D&D: High Fantasy vs. Sword & Sorcery

[Shadeydm]

I don't really view them as independent when applied to a DnD campaign. When I run a long term campaign it usually starts out closer to the provided definition of Sword & Sorcery but ends up looking a whole lot more like High Fantasy at higher levels.

 

[Mokona]

The role and scope of the supernatural usually is different too, since S&S often has much more of a swashbuckling Arabian nights feel to it. That means that the supernatural is usually an exotic foe to be overcome rather than necessarily a tool to be used, as High Fantasy usually paints it.

I didn't see this comment in the High Fantasy references on Wikipedia.

I read the entire entry for High Fantasy and Low Fantasy but the summary (emphasis mine) provides a funny paradox.

The term high fantasy (also epic fantasy) generally refers to fantasy that depicts an epic struggle between good and evil in a fantasy world, whether independent of or parallel to ours. The moral concepts in such tales take on objective status, and are not relative to the one making the judgement. The moral tone and high stakes -- usually world-shaking -- separates this genre from sword and sorcery, while the degree to which the world is not based on a real-world history separates it from historical fantasy.

Low fantasy is not a proper subgenre as such, but a catch-all term employed to describe works of fantasy literature described in an antagonistic relationship with the more well-defined high fantasy genre. As such, it can indicate fantasy that tries not to emphasise magic; fantasy set in the real world; fantasy that contains realism and a more cynical worldview; and Dark fantasy -- among others.

I want my Dungeons & Dragons game to revolve around epic quests and dramatic (world-changing) events. So I guess I'll vote for High Fantasy. But I want less emphasis on magic so what I really want is for my D&D game to be a Low Fantasy, High Fantasy game.

 

[Felix]

The game is suffering from too much Tolkienism as it is

D&D suffers from Tolkien the same way physics suffers from Einstein.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

D&D suffers from Tolkien the same way physics suffers from Einstein.

This is just too good to not be quoted.

 

[jonathan swift]

High Fantasy.

Mostly cause I like both and find it easier to scale down from High Fantasy to S&S than to start with S&S and then scale up.

 

[BryonD]

Being forced to choose would greatly suck.

However, if forced I'd choose High Fantasy simply because I can get the gritty I want other places.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Sword & sorcery, though high magic. I like heroes who are motivated by gold. And I find the 'save the world' stuff implausible. But I like colourful characters, crazy powers flying about. In other words, pulp.

 

[Doug McCrae]

When I run a long term campaign it usually starts out closer to the provided definition of Sword & Sorcery but ends up looking a whole lot more like High Fantasy at higher levels.

That's pretty common.

 

[Desdichado]

I didn't see this comment in the High Fantasy references on Wikipedia.

No, you don't. That's an interesting oversight. I may have to go add a sentence or two to the wikipedia entry...

D&D suffers from Tolkien the same way physics suffers from Einstein.

Heh. I love Tolkien. Lord of the Rings is my favorite work of literature and all that.

But honestly, I'd rather fantasy did something other than endlessly try to rip him off. None of his (many, many) imitators have managed to bottle up the genie that he did. They'd be better off going some other direction, IMO rather than putting up endless rehashes that compare poorly to the original.

Part of my reasons for prefering a more S&S, pulp, Weird Tales type game when possible.

However, if forced I'd choose High Fantasy simply because I can get the gritty I want other places.

And if I want Tolkienian High Fantasy, I'd rather get that from Decipher's LotR game. Plenty of other options for High Fantasy too.

Interesting watching the results. S&S took an early lead, which seems to have been mostly eroded now.

 

[shadow]

I don't necessarily think that High Fantasy and S&S are easily pigeoned-holed genres. D&D shows that you can have elements of both. Still, if I had to choose, I would choose high fantasy. High Fantasy is stereotypically about heroism and world-shattering events. Too much of the S&S that I have seen is very gritty with amoral protagonists - not exactly my play style.