| rdfs:comment | - An Unknown Character is character whom the article contributer does not know the name of a character who said something in a book to either a minor character or major character in a book series. This should be avoided from being put in quotes at all times!
- This page is used to keep track of characters when the name is unknown. If you know the character, replace the link to their proper page.
- Not all characters are important to a story. However, those that aren't are normally not developed that well, while plot relevant characters are. On the other hand, sometimes it can go the other way, and minor, undeveloped characters (or a two dimensional main character) can set the plot in a new direction. This trope takes that to its logical conclusion. Examples;
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| abstract | - An Unknown Character is character whom the article contributer does not know the name of a character who said something in a book to either a minor character or major character in a book series. This should be avoided from being put in quotes at all times!
- Not all characters are important to a story. However, those that aren't are normally not developed that well, while plot relevant characters are. On the other hand, sometimes it can go the other way, and minor, undeveloped characters (or a two dimensional main character) can set the plot in a new direction. This trope takes that to its logical conclusion. This character has an effect on the plot; however, they're never introduced or named or possibly even shown in the background. This is usually the result of them being a Red Shirt or Unwitting Instigator of Doom in someone's backstory (so what they did or what happened to them is only relevent for how it influenced the character whose backstory they appeared in). However, in the most extreme examples, their existence may only be implied (for example, someone who left their MacGuffin or Emergency Weapon lying around for The Hero to find). Note that while this character might be revealed and fleshed out later, there isn't usually any mystery about who they were; their role is fulfilled just fine by them being just another face in the crowd and they need not have any further effect on the story. The best way to identify a character as this trope is if they can only be referred to by their contribution to the plot and in the past tense, making it clear that they're little more than the reason something happened (e.g. "That guy who gave Bob his sword" or "That urchin who stole Alice's wallet when she was buying her Dead Little Sister's medicine"). Indeed, the only reason they exist is the fact that they did something that had to be done by someone, and in this case that someone was nobody important. Compare The Ghost, who functions as any other character would (and might even be part of the main cast) but is simply never shown on screen (they can overlap; the main difference is that characters who fall under this trope don't have any characteristics, while the ghost can still be a fully fleshed out character), Posthumous Character for already dead characters who are still important to the plot, and the Featureless Protagonist, who can become this trope in sequals. A Badass Bystander will often become this if they don't appear subsequently and aren't given any characterisation beforehand. If they becoming a recurring character in later works or adaptations, they will often evolve into He Who Must Not Be Seen or The Ghost as a nod to their earlier characterisation (or lack thereof). Contrast Lower Deck Episode and Day in The Limelight for when less developed characters are fleshed out by the plot. Examples;
- This page is used to keep track of characters when the name is unknown. If you know the character, replace the link to their proper page.
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