The Game in the Attic
Develop a story around an ancient tabletop role-playing game found in an attic. When played, the game becomes eerily realistic, and the creatures within it start to appear in the real world, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality. How does your protagonist deal with this newfound, dangerous power?
Suggested length: A short story: 1,500 to 5,000 words, or flash fiction under 1,000
Start the clock
Pick a sprint, press start and keep going until it stops. Momentum beats polish on a first draft.
Make it yours
Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.
- Choose one ordinary object and show how this world changed it.
- Start in the middle of the strangest moment, and explain nothing for a page.
- Write it as a document from the world: a letter, a field report, a warning sign.
Writing fantasy books
Magic is real, and it costs something.
Fantasy builds a world where the impossible works: dragons, spells, gods who answer back. It might be a whole invented continent or one enchanted door in an ordinary house. Either way, readers come for the wonder and stay for the people paying the price for it.
What readers expect
- Magic or the supernatural, with limits
- A world that feels lived in
- Quests, wars or a power worth fighting over
- Myths and history under the surface
A tip before you start
Give magic a cost. Readers believe in a power when they can see what it takes from the person using it.
More Role-Playing Game prompts
- Trapped in the Academy GameTasked with creating an RPG quest as a final project for a prestigious academy, your protagonist — a novice game designer — accidentally programs…
- The Game Beyond the ScreenIn a dystopian future, role-playing games have evolved into complex, virtual reality worlds that are used as a form of escapism from harsh daily…
- The Forbidden Family DiceIn a world where magical abilities are determined by ancient family dice, your protagonist is born into a lowly caste where the dice predict menial…
- The Government's GameWrite a story set in a world where role-playing games are not just for fun, but are mandated by the government once a year as a means to assign…
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