Line #57 VideoGame/ThePillarsOfTheEarth


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_pillars_of_the_earth.jpg]]
2
3	''Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth'' is a [[PointAndClickGame point-and-click]] {{adventure game}} adapted from the [[Literature/ThePillarsOfTheEarth book of the same name.]] It was developed and published by Creator/DaedalicEntertainment and released in 2017.
4	----
5	!!''Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth'' contains examples of the following tropes:
6
7	* AdaptationalNiceGuy: Optionally Alfred. When you're playing Jack in Book 1 you have the option to either look past Alfred's bullying and try to befriend him or antagonize him back. If you choose to befriend him, he is ''far'' more tolerant than he ever was in the novel, even after the man he "loves like a brother" tries to murder him or he finds out the woman who married him is carrying another man's baby, his responses are far more understandable and reasonable than his novel counterpart. He still never learns his craft well enough to avert disaster when he takes over construction of the Cathedral but - unlike in his villainous route - he doesn't take out his frustrations on the other characters. Also, his decision to align with Waleran comes off as him being more an UnwittingPawn than being deliberately spiteful and malicious towards the protagonists. Despite the wide divergence in his personality he still gets DemotedToExtra in Book 3 and practically only has a cameo speaking to Jonathan in Shiring before the story ends, unlike the antagonistic novel version of Alfred who gets killed by Richard in the third act when he tries to rape Aliena.
8	* AdaptedOut:
9	** Such is the fate of several historical figures who feature in the novel, notably Thomas Becket and Henry of Blois, neither of whom is present in the game.
10	** Johnny Sixpence. He brought baby Jonathan to the priory and became a monk to care for him. In the game, baby Jonathan is saved by Phillip's brother Francis.
11	* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Richard has the tendency to be a ball and chain to his big sis Aliena. He gets better as he gets older. When he does not act like a jerk, demanding weapons and armour, that is.
12	* AristocratsAreEvil: William is a depraved, war-mongering monster.
13	%%* ArrangedMarriage: William and Elizabeth
14	%%* AxCrazy: William, to put it mildly.
15	* BigBadDuumvirate: Waleran Bigod and the Hamleighs, particularly William. Their schemes are the main source of problems that the people of Kingsbridge have to contend with.
16	* BigBadWannabe: Alfred Builder and Brother Remigius loathe protagonists Jack Jackson and Prior Philip, devoting their entire lives to ruining them. Though they do their part, they're but small pieces in the schemes of the story's true villains, Waleran Bigod and William Hamleigh.
17	* CelibateHero: Prior Philip is not sexually deviant in any way.
18	%%* TheChessmaster: Bishop Waleran Bigod.
19	%%* ChristianityIsCatholic: {{Justified\|Trope}}, not surprisingly, as the Reformation was still centuries away.
20	%%* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Waleran Bigod and William Hamleighvhave severe cases of this.
21	%%* CivilWar: The Anarchy.
22	* CompositeCharacter: Phillip's brother Francis now is the one who finds baby Jonathan.
23	* CorruptChurch: Played straight with Ministers like Waleran who are raised to the top of the hierarchy; averted with Philip, Jonathan and other monks who strive to be {{Good Shepherd}}s and dislike corrupt ministers.
24	* CreatorCameo: Ken Follett, the original book's author, appears as a voice of Cantor.
25	* DamselOutOfDistress: Aliena is often in danger, but she's still quite intelligent and resourceful.
26	* DeathByAdaptation: Depending on player choice, [[spoiler:Richard]] can die.
27	%%* DeathByChildbirth: Agnes, Tom's first wife.
28	* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Prior Philip, although a benevolent figure for his community, and more compassionate than most of his peers, still has the views of a 12th-century monk on subjects like extra-marital sex or the respect due to his own authority.
29	%%* DefrostingIceQueen: Aliena.
30	%%* DisappearedDad: Jack's father
31	* TheDogBitesBack: When William's abused wife helps Richard and his army to infiltrate and take over his castle and depose him as earl.
32	%%* EarnYourHappyEnding: Phillip, Aliena, Jack.
33	%%* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: William
34	%%* EvilMatriarch: Lady Regan Hamleigh.
35	%%* FallenPrincess: Aliena.
36	* FeudalOverlord: William embodies this trope, especially after becoming Earl of Shiring.
37	%%* GoodShepherd: Prior Philip.
38	* HaveYouComeToGloat: Remigius asks this to Philip when he finds him begging. Instead of that, Philip invites him back to Kingsbridge.
39	* TheHeavy: Waleran Bigod's position and intellect technically make him the BigBad, but it is William who remains the most immediate threat to the people of Kingsbridge. While Waleran schemes from the shadows, William is the one who is always active on the scene. His actions are what effectively drive the story.
40	%%* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Remigius]] and potentially [[spoiler:William's right hand man, Walter]].
41	%%* HeroicBastard: Jack.
42	%%* TheHighMiddleAges: The novel is set in this era.
43	%%* HolierThanThou: Waleran Bigod.
44	%%* HonorBeforeReason:
45	%%** Aliena's father, much to Aliena's dismay. Like in the book, she resents her father for making her swear to restore the family's lordship
46	%%** Philip is this most of the time, even if he is considered a very practical man for a monk.
47	%%* HopelessSuitor: William.
48	* HopeSpringsEternal: However the villains try to stop the construction of the cathedral, they fail. [[spoiler:Even burning the whole town down doesn't help.]] There is one point in the story when Philip gives up all hope, but it only lasts until Jack returns from France and decides to build the cathedral in Gothic style.
49	* IdenticalGrandson: Jack looks so similar to the father he never knew that he is mistaken for him in France.
50	%%* ImpoverishedPatrician: Aliena and her brother Richard.
51	%%* {{Jerkass}}: Alfred, Tom's son.
52	%%* LoveAtFirstSight: Jack and Aliena, at least for Jack.
53	%%* MamaBear: Ellen.
54	%%* MissionFromGod: Philip considers his work to raise a cathedral to be this.
55	* TheMole: [[spoiler:Remigius is a secret spy to Waleran.]]
56	* MosesInTheBulrushes: Tom Builder's son, Jonathan. He was abandoned as a newborn and left to die. He was found by monks and raised as Philip's son.
57	* MultipleEndings: it's up to the player if [[spoiler:Richard lives]] and [[spoiler:who becomes the earl of Shiring]].
58	* MySecretPregnancy: Aliena hides her pregnancy until the day of birth. Not surprising since she never had sex with her husband.
59	* ParentalAbandonment: Tom abandoning his baby son so he could provide for his other two kids instead just shows how hard people had it during these times.
60	%%* ParentalFavoritism: Tom to Alfred.
61	* PluckyGirl: Aliena, who goes from spoiled noblewoman to resourceful wool merchant in order to avenge her family. Ellen also counts.
62	* RagsToRiches: Aliena goes from being homeless to one of the wealthiest wool traders in England.
63	* RedRightHand: Lady Regan has boils covering her face.
64	* RichesToRags: Happens to Aliena twice. She first goes from pampered noblewoman to being homeless. She then becomes a wealthy wool trader but loses everything in a fire thanks to William, falling from a position of wealth and social prominence to needing financial support (including an ArrangedMarriage to Alfred) to survive.
65	%%* RomancingTheWidow: Ellen was doing this to Tom, although they had met when his wife still lived.
66	%%* SecondLove: Ellen and Tom are this to each other.
67	%%* SinisterMinister: Waleran Bigod.
68	* SparedByTheAdaptation: Depending on your choices [[spoiler:Tom]] and [[spoiler:Alfred]] can both survive.
69	* StormingTheCastle:
70	** {{Averted\|Trope}} when Aliena wants to attack William in Shiring Castle, but Richard patiently explains that storming a castle never works.
71	** The Hamleighs seize Bartholemew's fortress home through a clever infiltration strategy.
72	%%* SuccessionCrisis: TruthInTelevision!
73	* TellMeAboutMyFather: One sideplot revolves around Jack wanting to know who his father was, who killed him, and why.
74	%%* TimePassageBeard: Jack
75	%%* TimeSkip: Happens between every "book".
76	* TookALevelInBadass: Richard. Goes from being little more than a puppet for Aliena to being a fairly kickass knight.
77	* TookALevelInDumbass: Don't expect Richard to be competent at anything that doesn't involve hitting someone with a sharpened stick.
78	* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Philip telling Waleran about Bartholomew of Shiring's plans to overthrow King Stephen, in an attempt to protect the Church and bestow the responsibility on someone higher in Church standing, starts a chain of events that leads to William's father becoming the new earl, Aliena and Richard losing their father, and Tom the Builder losing his first income in ages. [[HeelRealization Philip seems to realize this]], since he buys Aliena's wool when no other merchant will buy from a woman and she needs the money.
79	* TheUpperCrass: William Hamleigh is a noble, yet interested in little other than sex, hunting, and fighting. This is why Aliena rejects William's marriage proposal.
80	* VillainousCrush: William has a ''very'' creepy obsession with Aliena.
81	* VillainousGlutton: William becomes rather overweight during Book 3.
82	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: For all that he fails to act like it most of the time, the very mention of Hell is usually enough to make William shake with fear.

Context VideoGame / ThePillarsOfTheEarth