The Main



The franchise mains them because even though they lack any special abilities, they can still hold their ground against a high tier.

The one a familiar franchise concentrates on the most. They might be the person the franchise is named after because of how main they are. They're the head of the Main Cast, as they are of the franchise as a whole (only if they can double as the Mascot), and are usually seen as a little more "important" than everyone else, meaning the other characters in the Main Cast don't have as much screen time or background as the Main. The Main is, as made obvious by their title, the main character, so we view life through their eyes. We see them through their day-to-day life, at school or work, and out in the community interacting with secondary characters. The gist of the franchise the Main stars in can be what their life is like, including where they live, who they're living there with, what they want out of life, and what a typical day is like.

A well-made Main is designed to be relatable. Their secondary role may be the Everyman to make them relatable to people in general. They have no special skills, aren't known for doing anything extraordinary, and have a moderate amount of friends and enemies. The Main is rarely ever depicted being above those around them in terms of wealth and power. Being an Everyman the audience could see themselves in, they have a standard level of power: not important enough to head a whole organization but powerful enough to get by in their duties. Although the Main is likely the focal character of the franchise, they barely win. Their rivals and friends usually get the good things in life, like money and reputation, while the Main gets lost behind everyone else. Their struggles for relevance and success may be the driving force behind the drama-centric plots where their seemingly endless fights take the spotlight. The Main is rarely ever rich and might even have times when they have a hard time financially. If the Main is the owner of a business, they may receive sparse patronage or not as many customers stacked up to companies they compete with. It's common for these Mains to be faced with rivals who just about always come up on top in their scuffles.

The Main may not be as morally adjusted as they should be. They might act cruel to villainous degrees to others, some not even Bullies would dare to reach. The Main may be a Hater Of Good, meaning they'll be hostile towards the Saint to no end. Since the Main isn't as righteous as the Hero, their adventurous counterpart, they may be paired up with a Better Friend. This person steers the Main in the right direction and to neutralize whatever evil-like deeds they want to put to action so they can bring suffering to the Saint.

UnRec
The Main is what would happen if the Hero wound up in a familiar franchise. Likewise, the Main must be enjoyable to the audience, even if their personality is somewhat rotten. The Me and Everyman are two choice roles to get the job done. They both embody common attributes held by the average viewer: unpopular, not special, prone to defeat or disappointment, and find themselves fighting for every good thing coming their way. If this isn't your style and you want to approach the role differently, you certainly have more options open to you, though you must be mindful of the pitfalls that come with them. As alluded to earlier, the SOB is a rare pick some creators opt for to mimic the behaviors of the adventurous Antihero. An SOB Main is given to a rude attitude, coldly shrugging others off, cruel insults, and turning their back to those in need. You'll have to neutralize these unflattering Character Flaws with an odd charm the audience can find in the Main. For instance, if the Main acts this way out of understandable hatred for Society As It Is, viewers will acknowledge that they don't do it for Reasons Not Good Enough. Most writers prefer to keep the atmosphere of their franchises less sinister, so they infuse the Main with the Entertainment Value of the Comic Relief. It's more common to see this role handed to the Buddy to give the Main someone a partner for a Role Team, but skipping this step isn't an invalid decision. Again, Character Building is necessary to curb the lacking depth in the star of the show. The unyielding presence of comedy can become an annoyance if not balanced with moderation. Everybody being a comedian at once squeezes drama and Plot Development out of the picture.

UnStats
Strength ●●●●●○○○○○

Skill ●●●●○○○○○○

Intelligence ●●●●●○○○○○

Influence ●●●●●○○○○○

Reputation ●●●●●○○○○○

Repeat ●○○○○

UnStat Avg. 4.74 (B)

''The Main is built to be the truest Everyman (yet not necessarily a Me) in fiction, being a fictional person everyone in the audience could connect to in at least a few ways. As a result, their Strength, Intelligence, Influence, and Reputation are all perfectly average, with each stat being scored at 5 points. This is paired up with the Main's common lack of notable talents, which delivers a slim reduction to their Skill. However, as who can fulfill the role of Main can greatly differ between franchises and genres, all of the Main's average-at-best stats are offset by their Repeat also being as low as possible, preventing them from falling into a lower tier. The Main's stats tell the story of a role who nearly went down a jack-of-all-trades path and humbly set aside higher stats in exchange for being a widely likable lead in their franchise's universe, which is what fittingly places them in the most average spot possible: middle B tier with an UnStat Average of 4.74.''