All spoilers will be unmarked ahead. You Have Been Warned!
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Normal Woobies
Five Nights at Freddy's:
- It's not fun being a night-shift security guard at Freddy's. The player character, Mike Schmidt, has to go through a week of four killer robots trying to inflict a Cruel and Unusual Death upon him and is growing more insane every passing night for a $4-an-hour paycheck. The fact that he can't just quit after the first night implies that he might be in some kind of desperate situation or that he's willing to risk his life so nobody else would have to go through the same terror he does. There's also the fact he'll likely have to live being the only one knowing Phone Guy's fate, and when he finally gets the chance to reprogram the animatronics to be less homicidal, he gets fired for his efforts.
- Phone Guy himself also counts for the same reasons as the player character does, and unlike the protagonist, he most likely didn't have anyone to help him out with the animatronics, meaning that he found this out entirely on his own. And unlike Mike, he doesn't survive his final night and is instead murdered by the animatronics.
Five Nights at Freddy's 2:
- Jeremy Fitzgerald definitely deserves some pity, probably even moreso than Mike in the first game, considering he has no doors and several more animatronics to deal with. Assuming he's not a murderer, of course, though this is very unlikely, seeing as he probably became the victim of The Bite Of '87 on Day 7.
- Mangle might be this among the animatronics. This kids drawing and these two in-game pictures of Mangle implies
that some bratty kids dismantled it not long after the restaurant re-opened — and now the thing's left in disrepair even worse than any of the old animatronics ever were in the new Kid's Cove room. Mangle eventually was part of a build-a-robot attraction... - In a bit of a twist, Freddy. If the Puppet Minigames are accurate, then Freddy tried to stop the murders of the 5 children, but failed, (possibly) causing the later hauntings of the animatronics.
- Possibly even worse. It is entirely possible, and getting more and more likely, that there were at least eleven child murders throughout the restaurant's history. Whether Freddy himself is possessed or not, he is pissed at the atrocities committed on his watch, and he might just blame you.
- Phone Guy was enough of a woobie (barring Alternative Character Interpretation) in the first game. Here, it's revealed that he's an Ascended Fanboy who adored the animatronics, which brings a new level of depressing to his implied Cruel and Unusual Death in the original. And since it's a prequel, it's practically a Foregone Conclusion.
- Interestingly enough, the Puppet could also very well be this if it's the crying child from the Cake mini-game as a lot of evidence (the Puppet's design making it look like it's crying, SAVE HIM, giving the Puppet a motive behind why it does not like Freddy, how we never see it actually kill anyone... just cart the bodies away to the prize box that strangely enough was already filled with blood) points to it being that 6th murdered child. Even if it wasn't the 6th child one can still argue that it was trying to help dead children by giving them a Second Chance in its own screwed up way that backfired horribly...
Five Nights at Freddy's 4:
- The protagonist is a kid who is under attack in his own home by the nightmare animatronics and is treated as an outcast by every other child he encounters because of how timid he is. And then there's all the shit he gets from his older brother, eventually culminating in the Bite of '83. This kid practically defines this trope.
Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location:
- "Eggs Benedict", a.k.a. Michael Afton, as is the norm for FNaF protagonists, has to survive five nights against a host of incredibly dangerous and terrifying animatronics. His only ally is an ineffective and increasingly dickish A.I. whose advice is more likely to get him killed than keep him alive. In the Bad Ending, he's tricked into the Scooping Room, disemboweled, and used as a meat suit for Ennard to escape the facility. Even worse, before all of this he lost at least one sister (whose voice Ennard taunts him with in the Private Room), and if he is indeed the older brother from 4, he might have accidentally caused the death of his younger brother.
- Baby and the other animatronics are sentient robots trapped in a dark, cold factory where, every night, someone shocks them multiple times as an evil robotic voice tricks them into destroying their only chance of escaping. Baby, however, gets bonus points for the fact she was seemingly forced to murder William Afton's innocent young daughter, thanks to the fact that that damn Afton (or, as we know him as: The Purple Guy) was responsible for creating her. Just hearing her talk about the day it happens makes you feel sorry for her as she starts happy and excited about how pretty she was, children listened to her singing, only for her to suddenly become confused and depressed as she recalls having killed the girl that wanted her ice cream.
- Ballora particularly stands out. Baby's speech at the beginning of Night 4 indicates that unlike the other animatronics, Ballora was against using your skin to escape; not because she wanted to spare your life, but because she was afraid it wouldn't work. In fact, out of all of the animatronics, Ballora is hinted to be the most complacent of them, going back to her stage after only one shock and not "pretending" to be malfunctioning to fool the technicians into scooping her. However, it's hinted that Baby deliberately sabotaged her so that she'd be scooped against her will and be forced into forming Ennard with the rest of the robots (it's really no wonder why Ballora later joined Funtime Freddy and Funtime Foxy in a mutiny against Baby, kicking her out of Ennard). Oh, and her fears of the plan not working? Turns out to be completely justified, since the skin starts to rot (because, you know, their disguise is a human corpse... decomposition is a bitch, as they soon discover). Eventually, she (with Ennard) is taken down into the sewers, basically ending back up underground, but with no chance of maintenance or way to re-disguise themselves. So basically, Ballora's life got even shittier due to being roped into a plan she wanted nothing to do with.
- Ennard. They're desperate, terrified, and just want freedom. One popular theory has Michael taking them home after the fake ending, to save them from whatever fate awaits them at the hands of whoever runs the place. And the Custom Night cutscenes show their plan ultimately failing.
Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach:
- Sun. It's an innocent hyperactive bot who loves children and wants to be their friend… who's not only so unintentionally creepy that even Glamrock Freddy doesn't have anything nice to say about it, but also shackled to a monstrous Nighttime Transformation who traumatizes children and of whom he itself appears to be genuinely terrified. On top of this, its room is a complete mess, implying it doesn't get any sort of downtime like the others.
- Glamrock Freddy. He's just a naive All-Loving Hero of an animatronic who wants everyone to have a good time and tries his hardest to help a child locked in the PizzaPlex. This results in him getting gradually disillusioned with his home and even his friends and in some cases, he doesn't even earn a happy ending.
Five Nights at Freddy's: The Fourth Closet:
- By the end of the book, you have to feel sorry for John. First he was suspicious of his miraculously alive again best friend to the point it seriously affects his life, then he discovers he was right and discovers the real Charlie - finally allowing him to believe that she ''did'' survive. But then by the end of the book, she's gone once again and what's worse, "Charlie" never really existed as he knew her. The real "Charlie" had died years and years ago, and he had only ever known a very human robot...note
Five Nights at Freddy's: Fazbear Frights:
- Every single one of the protagonists in the first four volumes qualifies as this; from Sarah's negative self-image to Stanley's loneliness, almost every story will make you want to give the main character a hug at some point. Even the ones described under the Jerkass Woobie entries below are clearly shown to be acting out of loneliness and a lack of proper relationships with those around them. By far the standout example, however, has to be Delilah from “1:35 AM”; not only does she have possibly the harshest backstory of them all (having been orphaned at age 11, abused in the foster system for years, and ultimately dumped by the man she hoped to spend the rest of her life with), but she does almost nothing to deserve the trauma she goes through in the story, and her fate at the end is quite possibly the bleakest in the entire book series (and that's saying something).
Jerkass Woobies
Five Nights at Freddy's 4:
- The Child's brother. He's terrorized his younger brother by playing off his fear for the restaurant and taking him there multiple times, even though he knows his brother hates it. During his birthday party, he and his friends take him on stage and places the Child's head in the animatronic's mouth. As soon as the animatronic closes its mouth on the Child's head, the brother and his friends stop laughing. Although the brother is remorseful about what happened, it still doesn't excuse him for what he did. He and his friends should have known something like that would happen. It's also been theorized that, in the main game, you in fact play as the big brother rather than The Child, meaning he possibly has to deal with these monstrosities as well as his own guilt.
- Upper Management for Fredbear's Family Diner/Freddy Fazbear's Pizza also qualifies. They may be a lousy business that lacks compassion for their employees, but no place deserves a serial killing employee AND a horrific accident caused by terrible customers. Their downfall is a Foregone Conclusion.
Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach:
- Even the fans who don't apply the Draco in Leather Pants status to her and acknowledge her cruel demeanornote find Roxy's Inferiority Superiority Complex to make her somebody they want to hug, comfort, and reassure that she's indeed a lovable character.
- Vanessa acts in a caustic way towards Gregory and Freddy, and that's when she isn't being a Jack the Ripoff. However, she isn't like that by choice, as she's heavily implied to be the protagonist of Help Wanted who didn't escape Glitchtrap. The Special Delivery unintended emails and the Retro CDs detail her Sanity Slippage, including her apparently searching for simply 'help' on her work computer. The Retro CDs, as well as some unused voicelines, portray her as more anxiety-prone. She may or may not have pre-existing trauma from an Abusive Dad also named Bill. There is exactly one ending where she can be saved; in all others she either dies or is expressly still under William's influence. Or, worst of all in the True Ending, is conspicuously absent, leaving it ambiguous if she's even still alive.
Five Nights at Freddy's: The Fourth Closet:
- Elizabeth/Baby. She was neglected and abused by her father and then killed by Baby. Baby was initially created to be Charlie's adult body, but received none of Henry's love and was later taken and modified by William. The combination of the pair is a bitter, homicidal animatronic still looking for love and approval.
Five Nights at Freddy's: Fazbear Frights:
- Alec from "Lonely Freddy". He may be a royal jerk to his family members, especially Hazel, but his breakdown near the end of the story is absolutely gutwrenching, made even worse by the fact that he'll seemingly never be able to make up for his actions.
- Devon from "The New Kid" arguably qualifies too; while his actions are significantly less sympathetic than the other child protagonists — even Alec — it's made clear that a big portion of it comes from how he's never really fit in with the other students and how his mom doesn't devote much attention to him, causing him to develop unhealthy habits to cope. And that's not even getting into the question of how many of the story's events were presumably being manipulated by Kelsey and/or Golden Freddy/Fredbear.
- Although he's not as malicious as Alec or Devon, Pete from "Step Closer" also falls into this category for some, as while he (momentarily) calls a truce with his younger brother Chuck, Pete still suffers the curse Foxy has placed on him, with the episode at the homecoming carnival being a breaking point for him, which eventually leads to his death via being run over by a truck.
- Julius from "The Breaking Wheel" is a relentless bully who threatens and humiliates Reed on a daily basis, in addition to physically assaulting Reed's friend, Pickle. Even after everything that he does, his truly horrific fate is arguably undeserved by anyone, let alone a high school bully.
- Jessica and Brittany from "Together Forever" are obnoxious Alpha Bitches who treat most of their classmates like dirt and plan to essentially enslave two young girls for no other reason than because they can. Despite being some of the most morally reprehensible protagonists in the series thus far, their gruesome deaths via springlock failure are extremely brutal and can easily make the reader feel sorry for them.
