# Looking for examples of Achilles' heels in fantasy literature

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-examples-of-achilles-heels-in-fantasy-literature/431494>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [December 28, 2007, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-examples-of-achilles-heels-in-fantasy-literature/431494 "2007-12-28T18:05:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-examples-of-achilles-heels-in-fantasy-literature/431494/61 "2008-01-02T11:43:29Z")

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Michael Moorcock’s **Elric of Melnibone** was pretty much a sickly all-round feeb. He could only function at all by constantly taking drugs and having Stormbringer kill people so he could feed off their life force.

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**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-examples-of-achilles-heels-in-fantasy-literature/431494/62 "2008-01-02T13:46:53Z")

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MacBeth could not be killed by any man born of woman.

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**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-examples-of-achilles-heels-in-fantasy-literature/431494/63 "2008-01-02T16:21:50Z")

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[QUOTE=Der Trihs]  
Ummmm . . . I liked your old username better ?  
[/QUOTE]

::smacks Der Trihs with wet trout::

The last time somebody said that to me, I strangled him with this own intestines.

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**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-examples-of-achilles-heels-in-fantasy-literature/431494/64 "2008-01-02T16:38:22Z")

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[QUOTE=Der Trihs]  
Yes; treants are the D&D version of Ents; as I recall at one point whomever held they copyright for Tolkien’s books ( his family IIRC ) got a litte sue-happy. Thus treants and balor instead of Ents and Balrogs.

Now me, I’d think “Free advertising !”  
[/QUOTE]

Psst. I know all that already. 'Was twitting **Miller** for using the D&D weasel-word in a Tolkien context.

> [@Christopher](#):
>
> Bink was vulnerable to magic that didn’t hurt his body. (Xanth)

Well, kinda sorta. Except that, one way or another, no lasting harm ever occurred to him even from “indirect” magic. Like in _Night Mare_, where the supposedly invulnerable Bink wound up inside the gourd-world - he came out of it quite happily, and was probably in less danger “trapped” in the gourd than in the outside world, where his magic-immunity might have meant more direct measures having to be taken against him.

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