Low Fantasy, Low Magic, High Fantasy, and High Magic

[Balor Patch]

In High Fantasy magic is important to the world, in Low Fantasy it's important to some people in the world.

High Magic is obvious, with people going around being flashy. Low Magic is low-key, either rare or ancillary to normal activities.

[Inky]

I always thought that "high fantasy" meant fantasy set in a fictional world, e.g. The Lord of the Rings, The Wheel of Time, whereas "low fantasy" is fantasy set in the real world, e.g. The Weirdstone of Brisingamen or the World of Darkness games. And I'm familiar with "high magic" and "low magic" really only as terms for how much magic a game is going to have, i.e. "high magic" means there's magic all over the place, enough to make a serious difference to daily life, whereas "low magic" means that magic is possible but a rarity, like in A Song of Ice and Fire.

[AlexanderHowl]

High magic has been traditionally associated in real life with the ceremonial magical systems of Thelma (A.A., EGC, OTO, OSOGD, TO, and dozens of other smaller groups). Low magic has been traditionally associated in real life with the traditional magical systems of various shamanic traditions, syncretic traditions, witchcraft traditions, etc. Strangely enough, the Neo-Pagan magical traditions have attempted to bridge the divide between high magic and low magic (creating intermediate magic (?)), though the effectiveness of any real life magical tradition is questionable.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

High magic has been traditionally associated in real life with the ceremonial magical systems of Thelma (A.A., EGC, OTO, OSOGD, TO, and dozens of other smaller groups). Low magic has been traditionally associated in real life with the traditional magical systems of various shamanic traditions, syncretic traditions, witchcraft traditions, etc. Strangely enough, the Neo-Pagan magical traditions have attempted to bridge the divide between high magic and low magic (creating intermediate magic (?)), though the effectiveness of any real life magical tradition is questionable.

Yeah, but those are magic systems or styles, not settings.

[maximara]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

I was curious, how do people define the terms low fantasy, low magic, high fantasy, and high magic in relation to GURPS? From my understanding of the type of fantasy, low fantasy possesses common and predictable magic while high fantasy possesses rare and/or unpredictable magic. From my understanding of the type of magic, low magic is the magic of the masses while high magic is the magic of the elites. How do you understand the terminology in relation to GURPS?

What you provide is effectively the same definitions GURPS uses and I largely agree with them; though the application of them can be counter intuitive.

For example, because the spells are predictable D&D leans towards Low Fantasy though it also has High Fantasy elements such as "Magic is generally distributed unevenly concentrated in gods, other mythic beings, or in a handful of artifacts". This means they are more dials then switches.

[Donny Brook]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

I was curious, how do people define the terms low fantasy, low magic, high fantasy, and high magic in relation to GURPS? From my understanding of the type of fantasy, low fantasy possesses common and predictable magic while high fantasy possesses rare and/or unpredictable magic. From my understanding of the type of magic, low magic is the magic of the masses while high magic is the magic of the elites. How do you understand the terminology in relation to GURPS?

My take is subtantially different than that. To me High Fantasy is more like Space Opera with low tech and ubiquitous magic. Low fantasy is more like lpw tech cyberpunk with subtle and/or rare magic.

[transmetahuman]

Originally Posted by khorboth

Clearly, these are poorly defined or at least not well agreed upon. The way I use them:

High fantasy: deals with epic adventure and grimy details are glossed over. Supply lines are not considered. Nobody goes to the bathroom etc. Rule of cool overrules logic.

Low fantasy: great pains for realism are taken. The effect of magic and the supernatural on the world is contemplated strongly. World consistency is extremely important.

High magic: magic is a common factor in the story and/or world. Generally, magic, magic items, or their effects are accessible to most people.

Low magic: magic is rare in the story/world. Most people will be surprised by magic or magicians.

So, examples...

High fantasy, high magic: D&D

High fantasy, low magic: Middle Earth

Low fantasy, high magic: Avitar The Last Airbender

Low fantasy, low magic: A Song of Fire & Ice

Thanks for saving me a post! That sums up my definitions pretty well. Especially the way High and Low Fantasy tend to describe types of stories rather than settings.

[maximara]

Originally Posted by khorboth

Clearly, these are poorly defined or at least not well agreed upon. The way I use them:

High fantasy: deals with epic adventure and grimy details are glossed over. Supply lines are not considered. Nobody goes to the bathroom etc. Rule of cool overrules logic.

Low fantasy: great pains for realism are taken. The effect of magic and the supernatural on the world is contemplated strongly. World consistency is extremely important.

High magic: magic is a common factor in the story and/or world. Generally, magic, magic items, or their effects are accessible to most people.

Low magic: magic is rare in the story/world. Most people will be surprised by magic or magicians.

So, examples...

High fantasy, high magic: D&D

High fantasy, low magic: Middle Earth

Low fantasy, high magic: Avitar The Last Airbender

Low fantasy, low magic: A Song of Fire & Ice

Interesting contrast with the definitions GURPS Fantasy gives us.

Your Low Magic is akin to High Fantasy as GURPS defines it.

High Magic per GURPS is a little weird as it effectively combines Low Magic with Formulaic magic. In fact, Fantasy itself states "The boundary between formulaic magic and high magic isn’t sharp."

From what Fantasy says Middle Earth is more High Magic then Low Magic as there just doesn't seem to be "magic that anybody might pick up, without systematic formal study, and used in everyday life or emergencies" in the setting though I am mainly familiar with The Hobbit.