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Basic Trope: One may have a quality, unadulterated, that is either good or bad.

  • Straight: So it is written, "only the purest of heart may get a grip on the Sword of Tropania." This includes an Omnicidal Maniac who wishes to use it to bring death to all that stand in his way.
  • Exaggerated:
    • Nobody is pure enough except lunatics whose minds are focused entirely on one thing, whether "good" or "bad."
    • Emperor Evulz loses the powers of the Sword, due to the one time he decided against kicking a puppy.
  • Downplayed: The Hero is able to wield the Sword, and The Rival is too.
  • Justified: The Prophecy never referred to The Chosen Many's alignments, only their purity.
  • Inverted: One must have "a most saturated mind" to wield the Sword. This allows The Chessmaster or the resident Lovable Rogue to use it.
  • Subverted: Further into the prophecy is the mention that any goodly aligned person slain by the Sword will Come Back Strong.
  • Double Subverted: "Goodly aligned"? No, that's a mistranslation, the prophecy still meant "pure."
  • Parodied: The Sword of Tropania, a Talking Weapon, can be wielded by anyone. Alice can keep her grip due to being "pure moron," Bob can keep his grip due to being "pure horny," Charlie can keep his grip due to being "pure jackass," and Denice can keep her grip due to being "pure irksome." Turns out the only thing noteworthy of the Sword is that it insults anyone who picks it up.
  • Zig Zagged: It's unclear who counts as pure for the purpose of using the Sword.
  • Averted: The prophecy outlines that only The Chosen One (the hero) may wield the Sword of Tropania.
  • Enforced: Incorruptible Pure Pureness is the writer's Pet-Peeve Trope, so they decide to attack the concept of pureness.
  • Lampshaded: "You picked up the sword, but you're not pure, you never were pure!" "Alas, I am pure destruction."
  • Invoked: ???
  • Exploited: After disarming Bob (the sword's current wielder), Emperor Evulz is able to use the weapon because he, too, is pure, and subsequently kills Bob with the resulting power boost.
  • Defied: The Chooser of the One calls for a Bolt of Divine Retribution to strike the Big Bad for picking up the sword with evil intentions.
  • Discussed: ???
  • Conversed: ???
  • Played For Drama: The Hero has been questioning the righteousness of his cause, and this renders him unable to use the Sword. As a result, it falls into the hand of a Knight Templar with no such doubts. Misunderstanding the reasons, The Hero begins to question whether The Extremist Was Right.


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