These characters are experts in their fields of knowledge.
If you're looking for people who are smart rather than knowledgeable, see Intelligence Tropes. If you are looking for the wise and experienced, see Tropes of Wisdom.
Master of the Index is for people that are just good at something, though there is often overlap. It doesn't have to be a matter of knowledge, it could be a physical trait, like strength or beauty.
Characters who are experts
Categories:
- The Ace: A character who is highly skilled at everything they do.
- Ace Pilot: A character who is very good at piloting aircrafts.
- The Archmage: A particularly powerful and learned mage who is recognized as being better than other mages.
- Badass Driver: An extremely competent driver, who often utilizes their skill.
- Combat Commentator: A character who narrates and explains the moves used in fights or competitions.
- Consummate Liar: A character who is extremely good at deceiving others
- Demolitions Expert: A character who is good with explosives, whether it be defusing, planting, or designing them.
- Irish Explosives Expert: The Irish character plays the role of the Demolitions Expert of the group, usually in a planting or designing context.
- Expert in Underwater Basket Weaving: A character who is an expert in a field that is practically pointless.
- Fastest Gun in the West: A character is particularly skilled at drawing and firing a gun quickly, and is thus an exceptionally good duelist.
- Gadgeteer Genius: The character's expertise is in creating devices and gizmos.
- Godlike Gamer: A character is an expert at playing video games in general.
- Great Detective: An expert who solves crimes using the power of deductive logic.
- Great White Hunter: A heroic (or anti-heroic) hunter or poacher, who is often an expert tracker, a crack shot, and highly skilled at wilderness survival.
- Ignored Expert: A character who knows a lot about something is ignored by most people, often in a dangerous situation.
- Immortal Genius: An immortal character seems to know everything worth knowing.
- King of Games: A character renowned for their skill at games or gaming, in whatever game relevant to the worldbuilding or the plot.
- Master Actor: A character who is brilliant at pretending to be someone else.
- Master Forger: A master at creating counterfeit objects.
- Master of Disguise: A character who is very good at disguising themselves.
- Master of Illusion: One who specializes in creating illusions, visual tricks and sub-realities.
- Master of One Magic: They're the best at a particular type of magic (or something close enough).
- Master Poisoner: Someone who excels at making and giving toxins to poison anyone.
- Master Swordsman: A character noted for their mastery of the sword or knowledge of fighting with one; Implausible Fencing Powers optional.
- Master of Unlocking: A character who knows how to unlock any door.
- Mr. Exposition: A character whose main function is to explain the setting and plot to other characters (and by extension, the audience).
- Muggle with a Degree in Magic: A character has an expert-level understanding of magical theory and applications, but is unable to use it in practice themself.
- Old Master: An old character who is a formidible fighter, often because they have had the time to gain sufficient knowledge and experience to be considered so.
- Omnidisciplinary Lawyer: A lawyer whose knowledge and skill covers every area of law the plot requires.
- Omnidisciplinary Scientist: A scientist whose knowledge and skill covers every kind of science the plot requires.
- The Omniscient: A character who knows everything, either literally or simply everything worth knowing under the relevant circumstances.
- The Professor: An eccentric scientist/scholar who can make or explain anything the heroes ask them.
- Renaissance Man: A character who has a broad base of skill and knowledge and is considered an expert in multiple fields.
- Scarily Competent Tracker: A person who can find their target, no matter how difficult it may be to track them down.
- The Social Expert: A character who has very good social skills and understands social psychology.
- Stealth Expert: A character who is good at staying hidden and moving silently and without raising attention, and at getting into high security areas.
- Super Doc: A doctor who has the skill to treat any kind of medical problem.
- Supreme Chef: A chef who is skilled at making very good food.
- Techno Wizard: A character who can make a computer or electronic device do anything.
- Torture Technician: A character who is in charge of torturing other people, who are often extremely skilled and knowledgeable about what makes others crack and what causes the most pain.
- Ultimate Blacksmith: A smith with unique or supernatural crafting abilities, so much that they are able to make just about anything out of metal.
- Uncertified Expert: An expert in a certain field doesn't officially have the qualifications to prove it, for whatever reason.
- World's Best Warrior: A character who, through skill or reputation, is among the very best fighters in the setting of the story, either by being an expert in a field of combat or by simply knowing how to win a fight.
- The Worm Guy: A scientist who studies an extremely niche topic, but is called in to deal with a seemingly unrelated topic that suddenly turns out to be important.
Characters who claim to be experts, or whose expertise is unfounded
- The Alleged Expert: A professional who doesn't have the basic skills required to do their job.
- Chuunibyou: A character trying too hard to come off as "cool", when in truth they aren't.
- Einstein Sue: A genius underdog Mary Sue.
- Fake Ultimate Hero: The character has a reputation of being brave and formidable, but in truth, they're a pathetic coward.
- Miles Gloriosus: A braggart who claims to do very good in battle, but cowers when they're in actual danger.
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All: A character claims to be an expert on a subject, but it's glaringly obvious that they know diddly squat about the field of knowledge they claim to be an expert on.
- Mary Tzu: A Mary Sue who is an unrealistically effective tactician or strategist.
- The World's Expert (on Getting Killed): A character, despite their skills in dealing with a specific type of threat, is killed easily by the threat to demonstrate how serious the threat is.
Traits of expertise
- Charles Atlas Superpower: An otherwise "ordinary" character gets superhuman abilities through mundane training.
- Dangerous Forbidden Technique: A character has a power that they're deterred from using because doing so has a good chance of killing or otherwise doing great harm to them.
- Enlightenment Superpowers: A character obtains superpowers through extensive mental or spiritual reflection and enlightenment.
- Greatness Mistaken for Failure: A character is so far beyond the norm that their brilliance is mistaken for incompetence.
- Implausible Fencing Powers: A character is good enough with a sword to do things that shouldn't be possible to do with one in real life.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: A character has good enough aim that they never miss any of the targets they shoot at.
- Improbable Chopsticks Skill: A character uses chopsticks to do generally impossible things other than eating.
- Improbable Piloting Skills: A character who is so good at piloting a flying machine that they allow their vehicles to outperform others of the same model, or even break the laws of physics.
- Improbable Parking Skills: A character can park a vehicle in an unusual way or place with little effort.
- Improbable Sports Skills: Being so good at sports that they break logic and the laws of physics doing so.
- Improbable Taxonomy Skills: The ability to fully classify an organism with just a cursory examination.
- Master of All: A character that excels in all categories, to the extent that specialists are redundant.
- Omniglot: A character is extremely (and often downright unrealistically) proficient in a wide variety of languages, often at a native-level fluency in each of them.
Character traits
- Crippling Overspecialization: A character's expertise is only good for a very specific field. Attempting to apply their skills to anything else will have them at a disadvantage.
- Instant Expert: A character instantly masters a new skill.
- Insufferable Genius: A character who is highly intelligent, but tends to be rude and condescending to everyone who isn't as smart as they are.
- Pretender Diss: A person who is extremely knowledgeable or skilled in a certain field dismisses a newcomer or wannabe to the field.
- Suddenly Always Knew That: A character reveals they'd long had a specific aptitude with something they'd never be shown having an aptitude with before.
