Line #95 Main/SwordAndSorcery


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4	[[quoteright:350:[[Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/conan_skeletons.jpg]]]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:[[VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} Grab your sword and fight the horde!]]]]
6
7	-> ''"I live in a world of fire and sand. The crimson sun scorches the life from anything that crawls or flies, and storms of sand scour the foliage from the barren ground. This is a land of blood and dust, where tribes of feral elves sweep out of the salt plains to plunder lonely caravans, mysterious singing winds call travelers to slow suffocation in the Sea of Silt, and selfish kings squander their subjects' lives building gaudy palaces and garish tombs. This bleak wasteland is Athas, and it is my home."''
8	-->-- '''The Wanderer,''' ''TabletopGame/DarkSun''
9
10
11	A subgenre of HeroicFantasy, with which it is often lumped together, but having its own distinguishing characteristics. Coined by Creator/FritzLeiber in the early '60s to define the style of his own works and those writers that inspired him, and to differentiate it from other works described as Heroic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery is a genre of fantasy that is often [[DarkerAndEdgier considerably less glamorous]] and [[RatedMForManly all about fast-paced action]]. Almost universally, Sword & Sorcery stories are about mighty warriors fighting supernatural horrors with blade in hand, either an EldritchAbomination or EvilSorcerer. Any political or criminal leaders are usually merely an UnwittingPawn of a [[TheManBehindTheMan much darker power]]. Many victories will be by the skin of their teeth and usually won more through quick thinking and cleverness rather than physical might. There will be at least a few times where they [[KnowWhenToFoldEm cut their losses and bail on a fight]], and they will have at least one RunOrDie moment when they recognize that a threat is way out of their league. While they may have genuine allies here and there, they know better than to trust most people; as far as they are concerned, everyone they meet has a hidden dagger in their clutches until proven otherwise, and even then, they are usually still prepared for betrayal at some point.
12
13	Sword & Sorcery protagonists can usually be identified by three main traits, which separate them from most heroes from Heroic Fantasy:
14	* They are men (and occasional women) [[ActionHero of action]], larger than life and fighting evil through pure strength of will [[InHarmsWay until their final breath]].
15	* In some way or another the protagonists are outsiders, not having a real place in society [[AloneInACrowd even when among their own people]]. Quite often they are TheDrifter and WalkingTheEarth.
16	* They are ultimately motivated by self-interest, offering their martial skills either [[OnlyInItForTheMoney for money]], [[BloodKnight fun]], or because doing so [[NotInThisForYourRevolution benefits them in another way]].
17
18	Creator/RobertEHoward is widely seen as the TropeMaker of the genre, with Creator/FritzLeiber and Creator/MichaelMoorcock being the {{Trope Codifier}}s a generation later. Many famous stories were first published in {{Pulp Magazine}}s and short story anthologies are still a popular form of the genre.
19
20	If the heroes of a story are [[TheHero actually heroic]] and morally unambiguous, it's probably HeroicFantasy. If there is only a low supernatural presence, it is most likely LowFantasy. Can sometimes overlap with DarkFantasy. See also {{Wuxia}} and SwordAndSandal, the Chinese and Bronze Age Mediterranean versions (respectively) of the genre, both with very strong overlaps. Unrealistic and formulaic sword and sorcery stories have been referred to with the disparaging term "[[http://www.sfwa.org/2005/01/on-thud-and-blunder/ thud and blunder]]".
21
22	Because of the genre's history in pulp fiction, which goes as far back as the 1920's, there are a few bits of ValuesDissonance that have become tightly associated with the genre and may result in some UnfortunateImplications if an aspiring sword and sorcery author isn't careful. Such problematic tropes include {{Orientalism}}, [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Fantasy Counterpart Cultures]], RomanticizedAbuse, and NobleSavage. Tread lightly, brave writer.
23
24	Not to be confused with SwordAndSorcerer, which is a character duo trope.
25
26	!!Common tropes in Sword & Sorcery:
27	* AmbitionIsEvil
28	* AntiHero
29	* BarbarianHero
30	* BlackAndGrayMorality
31	* TheDarkArts
32	* DeliberateValuesDissonance
33	* EldritchAbomination
34	* EldritchLocation
35	* EvilSorcerer
36	* GoodIsNotNice
37	* HumanSacrifice
38	* HumansAreBastards
39	* MagicIsEvil
40	* ProudWarriorRaceGuy
41	* RatedMForManly
42	* WarIsGlorious
43
44	----
45	!!Examples:
46	[[foldercontrol]]
47
48	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
49
50	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
51	* ''Anime/AmonSaga'': A story set in a chaotic fantasy world with magic and monsters based around a young man seeking revenge for the death of his mother. Many of the characters are mercenaries or villainous soldiers, dark magic is used by evil sorcerers and the hero has to slay both man and beast in his quest for vengeance.
52	%%* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', particularly in the Black Swordsman arc at the start of the story. Though it mainly veers straight into DarkFantasy and CosmicHorror.
53	* ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'': The titular Claymores are warrior women who hunt monsters called Yoma but are shunned by humans for being part-Yoma themselves.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Comic Books]]
57	%%* ''ComicBook/ConanTheBarbarian'', naturally.
58	%%* ''ComicBook/RedSonja.''
59	* The ''ComicBook/TalesOfTheJedi'' series is quite different in style from most ''Franchise/StarWars'' stories and has very stong allusions to Sword & Sorcery, being set 5,000 to 4,000 years before the rest of the Expanded Universe. Being the stories of the ancient Sith, it's full of demonic-looking evil sorcerers, their huge palaces and temples, and alchemy.
60	%%* The flashback stories featuring the prehistoric Avengers in Jason Aaron's ''Comicbook/TheAvengers'' run.
61	%%* ''ComicBook/CerebusTheAardvark'' started off as a parody of ''Conan'', then became a more general BlackComedy {{Satire}} and then...something [[MindScrew far stranger]].
62	* ''ComicBook/TheGoddamned'' has elements of the genre. A morally-grey BarbarianHero with nothing but bones for weapons, {{Amazonian Beaut\|y}}ies, a SandalPunk setting full of giant beasts of dubious physiologies, barbaric [[FrazettaMan Frazetta Men]], giants, cults and cult-leaders, curses and the duality between faith in oneself and a higher power.
63	* In Robin Wood's ''Or-Grund'', the protagonist is a blond and muscular barbarian hero with some similarity to He-Man (although only physically), who travels the world facing vampires, ghouls, snake-men and all kinds of evil creatures. He is quite primitive at first, rather silly and acts solely on instinct, like an animal, but out of necessity he must become smarter and more cunning, as well as less impulsive.
64	[[/folder]]
65
66	[[folder:Film]]
67	%%* ''Film/TheThirteenthWarrior'' plays close to the genre, but eventually subverts it. [[spoiler:All the magic and monsters turn out to be simply intimidation tactics by the savage warriors.]]
68	%%* ''Film/AtorTheFightingEagle'' is a great example...in the ironic sense.
69	%%** Its sequel, ''Film/TheBladeMaster'' is a great example on how ''not'' to write sword and sorcery.
70	%%** Its second sequel, ''Film/QuestForTheMightySword'', is another bad example.
71	%%* ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982'' and ''Film/ConanTheDestroyer''
72	%%** ''Film/RedSonja''
73	%%* ''Film/HawkTheSlayer''
74	%%* ''Film/KingArthurLegendOfTheSword''
75	* ''Film/Mandy2018'' takes place in (a stylized version of) the real world in the early 1980s and adds elements of horror and psychedelia, but it qualifies. It's about a BarbarianHero taking brutal but justified revenge against an EvilSorcerer cult leader and his demonic mooks for murdering the woman he loves.
76	%%* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'': Aside from the unusual setting, the movies match the genre perfectly.
77	%%* ''Film/TheScorpionKing''
78	%%* The ''Film/DeathStalker'' movies are classic examples of '80s grindhouse sword and sorcery.
79	%%* ''Film/TheBeastmaster''
80	%%* ''Film/TheSwordAndTheSorcerer'': Right there in the name.
81	%%* ''Film/{{Conquest}}''... sort of, if [[ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs looking like it was made on several drugs]] still counts. Look, it's a Creator/LucioFulci movie, just roll with it.
82	%%* ''Film/TheNorthman'' has been described as the story of ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' (more or less) told in the style of ''Film/{{Conan the Barbarian\|1982}}''. The sorcery elements are very much in the realm of MaybeMagicMaybeMundane, but the characters certainly think they're real.
83	* ''Film/{{Sorceress}}'' is another ''Conan'' imitator, with the twist that it takes much inspiration from ''The Corsican Brothers'', featuring twin sisters [[RaisedAsTheOppositeGender raised as boys]] who have to prevent [[ArchnemesisDad their own birth father]], who's an EvilSorcerer, from [[HumanSacrifice sacrificing the eldest]] to gain more power from his master, a dark god.
84	[[/folder]]
85
86	[[folder:Literature]]
87	* ''Literature/TheBarbarianAndTheSorceress'', a short story which is clearly in the original style of these, with a heroic wandering warrior having to fight an EvilSorcerer. It subverts some conventions, though, as the hero [[DistressedDude has to be rescued]] by the title sorceress, who learned magic from the sorcerer's books without him realizing.
88	%%* ''Literature/{{Beowulf}}'', as well as its many adaptations.
89	* Some of Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs' pulpy TwoFistedTales provide formative early examples. Though the stakes are often high enough to push the stories more into HighFantasy territory, the magic -- or, in the case of the PlanetaryRomance ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars'' series, PsychicPowers -- is limited enough to keep the focus more on swashbuckling action and swordfights. His heroes are principled and unambiguously heroic, but typically still have a little bit of BloodKnight in them. The Creator/FrankFrazetta covers many of Burroughs' books received later were a natural fit.
90	* Creator/RobertEHoward's ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' is the {{TropeMaker}} -- if not TropeCodifier -- of the entire genre. In addition to the titular Conan being the TropeCodifier of the BarbarianHero, almost everyone who uses magic is portrayed as some type of EvilSorcerer due to its [[MagicIsEvil nature]] (the one exception, who tried to use magic to ''help'' Conan, creeped the latter out to the point he wanted nothing more to do with them), Conan faces off against said sorcerers and [[EldritchAbomination things that should not be]] regularly (keep in mind the franchise is technically part of the Franchise/CthulhuMythos), and he's an UnscrupulousHero unafraid to [[VillainKiller get his hands dirty]]. It's almost impossible to find any sword and sorcery fiction that ''doesn't'' owe its existence to these stories in some shape or form.
91	%%* Howard's companion of the Lovecraft Circle, Creator/ClarkAshtonSmith, has the ''Hyperborea'' and ''Zothique'' cycles. Of these, Hyperborea is more of a straight example, as it happens in MedievalPrehistory whilst Zothique is in the [[AfterTheEnd far post-apocalyptic future]].
92	%%* Some of the short stories set in Creator/GlenCook's ''Literature/DreadEmpire'' universe fit here; the author explicitly cites Fritz Lieber as an inspiration. The full-length novels, however, which have much more epic scope and higher stakes, fall more into the HighFantasy side of things, albeit of a rather dark and gritty sort.
93	%%* The ''Literature/EddieLaCrosse'' series is sometimes placed in this sub-genre, although it's sometimes closer to LowFantasy than other works called sword-and-sorcery (depending a bit on exactly which book you look at).
94	* Michael Moorcock's ''Literature/TheElricSaga'', which alongside ''Conan the Barbarian'' and ''Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser'' is considered one of the defining entries in the genre, telling the story of a decadent but sickly sorcerer-king who becomes a great warrior after acquiring a demonic soul-eating sword, traveling the world in search of redemption and constantly running into tragedy thanks to said sword's effective enslavement of its wielder.
95	* ''Literature/TheEyeOfArgon'' is an infamously terrible novella that goes for this sort of tone, mostly trying to mimic the style of ''Conan''. It tells of a BarbarianHero named Grignr getting mixed up in the [[ViceCity decadent city]] of Gorzom, running afoul of TheEvilPrince, and [[SaveThePrincess rescuing a princess]] from being [[HumanSacrifice sacrificed]] by a {{cult}}. Its legacy as a try-not-to-laugh contest played at science fiction conventions is more than well-deserved.
96	* Fritz Leiber's ''Literature/FafhrdAndTheGrayMouser'' is considered one of the pioneer entries in the genre, retelling the adventures of a hulking BarbarianHero and his thief/wizard friend as they do mercenary work and battle all manner of foes, typically in the city of Lankhmar, when they're not boozing, brawling, wencing, and gambling.
97	* ''Literature/FangboneThirdGradeBarbarian'' and its AnimatedAdaptation ''WesternAnimation/{{Fangbone}}'' are a kid-oriented AffectionateParody of the genre, with the title hero being a young barbarian warrior from the fierce world of Skullbania who must protect a magical artifact of immense evil (in this case, the severed digit of an EvilSorcerer) with the help of his friend and ally, a clever but otherwise normal kid. Creator Michael Rex even confirmed ''Conan the Barbarian'' to be a major inspiration for the series.
98	* ''Literature/GoblinSlayer'' is a grim {{Deconstruction}} of the genre that follows the bloody exploits of a man and his relentless quest to murder every goblin he comes across.
99	* ''Literature/TheIronDream'' is a DeconstructiveParody of the genre by posing an AlternateHistory where UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler became an author of pulp fiction in the mode of Creator/RobertEHoward, where mighty Aryan warriors fight villains who are thinly veiled antisemitic stereotypes.
100	%%* ''Literature/JirelOfJoiry'' by C.L. Moore has probably the first female protagonist in these, which inspired many more ActionGirl heroines.
101	%%* ''Literature/KaneSeries'' by Creator/KarlEdwardWagner.
102	%%* ''Sword Sisters'' set in the ''Film/LegendOfTheRedReaper'' universe and published by Creator/RagnarokPublications takes place in one such world.
103	* ''Literature/LegendsOfPanthera'' is set in the semi-medievial world of Panthera and follows the adventures of a group of champions who battle against gods.
104	%%* ''Literature/ThePusadianSeries'' was Creator/LSpragueDeCamp's attempt at making a version of the [[Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian Hyborian Age]] that matched better with the world's real history.
105	* ''Literature/TalesOfTheBlackRaven'' by Seth Skorkowsky is a collection of stories about a master thief in a world of tombs, corrupt city-states, evil magic, and femme fatales.
106	* ''Literature/TheTestamentOfTallEagle'' by John R. Fultz is a Tribal Fantasy about a FantasyCounterpartCulture for the Comanche dealing with Cthulhuoid monstrosities and HumanAliens threatening their land.
107	* ''Literature/TheTiesThatBindHayes'' is set in a spectacularly grim and gritty world where the world's second-best swordsman has to deal with a ''lot'' of trouble from her male rivals. Thankfully, she has help.
108	* ''Franchise/TheWitcher'': [[HunterOfMonsters Monster hunter]] Geralt travels the land, killing monsters and lifting curses for coin, using swords, alchemy, and magic.
109	[[/folder]]
110
111	%%[[folder:Live Action TV]]
112	%%* ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'' is the SpearCounterpart to Xena below.
113	%%* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' is a staple of not only sword and sorcery, but FeministFantasy as well.
114	%%* ''Series/ConanTheAdventurer'', naturally.
115	%%[[/folder]]
116
117	[[folder:Music]]
118	* HeavyMetal band Eternal Champion's albums chronicle the adventures of UltimateBlacksmith Rænon, and his forging of the Godblade against the MadGod Brakur.
119	%%* [[Music/{{Gwar}} GWAR]] positively adores this trope. Especially in their 2001 album, ''Violence Has Arrived.''
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
123	%%* ''Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea'', a retro-clone of ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]]''.
124	* ''TabletopGame/AtlantisTheSecondAge'', which awards experience depending on how heroically you slay your enemies and revolves heavily around mechanics that require you to do outrageous and badass things the whole time.
125	%%* ''Barbarians of Lemuria''.
126	%%* There have been plenty of ''Conan'' [=RPGs=] over the years, with another one currently being published by Modiphius Entertainment.
127	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The game's roots are in this genre, with Creator/GaryGygax claiming the game owes more to Robert E. Howard, Fritz Lieber and Jack Vance than to Tolkien. This is especially evident with art in early editions of the game, as well as the mechanics and visuals for certain classes early on, taking heavy inspiration from Conan and similar characters. Over time however, later editions have diverged from the genre, opening up greater flexibility, although most lean towards HeroicFantasy.
128	** The ''TabletopGame/DarkSun'' setting (which also provide the page quote) specifically aims to emulate old pulp stories and is heavily influenced by ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars'', as well as Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian. Set in the post-apocalyptic desert world of Athas, the setting is ruled by depraved sorcerer-kings of godlike power whose magic corrupts and drains the landscape. Brutal and deadly, only the strong survive, with GladiatorGames and PsychicPowers being commonplace.
129	%%* As does ''TabletopGame/OnMightyThews'', which even comes with a list of substitutions to make things more pulpy.
130	%%* ''Primeval Thule'' is a campaign setting set in the world of Robert Howard's ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' and ''Literature/{{Kull}}'' (with a bit of the Franchise/CthulhuMythos thrown in) but taking place in a time between them, on the [[ArtisticLicenseGeography tropical continent of Greenland]].
131	[[/folder]]
132
133	[[folder:Video Games]]
134	%%* ''VideoGame/AgeOfConan'', obviously.
135	* ''VideoGame/BoundByFlame'': Even though the goal of the protagonist is to prevent the destruction of [[AfterTheEnd what little is left of the world]], Vulcan keeps fighting the Ice Lords mostly out of self-preservation, rather than saving the world.
136	%%* ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'': The first game more than the second and third, which grew more into EpicFantasy.
137	%%* ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'' has [[ShowWithinAShow the book series]] ''[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Hjelmdallerman, the Man from Hjelmdall]]'', which is a StylisticSuck parody of the genre, with Hjelmdallerman himself being a blatant Conan-knockoff.
138	* ''VideoGame/{{Ecstatica}}'': A traveller stumbles into a town ravaged by eldritch beasts, and must fight their way out using swords and magic.
139	* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' is epic in scale and revolves around a war of the gods, but Kratos is really only out for revenge and nothing else, simply not caring for the cataclysmic destruction following in his wake.
140	%%* ''VideoGame/{{Golden Axe}}''
141	* ''VideoGame/HeavenlySword'': A young warrior claims an ancient magical sword to rescue her father from the evil sorcerer and his monstrous henchmen, even though the spirits of the weapon are likely to doom her.
142	* ''VideoGame/IcewindDale'': A group of mercenaries sets out to find the power behind the monsters and unnatural winter coming from the mountains.
143	%%* ''VideoGame/{{Kenshi}}'': Despite having all of the sword and none of the sorcery, it has more than enough of the other tropes that characterize the genre's gritty, cutthroat tone.
144	* ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'': While lots of people are trying to convince him to fulfill his destiny and restore balance to the world, Kain really is only after personal power and revenge against those who got in his way. Raziel is somewhat more noble, but also mostly motivated by getting back at those who wronged him.
145	* ''VideoGame/TheWitcher'' video game series (also includes ''[[VideoGame/TheWitcher2AssassinsOfKings Assassins of Kings]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt Wild Hunt]]''), much like the books they are based on: A lone monster hunter hunting a sorcerer who stole the alchemical secrets from the witchers.
146	[[/folder]]
147
148	[[folder:Western Animation]]
149	* ''WesternAnimation/ConanTheAdventurer'' was a Conan-based SaturdayMorningCartoon with all the '80s camp on account of being much LighterAndSofter than the source material and instead having Conan as a former blacksmith's apprentice who battles the evil Wrath-Amon, rule of the Serpentmen, with help from a small group of allies. The much less well-received follow-up, ''WesternAnimation/ConanAndTheYoungWarriors'', was more HeroicFantasy.
150	* ''WesternAnimation/DaveTheBarbarian'', an AffectionateParody of the genre starring a wimpy barbarian who defends the kingdom of Udrogoth (ruled by his parents) from a variety of comical threats (most prominent the Dark Lord Chuckles the Silly Piggy).
151	%%* Creator/RalphBakshi's ''WesternAnimation/FireAndIce'' plays this so straight that the character designs were even by Creator/FrankFrazetta, who was the TropeCodifier for Sword and Sorcery art.
152	* ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse'' is what you would get if you took a corny '80s sword and sorcery film and turned it into a kids' cartoon, following the adventures of Prince Adam of Eternia as he wielded the Sword of Power against the forces of the wicked Skeletor by transforming into He-Man.
153	* ''WesternAnimation/KorgothOfBarbaria'', which is kind of [[AffectionateParody a straight example and a parody at the same time]], featuring the BloodyHilarious adventures of a brutal warrior in a post-apocalyptic ScavengerWorld full of demons, mutants, dinosaurs, and magic.
154	* ''WesternAnimation/Primal2019'' is practically a love letter to the entire genre, moving it into a OneMillionYearsBC world where cavemen coexist with dinosaurs and other {{Prehistoric Monster}}s, supernatural horrors, and ancient kingdoms. The series follows Neanderthal Spear and tyrannosaur Fang as they survive their vicious world together, pitted against a variety of deadly, monstrous, and terrifying opponents from all the above categories.
155	* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' combines the genre with a heaping helping of science fiction. Following a samurai warrior displaced in time by the demonic EvilOverlord Aku, the series' FantasyKitchenSink allowed the title character to face off against a wide variety of enemies, from murderous robots and alien bounty hunters to soul-stealing demons and armies of undead.
156	* ''WesternAnimation/ThundarrTheBarbarian'' is another classic '80s action cartoon that is set in a [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic future]], that describes its setting as [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "A world of savagery, super-science and sorcery!"]].
157	[[/folder]]
158

Context Main / SwordAndSorcery