Line #4 PlayingWith/SacrificialLion


1	'''Basic Trope''': Character is set up as important, then killed partway through the story to show AnyoneCanDie or how evil/dangerous the villain is.
2	* '''Straight''': In the DarkFantasy manga ''Songs of Troperia'', the kid Bob is a member of [[BadassArmy Band of the Falcon]], led by the charismatic [[LadyOfWar Lady Alice Flameheart]]. Later in the story, Lady Alice Flameheart is slaughtered by [[MagnificentBastard Sorcerer]] [[WhiteHairBlackHeart Izzard Vayne]]. Things are about to get serious.
3	* '''Exaggerated''':
4	** Izzard Vayne slaughters the entire Band of the Falcon save for Bob, who is NotWorthKilling at that time.
5	** TheHeroDies [[DecoyProtagonist in the beginning of the third act,]] leading his sidekicks to pick up the pieces.
6	* '''Downplayed''':
7	** SacrificialLamb
8	** TheWorfEffect
9	* '''Justified''':
10	** Lady Alice Flameheart has some sort of ThanatosGambit going on.
11	** Alternatively: Sorcerer Izzard Vayne sees how important Lady Alice Flameheart is to the group, and so deliberately targets and kills her to strike a blow against the group's stability.
12	* '''Inverted''':
13	** Bob's final battle versus [[BigBad Emperor Izzard Vayne]] has him [[BackupFromOtherworld summoning the soul of the deceased members of Band of the Falcon, who are now Einherjar]]. A CurbStompBattle ensues.
14	** A badass villain is killed early on to show how tough the heroes are.
15	** AssholeVictim
16	* '''Subverted''': [[DisneyDeath Lady Alice comes back.]]
17	* '''Double Subverted''': ...for a while anyway. She is slowly dying from the inside, and her last moment is an epic duel versus Izzard Vayne, at which point she's KilledOffForReal.
18	* '''Parodied''': Lady Alice gets herself killed OncePerEpisode to give Band of the Falcon a shot of UnstoppableRage.
19	* '''Zig Zagged''': Some of the more prominent (and dead) members in the Band of the Falcon has the SacrificialLion trope dropped at them, while the others are essentially ForgottenFallenFriend.
20	* '''Averted''': The only characters to die are {{Sacrificial Lamb}}s and RedShirts.
21	* '''Enforced''':
22	** "DeathIsDramatic, even more so when it happens to someone who seems invincible and is on the hero's side. Let's kill Alice."
23	** "[[LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt Yes, we really]] ''[[LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt would]]'' [[LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt do it]]."
24	** Lady Alice's actress is leaving, and the writers have to write her character out as a result.
25	* '''Lampshaded''': "Lady Alice, your death shall not be in vain! [[PresentAbsence Your ideals we shall carry]]!"
26	* '''Invoked''': Lady Alice, having studied psychological warfare, decides to fight Izzard Vayne even though she can't win -- because [[ThanatosGambit she knows that her death is exactly what will motivate the Falcons]] for the rest of their lives.
27	* '''Exploited''': Lady Alice knows that ''someone'' is likely to die in the upcoming battle with Izzard Vayne. She plans things ahead of times so that [[SelfSacrificeScheme she's the most likely casualty]].
28	* '''Defied''': [[TakingTheBullet Bob pushes Lady Alice aside as Izzard Vayne throws a huge fireball at her]]. Amazingly, both of them survive and the rest of the Falcons finish the stunned Izzard Vayne.
29	* '''Discussed''': "OhCrap. This is where someone important dies, isn't it?"
30	* '''Conversed''': "Uh-oh, the story's getting more intense; it's usually around now the writers kill off a well-developed character just to prove that AnyoneCanDie."
31	* '''Deconstructed''': Lady Alice is, well, someone ''really'' important for the Band of the Falcon. Her death severely impairs the Falcons as a whole.
32	* '''Reconstructed''': But her death ultimately fuels the drives of the other members, who fight valiantly to compensate for their loss.
33	----
34	Back to SacrificialLion. Just [[SchmuckBait don't get too attached]].
35	----
36	%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
37	%%
38	%%* '''Implied''': ???
39	%%* '''Played For Laughs''': ???

Context PlayingWith / SacrificialLion