Basic Trope: A commitment or standard that a character will not cross for whatever reason, usually made known to other characters.
- Straight: "I, Bob of Troperia, shall not murder; neither shall I harm innocents, nor those of tender age. This I swear upon the holy names of the highest of gods."
- Exaggerated: "I, Bob of Troperia, shall not pursue pleasure of flesh, shall not employ dishonorable weapons, shall not harm innocents, shall not murder, shall not hurt those of fairer sex, nor children, nor the elderly, neither shall I pursue pleasure of flesh, nor shall I desecrate the abode of the gods, nor shall I sleep upon the Northwind, nor shall I pursue the pleasure of flesh. This I swear upon the holy names of the highest of gods: Wotan the Wise, Hermes the Thrice-Magnificent, Seth the Terrible, and Amaterasu the Bright. Should I violate this oath, may unspeakable doom befall me."
- Downplayed: "I, Bob of Troperia, shall not murder unless there is no other option, neither shall I harm the fairer sex unless they are capable to hold their own, nor hurt those of tender age unless they may be a serious threat to society. This I swear upon the holy names of the highest gods."
- Justified: The road of The Hero is long, straight and narrow, those incapable of adhering to high standard will succumb to depravity in no time.
- Inverted: Bob is an Anti-Hero with little to no moral standard, he will do terrible things as long as those worse than him are ruined. And he boasts about those things to anyone who has the stomach to listen.
- Subverted: Bob violates one (or more) of his vows.
- Double Subverted: Or so it seems; Bob abuses every single loophole of his vows.
- Parodied: Jerkass Gods make Bob a Cosmic Plaything thanks to his oaths.
- Zig Zagged: The whole team made a heroic vow, but Shifty Stu had his fingers crossed...
- Averted: Words are cheap in the Crapsack World of the Heroes of Troperia, no one bothers making a vow.
- Enforced: This trope is almost always used because the author want to deliver An Aesop; what the aesop exactly is depends on the author.
- Lampshaded: "That's one damn awesome oath Bob, I hope you live up to it."
- Invoked: Legends say that the Goddess Sophia aids those who swear oaths of morality, so that's what Bob does before embarking on his epic journey.
- Exploited: Emperor Evulz manipulates things in such a way that Bob can't avoid violating his vows, thus losing Sophia's support.
- Defied: Bob avoids making vows, believing that the inflexibility will only create obstacles in his quests.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
- Deconstructed: After one too many Shoot the Dog moments, Bob loses the spirit of his vow and only adheres to its letters. Bob become a Knight Templar.
- Reconstructed: Exactly adhering to the letters prevents him from losing moral high ground, and by remaining on it he slowly re-learns the spirit behind his vow.
Back to Heroic Vow
