The Best Fantasy Book Tropes

Tropes can give readers a sense of familiarity and comfort in a new world, while still giving you the freedom to twist them or subvert them. For example, you might start your story with a hero who is a virtuous good guy, but slowly turn him to an anti-hero.

While some of these tropes can make a story feel too familiar and predictable, they can be powerful storytelling tools if used properly. For example, the “grey-and-gray morality” trope shows that characters aren’t always completely good or evil.

Another popular trope is The Chosen One, which highlights a protagonist discovering they’re on a destined journey to save the world.

All-Powerful Artifacts

Having a powerful artifact is one of the most common fantasy tropes. It can be used in a variety of ways, including giving your hero or heroine a way to overcome a major obstacle. This can also be a great way to explore morality in your story, as it forces your characters to weigh their options and choose the right course of action.

Alternatively, this trope can be used to explore the fallibility of even the most noble of characters. The Auryn medallion from The Neverending Story is a classic example of this, as it allows the user to grant their wishes—but not without a cost.

Lampshading is a common way to subvert the power of a trope and make it more interesting for your audience. For example, if your hero or heroine is constantly asked to “save the princess,” this can create a sense of tension and expectation.

An Inheritance/ Hidden Truth

Using tropes to enhance a fantasy story is a useful tool. However, authors can run the risk of overusing them. Too many can push a book into cliche territory, and too few will leave the reader feeling like they’ve missed out on something important.

One popular fantasy trope is the all-powerful artifact. This is often the object of a quest, and it can be used to defeat a villain or save a world.

Another popular fantasy trope is the mentor figure. This is usually an older man with a beard or grizzly stubble and scars who accepts the protagonist as his student. This type of character is easy to relate to and can be a great way to give the protagonist a sense of belonging. It can also help establish trust. This allows the hero to overcome obstacles that would otherwise be insurmountable.

Ancient Settings

One of the best things about fantasy is that it can take place in a world that never has progressed beyond the medieval era. This is a great way to create a sense of mystery and intrigue that draws readers in.

It also allows you to play with the idea of a character going to a magic school, like Hogwarts, and then having to learn how to use their powers in a real-world setting.

Of course, you can’t just throw these ideas into your story without giving them some sort of creative twist that makes them different from what readers might expect. But this makes a good writer — thinking past the tropes and using them to your advantage to tell a unique story. Besides, the more original your book is, the more likely it will get noticed and read!

Damsels in Distress and Femme Fatales

A damsel in distress is a beautiful girl who gets put in life-or-death situations by monsters, villains or some other external regressive force. Femme fatales are sexy and manipulative, using their appeal to get men – or other women – to fall under their spell.

This trope can be useful for introducing readers to your fantasy world and familiarizing them with the characters. However, it’s important to subvert or twist this trope to make it fresh and unique. This will help readers find new and exciting ways to connect with the story. For example, a morally grey character demonstrating ruthlessness and compassion is more interesting than a good guy. A great example of this is Toph from Avatar or the sage character in Deborah Harkness’ All Souls trilogy. The same goes for forbidden magic, which allows readers to reimagine what magic can look like in a fantasy world.

Dragons

Dragons are a staple in many fantasy books. They serve a few purposes: they’re often strong and powerful creatures that can breathe fire and fly, which is a great way to add excitement to the story and represent a symbol of power.

Another common trope is the ancient, all-powerful magic object. These artifacts are usually very important to the world, and a hero must seek it out or destroy it in order to save the planet.

While it’s easy to dismiss some of these as cliches, they can be quite useful to writers. Using these tropes can help your readers find familiarity in the new world you’re creating, and can even surprise them when you twist or subvert the conventions. For example, in Neil Gaiman’s Stardust, Tristran Thorn fetches a fallen star for Victoria — but it turns out to be much more than that.

Good vs. Evil

A common theme in fantasy is the conflict between good and evil. This trope allows writers to explore characters’ morality and create compelling conflicts.

The evil dictator, for example, is a powerful and ruthless villain willing to destroy the world to conquer it. While this is a popular trope, it’s important to avoid the cliches and push beyond them to add depth to the story.

Another trope is the kidnapping plot, which involves a character being captured by an evil force. This can be a powerful and moving theme that requires characters to overcome their fears. It also allows for a hero-to-hero romance that boosts tension and drama.

Overqualified Party

While some writers might disparage tropes and say they should be avoided, these story elements provide a familiar and comfortable backdrop for readers to engage with the world and characters they’re reading. They can increase tension, create conflict, and evoke certain emotions. For example, the parents’ disappearance is a common plot element in romance novels, and the “forbidden magic” trope allows readers to explore magical worlds like the one in Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo where witches and vampires coexist with humans.

Other popular tropes include all-powerful artifacts, a quest to destroy the object, and a misunderstanding that leads to conflict.

Racial Homogenization

Tropes aren’t good or bad – they’re part of the framework for storytelling and can be used in many ways to create a unique, captivating story. Using a trope as your framework can help you focus on other aspects of your story, like worldbuilding and character development.

For example, if you want to avoid a boring villain that dresses in monochrome, change it up and make it pink! While that may be a bit of a cliche, it’s still a twist on the trope and can add more tension to your book.

Another trope that can be fun to use is basing societies and cultures on (usually European) history and mythology. However, this needs to be done carefully or risk being seen as whitewashing.

Taverns

When writing in any genre, knowing the common tropes within your chosen area is important. For example, when writing crime fiction readers are familiar with the troubled lead detective, and romantic novels will use a storyline that sees enemies turn to lovers. The same is true for the fantasy genre, which has many of its own tropes that are recognizable to fans.

These tropes help define fantasy and make it the unique genre it is. However, it is also important to remember that they can be used in a fresh and exciting way. By understanding some of the most common fantasy tropes and their uses, you can ensure that your book is original and engaging for your audience.

The Chosen One

The Chosen One trope puts all the weight of resolving a conflict on the shoulders of one character. It often involves a seemingly unsuspecting underdog who suddenly finds themselves in charge of saving the world.

This is a classic fantasy trope that has been around for decades. But more and more creators are exploring its complexities in new ways. This includes using grey-and-gray morality, where characters may have noble aims but choose dubious methods or demonstrate both ruthlessness and compassion.

The key to using this trope well is to make the character feel like a natural part of their setting. For example, if they have magic powers, they should be natural in the context of their world’s themes and magic rules. This helps readers buy into the story’s universe and care about its protagonist.

A quick listing of the common fantasy tropes

All-Powerful Artifacts
An Inheritance/ Hidden Truth
Ancient Settings
Damsels in Distress and Femme Fatales
Dragons
Good vs. Evil
Magic
Overqualified Party
Racial Homogenization
Taverns
The Chosen One
The Dark Lord
The Mentor
The Quest
Training Sequences or Magic Schools