History Main / FiveRaces

* '''Fairy''' ([[OurElvesAreBetter Elf]][=/=][[OurFairiesAreDifferent Fairy]][=/=][[OurAngelsAreDifferent Angel]]): The most magical or technological race, relatively speaking, and often depicted as so removed from the other races as to border on the alien or out of touch. This can make some of the other races, [[ElvesVsDwarves especially the Stouts]], openly despise them. It can include angelic types, or on rare occasions even [[PhysicalGod gods]]. The typical Fairy is an elf, correspondingly more [[{{Elfeminate}} "feminine"]] in contrast to the "masculine" Stouts (longer hair, greater delicacy, and likely to depend on ranged weaponry and their wit to get them out of danger) and more ascetic or emotionally restrained to counter the gruff passion of the Stouts. Some works go as far as to turn them into a OneGenderRace of females. Recently, having this be a CuteMonsterGirl is more and more common. In SpeculativeFiction, substitute humans with [[PsychicPowers psionic abilities]], {{Artificial Intelligence}}s when they aren't [[AIIsACrapshoot crapshoots]], or [[ProudScholarRaceGuy advanced]] but not quite {{Sufficiently Advanced Alien}}s. See also SpaceElves.

* '''High Men''' ([[OurElvesAreBetter High Elf]][=/=][[HumansAreSpecial Human]][=/=][[OurGodsAreDifferent God]]): The most powerful, civilized and magically or technologically advanced race in the setting. Usually a historical or [[WitchSpecies fantastic interpretation]] of what humans are or want to be. A setting without elves as Fairy or High Men simply will not have elves. If the {{Precursors}} still exist in a SpeculativeFiction setting, they might fill this role if TheFederation isn't heavily idealized.

** High Men: The Summoners, a species very proficient in magic, that was close to nature, and the planet Gaia itself, capable of summoning powerful, god-like beings into battle, and were very similar in looks to Humans, aside from the horn on their forehead. They were very peaceful despite their great power, living in their HiddenElfVillage, Madain Sari, bringing them pretty close to the [[OurElvesAreBetter Elf-Archetype]]. [[spoiler: Somewhat subverted, as all of them are extinct exacly because Garland feared their great power, aside from Eiko and Garnet.]]

** High Men: '''Elezen''', [[OurElvesAreBetter tall pointy-eared folk]] that have lived the longest on Eorzea. Can be devided into '''Wildwood''' (lives in the forests, have human-like skin tone) and '''Duskwight''' (lives in the caves, have skin tones ranging from pale grey to obsidian black).

*** [[OurElvesAreBetter Elves]]: The '''Fairies''' (some are also '''High men'''). They are people who live in wisdom, while some are assassins. Most of them live in Darkan, though some lived in Slebinia while others works as witches (like Rita), alchemists and merchants in other nations. They are described by Ganaji people as "long-eared men from another world", implying some Elves had reached Ganaji before the arrival of Explorer. Notable Elves are King Elbano and Dyett. Divas are La Turton's version of Elves.

* ''VideoGame/{{Rift}}'' plays with the trope: There are arguably only four playable races, total (bahmi and dwarves—the respective Stouts of their factions—are distinct races, but [[HumansByAnyOtherName Mathosians and Eth]] are [[HumansAreSpecial human nationalities]] and high elves and Kelari are [[OurElvesAreBetter elves]]), most of them overlap more than one category, and it'd be a stretch to call ''any'' of them Cute.

** '''High Men''': Ironically just as The Robots are considered the Elves of ''Year Zero'' World, The Humans are seen as their High Elves. They're vastly superior to all other races in all forms of technology and stats.

** '''Stout''': The Animal Mutants are effectively Beast Men of ''Year Zero'''s world, dived by tribal links that originate from their species like Cats, Dogs, Apes, Deer, Rodents, Bears and Reptiles.
** '''Fairy''': The Robots are mostly associated with
** '''High Men''':

* '''Stout''' ([[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwarfs]], [[OurGiantsAreBigger Giants]], UrsineAliens, the ProudWarriorRace, BeastMan, [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Orcs]], and the like): Strong and tough, usually associated with hard physical work and masculinity, to the point that they may be a OneGenderRace of males. The archetypal Stout in fantasy is the dwarf. While in ScienceFiction settings, the role may be given to one of the more [[ProudWarriorRace warlike]] alien races, robots or cyborgs or possibly even [[HumanSubspecies humans]] genetically or cybernetically enhanced for heavy labour or [[HeavyWorlder life on high-gravity planets]]. Stouts can be quick to anger and often have a culture focused on strength, honor and martial values, and may share an uneasy peace with other peoples of the setting.

** '''Fairy''': Humans.
** '''High Men:''' Giant newts; so far only represented by King Andrias, but he has a very strong ''High Men'' aura.

* The society of ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'' is partially based around this structure. Frogs are Mundane, but they also qualify as Cute. Toads are obviously Stout, though somewhat unusually for Stouts, they are also setting themselves up as High Men. Newts may be Fairy, though we still don't know enough about their society to draw conclusions. Humans are either Fairy or Mundane, depending on how well integrated they are in Amphibian society.

The EvilCounterpart is an InternalSubtrope called the FantasyAxisOfEvil. See SquareRaceRoundClass for the deliberate subversion.

See SquareRaceRoundClass for the deliberate subversion and FantasyAxisOfEvil for the EvilCounterpart.

* '''Mundane''' ([[HumansAreAverage Human]]): [[AudienceSurrogate What the modern reader supposedly most identifies with.]] The least magical race, usually enjoys simple pleasures instead of adventuring, a la Tolkien's {{Hobbits}}. Usually the JackOfAllTrades of the races. This is usually a role assigned to humans, unless you have...

** Stout: '''Roegadyne''', large and muscular people with a maritime tradition. Can be divided into '''Sea Wolves''' (from the northern islands, have blue and green skin tones) and '''Lohengard''' (lives around volcanoes, have redish skin tones)

See SquareRaceRoundClass for the deliberate subversion.

* In Fanfic/EtherealChronicles, the Humans are Mundane, the Dwarves are Stout, the Elves and Aethertech are both High Men, the Michaela are Fairies, and the Nekojin are Cute.

** Humans also fall under Mundane for having the most familiar-looking appearance, fashion, and technology.

** The Horde, meanwhile, does play around with the concept a bit (being generally comprised of races that are usually portrayed as AlwaysChaoticEvil). The template does still apply, though, and ''roughly'' speaking it runs '''Orcs''' as Mundane (for obvious reasons), '''Tauren''' as the High Men (being the most spiritual of the peoples and the example the Orcs and Trolls look up to), '''Blood Elves''' as Fairy (tee hee), '''Trolls''' as Stout (note how often trolls have their backs against the wall and get out of it), and '''Goblins''' as a sort of UglyCute. This still gets mixed up a bit, though, and the Horde is generally allowed to play around with their "roles" more than the Alliance is.

** Concerning Allied Races for the Alliance, we have '''Dark Iron Dwarves''' as Stout (with some possible High Men elements), '''Kul Tirans''' as Mundane, '''Mechanomes''' as Cute, '''Void Elves''' as Fairy and '''Lightforged Draenei''' as High Men.

* ''VideoGame/{{Starbound}}'', at present, has six races, with a seventh on the way:
** Humans are the obligatory Mundanes.

** [[CelestialBody Novakids]] are the Cute ones: what they lack in tact and long-term memory, they make up for in a sense of adventure.

This does not include the various [[AlwaysChaoticEvil "evil races"]] that crop up, though some of those can fit into the above categories as well [[FantasyAxisOfEvil as their own]].

See SquareRaceRoundClass for the deliberate subversion. The FantasyAxisOfEvil is the EvilCounterpart.

* Creator/TadWilliams' ''Literature/MemorySorrowAndThorn'' has four (or five depending on how you count) heroic races that more or less fill these roles. Humans are of course Mundanes, the Sithi occupy both the Fairies and High Men role, Trolls are Cutes, Niskies are both Fairies and Cutes, and Dwarrows (the underground cousins of the Niskies) are both Stouts and Cutes. And of course there's a corresponding FantasyAxisOfEvil for the BigBad's allies.

** The [[SwarmOfAlienLocusts Vord]] ''would'' fit somewhere in the FantasyAxisOfEvil, except that they ate everyone that came within arms' reach, and are also the only truly evil race in the setting.[[note]]The Eldritch, for the record.[[/note]]

** Cute: Yellow Martians, or rather a version of [[FantasyAxisOfEvil Crafty]] as they are the most technologically advanced of all races.

* ''Series/{{Andromeda}}'': There are hundreds of species in the [[TheFederation Systems Commonwealth]], but the most influential races can be categorized as such. Humans are naturally mundanes, though some of the genetically modified [[HumanSubspecies subspecies]] might qualify for other roles; the insectoid Than-thre-kull are stouts; the inventive but not too cautious [[MadScientist Perseids]] arguably cute; and the Vedrans who founded the Commonwealth in the first place were high men, though after they disappeared they gained a legendary reputation more along the lines of fairies. Meanwhile the [[NietzscheWannabe Nietzschean]] subspecies of human consider themselves to be [[{{Ubermensch}} high men]], but their SocialDarwinism and betrayal of the Commonwealth make them closer to the [[FantasyAxisOfEvil fallen]].

** Sensoth are hard to categorize, a big hairy and peaceful servant race. The Gulanee aren't even humanoid. And the Volge would belong fully on the FantasyAxisOfEvil. The Omec might also belong there, although not all of them are interested in using the others for [[IAmAHumanitarian food]] (they are also the creators of the Indogenes).

** If you see vampire Clans as these and not FantasyAxisOfEvil, here we have:

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': Given the setting’s nature it can be a little hard to tell which races go here and which are part of the FantasyAxisOfEvil, but the ones usually portrayed as the setting’s good guys (or the least unpleasant guys, at any rate) fit into this pattern fairly well.
** '''Stout''': The Dwarves, a proud race of craftsmen and warriors. The least magical of the main races, they have no mages of their own but an innate resistance to magic cast on them. Their honor is everything to them: they never go back on their word or break their oaths, and they never, ''ever'' forget a slight. Typically for this archetype, they share a long and bitter enmity with the local Fairy race, the Wood Elves.
** '''Fairy''': The Wood Elves, a reclusive, secretive faction living deep in the forest of [[TheLostWoods Athel Loren]], one of the most inherently magical places in the Old World and quite likely a GeniusLoci. They live and breathe magic, even more so than the other elven factions, being ruled by a king who dies and is reborn every year and living alongside forest spirits and moving trees. As said, they and the Dwarves do not get along. Their ancestors did, once, but there’s been too many wars since then, too many grudges, and too many burnt trees.
** '''Mundane''': The Empire, Bretonnia and other human nations are the most “realistic” factions. Their armies and societies are very close to real historical ones with a bit of magic and {{Steampunk}} tech thrown in, with the fantasy elements relatively subdued. Due in part to this, they’re oddly enough the closest the setting has to the '''Cute''', as emotional and mental fortitude are often the main -- or only -- things going for them. When every enemy outmatches them in magical power, sheer brute strength, raw numbers or eldritch horror, the biggest strengths these ordinary men and women have are their resilience, faith and unwavering conviction they’re on the side of right, and their ability to stand back up and persevere no matter what horrors the world throws at them.
** '''High Men''': Two factions share this spot.
*** The High Elves are, as they are quite fond of bringing up, one of the oldest and most civilized races in the setting. They once ruled the world and can perform feats of magic so great that trying them would burn out a human’s soul. Their army is built entirely on the concept of being elite -- they may not be able to field armies as large as the other races, but High Elves are flat-out faster, stronger and with better reflexes than a human can ever be, and their armies are so disciplined and well-trained that even a rookie is worth ten times the most elite troops humans can field.
*** Lizardmen are to the High Elves what the High Elves are to everyone else. Their civilization was the first to ever exist and was funded directly by [[ThePrecursors the Old Ones]]. To this day, they are the most magically advanced and knowledgeable race in the setting, and their Slann Mage-Priests are the most powerful spellcasters alive, bar none. The fact that their baseline soldiers can fold a typical human or elf in half like tissue paper and they only get bigger and stronger from there also gives them shades of the '''Stout'''.

** Fairy: Qu are a strange, highly magical species, who follow a philosophy and way of life concentrated on discovering and eating new foods. It's not to be laught at, as they [[TheAssimilator can eat their enemies]] [[PowerCopying and absorb their abilities]]. The Black Mages can also fit this archetype, although [[spoiler: the fact many of them work, albeit unwiligly for Kuja and Brahne, makes them a bit the [[FantasyAxisOfEvil Eldritch]] ]].

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series has this going on, loosely. [[ScaryBlackMan Redguards]], [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Orcs]], and [[HornyVikings Nords]] are '''Stout'''. [[UnevenHybrid Bretons]] are '''Fairy'''. [[JackOfAllStats Dunmer]] and [[HumansAreAverage Imperials]] are '''Mundane'''. [[WitchSpecies Altmer]] are '''High Men''' (though between the events of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', they, or at least their [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]] government, are '''[[FantasyAxisOfEvil Fallen]]''' instead). [[ForestRanger Bosmer]] are '''Cute'''. In addition, [[LizardFolk Argonians]] and [[CatFolk Khajiit]] are '''{{Beast|Man}}s'''.

** Vorcha, yagh, and other AlwaysChaoticEvil races have their own places on the FantasyAxisOfEvil.

* ''VideoGame/AgeOfWonders'': ''Shadow Magic'' generally has these archetypes for its Good, Neutral, and Evil (the three in-game alignments for factions) races. By extension, the evil races fill in their archetypes' respective slots in the FantasyAxisOfEvil.

** Goblins = Mundane -- could have the potential to catch up with Dwarves and/or Humans, if [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder murderous treachery]] wasn't their [[PlanetOfHats Hat]]. Can also be interpreted as Humanoid on the FantasyAxisOfEvil, as one of the two civilizations [[HardcodedHostility always hostile to dwarves]].
** Kobolds = Cute -- scrawny and sneaky, hardly have a civilization or warriors to take seriously, but they're [[EnsembleDarkhorse favorites with some]]. Can also be interpreted as Crafty on the FantasyAxisOfEvil, as one of the two civilizations [[HardcodedHostility always hostile to dwarves]].

** Mundane: The Humans. The player character and many of the npcs you encounter fall into this category. Dips into [[FantasyAxisOfEvil Eldritch]] as well interestingly enough, because the cause of what makes humans what they are also can make them turn into [[EldritchAbomination monstrosities as the people of Oolacile found out]]. It's implied the [[PhysicalGod Lords]] fear humanity for this reason and also because they can [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu take down some of the most powerful beings in the land]].

** Stout: The giants, Gyrm, and chaos demons. The giants are portrayed as strong and the two npc giants the player meets seem to have some affinity for craftsmanship. The [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Gyrm]] from the second game are implied to be a ProudWarriorRace and pretty much fit the cliche image of dwarves with their beards, love of beer, and [[AnAxeToGrind huge axes]] and thus the stout type. The chaos demons are an interesting case, and mix with the [[FantasyAxisOfEvil Savage]] also. They were born from a monster called [[MotherOfAThousandYoung The Bed Of Chaos]]. The first game seems to portray them as AlwaysChaoticEvil, however the third game has the [[LastOfHisKind Old Demon King]] whose merely fighting the player because they attacked him first and is portrayed as tired. The game indicates that the chaos demons eventually formed society but were ultimately wiped out.

*** '''Fairy''': Changelings are more closely tied to magic than any other species -- they are adept and habitual [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifters]] and [[EmotionEater feed primarily on love]]. They're physically the most alien species, being essentially the equine equivalent of InsectoidAliens -- they have insect wings and hard elytrae, hatch as grubs from large clutches of eggs, and live in an enormous hive. Like the dragons, they were formerly on the FantasyAxisOfEvil instead, serving the Fairy's evil counterpart the Eldritch in the form of a vicious [[SwarmOfAlienLocusts swarm of love-sucking, shapeshifting alien locusts]].\\

*** '''High Men''': [[WingedUnicorn Alicorns]] have both flight and magic and the more powerful ones are {{Physical God}}s able to move the sun and moon, though their rareness might preclude them from being considered an actual race in and of themselves.[[note]]A grand total of five have appeared onscreen, and two were magically created from ponies of other races.[[/note]]

** There has been a shift the past couple of decades. Back in the Silver Age and early Bronze Age of [[Creator/DCComics DC Comics]], the Thanagarians and the Rannians competed for the role of High Men, the Martians had been the Stouts (particularly the militaristic White Martians), the godlike Oans were the Fairies and race of mentors, the Humans and their offworld parallels were markedly the Mundanes, and the 5th Dimensional imps were the Cutes. On the [[Creator/DCComics DC Comics planet Earth]], the noble Amazons had been the High Men (starting in the Golden Age), the Atlanteans were treated as the Cutes (with a special emphasis on mermaids and mermen), Zatanna's Homo Magi race were the Fairies even then, naturally the Humans were the Mundanes, and the Gorillas of Gorilla City were the Stouts though the occasional King Solivar story might raise them to High Men.

** Mundane: Earthlings -- They have [[JackOfAllStats balanced stats all around]] and their [[KiAttacks Ki]] recharges automatically, granting an attack bonus when maxed out. Additionally, [[GuysSmashGirlsShoot male Earthlings are better at physical attacks while females are better at Ki attacks]]. The Human transformation in ''[=XV2=]'' has them board the Flying Nimbus, gaining SuperArmor and performing unique attacks with the Power Pole.

** Concerning Allied Races for the Alliance, we have '''Dark Iron Dwarves''' as Stout (with some possible High Men elements), '''Kul Tirans''' as Mundane, Mechanomes as Cute, '''Void Elves''' as Fairy and '''Lightforged Draenei''' as High Men.

** Mundane: Humans.
** High Men: [[LivingWeapon Blades]].
** Stout: [[CatFolk Gormotti]].
** Fairy: [[TheChurch Indoline]].

* An exception is Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels, which have many different races, but only three are especially defined: Humans, Dwarfs (note the plural spelling) and Trolls (and although very different, Dwarfs and Trolls are both Stout by the trope's definitions). Elves appear in only three novels, ''Discworld/LordsAndLadies'', ''Discworld/TheWeeFreeMen'' and ''The Science of Discworld II: The Globe'', and are sociopathic extradimensional pillagers instead of the usual Tolkien-esque [[HiddenElfVillage isolated sages]]. Gnomes, Vampires and Werewolves are increasingly used, but tend to be more focused on the individuals rather than well-culturally defined races.

* ''Series/BabylonFive'': Though many races feature in the show, six races in particular play a significant impact in the events. The five main ones -- Human, Minbari, Narn, Centauri, and Vorlon -- make up the five races of the Babylon Project, as they represent the most influential governments in the galaxy. The sixth, Shadows, also fit into an aspect of the Five Races trope. At the same time, each race ends the five season series as a subversion as well. Some of the standard tropes associated with the Five Races are very clearly averted or played with differently, though. In particular, the ElvesVersusDwarves trope is averted, since the Elf-like Minbari and Stout Narns have no particularly unusual relationship. Instead, a similar relationship occurs between the Narn and Centauri, while the Minbari and Humans have their own complicated, intertwined fate — so two pairs of linked races among the central four. ''Babylon 5'' is also a case where this is almost entirely deliberate - series creator J Michael Straczynski wanted to make an "SF ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' for television", and included other typically fantasy tropes such as [[{{Ranger}} "rangers"]], prophecies and OrderVersusChaos. (The [[Series/{{Crusade}} short-lived sequel series]] went even further, modelling the protagonists on a traditional "adventuring party", but [[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!]]

* ''Series/BabylonFive'': Though many races feature in the show, six races in particular play a significant impact in the events. The five main ones -- Human, Minbari, Narn, Centauri, and Vorlon -- make up the five races of the Babylon Project, as they represent the most influential governments in the galaxy. The sixth, Shadows, also fit into an aspect of the Five Races trope. At the same time, each race ends the five season series as a subversion as well. Some of the standard tropes associated with the Five Races are very clearly averted or played with differently, though. In particular, the ElvesVersusDwarves trope is averted, since the Elf-like Minbari and Stout Narns have no particularly unusual relationship. Instead, a similar relationship occurs between the Narn and Centauri, while the Minbari and Humans have their own complicated, intertwined fate — so two pairs of linked races among the central four. ''Babylon 5'' is also a case where this is almost entirely deliberate - series creator J Michael Straczynski wanted to make an "SF ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' for television", and included other typically fantasy tropes such as [[TheRanger "rangers"]], prophecies and OrderVersusChaos.

* ''Series/BabylonFive'': Though many races feature in the show, six races in particular play a significant impact in the events. The five main ones -- Human, Minbari, Narn, Centauri, and Vorlon -- make up the five races of the Babylon Project, as they represent the most influential governments in the galaxy. The sixth, Shadows, also fit into an aspect of the Five Races trope. At the same time, each race ends the five season series as a subversion as well.

** Interestingly, though the central races do line up with the traditional Five Races in many respects, some of the standard tropes associated with the Five Races are very clearly averted or played with differently. In particular, the ElvesVersusDwarves trope is averted, since the Elf-like Minbari and Stout Narns have no particularly unusual relationship. Instead, a similar relationship occurs between the Narn and Centauri, while the Minbari and Humans have their own complicated, intertwined fate — so two pairs of linked races among the central four.

* In ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', The Federation's five most commonly seen races map fairly well to the Five Races. Humans are the Mundane, the jack-of-all-trades race whose racial talent seems to be the ability to find common ground and friendship with even the most alien of other races (and praised for it by nearly every god race in the galaxy). Vulcans are the Fairy, not only for their telepathic abilities but for their ascetic indifference to the mortal worries that concern other races, their almost supernatural intelligence, and their deep wisdom that is noted by nearly every other friendly race throughout the series. Andorians are the High Men, passionate yet disciplined larger-than-life warriors who would have been quite at home in the Hyboria of Creator/RobertEHoward or among the warriors of Gondor and Rohan in the world of Creator/JRRTolkien. Tellarites are the Stout, as gruff and tough and alcohol-swilling as any classic fantasy dwarf. Oddly enough, the race that most easily fits the Cute are the god races--the Organians, the Metrons, and the parents of Trelane the Squire of Gothos--all of whom have a subtle, understated impishness to the way they tease the mortal races for their immaturity, not unlike an uncle teasing a five year old nephew or niece, as well as the inner strength and a certain "fun personified" in the way they play their god games as a way of testing and teaching the Captain and Crew of the Starship Enterprise.
** Of the "enemy" races, only four appear more than once, but each of these demonstrates a side that shows they are "enemy" but not evil. Klingons at their best are the Stout, a gruff and an almost testosterone-poisoned proud warrior race. Romulans at their best are the High Men, with the noble Romulan Commander noting that in a more peaceful reality, he and Kirk would likely have been friends. Orions at their best are the Cute, although poor Marta has little chance to be heroic. And, of course, the various Human and might-as-well-be-Human races are always the Mundane.
*** Technically, the Talosians appear in two episodes (part 1 and part 2 of ''The Menagerie'') as well as the original pilot, and when a chastened Talosian befriends Captain Pike, with their powers and ascetic ways they clearly fit the Fairy.
* In ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', Klingons serve as Stouts, humans are High Men, and Vulcans are Fairies.
** Compare this to ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'' where humans drop down to highish Mundanes, Romulans serve as rarely seen High Men (if not especially admirable ones), and the Ferengi are a kind of GrotesqueCute.
*** The Dominion, as a kind of EvilCounterpart to the Federation, has Jem Hadar Stouts, Vorta Fairies, and Changeling (self-proclaimed) High Men.

* Some of Moya's crew in ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' ''almost'' fits. D'Argo as ''Stout'', Zhaan as ''Fairy'', Rygel as ''Cute'', Aeryn as ''High Men'', John as ''Mundane''. On the other hand, the show plays with these roles/assumptions often: Rygel has some disgusting attributes (and special mental skills like hard-nosed negotiation), Zhaan performs some scientific duties in addition to the mystical/telepathic, Aeryn's race has attained great power but tends to use it for tyranny, and John's sharp mind and all-around competence belie his mundane status.
* Early in ''Series/StargateSG1'', O'Neill is told that humans have taken the first step towards becoming "the fifth race"; and in the finale, Carter is told we've earned the role as any hope of saving the Milkyway would rest on us from then on. The closest fit to this trope would probably be:

* There were hundreds of species in the [[TheFederation Systems Commonwealth]] of ''Series/{{Andromeda}}'', but the most influential races could be almost be categorized as such. Humans are naturally mundanes, though some of the genetically modified [[HumanSubspecies subspecies]] might qualify for other roles; the insectoid Than-thre-kull stouts; the inventive but not too cautious [[MadScientist Perseids]] arguably cute; and the Vedrans who founded the Commonwealth in the first place were high men, though after they disappeared they gained a legendary reputation more along the lines of fairies. Meanwhile the [[NietzscheWannabe Nietzschean]] subspecies of human consider themselves to be [[{{Ubermensch}} high men]], but their SocialDarwinism and betrayal of the Commonwealth make them closer to the [[FantasyAxisOfEvil fallen]].
* Several of the Votan species in ''Series/{{Defiance}}'' have been noted to resemble fantasy races:

** Stout = the Baby Boomers, who in fiction are now associated most with the classic dwarven traits of gruff practicality, a sour or cynical disposition, and a tendency to keep to themselves and to avoid and dislike all the other generations (and classically represented in their younger days by a dwarflike DustinHoffman in TheGraduate)

** Fairy: Newmans are engineered specifically to be proficient with TECHNICs, psychic techniques resembling elemental magic.