Low Fantasy?

I watched a video on "What is Low Fantasy" on Youtube, and it highlights an important point. To many, the "low fantasy" genre means something entirely different and is based on personal preference and expectations. Even to the people that make TV shows, games, and movies, the low fantasy genre varies wildly.

• Is it dark fantasy?
• Grimdark fantasy?
• Is it realistic and down to earth?
• Is it low magic?
• Is it gritty and edgy?
• Is it less escapist and fantastic?

When people come to roleplay low fantasy, they may get a lot of different interpretations of the genre. One person may think you are playing Game of Thrones with mature themes. Another may believe this is grimdark. Someone may come in and feel "more realism." Everyone could be right and wrong with the same or differing assumptions.

To understand what low fantasy means, you need to set a standard of "what it means to me." If you know what you like about the genre, you will be better able to communicate it to others, and everyone can get on the same page.

A Starting Point

If we go to the Low Fantasy Gaming book on page 4, there are a few clues:

• Dangerous & Gritty
• Resource Management
• Note in this game, encumbrance and weight allowance are ignored or up to GM ruling.
• Persistent Injury & Death are Common
• Quasi-Realistic World
• Magic and Fantastic Monsters are Rare
• Treacherous Magic
• Adventurers Seek Fortune and Glory
• Fewer fantastic heritages

Yes, that encumbrance note raises an eyebrow for me, and this is an odd game since I am so used to detailed weight tracking being a part of more realistic genres. You also have to realize this game is coming from a 5E perspective, so we want the essence of low fantasy without bogging down players in too much realism. For the 5E player, this is your best entry point into the genre.

But what is low fantasy? I am thinking for TV producers; it is the simple calculus of a low VFX budget for creatures and magic while spending a fortune on costumes, horses, sets, extras, and location shooting. Once they have the budget for those fantasy trope things, they can shoot character drama all day and spice it up with mature content and violence. Because of TV, this is the low fantasy genre for most people.

Drama & Roleplaying

But one factor which plays into the genre that is important to highlight is the character drama. You are talking about some detailed NPCs, histories, backstories, plots, and possible political goings-on in the region for players to get involved with. To make up for the rarity of the fantastic, you will be leveraging role-playing, relationships, rank & status, and social interaction heavily. If you ever felt your interesting roleplay was overshadowed by the overuse of magic and the circus of the fantastic, the low fantasy genre may be a place you can shine.

I do like this about the low fantasy genre. You get a lot of character-driven plots and conflicts, but these are more work for the referee. In high fantasy, it is so easy to throw a few monsters at the town and get going fast, which hits that accessibility mark, but that does get a bit old quick. Some players may not want to get involved in land disputes that turn into violence, feeling the seedy nature of such things is unheroic. Then again, you can define clear good and evil sides in these things, so if your players are more squeamish about shades of gray conflicts, you can easily paint one side as the tyrant duke and the other as the noble yet kindhearted family of the land.

Fitting In

And I say circus of the fantastic because the current fad in games is to throw every shape under the sun as a character option and make them all the same. I could roleplay as a sentient, walking, talking, reclining chair in newer games, and everything would work the same.

I would rather have players developing backstories and histories instead of shortcutting and saying, "I am the tiefling, and therefore, not trusted," or "I am the dragon guy, fierce and powerful." Yes, having the unique shapes makes it easier and more accessible for people to find themselves in a game, but I have also seen it lazily go with a stereotype (or its opposite) too many times.

With the low fantasy genre, it is better to fit in somewhere and are similar to the culture and background. It can be a widely diverse culture, but the players should ideally be a part of it instead of all of them being a group of outsiders (even outsiders to each other). A good idea is to be part of an existing faction, get involved in the action from there, and have that initial trust and relationships to get you started with the game's intrigue.

Dungeon Fantasy

Part of me wants to put Dungeon Fantasy in the low fantasy genre, but it can easily do low or high fantasy since it is a toolkit system. The combat fits the genre here, and it can get brutal, realistic, and deadly quick. The resource management is excellent and fits.

By default, I feel this is a high fantasy system as presented because magic is not treacherous or rare, though a few of the Warehouse 23 supplements or Horror could be added to this and a corruption and divine favor systems added to the game. Magic could be made rare easily. This can be in the low fantasy genre with some tweaks but need a little experience with the system, and you need a few more books to pick and choose from.

Start Simple, Branch Out

If I were introducing the genre, I would probably stick to the more 5E-like system; and if they wanted heaps of realism and options, slowly introduce them to more details systems like Dungeon Fantasy. Zweihander or Warhammer FRP are also good options for the genre, and also a little less detailed but still of flavor and darkness.

Low Fantasy Gaming has the option to move the entire game up to a more middle-ground fantasy option, which only Dungeon Fantasy can do well. You could ignore corruption and divine favor effects and have a more gritty but still OSR-like system for those who dislike dark fantasy elements. It is a good option for a group that finds out they don't find the darker parts to their liking but don't want to change games or the setting.

The exploit system alone makes Low Fantasy Gaming compare to Savage Worlds, and that is something I would definitely stay for. That stunting and tight resource management of luck and health really sing to me in this game, along with the "you make it up" class feature every third level. Those could be more high fantasy, like the D&D 4E warlock teleport or some of the signature 4E class abilities coming back into the game.