NOTE: Don't forgot to check out my other books in the 'How to' series: How to Build Your Fantasy World and How to Create Your Fantasy Hero/Heroine. More 'How to' guides coming soon!
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So, you've got your fantasy book all sorted...
APPRECIATION FOR NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM, THE ONE THE PROPHECY REFERRED TO ALL ALONG. THE REAL CHOSEN ONE
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We just went through a lot of examples of internal strengths and weaknesses. But what about external strengths and weaknesses?
You may find that your villain has some external strengths in common with your hero. The first one being - an army or similar following group. It is unlikely that your villain works alone, and extremely unlikely that your hero will face them alone. You just need to determine what makes your villain's army stronger, or weaker, than your hero's. So, let's revisit the nemesis chapter for a moment. Here's the list I used to show ways which the nemesis may make your protagonist fail:
Tactical Advantage this means they have access to better things. not to be confused with Strategic Advantage which means they have access to more things Magic Psychological Torture
(I didn't include not-so-friendly competition, because honestly, there's nothing competitive about Voldemort's intentions. He just wanted Harry dead. I also took out violence, because there is no questioning whether violence would be involved - this is the villain we're talking about).
I would say that Harry's army had a tactical advantage, they had stronger relationships and trained exactly for what they were up against. They were aware of just how dangerous Voldemort was and continued to better themselves in order to face him, gaining both practical and theoretical knowledge. Not to mention, it was Harry himself who taught them.
Voldemort's army definitely had a strategic advantage. They outnumbered Harry and his friends. They also knew the wizarding world a lot better than a bunch of children, they knew things such as where to hide or resupply when they needed to.
Both armies had access to magic, however, Voldemort's army had the advantage here. They used unforgivable curses and could cast the cruciatus curse with malicious intent. Even when Harry tried to do this to Bellatrix Lestrange after she killed Sirius, he couldn't. They were all skilled witches and wizards, they could also apparate and perform unspoken spells. Of course, Voldemort also had magical objects, Horcruxes, on his side to stop him from being killed.
Voldemort also had the advantage of being able to psychologically torture Harry through his skills in legilimency - the magical act of navigating through and controlling one's mind. Until Harry mastered occlumency, the counter to this magic, Voldemort was able to enter his mind with ease. There were also some Death Eaters such as Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, and even Severus Snape who psychologically tortured him by simply reminding him of traumatic experiences.
Another external strength could be their other defences. I think Harry and Voldemort were equal in their defences, too.
Voldemort had Horcruxes, which Harry needed to destroy in order to kill him. Harry had Hogwarts, which Voldemort would never step foot in or near due to his fear of Dumbledore. Also, although Voldemort or Harry did not know this, Harry was a Horcrux himself which meant that, technically, he couldn't die either. They were both able to cheat death.
Your villain may also have a fear. Likelihood is that your villain will never admit this fear, and although it can be a phobia if you really want it to be, it will probably be more of an emotional fear. An irrational fear that they bury deep down in order to avoid facing it. I already pointed out that Voldemort had an irrational fear of death - he believed it to be a weakness and went as far as killing innocent people to split his soul in an attempt to avoid facing his fear.
As we established, unlike your nemesis who is the opposite of your protagonist, the villain is more like their shadow. Your hero is the good cop, your villain is the bad cop. The yin and yang of your story. So, when it comes to your villain's ultimate goal, it should shadow (i.e. be the dark side) your hero's ultimate goal. Which we will do in the next chapter.
A/N: at the end of all the chapters, I am going to put a little exercise/question for you guys to do in the comments as a way for you to interact and really take something away from reading this guide. I will leave an answer regarding one of my own fantasy books for you to use as an example. Don't forget to vote and share this guide with whoever may need it!
