The "Real" World

The Basis for any world you build is The Real World (the world you and I can inhabit and interact with).

This is the basis.

We can look to the past, and form a basis for the fantasy genre. We can also look at the present as a basis of urban fantasy, punk, or scifi.

From this basis we can imagine changes, interpolating these to form different structures that are not of this world.

We can formulate this changes in a simple way: What if...?

We can change little or we can change a lot. The important part is to build these structures consistently.

What if we could impose our will into the world? Reprogram the laws of reality and make our mind bring forward changes? Bend the laws of reality?

• This is the basis of Magic.

What if we could build technology for making life better in some way?

• You get Scifi

What if things go (or went) in certain direction in society?

• This is the variety of Punk genres.
  • If electricity was never discovered? Steampunk
  • If corporations get no oversight? Cyberpunk
  • If we live in harmony with the environment? Solarpunk

One way to see Fantasy is 'What if Mythology was real?'

This is, some ideas of different societies form $\color{green}Myths$. These are products of the imagination, history, and culture of people. The reality of these is irrelevant. Some myths may come from real life, such as the Myth of Spartacus. The importance of Myths come from their impermanence in the psyche of the people who hear and share these Myths.

Myths are important because they are shared. They provide richness and texture to the collective immagination (what Jung calls 'The collective Unconcious')

We can use these as stepping stones for the creation of our worlds. Use these pieces to form new worlds. You can translate them, transform them, or critique them (this is, presenting it in a way that is counterintuitive or contrary to common interpretation).

Remeber that there is a difference between Myth and Religion. Religions may contain Myths (not the other way around) as they are a system of belief. Myth is just one sinlge story or element in that greater narrative.

Some Myths that are of great impermanence in history, and therefor can serve as inspiration for great stories, are these:

Prometheus

The higher being that shared a great power as a gift with some individuals, sometimes all peoples. They are then punished by these transgresions.
This power was Fire in the myth, but in your story it can be Magic, Technology, Knowledge...

• You may want to save the benefactor
• You may want to apeace the Great Power that punishes the benefactor
• The Great Power may want the gift back.
• The gift may corrupt or bring conflict forth in individuals or society.

Eva / Pandora

The individual who found a great evil, and unknowingly released it. These myths usually punish women and curiosity.

Lilith / Lucifer

The individual who reveled against the divine. Individuals who rather rule in hells than serve in heavens.

The Ark / Final Fantasy / Cuthulhu

A Great Power is releasing a great catastrophe, to cause great destruction. Some individuals may have foreseen it.

• You may want to destroy that Great Power to prevent the catastrophe
• You may want to scape the location of the catastrophe

Spartacus / Neo

The slave that defied an empire. A low-born, reveling against the system that opressed them.

• They may want to free as many as possible
• They may try to bring forth change to the system, such as a revolt or revolution.
• They may want revenge