CULT LEADER: Praise Cthulhu and this video’s
sponsor Campfire Blaze! The
world sucks right now. Let’s escape into fantasy land! At least we can meet some new and exciting
fantasy characters. Or we would if fantasy authors ever decided
to write any. And why would they? What’s the point of building a character
around a good solid core motive, when instead we can create characters the much better way
by slapping a broad archetype into the story, and make absolutely zero modifications to
them. So let’s dig into some of the many kinds
of fantasy characters we can write starting with… The Farm Boy
A writer can never go wrong with the classics and one of the oldest classics is the farm-boy
of mysterious lineage. He longs for a life beyond being a farm hand
and gets way more than he bargained for when his farm gets burned down along with his peasant
village no matter how strategically insignificant it is. Now the farm-boy turned adventurer is not
a completely outrageous concept. Life as a farmhand can build physical stamina
and they often make good stock for soldiers. But if you happen to be a wizard in need of
hiding a lost heir then don’t worry, I can’t think of any better place than a farm to learn
the ins and outs of high stakes political intrigue and complex economic management skills
needed to lead a kingdom. The Noble Hero
A stark contrast with the farm boy, this character starts with a noble title and usually a prepackaged
bundle of royal responsibilities complete with an unwanted arranged marriage. The noble hero though doesn’t have to play
catch-up like the farm hand does since they already have the skills and resources needed
to handle themselves. This means I can skip the training montage. Know what else I can skip? All of the essential legwork on the culture
and other world-building details of the noble hero’s house! That will all be replaced with endless whining
about how hard it is to have all that pesky responsibility while the peasants just outside
the castle walls starve and wish they had access to healthcare beyond leeches. The Plucky Yong Adult Teen
Ah. The plucky YA teen who is being sent to um… Notwarts the magic school where only the most
gifted and magically talented teens go. This character is so talented that they really
don’t need to go to school at all, but they have show off to someone. Besides, what better place to pick up a gaggle
of suitors who constantly compete for the protagonist's attention. God forbid the writer actually make them freaking
learn something at their stupid magical academy. The Average Modern Dude
The average modern dude is a protagonist with no discernible character traits other than
being an empty vessel for the audience to project onto. This character is also from the modern world
and would have normally been doomed to take part in a mediocre slice of life story with
comedy elements, but thanks to the power of magical BS, that’s short for Basic Summoning
or in anime speak TruckKun, is transported to the magic world where the most magical
thing they experience is that every attractive woman is fighting over them. Well that and also how he manages to somehow
not die of dysentery in the first five minutes. How does their modern perspective clash with
the ancient and alien culture and world they find themselves in? I don’t know, but here’s a bunch of power
fantasy. Isekai I hear you scream in the comments,
blissfully unaware of just how freaking old this worn out trope really is. But don’t you worry. Isekai is on my list as well. The Wizard
Now I’ve already covered mentors which Wizards often fall to, but I thought I would also
touch on the wizards themselves. You know, the standard issue one that everyone
just rips off from Tolkien who ripped off Oden that comes from the writings of a monk
who likely ripped off the Vikings... who probably also ripped off the Celts. So just to reiterate, a wizard has a staff,
pointy hat, long white beard, and robes. The wizard’s magic should also never be
as cool as anything as the protagonist can do. The wizard should also be wise, but since
writing wisdom is hard a writer can settle for cryptic nonsense instead. Never ever just do… anything… just do
anything interesting with wizards. A character who wields powerful forces that
redefine reality itself? No way that could shape a character’s personality
in an interesting and unique way, better stick to the Tolkien standard issue knockoff Gandalf. If you really want to get creative then just
add bird poop to his head. The Plucky Thief
Need to round out the ensemble in a fantasy party? Just add a plucky thief. Thieves are great and always on the good guys
side. As they live a shortsighted, unsustainable,
amoral, and very illegal lifestyles it’s only natural that they side with team good
guys and their insistence on doing things the hard, but fair way. Why would a thief be tempted to join the side
that takes moral shortcuts and values wealth and power over honor and fairness? Well because our thief has a code of honor
no matter how crippling it is to their bottom line. Plucky thieves also make great comic relief
characters that you can inflict on your audience. The Mascot Creature
Hey! Listen... to this suggestion about adding
in a small creature of some kind as a mascot, snarf. This great addition can serve as marketing,
merchandising, and even as a dispenser of exposition and mission objectives. Will the audience fantasize about murdering
this small annoying creature that never shuts up and talks in an irritating high pitched
voice? Of course not! Just make it cute and all sins will be forgiven. Give the mascot creature its very own character
arc? Don’t be silly. Plush toys don’t get character arcs. The Protagonist’s Parents
Yeah I’m sure they’ll get lots of character development. Dead by chapter 1 if they’re lucky. If not then they probably got Disneyed in
the backstory. The Good King. So fantasy has this thing where it just loves
monarchies and it’s every fantasy writer’s duty to perpetuate that love unthinkingly. Monarchy is great. That’s why there’s so many of them still
around. And many fantasy monarchies are led by the
Good King. The Good King is good and cares about his
subjects, even the poor, dirty toothless ones. How does he navigate the maze of cutthroat
court politics, nefarious overseas plots to undermine his rule, usurpers in his very family,
pressure from powerful religious institutions, and still somehow manage to draft policies
that don’t have any major losers? Well he uses whatever magic that instantly
resolves all of the plot’s conflict whenever he is rightfully restored to the throne. Don’t worry. I’m sure he will still be a good king even
after he is an aged, sickly shell of a man who appoints his horse to the position of
chief economic adviser. If the good king is on the throne and things
are still bad, well that’s probably the fault of… The Scheming Adviser
Remember that in fiction land, autocrats are always good, but experts are always bad. Why did the Good King appoint Schemey Von
Knifenback as his most trusted adviser? I mean clearly the adviser is problem, not
the moron who appointed him and continues to trust him in spite of his astoundingly
bad policy advice and aura of dark, malevolent energy. Is it because of the adviser’s charisma? His balding head, greasy hair, and constant
outbursts of mad cackling say no? Is he using magic to alter the king’s mind? Only if it’s really obvious that he’s
doing so and has no backup plan if someone calls him out on it. Fortunately for him, someone as important
as the king never has any bodyguards to notice such a thing. Getting rid of the scheming adviser is the
best way to fix all of the kingdom’s problems no matter how endemic those problems are. The Guards
The city guard is here! Not here to help though. Mostly they exist to get beat up by the good
guys by rushing in and attacking them one at time. And that’s if they’re lucky. The less lucky guards get eaten by the dragon
or killed and zombiefied by the lich in order to establish how dangerous the bad guy is. And clearly the bad guy is very dangerous
because he killed a bunch of guards who I established as weak and incompetent in the
earlier chapters. Very scary. The guards’ only real job is jobbing, but
they suck at that too apparently. Could I make the guards an actual competent
faction in their own right and force both the heroes and villains to content with them,
turning a throwaway batch of characters into a wildcard faction? Of course. But I’m not going to waste time with that
when I have power fantasy to indulge in. The Villains Right Hand
Every bad guy needs an apex henchman, a brawn to complement the brains. What the main villain really needs is a powerful
and dangerous right hand man, woman, or monster to go and get the dirty work done quickly
and efficiently. This is not that character. The villains right hand burns down the peasant
village to stop the prophecy only for the chosen one to escape. The right hand pursues the chosen one, dogging
their every step, but somehow the heroes slip through their fingers every time. Their entire villainous career is nothing
but one failure after another. Unfortunately for the right hand, the main
villain always punishes failure. Fortunately, the main villain is never smart
enough to actually replace their right hand minion with someone who actually knows what
they’re doing. Why make a cunning, smart, and dangerous opponent
when I can instead fill the antagonist ranks with morons. Hm. I wonder if this will be a theme with the
rest of the bad guy entries? The Minions
The main villain has their right hand, but they also need an army of minions as well. These minions are a crack team of vicious
and highly dangerous enemies that are… ha ha. Just kidding. They’re dumber than styrofoam and about
as tough. What they lack in creating narrative tension,
the make up for in disposability. The villain buys these goons in bulk and never
considers using minions that might actually inspire terror in their enemies rather that
witty quips and sarcastic banter as the good guys mow the minions down as casually as they
take out the trash. Could the villain use the sheer weight of
numbers of his evil minions to wear down the good guys with attrition and force them to
actually get creative? Well no, because much like the poor city guard,
only one minion is allowed to attack the heroes at once. Besides, if we want to really threaten the
heroes then the main villain will deploy… The Elite Minions
The elite minions are like normal minions… What? You thought there would be a difference? Well the elite minions have a more fearsome
reputation hence why they are considered elite. Unfortunately for the forces of evil, this
is simply a difference in branding rather than performance. They’re still about as sturdy as paper mache
in a hurricane. Could they at least act as a speed bump for
the heroes? No. That role is reserved for... The Guardian Beast
Every dark lord needs a terrible monster to guard their dungeon. Yes. Surely the horrible beast will put a stop
to the heroes. After the right hand failed because he was
too stupid, the minions failed because they were too stupid, and even the elite minions
failed because they were too stupid, I’m sure a monster that is even dumber than all
the others combined will due to the trick. The best part about the guardian beast is
when it comes out of nowhere with zero foreshadowing and then is never mentioned again afterwards. Not only does it serve as a speed bump for
the heroes, but it also serves as a pointless speed bump to slow the story down as well. Now a fantasy writer has enough off the shelf,
standard issue character archetypes to fill out the cast of their very own fantasy story. I mean yeah, the reader will try to escape
from a reality full of incompetent people only to find themselves in a fantasy land
full of idiotic characters, but hey at least the snooty nobles don’t all have blue check-marks
above their heads. CULTISTS: Cuthulu Fatagin! CULT LEADER: At long last we have the power
to unmake the world! It will end in ash, fire, blood, death, and
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be happening for real at long last! I’m so happy! CULTIST 2: We get such a better deal than
those other pansy religions! CULT LEADER: Yes. The end is nigh! 2020 is our year! All thanks to Cthulhu! DARK LORD: No. Thanks to me! The Dark Lord! My search for the power of the sponsor is
over! It is time for me to use its power to put
an end to all things and bring about ultimate destruction wrought by my own hands! Right after I take this video’s sponsor,
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fall of human kind. For only through dedication, faith, goodwill,
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Not the best episode of the series. I feel like only a few characters archetypes got covered, and many are no longer relevant (like the farm boy protagonist).
If anything Galavant gives a better introduction to these archtypes and plays with them.
Yeah that's why I never do thieves, I just can't stand them.
Going through this step by step he really shows the lost potential in all these misused tropes.