• The trauma of which has caused him/her to be evil:
• Is an orphan:
• Was abused sexually:
• Grew up in the streets:
• Grew up a slave:

• Necromancy:
• Conjuration:
• Teleportation:
• Mind-reading:
• Alchemy:
• Swordfighting:
• Spirit communication:
• Divine communication:
• Demonic communication:
• Invulnerability:
• Draining the life-force of other beings:
• Cause fear:
• Illusion/glamour:
• Shapeshifting:
• An ability opposite to the protagonist's:
• Elemental magic:
• Exceptional intelligence (particularly in politics/figuring out people's psychology):
• Telepathy:
• Voodoo/curses:

• A dark, imposing keep:
• In an uninhabitable/harsh environment (volcano, sea floor, permafrost area):
• Is guarded by powerful monsters (dragon, griffon, etc) or magic:
• Is described as impenetrable:

• Is the father/mother: Due to villain raping the other parent:
• Is the son/daughter:
• Is the ex-lover:
• Is the ex-friend:
• Is the sibling:
• This relation induces angst in good character(s):
• This relation causes no angst to any party involved:

• Because the lust object resembles a past, much-mourned lover:
• But is said, and portrayed, as incapable of understanding "true" love (give and take, sacrifice for your loved one, "beauty is skin deep"):

• To prove him/herself worthier in the eyes of mentor/society/friends/family/self:
• To prove him/herself worthier in the eyes of prospective romantic interest:
• Never manages to defeat the protagonist in any way, shape, or form:
• Has outwitted/outfought/outdone the protagonist:
• Bullies the protagonist for his/her superior skill/intelligence/beauty/etc:
• Has no apparent life outside of this rivalry:
• Shares the protagonist's gender:

• Killed the hero's family members or ancestor:
• Destroyed the hero's whole village/country:
• Won the heart of a person in whom the protagonist was/is romantically interested/involved (doesn't count if it was done by magic/manipulation):

• With promises of power, ruling the world together, and otherwise offering up the protagonist's dearest desires:
• While the protagonist's True Love (or equivalent) watches, unbeknownst to the protagonist:
• Succeeds: And maintains hold over protagonist, able to manipulate him/her for the duration of the story:
• Fails:
  • Because the protagonist already has a One True Love:
  • Because the protagonist suddenly "senses" that his/her True Love is in the room:

• Via the power of love, compassion, or other similar virtues:
• Via being defeated in combat of any sort:
• Joins up with the hero(es):

• Are orcs, goblins, ogres, trolls or any other derivations (call them what you like, but you know where you derived them from - be honest):
• Are undead: Who can cause supernatural madness/terror by their presence alone:
• Are intellectually challenged (uses brute force and nothing but, gullible, easily fooled by stupid tricks like throwing a pebble in a different direction):
• Are sent out by progressively greater strength (low-ranking orcish idiots at the beginning of hero's journey, fire-breathing dinosaurs toward the end):

• Hold a public execution:
• Randomly slaughter own minions and feeds them to monsters/volcanoes/machines of doom:
• Torture prisoners:
• Rape:
• Molest the protagonist, the protagonist's lover, friends, or relatives:
• Punish own minions harshly for failures, especially when circumstances are beyond said minions' control:
• Raze random villages to the ground:
• Commit genocide:
• Ravages nature (burn down forest, cut down trees, turn beautiful elven woods into wastelands...):
• Kill the protagonist: Permanently:
• Achieve his/her ultimate goal(s):
• Win in the overall story:
• Run hideous experiments on living beings (including, but not limited to, genetically/magically altering them):
  • Said beings are lovely, endangered animals (non-magical):
  • Said beings are members of a fading or pure race (elf, unicorn, etc):
  • Said beings are turned into hideous monsters: And lose their memory, personality, or entire minds:
• Flaws and Achilles' heel:
  • Vulnerability to a magical artifact:
    • The magical artifact can be used only by the protagonist or someone on the "good" side:
    • The magical artifact is scattered in several pieces across the land:
    • The magical artifact is in the character's possession, guarded in some fortress or another:
    • The magical artifact holds the character's power (why would you put a massive portion of your power into a piece of rock anyway?):
  • Flies into a rage easily:
  • Impatience:
  • Insanity:
  • Suffers from megalomania or arrogance: Which becomes his/her downfall:
  • Vulnerability (innate, magical) to a virtuous quality (love, innocence, blah blah):
  • A powerful minion betrays him/her at a crucial juncture (e.g. pet dragon sides with hero):
  • Underestimation of such qualities as love, self-sacrifice, and loyalty:
• Frequently uses the words "fool", "foolish", "weak", "pathetic" or "weakling":
• Taunts "good" characters while committing an evil deed:
• Loudly details own plans while holding good character(s) at own mercy:
• Leaves escape routes (man-sized ventilation tunnels, for instance) for heroes:
• Appearance/fashion sense/habits:
  • Wears hooded cloaks:
  • Wears cloaks or capes:
  • Wears leather:
  • Wears black:
  • Cackles:
  • Hisses:
  • Is "darkly" or "coldly" beautiful or handsome:
  • Is unimaginably hideous:
  • Has "dark glittering eyes" or "blood-red eyes" (or any shade of red):
  • Has "cold/icy/frosty" eyes:
  • Has "burning eyes" (literally or figuratively):
  • Has eyes with vertical slit pupils:
• Motivation(s):
  • Wants to conquer the world/continent/country:
  • Wants to achieve immortality:
  • Has none; is irredeemably/innately evil or embodies evilness itself:
  • Believes what he does is for the greater good:
  • Acts out of academic interest:
  • Acts out of greed:
  • Acts out of lust for power:
  • Is trying to achieve/regain godhood:
  • Is not interested in power:
  • Is not interested in wealth and treasure:
• If an assassin/mercenary/bounty hunter:
  • Is "emotionless":
  • Carries a seemingly endless supply of knives:
  • Kills for "thrill of the hunt":
• If a mage/priest of any sort:
  • Gains power from making a bargain with the demonic/evil beings:
  • Otherwise employs black/forbidden sorcery:
  • Wears robes:
  • Carries a staff or a dagger:

Score range
0-15: An original, fresh character – no worries here.
16-25: Character possesses quite a few clichéd qualities, but if you know what you are doing, then you should be fine.
26-40: Borderline case, can go either way.
41-55: Can work if you are really good, and have enough twists and turns to pull it off. Otherwise, start reconsidering.
56+: Look, forget it. Please stop making my beloved genre look any more idiotic than it already does. What, do you think writing fantasy is a “Let’s see how hackneyed and trite I can make this…” contest?