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Diving into the Powerful Process of Creating Fantasy Weapons
Sunfire
CONTENTS
The Premise
Characters aren’t the only thing that play a significant role in fantasy. The genre is littered with battles that range from mere skirmishes between a few people to sprawling, epic confrontations between hundreds of thousands of soldiers. What’s the one thing these battles all have in common? Weapons and not just the ones you see in the real world. Weapons with powers that surpass those of our own. In this article, you’ll learn the process of creating fantasy weapons so you can make your own in your world!
Creating fantasy weapons isn’t just slapping a cool name on a generic sword and giving it magical powers and calling it a day. No, it requires a great deal of thought and work to make one that becomes memorable, not just for the characters in your world but for the audience as well. Think about the ones you associate most with fantasy. Excalibur and the Master Sword are two of the most legendary swords in the genre, having powers no other sword has in their worlds. Do you think they were made in just one day?
Everything has a beginning and fantasy weapons is no exception. It all begins with an idea. This usually occurs during the brainstorming phase and it’s where the basics of the weapons you intend to use in your world take shape.
The sword won’t be the only one you make. You’ll be creating many different types, considering all kinds of weapons were used in wars and battles. It’ll be up to you to show the audience what they look like and it’s important you use the right words to describe them so they have a clear picture of what they look like.
A thorny part of creating fantasy weapons is coming up with the names. Many weapons are broken into various classes and you have to assign them names that accurately depict them. Special names are reserved for those whose powers far outstrip those of ordinary ones.
Not all fantasy weapons have powers. Only a minority possess magical powers which means you’ll need to develop them and show the audience how they look and work.
This is the fifth article in the writing a fantasy novel series. If you want to check out any of the many articles we have, they’re available on our blog page.
The Idea Stage
The greatest and most memorable weapons in fantasy all started with an idea. This is where you jot down whatever ideas that pop up in your mind regarding weapons. This is also known as the brainstorming process and it’s one of the most important things you can do.
In this process, there are several things to do that will help you hit the ground running later on in regard to creating fantasy weapons. The first is to think of what kinds of weapons you’d like to feature in your world. We have a series that cover the various types of weapons so feel free to read them. Maybe they’ll serve as inspiration for the ones you make!
Writing down the different kinds of weapons is sufficient here. You can flesh them out later but right now, focus on the ones you want in your world. This is just to help you establish the foundation on which you’ll build later.
The second thing to do is to think about what magical powers you’d like for your weapons to have and write them down so you don’t forget. There are so many different types of magic that it can feel a bit overwhelming to think of what powers to give them. Another one of our series revolves around magic so check them out if you’re stuck.
The third and last step of creating fantasy weapons is to ponder what names to assign them. Jot down the ones that cross your mind. Keep in mind, you’re still brainstorming which means most of the names you come up with here will most likely change as you fine-tune them. Writing them down in one place means you’ll have a list with both good and bad names.
Brainstorming these three things gave you plenty of ideas for the weapons you’re planning to incorporate in your world. Now comes the time to fully flesh them out, which occurs in the next phase.
Describing Fantasy Weapons
How do you take the ideas you thought up during your brainstorming sessions and turn them into physical objects? This is where you create a separate document or page and everything pertaining to weapons is compiled all together. In the end, you’ll have something to refer back to when you bring them into your world and since it’s all in one place, you can easily find the one you’re looking for. Convenient, huh?
The first step is to write what they look like. This includes their shape, the metals used to forge them, and what colors they have. While all this information may not necessarily appear in the novel, it’s still crucial info for you, their creator, to have since you’re creating fantasy weapons from scratch.
Take great care to accurately describe them. Go into as much detail as you want here. It’s imperative that the words you write reflect how you visualize them in your mind. You’ll be using what you wrote here in your novel so it’s essential that what your readers imagine in their mind is the same one you have in yours. Bonus tip: if you’re an artist or have good drawing skills, you can draw them exactly how you picture them which in turn will help you describe them using Photoshop or any other drawing app!
The choice of words you use in describing fantasy weapons affects how your audience perceives them. You don’t want the audience to picture a great-sword if you’re talking about a broadsword, since while both are within the sword class, they’re two different weapons. Be thoughtful and clear about the words you choose to use. You’ll be glad for it and your audience will appreciate it later on!
Besides describing them, you’ll need to add their names and whatever powers they have to the document or page on weapons. Let’s face it, the more different types you have, the easier it’ll be to accidentally mix them up. Giving them names helps reduces the chances of an mix-up and also helps keep them separated.
When it comes to magical powers, describe their effects for the weapon you’re assigning them to. A single weapon can have one power at a time though one may have a different power than another one. For example, you can have a mace that contains the power of fire while another mace has the power of electricity. For weapons that can be used with different magical powers, describe each effect per weapon.
How to Name Fantasy Weapons
One of the best parts of creating fantasy weapons is naming them. If you notice, many of these weapons have cool names that grab your attention. With all the different weapons out there, it’s imperative you assign them names that clearly communicate what they are and also enable them to stand out in a crowded field.
It’s not just the main types of weapons you have to give names. You also have to give names for all those within each type like the broadsword and great-sword for the sword. Only name those you plan to include in your novel.
How do you go about giving names for weapons? There are a variety of ways to go about it. You can’t go wrong with the classics, like using colors such as the red sword. Many weapons in the genre have a color in the name and they help them stand out.
Another route you could take is to incorporate the metal that was used to forge them as part of the name. Think of examples like steel axe or silver sword. This is one of the most popular methods to take since nearly all weapons were created in a forge using the different metals found in the world.
One other way you can go is to use gems like diamond or ruby in part of the name. This tends to be used for elegant weapons that have jewels etched in them. Great examples include the diamond trident or the sapphire bow.
Alternatively, you can go for giving them uncommon words. This is a great way to compel your audience to want to learn more about your weapons. Imagine you read about a dusty sword. You would think that it’s dusty based on the name but as it turns out, it’s a sword that’s capable of shooting small dust-storms. Curiosity will pique your interest as you want to learn more about it.
Truly unforgettable names like Excalibur or Anduril are reserved only for those weapons that play an important role in the story and are wielded by the protagonist. These weapons are steeped in history which means they’ve been in several pivotal battles that determined the fate of the world. As such, you have to give them great names that showcase their importance to the world and to the protagonist since they wield far more power than ordinary weapons.
What Power(s) Fantasy Weapons Possess
Another important component of creating fantasy weapons is determining what powers they have. Part of the allure of fantasy is seeing magic weapons in action. Unfortunately, not every single one will be bestowed with magic.
Out of all the weapons in the world, only a minority will brim with magic. Magic weapons handle differently than ordinary ones and they’re typically wielded by either magic-users or people with great experience on the battlefield like commanders or generals. Monarchs also wield said weapons to great effect on the battlefield.
There’s a vast number of magical effects you can assign weapons to. Popular ones consist of having swords shoot laser beams, arrows that freeze or burn upon impact, daggers that poison upon contact, and many more. The sky’s the limit when it comes to your imagination here!
You can eschew the popular ones and go for powers that don’t get all the glory like them. Powers like draining the enemy’s life force or stamina, causing the enemy to be temporarily blinded, or those that replenish the user’s health. They’re a great way to show powers that shape the battlefield in different ways than the popular ones do.
Regardless of the ones you go with, be sure to include them in the weapons outline and what weapons they go with. You don’t want to accidentally use the wrong magical effect. Describe how they look and work. Knowing and understanding the two now will help you when it comes time to writing your novel since you’ve already written how they look and work.
Tying it all Together
Fantasy weapons play a huge role in the genre. They’re used in skirmishes and battles where the objective is to defeat the opponent. However, inflicting damage isn’t the only thing they’re capable of doing.
The process of creating fantasy weapons begins with a fleeting thought or idea. This typically occurs during a brainstorming session where you’re thinking of what weapons you want to put in your story. It could be a catchy name, a particular type of weapon, or a magical power. The idea will eventually form the basis for the ones you wind up using in your tale.
Now that you’ve etched down a bevy of ideas, it’s time to consider the ones you want and winnow the others out. Once you’ve settled on the weapons your characters will use, you’ll flesh them out. Doing so entails you to describe their appearance using clear and concise words that accurately depicts them so your audience can easily picture them in their mind.
Next up is giving them names. Not every weapon will have a cool and great name that goes down in history; those are reserved for the most powerful ones wielded by those who’ll play a pivotal role in the story. Instead, the majority will have names that describe them like iron mace or golden bow.
The number of weapons with magical powers are few. Though they may be rare, they can fundamentally alter the battlefield in different, unexpected ways. It’ll be up to you to develop and assign magical powers to them and describe them in detail so the audience understands how they look and work.
Creating fantasy weapons may be a bit of work but they’re also fun at the same time! You get to show the audience their power and mystique.
Now that you know the process of creating fantasy weapons, will you create ones that dazzle your audience and your characters?
Let me know what you think in the comments below. (Note: this is an account-exclusive feature).
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Thanks for reading this and until the next time,
Sunfire
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