Are you sick of the ordinary world? Want to escape to a place of wonder and danger – but only temporarily? Do you suspect you may be the Chosen One? Then climb into this unusually roomy wardrobe as we unearth the secrets of PORTAL FANTASY!
This popular fantasy subgenre is a great fit if you’re writing or worldbuilding for middle grade and young adult audiences. But more modern stories have given it a grown up spin! So let’s discover what portal fantasy is, common tropes, examples of the genre in fiction and tabletop RPGs, and things to watch out for as a worldbuilder.
Portal fantasy is relatively easy to define – it’s right there in the name! This fantasy worldbuilding subgenre features characters (most often kids) who travel from their own reality. They visit another world via a “portal” of some kind. Usually, the new world is an entirely different reality. In some cases, the characters travel to a different time period within their own world.
The portal can be a physical doorway, or it can be the transition from world-to-world itself. The characters in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream stumble into faerie without crossing any visible, tangible boundary. Another example is The Wizard of Oz, where in the book the portal was a tornado. In the film it was a head injury (depending on your interpretation). A generous view of portal fantasy would include any “It was all a dream.. Or was it?” stories.
Portal fantasy has a lot of common ground with urban fantasy. Both combine elements of the real world with a fantasy realm. But in urban fantasy, the supernatural world is usually merely hidden or disguised; in portal fantasy, it’s an entirely different reality.

So aside from the mystical doorway to another reality, how do you recognize a portal fantasy? What are readers of this genre expecting from your story or game? As always, it’s important to understand the standard conventions and cliches – even if it’s to subvert them. Here are several elements common to portal fantasies:
Whether it’s the Blitz or an aggressive neighbor who wants to kill your dog, portal fantasy protagonists are highly motivated to ditch present reality.
Unlike most fantasy subgenres, there’s greater gender parity in portal fantasy. Alice, Dorothy, and half of the Pevensies were girls. Even when the hero is assigned male, these stories typically follow the Heroine’s Journey arc.
Portal fantasy is overwhelmingly young adult or children’s literature, with protagonists in their teens or younger. They are also more likely to be a bildungsroman, or coming of age story. This is subverted fantastically in Lev Grossman’s The Magicians.
Problems in the portal world are often mirror images of real world conflicts the heroines are escaping. Adventures in the portal world are a “practice run” at dealing with real world analogues.
As always, reading widely in a genre is the best way to understand it. Fortunately, a reading list of portal fantasy novels or series contains many aimed at children – so they’ll be fast reads!
Portal fantasy is less common in tabletop RPGs than epic fantasy. In some ways, it’s even more challenging to find a system. There are very few specifically written for it.
In another sense, it’s incredibly easy. Just choose a system designed for the type of fantasy the portal world inhabits, and just treat the “real” world as an introductory chapter or session. (Like the original Dungeons and Dragons cartoon, where kids entered the portal of a haunted house ride).
As with urban fantasy, this subgenre works best with “theater of the mind” and rules-light systems.
As this adventure comes to a close and we return to the ordinary world, remember that building a unique portal fantasy world is a creative way to ground your tabletop RPG campaign or story in realistic emotion and stakes. Whether you’re a seasoned GM or a newbie storyteller, this beloved fantasy genre is a wonderful sandbox for your imagination.
If you want a place to organize and showcase your creations, consider World Anvil. We’ve got a big, friendly community where you can share your worlds and get inspired by others. Sign up now and be part of a global hub for fantastic realms. Start your worldbuilding journey today!

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