Characters / Stranded in Fantasy

Tropes applying to the characters of Stranded in Fantasy. Warning: entries contain unmarked spoilers.

Terrans

11 people with no apparent connections between them who have been manipulated into entering portals leading them to the fantasy world.

The Narrator

Sex: Male
Class: Psion

The story's unnamed narrator and point-of-view of the events.

• Achilles' Heel: Undead. They have no mind for his psionics to manipulate, Removing the Head or Destroying the Brain is averted in this world so his handgun is also useless, incendiary weapons just turn them into flaming skeletons, and the most he can do is fight them in melee with a sword.
• Arch-Enemy: The Rheingraf Spymaster, which after being double-crossed by the narrator tends to show up at the worst times, ambushing him in attempts to murder him.
• Astral Projection: He eventually learns how to detach from his body and do so at will. It lets him "survive" the final assassination attempt by the Spymaster.
• Cardboard Prison: Tends to be confined in these and never staying in them for long. Most egregiously, he gets imprisoned three times in a row in Wolflake and manages to escape or is broken out in short order in each one of them.
• Catchphrase: "Fuckin' (whatever he's currently frustrated with)"
• Counting Bullets: He starts out with 24 shots and reasonably worries when he has to use them to take down assailants. Fortunately he later obtains a magical bag that lets him slowly replenish his ammunition, at the rate of one bullet per day, though he still can't go nuts with his gun since he has a limited amount of magazines to put the bullets in as well.
• Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Even after Raina reveals herself as a dragon, he still stands up to her without even hinting at being intimidated.
• Dude, Not Funny!: He's absolutely horrified when Marcus asks if he could manipulate Raina, now pregnant, into getting rid of his unborn child.
• I Know You're Watching Me: As Avery takes to stealing and reading his diary, he leaves angry notes for her to stop doing that. She leaves taunting replies.
• It Gets Easier: He gets more comfortable fighting, killing and using Psionics to bend others' will as time goes on, though he draws the line at unnecessary violence or completely immoral acts.
• Jack of All Trades: He starts out able to handle a gun, later gains psionic powers and learns how to swordfight and ride horses, letting him partially cover up situations where his spells don't work.
• Mind Control: His main ability once he develops his Psion powers.
• Mundane Utility: He finds some ways to use his psionic spells for mundane uses, such as compelling fish to bite when he's angling or keeping Marcus' son quet when he babysits him.
• No Name Given
• Ragnarök Proofing: Despite the story spanning more than two years, his pistol never jams or misfires, though given that he brought quite a few items before entering the portal it's possible he simply brought a gun maintenance kit as well.
• Really Gets Around: Not as much as Marcus, but he has drunken sex on more than one occasion.
• Set a Mook to Kill a Mook: One of his preferred tactics when overwhelmed, making weak-minded monsters see each other as enemies and tricking them into infighting.
• Taking You with Me: He is killed by the bomb the party used to destroy New Paris when the Spymaster appears out of nowhere to attack him again, but he makes sure he stays to watch the fireworks from up close as well.
• Vague Age: His age isn't directly stated, but he admits not having flown on a plane since the '80s, meaning he is at the very least in his forties.
• What You Are in the Dark: After destroying New Paris, he is given the chance to rule over the refugees like Lucas once did. He flatly directs them to rejoin the rest of civilization instead.

Alex

Sex: Male

Class: Sorcerer

• Fanboy: Is immediately enraptured by the magical aspects of the world and attempts to learn spells by imitating local wizards.
• Magic Misfire: Suffers one in Rosenbridge trying to improvise a magic spell, putting him out of commission almost immediately in the first part of the story.
• Put on a Prison Bus: He gets separated fromt he party in Rosenbridge as he stays to recover from his magical mishap, and turns out to have traveled to Aeyllin to study sorcery during the Wolflake arc. He rejoins the group when they return to the ciry, now a decent spellcaster.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He accidentally knocks himself into a coma when trying to cast a spell, which leads to the local government learning the party is from another world and half of them being imprisoned or having to stay in Rosenbridge and the rest fleeing towards Aeyllin.

Amanda

Sex: Female

• Dead Guy on Display: Her corpse is displayed in front of Winterfield by the barbarians who killed her as an insult. Fortunately for her...
• Due to the Dead: The party makes sure to arrange for a dignified burial and pay respects to her grave whenever they visit Winterfield.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Gets killed by the barbarians outside Winterfield, ran down by a horse and impaled by a spear.
• Hollywood Pudgy: The Narrator mentions she might be too fat to prostitute herself in the new world, then specifies it's compared to the malnourished physique most commoners of that world have.
• Irony: She believes she has talked with the ghost of a girl in Rosenbridge. Later on, she becomes a ghost herself.
• Never Got to Say Goodbye: The reason she lingers as a ghost, though the Narrator and Avery only notice after defeating the barbarians at Winterfield. They swiftly move to put her spirit to rest after that, by assuring her that everyone is still alive and doing well.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Is the second Terran to die after Dan, pretty early in the story.

Austin

Sex: Male

Class: Artificer

• Gadgeteer Genius: He's the one mantaining most of the party's electronics and upgrading their airship.
• Put on a Prison Bus: He, Ian and Max are separated from the party when they are arrested in Rosenbridge and then sold to the Archmage. He returns when they are set free by the rest of the group.

Avery

Sex: Female

Class: Cleric

• Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: The result of her sacrifice against the king of Wolflake. She's still apparently capable enough to write in the Narrator's diary and keep him company when he becomes permanently detached from his body.
• Badass Preacher: She becomes a true believer in the Sun God's faith, kicking ass and taking names while still preaching and observing a merciful and righteous dogma as much as she can. It comes to a head when she launches into a divinely-empowered sermon that hurts the corrupt clergy in the Aeylinn Sun Church and enraptures the rest, making her preaching itself badass.
• Batman Gambit: Turns out pushing the church to arrest the Narrator in Wolflake was that, as she knew the Church would imprison him in the temple thus letting her have a potential ally close by without the paladins being suspicious of her. Unfortunately, the Narrator escaping foils that.
• De Powered: She gets ambushed by necromancers before the siege of Wolflake, and has her divine power sapped away. She still joins the fray to fight into melee, and eventually manages to regain control of her spellcasting.
• Fighting Your Friend: She is sent with the rest of Wolflake's clergy to fight the orc army her fellow Terrans have enlisted in. She is captured, imprisoned and eventually returns to their side.
• Heroic Sacrifice: She permanently disappears (or at least her body does after causing a holy explosion that kills the king of Wolflake.
• Light 'em Up: When she's not using her magic for healing, she's blasting enemies with pillars of light. It's especially effective against undead.
• Magic Knight: As a cleric she mostly specializes in healing and protective spells, though she also wields offensive magic and a mace in combat if need be.
• Troll: She frequently steals the Narrator's diary to read it. Played for Drama at first as this is how she determines he's turned evil and needs to be stopped, then Played for Laughs as she keeps taking it despite the Narrator's efforts to hide it and leaving taunting notes on the entries.

Dan

Sex: Male

• We Hardly Knew Ye: He is killed in a goblin ambush the moment the party leaves the starting town of Rosenbridge.

Ian

Sex: Male

Class: Spellblade

• Late Character Syndrome: After being rescued from the bus, he spends most of his time studying fencing and magic at Aeylinn's University, only joining the party in the last leg of the story.
• Put on a Prison Bus: Is arrested and sold to the slave market together with Max and Austin, and only returns when he's rescued from the Archmage.

Jason

Sex: Male

Class: Rogue

• Badass Normal: Despite having no spellcasting ability whatsoever unlike the rest of the party for a good half of the story, he still participates in a lot of dangerous missions and battles, using stealth and guile to sneak up on enemies.
• Empowered Badass Normal: Eventually gains his Ruby Eye, which greatly enhances his senses, and later acquires the ability to turn invisible.
• Eyepatch of Power: Loses an eye fighting in Wolflake, but the Orc shamans fit him with a replacement gem which grants him enhanced sight.
• Invisibility: Picks up this power just before the return to undead-overrun Wolflake, rounding out his infiltration and stealth skills.
• The Pirates That Dont Do Anything: For a rogue and a member of the Thieves' Guild, most of his thieving (or illicit activities in general) takes place before the Winterfield arc, culminating with murdering the king. After that, he mostly uses the Guild for connections but does little to no actual crime.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: After signing up with the Thieves Guild, he frequently pulls what strings he can to get the party out of tight spots, especially in the early parts of their journey.

Marcus

Sex: Male

Class: Bard

• And Now You Must Marry Me: He is forced into an engagement with Raina, which includes a tracking ring he has to wear at all times.
• Disappeared Dad: Becomes this for a few months when he sneaks out after leaving Raina with child.
• Really Gets Around: To the point the other Terrans start taking bets on which species he won't sleep with.
• The Power of Rock: He experiments in mixing his bardic magic with Terran rock song, mostly Queen.

Max

Sex: Male

Class: Wizard

• Late Character Syndrome: By the time he finishes his studies and becomes a full blown spellcaster the story is almost over, and his most noteworthy actions are participating in the destruction of New Paris.
• Put on a Bus: Is arrested and sold to the slave market together with Ian and Austin, and only returns when he's rescued from the Archmage.

Mike

Sex: Male

Class: Warlock

• Dark Is Not Evil: Even though his powers manifest in ways that creep the other Terrans out, such as throwing hellfire or crawling on walls, he's still a decent person with the group's interests at heart.
• Gory Discretion Shot: A text example, as once he and the others free the three enslaved Terrans from the Archmage he proceeds to sacrifice him to his infernal patron. The only thing that is seen of the aftermath is the Archmage's shadow imprinted on the wall.
• Just in Time: He accepts his pact when the barbarians have split up the party, using his newfound spells to fend off the hunters chasing them.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He's deathly terrified of bees. Justified in that he's allergic and antihistamine isn't exactly easy to come by in the fantasy world.

Antagonists

The Winterfield Barbarians

Race: Humans

• Cannibalism Superpower: They believe they can inherit the power of their tribe's chieftain and shamans by eating their remains after they die.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: When the party returns to Winterfield for the second time, they join the town's defenders in pelting them with mortar fire, which is just as effective against men armed with spears and bows as one would think. The only reason they are still threatening is the devil army they summon to bolster their numbers.
• Deal with the Devil: They summon an entire army of them to besiege Winterfield.
• Faux Affably Evil: They appear to be open to negotiation and even give the party some medical care, then let them go...and inform them they're giving them a headstart as their warriors prepare to kill them in a hunt that is completely rigged against them (the hunters have horses and weapons, plus a backup party ready to kill them anyway if they somehow manage to survive the first)
• Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: They hunt the party for sport, killing Amanda and some of their allies.

The King of Wolflake

Sex: Male

Race: Lich

• Attack Its Weak Point: Turns out his phylactery is his crown, which he wears on his head as he fights the party. The Narrator is quick to identify it and Avery destroys it in one blow.
• Conveniently Timed Distraction: The mp3 golem turns out to be a key to his downfall, as it barges in during the fight blasting Love Shack at full volume and distracts him just enough for Avery to destroy his philactery.
• Godzilla Threshold: He unleashes an army of necromancers when the Orcs manage to make progress towards conquering the city, spurred on by the Terrans giving them stirrups and exploding catapult ammunition. This not only blows the cover on most of his manipulations but also a resistance gathering at Hebiry to properly purge the land.
• No-Nonsense Nemesis: Even though he meets the party for the first time during the final siege of Wolflake, he wastes no time threatening or addressing them — he merely starts pelting them with spells the moment they step into his room.
• The Necrocracy: Wolflake has been one secretly for the last years, with him pulling the strings from the shadows.
• You Can't Thwart Stage One: both played straight when the orcs decide not to press into Wolflake after he starts filling the city and surrounding lands with undead, which as the Narrator laments could have ended his menace then and there, and averted as the party kills him before he can fully manifest the Death God on the material plane.

The Spymaster

Sex: Male

Race: Elf

An agent of the Rheingraf noble house in Winterfield, who strong-arms the Narrator into using his psionics for their own ends with the civil war effort.

• Combat Pragmatist: Has no qualms in attacking the Narrator when he's most vulnerable, such as when he's doing business with the Artificer or when he's distracted from fighting the Archmage.
• Cyborg: of a magic-fueled non-technological sort: his body has been artificially enhanced with implants giving him his enhanced resilience, regeneration and contingency teleportation.
• Diabolus ex Machina: Appears at the last minute to kill the Narrator as he's lighting the bomb to destroy New Paris. The Narrator uses the last of his strength to make him stay and watch the fireworks up close.
• Implacable Man: Despite being shot point blank with a handgun, pelted with spells and strangled, he simply disappears to come back again later.
• Villain Decay: His apparent immortality only helps him escape retribution: Jason eventually uses his ruby eye to instantly foil his ambushes to the point he barely has time to attack during them. By the time he does manage to kill the Narrator, he's become able to cheat death anyway and he ends up killing him in return.
• Villain: Exit, Stage Left: He instantly vanishes when "slain", looking no worse for wear the following time. He can also "kill" himself instantly, foiling attempts to capture him.

Lucas

Sex: Male

Race: Lich (formerly Terran)

The ruler of New Paris and the actual mind behind the events that led Terrans to the fantasy world.

• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: He starts begging the party to leave New Paris after they start doing some significant damage. Given that he's the direct or indirect source of most of their misadventures and tragedy, the party goes ahead with their plans of destruction anyway.
• Never Found the Body: After bombing New Paris he apparently disappears. The Narrator presumes he's dead and ponders that perhaps he had made the city itself into his phylactery, meaning its destruction destroyed him permanently.
• The Man Behind the Man: He is behind the corrupt Sun church and the king of Wolflake, manipulating event to enforce Medieval Stasis everywhere except in New Paris.
• We Can Rule Together: He extends this offer to the current Terrans as they have made enough progress to be of use to him. The party's answer is to sic Raina on him and his council.

Others

Baldy

Sex: Female

Race: Elf

Class: Psion

• Attack Hello: She greets the Narrator by overwhelming him with psionic attacks. By the time he comes back to Rosenbridge after the Wolflake arc, he's powerful enough to rebuff her "greeting", she starts treating him as more of an equal.
• Sink or Swim Mentor: Her way to unlock the Narrator's psionic potential is to basically fry his brain with mental attacks repeatedly. As he later finds out, this is standard fare for psionic practice.

Raina

Sex: Female

Race: Dragon

• The Baby Trap: The Narrator nonchalantly accuses her of getting Marcus involved in this to her face when she demands yet another cut of the party's wealth. Judging by her reaction, he might be right.
• Big Damn Heroes: She kills a room full of guards to help the party escape Lucas' office in New Paris when they are captured, then blows up the enemy airships when they are working to sabotage the city. The Narrator even admits that she "earned her pay today" for once.
• Foreshadowing: The Narrator notes she has an enormous, apparently unused, empty room when visiting her house. Turns out it's the living space where she can assume her true dragon form.
• Gold Digger: Constantly tries to guilt trip the Terrans into giving Marcus more money to feed his family. The Narrator has none of that.
• Greed: Comes with her race, and her most defining trait once she shows her true colors.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Greedy and possessive as she may be, she seems to have genuine affection for Marcus in her own way and doesn't hesitate to attack Lucas and the guards of New Paris to save the party.