1) Yes, I do mean Voldemort.  I was trying to be whimsical.

2) You're right - Viserys doesn't fit that part to a T, but he does possess many of those qualities (particularly the rather messy end with which he meets) - it might have been more appropriate to put him into the same category as Wormtail.  I thought Viserys belonged in there somewhere, but I couldn't really define him as a separate archetype.  If anyone can, do so - but please give us other examples of characters in this type so we have some sort of comparison.

I almost laughed out loud at the thought of Moiraine with an Oz accent.

 

I can just imagine it now. An encounter between Moiraine and Padan Fain, Fain grabs a passing commoner and holds them in front of him, his tainted knife poised ready to cut their throat.

 

"He's got a knife!" come the cries of the civillians.

 

"Thats not a knife," Moiraine said, channeling Fire, "This is a knife."

 

Mick Dundee style

That was epic.  I can do nothing but stand in amazed silence at the brilliance of that post - then lol at the image of Moiraine as an Aussie.

I think that almost all fantasy stories have certain 'threads' (if you'll pardon the expression) running through them, which have been around since before the oral traditions of Beowulf (although great pioneers of high fantasy such as Tolkien and Lewis certainly gave them a little more structure).

Fantasy or high fantasy? Most of your examples suggest the latter, although those archetypes you list are not confined to fantasy/science fiction.

I was generally thinking of high fantasy ('Tolkienesque' fantasy, as I like to call it), but as you said, it could really apply to any fantasy (or fiction in general).  As for my promised list of villain archetypes, here it is:

1) The personification of evil (the "Beast" or "Dark Lord") who intends to conquer and rule/reshape the world in his/her own twisted image.  This archetype may be manifested as an evil ruler or sorcerer/sorceress (or sometimes a "mad scientist" in science fiction), or it may not even be one single character.  This character could be a dark entity without physical form, or it may be an actual character surrounded by evil.  I have a long list of examples for this archetype to show the wide variety of possible characteristics.

Examples:

-Shai'tan

-The Emperor (Star Wars)

-Sauron (The Lord of the Rings)

-King Einon (Dragonheart)

-Melina Shield (the Firekeeper series by Jane Lindskold)

-Ma'ar (The Mage Wars by Mercedes Lackey/Larry Dixon)

-Ganondorf Dragmire (The Legend of Zelda)

-He Who Must Not Be Named (Harry Potter)

-The White Witch (The Chronicles of Narnia)

-The Goa'uld System Lords (Stargate: SG-1)

-Andross (Star Fox)

2) The puppet of the evil lord (or, "False Prophet" in biblical terms) who is often a harbinger of the dark lord's evil.  This character is rarely just a drooling minion, but instead may hold great power of his/her own.  The character is often (though not always) destroyed by his/her own short-sightedness and lust for power.

Examples:

-Ba'alzamon/Ishamael

-Darth Vader (Star Wars)

-Saruman the White (The Lord of the Rings)

-Lucious Malfoy (Harry Potter)

-Newell Shield (the Firekeeper series by Jane Lindskold)

-Aganihm the Wizard (The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past)

-Viserys Targaryn (A Song of Ice and Fire)

3) The misused minion (either knowingly or unknowingly) who was originally deluded by promises of power or mercy.  This character is interesting and not always as clear.  He/she might become a slave to the dark lord with no control, may be driven completely mad and commit dreadful atrocities to both sides, or may even see through the lies of the dark lord and join the forces of light.  This is an archetype which I find fascinating, but is a little more obscure than the others.

Examples:

-Padan Fain/Ordeith

-Lando Calrissian (Star Wars)

-Gollum/Sméagol (The Lord of the Rings; again, this character didn't know that he was being used)

-Peter Pettigrew/Wormtail (Harry Potter)

-Mr. Tumnus (The Chronicles of Narnia; this is more true in the book than in the film)

-Tyrion Lannister (A Song of Ice and Fire; but those familiar with the series know this could still go either way)

-Blind the Thief (The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past)

-Teal'c (Stargate: SG-1 pilot episode)

4) The army of the dark who carries out the deadly designs of the dark (try that three times fast).  For this archetype to be personified in a single character is extremely rare (I can't think of any examples), but there may be various single characters who fall into this group.  The members of these armies are usually portrayed as dull-witted and/or weak-minded.  Often, they are inferior creatures with very little mental capacity, but they can be portrayed as human and sometimes highly trained and disciplined.

Examples:

-Trollocs

-Orcs (The Lord of the Rings)

-Stormtroopers (Star Wars)

-The Ja'fa (Stargate: SG-1)

-Moblins (The Legend of Zelda)

I'm sure I've probably missed a few here.  The villains aren't always as easy to identify (at least not for me), so add to this if you can.

Wolfbrother Perrin:Zelda: Twilight Princess storyline is similar. Link becomes a wolf in the Twilight realm

It's funny you should mention ZTP - I was just thinking how much I thought of Moiraine when I saw Zelda in that game.

But for my big, long explanation:

I think that almost all fantasy stories have certain 'threads' (if you'll pardon the expression) running through them, which have been around since before the oral traditions of Beowulf (although great pioneers of high fantasy such as Tolkien and Lewis certainly gave them a little more structure).  Fantasy and science fiction are, after all (as Gene Roddenberry said often), metaphors for life as we know it - by taking the evils (and positive things) of the world we know and putting them in a somewhat-unbelievale setting, we can point out the problems we see without pointing our fingers at actual people. (I have experienced this both in reading and writing fantasy stories)  A lot of these characterizations fall into certain archetypes, which are manifested in the characters of the story. 

Bear with me on this - take a look at some that I have observed through all of the fantasy I've read.  Of course, feel free to disagree (be gentle ;)) or add to this:

1) The young/naive hero (often the "chosen one" and/or main character, slayer of dragons, etc.) who must 'come of age' and overcome personal demons coupled with inexperience in order to save the world or someone/something he/she cares deeply about.

Examples:

-Rand al'Thor

-Luke Skywalker (Star Wars)

-Frodo Baggins (The Lord of the Rings)

-Edmund (and Peter) Pevinsey (The Chronicles of Narnia (esp. nos. 2 & 4)

-Link (The Legend of Zelda)

2) The wise mentor (often the "sacrificial lamb") who teaches the main character about his responsibilities.  Also teaches him about his abilities and how to use them.  This character can be any age but is usually portrayed as being a little elderly, because this character must have a great deal of worldly experience.  Or this character may be some supernatural force or guide who is sort of a 'Messiah' figure; the essence of self-sacrifice.

Examples:

-Moiraine

-Gandalf the Grey (The Lord of the Rings)

-Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars)

-Aslan (The Chronicles of Narnia)

-Mr. Spock (Star Trek - esp. The Wrath of Khan)

-Brom (The Inheritance Cycle)

3) The likeable, unrefined warrior on the outside (a scoundrel or pirate-like character, sometimes ends up as a sidekick) who doesn't really want to be involved but is more or less forced into his destiny.

Examples:

-Mat Cauthon

-Peregrin Took/Meriadoc Brandybuck (The Lord of the Rings)

-Han Solo (Star Wars)

-Skandranon Rashkae (The Mage Wars by Mercedes Lackey/Larry Dixon)

4) The valiant, passionate outside warrior who acheives greatness because of (or sometimes in spite of) the main hero.  He or she is fighting for his or her home/loved ones even if he/she doesn't always immediately understand the gravity of the situation.

Examples:

-Perrin Aybara

-Samwise Gamgee (The Lord of the Rings)

-Leia Organa (Star Wars)

-"Bones" McCoy (Star Trek)

-Reepicheep (The Chronicles of Narnia)

-Derian Carter (The Firekeeper series by Jane Lindskold)

---------

These are just the protagonist archetypes - I haven't a list of villains yet, but I'll try to come up with one.  Of course, each story may have more than one character in each archetype (for example, Egwene al'Vere fits into archetype #1 rather nicely), and certain characters may fit into more than one archetype (the enigma of Spock, for instance, who at different times could fit into a number of different places).

I don't know much about Final Fantasy - I've never played any of those games (based on opportunity more than interest); I've only presented what I'm familiar with.  If you think you can add to this, please do.

The Perrin/Wolfkin thread of the story hearkens somewhat back to Jane Lindskold's 'Firekeeper' series.  (I think WoT actually came first, but Lindskold's books were really what got me into reading fantasy...)

Yeah, good.  Is this your first read-through?  (Like, did you check the books out of the library before?)  If it is, this board is full of spoilers.  You might want to go to the structured board.  (Someone pointed that out to me when I first started here.)