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It has been argued that [[Mohs Scale of Sci Fi Hardness|'soft' science fiction]] and [[Space Opera]] is essentially fantasy with spaceships and ray guns. It may almost be said that, thematically, '''Low Fantasy''' is soft science fiction with dragons and swords... and sometimes not even the former.
Not to be confused with [[Demythtification]], which is [[Mythology]] reimagined [[Doing
Not to be confused with [[Heroic Fantasy|"pulp" fantasy]].
Compare with [[Magic Realism]], [[Mundane Fantastic]] and [[Dark Fantasy]]. Contrast with [[Standard Fantasy Setting]], [[Dungeon Punk]], [[Urban Fantasy]].
{{examples}}
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* [[Conan the Barbarian|Conan the Cimmerian]], the epitome of [[Heroic Fantasy]] (or, Sword & Sorcery), is an oft-cited example of low fantasy. Just as ''[[The Lord of the Rings|Lord of the Rings]]'' created high fantasy, Conan founded the genre of Low Fantasy (Sword & Sorcery).
** Wikipedia cites the publication of [[Robert E. Howard|Robert E Howard]]'s story ''Red Shadows'' (featuring [[Solomon Kane]]) in the August 1928 issue of [[Weird Tales]] as in fact "the first published example of [[Sword and Sorcery]]." No matter which character was first, it was still Howard who created and pioneered the genre.
* ''[[Shadow of the Lion]]'' by [[Eric Flint]], [[David Freer]], and [[Mercedes Lackey]] is a good example. It is set in ancient Venice, and, though magic exists, it has little more to do with the day to day life of most citizens than historical "witchcraft" did, and, indeed is treated in much the same way. {{spoiler|Except of course for protagonist Marco Valdosta who ends up fulfilling his destiny as a mage by acting as a vessel for the [[Deus Ex Machina|Winged Lion of Venice]] and saving the city.}} Virtually the only other fantastical elements are spirits/demigods and demons (from whom humans draw magical power, so arguably these two are just different aspects of the same element).
* ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' is arguably a borderline example of low fantasy. While it has gritty realism, it also has an epic scale. It does have shapeshifters, necromancers, sorcerers, priests that can perform miracles, magic and talking doors. The amount of magic grew as the series progressed, and in the beginning was very subtle and ill-defined. Plus, most magic users are painted in the same dark tones typical of Low Fantasy, and the book goes beyond [[Gray and Gray Morality]] straight into [[Black and Gray Morality]], making it very [[Sliding Scale of Cynicism Versus Idealism|cynical]] and very [[Darker and Edgier|dark]].
* Eisenstein's ''Sorcerer's Son'' is fairly idealistic, but the small scale plot and human dominated world are enough to mark it as low fantasy.
* [[Discworld]], particularly from about ''[[
* [[The First Law]] Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie is arguably Low Fantasy at its rawest.
* The ''[[Dying Earth (novel)|Dying Earth]]'' series (and [[Tabletop RPG]] based on the books): an [[After the End]] setting, where many societies have [[Days of Future Past|returned to a feudal and agrarian state]] or disintegrated completely, magic has [[Magic Versus Science|all but replaced science]], and [[Crapsack World|Life is cheap]]. Characters include the [[Anti-Hero|selfish rogue and conman]] Cugel the Clever who has to reluctantly undergo quests for a wizard he tried to rob; Liane the Wanderer, who [[Villain Protagonist|happily commits casual murder]] and comes to a bad end at the hands of a collector with an unusual fetish for eyes; and the magician Rhialto the Marvellous, who constantly quarrels with his companions. It's safe to say that 99% of characters encountered are amoral, selfish, callous, narcissistic, sociopathic and thoroughly unpleasant [[Anti-Hero|Anti Heroes]], or simply insane. The only character who is even remotely sympathetic is Mazirian the Magician, and even he can be ruthless when it suits him.
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* Although a series about talking cats may sound like [[High Fantasy]], ''[[Warrior Cats]]'' has some very distinct Low Fantasy qualities, with its dark tone, [[Gray and Grey Morality]], increasingly [[Dysfunction Junction|dysfunctional characters]], and minimal involvement of supernatural forces.
* Alan Campbell's ''[[Deepgate Codex]]'' trilogy combines many Low Fantasy elements with a [[Steampunk]] setting.
* ''[[Ronja the Robber's Daughter|Ronja the Robbers Daughter]]'' is a great example of a Low Fantasy children's book.
* K.J Parker's ''[[The Scavenger Trilogy|Scavenger Trilogy]]'' is good example of a low fantasy. The series sticks to mundane settings and has a dark tone. It provides a troubling take on heroism. Supernatural elements are present but low-key. The wars are inglorious, both in the field and their aims.
* The ''[[Indigo]]'' series fits on most counts: It's [[After the End]]. Sentient nonhuman beings are rare. Morality is mainly [[Grey and Gray Morality|grey and gray]]. Clan feuds are more likely than actual wars (although one kingdom does get captured by an [[Evil Overlord]] {{spoiler|who turns out not to be evil after all}}). And magic isn't particularly reliable or predictable, and is rarely powerful. However, the future of the human race ''is'' on the shoulders of our eponymous heroine and [[Non-Human Sidekick|her]] "[[Big Badass Wolf|dog]]." {{spoiler|[[Mind Screw|Or something]].}}
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* ''[[Gunfighter's Ride]]'' is about a Pony Express rider and his horse dealing with magical menaces.
* ''[[Last Dragon]]'' has very little magic and the dragons are, as might be inferred from the title, extinct. The tone of the novel is rather harsh too.
* [[The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio]] is a simple travel tale with little magic involved(mostly dreams and visions which have minor bearing on the plot). The setting is rather like Medieval Central Asia and if you look up place names you will sometimes find them actually corresponding to place names in medieval times.
* Leslie Barringer's three-book ''Neustria Cycle'' - ''Gerfalcon'', ''Joris of the Rock'', and ''Shy Leopardess''. The first book was published in 1927. Neustria was actually a Frankish country that got merged into the early [[Holy Roman Empire]], but '''this''' Neustria still exists in the 14th or 15th century, and although it's [[Translation Convention|supposedly]] French-speaking, Neustrian place-names don't match anything on a historical map, making this not quite [[Historical Fantasy]]. On the other hand, Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Egypt, Provence, England, and Tuscany are mentioned, so the world's geography isn't entirely unrelated to our own. History is also somewhat the same, as the hero writes an epic poem based on [[King Arthur|Arthurian legend]] and whittles toys for a child in the shape of Charlemagne and his paladins; the [[The Pope|Avignon Papacy]] appears to be in place, too. As for magic, witches mostly use trickery and psychology, but they're shown to have a few genuinely supernatural powers as well.
* ''[[Black Company]]'' - there are werebeasts, some otherworldly creatures and powerful magic, but mostly it's nasty stuff, and in the end even near-godlike sorcerers conquer land with armies.
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* ''[[Iron Kingdoms]]'' (at least in their RPG incarnation) take a pretty good shot at this one. Even in the tabletop battle game, wars between nations are usually concerned with either land-grabbing or religious differences (the kind with fire), but anything involving the undead Cryx faction usually veers off into ludicrous world-threatening territory.
** The Everblight faction is very much in the same territory; also, the "fantasy" level is much higher than most other low fantasy settings (what with war wizards binding magic steampunk robots or giant monsters and the number of intelligent races); the [[Grimdark]] tone and [[Black and Gray Morality]] more than make up for it.
* ''Ironclaw'' is a rare example of a [[Tabletop Games]] excursion into Low Fantasy, with an emphasis on interpersonal conflict, politics, and characters who actually have a place and role in society other than "adventurer". The relative paucity of "monsters" ([[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|Guilt Free Slaughter Victims]]) in a [[Funny Animal]]-populated setting gets a [[Lampshade Hanging]] in one supplement:
{{quote|'''Frater Perphredo:''' Where are the monsters? My friend, we're '''all''' monsters.}}
* [[D20 Modern]]: The "Shadow Chasers" setting
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* ''[[Thief]]'' fits this trope to a tee and [[Rule of Cool|even adds]] a very gritty [[Film Noir]] aesthetic coupled with medievalish [[Clock Punk]] and [[Steampunk]] into [[X Meets Y|the overall mix]]...
* ''[[Sunset Over Imdahl]]'' hits seven items out of nine on the checklist, and barely avoids the last two—it's a pointless war to keep a crumbling empire together, and magic is barely present, let alone good or evil.
* [[Bungie]]'s ''[[Myth]]'' series is arguably an example. While its setting does have wizards of incalcuable power and legions of undead soldiers in a campaign to exterminate the living, the focus of the series tends to be on rank-and-file soldiers struggling to get by, fighting a seemingly hopeless war which none of them expect to survive, and just observing the world falling apart around them. There is little in the way of [[Heroic Fantasy|heroics]], just a [[Heroic Resolve|collective resolve]] not to go quietly into the night.
* ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'' may have humanoid species besides humans (with the spotlight, naturally, on the dwarves, though all of the races are assholes in their own way), but it's quite low as fantasy goes. Technological advances range between the bronze and medieval ages (though, with a little creativity, [[Clock Punk|the dwarves can go well beyond]]), there's no magic (and the magic immediately in development, necromancy and immortality, is only controlled by the few who learned of divine secrets), and the most common threats to your colonies are rather mundane issues such as the local wildlife, the scarcity of natural resources, and invasions from the malevolent goblins (or, perish the thought, [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|running out of booze]]). Dragons and megabeasts may exist, but they are few and far between. With that said, the game is relatively easy to modify, allowing code-savvy players to add their own mythical terrors and magic if they wish.
** Also, if you [[Dug Too Deep|dig deep enough]], you'll get to the [[The Legions of Hell|Hidden Fun Stuff]]...
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* ''[[The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim|Skyrim]]'' is an interesting example on account of its two main quests. The first is very much high fantasy with an ancient, indisputably evil force returning and a chosen hero with a unique superpower standing up to fight it. The other main thread, the [[Civil War]], has much more in common with low fantasy as two morally ambiguous and mostly human factions oppress, backstab and manipulate pretty much everyone in the land. The game's sidequests also reflect this, ranging from helping talking dogs and ancient gods on the one hand to a grisly slog to track down a serial killer on the other.
* [[Dragon Age]] is mostly low fantasy, though [[Dragon Age II|the sequel]] (focused on a single city and the kyriarchy within) more so than Origins.
* [[The Witcher]] is made of this. Humans [[Humans Are
== [[Web Comics]] ==
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Speculative Fiction]]
[[Category:Literature Genres]]
▲[[Category:Low Fantasy]]
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