Fidel
Scribe
You've got a point, some of the best-loved epic fantasies have sprawling casts. It's definitely a balance, though. The key is making sure each character introduced serves a clear purpose and is memorable enough to avoid confusion. If you can make it work and keep readers engaged, there's no hard limit. Just be mindful of pacing and clarity to ensure your readers aren't overwhelmed.I like books with loads of characters where I need to refer to the glossary / character list at least at the beginning to keep track of who's who. John Gwynne, Steven Erikson, George Martin all have loads of characters and large followings. One of the pieces of feedback a beta reader gave me was I introduce too many characters in some chapters. This got me to thinking is there a limit? Or is it like so many other things where "what is needed for the story is enough", and it's more about how / whether you can make it work.