The 12 Character Archetypes

Firstly, what is a character archetype? A character archetype is a set of unique traits that categorizes a character into a certain group. These unique traits are identified by the audience when watching a film or reading a book and that allows them to understand or predict what the character could be like. Within the archetype spectrum there are 12 broad archetypes of which every book character, film character, TV character etc.. could fall under.

Within these 12 archetypes, there are general strengths and weaknesses that these characters could have, as well as desires.

1. The Warrior - to put it plain and simple, the warrior is often the protagonist or hero of the story, and follows the well known heroes journey. They have heightened human skills such as super strength, intelligence, intuition and many more. Commonly, they are portrayed as male however female characters can certainly fall under the "warrior" archetype.

Strengths: Intelligence, physical strength

Weaknesses: Egotistical and selfish

2. The Child - This archetype can commonly be seen in young characters such as children or teenagers. These characters are often extremely relatable to a younger and older audience, reflecting the childhood innocence and naivety we all felt at one point during out lives. Even though they may be tricked and fall into traps, set by others, they are never to blame due to their undeveloped intuition.

Strengths: Kindness, imagination, innocence

Weaknesses: Physically weak, naive

3. The Orphan - Orphan's are character that are sprung from either complete or general insignificance to a high authoritative position or fame unexpectedly. This can happen through a series of planned events, or by chance. Think: Harry Potter

Strengths: Empathy and perseverance

Weaknesses: Low confidence, unexperienced

4. The Creator - More than often, they are portrayed as an artist or philosopher and are willing to sacrifice the things most important to them in order to pursue their goal to create. These character could be heroes or villains, depending on the nature of their creation or how they go about it.

Strengths: Creativity, diligence

Weaknesses: Selfishness, sacrifice

5. The Caregiver - They are the most selfless of archetypes and sometimes their characters sole reason for being in the story is to take care of the protagonist or the side characters.

Strengths: Selflessness, kindness, generosity

Weaknesses: Can be exploited

6. The mentor / sage - These characters play the role of the wise man, who guide and mentor the protagonist / hero of the story. They are commonly portrayed as older men / women / wizards and such.

Strengths: Experience and wisdom

Weaknesses: Refusal to act / physically help protagonist

7. The Joker - The joker generally doesn't add much to the plot of the movie, and depending on what kind of story they are featured in they are portrayed as the comic relief. They can also be a warning to the audience to not sacrifice time for the purpose of pure pleasure and entertainment.

Strengths: Joy, happiness, comedy

Weaknesses: Carefree, nonchalant

8. The Magician - The magician archetype are inquisitive in nature, seek enlightenment and often strive to spread this enlightenment to others. They may not be portrayed as magicians all the time, but they have abilities that surpass those of a normal human being.

Strengths: Power, enlightenment

Weaknesses: Excessive self-confidence and pride

9. The Ruler - These characters are often portrayed as kings or queens or religious figures that have to rule and lead a faction, country or empire. They can reign with either compassion, cruelness or somewhere in between. This categorizes them as either a hero or a villain.

Strengths: Charisma, leadership

Weaknesses: Suspicious and untrusting

10. The Rebel - The character archetype that is the most popular and common among literature. The name says it all, they are characters who are born from and unjust society, and their character's desires are to bring peace or equality to the world around them.

Strengths: Perseverance

Weaknesses: Low resources and support.

11. The Lover - Again, the name says it all if not more. This characters purpose in the story is to find the love of their life. They will go about this in the most respectable or immoral way they possibly can. Often, they will sacrifice themselves or others simply to find their true love.

Strengths: Passion, respect, devotion

Weaknesses: Willing to sacrifice

12. The Seductress - This character's desires are to simply seduce the main character / a certain character. Their motives for this could be a favour or blackmail. Their services include money, passion, sex and others.

Strengths: Charisma, allure, attractiveness

Weaknesses: Lack of devotion