Articles on fantasy and worldbuilding by Christopher Mahon.
An essay about how the primal fear of the unknown, found in myth and folklore, shaped the fantasy genre.
An essay exploring how the myth of a ‘lost paradise’ has run through folklore and influenced the fantasy genre.
An essay arguing that creating ‘scientific’ magic systems ruins the promise of fantasy.
An interview with Radio Free Brooklyn about my history as a storyteller, my philosophy of storytelling in RPGs, and writing for my game, Black Heaven: A Necromantic Dating Sim.
An article exploring the Taoist-influenced worldbuilding of Earthsea and how ‘evil’ fits into it.
An essay examining Terry Pratchett’s approach to worldbuilding and magic.
Part 1 in a series on how to build a magic system based on martial arts, covering how movement and symbolism can serve as a foundation.
Part 2 covers weaving story, themes, into the philosophy of martial arts into the magic system. It also discusses using stances and movement as the building blocks of the system.
Part 3 talks about qi and the difference between ‘internal’ vs. ‘external’ styles of martial arts like tai chi and baguazhang.
Part 4 takes a deeper dive into qi and how different concepts of ‘inner power’ can be adapted into a magic system.