L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
1) Hero does not want to be a hero, but is forced into it, because it has to be done. You as the reader know this because the hero will say as much to anyone who is not an enemy or completely beneath his notice, and when speaking to enemies or those completely beneath his notice (or whenever he is alone) will be thinking it.
2) Hero gets special powers, far and away more powerful than anyone on his side. Eventually, far and away more powerful than anyone on any side. Sometimes, the hero gets even MORE special powers (so we have three stages of killing machine, uber-magic/super-science killing machine, and, let's face it, GOD).
These special powers are to be used for 1) Killing people, 2) Sneaking around (when the hero doesn't want to deal with bad guys or peons at the moment) and 3) Eavesdropping (where the reader can then hear about how great the the peons think the hero is). More minor uses include movement and healing.
3) Hero is usually also a much better physical combatant than anyone else, ever. You can tell this because lots of people will try to kill the hero. And usually, early on before the hero gets mindboggling powers, the hero has to kill them physically. Luckily the hero is either an unarmed martial arts expert, a sword master, a crack shot with a gun, or some combination of the three. (The exception I can think of is the Soprano Sorceress. The poor woman has to rely upon magic to kill thousands and thousands of people and on allied soldiers to protect her physically).
4) The hero is modest about all these things. The hero often refuses the title of "hero". This is the only time when the hero will lie.
5) Hero is otherwise pathalogically vs. actual lying, but will often "lie by omission", telling what is strictly the truth, but leaving a lot of stuff out and allowing enemies (and allies) misinterpret the information. This is because the hero is ethical.
6) The hero will kill a LOT of people. I mean a living boatload. Lowering continents into the ocean or destroying entire planets, if necessary. Whole races may die, in order to preserve even more people. This is to show that the hero sometimes has to be ruthless, in order to to the right thing. Frequently, problems arise when other non-heroes refuse to do the right thing, because they are lazy, stupid, or just unwilling to sacrifice themselves. Fortunately, the hero will sacrifice them anyway, all for the greater good.
7) The hero will end up either being uber-ruler (very rare), or simply retiring back to a quiet domestic life, because all of this killing weighs upon the hero's conscience. We know this because the hero will tell his/her loved ones this, and will think it a lot. This is because the hero is ethical.
8) The hero is usually environmentally friendly, and not afraid to be preachy about it. I mean, when the hero is busy killing people, of course.
9) Often, the novels will show other character P.O.V.'s. Usually this is the enemies underestimating the hero (until near the end of the book, when some of the surviving enemies realize they have underestimated the hero and say as much), or allies saying "Wow! Thank god we have this hero around, because otherwise we would all be dead!"
Reading one of his novels is relaxing; like popcorn for the mind. I don't have to think -- I am just carried along on the slowly winding lazy river of the well-worn plot, to a happy conclusion. All enemies dead, and hero having a quiet happy life.
