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I know fantasy is the Roleplaying Gamers staple diet. I have never really had much affection for it.

Tell me why you love it. Tell me how I can get "into" it.

I love LOTR. The only fantasy setting I've ever wanted to run is Dark Sun, simply because it's diffrent from: "Generic Medieval land, with little bit of magic where young warriors go on lots of quests to retrieve lost artifacts"

What should I read for inspiration?

Maybe you just don't like fantasy.

Second Edition D&D had all these settings that didn't really qualify as fantasy for me.

Planescape = D&D + Stargate
Spelljammer = D&D + StarWars
Dark Sun = D&D + Mad Max

Have you ever read any Michael Moorcock? Elric might be cool. It differs slightly in theme and setting. Plus Elric isn't really human so runs into problems acting like a human. Or Fritz Leiber? The last Burning Wheel campaign I was in was kind of built from elements of Fritz Leiber's stories and Michael Moorcock's, we almost never left the one city we were in and my inhuman aristocrat didn't quite get the other characters. It was a lot of fun.

If your problem is that fantasy tropes seem weird and contrived, authors like Mercedes Lackey challenge many of those tropes and themes while remaining very castles and horsemen oriented. Or you could just go with Terry Pratchett to laugh at fantasy tropes. There even was a RPG based on Mercedes Lackey style stuff, called Blue Rose.

But if what you really like is only post apocalyptic fantasy, like Dark Sun, maybe play Hawkmoon based on the series by Michael Moorcock, or Ythrek for EABA, written by Greg Porter. Both are post apocalyptic but more "normal" fantasy than Dark Sun so you may find more things about fantasy that you dig.

As far as what I dig. I dig the, "that's just magic" that you get with fantasy. Some people call it sloppy writing, but screw them. That's magic. It needs no rules or explanation. It just does that, through magic. I dig that The Grey Mouser runs errands for that dude who has seven eyes. He just has seven eyes. He doesn't make much sense at all. But there it is. Magic.

When I play fantasy games I want to interact with magic. I don't really need a sword that give me a bonus. But if I have an invisible magic string that I can instantly pull my sword to my hand from anywhere, awesome! I don't care about having the best magic item. I care about having the most enchanted story. If we were playing a fantasy game together I'd want to play Legends of Anglerre (FATE) or Mortal Coil or something like that. Something where I can just push a token forward and add something magical to the setting. "The elf gives you" -token- "She gives me bottled starlight." "What's it do?" "It shines. It's magic." or maybe "The merchant is" -token- "A hooded figure who can only speak while inhaling." We actually did that to our GM in the Burning Wheel campaign a lot. We used wises like Magic-Wise to just say stuff and make it true. "I pick up the cursed dagger with a scarf of black silk because magic cannot penetrate black silk." and rolls, "I guess so; in this world magic cannot penetrate black silk."

My favorite fantasy setting always has been Earthdawn, if you don't count Lord of the Rings (and the two sometimes switch). I have a first edition hardcover I found for cheap (it is admittedly somewhat trashed) at a secondhand book store, and it's seriously got some of my favorite setting design in any game. It's just much more unique (in a sense that combining many different elements found in various other works is unique) and has a blended feel that engages, as well as the subtle Lovecraftian influences of the Horrors.

I've just finished the Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb. It's the first fantasy books I've enjoyed in years! Thank you for the recommendations.

I'm not big fan of fantasy either, but might help you find a book.

My recomendations: anything Roger Zelazny, anything Lord Dunsany or anything Tanith Lee.

Not a fan either. We're not very representative of the hobby, are we?

I've never been a fan of any fantasy realm that took itself too seriously. I always liked the fantasy settings that knew the tropes and would actively make fun of them. I was recently hinted to Monster Hunter International... Where all the fantasy creatures are in the modern day world, but with strange twists. My favorite: Elves live in the "Enchanted Forest"... A trailer park where the queen sits around all day watching QVC and the Home Shopping network eating Hos-Hos and Twinkies.

Many fantasy settings seem to explain away things with magic too readily. I got done with the Belgariad by David Eddings: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Belgariad I really like how magic is explained in it's power and effects but still mystical in it's nature. The book achieved a nice blend where you where you got satisfactory explanations for how magic worked and were comfortable with rest of the mystery behind it.

I'm more of a fan of the post apocalypse and cyberpunk settings myself. I love the stuff from Roadside Picnic. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadside_Picnic

I think my greatest problem with most fantasy settings is that they are too damn systemically inconsistent. You have to typically ignore huge discrepancies to make the setting work. "Oh, they have created a magical artifact that can create an impenetrable bubble around the city... but indoor plumbing is just too difficult?" As much flak as Ebberron caught when it first came out, it at least tried to address some of these issues. I like a fantasy that given the allowances for the mystical elements seems feasible.

For example, as much as I love the Naruto series... they have some severe technological gaps. You have ninjas, sailboats, and ... wireless radios? I know they like to either walk trails or power jump through the trees, but I just can't help to imagine some farmer in his truck offer them a ride at some point during the trek.

So if you are going to make a fantasy world... make it consistent and have decent explanations for why things are the way they are.

I'm happy to say, that I've read almost every book on the right side of that flow chart.

The left side... not so much. (I count four: Lotor, two Neil Giaman, and Xanth.) I'm not much of the pseudo-medieval / dark ages fantasy. I've read the first "Dragon Riders of Pern", and "The Hobbit" (and Lord of the Rings") but otherwise the closest I get to Fantasy is "Starwars" and Neil Gaiman magical realism.

Speculative Fiction that has at least a slight chance of happening tends to appeal to me more than magic and wizards cut whole cloth.

Legend of the Five Rings seems to break the European fantasy mold, though I don't have any of the books. Exalted might be a good way to start out with Journey to the West (ie Sun Wukong the Monkey King does something awesome.)

It feels very weird that I'm not the first one to mention Roadside Picnic in a thread. Great story, and definitely a good way to make things seem magic.

I used to read David Eddings when my mother wasn't watching (in her defense, it was probably a little on the edgy side). I'd recommend it for people looking for a setting. I sort of skipped around and I was reading a novel a day so I don't really recall much, but it has some excellent characters and developments of magic/politics/warfare.

I'd strongly recommend Legend of the Five Rings. It's well written, has a decent system, and is totally awesome. It's even illustrated beautifully, and it just shows how wonderful a book can be. I think I looked at Fifth Edition and it was almost enough to get me to swear off all other books (almost). I can tell you everyone I knew was tired of me raving about it.

I'd never known S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was loosely based on a book before. If I had the bravery to, I'd check it out.

I find Fullmetal Alchemist to have an amazing setting, if we're counting manga/anime in here now, since it's got basically WWI/II era Europe mixed with a steampunk setting mixed with urban fantasy. I've seen a Western approach to it (Kaiser's Gate?), but quite frankly I enjoy the FMA outcome more.