50+ UNIQUE Fantasy Story Ideas
Ollie Ander
Is probably just a couple cats in a trench-coat—the hair shedding and sunlight napping are highly suspect.
Some novel ideas come fully formed, unbidden from the depths of one’s psyche, while others require an external spark to set them ablaze; a nudge in the right direction.
If you want to write a fantasy story and aren’t sure where to start–it is the biggest, most intimidating genre after all–here’s a list of over 50+ unique prompts to intrigue and get you started!
Discover a New Environment
We’re all used to High Fantasy with its lush feudal-based magical worlds, so why not mix up the atmosphere in which your epic quest takes place? Send your troupe of adventurers across the moon!
Savage Atmospheres to Torture Your Party
- A Neverending Plains: Will they get lost or go mad first?
- A World of Eternal Night: Where only light magic can make anything grow.
- Living in the Clouds: Don’t fall through!
- Everything is Quicksand: Not just the ground.
- Eye of the Tornado: How will they ever leave? Is there anything left outside the vortex?
- Gaia Re-imagined: Living on/in the body of a "God" is one thing, but you can make whatever kind of crazy deity you want!
- Topographical Catastrophe: What if rivers were elemental serpents, always moving, carving new topography, it’d make plotting a journey pretty difficult… The mountains changing elevation as they breathe doesn’t help either.
- Flooded Cityscape: So many dangers hidden beneath the surface.
- Solar System: Some planetary ecosystems are so extraordinary they transcend science into the fantastical. Look up Saturn’s Moon, Titan, and its sea of methane.
- Australian Outback: A breeding ground for fatal fantastical creatures.
- Antarctica: What’s under all that ice? Do we want to know?
- Rainforest: Even in real life there are loads of undiscovered fauna--who knows, there could be some magical ones out there still!
- Seismic Upheaval: A lot of huge unidentified formations just burst out of the earth and they’re causing some strange effects.
- The Sky is Falling: Oh, well that’s scary, where is all this stuff coming from?
Introduce Imposing Challenges
To add to the above section of interesting (and frankly inhibiting) environments, always keep in mind that your fantasy story doesn’t need to stay static. Even in Lord of the Rings, eventually they have to go from beautiful Rivendell to the wastes of Mordor. Environments can be singular instead of overarching—one trial after another!
Difficult Trials to Face
- Trapped in a Sentient Swamp: Okay, there’s no way that root didn’t trip me on purpose!
- Unmappable Cave Systems: Weird, the tunnels seem to keep changing…
- Mines into an Active Volcano: Is the treasure inside worth the heat?
- That Mansion is a Dungeon: Classic dungeon crawler with a bourgeois twist, bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside.
- Sensory Deprivation Ruins: Five ancient mazes to complete, but each trial takes away one of the main human senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing).
- Olympics: Where all fantasy races compete equally.
- Lost in a Library: Can you read your way out?
- Group Transformation: Everyone transformed into their least favorite animal. Sure, they kept their powers, but they have to relearn to use them to get their bodies back.
Foster Urban Fantasy Societies
Urban Fantasy as depicted as "modern society with magic hidden below the surface" tends to be primarily based in North America and that’s such a waste. There are so many cool unique locations out in the world that could host their own hidden magical subcultures!
Places to Hide a Secret Society
The Catacombs in France: Necromancers guild headquarters
Desert Oasis: Prime place to foster a lush isolated community
Microcosm: Very small people in a very big world
London (or other famous) Bridges: The last safe havens for trolls
Underwater Dystopia: "Atlantis" is down there… for a reason
Alpines: Peoples living above the cloudline for centuries will undoubtedly have some interesting, ancient takes
Freshwater Pirates: Big crews rule the lakes but the rivers are a free-for-all!
Haunted Colosseum: The stands are empty but every night the fallen participants fight on!
Cottagecore Warlocks: They’ve always liked living in huts in the woods, now they’re running the aesthetic online
Farm Life: Raising mythical creatures
Geocachers: A casual afternoon hike to find magical items scattered among leylines
Redefine Old Fantasy Archetypes
We all know (and love) the general cast of characters the fantasy genre has to offer. When it comes to writing archetypes, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, you just have to spin it! Here’s a variety of fun, unexpected characteristics added onto pre-established trope-laden frequenters of the fantasy cast. Even if none of these resonate with you as a desired main (or supporting) character, you can always swap things around and add your own twist onto the otherwise overplayed.
Create a Diverse Cast
- Warrior: Refuses to use real weapons
- Paladin: Zero pain tolerance
- Wizard: Hates learning
- High Elf: Frumpy
- Dwarf: Professional hairdresser
- Dragon: Charitable
- Bard: Tone-deaf but tries
- Cleric: Fell for a necromancer
- Druid: Kills every plant they touch
- Ranger: Clumsy
- Thief: Can’t lie to save their life
- Goblin: Loves long walks on the beach
- Orc: Connoisseur of the finest teas
- Catfolk: Huge dog person
- Succubi: Aro-Ace
You get the picture!
Fairy Tale Retellings
Fairy tale retellings are a popular subgenre of fantasy, and they come with their own pre-written framework to adapt and help you get started! Here’s a few places to look for older, public domain works in which to base your own story:
- Brothers Grimm Stories
- Greek Mythology
- Roman Adaptations
- Norse Gods
- Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes
- Aesop’s Fables
If you found this article inspiring but are now a little weary about pushing the limits of what a fantasy can/should be, you might want to check out this article on Mistakes to Avoid in Your Fantasy, where I break down some common pitfalls of the genre and even offer up some more prompts and alternatives!
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