Frontiers
Frontiers are areas near or beyond a boundary or border. They are territories where a society or civilization encounters an unknown or unexplored region or wilderness. Historically, frontiers were often associated with exploration, colonization, and the expansion of human settlement. Fictional frontiers often contain forts, outposts, frontier towns, watchtowers, and trade routes. There may be uncharted rivers. As these lands are typically farther from any central authority, they may attract or foster crime and criminals. As such, they may contain bandit camps or bandit outposts. In addition, there may be raiders, less-than-happy indigenous populations, and hungry creatures from the woods that can be used to create conflict. Frontiers are home to traders, bandits, and rangers.
| Synonyms: frontier lands |
| Example Mythonyms: the Outer Edge, the Rim |
| Territories |
Designing Fictional Frontiers
Archetypes
Overview
Frontiers represent the intersection of what is known and what is undiscovered as well as the meeting of civilization with a more primal wilderness. Frontiers can be used to explore these themes. They may contain creatures or peoples long thought extinct or never before classified. People on frontiers may act (or turn into) animals.
When designing frontiers, the terrain itself becomes a central focus. Often frontiers are depicted as forests, but they could be any type of biome or region. With frontiers the land itself is both a danger, and something that can be used to survive. Consider what storms occur, how shelter can be found, what dangers exist and how a person can adapt and live in these regions. The frontier may be a constant struggle to overcome a wilderness.
Imperialistic empires may consider their borders more akin to frontiers to avoid acknowledging the claimed borders or lands of neighboring countries, cultures, or peoples. Expansion into a frontier is easier to justify than expansion into previously claimed territory that is already a home to someone else.
