Corvus
The Reeve
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Registered: 12-2003
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Nonstandard Fantasy Worlds
Let's face it, there are a lot of common or assumed threads that run through most fantasy worlds. Not all of them occur together all the time, but sometimes they do -- medieval social and technological development levels, elves and dwarves, knights and spells.
However, some fantasy worlds take the opportunity to tip things on their ear in one way or another: different levels of development (paleolithic, rennaisance, steam age), different environments (desert, tundra), even different assumptions of how things work.
Right now, I've gotten a revived interest in the old AD&D campaign world of Athas (Dark Sun), a harsh desert world where psionics are more common than magic, and very few animals we know from Earth exist. I find myself drawn into the world because it is so very different from bog standard fantasy assumptions. My question to you all is, if you were to consciously attempt to do something "different" in fantasy, what would you do?
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1/9/2008, 4:59 pm
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QS2
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Re: Nonstandard Fantasy Worlds
Hmm, I find this a somewhat difficult question, but I'll give it a brief shot. I think that it might be interesting to have magic that isn't magic in a way. Something that is mathematically plottable and all, but still has the normal hallmarks of magic. 
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1/9/2008, 5:47 pm
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Reythia
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Re: Nonstandard Fantasy Worlds
Hmmm.... I know what you mean about stock fantasy worlds, Corvus. It drives me crazy sometimes, since so many of the stories are so similar. (Then again, that's sometimes nice, when you don't WANT to read anything mentally-taxing!)
Unfortunately, I usually write "fantasy" stories that take place on our Earth. I'll have to think about your question some more...
I remember semi-recently watching a muppet-based movie from the 80s. "Dark Crystal" or something like that? Anyhow, I remember watching a scene where the main character walks into a swampy area and meets a bunch of alien plant-like creatures. The creatures were definitely non human-like and non-Earth-animal-like. A friend watching the movie with me commented that she wished more scifi directors would use such out-of-our-world creatures instead of just recoloring a dog and putting wings on it, or something. I tend to agree, and I think it holds for foreign written worlds as well as movie-screen ones.
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1/9/2008, 6:12 pm
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dragonlady
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Registered: 04-2003
Location: England
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Re: Nonstandard Fantasy Worlds
The story I'm working on at the moment is set an alternative world.
A woman from our world ends up in this other world where things are similar but different. For example the same languages exist and parts of the history are similar, however others are very different. I soon decided not to do a single point divergence from our own timeline, because I couldn't think of a single point that would work.
The world is of a similar, maybe even advanced, level of technology to ours. They have big airbases that travel through the sky, but they don't have PCs or mobile phones.
However in this world European countries are still the dominant world powers. Colonial European powers have territory in various parts of the world and the American continent is under the rule of different empires.
Oil is a very important resource and countries are fighting over that, and religion. However it is the Protestant and Catholic countries that are at war.
It doesn't seem traditionally fantasy, in fact I thought I might be writing sci-fi for a while, which i hadn't expected. However the method of the main character's shift to the other world makes it fantasy. As do a couple of other things I've thought of but haven't written in yet.
Other than that I think most of my longer story ideas have reasonably traditional fantasy landscapes.
One thing I think is common in traditional fantasy lands is that they tend to resemble Western Europe. I think that world based in places that resemble other climates would be different. But I suppose a lot of what i read is written by Europeans, or people of European descent.
I've found that even fantasies based in our world seem more interesting and exotic if they're based in a landscape that's unfamiliar to me. Which is perhaps why I like some of the American fantasy I've read.
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"Why sometimes I've believed as many as 6 impossible things before breakfast" -- Red Queen, Lewis Carrol
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1/9/2008, 8:44 pm
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Loud G
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Registered: 01-2005
Location: Maryland, USA
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Re: Nonstandard Fantasy Worlds
I'm hoping that my world qualifies as different and nonstandard but who knows.....
I'mworking with a large continent but battling between two different climatic types....
in one I set the equator just to the south of the continent thus lending toward a balanced climate with jungle at the south and snow in the north.
however, I am leaning toward a continent that stradles the equator with both the far north and far south being semi-tropical
the inspiration for the landscape is mainly coming from the Andes mountain ranges (at least for the bulk of the story (not the bulk of the continent))
the horse is a new introduction to the land
spears are more prevalent than swords
I think swordplay is just starting up barely
I want it to be an older civilization, think Aztec/Celtic with bronse/iron weapons.
I agree that a move away from standard environments is a good thing, though I am not against the good ol' English Countryside that is so prevalent in much of Fantasy. It is very homey and comfortable, but I think borders need to broaden too. 
--- Reading: Mistborn
Writing: Eriadhin
"Life is like a book, except it takes longer to get to the climax."
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1/9/2008, 10:09 pm
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David Meadows
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Registered: 09-2003
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Re: Nonstandard Fantasy Worlds
Lets' see, to write a fantasy I would want no science, no technology, magic that really works, and protagonist that are recognisably human or at least have human emotions and needs.
Hmmm...
I would set it in Heaven
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"By tragic historical coincidence a period of abysmal under-educating in literacy has coincided with this unexpected explosion of global self-publishing."
-- Lynne Truss
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1/10/2008, 2:51 pm
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QS2
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Re: Nonstandard Fantasy Worlds
I'm not sure how original this concept is, but I just saw an animated series which postulates that magic has common problems with other industries, like say, having magical pollution, which can have dire effects on humans. 
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1/10/2008, 4:38 pm
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BaneBlade
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Registered: 02-2006
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Re: Nonstandard Fantasy Worlds
quote:
Firlefanz wrote:
- which makes it easier, as I don't have to explain so much -
It does indeed. My current novel does not draw very heavily on Western Europe for it's setting. I used Mayan, Incan, Aztec, Egyptian, Japanese, Khmer, Cambodian, Thai and a few other cultures mixed to varying degrees as a starting point. I then added a large bit of Roman influence for familiarity.
After creating these various imaginary cultures I essentially removed them from human history, effectively seperating them from the rest of the world. I then added an "alien influence" for lack of a better term. Essentially they have been culturally effected by a setting and other influences that no real life culture or nation has ever experienced. With my interests in Anthropology and love of travel it was fun to speculate how these cultures would have developed through the years between thier birth and the time period that my novel takes place in.
The huge downside is that I find that the setting has to be well established early. If I write "A group of men in armor approached." the reader often imagines men dressed in European Middle Age armor. Another example is clothing... the most popular form of lower body clothing in the South is the dhira which is similiar to a South Asian sarong. This can easily lead to endless description and info dumps as I find myself having to describe everything from art to architecture for several different cultures. These rampant info dumps were a large reason (combined with inexperience at plotting and pacing such a large work) the first two iterations of this novel failed. Deciding when and where to include this information is one of the reasons why the current version has gone so far. I can't really comment on if it's a fun read or not as I'm so close to the work.
I think that my job would have been easier, if I had chosen a single non-standard real world culture to write around. For example if I had made it clear that the people were Egyptians, the reader would have been more able to fill in the blanks on thier own.
As for no-technology in fantasy worlds... I'm guilty of having some. I think I pulled it off pretty well, and it gives a unique flavor. I haven't had any complaints from beta-readers. Maybe, Firle having read it can confirm that even with the bits of technology it still feels like fantasy.
...Oh, well back to writing...erm work I mean... yeah that's right I'm supposed to be working...
Last edited by BaneBlade, 1/11/2008, 8:50 pm
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...waiting patiently for a few submissions to come back.
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1/11/2008, 8:44 pm
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Reythia
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Registered: 11-2005
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Re: Nonstandard Fantasy Worlds
I recently ran across a non-standard fantasy novel:
"Kingdoms of the Wall" by Robert Silverberg
It encompassed nonstandard terrain: towns in a super-humid, high-density jungle and a set of gigantic mountain peaks. There's a tradition in the town to climb the peaks, and each year 40 go up. The few come back down return insane. "Kingdoms of the Wall" begins as a classic story of two boys who decide to make the trip.
The story is pretty good, but wouldn't be exceptional, expect that the race of people in the story is unique. I won't give away any real spoilers, but by the end of the first chapter, you've become aware that the main character and his townsmen are shapeshifters. By the end of the second or third, you realize that their "normal" shape is neuter and they only become male- or female-shaped when they "make the Changes" (ie: have sex). As the book progresses, you learn more and more about the extend and limitations of their shapeshifting abilities.
What really impressed me about the book wasn't just the details of the shapeshifting, but rather how casually and naturally the author described it and the society built around it. There were no noticable info dumps. Everything was just slipped in at the right time, so there wasn't too much to confuse, but there was enough to explain and pull the story forward. From a writer's standpoint, that's just something I have to respect. I'd strongly recommend the book, especially to anyone who's interested in writing about alien races. Silverberg's subtlety was most impressive.
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1/28/2008, 10:46 pm
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