The barbarian hero hacks his way through an army of undead to finally come face-to-face with the evil necromancer who has been terrorizing the countryside.
“Barbarian fool!” the old wizard croons.
“Die, fiend!” says the muscular swordsman. “Die, Xultot’ill’xiianx’ius!”
Now it was not quite that bad, but there is a legitimate cause for this parody. The alternative is a portmanteau name such as “Xardonax of the Secret Blood-Red Gods” or “Torbindardos of the Fourteen Dancing Dwarves of Hades.” You get the idea. Sword-and-sorcery villains know the PR game better than the lunk-headed heroes of the one- or two-syllable names.
Read the rest:
https://www.michaelmay.online/2016/07/sword-and-sorcery-cliche-no-3-wizard.html
