@LoreGeist moral ambiguity, the creative use of horror in a Fantasy setting and sentient weapons or even certain forms of magic that lean into the darker side. As well as the occasional Great Old One showing up to cause all kinds of problems.
I'm currently working on a dark fantasy/scifi novel which is set in a fictional world where at night plants wake up and attack any thing that gets too close. Plants do this because they require blood and moonlight in order to live instead of water and sunlight. (7 year old me came up with this idea, I only rediscovered it reccently).
Hm, why have those plants not already been eradicated by whatever species lives in your fantasy world and is capable of planning things and using tools and weapons? Do the plants camouflage themselves? Do they have powers to defend themselves during the day? Are they absolutely necessary in the ecosystem?
@@johannageisel5390 it's just a part of the ecosystem, you can't have fresh air without trees. There are lots of interesting ways to make use of the killer plants. Still figuring out some of the uses for them 😅.
That’s a fun concept, I like the idea of kinda maturing a childhood idea into something feasible / working out the kinks and implications. Good luck with that 👌
I'm an aspiring Dark Fantasy novelist, my favorite series are A Song of Ice and Fire and The Elric Saga. Also the next video should be about Sword and Sorcery.
asoiaf is a huge favorite of mine (probably noticeable since I mention it in almost every video lol), I'm not that deep into the lore of Elric Saga though. Sword and Sorcery is added to the list! Also, which "branch" of Dark Fantasy would you say your novel fits the most?
Berserk is the motivation for my dark fantasy story. My friends are aspiring writers as well. But they admitted themselves that their stories are very formulaic and standard. I want my stories to haunt people but also give them a sense of hope.
@@LoreGeistits definitely a mix of gothic and sword & sorcery. Its about a group of teenage demigod siblings who have to endure a trial of spending time in the mortal world. If they succeed, they become full gods. But after their deific father released magic in the world decades before they were born, they realize that the world is not the beautiful land that their mortal mother told stories of.
My favourite is definitely The Witcher. I love character-driven stories, and The Witcher is all about that. Plus, one of the things that sets it apart for me is that it's never overly dark. Yeah - the world of The Witcher can be cruel, harsh, raw, and unfair, where it's often about survival, but there's also a lot of positive and fun stuff in it, and overall it just feels like real life.
My favorite dark fantasy settings are probably the worlds of Cook's Black Company, Moorcock's Hawkmoon, and Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen. I agree that Swords & Sorcery should be next, but also think about doing one on Science Fantasy.
Yeah, Sword and Sorcery is in the list and will come up soon! With SciFi I need to ask in the community tab if more people are interested in exclusive Sci-fi Content though because the last Sci-Fi video bombed (time travel)
My two favorite dark fantasy settings are Ravenloft and The World of Darkness franchise. Close behind is the Arkham Horror series with Warhammer's Time of Legends a distant fourth. It is my favorite subgenre of fantasy. I have been working on a novel which I describe as conteporary gothic fantasy where a being of living darkness wages a war on humanity for the soul of the world. I'm playing with inversions of good vs. evil as well as questions on what one does with ultimate power. It's been a challenge, to say the least.
Pretty heavy themes to tackle there, seems pretty interesting. I’m waiting for a huge gothic fantasy epic to come out yet and what that would look like
My favorite "dark fantasy" is also my favorite military fantasy: The Annals of the Black Company by Glen Cook. It's been described as the Vietnam War on LSD. And maybe they served as the inspiration. Heavily recommended.
Personally, I went with a fantasy world which is the "hero's dream". What makes it dark is the POV character's perspective. A different viewpoint of the perfect world.
@LoreGeist I went with the concept of "someone's utopia is other's distoptia". From the perspective of my hedonistic protag, the strict, virtuous, morally upstanding society feels more like hell. The main source of the dark fantasy elements are the immoral actions of the main cast, they do a lot of questionable actions for their own freedom. They could very well be the antagonists in most stories. Although, their opposition is no saints either. The almighty church, and especially the Inquisition has some dark secrets. The other dark fantasy element is the magic system itself. Which is "forbidden" for a good reason. The source of the magic [witchcraft] is free-will, which is more or less can be called as the soul [so it is a pseudo sacrifial magic system] Well, one soul has very little value in terms of achieving any meaningful effect. I wrote the whole story in first person, because it feels more suffocating that way. Also, I did heavily rely on the unreliable narrator and in first person it feels more natural in my opinion.
@ first person / unreliable narrator can be really cool to give the story a nightmarish quality and claustrophobia like you said. The notion of magic being forbidden and representing free will, and hedonism being frowned upon open doors for really interesting theme exploration
I loved the Witcher, but I'm biased because I like my own works the best. The anticipation of what could unfold next is my favorite element. As a writer, I myself don't even know what is going to happen next until it does and I love that feeling I get when I'm, OMG... did not see that coming! Lots of things to love about Dark Fantasy, but the surprise... anticipation and suspense before the delivery, I think makes for a bigger impact when the hammer falls.
@LoreGeist It does. I think its rare when we get really good fantasy from filmmakers too because they often don't take it as serious as the writers (and fans) do. That and they use establishment script writers a lot who don't write fantasy and don't get its nuance. Need more Witchers!
Griffith was always evil. He just didn't have the opportunity to fully show it until the Eclipse. Griffith is a shallow villain that just wants power. He contradicts everything you say you actually want in villains, yet you use him as a prime example of what you want.
I disagree 😊. First of all, villains can be evil, that’s not my point in the video. I just said that as characters they need to have more facets explored than just “I’m bad”. Griffith has more than just being power hungry as aspects to his characterisation.
@LoreGeist What more is there to Griffith's character? He wants to build a kingdom of his own, and he wants to torture Guts. That's like his entire motivation. He doesn't have much of a backstory.
What are your favorite elements in Dark Fantasy?
@@LoreGeist The idea that everything is not so cut and dry. That luxury of morality ties to the moment and that survival is the highest importance.
@LoreGeist moral ambiguity, the creative use of horror in a Fantasy setting and sentient weapons or even certain forms of magic that lean into the darker side. As well as the occasional Great Old One showing up to cause all kinds of problems.
@@jamestipton3342 luxury of morality is a really interesting concept indeed
@@jamestipton3342 I like a dash of horror in a fantasy setting as well because I’m a big horror fan.
I'm currently working on a dark fantasy/scifi novel which is set in a fictional world where at night plants wake up and attack any thing that gets too close. Plants do this because they require blood and moonlight in order to live instead of water and sunlight. (7 year old me came up with this idea, I only rediscovered it reccently).
Sounds intriguing. Best of luck to you, I would love to read it someday.
Hm, why have those plants not already been eradicated by whatever species lives in your fantasy world and is capable of planning things and using tools and weapons?
Do the plants camouflage themselves? Do they have powers to defend themselves during the day? Are they absolutely necessary in the ecosystem?
@@johannageisel5390 it's just a part of the ecosystem, you can't have fresh air without trees. There are lots of interesting ways to make use of the killer plants. Still figuring out some of the uses for them 😅.
@@katsandall3673 Ah, so it's ALL of the plants, not just one species. Yes, that makes it difficult to get rid of them. ^ ^
That’s a fun concept, I like the idea of kinda maturing a childhood idea into something feasible / working out the kinks and implications. Good luck with that 👌
I'm an aspiring Dark Fantasy novelist, my favorite series are A Song of Ice and Fire and The Elric Saga. Also the next video should be about Sword and Sorcery.
asoiaf is a huge favorite of mine (probably noticeable since I mention it in almost every video lol), I'm not that deep into the lore of Elric Saga though. Sword and Sorcery is added to the list! Also, which "branch" of Dark Fantasy would you say your novel fits the most?
Blood and Souls for my Lord Arioch!
@LoreGeist Most likely towards Grimdark, especially with certain machinations going on.
Berserk is the motivation for my dark fantasy story.
My friends are aspiring writers as well. But they admitted themselves that their stories are very formulaic and standard.
I want my stories to haunt people but also give them a sense of hope.
Yeah, berserk is a classic.
I’m also working on something dark fantasy related, which “branch” of dark fantasy specifically are you writing about?
@@LoreGeistits definitely a mix of gothic and sword & sorcery.
Its about a group of teenage demigod siblings who have to endure a trial of spending time in the mortal world. If they succeed, they become full gods. But after their deific father released magic in the world decades before they were born, they realize that the world is not the beautiful land that their mortal mother told stories of.
elden ring is one of the most hauntingly beautiful settings ever..
It is! Absolutely mesmerizing
God, my brain immediately went to Warcraft lll and the storyline of prince Arthas Menethil
My favourite is definitely The Witcher. I love character-driven stories, and The Witcher is all about that. Plus, one of the things that sets it apart for me is that it's never overly dark. Yeah - the world of The Witcher can be cruel, harsh, raw, and unfair, where it's often about survival, but there's also a lot of positive and fun stuff in it, and overall it just feels like real life.
@@marty.m2933 Witcher is a great one for me too.
Grimdark fan here!
My favorite dark fantasy settings are probably the worlds of Cook's Black Company, Moorcock's Hawkmoon, and Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen. I agree that Swords & Sorcery should be next, but also think about doing one on Science Fantasy.
Yeah, Sword and Sorcery is in the list and will come up soon! With SciFi I need to ask in the community tab if more people are interested in exclusive Sci-fi Content though because the last Sci-Fi video bombed (time travel)
My two favorite dark fantasy settings are Ravenloft and The World of Darkness franchise. Close behind is the Arkham Horror series with Warhammer's Time of Legends a distant fourth. It is my favorite subgenre of fantasy.
I have been working on a novel which I describe as conteporary gothic fantasy where a being of living darkness wages a war on humanity for the soul of the world. I'm playing with inversions of good vs. evil as well as questions on what one does with ultimate power. It's been a challenge, to say the least.
Pretty heavy themes to tackle there, seems pretty interesting. I’m waiting for a huge gothic fantasy epic to come out yet and what that would look like
My favorite "dark fantasy" is also my favorite military fantasy: The Annals of the Black Company by Glen Cook. It's been described as the Vietnam War on LSD. And maybe they served as the inspiration. Heavily recommended.
Great books! Most of the younger generation is not familiar with those.
Personally, I went with a fantasy world which is the "hero's dream". What makes it dark is the POV character's perspective. A different viewpoint of the perfect world.
So which elements of dark fantasy are you including? Also, how many POV characters are you planning?
@LoreGeist I went with the concept of "someone's utopia is other's distoptia". From the perspective of my hedonistic protag, the strict, virtuous, morally upstanding society feels more like hell.
The main source of the dark fantasy elements are the immoral actions of the main cast, they do a lot of questionable actions for their own freedom. They could very well be the antagonists in most stories. Although, their opposition is no saints either. The almighty church, and especially the Inquisition has some dark secrets. The other dark fantasy element is the magic system itself. Which is "forbidden" for a good reason. The source of the magic [witchcraft] is free-will, which is more or less can be called as the soul [so it is a pseudo sacrifial magic system] Well, one soul has very little value in terms of achieving any meaningful effect.
I wrote the whole story in first person, because it feels more suffocating that way. Also, I did heavily rely on the unreliable narrator and in first person it feels more natural in my opinion.
@ first person / unreliable narrator can be really cool to give the story a nightmarish quality and claustrophobia like you said.
The notion of magic being forbidden and representing free will, and hedonism being frowned upon open doors for really interesting theme exploration
I loved the Witcher, but I'm biased because I like my own works the best. The anticipation of what could unfold next is my favorite element. As a writer, I myself don't even know what is going to happen next until it does and I love that feeling I get when I'm, OMG... did not see that coming! Lots of things to love about Dark Fantasy, but the surprise... anticipation and suspense before the delivery, I think makes for a bigger impact when the hammer falls.
I love Witcher too. It sort of brings back sword and sorcery with some grimdark elements and solid worldbuilding
@LoreGeist It does. I think its rare when we get really good fantasy from filmmakers too because they often don't take it as serious as the writers (and fans) do. That and they use establishment script writers a lot who don't write fantasy and don't get its nuance. Need more Witchers!
Please cover sword and sorcery. It’s my favorite genre.
@@heretic5579 it’s not gonna be the next video but it’s the next video about sub genres 👌
When it comes to Dark Fantasy, I like Twilight and The Vampire Diaries seasons 2 and 3.
My favorite dark fantasy is mine.
Mine is High Dark fantasy
Where morning has the color of Sepia.
what is it called?
Dark fantasy or grimdark?
In my view, grimdark is a branch of dark fantasy
Griffith was always evil. He just didn't have the opportunity to fully show it until the Eclipse. Griffith is a shallow villain that just wants power. He contradicts everything you say you actually want in villains, yet you use him as a prime example of what you want.
I disagree 😊. First of all, villains can be evil, that’s not my point in the video. I just said that as characters they need to have more facets explored than just “I’m bad”. Griffith has more than just being power hungry as aspects to his characterisation.
@LoreGeist What more is there to Griffith's character? He wants to build a kingdom of his own, and he wants to torture Guts. That's like his entire motivation. He doesn't have much of a backstory.
8:30 Griffith was never a hero.
I like gothic dark fantasy
I like Gothic Dark Fantasy as well. Would like to see something like that in an epic scale but haven't found that yet.
@LoreGeist sure ^^
Bloodborne has to be one of the most Depressing Dark Fantasy worlds in video game history.
True. I like the mix of eldritch elements as well with the gothic. It’s a pretty cool combination