Fantasy Setting Proposal

1. Core Ethos Sentence.

In a world where a horde of demons has toppled the throne and instituted a reign of terror, heroes struggle bravely against overwhelming odds to protect life and freedom.

2. Who are the heroes?

Sir Brendan is a young knight hardened by the reality of the demons’ tyrannical rule. His mentor, Sir Oakley, is an aging knight who still clings to the outdated ideals of the Knights of the Chalice. Together they exemplify the tension between the old ways and the realities of the new world, the unending struggle between despair and hope, and the need for faith and courage in the face of overwhelming evil.

3. What do they do?

Brendan and Oakley together explore an abbey ruined in the demonic invasion, encountering a demon disguised as the abbot. They must struggle to cling to their ideals in the face of the demon’s temptations, and only Oakley escapes with his life—and an amulet that may one day spell the demon’s doom. With evil’s power so great, heroes have many tasks before them, most of which seem impossible. In a world almost entirely given over to despair, the heroes are the flickering candle-flame of hope—apparently ineffectual, but never insignificant.

4. Threats, Conflicts, Villains

The evil in this world is usually painfully obvious—it is good that must hide its face and operate in secret. Demons have placed themselves at the heart of every power structure that existed before their arrival, from lowly half-fiends acting as petty bosses in villages and towns, to demonic barons and princes exerting their evil influence over wide territories. Some mortals offer their allegiance to the demons freely, forming the evil order of Knights of the Shadow in a corrupted mockery of the outlawed Knights of the Chalice. Other mortals serve the demons by keeping watch over each other, reporting their neighbors’ forbidden activities in exchange for rich rewards, fostering an atmosphere of mistrust and conflict.

5. Nature of magic

The most prominent spellcasters in this setting are evil: clerics of dark gods and leaders of demonic cults, sorcerers with ties to the Lower Planes, and the demons themselves. Good spellcasters, as a result, find little trust or respect among their fellows. Most people believe the gods of good have abandoned the world, and many people would quickly turn a good cleric in to the demons for a hefty reward.

6. What’s new? What’s different?

A world completely dominated by evil, spreading its corruption through every level of society, is something different for the high-fantasy genre. The overwhelming forces of evil give the setting a horrific tone, while maintaining the feel of high adventure: righteous knights fighting evil demons and fiendish dragons.

Night ©2002 James Wilson Wyatt