Sword vs. Sorcery

[A.R.]

I have a question for the writers in this group, or for any readers who wish to respond, and thought this would be the best place to post it.

In Sword & Sorcery, the main character is often a warrior who battles an evil sorcerer (or a creature much stronger than himself). Usually, it's in a world where magic is significantly more powerful than anything the warrior has in his arsenal.

My question is this: How do you handle the battle between these two opponents?

[J.W.]

Wits, will and dumb luck... at least that's how I handle it.

[[deleted user]]

You typically don't have the protagonist(s) confront the sorcerer directly; that's how people get fried into crispy bits or worse. A sorcerer is usually defeated indirectly: their own creation/servitor turns on them, buried in a collapsing building, destroyed by a god or other powerful being, destroyed by their own hubris. They are usually out of the hero's league.

You could also introduce a sort of "one-shot device" to destroy them: a potion, magic weapon, a sacrifice (self or otherwise). It's something they use to defeat "this" sorcerer, but not something they can use at-will. So in the next story they can be menaced by another one. ;)

You could also introduce a secret weakness or something to the sorcerer. "He will die if the magic mirror held within the labyrinth is ever shattered!"

Or you could just use a distraction. The hero unleashes the balor from the pit forcing the sorcerer to focus his sorceries on it while the hero sneaks up from behind and cleaves him in twain! (Or shoots the guys with arrows from hiding if they're sneaky). {Preferably poisoned arrows}.

Powerful does not have to equal invincible. Also, the protagonist doesn't always have to win. Getting annihilated by sorcery or just beating a hasty retreat away from the horrors can also be satisfying endings.

[Charles]

I've done it various ways. In "A Whisper in Ashes," I had the hero be more mysterious than the sorcerer, and perhaps more powerful. The reader never quite learns for sure in that story. I also always put limits on the sorcery. There are some things the sorcerer can't do, or can do only at great cost. The hero takes advantage of these weaknesses.

In the Talera novel series, the hero recruits allies, some with sorcerous powers of their own, but not as powerful as the primary evil sorcerer. Then they use misdirection, wearing the enemy down, wiping out the enemy's allies, and so on until the final confrontation.

[[deleted user]]

In Howard's Conan the prime sorcerer/monster is defeated by the following methods:

Magical intervention by a divine/sorcerous power that aids Conan in a fight: 2
Magical weapon: 2
Magical power provided by a divine/sorcerous power that Conan uses without a fight: 1
Projectile: 3
Straight up fight or assasination: 10
Flight: 1

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

David wrote: "In Howard's Conan the prime sorcerer/monster is defeated by the following methods:

Magical intervention by a divine/sorcerous power that aids Conan in a fight: 2
Magical weapon: 2
Magical power..."

Nice data, David.

[[deleted user]]

Moorcock's Elric, by contrast, almost always relies on the supernatural: either demonic aid (often supplied by Arioch but not always), or via Stormbringer. Even when he eschews Stormbringer he's using drugs. He's pretty much the antithesis of Conan's reliance on mortal resolve, strength and invention.

[Thomas]

I think it is just that dynamic that makes sword and sorcery exciting: mortal steel against supernatural power.

As authors, we seek to answer that final conflict in a manner that best suits our story. How it goes down, wether through foible or intricate scheme, is often going to be the crux of our story.

In my story, the villain and the hero have many interconnections. These create a history to unravel and leave clues for the hero about what he is up against. His eventual triumph is backed by a plethora of different attributes: the friends he has gained in his journey, the truths he has unlocked, the gifts he has mastered, and the intelligence he has honed. If I did my work right as an author the tale will read with excitement and emotion. The reader will enjoy a unique experience that has many trappings of a classic sword and sorcery.

[A.R.]

I've read Brandon Sanderson's Laws on magic:

1st Law http://brandonsanderson.com/sanderson...

2nd Law http://brandonsanderson.com/sanderson...

3rd Law http://brandonsanderson.com/sanderson...

I kinda like the middle of the road approach. Not too strict, but not too lose either.

I've always had a greater interest in warrior's wading into combat like Aragorn, rather than magical battles fought like Gandalf. In fantasy video games like Everquest I played warriors (and Paladins) and was never interested in controlling a wizard.

So when writing, or thinking about writing, a wizard vs. swordsman duel I get a little angst.

[Kameron]

Sword & Sorcery doesn't strictly mean warrior vs. wizard. Even the classics have variations on that theme. If you want your stories to be fresh and unique, you'll want to find your own way to spin the theme.

In my Janner Kohl stories, I've had a shaman aid Janner against enemy mercenaries, and I've had a well-timed sword strike separate the villain from the magical artifact that was the source of his powers.

[Mary]

There's always the classic technique of catching him in the middle of a spell. Or slicing him open while he's trying to bespell you.