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Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, and Matthew Wrather overthink Pixar’s Onward, newly released on Disney+. OK, so. Ian is a Lightfoot and Barley is a Stout and the disembodied pants are a Ghostwise. But if Ian is a sorcerer and Laurel is a fighter and Colt is a paladin… what is Barley?
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Ohhhh, so it’s the sequel to Bright, is what you’re saying? I get it now…
Regarding long-term plot structures, I recently stumbled across what’s being called the Heroine’s Journey, which isn’t actually strongly gendered, but is more amenable to an episodic format. Oversimplifying, it comes down to an outsider (or someone getting disillusioned) joining with a fringe group on some quest, succeeding, realizing that this new life is also limited, and working to integrate the new life with the old, largely ready for the next disillusionment.
That might make more sense for a roleplaying campaign than the coming-of-age (basically) model of the Hero’s Journey. Although you can obviously play fast-and-loose with the stakes so that even a trip to the supermarket can be presented using either model.