“Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.”

The words of the great Sun Tzu have been used to motivate warriors for thousands of years. His wisdom in warfare is an essential read for those signing up for the armed forces. It is also essential for fantasy writers. Warfare between humans, Elves, Dwarves, dragons, centaurs, and other mythical creatures is an integral part of fantasy writing.

Combat is not just about sword swinging, arrow flinging, and spear thrusting. It’s about strategy, deception, and intricate maneuvers that will lead to victory. When considering what to do, think about something Sun Tzu said.

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”

Besides reading Sun Tzu, I’ve been able to develop fighting strategies in my stories through hours of Dungeons & Dragons role playing. Being immersed in the game, especially in combat situations, forced me to develop strategies and think about ways to fight in fantasy situations.

When your creating a combat situation, the devil’s in the details. You not only need to consider your characters and their capabilities, but also the enemies capabilities, the terrain, the weather, and more. There are so many elements involved in any combat scenario that a book like Sun Tzu’s The Art of War is almost required reading.

If you need inspiration for a great leader, “In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.” Do you need a plan where the odds are lopsided? “Invincibility lies in the defense; the possibility of victory in the attack.” Everything you need can be found in Sun Tzu. If it worked for Tony Soprano, it van work for you.

Just remember this:

“Order or disorder depends on organization; courage or cowardice on circumstances; strength or weakness on dispositions.”

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Chapter 3 of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.