Quest Heroes and Adventurers

Protagonists organized around a journey, voyage or mission, the questing structure literary scholarship traces from romance and epic into the modern adventure and detective novel, where the plot itself is the character's pursuit of a goal across distance or danger. Belongs here: a protagonist whose defining trait is the journey, investigation or exploit they undertake, whether a literal voyage, a fantastical quest or a criminal case pursued through reasoning. Does not belong here: a protagonist whose central conflict is internal or domestic rather than a pursuit or journey, tracked under the coming-of-age or tragic groups.