How Much Fantasy in Your Fantasy?

Over the years, I have encountered some really good DM advice, but I've also encountered some really bad DM advice. Unfortunately, there's no easy way to tell the good from the bad, especially since very often they're right there in the same book.

One of the worst bits of advice I laboured under for many years was from the otherwise-excellent "Campaign Sourcebook and Catacomb Guide" for 2nd Edition AD&D. In that book there is a discussion of how many and how prominent fantastical elements should be in a homebrew setting, with the conclusion that such elements should be few and far between, in order to enhance their mystery and wonder.

Hogwash.

If we look at the various published settings, we find that the Forgotten Realms is probably the least fantastical, and is absolutely saturated in fantasy elements. Ravenloft, Dark Sun, Al Qadim, and Eberron are all entirely fantastical in nature, and Spelljammer is a whole new level of crazy. Even something like "Game of Thrones", which starts off largely mundane, has several key fantasy elements front and centre (c.f. "winter is coming").

In fairness, I do think the advice given comes from a good place - it is important that a setting has at least some grounding in reality. If nothing else, it should fundamentally be about 'realistic' people dealing with problems in a 'realistic' manner. Wonderland would make for a fairly poor setting, for anything other than a brief sojurn.

However, for the rest it's no bad thing if adventures very clearly take place in a place that is somehow 'other'. It's a good thing that Eberron has Dragonmarks and Warforged and Manifest Zones, and that these things are front and centre in the setting. It's a good thing that Dark Sun has Defilers and Half-giants and widespread Psionics. WHen you step into these worlds, you know it. (And, yes, this ties into my previous post about salient points - very often, the fantasy elements built into the core of the setting are the same ones that are going to be encountered.)

But the discussion is also not just about the key things that make the world what it is. Consider "Lord of the Rings" - it's not about the adventures of Tom Bombadil and yet he's given a fair amount of significance in the story. The Watcher in the Well is likewise a fantasy element that is not strictly required for the story. And so on - Middle Earth is full of magic items, ancient lore, and other fantasy elements, without those necessarily being the defining features of the setting.

So my revised advice would be something along the lines of suggesting that fantasy elements are like salt in a meal - it's important to add the right amount. Too much, and the game can be ruined, but too little makes for blandness. Additionally, you can indeed always add more... but it's more effective to bake it in from the outset.

And, yes, your setting will probably benefit from more than you think.