The Special Significance of the Fantasy Working Class

6 small brown lower class fantasy homes sitting on a grassy plain in autumn. The background has two red hills and the ocean in-between them. Above them is a pink sky with white clouds and birds. These are some of the homes the fantasy working class can live in.
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Sunfire

CONTENTS

The Premise of the Fantasy Working Class

You’re walking on the sidewalk of a busy thoroughfare in town with the sun rising in the distance. Swarms of people pass by you on their way to work. You see many people enter buildings prior to the official start of the workday. These people are all members of the fantasy working class.

These working class is essential to worldbuilding in that the people within this group are the ones who work in jobs like bartending and waitressing. They need to work in order to live and they constantly try to keep their monetary situation in control by spending only when they absolutely need to like for food for example.

When creating the fantasy working class, there are several key elements to keep in mind. Elements like being family-oriented go a long way in making this social class mimic that of their real-world counterparts. Neglecting these elements will only make it more difficult for your audience to feel like they are real working class members.

This class isn’t just known for working; it has its own fair share of leisure activities. These activities give people a respite from the daily grind, allowing them to recharge their energies which will make them more productive workers overall. Popular ones like spending the day at the park go a long way in giving them the break they need.

The fantasy working class serves the world by taking the jobs that essentially keep the country running. They are a key driver in the economy whether they’re a factory worker or a bakery employee. They make the world your story takes place in possible.

This is the eighth article in the social classes series. For more, you can find them on our blog page!

Common Elements of the Fantasy Working Class

As you go about developing the working class, you have several important things to take into account. In order to have them more akin to the one in the real world, you need to flesh these elements out. Thus, it would be wise for you to put them somewhere like a document in your favorite word processor or a notepad where you can easily refer to them as needed.

Several key elements comprise the fantasy working class and the first one is that they need to work to live. By that, they don’t have enough money to live a lavish lifestyle like the rich. They have bills and obligations to pay and they need a steady source of income in order to pay them, regardless of the job.

The average fantasy sailor lives on ships like this brown one with a white sail sailing past a gray shipyard with brown docks. Behind the ship is the green sky with white clouds.

Secondly, the vast majority of the working class is family-oriented. They love spending time with their spouses and children and the bulk of their free time is spent with their loved ones. They are the reason why they go to work; they want to give them as good of a life as they possibly can. They also want them to endeavor to be better off financially than their parents.

The third element of the fantasy working class is that the jobs they take are essential to civilization. Jobs such as a factory worker or an innkeeper produce things vital like goods and services to the world economy, keeping it running. They take the jobs no other class is willing to take or want to work in.

The fourth and final element is that they are upbeat despite having to work more than any other social class. The working class looks to the future where things will be better, both for themselves and for their children and they believe that the stress of constantly working will be worth it in the end.

Leisure Activities of the Fantasy Working Class

Though the working class is known for well working, the people of this class needs a break every now and then, lest they work themselves to death. Fortunately, there’s a bevy of leisure activities they can do that helps them unwind. Of course, what they can do depends on where they are in the world.

One popular activity the fantasy working class partakes in is to to the park. Whether by themselves or with their family, they spend a good chunk of the day at the park, enjoying the green scenery and being out in nature. It rejuvenates them and gives them more energy to expend at work.

A forest with green mountains in the background and dirt in the foreground. Above the mountains is the blue sky with oval clouds. This setting is one of many examples of filler scenes. It can also be drawn by fantasy painters.

Many working class members like to spend time outdoors doing things like fishing. In their mind, there’s nothing better than whiling away the day fishing where you’re constantly surrounded by nature. Furthermore, it also gives them a chance to work through their problems by themselves.

Another type of leisure activity the fantasy working class likes to indulge in is drinking. Some members like to enjoy a drink or two at the local tavern, especially after a taxing day at work. The tavern is also a haven for socialization since they can meet up with friends and catch up with each other. It’s also a superb place for romance since you never know who’ll step foot in the tavern on a given day!

With the majority of the working class being family-oriented, it’s no surprise that they spend time at home with their children and relatives. They play games, read books together, and a number of other activities but the key thing is they’re happiest when they’re surrounded by their loved ones. They believe that everything that matters to them is right there in their homes and they will cheerfully choose to spend time with them over other things.

The Fantasy Working Class and the World

The working class plays an understated role in the grand scheme of things. Too many people overlook the importance of this particular social class to the world, choosing to dedicate a lot of time exploring the ample storylines of the rich and powerful. What they don’t realize is that this class offers a treasure trove of possibilities, perhaps more than the wealthy.

The central fact of the fantasy working class is that they are the ones that do the jobs that make civilized society possible. Jobs essential to the world like maids and innkeepers are the ones that keep everything running and who fills them? That’s right, the working class!

Fantasy cities are important in the genre. This image depicts a city with a castle on a hilltop above it. The city has both rectangular- and square-shaped buildings with a wavy roof on each one. The buildings come in four colors: light yellow, brown, light blue, and white. The roofs come in the following colors: dark blue, red, light black, and dark brown. Many of these buildings have windows and some have a visible door. The road itself runs down the middle of the image, swaying to the right and then the left, ending at the doorstep of the castle. The road also meets two others, one that runs to the left, and the other to the right. Behind the city is a grassy field with blades of grass scattered throughout. A river cuts through the field, meandering from the left edge to the right edge of the image. The castle itself is white with gray shadows. It has four red turrets and diamond-shaped windows. The sky above is a bright blue with two white clouds. Some birds are flying on the left side, above the castle, and the right side. It also features a fantasy marketplace.

One of this class’ major contributions is in the world of making things. They build roads, ships, and so on in the shipyards, various factories, and other places. They take these jobs simply because they have to since they need to work and whatever job that will help pay the bills, they’ll take.

Due to them making things, the fantasy working class is a major driver in the economy of the country they’re in. They make up a great bulk of the overall population and in order for a nation’s manufacturing capacity to take off, they need great numbers of people and that’s where the working class comes in.

The working class has a wholly different set of priorities, especially when compared to that of the elite. They are more concerned about making ends meet and they don’t care about the wealthy’s inane squabbles with one another except when they are affected by them. They are a glimpse into the lives of people who have far more impact in the economy than those on the top.

Tying it all Together

The working class is made up of people who need to work in order to live. They take up many of the jobs in the cities and towns of the world. They offer a more grounded perspective in how things are going in the world and within their communities since they have to deal with more salient issues than the wealthy do.

The fantasy working class is comprised of several requisite elements. The need to work to live notwithstanding, many members of this social class place a heavy emphasis on family. They love to spend time with the people that matters the most to them in their lives, for they are the reason why they’re spending hours away from them working.

Life would be dull if it was all work and no play. Even the working class set deserves a great break every once in a while and they have a plethora of leisure activities to choose from. From spending the day at the beach soaking up the sun to simply relaxing in the warm confines of home with their children, they can’t go wrong with whichever activity they choose!

Regarding their position in the world, the fantasy working class is one of the most important drivers of the economy. Besides taking the jobs that many of the other social classes won’t take, they are great builders with many of them taking factory or similar jobs making things that everyone else will use at one point or another.

In many worlds, you see things like wagons or buildings but you don’t realize that they were built by someone or a group of people. By building the things that keep the world — and the plot — going, the fantasy working class is a social class you ought to incorporate into your world.

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Thanks for reading this and until the next time,

Sunfire

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