plot armor and its negative effects on a plot

Plus de détails

Human Emotion

par Samuel Anderson-McCoy

Hercules: Hero's Journey

par JULIANNA MA

War and Conflict

par Ruhela Ridhima

правопорушення

par zhenia tarashevich

plot armor and its negative effects on a plot

makes the outcome of the plot predictable.

essentially disables the stakes because it is clear the villain can't win against the mc

there may be other twists along the way, but often without a chance of death for characters the end outcome will be the same with a different path to get there.

a book (i'm using book as an example. this extends to other forms of media) is not intresting if you're not truly afriad for the main character. if it's a large battle and the main character is near death, it's only truly exciting if there's a real chance of death or an actual death. or an unexpected twist- the mc's death.

makes the villan seem less threating because they can't kill the mc

often cheats the villan out of an earned victory and therefore cheats the stakes that have been built up

diminsihes the threat because there's no way they can kill the mc or raze the world to the ground with the mc in the way.

counter argument: but if the mc dies it's boring! and without danger it's no fun!

danger can be believeable without the mc escaping death again and again without good reasoning!

beyond death plots can be intresting and it can make the plot feel more real or compelling if the mc dies, even if it's a sacrafice to defeat the villan. they might just watch as the side characters mourn them and move on to rebuild. or just make their survival beleiveble! make it look as though the mc used their own powers and smart to escape.

being unable to relate to the story/characters

you can't see yourself in a charcter that escapes impossible sitatuations (therefore making them possible) when you know full well that no body would actually be able to do that.

difficult to relate to charcters who are essantilly immortal.

beleiveabilty/suspension of disbelief

enjoyment goes down due to a lack of immersmenet in the world

it's hard to invest yourself into a world where some characters simply won't die and then some others are defaulted to the chopping block because there has to be some kind of sacrifice.