What would you put in your epic fantasy series?

[sunandshadow]

My best friend reads these epic fantasy series - you know like game of thrones, wheel of time, crown of stars, etc. And he knows I don't read them, nor have any ambitions to write that kind of thing. So for amusement value, he challenged me to see whether I could come up with a concept or list of contents for such a thing that would make me actually want to read or write it. This struck me as very entertaining, so I thought I'd pass the challenge along to you all; maybe some of you will have fun with it to.

 

[RejectReality]

http://www.literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=525847&page=submissions

Pretty sure that's what I'd put in it, because I already did.

 

[sr71plt]

My running epic--five volumes so far plus two compendium volumes--is a down-to-earth one: The Clint Folsum "Death In . . ." book series about a promiscuous GM New York police detective.

 

[Handley_Page]

My best friend reads these epic fantasy series - you know like game of thrones, wheel of time, crown of stars, etc. And he knows I don't read them, nor have any ambitions to write that kind of thing.
So for amusement value, he challenged me to see whether I could come up with a concept or list of contents for such a thing that would make me actually want to read or write it.
This struck me as very entertaining, so I thought I'd pass the challenge along to you all; maybe some of you will have fun with it to.

I think it requires the mental jousting /struggle between two things (organisations, kingdoms or individuals),
aided or hindered by subtle magic /fortune interference, skill in battle or combat,
with a touch of passion (not too much), and a satisfactory ending.

I just wish I could write one. . .

 

[Hypoxia]

I've written no such series, nor read such much lately. A close relative has written some well-regarded fantasy epics and I've studied her work. I see what she includes: Costumes. Dread. Action. Dysfunction. Shapeshifters (such as wizards transforming to dust). Strained love. Many obstacles, constant threats, and implacable enemies. Much wearisome exertion interspersed with flashes of lust (honest or cynical) and calm-before-the-storm comfort. An ending that teases continuation. Hey, a good epic can be an endless series, yeah?

 

[R. Richard]

In my Second Chance series, I rely a lot on paranormal skills and advanced alien technology. However, the advantages that my protagonist are not overwhelming and he still has to struggle to survive.

 

[soflabbwlvr]

I'm three chapters into writing it now. It has warring kingdoms, an evil empire, a looming threat, flawed heroes, a noble adversary, beautiful women, strong men, hints of magic, elaborate costumes, intrigue, spies, terrible weapons, torture, and lots of sex.

 

[Got2]

A HAREM!

Every Emperor, Potentate, King and dictator had/has one.

Think of the delicious fun that can be had in/with a HAREM in a story. The sex, the intrigue, the Harem Eunuchs, the jealousies, the competition to win the attention of the Master....and all the delicious things that can be done with 'owned' women. (Not to mention the Lesbian sex. What?!! Lesbian sex in a Harem?? Surely not......LOL)

 

[DreamCloud]

Book 1 must have an ultimate evil enemy.

Book 2 must have a new evil that makes the old evil look like a push over.

Book 3 .... you get the idea.

 

[sunandshadow]

Hey, a good epic can be an endless series, yeah?

Personally I don't think anything endless can be good - endless things by definition taper off into exhausted mediocrity. That's just my opinion though...

 

[sunandshadow]

Do you all think that a war of some kind is an obligatory or optional element?

 

[RoyceConnors]

I have a series called Blood of the Clans that's epic in scope. It tends to have no ending at present (over 50 chs.), but it holds all the key elements to hold the interest of readers over the whole story so far.
It's a true labour of love to write, as is any epic story undertaking, but the results are great when it comes together well.

 

[unregistered]

 

[Bramblethorn]

Do you all think that a war of some kind is an obligatory or optional element?

Not obligatory, but almost universal. Epic fantasy needs big-scale action that can be influenced by the protagonists, and war's the obvious way to get that. Plus, most epic fantasy is set in some sort of pseudo-medieval world based on the author's idea of history, and history classes tend to focus on wars.

Something like "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" might qualify as epic without having a war that I can remember. It seems to be more common in SF - something like "2001"/"2010" or even cheese like "2012".

 

[Sultan71]

A HAREM!

Every Emperor, Potentate, King and dictator had/has one.

Think of the delicious fun that can be had in/with a HAREM in a story. The sex, the intrigue, the Harem Eunuchs, the jealousies, the competition to win the attention of the Master....and all the delicious things that can be done with 'owned' women. (Not to mention the Lesbian sex. What?!! Lesbian sex in a Harem?? Surely not......LOL)

my favorite post.

 

[GoldenCojones]

Good VS Evil

IMHO Epic Fantasy must have a Good vs Evil theme. To be truly epic it must have at least world ending danger, perhaps even universe ending danger. It should have the ultimate enemy and either one hero, or a group of heroes, which are completely outmatched but still find a way to win.

 

[R. Richard]

IMHO Epic Fantasy must have a Good vs Evil theme. To be truly epic it must have at least world ending danger, perhaps even universe ending danger. It should have the ultimate enemy and either one hero, or a group of heroes, which are completely outmatched but still find a way to win.

In my Second Chance series, my protagonist starts out as a 71-year-old man. However, he gets younger and stronger, by absorbing the life force of those that he kills, thus he's evil and under sentence of death by planetary governments. However, he becomes the King of a tropical island, in conjunction with his business of raining drug ships, in order to sell the cargo. He does such a good job as King that the nearby islands want to join his Kingdom, thus he's good. By now, he has become the King of maybe half of his world and his main problem is that one surviving demi-god wants to kill him, in revenge for the killing of other demi-gods.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

A HAREM!

Every Emperor, Potentate, King and dictator had/has one.

Think of the delicious fun that can be had in/with a HAREM in a story. The sex, the intrigue, the Harem Eunuchs, the jealousies, the competition to win the attention of the Master....and all the delicious things that can be done with 'owned' women. (Not to mention the Lesbian sex. What?!! Lesbian sex in a Harem?? Surely not......LOL)

And that would leave you no time for the Kingly things you have to do. Quick end of story.

 

[RoyceConnors]

If I didn't use conflict as the main focus, I would go with an epic quest/journey of some kind, As long as it seems insurmountable, or the odds stacked against them. Adding all the right elements to it and it plays out just as well without a battle or war.