Introduction

American author Fritz Leiber coined the term “sword and sorcery” in 1961 in response to a letter from British author Michael Moorcock in the fanzine Amra, demanding a name for the sort of fantasy-adventure story written by Robert E. Howard

It is different to “cloak and sword” historical adventure and to “cloak and dagger” espionage adventure.

It is a very old type of story. The labours of Heracles, the Odyssey, Norse sagas (especially Beowulf), and the legend of King Arthur are all sword and sorcery tales.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_and_sorcery

Some Tropes of the Genre

Barbarians and other outsiders

Glib-tongued rogues

Anti-heroes

Magic is evil (or at least it is very difficult to remain good or neutral while practising it)

Magic is unnatural (it is difficult to keep your sanity and/or health whole practicing it)

Magic is slow, often requiring long rituals

Main characters don’t keep money for long

Jungles, probably filled with ruined temples and pyramids

Civilisation is decadent, the older it is the more decadent

Evil gods get results for their worshippers; good goods work subtly

Snakes (especially in evil cult rituals)

Giant spiders

An ancient trace of snakemen degraded to evil

Slavery

Prophecies and omens

Abandoned, cursed cities in the desert, uncovered by storms

Monsters tend to be one-off creatures

Few magic weapons, or none

Large gaps between rich and poor

Love interests usually die horribly before the end of the episode

Nationalities are important (he is “Subotai the Hyrkanian”, not just “Subotai”)

The world is poorly known, the wilderness is vast, farmlands are small and huddled around towns and cities

Independent city-states, not feudal kingdoms

No one is trustworthy. No one. Your best friend is a member of a pre-human race of (snake-like) shapeshifters who has been pretending to be a companion for decades just so he can s.s.strike at the perfect moment. Even people who are trustworthy, aren't. Your beloved was hypnotized by the evil high priest and is now going to kill you at his command. Seriously, this is some noir shit we’ve got going on in here. (From a thread on forum.rpg.net)

You are not a true leader until you have led troops into battle

At some point you will have a cheerful and capable sidekick who will die

Low tech, closer to the bronze age than to the Renaissance

The Golden Rule applies

Ambition is evil

Eldritch locations and abominations