unlike real life when writing you can always work backwards, too, which negates the need for genius (tho, like, normal smart helps)
so you can start with a thing like "nobody would expect an attack from underneath the castle!" and then design your castle with :
feature that allows this (catacombs from before the ancient cathedral was renovated into a full blown castle)
reason nobody would expect it (the renovators sealed off the catacombs, current occupants don't know the catacombs exist)
genius reason Our Great Hero thinks to make use of this (his common sense but deeply insightful assessment causes him to question where the rain water drains from the multiple terraced courtyards and grand balconies (the renovators did leave a drainage system that exits via the catacombs, which works so well that the current occupants never had reason to wonder about water drainage)
one or two additional things that help make it genius (Our Hero knows the castle used to belong to the original cathedral people, some of whom still live nearby and are bitter about losing the castle to the current occupants)
optional: additional improvised stroke of genius during the event (Our Hero finds current occupants legendary un-beatable foe [previous occupant's great grandfather] interred in catacombs and leads the invasion of the castle dressed as said legendary foe in his very recognizable armor that has clearly been sitting in a crypt for a hundred years.)
Note: the thing that makes this genius is that it succeeds, btw, so you write that everybody falls for it. If everybody saw through it right away, nobody would think it was genius, which is sort of how it works in real life too, there's a kind of survivor bias in the way we see strategic genius
titsay
theartofmadeline
tangentwithtanner
blakekathryn
annaxmalina
areudirty
2087
