History Literature / TheSagaOfBilly

* NotSoOmnscientAfterAll:

* TheChessmaster: Atella, Zarkan, Edire and Vetherr often play this role, choosing [[UnwitingPawn mostly unwitting mortal champions]] and putting them on the path that will serve best their own interests, the first three's often being to oppose Zarkan.

* ToServeMan: Ogres, dark elves and archnauresses follow this regimen.

* WarGod: Zarkan is the god of duels, honor and adversity, helping those who fight against the odd; Atella is concerned with every fight that imply some kind of strategy, and more generally any battle with more than two warriors on each side. She also protects those who find a way to avoid fighting.

--> '''The P.B.''' "What's it saying ?"
--> '''Billy''' "-That if we touch something, we gotta wash our hands by putting them in a fire."

--> '''Vetherr''' "I would lie if I said that [this match] displeased me, but know that I don't play for sport. And keep in mind that, unlike you, I only have to win once."

* ForgedByTheGods: Othos, the Shield, and Ithos, the Sword, have been [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext birthed by the gods]].

* GodOfTheDead: Edire is a goddess of both life and death.

** Melene and Ytia are goddesses of the Moon, which is called Meltia.

** {{Reconstructed|Trope}} with the greater gods; their power comes from the fact that they no longer need to be actively worshipped to stay alive and well: now the simple actions of mortals are akin to worship, and some gods don't even need humans. For instance, Runir, god of craftmanship, is sustained by the fact that there are craftsmen in the world, and Melene, goddess of motherhood, is inconsciously worshipped by every birth.

** Averted with scientific and magic community, who almost never openly worship Blathnat, god of knowledge and creativity, as he would likely consider it as slacking of when they could be working, and would not be happy about it.

* HeroicSacrifice: Since he made the vow to protect you to repay his debt to Fanta, [[DebtDetester the P.B.]] is prone to [[TakingTheBullet shield you from harm]] in more or [[TakeMeInstead less direct ways]].

* TheLancer: The P.B. mainly fills this role for your duo. Where you plan ahead, he is ready to act immediatly, where you are one to avoid fighting, [[BloodKnight he dreams of good duels]], where you are largely inexperienced, [[OlderSidekick he is used to this adventurous life]]. Averted if you choose to be a warrior, as he will be more of a mentor.

* LuckBasedMission:Some actions you may choose depend almost entirely on luck, but it's justified by the fact that you accumulate Luck Points throughout your adventure, and have [[BornLucky a class of character entirely centered around the concept of luck]]. It is played straighter when you play a game of Coup with someone, in which case you can only pray to the [[RandomNumberGod Random Number God]] and hope for the best, as it is [[BettingMiniGame the luck based game of Erenner]].

** Blathnat, god of knowledge, is known for his inescapable gaze, but Nyses, god of secrets, is the one being that he has never seen and will never be able to see.
** Atella, goddess of peace and war, is able to see through every manifestation of her children, the shield and the sword. This way, she can see almost everything on a battlefield. However, a strategy cannot account for everything, and she may similarly be blind to an unarmed person, who could change the course of a battle without the patron of strategy ever seeing it coming.

** The P.B. may finish his vow by invoking Zarkan, while you will in turncall to Mélène if you show him sympathy.
* OlderAndWiser: Uther finds no more happiness from his life of heroic and slightly less heroic deeds and follows thistrope, [[CallToAgriculture ending up as a simple and much happier farmer]].

* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: {{Downplayed}} in the case of te barbarian, who follows a number of kränelorian traditions, but does not really brag about it.

* RegretfulTraitor: Since the time he betrayed Mélène and Ytia, Vetherr has been called the Grieving man. He is sometimes overcome with guilt, but always shakes it of and goes back to work.

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Vetherr is described as a man of noble appearence, dressed in the finest clothes, but his sleeves are always rolled up, and his hands are perpetually stained with the blood of the monsters he handcrafts himself.

* TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow: Vetherr became the betrayer after something dark he alone knows, even among gods.

* BreakTheCutie: Ytia and Mélène eternally suffer from Vetherr's betrayal. Ytia is has it the roughest, as she took her sister's loss onto herself.
* BruiserWithASoftCenter: The P.B. essentially is one, being a[[FriendToAllChildren friend to all children]] who quickly takes a liking to you and defend you fiercely against all that would wish you harm. If he becomes a [[FamilyMan family man]], he will place the well-being of his wives and children above his old way of life. However, he is a [[BloodKnight blood knight]] who can be equally cruel as he can be kind.

* CantTakeCriticism: Heavily {{Downplayed|Trope}} in the case of Édire, as she is actually rather chill for a goddess. If you criticize her {{Pride}} or her [[HairTriggerTemper or her way to deal with those who can't follow up on their promises]], she will simply signify you that she is a bit displeased, but she will not hurt you. She can be harsher towards those of her own order, as they have vowed themselves to her, but she still won't [[BoltOfDivineRetribution hurt them]] for something as trivial as criticism.
%%* TheChessmaster: Atella, Zarkan, Edire and Vetherr often play this role.

* CodeOfHonour: The barbarian implies that he follows one, although does not explain it in details.
* CombatPragmatism: If you want to survive when you are not an accomplished warrior (and even that isn't always enough), you must do anything you can to survive. Whether it is [[InTheBack using sneak attacks]], [[AHandfulForAnEye throwing sand in the eyes of your enemies]], [[PoisonedWeapon using]] [[TamperingWithFoodAndDrink poison]], [[ThrowDownTheBomblet explosives]], [[HollywoodAcid acid]], flaming oil, fighting at three against one, [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown kicking enemies while they are down]], [[ItMakesSenseInContext taking the treasure as hostage]] or plainly avoiding to fight.

* DivineParentage: The union of Atella and Zarkan gave birth to Othos, the Shield, and Ithos, the Sword.

* EtTuBrute: It is implied that Vetherr was Ytia and Mélène's lover efore turning on them.

* EvilVirtues: Vetherr is a {{Determinator}}, and a good sport who [[GracefulLoser never takes any defeat personally]], which prevents him from any kind of [[VillainousBreakdown villainous breakdown]]. He strives to learn from his past mistakes, shows never-ending creativity when it comes to creating new races, and does not fear the fact that a whole pantheon (minus Phumtar) is out to stop his plans. Finally, since his ultimate goal is to save the world from humanity, he forbids himself from creating any world-ending threat.
* ExorcistHead: If you see Blathnat, he is also watching you, and no matter where you are, his visage will face your sight. If you are behind you, he is facing you, if you are aboving him, he's facing you, [[RuleOfThree if you are below him, he's facing you]].

* EyeScream: Atella willingly ripped out her eyes and gave the to Zarkan, so that he could implant them onto their children Othos and Ithos. She now sees through them and every other shield and sword in existence.
* EyelessFace: When Atella wishes to see through her children's eyes, her sockets open wide, revealing the reason for her blindness.
* FalseFriend: Vetherr may have initially faked his attachment to the sisters, although it's clear he regrets it now.

* ActOfTrueLove: Ytia gave her fertility to her sister Melene.

** Vetherr is [[VillainRespect very respectful of his enemy Zarkan]] and [[GracefulLoser never fails to congratulate him each and every time the god of honor thwarts one of his schemes]]. That doesn't make up for stealing Mélène's fertility and Ytia's reason, or for consecrating his immortal life to the extermination of humanity.

** Parodikos, god of laughter and jokes, likes to [[TricksterGod trick the other gods]], but he is unable to surprise Blathnatt, god of knowledge, [[TrueSight whose sight he cannot escape]]. However, Blathnatt himself is incapable of seeing Nyses, the god of secrets.

* AmbiguouslyHuman: Fanta was a companion of your grandfather, and then the pal of [[OlderSidekick the P.B.]], and he doesn't seem to age. He thinks in terms of probabilities during [[TheDungAges in a world where knowing basic maths makes you a genius if you are not a noble]]. [[spoiler: He seems to know multiple secret passages in Lennonia. And he appears exactly when you need him and the world needs you.]] If it turns out these are all coincidental and he is just a [[CoolOldGuy Cool Old Guy]] who knows lots of things, it will be really surprising.

* BarbarianTribe: The P.B. was born and raised in one of the many tribes of Kränelorn, although he [[WalkingTheEarth he now goes where he wants, going from one country to another, and has seen much of Alkior]]. It is a rather {{Downplayed|Trope}} example of this trope, as they did not have to [[RapePillageAndBurn rely on raids to survive]], and were not entirely composed of warriors.
* BarbarianHero: Let's see: he only wears a {{Loincloth}} and [[PeltsOfTheBarbarian boots made out of pelts]]; [[HeroicBuild arms that are compared to barrels]]; a [[PermaShave perpetually glabrous chin]] and [[BarbarianLongHair lion's mane]]; his [[WeaponOfChoice weapon of choice]] is [[AnAxeToGrind an impressive axe]] decorated with a goat skull; [[SelfMadeMan he proves himself able to unite Kränelorn and become emperor]] in [[MultipleEndings one of the endings]]; the Pyro-Barbarian definitely corresponds.

** Vetherr, the grey god, has sacrificed everything he cared so he could oppose mankind, and is forever toiling in his Flesh laboratories, no matter his feelings towards this task.

* BeyondRedemption: Vetherr has opposed humanity and his fellow gods for thousands of years, caused an incalculable number of deaths through the many races he created, and hurt Mélène and Ytia forever. Moreover, being the god of necessity and hard choices, he is certain that he is ultimately right, and will never go turn back on his work.

* BossinMookClothing:Every class is weak to a particular enemy, who can in turn become this: warrior Billy will have a hard time against Gnolls, whose insults level down his skills; resourceful Billy will hate fighting against dark elves, who can dodge most of his attacks, including his [[CriticalHit critical hit]]; a farmer Billy's protection from damage can be bypassed by Mortelle and every other minibosses; a cautious Billy is supposed to avoid fighting, and any enemy can be this for him.
* BreakTheCutie: Ytia and Mélène eternally suffer from Vetherr's betrayal.
%%* BruiserWithASoftCenter: The P.B. essentially is one, although he can be equally cruel as he can be kind.

* OhMyGods: Vetherr's name is sometimes substituted to the term "devil" in Erenner.

* BarbarianHero: Let's see: he only wears a {{Loincloth}} and [[PeltsOfTheBarbarian boots made out of pelts]]; [[HeroicBuild arms that are compared to barrels]]; a [[PermaShave perpetually glabrous chin]] and [[BarbarianLongHair lion's mane]]; his [[WeaponOfChoice weapon of choice]] is [[AnAxeToGrind an impressive axe]] decorated with a goat skull; [[SelfMadeMan he proves himself able to unite Kränelorn and become emperor]] in [[MultipleEndings one of the endings]]; The Pyro-Barbarian.

* BarbarianTribe: The P.B. was born and raised in one of the many tribes of Kränelorn, although he [[WalkingTheEarth he now goes where he wants, going from one country to another, and has seen much of Alkior]]. It is a rather {{Downplayed|Trope}}, as they did not have to [[RapePillageAndBurn rely on raids to survive]], and were not entirely composed of warriors.

%%* BarbarianHero: The Pyro-Barbarian.

* AmbiguouslyHuman: Fanta was a companion of your grandfather, and then the pal of [[OlderSidekick the P.B.]], and he doesn't seem age. He thinks in terms of probabilities during [[TheDungAges in a world where knowing basic maths makes you a genius if you are not a noble]]. [[spoiler: He seems to know multiple secret passages in Lennonia. And he appears exactly when you need him and the world needs you.]] If it turns out these are all coincidental and he is just a [[CoolOldGuy Cool Old Guy]] who knows lots of things, it will be really surprising.

%%* BarbarianTribe: The P.B. comes from one.

The ''Saga of Billy'' is a series of [[SwordAndSorcery Sword and Sorcery]] Gamebooks written by [[LetsPlay/BobLennon Bob Lennon]] and David Kuhn and illustrated by C. Sideralis. The first volume was relased in 2021.

* AllPowerfulBystander: Phumtar embodies this trope. Everything that happens in the world appears before him as a form he has to accept or reject, based on wether it follows the laws of physics or not. Everything else is unimportant, and since Phumtar is unbiased when it comes to his [[GodJob job]], if somebody killed him without breaking the laws of physics, he would approve it immediately and pass away.
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. Goblins, gnolls, orcs, trolls, ogres, dark elves and archnauresses are all initially made out to be this, as they are often enemies of any kind of human civilisation. However, things are a bit different.

** Most riddles are either not mandatory, or can be skipped, albeit at a small price ( mostoften a malus in an upcoming fight)

* ApprovalOfGod: Bob authorised any kind of fanwork or reference to his books, as long as it does not consist simply of ripping of the stories he writes.

* BarbarianTribe: The P.B. comes from one.
* BarbarianHero: The Pyro-Barbarian.

* BeyondRedemption: Vetherr has opposed humanity and his fellow gods for thousands of years, caused an incalaculable number of deaths through the many races he created, and hurt Mélène and Ytia forever. Moreover, being the god of necessity and hard choices, he is certain that he is ultimately right, and will never go turn back on his work.

** You can play your warrior Billy as one, making him excedingly violent.

* BruiserWithASoftCenter: The P.B. essentially is one, although he can be equally cruel as he can be kind.

* TheChessmaster: Atella, Zarkan, Edire and Vetherr often play this role.

* CombatPragmatism: If you want to survive when you are not an accomplished warrior (and even that isn't always enough), you must do anything you can to survive. Wether it is [[InTheBack using sneak attacks]], [[AHandfulForAnEye throwing sand in the eyes of your enemies]], [[PoisonedWeapon using]] [[TamperingWithFoodAndDrink poison]], [[ThrowDownTheBomblet explosives]], [[HollywoodAcid acid]], flaming oil, fighting at three against one, [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown kicking enemies while they are down]], [[ItMakesSenseInContext taking the treasure as hostage]] or plainly avoiding to fight.

* CreatingLifeIsBad: {{ZigZagged}}: the [[GreaterScopeVillain greater-scope villain]] has spent eons doing just that, but [[IAmNotAGun there is also good in his creations, who can choose to join you in your quest, or simply be neutral]].
* CuteBruiser: As you are still a teenager, this is what you become if you focus yourself on your skills as a warrior.

* DebtDetester: Zarkan favors those who pay their debts, and he himself repayed immediatly Ytia, the only god who has ever won a bet against him.

* DespairEventHorizon: Vetherr crossed it when his creator revealed what danger [[HumansAreCthulhu mankind represented to the world as a whole]].

* DivineParentage: The union of atella and Zarkan gave birth to Othos, the Shield, and Ithos, the Sword.

* TheDungAges: The streets of Lennonia are rarely paved and often filled with trash. Widespread epidemies are commonplace, and most people can't read or count.

* EthnicGod: While they recognise the other pantheons' existence, different ethnic groups choose to worship different gods, who in turn manifest their powers through different means.

* EvilOnlyHasToWinOnce: Vetherr states it word for word to Zarkan after congrtulating him for [[spoiler: your victory over Virilus]].

* AllPowerfulBystander: Phumtar embodies this trope. Everything that happens in the world appears before him as a form he has to accept or reject, based on wether it follows the laws of physics or not. Everything else is unimportant, and since Phumtar is [[LawfulNeutral unbiaised]] when it comes to his [[GodJob job]], if somebody killed him without breaking the laws of physics, he would approve it immediatly and pass away.

* AmbiguouslyHuman: Fanta was a companion of your grandfather, and then the pal of [[OlderSidekick the P.B.]], and he doesn't seem age. He thinks in terms of probabilities during [[TheDungAges in a world where knowing basic maths makes you a genius if you are not a noble]]. [[spoiler: He seems to know multiple secret passages in Lennonia. And he appears exactly when you need him and the world needs you.]] If it turns out these are all coincidential and he is just a [[CoolOldGuy Cool Old Guy]] who knows lots of things, it will be really surprising.

* GodIsNeutral: Phumtar is [[TrueNeutral True Neutral]] when it comes to his [[GodJob job]], as he must be the impartial judge of everything that happens in the world.

* LuckBasedMission:Some actions you may choose depend almost entirely on luck, but it's justified by the fact that you accumulate Luck Points throughout your adventure, and have a class of character entirely centered around th concept of luck.
* Lunacy: Ytia, one of the two goddesses of the Moon, has lost her reason.

[[caption-width-right:350:''So you want to be a Billy ? It's (probably) a good idea. But what kind of Billy are you ?'']]

* ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfThePyrobarbarianAndBillyInTheSilentIsland'' (Unrelesed)

!! Works in the [TheSagaOfBilly]:

** Goblins aren't intelligent enough to truly be cruel.
** Ogres are just humongous babies who will leave you alone if you give them something to chew on.
** All of these people can form genuine bonds of friendship with a human, and some can even fall in love with one.

** Parodikos, god of laughter and jokes, likes to trick the other gods, but he is unable to surprise Blathnatt, god of knowledge, whose sight he cannot escape. However, Blathnatt himself is incapable of seeing Nyses, the god of secrets.

** Ogres are described as [[ChildrenAreInnocent nothing more than babies so large that nobody can stop them from eating whatever they want]]. If you are nice to one of them and give him enough food, he will gladly leave you to your own devices.

* AllPowerfulBystander: Phumtar embodies this trope. Everything that happens in the world appears before him as a form he has to accept or reject, based on wether it follows the laws of physics or not. Everything else is unimportant, and since Phumtar is [[LawfulNeutral unbiaised]] when it comes to his [[GodJob job]], if someone killed him without breaking the laws of physics, he would approve it immediatly and pass away.

** Gnolls are loyal and have a great sense of humor.

After witnessing [[DoomedHometown the death of everyone in your hometown]], wiped out by a plague, you decide to leave the farming life behind you and go live the same kind of adventurous existence your grandfather led before [[CallToAgriculture retiring in the middle of nowhere to plant pumpkins]].
With the help of a former acquaintace of [[TheMentor your mentor]], a hot-blooded [[BarbarianHero barbarian]], you roam the continent in search of adventure and generally try to survive the terrible situations in which you often find yourself.

* ActionHero: The Pyro-Barbarian very much is one, and can be one as well, provided you chose a warrior's build.

** Vetherr is very respectful of his enemy Zarkan and never fails to congratulate him each and every time the god of honor thwarts one of his schemes. That doesn't make up for stealing Mélène's fertility and Ytia's reason, or for consecrating his immortal life to the extermination of humanity.
** Ogres are described as nothing more than babies so large that nobody can stop them from eating whatever they want. If you are nice to one of them and give him enough food, he will gladly leave you to your own devices.

* TheSimpleLifeIsSimple: Implied to be the reason why Grandpa Pumpkin followed the [[CallOfAgriculture call of agriculture]].

* EvilOnlyHasToWinOnce: Vetherr states it word for word to Zarkan after congrtulating him for your victory over Virilus.

* EvilVirtues: Vetherr is [[Determinator filled with determination]], and a good sport who [[GracefulLoser never takes any defeat personally]], which prevents him from any kind of [[VillainousBreakdown villainous breakdown]]. He strives to learn from his past mistakes, shows never-ending creativity when it comes to creating new races, and does not fear the fact that a whole pantheon (minus Phumtar) is out to stop his plans. Finally, since his ultimate goal is to save the world from humanity, he forbids himself from creating any world-ending threat.

* EyeObscuringHat: Zarkan is often represented with his [CoolHelmet helmet hiding his eyes]].

* GodIsFlawed: Blathnat is asocial, Edire has too much {{Pride}} and [[HairTriggerTemper too quick to anger]], Neit is incapable of letting go of his friend, Parodikos can be overly cruel, Ytia is naive, Zarkan does not always keep his word, Ytia is naive and [[SuddenlyShouting PHUMTAR IS A PLATYPUS !]]

* GodOfEvil: Vetherr is considered to be this by most of the people in Erenner, as he betrayed the other gods, is the creator of all races of monsters, destroyed part of the Moon, and generally opppose mankind and Zarkan, its protector. However, he is a mostly benevolent figure to all the races that are [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Always Chaotic Evil]], while they see the rest of the pantheon as their own [GodOfEvil gods of evil]].

* HeroOfAnotherStory: The p.B. and Fanta already had a pretty eventful life before you came along.

* Lunacy: Ytia, one of the two goddesses of the Moon, has lodt her reason.

* MisanthropeSupreme: While not being out for blood, Blathnat despises the compagny of the other gods, as he is so focused on his work that he considers any mild distraction to be an intolerable waste of his time.
The only exception is Runir, whose skill and silence the god of creativity values.

* TheOmnipotent: Zarkan has only lost one duel, when he forfeited against Ytia, but has never been ttruly beaten by another god. Subverted in the case of Mutra, who managed to fight him to a draw in an arm-wrestling contest that lasted until Mélène told them to stop and that they should find a real job.
* PatronGod: Any god can act this way (except Phumtar, who has to much work to care about these things), but Édire acts with the most regularity.
* PosthumousCharacter: Grandpa Pumpkin (alias Hard-Tooth-Uther, the Legendary Hero)had quite a bit of influence over you when you were a child, and over the P.B. long before that.

* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: {{Downplayed}} in the cas of te barbarian, who follows a number of kränelorian traditions, but does not really brag about it.
* Psychopomp: Édire welcomes the souls of the dead inside of her.
* RealityWarper: Those who gain the favor of Parodikos may briefly become one, as long as the way they use this power reult in something funny.
* RegretfulTraitor: Since the time he betryed Mélène and Ytia, Vetherr has been called the grieving man. He is sometimes overcome with guilt, but always shakes it of and goes back to work.
* RetiredBadass: Grandpa Pumpkin was once the Legendary Hero who thwarted Virilus' plans for world domination thanks to his wits: Hard-Tooth-Uther.

* SexGod: Ytia is a litteral sex goddess. Runir is one of the only being in existence capable to o relieve her from her pulsions.
* SchrödingersGun: {{Downplayed|Trope}}, as the writer has a plan for the whole saga, but still decides on certain aspects of the worldbuilding in between books, like the name of Phumtar's domain.

* AudienceSurrogate: Billy, of course. After all, "YOU ARE BILLY!". Still, it is quite a {{Downplayed|Trope}}, as Billy has his own thoughts and opinions and showcases a different personality based of his build. Most of the time, he is [[TheWatson The Watson]] and that's the end of it.

* CantTakeCriticism: Heavily {{Downplayed|Trope}} in the case of EDire, as she is actually rather chill for a goddess. If you criticize her {{Pride}} or her HairTriggerTemper, she will simply signify you that she is a bit displeased, but she will not hurt you. Shecan be harsher towards those of her own order, as they have vowed themselves to her, but she still won't [[BoltOfDivineRetribution hurt them]] for something as trivial as criticism.

* {{Cincinnatus}}: After saving the continent of Alkior from the forces of Virilus, Uther became emperor of Erenner and Isbor. Two months later, he had disappeared.

* Deuteragonist: The P.B. is present throughout nearly all of your adventures, always helping you in your quest.

* AmbiguouslyHuman: Fanta was a companion of your grandfather, and then the pal of [[OlderSidekick the P.B.]], and he doesn't seem age. He thinks in terms of probabilities during [[TheDungAges in a world where knowing basic maths makes you a genius if you are not a noble]]. He seems to know multiple secret passages in Lennonia. And he appears exactly when you need him and the world needs you. If it turns out these are all coincidential and he is just a [[CoolOldGuy Cool Old Guy]] who knows lots of things, it will be really surprising.

* Anti-Villain: Vetherr takes no pleasure in his task. It is implied that he genuinely liked Mélène and Ytia and only hurt them because he needed the power to oppose humanity and protect the world as a whole.

* Arcadia: Plant-Pumpkin was this to your grandfather.

-->''"Will your Billy save the kingdom from the apocalypse ?
-->''Or will he die a shameful death facing adversity and end up in a gutter ?
-->''[[ItsUpToYou It's up to you]] to discover it, for:
-->''YOU ARE BILLY !"

* AllPowerfulBystander: Phumtar embodies this trope. Everything that happens in the world appears before him as a form he has to accept or reject, based on wether it follows the laws of physics or not. Everything else is unimportant, and since Phumtar is [[TrueNeutral unbiaised]] when it comes to his [[GodJob job]], if someone killed him without breaking the laws of physics, he would approve it immediatly and pass away.

* ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption: You can't complete your adventure without fighting at least twice, and avoiding killing is almost impossible. Even if you manage to do so, it will often be because someone else dirtied his hands.