History VideoGame / FireEmblemTellius

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' -- The ninth game, released on the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube in 2005. Stars Ike and takes place in Tellius.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' -- The tenth game, released on the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} in 2007. A sequel to ''Path of Radiance''.

"Fire Emblem Tellius" could refer to:

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' -- The ninth ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' game, released on the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube in 2005. Stars Ike and takes place in Tellius.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' -- The tenth ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' game, released on the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} in 2007. A sequel to ''Path of Radiance''.

A link to "Fire Emblem Tellius" sent you here. The context of the link should help you figure out which page you want.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' -- The ninth ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' game, released on the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube in 2005. Stars Ike and takes place in Tellius .

%%Do not add tropes until everything has been sorted into the Sandbox pages.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fe9-10_3377.jpg]]

->''"In days long past, a young man strode the lands of Tellius.\\
He was simple yet true, his deeds brave and noble. He reunited two races long at war, and healed the heart of a goddess long gone mad.\\
Ask any you meet be they young or old, beorc or laguz, of a hero named Ike and you'll receive a warm smile and a tale or two of faith, courage, and honesty."''
-->-- Epilogue to ''Radiant Dawn''

The ninth and tenth games in the ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' series, comprising its fifth canon and timeline. The Tellius games were the first international releases to appear on a home console, and are something of a return to the style of [[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral the last console games]] by way of implementing many features not seen since the Jugdral games and their darker art styles and plotting.

* '''''Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance''''' (UsefulNotes/GameCube, 2005) stars mercenary Ike, the first non-noble main character of the series, as he aids Princess Elincia in reclaiming her kingdom of Crimea after its fall to the suddenly-aggressive nation of Daein. This game reimplemented the anima magic triangle and the skills system in full, in addition to implementing new features like the base menu, bonus experience, and the laguz, an [[LittleBitBeastly animalistic]] race whose combat revolves around transforming into animals.
* '''''Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn''''' (UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}, 2007) is a direct sequel to ''Path of Radiance'', taking place three years after its ending. The game is divided into four parts, each starring a different main character. The first arc features Micaiah, the leader of the Dawn Brigade, in her work to liberate the country of Daein from its abuse at the hands of its post-war Begnion occupation, an act which instigates the conflict to come. Following {{arc}}s feature Elincia, now queen of Crimea, dealing with rebellious nobles, and Ike and his mercenaries aiding the Laguz kingdoms in a war against an apparently corrupt Begnion, with the final arc bringing all the characters together in order to avert the destruction of their world.

----
!!This sub-series provides examples of:

* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: The Tellius Recollection book reveals that Almedha was designed to appear to be just 26 years old, while her son Pelleas was designed to appear 19. Subverted in that [[spoiler:she's a dragon laguz, and dragon laguz age incredibly slowly and stop aging when they reach full maturity, meaning that Almedha was ReallySevenHundredYearsOld]], and [[spoiler:she wasn't Pelleas' mother]]. Even so, nobody called her or Pelleas out on it before they figured out the above spoilers.
** Even if [[spoiler:she wasn't Pelleas's mother]], she did still [[spoiler:have a child with the king; it was Soren, however, not Pelleas.]]
* AChildShallLeadThem: Sanaki, the 10/13 year old empress of [[TheEmpire Begnion]].
* {{Animorphism}}: All the laguz.
* AerithAndBob: A mercenary group with characters such as Ike, Mist, Oscar... who later finds characters with names like Sothe, Zihark, Haar, etc. Somewhat justified, considering the party consists of people from several in-game countries which probably have their own naming customs, but then you have Crimeans named Brom, Renning, and Kieran, as well as Daeinians named Jill and, in Radiant Dawn, Edward and Nolan.
* AllForNothing: [[spoiler: The three heroes hid the truth about Lehran and Altina's child and its effect on him while forbidding InterspeciesRomance out of fear that the truth would spark a new race war. Not only was that lie the cause of the reignited conflict, the Kingdom of Hatari remained unaware of this edict and enjoyed peace not just between the wolf laguz and their beorc neighbors, but with the few branded born to them.]]
* AMillionIsAStatistic: Micaiah feels this way when, during a battle, [[spoiler:Tibarn sweeps in and snatches up Sothe, hovering over a cliff with him in tow, demanding her army surrenders or [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou he drops him]].]] "Individual lives taken before your eyes weigh more heavily than the many lives taken during the chaos of war. If that life is someone dear, the burden is even worse." [[spoiler:Pelleas reasons.]]
* ArbitraryMinimumRange: Generally played straight in that bows cannot strike units adjacent to themselves. In ''Radiant Dawn'', archers can overcome this limitation by using Crossbows as opposed to bow and arrows. The [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity+1 Bow]], the Double Bow, in Radiant Dawn, also allows the wielder to strike at range 1.[[note]]In Path of Radiance, the Double Bow allows its user to strike at range 4 instead.[[/note]]
* ArmorPiercingSlap: In a [[EasterEgg hidden cutscene]] in ''Path of Radiance'', after Boyd makes fun of Mist's weight, she shoves him double-distance ("smites" him). In most situations, Mist is too light to shove Boyd at all.
* ArtifactOfDoom: The titular Fire Emblem, also known as Lehran's Medallion. [[spoiler:A bit of a subversion in that the Goddess trapped inside is not inherently evil, only chaotic.]]
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: The Royal Laguz are selected as the strongest in the tribe. To get the throne, you must fight the king or queen and defeat him.
** Ashnard also has this attitude... and takes it [[BloodKnight way]], '''''[[SocialDarwinist way]]''''' [[BadBoss too far]].
*** Although, it should be noted that Ashnard is far more powerful than any of the Laguz Kings (and Giffca) in Path of Radiance. No single unit can beat him without healing or multiple skill activations.
* AttackAttackAttack: Skrimir starts off exhibiting this mentality, going so far as to actually utter the phrase "Advance! Advance! Advance!" at Fort Flaguerre.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Played with with Elincia, who is a useful unit in [=FE9=] due to healing, but isn't terribly useful in combat. In [=FE10=], however, she got a lot better. Of course, this is when she's [[FridgeBrilliance ascended from princess to ''Queen Crimea'']].
** Apostle Sanaki and King Pelleas are no slouches in this department either, both being powerful mages. To a lesser extent, the Begnion Senators could also qualify. [[spoiler:Micaiah, being the True Apostle, and thus the vessel of Yune may also count.]]
** In fact, [=FE10=] may just be one of the best examples of this trope, as by endgame, ''every single ruler on the continent'' (with the exception of the Heron King, who doesn't have a nation anymore anyway) is personally involved in the conflict and shows serious competence. The same goes for several heirs-to-be and other governmental members involved in the war.
* BadassArmy: The Greil/Ike Mercenaries and all of their allies are a force to be reckoned with.
* BackToBackBadasses: Technically, you can do this with any units you feel like setting it up with, but Ike and Gatrie do it in a cutscene.
* BanOnMagic: [[AllThereInTheManual Partially.]] [[IceMagicIsWater Water (Ice)]] and Dark Magic are taboo, as Water is seen as a direct power of the creation goddess Ashunera, and Dark is seen as the product of the dark god Yune. This explains the total lack of dark mages ''Path of Radiance'', and the very few in ''Radiant Dawn''. The only water spell is a unique light tome used by [[spoiler: Sephiran, who is seen to have a personal relationship with Ashunera in the far future epilogue, as well as playing a role with Ashera's heroes in the distant past, and being one of the highest regarded priests in the present putting him above the taboo]]. Some ice spells sneak their way in through high level wind tomes. Notably the most prominent wind user is Soren whose [[spoiler: life is taboo for multiple reasons and]] style of dress is somewhere between a regular mage and a dark mage.
* {{BFS}}: Ettard, Ragnell, and Alondite. Impressive by the fact that Begnion's first apostle, Altina, wielded [[DualWielding BOTH]] Ragnell AND Alondite.
** Then there's King Ashnard's sword, Gurgurant, which is just plain enormous.
* BigBadassBirdOfPrey: ''Tibarn,'' full stop. He's king of the Hawk Tribe laguz, and with more than enough [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority strength to back it up.]]
* BigBrotherInstinct: One possible interpretation for Ike and Soren's relationship. However, though Ike is the physically stronger of the two, Soren does his utmost to protect Ike using wits and promises to always watch over him. A more straight example would be Ike and his little sister Mist.
* BigEater: Ilyana, who remains thin as paper throughout the game and spends all of her support conversations either on the point of passing out from hunger or chewing on Mia's shoes. She also is a ''twig'', and uses her looks to charm food out of guys. A common fan theory is that she has a tapeworm.
** Her death quote in Radiant Dawn even has her ''complaining that she's dying on an empty stomach''.
** Not as pathological as Ilyana, but the beast laguz and to a lesser extent the hawk laguz are known to eat a lot. Special note goes to Skrimir, as mentioned in an info conversation. In that same conversation, the characters compare Ike's appetite to a laguz and conclude that they're going to need a lot more food for the journey. In fact, another popular fan theory is that Ilyana is a beast laguz branded, explaining her above-average (for a mage) strength growth and ridiculous appetite.
* BilingualBonus: The ancient language is a fairly simple one-to-one English cipher (spoken, it's just backwards Japanese), so players with a key can read exactly what various characters are saying. While the translated dialogue is usually fairly serious, Volug and Leanne's support conversations are actually rather funny, since both of them know nobody else speaks their language.
-->'''Volug''': ''(...Hey. You ever wonder what would happen if I just ate everyone we fought? Would the rest keep fighting?)''
-->'''Leanne''': [[HelloInsertNameHere ____]]... Be... Be safe. I want to... stay with you, ''(now and always. By the way, [[LethalChef can you cook?]])''
* BilingualDialogue: What happens whenever either Leanne or Volug speak to someone who understands the ancient language, but doesn't speak it in return.
* BirthmarkOfDestiny: The Branded, as well as those with the [[BlessedWithSuck Spirit's Protection]]. Particularly notable is the brand that runs along [[spoiler:the Begnion Royal Family; their unique brand designates its bearer as the true Apostle. The current bearer is Micaiah.]]
* BlackKnight: Current page image.
* {{Blackmail}}: After Soren discovers that [[spoiler: Nasir is a spy]] and confronts him about it, the latter subtly threatens to reveal Soren's secret, that [[spoiler: he is Branded]]. Soren is then so terrified of being found out that he keeps his mouth shut about what he knows, even when [[spoiler: Mist's medallion vanishes]] and after [[spoiler: Nasir]] is caught. Bottling up the truth makes him become gradually meaner and more upset during briefings until the earliest time he can [[spoiler: tell Ike his secret on his own]].
* BlessedWithSuck: According to a support conversation, some mages can invite a spirit to enter their bodies, allowing it to consume said mage's soul in exchange for essence (i.e. power).
-->'''Callil''': Magic comes from interaction with spirits. If you let one into your body, it will give you tremendous power... [[DealWithTheDevil for a price.]]
* BloodKnight: Ashnard, all the way. In one conversation, he hints pretty heavily that he's deliberately setting up a SortingAlgorithmOfEvil to allow Ike's group to reach their full potential before meeting him, provided they're worthy.
* {{Bookends}}: An inversion regarding the [[RecurringRiff Fire Emblem Theme]]. ''Path of Radiance'' seems at first like it might have discarded the iconic tune, until [[spoiler:the very end. You hear a bit of it in the background of the last cutscene, and in ''{{Metroid}}''-like fashion, the theme returns with a [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome rousing vengeance]] on the last screen of the game (the Unit Records). In turn, the theme is one of the first tunes you hear in ''Radiant Dawn'', on the main menu.]]
** A straight example would be the Tower of Guidance, the very first thing you see in the intro movie to ''Path of Radiance'', and where the final battle of ''Radiant Dawn'' takes place.
* BoomHeadshot: What Shinon does to save Rolf in chapter 2 of ''[=PoR=]''.
* BossBonanza: ''Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn'' had this in its 5 consecutive endgame chapters, each of which was themed around a particular named and plot relevant boss -- some chapters even had two.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Enemy Beorc factions in both games use Feral Ones (Laguz who have been [[SlaveMook enslaved]] and [[PsychoSerum drugged]] into rabid beasts) in combat. Also counts as KickTheDog. Also, Bertram, who is actually [[spoiler:Elincia's uncle Renning]], brainwashed by Izuka.
* BroughtDownToNormal: Almedha lost the ability [[VoluntaryShapeshifting to shift into her dragon form]] after [[spoiler:giving birth to her and Ashnard's son Soren.]]
* ButForMeItWasTuesday: Variation: If you have Jill fight Ashnard, he'll say he doesn't even know who her father is, even though he's one of Daein's generals [[spoiler:and died for his country.]] Unfortunately for Ashnard, this pushes Jill's BerserkButton.
-->'''Jill''': ...Ashnard... [[SayMyName Ashnard]]!! [[RuleOfThree ASHNARD!!]] [[ThisIsUnforgivable I... will never forgive you!]] [[YouMonster NEVER!!!]] [[SoundOfNoDamage *ting*]]
* CallARabbitASmeerp: In ''Path of Radiance'' and ''Radiant Dawn'', normal humans are referred to as "beorc," though beorc usually refer to themselves as humans, while laguz (the game world's other humanoid race), who dislike beorc, use the word "human" as an insult. Meanwhile, the beorc use the term "sub-human" to refer to Laguz, and again, this is meant to be an insult.
* TheCaligula: Daein's new rulers (Pre-Pelleas) are really ''really'' not so interested in actually ''running'' Daein so much as suppressing it...
* CallBack: In an info conversation in Path of Radiance, Ike and Soren discuss how neither one of them likes to pack unnecessary items and they both travel light. In Radiant Dawn, Soren's support ending with Ike mentions that he "lightly packed" before leaving with him.
* ChaosIsEvil: [[spoiler:Subverted.]] In ''Path of Radiance'' and the first half of ''Radiant Dawn'', it is assumed that inside [[spoiler:Lehran's Medallion]] hides a Dark God who will bring catastrophe to the world if awakened. Later in ''Dawn'', it is learned that inside rests [[spoiler:Yune, the Goddess of Chaos, who is in fact not evil. The true BiggerBad of the game is ''Ashera'', the Goddess of Order.]]
* CharacterDevelopment: ''Path of Radiance'' had many conversations for each character. However, as usual for a Fire Emblem game, each character could only have 5 conversations per playthrough (many characters have over 10 conversations, so it takes a while).
* ChekhovsGun: Ragnell is first presented in this way, during Greil's battle with the Black Knight. Over a ''much'' longer period of time, so is Urvan.
* ChekhovsGunman: When playing ''Path of Radiance'', you may notice that the game pays a suspiciously large amount of attention to certain characters who nevertheless don't seem to do much; examples include Prince Kurthnaga of Goldoa and his bodyguard Gareth, Naeasala's elderly chamberlain Nealuchi, Begnion Dukes Lekain and Hetzel, and Ashnard's head scientist Izuka, who sticks around just long enough to [[KarmaHoudini get away with all his crimes]]. All become at least supporting characters in the sequel, and ditto Lethe's weaker sister Lyre and her associate Kysha, who are referred to in Lethe's support conversation. [[spoiler:And don't worry, Izuka ''finally'' gets his]].
* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler:Sephiran.]]
** Lekain ''thinks'' he's this, but he's actually just another one of the true [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster's]] [[UnwittingPawn Unwitting Pawns]]. What's more, he's pretty much [[spoiler:the whole reason Sephiran started his scheme in the first place]].
* ChildSoldiers: Leonardo, Rolf, Mist, Tormod, Sanaki, Sothe in [=PoR=], Laura, and Edward.
** Rolf's support conversation with Mist in ''Path of Radiance'' discusses this, as Mist notes that Rolf is starting to become [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior too comfortable with killing.]]
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: "You mean Naesala's betrayed us? Again?"
** Eventually justified in Radiant Dawn: [[spoiler:Lekain has him under a Blood Pact that will slowly kill off his people if he doesn't do what the leader of Begnion tells him to. Apparently the Blood Pact didn't specify who the "leader of Begnion" was, as neither Naesala nor Kilvas suffer any ill effects when he fights for Sanaki. Then again though, seeing as Kilvas is kind of statues at the time...]]
** You could also feed an entire family if you had a gold piece for every time Jill switched sides.
* CripplingTheCompetition: A self-inflicted example in ''Path of Radiance''; [[spoiler:late in the game, it's revealed that Ike's father Greil had crippled his own arm so that he could never use his sword again--as atonement for slaughtering a great number of people while under the influence of a certain pendant]].
* CrutchCharacter: Zig-zagged, unusually for a ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' game. Several characters play the role of Crutch Character like Titania, but have decent enough growths for them to remain feasible throughout the entire game. (In ''Radiant Dawn'', Titania's even a popular end-game choice.) In ''Radiant Dawn'', the characters generally alternate between this. In part 1, several characters play this role. In Part 2, Elincia plays this role (as she actually starts in the third tier of promotion). However, unlike others, they tend to remain pretty feasible throughout the game.
** Sothe in ''Radiant Dawn'' is the straightest example. When he first comes in the third mission of Radiant Dawn, as a level 1 Rogue (thus a prepromoted unit), he is an [[LightningBruiser untouchable god even on hard, and then he remains vital throughout all of Part 1]]. However as Part 1 goes on, he starts getting a bit less untouchable and a bit less of a one-rounding machine. Then Part 3 comes, where while remains very useful offensively (thanks to being able to wield the Beastkiller while fighting beast Laguz), [[FragileSpeedster his frail defenses start really showing and he can't tank hits anymore]]. Then Part 4 comes, and since he isn't fighting beast Laguz anymore, his offense crumbles away while his defenses don't get any better, despite promoting to a Whisper at the beginning of the part. Then the Endgame comes, where despite being mandatory, he is too weak to do anything. Now Sothe does have decent-to-good growths unlike typical crutch characters, but his class' terrible stat caps (especially his strength caps of 22/28) and being only able to wield [[KnifeNut knives]] (by far the weakest weapons in the game) results in Sothe hitting a ceiling really hard in the final part of the game.
** Shinon starts out looking like a straight Crutch Character in ''Path of Radiance'', then becomes unavailable until roughly two-thirds of the way through the game, by which time he CantCatchUp. The FourLinesAllWaiting nature of ''Radiant Dawn'' leads to many more characters following this arc, elevating what was previously a one-off anomaly among members of the archetype (''Thracia 776'''s Eyvel) to a separate sub-archetype.
** Tormod, Muarim, and Vika in ''Radiant Dawn''. They come in the final three chapters of Part 1 as really overpowered units (especially Muarim). Then they disappear for the entire game... until one chapter before the endgame, at the same stats they left in, which at point Tormod and Vika will get one-rounded by any enemy while even Muarim struggles to stay alive. Needless to say, on a typical playthrough they will be completely useless to bring into the endgame. They do actually have good growths (Vika in particular may have the best growths in the game), but it doesn't really matter when you'll only get them up a level or two in Part 1, and then have no time to raise them up to usefulness when they finally come back in Part 4.
** ''Radiant Dawn'' also gives you five ''endgame'' {{Crutch Character}}s in the chapters right before the last, who all come naturally in the rare third tier of promotion: Stefan, Oliver, Volke, Bastian, and Renning. They're there if you somehow managed to not train up enough third tier units to fill out your endgame team or too much of your trained units died, but this happens pretty rarely and thus they don't generally see much use (especially Volke, as he is restricted to knives, while Sothe is mandatory with there being only one SS knife, thus he'll always be redundant in the endgame on a typical playthrough even though he's a statistically superior unit than Sothe could ever be).
* DarkIsNotEvil: Pelleas is somewhat weak-willed and a HorribleJudgeOfCharacter, but he's ultimately a well-meaning guy, as his [[spoiler:HeroicSacrifice in the hopes that Daein will be free from the effects of his Blood Pact]] demonstrates. On the second playthrough of ''Radiant Dawn'' and later, he can be recruited, and he's a fairly powerful Dark Sage.
* DeliverUsFromEvil: Almedha's backstory implies that she was as belligerent as Ashnard before the birth of their son [[spoiler:and the resulting loss of her shapeshifting abilities]].
* DevelopersForesight:
** Parts of ''Path of Radiance''[='=]s DummiedOut content included plenty of indications that [[spoiler:the Black Knight = Zelgius]], such as [[spoiler:the internal filename of ''Against the Black Knight'' and that Zelgius's unused stats and growths are identical to those of the Black Knight]].
** The identity of Betram, one of the Four Riders of Daein being [[spoiler:Elincia's uncle Renning was spoiled when players dug through the files of ''Path of Radiance'' and found an unused portrait of Renning that perfectly matches that of Betram.]]
** The game also includes several unused names, such as [[spoiler:Yune and Astartyune; known to English speakers as Ashunera]].
** There are numerous conversations in ''Radiant Dawn'' which are nearly impossible to see -- including a death quote for the Black Knight in Part 1, where nothing can physically harm him (incidentally, [[WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou his death is also programmed to trigger a Game Over]]).
** Greil's combat animation looks a bit... weird... compared to Ike's or Boyd's in the prologue of ''Path of Radiance''; his sword-arm looks rather stiff, and his backhanded swing doesn't look very forceful compared to Ike's and Boyd's fore-handed swings. Not only was Greil [[ILetYouWin deliberately holding back on that fight]], but [[spoiler:his sword-arm had been crippled so that he COULDN'T swing his training sword properly.]]
** On a related note, there are some similarities between the stance and combat animations of Lord!Ike, Zelgius, the Black Knight, and Greil. [[spoiler:Not a big surprise, given that Zelgius and the Black Knight are the same person and all four mentioned characters used the same swordfighting discipline, Greil's style, which he taught Ike and Zelgius.]]
** To defeat [[spoiler:Ashera, Ike must deal the finishing blow with Ragnell. To actually harm Ashera to begin with requires one's weapon be blessed by Yune partway through the Endgame, so if Ike doesn't have Ragnell equipped then for some reason, one cannot defeat Ashera. With this scenario clearly in mind, the game ensures that in the event that Ike ''doesn't'' have Ragnell equipped at that point, Yune automatically prompts him to do it and ensures Ragnell will be blessed.]]
** As per usual for a Fire Emblem game, various houses will have different dialogue depending on who you send there. In one early example in ''Path of Radiance'', the members of a racist Crimean town will give you goodies if you have a Beorc visit, but shoo away any Laguz.
* DontYouDarePityMe: When Ike is [[spoiler:offering to hug Soren]] in the tower, he responds, "Don't treat me like I'm a child!" [[spoiler:But he lets Ike do it anyway.]]
* DoubleEntendre: The battle conversation between [[spoiler:Nailah and Tibarn]] is one giant one -- and it's practically an EasterEgg, given how hard it is to trigger.
* DoWellButNotPerfect: If you want to get the Bonus EXP for not killing any of the enemy Laguz in "The Feral Frontier," you'll need to have leveled up your fliers and mages well enough that they can withstand the attacks of the enemy Laguz, but not so well that they kill the enemy Laguz in one or two retaliatory attacks.
* TheDreaded: The Four Riders of Daein, plus Ashnard himself. Actually GameplayAndStoryIntegration as each one you fight has the skill Daunt, lowering the Hit and Critical chance of your units to reflect their fear.
* DubInducedPlotHole:
** During the English version of Ike and Soren's A support, Soren says that Greil was involved [[spoiler: in his rescue]]. This is clearly not the case in the version of the events retold in [[spoiler: the special scene in]] Radiant Dawn, nor was it ever mentioned to be the case in the original Japanese.
** In an unintentional swap of keywords, Rolf tells Tauroneo in their C support that his mom died and dad left his family. While this is already confusing because Boyd mentions his dad dying earlier (in an early info conversation), it's made clear in Radiant Dawn that Rolf's mom is alive and was the one who left the family while their dad was dying. In the original Japanese, Rolf's retelling of the events match up with the rest of the games.
* DuelBoss: The Black Knight, in both games.
* EarlyBirdCameo: Several characters, such as Lekain and Hetzel, make minor appearances in ''Path of Radiance'', but aren't relevant to the plot until ''Radiant Dawn''. Hetzel and Gareth are the most prominent examples, as they have a grand total of one and two lines respectively, with essentially no content, but are still clearly important enough in the grand scheme to get special sprites and official names.
* EasyModeMockery:
** An unintentional example, overlapping with GameBreakingBug: When attempting to transfer data from ''Path Of Radiance'' to ''Radiant Dawn'', the game crashes if your memory card has any ''Path of Radiance'' saves on Easy mode, unless you arrange to have your disc fixed so that Easy Mode saves are safely read. [[RegionalBonus Or are European]].
** Another example; in the Japanese version, the dialogue was cut-down in Normal Mode, (English Easy) and you missed out on quite a few plot details. Unfortunately [[BadExportForYou the English version was based solely off the cut-down script.]] [[invoked]]
* EgocentricTeamNaming: The Greil Mercenaries.
* EleventhHourRanger: In ''Path of Radiance'', you get your choice of Tibarn, Giffca, or Naesala. ''Radiant Dawn'' dumps a quite frankly ''enormous'' number of these into your party for the five-part final chapter: Kurthnaga, Ena, Caineghis, Giffca, [[spoiler:Renning, Gareth, Nasir, and, on a second playthrough, Lehran]].
* EleventhHourSuperpower: The Laguz Royals, [[spoiler:Sephiran]] if you're on a second save. If they're RNG Blessed, Sanaki and Pelleas can also be this, too.
* EliteFour: In ''Path of Radiance'', Daein's most elite generals are the Four Riders of Daein, [[BadBoss Petrine]], [[DeathSeeker Bertram]], the BlackKnight, and [[MyCountryRightOrWrong Bryce]], all of whom report to the Ashnard "the Mad King". They are the successors to the Great Riders of Daein, who were themselves another Elite Four, and consisted of [[MasterSwordsman Gawain]], [[DefectorFromDecadence Tauroneo]], Lanvega, and the very same [[UndyingLoyalty Bryce]].
* EmotionBomb: The Daunt skill is described as the fear variant and has the effect of lowering enemies' hit and crit chances. Makes sense on the enemies that it's exclusive to in ''[=PoR=]''; not so much when anyone on your squad can use it in ''Radiant Dawn''.
* EndGameResultsScreen: Relegated to Trial Maps in ''Path of Radiance'', and only ranking the player on their kills.
* EternalEnglish: Averted. The main language of Tellius changed over time, as in the current day, the language spoken in the distant past is unintelligible by most people, only used by mages to cast spells. It's only spoken regularly by the wolf laguz of Hatari and the heron princess Leanne. A few characters like Naesala and Nealuchi understand it, but don't speak it.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: [[spoiler: Sephiran may be trying to [[PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery end all suffering by ending all life]], but he's still very attached to his multi-great-granddaughters Micaiah and Sanaki. He even sends [[TheDragon Zelgius]] to protect the former in hopes she won't become a casualty of the war he's engineered]].
* EverythingsBetterWithSpinning: Critical hits, again, as well as every other winpose in ''Radiant Dawn.''
* EvilTowerOfOminousness: The Tower of Guidance is a LightIsNotGood variation. It's so unimaginably huge that the entire population of a country (albeit a country noted to have an extremely small population) can apparently fit inside it with room to spare.
* ExactWords: When the bandits have kidnapped Mist and Rolf, one bandit threatens to kill them and telling the mercenaries that if they don't drop their weapons, he'll "start with the girl." They drop their weapons and he immediately attempts to kill Rolf.
* ExpectingSomeoneTaller: Ike's first meeting with [[AChildShallLeadThem the apostle of Begnion]]. He also says something along this line in ''Radiant Dawn'' when facing Pelleas.
* ExtraTurn: The herons' galdr refreshes units that have already acted during the player phase, granting them a second action in the same phase.
* EyesAlwaysShut: Oscar has this expression. Lampshaded at one point (at least in the English version), when Kieran calls him, among other things, "Squinty."
* FacialMarkings: The members of the Black Dragon Tribe of Goldoa have one on their foreheads. Soren has a one on his as well, [[spoiler:which is a clue to his identity as Almedha's son.]] Many of the Beast tribe laguz, including Ranulf, Muarim, and Lethe also have stripes of color on their cheeks.
* FakeDifficulty: Besides the hardest difficulty ("Maniac" in Japan, "Hard" elsewhere) being just plain hard, it also takes away certain conveniences, such as being able to display the range of enemy units on the map; instead you have to look at their movement points and work out how far they can go. The guide is also removed.
* [[NWordPrivileges Fantastic N Word Privileges]]: Beorc refer to themselves and each other as "human" without a second thought (perhaps because they don't know that laguz use it as an insult), but if a laguz says it to one, it's meant as an insult (though it's not always effective). "Sub-human," on the other hand, is always malicious.
* FantasticRacism:
** The various shapeshifting Laguz tribes are called "sub-humans" by many beorc/humans. This is not limited to your enemies; some between chapter dialogue has your own characters referencing your own laguz characters as sub-humans. And it goes both ways, too... a laguz calling a beorc 'human' is the same as a beorc calling a laguz 'sub-human', and it happens more than once. Most characters eventually get better -- except Shinon, who is a {{Jerkass}} and remains unrepentant even throughout ''Radiant Dawn.''
** As is so often the case with this trope, [[HalfHumanHybrid hybrids]] between the two are treated horribly by both sides of the fence. Beorc use slurs like "half-breed" and tend to get violent when they discover a branded among them. Laguz are even worse. They will completely ignore any branded in their presence regardless of their state[[note]]It almost led to Soren's death by starvation as a child.[[/note]] and will resort to lethal violence if ignorance is not an option. And that's just their modern behavior. In the past, they would lead pogroms that resulted in more than a few branded being [[BurnTheWitch burned at the stake]].
** While Lethe learns to treat beorc better, she still makes sweeping generalizations about them, implies they are inferior in their customs, and the word "human" escapes her lips sometimes.
** Ike notably averts this. Not only doesn't he exhibit any hatred of other races (he does use the slur "sub-human" once, out of ignorance, but afterward sticks to "laguz"), he doesn't really seem to understand what the fuss is all about. When [[spoiler:Soren reveals to Ike that he's a Branded, a HalfHumanHybrid generally shunned by both beorc and laguz]], Ike's reaction is:
---> '''Ike''': All right. I understand. So?
---> [[spoiler:'''Soren''']]: ...What do you mean, "So?"
---> '''Ike''': So, you [[spoiler:have laguz blood in your veins]]. So, you have a mark to prove it. So... What's the problem?
---> [[spoiler:'''Soren''']]: What's the problem...? Don't you find me repugnant!? I work beside you, eat beside you. I'm nothing! I don't belong anywhere! Doesn't that sicken you?
---> '''Ike''': [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming No. It doesn't change anything]]. You're still you, [[spoiler:Soren! You're a capable officer of our army. And my friend]]. We can't keep going unless you are with us.
* FantasticSlur: [[OurWerebeastsAreDifferent Half-breed and hairball]] are also used to refer to laguz. "Half-breed" is also used by beorc to refer to the branded, while laguz refer to them as "parentless".
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: The general plot of Path of Radiance seems has some parallels with World War II, particularly in the roles of many of the countries. Daein/Germany is a bigoted, militaristic aggressor nation, Crimea/France is a cultured nation invaded by said agressor state, Bengion/Britain is a powerful, aristocratic empire to whom Crimea/France appeals to for help and the Laguz/United States are isolationists who come to join the Allies when they realize Daein/Germany threaten them. To top it all off, the leader of the allied force is called Ike.
* FavoritismFlipFlop: At the beginning of chapter 13 of ''Path of Radiance'', Soren comments that it's surprising that the apostle would want to contact a country she must consider inferior. Nasir gets mad at him for being rude, and he defends his actions. Then Ike backs Nasir's opinion up, and Soren says he will try to be more diplomatic.
* FightingFingerprint: Greil immediately identifies the completely anonymous Black Knight as one of his former students after exchanging blows and hearing his manner of speech in Path of Radiance. Ranulf identifies him after fighting him in costume and out of costume, and also acknowledges his scent. Ike after being told about his identity confirms it after clashing with him out of costume and claims it makes perfect sense in hindsight because their fighting style is identical.
* FogOfWar: Only in hard mode for Path of Radiance; Radiant Dawn adds braziers that are basically infinite-duration stationary torches that can be lit/extinguished by units.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's some pretty effective foreshadowing in these games. For example, when Pelleas mentions that he was tricked into a blood pact by Lekain, he tells of what Lekain tells him. Now, much ''much'' later, [[spoiler:Naesala's ChronicBackstabbingDisorder is explained as another Blood Pact...that country mentioned by Lekain? ''KILVAS''.]] Likewise, some early cameos serve as foreshadowing too.
** [[spoiler:Naesala's dilemma]] is first foreshadowed when [[spoiler:Reyson convinces him to withdraw from Daein during the Mad King's War.]]
---> [[spoiler:'''Neasala''':...I cannot say what the future will bring. I have the fate of my nation to consider after all.]]
*** Even earlier than that. When Naesala brings Reyson to [[spoiler:the remains of Serenes Forest with the intention of selling him to Duke Tanas]], after Reyson heads off into the forest, Naesala says that Reyson doesn't understand what it means to protect a nation. Later on, Nealuchi says regarding Kilvas that it "has its own issues".
** Yet another one from [[spoiler:Naesala]]; in a single throwaway line toward the beginning of ''Radiant Dawn'', it's mentioned that he was considered a very unlikely man to become King, implying he was low in the line of succession. [[spoiler:And this is because the Blood Pact his father signed eliminated all his older siblings]]. Long story short, to puzzle out this character's often very confusing actions, you ''really'' need to be paying attention.
** Throughout ''Path of Radiance'', it's implied that there's something ''very'' special about Ena the Red Dragon, to the point that a certain other character is willing to chance Daein ripping the continent apart rather than see her harmed. Only at the very end of the second game is it revealed that this is because [[spoiler:she's ''pregnant'' -- the first Dragon Laguz to become pregnant in over a century]].
** When Ike meets Sephiran the first time he takes note that his calm mind is so extreme that he can't be merely what he seems. Much later in Path of Radiance, we learn that [[spoiler: herons have the calmest minds of all]]. By the end of Radiant Dawn, we learn that Sephiran is [[spoiler: actually Lehran, so he is indeed secretly a heron]].
** There's a lot for who [[spoiler: Soren]] really is too:
*** [[spoiler: Dheginsea]] displaying stubbornness, cynicism, and great intelligence in his brief appearance in Path of Radiance foreshadows the fact that he is [[spoiler: Soren's grandfather]], especially when the similarities are noted by Tibarn.
*** [[spoiler: Kurthnaga]] having dark green hair, red eyes, and a childish face and [[spoiler: Rajaion]] having near-black hair and a slight frame foreshadows that fact that they are [[spoiler: Soren's uncles]], notwithstanding [[spoiler: the mark they all share]]. Their sister, introduced in the next game, has an even more obvious appearance similarity.
** Stefan also tells Mordecai to ignore [[HalfHumanHybrid his existence]] like the other Laguz do as it is supposedly the will of the goddess. Mordecai declares he'd rather have nothing to do with her then. [[LightIsNotGood Well...]]
** Ike being clueless about the world around him and being unaware of the beorc-laguz conflict, even though he grew up for a time in Gallia that he admits he didn't realize. [[spoiler: He had his memory wiped by Lehran.]]
* GameplayAndStoryIntegration:
** In Path of Radiance, many of the Skills that characters start off with reflect their personality or backstory. For instance, Tomrod has Celerity (+2 movement each turn) because a tiger laguz taught him how to run. This is no longer true in Radiant Dawn since any Skill can be removed from a character and given to another, even those those that don't make much sense story-wise (why does our [[BadAssPacifist heron]] have [[TheDreaded Daunt]] again?)
** Ashera is the Goddess of Order. Fittingly, she has a unique Biorhythm curve: a perfetly straight line that never fluctuates at all.
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: When you recruit Makalov in Path of Radiance, Ike mentions that they paid all of his debts back. Nothing happens to your current inventory of gold, meanwhile.
** Also, towards the beginning of Radiant Dawn, Sothe comments that the ability to heal without tomes or staves (Micaiah's Sacrifice skill) is "a rare gift... almost unheard of." Unless he's referring exclusively to healing others, this comment is undermined by the fact that in gameplay, while there are indeed many examples of this ability in rare individuals like the herons and Ike, every single one of your cavaliers is capable of learning how to do this via ''Sol''.
** In ''Radiant Dawn'' Endgame, [[spoiler: Naesala's Blood Pact will still be voided if he kills Lekain, despite the fact that only a third party is supposedly able to do this. This may be due to the fact that Naesala's father, not himself, was the original signatory, but it may just be this trope.]]
* GayOption: Ike and Soren or Ranulf's supports, either that or HeterosexualLifePartners.
* GenkiGirl: ''Mia''
* GoldAndWhiteAreDivine
** The heron clan is said to be the closest to the Goddess of all the peoples on Tellius. Members of their royal family all have gold hair and white wings, and the ones we see all prefer white clothes with gold patterns.
** Micaiah has SupernaturalGoldEyes and MysticalWhiteHair. [[spoiler:It foreshadows her ability to act as a vessel for the Goddess of Chaos.]]
** [[spoiler:Ashera's soldiers wear gold and white armor.]]
* TheGreatFlood: One happened in the distant past as a result of [[spoiler:Ashunera's anger at the feuding beorc and laguz]], which ended up burying all continents on the planet except for Tellius underwater.
* TheGreatestStyle: The greatest style is the one used and taught by Greil, the leader of the Greil Mercenaries. Even past his prime, Greil was seen as having super human strength, and Ike as a rookie practitioner was able to become one of the strongest fighters on the continent within about one year.
* GuideDangIt: Want to obtain the few bits of CharacterDevelopment in Radiant Dawn? Good luck. A conversation detailing Soren's past requires a second cycle, transferred stats from Path of Radiance with an Ike/Soren A support, and requires Ike to engage a foe that he would easily be killed by with normal leveling in a timed chapter. Another requires one of the three brothers to visit a specific house in a specific timed chapter and give up a useful item to get a bonus conversation before the next chapter.
** Support conversations in the GBA games previously fell into this, but it's averted in the Tellius games.
*** Supports in ''Radiance'' are built up by simply bringing supporting units into chapters together. After enough chapters, you get a support convo at the base. No more, no less -- although some characters take quite a while to build up supports ([[spoiler:Ike's A support with Titania requires you to use them together for almost the entire game]]) and Jill's supports can't go higher then B until [[spoiler: after you fight her father]]. On the flip side, a handful of them require 0 chapters to unlock, as long as you get any lower-level supports first.
*** The system is roughly the same in ''Dawn'', although you can speed up the process by having supporting units perform actions next to each other (attack, heal, ect.). You can actually have almost every unit support another in ''Dawn''; unfortunately, this came at the expense of the conversations themselves, which now amount to little more than scripted in-battle blurbs with each other.
** Want to recruit [[spoiler:Stefan]], one of the best characters of the first game? You can only do it in one mission, by sending one of your laguz characters to stand on a single square that's so far off the beaten path they pretty much won't be participating in the fight. There's nothing in-game to tell you this, or that [[spoiler:Stefan]] even exists, though a few players might find the area you need to go conspicuous, seeing as it's a massive detour that leads to a dead end.
*** There's only one clue to this. In a base convo for that chapter, a servant mentions that there are reports "strange figures wandering the dunes in the northeast." There's no notion that these figures exist, if they're recruitable, or how to find them, so it doesn't help much.
*** The same applies to recruiting him in the second game, although now Micaiah can be added to the list of characters capable of recruiting him.[[note]] Additionally, those two above-mentioned laguz units can only do again if you transferred save files from [=FE9=].[[/note]] In the same chapter, there's a Laguz Gem, an item that will be immensely helpful in the endgame, that can only be found by [[spoiler:sending a unit, probably Sothe but you still have a chance with another unit, to the boss's position. Since the mission ends when all enemies are killed, and the Black Knight is slowly mowing down everything in his path at this point, this means keeping at least one unit alive until you can get Sothe over there as fast as possible.]]
** Re-recruiting [[spoiler:Shinon]] in ''Radiance'', to a slightly lesser degree. You have to talk to him with Rolf, then kill him with Ike. Yes, you have to kill him to recruit him. (Well, more like thrash him into submission.) And if you do it with anyone but Ike, or Rolf hasn't talked to him, he doesn't join. Granted, Rolf's connection to Shinon is more of a MoonLogicPuzzle, and there was a precedent for DefeatMeansFriendship since Ike had previously recruited Muarim after beating him in battle too.
** From the second playthrough onward, ''[=PoR=]'' adds equippable armbands to the game that slightly boost a unit's level up growths in one or two stats. Does the game tell you ''which'' stats each band increases? No. It's either guesswork or [[http://serenesforest.net/path-of-radiance/inventory/accessories/ "Guide, Dang It!"]] for you!
** Going into the third round of the endgame in ''Radiance'', [[spoiler:Yune will go ahead and surprise everyone by blessing all currently equipped weapons, which allows them to damage the upcoming bosses, as well as make them unbreakable. If, in light of this, you would rather have different weapons blessed than the ones that were equipped, you'll need to quit, load the file again, and reconfigure. Yune, we know you're Chaos Incarnate, but we could have used a heads-up!]]
** Getting Bonus Experience(BEXP) also has this factor at times. Sometimes it's completely logical like completing a chapter as fast as possible, keeping as many Ally/Other units alive, and having the enemies actually fight(which is usually less than you actually getting them to yourself). However, you can also get BEXP from having ALL of your units(including Partner) escape on a level such as Chapter 10 on "Path of Radiance." While they do tell you that everyone needs to escape, most would probably just run Ike over there and be done with it as soon as possible because you recruit most of the prisoners anyway.
** Obtaining the Ashera Staff in ''Path of Radiance'' requires you to ''not'' kill any of the enemy priests cramping up Chapter 22. Ike does tell you to avoid them because they are not your enemy, but literally have to shove(or Smite) them out of your way in order to not harm them.
** ''Radiant Dawn'' also has items scattered on almost every map (which had only been a characteristic of desert chapters in previous games). They range from common coins to the ''Dragonfoe'' skill. They become {{Permanently Missable|Content}} if you missed them, or didn't even know they exist.
*** Another way to miss them is landing on the correct tile with a character with low Luck and/or low Biorhythm (yes, [[ScrappyMechanic Biorhythm]] factors into treasure hunting) instead of a Rogue class character like Sothe or Heather, who have a 100% chance at finding them.
* HairColorDissonance: Soren's hair is a very dark green, but a lot of the time it's made to look plain black. This may be intentional, as to [[spoiler:conceal his relation to the Black Dragon tribe of Goldoa.]]
* HairColorSpoiler: While he slightly shares the same hair color of his supposed father, [[spoiler:Pelleas has no other features that make him resemble either Ashnard or Almedha. Soren, on the other hand, looks like a younger, male Almedha complete with hair and eyes. Not a coincidence.]]
* HealingHands: Micaiah's Sacrifice ability. It was even called that in the Japanese version.
* HeroicLineage: Four notable ones.
** Reyson, Leanne, and Rafiel are descendants of Lehran, although later revelations call this into question.
** Sanaki [[spoiler:and Micaiah]] are direct descendents of Altina, one of Ashera's three heroes and the first queen of Begnion. [[spoiler:They are also descended from Lehran.]]
** Rajaion, Kurthnaga, and Almedha are the children of the second hero, Deghinsea. [[spoiler:Through Almedha, he also has a grandson, Soren.]]
** Stefan is heavily implied to be descended from the seldom referenced third hero, Soan, who was also the second king of Begnion.
* HiddenElfVillage:
** The Branded village in Grann Desert where Stefan comes from. [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue After [=FE10=], though]], [[spoiler:Stefan reveals the existence of the Branded village to the world, and it eventually turns into a country.]]
** The dragon kingdom of Goldoa is a {{Downplayed}} example, as most know where it is, but they are isolated from the world, rarely leaving or allowing others to enter. Despite what it seems, this is not due to being xenophobic (they are one of the few laguz tribes with ''no'' signs of prejudice towards beorc or other laguz) or due to being [[BystanderSyndrome uncaring about what happens outside their borders]], but rather due to [[spoiler:Dheginsea feeling the dragon laguz are too powerful and dangerous to live among the other tribes, as if they were involved in a war, the chaos would awaken the dark god and cause the end of the world.]] Though no clear mention is made of whether or not [[spoiler:Kurthnaga opened up Goldoa's borders after becoming king.]]
** Hatari is a good example: It's a country far northeast of Daein, outside any charts, due to being blocked off by the Desert of Death. The majority of the population are [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent wolf laguz]], some co-existing beorc, and a few wolf-branded.
* HoldTheLine: A few missions in both games require you to defend a particular point for a certain number of turns against a more numerous enemy. ''Radiant Dawn'' has a literal variant in one chapter where a single enemy crossing a bright blue line on the map results in instant defeat.
* HonorBeforeReason: Nearly all of the Beast and Hawk tribe Laguz have this practically hard-coded into their DNA. It's hard enough to convince them to exercise cunning, deception, or even ''basic strategy'' during war. Goddess help you if you need to convince them to make peace or retreat. You'll have to literally beat sense into them before they'll even ''consider'' taking that route.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Pelleas somehow accepts and listens to the extremely ObviouslyEvil Izuka, to the point of being stunned and distraught when the latter's nature is revealed to him.
* HotBlooded: '''KIERAN, LEADER OF THE FIFTH PLATOON OF THE CRIMEAN ROYAL KNIGHTS!''' / '''[[TimeSkip SECOND COMMANDER OF THE CRIMEAN ROYAL KNIGHTS]]!'''.
* HumansByAnyOtherName: "Beorc" is the proper name for the human race of Tellius; ironically enough, the word "human" is instead used as a slur by human-hating laguz.
* [[{{WifeHusbandry}} Husband Husbandry]]: Micaiah found Sothe as a child and raised him, but due to her long lifespan, she looks younger than Sothe in the current game. However, they are so far ahead of everyone else as a canon couple that they start out with max support for each other. You HAVE to go out of your way to make them not end up marrying each other.
* HybridPower: The offspring of Beorc and Laguz are known as the Branded (from the marks they have somewhere on their bodies, [[MarkOfShame usually kept hidden]]) or Parentless. They often have special abilities, but it's generally considered a great stigma, until ''Radiant Dawn'' when it turns out [[spoiler:the Apostle and Empress of the Begnion Empire is a Branded, the descendant of the Laguz Heron Lehran and the Beorc woman Altina, which enables them to hear the voice of the Goddess Yune]]. Also, aside from Ike's army, most of those unaffected by [[spoiler:Ashera [[TakenForGranite turning the entire population to stone]]]] are Branded, [[spoiler:because Ashera has no idea that they exist]].
* IFoundYouLikeThis: In Path of Radiance, Ike's patrol comes across Princess Elincia half alive in the shrubs. Her convoy was attacked by Daein soldiers as she attempted to flee Crimea. Awakens inside the Greil Mercenaries' base.
* ILetYouWin:
** [[spoiler:The Black Knight]] in ''Path of Radiance'', according to a {{Woolseyism}}.
*** [[TropesAreNotBad Which is a far more elegant explanation than the Japanese version]], where [[spoiler:The Black Knight]]'s warp powder malfunctioned and left a [[ActuallyADoomBot "ghost"]] behind, which is what Ike actually fought.
** And Greil to Ike, at the beginning of ''Path of Radiance.'' Ike could tell that Greil had let him win, but [[spoiler:couldn't tell that the Black Knight had also let him win because he has been sparring against Greil his whole life up to that point, but only fought the Black Knight a few times.]]
* ImmediateSelfContradiction: If you choose not to recruit Calill while watching her info conversation, Ike says you can never have too many mages and only a few seconds later says they have enough mages.
* INeverSaidItWasPoison: In Ike's battle dialogue with Lekain, the former tricks the latter into [[spoiler: admitting that he wasn't the one who revived the Goddess, thus confirming Ike's suspicions that the ''true'' evil mastermind is someone else]].
* InformedAbility: Izuka's actions all contradict the claims that he is a brilliant strategist (His proposed solution to liberate a [=PoW=] prison is to poison the water, which is noted that it would kill the prisoners). May be a JustifiedTrope, as only Izuka and the guy he has eating out of his hand ever say he is such.
** Other members of the party call Izuka's planning ability out a few times over the course of the game, so it is pretty much Izuka's self-delusion that lets him believe that he's TheStrategist.
* InterspeciesRomance: Mostly in the background, but almost all of the game's events can ultimately be traced back to the relationship between [[spoiler:Lehran and Altina, and the spectacularly bad reaction everyone had to the side effects of their child's birth.]]
* InTheBlood: [[spoiler:Soren, the most cunning and amoral member of the Greil Mercenaries, turned out to be Ashnard's son.]]
* {{Irony}}:
** There is superstition about branded having special powers, but the only benefit they really get has the drawback of making them easily spotted by enemies. Amusingly, some of them survive Radiant Dawn's end game because the enemy overlooked them.
** The very racist nation of Daein has not one, but two [[spoiler: Branded as its Four Riders- Petrine and Zelgius.]]
** Not to mention the rightful heir to the Daein throne is also a Branded, as Ashnard's consort Almedha was a Black Dragon. [[spoiler: It also happens the true heir is also Ike's strategist, Soren.]]
* IShallTauntYou: The Provoke skill will make enemies prioritize attacking its user presumably by using this. As you may suspect, it's useful on units that soak up attacks well and suicidal on ones that can't. It appears automatically on Shinon, a Sniper. This doesn't make much sense tactically, as he can't retaliate at close range, but [[JerkAss story-wise]]...
* ItemCrafting: You can pay out the nose to create better versions of generic items in both games.
** FE 9 practically expects you to forge weapons regularly -- indeed, [[ElementalCrafting forged silvers]] [[PurposelyOverpowered are the best weapons you could wield in the game,]] and you have MoneyForNothing else. FE 10 inverts this; though the potential is greater on its own merits, you often don't have the funding to justify its use instead of [[BoringYetPractical stocking super-sized weapons.]]
* JigsawPuzzlePlot: The Tellius bilogy has arguably one of the most complex yet compelling scripts ever written by Nintendo.
* KarmaHoudini:
** In ''Path of Radiance'', there's Izuka, Ashnard's [[MadScientist chief scholar]]. His role is essentially a cameo and is restricted to one chapter, but he [[OneSceneWonder sticks around just long enough]] to take credit for some of the most depraved acts in the game before [[VillainExitStageLeft just leaving]] with no punishment whatsoever. [[spoiler: At least not in ''this'' game]].
** In ''Radiant Dawn'', there's [[spoiler: Naesala, who gets off extremely light once the rest of the cast learns he was bound by a [[DealWithTheDevil Blood Pact]]; even the notoriously vengeful Tibarn lets him go upon hearing of this despite having promised to gut him earlier. This is despite the fact that Naesala put hundreds if not thousands of Tibarn's countrymen to death at Begnion's order]].
* KingOfBeasts: Caineghis is a very literal one.
* LaResistance: The Dawn Brigade during the first part of ''Radiant Dawn''.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: [[spoiler:If you're playing Radiant Dawn for a second time, use the Black Knight in the Part 1 Endgame, and have Ike fight him (but not kill him) before the part 4 Endgame, then after Ike does kill him in the part 4 endgame, you'll unlock a special flashback scene. In it, we see Zelgius and Sephiran arrive just after Gawain has killed Elena. Apparently, Ike saw this happen as a child, and Mist just missed it. In order to protect the children, Sephiran gave them both Laser Guided Amnesia, and Zelgius carried his soon-to-be Archenemy back into his house and tucked him in.]]
* LastChanceHitPoint: Mist starts with a skill called "Miracle" that halves any lethal damage, making it possible to survive with or close to 1HP. Of course, if even half damage isn't enough...
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax1u-6Bx6r4 Pelleas proves there is no such thing as a "last chance!"]]
** In Radiant Dawn, with the new Skill system, anyone can use Miracle now.
* LateArrivalSpoiler:
** The Black Knight's identity was revealed in an Nintendo produced fact sheet before Radiant Dawn was even out in English!
** Strangely inverted, too, with the identity of "Kurth" in the early chapters of Radiant Dawn. Anyone who had played Path of Radiance could tell who he really was within a few chapters at least, though it wouldn't be as clear to those who hadn't played Path of Radiance. Early Arrival Spoiler, I guess?
** The concept of being Branded, explicitly mentioned in only three (including two that featured an [[GuideDangIt extremely obscure]] character) specific support paths in ''Path of Radiance'', is part of the main plot in ''Radiant Dawn'' from early on. And the game assumes you know [[spoiler:Soren]] is one.
* {{Leader}}: Several, given how many [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters countries and factions there are.]] Notably:
** Micaiah of the Dawn Brigade as a type IV. She was later recruited to use that persona to be a morale booster for the Daein Army, was just so endearing she became the general of the army and later queen of the country. Of course, she took on more type II qualities as the story went on.
** Both Skrimir and Tibarn come off as type III's of their respective armies.
** Ike matures into a type II for the Greil Mercenaries and Crimean Army in the first game. In the second, he becomes a type IV for the entire continent, even among other generals, strategists, empresses, and kings, because he's the only one everyone respects enough to listen to.
* LegendaryInTheSequel: At the start of Path of Radiance, Ike is a member of a relatively obscure mercenary company based out of rural Crimea. By Radiant Dawn, he's a hero and a household name across the entire continent.
* LightIsNotGood: In ''Path of Radiance'', you only have one character who can wield [[HolyHandGrenade light magic]] (Rhys, and only after he promotes); but you face plenty of Bishops on Ashnard's side. And in ''Radiant Dawn'', [[spoiler:the Bigger Bad is Ashera, the Goddess of Order.]]
* LimitBreak: Mastery/Occult Skills. [[OlderThanTheyThink Originally prototyped]] in ''7'' with the Assassin's "Silencer" ability (renamed Lethality in this series), and in ''8'' with class-specific skills like the Wyvern Knight's "Pierce". In this series, any promoted beorc class in ''9'' that uses an Occult Scroll can use one, and in ''10'', any third-tier beorc unit or any non-heron laguz unit who uses a Satori Sign past level 30, can use these skills when they randomly activate based on their skill stat.
* LittleBitBeastly: The cat, tiger and wolf laguz have animal ears and tails while in their humanoid forms, while the lions have the rounded lionlike ears.
* LongLostRelative: Micaiah to [[spoiler:Sanaki]], and both sort-of to [[spoiler:Sephiran AKA Lehran.]] How the former case came to be is a bit a vague, but [[spoiler:Lekain]] is commonly blamed.
* LongSongShortScene: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQqtMSPr_s0 Repose of Souls]], a beautiful piece that only plays briefly in one cutscene, and it's easy for the player to go through the dialogue and miss most of it.
* LovingDetails: Soren can tell that Ike is tired in their C support because when he's not feeling well his left eye twitches, something Ike hadn't noticed himself. Later on in the supports, it becomes clear just how important Ike is to Soren, though in what way is ambiguous.
* LuckBasedMission: The fight [[spoiler:with the Black Knight]] in Path of Radiance. If Ike has his relevant stats maxed (almost impossible for him not to if he hasn't been left out of the action), you still need Aether to activate at least once before the battle ends. If it does, you win! It doesn't? [[GameOver Too bad.]] (Unless Ike's strength is [[{{Cap}} capped]], Mist is tough enough to survive the [[{{Mook}} mooks]] and heal him, and he hits the Black Knight on every single blow. To be fair, you're more likely to get a single Aether than all of that.)
* MacGuffin: Lehran's Medallion in the first game.
* MagicallyIneptFighter: With the exception of the Herons, all Laguz specialize in physical combat with absolutely no aptitude for magic whatsoever.
* MagikarpPower:
** Elincia can be this in ''Path of Radiance'', before becoming a CrutchCharacter in ''Radiant Dawn'' (at least during part 2; she still remains feasible all the way to the end of the game).
** Sanaki in ''Radiant Dawn'' joins very late, has some low stats in some areas, a very powerful weapon, and has the lowest health in the game, but also better than usual growth rates.
** Mist also applies to a lesser degree. Although she never catches up with the top tier characters (Fedule's LP notwithstanding), her CombatMedic status can be extremely useful, and even be a total life saver during [[spoiler:the final duel against the Black Knight in ''Path of Radiance'']] if you have been training her properly.
** Vika also competes with Sanaki in ''Radiant Dawn'' for this. (Being an "Est"). She has one of the highest growths for a Laguz, and if you invest the time, you can actually make something usable out of her. A LetsPlay demonstrates this.
* MarathonLevel:
** The third part of the Endgame of ''Radiant Dawn''. So many [[DemonicSpiders dragons]]... When you finally reach Big D, he's the first boss to constantly regenerate and is immune to all but a select set of weapons. The good news is that you get to choose those weapons. The bad news is that [[GuideDangit you don't know about his defenses]] until [[UnwinnableByMistake after you made the choice.]] The other good news is that you can use a few characters to get some cheap damage. [[GuideDangIt The bad news is that you don't know who they are until you try]].
** Also in Radiant Dawn, there's 4-5, "Unforgivable Sin." It's twelve of you versus a horde of feral laguz that, at least in hard mode, seem to never stop spawning. The good news about this stage is that while the first few levels have you struggling to stay alive, if you play your cards right, you finish the stage with a group of powerful units who can take on anything. The bad news is that while the boss here is not hard like in the above example, he also runs away to the other side of the map. And it's a swamp level, so chasing him is not easy for your ground units. You do have [[spoiler:Tibarn and Elincia, who can both fly,]] however.
* MiniBoss: Nedata in the "Gallia" level from ''Path of Radiance'', a hilariously stereotypical pirate.
* MoonLogicPuzzle: There are a few:
** Re-recruiting Shinon in ''Path of Radiance'', particularly the fact that you need to talk to him with Rolf.
*** Rolf knew how to use a bow, and as Boyd and Oscar said back in chapter 9, that's not something that he could have learned on his own.
*** Although Rolf refused to say who had taught him, the person most likely to have done so was Shinon, the Greil Mercenaries' only other archer.
** The reveal that [[spoiler:Soren is the prince of Daein]] is more of this than a GuideDangIt, since you have all the information you need to figure it out:
*** [[spoiler:Pelleas is a Spirit Charmer who usually keeps his spirit mark hidden, but he revealed it to Micaiah by wiping sweat off of some part of his body. (Pelleas conversation, I.7)]]
*** [[spoiler:The prince of Daein is Branded. (Based on Almedha's status as a laguz, which is first revealed in III.Final)]]
*** [[spoiler:Soren has an uncanny resemblance to Kurthnaga (Most obvious in the map scene of IV.1, where Soren's and Kurthnaga's portraits are both visible at the same time) and is Branded (Soren's supports with either Ike or Stefan from Path of Radiance).]]
*** It isn't common knowledge that Soren is Branded, so the first thing you need to do is reveal that information to somebody from Daein. And who better to recognize a Branded than another Branded? [[spoiler:Unfortunately, Micaiah never has a conversation with Soren while they are allies, so it is necessary to get them to talk while they are enemies; and the only scenario in which this is possible is III.7.]]
*** There is at least a possibility that [[spoiler:Pelleas' spirit mark may look exactly the same as Soren's Brand; it could be on Pelleas' forehead, hidden by his long bangs except when he wipes sweat off of his forehead]], but the only way to find out for sure is to make those two compare notes. And again, they won't compare notes when they are allies, so you need to make them speak to each other when they are enemies. And the only scenario in which this is possible is III.Final.
* NemesisWeapon: The Black Knight has the two blessed swords [[DualWielding dual wielded]] by the legendary warrior Altina, and which are named Alondite and Ragnell. When he confronts Greil looking for a duel he only uses Alondite and actually gives Ragnell to his opponent so it can be an even fight. Greil refuses and ultimately loses. In the aftermath his son, TheHero, Ike takes up Ragnell and duels the Black Knight with it several times to get revenge for Greil's death.
* NewGamePlus: ''Radiant Dawn'' lets you save after watching the epilogue, creating a "Clear Data" slot to start over the game with. This doesn't have any immediate benefits, but on clear data, you have the chance to recruit two characters who would otherwise be killed, [[spoiler:Pelleas and Lehran]]. It's also one of the ''many'' required steps to unlock [[spoiler:Soren's hidden endgame scenes]].
** In ''Path of Radiance'', from the second playthrough onwards, certain characters gain bands that increase the growth rates of one or two stats by a small amount. You can also set a different method for leveling up the characters, but it doesn't end up much different from the normal, random method. Playthroughs after that can unlock special characters to play in some trial maps.
* NintendoHard: Both games are fairly difficult, but Radiant Dawn takes it to levels not seen since Thracia.
** HarderThanHard: Maniac mode in the Japanese ''Path of Radiance'' and Hard mode in ''Radiant Dawn''.
*** The first act with the Dawn Brigade is particularly hard. Your characters die easily, you don't get very many usable people, and you can't level up characters that would otherwise be useful due to an alarmingly thin EXP pool.
* NoBloodTies: Greil's (and later Ike's) philosophy regarding his mercenary company: everyone in the company is family, so live if you don't want to cause your family grief. They unwittingly take this trope to its logical conclusion [[spoiler:by employing the biological son of Ashnard against Ashnard himself]].
* NonCombatEXP: In both games, Bonus EXP is awarded for completing maps, doing so quickly, [[MercyRewarded leaving certain units alive]], and other tasks, which can be given to different units to build them up.
** Staff users gain EXP whenever they use a staff. Similarly, in ''Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn'', [[MysticalWaif Micaiah]] gains experience whenever she uses her "Sacrifice" skill.
* NoPronunciationGuide: Let's just say the Spanish dubbers seem to actively be trying to get ''every'' name wrong and leave it at that. The voices are very decent, at least.
** The worst case is Ike's name, which instead of being pronounced "eye-k" (like in English), it's pronounce "ee-keh" (like it would be read directly with Spanish phonetics), which sounds "off" to say the least. Sadly, that pronunciation was carried over to the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' Spanish dub.
** Congrats, because the German dubs both pronounce the names oddly and the chosen voice actors just don't seem to sound good or well-chosen.
* NostalgiaLevel: Chapter 3-11 in ''Radiant Dawn'' is Chapter 23 from ''Path of Radiance'', only your army is moving from Crimea to Daein and not vice-versa.
* ObviouslyEvil: Even without ever playing ''Path of Radiance'' and knowing that Izuka is the maniac MadScientist responsible for the Feral Ones [[spoiler:until he admits it after trying to turn Muarim feral in ''Radiant Dawn'']], it's ''blindingly'' obvious that this guy is a deranged, unlikable, psychotic lunatic without a shred of goodness anywhere in his soul from his very first appearance in ''Radiant Dawn''. [[MusicalSpoiler His theme music certainly doesn't do anything to contradict this impression]].
* OlderThanTheyLook: Possibly Mist. A conversation with Caineghis early in ''Path of Radiance'' reveals that her mother had been killed "more than ten years ago," and [[spoiler:Ike's memory scene from ''Radiant Dawn'' reveals that Mist had already grown old enough to walk and talk by then,]] meaning that Mist was about 13 or 14 in POR and 16 or 17 in RD. That said, Mist ''does'' look her age, '''if''' you're used to anime artwork, so people thinking she's younger may be merely a form of SmallReferencePools and ValuesDissonance. The [[AllThereInTheManual official website]] states that she is sixteen in ''Path of Radiance'', only a year younger than Ike.
** All laguz are older than they look. Dheginsea, for example, looks like a regular man entering his 50s yet [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld is really over 1000 years old.]] Though this is because certain laguz races have longer lifespans than others. Presumably, the order would be: Dragons > Herons > Hawks and Ravens > Beasts, but we can only infer the certainty of the first two for sure.
** Branded also seem to inherit this gene to some degree. [[spoiler:Zelgius]] looks not a year older in ''Radiant Dawn'' than he did in the flashback scene to 13 years ago in the same game, and [[spoiler:Micaiah]] is outright stated to be older than she looks. Given the chronology, she has to be between 24-27 years old whereas she looks like a girl in her mid-teens. Stefan spells this out in his support conversations with Soren, who looks like he just started puberty in spite of being 19 when that conversation happens.
* OldSaveBonus: With an original model Wii that is compatible with [=GameCube=] memory cards, data from Path of Radiance can be transferred to Radiant Dawn. Characters that have reached the level cap and capped at least one stat in Path of Radiance gain a + 2 bonus to that stat in Radiant Dawn (or in Sothe's case, his exact stats if they are higher). A-supports in Path of Radiance become bonds and can unlock additional conversations.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: The Heron Laguz are traditional angels in all but name and in-universe definition (not counting their ability to turn into herons), appearing as inhumanly beautiful, golden-haired individuals with white wings, a tendency to always wear white, the inability to physically harm anyone, and they can heal and rejuvenate others using magical songs.
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Notably, other games in the ''Fire Emblem'' series also feature a race of people that can transform into dragons. But here, they're not called "Manaketes," and they don't transform with the aid of special Dragonstones.
* OutsideTheBoxTactic: The Black Knight / [[spoiler:Zelgius]] can easily be defeated in the final chapter by forgoing use of [[InfinityPlusOneSword Ragnell]] in favor of a common hammer.
* PantyShot: The 3D models for battle result in a few, primarily Ilyana (dark blue) and Mist (Black and light pink).
* PetTheDog: Hetzel, the ''one'' Begnion senator who wasn't necessarily evil. He did indeed purchase Rafiel as a slave, but did so to nurse the heron prince back to health, and he later sent him to Serenes Forest to be free. He regrets fighting you when you do, and does so out of fear of Lekain and the other senators. There were even implications that he could have been spared.
* PhysicalGod: [[spoiler:Ashera, the goddess of order, shows up in the flesh as the GreaterScopeVillain of ''Radiant Dawn''. Yune, her other half, appears as a little girl with red hair.]]
* PlotArmor: Like most ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' games, most characters who are important to the plot will retreat when [[strike:killed]] injured, removing them from gameplay but allowing them to stay around for the story. Unlike the previous games, however, many of the characters who normally have PlotArmor (such as Sothe, Soren, and Titania) can actually be KilledOffForReal in ''Radiant Dawn'''s final chapter.
* PointyEars: The Bird tribe laguz have these in their humanoid forms.
* PowerUpLetDown: Using the Master Seal/Crown on a character will instantly promote them to their next class regardless of their level at the time, coming with some hefty stat increases as a result. This may seem really good... Until you realize doing this robs them of levels and stat buffs in the long run. Each class has twenty levels to it and, on the twentieth, class changes into their next 'tier', which resets them back to level one. The Master Seal/Crown essentially robs them of some valuable levels when used and, as a result, characters that used them will end up being significantly weaker than characters that reached that tier naturally. As a result, most players tend to use their Master Seal/Crowns on characters they only plan on using temporarily, while leveling up the characters they intend to use for the end game naturally.
* PuppetState: Crimea and Daein are both former principalities of Begnion. Daein also becomes an effective puppet in Part 3 of Radiant Dawn.
* PurposelyOverpowered: The three royal Laguz that you can take as reinforcements in the final chapter of Path of Radiance are this and the {{Eleventh Hour Ranger}}s, and potentially necessary to beat Ashnard if your Ike or your dragon aren't up to scratch.
* PutDownYourGunAndStepAway: A bandit takes Rolf and Mist hostage early on in the first game, and tells everyone to do this. Titania, seemingly grabbing the IdiotBall, tells everyone to comply, after which the bandit simply decides to kill them anyways. Turns out that Titania was just stalling for time to let [[ColdSniper Shinon]] get a clear shot.
* RapunzelHair: The Heron tribe have hair between waist-long (males) and feet-long (females). Aside from members of this tribe, others such as Jill, Sanaki, Titania, Naesala and [[spoiler:Ashera and Ashunera]] also have it to varying degrees.
* RealityEnsues: Happened between the two games. ''Path of Radiance'' had a fairy-tale ending, with the heroic Crimea defeating the evil Daein and the new Queen Elincia leading the former country into a new age of peace... except that the defeated Daein was promptly annexed by the powerful and corrupt nation of Begnion, which brutalizes its citizens as "punishment" for starting the war, which in turn causes the heroes of the first game to receive an in-universe HistoricalVillainUpgrade to the Daeins! Given that the series was very clearly intended as a two-parter from the beginning, Soren's speech in the first about what happens to a country that loses a war is likely {{foreshadowing}}.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Sanaki becomes this in ''Path of Radiance'', although at first she appears to be a spoiled little kid. (Which well, she is...she's ''eleven''.)
* {{Retraux}}: The icon for ''Path of Radiance'' save data.
* ReverseEscortMission: Towards the end of Part I in ''Radiant Dawn'', Micaiah faces Jarod and two cronies on her own, though the Black Knight will come to her aid. He is capable of defeating all the reinforcements, though Micaiah must stay close so he can protect her, as ranged users will target her. Unlike most of the other escort missions in the ''Fire Emblem'' series, she cannot be carried around.
* RousingSpeech: Elincia gives one at the beginning of the Path of Radiance Endgame to rally her troops into battle. Ike can then either play the trope straight or [[DefiedTrope defy it]] depending on the player's choice. If he plays it straight, it involves a MeaningfulEcho to an earlier speech that Greil gave and ends with an illustration of Ike leading a charge. There are no consequences of choosing to defy it, however, and it is a characteristic response.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: By Part 4 Endgame in ''Radiant Dawn'', the leaders of every nation on the continent [[spoiler:[[AntiVillain except]] [[YouShallNotPass one]]]] have all joined your party, and yes, [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking they all kick ungodly amounts of ass]].
* RoyaltySuperPower: The imperial family of Begnion came to power for their famed ability to speak directly to the goddess. [[spoiler:This power is real, but the fact that it overlaps with HybridPower is the world's most carefully guarded secret.]]
* SecretCharacter:
** On a NewGamePlus in ''Radiant Dawn'', [[spoiler:Pelleas]] and [[spoiler:Sephiran]] can be recruited if the player performs certain actions.
** Oliver also counts in ''Radiant Dawn'', due to an extreme amount of GuideDangIt and a ViolationOfCommonSense. (Why would you put a defenseless Heron ''right in front of a boss''? Plus he's the only boss in both games that can be recruited, and due to a 4-part-long crawl through the swamp to "kill" him in the first game, the last character you would consider to be recruitable in the first place).
** Stefan in both games. In both games, you must put a certain character on a certain tile in the desert map for him to appear. In neither game is [[GuideDangIt any indication given]] about the character's existence, or how to recruit him.
* SelfFulfillingProphecy: In a non-divination example, the boss of "Solo" is the leader of a group of mercenaries fighting for Daein. After Ike's force captures the capital, he believes that an invading army wouldn't let a bunch of sellswords just surrender and desperately takes unarmed priests hostage as human shields. The irony is that Ike really would have let them live, given his nature, and instead has to fight them now that they crossed the line.
* ShesGotLegs: Nephenee when she upgrades from Halberdier to Sentinel (and ditches the ZettaiRyouki look she had).
* ShoutOut: An [[DualBoss early pair of bandits]] in Radiant Dawn share the faces of another DualBoss pair of bandits from the 7th game.
** Which were themselves a shout out to a dual boss pair from the sixth game.
*** Heck, in general, those two bandits are more or less a ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' mainstay -- two bosses in ''Awakening'' even wound up resembling them!
** In Path of Radiance, there is one support conversation between the three Pegasus knights; they are training, and Tanith shouts "DO YOU WANT TO LIVE FOREVER!" Coincidence? [[Literature/GauntsGhosts We don't think so.]]
* ShipSinking: In ''Path of Radiance'', Astrid tells Gatrie she can't be with him because [[DisposableFiance she's engaged]] (something she [[{{Foreshadowing}} doesn't mention to Makalov]]). Though at the time she was indeed engaged [[spoiler:to Lekain,]] not to Makalov. In ''Radiant Dawn'', she's all but forgotten about Gatrie in favor of fawning over Makalov. (Though you don't ''have'' to hook them up.)
* ShutUpHannibal: Elinicia delivers an awesome one to Ludveck at the end of Part 2 in ''Radiant Dawn''. It's even more awesome in the [[http://www.serenesforest.net/fe10/script/2_Fb.html Japanese script]], which has extended dialogue.
* SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer: In the Japanese previews of ''Radiant Dawn'', Ike and the Greil mercs were nowhere to be seen, despite Ike been a major focal character in the latter half of the game.
* SocialDarwinist: Surprisingly, [[spoiler:Ashnard]] fits this mold pretty well, though the only way to find out about it is through a boss conversation he has with... ''Reyson'', who probably won't survive the ensuing battle due to his pathetic defenses.
-->[[spoiler:'''Ashnard''']]: If you are stronger than those around you, you should benefit from your strength. This is why I will use my strength to remake this world. Class and rank will not matter. Human and sub-human will not matter. The strong will possess everything. The weak will submit to their will. Is this not the meaning of peace?
-->'''Reyson''': Are you saying that the lives of those without strength have no value?
-->[[spoiler:'''Ashnard''']]: That is the natural order. The only way for the weak to survive is to cling to the strong.
* SorceressQueen: Apostle Sanaki, Empress of Begnion. Not seen in ''Path of Radiance'' but in ''Radiant Dawn'' she is a mage type class capable of using all classes of magic. [[spoiler:Micaiah also once she becomes queen of Deain. She's also Sanaki's elder sister and the true heir of Begnion, but decides against taking it]].
* SquadControls: The games allow the team leader to give some basic orders to the other playable characters (in case you don't feel like moving them manually) and to the allied yellow units (Useful [[EscortMission if they have to survive]], just send them to a square away from enemies).
* StayInTheKitchen: Mia's backstory. Leads to the hilarious [[http://serenesforest.net/fe9/support/046.html Mia x Largo supports]].
* StandingBetweenTheEnemies: Elincia tries to prevent the Begnion Army and the Laguz Alliance from fighting. It doesn't work, but at least she could convince the Laguz that not all HumansAreBastards.
* StealthBasedMission: A rather odd case for a turn-based strategy game occurs early in Path of Radiance. The party enters an enemy controlled castle and the only objective is to leave from it (meaning it can be completed without fighting anyone). However, 3 roaming guards will call for lots of reinforcements if attacked or if a unit ends up in their movement range. The weird part is that even if you stay one square out of their movement ''you are still completely visible to them''. The player has to decide if they want the bonus EXP for being stealthy or just the regular EXP from killing everyone (plus the treasure/recruitable characters that are easier to obtain if you fight).
* StoryBranchFavoritism: The story of ''Path of Radiance'' is written as if it expects you to get Ike and Soren's A support, and on time. Examples include main script moments where Ike shows concern for Soren's well-being one chapter before you can get their B support and the Nasir blackmailing Soren subplot where Soren goes through SanitySlippage with a climax one chapter before he can get his A support with Ike that abruptly stops afterward. ''Radiant Dawn'' later continues this favoritism by treating the existence of the Branded as common knowledge (when the only other conversations that mention it in the first game involve an ''extremely'' obscure character), commenting on Soren's positive CharacterDevelopment, and having Ike know Soren's secret. Then when endings are involved, Ike's other option is either ending up alone or a very vague ending with Ranulf while Soren's is a DownerEnding.
* SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity: Savvy players will definitely find it suspicious that the final chapter of ''Path of Radiance'' has ''less'' enemies on Hard mode than on Normal. This is for good reason: [[spoiler:Ashnard says to heck with OrcusOnHisThrone and '''moves around''' starting on turn 9.]]
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: And how! Boss characters will sometimes talk to or even have conversations with your units before fighting them. If Ashnard meets Reyson in the endgame of ''Path of Radiance'', he will go on a full-blown MotiveRant while the rest of your army stands patiently.
* TranslationByVolume: It has a scene where one of the Hawk Tribe is trying to talk to the Heron princess, who only speaks an ancient language, by talking loudly and slowly as he helps her pack for a trip. [[MoodWhiplash Then he tries to find out why she screamed]] right before the BlackKnight kills him.
* TheTeam -- several develop throughout. The core ones being
** BadAssCrew: The Greil Mercenaries
*** TheLeader: Ike
*** NumberTwo: Titania
*** TheStrategist: Soren
*** TheChick: Mist
*** BigThinShortTrio: The Three Brothers
*** BoisterousBruiser: Boyd, who was Ike's {{Lancer}} in the rookie days
*** NiceGuy: Oscar
*** TagalongKid: Rolf
*** ThoseTwoGuys: Thunder and Lightning duo
*** CasanovaWannabe: Gatrie
*** TokenEvilTeammate: Shinon
*** WhiteMagicianGirl: Rhys
*** GenkiGirl: Mia
*** HonoraryTrueCompanion: Elincia - PrincessClassic, Ranulf - TheLancer to Ike when he's around, Volke - TheSneakyGuy
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits / FiveManBand: The Dawn Brigade growing into the Daein Liberation force
** TheLeader: Micaiah
** TheLancer: Sothe
** TheBigGuy: Nolan
** TheSmartGuy: Leonardo
** TheHeart: Edward
** TeamPet: Voluk
** IncorruptiblePurePureness: Rafiel
** LadyOfWar: Nailah
** BigGood: Pelleas
** EvilGenius: Izuka
** FourStarBadAss: Tauruneo
** NiceGuy: Zihark
** FieryRedHead: Jill
* PraetorianGuard: Crimean Army
** TheLeader and TheChick: Elincia
** TheLancer: Lucia
** TheSmartGuy and TheSneakyGuy: Bastian
** TheBigGuy and TheCaptain: Geoffrey of [[BunnyEarsLawyer his trusted knights]]
*** TheLancer: Kieran
*** RebelliousPrincess: Astrid
*** LazyBum: Makalov
*** TheBigGuy: Danved
*** TheChick: Marcia
*** ActionMom: Calill
*** BoisterousBruiser / RetiredBadass: Largo
* TookALevelInBadass: The Soldier class, just {{Mooks}} in previous games, became a lot more powerful in this installment by gaining the Halberdier and Sentinel promotions, making them more than on par with their sword-wielding and axe-wielding counterparts.
* TunnelOfForeshadowing: The openings.
* {{Tyrannicide}}: ''Path of Radiance'' has the main protagonist, Ike, defeat the tyrannical Ashnard to free Crimea.
* UnusualEuphemism:
** ''Radiant Dawn'' presents us with gems such as "Moldy onions!" and "Hornet hairs!"
** Marcia loves this trope. She swears... using ''food''. "Oh, crackers!"
* TheUnfought: Duke Seliora isn't even positively identified with any character in the game. He is presumably the yellow-robed Senator who appears in cutscenes in Part 3, since it was mentioned that after losing his castle to the Laguz Alliance he fled to Lekain's castle at Gaddos, and that's where this character's scenes take place.
* VideoGameCaringPotential: Several chapters give you Partner units (those you can more or less control) and Other units (those that you can't control) that are on your side. You can go out of your way have them survive the battle and even get rewarded with BEXP in some instances for saving the latter.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential:
** On the other hand, there are several points where there are sympathetic characters on the enemy side that the game encourages you to not kill (like the priests coerced to fight against you in Solo). You can butcher every last one of them if feeling particularly bloodthirsty though, again, BEXP serves as an incentive not to.
** You can break up A supports in ''Radiant Dawn'' at any time. Theoretically, this could lead to several player-inflicted YankTheDogsChain moments when paired endings are involved. Most notably that would include [[spoiler: viewing Ike and Soren's special scene]] and then immediately breaking their A support causing [[spoiler: Ike to allow Soren to cry in his arms about how important Ike is to him, and then ''abandon him forever'']].
** It's possible to kill Makalov with Marcia if you're feeling particularly vengeful on her behalf. On the other side of the coin, you can also force Jill to fight Shiharam or Haar. ''Radiant Dawn'' adds certain characters on the enemy side who love your characters too much to fight them, and you can take full advantage of this if you want (fighting [[spoiler: Dheginsea with Kurthnaga]] or Meg with Brom, for example).
* TheWarJustBefore: ''Path of Radiance'' has Daein's Mad King Ashnard invade and take over the kingdom of Crimea, leading to a long campaign to liberate it. Three years later in ''Radiant Dawn'', Daein is occupied by forces of the Begnion Empire, who rule with an iron fist. Resentment among the Daein people is high, and conditions are ripening for a full-fledged rebellion against Begnion.
* WeaponTombstone: [[AnAxeToGrind Greil's axe, Urvan]]. In ''Radiant Dawn'', it comes back as the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity Plus One Axe]].
* WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou: As usual with Lords in the series, the game is over if Ike dies in battle. In ''Radiant Dawn'' this is mostly dependent on the chapter as it also changes perspectives (early on, you lose if ''anyone'' dies), but the game ends if you lose either Ike or Micaiah in every chapter they're playable.
* WhereItAllBegan: The first thing you see when booting up ''Path of Radiance'', after the Gamecube, Nintendo, and Intelligent Systems logos, is a picture of the Tower of Guidance in Begnion. The last few chapters of ''Radiant Dawn'' take place there.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Micaiah naively believes Jarod intends to bury Alder, who just died for him, rather than simply allowing the Black Knight to waste him right then and there. Her sympathy ends up biting her and the rest of the team in the butt.
** Lampshaded by Lethe in a base conversation part 2 regarding Ludveck. That would be how the laguz do it, anyway...but beorc have these things called trials that require evidence.
* WingedHumanoid: The bird tribe laguz are this in their humanoid forms.
* WorldOfBadass: Each and every single nation has its share of awesome, kick-ass warriors, whether beorc or laguz, male or female.
* WorthyOpponent: General Zelgius, most notably when he averts a major battle between Begnion and the Laguz Alliance by challenging Skrimir to a duel, and when he refuses to aid Valtome in attacking Queen Elincia.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Ike himself has the blue hair common to the majority of ''Fire Emblem'' lords, as do characters like Geoffrey, Lucia, and Pelleas, among others. Several other characters have green, pink, and purple hair.

* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Pelleas somehow accepts and listens to the extremely ObviouslyEvil Izuka, to the point of being stunned and distraught

* EternalEnglish: Averted. The main language of Tellius changed over time, as in the current day, it's unintelligible by most people, and only used by mages to cast spells, and only spoken regularly by the wolf laguz of Hatari, the heron princess Leanne. A few characters like Naesala and Nealuchi understand it, but don't speak it.

* TookALevelInBadass: The Soldier class , just {{Mooks}} in previous games, became a lot more powerful in this installment by gaining the Halberdier and Sentinel promotions, making them more than on par with their sword-wielding and axe-wielding counterparts.

* DarkIsNotEvil: Pelleas is somewhat weak-willed and a HorribleJudgeOfCharacter, but he's ultimately a well-meaning guy, as his [[spoiler:HeroicSacrifice in the hopes that Daein will be free from the effects of his Blood Pact]] demonstrates. On the second playthrough of ''Radiant Dawn'' and later, he can be recruited, and is the only playable dark magic user in the game.

* PurposelyOverpowered: The three royal Laguz that you can take as reinforcements in the final chapter of Path of Radiance are this and the {{EleventhHourRanger}}s, and potentially necessary to beat Ashnard if your Ike or your dragon aren't up to scratch.

* ActuallyADoomBot: In the Japanese version of Radiant Dawn, the [[spoiler: Black Knight]] says that what Ike fought and defeated wasn't him, but a ghost created by malfunctioning warp powder. The English localization team decided to change that into an instance of ILetYouWin and justified it using existing canon.

* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: You spend most of ''Radiant Dawn'' switching between various different parties, though the most abrupt case is Part 2, where you play through the prologue as Elincia, then switch to [[LowerDeckEpisode Nephenee]] for chapter 1, then Lucia for Chapter 2, then Geoffrey for Chapter 3, before finally going back to Elincia for the Endgame. Also sudden is the single chapter in Part 3 played as Geoffrey.

* AristocratsAreEvil. For the majority of ''Radiant Dawn'', the most villainous people in the game are the Begnion Senators and their lackeys, all of whom are landed nobility.

* BadassBoast: Stefan gets one in Radiant Dawn if you have him battle Duke Numida.
--> '''Numida''': Wh-who are you?
--> '''Stefan''': I am the desert, and I brook no intrusions. Make peace with your goddess.
* BadassNormal: Radiant Dawn's 3-13 Archer, who in all likely hood has better stats than Leonardo in that chapter. He starts the chapter on a Balista and proceeds to Crit everything he shoots at. Then, a common scenario in the chapter is that the mage near the archer will get killed by a hawk. The archer will then kill the hawk and block the ledge so laguz cannot climb while simultaneously attacking them, making him VERY useful to avoid getting overrun from both side. Best part of all, he usually lives.[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_mo9hZa9bo Witness his unbridled wrath.]]

* TheBattleDidntCount:
** In Radiant Dawn, if you manage to defeat Ike in Chapter 3-13, he merely says that you've held out longer than he expected before being informed by one of his soldiers that his forces have breached your defenses at another location. The wounds that would have resulted in a Game Over were he under your control don't seem to bother him much.
** The same holds true for any of the battles between Ike's forces and Micaiah's: If you're playing as Ike, none of the [=PCs=] in Micaiah's army actually die, or vice versa.

* BigDamnHeroes: At the end of Act 2 of Radiant Dawn, [[spoiler:Lucia is about to be executed by rebel Crimean forces]], with Queen Elincia looking on helplessly. Just as [[spoiler:Lucia is about to be hanged, the Greil Mercenaries show up out of nowhere to rescue her]] in a CrowningMomentOfAwesome.

* BlockingStopsAllDamage: This is how the Sentinel and General classes "dodge" in ''Radiant Dawn''. Even though all Beorc weapons will eventually break unless blessed by magic, it appears their shields are eternal.

* BroughtDownToNormal: Several endgame bosses in Radiant Dawn have obscenely good Skills coupled with their high stats. An easy solution? Send someone with Nihil to cancel them out.

* CharacterShilling: Deconstructed with Micaiah in ''Radiant Dawn'', especially in part 3 where she starts sliding into DarkMessiah territory. Played straighter with Ike, who's loved universally by almost everyone.

* CutscenePowerToTheMax: In ''Radiant Dawn'", Kurthnaga forced a ceasefire by virtue of being [[PersonofMassDestruction as large as a castle and able to blow it up]]. When he gets on the battlefield, however, you find out he's only around level 20 (halfway to his max), his accuracy is subpar, and he's incredibly slow. Most people use a lot of their BEXP to get him to a decent level so he doesn't die all the time.
* DeconstructorFleet: Radiant Dawn pretty much goes on a pretty big deconstruction in Parts one and two. Part one pretty much shows that while Ashnard was certainly bad, Begnion wasn't much better. Likewise, part two shifts focus to a rebellion in Crimea. As a LetsPlay put it, ''Path of Radiance'' pretty much went like a fairytale for Crimea. Radiant Dawn shows that when they were no longer united against Daein, they decided to go back to petty power squabbles.
* DecoyProtagonist: Micaiah is set up as the main character of ''Radiant Dawn'', but by the end of the game, it's clear that Ike is meant to be the main character (again), relegating Micaiah to SupportingProtagonist status at best.

* DivineConflict: ''Radiant Dawn'' comes to a showdown between [[OrderVsChaos Ashera, the Goddess of Order, and Yune, the Goddess of Chaos]], both of whom are aspects of the same being, Ashunera, who split herself into two halves.

* DuelingPlayerCharacters: Happens repeatedly during ''Radiant Dawn''. Add to it when you fight an alternate team, they keep the levels and items from when you were last controlling them. If you manage to keep both teams around the same power, it's an even match-up, but if they're not balanced you'll spend half the levels plowing through 'yourself' and the other half running away from 'yourself'.

* EarlyGameHell: ''Radiant Dawn'' is well known for this. Even on Easy, it's pretty tough. [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration It's justified]] as your RagTagBunchOfMisfits is trying to squeeze by a huge occupying army, but from a gameplay perspective, it's quite a shock if you didn't play ''Path of Radiance'' first. The only mitigating factor is that you don't have a lot of freedom both in which characters you bring in and where they move (the first few levels are fairly cramped), so [[TrialAndErrorGameplay eventually you're going to figure out something that works]].
* EasterEgg: Overlapping with DevelopersForesight, on the final map in Part Three of ''Radiant Dawn'', there are numerous interesting battle conversations that can be had between all of the important people taking part in this battle. The problem is that the relevant enemies are all the way across the map, and it is extremely likely that the chapter will end before you are anywhere close to them. It takes some real finagling in order to see most of them.

* EverybodysDeadDave: At the end of ''Radiant Dawn'' part 3. [[spoiler:Ashera's judgement has turned nearly the entire population of Beorc and Laguz to stone. Ike ventures outside to an eerie quiet, desperate to find a survivor among the statues. Part 4 involves confronting and defeating Ashera to undo their fate.]]

* IAmYourOpponent: Ranulf, before challenging the Black Knight to single combat:
-->'''Ranulf''': I'm Ranulf, right hand to Gallia's future king. ''(Morphs into cat form)'' Will that do?

* {{Irony}}: There is superstition about branded having special powers, but the only benefit they really get has the drawback of making them easily spotted by enemies. Amusingly, some of them survive Radiant Dawn's end game because the enemy overlooked them.

* JackOfAllStats: Elincia becomes this in ''Radiant Dawn''. She starts off as a CrutchCharacter in part 2, but unlike others, remains feasible late-game and can fucntion as a good staff user as well as a decent ombat unit thanks to her special sword.

* JokeCharacter: [[spoiler:Oliver]] in ''Radiant Dawn'', who is likely outclassed by the time you recruit him, but has plenty of special dialogue with bosses and other characters, much of it [[CrowningMomentOfFunny hilarious]].

* LordBritishPostulate: In one chapter of ''Radiant Dawn'', [[spoiler:Lekain]] appears on the field for a couple turns, and then leaves. During the time [[GenderNeutralWriting they're]] on the field, it is actually possible to reach them and kill them. [[DevelopersForesight They simply retreat upon being defeated]].

* LowerDeckEpisode: Part 2, chapter 1 in ''Radiant Dawn'' has the player controlling minor character Nephenee from ''Path of Radiance''.

* NeutralityBacklash: In ''Radiant Dawn'', Dragon King Dheginsea stubbornly tries to have the country of Goldoa remain neutral for 1,000 years [[spoiler:to satisfy the terms of the covenant with the goddess Ashera.]] He ends up having one of his children killed and another one forced into exile because of his insistence on neutrality.

* NoHeroDiscount: Taken to absurd levels in Radiant Dawn, where [[spoiler:THE ENTIRE WORLD besides your company has been paralyzed, and you're gearing up to fight against the Goddess to save the world. What's that, you want a forged silver sword to save the world? Sorry, you don't have enough.]]
* NoKillLikeOverkill: Most of the Tier 3 mastery skills in Radiant Dawn. Many of them, like deadeye and stun, have effects to put enemies to sleep or paralyze them, but there's a good chance the player will never see these effects, since they're also effectively critical hits and almost always kill before their effects take hold.
** Eclipse gets a special mention, in that it not only negates defense but multiples [[spoiler:the Black Knight's]] strength by FIVE. It activates on his skill stat, so he always has a fixed 40% chance to rip his opponent apart to the tune of 208 damage, which even the final boss couldn't live through. Ye gods.

* OnTheNext: ''Radiant Dawn'' has this at the end of the first three parts.

* ProperlyParanoid: [[spoiler:Sothe is completely right to not trust the Black Knight when he comes to assist the Daein liberation and not buy into the noble, patriotic facade he puts on for Micaiah. While the Black Knight doesn't betray the Dawn Brigade or Daein directly, everything he did was in the name of hastening Ashera's judgment on the world.]]

* RedemptionEarnsLife: Naesala, Oliver, and [[spoiler:on a second playthrough, Lehran]]. Emphasized by their respective endings in ''Radiant Dawn'': [[spoiler:Naesala abdicates and goes into diplomacy to atone for his role in making two wars worse, Oliver finally learns to channel his appreciation of beauty in a healthy way, namely patronizing the arts, and Lehran has his Laguz powers restored by the Herons, and when a new world war brews 1200 years later, is once again at Ashunera's side, not as her accomplice in destruction, but as her assistant in searching for a new hero]].
* RegionalBonus: The PAL version of Radiant Dawn fixed the GameBreakingBug in the OldSaveBonus, and fixed [[InconsistentDub a few name inconsistancies with the first game]] and a couple of utter [[BlindIdiotTranslation Blind Idiot Translations]] (like the infamous "Heart of Fire").

* SadisticChoice: Radiant Dawn has a couple:
** A rather gripping one in near the end of Part 3 in Radiant Dawn. [[spoiler:Just as Micaiah is about to give the order to fire on the Apostle, Tibarn swoops in and hangs her BodyguardCrush Sothe over a cliff and gives her an ultimatum: cease fire and retreat or Sothe dies. Micaiah can't retreat, however, since it would effectively mean everybody in Daein would die due to the blood pact. Unable to find a third option, Michiah is helpless as she watches Sothe get thrown over the cliff. Micaiah promptly has a MyGodWhatHaveIDone, until it is revealed to have been a bluff and she calls for a retreat.]]
** The final chapter of Part 2 in Radiant Dawn, where [[spoiler:Ludveck's men have Lucia standing on the gallows. They threaten Elincia to release Ludveck in half a mark or they shall hang Lucia. Painfully, Elincia chooses to sacrifice Lucia to save her people from Ludveck and braces herself to watch her dearest friend die before her eyes...that is, until the Greil Mercenaries come to the rescue.]]
** Also in Radiant Dawn, [[spoiler:after the game seemingly drops the choice system that made a brief appearance in Path of Radiance (do you want to hire Volke? let Sothe join your army?), you're confronted with one: let Micaiah kill Pelleas to break the blood pact, or make someone else do it. Of course, this trope is taken to higher levels when everyone realizes killing Pelleas did nothing, and the blood pact is still in effect (this could be subverted on a second playthrough, where you can keep Pelleas alive and let him fight for you).]]

* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: The final battle of ''Radiant Dawn'' structures this as ''literally'' a climb up a tower. First, you fight the [[spoiler:apparent]] BigBad, [[spoiler:who is ultimately revealed to be a mere puppet]]. [[DragonTheirFeet Next, you fight]] TheDragon, [[spoiler:who it turns out was deeper into the conspiracy than the supposed BigBad]]. Next up is [[spoiler:an even ''stronger'' person just as deep in the plot]]. After this, you face [[spoiler:the ''real'' BigBad]], and finally, at the top of the tower, face off with [[spoiler:the goddess the BigBad worships]].

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Three characters, all of them completely innocent of any wrongdoing, are explicitly or implicitly responsible for the situation in ''Radiant Dawn'' becoming as bad as it did:
** Rafiel was the only survivor of the Serenes Massacre to know that the true culprit was Begnion, not Daein, but had been stuck on the other side of a supposedly-impenetrable desert for twenty years. Once the desert finds itself penetrated, he goes to Gallia and spills everything to Caineghis, who declares war on Begnion. Arguably a blessing in disguise, though, as without this information Lekain and his accomplices would've escaped justice.
** Later on, it's implied ever-so-slightly that [[spoiler: Kurthnaga and Ena violating Goldoa's neutrality laws]] was the exact moment the Dark God was destined to be released, as only then was [[ExactWords ALL of Tellius at war]].

** It's possible to kill Makalov with Marcia if you're feeling particularly vengeful on her behalf. On the other side of the coin, you can also force Jill to fight Shiharam or Haar. Radiant Dawn adds certain characters on the enemy side who love your characters too much to fight them, and you can take full advantage of this if you want (fighting [[spoiler: Dheginsea with Kurthnaga]] or Meg with Brom, for example).

* WaterSourceTampering: In ''Radiant Dawn'', Micaiah rejects this as a tactic to take out a well defended enemy base when it's suggested. Rather than point out the questionable ethics involved, she explains that people would ''see'' it as a questionable act, and start to question their motives, maybe turn against them. More importantly, the base is a prison camp they are attempting to liberate for manpower, and this would hit the prisoners as well.

* WhamEpisode: In Radiant Dawn, who could have expected the [[spoiler: ''Black Knight'']], of all people, to come to your aid at the most unexpected time?
-->: "Be at ease, Maiden. I shall not allow him to harm you."
* WhamLine: While it was rather heavily foreshadowed, when [[spoiler: Sephiran]] reveals his intentions near the end of Radiant Dawn, it completely drops the jaws of players who hadn't picked up on it earlier (or were holding out for a MetaTwist):
-->[[spoiler:'''Sephiran''': The goddess was to be freed... and all living creatures destroyed]]

* YouShallNotPass: ''Radiant Dawn'' has both a heroic and a villainous (okay, {{Anti Villain}}ous) example toward the end of the game: in the former, all but seventeen members of your party stay behind as you enter the [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Tower of Guidance]] to hold off [[spoiler:Ashera's zombie horde]] ([[spoiler:they live]]). In the latter, [[spoiler:Dheginsea]], in his utter devotion to [[spoiler:Ashera]], stands in your way upon entering the tower, adamant on stopping you from reaching [[spoiler:her]] ([[spoiler:he does ''not'' live]]).

* PowerUpLetDown: Using the Master Crown on a character will instantly promote them to their next class regardless of their level at the time, coming with some hefty stat increases as a result. This may seem really good... Until you realize doing this robs them of levels and stat buffs in the long run. Each class has twenty levels to it and, on the twentieth, class changes into their next 'tier', which resets them back to level one. The Master Crown essentially robs them of some valuable levels when used and, as a result, characters that used them will end up being significantly weaker than characters that reached that tier naturally. As a result, most players tend to use their Master Crowns on characters they only plan on using temporarily, while leveling up the characters they intend to use for the end game naturally.