I have a better idea then a Masquerade. How about the only reason they are not known is because their are so few.
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@aoide 12: There are so many examples that address each of your questions, that really what you are asking is much too broad for anyone to address within this thread. I can point you in some directions:
1) That depends on why the masquerade is considered necessary. I am aware of fictional approaches in which the nature of the magic itself imposes a masquerade independent of any organization, others where it's a policy being imposed on magical creatures as a result of the witch hunts, an inter-dimensional war, or simply contempt of the mundanes.
2) Lots of magic systems exist in fiction. You need to be more specific. For nature-based magic, the one Ursula leGuin invented for "The Wizard of Earthsea" is my personal favorite. For averting "Magic A is Magic A" the magic "system" used in DC's Vertigo titles is one of the best (think "The Sandman" or John Constantine). Functional Magic is a good place to start looking.
3) Try Tikoloshe
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Ok thanks, I tried to keep it concise to avoid boring people with pages of information but if I haven't been clear i'll try and explain:
1) The point of the masquerade is that it is just the easiest way for everyone to coexist. In the past the supernatural existed more openly and it caused a lot of problems when the mundane and magic elements of the society clashed (everything from minor disagreements to interspecies fighting)and eventually the people who would come to run the masquerade decided that secrecy was the easiest option. It is as much for the safety of the normal people as the supernatural as the conflicts tend to be costly for everyone. There aren't many supernaturals but neither are they extremely rare (most humans might know 1 or 2).
Some parts of the masquerade are self enforcing, others less so. There are many locations which are protected by magic where supernatural individuals can gather and magic won't be noticed (or non supernaturals simply cannot enter)but if a mage starts throwing fireballs in broad daylight people would notice.
The role of the masquerade enforcers is like a mix of law enforcers and peacekeepers. They have to ensure no individuals break the masquerade (whether accidentally or intentionally) and also keep the peace between the large supernatural factions. They are definitely going to be one of the strongest factions within the supernatural world but I'm not sure realistically how influential they need to be to. I want to avoid making them overly powerful as they need to have enemies. They usually keep a very low presence even in the supernatural world and so your average supernatural wouldn't know much about them aside from the rules about breaking the masquerade, the more influential you are in the supernatural world the more like you are to interact with them regularly.
2)I've already decided on the explanation for how all magic works and what it can do and it is very much functional magic but I'm struggling when it comes to classifying types of magic. Magic is broken down into different types or fields of magic depending on what it does,which would grant complete reality warping abilities if you mastered all of them). However I'm finding it difficult to logically break magic down into different fields which cover the whole spectrum of magic without having major overlaps between the fields. For example what falls into life magic rather than necromancy.
3) I assume 3 is fairly self explanatory.
edited 16th Sep '14 5:07:25 AM by aoide12
secrecy on a minor scale is pretty easy, but on a large-scale, society wide scale held up by people who do not necessarily share the same sentiments, a masquerade is actually probably one of the hardest options.
although i suppose a "look, we exist, but we'll try and keep it on the low-down and not bother normals with it" version would work. like, not an actual maskraid but more of an agreement with the government that they wont cause too much trouble ("and in the case one of us does, we'll come down on them hard") in exchange for the government making sure that events involving supers do not spread via any method the government has the power to censor.
this leaves the supernatural not quite hidden, but not in the open, and not likely to be broken so easily by a single dissident making a splash. it also makes it somewhat easier for people to enter the maskraid while not actually being part of it themselves, by way of often mistrusted rumors.
That isn't too different from what I've come up with so far. While the world is based on the "reality unless noted" trope there are subtle differences. There are more disappearances, unexplained behaviour, ect.. than in reality and that is just accepted as normal. Also most of the major governments know something strange is happening but the masquerade enforcing organisation has convinced them (by threat, bribery, and assurances of safety, or if necessary mind altering magic) that it is easier to not ask questions and hand the occasional odd police case/unrecognisable body over to them, on the condition that whatever is happening ceases. However they have no idea exactly what is out there or how it interacts with humanity- they are quite keen to keep the existence of human eating supernaturals hidden.
I should add that while this organisation is considered "good" they certainly aren't nice, they are known for making examples of anyone who looks like they might break the masquerade and they aren't particularly interested in morality beyond keeping the supernaturals hidden. While they might not kill you straight away they are happy to remove memories, rewrite people's minds, ect.. They aren't only reactive, they also act to facilitate the lifestyles of supernaturals with unusual requirements to help them live among humans.
edited 16th Sep '14 10:14:19 AM by aoide12
Not all Urban Fantasy involves a Masquerade. I enjoy the concept in other works for nostalgia, but I refuse to use it in my own work.
See, I like to write about worlds where say, New York City happens to have a fuckton of The Fair Folk wandering around or something. No "people who age slowly, never get sick, are extremely gifted in music, and HAVE VERY CLOSE parallels to The Fair Folk," it would be "NYC has a notable Fair Folk demographic."
I have nothing against normal/realistic fiction, but I have no idea why most writers are so averse to sticking magic into otherwise real-life settings. Fantasy doesn't always have to be "URBAN FANTASY WITH A MASQUERADE" or "HIGH FANTASY WHERE EVERYTHING IS MAGICAL." That's why it's FANTASY.
edited 16th Sep '14 11:38:41 AM by Sharysa
For me the appeal of having a masquerade is that it keep the setting similar the world we know and therefore especially relatable (more so than other fantasy). I think otherwise it is very difficult to justify why the world hasn't changes with the appearance of magic. I've enjoyed such fiction but didn't find the setting had the same familiarity I get from urban fantasy with the masquerade. For me at least, urban fantasy set in a world very similar to realty has a feel completely of its own.
In my experience, a certain degree of vagueness can make a fantastical setting seem nearly indistinguishable from a factual one.
In my work, a city based on San Francisco has the "iconic" things like the Bridge of Gold and the Bay of the Saint of Beasts. I try to describe it in such a way that you might recognize it if you've been there or seen a lot of movies and TV shows about it, but this city is actually in a fictional world. In this world, magic and monsters are hidden so most yumans regard them as myths and legends. The masquerade is enforced by magic itself because the god in control of it belonged to a group that believed yumanity was a great threat to the inyuman.
Level 3 Social Justice Necromancer. Chaotic Good.
I've nearly finished world building for my UF story but there are a few things I'm still working on.
Like a lot of urban fantasy mine has a masquerade, I know it is an unrealistic trope but I can't do the genre without it so I've just got to work with it. In order to maintain a masquerade what sort of power and influence would an organisation need, bearing in mind they have mundane and magical powers? Also what sort of problems would they face?
On the subject of magic does anyone know of any examples of fiction with a wide and well classified magic system? I've already come up with the source for my magic but being a bit of a kitchen sink it has many different types of magic and I'm finding it difficult to so have many different types of magic well explained without them overlapping. Overall magic can theoretically do anything but for the sake of explanation I need to divide it into fields e.g. life magic, elemental magic, ect..
Finally can anyone suggest some non western supernatural creatures which might make interesting characters? I'm not very familiar with mythology outside of the UK/Europe and so I'm not sure where to start and many of the creatures I am aware of are singular individuals where I need species.
Thanks