Conflict
A struggle between incompatible goals, needs, or forces. In a film, conflict becomes visible through decisions, obstacles, and consequences.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗The reference shelf
Storytelling trope directory
Find the pattern behind a scene. Search all 176 elements from the original table, read a concise definition, and explore examples in the source wiki.
176 of 176 elements
Structure
Narrative setup, development, and resolution.
Three Act Structure
A story model organized around setup, confrontation, and resolution. Turning points change the protagonist’s options and build toward a decisive climax.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Chekhov's Gun
An early detail prepares the audience for a later payoff. A prop, skill, or piece of information introduced in setup becomes consequential when the story needs it.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗MacGuffin
An object, secret, or objective that characters pursue and that sets the conflict in motion. Its specific nature matters less than the choices the pursuit creates.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Setting, Laws, Plots
Story worlds, governing rules, and recurring premises.
Serious Business
Characters treat an apparently trivial activity with the intensity, rules, and consequences of a major struggle.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗The Masquerade
The secret survival of extraordinary elements alongside real life.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Recycled IN SPACE
A familiar story premise is transplanted into a different setting or genre; space is one possible variation.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism
The tone of a story falls somewhere between faith in human goodness and the expectation that self-interest, cruelty, or failure will prevail.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Status Quo Is God
The preservation or resetting of the original state of affairs.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Story Modifiers
Devices that shape tone and audience experience.
Crosses the Line Twice
Something offensive or extreme that becomes funny again.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Refuge in Audacity
A work embraces something so exaggerated or outrageous that its boldness becomes part of the audience’s enjoyment.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Mundane Made Awesome
Ordinary tasks are staged or described with the scale and excitement of an epic achievement.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Fanservice
Material included to please an audience, such as an anticipated character moment, spectacle, or sexualized imagery.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Jumping the Shark
A conspicuous creative development that audiences regard as a sign that a series has begun losing its earlier appeal.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Plot Devices
Mechanisms that create, complicate, or resolve events.
Applied Phlebotinum
An invented substance, device, or process supplies the capability a plot needs, especially in science fiction or fantasy.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Techno Babble
Technical-sounding language gives a scientific or mechanical explanation without requiring a clear real-world mechanism.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Hand Wave
A brief explanation acknowledges a potential inconsistency and moves the story onward without resolving it in detail.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Xanatos Gambit
A plan is arranged so that several foreseeable outcomes each advance the planner’s interests, including apparent setbacks.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Character Modifiers
Traits, functions, and changes that shape characters.
Protagonist
The main viewpoint character whose pursuit of a goal organizes the story. A protagonist does not have to be morally admirable.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Idiot Ball
An otherwise capable character temporarily behaves foolishly so that a particular plot development can happen.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Flanderization
The process where a single trait of a character is exaggerated until it becomes their entire personality.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Berserk Button
A specific trigger that causes even a calm character to fly into a rage.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Jerk with a Heart of Gold
A character who is rude or abrasive but ultimately decent.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Genre Savvy
A character who knows the tropes and uses them to their advantage.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Heel Face Turn
A character who previously opposed the heroes changes allegiance or values and begins acting on their side. The credibility of the turn depends on choices and consequences.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Antagonist
A character who opposes the protagonist’s goals. An antagonist need not be evil, and opposition can also come from wider forces.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Cloud Cuckoolander
A character who seems to live on a completely different planet of logic.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Face Heel Turn
A character previously aligned with the heroes becomes hostile, corrupt, or allied with the opposing side.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Heroes
Protagonist roles and heroic ensembles.
The Hero
A central heroic figure who confronts danger or wrongdoing on behalf of a cause, community, or other people.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Anti Hero
A central heroic character lacks conventional virtues such as honesty, selflessness, or restraint. Their methods create tension between the goal and the cost of pursuing it.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Superhero
A costumed or otherwise extraordinary hero uses unusual abilities, training, or equipment to protect others.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Tragic Hero
A protagonist’s choices or flaws contribute to a downfall that gives the story its tragic shape.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗The Chosen One
A character is singled out by prophecy, destiny, or a special condition to fulfill an important role.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Five Man Band
An ensemble built around five complementary roles: leader, rival or foil, thinker, powerhouse, and emotional center. The roles can overlap and are not restricted by gender.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Technical Pacifist
A character refuses to kill but may still use force, defeat opponents, or fight without lethal weapons.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Archetypes
Recurring character roles and recognizable personalities.
Mary Sue
An idealized character receives disproportionate competence, admiration, or narrative favoritism at the expense of convincing conflict.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Creator's Pet
A character repeatedly favored by the creators even when that attention is not shared by the audience.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Tsundere
A character alternates between a hostile or defensive manner and a warmer, affectionate side, often in a romantic relationship.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Eccentric Mentor
An unconventional teacher whose strange habits or surprising methods help the protagonist learn.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Dumb Muscle
A character relies on physical strength while showing limited judgment, understanding, or strategic ability.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗The Fool
An apparently foolish character avoids dangers or finds opportunities through innocence, luck, or unexpected insight.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Star-Crossed Lovers
Lovers face powerful external barriers, such as family hostility, social divisions, or circumstances that threaten their relationship.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Villains
Antagonists, opposing forces, and villainous behavior.
Enemy Within
A dangerous or hostile aspect of a character’s own mind, identity, or nature becomes an internal enemy.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗The Virus
A hostile force spreads by infecting, converting, or assimilating others, making each victim a means of further expansion.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗You Have Failed Me
A villain punishes a subordinate’s failure with extreme violence or death, revealing the danger of serving them.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Right-Hand Cat
A villain is accompanied by a pet cat, often held or stroked while they exercise power or discuss a scheme.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Metatropes
Patterns about storytelling, conventions, and fictional reality.
Trope
A recognizable recurring pattern in storytelling, such as a character role, situation, visual device, or plot convention.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Subverted Trope
A recognizable setup leads the audience to expect a familiar trope, then the story deliberately refuses that expected outcome.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Anthropic Principle
The story follows the people and circumstances in which a story can happen; events that would prevent the narrative entirely are implicitly excluded.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Law of Conservation of Detail
Limited storytelling time encourages meaningful details and the omission of irrelevant information; it does not require every prop to become a plot device.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Literary Agent Hypothesis
A fictional work presents itself as a real account transmitted, translated, or edited by its apparent author.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Moral Dissonance
A story praises or condemns behavior in ways that clash with the actions it actually rewards or excuses.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Parodic Table of the Elements
A humorous chart that organizes a subject using the visual conventions of the chemical periodic table.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Production
How creative and industrial choices affect a work.
Canon
The events and material recognized as official within a work or fictional continuity.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Take That
A story uses a pointed joke, portrayal, or reference to criticize a real person, institution, or another work.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Critical Research Failure
A work gets important real-world facts wrong because its research is missing or inadequate.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Writer On Board
The writer’s personal agenda becomes conspicuous because characterization, continuity, or plot logic bends to serve it.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Development Hell
A project remains stuck in development through repeated rewrites, financing problems, or changes of creative team before production can begin.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Fandom & Audience Reactions
How audiences interpret and respond to stories.
Fanon
An interpretation or invented detail becomes widely accepted within a fan community without being established by the official work.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗Freud Was Right
A story presents events, imagery, or character motivations through conspicuous sexual symbolism or Freudian interpretation.
Examples on TV Tropes ↗