History Literature / FafhrdAndTheGrayMouser

** The Cat's Claw gets referenced by a number of early [[Creator/SquareEnix Square RPGs]] ([[Videogame/FinalFantasyI Final Fantasy]], [[VideoGame/SaGa SaGa]]), appearing as a store-bought dagger/sword that's usually one of the better daggers in the games. Later games seemed to have forgotten the original reference and made the Cat Claw/Cat Claws into an actual paw-shaped glove with claws.

** The Cat's Claw gets referenced by a number of early Square RPGs (Final Fantasy, SaGa), appearing as a store-bought dagger/sword that's usually one of the better daggers in the games. Later games seemed to have forgotten the original reference and made the Cat Claw/Cat Claws into an actual paw-shaped glove with claws.

* BarbarianHero: Fafhrd. Subverted/Deconstructed in that he's based on actual historical barbarians - he wears armor, seldom ever uses two-handed weapons, is a skilled horse archer, is a well-trained seafarer, and generally tries to avoid fighting more than one enemy at a time.

There are seven books containing all the stories: ''Swords and Deviltry'', ''Swords Against Death'', ''Swords in the Mist'', ''Swords Against Wizardry'', ''The Swords of Lankhmar'', ''Swords and Ice Magic'', and ''The Knight and Knave of Swords''. There is also the authorized novel sequel ''Swords Against the Shadowland'' by RobinWayneBailey.

* MediumAwareness: In the origin story ''Ill Met in Lankhmar'', the Mouser's response when Fafhrd introduces himself is to ask how "Fafhrd" is ''pronounced''. Right after Fafhrd had carefully spelled it out to him. Because else he couldn't have known how it was spelled, [[MindScrew since they were, you know, speaking]].

* MediumAwareness: In the origin story ''Ill Met in Lankhmar'', the Mouser's response when Fafhrd introduces himself is to ask how "Fafhrd" is ''pronounced''.

* BrainsAndBrawn: Massively averted. Fafhrd is mentally complacent but far from stupid; and the Mouser, while conspicuously intelligent, is inclined to let his ego lead him into foolhardy actions. To make it more plain, it's usually the Mouser who does the most damage and fights the toughest fights.

* BarbarianHero: Fafhrd. Subverted/Deconstructed in that he's based on actual historical barbarians - he wears armor, is a skilled horse archer, is a well-trained seafarer, and generally tries to avoid fighting more than one enemy at a time.

* BarbarianHero: Fafhrd. Subverted/Deconstructed in that he's based on actual historical barbarians - he wears armor, is a skilled horse archer, and is a well-trained seafarer.

* BarbarianHero: Fafhrd.

** DC did a comic adaptaption of these, so this guest appearance was probably considered as a fairly standard in-house crossover.

* EvilSorcerer : lots.

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Although their moral conduct is often questionable, when the world of Nehwon needs heroesit knows who to call.

* AuthorAppeal

* BashBrothers

* BrokeEpisode.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture

* GirlOfTheWeek

* LowFantasy

* ReligionOfEvil

* ThievesGuild

* WhatYouAreInTheDark

* SnowballFight: The women of Fafhrd's barbarian tribe are described as throwing snowballs with such force and accuracy that they can 'break bones.'

* SnowballFight

One of the most seminal pieces of SwordAndSorcery was Creator/FritzLeiber's ''Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser'' series of short stories and novellas. Set in the world of Nehwon (except for one story set on Earth), often in the city of Lankhmar, it starred '''Fafhrd''', a seven-foot tall [[BarbarianHero barbarian]] from the North, and '''the Mouser''', a trickster [[LoveableRogue thief]] and former wizard's apprentice, who find and befriend each other one day. A {{deconstruction}} of the ConanTheBarbarian stories that Leiber had grown tired of, FafhrdAndTheGrayMouser showed two heroes closer to actual human beings. To quote TheOtherWiki: "They spend a lot of time drinking, feasting, wenching, brawling, stealing, and gambling, and are seldom fussy about to whom they hire their swords. But they are humane and - most of all - relish true adventure." A massive source for inspiration for much of modern roleplaying, specifically D&D, either directly or indirectly, and pretty much any ''swashbuckling'' - as opposed to ThudAndBlunder - fantasy story written after about 1970 or so probably owes a debt to these stories.

** Fafhrd is a dreamer; the Gray Mouser is street-wise. They're both smart, but the Mouser depends on it far more.

* CartwrightCurse GirlOfTheWeek: They almost always have love interests, they never seem to last from one story to the next.
** Averted in the final tales of the series when both the heroes got two new steady girlfriends.

* InterspeciesRomance: Fafhrd hooked up with a ghoul (see below) and Mouser with a girl who was descended from rats (in ''Swords of Lankhmar'').
** Fafhrd also has a brief fling with a Djinn.
*** Hell, Mouser got raped by the Goddess of Pain ([[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale which he sort-of enjoyed]]).

** This also parodies That Which Must Not Be Spoken:
--->'''Ningauble:''' --the dread city, mention not its name--\\
'''The Gray Mouser:''' Is it Khatti?

** Most of them also being JerkassGods.

* ShoutOut: Nehwon is named after the pattern of "Erewhon", a fantasy land created by Samuel Butler.
** In the introductions to the Ace paperback edition, Leiber also listed a number of swordsmen that Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser [[TakeThat were better than]]. Said list included [[Literature/TheThreeMusketeers d'Artagnan]], JohnCarterOfMars, [[Literature/TheWormOuroboros Lord Brandoch Daha]], ConanTheBarbarian, and [[Literature/GloryRoad Scar Gordon]].

* DistressedDamsel: While the duo is not as susceptible to these as ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'', they do crop up and sometimes get the plot moving. Often to our heroes' detriment.
* DivineChessboard: Ningauble of the Seven Eyes and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face use their champions this way.

* JerkassGod: Most gods of Nehwon are.

* BazaarOfTheBizarre: The TropeNamer.

** There are also a lot of shout outs ''to'' our heroes, in works that have drawn inspiration from Leiber. For instance:
*** The very first Literature/{{Discworld}} novel features a cameo by "Bravd and the Weasel". Not to mention the city of Ankh-Morpork, in its original form similar in both name and description to Lankhmar. In later books it developed its own unique character.
*** ''ConanTheBarbarian'' #6, written by Roy Thomas and published by Marvel, was set in the sinful city of Shadizar, which as written by Thomas owed a lot to Lankhmar, and featured a cameo by "Fafnir and Blackrat". (Shadizar came first -- it's a Zamoran city from Howard's original stories -- but Howard never developed it much, though it was definitely a WretchedHive.)
*** Comicbook/{{Fables}}, starting from issue #77, features obvious expies of the two called Freddy and Mouse.

One of the most seminal pieces of SwordAndSorcery was Creator/FritzLeiber's FafhrdAndTheGrayMouser series of short stories and novellas. Set in the world of Nehwon (except for one story set on Earth), often in the city of Lankhmar, it starred '''Fafhrd''', a seven-foot tall [[BarbarianHero barbarian]] from the North, and '''the Mouser''', a trickster [[LoveableRogue thief]] and former wizard's apprentice, who find and befriend each other one day. A {{deconstruction}} of the ConanTheBarbarian stories that Leiber had grown tired of, FafhrdAndTheGrayMouser showed two heroes closer to actual human beings. To quote TheOtherWiki: "They spend a lot of time drinking, feasting, wenching, brawling, stealing, and gambling, and are seldom fussy about to whom they hire their swords. But they are humane and - most of all - relish true adventure." A massive source for inspiration for much of modern roleplaying, specifically D&D, either directly or indirectly, and pretty much any ''swashbuckling'' - as opposed to ThudAndBlunder - fantasy story written after about 1970 or so probably owes a debt to these stories.