I've been thinking about tropes a lot recently, and as I also started thinking about potentially writing a few battles again, I realized there are a finite number of Althanas Battle Tropes.
- The "Teach me, Sensei."
In this trope, one of the characters has sought out a battle with the other in order to learn from them. Usually the "teacher" is a higher level and/or ICly famous in some way, and the "student" will have a driving reason to learn.- The "Vengeance will be mine!"
The two characters have a preexisting relationship of some sort, because of which one of them wishes to kill or harm the other. As often as not, the reason for vengeance is the last battle they fought.- The Fiting Fiter
One of the characters is engaging in the battle because they like fighting. Nuff said.- The Bored Battler
One of the characters is engaging in the battle because they are bored and extremely desensitized.- The Angry Assassin
One of the characters is engaging in the battle because they are angry with someone other than their opponent, and couldn't find their punching bag.- The Test of Mettle
One of the characters engages in the battle because they wish to test their combat abilities or push themselves past their breaking point, usually against a higher level character.- The Training Day
One or both of the combatants is competing simply to hone their skills, usually resulting in extreme Citadel overkill.- The Paid Performance
One of the characters has been paid to fight the other for some reason, be it a prizefight or other reasons entirely.- The Fiters to Lovers
What starts as a battle swiftly devolves into lovemaking, and everybody wins.
Those are just a few of the ones I've written myself over the years. Which ones have you participated in? Can you think of any that have never been seen before?