Why is fantasy the dominant RPG genre?

[Jehosephat]

Not really sure, so I'm just throwing ideas out to see how they fly. But it could have something to do with the fact that nothing captures the imagination like fantasy. Superheroes, cops & robbers, aliens, space explorers, monsters, all that is cool stuff but I don't think it captures like fantasy. As a child, before D&D, a few things really stick out in my. Fairy tales were cool, also I had a good experience with fantasy everytime I encountered it. I remember being glued to the TV set when they showed The Hobbit. Likewise, the episode of the Superfriends where they all went to Middle Earth and were transformed into Hobbit-like beings still sticks in my mind. Another cool thing was when my dad took me and my brother to see Jason and the Argonauts, the Ray Harryhausen version. Gosh Talos and those skeletons were just sooo cool. Then in 6th grade I was intoduced to D&D. The local store, kind of a smaller, hometown version of Wal-Mart carried the PHB, the DMs Guide, and the Monster Manual. I was captivated by the black cover of the PHB and the bright orange idol on the front, so much in fact that I never thought to look inside and find out just what an Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Player's Handbook was. Well at this same time a friend of mine was telling me about this game he was playing. One day he told me he killed a blue demonic witch called a night hag. He said she was riding him and digging her claws into his back. I thought, how wonderful, that sounds like cool stuff. The books and stories and movies and tv shows and my friend telling me about D&D all left vivid and indelible images in my mind. That stuff is great stuff, the kind of stuff that all tales should be about. I just think the fantasy genre invokes a stronger sense of imagination. I think it's fitting that D&D was the first rpg because these were some of the first types of stores being told by people. Stories about demons and mythological creatures and how some guy was either slaying them or outsmarting them. I don't know maybe I am thinking way to hard, but I see something almost primal about these kinds of tales and I think that we here are some of the lucky ones that can connect to that.

 

[Buttercup]

I agree with Eric that fantasy requires a less diverse and extensive knowledge base on the part of the DM. Although we all know lots of stuff about the world we live in everyday, adventure and, well, strangeness rarely happens to any of us. Our imaginations are damped down by the mundane existence we live every day.

On the other hand, fantasy requires only that the DM's creation be internally consistent. Further, fantasy taps into so many cultural archetypes that resonate with just about everybody. Fantasy exists in a place completely outside of the day-to-day, and the rules don't necessarily apply. That's a powerful draw.

 

[Melan]

D&D style fantasy is popular because D&Desque worlds allow extraordinary individuals to take part in extraordinary adventures without bumping into limiting borders. Essentially, in a modern or historical world, you are surrounded by customs, laws and organized civilization which puts constraints the individual.

Your typical D&D homebrew (as well as many, many published settings) is a world where civilization is weak or almost nonexistant, as in the case of the Wilderlands or Blackmoor - the oldest D&D worlds. Here you are, with your cool powers and you can do almost anything, because there is nothing to hold you back, except even more powerful heroes. There is no "law enforcement". City guards are almost always depicted as bumbling fools who do little while heroes save the day and anti-heroes subjugate and conquer. This is the romantic Old West with its sherrifs, indians, banditos and lone headhunters, except with longswords and holy symbols.

This gaming style is a lot harder to do in other genres, although there are a few remarkable successes. For example, Cyberpunk. In Cyberpunk, civilization has disintegrated to the extent that, again, determined people can make a difference, at least in the slums they inhabit. It is no surprise that both CP2020 and Shadowrun were wildly successful.

 

[AFGNCAAP]

In a way, I agree with Chainsaw Mage--fantasy does seem to be the most common genre of RPGs. However...

I think fantasy isn't restricted to just pre-Modern times; Star Wars & Star Trek are both great examples of Science Fantasy (as opposed to hard sci-fi). I'd say that White Wolf's WoD is, in a way, a fantasy setting because of the high proliferation of supernatural creatures, & because they are viable player character options, rather than rare, mysterious, and terrifying opponents that the PCs occasionally encounter.

Think of it this way; a very horror-intense RPG (one that restricted the PCs to being humans/ordinary folk/victims) would essentially have 1 sort of vampire, were-beast, demon, etc., that the human PCs would encounter & have to deal with. In WW's WoD games, each sort of iconic horror monster/supernatural creature (vampires, werewolves, changelings, etc.) has various versions (quite akin to D&D's subraces of the demihuman races) of each creature, with each version having slightly different abilities/cultures/focuses. In a way, WW's WoD is more like a Horror Fantasy setting rather than a pure Horror setting; much like Star Wars & Star Trek are Science Fantasy, as opposed to (Hard) Sci-Fi.

Superhero games, IMHO, are sort of a modern subset of fantasy--instead of just relying on "magic" as the explanation for the unusual, virtually anything & everything can be used/modified as an explanation for superpowers: magical study (Dr. Strange/Dr. Fate); magic (whether directly enchanting a person, ala Capt. Marvel, or through a magic item/weapon, such as the Mighty Thor); genetic mutation (the X-Men); accidental mutation by a mysterious substance (Spider-Man; Fantastic Four; Daredevil; Hulk); aliens (whether an alien themselves, like Superman, or granted an item/powers by aliens, ala Green Lantern); the intensely skilled (Batman, Hawkeye, Green Arrow, Snake-Eyes); experimentation (Capt. America); hi-tech gear/machinery that almost seems magical (Iron Man; Dr. Octopus; Green Lantern; cyborgs; robots; androids); psychic powers (Prof. X; Phoenix); etc.

(FYI: I listed Snake-Eyes of G. I. Joe fame as a superhero because of his extreme level of skill & ability, plus he does have some classic comic book-ish elements to him--a costume; legendary, almost mythic skill; a diverse array of modern & ancient weaponry; etc. Also, many of his opponents easily classify as super-villains--a would-be world conqueror (Cobra Commander); a ninja of equal skill (Storm Shadow); a genetically-engineered human (Serpentor); robotic soldiers (B.A.T.S.); and even a sort of shapeshifter/doppleganger (Zartan). Snake-Eyes could be dropped in alongside the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Batman, Spider-Man, or any other hero & easily blend in.)

For me, fantasy games & superhero games have been easy to run. The reasons for ease of running a fantasy game have pretty much been explained, but I'd say it's an equally valid explanation for superhero games as well. Instead of just magic as an explantion, there's also super-science, alien technology, various realities, etc.

 

[d4]

I agree with Eric that fantasy requires a less diverse and extensive knowledge base on the part of the DM.

i don't agree. i think running a fantasy campaign requires a diverse and extensive knowledge base of the fantasy genre. since most of us already have that from long exposure to D&D, other fantasy role-playing games, fantasy novels, etc., we become a bit blind to it.

but for people who lack that knowledge base (and they do exist!), modern-day or sci fi settings are a lot more accessible than fantasy settings.

On the other hand, fantasy requires only that the DM's creation be internally consistent.

and that requires the DM have extensive knowledge of the "rules" of the fantasy genre. again, i think you only think it's easy because you already have that knowledge.

 

[rounser]

Notice too, that when you sprinkle fantasy tropes on a contemporary setting, such as in Harry Potter, the X Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it seems that you end up with huge fanbases...I don't think that's a coincidence.

I conjecture that fantasy lends a certain "mythic resonance" to the milieus which employ it, which sort of supercharges storytelling. Star Wars drew on fantasy style "mythic resonance" with it's Force mumbo jumbo, and without that mystical, mythological depth the story wouldn't have had nearly the same impact. Likewise, the wands and owls and brooms and things lend the Harry Potter stories strong anchors in mythology, and the heavy reliance on legendary demons and vampires in Buffy does the same for that show. We're fascinated by the supernatural - these shows and the X Files (another huge success) strike paydirt exploiting that.

The same can't be said for sci fi, and as other posters have pointed out, amongst the most successful sci fi is that which includes fantasy elements - Science Fantasy and Space Opera.

Perhaps the "mythological depth" that fantasy lends a game acts as a veneer of apparent depth that can make up for lack of real depth with little to no effort on the part of the DM. Perhaps it's happy coincidence that over this layer of mythological spacfiller which is the fantasy genre is D&D, which adds another layer of assumptions of what the world is, and implies a setting with an array of classes, races and monsters with strong identities and prescriptions for roles and behaviour, further reducing the DM's environment workload.

Perhaps the easiest example is modern or sci fi versus fantasy. A modern or sci fi human could be practically anything, but a fantasy elf is generally this, that, and the other and has a romantic concept that can sprinkle mythological-connections fairydust on any story or game it's involved in to boot. A sci fi alien is generally made whole cloth, and will have no direct mythological connections (although it can imply some with some effort involved).

 

[hong]

Star Wars drew on fantasy style "mythic resonance" with it's Force mumbo jumbo

Not to mention katanae.

 

[Remathilis]

Notice too, that when you sprinkle fantasy tropes on a contemporary setting, such as in Harry Potter, the X Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it seems that you end up with huge fanbases...I don't think that's a coincidence.

I conjecture that fantasy lends a certain "mythic resonance" to the milieus which employ it, which sort of supercharges storytelling. Star Wars drew on fantasy style "mythic resonance" with it's Force mumbo jumbo, and without that mystical, mythological depth the story wouldn't have had nearly the same impact. Likewise, the wands and owls and brooms and things lend the Harry Potter stories strong anchors in mythology, and the heavy reliance on legendary demons and vampires in Buffy does the same for that show. We're fascinated by the supernatural - these shows and the X Files (another huge success) strike paydirt exploiting that.

The same can't be said for sci fi, and as other posters have pointed out, amongst the most successful sci fi is that which includes fantasy elements - Science Fantasy and Space Opera.

Perhaps the "mythological depth" that fantasy lends a game acts as a veneer of apparent depth that can make up for lack of real depth with little to no effort on the part of the DM. Perhaps it's happy coincidence that over this layer of mythological spacfiller which is the fantasy genre is D&D, which adds another layer of assumptions of what the world is, and implies a setting with an array of classes, races and monsters with strong identities and prescriptions for roles and behaviour, further reducing the DM's environment workload.

Perhaps the easiest example is modern or sci fi versus fantasy. A modern or sci fi human could be practically anything, but a fantasy elf is generally this, that, and the other and has a romantic concept that can sprinkle mythological-connections fairydust on any story or game it's involved in to boot. A sci fi alien is generally made whole cloth, and will have no direct mythological connections (although it can imply some with some effort involved).

Sounds Very Joseph Campbell to me. (and that's not a bad thing).

 

[nikolai]

There have been lots of really good posts. One idea would be that fantasy is just more suited to adventure than Science Fiction, Horror, or modern day settings. Any bookshop is loaded with books which involve fantasy heros completing all sorts of quests. The genre also has associated tropes which make this sort of thing easier. Much science fiction doesn't work like that, space opera has always been the exception and it harder to plot. Horror usually involves seeing "heros" coming to an unpleasant end. These genres also don't have the "default" setting assumptions that fantasy worlds have.

 

[nikolai]

in order for fantasy to be easy, the player has to do his research.

try teaching D&D to someone who's never seen LOTR, never read a fantasy novel, basically has no conception of the fantasy genre. you have to explain the difference between elves and dwarves, what a paladin is, why divine and arcane magic are separated, what an elemental is, etc. if you're already steeped in the fantasy genre, this will all be second-nature and thus easy. it isn't easy for everyone.

I think there is almost no-one like this (at least in the RPG demographic). Almost everyone in the Western world is inclucated with the sort of fairy tales and Greek and Norse myth that fantasy has it's roots in. These are "default" assumptions that people don't have programed into them about Space Opera or other Scifi.

on the other hand, how much explaining do you need to do for a modern-day campaign? it's the world outside your door. your players already know about it. it's much easier to bring in newbies than with fantasy.

Any modern day campaign, will probably need info that the players don't have. I know about where I go shopping and where I go to work, but if it's an adventure about espionage or set up a mountain there is technical information that I don't know. This can get in the way.