History VideoGame / CavesOfQud

** You think normal bears are bad? Meet slumbering: extremely tough, can do massive damage, ''can spawn in the first dungeon''. Fortunately they are asleep most of the time. Don't attack them or fight near them, even if your level is fairly high.

** Additionally, in Bethesda Susa, [[spoiler:Saad Amus The Sky-Bear, a HumanPopsicle. If you wake him (or he gets woken up by, say, the insane rocket-wielding enemy in the same room), he's an outrageously tough boss fight, but successfully beating him will let you claim his jetpack, one of the best items in the game.]]

* AfterTheEnd: Just how ''long'' after the end is never specified. The elder of Joppa ([[ClashOfTheTitans no, not that Joppa]]) sets the cataclysm at [[ExactlyExtyYearsAgo a thousand years ago]], but does he [[AndManGrewProud really know for sure]]?

** The trope keeps going when you meet the Urshiib (sentient mutant bears), who run the second town most players visit. Not only are they located ''at the bottom of yet another dungeon'', but they insist that you complete a FetchQuest in a very dangerous location before they'll allow you full access to their enclave.

The game is still in active development, and can be downloaded [[http://forums.freeholdentertainment.com/content.php here]].

** Additionally, in Bethesda Susa, [[spoiler:Saad Amus The Sky-Bear, a HumanPopsicle deep in the depths of Bethesda Susa. If you free him (or he gets freed by, say, the insane rocket-wielding enemy in the same room), he's an outrageously tough boss fight, but successfully beating him will let you claim his jetpack, one of the best items in the game.]]

* BonusBoss: The lairs of legendary beasts can pop up randomly on the world map, and taking them on is optional.

** For Mutants vs. True Men, mutants get a mutation point every level, which can upgrade their mutations; or they can spend four to learn a totally new one. In the long run, this has the potential to make you vastly more powerful than the stat bonuses and tiny extra skill points per level True Men get, especially since skills tend to be dramatically weaker than mutations. Though later on True Men will get the chance to even up when they get access to cybernetics.

* AfterTheEnd: Just how ''long'' after the end is never specified. The elder of Joppa ([[ClashOfTheTitans no, not that Joppa]]) sets the cataclysm at [[ExtyYearsFromNow a thousand years ago]], but does he [[AndManGrewProud really know for sure]]?

* EnergyBow: the Electrobow.

** For Mutants vs. True Men, mutants get a mutation point every level, which can upgrade their mutations; or they can spend four to learn a totally new one. In the long run, this has the potential to make you vastly more powerful than the stat bonuses and tiny extra skill points per level True Men get, especially since skills tend to be dramatically weaker than mutations.

* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: Perhaps not yet to the level of {{Nethack}}, but the game already features such things as being able to douse yourself with your own canteen if you're on fire, or use an enemy's acid spamming to breach a wall.

* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: Made particularly dramatic by the fact that Ego raises the level of all your mental mutations, but provides no benefit until you're high enough level yourself to use them at that power; additionally, you can spend your chargen points to start with nothing but randomly get a more powerful random mutation later on as you advance in level. This means that a beginning Esper might start with only one usable mutation and nearly all their stat points locked up in a stat that does absolutely nothing at level 1; by level 20 they'll have 12 or so mental mutations at level 10 (as opposed to, say, two level 10 mutations for a physical mutant) and be able to teleport anywhere, clone themselves 7 times, and set the entire area on fire with their mind. And many mutations themselves scale quadratically, like Mass Mind, which refreshes all your other mutations; it starts with a cooldown of 1000 turns and eventually lowers to a cooldown of ''5''...

* EverythingBreaks: You can destroy the walls, furniture, trees, and most everything else in Qud if you have a weapon that can penetrate their toughness. In fact, one of the best uses of the burrowing claws mutation is ''not'' combat, but simply to dig around locked doors that you don't have a keycard for.

* DumpStat: Character creation uses a point system, and - like many such systems - there'll probably end up being at least one attribute that doesn't play a massive role in your particular character build.

* IntrepidMerchant: It's possible to encounter random traders while wandering the world map.

* ShoutOut: The description for the hologram bracelet is a shout out to ''[[Film/TotalRecall1990 Total Recall]]''.

''Caves of Qud'' is a post-apocalyptic {{roguelike}} game heavily influenced by ''[[VideoGame/AncientDomainsOfMystery ADOM]]'' and the [[TabletopGames tabletop]] GammaWorld RPG. Set on a future Earth many centuries after an undefined [[AfterTheEnd apocalypse]], the game takes place in the titular region of Qud, a jungle-like area bordered by a desert of salt and large mountain ranges, and boasting a large number of ancient ruins. This realm is actually a [[DeathWorld terrible place to live]], but still attracts many adventurers due to the abundence of LostTechnology within its borders, particularly within its vast [[BeneathTheEarth cavern systems]]. However, things may be taking a turn for the (even) worse, as signs of an ancient evil begin to emerge from the dark and forgotten [[TitleDrop Caves of Qud]]...

* RagnarokProofing: As with GammaWorld itself, it's highly unlikely that all these guns, robots, and artifacts could have possibly survived ''this'' long after the apocalypse, but [[RuleOfFun that's not the point]].

* EverythingsWorseWithBears: Bears can show up as early as Red Rock, and can be lethal for players who only have a level or two under their belt.
** The trope keeps going when you meet the Urshiib (sentient mutant bears), who run the second town most players visit. Not only are they located ''at the bottom of yet another dungeon'', but they insist that you complete a FetchQuest in a very dangerous location before they'll allow you full access to their enclave.

* TheArcher: Bows are a common ranged weapon before you can get your hands on a scavenged gun.