History VideoGame / DungeonsAndDragonsOnline

* SteamPunk: Considering [[TabletopGame/{{Eberron}} the setting]], the game has this and DungeonPunk all over the place, from the low-level The Waterworks and Shan-To-Kor, to the advanced adversaries in the Cannith Manufactuary. The Menace of the Underdark expansion, however, sticks to the high-fantasy campaign settings when you visit the Forgotten Realms.

** The Vulkoorim in Menechtarun, a group of drow who worship the scorpion god Vulkoor.

* FanServicePack: Game updates in late 2010 added armor kits, which allows a player to make their character's armor or clothing more cosmetically exciting, intimidating, or attractive. Female outfits and robes often (among other things) BareYourMidriff, add a CleavageWindow, or grant a LeotardOfPower.

** Fear, which mostly causes weak enemies to run away and thus take longer to kill. Very annoying to deal with for players if they don’t have the proper protection against it

** The GoodIsDumb trope is actually lampshaded by Archbishop Dryden, who refers to the guards as "quarter-wits." [[spoiler: At the time he was possessed by his wraith brother, so we don't know how valid this statement is.]]

* TheLegionsOfHell: The Devil Legions. In fact, the same type of devil in that page's image appear here.

* TheLostWoods: The King's Forest. the Storm Horns and, minus a lot of woods, the Underdark.
* MacGuffin: The entire game is filled with enough of these for an adventurer to open their own shop. From the early-level Seal of Shan-to-Kor, to the three artifacts for the Demon Queen, to the ridiculous Sigil Frame of eight pieces in the last Necropolis quest, this game lives and breathes this stuff.

* TheMedic: Don't leave Stormreach without one. If an enemy comes with his own healer, [[ShootTheMedicFirst he's first on your list to kill]].

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The defeat of the Black Abbot (Necropolis Part Four) is what sets the events of The Thirteenth Eclipse story arc in motion.

* OxygenMeter: Swimming underwater will display an oxygen meter based on your swim skill. The water breathing spell and "underwater action" items give you SuperNotDrowningSkills. Warforged do not need to breathe and inherently have no oxygen meter.

* RepeatableQuest: Adventures are infinitely repeatable on four different difficulty levels each. The first play on each adventure/difficulty combo gives an array of experience bonuses, while subsequent replays start adding penalties, eventually hard-capping the XP gain at a very low number for extreme repetition. Even though you ''can'' repeat quests, you probably shouldn't (except if you are hunting for specific items available only in that quest).

* SealedEvilInACan: There are several boss monsters that are or were imprisoned in some fashion. Three of them are arc villains, and can be [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu punched out]]. The Devourer cult at the beginning of the game tries to release a "Devourer beast" that cannot be punched out, meaning that you have to reverse their efforts to thaw it out. The Spinner of Shadows, sealed for eons in the plane of Khyber, is another canned boss that led to a MUCH more powerful goddess.
* SelfImposedChallenge: Permadeath has been a common self-imposed challenge by pledging to delete your character should he or she be killed. Eventually, the developers added the periodic Hardcore server that makes permadeath no longer self-imposed; a character's death on the Hardcore server will teleport and trap them permanently in a Limbo-like realm.

** Turn Undead, which can incapacitate or destroy targets but seldom works on anything powerful enough to be worth fighting in the first place.
** Fear, which mostly causes weak enemies to run away and thus take longer to kill.

* VillainForgotToLevelGrind: Averted. Malicia is the main antagonist of a level 5 story arc, and is also the main antagonist of a level 18 quest. In both cases she is of a higher level than the characters.

* ShoutOut: Stuffed to the gills with them. From HeavyMetal references all over the place such as a Music/{{Scorpion|sBand}} boss named Schenker]] to a quest called [[Music/VanHalen Running with the Devils]] to a bard themed sword with the enscription [[Music/{{Rush}} Anthem of the heart; Anthem of the mind]] to Franchise/StarWars flavored quotes in NPC text to {{MythologyGag}}'s to other D&D properties (for example, in the quest Fear Factory there's an optional locked door behind which first you find [[spoiler: a dead Acrobat. Further down you fight an undead Cavalier, Ranger, Magician, and Barbarian. Popular theory is the Thief sold them out.]] Makes the [[spoiler: end of WesternAnimation/DungeonsandDragons1983 ]] a bit HarsherInHindsight.)

* UpToEleven: Reaper Mode was created to be the most challenging difficulty level and is available on almost every quest. It is further subdivided into "skull" levels; 1 skull is somewhat harder than Elite, while 10 skulls is suicide to all but the most powerful players.

* ShoutOut: Stuffed to the gills with them. From HeavyMetal references all over the place such as a [[Music/{{Scorpions}} scorpion boss named Schenker]] to a quest called [[Music/VanHalen Running with the Devils]] to a bard themed sword with the enscription [[Music/{{Rush}} Anthem of the heart; Anthem of the mind]] to Franchise/StarWars flavored quotes in NPC text to {{MythologyGag}}'s to other D&D properties (for example, in the quest Fear Factory there's an optional locked door behind which first you find [[spoiler: a dead Acrobat. Further down you fight an undead Cavalier, Ranger, Magician, and Barbarian. Popular theory is the Thief sold them out.]] Makes the [[spoiler: end of WesternAnimation/DungeonsandDragons1983 ]] a bit HarsherInHindsight.)

** For an exhaustive list check out this thread: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/364243-Easter-Eggs-and-Puns-in-DDO
** There's a new raid featuring three weapons named [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Nightmare, the Fallen Moon; Celestia, Brightest Star of Day; and Twilight, Element of Magic]].

** Most quests [[UnwinnableByMistake with one exception]] include a bow and a few arrows near the parts that require you to hit a ranged target lever to open a gate or lower a bridge just in case you don't have one.

* UnwinnableByMistake: A number of quests require a minimum number of people to coordinate levers and buttons, or to pass items to each other; trying to tackle the quest while shorthanded can render it unwinnable. Such quests warn you ahead of time that it needs two or more player characters, and that hirelings may not be enough.

* ShoutOut: Stuffed to the gills with them. From HeavyMetal references all over the place such as a [[Music/{{Scorpions}} scorpion boss named Schenker]] to a quest called [[Music/VanHalen Running with the Devils]] to a bard themed sword with the enscription [[Music/{{Rush}} Anthem of the heart; Anthem of the mind]] to Franchise/StarWars flavored quotes in NPC text to {{MythologyGag}}'s to other D&D properties (for example, in the quest Fear Factory there's an optional locked door behind which first you find [[spoiler: a dead Acrobat. Further down you fight an undead Cavalier, Ranger, Magician, and Barbarian. Popular theory is the Thief sold them out.]] Makes the [[spoiler: end of {{WesternAnimation/DungeonsandDragons}} ]] a bit HarsherInHindsight.)

** The following counts, in a way. Inquisitor Gnomon urges you to [[{{Squick}} kill followers of the Sovereign Host, calling them heretics]]. Then, in a more recent update, you accompany him on a trip to a cult base. [[spoiler: Turns out that he's actually one of the "Lords of Dust", and that he used his position in the Silver Flame to distract them from the cult's actions, and to cause damage by attacking innocents and those of other religions.]]

Unlike [=MMOs=] like ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', ''DDO'' is not a sandbox MMORPG with its gameplay revolving around the hub areas of Korthos Island and later Stormreach where players can accept quests that mostly revolve around completing short to large dungeons either solo (with hired AI follower) or in co-op, or explore small sandbox areas that have their own quests to complete and landmarks to discover.

* FanServicePack: Game updates in late 2010 added armor kits, which allows a player to make their character's armor or clothing more cosmetically exciting, intimidating, or attractive. Female outfits and robes often (among other things) BareYourMidriff, add a CleavageWindow, or grant a LeotardofPower.

* BeefGate: Any npc or trap found in a quest that's two or more levels above you, especially on Reaper mode. You can certainly join the quest, but you'll usually [[CurbStompBattle die in one hit]] from any mob that targets you. Likewise most traps will be instantly lethal as soon as you get too close to them. This doesn't stop low level players grouping with high levelers to somewhat bypass LevelGrinding, which is especially helpful since all players are encouraged to reincarnate and try a different race or class, gaining a nice little cumulative boost to stats from each past life.

The player character is a migrant that survives a shipwreck in Korthos Island where they are thrust into a plot that involves an evil Devourer cult, Sahuagin, a dragon, and a lot of snow. After finishing the cult with the help of some adventurers, you are transported to the city of Stormreach which is having its own set of unrelated troubles with pirates, Giants, Cults of Old Gods, Ancient Evils and a coalition of monster races all trying to invade and conquer the city or even the whole world. It's up to you and many other players to save the city and get some good loot out of it.

It was launched by Creator/{{Turbine}} in 2006 as ''Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach''. The game has since been renamed ''Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited''. (The latest update appears to have removed ''Eberron Unlimited'' from the logo, but is still referred to as such in reference materials and on the main website.) It is based in the campaign world of TabletopGame/{{Eberron}} (yeah, [[{{Magitek}} the Magitek one]]) and is set on the fictional continent of Xen'drik. After years of being a pay-to-play game, it was rebranded as a free-to-play game with premium content that could be accessed by becoming a VIP (which is simply maintaining a paid subscription) or spending Turbine Points on it. The player character is initially thrust into a plot that involves an evil Devourer cult, sahuagin, a dragon, and a lot of snow.

* SandardFantasyRaces: It started with six: Humans, Elves, Halflings, Dwarves, Warforged, Drow. More options have been steadily added on a regular basis.

* FiveRaces: It started with six: Humans, Elves, Halflings, Dwarves, Warforged, Drow. More options have been steadily added on a regular basis.

As of June 2012, an ExpansionPack was released that introduced epic levels and allows players to adventure in the Franchise/ForgottenRealms. AndThereWasMuchRejoicing indeed.

For additional examples, see TabletopGame/{{Eberron}} for the general setting, and [[TabletopGame/DungeonsandDragons the Dungeons and Dragons page]] for general gameplay tropes.

* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Vorpal weapons.
** Update 29 wildly changed this with randomized loot[[http://ddowiki.com/page/Update_29_randomly_generated_loot#Weapon_Damage]]; now the Vorpal prefix can apply to ''any'' melee or ranged weapon, even on minimum level 1, including blunt weapons like maces...and even handwraps, so your punch is so sharp it can literally cut someone's head off.
* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: ALL of them! Why else would there be monsters down there for you to kill?
** Somewhat justified, in that Stormreach is built on the ruins of a Giant civilisation
* ActualPacifist: You get bonus experience for completing a quest without killing anything. [[EverythingTryingToKillYou Good luck with that]].
** All jokes aside, a select handful of quests are uniquely suited for evading all the mooks with Invisibility and/or Dimension Door, allowing one to run them very quickly and collect that bonus. Also, the quest called "Frame Work" has some amusing variable dialogue depending on how covert or [[ShootEverythingThatMoves omnicidal]] you were.

* AllTrollsAreDifferent: These ones are tall, green, have tusks, and regenerate from anything and everything unless you hit them with a dose of fire or acid after knocking them out.
* AllegedlyFreeGame: Theoretically playable for free after about level 12... but only if you're willing to do a lot of grinding. Or suffer from major {{Altitis}}. Which is quite likely.
** Mind you, you will probably accumulate enough Turbine Points by then to buy an adventure pack. Also,with the new Lordsmarch Plaza free to play chain and some high level free to play quests afer that,you can get that number higher.

* AnnoyingArrows: Enemies with ranged attacks are pretty pathetic compared to enemy spellcasters. You can take several arrows to the face and keep going, relying on your magical equipment and lots of hitpoints to keep you alive, but there's not a lot that can save a low-medium level character from a Disintegrate, Harm, or Touch of Death spell.
* AnotherDimension: Shavarath, Xoriat, Dal Quor, and a couple of [[PocketDimension demiplanes]] are all accessible as part of quests.
** As of the new expansion, the [[EldritchLocation Demonweb]] is also accessible.

** Hirelings will automatically cast whatever they think is useful so you often don't need to micromanage them. They will also automatically use rest and resurrection shrines if they need to. They can also teleport directly to you if they get lost, and they don't count as a death so you're not penalized if one stands in a trap too long.

** The game tries to justify that in one raid, Zawabi's Revenge, in which the Djinn that teleports you to the quest asserts he only has energy to transport 12 people into the Demon Queen's refuge.
*** You'll need all of them too. It's a 12th level raid, and the end boss is level 22.

* BackStab: The Sneak Attack ability is pretty much the only way for a rogue to do damage. But when they do...
** GlassCannon: Rogues do terrifying amounts of damage when they're allowed to exploit their full attack output.
* BagOfHolding: Including sew-on pockets that can hold fifteen sets of plate mail. And then you can get another inventory page by paying an NPC to craft a broken Portable Hole into a literal pocket dimension.
** There are also bags for holding crafting ingredients, gems, and collectables looted from mobs, so that you can save on inventory space.

* BigBad: None, really, but the closest the game has are Horoth, the Black Abbot, the Stormreaver, the Devourer of Dreams, and Lolth.
* TheBigGuy: The melee classes: Fighter, Barbarian, Paladin, and (to a lesser extent, it depends on the build) Monk. Clerics have a bunch of HitPoints and good armor, and shields, too.

** The Cultists in the Korthos Island chain.
*** And their dragon. Upon being freed, she kills her controller and leaves.

* BribingYourWayToVictory: Costly [[PrecisionFStrike flippin']] skill books...
** Special classes, races, and other features like Veteran Status can be unlocked by raising your favor with various factions, but you can also buy them off the DDO Store.

* CastFromHitPoints: The BigBad of the new Sharn saga is Lucian Vaunt, an [[SnakeOilSalesman entrepeneur with great vision]] who wants to put labor saving {{Magitek}} devices into the hands of the common people. Vaunt claims to have invented wonderous devices that ordinary people with no magical ability can use, free of the need for any PowerSource like the mana that casters have. The devices actually do work, however the DarkSecret that Vaunt doesn't want anyone to find out is that the devices use necromancy to [[PowerAtAPrice draw power from the lifeforce]] of their users - which will slowly kill off all of Vaunt's customers.

* CharacterAlignment: This matters if you want to use armor of stability (which requires a TrueNeutral alignment) or a True Law/True Chaos/Pure Good weapon. Or if you're dealing with something capable of dealing alignment damage. Or if you want to be a Paladin/Bard (you can't; paladins must be LawfulGood, bards must be nonlawful.)
** Evil items will give you a permanent negative level until you take them off, unless you are of neutral alignment.
* CharacterCustomization: Stat-wise, this is one of the most flexible games on the market. Appearance-wise... maybe not so much.

* CompellingVoice: Bards. Compelling enemies to sit still and listen to your lute ([[HyperspaceArsenal which doesn't even appear in your inventory, let alone contribute to encumbrance]]), to compelling your allies to feats of Heroism. Also, the Charm/Dominate Person/Monster spells, and Suggestion.
** Players can earn the items "Voice of the Master" and "Mantle of the Worldshaper" from the quests that the D&D creators narrated. Worn together, the player receives the True Seeing ability (Hello, hidden doors!).
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: At least in terms of computer-controlled casters. They have no [[VancianMagic spellpoints]] bar and seem to ignore the cooldown rules on spells that limit a player's spell use, especially obnoxious when the computer caster in question is a healer who can full-heal quickly with their infinite violating the VancianMagic rule with unlimited spell points. Damage almost never interrupts their spells, either, [[ComputersAreFast as if enemies have all of their spells quickened]].

*** Hirelings also DO have spell point bars, though typically slightly higher than player characters. The end result? Enemies have unlimited spells, but your party has a cut-off.
*** They do however, seem to have truckloads of potions.
** Enemy archers never run out of ammunition and maintain a rate of fire that only repeating crossbows can compete with, and they can target invisible characters by sound.
* ConvectionSchmonvection: Swimming IN lava causes a moderate amount of fire damage, but nothing serious. But walking right next to it (or on those METALLIC catwalks in the Firebrand Mines and Burning City) seems to have no ill effects.
* CreatorCameo: Creator/GaryGygax and DaveArneson are the DM/narrators in two different series of quests.
* DeathIsCheap: Well, except for when it comes to your equipment.
** Death becomes less cheap when there's no healer and no resurrection shrine nearby. In that case, the only way to revive yourself on the spot is to [[BribingYourWayToVictory buy an item from the DDO store]].
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything [=/=] DoubleEntendre:
** The world "Melf" in ''M'''e'''lf's'' Acid Arrow tends to be spelled with the wrong vowel.
** Lars Heyton in Redemption: "We beat them off... this time."
** Jeets Shimis (speaking to the female cleric Cellimas): "Ha, I still got plenty of stamina! I can go all night long!" Jeets in general has a lot of things to say similar to this, usually related to Cellimas. "Tell her to keep her knickers on." "Don't worry, Cellimas. I'm here to watch your behind, now."
*** And he is a halfling, so his eyes are at just the right level
* DualWielding: Basically the whole [[IncrediblyLamePun point]] of a melee-based ranger. Any class can do this to varying degrees of success.
* DumpStat: Every class will have to pick one if they want to be the best at what they do. However there is a number one rule of character builds that all veteran players agree upon: "Con(stitution) is NOT a dump stat" for any class, due to hitpoints being extremely important for fighting (and sometimes the only defense against) high level monsters.
* DungeonCrawling: Or, with the tumble skill, dungeon rolling or even dungeon backflipping!

** The crazed, ineffective magic attacks of Coyle, a non-player character you must protect for 15 eternally-long minutes in a Ruins of Threnal quest chain. If he dies, you fail the quest. Keeping the little bastard from attracting any attention that will get himself killed was made a little easier when the game developers allowed players to give Coyle a TapOnTheHead as required.
** Gladewatch Outpost Defense involves protecting the captain of a defense regiment while she defends the outpost from attacking goblinoids and ogres. Oh yeah, and she left her soldiers at home too, so it's just your team and her. Make sure to have at least two healers, since she tends to run off to attack whenever a new enemy spawns. You can try to talk her out of it, but even then you have to make sure she doesn't see anything hostile on the way to wherever you're hiding her.
** In many of the more recently-added quests, the developers have trended toward escortees who can fight or make themselves invincible, but not both at once. Your character can even say in dialogue on one occasion, "I dislike escort missions. They always die too easily or fall off ledges and there's nothing I can do about it," to which the VIP outright tells you not to worry about his safety.
* FakeBalance: Rogues get the shallow end of the DPS pool. Sure, sneak attack can do some massive damage, but it doesn't catch up to a fighter's damage output until about level 12, and even then it doesn't work against undead, elementals, oozes, constucts, an enemy with a Fortification (depending on how much it gives) item, or other human players in 1-on-1 [[PlayerVersusPlayer PvP]].

* FiveRaces: Eight, actually: Humans, Elves, Halflings, Dwarves, Warforged, Drow ([[OurElvesAreDifferent which are like other elves, but with more stat boosts]]), [[HalfHumanHybrid half-orcs]] and [[HalfHumanHybrid half-elves]].

* GameMaster: A well-voiced narration to help set the tone.
** One of the quest areas is even GM'd by Creator/GaryGygax himself, and another by fellow ''D&D'' creator Dave Arneson.
* GogglesDoNothing: As of Update 22, you can visually show off goggles over your character's forehead.
* {{Golem}}: the Warforged race, a living construct that (paying) players can choose to use. Not-so-nice golems populate the dungeons as well.

* HighlyVisibleNinja: If your teammate is using the Hide command, you see them crouching with their avatar slightly darkened. Also, some enemies will use the Sneak command, with almost no effect due to their pitiful skill checks; you can still target them and hit them just fine.

* HyperactiveMetabolism: Averted. You'll heal {{hitpoints}} and {{mana}} naturally when standing around in Stormreach city, but you can drastically increase your regeneration rate for a couple minutes by eating food and drinking juice. Or consuming oil, if you're a Warforged.
* IngestingKnowledge: Until a recent update, your character used stat-enhancing books pretty much exactly like this.
* InsurmountableWaistHeightFence: Averted by the characters' ability to jump, or clamber over shorter objects like large crates. Occasionally played straight as part of an...
* InterfaceScrew: Being affected by blindness also turns your view of the game world entirely black. You can still otherwise play normally and navigate with the minimap. In old versions many years back, blindness was permanent until magically cured, so you could occasionally find blinded adventurers stumbling around Stormreach.

* InvoluntaryDance: The Otto's dance line of spells: Resistible, Irresistible, and Sphere of Dancing. Nearly all creatures with minds (including the player characters) can be affected by it.
* KamehameHadoken: An Epic Destiny for epic players in the new expansion, Menace of the Underdark, allows powerful ranged KiManipulation. Later updates also allow a new Monk class tree, the Henshin Mystic, to weaponize ki this way (albeit not as dramatically as Son Goku).
* KillerRabbit: Dogs and wolves are surprisingly deadly, and wolves are even cute furballs. More HitPoint than the average mook, hitting like trucks, and possessing a trip attack capable of causing you to {{Pratfall}} at which point you are helpless for a second or two. At equivalent levels, it means dogs and wolves are more dangerous than TheLegionsOfHell themselves.
* KillItWithFire: Neophyte spell-casting adventurers will throw Walls of Fire at the blink of an eye. That's fine and all until they realize that the enemy AI sets its sights on them and squishes them flat. Not a tactic against Iron Golems (fire heals them) or {{Devil}}s and Demons (they eat fire for breakfast).

** The DM for the new version of Heyton's Rest is also quite given to hammery.
* LeeroyJenkins: Player characters that do a Leeroy in a quest are likely to get themselves (and any guild they represent) a blackballing reputation. While in a quest, a party leader can't dismiss a player, but others may choose not to heal the offending player or even carry his Soulstone (death token) to where he has a chance to revive.

** Running around on top of the buildings in the Stormreach marketplace can be kinda fun, and it's an integral part of the [[ChristmasMode Easter event's]] egg hunt. It more or less requires a Feather Fall effect of some kind, though.
** Players with light or no armor and high Jump skills often use this way to get about town very quickly. For Monks, it fits their {{Wuxia}} style, obviously.
* LevelGrinding: Thankfully, every character gets bonus experience for doing a quest on any difficulty the first time, and most quests come with 3 or 4 difficulty levels to shake things up a little bit. You also get bonus XP for [[DieChairDie Breaking everything you can]], [[OmnicidalManiac killing everything you can]], [[ActualPacifist not killing anything]], not dying, not leaving the quest until it's done, and disabling traps/finding secret doors.
* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: Just like the original ''[=DnD=]''; Fighters (and the like) start off doing respectable damage that increases slowly over time, while wizards go from their 1d6 Magic Missile damage to spamming Quickened Meteor Swarm for 4 times 8d6 damage twice a second, not to mention the crapton of damage boosts they get by that point.
** This ''does'' switch around every few updates or so as new content is released: at one point, having more than one arcane caster in a raid (out of 12 participants) was considered a waste of a DPS slot, being relegated to crowd-control duties.
** An alternative is one who decided to start as {{Necromancer}} (Wizard sub-class), not only can they summon Skeletal Knight via Pale Master skill tree, the Command Undead spell acquired from [=LV2=] Archmage Skill Tree specialization can be repeatedly used at a very low cost, more than enough to arrange a ZergRush or pacify a hallway of undead enemies. And above all, you have access to spells such as Shroud of Zombie, which turns you into undead and makes you [[NoSell immune to all kind of poisons]], and by poisons, this includes poison gas traps that would ''[[OneHitKill normally kill you in one spray]]'' in dungeons of higher difficulty.

** Some of the objects actually do stuff, and others are just valuable.

** Trap boxes explode if you [[CriticalFailure fail badly enough]] when trying to disarm them, [[ExplodingBarrels certain barrels]] will explode if you hit them with anything (including but not limited to: your fists, swords or clubs, arrows, crossbow bolts, shurikens, and elemental magic (even [[FridgeLogic ice]] [[IncrediblyLamePun magic]]), symbols of fire ignite if you go anywhere near them, and if you kill an enemy with a fire attack, its corpse will light on fire and burn away. Frozen enemies explode into ice fragments.
** In the "Irestone Inlet" quest, you rig a boat with barrels of gunpowder and light the fuse. It's even possible to do this without the guards on board realizing you're there. Oh, and if you're standing too close to the boat when it blows up, the shockwave pushes you away.
** Players in the quest "Siegebreaker" encounter an entire room filled with explosive barrels that cascade their explosions. There are two HUGE super-barrels that will outright kill anyone on exploding if the player is on the same plane of the things. The Dungeon Master voice [[LampshadeHanging puts a light on this humorously.]]

* TheMedic: Don't leave Stormreach without one. If an enemy comes with his own healer, [[ShootTheMedicFirst he's FIRST on your list to kill]].
* MinMaxing:
** Half-elves, having the incontestably ugliest face models in the game and looking like creepy dolls, and being able get limited abilities from classes in which they don't have levels, such as having a pure fighter casting divine scrolls or getting full monk bonus to healing amplification. They're basically a munchkin's wet dream.
** Find a full-cleric with more than 14 intelligence. Go on, ''try''.
** Non-divine Drow spellcasters. +2 to intelligence and charisma? They're popular for a ''reason''. Actually, even Clerics might want to play a drow, since they'll get another turning check.
** Leads to some amusement when a DDO player also plays tabletop D&D, as if they forget which system they're building for they'll turn up with a character sheet that is completely inappropriate for a tabletop game (e.g. a healbot cleric with no strength or combat ability).

* NotTheFallThatKillsYou:
** Using a Feather Fall spell or wearing a feather-falling item lets you avoid falling damage. So does [[LiteralCliffhanger grabbing a ledge or ladder]] or [[SoftWater landing in water more than 7 feet deep]].
** The Monk class gets off easier here with their Slow Fall feat that's automatically given as they level. By the time they are level 20, they can fall ''any'' distance [[MagicalRealism without any damage]], Feather Fall item or no.

** There are also vorpal, slaying, banishing, smiting, and disruption weapons that kill most mooks of the appropriate type outright or deal a thousand bonus damage to others.

* OptionalStealth: A low-level quest is called "Stealthy Repossession", and involves stealing a special gemstone back from kobolds without killing more than a few kobold prophets. Appropriately built classes can sneak the entire way through, but other classes have little choice but to madly blitz through the dungeon, or else play normally but carefully kill every kobold except the prophets. A handful of other quests become easier with some stealth, but are never impossible without it.
* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: Short, bearded, gruff people who like beer and digging. Except perhaps for the Duergar, who will kill you on sight.
** Oddly, most NPC dwarves in Stormreach have no facial hair at all and are quite polite. The lore for them plays this straight, though.
* OurElvesAreDifferent: Playing a drow for any non-melee-combat-specialized class is what you might call optimized, since they receive more bonus stats than they lose (all other races' stats balance out).
* OxygenMeter:
** Used when you swim. Wearing an amulet or ring of Underwater Action gives you SuperNotDrowningSkills.
** Warforged have SuperNotDrowningSkills as a racial ability: They don't have lungs, and therefore don't need to breathe.
* PermanentlyMissableContent:
** You get one and only one ember weapon per character, and they're non-tradeable. Here's hoping you have some other way to attack with fire or acid when you finally meet some trolls.
** Finish Misery's Peak you only get one shot at the end rewards, which are the second half of a two set piece that gives a class related bonus depending on which one you pick. Choose wisely, because you can't trade your pick in for a different set.
** In a more abstract way, your starting stats. Put too much strength on your wizard? Well, you can either start over or [[BribingYourWayToVictory buy a Heart of Wood (rerolling token)]] and fix those stats.

* PowerCreep: The game was released more than a decade ago (in 2006) and has multiple expansions, so this is inevitable. Because the level range of the game hasn't changed significantly, this has manifested mainly in the loot (both random and unique) getting more and more powerful over time compared to older items at the same level. This is most obvious in the case of extremely old adventure packs and quest chains that haven't been revisited or touched up - The unique end rewards for Halls of Shan-To-Kor (one of the oldest packs) were competitive or superior at the time the pack was released and were intended for level 3-5 players, but are now seriously outclassed by items acquired ''on the tutorial island'' as random drops.

* PressXToDie: In ''Eberron Unlimited'', you can type "/death" into the chat/command box to kill your character. This can be useful for teleporting to a distant tavern that you've asked to be resurrected at (although your equipment will be damaged if you /death outside of a tavern). It can also be used while incapacitated, occasionally handy if you won't be rescued but a resurrection shrine is nearby.
* PrestigeClass: Just a few of them, and they aren't technically [[ClassAndLevelSystem classes]], but you can use your action points from levelling up to specialize in one of your class' abilities.
** The Underdark update added Epic Destinies, "mini-classes" that provide powerful abilities, which are available to characters level 20-25.
* PurelyAestheticGender: Naturally, this causes several male players to create female characters.

* RepeatableQuest: Adventures are infinitely repeatable on four different difficulty levels each. The first play on each adventure/difficulty combo gives an array of experience bonuses, while subsequent replays start adding penalties, eventually hard-capping the XP gain at a very low number for extreme repetition. Ironically, it's more efficient to not repeat quests too heavily (except for crafting purposes).
* ResurrectionSickness: The effects of death will cause more hardship on your spirit (and poor gameplay) if you die repeatedly.
* RougeAnglesOfSatin: To be expected in a "free" MMORPG where one of the playable classes is a rogue.
** Most commonly seen misspelling in the game's Groups window where help for quests are asked. ''"How much damage does my powder puff do, again?"''
** Just to be funny, the developers created a quest chain giver in House Phiarlan (a village of elven performers ''cum'' spymasters) named "Rouge".
* ScarsAreForever: Some of the appearance customization are a scar somewhere on the face. Naturally, nothing short of reincarnation (basically reroll, but keep used tomes, equipment and levels) can remove it.

* SelfImposedChallenge: [[http://www.massiveonlinegamer.com/news/usersubmitted/155-perma-death-in-ddo The Perma-Death Challenge.]]

* SlipperySkid: Throw your Grease spell and players with low Balance skills begin a series of {{Pratfall}}s. This might also get you kicked from the party if you do this against enemies that rarely [[IncrediblyLamePun fall for it]] during battle.
* SquishyWizard: Even with 20 extra hit points at start, it's still not a good idea for most sorcerers or wizards to get into melee, especially at lower levels.

* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Ehh... kinda. If you have a microphone, you can talk to your party while you play (sound quality varies). If you stop in the middle of combat to ''type'' to your teammates, you're likely to die unless your cleric is particularly competent.
** Subverted when fighting a boss or mini-boss with dialogue, whom you can kill before they're done with their {{Monologuing}} or EvilGloating. Nothing says ShutUpHannibal like a Holy Burst greatsword to the face.
* TakeThat: [[VideoGame/MapleStory Broccoli]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhIMu60Zab0 or the Beholder]]?
** There's rumors that they are making the Broccoli a playable class with veggie themed attacks.
** There's a quest-giving NPC that asks you to [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft retrieve 10 rat tails]]. When your character reacts incredulously ("You can NOT be serious!"), the NPC's whole table bursts out laughing. He then gives you the REAL mission.

* ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman: Single-target spells, weapons, and abilities aren't considered very useful next to area-of-effects that can hit multiple enemies at once, but you'll need someone with strong single-target abilities and minimal [=AoE=] damage to beat "Let Sleeping Dust Lie" as you have to kill specific enemies in the middle of packs of weaker enemies you're not allowed to kill.

* TheUndead: They tend to be GoddamnBats to rogues, because a +5 Holy Shortsword of Disruption is a mite costly at lower levels (and can't be used anyway until [[TookALevelInBadass you're MUCH higher in character level]]). On the other hand, they are loveable for wizards, especially if you have Command Undead ([=LV2=] Necromancy specialisation spell) to turn them into your temporarily allies. Bonus point for Skeletal Knight summon for Wizard class.

* UnwinnableByMistake: It's possible to enter certain quests unaware that you don't have what you need to finish them and you won't know it until you get to that point. Locked doors or unsurvivable traps are the most common form of this but there are others:
** "The Missing Party" requires at least two people to solve a lever puzzle. If you've gone in solo and forgot to bring a hireling it's impossible to finish. Similarly, "Flesh-Maker's Laboratory" requires five runes to be deactivated in a short time. This is impossible solo and a LuckBasedMission with a hireling, so at least two live players are recommended.
** "The Bookbinder Rescue" requires you to be able to break doors down before the enemies kill the [=NPCs=] you need to save. The enemies begin attacking the [=NPCs=] when you approach the door, not when it breaks, and they must be broken with melee attacks or certain [=AoE=] spells like Fireball. If you're on a character with a weak melee attack and none of the right spells (such as a low-level Warlock) you won't be able to break the door before the [=NPC=] dies. Making this even harder, all the doors have traps in front of them.
** "Entering the Gate Chamber" requires someone with a ranged weapon to shoot a target lever to lower a bridge at the very end. Unlike almost every other instance of this mechanic, no ranged weapon is provided for you so if nobody has one someone has to leave and get one or, if solo, the entire quest has to be repeated.
** "The Xorian Cipher" can become this through the simple act of [[LeeroyJenkins being just a little too overzealous.]] The hallway connecting the middle portion of the dungeon to the final area is laden with multiple traps, and if you aren't cautious, you are certain to die to them. However, there ''is'' a nearby resurrection shrine... [[HopeSpot that's just slightly too far from the hallway, leaving you no time to run there before being reset to the position of your soulstone.]] If your entire party dies to the hallway, it will be impossible for anyone to make it back to the resurrection shrine, rendering the quest unwinnable and therefore forcing the party to restart.
*** By a similar vein, the optional battle with the dungeon's miniboss can be this. The room has a raised gate and is seemingly empty, but upon entering, the floor falls away to reveal the boss's lair underneath. If the entire party isn't in the room when the floor falls away, all gates leading to the area slam shut and don't open again, forcing whoever is inside to battle the boss by themselves. If they die, their soulstone can't be retrieved, and the miniboss rewards are lost to the rest of the team.
* UpToEleven: Due to the recent expansion, the Epic difficulty has been divided into four difficulties.(Epic Casual, Normal, etc.) The old Epic mode was between Epic Hard and Epic Elite in terms of difficulty. Epic Elite is somehow much more challenging than the old Epic mode, with dogs that can kill you in less than 5 hits, and traps dealing absurd amounts of damage. Now, imagine fighting the [[ThatOneBoss Lord of Blades]] on Epic Elite...

** Anything that does stat damage often takes a lot of hits before it may become effective.

** As an inversion, however, several of these effects are highly useful against anything that isn't completely immune.
** Enhancements, spells, and item effects can be used to increase stat damage effectiveness, especially with poison in the last 2012 updates.

* WalkOnWater: Before late 2012, you could become a Monk, choose the Path of Inevitable Dominion (dark) path, choose the right enhancements and eventually gain the ability to focus your ki to walk (well, ''run'', really) on water (''and'' lava, but you might still take damage). Your [[Literature/TheDestroyer Remo Williams and Master Chiun dreams come true]]. But now, that ability has been lost to major game changes.

* GoLookAtTheDistraction:
** The Intimidate skill. Technically more of a "come here and look at me distracting you," but still.
** Would be more suited to the Diplomacy skill. "Hey, here's a great idea. Go lodge your axe in my friend's skull instead."
** Bluff fits even better; it works even when you're alone. Also the best skill for Rogues, because it opens up the target to Sneak Attacks.