High Fantasy - Low Fantasy

[Super Squirrel]

If you have a campaign world where magic is common (High Fantasy) but the game point level is low (25+50: Low Fantasy) and Magic is an Expensive System to be able to use.

 

I'm using the True Gift system so the typical spell category is going to cost a person 13 points for full mastery and their are six spell categories in total.

 

Would this be considered High Fantasy or Low Fantasy?

[prestidigitator]

Re: High Fantasy - Low Fantasy

 

I don't think that is a good enough criterion for the decision of whether or not to call it, "High Fantasy," or, "Low Fantasy." To come up with an answer, I think things more like this should be considered:

• What kind of spells are there and how powerful are they? How much will they effect the setting and the combat of your game? Will they be a substitute for regular equipment or good hard work (traveling, Skills, money, etc.)?
  
• How hard/costly will it be to use magic. Are there:
  
  • Costly components required for most spells?
    
  • Side Effects that take a measure of the caster's life force or whatever for the casting of a spell?
    
  • Risky Side Effects or aspects of the setting that will make the use of magic very dangerous?

  [*]What is the general availability of magic in the setting? Is there a mage on every street corner trying desperately to sell his wares or services at a low cost to beat the competition, or are the PCs likely to be almost the only practitioners of magic around?

[Super Squirrel]

Re: High Fantasy - Low Fantasy

 

Sounds like the setting is more of a Low Fantasy in that case. Most cities have a mage guild and have between 2 - 12 spell casters but they have limitations in what they can do.

[Savinien]

Re: High Fantasy - Low Fantasy

 

I would consider Easthaven High Fantasy from what I recall of it.

 

Magic is ubiquitious and seems natural to the way of life to the peoples of that place.

 

I could certainly be wrong, though.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: High Fantasy - Low Fantasy

 

I consider "High" or "Low" to refer to the ratio of the fantastic and the mundane, not power level.

 

So if you have a setting were there is a lot of fantastic elements, such as strange races, mythical monsters, and accessible magic then it can be "High Fantasy" even if the point levels are low and individual characters are fairly "normal" in what they are capable of.

[L. Marcus]

Re: High Fantasy - Low Fantasy

 

How would you place this: A game world where minor magic - the equivalent of folk magic in our world - actually worked? I can use my Knot Magic system as a reference: 10 to 15 Active Points, max, and no showy stuff. Strictly utilitarian. Or just superstition that work! 'Prick that wart with a pin, then bury the pin under a stone to the north of your house. In a day, the wart is gone!'

[Curufea]

Re: High Fantasy - Low Fantasy

 

That would be low fantasy. If it didn't work - it'd be no fantasy

 

"Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" would be quite difficult to classify. The majority of the world is realistic, but for the existance of two magicians capable of tremendous feats of magic - and fairies in the background. Low fantasy, possibly.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Re: High Fantasy - Low Fantasy

 

Low fantasy seems to be getting a lot more prerss in the d20 icircles than it used to. Conan, which Mongoose has been having a huge hiit with, is a setting where magic is too fickle to be in the hands of player-characters. PCs might be mages in the Malhavoc game Iron heroes, but I would advsie it, as magic uselful enough to be effective in comabt wil backfire often and catastrophically.

[Curufea]

Re: High Fantasy - Low Fantasy

 

On the other hand, just to bring up a discussion point - I would regard Farscape as high fantasy.

[Super Squirrel]

Re: High Fantasy - Low Fantasy

 

I've read a lot, and would have to say by definition my campaign is High Fantasy.

[prestidigitator]

Re: High Fantasy - Low Fantasy

 

Low fantasy seems to be getting a lot more prerss in the d20 icircles than it used to. Conan' date=' which Mongoose has been having a huge hiit with, is a setting where magic is too fickle to be in the hands of player-characters.[/quote']

I think that's mostly because, "that other," company screwed up magic royally of late. At least that's the way it feels for some reason (even though they did sort of go in the Hero direction in many ways).

[prestidigitator]

Re: High Fantasy - Low Fantasy

 

I consider "High" or "Low" to refer to the ratio of the fantastic and the mundane, not power level.

 

So if you have a setting were there is a lot of fantastic elements, such as strange races, mythical monsters, and accessible magic then it can be "High Fantasy" even if the point levels are low and individual characters are fairly "normal" in what they are capable of.

I tend to think of it in terms of how easy and common a solution magic tends to be for difficult problems (combat being one of them). Frequency definitely contributes heavily to that. If you can build a house with a few spells and a little rest, what's the use in a hammer? Power level does to a degree also, though.

 

Tolkien's setting is Low Fantasy. How often did magic solve problems? Sometimes, and it was definitely powerful, but quite often it merely gave a bit of an edge or presented as many problems as it solved. Earthsea is Low to Mid Fantasy with a High Fantasy facade: magic appears common and prevalent, and even appears at times to be an easy solution to matters, but in actuality it isn't like that; magic is actually quite restricted in what it can do, and there are often grave consequences to success and/or failure.

 

The Deathgate Saga is High Fantasy. D&D is Ultra-High Fantasy absolutely without question. In these settings, magic is a solution to just about everything; there are rarely any checks and balances, and while some magic has a cost, most can simply be cast at the, "snap of a finger." Why do priests and mages charge money for their spells in a D&D setting? Because they can. It usually comes at no personal cost to them other than time, is perfectly predictable, and can literally do anything. "Build a castle? Sure. Never mind all that hard labor stuff. Give me a place to rest, some food, and a few days to cast spells."

[Lemurion]

Re: High Fantasy - Low Fantasy

 

I would generalize it to any sort of problem solving. The closer the character's methods of problem solving are to the real world (no use of hand-waving or "handwavium" in an SF setting) the lower the fantasy. Low fantasy is where they solve problems through hard work, and things have a real cost. High fantasy just does it.

[swobeas]

Re: High Fantasy - Low Fantasy

 

Heya!

 

I would also distinguish between high and low fantasy more by the amount and power of magic present in the wolrd than by character points.

A game with 300 point characters in a low-magic world sounds more like a supers game in a low-magic world than a high fantasy game.

 

What do you think about Warhammer high or low fantasy???

[forged]

Re: High Fantasy - Low Fantasy

 

I don't mean to be offensive, but why does labeling your campaign world style actually matter? If it feels right, it is exactly the style it needs to be.

 

As a perspective player, what would interest me way more than telling me it is either high fantasy or low fantasy, is the type of world it is and what stories you would like to be overall telling ...

 

But that is all, imho, so that might be completely worthless to everyone else....

 

Cheers,

forged

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: High Fantasy - Low Fantasy

 

I consider "High" or "Low" to refer to the ratio of the fantastic and the mundane' date=' not power level.[/quote']

 

That is how I interpret it. I also associate world-shattering events and epic quests with "high" fantasy, and conflicts of a more personal nature with "low" fantasy.

 

That being said, I don't consider the terms "high fantasy" and "low fantasy" to be terribly useful. They're about as useful as "left and "right" in the realm of politics: anything can be attributed to either, depending on how you phrase the description.