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Chronic Hero Syndrome is an "affliction" of particularly idealistic protagonists which renders them unable to say "It's Somebody Else's Problem". Every wrong within earshot must be righted, and everyone in need must be helped, preferably by Our Hero him- or herself. This is extremely common in video games as a way to make the player deal with unimportant plot threads like Fetch Quests when they should have more important things on their minds. The characters are just too darn heroic to leave people to suffer, though, so time to go wander around in caves for a while.

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  • Chronic Hero Syndrome
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  • Chronic Hero Syndrome is an "affliction" of particularly idealistic protagonists which renders them unable to say "It's Somebody Else's Problem". Every wrong within earshot must be righted, and everyone in need must be helped, preferably by Our Hero him- or herself. This is extremely common in video games as a way to make the player deal with unimportant plot threads like Fetch Quests when they should have more important things on their minds. The characters are just too darn heroic to leave people to suffer, though, so time to go wander around in caves for a while.
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  • Chronic Hero Syndrome is an "affliction" of particularly idealistic protagonists which renders them unable to say "It's Somebody Else's Problem". Every wrong within earshot must be righted, and everyone in need must be helped, preferably by Our Hero him- or herself. While certainly admirable, this can have some negative side-effects on the hero and those around them. Such heroes tend to wear themselves out in their attempts to help everyone, or to become distraught and blame themselves for the one time that they're unable to save the day. A particularly bad case of this may develop into a full-blown Martyr Without a Cause. May also be a thin veil over the In Harm's Way trope. If they aren't smart about their heroism, and they have a tendency to intervene without getting the whole picture, then they're liable to just make things worse. Their predictable heroism also makes them particularly prone to manipulation by certain devious villains -- but at the end of the day, they're the hero most likely to Save the Villain, too. Interestingly enough, as Don Quixote lampshades, this syndrome was noticed by Chivalric Romance writers and they devised a temporary cure: The Damsel in Distress must simply ask the hero to not to engage in any other adventure until he has finished on hers. This is extremely common in video games as a way to make the player deal with unimportant plot threads like Fetch Quests when they should have more important things on their minds. The characters are just too darn heroic to leave people to suffer, though, so time to go wander around in caves for a while. A related disorder is Samaritan Syndrome, where the hero bemoans that their duties leaves them no free time for their personal affairs. The exact opposite of this is Somebody Else's Problem, naturally. Characters like this may need to be told that it is not their fight from time to time. Also, contrast with Chronic Villainy and Changing of the Guard. If they get paid for this kind of work, it's We Help the Helpless. Can be a result of being Lawful Stupid. When it's because the victim is a chick, the diagnosis is The Dulcinea Effect. Someone with Chronic Hero Syndrome who travels from place to place is a Knight Errant. This type of hero practically never fails the Leave Your Quest Test. See also A Friend in Need. Completely different from Hero Syndrome, which is pretty much the Evil Counterpart of this trope. Examples of Chronic Hero Syndrome include:
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