Tier Ranking EVERY Fantasy Trope 

To try everything Brilliant has to offer-free-for a full 30 days, visit brilliant.org/CapturedinWords . The first 200 of you will get 20% off Brilliant’s annual premium subscription. What are your favorite and least favorite fantasy tropes??

I really like the "fellowship" trope, seeing a bunch of unlikely friends banding together will never not be wonderful

I love how The Wheel of Time is so much of a landmark that it ticks a considerable part of these tropes.

The dark lord trope is greatly executed in Mistborn, giving the Lord Ruler motivation beyond the trope itself, and making him such a good character. Especially if you've read the whole trilogy

Luke (the farmer trope) has become the fine line that separates the not that good tropes from the annoying-please-don't-use-them D tier tropes. He's like the guardian of the D tier.

A Song of Ice and Fire has the best example of animal companions. Direwolves and Dragons.

Before They are Hanged does a great job of putting a fresh take on the “epic quest” trope. Highly recommend The First Law Trilogy.

I really love unreliable narration/grand reveal tropes when they are done well! Whether it's a character reversal like Jaime Lannister becoming POV, world building context like the Lord Ruler backstop reveal in Mistborn,or something more understated where it required multiple POV interpretations of a character or event to truly understand the full context... I love it!! 🤌❤

The here comes the cavalry trope is always exciting. So so good.

Nah, Medival europe is S Tier cuz of nostalgia alone. Yes, it's getting tiring and I want other cultures to be explored, but because of Medival Europe's heavy association with traditional fantasy, I can't get the imagery out of my heart

I also vivdly remember my first time reading the Eye of the World. I was 15 and we went on a seaside vacation and got sick, badly. I had to stay in bed for almost the whole vacation. And I read the book within few days. I clearly remember wishing being healed by One Power, like in the book

You know what's top tier....your production of all your videos! They are so well made. I love your animations, the artwork, the titles, your set, audiovisuals etc. Keep up the great work.

Greyhand from empire of the vampire is a great utilisation of the mentor trope. U don't have to like him, but he's the father figure the protagonist needed, and the one that has taught him all his skills

I know it's not in the book but when I think of the Calvary coming I always think of "Look to my coming on the first light of the fifth day, at dawn look to the east." In the Lord of the rings movies the battle raged and everything looked lost and bam here comes Gandolf, and an absolute unit of an army 😂.

I wish a trope that was more explored (Im not familiar with many fantasy books) is the main character not being the hero or chosen one, but the mentor or uniter that facilitates to the story’s hero.

Love seeing your growth in everything! Awesome channel with awesome videos.

Perdido Street Station and Tigana mention made my day! Thanks!

Tier lists are my favorite booktube trope (I totally used the term correctly)

Man, I love tropes that are done well! For me, I think it has to do with the feeling of familiarity and the connection to past experiences where I've had awesome story-experiences. You mention a lot of great trope examples! I love the Found Family and The Crew tropes -- reminds me of what I love the most about Final Fantasy especially. Sentient weapons is something I'd definetly like to try writing about. :) There's more tropes in your list that I like, but I'd especially like to mention the Dark Creepy Forest trope a bit -- I actually used that in one of my latest RU-vid stories called "Thorns of Callousness" without even realizing it was a trope to begin with! :P I had never heard about it before you mentioned it :D Thank you so much for this video, you definitively have a returning subscriber here! ^_^

Ruin from the cosmere is a really good example of cosmic horror. Especially in secret history!

My favorite mentor character is elodin from NOTW, rlly well written character, and has the perfect amount of mystery

Seeing the cover for Deltora Quest unlocked a memory long forgotten. Thanks for that.

As I argued on Daniel Greene's video on this topic, I disagree with your assessment of the farmboy trope. And you partially mentioned why, you mentioned how most people were farmers back in the day, and that's part of why I like the farm boy, if you want a realistic setting with a fantasy rags to riches story, the farm boy is the obvious starting point, as 95% of people in pre-industrial world were farmers unless your magic system spells out a way to create tons of food (which to be fair many do) having your hero start out on a farm is basically a must I'll also add that we definitely haven't seen enough farm girl to hero stories

Was ecstatic to hear you mention Brom in your list of mentors. One of my favorite characters in fantasy, even though the books weren't the greatest

Faithful and the fallen is one of my favorite chosen one and animal companion stories. Corban and Storm are so well written and 100% worth bumping to the top of your tbr

I love antagonist becomes ally. It can be done in so many ways, it doesn't require any transformation. Like Drizzt and Entreri teaming up to escape a situation. Like.. before, it was "oh no, how is Drizzt gonna deal with both Entreri and the other guys". Then it becomes "Oh. Oh those other guys are so screwed". They aren't friends, they don't even trust each other not to turn on them. But they respect each others skill, and are facing the same threat. So as the audience I can only feel hype

A mentor that I like is Nevyn from the Deverry Cycle. I love the fact that he knows people from there previous lives and gives them advice in to help them no repeat the same error/overcome their same pitfalls.

Animal companions is one of my favorite tropes too. I love Storm and Shield from Faithful and the Fallen. My first encounter with this trope was How to Train your Dragon (the books). Hiccup's pet Toothless (in the books) is often a selfish, immature, lazy, whiny pain in the butt but he is so adorable and loyal to him.

I think your story can either be strengthened by a prophecy or entirely destroyed. as the owl house says, "if you wait for some prophecy to tell you your special, you'll spend your whole life waiting" I think that's something to remember, that you don't NEED to be told your special, but that you recognize yourself as a person who is deserving. also, though, id say the prophecy done right would be in Percy Jackson. I know, I know. but! the thing they did well with that is that it isn't some earth shattering thing, but more of an inconvenience. its like a casual guide, a nudge in the right direction, and it isn't ancient or "foretold in the ancient murals." its just a thing they made after they figured out WHO was special. idk though

One of my favorite trope is the underdog trope. Think Naturo, Daenerys... There's just something so amazing about seeing the character growth of an underdog character. It's not so much about becoming the hero but more about proving others wrong.

My favorite mentor character is Genkai from Yu Yu Hakusho. She is old, smol, and very cranky. All great traits in a mentor, in my book. And I appreciate that she actively fought alongside the protagonists, with her own range of interesting abilities, instead of just being a background or support character.

An additional trope I really like is characters assuming a false identity (usually to mingle with the upper class) as seen in the Gentleman Bastards Series, or The Final Empire. But Wise Mentor, Here Comes the Cavalry and Redemption Arc are probably my top three favourite tropes.

Grizzled veteran trope is a favourite. Usually convinced to stop drinking and help the protagonist by an old comrade

Bringing back characters CAN work, it's not done well often, but especially in the cosmere where there is a legit reason it works, and it's not over done, works super well. There's one, where if you know you know, and they're such a huge piece of the universe now that without them, things would be vastly VASTLY different, and not for the better.

Jay, I would love some content on the Dandelion Dynasty by Ken Liu. They are extremely underrated and SO original. The world is one of the most unique out there (east asian inspired but done right), the characters well written, and the scale epic. Easily the best fantasy I've read in the past few years and possibly ever. Even if you don't make videos on them, I highly recommend giving them a read.

Awesome vid man. If you could use three books and three trope’s to describe you’re own book, which would it be?

A series that's just getting started by hit's almost all of your fav tropes (the crew, sci-fi elements, animal companion, magical floating city, sentient weapons (kind of), ally, and more) is Magicfall by Maxwell Alexander Drake and Marie Mullany.

Thanks Jay! This is such a great list! I agree secret royal and miscommunication is so lame ha. Btw if you have time, please may I ask what are your fave found family fantasy books? I’m deciding on my next read and was going to do mistborn, the first wheel of time or memory sorrow and thorn but I’m open to others too. So many great recs from your videos! Thanks again!

I like when the mentor humbles their apprentice, or when the mentor turned out to be evil all along - the House of Night series does that, but the story has too many book and has a lot more miss's than hits, I read it when I was a teenager and never finished it, but it was so mind blowing when Neferet turned out to be the main villain, it was such a nice plot twist 😭

When it comes to sentient weapons, my favorite example would have to be the zanpakuto in the anime Bleach.

You are the first person I have ever heard mention Nausicaa, Valley of the Wind. I am 43, and I watched the animated movie as a kid. Loved it then and had a VERY hard time finding it as an adult. I'm a sucker for most of these tropes......when it's done well. I will hate any of them if they aren't done well. "Here comes the cavalry" is probably my favorite though.

Awesome video! I agree with most all of this. As far as magical weapons story recs go, I am currently releasing a web serial featuring a sentient weapon and its so much fun to write! One of my favorite tropes as well

Timestamp and tier for each trope (you're welcome): 01) 2:11 The Chosen One Trope (mid B tier) 02) 3:18 The Dark Lord Trope (upper B tier) 03) 4:23 The Old Wise Mentor Trope (upper S tier) 04) 5:20 The Medieval Europe Setting Trope (upper C tier) 05) 6:55 The Ancient Artifacts Trope (upper A tier) 06) 7:59 The Ruins of a Dead Civilization Trope (upper A tier) 07) 8:35 The Secret Royalty Trope (upper D tier) 08) 9:26 The "Plot Armor" Trope (lower B tier) 09) 10:02 The "Farm Boy to Hero" Trope (lower C tier) 10) 10:53 The Remote Village Trope (lower B tier) 11) 12:10 The Eldritch Monstrosities / Cosmic Horror Trope (lower A tier) 12) 12:46 The Redemption Arc Trope (upper S tier) 13) 13:14 The Spiraling to Madness Trope (lower S tier) 14) 13:32 The Evil Minions Trope (mid C tier) 15) 14:05 The Miscommunication Trope (upper D tier) 16) 14:58 The Deus Ex Machina Trope (upper D tier) 17) 15:53 The Out-of-Retirement / The Veteran Soldier Trope (upper B tier) 18) 16:33 The Found Family Trope (mid S tier) 19) 17:08 The Crew Trope (mid S tier) 20) 17:57 The Magic School Trope (upper B tier) 21) 18:52 The Sentient Weapon Trope (mid A tier) 22) 19:23 The Magical Weapon or Item Trope (mid A tier) 23) 20:04 The Group of Antagonists Trope (lower A tier) 24) 20:44 The Animal Companion Trope (upper S tier) 25) 21:31 The Enemies to Lovers Trope (mid C tier) 26) 22:28 The Dark Creepy Forest Trope (mid B tier) 27) 23:13 The Reincarnation Cycle Trope (mid A tier) 28) 24:04 The Reluctant Hero Trope (mid B tier) 29) 24:47 The Quest Trope (upper C tier) 30) 25:26 The Fantasy Horror Trope (mid A tier) 31) 26:23 The Bard Trope (lower B tier) 32) 26:43 The Love Triangle Trope (mid D tier) 33) 27:28 The Damsel in Distress Trope (lower D tier) 34) 27:57 The "Not Like the Other Girls" / Strong Female Protagonist Trope (lower D tier) 35) 28:33 The Mercy to the Villain Trope (lower D tier) 36) 29:22 The Common Tolkienian Races Tope (mid C tier) 37) 30:02 The Sci-Fi Fantasy + Interconnected Universes Trope (mid S tier) 38) 30:50 The Magical City / The Floating City Trope (mid B tier) 39) 31:14 The Prophecy Trope (lower C tier) 40) 31:57 The Dragons Trope (mid S tier) 41) 32:12 The Insta-Love Trope (mid D tier) 42) 32:30 The Resurrection Trope (mid D tier) 43) 33:09 The Antagonist Turned Ally (lower S tier) 44) 33:36 The "Here Comes the Cavalry" Trope (lower S tier)

I haven't read enough fantasy to know if HEIST is a big trope. Everyone has a specialized talent to help with stealing an object, person, etc. As cliched as that trope is, I absolutely love it and can't get enough of it.

Have you read Raymond E. Feist’s Riftwar Saga? His series deep dives into detailed POVs for diverse cultures (western, eastern and alien) and across worlds. Of particular note: the first trilogy of the Riftwar Saga starting with “Magician” and after that the Empire Trilogy by Raymond E Feist and Janny Wurts occurring concurrently to Magician but following a different characters compelling story and culture.

I thought the anime re:zero had a great take on resurrection. The depiction of someone dying terribly and painfully, going insane after so much death, feeling powerless, coming back from completely mental blackness, then repeat. While also having the "power of rebirth" psuedo-taken away by the realization that it really isn't his power--it's the power of someone that's allowing him to do this/giving him that gift and it /could/ be taken away.

Oh, by the way, what resource websites are you using for background graphics and such? They look REALLY COOL and I'd definitively like to try em out myself ^_^

I’m probably beating a dead horse, but I honestly believe there is no such thing as a bad trope. Or a good one for that matter. Tropes more or less just exist and it’s up to the author to use them in a satisfying way. I personally despise Love Triangles for instance, but even though I’ve rarely seen them done well it’s not impossible that someone could write a compelling, entertaining, and even enjoyable one

Magical weapons--'Need' from Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey Animal companion--Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey

Deltora Quest! I haven't thought about that series in yeeeears, that was one of the first fantasy series I read

Sparing the villain should be a common occurrence as soon as politic is involved. You wish you could eviscerate the slaver-lord you have fought for so long, but if you do so you will cause a war between the empire and the kingdom. Or you need the support of the merchant guild anyway, or whatever. The protagonist not being able to destroy an antagonist because he needs him is a good trope IMHO. Jack Vance has a superb example in the last book of the Tschai cycle. The hero COULD kill the villain, but he CAN'T if he wants to escape the planet. Of course, it makes the villain death much more liberating when it finally happen.

mercedes lackey has been my favorite author for a long time as she hits so many great tropes and does relationships very well.

Miscommunication done well = King’s Dark Tidings

Faithful and the Fallen has an amazing use of the chosen one trope!!!

A series that does fantasy-horror, animal companion, and group of antagonists well is Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver. Set in hunter-gatherer times, its just brilliantly written and engaging. I read them as a teen and some of the scenes or imagery in my head still haunt me, but the good times were so heartwarming. I highly recommend.

Seems like there’s a thin line between “reborn to fight anew” and “resurrection”. It’s all in how it’s handled by the writer, as always. One of my all-time favorite pet companions in the ghost dog in Elatsoe. Especially how it ties into the Crowning Moment of Awesome that is the climax, which also doubles as something of a “calvary arrives to save the day” moment. A favorite use of the prophecy trope is from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I think in the first season, so, you know, SPOILERS for a 27-year-old TV show), where it’s prophesied that Buffy will die at the hands of the Big Bad. Yet she goes to face him anyway. Real hero stuff. And she gets killed, thus the prophesy comes true. However, neither they nor we the audience have taken into account that this is the modern world, so she gets revived by this magical practice called CPR. As soon as it happens I was like, “Duh, of course.” Such a simple yet smart twist, playing our expectations against us. Buffy is also easily one of the best Chosen One stories, too, and how they ultimately handled that by once again subverting it. Not to mention giving a dark twist to the whole resurrection thing. I also really hate the whole “I won’t kill this guy who really deserves it because reasons” trope. It’s one of the reasons why I hate Empire Strikes Back so much: Vader was going to be blasted into bits… until they discover he’s Luke’s dad. Then Luke’s all, “oh deep down he’s really a good guy so I must save him.” Such BS. Lucas then doubles down on how stupid his own idea is by having Vader murder children in bulk. I mean, c’mon. A trope I despise that you didn’t mention is “woke up without their memory.” So over-used in SFF, whether it’s novels, video games, TV shows or movies. And almost always done badly. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is one of the few times it’s been done well, by the novel The Rook is one of the worst resent examples I’ve seen. A person without a memory has to hold down a high-level executive job that requires specialized knowledge while also fighting monsters? Oh fer cry.

personally i think the best secret royality that i have read is probably Garion/ Belgarion from the belgariad, because it is relevant (also incorporating the farm boy to hero) but if you also read the prequals of Begarath & Polgara's lives it seems even more relevant.

Best animal companion books: Jane Lindskold's Through Wolf's Eyes and follow up series

anyway here's me trying to connect these tropes to my favorite webseries [and soon to be book series], Epithet Erased. [Small context: Epithets are rare powers based on a single word. Soup would give soup powers for example. People with Epithets are inscribed, while those without Epithets are mundies.] Ancient Artifact - During season 1, there's a cool little artifact called the Arsene Amulet. It was created by an inscribed with the Epithet "Copycat". He forged the Arsene Amulet to retain his powers and imbued his epithet into it. This would allow the user of the amulet to steal someone's Epithet. Epithet Erased. Haha. Yeah that's basically some info not really mentioned in the show. Evil Minions - Kinda. Giovanni's boys are his silly little minions. The main character [Molly] actually becomes one of his minions in episode 2. Two of Giovanni's boys have a crush on him. One is Crusher, he was named that for obvious reasons, and Spike, who is the only girl minion before Molly joins. Giovanni also really cares for his boys. Here's a silly little example of him interacting with Molly: --- “Rejoice! For you are about to witness the first appearance of the world’s soon-to-be greatest supervillain! I am DARKNESS! . . . I am DESPAIR! I AM . . . VINCENT MURDER!!!” said Giovanni Potage wearing a stupid outfit. “Boss!” Molly cried, “Oh, thank goodness you’re here! We need your help!” Giovanni’s over-the-top pose melted away to parental concern in an instant. He was hoping that she might compliment him on his cool new costume, but this was way more important. “What’s wrong, Bear Trap?” “We found a beach body!” “A beach body!?” Giovanni hopped down and took a look at Rick. “Whoa, Bear Trap! You killed a guy!? . . . Little villains grow up so fast.” He went to wipe a tear from his eye and bonked his finger into the visor on his catcher’s mask. “Ow.” --- Found Family - Pretty darn important part of episodes 1-4. It could mostly be Molly and Giovanni, but giovanni and all of his boys fit it. Molly is Giovanni's #1 minion. There's so many scenes that are just so,,, ifjifjpdhdihsdgjsd- THE SCENE WHERE MOLLY IS HAVING A PANIC ATTACK [because Sylvie used his nightmare fuel power, which makes someones worst fear reality,,, molly has pyrophobia, so there was fire-] AND GIOVANNI TRIES TO GET HER AWAY FROM THE FIRE, AND WHEN THEY'RE AWAY FROM IT, HE HUGS HER AND OH MY OGDJDSJFISPJFSF [Found family makes me scream] AND THE ENDING OF PRISON OF PLASTIC. I CRIED. I CRIED AT THE ENDING, AND THE ILLUSTRATION OF GIOVANNI COMFORTING MOLLY WHILE SHE'S CRYING??? AAAAAAAAAAAAAA- Animal Companion - ...Technically. Rick gets turned into a chameleon in chapter 2, and stays like that til the end of chapter 7. Dragon - Graham. He's a smores dragon. Giant dragon the size of a skyscraper made of smores. There's also countries. Taiga Country, Deepwood Country, Desert Country, Ocean Country, Island Country, and Australia. There's also races, so ill just put what characters look like. we got Taiga Race - Light-skinned with light hair. Deepwood Race - Dark skin and hair. Desert Race - Tanned skin and grey hair from birth. Ocean Race - Dark skin and bright hair colored like poisonous sea creatures. Island Race/Seaside Race - Can be found everywhere and have a variety of appearances, but many of them have plain, dark hair. Australian - Some say that these “Australian” people have whiskers and rodent-like appearances, but few have seen an Australian and lived to tell the tale…

Mouse from the Dresden Files is one of my favorite animal companions. Doesn't show up until a few books in though.

Don’t have any trope to add, but if you’re wanting some good eldritch fantasy horror, check out Empire of the Wolf by Richard Swan. The magic system literally leans into eldritch horror, and it’s fantastic. Also, for animal companions, I love Bully Boy from the Blacktongue Thief, by Christopher Beuhlman.

The only times I have seen the miscommunication trope done well is either in very few romances and The Wheel of Time. In the WoT, they communicate so badly, it becomes very amusing. Which I think is one of the reasons it's a "you either love it or hate it" series. The Will of the Many by James Islington is the first fantasy I have seen that is inspired by Ancient Rome. If you really love sentient weapons, The Sword Defiant by Gareth Hanrahn not only has that but it also has older characters who get back in the game.

A recommendation for animal (used loosely) companion, I adore Godkiller by Hannah Kaner. A bit Witcher vibes and little bit master/apprentice vibes. So if that sounds good to you, its worth to look into it. It’s new a first part (of 3 and I think part 2 is due early next year) it’s not perfect but I really enjoyed this one a lot. 🌻

I find the fact we consider Roach an animal companion very funny because it’s literally any horse, like literally any horse, most of the time it’s not even a good horse either. The only special thing about Roach is that it’s Geralt’s, it’s hilarious to think about.

Damn, you used the Lady as a dark lord example, no one ever talks about the Black company :( Well done my friend :)

Oh god I forgot about Deltora until you brought it up. I have the entire Quest, Shadowlands, and Dragons of series...God those were so good.

my two favorites have got to be the fellowship, artifact and the accidental hero tropes, like in eragon where he accidentally finds saphira’s egg

Favorite trope: Redemption arc Least Favorite trope: Miscommunication Very fun video, thanks for putting the time into this.

Plot Armor goes hand in hand with Mary Sue. I also can't believe you even mentioned Sword of Truth.

I will read anything with a tight crew!! Sanderson does that best for me. I also like how Sanderson’s characters are always leaning. Especially Kelsier. Dude didn’t stand up straight once. 😄

Megamind did the "I'm not really dead" trope so well!

Where is part 2 of Wise Man's Fear? I bought you a coffee for the first and will buy another one for part 2

Most writers have four options for a fantasy protagonist. The first option is if it's a well educated person the writer will probably need a lot of exposition that will feel unnatural and forced. To avoid that exposition they typically use one of the three remaining options. The ignorant farm boy trope, the Isekai trope, or the amnesia trope. These three options create protagonists who know almost nothing about the world, so the reader can learn about the world at the same time as the protagonist. Generally this will feel more natural to the reader. It is possible to have a well educated fantasy protagonist without endless exposition, but it is much more difficult to the point most writers won't bother trying. It's much easier to have a well educated character if the world is similar to Earth. The more different the world is, the harder it is to explain that world to the reader without it sounding like a history lesson.

9:35 Me killing off almost every important character in the end to develop the story and purposely not adding plot armor to show the struggle to survive

I love legendary named weapons. Not necessarily magical or artifacts in and of themselves, but with a lore and history to them. Anduril from LOTR, Vindication from Mistborn Era 2, Heron Mark Blades from WOT, etc. Also, the “DGAF peripheral antagonist” that’s a wildcard character relentlessly pursuing their own agenda and causing chaos to all other factions. They’re usually super interesting characters because of their unique personal philosophies and disregard for all other laws and standards. Gollum 👌🏻

My favorite trope is the extended disarmament.

My favourite mentors would be Gandalf (LoTR), Moiraine (WoT), Jirayja (Naruto), Ouki (Kingdom), Iroh (Avatar) and LittleFinger (ASoIaF).

My issue with secret royalty is that it suggests that if the king/queen just abandons their country/province for 2-3 decades people will be totally willing to just accept them as ruler again

One of my fave is Gladiator trope- (hero is arrested or beaten in battle and captured and has to fight their way out/survive prison brawls or as a gladiator) ex: gladiator movie, kaladin from stormlight, Maquin from the faithful and the fallen, Mia corvere from nevernight…

12:47 LOTM is a great example of cosmic horror

Another last place for Damsel in Distress, I need to write more to make it more common, I want for it to make a come back

Sword of summer by Rick Riordan has sentient weapon. Also Magi the labyrinth of magic has worldbuilding inspired by Middle Eastern culture.

Great video. Love the art pieces at 6:59 and 12:20, does anyone by chance know what they are called and who they are from.

Honestly where do you find so much gorgeous fan art??

You mentioned you were writing a book. Do you have a timeline on when you might publish? It’d be a day one purchase for me!

“The Cavalry is Here” is one of my favourite tropes

wohooo there was a mention of six of crows, I'm getting my grishaverse crumbs

Antoher trope that maybe you Missed is The Warrior King, thera are some example with Theoden in Tolkien or more classics from Howard: Conan or Kull of Valusia! A Great trope for My opinion;)

Sword of Justice and Sword of Vengeance from Warhammer fantasy have 2 protagonists who have sacred semi-sentient weapons. The books go hard and are fantastic! Also, I really like the Love Triangle from Dragonlance original trilogy. Tanis Half-Elven and Laurana/Kitiara

I feel attacked writing my book with 80% of these tropes lol 😅

Jezal from first law is a good twist on the “secret royalty” trope maybe even my favorite example of it

Sympathetic antagonists is something I mostly see in anime, and I'd like to see in more stories.

remote village and farm boy trope pretty much always go hand in hand, idk why you view one so much higher than the other

I'd put The Lord Ruler as a complex dark lord. We just don't see his motives until later.

On Lack of Communication, do you think it's okay for one character to not reveal what they know about the other if the other has lost all their memories and telling them they are basically a walking bomb could hurt them mentally? Also, favorite animal Companion has to be Poncho from Diana Duanes Young Wizard Series. Starts off as a normal dog, then begins taking Kit through portals, eventually becoming a God because it's Dog spelled backwards and you should have figure that out duh and yes that's basically the joke in the book...

Mercy to the villain can work perfectly if it's woven into the story and worked towards. Best example that comes to mind would be ATLA, tho Aang made sure Ozai wouldn't be a threat anymore, Azula on the other hand did get more chances to be a menace

A great dark lord trope that’s done well and differently is Jacqueline Carey’s “The Sundering,” series.

Interestingly enough the main character in the revenant story which was based on real life, spared the person who left him for dead. In the movie they change it for Hollywood climax reasons.

Lilarcor from Baldurs Gate II is probably one of the Funniest Sentient Weapons. Don't Know if he is in the Novelization though

Simon was secret royalty in the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series?