Tropes in Errant Road

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Graybeard
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Tropes in Errant Road

Post by Graybeard »

I've been browsing TV Tropes lately (they have an excellent and perceptive article on Errant Story, btw), and I'm curious: what of their tropes are people seeing in the Errant Road game?

Tropes, understand, are not necessarily a bad thing; they simply mean that a thing has been done before -- which, given the richness of fantasy literature/TV/webcomics/etc., is almost inevitable. Cliches are a different story, but that's not the issue here.

A few of the ones I've picked up on are:
  • Bad Ass: More or less everybody...
  • Badass Family: Sub-trope of the previous one; Jamie and Jasmine, Layla and Faye, Saiko and Kureji in a warped way
  • There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Happens early on, when Grope first squashes the thug in the alley, then breaks his neck, then cuts his throat
So what tropes are you folks seeing here?
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Drannin
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Re: Tropes in Errant Road

Post by Drannin »

Would Jamie's Mom qualify as a Hot Shonen Mom? :D
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Sareth
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Re: Tropes in Errant Road

Post by Sareth »

Probably.

I'll go looking for some good tropes later. I need to get to bed...
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Graybeard
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Re: Tropes in Errant Road

Post by Graybeard »

Drannin wrote:Would Jamie's Mom qualify as a Hot Shonen Mom? :D
Absolutely. At least Selvay thought so... Of course, she is more directly an example of I Want Grandkids, Amazingly Embarrassing Parents, and who knows how many other tropes. Jasmine is an absolutely trope-tastic character. (BTW, I consider that a good thing, in case there is doubt.)

A few others: More ... more ... Your help needed.
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Graybeard
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Re: Tropes in Errant Road

Post by Graybeard »

Those are some excellent finds. A few more:
  • Layla: Action Mom -- this doesn't fit perfectly because her son hasn't figured (yet) in any of the action, so she hasn't turned into a she-grizzly to defend him, but patience...
  • Grope:Gentle Giant -- again, not a perfect fit since he's not really "gentle," just more so than he's expected to be.
  • Brother Miguel: No perfect fits that I've found. He sort of comes from the Land Down Under and has some amount of Noble Savage to him, but it just isn't quite right. Ideas?
The one major character for whom I have been completely unable to find a defining trope is Sister Rose. There must be one (and likely more); everything has been done before. But I don't see it, despite having spent a lot of time looking. Thoughts?
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Graybeard
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Re: Tropes in Errant Road

Post by Graybeard »

I don't know why I'm so dense that it took me this long, but I FINALLY figured out the trope that fits Sister Rose:

Sarine.

The resemblances between Rose and Sarine are really quite striking when you think about them. They are also 100% unintentional. I had no intention of re-creating one of Poe's characters here, nor do I know what to do about it. Rose is well enough developed by now that she just is what she is.

Incidentally, Sarine seems to be one of the more trope-free characters (not necessarily saying that that's good) in Errant Story, according to the TV Tropes article. I also don't think that the few they mention for her (e.g. Defrosting Ice Queen) fit Rose at all -- so the original inquiry is still open.
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