Type I Antiheroes

Do any of you have protagonists that aren't particularly dark, they're just really, intentionally pathetic? My current main character is basically describable as "would be a nerd except that he's not smart enough to be an academic-type nerd and he's not committed enough to be a fanboy-type nerd". He's pathetic to the point that he almost starts losing audience sympathy, which is actually the effect I'm going for.

Mine's kind of a Leeroy Jenkins and the local chew toy, but otherwise not really.

edited 16th Sep '11 9:10:30 PM by Merlo

Torrin Nalsarkoth, the little dude in my avatar image, is probably the closest of my OC's to a true Classical Antihero.

He's a Neutral Good member of a supposedly Always Chaotic Evil race in a Grey-and-Gray Morality setting,very minor noble who is supposed to be a scholarly warrior, but is so bad at fighting, his enemies are more likely to be killed by him accidently than on purpose, and not a good scholar either, because he'd rather study maps, obscure spells, and insects than pay attention to whatever he's supposed to be doing.

^ Wait . . . you used a dark elf as a type I antihero? I don't know whether that sounds incredibly ominous or incredibly awesome.

As for my own stuff, one project that I've currently got on the backburner involves a romance between a type I and a type IV, who balance out each other's negative qualities.

I have a lot of Classical Antiheroes at the start of my comics. By the end of the comics, however, pretty much the entire cast has taken a level in badass, including them, and they undergo other Character Development as well - although not always a lot of it, and not always in a good way.

I probably have a larger number of loser villains then loser heroes, though.

edited 16th Sep '11 11:38:06 PM by nrjxll

I like to mix-and-match my anti-hero types.

In my fantasy project, the main character is quite capable at combat.

Come social interaction, though? Yeah, then we get into Failure Hero...

Well, it wasn't 100% origional. In the Drowtales verse, it's not unusual for elves to be pathetic. As seen here.

Edit: fix link.

edited 26th Nov '11 2:37:02 PM by FrodoGoofballCoTV

Most of my primary protagonists end up as these. The "hero" of my main work, especially, is completely hopeless. Stupid, no, and not cowardly per se, but definitely not epic material.

At least, not by his own volition.

edited 17th Sep '11 12:14:42 PM by JHM

My protagonist/narrator spends most of the story like this, pretty much a background character for the more interesting people to ignore or occasionally get a snarky joke out of, until he takes a few levels in badass and winds up a Villain Protagonist.

A villain in one of my stories can actually control the weather! Unfortunately, he has little imagination, forethought and social skills. The heroes and other villains think of him as a joke until he gains a few levels in badass and proclaims himself God!

Tre is sitting over in a corner thinking nobody loves her because she used to figh them, and she's frightened of her team leader (arguably not without reason, he could think circles around her even before he was cyborged) and she's got serious issues with self-loathing, plus a demonstrable mental problem: as a Combat Cyborg her memory is perfect, but she cannot remember the face of anyone she's ever killed.

She is probably the best Combat Cyborg in Bureau service by dint of experience and being one of the few that's really officer material. More or less all of her issues save the last are without foundation in the real world. Granted she's on active duty so they're not acute or someone would notice and she'd get pulled.

I tried one, but any time I tried to let the story flow naturally, he ran from and stayed away from anything interesting.

edited 20th Sep '11 5:27:13 PM by OuthouseInferno

The protagonist of the first novel I started writing is extremely shy and introverted, but when shit gets serious he makes a stand.