Fantasy Axis of Evil: Difference between revisions

Any fan of fantasy, [[Heroic Fantasy|Heroic]], [[High Fantasy|High]] or [[Low Fantasy|Low]] (or [[Speculative Fiction|otherwise]]) knows the usual [[The Lord of the Rings|Tolkien]] mould of heroic races- [[Our Elves Are Better|elves]], [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same|dwarves]], [[Hobbits|halflings]], [[Our Gnomes Are Weirder|gnomes]], and [[Our Monsters Are Different|whatever else]]. (Oh, [[My Friends and Zoidberg|and humans too]].) But of course the [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]] races often come in certain varieties themselves, in something of an [[Evil Counterpart]] trope of the [[Five Races]].

* Humanoid ([[Our Goblins Are DifferentWickeder|Hobgoblin]], [[Beast Man]], sometimes orcs): Effectively humans, with a similar society and capabilities, but stranger looking and often foreign. Sometimes just [[Humans Are Bastardsthe Real Monsters|humans themselves]]. Counterpart to Mundane.

* Fallen ([[The Fair Folk|Dark Elf]]): [[Evil Is Sexy|Good looking]], [[Evil Is Stylish|stylish]], [[Manipulative Bastard|manipulative]] [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder|backstabbing]] jerks who are downright proud of it. Usually live underground or in some other well-hidden area, specialise in stealth, sneakiness and ruthlessness. Dark mirror of the High Men. Like High Men, they're the most likely to be absent from the [['''Fantasy Axis of Evil]]'''.

* Crafty ([[Our Goblins Are DifferentWickeder|Goblin]]): Small, numerous and often smart and cunning, otherwise they wouldn't still be around. These buggers are usually the most technically inclined group, with [[Death Trap|trap-filled]] lairs and warren-like fortresses. butTend stillto tend tobe cowardly or use [[Zerg Rush]] tactics - or both, as in attacking only when they have 20:1 advantage in numbers. Often [[Ugly Cute]]. Counterpart to the Cute, of course.

Unlike the usual [[Five Races]] they are not always allied, and are as prone to [[Evil Versus Evil|getting in fights with each other]] as they are with the 'heroic' groups. Its common for [[Evil Overlord|Evil Overlords]]s to unite them yet other times they'll work together without a real leader. There'll almost always be at least [[My Species Doth Protest Too Much|one good member of at least one race]], and sometimes the story will make efforts to either show that they're not necessarily inherently evil, or [[Justified Trope|find a way to justify it]] through [[A Wizard Did It|magic]], circumstances or whatever else.

* ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' is something of a [[Trope Codifier]].

*** Kobolds were cowardly lizard-rat-humanoids with tiny horns, in AD&D2 (for example, novel ''Wyvern's Spur'' uses this) they combined [[Trap Master|traps]], poisonous pests and [[Hit and Run Tactics]]. And had traditional enmity with Gnomes. D&D3 made them "wimpy dragons-lite", but kept the love of [[Death Trap]] spamming. They were returned to Crafty niche by "[http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/dra/400kobolds Tucker's Kobolds]" story in ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' Magazinemagazine where GM ran a tribe by the old textbook with some equally unpleasant extras. The point was that planning and strategy allow even the weakest monsters to win, but it succeed more in starting the fad of [[Memetic Badass|"kobolds are tactical geniuses!"]] and usage as the [[Killer Rabbit]] [http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19869366/The_most_powerful_character._EVER of choice].

* ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' tends to map over to fantasy races pretty well. Aside from the [[Five Races]], you have the [[Proud Warrior Race|Klingons as orcs]], the Borg are pretty close to undead, the Cardassians as xenophobic Humanoids, the Romulans countering the [[Our Elves Are Better|Space Elf Vulcans]] as Dark Elves, and the Ferengi much like goblins.

* ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' is rather better represented by this than the [[Five Races]].

** By-the-book Dark Elves (with [[Everything's Better Withwith Dinosaurs|dinosaur mounted heavy cavalry]], among other things) are your classic Fallen.

** The Skaven are ''definitely'' Crafty; half [[We Have Reserves]], half [[Mad Science]] [[Magitek]], only army that can [[Complete Monster|fire on their own troops]], with ''[[Gatling Good|ratling guns]]'' and ''[[Kill It Withwith Fire|flamethrowers]]''.

* Of course ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' has counterparts that also fit.

** Humanoids? [[The Empire|Humans]], [[Crapsack World|of]] [[Humans Are Bastardsthe Real Monsters|course]].

* ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'':

* [[Subverted Trope|While not actually evil]], The Horde in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' superficially fits into this more than [[Five Races]] due to being composed of traditional monster races.

{{quote| A well-balanced character for players who like to think they're big bad monsters when actually they're green humans with cooler dental-work.}}

* In ''[[War CraftWarcraft]] II'', however, the Horde ''was'' evil, and only lacked the Fallen:

* ''[[Babylon Five5]]'': Borderline, especially given the series' tendency towards [[Grey and Gray Morality]]:

** Savage: Alien monsters such as the one in the episode "Grey 17 is Missing".

* ''[[Drow TalesDrowtales]]'': marginal

** Savage: [https://web.archive.org/web/20100523060759/http://www.drowtales.com/worldsettingarchive.php?id=60 Orcs], [https://web.archive.org/web/20100815031615/http://www.drowtales.com/worldsettingarchive.php?id=47 Berserkers].

** Fallen: Ver'drowender such as [https://web.archive.org/web/20190915164545/http://www.drowtales.com/worldsettingarchive.php?id=51 Nether summoners], and their [https://web.archive.org/web/20190915164544/http://www.drowtales.com/worldsettingarchive.php?id=58 Drowussu counterparts].

** Crafty: Duergar are the most technically advanced race. It's the [https://web.archive.org/web/20190915164545/http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?id=120 Sarghress (wolf clan)] who use [[Zerg Rush]], though.

** Eldritch: [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Ori_:Ori (Stargate) |Ori]]

* ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'' has its own set

** Eldritch: Everyone to some extent, but [[Mage: The Awakening (Tabletop Game)|Mages]] are the obvious choice. [[Changeling: The Lost (Tabletop Game)|Changelings]] also likewise count, as they've been twisted by the land of Faerie until they're something other than human.

** Humanoid: [[Humans Are Bastardsthe Real Monsters|Humans]]. [[Hunter: The Vigil (Tabletop Game)|Especially if you're not one]].

** Crafty: Debatable... [[Changeling: The Lost (Tabletop Game)|Changelings]] have a fair bit of cunning on their side as they hide from [[The Fair Folk|the Gentry]], [[Promethean: The Created (Tabletop Game)|Prometheans]] are creators and alchemists but rare and tough... if you want to include fan work, [[Genius: The Transgression (Tabletop Game)|Geniuses]] are the closest.

* ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' (yes, seriously)

* ''[[The Legend of Zelda (Franchise)|The Legend of Zelda]]''

** Eldritch: Reapers, natch. Not only are they [[Eldritch Abomination|Eldritch Abominations]]s who lurk outside the galaxy, they also raise undead to fight for them.

** Humanoid: Batarians.

** Fallen: Collectors. {{spoiler|They're what's left of the Protheans.}}

* ''[[Memory, SorrowandSorrow, and Thorn]]'' has four evil races; the "humanoid" role is played by the actual humans fighting on the side of evil.

** Savage: Hunën, [[Giant Mook|Giant Mooks]]s from the mountains.

* [[Star WarstheWars: The Old Republic]]:

** Eldritch: Multiple instances of [[Sealed Evil in Aa Can]]

* In ''[[Harry Potter]]'', although there is overlap with the [[Five Races]] because very few races have a set alignment in the [[PotterversePotter Verse]], we could have:

* ''[[Farscape (TV)|Farscape]]'' goes more by this than the [[Five Races]], given [[Black and Grey Morality]]

* In ''[[Minecraft (Video Game)|Minecraft]]'', there are

* I [[Time Scout (Literature)|Time Scout]], the ''Ansar Majlis'' are downtime jihadists recruited by uptimer [[The Fundamentalist|fundamentalists]] to fight the modern revival of the worship of Artemis.

* The recurring villains of the ''[[Discworld]]'' could arguably count, with:

** Humanoid: Humanity. No, seriously, these guys [[Humans Are Bastardsthe Real Monsters|are the villains]] ''way'' more often than anyone else. Similarly, the few evil Dwarves, Vampires etc that turn up.

* The Angarak nations fill roughly this role in ''[[The Belgariad]]'', though they're human (albeit humans whose society has been dominated by the [[God of Evil]] for milennia):

** Humanoid: Thulls, descended from the working caste of the old Angaraks- they hate Torak and really just want to be free of the others, but serve out of fear.

** Fallen: Malloreans. The least "specialized" and most versatile of the Angarak nations, incorporating skills and tactics from numerous conquered peoples.

** Crafty: Nadraks. Descended from the old Angarak merchant caste, the Nadraks are a [[Proud Merchant Race]] noted for their cunning and duplicitiousness, but beign less fanatical than the Murgos and Grolims, less successful than the Malloreans, and less cowed than the Thulls, they're also the first Angarak nation to turn against Torak.

* [[Game Mod]] ''[[Red Alert 3 Paradox]]'':

* ''[[Fallout]]''

** Savage: Deathclaws

* ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]''

[[Category:Tabletop GamesGame Tropes]]