Armageddon Tropes -- What Narrative Conventions Have YOU Stumbled Into?

Started by NoteworthyFellow, May 28, 2009, 05:10:38 PM

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June 14, 2009, 08:37:25 PM #25
Quote from: Solifugid on May 31, 2009, 11:57:51 PM
Quote from: Solifugid on May 30, 2009, 11:12:06 PM
FunetikAksent - Used so egregiously by some characters that it deserves a fate worse than death.
> say Hi! Aahm frum Menuhs.

Yeh...yeh fellas ain't fond've my talkin'?
You...you guys don't like that?   :'(

Yes, I've seen it overdone.  Incomprehensibility is bad.
The sword is sharp, the spear is long,
The arrow swift, the Gate is strong.
The heart is bold that looks on gold;
The dwarves no more shall suffer wrong.
June 15, 2009, 06:48:28 AM #26
Really? Nobody's found this one?

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DesertPunk

The term "Wagon Train To The Stars" had more relevance than we thought. Much of humanity has gone to outer space, but apparently all the planets they could settle on were dry, desert-covered worlds. Water's rarely at a premium, for whatever reason, but other resources tend to be hard to come by.
Oases tend not to exist; if they do, they're mythical treasures.
Of course, when life becomes hard (and on such a world, it usually is), morals are the first thing you throw away. Thus, on such a world, law and order is swift to break down, and suddenly we have The Wild West on another planet.
Alternate version: deserted lands After The End (usually nuclear wars).
A relatively young setting; may or may not burn out in the near future.
Quote from: Gimfalisette
(10:00:49 PM) Gimf: Yes, you sentence? I sentence often.
July 11, 2009, 10:04:48 AM #27
Quote from: Rahnevyn on March 09, 2009, 03:39:45 PM
Clans can give stat bonuses and penalties, too. The Byn drop in wisdom is particularly notorious.
July 13, 2009, 01:15:51 PM #28
I thought of you:  http://xkcd.com/609/

/thread derail
Quote from: saquartey
Rairen, what would we do without you?
July 21, 2010, 10:43:13 PM #29
NECRO!

[Thanks Moe.  :P]

Mystical Waif:
QuoteSure signs you're dealing with a Mystical Waif are odd hair colors; weird (by the standards of the game world), often futuristic-themed clothing; magical powers; blank, serious facial expressions; lots of ellipses  in her speech; and an inordinate amount of attention from the villains. Even if it's blatantly obvious that she has some significant role in the villains' plans and/or something to hide, the other characters will often not press her on it.
Dark Magical Girl:
QuoteA young girl's greatest fear isn't monsters, or magical threats from beyond time and space. No, a young girl's greatest fear overshadows all of those things.

Her greatest fear is to be alone.

Normal Magical Girls have a good relationship with their family members, they make friends at school—they may be a little dim, but that's okay, and this all translates into the magical ability to defend what they love from external threats.

Dark Magical Girls don't have that. For them, Parental Abandonment is not funny or convenient. The relatively lucky ones have absentee workaholic parents; the others are actively abused. Sometimes the parent is one of the Big Bads. She doesn't have real friends or exploits past the academic because she doesn't know how to really communicate socially, if she goes to school at all. Or perhaps all of her friends died, turning her cynical, and she's afraid to make more friends because it'll only cause more pain. She's smart, but she doesn't understand what is wrong with her and what is wrong with the world.
And
Broken Bird:
QuoteTheir deep experience and emotional detachment almost always gives the impression of competence, though they don't always live up to their own hype. Varying between Cool Big Sis, Emotionless Girl, Little Miss Snarker and Snark Knight, they mark themselves as more experienced and worldly than the other characters, even if the Competence Zone means they themselves are barely out of their teens.

In fact, they can sometimes fill a mentor role for less experienced and more idealistic characters, all the while loudly expressing their irritation with said arrangement, so no one gets the impression they're softening up. Sometimes this is to Jerkass levels; however, they are most often a sympathetic Jerk With A Heart Of Gold, giving a impression of independent toughness to hide a sincere affection for the other characters.

These are all regulars with me.  :-X
Quote from: Wug
No one on staff is just waiting for the opportunity to get revenge on someone who killed one of their characters years ago.

Except me. I remember every death. And I am coming for you bastards.
July 21, 2010, 11:17:14 PM #30
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LightIsNotGood

QuoteLight Is Not Good is when a character is directly bad, directly villainous — and still has Light powers. Depending on Character Development, they might be sympathetic, perhaps well-intentioned but horribly misguided. Or they could be the most gleefully twisted bastard imaginable.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheEvilsOfFreeWill

QuoteA subtrope of Utopia Justifies The Means and a quintessential Evil Plan to Take Over The World. Frequently justified by the Well Intentioned Extremist Visionary Villain in a Just Between You And Me  with the hero as being a small sacrifice. If it means no conflict, a quadruplication of the standard of living, the eradication of inequality, poverty, discrimination, and hate... isn't it worth it?

July 22, 2010, 04:25:13 PM #31 Last Edit: July 22, 2010, 06:21:01 PM by MeTekillot
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BadassBoast

QuoteMany characters like to boast about their achievements, but only a few can do so in style, rattling off a string of titles and battle honours that impresses allies and intimidates enemies in a way which makes them sound mythic, not conceited.

One of my character's favorite conversation tactics, or simply things said when making an introduction.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RealMenWearPink

QuoteThis can also be true in other areas of life. For some reason, gritty loners, hulking brutes, and all around uber-manly characters tend to gravitate towards at least one decidedly un-manly interest or hobby.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas

QuoteYes, even the toughest Bad Ass  around can still have a soft spot for dear old Mom. Sure, you've killed scores of men using only your right thigh, a roll of twine, and pure gumption, but she held you for nine months and took care of you when you were sick!

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CulturedWarrior
July 22, 2010, 04:42:35 PM #32 Last Edit: July 22, 2010, 05:34:42 PM by Xeran Van Houten
どんと来い、生活の悪循環!!1!11
Quote from: Yam on March 18, 2011, 09:57:04 AM
There's really nothing wrong with a pretty boy in a dress.
July 22, 2010, 07:44:45 PM #33 Last Edit: July 22, 2010, 07:47:06 PM by spawnloser
Quote from: MalifaxisWe need to listen to spawnloser.
Quote from: Reiterationspawnloser knows all

Quote from: SpoonA magicker is kind of like a mousetrap, the fear is the cheese. But this cheese has an AK47.
July 22, 2010, 08:35:02 PM #34
A dark-shelled scrab pinches at you, but you dodge out of the way.
A dark-shelled scrab brandishes its bone-handled, obsidian scimitar.
A dark-shelled scrab holds its bloodied wicked-edged, bone scimitar.
July 22, 2010, 08:51:33 PM #35
Knight in Sour Armor

Glasses Pull (but with sunslits)
July 23, 2010, 10:41:15 AM #36 Last Edit: July 23, 2010, 06:15:17 PM by MeTekillot
July 23, 2010, 06:00:20 PM #37
Not sure if the Byn is that easily labled...

Surprisingly Elite Cannon Fodder could easily apply depending on the PCs involved.
どんと来い、生活の悪循環!!1!11
Quote from: Yam on March 18, 2011, 09:57:04 AM
There's really nothing wrong with a pretty boy in a dress.
August 01, 2010, 04:35:26 PM #38
This thread is a lot of fun, so it deserves a bump so the fun may continue.
August 02, 2010, 01:34:06 AM #39
Authority Equals an Asskicking

How did we even miss this one?
Now you're looking for the secret. But you won't find it because of course, you're not really looking. You don't really want to work it out. You want to be fooled.
August 02, 2010, 06:40:47 AM #40
Dear god, I am guilty of playing all of these tropes - some of them multiple times!  Omg, I never realized how typecast I was?!  ???

AxCrazy An "ax crazy" character is someone who is psychologically unstable and presents a clear danger to others. Ax crazies are capable of extreme violence, whether carried out with a Slasher Smile, a Creepy Monotone, or out and out murderous rage, and with no way of knowing just what will set them off, this makes them extremely frightening to deal with.

With Great Power Comes Great Insanity Other times, it seems that insanity happens as a side effect for no discernible reason other than to justify the needs of the plot and/or give the super individual a weakness that they must struggle to balance and maintain.

Oracular Urchin - Usually female, small and fey in a disturbing way, the Oracular Urchin knows more about the future — or the present — than she really should.

Badass Adorable - Underneath the irrepressibly cheerful demeanor, behind the innocent wide-eyed gaze, lies an astonishing capacity for kicking your ass.

Action Girl The Action Girl is, essentially, badassitude molded into a sleek female frame: a female character who is spunky, agile, and can take you down with an array of kicks, punches, or diverse Weapons Of Choice.  She is not a Distressed Damsel. She doesn't sit around waiting to be rescued. She doesn't talk/manipulate/charm her way out of problems.

RedShirt Their purpose is almost exclusively to give the writers someone to kill who isn't a main character, although they can also serve as a Spear Carrier.

Damn, this website is addicting.
Child, child, if you come to this doomed house, what is to save you?

A voice whispers, "Read the tales upon the walls."
August 02, 2010, 06:45:58 AM #41
Ah yeah and I love it when I run into Knights in Sour Armor.  A lot of templars are these.
Child, child, if you come to this doomed house, what is to save you?

A voice whispers, "Read the tales upon the walls."
August 02, 2010, 07:41:45 AM #42
Most human dominated clans often have a Token Nonhuman.

Dryly, a human cut-throat says something about a Deadpan Snarker, in sirihish.

Good Is Not Nice

August 02, 2010, 10:55:29 AM #43
Modern concepts of fair trials and justice are simply nonexistent in Zalanthas. If you are accused, you are guilty until someone important decides you might be useful. It doesn't really matter if you did it or not.
August 02, 2010, 01:18:26 PM #44
Quote from: MalifaxisWe need to listen to spawnloser.
Quote from: Reiterationspawnloser knows all

Quote from: SpoonA magicker is kind of like a mousetrap, the fear is the cheese. But this cheese has an AK47.
August 04, 2010, 04:15:10 AM #45
August 04, 2010, 09:33:37 AM #46
August 04, 2010, 09:47:58 AM #47
So if you're tired of the same old story
Oh, turn some pages. - "Roll with the Changes," REO Speedwagon
August 06, 2010, 12:54:28 AM #48
Warriors

What's that? Oh, someone with novice hide? Oh well, I'm a warrior, so they may as well be invisible.
August 08, 2010, 09:24:36 PM #49
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Casual Danger Dialog yet.
Quote from: ZoltanWhen in doubt, play dangerous, awkward or intense situations to the hilt, every time.

The Official GDB Hate Cycle
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