History RankScalesWithAsskicking / Literature

* Played straight with Visser Three in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}''. Though he gained the position due to [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority the mirror trope]] as much as anything.

*** AuthorityEqualsAsskicking even is in effect when the main characters are children. Trumpkin's confusion stems in part from the fact that Peter, Edmund, Lucy, and Susan returned as they were in England, as schoolchildren, and had lost much of their skill and ability. It returns to them slowly due to the "Narnian air."
** In ''The Magician's Nephew'', Jadis treats with contempt the notion that Uncle Andrew could be anything but a king: commoners are never magicians. This could be AsskickingEqualsAuthority, in view of her ruthless use of magic for power, but she treats it as this trope.

* A lot of the higher-level warlords in the web-novel ''Literature/{{Domina}}'' are also extremely physically dangerous, due to the fact that there's an easy BioAugmentation device lying around, so anyone with the money (such as people in charge of a culture) can make use of it. It also goes the other way into AsskickingEqualsAuthority; people who manage to get augmented on their own can carve out their own culture easily.

* Played straight, subverted and double subverted in the ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' novels -- at least with the good guys. With [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy otters, shrews and other warrior bands, the Skipper or Log-A-Log is mostly the toughest guy around. This is definitely the case with all Salamandastron badgers, even the pacifist Russano.]] The Redwall Abbot or Abbess, by contrast, is usually the wisest and kindest person there rather than the most ferocious, though double subversions are in place as even the cutest Redwall leader has been known to get primeval if their Abbey is in danger. Case in point -- Lycian in ''High Rhulain''. One minute peacefully sipping tea, the next minute spotting an attacking vermin and smashing him over the head with the teapot, which is full of scalding tea. The vermin are mostly AsskickingEqualsAuthority, but as with the orcs example above, it means that if a vermin is leading a band, nine times out of ten it means he or she could beat all the others in battle. If not, expect that situation to be remedied during the book.

** [[CoolSword Shardblades]] and [[PoweredArmor Shardplate]] belong exclusively to nobles (having one [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority instantly makes its bearer a noble]]). Many Highprinces are known to be very personally dangerous in combat, often leading the war effort from the front with the help of their Shards. Dalinar's flashbacks in ''Literature/{{Oathbringer}}'' highlight this a great deal, as he personally killed countless enemies (along with many allies) in the war to unite Alethkar.

* Justified in Antti Tuuri's ''Literature/TheWinterWar'' since many high officers of the Finnish army are Jägers trained in Germany before Finland's independence, and conscript leaders have generally been [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority picked by their abilities]].

** [[CoolSword Shardblades]] and [[PoweredArmor Shardplate]] belong exclusively to nobles (having one [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority instantly makes it's bearer a noble]]). Many Highprinces are known to be very personally dangerous in combat, often leading the war effort from the front with the help of their Shards. Dalinar's Flashbacks in Oathbringer highlight this a great deal, as he personally killed countless enemies (along with many allies) in the war to unite Alethkar.
** The Knights Radiant basically operate this way as well. They get their powers from swearing magical Oaths, and the more Oaths a Knight has sworn, the higher they go in the orders hierarchy of their order. As a result the higher up you are in an order, the more personally dangerous you're likely to be.

* ''Literature/TheElenium'': Subverted in the ''Tamuli'' sequel series with the King of the Cyrgai {{Proud Warrior Race|Guy}}, who fancies himself a preeminent WarriorPrince only because none of his sparring partners dare to actually put up a proper fight against him. When he faces Sparhawk, he tries a few flashy moves and goes down like a chump.

** This is the case with the [[KingOfTheHomeless leader of the Beggars' Sect]] whenever they appear. In addition to familiarity with the sect's signature "18 Dragon-subduing Palms" technique and competency in leadership, the prospective leader of the sect has to inherit the [[SimpleStaff "Dog-Beating Staff"]] from his or her predecessor and learn the techniques to use it in order to be qualified for leadership. Oftentimes, the leader of the Beggars' Sect tends to be one of the strongest fighters in the setting, with Qiao Feng from ''Literature/DemiGodsAndSemiDevils'' and Hong Qigong from ''Literature/TheLegendOfTheCondorHeroes'' being very notable examples.

** This is the case with the [[KingOfTheHomeless leader of the Beggars' Sect]] whenever they appear. In addition to familiarity with the sect's signature "18 Dragon-subduing Palms" technique and competency in leadership, the prospective leader of the sect has to inherit the [[SimpleStaff "Dog-Beating Staff"]] from his or her predecessor and learn the techniques to use it in order to be qualified for leadership. Oftentimes, the leader of the Beggars' Sect tends to be one of the strongest fighters in the setting, with [[Literature/DemiGodsAndSemiDevils Qiao Feng]] and [[Literature/TheLegendOfTheCondorHeroes Hong Qigong]] being very notable examples.

** [[CoolSword Shardblades]] and [[PoweredArmor Shardplate]] belong exclusively to nobles (having one [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority instantly makes it's bearer a noble]]). Many Highprinces are known to be very personally dangerous in combat, often leading the war effort from the front with the help of their Shards. Dalinar's Flashbacks in Oathbringer highlight this a great deal, as he personally killed countless enemies in the war to unite Alethkar.

** Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts and leader of the Order of the Phoenix, is the only one who could kick Voldemort's ass in a duel.

** The Death Eaters themselves are an example. Voldemort can hold his own against Dumbledore in a duel, and can fight any other THREE wizards simultaneously and without effort. His highest-ranking Death Eaters also tend to be his most dangerous servants; in fact, most duels between named Death Eaters and any good guy tend to go in favor of the Death Eaters.

* ''Literature/NightfallSeries'': If a vampire overpowers another and drinks their blood, the loser has to recognize the winner's authority. Prince Vladimir had to resort to this tactic before he could become the leader of all vampires.
* ''Literature/TheFellOfDark'': Vivian Duclos, the head of a group of vampires called The League of the Dark Star, is also their most formidable fighter and magician.
* In ''Literature/ReturnOfTheReaper'' we have both the Reaper and [[spoiler: the Doomed King]].

* Quite common in Creator/JRRTolkien's [[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium various works]]:
** Mostly played straight with the Valar and Maiar, as well as the kings of the Númenóreans, Elves, Dwarves, and other peoples. However, there is also a memorable subversion: [[EvilOverlord Melkor/Morgoth]] was considered the highest and overall most powerful of the Valar, and Manwë, the Valar's leader after Morgoth went renegade, second to him -- but Tulkas, who was not really good at anything except fighting (and feasting) was the only one who could kick Morgoth's ass. In fact, Tulkas came to Arda solely in order to help the other Valar against Morgoth; the other Valar combined could defeat Morgoth and drive him away (but not capture him), but Tulkas was Arda's version of Hercules, and could single-handedly wrestle Morgoth into submission.
** In particular, the lords of the Elves are the most powerful non-divine beings in Middle-earth; after all, Elves are immortal and have plenty of time to accumulate skills and experience, and their rulers tend to be among the oldest beings in all of Middle-earth. At one point in ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', Fingolfin, the High King of the Noldor, decides he's had it with Morgoth and rides forth to challenge him to single combat. He loses the fight, but Morgoth takes such a beating (leaving [[ScarsAreForever scars]]) in the process that he spends the entire rest of the First Age hiding in his lair and letting his minions do all the work.
** In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', the kings and leaders of Men in particular are not only the greatest and noblest warriors (traits that go hand in hand in Tolkien's world), but lines of Kings often descended from sub-races of Men such as the Dúnedain, who are quite literally mightier, fairer, larger of stature and longer of life than the average Man. Aragorn, heir to the thrones of Gondor and Arnor and Chieftain of the Dúnedain, is the best human warrior alive at the time of books, and many of his ancestors were greater still; Elendil was almost 8 feet tall, and he and the Elven King Gil-Galad were able to defeat the Dark Lord Sauron at the end of the War of Last Alliance (albeit at the cost of their own lives), and his heir Isildur was over 7 feet tall, and so terrifying that the orcs fled from him even after shooting him dead. Boromir, heir to the Stewardship of Gondor, is also the hardiest warrior of his people, and his younger brother Faramir is a close second. King Théoden of the Rohirrim proves himself a mighty warrior in the Battles of Helm's Deep and the Pelennor Fields. The one subversion is Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, who's implied to be a mighty figure in his own right, but advocates to Pippin that "wise" leaders should use others to do their fighting for them.
** Orcs only respect strength, and so those who rule them (whether it be Sauron, the Witch-king, great orcs, etc.) are without a doubt the mightiest of their armies.
* In ''Literature/{{Simulated}}'' Benjamin, leader of the Vanishing Mansion crew. He steps up and kicks arse along with Sam and isn't afraid to get his hands dirty.
* The moredhel ([[OurElvesAreDifferent dark elves]]) of ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle'' are tribal, war-like and live in a harsh, cold and barren land. A moredhel isn't considered an adult until they're a hundred years old, and they usually need to live another hundred before they're eligible for the position of clan chieftain -- all while surviving in the cold amidst constant bloodshed and starvation, mind you. Thus, if you ever run into a moredhel chieftain, you better believe they're damn hard to kill.
* Played straight, subverted and double subverted in the ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' novels -- at least with the good guys. With [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy otters, shrews and other warrior bands, the Skipper or Log-A-Log is mostly the toughest guy around. This is definitely the case with all Salamandastron badgers, even the pacifist Russano.]] The Redwall Abbot or Abbess, by contrast, is usually the wisest and kindest person there rather than the most ferocious, though double subversions are in place as even the cutest Redwall leader has been known to get primeval if their Abbey is in danger. Case in point - Lycian in ''High Rhulain''. One minute peacefully sipping tea, the next minute spotting an attacking vermin and smashing him over the head with the teapot, which is full of scalding tea. The vermin are mostly AsskickingEqualsAuthority, but as with the orcs example above, it means that if a vermin is leading a band, nine times out of ten it means he or she could beat all the others in battle. If not, expect that situation to be remedied during the book.
* Justified in ''Literature/TheFirebringerTrilogy'', as the prince/princess of the unicorn herd is also their warleader in times of war (and they have considered themselves at war for over four hundred years).
* Subverted in the ''Literature/HoratioHornblower'' series, in which it is noted that Petty Officers could be Drill Sergeant Nasties, but that would be beneath Hornblower's dignity as an officer as well as above his physical capacity. Hornblower got into much more tough physical confrontations as a midshipman and lieutenant than he did as a commander.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
** Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts and leader of the Order of the Phoenix, is the only one who could kick Voldemort's ass in a duel.
** Averted elsewhere in the ''Harry Potter'' series, however. [[HeadInTheSandManagement Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge]] was never shown to be an outstandingly powerful wizard. His successor Rufus Scrimgeour was undoubtedly better, having been the former head of the Aurors, the Ministry's special forces; however, his chronic limp may be a handicap in a fight -- and anyway he was killed with relatively little struggle when the Ministry was taken over. Played relatively straight after the war, when Kingsley Shacklebolt is elected Minister, a powerful Auror who actually fought alongside the protagonists a few times and was assigned as personal protection for the British Prime Minister, lest he be magically dominated via the Imperius curse. Dumbledore himself was repeatedly offered the job of Minister, and he always turned it down; it was suggested that Voldemort may have wanted to take up the post earlier in his career, but he never did -- though he controlled the acting Minister for most of a year.
** However, played straight with the Hogwarts professors during the Battle for Hogwarts, when the school's teachers proved themselves more than a little adept at the use of magic in the defense of their students against Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Those who can do, teach, eh?
** The Death Eaters themselves are an example. Voldemort can hold his own against Dumbledore in a duel, and can fight any other THREE wizards simultaneously and without effort. His highest-ranking Death Eaters also tend to be his most dangerous servants; in fact, most duels between named Death Eaters and any good guy tend to go in favor of the Death Eaters.
** Justified in the sense that intelligent people (such as Dumbledore and Voldemort) know how to better utilize magic and thus fight using it - though that's not the only quality needed to make a good fighter, as exemplified by the valedictorian yet hysteric Hermione.
* Played straight in the UrbanFantasy environment of the Franchise/{{Nasuverse}}, at least when a character is involved in an organization. The heads of particular divisions in the Magi Association tend to be holding their position due to their overwhelming brilliance. Naturally, this means that the Lords of the Association are scarily powerful. On the other hand, you also have oddities like how the last person on Earth who can use the Unified Language is teaching in a random high school.
* ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'':
** Heavily justified. The main principle of the [[SpaceMarine Mobile Infantry]] is "Everybody drops, everybody fights": all officers are promoted from enlisted ranks, and even generals are expected to be the first soldiers on the ground (although they have bodyguards to help keep the enemy riffraff away). Plus the higher-ups get command suits with both the speed of scout suits and weaponry and gear on par with if not superior to that of standard marauder suits. And to get the highest rank of Sky Marshal, one has to go through the ranks of both the Mobile Infantry and the Navy.
** Subverted in TheFilmOfTheBook, when they find a general hiding in the freezer while exploring an abandoned fort. He's shown to be completely useless; he's probably suffering from shellshock after seeing his men get their brains sucked out.
** While {{Klingon Promotion}}s are not supported, an officer is proven to be incompetent if he lets the morale and/or his personal level of asskicking sink so low that his underlings would even think of attacking him and surviving the attempt.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
** The Wizards (at least in the earlier books) are an example of this. Progression is by the time-honored "Dead men's pointy boots" system, and the wizards don't usually wait for them to get emptied naturally.
** Archchancellor Ridcully is possibly one of the most powerful combatants on the Disc (and single-handedly ended the above tradition by being impossible to kill, which made the wizards give up and decide to settle into a more peaceful life), and Vetinari the Patrician is a trained and skilled assassin that got top marks at the Assassins' Guild academy and has effortlessly dispatched several armed men in the blink of an eye.
** [[DiscussedTrope The trope is often mentioned in the Watch books]], particularly in regards to Carrot's sword and/or references to the "old" nobility (ie. professional soldiers).

** Senior Council membership consists of the seven oldest (and as a result most experienced and strongest) wizards on the planet; the youngest, Ebenezar [=McCoy=] [[spoiler:[[ColonyDrop brought down a decomissioned Soviet satellite]] on an island full of vampires for revenge at the end of ''Death Masks'']], and the Merlin and the Gatekeeper [[spoiler:stalled an entire army of Red Court vampires and {{Eldritch Abomination}}s with a single ward thrown up on the fly during the events of ''Dead Beat'']] ([[DeadpanSnarker Harry's]] comment: "You don't get to be the Merlin by collecting bottle caps"). Similarly the Wardens of the White council generally increase in badassitude as you go up the ranks, they are explicitlly a military/police organization and their numbers are quite low, so even the higher ranked ones have to fight.
** Other examples include the Sidhe queens, the Red King, other similarly powered rulers, and even just people higher in the hirearchy, like Lords of Outer Night from ''Changes''--vampires so old and powerful that they actually are the [[PhysicalGod pantheon]] of the {{Mayincatec}} civilizations of South America. Mostly justified in that these are beings who have been alive for thousands of years or more and have had time to build and consolidate power, although people promoted to some of these positions (such as the Summer Lady) essentially immediately become a PersonOfMassDestruction.

* In Creator/JamesThurber's ''Literature/The13Clocks'', the duke trusts in his captain of the guard, who has only been defeated once. But a minion points out that the prince who is trying to marry his niece was that one defeat.
* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'':
** The series is full of royals who not only [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething actually fight things]], but tend to be totally awesome at fighting them. Of particular note are [[SupportingLeader Prince]] [[TheWisePrince Gwydion]], King Smoit, King Morgant and King Pryderi, all feared and respected war leaders as well as being mighty warriors in their own right.
** High King Math is a double subversion. He is very idealistic and peace-loving, and far too old to fight. However, in the final book he proves himself to be the most badass man alive by [[spoiler:''getting out of his deathbed'' to make a heroic final stand against the Death-Lord's army of [[MadeofIron undead minions]]]].
** Subverted with [[spoiler:[[BigBad Arawn]] [[EvilOverlord Death-Lord]] who, despite being a powerful sorcerer, barely fights (though he does kill someone) before being decapitated]].

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
** Frequently the most powerful nobleman leading an army is also its more powerful swordsman. During the First Blackfyre Rebellion, the royal pretender Daemon Blackfyre was considered undefeatable with a sword. During Robert's Rebellion, each side was lead by their strongest fighter: Robert Baratheon and Rhaegar Targaryen. After Robert killed Rhaegar in single combat and won the war, he became king. Also, the most powerful noble families breed most of the continent's best warriors: Loras Tyrell, a great jouster and Jaime Lannister, the greatest swordsman are all members of Great Houses. This is justified, as heirs and leaders of Great Houses they'd receive the most and best training, nutrition, and even genetics, as the need to appear strong is important as vassal houses are known to overthrow them if they appear weak. True choose to slack off. For example, when Jon Snow becomes a member of the Night's Watch and thinks he's better than the other recruits because he can beat them all in single combat. It's pointed out, InUniverse, that he's been trained for years by his master-at-arms, whereas the lower class recruits can't even afford a sword, let alone receive proper training in it.
** Warriors from the Great Houses are quoted to have been [[TrainingFromHell trained to ride and fight]] from when they could [[TheSpartanWay talk and walk]]. More often than not, their teachers would be experts at combat themselves. As individual fighters, the Heavy Troops (knights) are thought of as the strongest, bar none, and could very well be the most capable individual fighters in the entire world, even more so than Dothraki, pit fighters, and Unsullied. One must remember that [[TheAce Arthur Dayne]], [[TheBrute Gregor Clegane]], [[LivingLegend Barristan Selmy]], Loras Tyrell, [[MasterSwordsman Jaime Lannister]], and [[MasterOfAll Daemon Blackfyre]] were all knights.
** Justified in the case of the Dothraki, who only follow the powerful. Khal Drogo in particular was never defeated in battle and led an incredibly large group of warriors.
** Subverted quite a few times when it comes to certain noble characters, despite certainly looking and acting the part. This is noted by some characters.
** The most textbook cases are when a young knight, supposedly much better trained and equipped, ends up being defeated by an older, more lowborn man. The reasons tend to range from the lowborn man being much stronger or the young knight underestimating him to the knight misunderstanding the finer technicalities of battle (e.g. terrain, fatigue, mobility vs. protection) and acting inappropriately, while the lowborn man has much more experience.
* Justified in ''Literature/TheBookOfTheNamed'', Clan leaders can be challenged for their position by any Clan member, and thus must be good at fighting to stay the Clan leader.

* Literature/{{Beowulf}}, from the epic poem of the same name, is an inversion. He's far more kickass than the local king, and becomes king after his amazing feats of badass in defense of Hrothgar's land. He still dies against a dragon.
* This is an unspoken assumption in ''Literature/{{Dune}}''. When Baron Harkonnen learns that the guards escorting Paul and Lady Jessica have been killed, he asks who their rescuer may have been and his Mentat replies, "It was a clean, silent killing, my Lord. Hawat, perhaps, or that Halleck one. Possibly Idaho. Or any top lieutenant." Apparently, the Atredies couldn't possibly employ competent assassins without giving them high ranks, and no ordinary soldier would be able to manage a clean, silent kill. Besides, isn't Hawat, like, a hundred?
* ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'': Grand Admiral Thrawn doesn't fight anything. He's TheStrategist. He watches everything, plans, and gives orders; he's got to be highly intelligent, but there's no sign of him being physically adept, and no one knows how old he is or if his species is more or less powerful than humans are. Track down the [[AllThereInTheManual Thrawn Trilogy Sourcebook]], a supplement for West End Games' now-defunct ''TabletopGame/StarWarsD6'' RPG, and you see that his physical stats are pretty damn good, better than any of the other bridge officers', better than his counterparts in the ''[[InsistentTerminology Rebellion]]'', better than almost any of the others who don't actually, physically, fight. Other parts of the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse prove him to be ''really'' good with a blaster, and he can move in armor. He impersonates Jodo Kast, a PaletteSwap of Boba Fett, and actually ''makes Kast seem cool''. In ''Literature/OutboundFlight'', we see him board a slaver ship to lead his men into battle. While he has the crew of his ship backing him up, it's pretty obvious that he's cowing his opponents through sheer chutzpah. And once we meet his species (the Chiss), we find out that they're all extremely badass, though more in his "planning ahead" vein than in physical prowess. Thrawn is still portrayed as exceptionally talented even among the very-talented Chiss, though. On the other hand, his stats are probably bumped up to ensure that he survives contact with the average PlayerCharacter.
* In ''Currahee!: A Screaming Eagle at Normandy'', a memoir from a WWII paratrooper, he recounts how someone sabotaged the parachute chord of a strict drill sergeant during parachute training, which was fortunately noticed before he jumped out of the plane. In response, the sargeant challenged anyone who had a problem with him to fight him. Two large recruits then fought him, but he beat them both. After that he didn't have any more parachute problems.
* In ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'':
** [[CoolSword Shardblades]] and [[PoweredArmor Shardplate]] belong exclusively to nobles (having one [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority instantly makes it's bearer a noble]]). Many Highprinces are known to be very personally dangerous in combat, often leading the war effort from the front with the help of their Shards. Dalinar's Flashbacks in Oathbringer highlight this a great deal, as he personally killed countless enemies in the war to unite Alethkar.
** The Knights Radiant basically operate this way as well. They get their powers from swearing magical Oaths, and the more Oaths a Knight has sworn, the higher they go in the orders hierarchy of their order. As a result the higher up you are in an order, the more personally dangerous you're likely to be.
* In ''Literature/TheKeysToTheKingdom'' series, the higher up you are in authority, the larger and stronger you become. By the end of the series, Arthur was over twelve feet tall and able to destroy everybody.
* The Sorcerer Kings from ''Literature/ThePrismPentad''.
* In the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' series, Clan leaders almost always tend to be good fighters. Having [[CatsHaveNineLives nine lives]] while other cats have only one is definitely an advantage too.
* ''Literature/TrappedOnDraconica'':
** Daniar effortlessly defeats mooks, has trouble with TheDragon but can't defeat TheEmperor.
** Her father, King Alister, is a different sort of badass: he raised four super-powered princesses, the last two by himself, despite not having any of his own. He also fights alongside them.
* The Sequel, ''Literature/LegacyOfTheDragokin'': Lydia is a FourStarBadass and more skilled than any of her subordinates despite the fact that she is fifteen and they are full grown adults.
* Literature/BlackCrown has King Valerius fighting in the front lines in 'Black Crown', and likewise the Lords are shown to be able to handle themselves in 'Schism'.
* ''Literature/KateDaniels'':
** The universe is filled with this, which makes sense, because Post-Shift Atlanta is pretty much ruled by survival of the fittest.
** The Shapeshifters are the most prominent example of this, since positions of power in the Pack are won by fights to the dead, so all Clan leaders have to survive a bunch of challenges to stay in power. Since they are the strongest and best fighters, they also take the lead in any violent confrontations.
*** Curran is the Beast Lord, the Alpha of Alphas, because he is strong, fast, and lethal enough to utterly destroy them. He won his position by single-handedly taking down a rampaging were-bear that weighed in over 2000 pounds and had killed several dozen people. At age 15. He's not only their leader, he's also their biggest weapon, so he takes point at nearly every confrontation involving the Pack.
*** While not technically a shapeshifter, Kate becomes the Consort of the Beast Lord, which means she has the same position of power as Curran. She earned her position by surviving 22 challenges while wounded, tired and emotionally compromised because of Curran's coma. All shapeshifters are stronger, larger and heavier than Kate when in warrior-form, and yet she killed them all with a six-inch knive.
* A lot of the higher-level warlords in the web-novel ''Literature/{{Domina}}'' are also extremely physically dangerous, due to the fact that there's an easy BioAugmentation device lying around, so anyone with the money (such as people in charge of a culture) can make use of it. It also goes the other way into AsskickingEqualsAuthority; people who manage to get augmented on their own can carve out their own culture easily.

* ''Literature/TheCatWhoWalksThroughWalls'' has Lazarua Long, who is probably the most important figure in the Howard Families act as a mere soldier to help rescue Mike the sentient computer from ''Literature/TheMoonIsAHarshMistress''.

* In ''Literature/TheTraitorSonCycle'', the Red Company's three best knights happen to be its leader and his pair of {{Number Two}}s.
* ''Literature/TheWanderingInn'':Relc is the highest ranking guardsman in Liscor, although he has a very quick temper, and prefers to use his fist over his wit to end a conflict, thus making him not suitable to have such a high authority. But being the the strongest guardsman, not only in the city, but probably in the whole world, allows him to get such a high position.

* This is strictly enforced in ''Literature/TheLocksmith'', with the leaders of the magical guilds being empowered as a result of taking the position.
* In the German booklets series ''Maddrax'' there are creatures called taratzes. They are huge, mutant rats, the talk and walk upright (there is a certain similarity to the skaves of ''Warhammer''). A taratze is bigger, stronger, faster and tougher than a human, and can be defeated by a BadassNormal at best, if at all. But taratzes are not very intelligent, compared with humans.
** However, there is playing straight with taratze-kings. These are namely still bigger and stronger than ordinary taratzes, and have very often a bright or even white fur. And unlike ordinary taratzes they are as smart as humans, or even more shrewd. This makes them to very dangerous enemies, and they lead a pack of taratzes often.
* ''Literature/TheElenium'': Subverted in the ''Tamuli'' sequel series with the King of the Cyrgai {{Proud Warrior Race|Guy}}, who fancies himself a preeminent WarriorPrince only because none of his sparring partners dare to actually put up a proper fight against him. When he faces Sparhawk, he tries a few flashy moves and goes down like a chump.
* ''Literature/BooksOfTheRaksura'': The Queen caste of the titular {{Humanshifting}} beings are also the strongest, fastest, and most agile -- a young queen can tear an enemy's head off its shoulders barehanded, and they grow larger and StrongerWithAge. The elder queen Malachite is described as more or less rage incarnate in combat, but is more than capable of forcing powerful enemies into submission with raw willpower alone.
* ''Literature/CaptivePrince'':
** Damianos is both the rightful King of Akielos and one of its most renowned warriors -- too bad he spends most of the trilogy ''not'' being King. The notion that Damianos' skill with a sword somehow makes him a more fitting ruler is part of the reason Kastor resents him so deeply.
** Prince Laurent first wins his soldiers' respect by utterly dominating [[spoiler:Govart]] in a duel and goes on to prove that he's almost as exceptional a warrior as he is a leader, though he usually hides that so people underestimate him.
* ''Literature/WatershipDown'': The main antagonistic rabbit-warren is ruled by [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast General Woundwort]], by far the toughest (and most unhinged) rabbit in the story, and possibly the whole world. In the climactic battle, Bigwig, the strongest of the heroic rabbits, tricks Woundwort by casually mentioning that he ''isn't'' the chief of his clan--Woundwort assumes this means there's an even more formidable opponent to contend with, making him quite worried because he was barely able to get the upper hand (paw?) on Bigwig. But Bigwig's superior, Hazel, isn't much of a fighter, and is in charge solely for his leadership skills.

* Justified in Antti Tuuri's ''Literature/TheWinterWar'' since many high officers of the Finnish army are Jägers trained in Germany before Finland's independence, and conscript leaders have generally been [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority picked by their abilities]].
* In ''Literature/{{Dragonrealm}}'' the Dragon Kings are all the largest, most powerful members of their clans, without exception. The Dragon Emperor (Gold) is even bigger.

** In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', those in highest authority are also the greatest warriors (indeed, Tolkien wrote elsewhere that leaders should fight in their own battles). Aragorn, heir to the thrones of Gondor and Arnor, is the best human warrior alive at the time of books, and many of his ancestors were greater still; Elendil was almost 8 feet tall, and he and the Elven King Gil-Galad were able to defeat the Dark Lord Sauron at the end of the War of Last Alliance (albeit at the cost of their own lives), and his heir Isildur was over 7 feet tall, and so terrifying that the orcs fled from him even after shooting him dead. Boromir, heir to the Stewardship of Gondor, is also the hardiest warrior of his people, and his younger brother Faramir is a close second. King Théoden of the Rohirrim proves himself a mighty warrior in the Battles of Helm's Deep and the Pelennor Fields. The one subversion is Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, who's implied to be a mighty figure in his own right, but advocates to Pippin that "wise" leaders should use others to do their fighting for them.

** The Senior Council. The governing body of wizards is comprised of the seven strongest wizards on the planet; the youngest and weakest, Ebenezar [=McCoy=] [[spoiler:[[ColonyDrop brought down a decomissioned Soviet satellite]] on an island full of vampires for revenge at the end of ''Death Masks'']], and the Merlin and the Gatekeeper [[spoiler:stalled an entire army of Red Court vampires and {{Eldritch Abomination}}s with a single ward during the events of ''Dead Beat'']] ([[DeadpanSnarker Harry's]] comment: "You don't get to be the Merlin by collecting bottle caps"). The Wardens are also ranked by badassitude, but since they're a somewhat military organization that needs everyone they can get their hands on, it's more justified.
** Other example include the Sidhe queens, the Red King, and other similarly powered rulers. Mostly justified in that these are beings who have been alive for thousands of years or more and have had time to build and consolidate power, although people promoted to some of these positions (such as the Summer Lady) essentially immediately become a PersonOfMassDestruction. You can generally assume anyone ruling a large faction is likely the most personally powerful being in that group.

** On the heavy end of the scale are the Lords of Outer Night from ''Changes''--vampires so old and powerful that they actually are the [[PhysicalGod pantheon]] of the {{Mayincatec}} civilizations of South America. The very next book, ''Ghost Story,'' shows this trope on the light end of the scale, with a smalltime sorceror (someone who has some magical ability but is beneath the notice of the White Council as friend ''or'' enemy) pushing around a group of teenage orphans a la ''Oliver Twist.''

* The ''Literature/ChroniclesOfPrydain'':

* The moredhel ([[OurElvesAreBetter dark elves]]) of ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle'' are tribal, war-like and live in a harsh, cold and barren land. A moredhel isn't considered an adult until they're a hundred years old, and they usually need to live another hundred before they're eligible for the position of clan chieftain -- all while surviving in the cold amidst constant bloodshed and starvation, mind you. Thus, if you ever run into a moredhel chieftain, you better believe they're damn hard to kill.

** Warriors from the Great Houses are quoted to have been [[TrainingFromHell trained to ride and fight]] from when they could [[TheSpartanWay talk and walk]]. More often than not, their teachers would be experts at combat themselves. As individual fighters, the Heavy Troops (knights) are thought of as the strongest, bar none, and could very well be the most capable individual fighters in the entire world, even more so than Dothraki, pit fighters, and Unsullied. One must remember that [[TheAce Arthur Dayne]], [[TheBrute Gregor Clegane]], [[LivingLegend Barristan Selmy]], [[BadassGay Loras Tyrell]], [[MasterSwordsman Jaime Lannister]], and [[MasterOfAll Daemon Blackfyre]] were all knights.

** Other example include the Sidhe queens, the Red King, and other similarly powered rulers. Mostly justified in that these are beings who have been alive for thousands of years or more and have had time to build and consolidate power, although people promoted to some of these positions (such as the Summer Lady) essentially immediately become a PersonOfMassDestruction.

* In ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'', [[CoolSword Shardblades]] and [[PoweredArmor Shardplate]] belong exclusively to nobles (having one [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority instantly makes it's bearer a noble]]). Many Highprinces are known to be very personally dangerous in combat, often leading the war effort from the front with the help of their Shards. Dalinar's Flashbacks in Oathbringer highlight this a great deal, as he personally killed countless enemies in the war to unite Alethkar.