History SoYouWantTo / WriteAHeroicFantasy

* Last but not least, HeroicFantasy needs an adventurer to do the adventuring required by the genre. Originally, a la ConanTheBarbarian, a mighty warrior with an endless love of InHarmsWay, providing an occasion for his endless adventures against {{Evil Sorcerer}}s, {{Sorcerous Overlord}}s, [[ReligionOfEvil Religions Of Evil]], and monsters of every kind, and a distinct tendency to AntiHero-dom, mitigated only by the absolute nastiness of his foes. Sometimes a woman warrior; Literature/JirelOfJoiry was the first character (not just female character) to follow in Conan's footsteps.

* Number of Books. ConanTheBarbarian loves InHarmsWay and would never stop adventuring. Many lesser known heroes of HeroicFantasy have similar sentiments. Since their problems tend to be personal rather than world-shaking in scale, they can indeed have a whole sequence of unrelated conflicts to go on for as long as your imagination holds out.

* No fantasy story is complete without a vast array of magical and mundane weapons. However, you must take precautions. Just like how in a modern story you had better know how many rounds are in the clip of your protagonist's gun, in a fantasy story you should be aware that while duel-wielding claymores sounds like a recipe for badass, unless your character is a 9-foot-tall, super dexterous master swordsman this is pretty much infeasible.

** If you do decide to have magic, the next thing you have to do is [[MagicAIsMagicA create a set of rules for it]]. They don't have to be explicitly stated in the book, but at least be sure you make it consistant.

* Last but not least, HeroicFantasy needs an adventurer to do the advernturing required by the genre. Originally, a la ConanTheBarbarian, a mighty warrior with an endless love of InHarmsWay, providing an occasion for his endless adventures against {{Evil Sorcerer}}s, {{Sorcerous Overlord}}s, [[ReligionOfEvil Religions Of Evil]], and monsters of every kind, and a distinct tendency to AntiHero-dom, mitigated only by the absolute nastiness of his foes. Sometimes a woman warrior; Literature/JirelOfJoiry was the first character (not just female character) to follow in Conan's footsteps.

* {{Fantasy World Map}}s. Word of advice, at least do a little research on [[ShownTheirWork how climate patterns work before you draw your map]]. Don't have deserts right next to tundra (unless, that is, it's a cold desert like Antarctica), or rainforests where rain-shadows should be. And be very, very careful with rivers. While it wasn't as common in the past, people are starting to notice when one makes a meteorological mix-up. If you do have climate patterns that are unrealistic by Earth standards, you will need to explain them, possibly in terms of magic.

Since this genre is oftentimes build around classic tropes, it is suggested you read [[SoYouWantTo/WriteAStory So You Want To Write A Story]] first before you check out the tips on this page. You may also want to read SoYouWantTo/WriteAHighFantasy -- the lines between that subgenre and this one are not fixed in concrete.

* Creator/MichaelMoorcock's ''TheElricSaga''

* ''Literature/JirelOfJoiry}}''

* ConanTheBarbarian

* {{Jirel of Joiry}}

* MedievalStasis. If your "current year" is 1453, swords and sorcery is all well and good, but when the "current" year is well into the 4000's? Mix it up a little. Add some WeirdWest or UrbanFantasy elements.

* {{Fantasy World Map}}s. Word of advice, at least do a little research on [[ShownTheirWork how climate patterns work before you draw your map]]. Don't have deserts right next to tundra (unless, that is, its a cold desert like Antarctica), or rainforests where rain-shadows should be. And be very, very careful with rivers. While it wasn't as common in the past, people are starting to notice when one makes a meteorological mix-up.

* Creator/FritzLeiber's ''FafhrdAndTheGrayMouser''

* How technological can you make it and still have it be Heroic Frantasy? Consider muskets, cannons, and other technological innovations.

* [[HeroicFantasy Heroic Fantasies]] oftentimes have a stagnant culture, with slavery being prominent, ample FantasticRacism, and huge [[SlidingScaleOfGenderInequality gender gap between the two sexes]]. Why not create a Heroic Fantasy where men and women are treated equally, or one where one of the major subplots is the orc struggle for civil rights?

HeroicFantasy is, in fact, the traditional home of the AntiHero -- TheHero generally prefers HighFantasy -- but to make up for that, the Bad Guys are traditionally very bad indeed. The ReligionOfEvil, practicing VirginSacrifice to summon demons; the EvilSorcerer meddling with ThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow; the supernatural in origin [[TheVamp vamp]] and other EldritchAbominations. Do not stint on your bad guys!

* A GeniusBruiser Orc Mage

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* ASongOfIceAndFire

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* The setting in HeroicFantasy is almost invariably a kingdom or empire, more often than not one where the ruler is aged and decrepit, and enemies are poised to tear the [[VestigialEmpire once mighty empire]] to pieces. While this certainly does add tension to the story, this plot element has become so common as to almost become cliche. While it might have worked for the Romans, or [[LordOfTheRings Tolkien]], you want to distinguish yourself from the pack. Why not try for a setting where the primary ruling power in the region is a [[TheFederation republic of]] the FiveRaces. Or perhaps the setting is TheEmpire, but it is at the height of its power, and the protagonists discover a group wishing to destroy it from the inside (like ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]'', but with elves).

* MedievalStasis. If your "current year" is 1453, SwordsAndSorcery is all well and good, but when the "current" year is well into the 4000's? Mix it up a little. Add some WeirdWest or UrbanFantasy elements.

* If you want to see a Human you can just look out the window,if you want to see an orc you can just use the internet,why not have a cast of obscure mythological beings.

* How technological can you make it and still have it be SwordAndSorcery? Consider muskets, cannons, and other technological innovations.

* {{Fantasy World Map}}s. Word of advice, at least do a little research on [[ShownTheirWork how climate patterns work before you draw your map]]. Don't have deserts right next to tundra (unless, that is, its a cold desert like Antarctica), or rainforests where rain-shadows should be. And be very, very careful with rivers. While it wasn't as common in the past, people are starting to notice when one makes a [[YouFailMeteorologyForever meteorological mix-up]].

HeroicFantasy, also known as SwordAndSorcery, the genre of wizards, dragons, and magic!

* Last but not least, HeroicFantasy needs an adventurer to do the advernturing required by the genre. Originally, a la ConanTheBarbarian, a mighty warrior with an endless love of InHarmsWay, providing an occasion for his endless adventures against {{Evil Sorcerer}}s, {{Sorcerous Overlord}}s, [[ReligionOfEvil Religions Of Evil]], and monsters of every kind, and a distinct tendency to AntiHero-dom, mitigated only by the absolute nastiness of his foes. Sometimes a woman warrior; JirelOfJoiry was the first character (not just female character) to follow in Conan's footsteps.

* {{Fantasy World Map}}s. Word of advice, [[DidNotDoTheResearch at least do a little research]] on [[ShownTheirWork how climate patterns work before you draw your map]]. Don't have deserts right next to tundra (unless, that is, its a cold desert like Antarctica), or rainforests where rain-shadows should be. And be very, very careful with rivers. While it wasn't as common in the past, people are starting to notice when one makes a [[YouFailMeteorologyForever meteorological mix-up]].

* Last but not least, HeroicFantasy needs an adventurer to do the advernturing required by the genre. Originally, a la ConanTheBarbarian, a mighty warrior with an endless love of InHarmsWay, providing an occasion for his endless adventures against {{Evil Sorcerer}}s, {{Sorcerous Overlord}}s, [[ReligionOfEvil Religions Of Evil]], and monsters of every kind, and a distinct tendency to AntiHero-dom, mitigated only by the absolute nastiness of his foes. Sometimes a woman warrior; Jirel of Joiry was the first character (not just female character) to follow in Conan's footsteps.

* The setting in HeroicFantasy is almost invariably a kingdom or empire, more often than not one where the ruler is aged and decrepit, and enemies are poised to tear the [[VestigialEmpire once mighty empire]] to pieces. While this certainly does add tension to the story, this plot element has become so common as to almost become cliche. While it might have worked for the Romans, or [[LordOfTheRings Tolkien]], you want to distinguish yourself from the pack. Why not try for a setting where the primary ruling power in the region is a [[TheFederation republic of]] the FiveRaces. Or perhaps the setting is TheEmpire, but it is at the height of its power, and the protagonists discover a group wishing to destroy it from the inside (like ''[[TwentyFour 24]]'', but with elves).

* The FiveRaces are more common in HighFantasy, but not unknown here. Others just use part of the quintet (humans and elves most of the time). Still others keep humans, often PeopleOfHairColor, but add in [[{{Mythopoeia}} other races all their own]]; this is, in fact, the older form, with such {{Trope Maker}}s and {{Trope Codifier}}s as RobertEHoward, who added [[FrazettaMan ape-men]], [[LizardFolk snake men]], and {{Eldritch Abomination}}s to a basically human world, and Creator/FritzLeiber who populated Nehwon with humans and "ghouls" -- humanoids transparent except for their bones.

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HeroicFantasy is oftentimes described as pertaining to a certain aspect of fantasy (or alternatively, swords and sorcery fantasy), but its actually a rather blurred line between this genre and some of the other genres of fantasy. Tends to be distinguishable from HighFantasy by its scale — the problems are generally those of the hero, not the world — and moral standards — absolute evil and absolute good make fewer appearances. (Well, absolute good makes fewer. Absolute evil, in the form of a ReligionOfEvil, an EldritchAbomination or the like, makes a convenient foe.) Also by its tendency to be an endless series of adventure, partly because the smaller scale makes it more plausible, and partly because the heroes are very prone to love being InHarmsWay.

** If you do decide to have magic, the next thing you have to do is [[MagicAIsMagicA create a set of rules for it]]. They don't have to be explicitly stated in the book, but at least be sure you make it consistant.
** Also make sure you explain where your magic comes from, whether it is created through rituals, a person's emotions, [[{{Mana}} drawn from the Earth]], [[CastFromHitpoints drawn from their life force]], won from [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demons]] by performing {{Virgin Sacrifice}}, generated by using EyeOfNewt ingredients that you had to cross a MoralEventHorizon just to collect, what have you.

* The FiveRaces are more common in HighFantasy, but not unknown here. Others just use part of the quintet (humans and elves most of the time). Still others keep humans, often PeopleOfHairColor, but add in [[{{Mythopoeia}} other races all their own]]; this is, in fact, the older form, with such {{Trope Maker}}s and {{Trope Codifier}}s as RobertEHoward, who added [[FrazettaMan ape-men]], [[LizardFolk snake men]], and {{Eldritch Abomination}}s to a basically human world, and FritzLeiber who populated Nehwon with humans and "ghouls" -- humanoids transparent except for their bones.

* The setting in HeroicFantasy is almost invariably a kingdom or empire, more often than not one where the ruler is aged and decrepit, and enemies are poised to tear the [[VestigialEmpire once mighty empire]] to pieces. While this certainly does add tension to the story, this plot element has become so common as to almost become cliche. While it might have worked for the Romans, or [[LordOfTheRings Tolkien]], you want to distinguish yourself from the pack. Why not try for a setting where the primary ruling power in the region is a [[TheFederation republic of]] the FiveRaces. Or perhaps the setting is TheEmpire, but it is at the height of its power, and the protagonists discover a group wishing to destroy it from the inside (like ''[[{{Twenty Four}} 24]]'', but with elves).

* A GeniusBruiser Orc Mage

* {{Revenge}}! The EvilOverlord, the {{Evil Sorcerer}}, the high priest (or priestess) of the {{Religion of Evil}} has injured your character. Revenge is called for!

* No fantasy story is complete without a vast array of magical and mundane weapons. However, you must take precautions. Just like how in a modern story you had better know how many rounds are in the clip of your protagonist's gun, in a fantasy story you should be aware that while duel-wielding claymores sounds like a recipe for badass, unless your character is a 9-foot-tall, super dexterous master swordsman this is pretty much infeasible.

* Research armor types, their pitfalls and their strong points, before assigning them to your warrior character because "they look cool."

* The InHarmsWay loving adventurer has many advantages. For one thing, he will not eye an {{Eldritch Abomination}} and decide he needs a more pacific means of earning his living.

* FritzLeiber's ''FafhrdAndTheGrayMouser''

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