3 Vital Characteristics For Fantasy Protagonists
Ollie Ander
Is probably just a couple cats in a trench-coat—the hair shedding and sunlight napping are highly suspect.
The fantasy genre is full of endless possibilities!... Which can be a bit overwhelming. Where should you start? Well, all good stories need someone to tell them. Let's put aside the sprawling magical landscape in the background of your fantasy story and focus on the perspective you’ll be viewing it from: Who should your main character be?
Regardless of whether you choose to write your protagonist as The Chosen One trope, it is important to understand why most main characters in fantasy seem to fall into that category. Your character does not need to be an orphaned child of prophecy, but there should be an integral reason your fantasy protagonist is the best person suited to tell your story. They don’t need to be overtly unique to everyone around them, but they should be different, and those differences should both reflect in their characterization and their qualifications to complete whatever journey you wish to send them on. This article will go over three characteristics to consider when constructing your fantasy protagonist: Fantasy Race, Magic, and Mystery.
Harnessing Fantasy Races
Although there are make-believe races in other genres (like cyborgs or aliens in sci-fi) it is fantasy that has the most notable inclusion of non-human races: elves, orcs, fairies, centaurs, every mythological being you can think of! Fantasy races are expansive and multi-faceted. An elf in one story may not be exactly like an elf in another story, but there is a general understanding that all fantasy readers have when presented with the term "elf".
Using a pre-established fantasy race can forgo lengthy explanations (if you’d like to lean into it) but it can also be a great tool for subversion, by bringing new nuances to the old well-worn archetype.
An excellent example of this is Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree which was a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best Fantasy in 2022. Baldree took the audience's expectations of a battle-hardened orc and asked, "What happens when they want to retire?" Apparently, his orc protagonist Viv wanted to start a coffee shop!
Fantasy Races/Words are great for marketing, but as a general rule, I would warn against using them unless you intend to address their pre-established characteristics—your readers will feel lied to. If your fantasy race or culture is unique, make it your own! The reason Legends and Lattes took the internet by storm was because it included beloved fantasy races, staying true to their nature but also developing on them.
Creating A Unique Magic Dynamic
Whether you’re writing a hard or soft magic system for your fantasy universe, your protagonist should have a unique relationship with the magic in it. That doesn’t mean that your character needs to have rule-breaking powers, but perhaps they can interact with magic in a way that sets them apart from the norm? They could simply be the only/first one in their society to try using their powers in a different way. Creating a unique dynamic for your protagonist to interact with magic could be little more than flexing their problem-solving skills or having a differing attitude toward said magic.
For example, in intrusive or portal fantasy stories where the main character is a regular human entering a magical world, their lifelong lack of immersion in the physics that everything else has learned to function by, actually tends to give them a leg up!
As with choosing to harness a fantasy race, you should find a way to develop your character’s relationship with their world’s magic system that is fresh compared to the characters around them. Show your readers the reason your protagonist is the hero fit to complete that epic quest!
Exploring Past Mysteries
Although I just highlighted the benefits of developing fantasy tropes as a means to establish your protagonist as the rightful hero to your story, keep in mind that the nuances you choose to implement into those characteristics do not need to be forthright. Although your protagonist is different, they themself may not know why.
The fantasy genre is intrinsically linked to mystery; it’s magical, it’s unknown! Use readers’ fascination for discovery to your advantage by aligning their thirst for knowledge alongside your character’s.
Why is there a door to another dimension in your character’s attic? Go find out! Why does your protagonist seem immune to magic that others aren’t? Time to delve into their family heritage!
To construct a truly engaging fantasy character, their quest should inevitably answer some mystery about themself (solidify some aspect of their character, or develop/subvert a previously defined status quo), even if that’s not something they originally set out to do.
Now that you’re well on your way to writing an unforgettable fantasy character, perhaps you’d like to look into$ the best time to publish a fantasy novel? $ Fantasy is great year-round, but every genre has a sales peak, and it’d be a shame for your story to miss its time to shine!
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