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  1. - Top - End - #31
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    GnomePirate

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    We are just going to have to disagree on that term. Its been long established that low fantasy is low magic worlds where fantastical things are rare and unusual. Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones and so on are perfect examples. High Fantasy is where magic and the fantastical is just an every day part of life. The Harry Potter series from the narrator's point of view is high fantasy as are most D&D worlds, leading the way with Forgotten Realms and Ebberon. Ravenloft used to be Low but I think it has moved more into the realm of High as lore changes. The people themselves(most being creations in the first place) rarely see fantastic elements but they are superstitious enough to believe it exists.

    Stuff that takes place in the real world is Historical Fantasy or Alternative history depending on how the publisher wants to class it but depending on how or if magic and the like is presented it could be high or low fantasy as well. L'morte de Arthur would be low fantasy while Monster Hunters International would be high fantasy.

  2. - Top - End - #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by Corsair14 View Post
    We are just going to have to disagree on that term.
    I mean, I guess?

    Quote Originally Posted by Corsair14 View Post
    Its been long established that low fantasy is low magic worlds where fantastical things are rare and unusual. Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones and so on are perfect examples. High Fantasy is where magic and the fantastical is just an every day part of life. The Harry Potter series from the narrator's point of view is high fantasy as are most D&D worlds, leading the way with Forgotten Realms and Ebberon. Ravenloft used to be Low but I think it has moved more into the realm of High as lore changes. The people themselves(most being creations in the first place) rarely see fantastic elements but they are superstitious enough to believe it exists.
    Long established with who and by whom? It's not been long established in literature circles. That's not how the person who coined the terms was using them. The term High Fantasy was made by Lloyd Alexander (The author of the Pyridian series) in High Fantasy and Heroic Romance. You can find it here, for free. Give it a read. I am fully on board with terms changing, but I'm also fully on board with using the terms in the way they're used or at least acknowledged they're used in that way. This isn't something you can disagree with even if you're using it in an idiosyncratic manner or in a colloquial sense.

    The usage I am detailing is the prevailing one. It just is. It's so prevailing that it's on their wiki pages. Low Fantasy. High Fantasy.

  3. - Top - End - #33
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    Low magic accessible by the protagonist in a High Magic world. Kinda like the Witcher. Not to be confused with No-Magic however.

    I also like when the Protagonist is a super strong Mage, but mostly when the Protagonist is some shade of Evil or has a more Grey morality. Kinda like Overlord or Sabrina (in her Chilling Adventures incarnation). I find Good Archmages kinda hypocritical.

    Practically, I like everything with Magic or Psionics in it, even if it's not the primary focus.

    I'm a fun of a good Horror Mystery like Call of Cthulhu, I like survival Games, and the typical dungeon Crawl is what I like to run/play when I have a large group. I absolutelly love Steampunk, Magepunk, and I'm a fun of Cyberpunk with Psionics. Space Opera a-la Star Wars universe is cool, but I'm not a fun of less Psionics/Magic centric Space stuff like Star Treck.
    Last edited by Asmotherion; 2021-03-31 at 02:17 PM.

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  4. - Top - End - #34
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    GnomePirate

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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    Low fantasy, or intrusion fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy fiction in which magical events intrude on an otherwise-normal world.[1][2] The term thus contrasts with high fantasy stories, which take place in fictional worlds that have their own sets of rules and physical laws.

    Intrusion fantasy places less emphasis on elements typically associated with fantasy and sets a narrative in realistic environments with elements of the fantastical. Sometimes, there are just enough fantastical elements to make ambiguous the boundary between what is real and what is purely psychological or supernatural. The word "low" refers to the prominence of traditional fantasy elements within the work and is not a remark on the work's overall quality.

    An alternative definition, rests on the story and characters being more realistic and less mythic in scope. Thus, some works like Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian series can be high fantasy according to the first definition but low fantasy according to the second.[3] With other works, such as the TV series Supernatural, the opposite is true.

    This was a simple wiki search and is the modern definition I have used for years. There was an article I read years ago on the subject, this just backs it up.

    I will give you that Lord of the Rings is borderline. It is a fairly normal world with real world physics and most people will never encounter something fantastic.

  5. - Top - End - #35
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    Lizardfolk

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    Quote Originally Posted by Corsair14 View Post
    Low fantasy, or intrusion fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy fiction in which magical events intrude on an otherwise-normal world.[1][2] The term thus contrasts with high fantasy stories, which take place in fictional worlds that have their own sets of rules and physical laws.

    Intrusion fantasy places less emphasis on elements typically associated with fantasy and sets a narrative in realistic environments with elements of the fantastical. Sometimes, there are just enough fantastical elements to make ambiguous the boundary between what is real and what is purely psychological or supernatural. The word "low" refers to the prominence of traditional fantasy elements within the work and is not a remark on the work's overall quality.

    An alternative definition, rests on the story and characters being more realistic and less mythic in scope. Thus, some works like Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian series can be high fantasy according to the first definition but low fantasy according to the second.[3] With other works, such as the TV series Supernatural, the opposite is true.

    This was a simple wiki search and is the modern definition I have used for years. There was an article I read years ago on the subject, this just backs it up.

    I will give you that Lord of the Rings is borderline. It is a fairly normal world with real world physics and most people will never encounter something fantastic.
    What benefit do we derive from clear genre definitions here? Like your first definition is what I traditionally see as Urban Fantasy, but does that actually clarify anything meaningful?

    Here's a great example: Much Horror is identical in content to low fantasy as defined in 1, so things like Buffy and Supernatural play along the borders of the two. Horror is meaningful from low fantasy because it is a subset of tragedy and relies on different genre conventions, the setting being the same is a hat.
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  6. - Top - End - #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by Corsair14 View Post
    Low fantasy, or intrusion fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy fiction in which magical events intrude on an otherwise-normal world.[1][2] The term thus contrasts with high fantasy stories, which take place in fictional worlds that have their own sets of rules and physical laws.

    Intrusion fantasy places less emphasis on elements typically associated with fantasy and sets a narrative in realistic environments with elements of the fantastical. Sometimes, there are just enough fantastical elements to make ambiguous the boundary between what is real and what is purely psychological or supernatural. The word "low" refers to the prominence of traditional fantasy elements within the work and is not a remark on the work's overall quality.

    An alternative definition, rests on the story and characters being more realistic and less mythic in scope. Thus, some works like Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian series can be high fantasy according to the first definition but low fantasy according to the second.[3] With other works, such as the TV series Supernatural, the opposite is true.

    This was a simple wiki search and is the modern definition I have used for years. There was an article I read years ago on the subject, this just backs it up.

    I will give you that Lord of the Rings is borderline. It is a fairly normal world with real world physics and most people will never encounter something fantastic.
    I don't think the things you quoted back you up in the way you think they back you up. They do not conform to your usage from earlier, but do conform to what I've been saying from the get go. High Fantasy has nothing to do with a lot of magic, Low Fantasy doesn't have anything to do with not a lot of magic. Those definitions make it clear, it is just about where the story takes place. If the story takes place in the real world we experience it's Low Fantasy. Harry Potter is Low Fantasy regardless of how much magic there is. D&D is High Fantasy even if you're running an Anti-Magic game. It is not in the real world, or primary world, and thus has its own rules and physical laws that are different to our own.
    Last edited by Razade; 2021-03-31 at 03:30 PM.

  7. - Top - End - #37
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    GnomePirate

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    We arent going to agree. The real world has nothing to do with it. What matters is the physics and such of it. Game of Thrones is low fantasy. It has normal values for the most part. The only fantastical stuff in it are the rare individual like the red witch or the dragons which might as well be dinosaurs. Magic is an intrusion into a normal world and not the status quo. Harry Potter, since it is told from the aspect of Harry is absolutely high fantasy. If it was told from the POV of the muggle cousin then it would be low fantasy since it would be magic intruding into the real world. The fact its from Harry's POV and magic and fantasical things are part of every day life where real world physics no longer apply, then it is high fantasy.

  8. - Top - End - #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by Corsair14 View Post
    We arent going to agree. The real world has nothing to do with it.
    From the very thing I linked, and you quoted.

    Quote Originally Posted by Wikipedia
    High and low fantasy are distinguished as being set, respectively, in an alternative "secondary" world or in the real "primary" world.
    Yes. It does. You don't have to agree but for anyone else here. It absolutely does. That is how the terms are defined and used.
    Last edited by Razade; 2021-03-31 at 06:00 PM.

  9. - Top - End - #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by Razade View Post
    Yes. It does. You don't have to agree but for anyone else here. It absolutely does. That is how the terms are defined and used.
    It's how they're defined, sure, but I've heard it used far more in relation to how much magic and how many magical shenanigans there are, rather than the "normal world + hidden world" vs "made-up world". In my anecdotal experience, that's how they've always been defined: they may not be the official definition, but if I were to talk about to subject to any of my geeky friends, that's what we'd take as the definition.

    And both LotR and Harry Potter are odd examples: LotR technically takes place on early Earth, as stated by Tolkien himself, so would be low fantasy, and hardly has magic beyond plot elements in the main books; However, the setting is definitely fantastical enough to count as high fantasy with the definition, even if it has little magic or "changed rules" such a secondary world should have.

    HP technically takes place on modern earth, but 90% of the books takes place in areas where everything works through magic, most people wouldn't even understand modern technology, and most of it wouldn't even work if they did, which fits the "secondary world where the rules are changed" definition perfectly.

    The other definition? HP has magic everywhere to the point where it replaced and caused ignorance of technology for those who are part of its world, and it doesn't take part in a truly intrusive world, but one carefully kept separate from the real one to the point of it being more of a plot device; High Fantasy (in terms of magical omnipresence) fits perfectly.

    LotR is completely fantastical, even if it's supposed to take place on early Earth, but has little magic beyond plot devices and no common magic whatsoever. It's extremely similar to the use of magic in the nordic Saga's, which is a credit to Tolkien's knowledge of his source material. In terms of magical presence, use, and "changed rules", it's clearly low fantasy.

  10. - Top - End - #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by Corsair14 View Post
    We arent going to agree. The real world has nothing to do with it. What matters is the physics and such of it. Game of Thrones is low fantasy. It has normal values for the most part. The only fantastical stuff in it are the rare individual like the red witch or the dragons which might as well be dinosaurs. Magic is an intrusion into a normal world and not the status quo. Harry Potter, since it is told from the aspect of Harry is absolutely high fantasy. If it was told from the POV of the muggle cousin then it would be low fantasy since it would be magic intruding into the real world. The fact its from Harry's POV and magic and fantasical things are part of every day life where real world physics no longer apply, then it is high fantasy.
    While I agree on the most part, I'll have to disagree on the Harry Potter one. I find that the fact he is going into a world of magic with magic being alien to him, and the fact his enemies are stronger Wizards, while he has access to very basic magic makes the story a low-fantasy high-magic one. What I mean is, in combat, you could replace wands with guns. The only time a truely "magical" duel occured was between Dumbledore and Voldemort. The rest was mostly "spells instead of bullets".

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  11. - Top - End - #41
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    I`m a big fan of high fantasy and horror genres.
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