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* '''Virtual French vanilla:''' A unit that has an ability that triggers when you play it, and is essentially a French vanilla after that point.
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* '''Virtual '''[[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Virtual French vanilla:''' vanilla:]]''' A unit that has an ability that triggers when you play it, and is essentially a French vanilla after that point.
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* ''TabletopGame/{{Dominion}}'':
** There are many vanilla Action cards that just give the player some flat combination of extra coins, extra cards, extra actions, extra buys, or some other property. Interestingly, [[http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/index.php/Vanilla#Thoughts_on_design the game's designer dislikes how vanilla cards restrict the design space, but also thinks vanillas are on some level necessary due to their simplicity.]]
** A common way to gain Victory Points is to take cards that give you a flat number of Victory Points if you have them in your deck, and do nothing else.
** There are many vanilla Action cards that just give the player some flat combination of extra coins, extra cards, extra actions, extra buys, or some other property. Interestingly, [[http://wiki.dominionstrategy.com/index.php/Vanilla#Thoughts_on_design the game's designer dislikes how vanilla cards restrict the design space, but also thinks vanillas are on some level necessary due to their simplicity.]]
** A common way to gain Victory Points is to take cards that give you a flat number of Victory Points if you have them in your deck, and do nothing else.
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* ''TabletopGame/SushiGo'': Most cards are scored based on some kind of condition, such as the Sashimi being worth 10 points per group of three, with any excess ones being worthless. The exception is the Nigiri cards, which are worth a flat sum, though they can be boosted by a Wasabi card, which specifically synergizes with them. If you're playing ''Sushi Go! Party'', some menus even include Nigiri and exclude Wasabi.
to:
* ''TabletopGame/SushiGo'': ''TabletopGame/SushiGo'':
** Most cards are scored based on some kind of condition, such as the Sashimi being worth 10 points per group of three, with any excess ones being worthless. The exception is the Nigiri cards, which are worth a flat sum, though they can be boosted by a Wasabi card, which specifically synergizes with them. If you're playing ''Sushi Go! Party'', some menus even include Nigiri and excludeWasabi.Wasabi.
** The takeout box lets you flip any number of previously played cards and makes them worth a flat 2 points.
** Most cards are scored based on some kind of condition, such as the Sashimi being worth 10 points per group of three, with any excess ones being worthless. The exception is the Nigiri cards, which are worth a flat sum, though they can be boosted by a Wasabi card, which specifically synergizes with them. If you're playing ''Sushi Go! Party'', some menus even include Nigiri and exclude
** The takeout box lets you flip any number of previously played cards and makes them worth a flat 2 points.
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Tier Induced Scrappy is no longer a trope.
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In games where you can theoretically use nothing but vanilla units, doing so is usually mediocre at best. After all, it's not a recipe for fun gameplay if the optimal strategy is to spam vanillas instead of trying to take advantage of cool powers or synergies.[[note]]Note that a vanilla unit can still benefit from other abilities that synergize with the vanilla unit's type. This is another reason vanillas exist: they can give these strategies a push.[[/note]] Additionally, vanilla units are vulnerable to PowerCreep leaving them as [[TierInducedScrappy Tier-Induced Scrappies]] overshadowed by more complex units. There is an exception for the vanilla playable character, however: sometimes these are the hardest to use because they have no special abilities to rely on, while still being good in the hands of an experienced player thanks to their good stats.
to:
In games where you can theoretically use nothing but vanilla units, doing so is usually mediocre at best. After all, it's not a recipe for fun gameplay if the optimal strategy is to spam vanillas instead of trying to take advantage of cool powers or synergies.[[note]]Note that a vanilla unit can still benefit from other abilities that synergize with the vanilla unit's type. This is another reason vanillas exist: they can give these strategies a push.[[/note]] Additionally, vanilla units are vulnerable to PowerCreep PowerCreep, leaving them as [[TierInducedScrappy Tier-Induced Scrappies]] overshadowed {{Low Tier Letdown}}s outclassed by more complex units. There is an exception for the vanilla playable character, however: sometimes these are the hardest to use because they have no special abilities to rely on, while still being good in the hands of an experienced player thanks to their good stats.
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** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'': Princess Toadstool is the only playable character with a special ability -- floating during her jumps. However, she has bad stats to compensate -- her Jump is the second worst, and she's dead last in both Speed and Strength.
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** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'': Of the four main characters, Mario and Toad both count, lacking special abilities like Princess Toadstool is the only playable character with a special ability -- Toadstool's floating during her jumps. However, she or Luigi's air kick. Mario has bad stats to compensate -- her Jump is [[JackOfAllStats well-rounded stats,]] while Toad has faster movement and pickups at the second worst, and she's dead last in both Speed and Strength.expense of a shorter jump.
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* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies'': The Peashooter is the most basic unit with low cost but no special abilities, compared to other Peashooter variants which have abilities like chilling enemies, firing more shots, attacking other lanes, or shooting backwards. Even the Cabbage-Pult, another plant with the same cost and no special effects has the capability to hit submerged Snorkels and bypass Screen Doors and Ladders.
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[[AC:Tower Defense]]
* ''VideoGame/TheBattleCats'': In their first forms, the [[StartingEquipment Normal Cats]] save Axe Cat and Fish Cat have no abilities outside of pure stats. Even in their True Forms, Mohawk Cat, Eraser Cat, Lion Cat, and King Dragon Cat have no special abilities.
* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies'': The Peashooter is the most basic plant with low cost but no special abilities, compared to other Peashooter variants which have abilities like chilling enemies, firing more shots, attacking other lanes, or shooting backwards. Even the Cabbage-Pult, another plant with the same cost and no special effects, has the capability to hit submerged Snorkels and bypass Screen Doors and Ladders.
* ''VideoGame/TheBattleCats'': In their first forms, the [[StartingEquipment Normal Cats]] save Axe Cat and Fish Cat have no abilities outside of pure stats. Even in their True Forms, Mohawk Cat, Eraser Cat, Lion Cat, and King Dragon Cat have no special abilities.
* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies'': The Peashooter is the most basic plant with low cost but no special abilities, compared to other Peashooter variants which have abilities like chilling enemies, firing more shots, attacking other lanes, or shooting backwards. Even the Cabbage-Pult, another plant with the same cost and no special effects, has the capability to hit submerged Snorkels and bypass Screen Doors and Ladders.
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* ''VideoGame/MarvelSnap'':
** Any of the generic "good stats for the cost" cards with no effect. The Hulk is probably the most major one, being a 12 Power body for 6 Energy. That's the most efficient stats-to-cost in the game with no downside, but there are cards that can combo to get bigger than that or do more to disrupt the opponent.
** Several cards have basically plain stats but always appear in your hand on the turn when you have the Energy to play them, no sooner or no later. They're just underpowered vanillas on the board, but they ensure you'll have something to do. These include [[SuperSpeed Quicksilver]], [[BornLucky Domino]], and [[DimensionalTraveller America Chavez]].
** Any of the generic "good stats for the cost" cards with no effect. The Hulk is probably the most major one, being a 12 Power body for 6 Energy. That's the most efficient stats-to-cost in the game with no downside, but there are cards that can combo to get bigger than that or do more to disrupt the opponent.
** Several cards have basically plain stats but always appear in your hand on the turn when you have the Energy to play them, no sooner or no later. They're just underpowered vanillas on the board, but they ensure you'll have something to do. These include [[SuperSpeed Quicksilver]], [[BornLucky Domino]], and [[DimensionalTraveller America Chavez]].
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** Your deck always starts with four Train Stewards, basic 5/8 units that are meant to be removed as you gain better units. However, the Advanced Prototype artifacts gives them effects that make them much more useful even into late game.
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** Your deck always starts with four Train Stewards, basic 5/8 units that are meant to be removed as you gain better units. However, the Advanced Prototype artifacts artifact gives them effects that make them much more useful even into late game.
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* ''[[TabletopGame/Koryo Koryŏ]]'': You "control" a family of politicians by controlling the plurality of its members. This lets you use the family's power during the game, and gets you its Influence Points at the end of the game. The Merchant family has no special power, but also has the highest end-of-game value.
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* ''[[TabletopGame/Koryo ''TabletopGame/DiceForce'': Many dice faces do nothing but give you Glory Points whenever you roll them. Also, some of the high-value Heroic Feats do nothing but give you a fixed sum of points.
* ''[[TabletopGame/{{Koryo}} Koryŏ]]'': You "control" a family of politicians by controlling the plurality of its members. This lets you use the family's power during the game, and gets you its Influence Points at the end of the game. The Merchant family has no special power, but also has the highest end-of-game value.
* ''[[TabletopGame/{{Koryo}} Koryŏ]]'': You "control" a family of politicians by controlling the plurality of its members. This lets you use the family's power during the game, and gets you its Influence Points at the end of the game. The Merchant family has no special power, but also has the highest end-of-game value.
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In games where you can theoretically use nothing but vanilla units, doing so is usually mediocre at best. After all, it's not a recipe for fun gameplay if the optimal strategy is to spam vanillas instead of trying to take advantage of cool powers or synergies[[note]]Note that a vanilla unit can still benefit from other abilities that synergize with the vanilla unit's type. This is another reason vanillas exist: they can give these strategies a push.[[/note]] Additionally, vanilla units are vulnerable to PowerCreep leaving them as [[TierInducedScrappy Tier-Induced Scrappies]] overshadowed by more complex units. There is an exception for the vanilla playable character, however: sometimes these are the hardest to use because they have no special abilities to rely on, while still being good in the hands of an experienced player thanks to their good stats.
to:
In games where you can theoretically use nothing but vanilla units, doing so is usually mediocre at best. After all, it's not a recipe for fun gameplay if the optimal strategy is to spam vanillas instead of trying to take advantage of cool powers or synergies[[note]]Note synergies.[[note]]Note that a vanilla unit can still benefit from other abilities that synergize with the vanilla unit's type. This is another reason vanillas exist: they can give these strategies a push.[[/note]] Additionally, vanilla units are vulnerable to PowerCreep leaving them as [[TierInducedScrappy Tier-Induced Scrappies]] overshadowed by more complex units. There is an exception for the vanilla playable character, however: sometimes these are the hardest to use because they have no special abilities to rely on, while still being good in the hands of an experienced player thanks to their good stats.
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* ''[[TabletopGame/Koryo Koryŏ]]'': You "control" a family of politicians by controlling the plurality of its members. This lets you use the family's power during the game, and gets you its Influence Points at the end of the game. The Merchant family has no special power, but also has the highest end-of-game value.
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[[AC:Card Games]]
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* ''TabletopGame/Werewolf1997'':
** A vanilla player has no special abilities. They can vote, and they get the appropriate factional ability if there is any, but that's it. The most basic player is the Vanilla Townie, which has no abilities. These vanillas are important because a setup full of power roles is hard to balance.
** The Named Townie has no abilities. It's a Vanilla Townie in all but name, though the mere fact that it's named makes it easy for the player to confirm themselves as Town.
** False roles are vanilla players who were told that they had a power.
** There are a few power roles that interact with vanilla status, e.g. the Neapolitan (who can check if a player is vanilla) and the Vanillaiser (who can forcibly turn someone else into a vanilla player).
[[AC:Tabletop RPG]]
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
** In 1st and 2nd edition Fighters were just good at attacking and soaking up damage. They didn't have any spells or special abilities. 3rd edition added a degree of customization with a bunch of bonus feats and later editions threw in subclasses with supernatural abilities but they're still best at hitting things.
** 3rd edition also added a series of barebone NPC classes to be assigned to the many unimportant NonPlayerCharacter background, none of them with any special abilities of their own. The Fighters of earlier editions were replicated as Warriors, city-guard grunts that can hold their own in a fight but little else; and joined in by the Adepts, that can cast a few spells but gain none of the other spellcaster abilities; Experts, with many skill points to simulate NPC professions of varying mastery and that's it; Aristocrats, the wealthy gentry often acting as quest givers; and most infamously, Commoners, who have the ''worst'' HitPoints and skill points and precisely nothing beyond that.
[[AC:Trading Card Games]]
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[[AC:Parlour Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/Werewolf1997'':
** A vanilla player has no special abilities. They can vote, and they get the appropriate factional ability if there is any, but that's it. The most basic player is the Vanilla Townie, which has no abilities. These vanillas are important because a setup full of power roles is hard to balance.
** The Named Townie has no abilities. It's a Vanilla Townie in all but name, though the mere fact that it's named makes it easy for the player to confirm themselves as Town.
** False roles are vanilla players who were told that they had a power.
** There are a few power roles that interact with vanilla status, e.g. the Neapolitan (who can check if a player is vanilla) and the Vanillaiser (who can forcibly turn someone else into a vanilla player).
[[AC:Tabletop RPG]]
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
** In 1st and 2nd edition Fighters were just good at attacking and soaking up damage. They didn't have any spells or special abilities. 3rd edition added a degree of customization with a bunch of bonus feats and later editions threw in subclasses with supernatural abilities but they're still best at hitting things.
** 3rd edition also added a series of barebone NPC classes to be assigned to the many unimportant NonPlayerCharacter background, none of them with any special abilities of their own. The Fighters of earlier editions were replicated as Warriors, city-guard grunts that can hold their own in a fight but little else; and joined in by the Adepts, that can cast a few spells but gain none of the other spellcaster abilities; Experts, with many skill points to simulate NPC professions of varying mastery and that's it; Aristocrats, the wealthy gentry often acting as quest givers; and most infamously, Commoners, who have the ''worst'' HitPoints and skill points and precisely nothing beyond that.
* ''TabletopGame/Werewolf1997'':
** A vanilla player has no special abilities. They can vote, and they get the appropriate factional ability if there is any, but that's it. The most basic player is the Vanilla Townie, which has no abilities. These vanillas are important because a setup full of power roles is hard to balance.
** The Named Townie has no abilities. It's a Vanilla Townie in all but name, though the mere fact that it's named makes it easy for the player to confirm themselves as Town.
** False roles are vanilla players who were told that they had a power.
** There are a few power roles that interact with vanilla status, e.g. the Neapolitan (who can check if a player is vanilla) and the Vanillaiser (who can forcibly turn someone else into a vanilla player).
[[AC:Tabletop RPG]]
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
** In 1st and 2nd edition Fighters were just good at attacking and soaking up damage. They didn't have any spells or special abilities. 3rd edition added a degree of customization with a bunch of bonus feats and later editions threw in subclasses with supernatural abilities but they're still best at hitting things.
** 3rd edition also added a series of barebone NPC classes to be assigned to the many unimportant NonPlayerCharacter background, none of them with any special abilities of their own. The Fighters of earlier editions were replicated as Warriors, city-guard grunts that can hold their own in a fight but little else; and joined in by the Adepts, that can cast a few spells but gain none of the other spellcaster abilities; Experts, with many skill points to simulate NPC professions of varying mastery and that's it; Aristocrats, the wealthy gentry often acting as quest givers; and most infamously, Commoners, who have the ''worst'' HitPoints and skill points and precisely nothing beyond that.
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* ''VideoGame/EmpireEarth'':
** "Unique" units are campaign-only variations of a unit with improved stats corresponding to the unit's upgrade in the following era, e.g. the WWI German Soldier has the stats of a WW2 Marine but otherwise have no particular ability.
** In the sequel, every civilization has 3 unique units that correspond to a role in the TacticalRockPaperScissors, each available for 5 eras out of 15. These have better stats than their corresponding unit (e.g. Samurai > Swordsman, Mangonel > Catapult, Teutonic Knight > Knight) at first, but by the final eras they're outmatched and their main advantage is that they're cheaper.
** Subverted with several units that actually do stand out from their counterparts:
** The Aztec Jungle Healer has a bigger healing radius than the medic.
*** The Egyptian Royal Elephant deals the same damage type as a horseman, but has a ranged attack.
*** The Zulu Inyanga is the only CombatMedic unit in the game.
*** The Maasai Laibon is a priest and a medic, while the Sirit Bomber is better against units than the standard AntiStructure bomber.
*** The campaign version of the Teutonic Knight lets them convert enemies.
** "Unique" units are campaign-only variations of a unit with improved stats corresponding to the unit's upgrade in the following era, e.g. the WWI German Soldier has the stats of a WW2 Marine but otherwise have no particular ability.
** In the sequel, every civilization has 3 unique units that correspond to a role in the TacticalRockPaperScissors, each available for 5 eras out of 15. These have better stats than their corresponding unit (e.g. Samurai > Swordsman, Mangonel > Catapult, Teutonic Knight > Knight) at first, but by the final eras they're outmatched and their main advantage is that they're cheaper.
** Subverted with several units that actually do stand out from their counterparts:
** The Aztec Jungle Healer has a bigger healing radius than the medic.
*** The Egyptian Royal Elephant deals the same damage type as a horseman, but has a ranged attack.
*** The Zulu Inyanga is the only CombatMedic unit in the game.
*** The Maasai Laibon is a priest and a medic, while the Sirit Bomber is better against units than the standard AntiStructure bomber.
*** The campaign version of the Teutonic Knight lets them convert enemies.
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** Of the four T3 melee units, the Alliance's Knight has no ability, compared to the Abomination (eats corpses to regain health), Tauren (HerdHittingAttack), and Druid of the Claw (can increase its and allies' damage). A very late patch gave the Knight a passive ability to deal more damage to a specific armor type, but that's it.
** The Rifleman's only upgrade is to its range, compared to the Archer (can ride a Hippogryph), Headhunter (regenerate health and turn into Berserkers, who attack faster but take more damage), and Crypt Fiend (can't attack air, but can bring air units to the ground, immobilizing them).
** The Rifleman's only upgrade is to its range, compared to the Archer (can ride a Hippogryph), Headhunter (regenerate health and turn into Berserkers, who attack faster but take more damage), and Crypt Fiend (can't attack air, but can bring air units to the ground, immobilizing them).
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* ''TabletopGame/SmashUp'': The Dinosaur faction revolves around having high-powered minions [[UnskilledButStrong at the cost of tricks/utilities]]. Their strongest unit King Rex exemplifies this by being the ''only unit in the whole game'' with no Effects or Talents, instead having a huge 7 power compared to most other factions' strongest at 5.
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* ''TabletopGame/SmashUp'': The Dinosaur faction revolves around having high-powered minions [[UnskilledButStrong at the cost of tricks/utilities]]. Their strongest unit [[TRexpy King Rex Rex]] exemplifies this by being the ''only unit in the whole game'' with no Effects or Talents, instead having a huge 7 power compared to most other factions' strongest at 5.
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* ''TabletopGame/SmashUp'': The Dinosaur Faction has several UnskilledButStrong units, many of which ''do'' have Effects and/or Talents geared around raising their power. However, their strongest unit King Rex is an example of this trope -- it has 7 power (compared to most other factions' strongest at 5) but is the only unit in the whole game with no Effects or Talents.
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* ''TabletopGame/SmashUp'': The Dinosaur Faction has several UnskilledButStrong units, many of which ''do'' have Effects and/or Talents geared faction revolves around raising their power. However, their having high-powered minions [[UnskilledButStrong at the cost of tricks/utilities]]. Their strongest unit King Rex is an example of exemplifies this trope -- it has by being the ''only unit in the whole game'' with no Effects or Talents, instead having a huge 7 power (compared compared to most other factions' strongest at 5) but is the only unit in the whole game with no Effects or Talents.5.
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* ''TabletopGame/SmashUp'': The Dinosaur Faction has several UnskilledButStrong units, many of which ''do'' have Effects and/or Talents geared around raising their power. However, their strongest unit King Rex is an example of this trope -- it has 7 power (compared to most other factions' strongest at 5) but is the only unit in the whole game with no Effects or Talents.
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* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombiesHeroes'' has at least one of these for each class. ''PVZ'' being a pun-based series, there's even a unit that plays this in both the ''literal'' and trope sense -- The Smarty Class' [[https://plantsvszombies.fandom.com/wiki/Vanilla Vanilla]], a 3-cost 3/3 vanilla flower (and bean) with no special abilities.
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* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombiesHeroes'' has ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombiesHeroes'':
** There is at least one of these for each class. ''PVZ'' being a pun-based series, there's even a unit that plays this in both the ''literal'' and trope sense -- The Smarty Class' [[https://plantsvszombies.fandom.com/wiki/Vanilla Vanilla]], a 3-cost 3/3 vanilla flower (and bean) with no specialabilities.
abilities.
** There are also several Virtual Vanilla units with "when played" effects and nothing else, although considering how devastating some of their effects are[[note]]Pineclone turning all plants on board into 3/3 Pineclones, Cornucopia spawning random plants in every lane, Brainana removing all Zombie Hero's [[YouRequireMoreVespeneGas Brains]] for the turn, Zombot 1000 destroying all plant units on the field[[/note]], they're often never considered vanilla.
** There is at least one of these for each class. ''PVZ'' being a pun-based series, there's even a unit that plays this in both the ''literal'' and trope sense -- The Smarty Class' [[https://plantsvszombies.fandom.com/wiki/Vanilla Vanilla]], a 3-cost 3/3 vanilla flower (and bean) with no special
** There are also several Virtual Vanilla units with "when played" effects and nothing else, although considering how devastating some of their effects are[[note]]Pineclone turning all plants on board into 3/3 Pineclones, Cornucopia spawning random plants in every lane, Brainana removing all Zombie Hero's [[YouRequireMoreVespeneGas Brains]] for the turn, Zombot 1000 destroying all plant units on the field[[/note]], they're often never considered vanilla.
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* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombiesHeroes'' has at least one of these for each class. One of them in the Smarty class is a [[https://plantsvszombies.fandom.com/wiki/Vanilla literal vanilla plant]].
to:
* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombiesHeroes'' has at least one of these for each class. One of them ''PVZ'' being a pun-based series, there's even a unit that plays this in both the ''literal'' and trope sense -- The Smarty class is a Class' [[https://plantsvszombies.fandom.com/wiki/Vanilla literal Vanilla]], a 3-cost 3/3 vanilla plant]].
flower (and bean) with no special abilities.
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** ''Hearthstone'''s relationship with vanilla, text-less minions had shifted over the years. Early in the game's life cycle, low-to-mid-cost vanilla minions were one of the most [[BoringButPractical reliable]] minions to play for value, but high-cost vanillas and vanillas with terrible stat distribution (such as the infamous [[GlassCannon Magma Rager]]) were one of the most ridiculed cards in the game. New vanilla minions with new stat spreads were often derided as "pack fillers", and it all came to its lowest point with Worgen Greaser[[note]]A tribeless 4-mana 6/3, a health pool so low it dies to most cards that are 2 mana cheaper[[/note]], a card that received so much hate it shifted Blizzard's design philosophy on new cards to be more interesting going forward. From then on, vanilla minions became a dying breed, and today the only vanilla minions that see any play are overstatted 1-cost minions, often with tribal synergy to abuse buffs, and occasionally 0-cost tribal minions.
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* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies'': The Peashooter is the most basic unit with low cost but no special abilities, compared to other Peashooter variants which have abilities like chilling enemies, firing more shots, attacking other lanes, or shooting backwards. Even the Cabbage-Pult, another plant with the same cost and no special effects has the capability to hit submerged Snorkels and bypass Screen Doors and Ladders.
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* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'': Normal Monsters are characterized by having no card text that impacts gameplay (with the exception of archetype conditions). There are numerous cards that synergize with them, however.
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* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'': Normal Monsters are characterized by having no card text that impacts gameplay (with the exception of archetype conditions). There are numerous cards that synergize with them, however.
however (a form of French Vanilla).
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Stim packs and burrowing require upgrades.
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* ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'': Downplayed by the base units of each race. The Terrans have Marines, the Protoss have Zealots, and the Zerg have Zerglings. They are the overall weakest ([[WorkerUnit non-worker]]) in each faction and the Zealots do not come with any abilities at all. By default, Marines can use Stim-Packs which increases their movement and rate of fire temporarily, while Zerglings (like most Zerg ground units) can burrow to become invisible, both very minor abilities in the grand scheme. Each can also obtain some passive upgrades via research including boosts to attack rate, range, and movement speed.
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* ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'': Downplayed by the base units of each race. The Terrans have Marines, the Protoss have Zealots, and the Zerg have Zerglings. They are the overall weakest ([[WorkerUnit non-worker]]) in each faction and the Zealots do not come with any abilities at all. By default, Marines have a ranged weapon. Once upgraded, Marines can use Stim-Packs which increases their movement and rate of fire temporarily, while Zerglings (like most Zerg ground units) can burrow to become invisible, both very minor abilities in the grand scheme. Each can also obtain some passive upgrades via research including boosts to attack rate, range, and movement speed.
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* Downplayed by the base units of each race in ''VideoGame/StarCraftI''. The Terran have Marines, the Protoss have Zealots, and the Zerg have Zerglings. They are the overall weakest ([[WorkerUnit non-worker]]) in each faction and the Zealots do not come with any abilities at all. By default, Marines can use Stim-Packs which increases their movement and rate of fire temporarily, while Zerglings (like most Zerg ground units) can burrow to become invisible, both very minor abilities in the grand scheme. Each can also obtain some passive upgrades via research including boosts to attack rate, range, and movement speed.
to:
* ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'': Downplayed by the base units of each race in ''VideoGame/StarCraftI''. race. The Terran Terrans have Marines, the Protoss have Zealots, and the Zerg have Zerglings. They are the overall weakest ([[WorkerUnit non-worker]]) in each faction and the Zealots do not come with any abilities at all. By default, Marines can use Stim-Packs which increases their movement and rate of fire temporarily, while Zerglings (like most Zerg ground units) can burrow to become invisible, both very minor abilities in the grand scheme. Each can also obtain some passive upgrades via research including boosts to attack rate, range, and movement speed.
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* ''TabletopGame/{{Digimon}}'' has a wide variety of VanillaUnit cards. In a game where lots of weak Digimon have beneficial effects to give to their Digivolutions, this can be a downside, but they tend to shine in two main area. 1) VanillaUnit Digimon tend to have a higher printed DP than other cards of their level, especially 5000DP Rookies in a tier mostly consisting of 2-3000DP and 12-13000DP Megas instead of the more standard 11000DP. 2) Vanilla Unit Digimon tend to be cheaper, in terms of play cost and/or being lower-rarity.
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* ''TabletopGame/{{Digimon}}'' ''TabletopGame/{{Digimon}}'':
** The game has a wide variety of VanillaUnit cards. In a game where lots of weak Digimon have beneficial effects to give to their Digivolutions, this can be a downside, but they tend to shine in two main area. 1) VanillaUnit Digimon tend to have a higher printed DP than other cards of their level, especially 5000DP Rookies in a tier mostly consisting of 2-3000DP and 12-13000DP Megas instead of the more standard 11000DP. 2) Vanilla Unit Digimon tend to be cheaper, in terms of play cost and/or being lower-rarity.
** The game has a wide variety of VanillaUnit cards. In a game where lots of weak Digimon have beneficial effects to give to their Digivolutions, this can be a downside, but they tend to shine in two main area. 1) VanillaUnit Digimon tend to have a higher printed DP than other cards of their level, especially 5000DP Rookies in a tier mostly consisting of 2-3000DP and 12-13000DP Megas instead of the more standard 11000DP. 2) Vanilla Unit Digimon tend to be cheaper, in terms of play cost and/or being lower-rarity.
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** In the first two games, the Knight faction fits HumansAreAverage to an extreme, having [[BoringButPractical cost-efficient and well-statted creatures with no special abilities]]. The only unit with a special ability in the first game was the Paladin which attacks twice, while second only added the Ranger that shoots twice and the Crusader that's immune to curses deals 2x damage to Undead. Averted by their Castle successors in III, which added several new creatures with more diverse effects and gave new specials to existing creatures.
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** In the first two games, the Knight faction fits HumansAreAverage to an extreme, having [[BoringButPractical cost-efficient and well-statted creatures with no special abilities]]. The only unit with a special ability in the first game was the Paladin which attacks twice, while the second only added the Ranger that shoots twice and the Crusader that's immune to curses and deals 2x damage to Undead. Averted by their Castle successors in III, which added several new creatures with more diverse effects and gave new specials to existing creatures.
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* ''TabletopGame/Digimon'' has a wide variety of VanillaUnit cards. In a game where lots of weak Digimon have beneficial effects to give to their Digivolutions, this can be a downside, but they tend to shine in two main area. 1) VanillaUnit Digimon tend to have a higher printed DP than other cards of their level, especially 5000DP Rookies in a tier mostly consisting of 2-3000DP and 12-13000DP Megas instead of the more standard 11000DP. 2) Vanilla Unit Digimon tend to be cheaper, in terms of play cost and/or being lower-rarity.
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* ''TabletopGame/Digimon'' ''TabletopGame/{{Digimon}}'' has a wide variety of VanillaUnit cards. In a game where lots of weak Digimon have beneficial effects to give to their Digivolutions, this can be a downside, but they tend to shine in two main area. 1) VanillaUnit Digimon tend to have a higher printed DP than other cards of their level, especially 5000DP Rookies in a tier mostly consisting of 2-3000DP and 12-13000DP Megas instead of the more standard 11000DP. 2) Vanilla Unit Digimon tend to be cheaper, in terms of play cost and/or being lower-rarity.
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* ''TabletopGame/Digimon'' has a wide variety of VanillaUnit cards. In a game where lots of weak Digimon have beneficial effects to give to their Digivolutions, this can be a downside, but they tend to shine in two main area. 1) VanillaUnit Digimon tend to have a higher printed DP than other cards of their level, especially 5000DP Rookies in a tier mostly consisting of 2-3000DP and 12-13000DP Megas instead of the more standard 11000DP. 2) Vanilla Unit Digimon tend to be cheaper, in terms of play cost and/or being lower-rarity.
** There are also lots of Virtual Vanilla cards (both Digimon and Tamers) that only have effects when they are played or Digivolved, and are vanilla after that.
** There are also lots of Virtual Vanilla cards (both Digimon and Tamers) that only have effects when they are played or Digivolved, and are vanilla after that.
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* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': In 1st and 2nd edition Fighters were just good at attacking and soaking up damage. They didn't have any spells or special abilities. 3rd edition added a degree of customization with a bunch of bonus feats and later editions threw in subclasses with supernatural abilities but they're still best at hitting things.
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* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
** In 1st and 2nd edition Fighters were just good at attacking and soaking up damage. They didn't have any spells or special abilities. 3rd edition added a degree of customization with a bunch of bonus feats and later editions threw in subclasses with supernatural abilities but they're still best at hitting things.
** 3rd edition also added a series of barebone NPC classes to be assigned to the many unimportant NonPlayerCharacter background, none of them with any special abilities of their own. The Fighters of earlier editions were replicated as Warriors, city-guard grunts that can hold their own in a fight but little else; and joined in by the Adepts, that can cast a few spells but gain none of the other spellcaster abilities; Experts, with many skill points to simulate NPC professions of varying mastery and that's it; Aristocrats, the wealthy gentry often acting as quest givers; and most infamously, Commoners, who have the ''worst'' HitPoints and skill points and precisely nothing beyond that.
** In 1st and 2nd edition Fighters were just good at attacking and soaking up damage. They didn't have any spells or special abilities. 3rd edition added a degree of customization with a bunch of bonus feats and later editions threw in subclasses with supernatural abilities but they're still best at hitting things.
** 3rd edition also added a series of barebone NPC classes to be assigned to the many unimportant NonPlayerCharacter background, none of them with any special abilities of their own. The Fighters of earlier editions were replicated as Warriors, city-guard grunts that can hold their own in a fight but little else; and joined in by the Adepts, that can cast a few spells but gain none of the other spellcaster abilities; Experts, with many skill points to simulate NPC professions of varying mastery and that's it; Aristocrats, the wealthy gentry often acting as quest givers; and most infamously, Commoners, who have the ''worst'' HitPoints and skill points and precisely nothing beyond that.
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* ''TabletopGame/{{Werewolf|1997}}'':
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* ''TabletopGame/{{Werewolf|1997}}'':''TabletopGame/Werewolf1997'':
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* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III'':
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* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III'': ''VideoGame/WarcraftIIIReignOfChaos'':
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* Most weapons in classic ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' games (up to ''Awakening'') have no special effects, which serves to make the ones that ''do'' have them feel more special. However, later games took the exact opposite approach by making all weapon have special effects (negative and positive) to balance out the absence of a BreakableWeapons system.
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* ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'': Most weapons in classic ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' games (up to ''Awakening'') have no special effects, which serves to make the ones that ''do'' have them feel more special. However, later games took the exact opposite approach by making all weapon have special effects (negative and positive) to balance out the absence of a BreakableWeapons system.
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* Many shop items in ''VisualNovel/MonsterProm'' unlock secret endings, but there's also a series of basic ones that just give you a boost in one stat. Similarly, many of the drinks in the sequel ''Monster Camp'' have wacky effects, but there are still a few that just give you a simple stat boost.
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* ''VisualNovel/MonsterProm'': Many shop items in ''VisualNovel/MonsterProm'' unlock secret endings, but there's also a series of basic ones that just give you a boost in one stat. Similarly, many of the drinks in the sequel ''Monster Camp'' have wacky effects, but there are still a few that just give you a simple stat boost.
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[[quoteright:350:[[TabletopGame/VillainousRavensburger https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/palace_guard_small.png]]]]
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[[quoteright:350:[[TabletopGame/VillainousRavensburger https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/palace_guard_small.png]]]]
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A playable unit with no special abilities. In {{Collectible Card Game}}s, they can be recognized by their lack of rules text. In RolePlayingGames, they can be gear that does nothing but offer a flat stat boost. They can also be something that does nothing but directly help you reach the game's goal. For instance, in a game about ScoringPoints, an item that only gives you a flat sum of points is a Vanilla Unit.
Vanilla units may seem boring, and they indeed tend to be BoringButPractical if they're playable at all, but there are still plenty of reasons to include them in a game. They're useful for keeping the level of complexity manageable, especially if a lot of units will appear in a match.[[note]]In particular, abilities that can churn out a lot of units will usually generate vanillas, both for balance and complexity reasons.[[/note]] Sometimes they're intended as easy-to-use units for beginners, and progression in the game involves replacing them with better ones. Sometimes they're there to serve as a useful basis for comparisons, or to challenge players to decide when the vanilla unit is better than a unit with worse stats and an ability. Vanillas are also a simple way to show you what to expect of a game's factions: the offence-oriented faction gets GlassCannon vanilla monsters, the defence-oriented faction gets StoneWall vanilla monsters, the most monster-friendly faction gets the strongest vanilla monsters, and so on. Also, the lack of rules text means a lot of room for FlavourText.
In games where you can theoretically use nothing but vanilla units, doing so is usually mediocre at best. After all, it's not a recipe for fun gameplay if the optimal strategy is to spam vanillas instead of trying to take advantage of cool powers or synergies[[note]]Note that a vanilla unit can still benefit from other abilities that synergize with the vanilla unit's type. This is another reason vanillas exist: they can give these strategies a push.[[/note]] Additionally, vanilla units are vulnerable to PowerCreep leaving them as [[TierInducedScrappy Tier-Induced Scrappies]] overshadowed by more complex units. There is an exception for the vanilla playable character, however: sometimes these are the hardest to use because they have no special abilities to rely on, while still being good in the hands of an experienced player thanks to their good stats.
Many games, such as {{Collectible Card Game}}s, also feature some of these variations on vanilla creatures:
* '''French vanilla:''' A unit with no abilities other than keyword abilities.
* '''Virtual vanilla:''' A unit that has an ability that triggers when you play it, and is essentially a vanilla after that point.
* '''Virtual French vanilla:''' A unit that has an ability that triggers when you play it, and is essentially a French vanilla after that point.
These are also suitable for keeping the complexity manageable, while being more exciting and interesting to players. French vanillas are also helpful for showing off common abilities in a simple way.
{{Sister Trope}}s for non-playable characters include TheGoomba (often a pitiful enemy with no special moves), {{Mooks}} (which tend to be rather basic enemies) and SmashMook (who are powerful, but use very simple strategies/attacks). Vanilla units commonly form the basis for a ZergRush and/or a RedshirtArmy.
See also UnskilledButStrong, BoringButPractical and SimpleYetAwesome. Compare AwesomeButImpractical, JackOfAllStats and MasterOfNone. Compare PowerNullifier, which can sometimes turn other units into vanillas. Not to be confused with VanillaProtagonist, which focuses on the narrative. See also {{Muggles}} for a narrative parallel to this trope.
!!Examples
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
[[AC:Board Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/SevenWonders'':
** Each Wonder has a unique ability, with the exception of Giza, which just gives you Victory Points. This property was carried over to the two-player spin-off ''Duel''. Most other wonders are virtual vanillas whose stages either just provide points or have a one-shot effect that triggers immediately upon being played.
** The ''Leaders'' ExpansionPack features some Leaders with no effect other than giving a fixed number of Victory Points.
** ''Duel'''s ''Pantheon'' ExpansionPack features Aphrodite, a vanilla god who does nothing but grant 9 Victory Points.
** Most buildings have some kind of effect, but the blue ones only give you a flat sum of points (and may chain into another blue building). Defied by ''Agora'', which gives ''Duel'''s blue buildings the additional effect of boosting the efficiency of Senators.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Abyss}}'':
** Lords of the Farmer guild are characterized by having no abilities (other than sometimes holding keys), but also above-average point values. The ''Leviathan'' ExpansionPack does introduce a couple of non-vanilla Farmers, however.
** Many lords are virtual vanillas who have an ability that triggers when they're played, and then never again.
** In the ''Conspiracy'' spin-off, all Lords except the key Lords are virtual vanillas whose abilities only come into play when they're placed into your tableau. This helps streamline the game and compensate for the complexity of the tableau building itself. Additionally, there's a Location that's worth a flat 7 points, and several virtual vanilla locations that only have an immediate action and a point value.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Pandemic}}'': The Generalist has no special ability, but gets 5 actions per turn instead of the usual 4. In ''Pandemic Legacy: Season 1'', she also has four upgrade slots instead of the usual 2.
* ''TabletopGame/ResArcana'':
** All Monuments have a power. The exception is the Great Pyramid, which compensates by being the only one worth 3 points instead of 1 or 2. Additionally, the Obelisk is a virtual vanilla that gets you 6 essences when you buy it, but does nothing after that point.
** The Nightingale is a creature that's worth a Victory Point, but has no power.
* ''TabletopGame/SpaceBase'' has a lot of ships that just give you points when they're activated.
* ''TabletopGame/SushiGo'': Most cards are scored based on some kind of condition, such as the Sashimi being worth 10 points per group of three, with any excess ones being worthless. The exception is the Nigiri cards, which are worth a flat sum, though they can be boosted by a Wasabi card, which specifically synergizes with them. If you're playing ''Sushi Go! Party'', some menus even include Nigiri and exclude Wasabi.
* ''TabletopGame/VillainousRavensburger'' has a few Allies that have a Strength stat, but no additional ability. These tend to have a great cost-to-Strength ratio. There are also quite a few virtual vanilla Allies and Heroes with an ability that only does something when the card is played. This keeps the complexity manageable when there are numerous of these things on your board.
* Most birds in ''TabletopGame/{{Wingspan}}'' have some kind of ability, but a few (such as the Wild Turkey) don't. These tend to be expensive, high-value birds that are at their best in the late game, when it's too late to get much out of most abilities anyway. There are also birds with white powers, which only trigger when the bird is played, making them virtual vanillas.
[[AC:Card Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/CardfightVanguard'': In the original version of the game, Units (cards) of each rank have a maximum attack stat, which is reduced accordingly depending on the Unit's skills. In other words, a Rank 2 Unit with no skills always has an attack stat of 10000, and Rank 2 units with skills can have 9000 at the highest. Basically, it boils down to UnskilledButStrong versus WeakButSkilled. Most clans have at least one Vanilla unit per Rank, but it's exceptionally rare to see Rank 3 Vanilla Units, and Rank 4 doesn't have any.
* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'':
** There are plenty of creatures with no rules text, and a few cards that explicitly grant bonuses to creatures with no abilities. With that said, vanilla creatures became rarer as the game progressed and players wanted more interesting cards. 9 September 2022 marks the first time of there being no vanilla creatures legal in Standard. However, there are still plenty of virtual vanillas, French vanillas and virtual French vanillas.
** "Bears" are an extremely popular vanilla card archetype named after the ever-popular original Green [[https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=129586 Grizzly Bears]]. They are two-mana 2/2 creatures with no abilities, which offers a great mana/power balance for this purpose and are typically considered the "weakest" creatures to be playable in a competitive deck. Creatures in this mold now exist for every color except Blue (which has creatures as one its biggest weakesses). As the game progresses, [[CrutchCharacter they fall well behind the power curve]], but still have their uses as chump blockers and sacrifices.
** [[https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=gigantosaurus Gigantosaurus]] is notable for being a big vanilla creature with a high stats-to-cost ratio -- you get a statline of 10/10 for five green mana.
** Quite a few Hydras are virtual vanillas whose only effects only come into play as they're cast.
** Darksteel Relic is the closest the game gets to a vanilla ''artifact'' -- it's indestructible, but it does nothing. The only reason it isn't a JokeItem is that many cards synergize with artifacts.
** The ''Mystery Booster'' set added How to Keep an Izzet Mage Busy, which is kind of a vanilla ''sorcery'' -- it has no effect other than returning itself to your hand when you cast it. It can be abused with effects that care about spells being cast.
** The basic lands are the simplest lands. They can tap for a single mana of one color. That's it. No bonuses and no drawbacks. Lands with additional utility or better mana abilities come with drawbacks like entering tapped.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Most attacks have some sort of secondary effect, or at least something like conditional extra damage, but there are also a few simple ones that just deal a flat sum of damage. Some Pokémon even have no abilities other than vanilla attacks.
** Basic energy cards are the vanillas of energy cards. They provide one energy of one type, and have no further bonuses or drawbacks. In contrast, Special Energy cards tend to have drawbacks like restrictions on what you can attach them to, or additional costs to attach them. There are also Special Energy cards that provide utility (e.g. drawing you a card) at the cost of only providing colorless energy.
* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'': Normal Monsters are characterized by having no card text that impacts gameplay (with the exception of archetype conditions). There are numerous cards that synergize with them, however.
[[AC:Parlour Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/{{Werewolf|1997}}'':
** A vanilla player has no special abilities. They can vote, and they get the appropriate factional ability if there is any, but that's it. The most basic player is the Vanilla Townie, which has no abilities. These vanillas are important because a setup full of power roles is hard to balance.
** The Named Townie has no abilities. It's a Vanilla Townie in all but name, though the mere fact that it's named makes it easy for the player to confirm themselves as Town.
** False roles are vanilla players who were told that they had a power.
** There are a few power roles that interact with vanilla status, e.g. the Neapolitan (who can check if a player is vanilla) and the Vanillaiser (who can forcibly turn someone else into a vanilla player).
[[AC:Tabletop RPG]]
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': In 1st and 2nd edition Fighters were just good at attacking and soaking up damage. They didn't have any spells or special abilities. 3rd edition added a degree of customization with a bunch of bonus feats and later editions threw in subclasses with supernatural abilities but they're still best at hitting things.
[[AC:War Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'': All armies include a basic type of simple infantry units -- Imperial State Troops, High Elven Spearmen, Dwarf Warriors, Orc Boyz, Ogre Bulls, Chaos Marauders, etcetera -- provided with middling health, decent morale, basic swords, spears and shields, and not generally much else, in contrast to more advanced -- and expensive -- units provided with generally better stat lines, more advanced weaponry, and more complex abilities and attacks.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
[[AC:Card Battle Game]]
* ''VideoGame/OneHundredPercentOrangeJuice'': Some characters like the starting cast (Kai, Marie Poppo, QP, Suguri, Sora, and Marc) do not come with Passive abilities that give them gimmicks in gameplay, so their playstyles are relatively straightforward with only their raw stats to rely on. This means that in a vacuum, aside from stats, they have no inherent benefits or drawbacks compared to characters who do have Passives, so how they perform in a lobby match entirely depends on execution and the cards you have at your disposal.
* ''VideoGame/HearthstoneHeroesOfWarcraft'':
** There are plenty of minions with no rules text, no rules text besides a keyword, or no rules text besides a Battlecry (an ability that triggers when the minion is played from your hand).
** The Giant archetype consists of big, expensive minions whose only ability is a cost reduction ability. While you have to exploit the cost reduction to make them worth playing (some of the costs exceed the 10 mana, the maximum number of mana crystals, making the ability mandatory to play them ''at all''), once they hit the field, they're essentially vanillas.
* ''VideoGame/LegendsOfRuneterra'': Cithria of Cloudfield is one of the plainest units in the game, being one of the cheapest units in the game at 1-mana and having no keywords or passive effects for dynamic play. While she does have slightly higher stats than what her cost implies, 2-power and 2-health for a 1-cost card, nothing about her is really gonna be swinging the game around.
* ''VideoGame/MonsterTrain''
** Your deck always starts with four Train Stewards, basic 5/8 units that are meant to be removed as you gain better units. However, the Advanced Prototype artifacts gives them effects that make them much more useful even into late game.
** Demon Fiend is a Hellhorned unit that costs 4 Ember (more than the default max of 3), but has a hefty stat of 50/50.
** The Umbra's Shadowsiege is an even bigger and harder to summon unit, with a massive cost of 6 Ember ''and'' is generally impossible to summon without increasing floor capacity, but comes with gigantic base stats of 200/150.
* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombiesHeroes'' has at least one of these for each class. One of them in the Smarty class is a [[https://plantsvszombies.fandom.com/wiki/Vanilla literal vanilla plant]].
[[AC:Eastern RPG]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Pokemon}}'': The majority of damage-dealing moves have a secondary effect, but there are some (e.g. Dazzling Gleam) that don't. They tend to have middle-of-the-road power -- stronger than moves with beneficial effects, and weaker than moves with drawbacks.
[[AC:Fighting Game]]
* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'': In its story mode, The World of Light, the player must collect spirits that they can equip to power up their fighters. They come in two kinds: primary spirits, which boost stats and have slots to equip secondary spirits to, which have bonus effects such as starting battles with a certain item equipped. Some primary spirits have no slots, but they have higher stats to compensate.
[[AC:Platform Game]]
* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'': Princess Toadstool is the only playable character with a special ability -- floating during her jumps. However, she has bad stats to compensate -- her Jump is the second worst, and she's dead last in both Speed and Strength.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'': Luigi can scuffle after his jumps to cover more ground, while Peach can float. [[spoiler:Unlockable character Rosalina has a special spin move that can be used as an attack and a double jump.]] In contrast, Mario and Toad have no special abilities. Mario is a JackOfAllStats, while Toad is a speed-oriented character.
[[AC:Real-Time Strategy]]
* Downplayed by the base units of each race in ''VideoGame/StarCraftI''. The Terran have Marines, the Protoss have Zealots, and the Zerg have Zerglings. They are the overall weakest ([[WorkerUnit non-worker]]) in each faction and the Zealots do not come with any abilities at all. By default, Marines can use Stim-Packs which increases their movement and rate of fire temporarily, while Zerglings (like most Zerg ground units) can burrow to become invisible, both very minor abilities in the grand scheme. Each can also obtain some passive upgrades via research including boosts to attack rate, range, and movement speed.
* ''VideoGame/TotalWar'':
** ''VideoGame/RomeTotalWar'':
*** The base infantry unit for most factions (above [[CannonFodder Peasants]]) are the Vanilla Units. Roman and Carthaginian Town Watch and Eastern Infantry are light infantry with poor morale, basic spears and shields, and very little armor. They're adequate for garrisoning towns as defensive units, driving off small Rebel forces, and supplementing larger armies as reserves/to increase their siege equipment-building capacity, but are easily outclassed by anything higher on the TechTree in combat.
*** Downplayed by the base infantry units of the Barbarian (Spear Warband) and Greek (Militia Hoplites). While still the most "vanilla" units in their factions' tech trees, each comes with a very minor ability. Warband can use "War Cry" to lower the morale of enemy forces and Militia Hoplites can form a phalanx, but so can every nearly other infantry unit of their factions.
** ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammer'': Every faction possesses a few units of basic line infantry with no advanced abilities, intended mainly to provide a basic defensive line, blunt enemy aggression, and add to the army's overall momentum. Their relative use varies depending on the faction -- Dwarf warriors and Chaos marauders are both relatively strong for their simplicity, for instance, while the zombies and skeletons of the Vampire Counts, Bretonnian peasants and Skavenslaves are purely expendable CannonFodder.
* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III'':
** Downplayed by the base units of each faction. Humans have Footmen, Orcs have Grunts, Night Elves have Archers, and Undead have Ghouls. They are the overall weakest ([[WorkerUnit non-worker]]) in each faction and do not come with any abilities by default. However, each can gain a (rather unexciting) ability via research. Footmen can learn "Defend" which slows them down but increases their defense, Orcs get a passive health/damage boost, Archers gain additional range, and Ghouls can learn to "Cannibalize" nearby corpses to regain health.
** Some maps feature mercenary camps where different creeps can be hired to supplement a player's forces. For the most part they have no special abilities apart from higher stats (and being unaffected by weapon and armor upgrades means they'll die faster against late-game units), though some have spells or abilities otherwise unavailable to a player (such as the Harpy Windwitch's Faerie Fire, a Night Elf spell, or the Razormane Medicine Man's Healing Ward, an Orc spell). Even those with abilities are situationally useful (a Forest Troll High Priest has Heal and Inner Fire, same as an Alliance priest... but its food cost is twice that of a priest).
[[AC:Shoot 'em Up]]
* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'':
** If Reimu has a needle-based shot type, it probably serves as the "vanilla" shot type: the needles only go forward and have no special abilities, but they have high power to compensate. However, there are exceptions, like ''VideoGame/SubterraneanAnimism'' giving the Needle Reimu shot type the unique ability to warp between the left and right edges of the screen.
** In ''VideoGame/DoubleDealingCharacter'', the weapons of the three protagonists are acting oddly. At the start of the game, you can choose whether you want to use the cursed weapon. Choosing not to gives you a more basic shot type.
** In ''VideoGame/WilyBeastAndWeakestCreature'', collecting five spirits makes you enter Roaring Mode. If you got three or more beast spirits of the same type, you enter Berserk Roaring Mode, which triggers a power depending on the type of beast spirit, as well as giving you some generic benefits like protecting you from one hit. If not, you enter the "vanilla" Roaring Mode, which only offers the generic benefits.
* ''VideoGame/TheVoidRainsUponHerHeart'': Her Heart is the only character not to have a gimmick or start out with a Power Gift beyond her BoringButPractical basic shot type. She does have more Quick Gift slots than most of the other characters, though.
[[AC:Strategy RPG]]
* Most weapons in classic ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' games (up to ''Awakening'') have no special effects, which serves to make the ones that ''do'' have them feel more special. However, later games took the exact opposite approach by making all weapon have special effects (negative and positive) to balance out the absence of a BreakableWeapons system.
[[AC:Turn-Based Strategy]]
* ''VideoGame/GihrensGreed'':
** [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam One Year War era]]: The [=GM=] has no special abilities other than being equipped with a shield that they can use to deflect enemy attacks. They otherwise are completely vanilla, lacking even the ability to swap weapons (even though in-universe they're supposed to be able to utilise any weapons wielded by the Gundam like the Hyper Bazooka or Beam Javelin). In comparison, their Zeon counterpart the Zaku II can swap weapons between the Zaku Machinegun or the Zaku Bazooka, and can be equipped with a Dodai bomber support craft that allows them to become flying units in gameplay.
** [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory Operation Stardust Era]]:
*** The [=GM=] Custom is a huge improvement to the original [=GM=] in terms of stats, but still lacks the ability to swap out their loadouts and are restricted to their basic weaponry consisting of an assault rifle, head vulcans and a beam saber.
*** The Dra-C utilised by the Delaz Fleet have no special features and are effectively an evolutionary dead-end. Their only key saving grace is how cheap they are to build.
** [[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Grypps War era]]: The [=GM II=] is an improvement of the original, but otherwise exactly the same. The only big change is the ability to be equipped with a flying sled to grant them the ability to fly, but that's common to virtually all Mobile Suits of the era. However, the [=GM=] can be upgraded into the vastly more powerful and versatile [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ GM III]]...
* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'':
** In the first two games, the Knight faction fits HumansAreAverage to an extreme, having [[BoringButPractical cost-efficient and well-statted creatures with no special abilities]]. The only unit with a special ability in the first game was the Paladin which attacks twice, while second only added the Ranger that shoots twice and the Crusader that's immune to curses deals 2x damage to Undead. Averted by their Castle successors in III, which added several new creatures with more diverse effects and gave new specials to existing creatures.
** Any unit that can't fly, can't shoot, and doesn't have any immediate impact is nicknamed a walker, since all they can do on their first turn is walk towards the enemy. Most walkers have good stats to compensate, but those that can't even deliver on that are the worst creatures in the game. Walkers do at least fill the important role of defending your shooters from flyers that dive on them, since they threaten to counterattack and kill anything that moves too hastily.
[[AC: Visual Novel]]
* Many shop items in ''VisualNovel/MonsterProm'' unlock secret endings, but there's also a series of basic ones that just give you a boost in one stat. Similarly, many of the drinks in the sequel ''Monster Camp'' have wacky effects, but there are still a few that just give you a simple stat boost.
[[AC: Western RPG]]
* ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'': A primary use of SummonMagic is to conjure {{Elemental Embodiment}}s out of nearby GeoEffects. Absent any suitable surface or Elemental Infusion buff spell, it creates a Wood Incarnate or Totem that lacks any special attacks, elemental powers, or resistances.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Non-Game Examples]]
[[AC:Anime and Manga]]
* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'':
** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'': The humble [=GM=], the mass-produced version of the Gundam, is more than a match for their primary opposition the Zaku IIs, Goufs and Doms. However, unlike the Gundam they're made of regular titanium (except for their lunar titanium shield) and their beam spray gun has less range than the Gundam's beam rifle. In-universe, they're considered BoringButPractical, with a design that would continue to be used for decades with occasional improvements.
** ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'':
*** The [=GM II=], successor to the original [=GM=], is a completely bog-standard, unremarkable Mobile Suit. It's also effectively the same as the original, with only slight improvements like improved thrusters and reactors. It's quickly phased out as the series progresses due to its lack of special features making it easily out-paced by the various newer machines, but due to sheer numbers it still appears all the way up to the finale.
*** The Nemo is AEUG's trademark Mobile Suit, introduced to replace the [=GM IIs=] they'd been utilising. Like the [=GM II=], there's nothing particularly remarkable about the Nemo save that they're significantly more powerful than the [=GM IIs=] they were replacing but still simple enough that pilots trained on the [=GM II=] could easily transition to them.
*** In-universe, this is what causes the Barzam to be rejected by the Titans. On paper, it's quite powerful for a mass-production suit. However, by the point of the series where it was being considered for mass-production (in order to replace their current mainstays the Hi-Zacks and [=GM=] Quels), it was considered ''too'' vanilla and rejected. Among other problems were the fact the Barzam could only be equipped with weapons specifically designed for it, but that also meant that specialised factories and facilities would be needed to build and maintain them.
*** An in-universe complaint about the Gundam [=Mk II=] is that it's a completely vanilla version of the original Gundam. Where the original Gundam was a quantum leap in terms of Mobile Suit design, the [=Mk II=] had nothing special about it. In fact, AEUG had to develop the G-Defensor support mech to [[CombiningMecha combine with it to form the Super Gundam]], just to give it a chance of keeping up with the Titans' increasingly powerful SuperPrototype machines.
** ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'': The Kowloon Gundam is a completely vanilla Mobile Fighter with no special gimmicks or weapons (compared to Mobile Fighters with special weapons like the Rose Gundam's Rose Bits or Bolt Gundam's Graviton Hammer, or gimmicks like the Zeus Gundam's chariot or Nobel Gundam's Berserker System). However, it doesn't actually need them, since the Kowloon Gundam is utilised by Master Asia, the Undefeated of The East and WorldsStrongestMan. Master Asia can destroy Mobile Suits and Fighters with his bare hands, so the Kowloon Gundam didn't need anything particularly noteworthy to be effective.
** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'': The Leo is the most ubiquitous Mobile Suit in the series. They can be equipped with solid ammunition or beam weapons, and both terrestrial and space-borne versions exist, but there's nothing special about them other than their ease of production and use. OZ utilises them as their most basic forces, with other more specialised Mobile Suits being used for specific missions (e.g. the Cancers are designed for marine warfare, the Aries are meant for aerial combat). So numerous are the Leos that they appear all the way up to the finale, despite being dramatically outmatched by the Taurus and Virgo [=II=] Mobile Dolls that make up their main opposition.
[[AC:Toys]]
* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'': Several characters from the initial 1984 and 1985 toyline didn't have fancy titles like "Air Commander" (Starscream, Rank 9), "Special Operations Agent" (Jazz, Rank 8) or "Communications Officer" (Soundwave, Rank 8), instead having the function of "Warrior" with a rank of 5. Examples include...
** The Lamborghini twins Sunstreaker and Sideswipe both had the rank of 5 and the function of "Warrior". Sideswipe had significantly higher stats for Courage and Endurance than Sunstreaker, but conversely Sunstreaker had much higher stats for Skill (reflecting how he's the more skilled of the two). Otherwise, they didn't have any particularly unique skills or powers (other than Sideswipe having a jetpack he could use for limited flight).
** Of the 6 Decepticon jets (Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Thrust, Dirge, Ramjet), Thrust stands out as the most vanilla of the group. While all of them bar Starscream are ranked 5 with the function of "Warrior", Thrust is the only one without any notable or unique powers or abilities [[note]] Starscream is not just higher-ranking but also the fastest and armed with powerful weapons like the null-ray. Thundercracker can generate deafening and disorienting sonic booms. Skywarp can teleport. Dirge's engines emit a low frequency hum that triggers the fear reaction in his opponents. Ramjet's nosecone is reinforced to allow him to survive mid-air collisions[[/note]].
[[AC:Web Articles]]
* The ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' article "[[https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/latest-developments/ingredients-great-vanillas-2016-11-11 The Ingredients for Great Vanillas]]" explains why vanillas exist and what roles they play in the game.
[[/folder]]
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[[quoteright:350:[[TabletopGame/VillainousRavensburger https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/palace_guard_small.png]]]]
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A playable unit with no special abilities. In {{Collectible Card Game}}s, they can be recognized by their lack of rules text. In RolePlayingGames, they can be gear that does nothing but offer a flat stat boost. They can also be something that does nothing but directly help you reach the game's goal. For instance, in a game about ScoringPoints, an item that only gives you a flat sum of points is a Vanilla Unit.
Vanilla units may seem boring, and they indeed tend to be BoringButPractical if they're playable at all, but there are still plenty of reasons to include them in a game. They're useful for keeping the level of complexity manageable, especially if a lot of units will appear in a match.[[note]]In particular, abilities that can churn out a lot of units will usually generate vanillas, both for balance and complexity reasons.[[/note]] Sometimes they're intended as easy-to-use units for beginners, and progression in the game involves replacing them with better ones. Sometimes they're there to serve as a useful basis for comparisons, or to challenge players to decide when the vanilla unit is better than a unit with worse stats and an ability. Vanillas are also a simple way to show you what to expect of a game's factions: the offence-oriented faction gets GlassCannon vanilla monsters, the defence-oriented faction gets StoneWall vanilla monsters, the most monster-friendly faction gets the strongest vanilla monsters, and so on. Also, the lack of rules text means a lot of room for FlavourText.
In games where you can theoretically use nothing but vanilla units, doing so is usually mediocre at best. After all, it's not a recipe for fun gameplay if the optimal strategy is to spam vanillas instead of trying to take advantage of cool powers or synergies[[note]]Note that a vanilla unit can still benefit from other abilities that synergize with the vanilla unit's type. This is another reason vanillas exist: they can give these strategies a push.[[/note]] Additionally, vanilla units are vulnerable to PowerCreep leaving them as [[TierInducedScrappy Tier-Induced Scrappies]] overshadowed by more complex units. There is an exception for the vanilla playable character, however: sometimes these are the hardest to use because they have no special abilities to rely on, while still being good in the hands of an experienced player thanks to their good stats.
Many games, such as {{Collectible Card Game}}s, also feature some of these variations on vanilla creatures:
* '''French vanilla:''' A unit with no abilities other than keyword abilities.
* '''Virtual vanilla:''' A unit that has an ability that triggers when you play it, and is essentially a vanilla after that point.
* '''Virtual French vanilla:''' A unit that has an ability that triggers when you play it, and is essentially a French vanilla after that point.
These are also suitable for keeping the complexity manageable, while being more exciting and interesting to players. French vanillas are also helpful for showing off common abilities in a simple way.
{{Sister Trope}}s for non-playable characters include TheGoomba (often a pitiful enemy with no special moves), {{Mooks}} (which tend to be rather basic enemies) and SmashMook (who are powerful, but use very simple strategies/attacks). Vanilla units commonly form the basis for a ZergRush and/or a RedshirtArmy.
See also UnskilledButStrong, BoringButPractical and SimpleYetAwesome. Compare AwesomeButImpractical, JackOfAllStats and MasterOfNone. Compare PowerNullifier, which can sometimes turn other units into vanillas. Not to be confused with VanillaProtagonist, which focuses on the narrative. See also {{Muggles}} for a narrative parallel to this trope.
!!Examples
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
[[AC:Board Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/SevenWonders'':
** Each Wonder has a unique ability, with the exception of Giza, which just gives you Victory Points. This property was carried over to the two-player spin-off ''Duel''. Most other wonders are virtual vanillas whose stages either just provide points or have a one-shot effect that triggers immediately upon being played.
** The ''Leaders'' ExpansionPack features some Leaders with no effect other than giving a fixed number of Victory Points.
** ''Duel'''s ''Pantheon'' ExpansionPack features Aphrodite, a vanilla god who does nothing but grant 9 Victory Points.
** Most buildings have some kind of effect, but the blue ones only give you a flat sum of points (and may chain into another blue building). Defied by ''Agora'', which gives ''Duel'''s blue buildings the additional effect of boosting the efficiency of Senators.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Abyss}}'':
** Lords of the Farmer guild are characterized by having no abilities (other than sometimes holding keys), but also above-average point values. The ''Leviathan'' ExpansionPack does introduce a couple of non-vanilla Farmers, however.
** Many lords are virtual vanillas who have an ability that triggers when they're played, and then never again.
** In the ''Conspiracy'' spin-off, all Lords except the key Lords are virtual vanillas whose abilities only come into play when they're placed into your tableau. This helps streamline the game and compensate for the complexity of the tableau building itself. Additionally, there's a Location that's worth a flat 7 points, and several virtual vanilla locations that only have an immediate action and a point value.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Pandemic}}'': The Generalist has no special ability, but gets 5 actions per turn instead of the usual 4. In ''Pandemic Legacy: Season 1'', she also has four upgrade slots instead of the usual 2.
* ''TabletopGame/ResArcana'':
** All Monuments have a power. The exception is the Great Pyramid, which compensates by being the only one worth 3 points instead of 1 or 2. Additionally, the Obelisk is a virtual vanilla that gets you 6 essences when you buy it, but does nothing after that point.
** The Nightingale is a creature that's worth a Victory Point, but has no power.
* ''TabletopGame/SpaceBase'' has a lot of ships that just give you points when they're activated.
* ''TabletopGame/SushiGo'': Most cards are scored based on some kind of condition, such as the Sashimi being worth 10 points per group of three, with any excess ones being worthless. The exception is the Nigiri cards, which are worth a flat sum, though they can be boosted by a Wasabi card, which specifically synergizes with them. If you're playing ''Sushi Go! Party'', some menus even include Nigiri and exclude Wasabi.
* ''TabletopGame/VillainousRavensburger'' has a few Allies that have a Strength stat, but no additional ability. These tend to have a great cost-to-Strength ratio. There are also quite a few virtual vanilla Allies and Heroes with an ability that only does something when the card is played. This keeps the complexity manageable when there are numerous of these things on your board.
* Most birds in ''TabletopGame/{{Wingspan}}'' have some kind of ability, but a few (such as the Wild Turkey) don't. These tend to be expensive, high-value birds that are at their best in the late game, when it's too late to get much out of most abilities anyway. There are also birds with white powers, which only trigger when the bird is played, making them virtual vanillas.
[[AC:Card Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/CardfightVanguard'': In the original version of the game, Units (cards) of each rank have a maximum attack stat, which is reduced accordingly depending on the Unit's skills. In other words, a Rank 2 Unit with no skills always has an attack stat of 10000, and Rank 2 units with skills can have 9000 at the highest. Basically, it boils down to UnskilledButStrong versus WeakButSkilled. Most clans have at least one Vanilla unit per Rank, but it's exceptionally rare to see Rank 3 Vanilla Units, and Rank 4 doesn't have any.
* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'':
** There are plenty of creatures with no rules text, and a few cards that explicitly grant bonuses to creatures with no abilities. With that said, vanilla creatures became rarer as the game progressed and players wanted more interesting cards. 9 September 2022 marks the first time of there being no vanilla creatures legal in Standard. However, there are still plenty of virtual vanillas, French vanillas and virtual French vanillas.
** "Bears" are an extremely popular vanilla card archetype named after the ever-popular original Green [[https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=129586 Grizzly Bears]]. They are two-mana 2/2 creatures with no abilities, which offers a great mana/power balance for this purpose and are typically considered the "weakest" creatures to be playable in a competitive deck. Creatures in this mold now exist for every color except Blue (which has creatures as one its biggest weakesses). As the game progresses, [[CrutchCharacter they fall well behind the power curve]], but still have their uses as chump blockers and sacrifices.
** [[https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=gigantosaurus Gigantosaurus]] is notable for being a big vanilla creature with a high stats-to-cost ratio -- you get a statline of 10/10 for five green mana.
** Quite a few Hydras are virtual vanillas whose only effects only come into play as they're cast.
** Darksteel Relic is the closest the game gets to a vanilla ''artifact'' -- it's indestructible, but it does nothing. The only reason it isn't a JokeItem is that many cards synergize with artifacts.
** The ''Mystery Booster'' set added How to Keep an Izzet Mage Busy, which is kind of a vanilla ''sorcery'' -- it has no effect other than returning itself to your hand when you cast it. It can be abused with effects that care about spells being cast.
** The basic lands are the simplest lands. They can tap for a single mana of one color. That's it. No bonuses and no drawbacks. Lands with additional utility or better mana abilities come with drawbacks like entering tapped.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Most attacks have some sort of secondary effect, or at least something like conditional extra damage, but there are also a few simple ones that just deal a flat sum of damage. Some Pokémon even have no abilities other than vanilla attacks.
** Basic energy cards are the vanillas of energy cards. They provide one energy of one type, and have no further bonuses or drawbacks. In contrast, Special Energy cards tend to have drawbacks like restrictions on what you can attach them to, or additional costs to attach them. There are also Special Energy cards that provide utility (e.g. drawing you a card) at the cost of only providing colorless energy.
* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'': Normal Monsters are characterized by having no card text that impacts gameplay (with the exception of archetype conditions). There are numerous cards that synergize with them, however.
[[AC:Parlour Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/{{Werewolf|1997}}'':
** A vanilla player has no special abilities. They can vote, and they get the appropriate factional ability if there is any, but that's it. The most basic player is the Vanilla Townie, which has no abilities. These vanillas are important because a setup full of power roles is hard to balance.
** The Named Townie has no abilities. It's a Vanilla Townie in all but name, though the mere fact that it's named makes it easy for the player to confirm themselves as Town.
** False roles are vanilla players who were told that they had a power.
** There are a few power roles that interact with vanilla status, e.g. the Neapolitan (who can check if a player is vanilla) and the Vanillaiser (who can forcibly turn someone else into a vanilla player).
[[AC:Tabletop RPG]]
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': In 1st and 2nd edition Fighters were just good at attacking and soaking up damage. They didn't have any spells or special abilities. 3rd edition added a degree of customization with a bunch of bonus feats and later editions threw in subclasses with supernatural abilities but they're still best at hitting things.
[[AC:War Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'': All armies include a basic type of simple infantry units -- Imperial State Troops, High Elven Spearmen, Dwarf Warriors, Orc Boyz, Ogre Bulls, Chaos Marauders, etcetera -- provided with middling health, decent morale, basic swords, spears and shields, and not generally much else, in contrast to more advanced -- and expensive -- units provided with generally better stat lines, more advanced weaponry, and more complex abilities and attacks.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
[[AC:Card Battle Game]]
* ''VideoGame/OneHundredPercentOrangeJuice'': Some characters like the starting cast (Kai, Marie Poppo, QP, Suguri, Sora, and Marc) do not come with Passive abilities that give them gimmicks in gameplay, so their playstyles are relatively straightforward with only their raw stats to rely on. This means that in a vacuum, aside from stats, they have no inherent benefits or drawbacks compared to characters who do have Passives, so how they perform in a lobby match entirely depends on execution and the cards you have at your disposal.
* ''VideoGame/HearthstoneHeroesOfWarcraft'':
** There are plenty of minions with no rules text, no rules text besides a keyword, or no rules text besides a Battlecry (an ability that triggers when the minion is played from your hand).
** The Giant archetype consists of big, expensive minions whose only ability is a cost reduction ability. While you have to exploit the cost reduction to make them worth playing (some of the costs exceed the 10 mana, the maximum number of mana crystals, making the ability mandatory to play them ''at all''), once they hit the field, they're essentially vanillas.
* ''VideoGame/LegendsOfRuneterra'': Cithria of Cloudfield is one of the plainest units in the game, being one of the cheapest units in the game at 1-mana and having no keywords or passive effects for dynamic play. While she does have slightly higher stats than what her cost implies, 2-power and 2-health for a 1-cost card, nothing about her is really gonna be swinging the game around.
* ''VideoGame/MonsterTrain''
** Your deck always starts with four Train Stewards, basic 5/8 units that are meant to be removed as you gain better units. However, the Advanced Prototype artifacts gives them effects that make them much more useful even into late game.
** Demon Fiend is a Hellhorned unit that costs 4 Ember (more than the default max of 3), but has a hefty stat of 50/50.
** The Umbra's Shadowsiege is an even bigger and harder to summon unit, with a massive cost of 6 Ember ''and'' is generally impossible to summon without increasing floor capacity, but comes with gigantic base stats of 200/150.
* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombiesHeroes'' has at least one of these for each class. One of them in the Smarty class is a [[https://plantsvszombies.fandom.com/wiki/Vanilla literal vanilla plant]].
[[AC:Eastern RPG]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Pokemon}}'': The majority of damage-dealing moves have a secondary effect, but there are some (e.g. Dazzling Gleam) that don't. They tend to have middle-of-the-road power -- stronger than moves with beneficial effects, and weaker than moves with drawbacks.
[[AC:Fighting Game]]
* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'': In its story mode, The World of Light, the player must collect spirits that they can equip to power up their fighters. They come in two kinds: primary spirits, which boost stats and have slots to equip secondary spirits to, which have bonus effects such as starting battles with a certain item equipped. Some primary spirits have no slots, but they have higher stats to compensate.
[[AC:Platform Game]]
* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'': Princess Toadstool is the only playable character with a special ability -- floating during her jumps. However, she has bad stats to compensate -- her Jump is the second worst, and she's dead last in both Speed and Strength.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'': Luigi can scuffle after his jumps to cover more ground, while Peach can float. [[spoiler:Unlockable character Rosalina has a special spin move that can be used as an attack and a double jump.]] In contrast, Mario and Toad have no special abilities. Mario is a JackOfAllStats, while Toad is a speed-oriented character.
[[AC:Real-Time Strategy]]
* Downplayed by the base units of each race in ''VideoGame/StarCraftI''. The Terran have Marines, the Protoss have Zealots, and the Zerg have Zerglings. They are the overall weakest ([[WorkerUnit non-worker]]) in each faction and the Zealots do not come with any abilities at all. By default, Marines can use Stim-Packs which increases their movement and rate of fire temporarily, while Zerglings (like most Zerg ground units) can burrow to become invisible, both very minor abilities in the grand scheme. Each can also obtain some passive upgrades via research including boosts to attack rate, range, and movement speed.
* ''VideoGame/TotalWar'':
** ''VideoGame/RomeTotalWar'':
*** The base infantry unit for most factions (above [[CannonFodder Peasants]]) are the Vanilla Units. Roman and Carthaginian Town Watch and Eastern Infantry are light infantry with poor morale, basic spears and shields, and very little armor. They're adequate for garrisoning towns as defensive units, driving off small Rebel forces, and supplementing larger armies as reserves/to increase their siege equipment-building capacity, but are easily outclassed by anything higher on the TechTree in combat.
*** Downplayed by the base infantry units of the Barbarian (Spear Warband) and Greek (Militia Hoplites). While still the most "vanilla" units in their factions' tech trees, each comes with a very minor ability. Warband can use "War Cry" to lower the morale of enemy forces and Militia Hoplites can form a phalanx, but so can every nearly other infantry unit of their factions.
** ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammer'': Every faction possesses a few units of basic line infantry with no advanced abilities, intended mainly to provide a basic defensive line, blunt enemy aggression, and add to the army's overall momentum. Their relative use varies depending on the faction -- Dwarf warriors and Chaos marauders are both relatively strong for their simplicity, for instance, while the zombies and skeletons of the Vampire Counts, Bretonnian peasants and Skavenslaves are purely expendable CannonFodder.
* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III'':
** Downplayed by the base units of each faction. Humans have Footmen, Orcs have Grunts, Night Elves have Archers, and Undead have Ghouls. They are the overall weakest ([[WorkerUnit non-worker]]) in each faction and do not come with any abilities by default. However, each can gain a (rather unexciting) ability via research. Footmen can learn "Defend" which slows them down but increases their defense, Orcs get a passive health/damage boost, Archers gain additional range, and Ghouls can learn to "Cannibalize" nearby corpses to regain health.
** Some maps feature mercenary camps where different creeps can be hired to supplement a player's forces. For the most part they have no special abilities apart from higher stats (and being unaffected by weapon and armor upgrades means they'll die faster against late-game units), though some have spells or abilities otherwise unavailable to a player (such as the Harpy Windwitch's Faerie Fire, a Night Elf spell, or the Razormane Medicine Man's Healing Ward, an Orc spell). Even those with abilities are situationally useful (a Forest Troll High Priest has Heal and Inner Fire, same as an Alliance priest... but its food cost is twice that of a priest).
[[AC:Shoot 'em Up]]
* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'':
** If Reimu has a needle-based shot type, it probably serves as the "vanilla" shot type: the needles only go forward and have no special abilities, but they have high power to compensate. However, there are exceptions, like ''VideoGame/SubterraneanAnimism'' giving the Needle Reimu shot type the unique ability to warp between the left and right edges of the screen.
** In ''VideoGame/DoubleDealingCharacter'', the weapons of the three protagonists are acting oddly. At the start of the game, you can choose whether you want to use the cursed weapon. Choosing not to gives you a more basic shot type.
** In ''VideoGame/WilyBeastAndWeakestCreature'', collecting five spirits makes you enter Roaring Mode. If you got three or more beast spirits of the same type, you enter Berserk Roaring Mode, which triggers a power depending on the type of beast spirit, as well as giving you some generic benefits like protecting you from one hit. If not, you enter the "vanilla" Roaring Mode, which only offers the generic benefits.
* ''VideoGame/TheVoidRainsUponHerHeart'': Her Heart is the only character not to have a gimmick or start out with a Power Gift beyond her BoringButPractical basic shot type. She does have more Quick Gift slots than most of the other characters, though.
[[AC:Strategy RPG]]
* Most weapons in classic ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' games (up to ''Awakening'') have no special effects, which serves to make the ones that ''do'' have them feel more special. However, later games took the exact opposite approach by making all weapon have special effects (negative and positive) to balance out the absence of a BreakableWeapons system.
[[AC:Turn-Based Strategy]]
* ''VideoGame/GihrensGreed'':
** [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam One Year War era]]: The [=GM=] has no special abilities other than being equipped with a shield that they can use to deflect enemy attacks. They otherwise are completely vanilla, lacking even the ability to swap weapons (even though in-universe they're supposed to be able to utilise any weapons wielded by the Gundam like the Hyper Bazooka or Beam Javelin). In comparison, their Zeon counterpart the Zaku II can swap weapons between the Zaku Machinegun or the Zaku Bazooka, and can be equipped with a Dodai bomber support craft that allows them to become flying units in gameplay.
** [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory Operation Stardust Era]]:
*** The [=GM=] Custom is a huge improvement to the original [=GM=] in terms of stats, but still lacks the ability to swap out their loadouts and are restricted to their basic weaponry consisting of an assault rifle, head vulcans and a beam saber.
*** The Dra-C utilised by the Delaz Fleet have no special features and are effectively an evolutionary dead-end. Their only key saving grace is how cheap they are to build.
** [[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Grypps War era]]: The [=GM II=] is an improvement of the original, but otherwise exactly the same. The only big change is the ability to be equipped with a flying sled to grant them the ability to fly, but that's common to virtually all Mobile Suits of the era. However, the [=GM=] can be upgraded into the vastly more powerful and versatile [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ GM III]]...
* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'':
** In the first two games, the Knight faction fits HumansAreAverage to an extreme, having [[BoringButPractical cost-efficient and well-statted creatures with no special abilities]]. The only unit with a special ability in the first game was the Paladin which attacks twice, while second only added the Ranger that shoots twice and the Crusader that's immune to curses deals 2x damage to Undead. Averted by their Castle successors in III, which added several new creatures with more diverse effects and gave new specials to existing creatures.
** Any unit that can't fly, can't shoot, and doesn't have any immediate impact is nicknamed a walker, since all they can do on their first turn is walk towards the enemy. Most walkers have good stats to compensate, but those that can't even deliver on that are the worst creatures in the game. Walkers do at least fill the important role of defending your shooters from flyers that dive on them, since they threaten to counterattack and kill anything that moves too hastily.
[[AC: Visual Novel]]
* Many shop items in ''VisualNovel/MonsterProm'' unlock secret endings, but there's also a series of basic ones that just give you a boost in one stat. Similarly, many of the drinks in the sequel ''Monster Camp'' have wacky effects, but there are still a few that just give you a simple stat boost.
[[AC: Western RPG]]
* ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'': A primary use of SummonMagic is to conjure {{Elemental Embodiment}}s out of nearby GeoEffects. Absent any suitable surface or Elemental Infusion buff spell, it creates a Wood Incarnate or Totem that lacks any special attacks, elemental powers, or resistances.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Non-Game Examples]]
[[AC:Anime and Manga]]
* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'':
** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'': The humble [=GM=], the mass-produced version of the Gundam, is more than a match for their primary opposition the Zaku IIs, Goufs and Doms. However, unlike the Gundam they're made of regular titanium (except for their lunar titanium shield) and their beam spray gun has less range than the Gundam's beam rifle. In-universe, they're considered BoringButPractical, with a design that would continue to be used for decades with occasional improvements.
** ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'':
*** The [=GM II=], successor to the original [=GM=], is a completely bog-standard, unremarkable Mobile Suit. It's also effectively the same as the original, with only slight improvements like improved thrusters and reactors. It's quickly phased out as the series progresses due to its lack of special features making it easily out-paced by the various newer machines, but due to sheer numbers it still appears all the way up to the finale.
*** The Nemo is AEUG's trademark Mobile Suit, introduced to replace the [=GM IIs=] they'd been utilising. Like the [=GM II=], there's nothing particularly remarkable about the Nemo save that they're significantly more powerful than the [=GM IIs=] they were replacing but still simple enough that pilots trained on the [=GM II=] could easily transition to them.
*** In-universe, this is what causes the Barzam to be rejected by the Titans. On paper, it's quite powerful for a mass-production suit. However, by the point of the series where it was being considered for mass-production (in order to replace their current mainstays the Hi-Zacks and [=GM=] Quels), it was considered ''too'' vanilla and rejected. Among other problems were the fact the Barzam could only be equipped with weapons specifically designed for it, but that also meant that specialised factories and facilities would be needed to build and maintain them.
*** An in-universe complaint about the Gundam [=Mk II=] is that it's a completely vanilla version of the original Gundam. Where the original Gundam was a quantum leap in terms of Mobile Suit design, the [=Mk II=] had nothing special about it. In fact, AEUG had to develop the G-Defensor support mech to [[CombiningMecha combine with it to form the Super Gundam]], just to give it a chance of keeping up with the Titans' increasingly powerful SuperPrototype machines.
** ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'': The Kowloon Gundam is a completely vanilla Mobile Fighter with no special gimmicks or weapons (compared to Mobile Fighters with special weapons like the Rose Gundam's Rose Bits or Bolt Gundam's Graviton Hammer, or gimmicks like the Zeus Gundam's chariot or Nobel Gundam's Berserker System). However, it doesn't actually need them, since the Kowloon Gundam is utilised by Master Asia, the Undefeated of The East and WorldsStrongestMan. Master Asia can destroy Mobile Suits and Fighters with his bare hands, so the Kowloon Gundam didn't need anything particularly noteworthy to be effective.
** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'': The Leo is the most ubiquitous Mobile Suit in the series. They can be equipped with solid ammunition or beam weapons, and both terrestrial and space-borne versions exist, but there's nothing special about them other than their ease of production and use. OZ utilises them as their most basic forces, with other more specialised Mobile Suits being used for specific missions (e.g. the Cancers are designed for marine warfare, the Aries are meant for aerial combat). So numerous are the Leos that they appear all the way up to the finale, despite being dramatically outmatched by the Taurus and Virgo [=II=] Mobile Dolls that make up their main opposition.
[[AC:Toys]]
* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'': Several characters from the initial 1984 and 1985 toyline didn't have fancy titles like "Air Commander" (Starscream, Rank 9), "Special Operations Agent" (Jazz, Rank 8) or "Communications Officer" (Soundwave, Rank 8), instead having the function of "Warrior" with a rank of 5. Examples include...
** The Lamborghini twins Sunstreaker and Sideswipe both had the rank of 5 and the function of "Warrior". Sideswipe had significantly higher stats for Courage and Endurance than Sunstreaker, but conversely Sunstreaker had much higher stats for Skill (reflecting how he's the more skilled of the two). Otherwise, they didn't have any particularly unique skills or powers (other than Sideswipe having a jetpack he could use for limited flight).
** Of the 6 Decepticon jets (Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Thrust, Dirge, Ramjet), Thrust stands out as the most vanilla of the group. While all of them bar Starscream are ranked 5 with the function of "Warrior", Thrust is the only one without any notable or unique powers or abilities [[note]] Starscream is not just higher-ranking but also the fastest and armed with powerful weapons like the null-ray. Thundercracker can generate deafening and disorienting sonic booms. Skywarp can teleport. Dirge's engines emit a low frequency hum that triggers the fear reaction in his opponents. Ramjet's nosecone is reinforced to allow him to survive mid-air collisions[[/note]].
[[AC:Web Articles]]
* The ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' article "[[https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/latest-developments/ingredients-great-vanillas-2016-11-11 The Ingredients for Great Vanillas]]" explains why vanillas exist and what roles they play in the game.
[[/folder]]
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