The Sage, or mystic as they are often known, is an odd character, its an archetype that has been pulled straight out of film and literature to be plonked slap bang in the middle of your game. It's a character type that appeared early on out of necessity, functioning as an ally to help progress your skills throughout a game, providing you with items or giving you key knowledge to progress. A very early and iconic example would be the nameless old man in The Legend of Zelda, who you meet in the second screen. As with most of the archetypes in this list, early incarnations were limited by their technologies in terms of voice-acting and animation, but as they evolved, so too did the characters. In the Legend of Zelda series for example, the old man went from a functional, two sentence character, to in Windwaker, a mentor who you would have to face to improve combat skills, or solve riddles to improve your problem-solving skills. The trope repeats in all areas of gaming, in Skyrim for example the Greybeards teach you magic and Dragon Shouts, where in Metal Gear Solid its Colonel Campbell who's on-hand whenever things get tough. These are the wise elders who guide you through, as you should never forget, "It's dangerous to go alone!"
