What are some tropes that make you feel, user? I'll start

>character goes into a rage mode after somebody they love/somebody close to them dies, wins, and realizes they still can't bring them back

>a time loop where the only way for a character to save everyone is to sacrifice himself

What is Donnie Darko

Those who won't stay down make me want to get some heelies to escape from my feelies

Sacrifice in general. Be it the warrior who stays behind to bar the way so others can escape, the guy who holds open the door with his body so the others can get through, the one who trades their life for another, etc. Sacrifice in general really gets at the feels for me far more than simple suffering ever could.

I was thinking more Butterfly Effect, but yeah, that fits even better

>Huge McStrongGuy sacrifices himself so someone far weaker and (at least at first glance) far less suited to save the day may live

A 'trope' that I don't think is all that common but makes me feel is
>The knight who fights otherworldly horrors out of duty and hides the fact that he's slowly going insane so he can remain the stalwart rock his community depends on

Couldnt he just stop the girl from being hit by the car

>Character is clearly outnumbered/outarmed
>Keeps on fighting
>Wins, but loses/breaks a limb during it
>Keeps on adventuring with broken limb, even attempting to use it to their advantage

It's honestly pretty specific, but:
> Character sells their soul to stop something that's threatening everything else.
> They actually get virtually nothing out of it other than enslavement.
> They're stuck living past their soul's prime in suffering because they're bound to servitude to some unknown horror.
> The threat he tried stopping had already consumed everything and all he can do is follow orders to direct the next "heroes" to continue the cycle.

I love Bloodborne.

That ain't a trope, that's anime in a nutshell.

I actually named my D&D character's horse Gascoigne. My partner named his Moon Presence. Together they pull a carriage we named Hunter's Dream. Our DM has never played bloodborne and we're both loving it.

>Character goes to sacrifice self to stop enemy
>Enemy shrugs it off or outsmarts it, leaving them to die for nothing while the Character's friends watch

>Gruff, commander type character tells others to run
>"Just go, I'll be fine!"
>The moment the others are gone he has that moment of "Well, here we go," and "Knew it would end this way"
>Goes out in a blaze of glory holding back whatever enemy was chasing

>Character is aging warrior, simply craves a death in battle, but is too strong
>Another comes and does them in
>Smile as they die, thanking whoever fought them

>Tough, stoic warrior has some small object to remind them of times long past, likely something that reminds them of a dead friend or family member

Man, I want to play an old man fighter with one level in warlock just to get that Gehrman feel.

I fucking loved EVERYTHING about that entire sequence.

The last truly faithful cleric of a corrupt church tries to revitalize the faith, but is mocked and scorned by the same people whose souls he's trying to save.

Paladin fights a valiant last stand against an undead/demonic horde to save the lives of his friends, and before the battle begins, he sees a vision of his deity smiling down on him.

A fanatical cult is devoted to cleansing the world of evil and are hated by the world at large, but they still fight.

True love conquering all, even after death.

Any sort of end to an era, particularly if it was done for the sake of those who come after.

The PC's friends coming in the finale to help in whatever way they can.

Old warriors looking for one last fight against the Darkness.

People with a deathwish getting what they want after finding a reason to live.

>that first one
My players once played a revenant couple. Their only goal was to find their bodies so they could be buried together.
Many sessions later, they conquered half the world, stopped a tyrannical baroness, stared the god of death's mortal avatar down, and finally, finally, found their corpses at the bottom of the waterfall they threw themselves off when they couldn't be together. They then realised they were buried together all along, and faded holding hands as the sun set on the lake it overlooked.

>Knowing they could have done something to help but didn't

>The least intelligent character in the party starts going into denial or keeps coming up blindingly simple solutions to a more complex problems thinking it'll help.

Fix him!

>infinite time loop of the same stressful/overwhelming experience/challenge, approached differently each time, ultimately resulting in the same failure each time.
>when the villain type's meticulously crafted plot/scheme/device/invention is brought to ruination by some brazen talented/gifted/blessed hero type in moments.

Last one reminded me of this greentext

...

>MY LEGS AINT BROKE YET NIGGA

>character lives in a shit world where bad things happen routinely
>appears very jaded and cynical and snarky because of this
>secretly holds on to ideals of hope and love and trust and kindness despite all the bad things
>will tell you that doing good shit is dumb and pointless and that people are dumb petty garbage
>still does heroic stuff anyway and can be caught being really nice to some people, usually kids

Villain tries the moral equivalence line on the Hero. Hero shrugs it off, does what he has to do.

"If you kill me, you'll be no better than me"

"I can live with that."

Loyalty as well. Particularly misguided loyalty; the bad guy's right hand man, who is totally and utterly loyal, despite being abused or misused.

No user.

Not this one.

God damn that's a solid line

You never want to end up at mercy of a good man. An evil man will pontificate, gloat about his grandiose plans. A good man will just kill you dead.

I prefer:
"We're not so different, you and I."
"I know. That's why I'm here to kill you."

Based on youtube.com/watch?v=QxJrjV4PNXA

>villain kills a lot of people for reasons unknown
>a bunch of heroes band up to defeat him
>in the end, three out of four heroes are dead, the last one about to strike down the villain
>asks him why he's done what he's done
>villain just loves killing people, is a sadistic fuck
>the last hero kills him
>after a year, the hero mourns his family, his hero friends and the dead families of them, too. Nothing can bring them back: they haven't won, in the end.

I like all of you

I love all these tropes, want to create a tragic character but I don't know if I'll ever be in a campaign with the right tone.

A character or characters decide to make the ultimate sacrifice. Preferably without really saying anything direct because they all know what they have to do and they get a final moment of knowing what they did payed off before dying. Double bonus points if it surprises/terrifies the enemy.

It's particularly dear to my heart because my players actually did it, and in truly spectacular fashion, during a Deathwatch game.

Based Pratchett. May his soul find peace.

Even bereft of context, I love this song:
youtube.com/watch?v=tb4BWSUV8mM

Corollary: Ours is not to reason why. Ours' just to do and die.

Superman literally does this, almost word for word. He wasn't able to, I cried. I don't have the pic on hand unfortunately

Is it the one where he can't save his dad from a disease?

Storytime?

When a villain just has a massive hateboner for the party, constantly trying to fuck with them and even kill them in a very real "im not going to monologue, im just going to do it given half a change"

and then it's revealed, all the way at the end, when the party is just convinced that he's just a dick, that the reason he wants to see the heroes die, is a beautiful and pure love was lost in collateral damage during the parties early adventures.

>bonus points if the party has heard of them before, EG, a wandering bard sings them a song about a couple so pure of love, and the villain matches the description perfectly.

>double bonus points if the villains slain love was an NPC that the characters were found of, and they felt the loss too.

Heart attack

>so he can remain the stalwart rock his community depends on.
My brother.

>The mighty hero is laid low by the enemy, but is nursed back to health over a period of time by a beautiful and caring woman, and they both develop feelings for one another.
>Doubly so if the hero returns to her after the villain is defeated.

Nightingale Syndrome is my weakness.

>Team is sent in to deal with "genestealers" who quickly turn out to be Chaos mutants and realize there's a conspiracy a foot
>They eventually track down the fountainhead, an Imperial Admiral stationed on the planet.
>Motherfucker knows he's been found out, so he calls for the planned invasion to start immediately.
>Fighting breaks out in the streets, with the rest of the cabal sneaking off world and word of a Slaaneshi warband on route leaves the party to decide to bail for now
>They steal the now dead admiral's light cruiser, as it's crew was unexpectedly free of Chaos taint
>As they're leaving the atmosphere, the Warband arrives with a full strike fleet, up to and including a massive capital ship.
>Refugees fleeing in a motley fleet of transport vessels get spotted by the Chaos fleet
>Civilian captains send out desperate SOSs and the holds of refugees wail into Voxcasters across all channels, coming in loud and clear as the Inquisitors prepare to enter the Warp.
>An argument breaks out amongst the players. One of them says they won't put a dent in a fleet that size with the guns they have but another says they have to at least distract them from the civvies.
>Eventually the Blackshield punches the accelerator and steers the ship towards the Chaos flagship, now gaining on the civilian vessels.
>The party stops arguing, but does not stop the ship.
>The wailing over the Vox goes silent as the ship accelerates towards the Chaos fleet.
>I play youtube.com/watch?v=npxCAvQG3e0
>The ship slams into the side of the flagship at full force, reactors going critical
>The cheering civilians drown out the cursing of the Chaos commander as the ship detonates, taking the flagship and a good chunk of the Chaos fleet with it.
>In honor of the saviors, the people of the world have mastercrafted heavy bolter commissioned and gifted to the nearest watch fortress, christened Thunderchild, a weapon that is now a recurring loot item in my 40k games.

>BBEG learns to love by taking in an orphaned child or realizing his fawning lieutenant loves him.

Wow.
I have no words other than that being one of the best ways to end a campaign through player action I've heard of.

The names and deeds of those Battle Brothers will better be told in the reach and beyond for all time to come.

Dogs/other faithful companions dying.

Bonus points if their owner doesn't care, or appears not to care anyway.

I know a person whose dog is getting old and sick and nothing is done to help her, despite her being in constant pain and barely able to move. And she still has nothing but love for her master in the fleeting moments when she's actually cared for.

Lone characters making a last stand against overwhelming forces. Major bonus points if they brazenly challenge the oncoming threat.
>"Come at me, you lot! I swear not one of you will see tomorrow!"

Who is The Hound even.

I did this, they even knew both NPCs. The Woman swore vengeance after the Party gathered a local militia to track down and kill a pack of werewolves. He was the only NPC to die, and he sacrificed himself to save one of the children who were kidnapped. All of this was random rolls, none of it premeditated. I even kept the roll logs to show them on the epilogue. After they killed her. I got a black eye for it.

Worth it.

I think the scene is better in the book, where after the ship is struck by heat rays and begins to disintegrate, the helmsman steers the flaming wreckage straight into another fighting machine, causing the others to retreat.

Moments where the hero takes a fatal blow in order to deal a similarly fatal blow in return.

>Blatantly evil dickbag making heroic sacrifice for the only people they've grown close to, fellow adventurers.
>"You owe me big for this."

Families reunited after a crisis. I lose my shit whenever I get a scene like that. Especially if it's a kid.

I prefer the reverse
>extremely intelligent strategic genius type character
>some unforseen disaster occurs
>for the first time in their life, they don't have an answer, they don't know what to do

this is my fetish

This is why I almost through my fucking television into outer space when they offed the hound in GoT.
You know.

Guy is being mindcontrolled by the BBEG and his beloved comes to try and stop him.

He raises his sword and prepares to strike but kills himself instead of injuring her.

God damn, I need to replay this game

>The Villain from the previous shenanigans is genuinely sad when the heroes from the first shenanigans die

>character meets his hero
>hero has fallen from grace, turned into an apathetic bitter asshole
>character still sticks to his hopes and ideals that the hero inspired in him despite this massive disappointment
>this inspires the hero and rekindles their beliefs, causing them to get their shit together
>hero then sacrificing himself is optional

>Villains, Heroes, Monsters and any other group you can think of put everything aside to fight a common enemy

youtube.com/watch?v=_bDMUmx9slQ

Is the Hound like that? All I remember him being is some moody asshole.

Pretty much everything that happened in TTGL.

>a character loses all meaning in their life, be it through the loss of a person, place, or thing.

>their only purpose in life afterwards is to seek vengeance against the antagonist, to take everything away from him as well.

>when the hero completes his quest, he will have nothing to live for.

I liked how Watch Dogs flipped that. After Aiden completes his quest for vengeance he gets a new lease on life instead of being hollow and burned out.

>Hero(s) down for the count
>Spirit of a dead loved one comes to their aid with a boost of power, advice, or even just comfort

>experienced/competent character resolves to act as a rearguard and buy time
>others won't let him do it
>character explains his in-depth plan on how he'll survive and there isn't really that much danger because he's good at what he does
>others agree, and go on their way
>character was actually totally lying and knew a sacrifice was needed and figured he'd be best for it

>edgy villain or anti-hero goes soft from having to look after a child
>acts tsundere but comes to love the brat as their own

>Character accepts their death without a word. They just close their eyes calmly.
It's good on a hero, and it's good on a villain.

>The first bad guy the hero ever encounters who easily beats him returns during the final battle but this time the hero easily beats him.

He is, at least in the books. I don't watch the show.

awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Sandor_Clegane

Are good feels allowed?

>shit goes south
>old man character joins the fray
>he's a fucking godly badass
>"do you whipper snappers think I got where I am by being a weakling?"

Bonus points if villain is younger and completely caught off guard

>loner is rescued by party after being all "I don't need anybody, look after yourselves"
>loner moved to tears

>incredibly strong character
>realizes that even if he kills his enemy, something he holds precious will still die
>he can't protect it
>he fights knowing that it's all for nothing
>he dies because it's less painful than living without the thing he loves
>bad guys win in the end

I love stories where the hero isn't perfectly good and where he doesn't always win. Hits me right in the heartstrings

...

dang

you love stories where the "hero" just lets himself die because he's sad? pretty sure that makes him by definition not a hero.

a better story would be if the actual hero fought as hard as he could even knowing that it was hopeless and as it filled him with nothing but despair. that's a fucking hero. he's supposed to rage against the dying of the light, not embrace it like a bitch.

Nah mate, watching someone struggle and rage against something. Only to realize that it's all for nothing, that he will still lose in the end. Oh and I used hero to refer to MC, not necessarily the good guy or Savior of the day.

Watching the hero break from that. After seeing him strive and overcome challenge after challenge, to be laid low by the realization: I just can't win

It makes them seem more human and gives me the unhappy ending I sometimes feel is best for a story. Sometimes the hero just shouldn't win. Here is a poorly written example

>hero loves girl
>hero fights bad guy to protect girl
>to use the strength required to kill the bad guy, the girl will also be killed
>killing his love is something the hero simply cannot do
>losing is something he cannot do
>internally tears himself apart
>comes to the conclusion that if he dies, he might find her and make her happy again

>2 characters who have an intimate relationship get seperated and go on a journey to find each other
>both have to face enemies that are far more powerful than themselves and get beaten up regularly
>they both make friends who help them through their hardships but those friends end up dying before their eyes while they can't do anything to prevent or stop it because the enemies are too powerful
>they finally manage to reunite, both having gone through a nightmare and somehow manage to defeat the big baddie
>another antagonist swoops in as they lick their wounds kills one of them and obducts the other

Its also war too.

Honestly, out off all the Ace Combat game, this was the most boss moment of all.

>Hero has power/item that allows him to effectively live forever
>Saves the day with said item/power
>Gets the girl
>Lives happy life
>Outlives the girl
>Eventually decides to give up the power to rejoin her in the afterlife
Guacamelee tugged at my heartstrings more than I thought it would.

I really like the cursed lovers, Sun and Moon style, either because of conflicting duties or perspectives, or because one is dead and the other is not.

Made a character like this, once. The party tried all they could to bring the two of them together, it was quite heartwarming...

>The hero is some fairytale hero
>Hero dies and everyone is left to pick up the pieces and fill the role

>>Hero does everything right, the plan works perfectly, never doubts themselves and inspires others
>>It's still not enough. They fail, and everything they've done ends up being for nothing. A heroic sacrifice rendered pointless.

Jorge died thinking he'd just saved the entire planet, until a hundred more supercarriers arrived to replace the one he blew up.

To be fair. A Supercarrier for a single Human soldier is a pretty good exchange rate.

>Adventuring group sets off to defeat the BBEG
>Over their adventure constantly harassed by minions
>Forced to over come near impossible challenges
>Final fight find that the BBEG was the last hero to save the day
>Has been sending things after them so they'd be strong enough to win
>While dying tells the party this and not to fall like they did.

>Hero is on the ropes
>Suddenly normal civilians start cheering him on or throwing stuff at the badguy

fucking lost already

>supercarrier is destroyed by one person
>the aliums/enemies panic believing they've vastly underestimated the enemy if a single soldier is capable of this
>they flee, giving humanity/your faction an unknown amount of time to prepare

Potential good end, not that I have any problem with the original bad end.

I just like how it's Canon that the reason why the Covenant keep throwing their massive navy around is because they're terrified Humanity is like 20 moves ahead and luring them into some grand trap.