arm are a major part of phantasy literature of every kind . That ’s why there ’s a whole category hollo “ Sword and Sorcery . ” But as fantasy narrative have proliferate , some phantasy weapon system trope have taken over the genre . Here are the ten we ’d wish to see withdraw .
Nothing in this leaning was necessarily unsound the first few clock time they appeared . It ’s the incessant , never - ending use of them that start to just derive off as faineant . Or , to be kinder , the tropes are so ubiquitous now that writers admit because that ’s how things in these worlds work . Please , stop . Or , at least restrict yourself to one .
Spoilers for some thing ahead …
Do hoi polloi think this is a subtle metaphor any longer ? This is always when a weapon system is meant to represent its wielder . It usually violate when the torpedo is at his lowest distributor point , read the smashing of his will . And then , when the hero is quick , his brand is reforged and stronger than before .
Sometimes , the twist is that the weapon is a sept or cultural heirloom . Then it represents the regaining of family unit honor or the restoration of a hoi polloi .
Either way , this figure has course its course . We know exactly what it think and the meaning is about as subtle as a sledgehammer to the head . Which was broken by my Church Father when he failed in his tariff , but has been repaired and reinforced now that I am ascending to top .
We can forgive some musical style blindness . But , at this compass point , you may not find a random artillery , discover that it ’s magically better than anything that anyone ’s ever check , and then take the whole Christian Bible to realize it ’s actually the blade in the caption you ’ve been told since you were a kid . That just make theatrical role look stupefied .
For example : Although the invisibility cloak was n’t on the dot a weapon , the fact that no one thought to mention to Harry Potter that it was unusual that it had worked dead for decades is kind of ridiculous . It could have been multitude could have been distracted or Dumbledore fend off it to keep it veil , but still . Take bill of things you utilize all the time .
dividing line with Discworld , where everyone is so genre savvy , they recognize that the blade Carrot has is a small too perfect to be just any weapon system .
It ’s never enough to just have a blade that ’s been made well and is wielded with bully skill . Oh no , it ’s specialness has to be outwardly manifest by the usance of a uncommon material that makes the sword await cool .
We ’ve nonplus quartz sword , black meteorologic smoothing iron ( not a matter , it ’s not black ) , and various versions of mithril and adamantium . But hey , it go so much cooler to make something up . It ’s an inst identifier that this vane is different . Valyrian steel from A Song of Ice and Fire is just the latest in a foresighted bloodline of uncommon material .
No , not just knifelike . Almost too sharp . Look for language that point that it ’s a blade so sharp it can cut through realness . Again , a merely sharp blade could do the job just as well . But , again , how would you bonk how totally awesome the weapon was and , by extension , the grapheme wielding it .
Image byMcSorely / deviantART
How do you get it on that you ’re up against the bad guys ? Their blades are compensate in gunk , bent and warped to show weighed down use . Good guys are always literally shinier . You could assume that immorality always loses because of their moral failing , but there ’s every fortune that the want of weapons maintenance had something to do with it , too .
Bonus bad point if the evil side has weapons traditionally colligate with non - westerly culture , like scimitars . Those are some unfortunate implications being give around in that .
Every airstream in fantasy is identified with a specific weapon . Elves utilize bows , Dwarves use axis , and men use swords . It ’s pretty slothful to assign one weapon to each radical rather than create a little multifariousness . In larger groups , that may not be the font , but for the chief character of that race it almost sure enough is .
observe that this does n’t have to just be fantasy slipstream , it can also be just different nations . In The Belgariad and The Mallorean by David Eddings , each nation tend to have a specific form of weapon that ties into their national stereotype .
prowess : Dwarf by Ilya Komarov / deviantArt
Like mystic metal , this is a trope that ’s supposed to act as a metaphor . See how big this weapon is ? It ’s directly proportional to either how awesome or evil its owner is . There is no dubiousness that for many character in fantasy , their steel is connect into their identity . But , seriously , unless the sizing is meant to show that a theatrical role care more about appear badass than being badass , they just calculate silly . In Codex Alera , the corporation with swords like this are used as a banging Aries . Rule of cool , and all , but those are just too big swords .
I fall back ? I ’m not supposed to lose . Let me see the playscript .
You ’ll see this most often with arrows , where someone will be carrying a illusion arrow that ’s really only useful in this a very specific instance . It ’s a Chekov Gun with a lampshade on it : There ’s no way that does n’t get used . You may also get a blade that can cut through a specific material or a witching defensive structure ability spring from nowhere . It ’s a very specific deus ex machina , and very frustrating because it does n’t seem earned .
This one ’s annoying because , unless deal very carefully , it reject free will from the equating . When someone ’s evil , it ’s nice to have a grounds why , that ’s what makes them interesting and compelling characters . Otherwise , it ’s an easy way to create play by sour an ally iniquity but not sustain to really turn a loss him to the dark side . There ’s also an easy pay - off for you poor boy , where you show how pure of heart they are by have them reject the weapon ’s siren call . Terry Pratchett ’s Discworld devoted an intact Bible , Men at blazonry , to the premiss . Of of course , the Tolkien , the King of Tropes , had a steel that wish to drink blood .
There ’s also an apologue about how violence just begets more violence , no matter what your intention when you pick up a arm . But , again , we ’ve get hold of a power point where that message is n’t young or subtle .
Come to opine of it , weapons that make their own decisions are just a ecumenical affair that we can do with much less of . The issue is n’t most as pressing as it is with evil weapons , which tend to overly simplify a plot , but it ’s the kind of thing that draw focus away from characters . In Diane Duane ’s A Wizard Abroad and The Dresden Files , there are blade that regale their users like conduit . short , the arm , which has no character , takes over go the secret plan fore from the citizenry .
On the more humorous side , there ’s only so many fourth dimension you ca n have the joke of someone arguing with their weapon before it becomes clear that , no matter how powerful , it ’s probably more get at than it ’s worth . A normal arm would make your enemy just dead .
Fantasy
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