The Barista's Game Item
Imagine a world where magic and technology blend through role-playing games. Each time a person plays, they can carry one skill or item back into the real world for a day. Write a tale about a down-on-their-luck barista who becomes a hero by cleverly using items from their night's game to thwart a robbery.
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.
- Make the magic or technology cost your hero something they can't get back.
- Give the villain a reason that would convince you, if you lived there.
- Let the hero's plan work, and make that the problem.
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 Inside the Tabletop GameAfter a cursed dice roll in the middle of an epic tabletop game, you and your friends find yourselves transported into the game's world. As the real…
- The Forbidden RoleEnvision a society where role-playing games are sacred rituals performed to honor the gods. Each role selected by players has implications for their…
- The Shopkeeper's Legendary GameIn a world where role-playing games determine one's social status, your character, a lowly shopkeeper, stumbles upon a legendary game set rumored to…
- Trapped Inside the VR GameYou’re a renowned game developer who’s latest creation, a VR role-playing game, unexpectedly traps players’ consciousness in the game world. As the…
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