Character Theory Favorite Character Archetypes and Why?

[Danchou Tsubomi]

Thought it'd be something interesting to discuss.


Will put my own thoughts on it later; must head to bed, ahaha.

 

[Idea]

In roleplay or a specific piece of media?

 

[rae2nerdy]

Let's see favorite archetypes. I'm such a sucker for camp that I'd have to say - Silver Age "Hero" you know the overly idealized - fear not citizen - good guy who is good just for the sake of it. Who inspires others to be their best and rarely if ever has any kind of tragic under pinning. 


Also the average joes, I love putting just plain regular people with plain regular lives in extra ordinary circumstances and seeing how they morph and adapt.
 

 

[Umbrie]

the young and inexperienced heroine whom is thrown into difficult situations and survives by being clever and applying common sense. hard to do this trope correctly, but this is not the same thing as the 7 year old female mass murderer with the teddy bear. rather, it is a girl young enough to be an apprentice relative to her time period, typically between 12 and 16 years old, whom is completely inexperienced at the situation she is involved in, and survives by sheer useage of common sense. in other words, she uses her brain, wits and possibly her innocent charms to solve problems. rather than brute force. this character archetype is rarely seen in a tabletop or dice environment outside of investigative stories of the child detective variety. but i truly like plucky but clever heroines way too much. i mostly see them in anime. not that they can't learn combat skills later on, ,but they should work to learn them through play instead of starting with them.


the diamond in the Rough. the Poor and young character of either gender, whom is clever and uses their wits to outsmart a seasoned overpowered supernatural being into its own defeat. Aladdin is a good example. characters like this eventually climb the ladder over time, and i think they should, because it matches their cleverness. smarter individuals should become more successful over time, even if the story is about big hulking barbarians, i still root for the clever and wirey little youth whom outsmarts the barbarian and defeats him by using his or her brains. and i don't mean through magic, giving clever characters access to magic kills the cleverness of improvising unexpected tools. i'd rather see a hero pull out a sewing needle they use as an improvised lockpick than magically summon lockpicks. yes, i enjoy the Mcguyver Archetype.


a character whom is complicated and can be defined as much more than a mere trope. if all your character does is Act like a Ditz and get into sexually awkward Angles, don't do that, build a character whom is a great deal more than an innocent fanservice girl whom doesn't realize she is used as a dedicated source of cheap fanservice. build a character whom is more than just a Tsundere, i mean, Tsundere can be an aspect of your character, but it shouldn't be the only one. build in at least 2 and a half dimensions.

 

[White Masquerade]

Captain Tsubomi. I like the villains that take no sh*t. It is attractive to have those villains that are intellectual and devious with quirky idiosyncrasies -- a bonus if they create deep, evil, and ingenious tasks to push the heroes (like The Joker from Batman). But I like a villain who just gets straight the point and crushes the heroes personally with their own palm. Bonus points for haughty gloating while doing it.

 

[Umbrie]

Captain Tsubomi. I like the villains that take no sh*t. It is attractive to have those villains that are intellectual and devious with quirky idiosyncrasies -- a bonus if they create deep, evil, and ingenious tasks to push the heroes (like The Joker from Batman). But I like a villain who just gets straight the point and crushes the heroes personally with their own palm. Bonus points for haughty gloating while doing it.

the Crafty, Clever and Sometimes Successful Villains are a huge thing i strongly enjoy. because i feel it lazy to cram a bunch of hit points and superpowers to make a Villain Deadly when you should be looking at how they can use their intellect and resources in a clever way.

Would Ragyo Kyuuin count? 

i think Ragyo was more of a Brute Force Villain. i mean sure, she had knowledge and resources. but she depended too much on the brute force of her use of life fibers to win things. as did the other villains. but i guess it can be forgiven for Shonen Villains because Shonen is typically Brute Force Against Brute Force.

 

[White Masquerade]

Would Ragyo Kyuuin count? 

=P. Almoooost. I would say Satsuki when she was first introduced or Esdeath from Akame Ga Kill.


@Umbrie


Lol. Nothing wrong with those villains, just not attention-grabbing enough for me. If they were one of the villains in a story it could work well, but not if they are the main and only.

 

[Umbrie]

=P. Almoooost. I would say Satsuki when she was first introduced or Esdeath from Akame Ga Kill.


@Umbrie


Lol. Nothing wrong with those villains, just not attention-grabbing enough for me. If they were one of the villains in a story it could work well, but not if they are the main and only.

and i find brute force alone to not be very attention grabbing for any character, no matter how flashy the display of brute force is. it does have its own simple charm in Shonens and Comic Books. nothing wrong with it. but then, all clever hero and villain solutions are devised by the same set of writers. either way, i like Villains with common sense.

 

[mon dieu.]

i really like the ones with integrity as one of their central traits. the ones who know what they want and are constantly working towards that goal in everything they do. kind of like a saboteur, the ones who may not exactly use people at first but find a way to use them to forward their own motives anyway.


i like the underdog also. never underestimate the underdog.

 

[Umbrie]

i really like the ones with integrity as one of their central traits. the ones who know what they want and are constantly working towards that goal in everything they do. kind of like a saboteur, the ones who may not exactly use people at first but find a way to use them to forward their own motives anyway.


i like the underdog also. never underestimate the underdog.

i like those too.

 

[Farseer of Ulthwe]

I like the "Heroes aren't what this world needs" type of characters. Geralt of Rivia of the Witcher series of books (and, to a very minor extent, the games) is an example. He doesn't stop muggings, or rapings, or whatever. He only kills monsters. Not because it's the right thing to do, but it's the necessary thing to do.

 

[Windsock]

I like byronic hero types. Lots of good qualities, lots of bad qualities, and with a ton of ambition. My favorite 'type' (To play, anyway) is the super-aggressive one who uses a little bit of the ol' ultra-violence and his charisma to try and change the world and have a laugh or two on the way. Or follow somebody else to the same ends.


I don't really like playing 'leaders', but I do like playing the type who whispers into their ear and enforces their (or 'their') rule.

 

[Throne Trinity]

Sad murder Dads or the strong, lovable oaf.

 

[Sol.]

I really like The Caregiver archetype. People who just want to look after others and help as much as possible without wanting anything in return.

 

[ApfelSeine]

I really like what TV Tropes called the "deadpan snarker". Witty remarks in general are fun, and this type of character will make a lot of them. I'm easily amused by snark, and every so often I'll play this type of character so that I can sass all the characters to my heart's content. I like seeing a mildly cynical nature mixed with a capacity for humor.


Another type I like is the manipulative mastermind, who is generally the villain or otherwise a somewhat ambivalent character, since it's fun watching them control others through persuasion or more general intimidation tactics. I tend to think the people in charge are fascinating, especially if they're also cool under pressure and have a sense of style. You almost have to admire them when they trick you into doing their bidding because they do it with a flair and finesse that can't be matched.


I really like gentlemanly types, or just suave characters in general. I also like seeing expectations subverted where characters like that have a secret dorky side or get flustered. It is nice to see them humanized, though I enjoy such characters even if they are presented as too good to be true. (Genius/Nerd characters are also fun in a similar way)


All those are fairly similar to each other and have a lot of overlap, but I also like some archetypes that are completely different. Most notably, I enjoy "crazy" characters who sort of live off in their own little world (not to be confused with the violent psychopath archetype, I really only like this sort of character if the character is relatively benign and is just generally interesting). I'm also a fan of the naive character who goes through major character development over the course of the story.


I also like a lot of bitchy characters. Unsurprisingly, the alpha bitch character tends to be one of my favorites when done in such a way that she's similar to the manipulative mastermind. I also like bitchy characters if they're sort of aloof and just have fun messing with people. I don't like bitchy princess types who masquerade as a nice person though, it's only fun if they own their bitchiness.

 

[Lilith_Set]

I like sarcastic characters but In a fun playful way and not in a "I hate everyone" way.


But my personal favorites, specially in written RPs are the "Average Joes" types, that while they have a motive and a well constructed personality, they don't have the need to be outrageously powerful, or with a deep dark past full of angst. Instead they act like the type of people you actually would like to hang out in real life.


People (and I include myself in this) have this need to be as flamboyant and special as possible in RP because they want to be the center of the game and to be considered the most interesting character.It's just unrealistic and even in fantasy settings, I feel like there needs to be a sense of verisimilitude. In real life people are complex but most of them are common. One or two "special" characters in a RP is fine, but if everyone needs to be a special snowflake the RP soon gets annoying and actually undeveloped since people will want to push their idiosyncrasies above everyone else and then get mad if the others refuse to comply.

 

[Devious Dilbert]

I really like the sarcastic cynic. Something about hating the world and joking about it with dark humor, I just fucking love. The pessimism is strong with this character and it's hilarious. And I've never seen a bad version of these characters, which is even better.


I also really like the comedic relief character.


Well, sometimes. They're super annoying when played by people who aren't naturally funny. Comedy is subjective though, I just have a really specific sense of humor I guess.

 

[snowstormspawn]

The zombie apocalypse child, struggling to survive every day when their world suddenly becomes formidable and unsafe for everyone. They have to make unimaginable, difficult decisions. 


The comedic character is another favorite of mine. They brighten up everything (:


Characters that can turn pain into strength and come out of difficult circumstances to achieve great things. 


Powerful female characters. Heroes, bosses, divas, etc. I love them. 

 

[Oceo Frose]

My most used and loved archetypes of characters are:


1. Lone Wolf - A seasoned warrior or mage who lived terrible things, like being cursed since birth or watch how their parents died in front of them. That makes them to be cold hearted and be in solitude all the time. Those characters are just perfection for me as most of the time they need to get used to be around people.



2. The Zero - A character who starts from the rock bottom and without any talent, but with hard work they start to become good at it and and finally they become Grand Masters of what they studied. Those are just awesome to work and connect with, that's just in my case.

 

[Physalia]

Overly sexualized females who turn out to be complex and driven characters.


Characters who seem rude and apathetic towards others but that secretely crave for affection and human interaction.


Over the top, loud, narcissistic characters who actually struggle with self-care and/or love.


To sum it up, opposite traits = very nice.

 

[Beckoncall]

The inexplicably lucky guy who basically fumbles through even the craziest situations.


the martyr: the guy that's just waiting for all the chips to be down, so he can sacrifice himself to save the day.


The tragically evil cleric who is trying to make his secret or frowned upon faith more mainstream. "Backbreaking labor all your life and you worship A SUN GOD?! Come listen to my sermon on the gods of pain -- They're already so close to you!" (Fumbles with free holy symbols)


the character that has to do something awful to stop something even more horrible from happening. "There have been 96 consecutive just and wise rulers in this city -- generations of my predecessors have failed... but I must see to it that a tyrant becomes king -- only then will the prophesy not come to pass -- the arrival of an elder god, foreseen to devour all at the pinnacle of a golden age."

 

[JKai]

The anti-hero. I just like characters that are not stereotypical heroes. 

 

[Petroshka]

i like characters that are malicious and will do anything to reach their goal, hero, anti-hero, or villain. They take advantage of anything that comes their way and think about how a certain situation can benefit them.

 

[Solemn Jester]

Captain Tsubomi. I like the villains that take no sh*t. It is attractive to have those villains that are intellectual and devious with quirky idiosyncrasies -- a bonus if they create deep, evil, and ingenious tasks to push the heroes (like The Joker from Batman). But I like a villain who just gets straight the point and crushes the heroes personally with their own palm. Bonus points for haughty gloating while doing it.

I have to agree with this, I love a good bad guy character. One who isn't just a homicidal psychopath. The type of bad guy who the hero fears to go against, because he knows that there's a very good chance he could lose. You don't see to many actual bad guy characters in rps. At least not to many good ones. Which most bad guys usually switch to the good side at some point, or aren't truly bad guys to begin with. I guess everyone wants to play the good guy. -sigh- so much for story.

 

[Birdsie]

The badass leader type. Like Garnet from Steven Universe. This character is resourceful and a total badass, capable of kicking ass. They act like a parent and mentor to all others in their surrounding, but without avoiding personal attachment and friendship. That doesn't mean that they can't feel fear, or even panic if something crazy's going on.