How to Write Believable Villains in Fantasy

“Villains are just heroes of another story — with sharper knives and messier coping mechanisms.”

Let’s face it: a boring villain is a fast track to a forgettable fantasy. You can have lush worldbuilding, lyrical prose, and swoony romantic tension — but if your villain is nothing more than a cardboard cutout cackling in a dark tower, your story loses its punch.

So how do you create a villain readers love to hate (or sometimes just love, period)? Let’s dig in.

🎭 Give Them a Motivation That Makes Sense

Nobody wakes up and says, “I want to be evil today.” Even your villain.

Ask yourself:

• What do they want more than anything?
• Why do they believe they’re justified?
• What happened to them that shaped their worldview?

Great villains see themselves as right. That’s what makes them compelling — and terrifying. Think of Nyktos, Cardan, or even Kaz Brekker (if you’re feeling morally grey about the word “villain”).

Their motivations are layered. They might want revenge, but it’s rooted in grief. They might crave power, but it’s tangled with fear. They act out of belief, not pure chaos.

🔍 Make Them a Mirror

The best villains reflect something about your hero.

• They highlight your protagonist’s flaws
• They challenge your hero’s values
• They force your main character to grow

When your villain has personal ties to your hero — shared pasts, mirrored traumas, opposing ideals — it raises the emotional stakes. Now it’s not just a battle of good vs. evil. It’s intimate. Messy. Relatable.

💔 Give Them Humanity (Yes, Even the Monsters)

Your villain might do horrific things. They might be cruel, violent, and unrepentant. But they should still feel real.

• Show glimpses of vulnerability
• Let them love someone or something
• Give them rules, even twisted ones

You’re not asking your reader to excuse them. You’re asking them to understand.

The more human your villain feels, the more complex your story becomes.

🧠 Make Them Competent

Please. I beg you. Let your villain be smart.

A believable villain is a threat. They win sometimes. They’re not foiled by the literary equivalent of a banana peel. They make the reader — and your protagonist — work for every win.

Think strategy. Influence. Charisma. Your villain should challenge your hero not just physically, but psychologically.

Bonus points if they can make the reader doubt who they should be rooting for.

⚖️ Avoid the Evil-for-Evil’s-Sake Trap

Unless you’re writing a satire or fairy tale, the whole “I want to destroy the world for no reason” trope feels dated.

You can still write a villain who’s extreme — but ground their extremism in belief. Maybe they want to remake the world. Maybe they think suffering will cleanse humanity. Maybe they believe in something beautiful — taken to a dark extreme.

The key is that they believe it.

✍️ My Take (as Someone Who Loves a Sharp-Tongued Villain)

I adore writing villains. Probably more than heroes. There’s just something delicious about stepping into the mind of someone unbound by rules but still tethered to conviction.

My favourite villains are the ones who make me pause. Who say things I almost agree with — until I see where they take it. They’re seductive. Complicated. Tragic. They make me ache and flinch and wonder if I’d make the same choice, given the same past.

And isn’t that the point?

Villains aren’t just obstacles. They’re the other side of the coin. The shadow of your protagonist’s journey. Treat them like real people — and your story becomes unforgettable.