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So You Want To / Write A Jungle Opera Departments

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    Aesthetics Set Designer, Location Scout 

What To Avoid

    Prop And Weapons Department 

    Character Artist and Costume Designer 
The costumed are pretty iconic in this genre. Jungle explorers usually wear breathable clothing with lots of pockets, tools and boots, while jungle dwellers are typically scantily clad in animal skins. It’s far better to make the designs as distinct as possible. A simple Adventurer Outfit or Fur Bikini isn’t going to cut it. Instead opt for a Meaningful Appearance, with small details or outfit subversions will both make your characters stand out and signal to the audience who your characters are. Also keep in mind practicality and Rule of Cool rather than Rule of Sexy.

  • Meaningful Appearance: If you want your characters to look unique, than starting here is an absolute must. Make sure you make costumes fit the characters rather than the other way around.
  • Adaptational Modesty: It’s more than welcomed to subvert the classic Fanservice Fur Bikini and Loincloth tropes for less risky ones. Even for Real Life cultures with different modesty standards, going for an author's culture's modesty is seen as far more respectful as it objectifying people based on the cultural dress. It also helps avoid the Rule of Sexy dragging down the plot and characters.
    • Additionally, many tribal cultures do have very strict sexual taboos and traditions involving modesty. Even if their modesty standard appear lower, that doesn't mean they are less serious in that culture. This is in addition to protecting oneself from the sun and insects. This is all a great asset to Worldbuilding.
    • Take inspiration from real life.
    • It helps make your costumes distinct from those of previous characters.
  • Adventurer Outfit: Standard for the Bold Explorer or Adventurer Archaeologist. You can also try making it more modest as most explorers in real life had to have more protection from the su and insects. Boots of Toughness and fingerless gloves are often used here.
    • Make sure the outfit is still unique and reflects the characters’ personalities.
    • Bare Midriffs Are Feminine is common among female explorers. Although it can be a Justified Trope for heat and mobility, there is far less protection from sunlight or insects, so it’s best to avert this unless your adventurer is accustomed to the climate, including local diseases.
    • A Badass Longcoat, albeit a much more breathable version or a some kind of raincoat could be interesting.
    • Coat, Hat, Mask or Gas Mask, Longcoat would be excellent subversions here, even if a bit impractical.
    • Ponchos are also welcomed.
    • Don't be afraid to incorperate Crafted from Animals, especially for villains and {{Outlaw}]s.
  • Ambiguously Brown: If your natives are human and the location is relatively loose or ambiguous, having them from an unspecified is potentially less risky.
    • While typically applied to non-white ethnic groups, the first examples of the Noble Savage originate in Ancient Rome and were applied to the very white Germanic tribes. Also, in multiple places in Real Life, anomalous white tribes have been discovered. Some theorize that they are descendants of a Lost Colony, possibly predating Columbus. While the Noble Savage is not recomended, Natives do not necessarily have to be non-white.
  • Amazonian Beauty: This is a better alternative than the Nubile Savage, and it’s more than welcomed, but only by the Rule of Cool; not the Rule of Sexy.
  • Amulet of Concentrated Awesome: A good choice for your Shaman or Witch Doctor.
  • Armed Legs: A good choice for a {Steampunk}} or Diesel Punk story is weaponized shoes.
  • Artificial Limbs: The jungle is a very dangerous place where one can easily loose a limb to man or beast, so this trope is welcomed in character design, especially in a Steampunk or Diesel Punk story.
  • Awesome Anachronistic Apparel: Because this genre is often set in the past, this is more than welcomed no matter the time period.
  • Awesome Backpack: Standard for any Bold Explorer, their associates or their guides.
  • Badass Bandolier: a good choice for Hired Guns and rebel soldiers.
  • Badass Cape: The temperature in the jungle does drop at night, especially in higher elevation, so a handcrafted cloak or cape might make sense on occasion.
  • Badasses Wear Bandanas: Cloths and bandanas are practical to clean sweat, collect dew or even conceal one’s identity.
  • Badass Long Robe: Modesty standards and dress do very a lot depending on culture and author, but some tribes use long and loose clothing is used to protect against sunlight and insects by indigenous cultures, so this makes sense for them, especially the Shaman, because wizards wear robesin sci-fi and fantasy.
    • A downplayed variation to avoid catching on things can be used for the Tarzanesque or the Badass Native.
    • Of course this is common dress among cultists.
  • Barbarian Long Hair: is usually welcomed for a Tarzan Boy.
  • Battle Ballgown: Likely to appear in a Steampunk setting.
  • Cast of Snowflakes: Allowing the characters to have unique designs is important.
  • Clark Kent Outfit: A good idea for your Tarzanesque if they are temporarily living in civilization, but still fighting crime.
    • It should still be confortable based on their jungle lifestyle. They might wear barefoot shoes or sandals they can easily kick off, definitely not Combat Stilettos. They might still wear boho or handcrafted jewelry. Maybe they prefer earthy tones.
  • Cool Helmet: As well as Cool Mask are welcomed for the army of the Evil Colonialist or even an Egomaniac Hunter trying to distinguish themself.
  • Cool Shades: They look cool, but protection from the sun is also important in the rainforest.
  • Crafted from Animals: Exotic pelts and teeth for clothing is common in this genre and Rule of Cool demands it be used liberally.
    • Consider other natural materials, like linen and burlap or even a handcrafted more Bo-Ho looking style of jewelry is welcomed. Weapons and clothing crafted from the Magic Meteor is also more than welcomed.
    • It's okay to avert using furs and leather for primary dress, as they don't keep well in the jungle and would likely be very unconformable. Per the Rule of Cool, using pelts for outerwear and ornamentation is welcomed.
    • It’s okay for you do have outfits Crafted from Animals as a trophy of the character's prowess, but Killing in Self-Defense or to protect someone else would be far less risky.
    • Think outside the box. Rather than classic leopard print, try actual snakeskin, crocodile leather, or even dinosaur scales.
    • Additionally, outfits Crafted from Animals would be interesting for Hired Guns, an Egomaniac Hunter and various Outlaws.
  • Earthy Barefoot Character: This practically a staple of this genre for jungle dwelling characters, especially for the Tarzanesque or even the Badass Native. Often this includes Handy Feet.
    • This design is permitted by the Rule of Cool for characters being able to effortlessly navigate the Dangerous Terrain without a problem to demonstrate their prowess in the jungle and how accustomed they are to it. It’s also justified for traveling through the trees, and not entirely unrealistic since many Real Life jungle dwellers go barefoot, even in the Amazon with bullet ants and scorpions. It would however be unrealistic to ignore the shift in lifestyle for someone who is used to shoes. Independent research is recommended.
    • Avoid the risky Magical Barefooter as it involves stereotypes related to animism or primitiveness. As one of the editors of this article who grew up in the country and near the ocean can tell you, rural or coastal dwelling people often go barefoot all the time, even in western societies, but it’s purely out of preference and comfort and has nothing to do with a mystical connection to the earth. Additionally, making it a quirk can really add to a character.
    • Also, you should subvert Beauty Is Never Tarnished, as habitual barefooters, especially in the jungle, will have scars and dirt from their lifestyle and more spread out toes. The probably won’t have as many calluses though, because as the skin becomes thick and supple like leather, most dead calluses usually wear away. Also, if a character Prefers Going Barefoot in the jungle, they should have a consistent personality in civilization as well. Combat Stilettos should also be avoided in civilization for the Jungle Princess since she would most likely barely be able to walk, much less run and fight.
  • Fedora of Asskicking: Mot only is this an iconic piece for an Adventurer Archaeologist, but it’s also a great option for the jungle in general to protect from sunlight.
    • Alternatives like a regular cowboy hat would provide the same function. You could also try something handcrafted like A Rice Concial.
  • Fingerless Gloves of Edginess are a practical and cool addition to any outfit and generally always appear at some point in jungle opera stories.
    • You can even utilize them, or at least Handwraps of Awesome, for a jungle dweller instead of just the Bold Explorer, as it makes more sense to protect the hands if a character is often climbing trees a lot. Adding claws or blades can easily invoke the Rule of Cool.
  • Fur Bikini: (or Loincloth) This is pretty common for the Tarzanesque. Although averting this is more than welcomed, these tropes are permitted by the Rule of Cool, if they are handled appropriately.
    • The costume is not the problem, It’s the Fanservice and objectification associated with the costume that is, not only due to how they weaken characters, but also considering the atrocities that happen in the jungle. However, depending on how you frame your scenes in visual mediums or describe your character in a text based medium, you can still use these tropes very well without making them sensual or stupid, especially if you focus on making developing a good character behind them first and using these tropes to express said character. These tropes are often used better in Sword and Sorcery, where they are used to emphasize a character's physical prowess and fearlessness, and they can serve the same purpose for a character in this genre. The costume also needs to fit the Worldbuilding of the character’s culture. Rememver, just because a culture traditionally wears less than we would, that does not mean that they have they don’t have very strict modesty taboos, like many tribal cultures in Real Life. Therefore, it’s important to acknowledge this in your Worldbuilding.
    A good reference: Shadiversity; Can Barbarian Bikini Armor be Realistic?
    • The Fur Leotard has also been used, but it falls into the same issues as the Fur Bikini; it still has to be detailed and be meaningful to the wearer. It also doesn't offer much more modesty since your character is still a Walking Swimsuit Scene, so describing it in an appropriate way and focusing on personality over costume still applies.
    • You need to make it a unique design though. Try using other materials, as fur and leather wouldn’t keep as well in the jungle, or at least try a unique kind of material, (See Crafted from Animals above). Also, take inspiration Real Life cultural dress of various tribes; for example, you could have an authentic loincloth, a bandeau top, a wrapped top, a sarong etc. Maybe add some accessories as well like wearable weapons, holsters, warpaint, Handwraps of Awesome, jewelry, and other things Crafted from Animals. The Rule of Cool demands that at least. It also allows for crafted armor like a handcrafted pauldron, shin or arm guards or authentic wrapped armor.
    • Don't be afraid to modernize the concept. Shorts or torn pants due to Clothing Damage are welcomed alternatives. The character might also opt for a classic more modest Adventurer Outfit entirely via trading. This is also welcomed, but make sure they still have a jungle dwelling survivalist aspect such as handcrafted jewelry, hand wraps, war paint and of course going barefoot.
  • Gadget Watches: A good choice for The Professor or the Bold Explorer he is working with. Having a walky talky is a great option for keeping in contact.
  • Goggles Do Something Unusual: More than welcomed for The Professor.
  • Good Colors, Evil Colors: can be played with a lot, especially given the vibrant styles of various tribal cultures.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: A classic for the Jungle Princess, since Sheena. Usually the second part is left out for a flat Mighty Whitey who thinks she is a queen or goddess, again since Sheena. However, this trope can be interesting if the trope was actually played straight; to reflect a kind and compassionate character.
    • Of course there is no limit to hair color here. If you want a World of Technicolor Hair, that's perfectly fine. It might even be an interesting Justified Trope if it hair dying tied into an ancient tribal tradition.
  • Hidden Weapons: Would work very well for a Tarzanesque
  • Everything's Sparkly with Jewelry: this is a must for a Tarzanesque or Badass Native. Things like earrings, necklaces, bracelets and anklets can add to a unique character design.
  • Jet Pack: Of course an invention of The Professor, this also looks cool on Outlaws.
  • Labcoat of Science and Medicine: Might be used by an Evilutionary Biologist or even The Professor.
  • Light Sandals: Depending on character preferences or how extremely hazardous the jungle floor actually is with scorpions, insects and thorny plants etc. It's perfectly understandable why an author would subvert the classic Earthy Barefoot Character trope. In such cases however, you might opt to go with footwear that's common for indigenous cultures of the jungle in Real Life.
    • Shoes in general don't make a whole lot of sense for characters who often do activities that require more grip, so it's best to keep them grounded or at least change their parkour style if you go for this aproach. You could also try foot wraps to add protection while still allowing for grip. While moccasins and hide boots have been used for the Tarzanesque before, they aren’t recommended, because they are more associated with temperate cultures and tend to make the Tarzanqsue look more like the Barbarian Hero. Hence it can easily look out of place.
  • Martial Arts Headband: Can work for some warrior characters.
  • Mask of Power: Either used by an Outlaw to conceal their identity or Masking the Deformity, used to protect the Gas Mask Mooks of Toxic, Inc.., or it can even be used by the Tarzanesque.
    • The Domino Mask is a bit overrated, so it makes sense to opt for something more practical like a gas mask, a ninja cloth or bandana, which can be more effective.
    • Cool Mask is also welcomed.
  • Minidress of Power: A fur, leather or vegetation variation has been used for the Jungle Princess before and the added modesty makes it a good alternative to the Fur Bikini.
    • Most artists and writers still forget to add details and accessories to make the outfit distinct. Taking inspirations from real tribal dress is an excellent way to avoid this problem. In general, remember to use the Rule of Cool and make outfits fit the character rather than making the character fit the outfit.
    • It’s also still more than welcomed to make it even more modest. With a little bit of asymmetry as well, this can be modest, mobile and follow the Rule of Cool.
    • Modesty Shorts are obviously an excellent idea here.
  • Not Quite Human: Making your characters part of a fantasy race is less risky and more than welcomed in their design. A good way to make them fit the genre is to mix them with plants and animals. (see plant and animal coordinator folder).
  • Pelts of the Barbarian: How they acquired these pelts is up the the author, but outerwear of various exotic hided can look awesome.
  • Race Lift: Use it liberally, as virtually all classic characters of this genre can work with any ethnicity or even as Not Quite Human.
    • The race of your indigenous population also varies depending on where your story is set.
  • Sarong: (skirt like garment) is pretty standard for a Badass Native, but would also be a unique and practical costume for the Tarzan Boy.
  • Sarashi: In Real Life, similar tight wraps were used as armor by some African cultures, because the layers of cloth offered protection against melee attacks without being as uncomfortable as metal. This makes it a great choice for a Badass Native or Tarzanesque warrior.
    • Normal armor like paulsrons, shin guards or bracers made from leather, wood or other natural materials are welcomed as well.
  • Savage Piercings: unusual piercing can look really cool especially villains, though these are permitted only through the Rule of Cool, and should not be based in ideas about a specific culture.
    • If you pick piercings based on Real Life, make sure you research the cultural meaning behind them. These work better for heroes in this context.
  • Scavenged Punk, (aka Salvagepunk) for poor small towns and or designing costumes for of Hired Guns, rebel soldiers or the Outlaw in general.
  • Sexy Villains, Chaste Heroes: would be an interesting subversion in general due to all of the Fanservice associated with this genre.
    • Keep in mind though that modestly also means humility, so just making evil outfits more expensive, shiny or attention grabbing would also work. This is especially good to contrast with humble handcrafted clothing.
  • Shoulders of Doom: A Pauldron would be a piece of armor light enough to use without being too hot for the climate.
  • Staff of Authority for chiefs and shamans.
  • This Means Warpaint: A must for a Badass Native, and more than welcomed for a Tarzanesque.
  • Unkempt Beauty: This is a must for the Jungle Princess or The Chief's Daughter. Most make the mistake of giving them markup and neat hair, but you should allow them to look pleasant, not objectified or completely untarnished, in their unkempt state.
  • Unorthodox Holstering: Having various visible sheaths and holsters are more than welcomed on any outfit. Don't limit it to the belt though. Items and weapons carried on the back or legs can also look cool.
  • Utility Belt: Standard for an Adventurer Outfit, but also welcomed for the Tarzanesque.
    • Allow them to keep accessories in other locations, like strapped to the shoulder, legs or hanging from the back.
  • Weapon-Based Characterization is a good way to keep your characters distinct. Giving your Egomaniac Hunter use something other than a simple rifle, or giving your Badass Native and Tarzanesque something other than a simple hunting knife and bow is more than welcomed.

What To Avoid

    Casting Director for Heroes and Protagonists 
The characters are pretty classic in this genre, such as the Bold Explorer, Great White Hunter,

  • Archetypal Character: When creating characters, you should give each character a deeper meaning. Don’t merely use a character concept because they work in this genre.

An author might fall into is using an Expy, either of a preexisting characters, stock character or throwing in a crossover because the base characters have been recycled so many times. The rainforests of Real Life have seen every kind of person imaginable, so it’s not hard to find inspiration in history or present day. Additionally, Deconstruction and Reconstruction of classic tropes can make for intriguing versions of previous concepts. As for the Crossover, of course it is always fun, but only when it comes organically from the themes and tone the author is trying to explore.

See Also: Make Interesting Characters

Many of these have evil counterparts that will be explored in the “Villains” folder.

  • Tarzanesque: This is the most iconic, but unfortunately most often poorly written character of this genre as well as the character with longest notes on this page, which is why they will be tackled first. Weather the more prevelent Jungle Princess or the classic Tarzan Boy, they are A Stranger in a Strange Land usually orphan, though backstories can vary, who grew up in the jungle, and understands it, as well as its various cultures, whose people and home they will often lay their life on the line for. They are often a Badass Bookworm and Cunning linguist in addition to being Awesome by Analysis and having Super-Senses. They are normally good at Combat Parkour traveling by Vine Swing, have tat least one Action Pet and live as an Earthy Barefoot Character and Badass Native who travels from town to town or village to village as the a Knight Errant. They tend to be a Nemisisand they often end up a Badass in Distress hunted or captured by enemies.
    • Take them seriously. There is a major reason the Barbarian Hero is more popular, despite being very similar down to their Loincloth.
    • Using the Jungle Princess is more than welcomed, but this character is usually a Chaste Hero and Innocent Fanservice Girl. The problem is that she is typically entirely unaware of romance at all and she is treated as another catch to be made in a hunt or an object of desire. These portrayals really harm her character, taking away from her appeal as an epic warrior maiden. She should not only be fully aware of romance, at least how it’s handled in her culture, but also follow any cultural taboos around physical relationships and marriage. Tribal cultures in Real Life not only have these kinds of traditions, but they are very important to many on their cultures, and this opens a real oppertunity to explore the Worldbuilding This character should also be allowed to end up Happily Married because of her traditions, rather than simply having a "mate". Additionally, due to the horrible realities around human trafficking, disrespecting another culture by objectifying it, and poor character writing in general, The Jungle Princess should never exist to be Ms. Fanservice. All of this also applies to the Tarzan Boy, but he rarely suffers from Fanservice as his Distaff Counterpart. Also, Amazonian Beauty and Unkempt Beauty is more than welcomed, but by the Rule of Cool rather than Rule of Sexy. Additionally, exploring beauty of the feminine apart from Male Gaze is more than welcomed.
    • Personality is crucial. If they can't laugh, apart from pride at the defeat of an enemy, or can't weep (when it's appropriate at least) than you are doing something seriously wrong. Things like quirks, hobbies, desires, fears and friendships or phycological factors like their Dominant Sense or personality type are all means to make this character unique. Don’t simply use the classic Tarzan or Sheena template. Also, if they are your Aesop Enforcer, making them personally take vengeance on all who transgress said Aesop is really going to make An Aesop look less desirable.
    • The Older Than Feudalism idea of being A Stanger in a Strange Land, is a core aspect of what makes a Tarzanesque character Tarzanesque, whether they a Raised by Natives or end up Going Native, but that doesn't mean that there aren't ways to make their backstory unique. Seriously ask yourself questions about them and think outside of the box. Where do they come from? (Are they even human? Who were their biological parents? Do they come from a legacy of similar warriors? Are they a lost native? Are they the Last of Their Tribe/Kind after a villain's Final Solution? Do they come from a legacy of Evil Colonialists? Were they foretold by a The Prophecy. Are they acctually orphaned, simply lost or are their parents evil?) How did they end up in the jungle? (Was it a magical, technological or criminal means? Did they willingly leave society or were they brought there against their will. Are they a Fish out of Temporal Water? Were they raised from infancy or are they a Robertsonade? (Are they trained or self taught? Who raised and who trained them?) How is their relationship to the local tribes and the jungle itself? (Do they experience prejudice? Did they have to gain their tribe's respect as an outsider? Do they see themselves as one of the tribe or animals that raised them? Are their biological parents potentially still alive?)
    • Give them a unique Design and Meaningful Appearance, because a simple Fur Bikini is not going to cut it. Adaptational Modesty, ornaments and acessories and unique weapons of choice. Are all more than welcomed. Making them another ethnicity or even Not Quite Human are more than welcomed. You should also try deconstructing the classic trope by giving them more skills in martial arts and stealth. In general think more Gratuitous Ninja than Ape Man or Ms. Fanservice.
    • Avoid Power Fantasy. Many characters here end up being a Marty Stu or Mary Sue, where they can easily break out of any bonds, defeat any opponent, are worshipped as a ruler or deity, and why worry about the Jungle Princess with the dangerous animals if she can Control Them?. True agency in a story includes the ability to fail and making hard moral choices. To be fair, these characters often have iconic abilities like peak human strength, Speaks Fluent Animal, Scarily Competent Tracker, Acute Senses, Combat Parkour etc. (More detail in the stunt department) Try giving these side effects. Acute hearing can make them hyper sensitive to sounds causing discomfort, or maybe their ability to read body language of animals and people makes them vulnerable to misjudging someone with certain conditions. Things like these might be fun to explore.
    • Also avoid Mighty Whitey. Any ethnicity and background is welcomed for this character, and it's more than welcome for them to be a indigenous Badass Native, despite being an outsider to their families like Mowgli or to even be Not Quite Human entirely. No matter what the case, they should see themselves as one of the natives rather than superior to them. Humility is often considered a mark of a true hero.
    • Avoid depicting this character, as well as the natives, as unintelligent. They should be Awesome by Analysis and quick to learn new things, able to somewhat understand technology they have never seen before without jumping to the conclusion A Wizard Did It, possibly even a Badass Bookworm and speaking English fluently courtesy of The Missionary of course. Also, No Hulk Speak. Hulk Hate Hulk Speak, Hulk Speak used too much and make people look dumb. The better and less risky approach is using the character Awesome by Analysis, able to read animals and even people like a book through body language. They should also be very quick to pick up on languages, especially if they come from a tribal culture surrounded by tribes with other languages. It also makes sense for them to learn a few more foreign languages from The Missionary. Also, an authentic unique accent local or foreign is a welcomed alternative to simple American.
    • Although the Ideal Hero is common for this character, you should seriously consider their moral compass. Having a classic ideal hero who is compassionate, has close friends, mentors young warriors, protecting those that hate them, saving their enemies and general personal convictions are welcomed, but you still have to consider things like do they follow an ancient code from the tribe or the jungle and its beliefs tied to the Worldbuilding or did The Missionary have a big impact on them? (They are likely to be a Nemesis Magnet as an Ideal Hero) Do they hunt because they see themselves as part of the food chain or do they refuse because they see themselves like the animals that raised them? Are they a heroic character that has a price on their head or are they merely an outcast? Give them unique values apart from the environmental ethic of the risky Noble Savage. If you make them morally ambiguous, then are they an Anti-Hero or Vigilante Man? Would they work as a Bounty Hunter or are they an actual Outlaw?
    • Don’t be afraid of their gender. If you have a Jungle Princess it’s okay for her to be compassionate, nurturing and good at multitasking, if you have a Tarzan Boy, it’s okay for him to be actively heroic. It’s also okay to subvert them as well, but be sure it ties into a more complex character. Making a Jungle Princess masculine by making her stoic and, dominating, brash or vengeful is a common sin when writing her. Even a Tarzan boy wouldn’t be interesting with the same personality. Additionally, it might be more intiresting if the Jungle Princess was realistically physically weaker; using a crossbow instead of a bow that would require more upper body strength, preferring a pole weapon, or Waif-Fu (utilizing a martial arts style focused on dodging attacks and using the opponent’s strength), would all be more interesting than giving her sheer brute force.
    See Write an Action Girl for more info.
    • What is their function or daily life? Maybe they are more of Gratuitous Ninja than ape man. Maybe they are The Drifter instead of the Knight Errant. Giving them an actual profession or trade could be very interesting. They can gather resources gather from plants, trade in crafts, independently farm or even take up bounties on criminals. How they use what they get can also help expand on their character. Do they donate to the local ecologist or the local missionary? Do they support their tribe in some way? Might they trade what little they get for books or to buy back culturally or personally significant items. Are they willing to get their hands dirty as an Outlaw?
    • Give them distinct friends, apart from Animals and the attractive Bold Explorer. Family and friends, and their relationships really will help strengthen any character. Tribes are also sometimes a very Close-Knit Community, so a strong value of loyalty makes sense. Distinct enemies is also important. An Arch-Enemy is a good idea, even if the Tarzanesque is very likely a Nemesis Magnet.
    • Making them a Badass Bookworm is more than welcomed. It might also be interesting if they cited multiple facts they learned from reading.
    • Give them a unique name. Just because it ends with the letter “A”, that does not mean it works. The name should express some aspect of their role or personality as with any character.
    Develop Character Personality
    Write a Badass

Other characters:

  • The Ace: A leader of a team of explorers.
  • Ace Pilot: A classic for taking people to and from the jungle, whether through the by plane or spaceship (if it's a Planetary Romance or the characters are from space).
  • Advanced Ancient Humans: always welcomed to subvert Hollywood Natives. They will obviously have Sufficiently Advanced Bamboo Technology.
  • Adventurer Archaeologist: Of course, but they don’t have to be an archeologist. They can be a paleontologist, anthropologist or any other kind of adventuring scientist, and they can come from any background.
    • They often will raid an Ancient Tomb or Temple of Doom in ruins from a long gone culture or Precursors. In some other variations, they might be after an already stolen Ancient Artifact for their own glory before undergoing a character arc and returning it to its people in the end.
    • If this character is an Ideal Hero, they will probably take working with culture’s seriously so they can present them accurately for science, and obviously to avoid theft. This character is likely to be tricked into a find by an evil archeologist who is more hellbent on Greed and glory.
  • ActionGirls: Why do you think the Amazon rainforest is named after the warrior women of myth?
  • Action Survivor: This is less of a Bold Explorer, and more of your average audience insert, who is resourceful, and quick to adapt to the alien situations, and likely to become a love interest.
  • Adventurer Team: A team of skilled and combat ready conservationists, anthropologists archeologists search team, explorers, missionaries or even venturous smugglers. A basic team set up probably would include, The Professor (a Do-Anything Robot if he has one_, The Ace, an Action Pet, Cunning Linguist, an Action Pet and a standard Tarzanesque.
  • Ancient Astronauts are another interesting way to add lore and justify Sufficiently Advanced Bamboo Technology.
  • Anti-Hero Team: Vigilantes devoted to a task, with some Grey-and-Gray Morality.
  • Artificial Animal People: A possible sick product of experiments by the Evilutionary Biologist or a Witch Doctor. They could even be created by the Precursors with Sufficiently Advanced Bamboo Technology, and formed into their own cultures, merging human and animal personalities.
  • Badass Natives: Of course having natives who are highly intelligent and capable in the jungle is a must. They are likely to be highly skilled in martial arts, Combat Parkour and tracking. They will probably understand multiple languages, including foreign languages like English if The Missionary has been there.
    • They should not be stereotypical Noble Savages or simply childish people. As characters, they should have their own motivations and personalities.this doesn’t mean this character has to be evil either. These Humans Are Flawed, just like in any culture, so use actual Worldbuilding on their values.. Making a few of them noble and even The Paragon based on personal convictions or deep moral traditions, like any other noble or Ideal Hero character, is more than welcomed. Just be sure to show them choosing this path and struggling with it, and show some of their culture breaking it. .For instance, it would make more since values will likely be tied to community and family as a tradition that has helped them survive in the Hungry Jungle for generations. Also be sure to include some Hypocrites or even make a few malicious, like any other group of people. Remember, motive is key. Distinguishing them from each other is crucial. In general, don’t forget to actually Worldbuild their culture, instead of relying on clichés or your aesop.
    • One common. and pretty offensive, aspect of the Noble Savage people often use, especially when attempting a Green Aesop, is making the native cultures worship nature. They understand the interconnectedness of all things, they know the spirits of everything in the jungle, they sing with all the voices of the mountains and they paint with all the colors of the wind, and because they know the jungle spirits so well, they are inherently more noble, and they can be offended on behalf of the rainforest as if it were a family member. Not only is this depiction highly stereotypical and risky, even the portrayal of the Not Quite Human Na'vi from Film/Avatar was offensive to many, but this portrayal is also largely inaccurate to real indigenous cultures. Not only have many in Real Life have been influenced by missionaries from Christianity, Islam and Buddhism, but even among entirely isolated tribes there is a lot of variation from polytheism, to belief in a Sentient Cosmic Foce and even Monotheism. Some are even cultish and manipulative instead of communal, which can be very interesting to explore if done realistically. Just make sure to do some actual Worldbuilding and make your natives' system of faith unique. Having it relate to the actual deities in the setting is also more than welcome.
    • While making your native characters worship nature is not recommended, this does not mean that they should be apathetic to the jungle around them either. Quite the opposite actually. The jungle is their home. The canopy protects them, thy use the rivers for water and they rely on the land in general to grow food, fish, hunt and gather herbs. Of course they cannot have a peaceful co-existence as they still need to hunt, fish, and farm and the jungle is still the Hungry Jungle with all manner of dangerous creatures, dangerous plants, and dangerous terrain. That’s not even mentioning how neighboring tribes can be courtier and hostile, even if they also conserve and rely on the land. Additionally they will still have other very important values and taboos unrelated to the environment, but when the jungle is threatened, then so are they, so they should have vetry strong values of conservation. In fact in many cultures corrupting nature is just one of many aspects of witchcraft that are highly taboo, which can be very interesting to using when exploring villains like the Witch Doctor. Also, focusing on the [[humanitarian Humans Are Special]] effects they would face from environmental crimes is more than welcomed for a Green Aesop.
    • If you have a Tarzanesque, giving them a few of these as friends is a must. The Tarzanesque should see themselves as one of them rather than superior to them.
    • No Hulk Speak. Try giving them Conlang, or translating things completely for the audience when they talk to other native speakers. Also, if The Missionary frequents their village, they might be fluent, or at least almost fluent in English. An authentic accent is a must.
  • Badass Bookworm: A must if you have The Professor and works very well with the Tarzanesque.
  • Badass Bureaucrat: An Action Politician leader who does good and cares for their people.
  • Barefoot Loon: A character who was likely stranded and isolated in the jungle for decades in which period he will Go Mad from the Isolation. He also likely has a Time-Passage Beard.
  • Barbarian Hero: A similar aesthetic in and cousin trope trope to the Tarzanesque. They likely live nearby in the snowy mountains. Worldbuilding their culture and making them distinct from thee Tarzanesque is a must. They are likely going to have different languages, modesty standards, diets, spiritual beliefs etc.
  • Battle Couple: If your character has a love interest, try this instead of the damsel, rescuer dynamic.
  • The Beastmaster: A character who has befriended or tamed one or more animals can create an interesting dynamic between the character and the animal(s). A character who directly controls animals can work, but, it's far more risky than the more realistic and more interesting alternative where an animal becomes friends with their human and defends them as a loyal Action Pet, rather than being sent into battle against their own will. If a character not only values animals over people but also magically enslaves them, then it’s going to come off the wrong way. Not only does it take away from the danger that the Non-Powered Costumed Hero faces, but a Green Aesop will quickly become a Clueless Aesop blatantly ignoring the challenges conservationists face from dangerous animals in Real Life. It also makes it a Broken Aesop (“Capturing an animal is wrong, but enslaving them with superpowers and using them to fight for you is perfectly fine”). It also takes away from being able to make the animals characters, because they are technically an extent of another character. Also, if the character is unable to control their animal, that can lead to interesting conflict, as they might be unable to stop their pet from defending them to their own peril or unable to stop dangerous wild animals, potentially having to find a way to disable them without hurting them. It resembles Real Life in a much better and more interesting way. Communication with animals requires more than just speaking to them as any pet owner can tell you. It's also more than welcomed for the animals to act like said animals would in real life, and build personalities from them. Up did this very well with the dogs.
  • Benevolent Abomination: The typical Eldritch Abomination is usually an unknowable, ancient creature that can annihilate humanity with ease, and either despises humanity, sees them as toys to play with and break at will, or operates entirely on Blue-and-Orange Morality. A nice alternative to the standard formula is an Eldritch Abomination who cares about humanity and has good intentions, despite still being bizarre and unnatural.
  • Bold Explorer: A classic here, but can also come from any background.
  • Bounty Hunter: They can bring you in warm or they can bring you in cold and are usually anti-heroic Hired Guns.
  • The Chief's Daughter: similar to the Jungle Princess, just less of an outsider and more of an actual Princess.
  • Cunning Linguist: A must for any Adventurer Team. Most always the Adventurer Archaeologist, Tarzanesque and The Missionary will be one of these.
  • Cowboy: Not only is the Hungry Jungle a place of lawlessness like the Wild West, but it also had cowboys themselves. They will very greatly depending on setting, especially if not on earth. They could also be a Determined Homesteader.
    • Firstly the Vaquero, who drove cattle in tropical areas of Central America. They eventually moved northward and inspired what we know today as the cowboy.
    • The Guacho we’re horseman of South America renowned for their bravery and skill similar to their North American counterparts.
  • The Drifter: a character who has survived in the wilderness and is good with weapons and often drifts from town to town, and village to village, fixing local problems in exchange for lodging or for help on his quest; most likely also happens to be the Tarzanesque character.
  • Fish out of Temporal Water: A character from the past or future, who doesn't understand the jungle of your time period.
  • Forest Ranger: More likely an Anti-Hero, this character is fully devoted to protecting their forest home. Not to be confused with the Ranger, who is further down.
  • Granola Girl: A stereotypical hippie, and possibly wanna-be Jungle Princess, but without half the martial arts prowess, and possibly not the brightest bulb in the box too.
    • Apart from the usual depiction of this character, but far from necessary. Maybe it’s downplayed to a quirky girl that really likes Tie-Dye and has more neutral or sensible beliefs, promoting stewardship without being clueless or preachy; someone who takes a more academic approach to the environment instead of blindly worshiping nature. Whether she is used to depict how people should live or the flaws of how people often try to live In Harmony with Nature, is up to the author.
  • Great White Hunter: They go out looking for adventures with the intention of hunting game, but often their adventures they find involve using their skills in other ways. They can be of any background despite the name. Most likely due to controversy around hunting, this character might be more of an Anti-Hero or Lovable Rogue, but you can still consider the following ideas:
    • They might be hired to protect a character from dangerous wildlife, or to capture a foreign animal to prevent it from spreading disease and overpopulating, or to capture it for research purposes, or they might be hired to stop a dangerous monster attacking a village or town. The less risky Instant Sedation is more than welcomed here.
    • A good modern approach is making him a YouTuber, filming their adventures and discoveries in the rainforest.
    • They could also primarily work as a Bounty Hunter.
    • If you insist on having them hunt game, a risky, but not as bad approach is having them hunt legally and only for food, which would put them at odds with an Evil Poacher or Egomaniac Hunter who threatens a population that they use. How this variation is depicted as depends on the moral views of the author, but at the very least they won’t be malicious.
    • This character is often depicted as a Lovable Rogue, so it could be very fun if they are a straight-up criminal like a Roguish Poacher. (See Venturous Smuggler below) Keep in mind that poaching doesn’t actually require direct cruelty, so they might only be a smuggler. This character will still likely be at odds with the Evil Poacher and Egomaniac Hunter, because their Scoundrel Code gives them contempt for the more cruel practices done for reasons other than merely getting by. This is assuming that they aren’t after the price on each other’s head. There is a lot of Gray-and-Gray Morality here, but they will most likely experience a character arc, but sometimes the author likes to keep them a scoundrel, which is risky but can still be fun.
    (Please do your own research as these controversial aspects as they will not be explored in this article, but ideas are welcomed in the discussion tab).
  • The Good King: A good chief who cares for their people is a must.
    • Their tribe itself can still be hostile if the Witch Doctor has magical influence over them, similar to Theodin of Rohan in The Lord of the Rings. A Shama from another tribe healing them in an epic way is also welcomed.
    • You can also use this trope to subvert the Evil Colonialist, as a couple kings in the age of colonialism did go out of their way to provide humanitarian aid or ensure the indigenous population was treated well, often failing to do so because of corruption among their men and distance. Of course this doesn’t mean that colonialism should be justified, but it is an great opportunity for nuance. As always, character arc is welcomed.
  • Heel–Face Revolving Door: Many of these character have evil counterparts, and because many have an Onlyin Itforthe Money or Punch-Clock Villain nature, traditional villains like Hired Guns, the Egomaniac Hunter, Ruthless Modern Pirates, many Outlaws, or even the Sinister Minister can be allies when it suits them or assist as Psychofor Hire. Expect them to be the Token Evil Teammate.
  • Hermit Guru: Not every Shaman or Mentor Archetype has to have a tribe. A Tarzanesque or similar character might have to journey into a savanna, swamp, Thirsty Desert or somewhere else in the middle of nowhere, where they can be tamed.
  • Hobbits: Using classic pigmies would be very risky, but a fantasy race instead might work.
  • Ideal Hero: A classic in this genre, especially for characters like the Tarzanesque, The Missionary and the Ranger. Usually the main cast in the less intense stories, but in a more mature or realistic setting, they should experience Being Good Sucks and eventually become a Nemesis Magnet due to everyone who want revenge on their heroism. They will still be The Determinator trying to keep their values lawless and hostile environment. There moral compass should actually be fleshed out and they should be have to make hard choices.
    • Just because they are good doesn’t mean they won’t be on the run often, especially in the jungle where Hired Guns and hostile factions are everywhere. They probably will only be required to capture so the villains they stopped can give them as slower death.
  • La Résistance: A ragtag band of rebels, perfect for apposing the Banana Republic or The Empire colonialists. In the less intense Saturday morning story with An Aesop, expect them to be good guys. Expect Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters in more mature works.
  • Mage Species: Not quite human or alien creatures with strange abilities.
  • Mentor Archetype: Likely to be a Shaman, The Missionary, or The Professor. Can also be a Tarzanesque or Badass Native passing on their mantle.
  • Messianic Archetype: This character is always willing to make a Heroic Sacrifice often by offering themselves for someone else even if they are saving an enemy that doesn’t deserve it. The Tarzanesque has sometimes been depicted this way, he also The Missionary if they practice what they preach.
  • Minion with an F in Evil: A kind hearted minion to the real Big Bad is always fun.
  • The Missionary: A religious character, most likely to be a Badass Preacher or Bold Explorer combined with Real Men Love Jesus. Definitely a person of principals who fights for those principles with their life; very present historically, often stopping slavers and providing humanitarian aid. They are likely to be an All-Loving Hero or something of an Ideal Hero, but they don’t have to be the only character like this.
    • A good version of this to use is someone like the Circuit Riders of the Old West, who were less connected to colonial powers, operated relatively independently were usually good with weapons, traveled often and were known for adapting to different circumstances quickly.
    • Also this character can justify a Tarzanesque, if they are survived by their child who is taught the tribal traditions of martial arts and hunting, but still maintains their parents' faith and principals. As an adult, these expect some overlap. Even if not a parent, a mentoring figure or teacher of languages is also welcomed. They might even be the Tarzanesque themself, as the idea of a poor preacher wearing animal skins and living in the wilderness is Older Than Feudalism.
    • It's also worth mentioning that this character does not have to be a Christian. They might be of a more fantasy religion. They could be promoting a faith or tradition indigenous to the area. Crystal Dragon Jesus is useful here, but far from required. (They definitely do not have to be white) Maybe they will be more focused on other forms of missions work like medical missions or education instead. They are more than welcomed to be any ethnicity. Many missionaries in Real Life are surprisingly local Also Fantasy races are interesting as always.
    • You can also give them another profession on the side, as it is not only common in real life, but also make this character more distinct. They might be an Ecologist, Anthropologist, Adventurer Archaeologist, or even a regular Bold Explorer. There is a lot to play with here.
    • This kind of character can overlap with the Shamanif they are part of a fantasy religion as part of the Worldbuilding.
  • Mountain Man: A character who lives off the land alone away from society; often somewhat unstable. Maybe a victim of prejudice.
  • Native Guide: Someone indigenous to the continent or planet to guide the Bold Explorer, and by extension the audience through the new and dangerous setting. Of course, this character is often relegated to a forgettable side role unfortunately, but if he or she is handled right and the author takes care not to appropriate any real-world cultures, this character can make an excellent mentor or tutor for the protagonist.
  • Nature Hero: Also known as the Conservationist. Usually an ecologist or sometimes Tarzanesque characters themselves.
    • Remember, it is not only welcomed, but most logical for them to be often threatened by a criminal who isn’t hurting the environment. The jungle is a dangerous place to people in general, especially with the criminals that inhabit it.
    • It’s also ok for them to still have to deal with the hostile nature around them rather than making them a Friend to All Living Things.
    • A regular Nature Lover or Animal Lover is more than welcomed.
    • There is a danger of stereotypes around indigenous people and their beliefs. Instead of having your Noble Savage paint with all the colors of the wind, give them a more relatable less abstract motive, like how the resources they use being exploited by someone else will hurt their tribe.
  • Not Quite Human: Fantasy races and aliens for both a heroic Lost Tribe or Hostile Tribe are welcomed in this genre, and are generally less risky than classic human natives.
  • Non-Powered Costumed Hero: This is a must for the Tarzanesque, as apart from limited powers from an ancient artifact, they work best with a very vulnerable human aspect to them, but this trope is not limited to them, as even Batman met Tarzan once. Having a roguish hero protecting people in the jungle with epic skills and no superpowers, apart from or in addition to the Tarzanesque , is more than welcomed.
    • Take inspiration from people in Real Life, who often fight crime along side working charity or conservation. Phoenix Jones is a good example.
  • The Paragon: They have principles and will never back down or compromise on them. These are usually interesting because they don’t have to always be an Ideal Hero, as seen multiple times with Superman and Captain America.
  • Political Hostage: A possible Designated Victim or target of outlaws, terrorists, a corrupt cooperate executive, an obstructive bureaucrat or even an evil colonialist.
  • Precursors: Similar to the Olmecs in Real Life, these are responsible for the Ruins for Ruins' Sake and the various Temples of Doom.
  • The Professor: The Science Hero, probably an Absent-Minded Professor or a Badass Bookworm who is known for MacGyvering and being Awesome by Analysis. They are also the one whole builds most of the gear the explorer team world use. They might be a zoologist or botanist studying wildlife, an ecologist studying or protecting the ecosystem or a doctor trying to Find the Cure!. They might even be a physicist who either invented a Cool Starship or Time Machine that brought them to the Lost World, or they are still in the ordinary world conducting experiments away from civilization that would make Nicola Tesla himself proud.
    • He doesn't have to be white or even human.
    • He can also study under a Shaman and become a Science Wizard.
  • Ranger: This character, usually a Cowboy Cop with a big iron on his hip and a mean Roundhouse Kick, is an excellent law man for this genre.
    • Remember, he will have the responsibility of stopping nature threatening and human threatening outlaws alike. If he doesn’t have enough funding to effectively stop poachers, he also doesn’t have enough funding to effectively stop The Syndicate or Ruthless Modern Pirates.
    • Having him recruit or deputize other characters like the Tarzanesque is far less risky. Making them close friends is more than welcomed.
    • Some rangers are former poachers themselves, either having made the decision to turn their life around before they end up dead or in prison or after getting out of prison, some even having a Heel Realization that continuing to kill the animals they do will rob their children of seeing them for themselves. There are many reasons that they could have turned their life around and some real-life poachers-turned-rangers have described poaching as an addiction so Good Feels Good can make a lot of sense here, but be sure not to gloss over the regrets they might have. Maybe a poacher turns their life around because they were only focused on their own survival, and some higher cause like protecting children from traffickers, stopping the exploitation of a local tribe, or maybe they even were tasked with capturing a Ridiculously Cute Critter that they ended up protecting from other Hired Guns, because "This is the way" Maybe The Missionary finally got to them. All depends on the author.
    • A weapon is not a requirement. While most people think of rangers as men with rifles patrolling the bush, South Africa's all-female anti-poaching unit the Black Mamabas do not carry weapons and instead rely on armed back-up when they come across armed poachers. It may sound unorthodox, but they have eliminated rhino poaching in the Olifants West Nature Reserve with this method, proving that rangers be they real or fictional do not necessarily need to be armed, but many agree Revolvers Are Just Better. This is all dependent on the author.
    • Everyone Has Standards and even while a ranger might not cross any lines more than needed, that does not mean they can't have contempt for some individuals. If they are genocide survivors, they will naturally have contempt for rebels or militia groups who are poaching to fund their battle against a local ethnic group, they might even have contempt for them if they were poachers themselves just trying to get food or earn money and poachers who kill for entertainment rather than for food or trying to get money might cause even more contempt.
  • The Republic: Either a the protagonist ruling entity before they become a Banana Republic dictatorship, or they are the good counterpart to The Empire, being a large country that will step in to help the local power because they have very good relations, the latter is most likely to be neutral. If they are more malevolent, they might turn turn the former into a Puppet State.
  • Retired Badass: Likely a soldier or Tarzanesque who has long feared that his sins would return to visit him.
  • Samurai Cowboy: A very skilled warrior combined with The Drifter. Likely the Tarzanesque character themself or the Badass Native.
  • Science Hero: Often a conservationist, who actually knows what they are doing, or a medical doctor.
    • Can on occasion overlap with The Missionary, if they are of a fantasy religion or believe they are called to stewardship.
    • Not to be confused with The Professor, as the latter is more of an inventor and mad scientist.
  • Super-Soldier: Can be an Ideal Hero, a villain or Anti-Hero. This is a mutant with actual superpowers, likely a experiment of the Evilutionary Biologist or humane experiment of The Professor. It could have been discovered to be inhumane but the golden hearted volunteer probably insisted they keep going.
    • Animal Is the New Man is another alternative, but it can be flipped on its head if humans are viewed as animals.
    • If they are heroic, playing down their powers really adds to the sense of danger. Inversely, evil super soldiers can have more exaggerated powers, really playing into the terrifying side of them as a jungle monster.
  • Send in the Search Team; A search and rescue unit.
  • Shaman: Can be a unique mage or Mentor Archetype. He is likely to be a Barefoot Sage. Sometimes they are merely a healer, functioning as a sage or philosopher, with knowledge of local medicines or science that can be shared with outsiders as part of the tribe’s trade, or they can be an actual wizard with powers and carry a Magic Staff. There are several ways to improve them from their hollow predecessors.
    • If they use magic, they might have nature related abilities Elemental Powers like Green Thumb or Animorphism, but they shouldn’t be more powerful because they are more In Harmony with Nature. Not only is this an aspect of the Noble Savage and risky, but magic by it definition is something that changes nature. Take advantage of other forms, like Background Magic Field or Sufficiently Advanced Bamboo Technology. Additionally if you make modern medicine and science look dull to being In Harmony with Nature it might come off as contrived. Make sure to make your own magic system rather than using a Noble Savage Druid, and remember magic limits are always more interesting than magic abilities.
    • Weather magic is spiritual or connected to the laws of the universe depends on the author, their beliefs, and the tone of the story. Some might think that Magic Is Evil because of religious convictions or simply want to make their magic stand out more, so such authors should consider using Scientifically Understandable Sorcery, and Thaumaturgy. Also, "Magic" as a word might be dull due to how often it is used in fiction. In some cases it might also be risky due to personal religous convictions or some people who have had bad experiences with the occult (especially in the jungle), therefore alternative names as well like Bending, The Force, Energy or any other form of Magic by Any Other Name is more than welcome.
    • Another possibility is that this is an angelic being who lives in the jungle to guide mortals, referee to as a Shaman by mortals who don’t understand their nature, similar to how Gandalf was seen as a Wizard in Middle Earth.
    • Kung-Fu Wizard and making them excellent martial artists, is more than welcomed.
  • Small Business Owner: An honest business owner to contrast the Corrupt Corporate Executive, who might be their primary enemy, but they are also likely to be harassed Outlaws intentionally trying to drive them out of business. They might end up looking for the Ancient Artifact or lost treasure to save their Family Business.
  • Time Police: If The Professor isn't careful when travelling to the Age of Reptiles or an After the End jungle Earth, he might encounter these guys.
  • Venturous Smuggler: This is the Heroic Counterpart to the criminals, often the Outlaw. He is most likely to be someone like a Roguish Poacher, Pirate or Ace Pilot, or some other Outlaw that follows the Scoundrels Code. He's probably a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, and a Lovable Rogue akin to Eugene Fitzherbert, Jack Sparrow, Captain Jack Harkness, Peter (Star Lord) Quill, Han Solo etc.
    • They tend to follow some Code of Honor despite their dishonest lifestyle. They are usefully highly charming and charismaticas well.
    • They can also be of any background, but might take offense if you called them scruffy looking.
    • Due to their charismatic and charming personalities, they should have fun chemistry with characters, especially if they have different worldviews. They might even tell the Jungle Princess, "Look, your worshipfulness, let's get one thing straight, I take orders from just one person: Me"
    • Take advantage of Even Evil Has Standards. Maybe the Roguish Poacher would shoot animals, but draws the line at people and will go out of their way to defend the natives. "Professionals have standards"
    • They might even thrown into a dishonest lifestyle after rebelling against a corrupt government like The Empire based on their principles, like Jack Sparrow telling Beckett, "People aren't cargo mate"
    • Another possibility is having them directly fight against an evil power like the Colonial Empire or Banana Republic Just Like Robin Hood.
    • You can also make him a Reformed Criminal. Redemption is always a good theme and works perfectly for this character, but if you go this route make sure to call out their evils for what they are. Excusing or not recognizing how a redeemed rogue has committed serious crimes like theft or assault to law enforcement is a common flaw for the Loveable Rogue.
    • They might even be a morally good character like The Missionary or Conservationist, smuggling food, medicine censored goods to those that need them.
    • Alternatively, they might be and stay a rogue entirely depending on the author.
  • Villain Protagonist: Due to how many evil counterparts this genre has, a story told from a villain's perspective might work very well, especially in a place as lawless and unforgiving as the jungle.
  • Wasteland Elder: Either living in the nearby savanna and grasslands or being a veteran survivor of the Hungry Jungle.
  • Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Tarzan has met several characters and monsters from outside the genre. Parodies or recreations can work very well.
    • Of course, just because another work or character had a cameo, doesn’t mean it inherently makes sense for your work. It’s a good idea to connect it more to the genre.
      • Which is better: Classic Conan, or a Tribe of Barbarians in the mountains? Frankenstein’s monster or an Evilutionary Biologist putting together a monster made from corpses in native burial grounds and animal parts trading with poachers? Werewolves or Werebigcats.
    • Rule of Cool says merging different concepts that don’t make sense at first can really work. Does a Tarzanesque ninja cyborg sound ridiculous? Of course. Is it cool? Definitely, with sufficient effort and careful writing.

What To Avoid

  • Mighty Whitey: (Can overlap with Mary Sue or Marty Stu) In general, you want to avoid Power Fantasy in general for all of your main characters, as making them powerful takes away from the danger and excitement of the story. Additionally, having the other characters worship them is important to avoid, especially if said worshiping characters are natives.
  • Freudian Excuse: Weather a character is good or remains mortally gray, or even if they are a Villain Protagonist depends on the author, but if you are going for a redemption arc, make sure that their crimes are called out for what they are and said character regrets and starts making amends for their actions, rather than excusing them. People love a Lovable Rogue, but this is often a decent flaw in writing their redemption. Even if they have an understandable reason for doing what they are doing, they should not be excused.
  • Noble Savage: Natives are of course not superstitious and violent Neanderthals who don't know any better, that's obviously very risky and takes away their character and agency, but the same applies if you have them peaceful and perfect because they are In Harmony with Nature. They are human, and Humans Are Flawed. Of course, just like having a hostile native or a corrupt tribe, having a peaceful or friendly native or whole tribe is more than welcomed, but the key difference is motives and individuality. Give them personalities and chemistry. Give your peaceful villages The Bully or some other petty character, or even have a full on villain among them. Have some hostile and sadistic tribes as well, but give them personalities and realistic motives and put some good or redeemable characters in those hostile tribes. Portray them as people, rather than a political mouthpiece for you, especially since using this problematic character trope for a Green Aesop or Colonialism Aesop is quickly going to turn it into a Clueless Aesop.
    • This isn't to say that cultural values are unwelcomed, as these are important to Worldbuilding any culture. Something like Kipling's Law of the Jungle is always interesting. These values should not start with In Harmony with Nature, because that can be seen as stereotypical and risky. Instead focus on things like loyalty to the tribe, respecting elders, respecting ancestors and traditions, storytelling, cleaning and sanitation, their diet, being resourceful, how to track, staying hydrated etc. These more grounded cultural values will make them feel more grounded and realistic. Environmental values are also more than welcomed, but they should be based around the tribe’s way of life and how the have learned to use and rely on the rainforest around them, rather than just being morally superior. Also, be sure to allow some people to ignore taboos be hypocritical or even be malicious. Every culture has good and bad people in it.
    • Their cultures should also vary in morality like any other culture. Tribes are small countries essentially, and while some are peaceful and friendly, others can be dictatorial or invade neighboring tribes. Even a peaceful tribe will probably end up called to war eventually. Exploring how tribes interact with other cultures, especially other tribes, really adds to the Worldbuilding.
    • It's actually a stereotype that all indigenous people worship nature, when in reality they use and rely on the rainforest around them for food, clothing and tools and this often effects their culture. Going with the latter approach will actually reinforce a Green Aesop, because when people exploit the rainforest around them, their people and way of life will actually suffer rather than merely being offended on the rainforest's behalf.
    • Understandably, there is something to be said about how many native peoples are happier than "more developed" countries, and something to be said about living closer to nature than enslaved by technology, but the reasons are more complex than the simple idea of a Noble Savage. Tribes often have very strong values of family and community, as this is more necessary for their survival in the hostile jungle. They don't have the self destructive illusion of community we experience via things like social media. They live more in the moment as well. They are also often very poor, but without the need to prove their status in the community, they tend to be much more content. Exploring these as Aesops of community and contentment, rather than exploring them as Green Aesop, which involves the Noble Savage steriotype, is much more realistic and interesting, especially since not all of them will be noble, and they can take on greed given the right circumstances, allowing for you to explore hostile tribes as well.
    • The same approach applies to Hollywood Natives The trope is fine because it can be forgivable if the natives are explicitly a Fantasy Race, but a massive opportunity for Worldbuilding culture.
  • Eco-Terrorist: Green Aesop is more than welcomed in this genre of it’s done well, but having your “heroic” characters kill the Evil Poacher (Apart from Killing in Self-Defense) or destroying the property of a big corporation in a way that puts lives at risk, it’s very risky and it’s going to come off very poorly to the point of having the opposite desired effect on your Audience. It will also quickly become a Broken Aesop, due to ideas like “All life, even carnivores animals, deserve to live, except humans when they hunt animals” or “Polluting the rainforest is bad, except for the litter and collateral damage that the Nature Hero causes fighting a big corporation.” If an Eco-Terrorist is used, it should probably be as a villain.
  • Animal Wrongs Group: The Animal Lover is absolutely more than welcomed in this genre, but if they care more about animals than humans, especially the native tribes, it’s going to come off very poorly, especially if the Animal Lover is white and only has Mighty Whitey friends apart from their animal friends. (More on Green Aesop back on the main page) . However, just like the Eco-Terrorist, the Animal Wrongs Group can work well as a villain.
  • Pride: If your Tarzanesque is full of Experience Entitlement, then they will quickly become unenjoyable. This is even more true if they are a Mighty Whitey with the title of Queen or Goddess who thinks, "It's All About Me" In more recent works, some authors have made them Rightly Self-Righteous, usually for Green Aesop stories, even though it really harms An Aesop. Of course, pride can still be used as a flaw that your Tarzanesque (or any protagonist) can overcome as part of Character Development.

    Casting Director for Villains and Foes 
This genre has threats more Predatory than a tiger. The villain is a very important aspect of any real jungle opera, even if the antagonist is simply the hostile environment itself. This genre does have a long history of stereotypical or controversial villains but many can be reworked to be intriguing. Remember a villain needs more than disagreeing with the author to be a compelling threat, and aspects like comedy, threatening presence, history with the cast, potential for redemption, etc. all add depth.A big pitfall can be adding something outside the genre or supernatural simply because audiences supposedly don’t enjoy realistic villains. In reality people simply don’t enjoy being preached to, so villains centered around political corruption, hurting ecosystems or human trafficking can come off as a mouthpiece for the author’s worldview rather than a nuanced thought provoking character if an author isn’t careful. Additionally, the jungle is such a hub of corruption and crime that finding inspiration for a unique villain from history or the present day is far from hard. Of course, a good Eldritch Abomination or crossover is welcomed in this genre, but they should still fit the tone or themes of the story the author is trying to tell.
See Also: Write a Villain

  • Absolute Xenophobe: Basing this on a Real Life country or person is very risky, but for a more fantastic villain, it's more than welcomed.
  • The Aggressive Drug Dealer: A dangerous Outlaw focused on dealing in mind altering or addictive substances. The Evil Poacher is often this in Real Life alongside smuggling animals and animal parts.
    • A Fantastic Drug is more than welcomed, especially if the grant unusual abilities like the Spice of Star Wars and Dune.
  • Always a Bigger Fish: There is a surprising amount of ways villains can be layered. A dangerous animal is being hunted by an Egomaniac Hunter, who is employed by an Evilutionary Biologist, who is employed by an Evil Colonialist, who is under the authority of The Empire, who is being led by an Obstructive Bureaucrat working for an Evil Overlord, who is working with an Eldritch Abomination.
  • Aliens: A possible dangerous enemy in the jungle.
  • Anti-Villain: Can be common in the lawless Hungry Jungle.
  • Archaeological Arms Race: When two political superpowers, colonial or non are racing to find an Ancient Artifact for a weapon, then this is likely to break out.
  • Arms Dealer: A dangerous criminal, who has even more dangerous weapons. They might be supplying your villains, even the hostile tribe realistically, with fire arms or even a laser guns.
    • They need not be there to sell arms, they may be there to retrieve arms instead. A lost missile would certainly be something to attract their attention, made more intense if it's unstable. Of course, if the missile is nuclear, the danger of it potentially going off could be an even greater danger.
  • Ax-Crazy: A villain who's unstable and violent. Any number of violent criminals can qualify as this, especially the Psycho for Hire.
  • The Beastmaster: A villain with the ability to control animals can make for a threatening antagonist in the jungle.
  • The Bully: This works great for a Prejudice Aesop when a character is Raised by Natives.
  • Cain and Abel: The antagonist that's a relative, because one is a Fallen Hero or Redeemed Villain, and the other is not.
  • Cannibal Merchant: In locations where humans were bought and sold as slaves cannibalism was likely more of an industry and trade than a "savage" tradition of a local tribe, contrary to popular belief. In some locations it was also possible to find humans being bought and sold for meat in markets. Horrifically they were also kept alive and immobile to keep the meat fresh.
    • Several historical secret societies practiced cannibalism as well. This could justify a High-Class Cannibal.
  • Cannibal Tribe: This is a classic hostile tribal nation that kidnaps and tortures unsuspecting explorers. They are often led by an evil Witch Doctor or evil chief, and follow a Religion of Evil that includes Cold-Blooded Torture, any form of Human Sacrifice and even cannibalism. This is risky due to stereotypes, but hostile tribal factions are still welcomed, as evil cults and cultures do exist, which is why deconstruction, Worldbuilding and motives are very important.
    • They do not have to be cannibals at all; they just have to be hostile. They can also be an actual Cult if you want some real Nightmare Fuel. instead of a Religion of Evil, where a "strong us vs them" narrative is painted, making other people, especially other tribes, enemies. The people are abused with and manipulated with guilt and pleasure and they are equally victims as they are villains. They could also be something like a small Dystopia or a totalitarian tribe. Also, do some research into real evil cultures to extrapolate philosophies from. Maybe they aren't an evil tribe at all, and are instead a polite society that doesn't take kindly to trespassers, or they became hostile due to political factors like war.
    • Use Worldbuilding to give them their own detailed culture. Things like their actual ideology, religion, language, clothing, hunting strategies and diet, trade and political relations with other tribes or colonial powers can all make them feel far more grounded. Tying their practices to the Worldbuilding with real evil deities can be very interesting. The most important thing is to make the tribesmen distinct. Make sure they of individuals with their own personalities and motivations. They need to be a actual villains and Anti Villains rather than Mooks A Hive Mind could also be interesting, but only if there is a real reason like Mind Control. Also worldbuild some lore. How did the tribe start? Did it splinter off from a friendly tribe?
    • Also consider, what their reputation in the jungle is like. Focus on how the indigenous people see them rather than approaching them from the colonial perspective. Similar tribes present in pre colonial North America for example, which is why the Navajo had serious taboos against witchcraft, cannibalism and human sacrifice. Similar Worldbuilding around the beliefs of your Lost Tribe would be far more interesting.
    • Give them political ties and trade including with the Evil Colonialist. Some tribes were involved with slave trades historically. You can even give them guns or any other form of Enemy Weapons Are Just Better. Several Real Life hostile tribes did trade for firearms.
    • They do not have to be indigenous at all. A Lost Colony can work equally well, or they can even be manipulated by a Sinister Minister. They can also be a band of rebel soldiers, who have created their own small society. Fantasy Races are also always welcomed.
    If you think that depicting a hostile tribe is stereotypical, racist or you think it is unjust to depict any human being asevil enough to kidnap, torture and eat anyone different from them, don't worry. Most every real cult in history is far far worse than anything you can remotely find in fiction. Do some research into real cults. Possible side effects include: nightmares and severe loss of faith in humanity.
  • Cargo Cult: especially if you have Sufficiently Advanced Bamboo Technology.
  • Caught in a Snare: (Or an Inescapable Net) or other trap left by a long inactive Evil Poacher or by a current hostile tribe.
  • Complete Monster: This works really well if your villain is Laughably Evil.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: This greedy ditbag cares little for the environment, much less his own employees. Of course he pollutes on purpose and uses under the table slave labor, but he might also compete for the Ancient Artifact against the protagonists.
    • Tip: Think less Captain Planet Villain, more Big Jack Horner.
  • Dark Action Girl: Tribes of amazon warriors are very common in this genre, often as villains.
    • If you need inspiration, the Agojie were involved in some serious humanitarian crimes historically.
  • Decoy Damsel: Possibly hired to help lure out the Tarzanesque.
  • Dangerous Deserter: Rogue or rebel soldiers using Guerilla warfare. You can even have a whole section of the jungle controlled by them. A camp of them can be an excellent alternative to the captured by cannibals trope.
  • Dirty Communists: If working with a Cold War setting. They need not be Russian, as they could be Chinese, North Korean or even from a Soviet-allied state such as Katanga or South Kasai. Common for a Banana Republic.
  • Dirty Cop: The corrupt and evil counterpart of the Ranger, who is more than happy to let the wrong Outlaws off for the right price, or to frame an innocent person for money or power.
  • Find the Cure!; disease is also another default danger of the rainforest.
  • The Fundamentalist: An negative counterpart to the Ideal Hero. Prejudice Aesop is common in this genre, so a character fully set in their worldview and unwilling to listen to other points of view is likely to come up eventually. This character is likely not actually villainous, and they usually experience a character arc instead. If they are more extreme, they likely fit a more villainous trope.
    • The Missionary can be this, but keep in mind that this is not limited to religion. The Granola Gurl, Nature Lover, Dirty Communist and even the Shaman could be this as well. If you do go with The Missionary as this, be very careful if they are of a religion from Real Life. Fantasy faiths are still more than welcomed.
    • Additionally worldviews and religions multiple facets, so the Shaman, the Nature Lover or The Missionary might end up confronting a negative version of their faith.
    • As mentioned before, this character is typically more flawed than actually villainous, so they are still distinct from their evil counterparts like the Sinister Minister, Eco-Terrorist and Witch Doctor. Additionally, because this charactter is more of a flawed character, they might bee driven to join forces with someone they disagree with in order to defeat the actual Big Bad.
  • Eco-Terrorist, the evil counterpart to the conservationist, who loves or even worships nature and is willing to do whatever it takes to defend it, even if that means breaking laws, destroying property or taking lives. They are usually used for Vigilante Injustice.
    • There are two variations of this character;
      • The first is the misunderstood Anti-Villain, who is more likely to only destroy property than actually kill people and are more likely to be redeemable.
      • The other version is far more extreme. They see humans as expendable or even cancerous and they are willing to kill anyone in order to "save their jungle."
    • This character can even be an evil version of the Tarzan Boy or Jungle Princess.
    • They could also be or be part of an Animal Wrongs Group.
    • They don't have to be from the jungle either. Having someone from a foreign country, who doesn't entirely understand issues like the jungle dwellers, or a mad alien obsessed with preserving planetary ecosystems are both welcome.
  • Egomaniac Hunter: A borderline psychotic hunter, who will track, capture, kill, and display the rarest, most exotic, most dangerous game, just to prove that they can. They may even dabble in a little bit of murder and kidnapping as part of their sport, because they enjoys a good challenge. This is a classic in this genre, and he works very well because of how much of a direct threat they are to the protagonist, but due to how often they have been used, consider the following ideas to spice things up:
    • Firstly, while having them trick and deceive their prey makes them more evil, it can make them less interesting. One of the reasons this character is so terrifying and enjoyable is because they believe in hunting "The way God intended. Sportsmanlike", as Andre the Giant puts it. They want a challenge and they refrain from cheating to challenge themselves, and when they succeed in outsmarting their opponent without cheating it makes them more terrifying. It can also add some depth to them. They also need to crave a bigger kill. Gaston had The Beast, Sanger Rainsford had man.
    • Instead of having this character simply disposing of witnesses, this character would make an excellent Serial Killer, overlapping with Hunting the Most Dangerous Game. They would still poach of course and they can still enjoy the chase of the hunt with their targets, but having them target and hunt down specific innocent people can also work.
    • You can have him overlap with Psychos For Hire, using his hunting skills to make more cash than just poaching, especially if they hunt humans anyway. They might also be cannibal, who enjoys the chase more than usual.
    • Give them a hobby or aesthetic other than poaching, something they can use as a calling card for their big crimes.
    • Hunting the Most Dangerous Game is pretty standard with this character, and some poachers-turned-rangers have described poaching for entertainment as an addiction, so this can be a Justified Trope, as addicts become more deviant over time to get a high, which would eventually include hunting people, for things like genocide (see The Purge below) or to provide both animal and human specimens for the Evilutionary Biologist. Since they are already Cruella to Animals, they are naturally likely to be cruel to people around them that they aren’t hunting. Psychologically, how someone treats animals directly correlates to how they treat people. It's also more than welcomed and logical for them to become sociopathic to commit humanitarian crimes. They could be part of a group that also cheats or exploits people and has some connection to local politics. They could even be masking a much bigger smuggling operation for something dangerous like stolen relics, weapons, or drugs under the appearance of legal hunting. Having this kind of character as a mercenary at least can be very fun.
    • Remember there is more to hunt in the jungle than animals. An Egomaniac Gold Miner or Egomaniac Archaeologist and the like are all welcome. Even the ordinary egomaniac hunter can engage in other crimes if they are interested in money without caring about the law. They might even use forced labor.
    • Remember that race is irrelevant, they don't even have to be human. A member of a Proud Hunter Race is more than welcome. In which case, they may be a Predator Pastiche. This character can even be an evil Talking Animal, like Shere Khan.
    • Related to but distinct from the Evil Poacher. The Evil Poacher is an Outlaw often more focused on trapping and smuggling animals/animal parts than hunting. The Egomaniac Hunter kills mainly for sport and is much more explicitly insane.
  • Eldritch Abomination: These were used in this genre by Lovecraft himself and can serve as an interesting Big Bad or Greater-Scope Villain that the evil Witch Doctor, Evilutionary Biologist, or Evil Overlord either worships or is working for.
  • The Empire: An often dictatorial and colonial power, so they are usually Nazis By Any Other Name Expect employees like the Evil Colonialist, and soldiers from the Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy.
    • They don’t have to be colonial. They can simply be a local dictatorship.
  • Evil All Along can work due to the sheer amount of evil counterparts of the main cast, but it's far from necessary. The key point about making a twist villain interesting, is writing them to be most enjoyable on the second viewing, when the audience can enjoy seeing hints at the threat of the villain more clearly. They need to be a threat in the background, not merely coming into action in right before the last act.
    A useful resource Schaffrilous Productions; Why Disney twist villains don’t work
  • Evil Colonialist: An agent of The Empire or the MegaCorp, they might be an evil counterpart to the Adventurer Archaeologist or Bold Explorer, but they usually some substantial political and military power. Also most likely a Social Darwinist, they probably care about nothing but resources and power and are likely a Gratuitous Nazi.
    • You can contrast them with The Missionary, or this character can be a Sinister Minister.
    • He doesn’t have to be white. China has been taking control in multiple parts of Africa recently, and some tribes to invade neighboring tribes for resources or to expand influence. As usual, be careful. Worldbuilding a fantasy race is much safer here.
    • Colonialism often happened out fear of a more dangerous or antagonistic country colonializing first or colonizing the colonialist. Therefore, having your Evil Colonialist fighting a more evil political power can add to the overall Worldbuilding.
    • The character need not be there to actually colonize the land, but still be there to exploit the country and natives.
  • Evil Poacher: A dangerous Outlaw focused primarily on trapping and smuggling animals and their resources for prophet. They are distinct from the Egomaniac Hunter, since they are normally more of a Punch-Clock Villain and utilize more traps and machinery than actual hunting and tracking, even though both poach. Some are a sadistic Complete Monsters, others are a Face–Heel Revolving Door depencing on who pays more and many are a Tragic Villain trying to survive ruthless Loan Sharks because as Qui Gon puts it, “There’s Always a Bigger Fish.”
    • Understandably poachers are a diverse group, but this part of the article is more for the trope played mostly or entirely straight, since other variants, while overlapping are more a poaching brand of another villain trope on this list, and most all criminals poach in the jungle due to the value of rare animals. Additionally if they are poaching for less malicious reasons, like food, this trope doesn’t really apply, and trying to make it apply will likely result in a contrived Designated Villain, even if they are technically breaking the law.
    • This villain has been used countless times, but they can fall short if they don't have proper context and depth, which can lead to a Clueless Aesop or they will fall short if they aren't actively dangerous enough to feel like a threat, especially to the humans of the cast. (See What To Avoid Below.) One way to add depth is to consider their life outside of being an Outlaw, presuming they even are one, and where they came from. Are they working for someone or are they independent? What is their motive? It’s also more than welcomed to make them more entertaining, which can add to their terrorism. It general, if it appears a protagonist can simply tell a Ranger, presuming the ranger is not working with the poachers, and ends up in trouble because they tried to handle things themselves, then your story can easily come off as an Idiot Plot. Instead make them an active and terrifying threat that’s more than a mere poacher and working based on more than mere Greed, especially since some real-world poachers are not motivated by money.
    • Make sure you allow them to Kick the Dog. If they really are a Complete Monstee, merely hurting the environment and even hurting animals won’t be enough to sell the audience on it. Allow them to target people that don’t threaten their operations. When then to be a Sadist rather than just cruel to animals. If they do kidnap someone, allow them to engage in Cold-Blooded Torture to get the information of rare animals. Allow them to be abusive to their own henchman. Allow them to smuggle other frontera and like drugs, organs and even people, since poachers often smuggle various contraband in Real Life. Sell your audience on how disposable they are.
    • Because poachers rely on traps and even machinery far more than an Egomaniac Hunter would, using Steampunk, Diesel Punk or Used Future will be your friend here, depending on when and where your story is set.
    • If you want them to fight the heroes, let the hero be the one Killing in Self-Defense. Violence should be ethically avoided, even if you are in law enforcement, but self defense is perfectly fine. Therefore you should switch the Clueless Green Aesop play, by having the poacher attack the hero and the hero protecting themself.
    • Save the Villain is much less risky here. Of course there are exceptions for Killing In Self Devense and it also depends on the Gray And Gray morality of the hero. A Bounty Hunter protagonist might be hired to kill a specific poacher and bring in their head, but it probably won’t work well for An Aesop.
    • Have this character commit multiple crimes, and make poaching secondary. Most criminals in Real Life smuggle multiple forms of illegal contraband. This is a great way to make them distinct from each other when you have more than one. Most Real Life poachers lean more towards one of the other villain tropes, but making them commit another crime that is very dangerous to a human character rather than the environment helps avoid making them feeling like a Harmless Villain. A great example is TheRescuersDownUnder, which had an evil poacher antagonist named Mc Leach. Because the focus of the film was about rescuing a child he kidnapped, the film managed to depict the practice of poaching in a very negative light, but because saving the boy was the focus instead of stopping his poaching, it didn't feel contrived. Mc Liech was also polite when he wanted to be, funny and sadistic}} making him entertaining and terrifying. The main reason it works though is because human audiences relate more to human or human-like characters than animals (even in this universe with Talking Animals, and because there was already emotional weight on the protagonist, putting him in danger made the plot interesting. Again, most criminals engage in poaching anyways due to the value of rare animal parts, so utilizing The Highwayman, Ruthless Modern Pirates, The Aggressive Drug Dealer, the Arms Dealer, Gang of Hats, Human Traffickers and other criminal tropes for an Evil Poacher is a good way to make them more distinct, realistic and dangerous.
    • Make them one of many Hired Guns. Some poachers in Real Life jungles are also mercenaries, because it's another means to get the money they need.
    • If you are going for a Green Aesop on this, one of the best approaches you can take is realistically exploring the complex factors behind poaching and making this character either a redeemable villain. This has potential for interesting characters like a Lovable Rogue (See Venturous Smuggler in the heroes folder), but it also has a better message of encouraging someone to leave such a life rather than condemning them for it. Additionally, the possibility of teaming up with a poacher as an asset in fighting a much greater (non-environmental or environmetal) foe would be a much more intriguing story. They could also be a Heel–Face Revolving Door because they might be doing it for the money, and will take up doing something good when it pays well.
    • You can also try the Tragic Villain if this trope is Played for Drama, but playing it this straight means that this character needs to be more rudderless than hurting animals.
    • They also don’t have to be there to be an obstacle. Dangerous traps left out in the jungle can be a real hazard for an unsuspecting explorer.
    • Due to the various types of poachers, it is wise to do research into the various types and their motives. As rebel and insurgent militias commit poaching in order to fund their battle against local ethnic groups, state militaries and other militias, trying to make them sympathetic would be unwise. Likewise, trying to make subsistence poachers, who are just killing for the meat, unsympathetic, is also unwise.
    • If a farmer illegally graze livestock in the wrong places, then poaching might ensue, and having a Tarzanesque or Ranger, point out that the farmer's actions are creating competition for his own livestock can prove to be a very good anti-climax, though should the farmer acknowledge it is entirely up to the author.
    • Be sure to make a distinction between poaching and human-wildlife conflict, in which the solution of predator compensation is less dangerous for both parties. While an action-filled climax can be exciting, sometimes the best battle is the one not fought. The farmer is paid, the animals are not killed or injured, everyone is happy.
    • Many traditional peoples uphold their cultural values by only taking what they need for certain species and they have chosen a way of life that requires a coexistence with the local wildlife. It is uncommon for them to kill an elephant or rhino and if they do, it will solely be for the meat purposes and will leave the tusks and horns attached to the bodies. This is easy to contrast with a poacher that kills for other reasons, but it is also possible that a dangerous Lost Tribe with a Corrupt Chief or evil Witch Doctor, could use poaching to their advantage to trade illegally for weapons for example.
    • The vast majority of poaching is smaller prey for meat. If populations of prey decrease to fast, that are meat for local tribes that depend on them for their diet, then a famine can ensue.
    • Some poachers in real life work as part of a rebellion or military militia. (See Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters below) Expect these poachers to potentially be more heavily armed and more dangerous in hand-to-hand combat.
    • Due to wildly different motives depending on the type of poacher, it stands to reason they should not all get along. Having a subsistence poacher reporting rebel or insurgent militias poaching in the area or even just individuals poaching for entertainment can highlight the difference.
  • Evilutionary Biologist: Basically the Evil Counterpart to The Professor or even them as Doctor von Turncoat, They are a sadistic Social Darwinist Evil Genius and are obsessed with progress. They are likely to conduct experiments with human and animal specimens alike, courtesy of the local Evil Poacher and Human Traffickers. Expect them to attempt capture the Tarzanesque, and conduct horrible experiments, with the belief the Tarzanesque is either the missing link or next stage in human evolution. They are also potentially another Evil Colonialist employed by The Empire or part of the Banana Republic.
    • They can even be the Witch Doctor, conducting grotesque experiments on humans and animals through alchemical means because Alchemy Is Magic.
    • For a South American setting, they can be one of Those Wacky Nazis. In Real Life, some of the scientists from the camps worked as doctors, but even if they aren't nazis, they might also be living a double life, appearing as a normal small town doctor, but secretly conducting inhumane experiments, and possibly using his patients for spare stem cells without their knowledge.
    • For a South American setting, they can be one of Those Wacky Nazis. In Real Life, some of the scientists from the camps worked as doctors.
  • Evil Prince: A brutal leader killing and torturing for the throne, can be tribal or colonial.
  • Evil Overlord: The leader of The Empire.
  • The Exile: Someone left to the jungle alone, and away from civilization as punishment. Also, very likely the tribal form of the Outlaw, but likely equally dangerous.
    • Based on how Edger Rice Burroughs describes Alexis Paulvitch, as aged, Loincloth clad, and insane, after a decade banished in the jungle in The Son Of Tarzan, a Gollum Expy wouldn't be much of a stretch.
  • Fake King: A chief who has stolen his position from a good chief, or an actual king who sole a throne.
  • Fallen Hero: Many heroes in this genre have evil counterparts, so a story about the turn evil would be more than welcomed.
  • Frazetta Man: Basically an Evil Counterpart to the Tarzanesque. The Frazetta Man is a staple of the Jungle Opera. They don’t have to be stupid or Always Chaotic Evil and can be individualized especially since archeaology is still in debate on how intelligent and cultured prehistoric humanoids were, but they are great Mooks and a good alternative to the Cannibal Tribe.
  • General Ripper: They do not necessarily need to be Imperial German, Nazi or what have you. They do not even need to specifically be human. The setting could be a Banana Republic with them being one of the local antagonists. Due to the fact that some real-world poachers are military, They might be one themselves.
  • Gentleman Thief: They can be an ordinary Outlaw, Venturous Smuggler or Egomaniac Hunter trying to steal an ancient artifact for a quick buck, or they can be employed by The Empire if the Ancient Artifact they are after is a Lost Superweapon.
  • The Highwayman: A bandit who robs travelers and bold explorers.
  • Hired Guns: Mercenaries are more common than most people realize in the jungle, and they can make great direct antagonists. They are likely to be only motivated by greed without regard for human life making them perfect threats, usually hired by greater antagonists.
  • Horny Vikings: A lost colony of Norsemen is a classic, even if it does not entirely make senses. Realistically, they would have integrated into the local peoples, so they will likel\y have combinations of attire, weaponry and even spiritual beliefs.
    • Horned Helmets have not been found in Nordic countries, but are forgiven by the Rule of Cool, especially with local materials like Rhino horns.
  • Hostile Natives: Avoid the Noble Savage stereotype by allowing some to be evil, even within a friendly tribe.
  • Human Traffickers: They can be very risky, but make excellent antagonists if they catch a hero or a loved one.
    • Often operations range from regular slavery to Organ Theft to more nightmarish abusive things like Sex Slavery.
    • Also keep in mind because they are so cruel to humans, they probably won’t treat animals better and will engage in poaching. It would be unwise to depict hurting the environment as more evil than human trafficking, but it’s a great way to Kick the Dog.
    • They also make an excellent supplier of fresh specimens for the Evilutionary Biologist.
  • Hungry Jungle: The jungle is already full of enough threats that it can make an interesting antagonist for a survival story. (See Plant and Animal Coordinator Folder below) Also Dangerous Terrain itself, like the lava and sharp rocks from volcanoes if not lava. You can also use Quicksand Sucks, natural disasters, and the like. Weapons and tools in the wrong place can also be dangerous. There might also be traps from a long-gone poacher, which can also be an obstacle.
  • Illegal loggers and illegal mines work well in this genre, especially if they are threatening a cast member’s village or kidnapping one of the cast for forced labor.
    • Consider some alternatives. An illegal archeology dig could be dangerous and in real life illegal farms are a contributor to deforestation, thus harming the people who rely on the jungle for food and medicine.
    • Expect them to be part of The Syndicate.
  • Imperial Germans: If you are working with a World War I setting, kind of a precursor in pulp to Those Wacky Nazis.
  • Little Green Man in a Can: Aliens, likely Starfish Aliens, confined to a small robotic tank they can control.
  • Loan Shark: An amoral money lender, who will stop at nothing, including getting Hired Guns, to collect his interest. If you have an Evil Poacher, he might be the reason he's in debt because there is Always a Bigger Fish. He might also harass or cheat locals in general, even if they don't turn to crime.
  • Lost Colony: A classic in this genre, and can be anything from a leftover fragment from the colonial age, an excuse for Steampunk to even the Knights Templar after losing their way looking for the Holy Land. Not required to be evil, but usually are.
  • Love to Hate: Redemption is always a good theme and a much less risky alternative to villains related to complicated Real Life issues. If you have a more fictitious villain that is an irredeemable monster though, than this trope is a must. Making them Affably Evil or Laughably Evil is always more than welcome.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: Having the protagonist, especially the Tarzanesque, an orphan who lost their parents to the jungle is common, but if their parent is not only alive, but a villain like the Evil Colonialist themself, than it far more interesting. Search your feelings, you know it to be true.
  • Mad Scientist: One might have a lair hidden in the jungle, where they perform diabolical experiments. Most likely to be an Evilutionary Biologist.
  • MegaCorp: They are a giant heartless cooperate entity that doesn't care about the environment, their workers or their customers. Their only goal is power, to own and control everything.
    • Making them a Corporatocracy is more than welcomed.
    • Remember they are likely too big to fail. Having them Drunk with Power instead of simply greedy, is a great alternative.
  • Mighty Whitey: This character can make for an excellent antagonist. Obviously the Evil Colonialist or an evil version of the Bold Explorer can count.
    • You can also try an evil version of the Tarzanesque, who believes that they are the King or Queen of the jungle. Pride is quite literally one of the seven deadly sins, and it's odd for anyone to see it as heroic, but tis character most definitely will and their arrogance will drive them to do horrifying things. They might still defend the tribes that recognize their authority, but they torture and kill anyone who apposes them. They could also be an Eco-Terrorist.
    • Contrary to the name, they don't have to be white, they just to be of a fantasy race or some other group with a massive superiority complex. They can even be an Absolute Xenophobe, ready to exterminate anything different from them.
  • Monster of the Week: The jungle is full of dangerous creatures. This is especially the case if the Evilutionary Biologist's experiments escaped, if All Myths Are True, or in a Lost World in general. These monsters might be magic ordinary, but still very dangerous, animals, might be alien, might be robotic or can even be humans with abnormal abilities.
  • Nepharious Pharaoh: In cases of Ancient Egyptian-based lost cities, villains such as this may appear. Reflecting the real-world history, the pharaoh in question may be man or woman and they may even be an example of The Usurper.
  • Not Quite Human: As mentioned before, a fantasy race is a good alternative for Hollywood Natives, or can be intiresting in general.
  • Nuke 'em: When a villain is so despite for resources or so hellbent on destroying an indigenous population that they are willing to leave the jungle an inhospitable wasteland.
  • Obstructive Bureaucrat: Politics are messy, so this guy (from any background) can play a big role in several problems. Typically the most they will get is a slap on the wrist.
for a Bioweapon.
  • They can also play a large role in letting the right kind of people off the hook in order to further their political agenda, and then unjustly punishing political threats to them.
  • He might willingly not provide enough funding to stop certain outlaws. He can also be bribed by wealthy human traffickers, gang leaders, warlords or criminals running big operations.
  • He might hire an Egomaniac Hunter to Execute Order 66
  • Due to the fact that some real-world poachers are corrupt officials, he might be one himself.
  • Making them a High-Class Cannibal would be a fitting subversion in this genre.
  • In a lower form of evil, he might be threatening a friend of the hero with being drafted/conscripted to coerce the hero into getting him something he wants. Did Not Think This Through is possible because even if he refuses to keep his word or the hero fails, there is no guarantee the hero's friend will be deemed fit to serve in the army.
  • Our Giants Are Bigger: Having the classic small people based on the pigmies is far from recommended for villains., but going the opposite direction would be a welcomed alternative.
  • Our Vampires Are Different: Think a Cannibal Tribe, but supernatural humanoids drinking blood after torturing their victim rather than eating them. They might also be infected by magic from a Witch Doctor. Alternatively, reflecting some cases in African folklore, they may be a spirit.
  • Our Werebeasts Are Different: Werebeasts are legion and with the many kinds out there a writer is in no short supply.
  • Our Zombies Are Different: The undead make excellent Not Quite Human Mooks for a Witch Doctor, if they aren't a Not Quite Human race to begin with.
  • Outlaw: There are many different variations, but whoever they are, they are outside the protection of the law, are currently breaking the law and they are willing to do whatever it takes protect their operations, including kidnapping or killing. They also tend to control local towns and villages due to the lack of law enforcement in the area.
    • Although smuggling various things is common for the outlaw, consider some other alternatives. They could be hiding from the law. They might be a cyber criminal working remotely through satellites. They might rob a railroad or terrorize a small village or town. They might try to take private property by force to illegally use its resources. They might kidnap village elders to interrogate them looking for a lost artifact etc. “Allow most of them to have a more complex Evil Scheme than capture/smuggle x”
    • Remember, having them steal or kill people to protect their operations is one thing, but having them draw their skills for other crimes for hire, independent of their illegal operations, can make them more dangerous.
    • They might be a dangerous Badass Native who was banished from their tribe.
    • They don’t have to be white. Fantasy races can equally work, many criminals in jungle countries are local.
    • They don’t have to be criminals of the jungle. They might simply be hiding from the law for a crime they committed outside the jungle. They could even be a Retired Outlaw, in which case they are probably less likely to be a villain.
    • They could be a dangerous criminal banished from the Lost Tribe rather than an outsider.
  • Organ Thief: A dangerous Outlaw focused on stealing body parts, almost always from humans, to sell on the black market. They often overlap with Human Traffickers and the Evil Poacher, which often already overlap.
  • Pirates: The jungle often has Ruthless Modern Pirates like the River Rats of the AmazonRainforest, and being from the jungle, they are likely Salvage Pirates. but more unusual alternatives from outside of the jungle are more than welcome. Whoever they are, they tend to engage in several crimes of terrorism, trafficking, smuggling various contraband and of course the classic Rape, Pillage, and Burn.
  • Predator Pastiche: A very formidable opponent if you want a more advanced or alien element, especially for Planetary Romance. Jungle Opera is Science Fiction after all, and having it overlap with other Sub Genres is always more than welcomed.
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy: A member of a race/culture built around warfare and honor. This warrior may challenge the heroes for the thrill of combat.
  • Proud Hunter Race: A race built around hunting. The Egomaniac Hunter, Evil Poacher, Bounty Hunter, and/or Predator Pastiche may be part of this
  • The Purge: Genocide is unfortunately very common in the jungle.
    • Can be combined with the Egomaniac Hunter as some marksmen were hired for genocide historically like the slaughter of the Tasmanian Aborigines.
    • This may be government based or it may be carried out by a rebel or insurgent militia.
  • Psycho for Hire: Many villains in this genre are Only in It for the Money, so they can preform brutal tasks for someone else if they are offered the right price.
    • The Egomaniac Hunter would be a very fitting variation of this as a HiredGun. They are a skilled hunter who will act sportsmanlike in order to challenge themselves and they usually hunt people anyway, so going after Outlaws fosome extra cash and for sport, while using their hunting skills can be very fun.
    • It can be fun to make this villain a Heel–Face Revolving Door.
  • Religion of Evil: Can be very interesting as long as there is Worldbuilding around it. Make it tie into your lore and your fantasy evil gods.
    • Many of the most barbaric societies in history were highly advanced, so utilizing a Fallen Empire or a Vestigial Empire could work very well.
  • Renegade Splinter Faction: A group of terrorists, more extreme then their predecessors.
  • Sadist: This is common for several villains in this genre like the Witch Doctor, the Egomaniac Hunter, the Evil Colonialist, the Evilutionary Biologist etc. This trope is often used to emphasize the danger of the villains, as making them ruthless is one thing, but making them enjoy causing harm makes them more dangerous and their danger more exciting.
    • Be careful not to use this in Author Tract. While it is tempting to make the villain enjoy hurting children in a theme about human trafficking or having and to have an evil poacher enjoy hurting animals for a green aesop, it is going to come off as contrived rather than actually making a meaningful point. Instead focus on the hero’s resolve and values as this is a much better alternative for An Aesop.
    • Also don’t let this trope get in the way of making the villain entertaining. Humor and charisma are still more than welcomed and they can actually make this trope even more effective if handled right. Expect dark humor in particular.
  • Sinister Minister: The evil counterpart to The Missionary. This villain is likely a Cult leader, a con artist, or working for or as an Evil Colonialist. Equally present in history to the Heroic Counterpart.
    • Making him The Fundamentalist or the Knight Templar might be a bad idea, as doing so is not only very risky, but it usually has the opposite intended effect on the audience and can easily feel contrived. There are some easy alternatives like, making them an abusive cult leader; greedy, hyper hypocritical, blatantly deceitful and even potentially sadistic for their own ends and they might even be working towards political goals, making him a perfect fit to be the Evil Colonialist. Another more than welcomed alternative is making them as condemn an action they are participating in themselves, a Knight Templar willingly ignorant to their own sins and willing to blame God himself before taking responsibility for their actions, similar to Disney’s Claude Frolo.
    • They might also be an Evil Sorcerer or function as a Witch Doctor, especially if Religion is Magic. Again they don’t have to be from a Christian religion, but if they claim to be, it will just be another interesting example of their hypocrisy, especially if they think Magic Is Evil.
    • A fantasy religion is always far less risky and an excellent opportunity for Worldbuilding, even with the heroic counterpart.
  • Small Town Rivalry: A tribal community might be threatened by another village they have bad blood with.
  • Smug Snake: Obviously fun for the egomaniac hunter, but can also work very well for an evil cheif, Witch Doctor, or even an Eldritch Abomination.
  • Sociopath: Can be the Egomaniac Hunter or Witch Doctor, or any other villain, particularly ruthless leaders.
  • Sociopathic Soldier: A soldier might survive a war and Go Mad From Isolation.
  • Soft-Spoken Sadist: This can be a very interesting subversion compared to the egomaniac characters commonly depicted in this genre.
  • Spree Killer: Someone killing everything in a rampage.
    • Could also be The Empire making a part of the jungle purposefully inhospitable with a Superweapon to plunder it for raw resources or to irradiate a political threat.
    • They can go after other villains too. For example, if an Evil Poacher kills the pet of this character, and this character happens to be portrayed by Keanu Reeves.
  • Standard Evil Organization Squad: Having a team of villains devoted to a specific task. If you already established multiple villains, this might result from a Villain Team-Up.
  • The Syndicate: A group of very organized criminals that are very common in real life. They are likely to be behind many of the other villains and criminals like the Evil Poacher and Loggers, and they will utilize Hired Guns to take care of threats.
    • There can also be a Gray-and-Gray Morality version of them, offering bounties on local criminal like other cartels, local poachers, or general outlaws. This doesn’t mean they are good guys though.
  • Tin Tyrant: Possibly a Sufficiently Advanced Bamboo Technology robot, an armored leader of the Vestigial Empire, or an armored Evil Colonialist.
  • Vestigial Empire: A lost jungle dwelling superpower, and potentially a Advanced Ancient Acropolis. They are usually evil.
  • Those Wacky Nazis: A must for any World War II or Dieselpunk story. They could also be a Lost Colony in the Amazon Rainforest, as many Nazis fled to South America following the war.
    • If the story is set during World War II, expect them to be part of an Archaeological Arms Race.
    • Overlapping with the Evilutionary Biologist is more than welcome as many Nazis were this way. Even refugees hiding in the Amazon tended to work as doctors.
  • Toxic, Inc.: Obviously risky and seen as lazy for a Green Aesop, but a deeper political motive, as a decoy to wipe out some indigenous villages, can be interesting.
  • Tragic Villain: This is far less risky if you have a controversial antagonist.
    • By no means does this mean their crimes have to be justified, and contrasting honest alternatives to dealing with their circumstances, or a theme of redemption is more than welcomed.
    • This trope works best for small time criminals, henchmen and nooks rather than the Big Bad themself.
  • Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Some idiot finally brought about the end of the world, most likely through ignorance or accident. They don't necessarily need to appear in person, but seeing them make amends and Save the World before it's too late is also interesting.
  • The Warlord: Likely a former colonial, military, or indigenous leader who is hellbent on control and genocide, who will forcibly take over local power. They also have no regard for the rainforest and will rule it with a mind of metal to build up their armies and gain more power.
    • They are likely going to use things like poaching in order to fund their armies, which is a great way to Kick the Dog, but making the environment more of a concern than genocide will be very risky.
  • Witch Doctor: An evil counterpart to the Shaman, this character is often a very manipulative and likely to be cult leader who cares only about their influence over the tribe rather than their tribesmen. They are likely to engage in activities such as, fulfilling ancient prophecies, a brutal Imperfect Ritual or any form of Human Sacrifice. They are also very likely to be an Evil Chancellor to the chief.
    • As mentioned before, this genre is a subgenre of Science Fiction, and the theme of science vs superstation was played a lot more straight in this genre. The Witch Doctor usually didn't have any actual abilities in older media and was merely superstitious, being angered or confused by the technology and medicine of Mighty Whitey. While you obviously might want to avoid this portrayal, you can still make this character an excellent villain without actual magic, as simply making them an actual cult leader who manipulates and abuses their tribesmen with fear, guilt and pleasure is a welcomed subversion. The dynamics of real cults is often far more horrifying than any curse or monster in fiction.
    • Having them actually use science and build machines to give an appearance of supernatural abilities or curses is also a welcomed subversion for them to manipulate their tribe. Making them intelligent in general instead of superstitious is a must as it is not only less risky, but it also makes them far more terrifying. Also making this character good at combat is still welcomed.
    • Although making them as an abusive manipulative cult leader is evil enough, depicting them as an Evil Sorcerer as well is also more than welcomed. Keep in mind that an evil tribal witch is not a Mighty Whitey stereotype, as groups like the Navajo Native Americans feared and condemned witches for their perverting the way of the healers with their practices of Human Sacrifice and cannibalism, and other unnatural practices that they believed brought disease and misfortune. Basing your Worldbuilding around similar Real Life tribal traditions is also more than welcomed. This doesn’t mean you can’t get creative with their abilities. After all, the dark side of jungle magic is pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural, including but not limited to; Alliance with an Abomination, Necromancy, Mind Control, and Divination. Just be sure to Worldbuild a real system of evil spirits or use an Eldritch Abominations rather than relying on Hollywood Voodoo.
    • They might employ Human Traffickers for Human Sacrifice if they aren’t already sending tribal warriors to get sacrifices for them, but having them also work with an Evil Poacher to get animals for their rituals is a great way to Kick the Dog.
    • We Can Rule Together: An excellent subversion where this character tries to convert enimies instead of killing them. This can even involve promises of power and even a story of a previous powerful Witch Doctor if you want a more Sith like flare.
    • They don't have to be tribal. Having them as a hermit practicing The Dark Arts or in the government forming a Banana Republic, or even working with Outlaws and smugglers to their own ends is also more than welcomed. They don’t have to be indigenous either. Ideas like, having an Evilutionary Biologist who is messing around with dangerous forces of the jungle beyond their comprehension or having the colonial Evil Overlord of The Empire be an Evil Sorcerer are all more than welcomed.
  • Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: The evil counterpart to La Résistance.
    • Some rebel military and militia use poaching or higher poachers for their war machine. Remember that there is Always a Bigger Fish. They probably engage in other illegal contraband as well.
    • Real-life rebel and insurgent militias are not as heroic as fiction portrays them with their battles being either against local ethnic groups, state military or other militias. With this in mind, a militia whose sole purpose is genocide or an Evil Versus Evil situation is possible.

What To Avoid

  • Monster of the Aesop: In many ways to much of a focus on these have harmed this genre, since villains can feel out of place. Even if their crimes against the jungle and animals are severe, they can come off as a Harmless Villain to the main cast in a wat that does not fit the tone of a traditional Jungle Opera with a predatory villain. This is because hunting is a major theme to the point that Jungle Opera would not only not feel like Jungle Opera without tracking down something like an [[Ancient Artifact]], and being hunted by a relentless predatory villain. Around the 1970s however, Jungle Opera shifted heavily towards Green Aesop far more due to increasing environmental awareness, which although not a bad idea and already part of the genre to a degree, was not executed well for villains. Things like exciting storytelling and even actual ecology fell by the wayside for political agendas. Instead of the relentless, sadistic antagonists the genre was known for, there were more regular criminals that can easily be avoided and reported. This did nothing to help the Aesop since heroes without proper legal authority attacking the Outlaws who were usually (and inaccurately) not threatening the heroes in any way, often made them come off as Justified Villains, especially to those who did not understand the implications of things like poaching and logging, which the stories failed to provide. Of course this turned into a Clueless Aesop, because these stories not only failed to acknowledge the existence of several sever Real Life humanitarian problem, but also that both ecological problems and humanitarian problems are deeply connected and equally prevalent in the jungle. An Ecologist be in serious danger from Human Traffickers and cultists agressive poachers can be a serious danger to The Missionary, Poverty and pollical corruption cause environmental crimes independent and organized, which cause or help previously mentioned humanitarian problems with the addition of human trafficking, which aids in more ecological crimes. To say one or the other Aesop fits the setting better is inaccurate because both ecological problems and humanitarian problems effect each other in very direct ways. If you focus too much on current issues though, it will immediately put a time stamp on your story, and the villain won't feel like they matter much as cultures and values change. Your story can grow outdated quickly. Keep in mind that people disagree with you on most everything. You rebels fighting a colonialist in one country x might feel like someone's terrorists in another. The heroes exploring new lands and teaching its natives about the world one year will be an evil invasion next year.
This problem is also adjacent to a myth in that if villains commit crimes that are very serious in real life, then they will automatically be fun to hate and should be used because they raise awareness of real world issues. This perspective couldn’t be further from the truth. People disagree. One man's rebels is another man's terrorists. One man's logger is another man's real estate agent. Consider protagonists like Walter White, who makes dangerous meth, the Jedi, who practically turned the Geneva Conventions into a game of bingo or Glinn Quagmire who repeatedly kidnaps, rapes and tortures innocent people. Although these are serious issues in Real Life, none of these characters are someone audiences Love to Hate, because they weren’t written to be that way. On the villains side, Darth Vader never had to hurt the environment as a show of villainy and Thanos actually fights in its favor the environment in his own twisted way. The worst environmental crime Joker had were the emissions his flaming pyramid of cash let off when he was "sending a message." In fact, there are countless phenomenal villains that are only petty and rude, and don’t even break any actual laws. The reason a villain works has nothing to do with being more evil by participating in serious Real Life issues. A good villain only has to be a threat the the hero’s goals or the heroes themselves. How far they are willing to go and how dangerous they can be is what will sell them as a threat, make them captivating to watch and make them fun to hate if the story establishes the value of the heroes effectively. The reason classics like the Evilutionary Biologist, Egomaniac Hunter, Witch Doctor and Cannibal Tribe all work well is because they are terrifying. You can't simply go unnoticed by them and find a ranger because they are out to kidnap, kill or even torture you. On the other hand, even if your poacher is killing the last rhino on earth or an illegal mine worker is poisoning a river, if the main characters are not directly effected by it, it will not mean much to the audience and feel out of place in this genre. Additionally, if a villain is defending themselves because they are attacked unprovoked, then that has the danger of making them look like a Justified Villain. It's aunwise to make the villain evil primarily because they contribute to current issues that are serious in Real Life. Instead, it is better to focus on basic values and Universal Archetypes. than the opposite of author's Aesop, especially since An Aesop always is communicated better through glorifying the heroes than demonizing the villains. An Evil Poacher or the Corrupt Corporate Executive, while more than welcomed, needs more than the author's well informed opinion to be evil If anything, hurting the environment and being Cruella to Animals, though both also welcomed, should be the icing on the cake to a villain's evil in this genre, not the main course.If you are going for a Green Aesop, consider the following additions to a villain:
  • Make them more ruthless, and let them target potential threats to their operations rather than actual ones. Maybe a zoologist is only in the jungle to study a rare species and not directly concerned with the complexities of populations in the area, but your Evil Poacher still wants their head.
  • Allow them to hire Hired Guns. A Science Hero, The Missionary or Tarzanesque can easily report your operations to the authorities. Maybe even as a mere side effect to them finding something like medicine to help with the mess you made, but the Hungry Jungle is more lawless than the old west, and Psychos For Hire are everywhere just waiting to illuminate your obstacle. Some criminals in the jungle in Real Life, like poachers, are often Hired Guns as well.
  • Allow operations to get large enough that your villain uses forced labor, and so the hero or a loved one of them is captured, and the story turns into a Rescue Arc.
  • Designated Villain: A villain who is only evil because the author says so, but is otherwise perfectly decent is going to come off as lazy.
  • Exposition: Instead make sure you Show, Don't Tell. There should be no lip service to how evil a villain is, except for maybe a little from the villain themself.
  • Complete Monster: Despite how a villain in this genre needs to be directly threatening and dangerous, that does not mean that they should be depicted as only completely evil. Allow them to be Affably Evil, maybe even let them have standards. If you do want completely evil villains, they shouldn't be boring, but entertaining.
  • "Greed automatically equals Complete Monster": A villain who is Only in It for the Money and goes from being heroic to villainous on a dime depending on who is paying them, is much more fun.
  • Outside-Genre Foe: This has always been a problem, as characters like the Tarzanesque would fight villains like vampires and werewolves, even in the jungle, but they would be no different than the vampires and werewolves we already know on the outside. Although the occasional Crossover is fun, the genre works far better with Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot, so it's best to try to reimagine something from outside the genre to work in a way familiar to the setting, rather than pulling something from outside. Instead of Mr. Hyde, consider The Professor with a dangerous alter ego. Instead of a classic vampire, consider a vampire race living in an ancient tribe or empire that reproduces by feeding off the local population and turning into them, even to the extent of Captured by Cannibals involving drinking blood instead of eating the whole person. Instead of a werewolf, try a werebigcat. You get the idea.
  • Hollywood Natives: Hostile natives are more than welcomed, but only if they have genuine reasons for being evil or hostile. They need to be individuals rather than Faceless Mooks.

     Plant and Animal Coordinator 
The jungle is by its nature filled with countless species of animals and plants. Because these plants and animals can usually be allies, antagonists or even the McGuffin, it seemed like they deserved their own folder. Weather the story leans more towards In Harmony with Nature or Nature Is Not Nice is a decision only the author can make.

‘’’What To Avoid’’’

  • Herbivores Are Friendly: Many authors tend to depict all herbivores as peaceful and all carnivores as dangerous man eating predators and depict killing a herbivore in self defense as evil, while fighting a carnivorous animal is perfectly fine, it can be unrealistic or risky if poorly researched. Many herbivores can be more dangerous than many predators because they are very territorial and powerful. On the other hand just because an animal is carnivorous, that doesn’t mean they are automatically going to kill humans as most have a very specific diet. Many animals only attack humans in self defense as well. As always, killing an animal as a last resort is always less risky. In general, please do your own research.

    Stunt Department 
The Jungle Opera genre is full of daring feats,, acrobatics and dangerous stunts already, but a little bit of deconstruction or martial arts choreography would be a welcomed addition. Unfortunately, many aspects of these stunts have been used for Author Appeal or can be risky. Remember, things are only permitted by the Rule of Cool, and not the Rule of Sexy. It’s important to remember as a writer or director, that what is left unsaid or using proper deconstruction can really intensify the idea of some of these stunts without appearing too problematic. Weather a stunt is utilized is ultimately up to the individual author and writer.

  • Accidental Time Travel: A form of the call to adventure to bring a character to the jungle in colonial Africa, After the End, Age of Reptiles etc.
  • And I Must Scream: An interesting and extra cruel way for an Egomaniac Hunter to display trophies, including people. Also the ultimate revenge for many villains or sometimes a way of putting an ancient powerful Sealed Evil in a Can. The more lethal form of this trope also a terrifying defense mechanism of various jungle animals in Real Life.
  • Animal Battle Aura: Great for a Shaman or even a Tarzanesque or Badass Native.
  • Animal Talk is common in this genre.
    • Having characters understand animals or even humans though body language is always more than welcomed.
  • Animal-Themed Fighting Style: Is required for the Tarzanesque. It makes a lot of sense in this setting o in general. For sure use some form of indigenous martial arts, and make it cool.
  • Anti-Regeneration: A good idea if you have Not Quite Human fantasy races with a Healing Factor. The villain might also refuse to regenerate so the hero can’t save them.
  • Archery: a common hunting and combat practice of the Badass Native or Tarzanesque.
  • Always Know a Pilot: Common for a lot of characters in this genre, especially Adventurer Archaeologist if they aren’t a pilot already.
  • Alliance with an Abomination: The Witch Doctor is most likely to do this, but the Evil Overlord, Evilutionary Biologist might try it as well. Even The Professor might have made this mistake.
  • Awakening the Sleeping Giant: A Unwitting Instigator of Doom might do something like release a dangerous animal or plague, or they set in motion a dangerous chain of events. It might also involve something more fantastical like accidentally activating a Doomsday Device or an ancient Lost Superweapon. They could even end up releasing an Eldritch Abomination.
  • Awesome by Analysis: A must for any good Tarzanesque . Having them use their intellect, combined with their jungle hero standard issue hightened senses like enhanced smell, touch, hearing and sight are demanded by the Rule of Cool.
  • Barefoot Running: Being a habitual barefooter is almost considered an unwritten rule for any good Tarzanesque .
    • It’s also an unwritten rule to use Handy Feet.
    • For any frequent barefooter like the Tarzanesque, the sense of touch would actually become more acute due to the nerves being used constantly. So it pairs very nicely with Awesome by Analysis.
    • Remember to use Agony of the Feet if there is a change in lifestyle for a character from a foreign shod civilization, as the jungle floor certainly has hazards like thorns, rocks, roots and insects and any barefoot runner can tell you that it takes months in a safe environment building up strength and thick skin before one can go barefoot consistently; possibly a year or more to endure such a hostile environment like a jungle properly.
    • Combat Stilettos: Should be Averted for a Jungle Princess as mentioned in the Costume Department.
  • Battle Cry: The classic Tarzan yell has really lost its cool factor after the original novels, where it was a victory cry of a bull ape, but a more than welcomed alternative is to play this trope straight. Give your characters, especially the Tarzanesque and Badass Native an actual battle cry.
  • Battle in the Rain: It’s called the rainforest for a reason.
  • Bilingual Bonus: A must due to the different languages and cultures.
  • Bound and Gagged; Due to the theme of hunting fitting the aesthetic, the jungle is an excellent place to get captured or kidnapped, so this trope is pretty standard to happen to any Tarzanesque, Adventure Archaeologist or even The Missionary.
    • This trope can be very risky, so it’s best to be careful how scenes are framed in visual mediums and keep general descriptions brief.
    • This is played pretty straight when a character is captured by the Outlaw. For a hostile tribe, it’s common for them to bind characters publicly. Another favorite in this genre is the Tribal Carry.
    • One interesting approach is to acknowledge real effects of being restrained. Side effects include, Constipation, Circulatory problems, Muscle Atrophy, Urinary Tract Infections, immobilized without bonds from being tied for so long and Depression.
    • Consider alternatives. An Evilutionary Biologist might use a Cryo-Prison Some Real Life cannibal merchants broke limbs instead of bonding them. There is also the possibility of using dart frog poison to paralyze a character. You could also keep characters unconscious.
  • Bottomless Bladder; (Subverted) Despite the name, this refers to the lack of bodily necessities in general that most fictional characters experience, such as no need for food, water, and sleep. Due to themes of survival in this genre, it’s basically an unwritten rule is that this should be subverted in this genre, as staying hydrated, finding food, finding a place to sleep without getting eaten and the like, are all interesting to explore in this genre.
    • The extent to which a character, especially a Tarzanesque, hunts depends on both the personal beliefs of the author and the character. A character raised by animals might refuse to kill entirely and live off of plants seeing animals as equal to them, some might make exception for Killing in Self-Defense, others might hunt only out of necessity, others, like the animals around them, might hunt only for food, and others will hunt for money, usually morally grey and villainous characters. If your character lives off of plants, real world survival tips like rubbing a plant against the skin and waiting for an itch or rash to test for poison, or identifying different flora might be interesting.
    • Quick survival tips include, drink long and deep like Kipling said; possible ways to get clean water are from streams, collecting rain or collecting dew, shelters should be built on elicited ground, campfire generally keeps predators like big cats away or even dangerous insects depending on fuel, This list goes on and is far too deep to cover here, so independent research is advised.
    • Even the more literal subversion, the Potty Emergency, has been Played for Laughs in this genre; usually with a character who doesn’t understand survival skills yet.
  • Breaking the Bonds: Is common, due to how common bonds are in this genre. Make sure there is a good amount of time between a character getting captured and escaping though. If the character is a Play-Along Prisoner, they need to give the impression that they really are helpless, and if the character is Badass in Distress, they should actually be helpless for a while, so having them think their way out is much more exciting than them overpowering their bonds through brute force.
  • Bring Him to Me: A villain capturing the hero to bring them to their hideout, often as a plot device.
  • Bushcraft: Any good Tarzanesque or Action Survivor must be able to craft whatever tool they need by hand.
    • Don’t be afraid of Bamboo Technology. People have built some pretty insane things by hand in Real Life, much more so in fiction.
  • The Cavalry: When the heroes friends, animal or human arrive at the last minute.
  • Chained to a Rock: This is everywhere in this genre. As mentioned before, getting captured is inevitable in the jungle so the Badass in Distress being fed to a hostile animal, monster, volcano or some other threat is very common. The purpose depends on who what villain is doing it to a captive.
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: It's must for any Tarzanesque to be a Not Powered Costumed Hero, but that doesn't mean that they won't have several abilities developed from their years of training in the jungle. They typically have peak human strength to, primarily to carry them through trees quickly, but with the bonus of aiding them in combat. They also tend to have highly acute senses developed, like acute hearing and smell to track and avoid predators, or acute sight to aid in archery or even acute touch from years of going barefoot and navigating the uneven terrain, but they should also include an acute sense of balance and quick reflexes. At the end of the day, the fact that they are merely human is one of the things that make them interesting, especially in such a hostile environment.
    • Keep in mind that heightened senses might be a blessing and a curse. Acute hearing means that loud or sudden sounds would be more uncomfortable, acute touch could make you more sensitive to temperature changes. Exploring negative side effects can be very interesting to explore.
  • Chased by Angry Natives: Why they are angry is totally up to the author, but avoiding risky stereotypes is strongly advised.
  • Combat Parkour: A must for any Tarzanesque or Badass Native. Might involve Artistic License – Physics.
  • Caught in a Snare and the Inescapable Net is a common trap for unsuspecting adventurers.
  • Cold-Blooded Torture (and its many variations): Common by villains for various reasons. An Outlaw might interrogate the Tarzanesque for the location of something valuable like the Ancient Artifact, a lost treasure or a rare animal. Tribal cults might use this on outsiders to convert them, to make the Tarzanesque kneel to a manipulative Witch Doctor cult leader or to punish those who speak out against him. Agents of The Empire like Evil Colonialist and Banana Republic have also been known to utilize this trope.
    • This is common in this genre, but can be risky, so take full advantage of Gory Discretion Shot. This is especially effective as what is left unsaid or offscreen can be far more terrifying and interesting than anything shown directly.
    • For mentioning things rather than showing them, authors commonly like to mention that this process involves as little physical harm to the victim as possible, allowing the villains to keep the victim alive completely or at least to kill them far slower. Authors will also sometimes mention that this can last for days or even weeks. These techniques are used to generate sympathy for the victim, however putting a time limit on how long it will be before the victim dies is a welcomed alternative to raise the stakes.
    • Don't be afraid to get creative with this even if you leave things off scream. Creepy-Crawly Torture is fitting and terrifying for this genre. A character might eventually be And I Must Screamed. You Witch Doctor or Evil Colonialist might interrogate someone with an Eldritch Abomination to make them go insane. One might be tied to a fast growing tree in a way that slowly pulls them apart, or steaked over a piece of bamboo that grows fast enough to impel them in a couple of hourse. Someone might be tied up under the hot sun to die slowly Exposed to the Elements. A Witch Doctor or similar character can use magic to trap their victim in a nightmare, slowing down their perception of time with the convenience of them being unconscious rather than bound. This can also be interesting since the torture continues after the rescue if the victim can't be awakened. Then there are all of the other tropes of psychological ways to torment characters. Again, there is more said when things are left unsaid, but don't let that stifle your creativity.
    • Authors also have time to allow characters to heal after an escape. You can use hugs liberally to make this very wholesome.
    • A villain can use this to lure out the Tarzanesque. Using their friends as bait as they are Interrogated for Nothing.
  • Clothing Damage is very likely either early on in the story or for an 11th-Hour Costume Change.
  • Conlang: Speaking a fictional language, like like Elvish or Klingon,is far less risky than Hulk Speak is very risky.
    • If instead your character speak a language from Real Life, it should be translated or dubbed completely for the audience to understand, use subtitles, or use an authentic accent when speaking to non-native speakers. Accents involve much more than skipping pronouns and articles.
    • Hulk Speak can be forgiven if utilized for Talking Animals, just don't use it for humans as it makes said humans look dumb. You could possibly use an English dialect, which is now a whole independent language, left over from the colonial age. Think Hawaiian Pigeon.
  • Cryo-Prison: The Evilutionary Biologist probably uses this to preserve or even torture specimens, especially those used to hotter climates. Also a common way for preserving the Frazetta Man from millennia or even eons in the past.
  • Damsel in Distress: (And every subtrope) The jungle is full of peril. Due to how protagonists rarely have superhuman abilities, and how dangerous the criminals and hostile factors are, the jungle is a great place to get captured. There is always something to rescue someone from or something to escape from. If you’re a protagonist, you are definitely going to be a regular Badass in Distress. Even the snakes will try to capture and crush you and dart frogs will paralyze you.
    • Make sure that there is a good sense of danger. The character has to be actually powerless, at least for a little bit, but they never should become passive because they are helpless. This can really be Played for Drama well. This trope is a really fun trope to play around with, so have fun hero villains chemistry. Have interesting escape plans.
    • If you have a love interest, a Damsel out of Distress would be far more interesting to see. Any Rescue Arc where they meet each other halfway is more than welcomed.
    • Since getting captured, rescued and escaping are so common in this genre, here is an excellent resource: Overly Sarcastic Productions: Trope Talk; Damsel In Distress
    If your kidnapped individual can be replaced by a bag of gold than you are doing it seriously wrong.
  • The Dark Arts: The Witch Doctor obviously might dabble in this if they aren't merely manipulative, though no less terrifying.
  • Deadly Hug: Primarily from, but not limited to, large snakes.
  • Dodge the Bullet: Usually the Tarzanesque or Badass Native can do this because of the Rule of Cool.
  • Dual Wielding: A possible fighting style that looks cool.
  • Duel to the Death: Either between knives: and spears Tarzanesque vs. an evil Badass Native, Guns: Ranger vs. Outlaw or even Magic: Shaman vs. Witch Doctor.
  • Dragon Rider: If you have Domesticated Dinosaurs or Dinosaurs Are Dragons, this trope is more than welcomed, but please keep it a realistic and ethical relationship with an Action Pet Mount Think How To Train Your Dragon, not James Cameron's Avatar.
  • Dramatic Wind: Rule of Cool says use it liberally. Deconstructing it and adding the sound of wind in the trees to your Noisy Nature is welcomed.
  • Slipped the Ropes:Your Tarzanesque should be at least a little bit of an Escape Artist with skills likely acquired through experience rather than official training.
  • 11th-Hour Costume Change: When the Tarzanesque needs mobility for the battle in the third act.
  • Elemental Powers can work well here, especially Green Thumb or Animorphism.
  • Escaped Animal Rampage: A great plot device. Stampedes are also pretty dangerous.
  • Exposed to the Elements: A general version of being exposed to the sunlight and insects is a common method of torturing and killing in this genre, but the cold aspect of this trope also applies. As mentioned before, the temperature of the jungle itself drops at night, more drastically the higher the elevation. Additionally, being from such a hot climate makes a Tarzanesque or Native character more vulnerable, as what we would consider room temperature would be very cold for them. Additionally, rain and streams would drop their temperature much more quickly.
  • Extreme Tracking Skills for the Great White or Egomaniac Hunter, but especially a must for any Badass Native or Tarzanesque.
  • Faked Kidnapping: An interesting subversion in this genre, likely used to lure out or capture the Tarzanesque.
  • Fantastic Slurs: Might be really fun to play with. Even Oh, My Gods! makes sense for the Badass Native or Tarzanesque.
  • Giving Radio to the Romans: Obviously, this might happen literally in time travel plots, but there is also a downplayed variation from Real Life. Tribes that would otherwise be medieval often traded for modern technologies including weapons.
  • Gladiator Games: Having a fight to the death is a common form of Bread and Circuses by a Hostile Tribe, Vestigial Empirer or even the Egomaniac Hunter engaging in human trafficking, but and it’s common for one’s opponent to be an regular innocent person. Sometimes in this genre, the two fighters will even know each other as friends from work.
  • Gladiator Revolt: This is a possibility if your characters end up in the Bread and Circuses of a Vestigial Empire.
  • Going Native: A common way to turn any grown Bold Explorer, Action Survivor or even The Missionary into the Tarzanesuque.
  • Gun Twirling: a must for any good Outlaw, Hired Gun or a Ranger with a Big Iron on his hip.
  • Heroes Fight Barehanded: empty hand martial arts are more than welcomed.
  • Hidden Supplies: If a Tarzanesque knows that particular part of the jungle well enough, having them hid weapons, tools and armor to use later could be cool.
  • Hollywood Voodoo: Obviously for the Witch Doctor, but you might want to Avert this, as Worldbuilding a unique magic system with dangerous effects and monovalent entities is always more interesting and less risky.
  • Happily Married: This is a much better alternative to the classic mates, as tribal communities not only have sexual taboos, but also marriage traditions like any other culture. Exploring these adds to their Worldbuilding.
  • Harbinger of Asskicking: There are many cool ways to set up a fight scene.
  • Hostile Weather: The jungle is known for this, especially during monsoon season.
  • Hugs: For themes of loyalty friendship and family and a nice contrast to Nature Is Not Nice.
  • Jungle Warfare: great for a final battle. Often based on things like Vietnam, but if this is done well in a story, it can be very terrifying. High Fantasy has Epic Onrushing Armies, Space Opera has Space Battle, so don’t leave Jungle Opera out.
  • Kidnapped by the Call: While kidnapping is everywhere in the jungle itself, it might be used to bring the protagonist there.
  • Kidnapped for Experimentation: A favorite of the Evilutionary Biologist.
  • Kick the Dog: Allow your Big Bads to engage in ecological crimes or animal cruelty crimes as only a small part of their bigger operations. If they are a regular Outlaw, they must threaten people that aren’t a danger to their operations and they can still be petty or abusive to their henchmen. This is a great way to sell the audience of the fact that they are truly despicable and make them a fitting predatory villain for the genre worthy of the Hungry Jungle, especially if they are a Sadist.
  • Know Your Vines: This trope is possibly going to be Played for Laughs or Played for Drama with an Action Survivor. Subverted with the Tarzanesque and Badass Native, who can navigate toxic, thorny or man eating flora almost subconsciously without much problem, and might use it against enemies or teach the Action Survivor. Also subverted with The Professor if they are a botanist.
  • Language Barrier: This is important to take into account in this genre. Additionally, showing characters overcome this through observation is always interesting.
  • Le Parkour: Use it liberally as dictated by the Rule of Cool, but a more forest based version. Of course this include Vine Swing and the previously mentioned Combat Parkour. Also note that in the original Tarzan novels, the Lord of the Jungle was swinging from branch to branch rather than vine swinging. Might involve Artistic License – Physics.
  • Locked Up and Left Behind; A common means for the exicuting or prolonged torturing a character depending on the villain, leaving them Bound and Gagged to the mercy of the Hungry Jungle as they suffer from being Exposed to the Elements.
  • Lost Language: Commonly found written in the runes of the Temple of Doom or Ruins for Ruins' Sake, or even spoken by the Lost Tribe.
  • Human Sacrifice: As well as Virgin Sacrifice, Appease the Volcano God and every other subtrope are all common in this genre.
  • Instant Sedation because people get kidnapped so often, getting knocked out is also common. This is also a more welcome approach for a hunting character.
    • They don’t have to knock people out. Temporarily paralyzing a victim would also be interesting.
    • Try deconstructing this trope. The side effects of being knocked out can be pretty intense, and interesting to explore. As always, independent research is advised.
  • Knife Fight: A must for any Tarzanesque.
  • Knows the Ropes: Also a must for a Tarzanesque.
    • Tarzan originally used a lasso on occasion.
  • Kick the Dog: Evil Is Petty if your villain is a Complete Monster, so allow them to do some petty and cruel things completely unrelated to the Aesop. Be careful not to focus to much on them being Cruella to Animals, as the audience might not care pretty quickly and this can detract from issues you are trying to depict. Would Hurt A Senior, Would Hurt a Child and even having them mistreat their minions is all more than welcomed.
    • Making them the Sadist makes them not only a jerk, but also terrifying.
  • Kite Riding: If you are using a lot of Bamboo Technology, a personal glider could be cool.
  • Kung-Fu Wizard: Making your Shaman or Witch Doctor good at combat is more than welcomed.
  • MacGyvering: A good choice for The Professor.
  • Martial Arts and Crafts: This is more than welcomed. Ranchers might use farming based martial arts for example.
  • Meditating Under a Waterfall: or praying in the case of The Missionary.
  • Mental Time Travel: If The Professor is unavailable, the Shaman might be able to help a character time travel this way.
  • Midair Repair: An Ace Pilot will probably attempt this.
  • Mind over Matter: A good option for the Shaman, especially if the Space Plane gets stuck somewhere.
  • Mind Control: The Witch Doctor might have some ability to do this.
  • Necromancy: Another power the Witch Doctor might have.
  • Never Learned to Read: This is common among members of the Lost Tribe, and possibly the Badass Native, but not limited to them.
    • Just remember that literacy doesn't corollate to intelligence. If a character can't read, they should have other forms of intelligence like being very ingenuitive or Awesome by Analysis are excellent.
    • Averting this with by Worldbuilding a complex tribal writing system with unique characters and phonetics, is more than welcomed.
  • Old-School Dogfight: If you have more than one Cool Plane, expect this to come up.
  • Parachute in a Tree: If an adventurer exits a flight early, they will probably end up like this.
  • Pistol-Whipping: A form of Instant Sedation likely used by villains when capturing a protagonist.
  • Power Glows like Instant Runes, Volcanic Veins, Glowing Eyes and Battle Aura are more than welcomed for the Shaman.
  • Prefers Raw Meat: A classic attribute of Tarzan, but a character who knows how to cook out in the jungle can be equally intiresting.
  • Raised by Natives: A classic origin story for the Tarzanesque, but more for the Jungle Princess than the Tarzan Boy. If you use this be sure to give them friends, adoptive parents, childhood friends etc. Even The Bully can work for a Prejudice Aesop. In general make sure they are actually one of them, rather than a white king, queen, god or goddess Playing the Raised by Natives trope more straight is always less risky and more interesting.
  • Rescue Romance: this is often how characters meet their soul mate in this genre.
  • Save the Villain: Save the Villain is also much less risky for villains from Real Life. For An Aesop, it shows that the villain still has value as human beings. It also avoids a Broken Aesop by saying, “all life is valuable, even yours” and “if you are doing something wrong, you can do better” instead of “all life is precious including animals that except for humans that hunt illegally”, or telling the audience, “your only capable of evil if you hurt the environment”. Also if other superheroes gate morally superior by refusing to go down the dark path to spare a Space Hitler hellbent on genocide every other Tuesday, it’s more than welcomed for the Tarzanesque to spare someone for simply hurting the environment, rather than jumping too, “He’s too dangerous to be left alive."
    • Remember, mercy never depends on weather a someone deserves redemption, it’s giving sparing them and offering it despite their actions. Other villains might be hellbent on geocide and war, funded by the slaughter of millions and built on the backs of slaves. They are compared to Hitler for very good reasons. Even then the hero in other genres will still go out of their way to save them purely out of mercy.
    • This by no means that the hero has to let the villain off scot free either. The hero might save them specifically so they can stand trial and answer for their crimes. A character might have to save the villain from a Vigilante Man so that they can answer for their crimes under the justice system. If said justice system is corrupt or inefficient, that is merely another problem to solve. If you really want your hero to kill your villain or leave them to die, but still be in the right, allow them to do so in self defense.
    • Killing in Self-Defense is also understandable, but make sure it’s a last resort, otherwise this comes off as out of character for a hero in the right.
    • This also depends on the basic morality of the characters. Some will a Punch-Clock Hero wants to bring them in cold, others will kill as aa a Vigilante Man. Just remember that killing the villain doesn't come off well for An Aesop.
  • Send in the Search Team: Nature Is Not Nice, so this is a really good idea for a stunt.
  • Sky Heist: An adventurous outlaw will proably attempt this.
  • Signature Move: A cool way to make characters more unique is to give them their own fighting styles and preferred moves.
  • Slave Liberation: If you have human traffickers or a revolution plot, this will probably work well.
  • Solve the Soup Cans: A must for any Temple of Doom or Ancient Tomb.
  • Speaks Fluent Animal: A classic among Tarzanesque characters. Rule of Cool dictates that understanding an animal through body language and tone is best. Not only does this play into your Tarzanesque Awesome by Analysis, but it's much more realistic as many pet owners gain a similar skill through experience.
    • This can be accelerated, if your character is scientifically minded, studying the mannerisms of his or her companions, like a stranded zoologist or something.
    • Talking Animal is also common, but be careful not to make it too cartoony.
  • Spectacular Spinning: This is welcomed by the Rule of Cool for fighting, traveling or in general making cool stunts. Just be careful not to overdo it.
  • Spiteful Suicide: Heroes killing a villain can be complicated, especially if they are part of a political Aesop, but sometimes the villain kills themself to win against a hero trying to Save the Villain.
  • Starfish Language: Other languages are inevitable, but playing around with how weird they can get is welcomed.
  • Strapped to an Operating Table: A likely fate of a Damsel in Distress or Tarzanesque, who finds themself in the clutches of the Evilutionary Biologist.
  • Superhuman Trafficking: The jungle has Human Traffickers already, but what about if there is a Super-Soldier or a Not Quite Human race with special abilities?
  • Stock Punishment: It's common for a Hostile Tribe, to publicly display captives bound to wooden posts for long periods of time. Usually this is for interrogation, Cold-Blooded Torture or simply for those who have Come to Gawk.
    • This trope can even be played straight for a Lost Colony.
  • Storming the Castle: Raiding the hideout of the Big Bad, probably to rescue someone.
  • Sword Fight: This can play out in different ways. In an earlier colonial setting, you might get classic fencing from pirates or the evil colonialist. In an indiginous culture, this can involve actual swords like the Khmer Dha or Nigerian Ida. Even machetes have a blade on blade marital art, and of course the Laser Blade is a go to for more advanced technology.
    • Remember to avoid Flynning in choreography. Of course you want it to look cool, but if the element of danger is lost in the process, it will probably have the opposite effect. Flourishes, Weapon Twirling and a Spin Attack are all still welcome, but when they are justified and make sense in real swordplay.
    • Parrying Bullets looks cool, so it might be forgivable, but use it sparingly.
    • Do your own research and get inspiration from Real Life.
  • Traintop Battle: A must if there are trains.
  • Tribal Carry: Commonly used by a Lost Tribe to transport prisoners, but there are variations to it.
    • Consider alternatives, like marching the character bound at spear or gun point, forcing them to ride a mount, canoe or wooden cart, carrying the captive in general without tying them to a pole, carried in a large wooden frame over land or between canoes Captive Push, having them Dragged by the Collar and even having a character’s arms outstretched with a wooden yoke or beam letting them still walk so the character can be paraded through a village in front of their enemies (like in Tarzan’s Fight For Life), all are more than welcomed alternatives.
    • They might opt for Shipped in Shackles, either by trade or metallurgy. Many African tribes for example, were actually the first humans to use iron, so this makes sense.
    • Having a group of Egomaniac Hunters use Tribal Cary instead is also welcomed.
  • Unwilling Suspension: Because of the Rule of Cool, having the wrists or the entire body suspended is very common for a Human Sacrifice, Chained to a Rock, for displaying a character for Public Humiliation, or even just keeping a character Bound and Gagged,
    • This is often used to lower characters into lava, acid or piranha infested waters.
    • Usually asphyxiation or other problems this trop presents don’t apply, but subverting or justifying this trope is more than welcome.
    • One possibility is actual crucifixion, as a method of execution. It can also be implemented by the evil colonialists to execute people for treason.
  • Vine Swing: This and swinging from branches in general is a common way for the Tarzanesque to get around the jungle quickly.
    • Try spicing it up with some flips
    • Alternatives are always welcome. Indiana Jones used his whip for example.
    • The original Tarzan swung from branches and it looks awesome in Real Life; look up Primal Parkour videos on YouTube. If you do decide play this trope more straight, think more Spider-Man stunts than Tarzan ones.
    • Expect Artistic License – Physics, which is more than welcomed.
  • Wall Crawl: Running across a wall is part of parkour.
  • Waterfall Shower: Cleaning oneself under a waterfall.
  • Watching the Sunset: Common for romance and protagonists dreaming of adventure.
  • We Can Rule Together: This is a more than welcomed subversion for the Witch Doctor. Instead of kidnapping and torturing a character like the Tarzanesque, they might offer them a place at their side subtly with a promise of power to help those they care about and Let Me Tell You a Story.
  • Waif-Fu: This is especially interesting for the Jungle Princess. Giving her less brute force is not a weakness, but an obstacle to overcome with her keen mind. This doesn't mean she has to be weak compared to an ordinary person, but it is interesting is her opponents pack more of a punch than her. She might even craft crossbows or prefer pole weapons like her spear, that provide more leverage and require less upper body strength.
  • Weapon Twirling: A character fidgeting with their weapons in a cool looking way.
  • With My Hands Tied: Fighting with hands restrained must for a Tarzanesque at least at some point as a Badass in Distress, but can also be cool for the Action Survivor.
  • Zombify the Living: Another evil scheme or ability of the Witch Doctor.

    Director's Chair 

  • African Chant: (Or something similar) is great for an epic soundtrack, but can also be sung in tribal traditions.

  • Background Music: It's important to take the score seriously and use meaningful motifs and themes in an auditory medium. This is also one of the first things you will want to focus on when trying to make your work distinct, as music is a powerful part of storytelling that can connect with the audience in a much more meaningful and emotionally rich way. While Jungle Jazz is common, you will want to pick instruments and styles that focus less on fitting the setting and more on properly conveying emotions like isolation, terror, grand scale and the like.
    • You can see the significance of music in other genres compared to this genre. If one were to mention a tight knit earthy community, you probably wouldn’t think of the lost tribe, but The Shire might give you the warm and fuzzies. If one were to mention oppression, tyranny, taking land by force, your mind might go to this march instead of The British Empire, the Spanish Empire or perhaps even the Nazis, despite all of their atrocities. No one remembers even the name of the Shaman that raised Sheena, but you probably know this magical mentor. You probably don’t know any of the countless witch doctors and cultists Tarzan has battled, but you if someone mentioned manipulation, dark magic without mercy pure evil and darkness, you might think of this instead. While Professor Porter was much more enjoyable in the Disney adaptation, he’s probably not who you would think of if one were to mention quick witted adventuring scientist. This is because of how these tracks are used as themes. They connect with the audience in a very unique way through repetition and tone.

  • Detailed Beautiful Scenery: Tropical rainforests are some of the most beautiful locations on earth. Utilize romantic and descriptive imagery.

  • Bullet Time: A possible way to invoke the Rule of Cool in a fight scene. Although matrix parodies got old very quickly by the late 90s, to this day next to no one has used it in this genre.

  • Discretion Shot: There is a lot of things in this genre that are more effective and less risky if left to the imagination.

  • Speaks Fluent Animal: Although this was already mentioned in the Stunt Department, there is also an out of universe aspect that applies. If your Tarzanesuque can understand animals, than those animals should be allowed to be expressive enough so that the audience can understand them completely too without subtitles or voice over.
    • SpiritStallionOfTheCimarron did this so well, the human voiceover is often view as a flaw that takes away from the expressive animals.

  • Jungle Drums: can often be heard in the background.

  • Jungle Jazz: This can work in the background of certain places like the Local Hangout.
    • Jazz in general should be present in a Diesel Punk story.
    • Even The Musical can work well in this genre, but it's a complicated and very hit or miss, so if the director doesn't take it seriously or doesn't work in music seamlessly, it's going to be a miss. See TheLionKing1994 for an example of singing animals done well, for an example of singing jungle dwelling humans done well, see ''Moana'
    • Play around with the background music in the setting. Certain kinds might be important for ceremonies. Some areas in the Amazon and Congo are also close enough to civilization might have local radio. This can be an interesting to play around with, especially if your a Franchise/Fallout fan.

  • Noisy Nature is a must. (Not the misplaced Jungles Sound Like Kookaburras) Using the sounds of real tropical birds, insects, growls and rustling waterfalls is very mesmerizing and fits perfectly with the scenery.

  • No Such Thing as Dehydration: (Subverted) If you are a game designer, adding thirst is a realistic and interesting limitation for the player. Also allowing water to be poisonous or hazardous can help add difficulty.

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