Fantasy characters are a core element of making a world from scratch. They have their goals and dreams and work to ensure they get what they want which can cause conflict with characters who oppose them. This is the germ of all fantasy stories. As such, there’s multiple types of fantasy characters.
Characters are broken into both major and minor, depending on the role they play in the story. In the preceding article, four archetypes of characters were looked at and if you need a reminder, here they are: the hero, sidekick, the princess/love interest, and the rogue. If you’ll like to read it, here it is: Sorting out the Important Types of Fantasy Characters, Part 1. This article is the second in a two-parter series covering types of fantasy characters.
Today, we’ll follow up with four more.
The first of the four is none other than the sage.
One of the most popular types of fantasy characters, the sage is known for his great wisdom across the land and is usually played by an old man. He also serves as the mentor to the hero character and in many fantasy works, the two characters have known each other for a long time, having a relationship similar to a grandfather and his favorite grandchild.
Though he might be advanced in age, he still possesses a vigorous fighting spirit, being able to effortlessly defeat enemies with relative ease and it would be foolish to assume that since he’s old, he’s easy to defeat. Moreover, the sage tends to be a wizard, knowing spells that inflict great damage upon enemies or heal his wounded allies.
In many tales, the sage falls in battle, handing the hero a significant loss in his journey as he must now carry on the work he and his mentor started. In some cases, the sage engineers his defeat, knowing that his path no longer lies alongside the hero, though he recognizes how much it will cost him.
Obi-Wan Kenobi, Gandalf the Gray/White, and Albus Dumbledore are several renowned sages across the fantasy genre.
In the Harry Potter series, Albus Dumbledore is the headmaster of Hogwarts and helps Harry out many times throughout the book. It was he who arranged for Harry to live with his aunt and uncle in the aftermath of Voldemort’s downfall, believing that the Dark Lord would return one day and Harry living with his relatives would protect him.
He watches from afar as Harry grows up in the Dursleys’ home, knowing that they weren’t treating him right and when Harry comes to Hogwarts, Dumbledore continues watching him and does so throughout the series, helping him several times unseen. He offers invaluable advice to the young wizard and before long, he comes to care for him, wanting him to be happy despite knowing the tragic fate in store for him.
It is said throughout the novels that Dumbledore was the only wizard Voldemort ever feared and their skirmish in the Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix showcases just how skilled he is. He’s the only one able to duel the Dark Lord on equal ground.
Yet in the following book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore made a grave mistake and as a result, he has a curse growing on his hand that will eventually claim his life. He works to give Harry the knowledge he needs to vanquish Voldemort once and for all, knowing that the young man will have to continue their work without him while making the arrangements for his death.
Indeed, Dumbledore’s death spurs Harry to vow to finish what he and his mentor started. Ironically enough, the events of the night of his death proves to be the catalyst for the Dark Lord’s final demise a year later.
How does one go about writing a sage character? He has to be grandfatherly in appearance and be filled to the brim with wisdom. He’s usually well known across the world and people come to him for counsel and he has to be more than capable of dispatching monsters without much effort. And he’s well versed in the art of magic. Sage characters are considered major and thus, one of the most important types of fantasy characters.
Every tale has someone who’s seeking to get rich quick with minimal effort or swindling someone out of a cherished possession. That’s the role of the schemer, one of several fantasy characters. The schemer normally comes into conflict with the hero either by stealing something the hero needs to defeat the villain or the hero inadvertently ruining his plan. Due to his antagonism towards the hero, the schemer is considered an enemy, if he’s in league with the villain or if he’s working only to enrich himself.
The schemer and the rogue are similar in that they’re outcasts of society but for different reasons. For the rogue, it’s because his moral code doesn’t line up with society and he keeps to himself, wanting to be left alone. For the schemer, it’s because he has no moral code and he’s caused society nothing but trouble in order to line his pockets at the expense of other people.
Sometimes the schemer will ally with the hero but only out of self-interest and he waits to betray him when he believes he can get his payoff. Funnily enough, betraying the hero later leads to his final destruction when the two cross paths, the hero avenges his earlier defeat.
Notable schemers include Wario from Super Mario Brothers and Peter Pettigrew from Harry Potter.
Wario, jealous of Mario, steals his castle while Mario is off saving Daisy. When Mario returns, he reclaims his castle and ousts Wario, beginning a long rivalry that continues today. Wario’s goal is to get rich quick and he schemes to realize his goal.
Peter Pettigrew, on the other hand, is the very definition of a schemer. Due to his being weak-willed, he allied with James Potter and his crew because they were popular in Hogwarts. However, he secretly switched sides during the first war against Voldemort because he believed the Dark Lord would prevail and became an informant, telling him what his enemies were doing. Pettigrew was the one who told Voldemort the location James and Lily Potter were hiding in. When the Dark Lord lost his body there, Pettigrew feared the truth about his being a traitor would come out so he engineered his demise and framed Sirius Black.
To create a character in this vein, have him demonstrate smarts that take people by surprise. The schemer is known to be intelligent, capable of deceiving people. In terms of appearance, he radiates an aura of unhealthiness. This is because he has no morals and makes every decision based on his self-interest. While assumed to be major characters, schemers are great as minor characters as they can be in the story for a brief time.
Out of the different types of fantasy characters, the schemer is fun to work with since he’s so different than many others.
Many works of fantasy focus on the eternal struggle between good and evil. As a result, they tend to be serious, yet there needs to be some lightheartedness sprinkled throughout to offset the serious nature. That’s where the jester character comes in and no, I’m not talking about an actual jester.
The role of the jester is to act as comic relief, both for the hero and his allies and for the audience. They provide a temporary escape from the turmoil engulfing the world. Though they’re fools and mischievous in nature, they have a heart of gold and know that they will never be as great as the hero. Pranksters by nature, jester characters get into mischief on purpose to lighten the mood around them.
Their comedic acts are why jesters are one of the top types of fantasy characters.
Like the hero, jesters become beloved by the audience simply because of the crazy things they do and the trouble they get in. And their tricks require a fair deal of creativity and planning.
Merry Brandybuck, Pippin Took, Fred and George Weasley are just several examples of jester characters. Their antics bring nothing but laughter, although Hermione Granger gets irate with Fred and George and at one time, she threatens to write to their mother.
Jesters generally are part of the hero’s group alongside with the sidekick, though they don’t stay with the hero the whole time. Their paths diverge in the latter half of the hero’s story though they reunite in the final confrontation.
To write such a character, keep in mind his role is act as comic relief. He should come off as goofy but generally good-natured with a bit of a rebellious streak. The possibility of getting into trouble doesn’t faze the jester as he has no fear about the consequences of his pranks. And he should be an invaluable ally to the hero, part of his squad. Jesters tend to be major characters though they can also be minor characters as well.
Bowser, Ganondorf, and Sauron are well-known fantasy villains. Typically the instigator of the story’s drama, the villain’s paramount goal is to conquer the land and eliminate all opposition. If done right, the big bad can be equally memorable as the hero, if not more.
Out of all the different types of fantasy characters, the villain is the one driving the story as his efforts to come out on top ends up causing trouble for everyone else.
Villains come in all shapes and sizes from the domineering Lady Tremaine in Cinderella to the manipulative and cunning Sauron, who inspires fear not just in his enemies but among his loyal minions. The big bad always has many underlings ready to fling against the hero to stop him and he doesn’t care how many die as long as the hero is stopped. This makes him cold and calculating.
Villains are masters in the arts of deception, being capable of sowing great lies, and seduction. With meticulous planning, they are able to skillfully sway people to their sides, typically offering them their heart’s desire with no intention of fulfilling their promise.
While they share similar traits, the villain is a step above the schemer both in terms of personality and sheer will. Whereas the schemer cares only about enriching himself at someone’s expense, the villain seeks to enrich himself by murdering his enemies and subjugating entire populations and keep them in line by using a combination of force and fear.
Just as the hero, a great deal of time is needed to make a great, memorable villain, one who radiates an aura of power. Additionally, he must be cunning and a master of deception and gets things done by sheer will, regardless of the cost. He must be beyond redemption; the number of atrocities he committed throughout his reign of terror demonstrates how wicked he is to his core. This is a major role; the villain plays a role at the beginning, the middle, and the end.
The villain, like the hero, is one of several types of fantasy characters that you need to get right, so take as long as you need so you can create a memorable villain!
Besides the first four in the preceding article, the four types of fantasy characters covered here goes a long way in making the world you’re making more realistic. The hero and the villain are the yin and yang of fantasy; one cannot exist without the other.
I know there are more but the eight showed in this article and the last one are the principal character archetypes that comprise a fantasy world. They all each play an important role in shaping the story and the path it glides on and it’s your job as their creator to use each one of them to great effect, to make a story that will stand the test of time.
Using all the types of fantasy characters examined here and the preceding article adds interesting dimensions to your story that you can explore to make a far more dynamic story!
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Sunfire
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