Fun With Foils

I've been thinking about some of my stories, and as of late I've taken a shine to giving my main characters a foil - a tactic that I'm fairly sure a lot of you Tropers are pretty familiar with. That said, I'd like to open the floor so you guys can talk about foils. Who have you made? What kind of foil do you like? Is he/she a friend of the hero, or the Big Bad incarnate?

As for me, I like a foil who, for the most part, is or becomes The Rival. What better way to test the hero and his/her mettle than someone who can go toe-to-toe with them physically, mentally, and beyond?

Oh, and The Psycho Rangers. One of my favorite tropes, now that I think about it.

Don't be a stranger. Let's hear what you've got!

edited 22nd Jan '11 9:30:04 AM by Voltech44

I have a lot of fun with foils. My work is extremely psychological and character driven. There are foils all over the place and often I use them for character growth, like to teach a character a lesson.

I've got several foil set-ups, but the one I'm most proud of is a three-person Nakama wherein each member is in some way a foil to the other two. I'm simplifying somewhat to avoid Wall of Text, mind you.

Isaac - Sigmund: raised in a poor but loving family, never drinks alcohol, a straight man with many Friends with Benefits - raised in a rich family but constantly overshadowed, would be an alcoholic without Isaac around to tell him off, gay and unsuccessfully looking for love

Sigmund - Alice: Strong, attractive, but a uselessly clumsy fighter - scrawny, Looks Like Cesare, but nearly unstoppable in combat

Isaac - Alice: A Kavorka Man and vegetarian who is brutally honest - an asexual who consumes meat in astounding quantities and a master of the Jedi Truth

The real trick was making sure every possible pair carried some strong foil attributes, while ensuring the unit as a whole was a believable Nakama, and, most importantly, aside from the occasional wisecrack here or there, these three are not Vitriolic Best Buds.

edited 22nd Jan '11 2:17:26 PM by KillerClowns

I've got a few covoluted ones myself:

Alex-Troy : cold, calculating, Single-Target Sexuality, - fiery, impulsive, Serial Romeo

Neph-Therro : playful, sadistic, patient - serious, Jerk with a Heart of Gold, impatient

I also have an odd... thing between the last two. Therro preaches discipline and utilizes in his Enchanting powers but never uses his Arcane powers as he believes they can't be controlled. Neph also promotes discipline but on a is an active user of the Arcane and thus has control over it.

Also. Therro = Lawful Good Rebel actively fighting against the 'rules' while adhering to Lawful. Neph = Chaotic Evil (or somewhere around Lawful Orange) Overlord who 'follows' the rules becuase he made them.

I basically write in nothing but foils at this point. I could list them all but we'd be here all day.

I have three main characters all kind-of foiling each other. Joseph and Caroline are both inexperienced non-mages way out of their depth, while Kestrel is an extremely skilled mage, holds quite a lot of power, and acts as a deeply snarky mentor to them, so there are a lot of opposites in their interactions. But Joseph also acts as a foil to Caroline (POV character), mainly because she's a bit naive but can also be selfish and morally weak, whereas Joseph is a deeply cynical person who tries way too hard to live up to the moral codes he can't see in anyone else.