Plot Armor/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: A main character survives a deadly situation simply because they're one of the main characters.

  • Straight: Bob is placed in a Literal Cliff Hanger over some jagged rocks, falls, and is rescued Just in Time by Alice.
  • Exaggerated: Bob's foot is touching the rocks before Alice saves him.
  • Downplayed: Characters important to the plot have increased defense and/or Hit Points values for no discernible reason except their plot roles, but they can still be taken out depending on how the Player Character acts.
  • Justified: Bob's Applied Phlebotinum alerts Alice to his peril.
  • Inverted: Red Shirt
  • Subverted: Decoy Protagonist
  • Double Subverted: Bob comes back near the end of the series.
  • Parodied: They Killed Kenny
  • Zig Zagged: Sometimes Bob gets into these situations, and sometimes he doesn't.
  • Averted: Bob falls on the jagged rocks and dies.
  • Enforced: The executives fear that if The Hero is killed, people won't watch the show, so the writers are not allowed to kill Bob.
  • Lampshaded: "Phew! I was Just in Time!"
  • Invoked: ???
  • Exploited: Charlie is Genre Savvy and knows that main characters tend to stay alive longer, so he intentionally becomes Bob's best friend.
  • Defied: ???
  • Discussed: ???
  • Conversed: ???

Back to Plot Armor