Plot Armor/Playing With

Basic Trope: A main character survives a deadly situation simply because they're one of the main characters.
 * Straight: Bob is placed in a Literal Cliff Hanger over some jagged rocks, falls, and is rescued Just in Time by Alice.
 * Exaggerated: Bob's foot is touching the rocks before Alice saves him.
 * Downplayed: Characters important to the plot have increased defense and/or Hit Points values for no discernible reason except their plot roles, but they can still be taken out depending on how the Player Character acts.
 * Justified: Bob's Applied Phlebotinum alerts Alice to his peril.
 * Inverted: Red Shirt
 * Subverted: Decoy Protagonist
 * Double Subverted: Bob comes back near the end of the series.
 * Parodied: They Killed Kenny
 * Zig Zagged: Sometimes Bob gets into these situations, and sometimes he doesn't.
 * Averted: Bob falls on the jagged rocks and dies.
 * Bob is never put in a Literal Cliff Hanger situation in the first place.
 * Enforced: The executives fear that if The Hero is killed, people won't watch the show, so the writers are not allowed to kill Bob.
 * Lampshaded: "Phew! I was Just in Time!"
 * Invoked: ???
 * Exploited: Charlie is Genre Savvy and knows that main characters tend to stay alive longer, so he intentionally becomes Bob's best friend.
 * Defied: ???
 * Discussed: ???
 * Conversed: ???

Back to Plot Armor