Need to give a Heroic Death to a character. Requirements below.

I'm planning the plot of my book, and there is this block I'm hitting. I need to give a heroic death to a character so he can be back later but coulnd't think or find any good enough. I've skimmed the Heroic Death trope, but couldn't find anytrhing satisfying. Actually, I found TVTROPES researching this. The plot is about a duchess that lost his husband (the one I need to kill) and leaves to somewhere because she heard a vague prophecy that her love could be revived (the which I've already choosed, have plot twists about it, etc.) Later I'll ask for help to make the Big Bad, a witch, to meet the duchess. I could also detail the plot more, but not today, due to lack of time.

Could any experienced troper help me with this? Which is your favorite heroic death?

edited 24th Feb '11 11:15:10 AM by Zaratusta

Heroic Sacrifice is one of my favorites.

I mentioned I've readed most of this trope, sir. And yes, the protagonist is a female.

edited 24th Feb '11 11:09:09 AM by Zaratusta

Just for the fair play, I've mistakenly written "experience trope", trying to say "experienced troper", and tried to envelope (is this the proper word? Not US native here) the text but couldn't, so I just overwrited and corrected.

The sort of death you prefer will depend on whether the hero will survive it and what type of setting you have. If you have a duchess and a witch, it could be fantasy or historical. Personally I like the Hail of Bullets demise, in which a character stays behind to hold off the approaching horde. It happens "off screen" so there's the possibility he survives and is captured.

Do you have any vague sense of what the Duke was doing the day he died?

>>Ralph Crown

I'm just a newb trooper, sorry. The setting is "Fantasy like Lord of the Rings, but more closer to earth, no beasts, maybe other monster humanoid species but not now, with magic, but not that close cos of total absence of anything like christianism around". The hero do not quite survive, he becomes a very powerful and amnesic-of-his-past-life undead. This undead will do lots of rampage and stuff, and noone will connect him with his origin, but in a plot twist it will be shown. I'm quite afraid of giving more details cos I'm a pussy and I'm scared of being ripped off. So, sorry, lets keep that vague pace please, cos this could spark the idea I need.

Also, Hail of Bullets was the first thing I thought of, promptly demised cos it's borderline with cliché.

>>Eldritch Blue Rose

Yes, defending his country on a very long campaign. I also tried to relate the sacrifice of the life of the husband to save the duke and couldn't. Ideas pointing that way will help.

Bumpee...?

"I'm quite afraid of giving more details cos I'm a pussy and I'm scared of being ripped off."

Don't worry, no one can write the exact same story as you even if they use the same major plot points. I don't know why so many tropers seem paranoid about this.

While love is certainly a driving force in many stories, I could be easily convinced to give up on something that vague at best. Thus, I think your character's death should probably involve the dutchess directly, as that little extra oomph to keep her going. Perhaps he was defending her against a group of marauders during a carriage ride, and despite succeeding in battle, died of blood loss in her arms? Such a demise also allows the reader to to witness this man's final moments, probably making the scene more poignant to them.

Of course, I think that the number one rule to writing anything is to start out with what you personally would find interest and amazement in, and then expand from it. Don't be afraid to go with your gut instincts, for they can yield wondrous results.

I'm partial to a Bolivian Army Ending for the character. Y'know, dying in a blaze of glory while trying to bring down a superior or well protected enemy. It works especially well when it's a Senseless Sacrifice.

Big Damn Heroes into Heroic Sacrifices are great especially if your going for Mood Whiplash.

Thanks for the tips until now and sorry for leave this thread abandoned. I'm a 3rd world person, and I'm not a thundercat, so my life is hard and broadband isn't that available.

>>Vyctornian

I'd rather prefer Nothing Can Save Us Now but a Heroic Sacrifice.

>>Savage Heathen

Yes, a good one. But doing what? It need to be a Heroic Sacrifice.

>> Endark Culi

Good one, maybe with some variation like going to search for an rare herb to heal her or a magic gem to give as peresent or something, but I need the body to go missing for he to become the forementioned overpowered amnesiac undead I need him to become.

>>Ettina

You convinced me. I'll make a synopsis later.

Well, if the Duke was a martial enough character, he could have easily died while fighting against secondary but very real enemies. Make him die fighting a buncha raiders/looters, or a warband from an opposing nation.

Make it a good fight and an epic death, but have that death happen in a completely secondary or even unrelated storyline.

>>Savage Heathen

Actually, it isn't the duke the one who needs to die, is one of his generals that married his daughter. Maybe defending the duke, maybe doing something related to his safety, I dunno. But secondary-but-real enemies are, again, borderline cliché, and I already thought about something similar before.

P.s. Where I can learn about attach links that leads to pages when people quote trope names?

Ah, didn't know the duchess was the heiress to the duchy instead.

The cliché thing is to say "He was killed by bandits". If he gets entangled on an interesting (but tangential) side-plot and gets himself killed it's much less cliché than "he died on The Quest."

Bump. Web at home, so faster answers. Writing the promised synopsys to be delivered on sunday.

Something passive, like Take Me Instead or Someone Has to Die.

Have you seen "Pan's Labyrinth". The doctor's death is very impressive.

If you don't feel like watching it, it was Defiant to the End.

If you havn't written any of it yet, this might be something that you want to decide once everything else is written. One of those things that make it the best in context/will click when you get to it. But then again, there are advantages to planning.