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Ideas for a Story that Deconstructs/Takes to Logical Extremes Fantasy Tropes and Concepts

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CaptainColdCutCliche Since: Jun, 2017
#1: Nov 6th 2017 at 12:07:27 PM

(Rubs hands together)

So, I'm playing around with ideas for a story/worldbuilding where the protagonist from our world, when he was a teen, went on a stereotypical journey to a Magical Land, went on a quest, succeeded, and was sent back home. This experience left him confused as to what exactly happened to him, traumatized by the dangers and monsters, questioning what he thought he knew about the universe, and unable to share his unbelievable story with anybody. Basically, the journey ruined his life, and he hates the memories. What I'm thinking is, as an adult, his daughter or somebody ends up getting taken away to the land, and he has to reluctantly follow her and go back to the world he hates to rescue her.

I'm thinking of calling the world Evencome. Not sure where the name came from or what it means, I just like it.

My concept is, in Evencome, as many High Fantasy / Heroic Fantasy / Sword and Sorcery / Standard Fantasy Setting / Fantasy Kitchen Sink / Mythopoeia tropes are taken to their logical extremes, played completely straight, and just plain-old deconstructed (yes, yes, I know how much flack the D-word is getting. This is just for fun and using my imagination.)

The protagonists's personal story and things related to that will deconstruct Down the Rabbit Hole and magical portal aka Cool Gate tropes.

For Evencome itself, I had a few different ideas:

  • The very basic layout of the Evencome land mass is that the organized, tamed parts of it are like Middle-Earth and home to the Five Races, while the more outlying, wild parts are home to more variety of magical creatures and Fantasy Kitchen Sink-like, like Narnia or DnD.

  • The Creation Myth of Evencome is that the Creator made a world based off of physics, science, and logic (like ours). But then he let... some other early being (I don't really know who) take a whack at creating, and this being didn't follow the rules of science and reason that the Creator had set up, creating random creatures and letting unscientific forces (magic) into the world. This explains how a fantasy setting comes to be.

  • Our Dwarves Are All the Same: The features that fantasy dwarves usually share, such as beards, Norse armor, and penchant for mining, are actually part of their anatomy and physiology. Their beards are feeler-like appendages, they secrete their armor organically from their bodies, etc.

  • On the subject of orcs, not only do they all share an Always Chaotic Evil mindset and personality, they all literally share the same mind, and are a Hive Mind race.

  • There is only one homunculus. There has ever been only one homunculus. The peoples of Evencome started to build one centuries ago, and are still working on it because it has to be complete before they magically bring it to life, meaning even the tiniest of neural pathways in the brain have to be perfect. You can see why it's taking so long.

  • I'm not sure what exactly to do with wizards and magic-users yet, but I think they'll have their own insular society, like Harry Potter ones. Using magic as a wizard or witch or any of that ilk has a tendency to drive one insane; not for any special reason, it's just an effect of using forces that defy reality and rationality. Despite this, their magic has given them greater knowledge than other peoples of Evencome, and they even travel with magic to other planets in Evencome's universe.
    • Magic is extremely difficult to master, as incantations have to be pronounced in just the right way, and the random ingredients in potions have to be mixed just so, otherwise you get what usually happens when you say nonsense words and mix random ingredients- i.e., nothing.
    • Magic, as used by wizards, witches, and magicians, has little to no known rules about how it works. I know that's not how you're supposed to do it, but it's magic: the whole point of it is that it breaks the rules of the universe. Mention the idea of rules for magic to someone who uses it in Evencome, and they'll laugh you out of the room. That's another thing that contributes to wizard insanity: the knowledge of how dangerous, random, and unpredictable the tool they're using is.

  • Dragon Riders are really ineffective and pretty much just for ceremony. They have to wear several bulky layers to stand the dragons' intense body heat, and all the equipment they need to control the dragons, they can't really do anything while riding.

I figure there will be a few different portals from our world to Evencome, only not all of them are convenient or safe.

  • Some of them are huge, while others are so small that nothing can fit through, making them basically pointless.
  • Some of them are your usual magical portals that swirl and glow. Wanna know why they do that? Because they're made of FIRE! And going through one will get you burned all over when you get to the other side. Fun.

TL;DR: Deconstructor Fleet for Magical Land and fantasy.

So, anybody else got any ideas for deconstructing fantasy tropes, or other commentary? If so, shout 'em out!

edited 6th Nov '17 6:08:08 PM by CaptainColdCutCliche

danime91 Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#2: Nov 6th 2017 at 12:19:46 PM

Your concept reminds me of this xkcd strip.

CaptainColdCutCliche Since: Jun, 2017
#3: Nov 6th 2017 at 1:19:42 PM

Oh yeah, that's a lot like it! I think I might've actually read that once, maybe it gave me the seed of the idea.

danime91 Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#4: Nov 6th 2017 at 1:59:29 PM

Considering you're going for a somewhat comedic deconstruction, there could be an area of Evencome (would the negative world version be called Oddgo?) that is just covered in toxic waste and is dangerous for anybody living to go near and is a haven for undead and other types of monsters, because back on Earth some corporation found a small portal and, rather than studying it or anything, just use it to get around illegal dumping laws.

edited 6th Nov '17 2:00:12 PM by danime91

CaptainColdCutCliche Since: Jun, 2017
#5: Nov 6th 2017 at 4:45:23 PM

Hmm, that's an interesting idea. Speaking of the undead, for magic users, the undead as minions are more trouble than they're worth, really, because while it is cool to reanimate corpses and skeletons to fight for you, you need to do the thinking for them if you don't want them to run around chaotically, not having brains of their own and all. Night of the Living Mooks is actually really impractical and time-consuming because of how high-maintenance it is.

CaptainColdCutCliche Since: Jun, 2017
#6: Nov 6th 2017 at 4:48:39 PM

Also, I guess my tone comes across as humorous, but I was really thinking of a more serious execution in the actual work, if that makes any sense.

JerekLaz Since: Jun, 2014
#7: Nov 7th 2017 at 3:49:27 AM

[up] So not quite Grimdark but Reality Ensues for what'd actually happen if you took these tropes to an extreme?

What about Elves in this setting? Willowy know it alls or psychotic tree dwelling arrow nutters?

So is the daughter on a magical quest to save the land? Or has she been kidnapped? Because that could be a good contrast - the Naive Child Hero versus the Adult Fear of an overbearing and cynical father, who is constantly calling out the complete insanity of things?

danime91 Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#8: Nov 7th 2017 at 7:49:01 AM

A severe lack of men in the nobility/armed forces because they keep running off to rescue damsels and slay dragons and get killed as a result? Thus leading to a demographic imbalance and an early women's rights revolution leading to women having a more important role in society, similar to what happened in the US during World War 2?

CaptainColdCutCliche Since: Jun, 2017
#9: Nov 7th 2017 at 2:40:36 PM

[up] Yeah, Jerek Laz, you got it pretty much right. However, I don't mind things being Grimdark if that's the logical extreme, if you see what I mean. As for elves, I think they'll be the willowy know-it-alls you expect in fantasy, but the other races hate them because of both jealousy and how unsettling their perfection is- think Uncanny Valley. The plot details are still really sketchy.

[up] [up] Hmm, danime91 you have an intriguing idea there. The treatment of females in Medieval society is definitely something worth exploring with a fantasy world.

CaptainColdCutCliche Since: Jun, 2017
#10: Nov 13th 2017 at 1:43:44 PM

So, on the subject of Elemental Powers and like: they're all based on the perception of elements. So, many magic-users have the standard four (earth, air, fire, water), while wizards with more knowledge of how the universe works (which they find out about with magic, see above) have powers based off the actual elements. I guess this is similar to another xkcd strip.

On the other end of the scale, there are ancient beings with, say only two kinds of element powers: sky and ground, or something like that since those were the first "elements" (ways of dividing matter) early beings knew of.

And as for Elemental Embodiments, whatever elements they are, they actually get less powerful most ways you use them, as they just want to do what they're element is supposed to do (change their matter, chemically react, pretty much nothing at all...), and using them for anything else goes against their nature, and renders them weaker. So an Elemental Embodiment monster minion is Cool, but Impractical.

So yeah, that's basically how that works.

edited 13th Nov '17 1:55:07 PM by CaptainColdCutCliche

JerekLaz Since: Jun, 2014
#11: Nov 17th 2017 at 7:40:02 AM

[up] So no Fire Elemental creatures?

And essentially you have "mages" who use the elements, like Benders, and "Mages" who are more like magical alchemists?

Sounds interesting. What other trope extremes have you considered?

CaptainColdCutCliche Since: Jun, 2017
#12: Nov 17th 2017 at 6:05:11 PM

[up] Well, there could be, but they're at their most powerful when they're burning something. Which could be pretty useful, I suppose, but doing anything they get smaller and weaker.

Yeah, something like that. Lots of different flavors of magic and magic-users, in keeping with the DnD, Fantasy Kitchen Sink style of world. Of course, Alchemy Is Magic. Magical alchemy is harder, more complicated, and has less impact than more "natural" types of elemental magic, but since it's more science-y (y'know, relatively speaking), it's less chaotic and ergo, less risk to your health and/or sanity.

Hmm... regarding the Fantasy World Map, the map itself is rarely completely accurate, what with changing borders and the limited resources most people have for cartography.

  • The more trees that are together in any given area, the more likely they are to hide monsters, ancient magic,and other such things that make them into The Lost Woods. Various races have taken to burning down forests and regulating trees to make sure they are all somewhat far apart from each other, lest another dangerous forest grow.
  • There are a few floating places, usually brought about by enchantment, that have their personal gravity reversed. As such, getting close to them will result in all sorts of dangerous wibbly-wobbly gravity-wavity looneyness. Also, they're not very stable and the oxygen is thin.
  • The Mordor equivalent is so barren and dead that nothing can survive there, not even any given Big Bad or his minions.

edited 17th Nov '17 6:08:46 PM by CaptainColdCutCliche

JerekLaz Since: Jun, 2014
#13: Nov 18th 2017 at 9:04:21 AM

[up] But some villains TRY to move there because it fits their Motif?

Yeah i could see The Only Sane man just going "WHAT THE EFF" as his daughter does a Narnia on the place.

CaptainColdCutCliche Since: Jun, 2017
#14: Nov 18th 2017 at 12:18:24 PM

Speaking of Narnia, that's another way villains fail besides the whole Mordor-thing: they can try to gather a big army of monsters, like the White Witch's in Narnia, but because they're all different creatures, and so brutal and cruel, they're too busy fighting and killing and eating each other to obey orders.

CaptainColdCutCliche Since: Jun, 2017
#15: Nov 18th 2017 at 12:41:51 PM

Now, let's talk about Hobbits- er, I mean Halflings, of course- and Dementor / Nazgul-style wraiths.

  • Halflings, like in the work where the first appeared, are analogues to late 19th-early 20th century middle-class Englishmen. However, unlike in LOTR, this is called attention to, and they are really the most technologically advanced out of all the races and cultures around them, even with simple things like clocks and stoves. They are always ahead of other cultures.

  • Both Nazgul and Dementors are evil spirits in dark cloaks that make others despair and fear, and feed off of it. There are those in Evencome, but there are more kinds than that: there are ones that are more paranoia-based than fear-based, more sadness-based, and even positive emotions. Because emotions are all points on a spectrum, the Dementor/Nazgul analogues vary to match.

edited 18th Nov '17 12:42:52 PM by CaptainColdCutCliche

JerekLaz Since: Jun, 2014
#16: Nov 20th 2017 at 2:28:25 AM

[up] I now have an image of the Ultimate Nazgul - basically Joseph's technicolor dream coat. And with a musical number.

Or Pennywise. Can't make up my mind.

How do Undead feature? Sentient, constructs or viral? As it's fantasy I assume a mix of the former two?

CaptainColdCutCliche Since: Jun, 2017
#17: Nov 22nd 2017 at 5:48:45 AM

[up] Well, as I said above, undead minions (Of the construct variety, like you said) are pretty high-maintenance because many of them don't have sufficient brain power, so they have to use the master's, or else they run around chaotic and random.

In places where the sentient undead are common, such as an Überwald setting or a place filled with black magic, death itself is seen as less of a big deal, as many people just come back as undead. People from these areas have a hard time understanding people from other cultures' fear of death.

JerekLaz Since: Jun, 2014
#18: Nov 23rd 2017 at 2:15:43 AM

[up] So a bit like the Undead from Divinity?

Can you please put this story together? I want to read it now!

CaptainColdCutCliche Since: Jun, 2017
#19: Nov 23rd 2017 at 8:03:29 AM

[up]Um... I haven't read/seen Divinity, so I don't know, lol. Thank you! I have all these ideas, but I don't really have a story to put them all together with, if you know what I mean.

JerekLaz Since: Jun, 2014
#20: Nov 24th 2017 at 6:43:24 AM

[up] Sometimes the world is enough. Friends of mine, we built a world for an RP and realised the world was more interesting than the RP we'd had planned... so just tinkered with it rather going down the questing route.

Are there gods in the world as well?

CaptainColdCutCliche Since: Jun, 2017
#21: Dec 3rd 2017 at 12:58:07 PM

[up] But of course there are gods. Hmm... what to do with them?

Well, as gods rule over and personify various things, there are lots of them. Like, millions of billions of them. They are actually envious of mortals because of they're mortality, because it means mortals can change. Gods can't.

JerekLaz Since: Jun, 2014
#22: Dec 4th 2017 at 2:58:40 AM

[up] Wow, so does belief factor in? I take it it's akin to Roman house gods, or ancestor worship?

As that standard fantasy trope of "By -insert random deity of sporks here-, it's massive!"

CaptainColdCutCliche Since: Jun, 2017
#23: Dec 6th 2017 at 2:24:56 PM

I guess belief would play a part, maybe in the gods' realm "belief" is an actual substance that can be ingested, shared, hoarded and fought over.

J.G.Crowne I am the Dreamer. You're the Dream. from Room 237 Since: Nov, 2014 Relationship Status: Hiding
I am the Dreamer. You're the Dream.
#24: Dec 6th 2017 at 5:36:55 PM

Do they Gods have gods?

Do you read Sutter Cane?
CaptainColdCutCliche Since: Jun, 2017
#25: Dec 7th 2017 at 8:42:43 AM

[up] ...I didn't think of that, but I guess if belief fuels gods, gods believing in other gods could factor in... neat idea.


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