Fantasy World Tropes

[septembervirgin]

What typical fantasy world tropes would you like to see appear, as long as they're uniquely wrought.

[eimatshya]

I have no preference on the first two, but I definitely would prefer not to have intrinsically evil hominids. Having orcs, trolls, goblins, etc. is fine with me, but I don't want them to be inherently evil. If they are violently at odds with the other races it should be due to cultural mores, or because of past disagreements/being driven out of their lands/something of that sort, not because "evil" is a congenital condition. If you take a goblin baby and raise it in human society, it should have a chance of growing up as a peaceful member of that society.

[Merin]

I'd like to see magic, and magic items, rarer, so no magic item shops. That trope always bothered me.

 

As for monsters - I actually think the "shades of gray, no set good or evil" is the trope, the tired, tired, tired trope. Kinda like "dark and gritty" is cliche and no longer edgy.

 

It'd be refreshing for me to have a well written story that included "dude, these Evildudes are evil dudes, dude." You know, without the surfer slang.

[Nivenus]

Actually, most pre-modern armies required soldiers to arm themselves. So blacksmiths definitely existed as a private industry, though free markets as we would understand them didn't exist and trade in the later portion of the Middle Ages was largely managed by monopolistic guilds.

[NerdBoner]

if there is a magic shop i want it to be something like in a pocket plane dimension, a genie from a bottle etc. no magic shops in every town...when i find a magic item, sword, spell or whatever i want it to feel special, rare and unique. No generic, mass produced magical items. Every enchanted item should have a history, purpose and description...

 

if you have magic or know someone who does and have the proper training then MAYBE you might be able to create an magic item, but such a thing shouldn't be common enough to have magical mini-marts on every corner. I want a low/mid magic world where powerful artifacts do exist but they are as rare as freaking unicorns.

Edited September 22, 2012 by NerdBoner

[Vandoon]

I would like to be able to purchase magic and weapons however I would like to see the quantity and quality of weapons be limited unless you make contacts and get it made on request and the quality is dependent on the skill of the maker and components. Magic should be quite a bit more limited than the weapons. It should be special and not traded like coin. With this in mind when you find a magical item it becomes special however if that item is useless pawning it would provide an unbalance in the economy unless the items cannot be sold or could be use in other ways to provide value to the PC (used as essence in creating items the PC does need) I do like items with uses or charges however would like to recharge them. I would like to see more variety in the magical items pros and cons to the item.

[Fooine]

Let's look at it from an economics point of view.

 

From an outsider's point of view, it looks silly to have magic shops. BUT, if magic is a rare and powerful thing, then of course, someone, somewhere is going to try and profit from it. Magic shops make sense. They do. They're not a trope, or something which just has to be there by convention. They're an essential part of a believable world that includes magic. Economics says so.

 

If magic is meant to be rare and powerful, then prices would have to be adjusted so that magic does, indeed, feel rare and powerful. But there's nothing inherently wrong with shops revolving around the stuff.

 

EDIT: The same applies to blacksmiths, for the reasons Nivenus mentioned. As long has the world's economy is, in part, based on mercenaries/dungeon looting/both.

Edited September 22, 2012 by Fooine