History SoYouWantTo / BeTheNextJRRTolkien

Like Creator/JRRTolkien himself, you could teach yourself dead languages at the age of seven, go fight in [[WorldWarI the biggest and bloodiest war ever fought in your time]] and watch your friends die, begin writing of a better world on a battlefield where death is the only victor, return home to find your childhood ideals ruined in the name of progress, spend twenty years immersed in the dusty recesses of academe, then finally set pen to paper and make the words sing...

* Literature/TheLordOfTheRings itself, of course.

* Since GeorgeRRMartin has been hailed by some as the 'American Tolkien', you might want to check out the work that earned him that title: ''ASongOfIceAndFire''. It is fantasy with a deeply cynical and gritty edge.
* The ''Dune'' series by Frank Herbert. It is the best-selling science fiction series of all time, with a world spanning over 20,000 years of history. Themes range from politics, economics, ecology, religion, sociology, linguistics, and philosophy. Many compare it to LordOfTheRings, matching it in scope and world building, and commonly said to be the science fiction equivalent of Tolkien's work.

* David Eddings had fun with his work in ''TheBelgariad'' and its sequel [[strike:tri]]quint...ilogy... thing, ''The Mallorean''. While the plot is not particularly original, the characters have to be seen to be believed. And yes, he fell prey to a few UnfortunateImplications... don't let that keep you from studying his work.

Like Creator/JRRTolkien himself, you could teach yourself dead languages at the age of seven, march off to war with your friends and see them die, begin writing of a better world on a battlefield where death is the only victor, return home to find your childhood ideals ruined in the name of progress, spend twenty years immersed in the dusty recesses of academe, then finally set pen to paper and make the words sing...

* ''TheDeedOfPaksenarrion'' by ElizabethMoon. A strong, vital sense of realistic detail in how the world works, along with memorable characters and a well-wrought CharacterArc as the sheepherder's daughter Paks goes from military recruit to war veteran to Paladin recruit to Christ figure. With a bit of Joan of Arc somewhere in there. Moon doesn't pull any punches, so this trilogy is for mature readers only - but not a single intense moment is gratuitous or pointless, as each moment, good or bad, carefully shapes Paks into the person she needs to be.

Give your Big Bad some chief minions. Tolkien went for 9 interchangeable Nazgul, but a QuirkyMinibossSquad and TheDragon are also good choices. They can serve as spokesmen for the BigBad, defeating them gives the heroes a minor victory, and they can each represent a different facet of evil.

* TheLordOfTheRings itself, of course.

A purely good race can work, if there's a reason they can't be involved in the main action. Perhaps they're dryads, who die if they go more than ten yards from their trees. Perhaps they're empaths, who faint in the presence of even minor violence. Such races can be powerful symbols of innocence, to be protected, though the imperfect heroes may find them insufferably sweet.

How many races are there in your world? Just humans, or the full set? Decide what type of [[OurElvesAreBetter elves]], [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dwarves]], [[OurOrcsAreDifferent orcs]], [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]] and [[OurMonstersAreDifferent other creatures]] you want, then think about their past interactions with humans and each other.

* ''Series/{{Babylon 5}}'': possibly the best TV SpaceOpera ever. Has memorable characters and cultures, and draws heavily from many sources including Creator/JRRTolkien himself. Has an extremely well developed universe and powerful themes developed over a continuous plot spanning five seasons. In some ways it ''is'' HighFantasy. only RecycledInSpace.

Furthermore, that "one representative from each race" thing leads to some UnfortunateImplications, since we judge the entire race based on the one representative we see. If one elf is bigoted, surely ''all'' elves are bigoted. If one dwarf is against magic, surely ''all'' dwarves hate magic. If one halfling is surly, surely ''all'' halflings... you get the picture. You can set this up and then subvert it when the party encounters more elves/dwarves/halflings ("I expected you to be totally anti-dwarf." "Nah, that's just Bob. Bad experience when he was a kid"). But consider using more than one elf, dwarf, halfling, fairy, Vulcan, Klingon... yeah. {{Willow}} gave us two brownies to play off each other, but they were almost the same character; on the other hand, the many Nelwyn characters were just as distinct as the humans were, because their character wasn't based entirely on their ''race'' (contrast Willow, Meegosh, the wizard, and Burglekutt).

Give the BigBad a symbol, and wrap it in dread. It doesn't have to be black; almost any colour can be given negative associations. Red, of course, is the colour of blood and fire. Green is the colour of rot and decay, of fetid swamps and gangrenous flesh. White is the colour of sun-bleached bones, and the blinding light of the desert sun. Blue - that's tough, but why not align it with the sin of Sloth? If you want a real challenge, try pink (hey, [[JKRowling Rowling]] pulled it off... at least with an [[SmugSnake underling]]).

* ''Series/{{Babylon 5}}'': possibly the best TV SpaceOpera ever. Has memorable characters and cultures, and draws heavily from many sources including Creator/JRRTolkien himself. Has an extremely well developed universe and powerful themes developed over a continuous plot spanning five seasons. In some ways it ''is'' HighFantasy. only RecycledInSpace.

Watch out for EvilIsCool and the related VillainDecay.

Decide how the Big Bad will die. It shouldn't be in [[CombatByChampion single combat with the hero]]; that's a [[HeroicFantasy different genre]]. Betrayal by TheDragon or TheRenfield, and being undone by their own hubris are both popular choices.

[[YourMileageMayVary Alternatively]] go for moral ambiguity. Make the Big Bad understandable, reasonalble or even sympathetic. If you world is dark enough even make your hero the [[VillainProtagonist real villain]]. It's traditional to use fiction to demonstrate morality, but you don't have to. [[ValuesDissonance Resist the urge to make the values of the heroes sympathetic to the audience]] and get them excited in [[MagnificentBastard other ways]]. To some, [[AuthorTract doing]] [[UnfortunateImplications this]] [[WhatTheHellHero will]] [[CluelessAesop invite]] [[LostAesop certain]] [[WarpedAesop accusations]]. [[MisaimedFandom Maybe people will even agree.]]

* ''Series/{{Babylon 5}}'': possibly the best TV SpaceOpera ever. Has memorable characters and cultures, and draws heavily from many sources including JRRTolkien himself. Has an extremely well developed universe and powerful themes developed over a continuous plot spanning five seasons. In some ways it ''is'' HighFantasy. only RecycledInSpace.

Like {{Tolkien}} himself, you could teach yourself dead languages at the age of seven, march off to war with your friends and see them die, begin writing of a better world on a battlefield where death is the only victor, return home to find your childhood ideals ruined in the name of progress, spend twenty years immersed in the dusty recesses of academe, then finally set pen to paper and make the words sing...

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* BabylonFive: possibly the best TV SpaceOpera ever. Has memorable characters and cultures, and draws heavily from many sources including JRRTolkien himself. Has an extremely well developed universe and powerful themes developed over a continuous plot spanning five seasons. In some ways it ''is'' HighFantasy. only RecycledInSpace.

Give the BigBad a symbol, and wrap it in dread. It doesn't have to be black; almost any colour can be given negative associations. Red, of course, is the colour of blood and fire. Green is the colour of rot and decay, of fetid swamps and gangrenous flesh. White is the colour of sun-bleached bones, and the blinding light of the desert sun. Blue - that's tough, but why not align it with the sin of Sloth? If you want a real challenge, try pink (hey, [[HarryPotter Rowling]] pulled it off... at least with an [[SmugSnake underling]]).

''Heart shall be bolder, harder be purpose, more proud the spirit as our power lessens! Mind shall not falter nor mood waver, though doom shall come and dark conquer.'' -- the Nordic theory of courage, as phrased by Tolkien.

If you're going to include Elves, don't make them perfect. If they are beautiful, superstrong, immortal, intelligent, magically and technologically advanced, and also morally superior, then they're effectively minor Gods, with all the story-construction difficulties that implies. They would be an entire race of {{God Mode Sue}}s.

Tolkien did give his elves flaws, but that backstory is in the appendices. You can put it in the main text. Have bards sing songs about the Elven civil war. [[DwarvesVersusElves Have dwarves complain about their ancestral grudges.]]

Tolkien did give his elves flaws, but that backstory is in the appendices. You can put it in the main text. Have bards sing songs about the Elven civil war. Have dwarves complain about their ancestral grudges.

* Since GeorgeRRMartin has been hailed by some as the 'American Tolkein', you might want to check out the work that earned him that title: ''ASongOfIceAndFire''. It is fantasy with a deeply cynical and gritty edge.
* The ''Dune'' series by FrankHerbert. It is the best-selling science fiction series of all time, with a world spanning over 20,000 years of history. Themes range from politics, economics, ecology, religion, sociology, linguistics, and philosophy. Many compare it to LordOfTheRings, matching it in scope and world building, and commonly said to be the science fiction equivalent of Tolkien's work.
* BabylonFive: possibly the best TV SpaceOpera ever. Has memorable characters and cultures, and draws heavily from many sources including JRRTolkien himself. Has an extremely well developed universe and powerful themes developed over a continuoua plot spanning five seasons. In some ways it is HighFantasy RecycledInSpace.

You've got an entire world to fill up. Sketch the coastline, lay down some mountains, and a great river, then start on the countries. TheEmpire goes at one edge, with {{Mordor}} in its middle, and the EvilTowerofOminousness at its heart. Position at random the VestigialEmpire, TheKingdom, the HiddenElfVillage, and the hero's home village, then fill the rest of the map with wilderness including TheLostWoods, a desert, a swamp, and plenty of ancient ruins.

[[YourMileageMayVary Alternatively]] go for moral ambiguity. Make the Big Bad understandable, reasonalble or even sympathetic. If you world is dark enough even make your hero the [[VillainProtagonist real villain]]. It's traditional to use fiction to demonstrate morality, but you don't have to. [[ValuesDissonance Resist the urge to make the values of the heroes sympathetic to the audience]] and get them excited in [[MagnificentBastard other ways]]. [[CompletelyMissingThePoint To some]], [[AuthorTract doing]] [[UnfortunateImplications this]] [[WhatTheHellHero will]] [[CluelessAesop invite]] [[LostAesop certain]] [[WarpedAesop accusations]]. [[MisaimedFandom Maybe people will even agree.]]

!!''Magic''

!!''Races''

!!''Big Bad''

Magic should feel like an intrinsic part of the society, something that they've live with since the beginning of time.

[[YourMileageMayVary Alternatively]] go for moral ambiguity. Make the Big Bad understandable, reasonalble or even sympathetic. If you world is dark enough even make your hero the [[VillainProtagonist real villain]]. Its traditional to use fiction to demonstrate morality, but you don't have to. [[ValuesDissonance Resist the urge to make the values of the heroes sympathetic to the audience]] and get them excited in [[MagnificentBastard other ways]]. [[CompletelyMissingThePoint To some]], [[AuthorTract doing]] [[UnfortunateImplications this]] [[WhatTheHellHero will]] [[CluelessAesop invite]] [[LostAesop certain]] [[WarpedAesop accusations]]. [[MisaimedFandom Maybe people will even agree.]]

[[AlwaysChaoticEvil Purely evil races]] can also work, if they're the creation of a BigBad, but they should have some positive qualities, such as bravery or loyalty to a cause, qualities that would be admirable if they weren't in the service of evil.

Everyone gets their WeaponOfChoice.

Furthermore, that "one representative from each race" thing leads to some UnfortunateImplications, since we judge the entire race based on the one representative we see. If one elf is bigoted, surely ''all'' elves are bigoted. If one dwarf is against magic, surely ''all'' dwarves hate magic. If one halfling is surly, surely ''all'' halflings... you get the picture. You can set this up and then subvert it when the party encounters more elves/dwarves/halflings ("I expected you to be totally anti-dwarf." "Nah, that's just Bob. Bad experience when he was a kid"). But consider using more than one elf, dwarf, halfling, fairy, Vulcan, Klingon... yeah. {{Willow}} gave us two brownies to play off each other, but they were almost the same character; on the other hand, the many Nelwyn characters were just as distinct as the humans were, because their character wasn't based entirely on their ''race'' (contrast Willow, Meegosh, the wizard, and Burgulkut (sp?)).

* BabylonFive: possibly the best TV SpaceOpera ever. Has memorable characters and cultures, and draws heavily from many sources including JRRTolkien himself. Has an extremely well developed universe and an epic-style plot slowly traced through more then a hundred episodes.