🧙‍♂️A Beginner’s Guide to High Fantasy vs. Low Fantasy

Fantasy is a vast, glittering kingdom — filled with dragons, magic, ancient prophecies, morally questionable princes, and the occasional sentient sword that has far too many opinions. But not all fantasy worlds are built the same. If you’ve ever dipped a toe into the genre, you’ve probably encountered two terms that sound deceptively simple:

High Fantasy and Low Fantasy.

But what do they actually mean? Is one better? More epic? More magical? And where do all your favourite books and series fit?

This guide will break it all down in a clear, detailed, and very beginner-friendly way — without gatekeeping, snobbery, or the need to have memorised a 17-page family tree.

Expect depth, examples, and your usual dose of my gently chaotic tone.

🏔️ What Is High Fantasy?

High Fantasy — also known as epic fantasy — is the genre’s grand, sweeping, world-shaking cousin. It typically takes place in a completely fictional world with its own rules, geography, history, cultures, and magical systems. Think: new continents, invented races, ancient prophecies, and maps at the front of the book that make you whisper oh no before page one.

Key Features of High Fantasy:

• A fully invented secondary world (or multiple worlds!)
• Large-scale stakes — wars, kingdoms at risk, cosmic forces
• Magic is common, powerful, or central to the plot
• Good vs. Evil archetypes often appear
• Epic journeys, quests, or rebellions
• Extensive worldbuilding is not optional — it’s the foundation

Examples of High Fantasy:

• The Lord of the Rings — the blueprint.
• A Song of Ice and Fire — political, gritty, still absolutely high fantasy.
• The Wheel of Time — prophecies, magic, portals, massive stakes.
• The Stormlight Archive — Brandon Sanderson’s worldbuilding flex.
• The Witcher — monsters, magic, alternate world entirely.

A Mini Example of High Fantasy Writing:

The sky split open like a wound, spilling violet fire across the horizon. In the valley below, the last of the Windcallers fell to their knees, chanting the name of the goddess who had abandoned them. The mountains trembled.

That? High fantasy energy.

🏙️ What Is Low Fantasy?

Low Fantasy brings the magic closer to home — literally. Instead of creating a whole new reality, Low Fantasy typically takes place in the real world or a world that strongly resembles ours. The magic exists, but it intrudes on something familiar, creating tension between the ordinary and the extraordinary.

Key Features of Low Fantasy:

• Set in the real world or something close to it
• Magic exists, but secretly or in limited forms
• Often more personal stakes, not world-ending
• Characters may question or fear the supernatural
• A smaller scope, emotionally or geographically
• Contrast between everyday life and magic is key

Examples of Low Fantasy:

• Percy Jackson — modern world + hidden mythology.
• Harry Potter — hidden magical society within the real world.
• The Magicians — magical academia meets NYC.
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman — London, but make it weird.

A Mini Example of Low Fantasy Writing:

The bus was late again, of course, but this time a feather — black, heavy, impossibly warm — landed at Mia’s feet. When she looked up, a shadow perched on the traffic light, glowing eyes fixed on her.

Magic intruding on the normal? That’s low fantasy.

🌍 The Worldbuilding Difference

High Fantasy Worldbuilding:

You’re building everything from scratch:

• Geography
• Cultures
• Religions
• Languages
• Magic systems
• Power structures

This is where your notebook becomes a tome and your Scrivener file becomes a small multiverse.

High fantasy worldbuilding often includes maps, invented histories, and multiple narrative threads spanning countries — or centuries.

Low Fantasy Worldbuilding:

Here, you’re adding magic on top of the real world. So your job becomes:

• Deciding who knows about magic
• How magic stays hidden (or doesn’t)
• How society reacts
• How characters’ ordinary lives are disrupted

Instead of building an entire world, you twist the one readers already recognise.

⚔️ Stakes: Epic vs. Intimate

High Fantasy Stakes:

Usually massive. Think:

• Saving the world
• Stopping a tyrant
• Restoring a kingdom
• Preventing an ancient prophecy

Characters often represent archetypes — the chosen one, the reluctant hero, the dark ruler, etc.

Low Fantasy Stakes:

More personal. Not always, but often:

• A character discovering their powers
• A hidden society that must remain secret
• A magical problem in a non-magical world
• Danger to family, community, or self — not continents

Low fantasy doesn’t lack depth; its intensity simply lands closer to the heart.

🧙‍♀️ Magic Systems: Exalted vs. Integrated

High Fantasy Magic:

Magic is often big, loud, elemental, and woven into the world’s identity.

• Sorcery, spellcasting
• Magical creatures
• Gods and demigods
• Artifacts of world-ending power

The magic is usually common knowledge, even if only certain characters wield it.

Low Fantasy Magic:

Magic tends to be quieter, hidden, or subtle.

• Secret societies
• Hidden powers
• Magical realism elements
• Curses, hauntings, or unexplainable phenomena

Magic often exists behind the curtain, not in the open.

🧩 Character Types

High Fantasy Characters:

• Heroes, villains, chosen ones
• Warriors, mages, royalty
• Destiny-driven arcs
• Teams or fellowships

Character journeys often follow Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey.”

Low Fantasy Characters:

• Ordinary people thrust into magical circumstances
• Students, workers, misfits, modern teens with anxiety
• Characters who question, resist, or fear the magical
• Their journeys often involve identity, secrecy, survival

📚 Subgenres Within Each

High Fantasy Subgenres:

• Epic fantasy
• Heroic fantasy
• Grimdark (e.g., The First Law)
• Sword-and-sorcery
• Flintlock fantasy

Low Fantasy Subgenres:

• Urban fantasy
• Paranormal fantasy
• Magical realism (borderline)
• Contemporary fantasy
• Portal fantasy (if real world is primary setting)

🧭 How to Choose Which to Write

Want to write High Fantasy? You probably enjoy:

• Inventing worlds from scratch
• Complex magic systems
• Big stakes and sweeping arcs
• Long-term series potential
• Multi-POV plots

Want to write Low Fantasy? You might prefer:

• Magic hidden within the mundane
• Character-driven stories
• Relatable settings with a twist
• Exploring secrecy, identity, and discovery
• Stories grounded in realism with sparkles of magic

🎭 Examples That Blur the Lines

Some stories don’t fit neatly into one box. Welcome to the grey zone.

Examples include:

• Shadow and Bone — fictional world, but softer magic and intimate stakes.
• The Poppy War — war-focused, historically inspired, high but grounded.
• Earthsea — high fantasy but small-scale character arcs.
• His Dark Materials — multiple worlds, child protagonists, philosophical stakes.

Fantasy loves to defy boxes. It’s what makes the genre alive.

🌟 Final Thoughts: Which One Is Better?

Neither.

Both subgenres are powerful, immersive, and beloved. High Fantasy takes you to brand-new realms. Low Fantasy twists the world you know and makes you see magic hiding in the corners.

The real question isn’t which is superior — it’s which one sings to your imagination.

And lucky for you, the answer can be both.

Happy worldbuilding, adventurer.