Ultimate Guide to Fantasy Tropes

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Tropes are the DNA that make up fantasy. There’s many tropes that have been around since the beginning. From epic quests to prophecies and chosen ones, I’m going to be exploring all the tropes that are staples of fantasy fiction. Understanding these tropes can enhance both the writing and reading of fantasy literature. This is my Ultimate Guide to Fantasy Tropes.
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0:00 - INTRO
0:58 - Magic Spoon
2:55 - Plot Tropes
13:03 - Character Tropes
25:16 - Romance Tropes
27:03 - Setting/Worldbuilding Tropes
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Jay Kennedy
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#books #fantasybooks

[@CapturedInWords]

Use my code CAPTUREDINWORDS to get $5 off your delicious, high protein Magic Spoon cereal by clicking this link: sponsr.is/magicspoon_capturedinwords_0524 What are your favorite and least favorite tropes?

[@dotdarkness]

I like the retired veteran trope the most. The gritty tired soldier is so fun to write

[@Ali-tf2nd]

Hey jay. I need some advice for my story could I have help if you don’t mind? Please consider

[@CapturedInWords]

I love that trope too!

[@turbokid8719]

I’ll check out the books you mentioned.

[@Ali-tf2nd]

@@turbokid8719I managed to do it but it is long. The sun shines upon the kingdom , by Ali Darwish Prologue One upon a time, there were two kingdoms. The first kingdom was the kingdom of sun, blossoming with the flowers in the early morning, the bright star’s blue tinted glow in a yellow sky filled with cloud of the most beautiful of purples that rained down oceans and rivers of the same colour. But when the clock stricts dusk and the sun fades into the horizon, when the blossom that was the kingdom starts dropping it’s petals and dies, then and only then does the kingdom of moon howl in honor of the darkness like the mighty wolf of yore. In all its malice and cunningness does the shadow wait to swallow the light that once imprisoned it. All night it is free to roam and hunt, stalking the prey until the last breath of the victim has been taken and the hunter growls in satisfaction, like the monster it truly is. But what is a kingdom without a king? The king of sun, Lunar, and the king of moon, Solar, ruled over their respected lands with power and wisdom. But the one problem in the peace and harmony of the two kingdoms is that every dusk and dawn the sun turned into the moon and vice versa. So during the eclipse, Solar and Lunar agreed to sign a treaty that would make them united at long last. And so it was and the kingdom of eclipse was born. From that day forward, Solar and Lunar ruled together a realm where light and dark lived in every one, a perfect, flawless mix. Even in the kings, the same was true. A piece of the other element lived in them. Lunar happily ruled the good in his subjects and likewise did Solar with pride. Life became easy, happy and serene like heaven in a nutshell. But then the darkest of timelines was upon them. Solar, ruler of the dark and king of twilight, did the betrayal to end all betrayals. He attempted to murder Lunar. But when the cavalry came to the rescue they found Lunar, wounded and withered, bleeding out onto the floor. He told them that he and Solar had the most intense magical duel that the world has ever seen but that he was able to beat him. And so Lunar became the kind and forgiving king of our beautiful kingdom. ------ The axe fell. Blood splattered on the marble floor as a disembodied head rolled like a bowling ball. The townsman looked around frantically trying to escape as the man to his right suffered the same fate as the one before him. The executor was clade in black robes, dark helmet obscuring his face. It made him look like a phantom, a spectre of death that was now looming over him, axe high and ready to slaughter the next traitor. Slowly, he started to accept the fact that: there was no escape, no back door to this bloody stage. Then he saw a hint of movement to his right. It couldn’t be another townsman, because they were all dead. Then he saw Him. He was standing in the corner of the room, wearing the shadow that reside in his soul. His hand was up and the executor stared expectingly. The man begged Him to help but He just stood there, still as a statue. He was too far away for the man to see His face, but it was almost like the darkness was smiling along side Him. His hand slowly went down and he felt a blinding, searing pain as the blade cut through his next. The bad part: it was a slow death. The worst part: He was enjoying it. And again the shadows of the world smiled as He did. It was haunting, and that was only increased by the fact that the smille was the last thing he would ever see. Through the hot blood pouring down his body, there was a frost, a weakness. He was tired and sad and crying but it was too late. At least now I can finally escape this nightmare of a life, he thought dimly. And then: darkness. He walked slowly out of the marble room. It wasn’t the perfect unchanging white that the peasants always imagined. It was now the rusty crimson colour of dried blood. It was like spilled wine on snow. He was desensitized to it by now. Before he saw it as a necessary evil, but now, it was just an inconvenience. He kept walking, his shadow waving behind him like a robe. This man wore darkness and misery. This man wore the starless night on his back. He was the worst kind of monster you could ever imagine, a man so good at the art of acting that he could hide in plain sight. He kept walking. He strode through the castle halls like a spirit of destruction searching for its next kill. He was a hunter in every sense of the word. He stoped walking. Now he was just a few steps away from the balcony that looked over the kingdom. He reached to a table and took hold of a mask. It was smooth and featureless. It was perfect. They will never know, he thought to himself as he slipped the mask on to his face. He walked into the light. Chapter 1 It was a cold night. The moon was full in the sky and stars were as bright as ever. It was a perfect night for a run, Máni thought sarcastically. A slow breeze howled in his ears as he ran away from the people he once considered as comrades in arms. It was funny just how fast the situation had spiraled into madness. So funny it was almost laughable. It all happened in a blink of an eye. Too late to regret what i have done now. I came this far. Can’t give up now. Can’t stop running. Can’t stop running, Máni repeated to himself to try give himself the slimmest hope of escape. Some of the soldiers wore black and white armor, others wore blue and the rest wore gray. Máni himself wore black chain mail, so it wouldn’t weigh him down like those blind fools that were chasing. If only these shackles would come off. But alas, they were stuck as if glued to his hands. With them on, he couldn’t vanish. Oh, what a shame it would have been so much easier. I. Am. Almost. There, Máni thought in exhaustion.

[@dotdarkness]

40 minute Captured in Words video? i need my popcorn

[@thesunshineseekers]

🍿🍿🍿

[@coffeewithstas]

Sanderson kind of self proclaimed the uniqueness of the Mistborn set up “where the dark lord has won”. In the meantime original Star Wars is exactly that. The story starts when the dark lord has won many years ago.

[@CorwinFound]

It's kind of funny because this is the common premise of many science/speculative fiction books. Start in the middle of the dystopia and then explore it. Sometimes to a better place, sometimes not. (1984, Fahrenheit 451, and the Handmaid's Tale come to mind.) Although Sanderson was certainly not the first, it's much less common in Fantasy.

[@nathanpottle4762]

I don’t have a better name for my favourite troupe other than Big Meetings. Stuff like the Council of Elrond and Rand introducing the Dragon’s Peace is always great.

[@morleywritesbooks]

The Fallen Hero trope is strangely captivating. I think looking at someone who fought so hard for the right thing, now succumbing to corruption of some sort is fascinating and blurs the line on good/evil. Just like how anyone can be redeemed, anyone can fall. Friends to Lovers trope (unpopular opinion) is the most satisfying. Having 2 people who get along already and start to see each other in a different light and explore their feelings is such a sweet story. Drama be gone! This is the cozy i adore. Curses as a trope i think makes greater tension in settings, because there's usually some kind of deadline or unseen presence associated with it

[@prepwithgabi]

I would love a full spoiler video of how Sanderson uses those tropes or subverts them 👀

[@CapturedInWords]

That's a great idea!

[@holdenpop12]

One of my favorite tropes growing up with YA fantasy was definitely the trials/graduation test/proving grounds etc. It always tied in nicely with coming of age and magical schools stories, even if it might be overdone now.

[@CapturedInWords]

Couldn't agree more! That's a trope I've always enjoyed as well

[@brookeelizabeth681]

You have such a talent for editing and storytelling. Thank you for the hard work on this one. Well done Friend!

[@iamAbhishekN]

Hey! How about top 10 stand alone fantasy books (according to us) ????

[@coryrobin5890]

Second this!

[@eikon7559]

I can add 3 more of the new tropes. - isekai / hero transfers in a new world - the system / system comes to the existing world and gives the ability to grow in power. - Litrpg / heroes play in full emerging mmorpg where nost of the story unfolds.

[@Bt-cq6te]

which novel has a system bro, you've read one too many trashy manhwas

[@CapturedInWords]

Great examples! I'd more so call Isekai and Litrpg sub-genres rather than tropes though

[@eikon7559]

@Bt-cq6te Although I like a lot of different genres, i don't read manhwas. But if you are curious, you can try The Primal Hunter novel. I listen to this one, and it's one of those books you can't get enough of.

[@SuperDuperDavo]

40 minute video? Cardio is about to fly by.

[@hypothesis.2007]

Good video you always helps me with my writing

[@CapturedInWords]

Glad to hear that! Thanks for watching 😄

[@SlowBurnReader]

I love these type of deep analysis videos, and helps me understand more about the genre I hope to write in someday

[@hw3345]

I love the Arthas shot in the Dark Lord section. He’s one of my favorite and in my opinion one of the most compelling antagonists ever.

[@CapturedInWords]

Arthas is one of my all time favorite antagonists as well! Always been big into Warcraft and WoW :)

[@hw3345]

@@CapturedInWords JAINA FAILED ARTHAS! You can’t change my mind 😂

[@Ali-tf2nd]

Finally here! I love it! Good job jay.

[@AmItheTrashhole]

subscribed because of your music choice

[@woodlandlady7011]

Great video! This has defo made me consider a new TBR pile

[@lucagianchino6404]

Epic quest Evreyday action by characters, Greta Sacrifice These tropes are ESSENTIALS in fantasy, for me at last;) very good speech 😎😁🙏

[@patkov5831]

Yeea, new video baby

[@Gunslinger8123]

VIDEO IDEA: give us a tour and breakdown of the books on your shelf 😍😍

[@dinocollins720]

Another fantastic video! thank you!

[@brantjustilian3791]

Yeah plot armor is very difficulty use because you can very easily undermine the tension of the scene. Like how a chase tends to end with a distraction. And I’m surprise, there’s no talk about the 12th birthday trope, which is a sub category of the chosen one.

[@joshuakealii255]

Lets go!!!

[@pockystick8557]

I am very happy to find that almost all of these are in One Piece

[@birgertales]

Such an awesome video, man! I love tropes and learning more about them, so that's a major win in itself! ;) My favorite tropes of the ones you mentioned has to be "moments of horror" (being a dark fantasy author, that one is a given for me, of course ;) ) and I also like "the dark lord" and "the ancients". You've actually inspired me to incorporate more of "the ancients"-trope into my own dark fantasy stories, I think that can spice them up even further, so thank you! ^_^ BTW, is it just me, or have you recently upgraded your video clips? :O There were many there that I hadn't seen before! :) Your editing is KINGKILLER, per usual ;) P.S. I love that the creepy forest from Snow White was your favorite part -- it's actually my favorite part, too! ;P I even showed images from that particular forest as an example in my "What is DARK FANTASY?"-video, too! :)

[@supernorry3847]

I Love Shadows for Silence in teh Forests of Hell such a good novella. I would love to see more of that world

[@BuereJeeka]

Spock one of my all time favorite sacrifice trope 😢 🧝🏻‍♂️

[@user-ex1jk8yx3x]

Great video, first of all, with beautiful aesthetics. While watching I noticed something unexpected - almost all of the tropes featured in the video were used in the Spellslinger series by Sebastian De Castell, although each with a twist. This was really unexpected for me, because Spellslinger is very different from the usual style of epic fantasy. You gave me something to think about.

[@Westly.3]

A good romance fantasy slow build relationship is Iris and Roman from Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross. Perhaps the only time in a fantasy novel when I've seen it done right.

[@Westly.3]

Excalibur is a named sword that comes to mind aswell :)

[@dbrothers6329]

When will we be getting Wise Man's Fear Summary 2?

[@yura_riabov]

Wow, 40 minutes of tropes

[@kevin4680]

thanks for not spoiling Sanderson

[@turbokid8719]

I finished the ninth rain amazing book & kings of the wyld is fantastic.

[@CapturedInWords]

Love those!

[@turbokid8719]

@@CapturedInWordsyes they were great recommendations I got from your channel loved them.

[@heatherkline6766]

I guess you would like my writing then. I have created a fantasy race, have introduced ancient weapons shrouded in lore, have explored both the "newcomer explains" and crew/found family, have crafted a subversion of the chosen one trope, have concocted a subversion of the "secret heir", have told of a protagonist who sacrifices his comfort to do what is right, have devised an antagonist faction with more reasonable motives and goals, and have even utilized the mentor/magic training trope in at least one story. These tropes mentioned are pulled from many volumes of my work; I am also considering implementing "the ancients" trope in an exploration of the ruins of an old and great society, but I am not sure yet where this will fit in. In another detached scene, I have a reluctant hero who saves the fortress from invasion against the odds and is not sure how to respond to praise and offers of promotion. Another vague idea I have is to include a scene in some project where a hero tames a chaos dragon (the beast has been wreaking havoc, and the hero manages to best the creature and gain its respect before sending it to sleep again for another spell of time; until the stars align again, or whatever). What do you think of these ideas?

[@arabellawillow9248]

I was literally thinking about the "Sanderson character" right before you said it ... definitely a major spoiler.

[@ares6294]

Honestly, some of worse jobs/circumstances for tropes are Parents or adopted parents to the chosen one/farm kid/orphan, you are basically as good as dead. The childhood best friend here as well but that's a 1/3 chance of being either dead, left behind or going with the MC to only die later. Magical Academy professor/teacher/master that has the MC in your class or you are training. Outcome death since you will have to die to cover for the MC's mistake. King/queen in the world since the MC has appeared your kingdom/empire is about to fight the demon lord or different existential threats. The king will likely die in this war. So the MC can win the war and marry the princess to become crowned prince and take over the throne.

[@billc8462]

Hi Jay! 2 questions, please! Trovatrip still shows the Ireland trip as "pending" - did we get an extension? Also (selfishly) do you have any more unboxings, say for a Lackey Trilogy or author-signed books coming up? 🙃 Thanks! Bill

[@CapturedInWords]

Thanks for the super chat Bill! I sent you a DM but will answer here too in case you miss it 😊 The email from Trovatrip says that the trip is being cancelled and that refunds typically take 7-10 business days to process. That email was 7 days ago, so it's probably still just processing, but it is officially canceled for sure now 😅 Hopefully when I try again in a year or so we can get more people signed up! Oh and the Obsidian trilogy and signed books you sent will definitely appear in an unboxing video 😊 I should have some time this weekend to edit those unboxing clips. So cool to have those signed books on the shelf!! Thanks very much 😁

[@billc8462]

@@CapturedInWords Thanks for the explanation Jay! Shoot, I thought that they may have given us extra time. Next year then! Best, Bill

[@MrNoucfeanor]

Magic spoon is actually really good. I like the maple waffle.

[@OrangeHand]

The thing about tropes that stands out to me today is how heavily the Instagram and TikTok communities are using tropes in book marketing. For example, it used to be that you'd discover what type of romance the story has as you're reading it, which is supposed to part of the fun of reading, but now the marketing will explicitly tell you it's an enemy-to-lovers romance. It's similar to how movie trailers will show nearly everything about the movie.

[@jessicawalter5369]

Yeah I don't think that I'm a big fan of how this has happened

[@lady_draguliana784]

My favorite Hidden Heir is Lonestar from Spaceballs!

[@adham3210]

the mentor where it's an old wise wizard is good but the old drunk war veteran is superior

[@charei]

Good versus evil 3:33the dark lord 15:17

[@Garaphon]

Read the Kencyrath read the Kencyrath read the Kencyrath! You're going to LOVE the way PC Hodgell does these tropes. You can spoil yourself if you want, by searching for Kencyrath in tvtropes 😂

[@lucagianchino6404]

38:11 and curse weapons like Mournblade from Warcraft 3;)

[@bijum1335]

I am a new reader who recently started reading books. I already read piranesi now I'm currently reading realm breaker by victoria aveyard. I hope you can recommended some standalone fantasy book for beginners. I am hoping to read lord of rings also😁

[@lady_draguliana784]

HAN SHOT FIRST! 🤣🎉

[@tristandukes5548]

There's a special bow in Fire Emblem Three Houses called Failnaught, and I think that's such a sick name for a bow, not even going into the lore of the weapons

[@CapturedInWords]

That is a sick name! I've played a few Fire Emblem games but never did pick that one up, still might some day!

[@tristandukes5548]

@CapturedInWords it's probably the most up your alley from what I could tell. Some amazing world building and great characters

[@TruePerception]

I could see instalove working if there is an underlying lack of trust that has to be overcome for them to accept what is clearly there. Granted, I don't tend to care for romance as a plot, in general. Subplot, sure, but not plot.

[@samuelyigzaw]

I think the most prevalent trope in fantasy, which you've actually implied many times in this video but haven't mentioned explicitely, is "Dark is Evil". The "Dark Lord", "Grim-dark", and "Dark Forest" tropes imply this. I really hate "Dark is Evil" so much. It's so prevalent in real life and in fantasy fiction that we don't even question it. Our very language is filled to the brim with this. Black-hearted, black hat, blackmail, and dark humor, vs white lie, white hat, brilliant, bright, fair. People usually only see the reality of this when, either by mistake or on purpose, someone brings the metaphor to humans. One case of this I'll never forget. Someone shared a post which they realized had this issue. The post was supposedly in solidarity with BLM, but said this: "Just because their skin is black, doesn't mean their hearts are black". When the use of black to mean evil is displayed right next to the use of black to mean melanated, the irony of the injustice becomes apparent to most people. I do realize where this trope mostly comes from. Most of it comes from our instinctual fear of the dark. But I would like to examine this, and see if it really is able to justify this trope. First of all, our fear of the dark is simply a proxy for our fear of the unknown. It is a fear of uncertainty. I would like to contrast this with the opposite of complete darkness: absolute light. That's right, our normal, daylight levels of light are not the opposite of absolute darkness. The photosphere of the sun is. Absolute, blinding, burning light. This light is no uncertainty. It will burn, blind, and kill you. In fact, we have another instinct related to this that's so deeply ingrained in us that we never even stop to think about it. We always avoid looking directly at the sun, because our bodies know that too much light is bad for us. I would argue that absolute light is much worse than absolute darkness, since it will certainly kill you. But in the name of keeping things balanced, if we could at least recognize that both extreme light and extreme darkness are both bad, and that what's good is a balance between the two, I would be really happy. I find the Wheel of Time to actually be somewhat interesting in this sense, since although it does blatantly have a "Dark One" and the "Shadow", it also has the Aiel saying things like "shade of my heart" to someone they love. It makes sense since they are desert people, who experience the pains of light everyday. This gets even more mixed up in the following quote: "Till Shade is gone, till water is gone, into the Shadow with teeth bared, screaming defiance with the last breath, to spit in Sightblinder's eye on the Last Day." They love shade, but hate the Shadow. They call the Dark One Sightblinder, even though extreme light blinds permanently as opposed to extreme darkness which only blinds in the moment. That quote really shows the confusion people have on this topic. Hopefully whoever is reading this will see where I'm coming from though.

[@wildcatkountry9047]

I wholeheartedly agree. I get frequent migraines and can’t tolerate direct exposure to sunlight for very long without sunglasses so most of my writing subverts that trope simply because the light causes me more pain then the night ever has.

[@samuelyigzaw]

​@@wildcatkountry9047 Wow it's great to hear that someone else agrees with me on this! Would you like to share your writing for those who'd be interested in the subversion of this trope?

[@wildcatkountry9047]

@@samuelyigzaw I’d rather not. It’s going under pretty severe revisions currently and so I don’t actually have anything that I would feel comfortable sharing. Thanks for the offer though!

[@wildcatkountry9047]

I will say that one of my favorite ideas I’ve seen is taking a holy Templar figure and showing them being so corrupted by their own righteousness that they perform terrible acts in the name of god. They’re so consumed by their own light that it blinds them. Like a magical Frollo from the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

[@samuelyigzaw]

@@wildcatkountry9047 Then you'd love Elantris by Brandon Sanderson, if you haven't read it already. Hrathen is pretty close to that trope.

[@Wingding727]

28:07 “ underground temples that are imprisoning ancient terrible beings of evil “ can someone pleeease recommend books with examples of these? Non love craft please

[@suemunro6833]

The Fionavar Tapestry, by Guy Gavriel Kay!

[@teles2988]

Have you read The Poppy War?

[@snapcrrracklepop]

You forgot the magical item 😅

[@CapturedInWords]

Yeah I should have mentioned that one in more depth 😅 I briefly mentioned macguffin item when talking about another trope and also ancient artifacts when talking about The Ancients

[@etnm_playz4500]

3rd comment!!

[@letsnotgetstressed8552]

Oy :)

[@CapturedInWords]

Oy oy 👋

[@thesunshineseekers]

Oy oy oy! 👏🏼

[@letsnotgetstressed8552]

@@CapturedInWords :D oy! :D

[@letsnotgetstressed8552]

@@thesunshineseekers hi! :D :O :D

[@Maarten8867]

You don't need plot armor at all. Only when you have your character do stuff that is unbelievable to the reader. Which should always be avoided.

[@thekwjiboo]

Is "awesome fantasy literature KZbin videos" a trope?

[@thekwjiboo]

By the way, I signed up for magic spoon months ago because of your channel. I get a 4 pack every month (peanut butter, cocoa, fruity, and blueberry muffin). Thinking of switching it up. Have you tried the new strawberry and lemon flavors?

[@daxdim]

Damn you shouldve let that hair be outta place, it was giving mid century vibes for sure

[@Rhendali]

Being a big WoW nerd, love seeing all the art/cinematics from WoW here. That said, I strongly disagree with the use of Jaina and Arthas in the insta-love category. Their romance took time to blossom and was tragically short lived. Definitely not insta-love.

[@CapturedInWords]

I'm a big WoW nerd as well! Oh and I 100% agree, I don't think Arthus and Jaina's relationship is insta-love, I was just doing some last minute editing and needed an image to put in that part 😅

[@josecunha8782]

The indestructible animal companion. Enough with this!

[@jasonbryden8218]

Why you gotta use AI art in this?

[@CapturedInWords]

I don't believe any of this is AI art? I got all this art from ArtStation

[@jasonbryden8218]

@@CapturedInWords There was a blink and you miss it moment that LOOKED like a woman with five fingers and a thumb initially but wasn't my bad xD

[@chimmey7741]

Over used word ...troupes...

[@iArteezy]

Did anyone else catch the osrs music at 3:20? I’m glad to see a fellow enthusiast in you Jay 🫡