Fantasy as a genre is vast, covering countless worlds, characters, and conflicts. For RPG Game Masters, understanding the various subgenres of fantasy can help tailor the tone and theme of their campaigns. Whether you’re crafting a story driven by heroism, personal ambition, or moral ambiguity, knowing where your narrative fits can enhance the experience for both you and your players.

In this guide, we’ll explore five key subgenres of fantasy – Heroic Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Epic Fantasy, Mythic Fantasy, and Dark Fantasy. While these are not the only categories that exist, they provide a useful framework for understanding the various ways fantasy stories unfold.

Breaking Down the Subgenres

Heroic Fantasy

In Heroic Fantasy, the tone is often optimistic, emphasizing agency and destiny. Player characters are the key actors in the narrative – if something of importance is to be done, they are the ones who will do it. A common theme is that the heroes recognize their significance and purposefully engage with the world’s challenges, often with the knowledge that they are the ones destined to shape the fate of the land.

An important aspect of Heroic Fantasy is the idea that even if the stakes aren’t global, the characters are still central to the story. While they might not always be flawless or morally pure, their actions are pivotal. Heroes here actively seek to change their fate rather than waiting for destiny to find them. Whether they are “chosen ones” or simply figures of importance, they are unmistakably at the heart of the narrative.

Sword and Sorcery

Sword and Sorcery shifts the tone to something more personal and often morally ambiguous. The player characters are still significant, but their involvement in larger events is often due to personal motivations such as revenge, wealth, or glory. The theme of this subgenre tends to focus on the intersection between individual ambitions and larger forces.

While the characters in Sword and Sorcery are capable of great things, their actions often reflect self-interest more than a desire to serve a greater good. Rivalries, personal goals, and the consequences of greed or pride often define the plot. Tropes in this subgenre include stories where characters’ desires overlap with larger events, often forcing them to confront threats they initially had no interest in stopping. The tone is gritty, with characters frequently having to balance between selfish goals and the needs of the world.

Epic Fantasy

Epic Fantasy introduces a grander, more solemn tone, with themes that span generations, kingdoms, or even worlds. Here, the stakes are often monumental, with the fate of nations or entire worlds hanging in the balance. The theme is one of inevitable conflict between good and evil, where the actions of the player characters are part of a larger tapestry of events.

In Epic Fantasy, the heroes often find themselves swept up in events that are far larger than they initially understand. A common trope in this subgenre is the presence of a looming, ancient evil that connects local struggles to a greater, overarching threat. The characters may start by solving regional problems, but their journey is invariably tied to the fate of the world. Personal ambitions are often overshadowed by the need to confront the world-threatening menace, pushing characters into roles of responsibility they may not have chosen for themselves.

Mythic Fantasy

Mythic Fantasy takes the grandeur of Epic Fantasy and elevates it to a level where every decision has far-reaching consequences. The tone is often one of awe and majesty, with characters destined to become legendary figures. The theme revolves around the transformative power of their actions—whether they succeed or fail, their choices will reshape the world in profound ways.

In this subgenre, even minor decisions can have mythic implications. Characters are on a path to greatness, and their actions will be remembered for generations, if not eternally. Tropes include stories where characters may start as mortals, but over time they become figures of myth, perhaps even challenging or rejecting the gods themselves. The narrative here places emphasis on the fact that characters are bound for legendary status, and their actions have a lasting impact on the world around them.

Dark Fantasy

Dark Fantasy shifts the tone to something somber, bleak, and often fatalistic. The theme revolves around difficult choices, where even the “right” actions lead to painful consequences. Characters in Dark Fantasy frequently face impossible dilemmas, and even when they succeed, there is always a cost to their victory.

This subgenre is characterized by a sense of moral complexity and an acceptance that not all battles can be won cleanly. A common trope is that while the characters may stop a great evil or save a city from destruction, the world remains tainted and harsh. The victory may be hollow, with lingering scars on both the world and the heroes themselves. In Dark Fantasy, the tone is often grim, with players constantly aware that the world can’t fully escape its darker realities, no matter how hard they fight.

Conclusion

The subgenres of fantasy offer GMs a rich palette of tones and themes to explore. Whether you want to create stories of hopeful heroism, morally ambiguous personal quests, or grim worlds where victory comes at a cost, understanding these categories can help you shape a more engaging narrative. Keep in mind that no subgenre is a rigid box – many stories borrow elements from multiple types, allowing you to craft something unique for your players.

This post was inspired by a 2021 article by Jared Rascher on the GnomeStew blog, which provided valuable insights into the diverse ways we can approach fantasy storytelling.