Or, protagonists. Protagonists is a much better word but I'm trying to stick to my theme of keeping things simple, and I don't want to get into too much... you know. Super-complex territory. But let's take a look at our hero, who usually serves as the main character. There are many different types and subtypes, but... no, I'm repeating myself now. I do that a lot, bad habit.
This won't be quite as complicated and probably not as long as the bad guy post. I already gave the reasons for that, sort of, and also because... no matter where the 'hero' falls, he almost always has to be relatable, likable, or both. You have to have the audience rooting for him at least a large portion of the time, especially if he - or she, or she, don't give me that look, Luna - is central to the story in some way or another. Yes, there's stories where you have a main character you hate, and yes, there's plenty of ways to work around having a loathsome or even unoriginal main character but still keeping the story interesting. But. I'm not going to deal with any of that here. I'm just going to give a few general good guy archetypes.
The Heroic Hero:
No, I'm not changing that title. But this is your basic all-around good-guy Good Guy. He's brave, strong, probably sensitive, usually emotionally-connected to the world around him, people often end up liking him. Basically this is that bastard who rolled like five perfect 20s during character creation. Not to say he's good at absolutely everything, or is lacking flaws or weaknesses, but he has the tools to conquer those weaknesses and usually does so, one way or another.
This is an archetype particularly popular in simpler stories meant for foals/"young adults." He's a good guy. He's happy, he's strong, but his background usually makes him out to be surprisingly normal: if it's not normal, then instead he's "surprisingly normal in spite of A: being born into a happy comfortable life or B: living in suck for so and so long." He's a common character design used to appeal to the reader by saying: "hey, this guy is normal, you're normal, he's just like you." Or, if you want to get really analytical and cynical: "this character is designed so that the reader can live vicariously through them, pretending they are or could become just like this character, pulling them in to the reading experience solely so they can escape their own less-satisfying life."
Or maybe that's just me.
The Heroic Hero can be either simple to use, or pretty complex. The real art to defining and manipulating this kind of character isn't so much in getting him through the adventure, it's making him believable and keeping him properly balanced. He has to get through the situations he's plunged into realistically, without being saved too many times or winning too often through luck.
The Dark Knight
I'm not taking back that reference. You can't make me take back that reference. Furthermore, it's very fitting for the character type. This is the kind of hero that usually focuses on being a little more tragic, and a little more action-oriented. She - I may or may not be thinking a little more of Luna here - will do whatever it takes to get the job done, and doesn't care if she has to get her hooves dirty in order to do so. That doesn't mean she's a dictator: negotiation and diplomacy are still good tools, even if she often throws in a little coercion and intimidation. But when those stop working so well or start taking too long, here comes the thunder.
This character is usually a little maladjusted, and harder to relate to in some ways... but they often have something about them that makes you wish you could just. Hug away all their problems, or that makes you say "I wish I could be like that, minus the constant bleeding wounds and massive psychologist bills." They also often have the excitement factor on their side: their adventures usually take them into darker or more mysterious territory, or facing off against nastier villains.
Of course, this type of hero cannot be without flaws, considering the standard role of the protagonist. Their depiction must also be done carefully: otherwise, you won't create a Dark Knight, you'll simply create a bully, who walks around ruthlessly tormenting her enemies. Her driving motivation must be clear and concise, or that might contribute to making her harder to relate or like even more than if she regularly broke people in half just for talking back to her. After all, if she enjoys beating people to mush, then why would she just beat the bad guys into mush instead of grabbing whoever's closest and pummeling them? For this reason, she requires more development than the Heroic Hero, who can basically just walk in one day and say, "hey, I'm here to save the day."
The Dark Knight is very popular, but is harder to pull off believably. She suits a darker world and heavier atmosphere, and stories that are meant to be more intense, action-oriented, or follow more serious themes. I know I say this for everything, but character development is key: don't forget to emphasize the flaws and personality of this kind of character, it can be what forms the saving grace between someone utterly unlikable and someone you can't help but want to read more about.
The Antihero
What, Scrivener used an actual literary term instead of pretending he's really smart by making up his own? Impossible.
Luna says I'm getting too into this blogging thing. But now she's just staring over my shoulder because I told her this one is the one that reminds me most of her. I feel her giving me the benefit of the doubt, but ever since she saw that "anti-" next to "hero" she's been readying her horn to stab me. So. I had better continue. Yes, dear, continuing.
The Antihero is a protagonist who does not exactly fall under the category of hero, but, and let me emphasize this, is not a villain. Horses of Heaven I don't know how often I've seen those compared incorrectly. The Antihero is not the "bad guy." Yes, Luna, I know I repeated myself but it was important.
Antiheroes are usually dark, tragically-flawed, and don't often win at the end of the day. They don't usually have much in the way of morals, or something's happened to them that's made them... perhaps a little twisted. They are outsiders... but not necessarily someone you can't relate to or even dislike. Maybe you're a little scared of them, but there's often a dark kind of admiration there. Maybe they're the kind of person you wouldn't want to meet on a sunny day, much less in a dark alley, but at the same time you can't help but be fascinated by their story.
What's important to remember is that you can make them sympathetic, you can make them hurt by others, maybe even justified in how they feel... but they cannot be shown as your standard 'Good Guy.' I know, I know, I said I was sticking with 'Good Guy' archetypes for this, but then I realized this one was important to cover too and it lets me kind of round off with 'Good, Neutral, Evil,' if you get what I'm saying. An Antihero, again is not a hero, any more than he's a villain. He's an Antihero. Fine, Luna, she's an Antihero. And even if she gets what she's after, she still ends up cast out by society, she still pays a heavy toll for her victory. Or maybe her victory even costs her more than being defeated would have.
But at the end of the day, they haven't just done evil: whether or not they're responsible for how the story begins or where they end up, they almost always have done something wrong, and they continue to do wrong, to tread on the wrong side of the moral line even while doing right. And even when they try and make up for their mistakes, sometimes things still go to hell all the same. Metaphorically or literally. Their sins must be dominant, not their virtues. Their flaws must rule them, and even if they're strong or smart, they still have to possess a failing, even if that failing is disguised as a strength. And redemption for what they have become does not come cheaply, if at all.
This is a difficult character to do true justice to, and a major part of the reason for this is that they don't usually get happy endings. And when you get attached to a character, it can be hard, hard as hell to let them go, or to put them through things that will leave them permanently injured, permanently changed. Even if it's for the better, not the worse. On another level, this character is difficult to work with because you have to keep in mind that they can't have too many qualities of either good guy or bad guy... they have to skirt somewhere down the center, and at the same time, you have to make sure they're still interesting enough to read about even when they're doing things that you normally don't want to read about the good guys in a story doing, such as harvesting body parts.
That's about all for today. Three character types and I definitely did not stick to plan. Hopefully some of it is useful. Remember, it's all just broad generalizations, and nonspecific examples. The best way, once more, is to write stuff for yourself. The more you write, the more you work with characters, the better you're going to get at it. Just reading will leave you confused, until you begin to try and put these archetypes into action for yourself, and start to see
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