On mage heroes

[limyaael]

I resent the primacy of mage and fighter heroes in fantasy, since I think it’s a) harder to do original things with them by now, b) too convenient that every single person who matters in a fantasy world is an astounding mage or an excellent fighter, and c) the writer tends to make them superpowered. However, I’ve already done rants on different

Comments

[luna_manar]

Why do mages have to be bitter or tormented, though? I don't think that's an essential part of any fantasy mage character, certainly not the way using magic is. I included it under "clumsy" just because the clumsy characters usually do get teased and sniffle about it, but it's entirely possible that the people who grow up to be mages could have been the bullies as children, or the ones too scary to touch, or the observing sycophants on the sidelines. There's no need for a mage to be bitter.

They certainly do not have to. But I view that as an acceptable stereotype because it is understandable that many mages become mages because they cannot do anything else and be respected for their power. Which leads into why bitter mages are also often power-hungry--psychologically, there is a stigma of powerlessness that persists. If a person was teased for being a weakling as a child, it stands to reason that person will want to prove themselves in control of their lives--and perhaps others', as well--by gaining power. Hence, the reason becoming an artist, musician, or other such proffession that requires skill and percision, but not strength, would be unappealing. Shortly, the arcane arts are an easy excuse for bitter, vengeful individuals to prove their superiority over their tormentors. That opens the doorway for hordes of such rubber-stamp characters, but, that does not mean you cannot write an engaging character who is subject to this cliché. Again, the depth is in the details.

I think of bitter mages as a fantasy achetype, more than a stereotype. That is not to say I wouldn't mind seeing more mage characters who totally do not fit the mold--on the contrary, I agree, it would make things more interesting if I did. However, I won't automatically brand a mage character as "boring" just because he or she fits the stereotype. Jaenelle was boring because she was a Munchkin without depth--she was invulnerable, and invulnerability is also inhuman and impossible for the reader to identify with. Another well-known mage, Raistlin Majere from the DragonLance series, was extremely powerful, but he had a huge number of flaws (physical frailty and overconfidence among them) that led to his inevitable undoing, and I find him to be a very interesting tragic character, despite his near-Munchkinism.