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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/0347ef_1f08a482e7fa4bc8868fb12303fb4b7b.png]]
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4A video game RPG about controlling a group of people playing a tabletop RPG. As silly as that sounds, that's the premise behind ''Knights of Pen and Paper'', an indie RPG developed by Creator/BeholdStudios and published by Creator/ParadoxInteractive that takes cues from older turn-based [=RPGs=], and blends them in the most meta way possible.
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6Controlling both the game master and a group of two to five players, the game follows a fairly stereotypical fantasy game campaign. However, there are a couple of twists. The first is that not only can the characters be customized, but so can the room where the game is played, which provides different statistical effects for the characters. The second is that the player mostly controls what kinds of monsters are fought, and how many, setting the stage for an easy or hard game depending on the player's whim.
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8This game is the first entry in the ''VideoGame/OfPenAndPaper'' series, which also consists of two NumberedSequels (2015's ''VideoGame/KnightsOfPenAndPaper2'' and 2023's ''VideoGame/KnightsOfPenAndPaper3'', both developed by Creator/KyyGames and also published by Paradox), as well as a 2017 Sci-Fi CreatorDrivenSuccessor by Behold titled ''VideoGame/GalaxyOfPenAndPaper''.
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10!!''Knights of Pen and Paper'' provides examples of the following tropes:
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12%%* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: The basic concept behind the Little Brother player.
13* AntiWastageFeatures: Played with to avert: Using an item requires a confirmation dialogue, but nothing prevents the item from being used, even if the target is at full health.
14* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: It's three until you earn enough gold to buy a special upgrade, which bumps it up to five.
15%%* AutoSave: The game does it after resting.
16* AwesomeButImpractical: Multiple:
17** One of the room items is a rug that gives you 30% more EXP at the cost of losing control of your characters. This works as well as it sounds, since anything more than a single elite mook will cause your characters to attack at random enemies, whiles they will all focus your tank when you're unable to heal besides regen.
18** Becomes SimpleYetAwesome for a "solo" (two players, but one dies in the first fight of the game and stays that way) run with the lone player being a Barbarian. 30% more EXP helps them stay ahead of the curve, which is important in a solo run, and piling on lifesteal and regen makes them effectively invulnerable to anything in the game that doesn't stun and even to some of those. It also turns the Barbarian's utter lack of variety in its movepool into an asset, as it allows them to just autobattle their way through the entire game on nothing but raw stats.
19* BlindIdiotTranslation: Near the end of the game the opening dialogue from ''Castlevania: Symphony of the Night'' is quoted. In the Brazilian version of the scene, the "ill" part of the line "Mankind ill needs a saviour such as you!" is wrongly translated as "sick" rather than "doesn't/hardly". It's hard to tell if this was done on purpose or not, given the tone of the game.
20* BribingYourWayToVictory: You can pay real money to obtain gold and save yourself lots and lots of cash grinding.
21* CatchingSomeZs: Sleeping in an inn is represented by an icon of bed and a Z beside it.
22* ChestMonster: Mimics are referenced when the chest icon for the dungeon {{Random Event}}s are selected:
23--> '''Master:''' Don't worry, it's not a mimic!
24* CreatorCameo: You can actually unlock and use the game developers as players. Naturally, [[PurposelyOverpowered they break the game]].
25%%* EliteMook: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Elite monsters.]]
26* {{Foreshadowing}}: The "Wizards of the East Coast" location is - oddly enough - placed on the west side of the map. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that this is because your world map encompasses the far eastern portion of the rest of the world.]]
27* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: In the first confrontation with the villain, he blasts the party so hard the players feel it, to even the [=GMs'=] shock. [[spoiler: In the final phase of the final battle against him, he manifests into the room the players are in to kill them. Unfortunately for him, he brought the RPG mechanics with him while being [[ClippedWingAngel much weaker himself]].]]
28%%* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: The King, due to being cursed into evil on more than one occasion.
29%%* {{Hipster}}: Is one of the players.
30* HitPoints: Called HP, presumably for "Health Points", as the "Health" stat is what it tracks, and represented by a red LifeMeter.
31%%* HolyHandGrenade: Clerics and Paladins.
32* AnInteriorDesignerIsYou: A subversion, as one of the core mechanics is decorating the room the game is played in.
33* KillerGameMaster: You can play as one. A couple of sidequests are also written as the product of this.
34* LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn: If you turn down the music volume, the game master yells at a bard, telling him to play more quietly.
35%%* LevelUpFillUp: For HitPoints and {{Mana}}.
36* LifeDrain: Dark Bats may attack with an attack that heals them while damaging party members, along with a few points of ManaBurn, averaging around 2.
37* LightningBruiser: The Rogue class, who are middle of the road in survivability, but are fast and have excellent damage output.
38* ManaMeter: A blue meter, called MP, presumably, for Magic Points, as the "Magic" stat is what it tracks.
39%%* TheMedic: Both Clerics and Bards can take this role.
40%%* MightyGlacier: The whole point of Paladins and Knights. Warriors and Barbarians can also fill in, although they aren't quite as good at it.
41* MusicalAssassin: Bards present a variation on this, in that they do damage by playing ''badly''.
42* Mystical108: One of the equips is a set of 108 assembled similarly to prayer beads.
43* NeverMessWithGranny: One of the playable characters is actually someone's grandma, and she can become quite awesome with the right set of skills.
44* PlayingWithFire: This is the main approach that Mages take, with both Fireball and Meteor spells.
45* RainOfArrows: The Hunter's Volley attack. You select one enemy and it will hit it and up to 4 more targets around it.
46%%* RatStomp: An early optional easy sidequest is this. (Or not so easy, if you choose to spawn in some Giant Rats.)
47* RecursiveReality: [[spoiler:On top of the example listed in the TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou entry, eventually the players pass through a mysterious portal that takes them to the real world. Both times they're still acting as their characters, and everything still runs on RPG mechanics.]]
48* SelfDeprecation: The team that made the first game, Behold Studios, is from Brazil, and they included a side quest where the heroes have to escort [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saci_%28Brazilian_folklore%29 Saci]], a figure from Myth/BrazilianFolklore. Saci talks like the stereotypical Brazilian {{troll}}, saying stuff like "HUEHUEHUEHUE" and "GIBE MONY PLS".
49* ShoutOut: Quite a list:
50** Some of the unlockable [=GMs=] are {{Lawyer Friendly Cameo}}s of various other characters. Examples include Karate Rat ([[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles Splinter]]) and Yoga ([[Franchise/StarWars Yoda]]).
51** Also, certain areas and area backgrounds have a few cameos/easter eggs.
52*** Maya Me Beach - play on Miami Beach. You can also see [[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants a sponge and a starfish lying on a rock and Mr Krabs]].
53*** Sands of Time Desert - ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime''. You can see [[Franchise/MortalKombat Cyrax]]'s head buried in the sand.
54*** Volcano of the Phoenix - You can see [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Gollum]]'s hand with the One Ring sticking out of the lava. As an added bonus, you can get The One Ring as an accessory.
55*** Journey Village - Characters from the PSN game ''VideoGame/Journey2012''.
56** On the Swamp Area, [[Franchise/ScoobyDoo The Mystery Machine]] can be seen drowning in the background. Similarly, frogs similar to [[Franchise/TheMuppets Kermit]] are there too.
57* {{Superboss}}: The most difficult boss in the game, faced after defeating all the dragon enemies in a room, is a... [[spoiler:Mom on a kitchen]]? You won't be laughing anymore once she slaughters your entire party in a single turn.
58* UselessUsefulSpell: Zigzagged. Techniques that cause status ailments are immensely useful most of the time, including ones that cause sleep or stun status as they're perfect for managing huge hordes of enemies. [[EliteMooks Elite enemies]], however, are completely immune to sleep and stun, and coincidentally every boss in the game happens to be an Elite enemy.
59* YouAllMeetInACell: How the main campaign kicks off:
60--> All you know is that you're a group of friends locked up in a Tower Prison for no reason at all and everyone's calling you assassins.

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