'''Basic Trope:''' The hero's parents never married.
* '''Straight:''' Bob, an illegitimate child, is the hero of the work.
* '''Exaggerated:''' Every good character was born outside of wedlock.
* '''Downplayed''':
** It's questionable if he's a bastard or not, and his [[AntiHero heroism is also questionable]].
** Bob was born while his parents were engaged.
** Bob's society practices formalized concubinage and Bob is son of one. He is counted a bastard in succession laws but not from the social point of view.
* '''Justified:'''
** The bastards lead much more exciting lives than the overprotected princes and princesses, so it makes sense for the story to focus on one.
** Years of being [[DecadentCourt the nobility]]'s [[ButtMonkey collective scapegoat]] thanks to being an easy target taught the hero some empathy.
** Bob grows up in a society with lax views towards bastards.
* '''Inverted:''' [[BastardBastard The villain is the illegitimate one]].
* '''Subverted:'''
** Bob is being given the standard hero treatment at the beginning, but then undergoes a FaceHeelTurn.
** Bob doesn't know who his father is. He believes his mother was never married. Then he finds out she was.
** Bob is actually adopted: his real parents ''were'' married.
* '''Double Subverted:'''
** ... But it turns out he only did that to infiltrate the enemies' base and get a shot at the BigBad.
** Bob doesn't know who his father is. He believes his mother was never married. Then he finds out she was. Then it turns out his mother's husband was not his father.
** Bob's biological parents disown and bastardize him.
* '''Parodied:''' Princes father as many illegitimate children as possible, realizing their legitimate ones will grow up to be [[RoyalBrat too spoiled to rule well]] and only the bastards are likely to go out and defeat evil.
* '''Zig Zagged:''' Bob thought he was a bastard. Then it turned out his parents were actually married. But it wasn't a real marriage, since one of them was married to somebody else at the time. Later we find out his real parents were different people altogether, but he still grew up being treated like crap because of his supposed bastardy.
* '''Averted:''' Bob's parents were married.
* '''Enforced:'''
** "Bob should be illegitimate so we can show how modern and tolerant we are!"
** "We want the identity of the hero's father to be [[LukeIAmYourFather a big plot twist]]. It'd be easier to explain by stating the Bob's parents didn't marry."
* '''Lampshaded:''' "Farmboy, magic sword, prophesied ChosenOne? Don't tell me, your father was a prince and he never married your mother."
* '''Invoked:''' The king realizes evil forces are gathering, so he gets some mistresses in hopes of siring a hero.
* '''Exploited''': The king's concubines, aware that their kids are likely to be the ones having to go out and save the day, make a point of keeping armsmasters and other practical-skills teachers on retainer.
* '''Defied:''' The villain tries to assassinate the king's bastard before the crown prince, realizing that the former is more likely to be the ChosenOne.
* '''Discussed:''' "Don't you know how these things work? The king's bastard gets to go on quests, save the world and ultimately win the throne!"
* '''Conversed:''' "The heroes in these fantasy novels always turn out to be the illegitimate sons of kings."
* '''Deconstructed:''' The story examines the disadvantaged position of bastards in medieval society and the psychological repercussions of fatherlessness and discrimination.
* '''Reconstructed:''' Bob's lack of identity and security shapes his character and leads to his questing, restless spirit, because he wants to know who he is and what he can do.
* '''Played For Drama''': Bob gets bullied by his peers everyday solely based on the fact that he was conceived from non-marriage, driving him to the point of suicide.
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Back to HeroicBastard.
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%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
%%
%%* '''Implied''': ???
%%* '''Plotted A Good Waste''': ???
%%* '''Played For Laughs''': ???