
- rogue, thief, bandit, sneak, spy, assassin, burglar, trickster, pickpocket, thug, ruffian,
- mage, wizard, spellcaster, magic user, sorcerer, enchanter, necromancer, pyromancer, invoker, conjurer, caster,
- priest, cleric, holyman, shaman, adept, acolyte, monk, missionary,
- exorcist, medium, oracle, channeller,
- psionic, ethereal traveler, telekinetic, illusionist, clairvoyant,
- high elf, wood elf, dark elf, gnome, hobbit, fey, mountain dwarf,
- investigator, inquisitor, sleuth, detective,
- marshal, sheriff, lawman,
- fool, buffoon,
- bard, magician, minstrel, juggler, acrobat,
- page, squire, serving boy/girl, torch bearer,
- hunter, trapper,
- dragon lord, lizard king, ogre queen, empress of night,
- ranger, scout, spy, tracker, bounty hunter,
- martial artist, combat specialist,
- merchant, trader, investor,
- mayor, reeve, council member, oligarch, official, tribune, senator,
- monarch, king, queen, emperor, empress,
- monster, orc, goblin, troll, troglodyte, gremlin, kobold,
- harpy, succubus, demon, devil, hellborn,
Notes and Ideas for Fantasy
- People always strive for happiness (contentment and comfort) and the fantasy world is no exception. Most people in the fantasy world live mundane lives where they work, pay some taxes, eat basic grub, enjoy music or dance, go to a temple or shrine, and raise their families. You can decide on the degree of monster and magic you want in your narrative, from high fantasy which is full of it to low fantasy which is less of it. Regardless, try to establish what “normal” people would live like in your world. For the most part, people may not be touched by monsters and magic to any large degree and though they might tell fairy tales about beasts in the woods to keep their kids safe, the average peasant might not be attacked by goblins or eaten by wolves on a daily basis. In fact, their lives are pretty routine.
- If you’re running a typical medieval style fantasy, most of the population would be illiterate, religious (deeply superstitious), law-abiding, peasant or labourer working class. Most homes would have some food, fuel for fires, a cooking pot or two, meager savings of coin, candles, simple clothes, a holy symbols or icons, and working or trade tools. Kids might have a couple of simple wooden toys or homemade dolls. A few luxuries might include a fancy teapot and a couple of china cups, a musical instrument, a family heirloom ring or jewel, a clock, or something similar.
- Most fantasy realms do not run democratically. Many are feudal (run by kings and emperors), structured by military, dictatorships with evil overlords, or a scattered mess of city states. Negotiation, power-shifting through marriage and family, and trade diplomacy usually run second to military might. War is used to solve a lot of the problems in the fantasy world.
- Advancement through military service (fealty) is the pursuit of many nobles. The common man may be drafted into military service by his lord. Check out military characters for ideas here.
- Not all rulers are of the same bearing or temperament. Some are gracious and kind, others ruthless and terrible. Look through the emotional traits menu to get some ideas for starters and then look at some of the other character menus to fill out details about those who rule the kingdoms of your world.
- Times are not always peaceful and war and oppression interrupt existence on occasion. Political and economic strife can rise up, again giving opportunity for storytelling your heroes lives. Commoners could be pressed into service as soldiers; farms or plots may be taken by landlords and families may be forced to move; people could be taken into slavery or pressed into service of a lord, or sold or traded; taxes to fund the exploits and wars of nobility could be exorbitant or punitive, leading to uprisings and revolution; churches can go haywire, starting witch hunts and inquisitions and book burnings finding evil even in the common folk where none actually exists — people in human history have been burned for birthmarks.
- Nature, too can break in on the bliss of community life. Famine, drought, earthquakes, storms, and so on can wreak havoc on unsuspecting commoners and your heroes can be called upon to stem the tide of looting and fleeing and squatting and other such struggling of refugees and desperados.
- Supernatural beings like to pop their meddling heads into the mix once in awhile in the fantasy genre. You can create whole pantheons of gods with all kinds of in-house supernatural dysfunctional feuding. Gods playing tricks on villagers is nothing new and the vanity of the divine will be cause to intervene on the day to day of fantasy world denizens. Religious fervor and cult activity driven by deities and their high priests can surely be cause for heroes to save the day.
- Not all angst need be caused by wholly negative actions or occurrence. Exploration and discovery can lead to interesting changes in people’s lives. The printing press and the evolution of steam power both caused tumult to the status quo in our world, so they could in your world, as could some new magic or the discovery of gunpowder and firearms. New worlds (eg. The Americas) can upset the commonplace day as new resources are found and people are enlisted to venture overseas to establish colonies… or more unfortunately, people are colonized by a foreign power and subject to myriad abuses. How unfolds the story of your fantasy colonization and spread of empires.
- The economy of the fantasy world revolves around trade and commerce as well as control, influence, and taxation by church and monarch. Bartering is big business among villagers and large, even intercontinental, trade networks are of vast importance to the wealthy and merchant classes. with currency being introduced to attempt to balance it all out. Different kingdoms, empires, city-states, municipalities, etc. may have different coins and may devalue currency from other jurisdictions.
- The staple of a strong fantasy story is often rooted in the battle between good and evil. Having diametrically opposed forces rising up against each other gives reason for confrontation at its highest level, that of life and death. Check out the menu of forces concepts here to get some good ideas for polar opposites. For your characters to put their lives on the line, these types of battles are great to have ebb and flow in the background, or perhaps even directly in the lives of the characters. If your characters have a strong belief in a “force” of this type, be sure to create opportunities for them to prove their allegiance to whatever belief system drives them. For example, an evil priest must practice his evil ways to gain favour with his narcissistic God, while the righteous paladin must cleanse the world of every ounce of evil if he is to gain his miraculous powers of healing and smiting.