History VideoGame / Underrail

*** TheWasteland Hawk[[DiscussedTrope is explicitly mentioned as being a monster of a weapon with no practical application]] by Myles if you show it to him. It costs 35AP to fire it, making it hard to fire more than 2 shots a turn but deals very consistent damage.

*** The [[Handcannon Wasteland Hawk]][[DiscussedTrope is explicitly mentioned as being a monster of a weapon with no practical application]] by Myles if you show it to him. It costs 35AP to fire it, making it hard to fire more than 2 shots a turn.

* CombatPragmatist: If you want to stay alive, let alone finish the game, you're going to have to become one of these par excellence. You are always outnumbered and often outgunned, and the only thing that can level the playing field for you is to ruthlessly exploit every possible weakness.

* RatStomp: ''You wish''. The first creatures you encounter are [[RodentsOfUnusualSize rat-hounds]], which are rats as large and fierce as wolves. Alpha Rathounds come up to the player's chest, and Ancient Rathounds are the size of gorillas. Oh, [[[FromBadToWorse and they all come in packs]]. If you don't listen when [=NPCs=] tell you pack flares, the rats will stomp ''you''.

* RecycledInSpace: ''Fallout'' [-IN THE UNDERGROUND-]!

* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: The Free Drones may be opposing [[TheEmpire the United Stations]], but they are ''not'' good guys. Even joining them requires the player to sentence Rail Crossing to death by sabotaging relations between them and the United Stations, and their questline culminates in [[spoiler:bombing Epione Lab to take out the Protectorate's troop transport lines, killing an untold number of civilians in addition to the intended targets]].

* DressingAsTheEnemy: You can do this to trick the guards in [[spoiler:the Gray Army base]], allowing you to get through without bloodshed if you have decent persuasion or stealth skills.

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Taking Motion in Core City may lead to a cutscene of the player character breakdancing in the middle of the war zone between the Faceless and Praetorian Security, shouting about how they're too important to die because they're [[PlayerCharacter "the chosen one"]]. The baffled Praetorian Security troopers take bets on how long they'll last as the player character effortlessly dodges the incoming hailstorm of laser and plasma fire.

An unknown length of time into the future, life on the surface of Earth has long since been made impossible. In order to survive, biotechnology superconglomerate [=BioCorp=] constructs [[TitleDrop the Underrail]], a titanic system of self-sufficient habitats, laboratories, industrial facilities, and support structures, deep within the Earth.

* ComicallySmallDemand: Several thugs in Junkyard block the passage towards the Protectorate Embassy, they are far too powerful for an early-game character to tackle, and the payment they demand of you in order to pass is ''5 charons'', you've been given ''250'' by [[BenevolentBoss Tanner]], and they never bother you with payment ever again.

* NoobCave: The Omega Outposts. They contain numerous Rathounds, who most player characters will easily be able to kill, as well as small introductions to lockpicking and hacking.

** One possible inhabitant of the Water Treatment Plant random dungeon is [[Film/DrStrangelove Dr. Oddloathe]].

* AffectionateParody: [[PunnyName Al Fabet]] is a travelling IntrepidMerchant found in Core City, who simply sells VendorTrash out from... [[WeSellEverything everything]], including [[OrganDrops a human brain]].

* {{Immortality}}: This is one of the effects of the mutagenic gas Old [=BioCorp=] developed. Wyatt, one of the people exposed to it, is still alive over a hundred years later, not having ever even needed to eat or sleep. [[spoiler:Abram, too]]. The caveat is that you'll spend the rest of your extended lifespan in horrific agony from the acid seeping out of every organ in your body.

** Flashbangs are almost essential for any close-range build due to their versatility. Throw them at an enemies' feet to stun them for ''two whole turns'', letting you do whatever you want to them for free. They only need Chemistry 40 and Mechanics 5 to make them, their blueprint is 50 SGS tokens in Junkyard, and their base compounds (a Thin Grenade Case and Magnesium Powder) are so unbelievably common that multiple vendors sell the ingredients all over the Underrail. To top it all off, the stun effect is also an AOE, making it very easy to open the fight with a flashbang and completely wipe the floor with everyone who got affected by it, instantly turning the tide in your favor. On top of all ''that'', Stealth builds are able to restealth during combat if they successfully flashbang every active enemy in the area, letting them pull a full-on SmokeOut and absolutely break the enemy AI.

** Flashbangs are almost essential for any close-range build due to their versatility. Throw them at an enemies' feet to stun them for ''two whole turns'', letting you do whatever you want to them for free. They only need Chemistry 40 and Mechanics 5 to make them, their blueprint is 50 SGS tokens in Junkyard, and their base compounds (a Thin Grenade Case and Magnesium Powder) are so unbelievably common that multiple vendors sell the ingredients all over the Underrail. To top it all off, the stun effect is also an AOE, making it very easy to open the fight with a flashbang and completely wipe the floor with everyone who got affected by it, instantly turning the tide in your favor.

** Mercantile falls under the same umbrella, it allows you to negotiate better rewards including [[spoiler: ''tens of thousands of charons'' from selling an unique jet ski, more than enough to buy anything in the game]], or a far less damaging deal with [[spoiler: the pirates in exchange for Professor Oldfield]], but you can already gain massive amounts of money just by playing the game and selling whatever you find, plus there is almost nothing you can buy that costs a LOT of money other than jet skis and renovating your house. On the other hand it allows you to [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower get incredibly high-quality components, very useful for anyone who invested in crafting.]]
** Crossbows. It has no option to deal with heavily-armored enemies unlike every other build (including even bare hands!) and you are going to have a difficult time if you do not pair it with Stealth or Traps.

An unknown length of time into the future, life on the surface of Earth has long since been made impossible. In order to survive, biotechnology superconglomerate [=BioCorp=] constructed [[TitleDrop the Underrail]], a titanic system of self-contained habitats, laboratories, industrial facilities, and support structures, deep within the Earth's crust.

Three hundred and some years after the Descent, Old [=BioCorp=] has fallen, destroyed by both the myriad issues facing the Underrail and the rampant corruption in their upper ranks. Humanity now clings to life in isolated, self-contained station states, self-governed communities that represent the last bastions of a fading civilization.

You are a member of the South Gate Station, a pacifist but well-equipped station in southern Underrail. After receiving great aptitude results from tests applied by various specialists, you are called to duty by SGS's leaders in order to put your skills to the test, becoming increasingly involved in the nightmarish dangers, political intrigues, and conflicts of the underworld.

** [[AvertedTrope Averted with the New Year Resolution update,]] where you can now take many unique guns to Myles in Rail Crossing to refurbish at a price, vastly improving their stats and occasionally adding new unique ones.
** Persuasion allows you to skip some combat scenarios, gleam more insight from several characters and very rarely offer alternate conclusions to quests, but otherwise it is completely useless, having no use in combat outside of [[HypnoticEyes a pair of glasses]] that you only get by working with JKK. It also scales off Will, which is a DumpStat for builds that do not use psionic powers.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Many of the unique items (denoted by a purple name) are likely weaker compared to what you can find or craft, but what takes the cake is the ''Master Demolitionist Belt''. It grants 3 utility slots, but not only does it increase the AP cost of throwing grenades, but it also grants a special ability to ''detonate 1 of each grenade in your belt right at your feet'', [[SuicideAttack most likely killing you in the process]], if it doesn't at least damage you severely.

** Mercantile falls under the same umbrella, it allows you to negotiate better rewards including [[spoiler: ''tens of thousands of charons'' from selling an unique jet ski, more than enough to buy anything in the game]], or a far less damaging deal with [[spoiler: the pirates in exchange of Professor Oldfield]], but you can already gain massive amounts of money just by playing the game and selling whatever you find, plus there is almost nothing you can buy that costs a LOT of money other than jet skis and renovating your house. On the other hand it allows you to [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower get incredibly high-quality components, very useful for anyone who invested in crafting.]]

* BackAlleyDoctor: Fixer in Junkyard, who charges extra for anesthetic. Heidi Gratz in Core City behaves like one, but it turns out she's actually [[BunnyEarsLawyer very competent]].

** [=SMG=]s aren't as big, flashy or damaging as Assault Rifles are, but they make up for this in several key areas. Firstly, they don't require any stat investment in order to use them well, making them a great mainstay of your arsenal if you're a gunslinger who doesn't want to invest into strength. Secondly, they receive several useful perks that specifically boost them, such as Spec Ops.

** In Core City, you can expect to be called a pipeworker or a zoner; the latter implies the insultee lives in Core City's favela, the Drop Zone, while the former is probably meant to imply they're trashy or scruffy. "Drop off" is roughly equivalent to "screw you," while anything that's suitably cool is "DOMINATING!" Being "zoned out" is equivalent to "murdered."

* GenreShift: Once you reach the [[spoiler: Deep Caverns]], the game suddenly turns from a relatively grounded post-apocalyptic scenario with cyberpunk elements into a full-blown [[spoiler: CosmicHorrorStory]]. As much as the game foreshadows this, the extent of this mood swing will still likely catch many players by surprise.

* {{Transhuman}}: The Tchortists aim to become this, and the Faceless essentially already are. Bionic Institute, one of the T6 super-corporations, was designing biotechnological robots that were granted citizenship and treated as equals to their makers. BioCorp appears to have been working towards a more traditional "ascent through genetic manipulation" variant on this trope.

* TurnBasedCombat