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Low Fantasy: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[Low Fantasy]] is a catchall, and rather inexact, term for that sub-genre of [[Fantasy]] that is neither [[High Fantasy|high]] nor [[Heroic Fantasy]], and usually not [[Urban Fantasy]], though it may overlap with the other sub-genres. Not a good way to define a genre, but English is funny like that -- [[
The designation is not a description of the quality of the work, but rather the ''amount'' of fantasy, and the number of fantastic or otherwise supernatural elements, it contains, which can be rather difficult to measure. Sometimes comedies are also excluded from the genre, but either way the works that remain don't have a natural unity.
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Compare with [[Magic Realism]], [[Mundane Fantastic]] and [[Dark Fantasy]]. Contrast with [[Standard Fantasy Setting]], [[Dungeon Punk]], [[Urban Fantasy]].
{{examples
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
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* [[Discworld]], particularly from about ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Men At Arms|Men At Arms]]'' onwards as Pratchett begins to explore how a city like Ankh-Morpork would actually ''work''. However while the ''feel'' is often [[Low Fantasy]] the actual setting - with dwarfs, trolls, extra-dimensional elves and dragons, interactive deities, recurring threats to reality itself and numerous wizards and witches is more [[High Fantasy]]. Much of the humour comes from meshing the two forms together (for example, in [[Discworld (Literature)/Sourcery|Sourcery]] the magic is very much [[High Fantasy]], but the ''magicians'' are as [[Low Fantasy]] as they come) and much of the plot and conflict come from the juxtaposition of the idealism of High Fantasy against the cynicism of Low Fantasy.
* [[The First Law]] Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie is arguably Low Fantasy at its rawest.
* The ''Dying Earth'' stories by writer Jack Vance (and the [[
** Albeit perhaps more so in the later stories: the earlier set has Turjan of Miir, T'sain, {{spoiler|T'sais ([[Jerkass Woobie|after some development]]),}} and Etarr, at least.
* The ''Gentlemen Bastards'' series by Scott Lynch: the main characters are a gang of sophisticated con men, who tend to run around cities rife with organized crime. The magical ability of the world is actually pretty high, but it's all in the hands of a wizards' guild that appears rarely and has it in for the protagonists.
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* ''[[Ronja the Robbers Daughter (Literature)|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
* James K. Burk's ''High Rage'' (and its as yet unpublished sequel ''Taking Hope''): intrigue, war, politics, swordfighting and some interesting magic, but no dragons or world-shattering conflicts.
* ''[[The Stone Dance of the Chameleon]]'' takes place in a world with no magic at all, but is definitely fantasy.
* ''[[Tales of the Otori]]'', in which magic is rare (and controlled by a secretive network of supernatural spies and assassins), magic-users are generally feared and mistrusted, all but one of the main antagonists are non-magical, political intrigue and military strategy play as big a part in the plot as the supernatural elements, and the protagonist is a former religious pacifist turned vengeance seeker after the massacre of his village.
* The ''Redwall'' novels are another example of low fantasy, where the villains often go to war for petty reasons, [[Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane|magic is almost nothing more than prophecy and ascended parlor tricks]], the scope is limited to Mossflower woods (or if they do go afar, wherever that place happens to be; our heroes are not going out to save the world as you'd expect in [[High Fantasy]]), and where in the earlier books, [[Anyone Can Die]]. What breaks that mold is the [[Funny Animal]] cast, the [[Black and White Morality]], and the fact the Brian Jacques himself ostensibly [[What Do You Mean
* ''[[Gunfighters Ride|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.
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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
{{quote| '''Frater Perphredo:''' Where are the monsters? My friend, we're '''all''' monsters.}}
* [[D 20 Modern]]: The "Shadow Chasers" setting
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* ''[[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 (Video Game)|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]]...
* ''[[Gungnir]]'', which is gritty and set to a [[Black and Gray Morality]] racial conflict. The world has some magic, but anything flashy is bound to be a [[Things Man Was Not Meant to Know|forbidden art]]; there are Sprites, but they tend to stay away from people, and the resident angel's morality and objectives are a bit questionable. It helps that this game is part of the unabashedly [[Dark Fantasy]] [[Dept Heaven]] series.
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