Sure, it's cool, but is it really that fun? You have a Fantasy-setting, and that basically means a world not our own. That means you can do what ever you want. Creativity is the limit. Make something new and unique. Don't use what is already there
I think believable and logic is the way to approach. If you can believe in that something, you get involved on a completely different level.
While a mage throwing fireballs for all he's worth, while riding a dragon might be cool, but it feels a bit too overwhelming and not very involving and believable to be. If I had such power at my disposal, do I need anything else? Is there anything that can stop it? The destruction it's capable of is simply too great.
One or two races, unique or human, with a lot of different cultures is something that's involving and logical on another level than the usual classic races fighting each other just because they always do.
Just because Fantasy removes all limits it doesn't let you get away with something because "It's cool" or "It's always like this". If things doesn't make sense and isn't supported by the lore of the universe, it's not going to do the trick. The key to a Fantasy-story (that goes for books, games, film, you name it) isn't in cool things but in the fact that the creators have made something that makes sense, is believable and supported by the world created.
A major reason for Middle-Earth's success is that the whole universe is so well developed. It's all thought through. Most fantasy-failures can be tracked down to a world and it's rules. If it's a poorly developed world, with it's rules, it isn't going to work.
Every race, culture, place, way of fighting etc. will need its history. Use that to your advantage. It takes time, but the results is a well developed world that does the trick.
If you want to do something a bit faster, turn to our own world. Apply our rules to things. Make adjustments to make it become your unique work, but keep it in line with the rest. It will still need a believable background to everything, but at least how the world works will be the same.
Personally, I'd prefer a world without magic. Means of healing by treatment and herbs being easier than in our world, sure, but magic is more likely to break a world than help it, unless there is a restriction that is logical (for example; magic drains your life-force and energy.)|||I see where you are coming from. But it dose not really have to tie up.
Look at comic book heroes. They are all different and all gained their powers differently. But they all live in the same universe.
Or the pen and paper game Rifts. Suddenly Rifts (portals) open where lay-lines cross and magic spreads, people change on a genetic level. Foreign species come out of the rifts and everything imaginable suddenly appears in our world.
Or you could say a meteorite falls to earth that contains a foreign genetic material and new lifeforms start spreading. Some people believe that this is what actually happed millions of years ago on earth.
However, creating a good and believable back story is always important. But it can also be extremal simple.
You have polar bears in Sweden? I don't believe you.|||Well, the main point that I wanted to get across was that I personally want to see a well-made world with logical and unique things.
I'm not very keen on "legendary units" such as Dragons and such. :p
And, no, we don't have polar bears here
It's meant as a joke towards the stereotype that you run across every now and then that it's very, very cold up here, and basically winter all year around. I've never run into someone thinking that we have polar bears on the streets here, but I've heard of people being asked that sort of things :p|||"Personally, while I do enjoy magic, orcs, elves and all that, it is getting a bit overused, old and boring."I think too a degree the same can be said about what you want (a more realistic world), for example with the Total War series.
Due to the lack of variety and predictable / expected units and settings, I think the more realistic approach can actually be quite old and boring.
I do agree with you about having a well thought out world. I think though, they would need to find a balance. Because if the fantasy world is based too much on reality, this can potentially limit and restrict their creativity. I think this in turn may translate into an unimaginative and limited variety of units, factions, technology, abilities, magic, etc (of course these all in turn effect the content of possible future expansions).
I'm a fan of Lord of the Rings as well. Besides the author, I think partly why this world is so fleshed / "thought out" is due to the multiple novels. Also I wouldn't necessarily call this world logical (e.g. undead beings / Nazgul riding on dragon like creatures, trees that are both alive and walking, etc.).
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