The King/queen/emperor is actually a badass that gets personally involved if the threat become great enough

>Abominations from beyond the veil of time and space
>Humans are actually important as they seem to be able to stop them

> The villain is best friends with his most direct subordinates, and has real loyalty and respect from his followers instead of just fear

> the protagonist isn't motivated by revenge or ambitions or greed, but by a simple, insane, almost autistic obsession with becoming a hero.
> He manages to live up to the hype he has set for himself

No
It's much older than that
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabasis_(Xenophon)
They found an abandoned city with massive walls and couldn't believe modern methods had built it
There's a long history of underestimating the ingenuity of the past

>Humans are immune to fate, but also cannot see or otherwise sense their fate because it does not exist.
>Other magical species are trapped in their pre-ordained paths and cannot deviate

The old war veteran coming back to fight again is one of my favorite tropes in fiction.

>alien culture based around aggressive warrior ideals
>noble knightly/paladin orders founded on a lie
>good undead
>heavenly antagonists
>cursed magic swords, especially if sapient
>succubi as dubious allies

Yes, but in fiction it mostly happens because LOTR did it.

And LOTR did it because Tolkien was writing what he saw of as a mythology for Britain to call its own (King Arthur is actually a welsh thing, not properly 'English' to him).

So the fact that Rome did the same thing to other places matters much less to the development of fantasy tropes than what happened to England specifically.

lost island full of dinosaurs
spooky mist filled rural countryside
collect the X MacGuffin crystals

Muslim kings still do .businessinsider.com/king-abduallh-of-jordan-is-a-total-badass-2015-2

Stuff like this is why "aliens did it" people just piss me off.
People are smart (sometimes) and if given enough time and motivation people will figure out how to do things like build giant stone structures without the use of modern heavy equipment.

youtube.com/watch?v=-K7q20VzwVs

> The villain is best friends with his most direct subordinates, and has real loyalty and respect from his followers instead of just fear
seconded

bikini barbarians

Bonus points for...
>The BBEG is someone the grizzled old veteran knows. They fought with or against them in the struggles of the past that are now haunting the present.

Most of them, honestly. I don't care that putting them into a setting reduces it's originality, I like all of those and most of the others that you'd be able to name.

Nan Madol is a great example of the "Ruins of Advanced but Ancient Civilizations"

Apparently Lovecraft used it as the basis for R'lyeh

>>The King/queen/emperor is actually a badass that gets personally involved if the threat become great enough.

Isn't that just the BBEG?

>there is a spaceship under the dungeon
>the witches are terrifying but helpful
>a holy warrior must deal with the bureaucratic weight of his religion
>you lighting wand is a ray pistol

Well at least one of those is good. Maybe two.

>humans special trait is indomitable will
>elfs and dwarves hate eachother
>lawful good character who never wavers
>lawful good character whose one vice is alcohol
>king is honorable as shit everyone loves him but has awful kids who no one wants to take the throne
>group of young chosen ones who all need to rescue the world while also dealing with normal adolescent angst

I'm a cheesy fucking dude.

>Duty is heavier than a mountain, death lighter than a feather

>>Massive underground ecosystems
>tfw you can't do this anymore in heroic fantasy without people comparing it to the Underdark
Fuck!

>britons

Hah. Italians were surrounded by the ruins of the Roman empire like they were living in bloody Mad Max

Just go to Rome itself, there are countless building built around and into Roman ruins

The thing is that these ruins weren't entire abandoned cities. They were generally just old buildings that had fallen into disrepair mostly due to lack of infrastructure. The Colosseum wasn't some majestic structure to most people, it was an old building that they sometimes looted for stone.

>magic exists in all forms of life, and can be used to directly imbue life into inanimate objects or create entirely new beings
>life created this way has no guarantee to be intelligent or even sentient, leading to bizarre failures of artificial creation terrorizing people
>successful creations feel responsible and take up careers using magic and their unique forms to destroy them

>relatively weak/cowardly character who is nonetheless stalwart in trying to protect people he cares about
>stoic professional mercenary who is actually very passionate about music or something
>character who acts like a prick but actually follows admirable principles
>gap moe in all its forms

>hard-boiled detective who drinks, smokes, and falls for a dangerous dame
>Loose cannon cop who doesn't play by the rules but damn it, he gets results
>Lone wanderer who rides into town, solves all the problems, rides off into the sunset when it's done.

I feel like these are mostly american tropes, but hell they're pretty great when done right.

>mfw american tropes are the best tropes

>I can't marry you because [insert angst and fatalism here]

>Elves and fey are defeated by bread and iron
>ancient giants are revealed to be normal humans
>legendary figure turns out to be still alive and is a tired broken man
>dishonored veteran given one last shot at redemption by training next generation of heroes
>BBEG motivation was to bring dead child back to life but dark magic spiraled out of control
>Demons/Devils/Eldritch monstrosities defeated by heroes showing self control not by direct conflict
>magic only being usable by the foolishly insane
>barbarian heroes, grizzled human fighters, and plucky young squires saving the day through a combination of strength, grit and cunning
>air/spaceships that look like sailing ships
>when the hero is defeated but through determination and divine intervention he rises again to defeat the foe in a blaze of glory before dying forever.
>Pyrrhic battle that leaves the heroes broken, bloody and greaveing friends but victorious none the less
>adventurers who are well and truly prepared and equipped for dungeon delving

>>long time enemies must work together to defeat a newer and greater threat
>>evil cannot comprehend good
>>space ship has sapient AI
>>giant robot mecha

>Secrets of a dead empire
>Lost technology and magitech
>Good undead who need to struggle with their destructive instincts
>Noble self-sacrifice that while necessary brings great personal suffering
>Recurring villain that eventually gets recruited and redeemed
>The laid-back sidekick is actually a huge badass when he gets serious

>ancient giants are revealed to be normal humans

So the world has been inherited by halfings? Could be kind of neat.

kinda its usually paired with
>Elves and fey are defeated by bread and iron
with small fey telling legends of iron blooded giants that belched fire and built mountains

>character gets horrifically injured and beaten down, but continues getting back up
>as an extension of the above, Revenants exist
>heroes get a little help from beyond the grave/helpful ally turns out to have been dead the whole time
>everyone the heroes helped during the story shows up to assist during the climax
>antagonist is motivated by nostalgia and just wants to bring the comfy back

>The King/queen/emperor is actually a badass that gets personally involved if the threat become great enough.

Plenty of real Kings spent all of their time on the battlefield and, at least in medieval times, were actually not glued to a glorified chair but instead traveling the realm because God knows it wasn't going to keep itself together on its own. So that's a good trope. The unrealistic part is having him not be an asshole.

>belched fire
That was Ted with his beer-trick wasn't it?

>Bread
As in a logistics train or actual bread?

like the old legends actual bread (but probably as a metaphor for logistics)

Shit man, we consider all the towns you pass through between Detroit and Chicago as ruins from a bygone age.

>like the old legends actual bread
>"Fear the might of our freshly baked goods!"

>I fucking hate this one.
Why?

more like its deadly poison to them, but I'd play that for laughs, "Affix Baguettes "

>Incompetent and useless character sacrifices himself just to buy the heroes time

Yours shall be a place of honor Governor Shakeel.

>"There. I set the bone and drained the poison from the arrow. Stay off your feet for a few weeks and chew these herbs with your supper if you feel a fever coming on. No don't make that face its not supposed to taste good," grunted the orc doctor Snaargalgsh of Clan Morghar. "What? You didn't think we were all reavers and beastriders, did you? I'll have you know I graduated top of my class at Bloodkill Valley Medical."

>hero gets the princess
>hero's buddy gets the qt girl next door

Carbs are the weakness of elves and fey?

weat

Honestly, if a king was someone who was on the front lines leading his people and fighting alongside them, I wouldn't mind following him. It's like how George Washington at least shot people or threw rocks at them at least. I feel like the last few presidents we've had are just professional paper-pushers that don't get involved in real issues more or less and we all ask each other why we have problems.

This is a problem I have sometimes in my groups when the players reach a new land and find out there's a kingdom and immediately start asking if there are ways to dethrone the king and establish a "good system". It's not fun storytelling, for me.

Rye would that be, user?

Wikipedia suggests fey hate bread because of it's association with the taming of nature, the home and hearth and civilization.

Do they hate dogs and cats too then or any farm animals for that matter?

>character gets horrifically injured and beaten down, but continues getting back up
My nigga.

Similarly:
>character with seemingly naive ideals maintains them after experiencing something terrible

>Magic having a corrupting influence on the user

Absolute power corrupt absolute kind or Demon lurking in mana realm ala Warhammer or Dragon Age kind?

Corgi are a gift from the fae, supposedly, so no.

He's african.

No, not WE WUZrican, but from the sub-Sahara.

>Rival becomes a full blown villain for the greater good
>realizes he fucked up
>THERE IS NO TURNING BACK FOR ME NOW
>protagonists redeem him anyway

Gets me rock hard every time.

>women cabable of unconditional, romantic love

Completely fictious but it salves the soul

>The protaganists are competent and win their battles through planning, training, and teamwork
>The antagonists are seen as a real threat and win major victories because they are also competant

This is the best.

>The villain isn't such a bad guy, you just happen to be on opposite sides.
>Foes confront each other with each side knowing damn well only one of them is going to survive.

Bonus points if the two are used together.

This, Especially combined with
>The King/queen/emperor is actually a badass that gets personally involved if the threat become great enough.
and
>The Seer that sees that today is their Last.

...

Especially with
>Paladin, when after his noble sacrifice, returns at the end as an angel/Spirit/Herald of their god, to aid the party in the final Battle.
and
>Past ally covers the party's advance to the BBEG's throne room.

>The Seer that sees that today is their Last.
>The Seer that knew today would be their Last decades ago.

>a champion so noble he inspires a good-for-nothing wimpy king to be a better man and ruler
>a hero who unites the people against a greater evil regardless of creed or race
>he is so iconic even the sight of his stiff corpse is enough to usher men towards suicidal odds

YES!
and
>The Seer that wishes to die already so their partner will stop nagging them to death.

I also like ones where

> The Seer predicts some cataclysmic event will befall the royal family/kingdom/country, yet no one believes them
> Said cataclysmic event happens exactly like the Seer saw

Other favorites of mine include:

> Technology always seems to hover right at the early Renaissance level, even with magic around
> In this same tech level, some crazy idiots randomly spread throughout the world experimenting with black powder for handheld weapons and not just use in cannons or fireworks
> A small group of long-lived individuals (usually good-aligned) watch over the world to protect it from otherworldly disasters without the masses being aware of it

Didn't Dr.Strange do something like that with the Ancient One?

Good taste.

>Holy warrior-Bard sings the rallying song "It's good day to die"...

Abdullah is the way he is because he was the spare and not the heir, and so he got to play soldier until his brother died without issue. If William and his family eat it, and Harry gets on the throne, you'll see the same thing in the UK.

>Half-Orcs are Niggers with Tusks.

>The King is an old-man.
>The Queen is a teen-aged whore who will put out for the party.

>old ruler who spent his youth in decadence and debauchery looking back his earlier life wondering whether or not it he should have lived a more prudent life or even if any of it mattered since he has no male heirs anyway

>Elves are Sluts, Half-Elves are Sluttier
>Both male and female.

>Recurring villain that eventually gets recruited and redeemed
An user after my heart

also a fan of
>Proud member of a warrior culture (Klingons, Vikings, Dwarf McBigHammer)
Bonus points if that culture is in decline, but our honored tradition lives on forever (Saiyans, Samurai, Ancient Elf warrior order)

>the evil villain who kidnaps/abducts/adopts a child for his/her own nefarious ends but ends up becoming too attached to the child
>inb4 ''Maleficent isn't a villain''

Retired adventurers or former big-shots who have settled comfortably and just want to be left alone, trying to hide their past. One way another they just keep getting roped back into the fray.

The most noble actions coming from the lowliest of humble individuals.

Granting honors and commendation for said characters.

Maybe stop playing with Americans. Them and their bloody democracies, why I oughta

>mentor/veteran/older hero arrives to save the main characters
>villains are fucking terrified of him
>beats the shit out of them

alternatively:

>arrogant asshole on the hero's side
>steps out of line
>veteran/mentor effortlessly kicks his ass

>Sapient/Conscious weapons
I played a campaign with a real good DM while I was still new to ttrpgs, he acted my sword and helped me a lot, then later on when I got more confident we had this real nice inside plot of my char battling against his own mind to regain his willpower. That was super nice, and the concept itself is really good imo
>Flying whales (or really, any fishes)
Because Gojira, and also the fact that PCs can't really interact with it (except if they are really inventive which is always good) but know something "bigger than life" is happening
>War veteran acting father-like to the PCs
Because it's still a better DMPC than an arrogant overpowered asshole-y snowflake, and it's really easy to befriend him, I never had any problem to have the PCs take his advice/quests. bonus points if he goes on war with the PCs if they diverge too much from his alignment
>Vilains that think they're doing something for greater good and realize fully the consequences of their actions
See "Handsome Jack" for further informations

Yeah. She had already predicted her death, but when it came time for her to die, she slowed down time to stay alive just a little longer. Her last words gave me fucking chills:

>Death is what gives life meaning. To know your days are numbered and your time is short. You'd think after all this time I'd be ready. But look at me. Stretching one moment out into a thousand... just so that I can watch the snow.

Why secretly OP? These are all great!

>Tolkien was writing what he saw of as a mythology for Britain to call its own (King Arthur is actually a welsh thing, not properly 'English' to him)
Which is somewhat funny seeing as LotR is in large part a copy of Der Ring des Nibelungen, which is German into the extreme.

>a recurring villain lusts after one of the heroes. Maybe they are even married, they fight like it when in public.
>Humans are the ancient dying race.
>Psionics
>Floating continents

Helps that a president is replaceable, unlike a monarch.

The dissenter within the enemy faction's ranks, struggling to reconcile duty with personal convictions. Can often be swayed at a crucial moment, or are least reasoned to a more neutral stance.

>The seer that commits crimes/horrors personally to prevent the worse ones they see comming

>everyone the heroes helped during the story shows up to assist during the climax

My nigga, I dig this one.

>tfw no BOYFRIEND FREE GIRL despite your sign

Fuck YES! THIS FTW!