To help you get started with Risus, we expand upon the list of sample characters and cliches given in the basic Risus rules. We encourage you to add your own sample characters and cliches to the ones we provide here. We also encourage you to check out Anatomy of a Cliche, an excerpt from The Risus Companion.

Adding Your Characters and Cliches

Standard practice is to add your character to an existing genre of characters. If your character is particularly detailed, feel free to add it as a new page associated with the appropriate genre.

If necessary, feel free to create a new genre type and add a link to it here by copying the generic template below, adding it to the end of the page, changing the name and description of the genre, and adding a new page for your cliches and characters. Don't forget to link to those pages (use the +Link button on the EasyEdit Toolbar!)

GENRE TEMPLATE (below, copy & paste)

YOUR GENRE (MODIFY)

Your description (Modify)
Examples: (stick a few examples in here)
characters | cliches (don't forget to link)

Genre

For convenience' sake, we have broken down the lists of Characters and Cliches into genres (and, in some cases, sub-genres).

Comedy, Toons

Pure silly stuff.
Examples: Bugs Bunny, Roadrunner, Pinky & The Brain
characters | cliches

Castaways

Gilligan's Island inspired characters and cliches.
characters | cliches

Cthulhu/Horror

Scary stuff.
characters | cliches

Cyberpunk

Man meets machine.
Examples: Neuromancer
characters | cliches

Espionage

Eye Spy.
Examples: Alias, Spy Kids
characters | cliches

Fantasy

Axes and Magic.
Examples: Lord of the Rings, Conan the Barbarian
characters | cliches

Martial Arts

High-leaping hard-kickin' poorly-dubbed action!
Examples: Kung Fu Hustle, Mr. Vampire,
characters | cliches

Modern

Everyday stuff.
Examples:
characters | cliches

Pirates

Swashbucklers and pirates in an age of discovery and exploitation.
Examples: Pirates of the Caribbean
characters | cliches

Pulp

Two-fisted action/adventure in the early 20th Century!
Examples: Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Mummy
characters | cliches

SciFi

Science fiction wanna-bes.
Examples: Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Andromeda, The Lexx
characters | cliches

Star Wars

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.
characters | cliches

Superheroes

A place for super heroes and villains.
Examples: Justice League of America, The Avengers
characters | cliches

Victorian/Edwardian

Old world England. The stuff of Romance.
Examples: Sherlock Holmes, Flashman
characters | cliches

Western

Cowboys abound.
Examples: Rawhide, Rustler's Rhapsody
characters | cliches