Let's Create a Fantasy Tropes Tier List - Most Common Fantasy Tropes Ranked

This is the first tier list I’ve ever done. Of course, it’s a Fantasy Tropes Tier List! Let me know if you liked it, and if you have any feedback for next time, I’d love to hear it. If you disagree with this list, that’s perfectly normal. Tropes and stereotypes are largely subjective. If you would have ranked them differently, let me know how!
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[@bradleyscott6304]

Commenting for the algorithm. Nice video! Gotta say though, I personally absolutely love the Dark Lord and the Good Vs. Evil tropes! Captain America is one of my favorite superheroes, for example, and I also enjoy unabashedly evil villains. I think there's a lot to be said about a story that wants to shine a spotlight on the best of humanity/the human condition, and even go farther by putting that against the worst. You made the point that people want to see realistic characters, but I would argue that a story has more aspects to it than characters, and if these characters are done poorly and are very one-note, they can still help shine a spotlight on other aspects like the themes of the story. And these characters can still be well-written and have motivations! Just because a character is well-written doesn't mean they need to eventually come to a middle ground, they can stay on one end of the spectrum. Like I said, this all just what I appreciate seeing in a story, doesn't mean other people have to.

[@alananimus9145]

The problem with good vs evil is that evil is either never defined or gross over the top stereotype (think kick the dog). The deeper problem with the second one is the nazi problem. The problem with the Nazis was not that the killed jews, queers, socialist, etc., that was just the logical conclusion. The problem was way before the death camps.

[@iRazenrak]

I wrote a sort of reverse uno with the "legendary weapon" trope. It's a weapon powerful enough to defeat almost anybody, but as soon as you touch it, you see very realistic scenes of yourself in the future becoming addicted to the power and looking ugly (like Gollum or Palpatine), so every hero who touches it chooses not to use it as a result. Except when one of my heroes chooses to kill themselves once they do defeat the big bad with it, so they are never corrupted by it.

[@iRazenrak]

I think one way to do "villain to hero" poorly is when the villain was never that evil to begin with. Iroh is a good example. We never see his past because it would be paradoxical. He's written as this kind old man who's always been kind and level-headed, and yet we only hear about him almost taking down Ba Sing Sei. That involves killing people, probably innocent people too. And while he might've gotten his rank due to his family, everyone still respected him and his power. There's no way he could've been kind to accomplish that.

[@reulerverse_stories]

This is an angle to Iroh I’ve never considered before! Thanks for sharing.

[@ManiaMac1613]

"Even if you write it wrong, people are still going to like it." You make a compelling point. Subscribed!

[@nicholasmartin6526]

So I agree with most of this but I can't disagree enough about good vs evil. In todays media every hero seems to be a dick and every villain had a tragic backstory. I miss the classic 'Irredeemable dickhead' villan.

[@reulerverse_stories]

I can totally understand this stance.

[@nicholasmartin6526]

@@reulerverse_stories Also I would like a hero I can root for with out them having some terrible personality trait like 'absentee dad' or 'Total asshole'!

[@Brayslayer]

​@@nicholasmartin6526 So your saying you want an actual hero and not a bad protagonist

[@nicholasmartin6526]

@@Brayslayer exactly

[@maxpowers9129]

Love triangles are common in real life. I can forgive a weak love triangle as being a part of the characters life as long as the story doesn't waste much time on it. If the love triangle is a big part of the story then it starts to get on my nerves.

[@feigyshtein1207]

thank you! it was very interesting

[@reulerverse_stories]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@steamenginealchemist7109]

I would’ve put love triangle in the No category lmao

[@ZanderSabbag]

I think you criteria for these rankings was unclear and shifting. Some you clearly rated based on your personal preference and opinions, but others you seemed to go by what’s more in vogue currently. While both methods are ok, the fact you flipped between them made the ranking unreliable. Also, certain tropes are incredibly ancient, being part of mythology or religion, like Excalibur as the archetypical “legendary weapon” or Jesus as the foremost “chosen one”, so I don’t see how one is any less iconic or overused than the other, unless we are judging by modern standards, in which case we go back to the first problem. Anyways, it is fun to see someone exercise ranking stuff they intimately deal with. Personally, I just wish you didn’t rely that much on what’s popular these days, but that’s a whole separate opinion from what I’ve said before.

[@reulerverse_stories]

It’s totally cool to disagree with this! This is mostly my personal opinions. It’s actually very difficult to rank tropes unbiasedly.

[@adamnesico]

Argh, i totally hate the from hate to lovers one, is the stupid fantasy of “we can change this strong bad guy in a good companion”. No, you can’t, stop thinking with the ovaries, or at least recognize is just a pornographic fantasy. Im tired of women in toxic relationships with men they hate, that trope is tired and overused in real life. Seriously, im making convinced everiday more that my dad ruined my love possibilities when he taught me to respect women. Maybe he did it in purpose. Legendary weapon is stupid and overused, in real life has never happened.

[@kevinhulvey7018]

I don't see how "the current political climate" has any relevancy to the effectiveness of a trope... Why would I care about politics in my fantasy book? Yea, some authors draw parallels to current politics in their books at the time of writing... But it's usually in criticism of said politics. So, damsel in distress can be overused, but politics isn't some reason to be used in argument against it being interesting

[@reulerverse_stories]

Unfortunately politics have a lot to do with everything whether we like it or not. They represent changes in how people think, and therefore how they see the world. That’s what I was referencing.

[@kevinhulvey7018]

@@reulerverse_stories Yea but everything that is political is around a 50/50 opinion. That's why its political. There's an ongoing debate around it. I think politics influenced your viewing of the trope, but if ya come from an objective standpoint (a-political), I think that's a better way to evaluate things. Anyway, quality vid. thanks

[@freedomwhisperssusurrosdel604]

I hear what you're saying, but I think the stories we tell ultimately amplify the stories of our real world. So I think stories impact our thinking, our cultures, our empathy, and our psychology. So, looking on the positive side, i think acknowledging the effect of tired tropes can allow us to brainstorm,"ok, what can we imagine bettet/different?" (Tone: friendly, thoughtful)