Pre-emptively, heh.
Everyone has flaws. However, an effective villain (or antagonist) should have flaws that don't negate the sense of dread/fear/whatever we get from him.
So, Darth Vader still remains a scary badass, even though he gave Luke a hug at the end. However, Anakin in the prequel trilogy is a joke, because all he does is whine about sand and his girlfriend.
For a WoT example, let's take Padan Fain. He is crazy. We've seen him at his worst, gibbering in a cell, and at his most powerful... and he's amazing in both. In the cell he's weak, but still threatening. When he's manipulating nobles, he's powerful and suave, but his POVs show us that he's still a crazy sonofabitch.
Now, I'm not saying Fain is a perfect villain, but he's definitely better than the Forsaken.
tl; dr: Flaws just have to make you human, not lame!
he had trouble writing realistic bad guys. Someone's going to reply to me saying "but the bad guys having flaws is realistic."
Everyone has flaws. However, an effective villain (or antagonist) should have flaws that don't negate the sense of dread/fear/whatever we get from him.
So, Darth Vader still remains a scary badass, even though he gave Luke a hug at the end. However, Anakin in the prequel trilogy is a joke, because all he does is whine about sand and his girlfriend.
For a WoT example, let's take Padan Fain. He is crazy. We've seen him at his worst, gibbering in a cell, and at his most powerful... and he's amazing in both. In the cell he's weak, but still threatening. When he's manipulating nobles, he's powerful and suave, but his POVs show us that he's still a crazy sonofabitch.
Now, I'm not saying Fain is a perfect villain, but he's definitely better than the Forsaken.
tl; dr: Flaws just have to make you human, not lame!
I amuse myself.
Two idiot Forsaken in the Prologue
10/12/2009 04:31:10 PM
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Oh you are being unfair!
10/12/2009 04:49:31 PM
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Yes; this pretty much matched my expectations - esp. for Demandred.
10/12/2009 04:56:32 PM
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Mesaana was motivated out of...
10/12/2009 07:16:43 PM
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Ah, then she would be more of an idiot than I thought. 2nd Rate indeed. *NM*
10/12/2009 08:19:05 PM
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Re: Yes; this pretty much matched my expectations - esp. for Demandred.
11/12/2009 06:47:43 AM
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But BS said that Shaidar Haran couldn't do things in the physical world without aid.
11/12/2009 03:20:59 PM
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I think that just proves SH isn't gay!
*NM*
11/12/2009 04:07:47 PM
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Or it could just prove
11/12/2009 05:42:33 PM
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Did he say he could not touch things, or that he just could not counter uber-channeling?
12/12/2009 12:30:40 AM
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I would say...
10/12/2009 04:58:15 PM
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he hasn't really done anything
10/12/2009 05:25:03 PM
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I'm pretty sure he did something...
10/12/2009 05:33:04 PM
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Re: I'm pretty sure he did something...
10/12/2009 07:51:25 PM
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Yeah, but now Graendal is dead, while Demandred is still alive. *NM*
10/12/2009 08:29:24 PM
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Re: Yeah, but now Graendal is dead, while Demandred is still alive. *NM*
11/12/2009 12:17:54 AM
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I think Demandred is pretty smart...
11/12/2009 11:45:58 AM
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of course he's never set foot anywhere close to anything long enough
11/12/2009 02:11:19 PM
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Is it smart to take a risk...
11/12/2009 02:22:18 PM
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I think your making a lot of assumptions
11/12/2009 05:40:47 PM
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Well...
11/12/2009 06:04:47 PM
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Re: Well...
11/12/2009 07:15:06 PM
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According to RJ...
12/12/2009 12:32:12 PM
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makes you wonder
12/12/2009 03:39:08 PM
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Re: makes you wonder
12/12/2009 03:47:18 PM
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Thanks for the BS quote, that's new news to me!
12/12/2009 03:55:37 PM
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Moridin didn't want to betrayal Sammael...
12/12/2009 04:07:49 PM
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It amounts to the same thing
12/12/2009 04:12:42 PM
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Then you could also say...
12/12/2009 04:22:30 PM
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no actually you cannot
12/12/2009 04:46:03 PM
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To be fair, Mesaana's brood of channelers promise could still come to fruition. *NM*
10/12/2009 04:58:28 PM
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Sanderson's first attempt at portraying the Forsaken based on character summaries in RJ's notes...
10/12/2009 05:29:51 PM
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That was RJ's biggest flaw, IMO
11/12/2009 02:45:41 PM
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I'll respond to someone who wants to say that
11/12/2009 05:19:52 PM
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Ya. Fain's a good exception. I still have hopes for him. And... Thereva was scary, but...
11/12/2009 08:32:38 PM
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