Political Fantasy

[D. Gray Warrior]

This is a sub genre that has always intrigued me.

I've always wanted to write a fantasy story that focuses on geopolitics over your standard plot about a band of adventurers going on a quest to stop the dark lord and maybe loot a dungeon or two along the way.

I recall back in elementary school, I would write fantasy stories, but the focus was between the various nations waging war. The plots weren't the most original. It usually boiled down to a weak country is invaded by a militaristic empire that wants to take over the world, and the protagonist is leading a resistance and ends up traveling to a bunch of different lands to get them to band together.

Even my first serious attempt at a novel featured geopolitics. Yeah, it had your standard hero embarking on a quest alongside a group of adventurers to vanquish a dark lord who ruled over Not-Mordor, but I would still go into detail about the various political systems of the countries, and how they were different from each other even if some of the countries felt more like the difference between the USA and Canada than actually feeling foreign.

I tried to avert the cliche of every country being a monarchy, but it seemed omnipresent in fantasy. So, I filled my setting with democracies, republics, theocracies, and tribal confederations. There were a few monarchies, but I still tried to make them different in some way from your average fantasy monarchy, such as being elected or more like a modern constitutional monarchy, etc.

The main country that protagonist hailed from had an "emperor," but I kept insisting it wasn't a monarchy. The emperor acted more like a president-for-life than a royal.

My favorite fantasy stories often focused the politics of the world. It's why I generally like the Clone Wars era of Star Wars even if the prequel trilogy isn't as good as the original. There's more of a focus on the politics of the galaxy.

Another example is Fire Emblem. It's a war game first and foremost, and the political stuff is there to give a narrative reason as why you're blue guys are fighting those red guys.

Now, I want to write a political fantasy again, but don't know how to begin.

Obviously, I'm gonna need opposing factions capable of fielding armies and for politics itself to be integral to the setting.

The kind of thing I get hung up on is that Medieval fantasy has been done to death, but I still like primitive warfare over more modern forms.

I also prefer to try to build my own unique cultures for the setting instead of copying and pasting IRL cultures but with different names.

How would you go about building such a world?

 

[pmmg]

I would start with conflict. Whos conflicting and over what? What was the world like prior to conflict and whats it like after? Why cant the conflict end?

 

[Prince of Spires]

In a way, setting is just the window dressing of the story. You can change it and still tell roughly the same tale. So in that sense build a world you're excited to tell stories in.

In another way, the best stories and most memorable settings are those where the setting is an integral part of the tale. The Stormlight Archive couldn't be told in any different setting than in what it's told.

Now, though that looks contradictory, it isn't. Why? Because you haven't given us a conflict yet. You can develop both in tandem.

As for how to build it, pick a technology level that interests you and dig deeper into that. There is loads to chose from that isn't pseudo-Medieval UK. But you have to really dig into it to make it different. If you go with Rome for instance, then really focus on the technology level at the time and social structures and military and all that. Don't just take pseudo-medieval UK and slap roman names on it and call it a day. Or go with bronze age, or renaisance italy, or early modern times, or the age of conquest, or any of another possible 1000 times and places.

Even the middle ages are fairly unexplored by the way. A viking tribe in the 800's is very different from the Byzantine empire in 1200 which again is very different from the Caliphate of Córdoba in 1450. All medieval europe, none looking like a traditional medieval fantasy setting. However, to make it different, you have to dig deep into that setting, and not just slap it on as an afterthought.

As for developing the political fantasy side, I agree with pmmg that it helps to know what your conflict is. Who wants what and why? That should give you a launching point for the rest of the setting, and also what to focus on in the worldbuilding. After all, you can have both the viking village and the Caliphate of Córdoba in a single setting. However, if the tale only takes place in Byzantium, then developing either of those two further than a name on the map and perhaps their attitude towards Byzantium is a waste of time.

The other thing is that in the end, a story is about characters. We are mainly interested in character A doing X and character B then reacting to that. Seeing the setting from above and all the pieces just moving around as if it's a history book is less interesting (to most readers). So who are the main players in the conflict? How do the relate to each other?

 

[Rexenm]

You could always go inspiration from something like Manchurian Candidate, or Death Machine. Maybe Lions for Lambs?

Anyway, the ethic for war movies has changed considerably, from something like Gallipoli, to Gundam: Requiem for a Vengance recently.

 

[Mad Swede]

I'd suggest reading a few books by Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. I know it sounds odd recommending a couple of writers of private detective stories, but many of their stories touch on political and financial corruption. Whilst neither of them wrote political fiction, their stories do give an idea of how your protagonists might get involved in the political aspects of your setting and how political conflicts might influence life on the streets.

 

[Genly]

I agree, conflict is the starting point. Note that this conflict does not have to be about something rational e.g. "you got our gold mines and we want them back". Ideological differences can be powerful motivators. Do the two sides have profound differences in belief, perhaps about some fantasy aspect that you have identified in your world building? How does this ideological divide affect the politics of the two sides?

 

[actoncurrer]

This is a sub genre that has always intrigued me.

I've always wanted to write a fantasy story that focuses on geopolitics over your standard plot about a band of adventurers going on a quest to stop the dark lord and maybe loot a dungeon or two along the way.

I recall back in elementary school, I would write fantasy stories, but the focus was between the various nations waging war. The plots weren't the most original. It usually boiled down to a weak country is invaded by a militaristic empire that wants to take over the world, and the protagonist is leading a resistance and ends up traveling to a bunch of different lands to get them to band together.

Even my first serious attempt at a novel featured geopolitics. Yeah, it had your standard hero embarking on a quest alongside a group of adventurers to vanquish a dark lord who ruled over Not-Mordor, but I would still go into detail about the various political systems of the countries, and how they were different from each other even if some of the countries felt more like the difference between the USA and Canada than actually feeling foreign.

I tried to avert the cliche of every country being a monarchy, but it seemed omnipresent in fantasy. So, I filled my setting with democracies, republics, theocracies, and tribal confederations. There were a few monarchies, but I still tried to make them different in some way from your average fantasy monarchy, such as being elected or more like a modern constitutional monarchy, etc.

The main country that protagonist hailed from had an "emperor," but I kept insisting it wasn't a monarchy. The emperor acted more like a president-for-life than a royal.

My favorite fantasy stories often focused the politics of the world. It's why I generally like the Clone Wars era of Star Wars even if the prequel trilogy isn't as good as the original. There's more of a focus on the politics of the galaxy.

Another example is Fire Emblem. It's a war game first and foremost, and the political stuff is there to give a narrative reason as why you're blue guys are fighting those red guys.

Now, I want to write a political fantasy again, but don't know how to begin.

Obviously, I'm gonna need opposing factions capable of fielding armies and for politics itself to be integral to the setting.

The kind of thing I get hung up on is that Medieval fantasy has been done to death, but I still like primitive warfare over more modern forms.

I also prefer to try to build my own unique cultures for the setting instead of copying and pasting IRL cultures but with different names.

How would you go about building such a world?

Honestly, I do think there are certain tropes in fantasy that keep getting re-used, but I feel like people have this idea that you just HAVE to come up with something that has never been done for otherwise whatever you're writing is just invalid. However ironically I think that this mindset limits your actual creativity. If you want to write about a monarchy, write about a monarchy. If you want to focus on Medieval fantasy, then do it. It's not the trope itself that has to be completely different from all the other fantasy sagas - the difference is all in how you choose to develop it. Your work will automatically distinct itself from all the others if you actually take time to do it well, if you think it through, and if you expecially think on what you want to say by telling this story and what is the point altogether.

 

[barrowyarrow]

You may want to look into a favorite of mine called Legend of the Galactic Heroes. It's a novel and animated TV series that follows a lot of what you seem to be describing here. It just zooms in on the individual stories of grand generals in command of millions of soldiers fighting a galactic conflict. Most of the major characters only know each other by reputation and what they've read about each other in newspapers and military reports.

I'd try to organize it like that. Build your political framework and zoom in on key individuals who play a part in that framework. See how the generals interact with the politicians. Maybe you could zoom in on a political activist to show how the on the ground public feel about the situation. Maybe you could check in on a bureaucrat who is unknowingly the lynch pin of a major political program that supports the actions of a far off rebel group. There's a lot of cool stuff you could do with this.

 

[JBCrowson]

Another point you could look at to start getting some traction is how communication and surveillance work in your world. Political stories have plots, counter plots and subterfuge. The foundation of those is what factions know and how they share what they know among themselves, while keeping their rivals in the dark.

Are messages sent by horses the fastest method? If so your pace of politics and diplomacy will be different and people in a locale have to be more self sufficient in deciding and acting. If magic can allow even limited instant info sharing across continents then your political plotting will be very different.
Bird messengers can be intercepted, human messengers tortured to reveal what they know.

Similarly spying - if this is limited to direct observation by the regular five senses then keeping secrets is easy. If remote listening in or watching can happen then the factions will be in much more aware of each other's moves much more reliably and at an earlier stage. If any form of mindreading exists then there are no secure secrets.

If such enhanced spying / communicating techniques exist then controlling those able to use them will be crucial. If you assassinate your enemies' spies they become blind, or you can deliberately feed them misinformation if you know who they are.

It could be interesting to give one side better spying / surveillance but poor communication, and the other great communication but little idea what the enemy is up to.

 

[Miles Lacey]

If I was going to write political fantasy I would begin by reading political and spy thrillers. This would give me plenty of ideas for the political conflict side of things. Then I would think about how to add magical and other fantasy elements into those thrillers to make them political fantasies.

For example, take a Cold War spy thriller. The genre was practically killed off overnight with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Since then, the spy thriller has struggled to make a comeback. So... you could always reinvent the Cold War spy thriller by bringing in magic and other fantasy elements. Exchanges of American and Soviet spy mages on a bridge in the middle of the night. Telekinesis being used to extract confessions from enemy spies. The Berlin Wall being patrolled by werewolves after dark. Posters warning about the threat of Soviet dragons carrying atomic bombs. Power struggles within the Soviet Politburo involving mages. A quintessential Bond-like British spy mage who can seduce beautiful women spies with allure spells. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination and your storytelling skills.

 

[CupofJoe]

If I was going to write political fantasy I would begin by reading political and spy thrillers. This would give me plenty of ideas for the political conflict side of things. Then I would think about how to add magical and other fantasy elements into those thrillers to make them political fantasies.

For example, take a Cold War spy thriller. The genre was practically killed off overnight with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Since then, the spy thriller has struggled to make a comeback. So... you could always reinvent the Cold War spy thriller by bringing in magic and other fantasy elements. Exchanges of American and Soviet spy mages on a bridge in the middle of the night. Telekinesis being used to extract confessions from enemy spies. The Berlin Wall being patrolled by werewolves after dark. Posters warning about the threat of Soviet dragons carrying atomic bombs. Power struggles within the Soviet Politburo involving mages. A quintessential Bond-like British spy mage who can seduce beautiful women spies with allure spells. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination and your storytelling skills.

Both sides did toy with ESP for a while...

 

[Diana Silver]

I stumbled across this video on youtube the other day, I think it had a nice perspective on how to build this type of world.

 

[Dylan]

To create a politically driven fantasy world, you can start by defining diverse factions with unique governments and cultures. Consider their historical events and how they shape current politics. Then you can look to develop compelling characters whose journeys are intertwined with political intrigue and military conflicts. Focus on integrating politics into the plot to make it feel essential to your story

That might work i think

 

[Karlin]

A couple of years ago, I read a book about the history of a particular Hassidic sect (Motivation: my family was connected to this group). As I was reading it, I was thinking "If this was set on an alien planet, it could be another Dune." Chock full of internal politics, dynastic issues, disasters...

I am not suggesting that you read this (unless your Hebrew is rather good), but you may find inspiration in reading histories of rather obscure groups and conflicts. The fantasy world doesn't have to be a shadow of Medieval Europe.

 

[Prince of Spires]

For example, take a Cold War spy thriller. The genre was practically killed off overnight with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Since then, the spy thriller has struggled to make a comeback. So... you could always reinvent the Cold War spy thriller by bringing in magic and other fantasy elements. Exchanges of American and Soviet spy mages on a bridge in the middle of the night. Telekinesis being used to extract confessions from enemy spies. The Berlin Wall being patrolled by werewolves after dark. Posters warning about the threat of Soviet dragons carrying atomic bombs. Power struggles within the Soviet Politburo involving mages. A quintessential Bond-like British spy mage who can seduce beautiful women spies with allure spells. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination and your storytelling skills.

That sounds like a great setting. Write it!

 

[artsyChica]

This is a sub genre that has always intrigued me.

I've always wanted to write a fantasy story that focuses on geopolitics over your standard plot about a band of adventurers going on a quest to stop the dark lord and maybe loot a dungeon or two along the way.

I get it, even when I was writing [ABC] Scandal fanfiction, my favorite story [that turned into a novel] had a lot more political lean to it than the show ever did lol I was in my Tom Clancy stage and it showed

I still have a sequel that I hope to finish *sighs*

Now, I want to write a political fantasy again, but don't know how to begin.

Obviously, I'm gonna need opposing factions capable of fielding armies and for politics itself to be integral to the setting.

Reading - and reading with a writer's eye - in and out of the fantasy genre. Shogun, Tom Clancy, M.M. Kaye, the Deryni , Darkover, Avaryan, Codex Alera, or Cheysuli series, whatever floats your boat. Take notes along the way about what works and just as importantly, what doesn't work for you.

As far as factions go, IMO, a lot of that will probably come from your characters. Whose story are you going to tell? Thanks to NaNoWriMo, I have several stories set in my world at this point and while all of my MC are women, they come from all different walks of life, meaning that they all face different challenges, from state Courier masking as a sell-sword, to priestesses, a queen of thieves. Your characters are key to those choices

The kind of thing I get hung up on is that Medieval fantasy has been done to death, but I still like primitive warfare over more modern forms.

If you don't care for the whole Medieval fantasy setting, then the question becomes, what cultures do interest you?

For example, I knew that I wanted to write my fantasy tales in an Afrocentric world, so I started my research with studying biomes, the fauna and flora. Along the way, I came across ancient Persian architecture, which I absolutely fell in love with, so yeah, qanats and windcatchers are a thing in my world. The same for UNESCO heritage world heritage sites, followed some of these down some great rabbit holes.

I also prefer to try to build my own unique cultures for the setting instead of copying and pasting IRL cultures but with different names.

How would you go about building such a world?

Again, reading, research and imagination.

Create Pinterest boards and fill them with images and articles that fuel your thought processes

Again, this is what has worked for me, of course YMMV:
When I realized that I didn't want anyone of any African descent coming after me [if I should ever publish] because, 'the Igbo don't do this' or the Yoruba telling me I got 'that' wrong, I decided to create my own pantheon, which led to my own magic system, etc etc which in its turn has helped create some of the political / religious factions. You don't have to take an entire culture or even an entire biome and try to recreate it to a 'T'; take the bits and pieces that fascinate you and redefine the parts that don't.

My research into the fauna of an African biome led me to creating some of the anthromorphic sentient people in my world - so yay more factions to work for and against my 'human' characters that also gave me more characters to play with. The fact that there are baobab trees lent itself to the creation of huge tree-cities for one race of people, the African highlands of Ethiopia gave me the ideas for another.

Hope this helps and happy writing!

 

[Mordred Lung Silver]

I would start with conflict. Whos conflicting and over what? What was the world like prior to conflict and whats it like after? Why cant the conflict end?

perhaps all of history can be defined by the conflict between different social classes

Marks aside. Politics and violence are two sides of the same coin. Governments form out of violence, to impose their monopoly on violence, and are tolerated because they offer a predictable reduction in violence, called security. I don't know if I would describe history as an "evolution" or "progression" towards democracy, but rather, it is rather perhaps easier for a democracy to slide to dictatorship then for a dictatorship to form into a democracy. Democracy requires people to recreate it, and in a stratified culture, the idea of giving rights, to allowing the execution of rights is less likely. Democracy in the west coincides with the development of the historical development of the middle class. However, democracies in non-stratified societies are a close contender for the default state of human affairs. However, even then, certain groups, weather by gender, or age, often held more power than others. I think that a more interesting angle might be, not just how conflict exist within a society, but also how this generates friction or agreement between countries.

On a side note, I would also argue that worldbuilding id inherently political, in so much as it makes an assertion about the way the world is or could be.

 

[pmmg]

perhaps all of history can be defined by the conflict between different social classes

I'm not with you on that.

On a side note, I would also argue that worldbuilding id inherently political, in so much as it makes an assertion about the way the world is or could be.

I'd say, the very act of drawing political lines on a map creates instant politics.

 

[Rexenm]

I don't know if I would describe history as an "evolution" or "progression" towards democracy, but rather, it is rather perhaps easier for a democracy to slide to dictatorship then for a dictatorship to form into a democracy.

History, or his story? Any culture, when big enough, will have violence. Maybe hisstory?