Guest TheHales Share Posted February 19, 2018 On 12/6/2017 at 4:25 PM, Rune said: I get that, but if there's shifters AND werewolves, why aren't there werealligators or whatever? I would totally love to read about werealligators. There is seriously nothing cooler than alligators! @MissQ, we should seriously consider werealligators. Although personally I like that element of co-existence in my urban fantasy where you have one world that the public sees and another is hidden behind it like Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere or Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series. It's always extra exciting for me when certain characters are aware said world exists but have to pretend not to know, kind of builds up that suspense since they're going to inevitably screw up somewhere and tell someone. Where's the fun if you keep the secret? XD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archaeon 14 Share Posted June 24, 2018 I know this topic has been quiet for a while now but it's such a good question and got me thinking. For me, an urban fantasy has to first and foremost be urban. Otherwise, it's just fantasy and you can shove all kinds of prefixes on that to differentiate. But, again this is just my feeling, what really defines a good urban fantasy is a strong urban setting. Oh, you can wander off into the deepest, darkest sticks as well but you always have to end back in the urban centre. And if that urban centre has a unique feel about it then I'm all the more for it. The fantasy element can come in a variety of flavours and if the plot is interesting enough then I'm willing to give it a go. I have admittedly grown a little bored if the standard vampires vs werewolves theme with humans caught in the middle. These days I'm more about myths and more ‘monstery’ monsters in my fantasy. I like mixing mythology up just for a taste of something a bit different from the common European or classical stuff that seems to dominate. The latter maybe makes it more horror? Which is why I always get so frustrated by all the genre labels. I normally stick with the good old umbrella term fantasy which by definition is simply the imagining of impossible or improbable things. But I do think there needs to be a pervading sense of the dangerous throughout it all though. An undefined feeling of malevolence as you walk down that dark street at night. Your hackles should raise when you're typing up that ancient translation. I'm not saying that magic and technology can't mix - quite the opposite in fact - but they shouldn't be happy bedfellows. The ancient, arcane, supernatural whatever should be threatening no matter what form it takes. I'm with Mistress Of The Obvious on this one. The supernatural should delve into and reveal the darker side of human nature. The hidden monsters, both internal and external, and the struggle against them. All the while, I enjoy mixing the magical impossibilities with the modern mundane. For instance, my latest project had a necromancer barista who would give his favourite customers a jolt of life energy with their espresso to perk them up. An AI housed in a metal golem, effectively making a sentient robot. Basically, grab a well developed urban setting (imagined or otherwise), add a dash of magic, some fantastical creatures of whatever flavour you fancy and jumble them together in (hopefully) interesting ways. Throw in character-driven plots and a few unexpected twists (preferably caused by past mistakes or covered up secrets)and I am there. 1 1 ---------------------------------------------------------- The Irenic Institute Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena 6 Share Posted June 28, 2018 I feel like any urban fantasy should typically have at least one supernatural creature to deal with. Most tend to go with Vampires and Werewolves, my board is no different although we fully intend to expand on this in the future. Also, I have noticed that most allow for expansion of the plot through their members. It could be something as simple as creating factions or groups that stir up extra drama for the board or even bigger such as creating new races. Perhaps that's why I tend to prefer this genre is that it feels like there is more collaboration overall that goes on rather than simply between individual characters on the board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huskerdust 625 Share Posted August 12, 2018 I like it to be modern but also magical! I like magic elements, mages/witches, different types of creatures (playable or not). I don't really love the whole super faction versus other super faction trope but I do like having hunters taking out supers. We also have hunters that hunt HUNTERS. They need a special name. Right now, the characters have just been calling them Hunter Hunters (which is also kinda funny too, so...) I'm not big on netting the big creativity either so we allow people to make shit like demi-gods and dragons. Let's go crazy and throw in all the fun! 1 Reality is an illusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deep Sea 326 Share Posted August 12, 2018 Oh man, I love urban fantasy. I just feel like some stories are a little... A little scared to get wild. I want to see fae as lawyers and ambassadors with hellish levels of diplomatic immunity. Feuds between old money dragons that hoard gold and artifacts stolen during wars, and new money dragons that support crypto currency. Hermes as the god of email and IMs? Fuck yes. Navy SEALs who are all beefcake mermen. My holy grail would be something like the popular post about the autonomous car trapped by a salt circle. Cyberpunk, but with magitek. Programming is magical runes studied by the finest wizards at MIT. Huge debates about the complexity of golems and if slapping an animation spell on a suit of armor is really the same as programming a giant robot with subroutines and AI. More dragons. Oppression of the illiterate masses, aka those who don't know how to program. Modern blood magic that relies on human trafficking and slave trade. The president is a lizard in human skin aka a dragon. Balkanization of various countries based on magical races as well as ethnicities. Maybe something about dragons thrown in for good measure, idk. 2 1 Glub glub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CovertSphinx 710 Share Posted October 17, 2018 @Deep Sea I think I just died and went to Urban Fantasy Heaven. There aren't enough emojis in the world for me to react with. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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