History Main / TheUsualAdversaries

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'' has the Beastmen. While all villainous factions have low to mid level subfactions that take turns as the MonsterOfTheWeek in various campaigns, RPG scenarios, novels, and video games, there's still usually the idea that they can pose a significant threat to the major "good" powers when properly organized, and they've all had great victories worth speaking of (especially the Skaven, Warriors of Chaos, and Greenskins). Not the Beastmen. They're considered low-level cannon fodder both in and out of universe (even the Chaos Gods themselves consider Beastmen TheUnfavorite compared to their human, elven, and dwarf followers), being basically equivalent to Iron Age human tribes with a handful of megafauna and magic users thrown in... in a setting where the base is more-or-less set by the protagonist faction being an early modern power with mass-produced plate armor, muskets, and cannons. The only reason they receive any focus at all is that they [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammerfb/images/6/68/800px-Beastmen_Map.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20200524152443 infest almost every forest in the world]], especially the Empire's forests where Beastmen tribes harass every village and township, thus they're a constant low-level threat mostly combated by local militias. On the rare occasion that they ''do'' form armies, they tend to consist of 10 to 20 thousand poorly-disciplined and ill-equipped combatants and can usually be put to flight by the forces of a single mid-sized entity like a Bretonnian dukedom or Empire electoral province (each of those powers having more than ten of each). They're at their most significant as a threat whenever a Chaos Everchosen is out and about, as a disproportionate number of Beastmen flock to his banner, but even then they're considered the lowest-level troops and comprise the [[WeAreTeamCannonFodder first line]] of the Chaos hordes (they do already exist inside the borders of Chaos's main enemies and can strike soft targets, which makes them moderately threatening).
** Their 8e army book is instructive. Supposedly, these books list great feats of badassery for the army they're explaining/advertising, to make the player hyped about using them. For example, the Empire taking the lead in repulsing a continent-scale invasion in the Great War Against Chaos, or the Greenskins overwhelming the (weakened) former dwarf empire in the Goblin Wars. The best the Beastmen have to offer (on their own, without an Everchosen around) is Gorthor's campaign, when the greatest Beastlord ever ''almost'' managed to overwhelm two of the Empire's electoral provinces (because the bulk of their troops were busy elsewhere) before being defeated.
** The goblins are also an example. Usually they're found as CannonFodder in the armies of the Orcs and Ogres, but independent goblins tribes do exist and are a recurring problem for civilized races in the countryside. Without their Orc and Ogre overlords to lend leadership and mass, their armies are even less of a threat than the Beastmen on both a quantitative and qualitative level (picture bands of cowardly sub-five-foot Iron Age tribesmen occasionally complemented by a weak magician and monstrous animals like giant spiders), but they're still more than numerous enough to cause problems for underdefended regions. In the novels, games, and campaign books, they either serve as StarterVillain types or serve as the main antagonists by virtue of the protagonist faction's ''real'' armies being busy elsewhere, leaving the heroes to fight them with scraps. In the RPG they're a generic weak enemy that you can throw in anywhere with basically no justification needed. They even come come in variants, including Common Goblins (as it sounds), Night Goblins (mountain dwellers), and Forest Goblins (forest dwellers, and rivals of the Beastmen).
* Any faction in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' would count, though a few stand out because they're easy to write as a faceless, looming threat:
** Orks, specifically because they reproduce by dying, and are the most numerous species in the galaxy. They're the former trope namer for a reason, able to fill in any role from "merciless big bads" to "comic relief starter villains" and everything in-between in equal measure. Orks especially fit this trope because they were the first Xenos race encountered by the Imperium - a probe sent out from Terra 14,000 years ago is still picking up transmissions from the howling brutes as it travels throughout the galaxy. It seems that wherever humans go in the cold, dark universe and whatever horrors they find, there will also be Orks out there waiting for them, looking for a scrap.
** Chaos Cultists, because they're the most numerous faction of the biggest evil in the galaxy. Within that group, you're more likely to see Khorne cultists than any of the others simply because they don't usually have a plan more complex than "kill things" so they're easy to write.
** Tyranids, because of [[ZergRush sheer overwhelming numbers]]...
** Necrons, who are very well hidden on numerous worlds across the galaxy, and wake to go on unstoppable rampages.
** Individual armies have these too. For example, Cadians really hate Chaos as their planet is the first in line whenever a Black Crusade starts up, Crimson Fists and Valhallans had their homeworlds invaded by orks, Khornates hate Slaaneshi and vice versa... Asdrubael Vect, leader of the Dark Eldar, uses his profound knowledge of every race in the galaxy to apply The Usual Adversaries ''no matter who'' they're fighting.
** The Imperium can be this from the perspective of everyone else. It supposedly has several dozen protectorates and potentially a few hundred allies and neutral xenos species, but they don't come up in the stories. Usually what the readers see is that anyone else exploring the galaxy is going to run into an awful lot of heavily armed, theocratic mass murderers who view their very existence as an insult to the God-Emperor.

** The vast majority of D&D games take place at low levels and thus almost inevitably involve the party fight the same groups of low level enemies: [[{{Mooks}} bandits]], [[SavageWolves Wolves]], [[OurDragonsAreDifferent kobolds]], [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent goblins]], [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Orcs]], or even some combination of the lot. As noted below, Undead are also common.
** Although it depends on the setting, undead are typically portrayed as the most hated creature type in the setting, even above actual demons and devils (probably because the average mortal is a lot more likely to encounter the former, to be fair). Basically any God that isn't explicitly associated with Necromancy probably hates the undead, and even [[TrueNeutral Neutral]] deities may encourage their destruction. A quote from a cleric states that he fights dragons because he wants to. He fights undead because he ''has'' to.
*** It's also likely that undead show up in campaigns so often because they're [[OurMonstersAreDifferent one of the best]] [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsUndead fleshed out]] types of monsters in most editions of D&D. There is a laundry list of types, ranging from weak things like zombies and skeletons all the way up to Vampires and Liches. They all theme well together, allowing the DM to mix and match with basically any types of undead to appear together and can work as either hordes or individual enemies, and have a wide range of interesting powers and abilities.

* ''Part Time Gods'' (from Third Eye Games) has [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent Pucks]]. It doesn't help that not only are they one of the only AlwaysChaoticEvil [[OurMonstersAreDifferent Outsider races]] in existence, or that they're [[GadgeteerGenius incredibly]] [[TrapMaster clever]]: It's that they also have the the ability to [[YouWillBeAssimilated absorb Dominions]], meaning that a sufficiently clever group can become a divine pantheon in it's own right.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', some player character splats can be each others' Usual Adversaries. Notable are the Dragon-Blooded Dynasts and their Wyld Hunt, constantly trying to kill the Solar Exalted and their reincarnations over and over.
* Homeline's Infinity and Centrum's Interworld Service serve as this for each other in ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} TabletopGame/InfiniteWorlds'', as their respective worlds are the only ones that have full access to parachronic tech. They are directly competing against one another to spread their influence and secure any potential "back doors" into their homeworlds.

* While both major sides of the Alliance/Independent conflict in ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' may see each other as this, ''no one'' likes the Reavers. Though in their case, it's more [[TheDreaded fear]] than true hatred.

-->-- ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'', [[Anime/PokemonTheSeries "Hokéycon"]]

** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': the Collectors are the story's primary villains, with the geth also being relevant secondary villains connected to the plot, but for the vast majority of the game you're just fighting unrelated mercenaries who happen to be in the way of something a character wants or who are randomly [[KickTheDog kicking the dog]] near you in sidequests. They consist of the Blood Pack, Blue Suns, and Eclipse; some missions pit you against all three.

* While many adventurers in ''LightNovel/GoblinSlayer'' consider demons to be the primary threat to the world, for Goblin Slayer, his allies, and everyone the little bastards prey upon, the goblins are the more immediate threat.

* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': Most enemy factions from launch have been DemotedToExtra and replaced with ones that are more regional but significantly more dangerous as part of the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil. Unsurprisingly, both halves of the BigBadEnsemble are an exception to this, but one (the Abyss Order) rarely elicits any groans because ever since the prologue they've primarily posed a threat in stories that have to do with the DrivingQuestion of what happened to the Traveler's sibling and why. Not the Fatui, who are of equal prominence in every nation and are often revealed to be involved in plots that seem to be that of another faction or individual. The fact that they show up in unexpected places has been [[LampshadeHanging pointed out]] at least once, and as they're instigators of so many conflicts, when the main characters encounter them they have a tendency to assume they're responsible for whatever problem they're trying to solve, even when they're not.

* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': Most of the main factions of enemies—the hilichurls, the Abyss Order, the Fatui, and the Treasure Hoarders—qualify for this. When someone's causing trouble, it is almost always one of those four, and they never stop attacking the player on sight no matter how many the player has killed.

** A specific individual is [[BonusBoss The Reaper]], who appears as a RecurringBoss throughout ''VideoGame/Persona3'', ''VideoGame/Persona4'' and ''VideoGame/Persona5'', as well as spinoffs ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'' and ''VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth''.

Related to AlwaysChaoticEvil, ScaryDogmaticAliens, HardCodedHostility, VillainByDefault, and TheHeartless. Compare the GoldfishPoopGang, who keep chasing and harassing the protagonists but are generally played for more comedic purposes and are marked by incompetence. Similar to GoddamnedBats, but while GoddamnedBats is a gameplay trope, this is a narrative one.

* In ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', the Fiends serve as this to the NCR troops of Camp [=McCarran=] and to the Mojave as a whole. The player can accept bounties on their leaders that will end up weakening them and lead to their defeat in the epilogue. Notable because, unlike the other raider tribes in the game such as the Vipers, Jackals, Powder Gangers, Khans, Scorpions, and White Legs, the Fiends have very little in the way of backstory and no real reason for being so numerous. They're also one of the few enemy factions to respawn continuously.
** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'''s generic "Raider" [=NPCs=] are the franchise's best example. There are literally ''thousands'' of them, but no interactions are possible other than killing. They're mindlessly hostile to every other entity in the game. There's no indication of how they sustain themselves, what they want, where they came from, or why they [[ArtifactMook completely outnumber the inhabitants of all of the settlements]], nor are they involved in the main story or even a single sidequest. They don't even get unique factional identities like the various gangs/tribes in ''New Vegas'', ''1'', and ''2''; though disconnected gangs all inexplicably [[YouAllLookFamiliar wear similar-looking clothing and have the same voices]] for some reason. ''3'' also has, depending on your karma, Talon Company mercenaries or Regulator vigilantes, both of whom seek to kill you for doing good or doing bad (though the Talon Company will always be hostile regardless of your Karma if they come across you or you enter their bases, the Regulators will only target you if you have bad Karma.)
** For the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' series as a whole, the Khans serve this purpose, having been enemies of the NCR since the very beginning and continually surviving despite being nearly purged by both the [[VideoGame/{{Fallout 1}} Vault Dweller]] and the [[VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}} Chosen One]] (though the Courier can potentially finish the job). The other contenders are Super Mutants, who were the main villains of the first game but lost all plot relevance after their defeat there, becoming basically AlwaysChaoticEvil [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Orcs]] (besides those at Broken Hills and Jacobstown) who seemingly pop out of nowhere to attack random people throughout the wastes with no central direction. By ''New Vegas'', however, that the Super Mutants are for the most part trying to settle down away from humans, both peacefully (Jacobstown) and by way of shooting any humans who come nearby (Black Mountain, aka [[{{Egopolis}} the "State of Utobitha"]]). The exception being Davison's group, who act as antagonists early on.

* The ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' has HYDRA, the rogue Nazi science division which branched off from the Third Reich after World War II. They have quickly become this trope for the universe as a whole, easily taking the crown of the most frequently occurring antagonistic force. Hydra has appeared in a villainous role in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'', ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' and ''Film/AntMan1'', and play a minor, but significant role in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', on top of consistent appearances in ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' The list of named characters who are members of the organization has gotten into the dozens, including the Red Skull, Arnim Zola, Heinz Kruger, Baron von Strucker, Daniel Whitehall, [[spoiler:Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Brock Rumlow/Crossbones, Alexander Pierce, John Garrett/The Clairvoyant, Raina, Grant Ward, Senator Stern, Doctor List, Doctor Debbie, Jasper Sitwell, Marcus Scarlotti/Whiplash, Carl Creel/The Absorbing Man, Donald Gill/Blizzard, Jack Rollins, Sunil Bakshi, Johann Fennhoff/Doctor Faustus, Julien Beckers, Ian Quinn, Edison Po, Toshiro Mori, Vincent Beckers, Octavian Bloom, Mitchell Carson and Agent 33/Kara Lynn Palamas.]] Apparently their threat of "cut off one head and two shall take its place" is ''not'' to be taken lightly.

** The ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'', fittingly for its DenserAndWackier nature, makes this trope out of the [[PlanetOfDunceCaps Pakleds]] of all species. Despite their low intelligence, they seize a host of alien technology, destroy Starfleet vessels and the ''Cerritos'' on the ropes in the season 1 finale. They are only defeated thanks to a BigDamnHeroes moment from [[HeroOfAnotherStory Captain Riker's ''Titan'']], which takes the task of managing the threat in season 2.

[[folder:Film]]

Related to AlwaysChaoticEvil, ScaryDogmaticAliens, HardCodedHostility, VillainByDefault, and TheHeartless. Compare the GoldfishPoopGang, who keep chasing and harassing the protagonists but are generally played for more comedic purposes and are marked by incompetence. Similar to GoddamnedBats, but while GoddamnedBats is a gameplay trope, The this is a narrative one.

-->-- ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'', [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} "Hokéycon"]]

*** It's also likely that undead show up in campaigns so often because they're [[OurMonstersAreDifferent one of the best]] [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsUndead fleshed out]] types of monters in most editions of D&D. There is a laundry list of types, ranging from weak things like zombies and skeletons all the way up to Vampires and Liches. They all theme well together, allowing the DM to mix and match with basically any types of undead to appear together and can work as either hordes or individual enemies, and have a wide range of interesting powers and abilities.

*** It's also likely that undead show up in campaigns so often because they're one of the best fleshed out types of monters in most editions of D&D. There is a laundry list of types, ranging from weak things like zombies and skeletons all the way up to Vampires and Liches. They all theme well together, allowing the DM to mix and match with basically any types of undead to appear together and can work as either hordes or individual enemies, and have a wide range of interesting powers and abilities.

** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' takes the series' bandit example UpToEleven. Bandits are ''everywhere'', [[MoreCriminalsThanTargets outnumbering both sides]] of the {{Civil War}} and all of the game's civilians combined. They're also not too bright because, since you're the [[TheChosenOne Dragonborn]], the bandits are almost ''literally'' BullyingADragon. The game has plenty of undead as well (particularly [[NotUsingTheZWord Draugrs]]), who are more capital-E Evil, but at least they tend to stay in their crypts and don't bother anyone who doesn't go looking for trouble.

** The goblins are also an example. Usually they're found as CannonFodder in the armies of the Orcs and Ogres, but independent goblins tribes do exist and are a recurring problem for civilized races in the countryside. Without their Orc and Ogre overlords to lend leadership and mass, their armies are even less of a threat than the Beastmen on both a quantitative and qualitative level (picture bands of cowardly sub-five-foot Iron Age tribesmen occasionally complemented by a weak magician and monstrous animals like giant spiders), but they're still more than numerous enough to cause problems for underdefended regions. In the novels, games, and campaign books, they either serve as StarterVillain types or serve as the main antagonists by virtue of the protagonist faction's ''real'' armies being busy elsewhere, leaving the heroes to fight them with scraps. They even come come in variants, including Common Goblins (as it sounds), Night Goblins (mountain dwellers), and Forest Goblins (forest dwellers, and rivals of the Beastmen).

* For ''VideoGame/PAYDAY2'', Gensec fills this role.

* Just about every canon campaign in ''VideoGame/BattleForWesnoth'' has the player fighting either Orcs or the undead at some point. Even the one in which the protagonist is a necromancer. And the campaign in which the protagonist is an Orcish warlord.

* ''VideoGame/BattleForWesnoth'': Every campaign that follows the official canon storyline and a substantial fraction of fan-made ones have necromancers and the undead show up at ''some'' point as antagonists, even if the primary BigBad of the campaign isn't a necromancer themselves. Even "Descent Into Darkness", where you play ''as'' [[VillainProtagonist a necromancer]], has a MirrorMatch mission against a rival.

* ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone''. The Tayhil.