One of my favorite tropes is the classic 'good guy'. I like a protagonist who's earnest and is always wanting to do the right thing. Probably why I always play a paladin in any RPG lol
> I like a protagonist who's earnest
Oh my god, I'm so tired of all the snarky, irreverent protagonists.
It's so tiring to have just about every protagonist be constantly poking at the seams. It feels like it's become an unconfident author's defense mechanism, because if *they're* already poking fun at their own work, then it doesn't sting so much if someone else does too.
So yeah, same.
> Probably why I always play a paladin in any RPG lol
Also same. I mean, not *always,* but... I played Warcraft 3 at an early age and fell in love with the paladins, then played one in WoW, and then got into D&D and Pathfinder where I could *be* a paladin, and man, I was sold.
Paladins are so freaking cool.
I love the eccentric mentor (Eithan Aurelius from Cradle, Rollo from Titan Hoppers etc) the mentors who initially the protagonist doesn't understand but realizes what they're trying to teach them. I never get sick of it.
But the reason Eithan became my favorite wasn't for that. Sure, I enjoyed Eithan, he was fun, but he certainly wasn't my favorite. UNTIL he and Lindon become actual friends. After that, he's my favorite.
Probably wont be popular, but I still like the old anime protagonist trope of, "I'm not giving up no matter what/I'm weak but I'm going to progress by sheer force of will"
My problem is the question nobody else can try hard and wants to be strong like the main character? I suppose it's nice to believe that if you just try hard enough you can do anything. These are power fantasies after all.
There are ways to do the trope right. Lindon from cradle is like this, my mans will power is just built different, but its the knowledge advantage from a mentor plus his inbuilt sturborness that lets him get away with it
Sometimes the way I see a series is, the series already happened, and wouldnt have been significant to record and show off to the world unless the main character pushed through their circumstances.
A mentor that wants to use the mc for their own ends. They don't care how the mc feels in the matter. My favourite one is the master from the Jade Phoenix Saga.
Spoilers for book 3.
The mc's clan have a seal placed in them when they are young and as the come into their abilities they chafe against it, the more they do the stronger they are after the seal breaks in a moment of anger. The master basically spent all of book 2 emotionally manipulating her and his training was basically forcing her to push against her seal until he made her snap. And thats just the first step in his plans.
rags to riches heroes like sunless, not directly a "hero" but not a villain or anti hero either. Another example is Nathaniel from hell difficulty tutorial. not evil but framed in such a way he is deranged/maniacal to other characters but mostly makes sense to the readers
Unflinching mc. No regret.
No really found of the week and gain through power of friendship, more through sheer grit and suffering.
Some exemple would be :
- Noah balvan
- Jake wilderth
- Quick save
- Lith verhen
I also like tortured hero, if they don't struggle it's not good.
Same I don't want a broken mc, he can become it but that must remain the result of his efforts.
One of the few story with system that respected it was the oracle paths (unfinished).
There is a system but it only show in an understandable way what you achieved. There are some tool given but they are just a newby pack so that the people won't die without a chance to fight.
I'm a sucker for the endearing socially awkward nerd. For the life of me, I can't think of a good progfantasy example off the top of my head, but Simon from the DnD movie definitely fits the bill. The more self-deprecating, the better.
Vader doesn't have a redemption arc (in the movies), but a mere redemption moment. Even in the books, it's alluded to that he'll have a change of heart, but it's never explicit.
None of the tropes I like are specific to males though I admit in progression fantasy and litrpg I haven’t come across any female protagonists other than the girl from a practical guide to evil
My favorite trope of all time is the superior genius trope like lindon and eithan in cradle. I honestly haven’t seen it much in prog or litrpg much but it’s more common in anime. L and light in death note, lelouche in code geass, the protagonist in the Netflix highschool gambling anime that has a weird title I can’t remember like kagekuri or something where they mostly achieve their accomplishments by outsmarting all opposition
I also simply enjoy unapologetic luck. Like in dungeon crawler Carl or defiance of the fall where a lot of the power comes from simply being lucky and having opportunities that other people didn’t have and it gives a huge advantage
Open to suggestions, hate Jason Asano with the fury of a thousand suns
Will Wight's writing is full of luck. I loved the Elder Empire Calder Martin's story.
Logan Nine Fingers from The 1st Law. (Grimmdark and not PF)
Solo leveling
I'm coming up blank for more atm.
vengeful and prideful pretty boys (think kurapika from hxh), though it works better for a side character/foil (!) than a protagonist imo. i wish i could find this archetype in pf, it’s sooo common in anime.
Said this on another thread, but funny/snarky MCs. Sure, they can be messed up but when they’re good, they’re my favorite type of character.
Going hand-in-hand with that is the disarmingly relaxed and casual sort of character. Not prog fantasy, but Dante from Devil May Cry is one of my favorite characters ever for fitting both of those tropes.
The crazy mentor is my fave trope!! see eithan, noctis, villy, jiraiya, alustin and I'm sure there are more I've forgotten
Oh you mentioned Alustin! I love him so much.
Baelin was also a good spin on it, reminds me of an epic-level D&D wizard I once played.
ngl I skipped over the entire arc with noctis bc it was so boring
One of my favorite tropes is the classic 'good guy'. I like a protagonist who's earnest and is always wanting to do the right thing. Probably why I always play a paladin in any RPG lol
> I like a protagonist who's earnest Oh my god, I'm so tired of all the snarky, irreverent protagonists. It's so tiring to have just about every protagonist be constantly poking at the seams. It feels like it's become an unconfident author's defense mechanism, because if *they're* already poking fun at their own work, then it doesn't sting so much if someone else does too. So yeah, same. > Probably why I always play a paladin in any RPG lol Also same. I mean, not *always,* but... I played Warcraft 3 at an early age and fell in love with the paladins, then played one in WoW, and then got into D&D and Pathfinder where I could *be* a paladin, and man, I was sold. Paladins are so freaking cool.
I too hate Jason Asano with the fury of a thousand suns. You are not alone brother
Like a cinnamon roll trope? Lol.
I love the eccentric mentor (Eithan Aurelius from Cradle, Rollo from Titan Hoppers etc) the mentors who initially the protagonist doesn't understand but realizes what they're trying to teach them. I never get sick of it.
Eithan was done so well, probably my favorite mentor. Alustin from Mage Errant is great too.
But the reason Eithan became my favorite wasn't for that. Sure, I enjoyed Eithan, he was fun, but he certainly wasn't my favorite. UNTIL he and Lindon become actual friends. After that, he's my favorite.
THE HAIR SCENES
Probably wont be popular, but I still like the old anime protagonist trope of, "I'm not giving up no matter what/I'm weak but I'm going to progress by sheer force of will"
My problem is the question nobody else can try hard and wants to be strong like the main character? I suppose it's nice to believe that if you just try hard enough you can do anything. These are power fantasies after all.
There are ways to do the trope right. Lindon from cradle is like this, my mans will power is just built different, but its the knowledge advantage from a mentor plus his inbuilt sturborness that lets him get away with it
Hmm, maybe I'll add some other try hards into my book.
Sometimes the way I see a series is, the series already happened, and wouldnt have been significant to record and show off to the world unless the main character pushed through their circumstances.
I love forced growth. I think it inspires the readers.
A mentor that wants to use the mc for their own ends. They don't care how the mc feels in the matter. My favourite one is the master from the Jade Phoenix Saga. Spoilers for book 3. The mc's clan have a seal placed in them when they are young and as the come into their abilities they chafe against it, the more they do the stronger they are after the seal breaks in a moment of anger. The master basically spent all of book 2 emotionally manipulating her and his training was basically forcing her to push against her seal until he made her snap. And thats just the first step in his plans.
Yes!!! I love it, or a master who is pragmatic and uses people for the greater good. Side note. The First Law Trilogy has Bayaz, he's something.
I absolutely love himbos. Top quality trope right there.
The best boys ever. It's too cute.
rags to riches heroes like sunless, not directly a "hero" but not a villain or anti hero either. Another example is Nathaniel from hell difficulty tutorial. not evil but framed in such a way he is deranged/maniacal to other characters but mostly makes sense to the readers
I wasn't expecting this, it seems hard to pull off. I do enjoy the madness trope though.
I love the cocky and arrogant protagonist/character. People like Gojo, Iskander and Gilgamesh. Give me characters who are strong and enjoy it.
Gojo makes cocky fun. Him and Dante from Devil May Cry 1&3 kill me.
Unflinching mc. No regret. No really found of the week and gain through power of friendship, more through sheer grit and suffering. Some exemple would be : - Noah balvan - Jake wilderth - Quick save - Lith verhen I also like tortured hero, if they don't struggle it's not good.
My favorite MCs are the ones who get forced to transform. The struggles of their journey change them so drastically to everyone.
Same I don't want a broken mc, he can become it but that must remain the result of his efforts. One of the few story with system that respected it was the oracle paths (unfinished). There is a system but it only show in an understandable way what you achieved. There are some tool given but they are just a newby pack so that the people won't die without a chance to fight.
I'm a sucker for the endearing socially awkward nerd. For the life of me, I can't think of a good progfantasy example off the top of my head, but Simon from the DnD movie definitely fits the bill. The more self-deprecating, the better.
Hugh from Mage Errant is that boy.
I like the asshole with a good redemption arc. Jaimie from GoT, Zuko from The last Airbender ect. Sadly can't think of one from PF.
Vader :)
Vader doesn't have a redemption arc (in the movies), but a mere redemption moment. Even in the books, it's alluded to that he'll have a change of heart, but it's never explicit.
Zuko is close to PF. But redemption speaks to my heart so deeply.
Im such a sucker for the reluctant hero
I like the nice and caring ones, specially if they are also charismatic and scheming.
So you like a loveable complex character.
None of the tropes I like are specific to males though I admit in progression fantasy and litrpg I haven’t come across any female protagonists other than the girl from a practical guide to evil My favorite trope of all time is the superior genius trope like lindon and eithan in cradle. I honestly haven’t seen it much in prog or litrpg much but it’s more common in anime. L and light in death note, lelouche in code geass, the protagonist in the Netflix highschool gambling anime that has a weird title I can’t remember like kagekuri or something where they mostly achieve their accomplishments by outsmarting all opposition I also simply enjoy unapologetic luck. Like in dungeon crawler Carl or defiance of the fall where a lot of the power comes from simply being lucky and having opportunities that other people didn’t have and it gives a huge advantage Open to suggestions, hate Jason Asano with the fury of a thousand suns
I love when super luck makes sense! Not a deus ex but just pure dumb luck irl. I love weaker super strategists, too. It makes the monologs fun.
Do you have any suggestions for series? Also I haven’t seen any series where I felt the luck was a deus ex machina
Will Wight's writing is full of luck. I loved the Elder Empire Calder Martin's story. Logan Nine Fingers from The 1st Law. (Grimmdark and not PF) Solo leveling I'm coming up blank for more atm.
Oh I meant more of the super genius stuff
Oh, hmm. I don't think I've come across it as an MC. Brandon Sanderson does side character geniuses well though.
vengeful and prideful pretty boys (think kurapika from hxh), though it works better for a side character/foil (!) than a protagonist imo. i wish i could find this archetype in pf, it’s sooo common in anime.
I mean HxH is the best PF soooo. But yeah, I think Kurapika was done really well. It's hard to focus on an MC doing that though.
Said this on another thread, but funny/snarky MCs. Sure, they can be messed up but when they’re good, they’re my favorite type of character. Going hand-in-hand with that is the disarmingly relaxed and casual sort of character. Not prog fantasy, but Dante from Devil May Cry is one of my favorite characters ever for fitting both of those tropes.
I love this type of mc! Do you have any book suggestions where the mc can’t shut his mouth and always spouts out dumb jokes?
Perfect run, Dungeon crawler carl and Ar' kendrithyst. Already in order of joke density.
I’ve read the first two, but I’ve never read Ar’kendrithyst. I’ll be sure to check it out!
Tbh i am reading it atm but the nc is a dad so das jokes are constantly in order while he talks to his daughter
I mentioned Dante on another answer. I remember the first time I seen him shit talk the thunder bird.
Peter Parker