Basic Trope: One mage attacks, the other heals.
- Straight: Tales of Troperia has two spellcasters: Claudia, the healer, and Marco, the attack mage.
- Exaggerated: The magic system in Tales of Troperia only allows a person to be either White Mage or Black Mage, never both.
- Downplayed: They can't win battles alone, but Hiro recruits them along with Dennis the Knight In Shining Armour and Barrier Warrior and Jade the Bare-Fisted Monk with Status Buff skills, because Hiro can't use any magic himself, only physical attacks imbued with magic.
- Justified: Mages in the Tales of Troperia either channel the power of Goddess Sophia (for White Mages) or Archfiend Centurios (for Black Mages), and the two are eternal enemies.
- Inverted:
- Combining the elements of "White" and "Black" makes for incredible power, so there are no White-only or Black-only mages.
- Magic has a wide range of uses; mundane science and technology can only be used for combat or healing.
- Subverted:
- The distinction between black and white magic is political, rather than metaphysical. There's nothing stopping Marco from picking up healing magic or Claudia from learning combat spells. "Black" magic is simply any form of magic not sanctioned by The Powers That Be, who would rather ban magic in general but find that "white" magic is simply too useful to regulate.
- As more magician characters are introduced, we find out there are many different types of magic.
- Double Subverted:
- There are two groups of The Powers That Be and each one approves/disapproves of the opposite kind of magic. The distinction is religious/spiritual rather than political.
- All the different types of magic are just branches of either black or white magic.
- Both Claudia and Marco are relative novices at magic, so while they could learn each other's spells given enough time, they prefer to specialize in the school of magic they started with because generalizing would take too long and yield diminishing returns.
- Parodied: Claudia only uses white magic only to over-heal enemies into causing cancer, while Marco uses black magic exclusively for Mundane Utility.
- Zig Zagged:
- Claudia learns black magic, Marco learns white magic, then both of them drop the black and white magic and use Summon Magic instead but Marco's summon magic is for calling monsters while Claudia summons supplies like food and medicine.
- Roles have some deliberate intermixing. Marco is the only one capable of reviving the dead to true life and Claudia is the only one capable of using debuff abilities and raising the undead.
- Averted:
- There are no magic users.
- The branches of magic have nothing to do with black and white.
- Any mage can learn any spell.
- There are four mages - Marco the Black Mage, Claudia the White Mage, Dennis the Barrier Warrior, and River who uses Status Buffs, with Hiro rounding out The Team with his Sword Skills, and the clean split of magic is lost.
- Enforced: "We could do with more than one magic user in this game, but we need variety!"
- Lampshaded: "Why on earth can I heal wounds but not inflict any?" or "Why can't my magic help anyone beyond killing their enemies?"
- Invoked: Claudia and Marco are novice mages, and they are forced to learn healing and offensive spells to protect and heal, respectively.
- Exploited: Emperor Evulz finds a way to separate the duo, and they are at a disadvantage because Marco can't heal his wounds and Claudia has no attacks. Dennis, Hiro, and River are then unable to defend themselves because they can't use any magic at all.
- Defied:
- Marco: "Well, of course I have a few healing spells! What kind of self-respecting wizard limits himself to throwing fireballs all day?"
- Claudia: "Just like a scalpel can be used to save lives or end them, the same magic that I use to put the body back together can also be used to take it apart. Shall I demonstrate?"
- Discussed: "Um, Miss White Mage and Mr. Black Mage? Can you teach me a Cure spell and a Fire spell?"
- Conversed:"Man, I don't know who to pick, that cute chick in white or that sexy magician dude in black.""Yes, because obviously that's the only reason to be torn between them when their roles in combat are each others' complete opposites. How Distracted by the Sexy are you?"
- Deconstructed: Black mages are seen as pariahs for having powers that are solely destructive in nature, and are forced into either military service or exile. White mages, on the other hand, would be seldom seen outside of cities and other major population centers, since their services would be in such high demand for everything from common illness to life-threatening injuries.
- Reconstructed: Personality Powers are in effect and so Black Mages are Blood Knights, the cape or otherwise enjoy living In Harm's Way, while White Mages are All Loving Heroes that go where they are needed.
- Played For Drama: Marco joins the hero's party to prove that Black Magic can be used for good purposes, while Claudia joins up because she's sick of her responsibilities and wants to see the world outside the city walls.
- Implied: Mages never join the party, but are present in group shots during cutscenes and such. Everyone in a white robe is seen healing someone, and everyone in a black robe is seen in fierce combat.
Back to Black and White Magic, which has magic that can heal you, or can hurt others.
