Well, this site is a list of role playing game cliches, but I thought it would be funny to post the link here anyway, just for laughs (these are much funnier if you've played RPG's on game systems).
http://project-apollo.net/text/rpg.html
Here are some of the funnier ones (which could probably be put into stories too lol. My personal comments are in italics):
18.
Crono's Complaint
The less the main character talks, the more words are put into his mouth, and therefore the more trouble he gets into through no fault of his own.
32.
You Can't Kill Me, I Quit (Seifer Rule)
The good guys never seem to get the hang of actually arresting or killing the bad guys. Minor villains are always permitted to go free so they can rest up and menace you again later -- sometimes five minutes later. Knowing this rule, you can deduce that if you do manage to kill (or force the surrender of) a bad guy, you must be getting near the end of the game.
33.
And Now You Die, Mr. Bond! (Beatrix Rule)
Fortunately for you, the previous rule also applies in reverse. Rather than kill you when they have you at their mercy, the villains will settle for merely blasting you down to 1 hit point and leaving you in a crumpled heap while they stroll off, laughing. (This is, of course, because they're already planning ahead how they'll manipulate you into doing their bidding later in the game -- see
Way To Go, Serge.)
35.
Heads I Win, Tails You Lose (Grahf Rule)
It doesn't matter that you won the fight with the boss monster; the evil task he was trying to carry out will still get accomplished somehow. Really, you might as well not have bothered.
41.
George W. Bush Geography Simplification Initiative
Every country in the world will have exactly one town in it, except for the country you start out in, which will have three.
58.
But They Don't Take American Express
Every merchant in the world -- even those living in far-off villages or hidden floating cities cut off from the outside world for centuries, even those who speak different languages or are of an entirely different species -- accepts the same currency.
62.
Thousand Year Rule
The Ancient Evil returns to savage the land every thousand years on the dot, and the last time it showed up was just about 999.9875 years ago. Despite their best efforts, heroes of the past were never able to do more than seal the Evil away again for the future to deal with (which brings up the question of just how exactly does this "sealing away" work anyway, but never mind.) The good news is that this time, the Evil will get destroyed permanently. The bad news is that you're the one who's going to have to do it. (
This is so true for some stories/movies too LOL!)
65.
First Law of Travel
Anything can become a vehicle -- castles, cities, military academies, you name it -- so do not be alarmed when the stones of the ancient fortress you are visiting shake underfoot and the whole thing lifts off into the sky. As a corollary, anything is capable of flight if it would be cool, aeronautics or even basic physics be damned. (
The Final Fantasy games violate this cliche' quite a lot, particularly in 8, when an entire university lifts off hehe).
86.
Wait! That Was A Load-Bearing Boss!
Defeating a dungeon's boss creature will frequently cause the dungeon to collapse, which is nonsensical but does make for thrilling escape scenes. (
A lot of movies and games use this cliche, I think I've seen a few books do something similiar too).
106.
Law of Traps
No matter how obvious the trap, you can't complete the game unless you fall into it (
someone should make a joke about this cliche more hehe).
121.
Child Protection Act (Rydia Rule)
Children 12 and under are exempt from death. They will emerge alive from cataclysms that slaughter hundreds of sturdily-built adults, often with barely a scratch. Further protection is afforded if the catastrophe will orphan the child. (
Rydia is a character in Final Fantasy 4, and she's orphaned after your character unwittingly brings a bomb which destroys her hometown).
I guess I'll let you guys read the rest if you're interested. Contrary to what you might think, many RPG's have pretty deep and compelling storylines, and you could learn a thing or two from them. I'm just presenting these here for laughs, but you never know what you might find there hehe.