Basic Trope: Illegitimate children have a harder life, which may drive them to prove themselves.
- Straight: Bob is the illegitimate son of Lord Charlie. As a result, he goes on an adventure to seek distinction.
- Exaggerated: Every word out of Bob's mouth is a speech about how his bastard status made life harder for him.
- Downplayed: Bob is a little miffed about his illegitimacy, but it's not his sole motivation.
- Justified: Lord Charlie's wife, Lady Alice, treated Bob horribly. In addition, he is looked down on by society because they think he's tainted, is The Unfavorite compared to his legitimate brother Derek, is not considered a suitable suitor for his sweetheart Lady Elena because of his low birth, and will not receive much inheritance anyway.
- Inverted:
- Lord Charlie is unhappy with his Arranged Marriage with Lady Alice, and thus legitimate son Derek has a harder time of it compared to Bob, who was born of the mistress that Lord Charlie actually loved.
- Bob is legitimate, but has angst because he wants to be a hero and every hero in the stories he's read was a Heroic Bastard.
- Subverted:
- Bob is actually legitimate.
- Bob fears he will be mistreated by the court, but they treat him with just as much respect as they do Derek.
- Double Subverted: It still doesn't erase the hardships he went through, and even though he's legitimate now, those experiences as a bastard still shape him.
- Parodied: Bob is legitimate and beloved by his family but begs to be "illegitimized" because this way, he has more chances of becoming a proper hero.
- Zig Zagged: Bob is conflicted about his status, but Flora, who is Lady Gina's illegitimate daughter, is just fine with it.
- Averted: No illegitimate kids are shown, and if there are, they're not conflicted about their status.
- Enforced: ???
- Lampshaded: "You don't know what it's like, being a bastard!"
- Invoked: ???
- Exploited: Emperor Evulz and his goons convince Bob to join them by preying on his angst and insecurities stemming from his illegitimacy.
- Defied: Bob refuses to let his status get him down, and carries on life as usual.
- Discussed: "Bastards like you, they're always the same in these stories, angsting about their station in life!"
- Conversed: "Is Bob from that fantasy show illegitimate?" "Yeah, why?" "He's always angsting about his station in life!"
- Implied: Derek tells his party that his illegitimate half-brother Bob had a difficult time growing up, but doesn't elaborate.
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