I need to start up a new Fantasy Game, one that will let me indulge in my setting building passion! I have a few fun ideas for games below, and I'd appreciate input and advice for any of them! Systems would probably be either Shadow of the Demon Lord, Savage Worlds, or Freeform/Rules-Light. If somebody knows a better system for any concept I'd be happy to look into it though!

Adventurer School: A more lighthearted and quite possibly Anime theme concept, this one would have the characters as part of a new Academy made for training adventurers and heroes. The game would naturally feature a bit of dungeon crawling action along with some fun lore building. School-side antics such as relationships, friendships, and more would be encouraged. It could also be fun to explore a world where Adventurers are necessary, and deal with the implications of a bunch of people going into such a dangerous occupation.

Auxiliaries of the Empire: Taking place in a more Roman/Iron Age themed setting, this would feature a group of soldiers taken from the many far flung segments of a Roman style Empire. There would be a sort of clash between the different regional tensions and the goals of the larger Empire, along with other issues. As part of the plot the characters loyalties to both their home states and the Empire would be tested. There are a lot of fun elements to explore here, and it could definitely make for an interesting game.

The Crusade: The idea of a Crusade, fighting for one's religion in a foreign land, is certainly an intriguing concept. Of course, in a fantasy setting the enemies they go against would likely be far different, but a crusade is a fascinating environment to explore. Warriors looking for redemption, profiteers looking for a chance, peasants hoping for a chance at glory, all of this and more can be explored in this setting. We could also delve into the depths of religious fanaticism or other issues.

Witch Hunters: The idea is more related to games such as Bloodborne and darker fantasy settings like Warhammer. This game would feature a world in grave danger from powerful witches that threaten to destroy all of human kind. The heroes would be a desperate band of Witch Hunters looking for any advantage they can get, anything to try and turn the tides. Depending on the group's actions, this could go in a wide variety of directions, but it could be a fun Dark fantasy twist. Themes could even include a loss of humanity as they search for ways to save their world.

Exiled: A game that features the characters as men and women banished to a horrifying island by a Tyrannical Government. They shall have to find a way to survive, thrive, and maybe, just maybe, turn the tides against their oppressor. This one would be a little harder, but also quite interesting.

Are people interested in any of the concepts? Are there suggestions regarding themes, systems, or general advice? I'm more than happy to field questions as well!

All these concepts seem interesting! I'd prefer a freeform game though, as I don't know savage worlds or shadow of the demon lord!

I wouldn't need people to know the systems for any game. Most of them are pretty easy to learn at least in my opinion. I'll definitely consider doing just free-form or something light like the Window though.

The Adventurer's School sounds like a fun concept!  I'm a bigger fan of having some sort of system to keep things balanced, so I'd prefer something non-freeform. Dungeon World, perhaps?

I've never played Shadow of the Demon Lord, but I'd be open to trying it!

Any of these sound light hearted and interesting

I would only really take the first in a particularly light hearted direction to be honest. The others all contain darker themes like religious fanaticism, cultural assimilation and subjugation, tyranny, a loss of humanity, and so on.

Thanks for the clarification; more interested in that case :)

I'd give an anime adventurer school game a look, if you went with that one.

As long has the adventure school is lighthearted but not slapstick I don't mind. Sometimes people let that kind of thing get out of hand. I like lighthearted with serious scenes for contrast.

I think I'll go with the Adventurer School game. I had some fun ideas in how to make it work even in a slightly more grounded setting. Now, how do people feel about systems? I'm leaning towards having one since Dungeon Crawling will be a thing, but I'm open to other options. My Fantasy RPG of choice is Shadow of the Demon Lord, but I'm open to others and I'm more than willing to teach it.

I'd really rather prefer a system for it since I've seen far too many freeforms get out of hand for things like this.  I've never played Shadow of the Demon Lord, but I'm willing to take a look at it and see how it works!

Are you intending to have the system as a black box or require the players to be familiar with it? Or somewhere in between?

I'd say closest to somewhere in between, but I'd prefer some level of familiarity. Ownership of the books or prior familiarity would most definitely not be required of course.