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So you want to be a Billy ? It's (probably) a good idea. But what kind of Billy are you ?note 

Will your Billy save the kingdom from the apocalypse ? Or will he die a shameful death facing adversity and end up in a gutter ? It's up to you to find out, for: YOU ARE BILLY!"

The Saga of Billy is a series of Sword and Sorcery Gamebooks written by Bob Lennon and David Kuhn and illustrated by C. Sideralis. The first volume was released in 2021.

After witnessing the death of everyone in your hometown, wiped out by a plague, you decide to leave the farming life behind you and go live the same kind of adventurous existence your grandfather led before retiring in the middle of nowhere to plant pumpkins. With the help of a former acquaintance of your mentor, a hot-blooded barbarian, you roam the continent in search of adventure and generally try to survive the terrible situations in which you often find yourself.


Works in the The Saga of Billy:


The Saga of Billy provides examples of:

  • Arcadia: Plant-Pumpkin was this to your grandfather.
  • Arch-Enemy: Zarkan and Vetherr are destined to clash eternally, unless the Father of monsters finally wins and eradicates mankind.
  • Audience Surrogate: Billy, of course. After all, YOU ARE BILLY!. Still, it is quite a Downplayed, as Billy has his own thoughts and opinions and showcases a different personality based of his build. Most of the time, he is The Watson and that's the end of it.
  • Badass Normal:
    • The PB is a one of the best mortal warriors around. He may fear magic, but he still fares reasonably well against those who use it.
    • You can also be one, albeit to a lesser extent, as it is your improvisation gifts that make you truly dangerous, rather than your skill.
  • Bag of Spilling:
    • Justified by the fact you use the majority of the items you have gathered in the first tome, either as actual weapons against the Big Bad or to disrupt the ritual, destroying them in the process, and by the fact you destroy you bag of holding with all your possesions inside, and lose part of what survived this process when the Ominous Floating Castle crashes down with you inside. Then you sell most of what you have, party until you have spent all your money before going back to adventuring.
    • It seems that in the second tome, Billy has lost his morningstar and replaced it with a miner's pick.
  • Barbarian Hero: Let's see: he only wears a Loincloth and boots made out of pelts; his arms are compared to barrels; he is described with a perpetually glabrous chin and a lion's mane; his weapon of choice is an impressive axe decorated with a goat skull; he proves himself able to unite Kränelorn and become emperor in one of the endings; yep, the Pyro-Barbarian definitely corresponds.
  • Barbarian Tribe: The PB was born and raised in one of the many tribes of Kränelorn, although he he now goes wherever he wants, roaming kingdoms of the continent one after another, and has seen much of Alkior. It is a rather Downplayed example of this trope, as they did not have to rely on raids to survive, and were not entirely composed of warriors.
  • Battle Cry: Though he is still far from a Screaming Warrior, the PB has one:
    "BUUULIAAA!"
  • Being Evil Sucks: Vetherr's actions have probably made him one of the saddest beings in existence, though he is utterly unapologetic about it.
  • Being God Is Hard:
    • It is for Phumtar, who has to account for the gravity and the physics of a whole world, and is perpetually sleep-deprived and neurotic.
    • Vetherr, the grey god, has sacrificed everything he cared about so he could oppose mankind, and is forever toiling in his Flesh laboratories, no matter his feelings towards this task.
  • Beleaguered Bureaucrat: Phumtar is a platypus who has to approve or disapprove anything that happens in the world. Anything. In. The. World. Understandably, he is quite neurotic.
  • Beware of the Nice Ones: Billy is more naive and innocent than the P.B., but when pushed too far, he can be just as ruthless.
  • Beyond Redemption: Vetherr has opposed humanity and his fellow gods for thousands of years, caused an incalculable number of deaths through the many races he created, and hurt Mélène and Ytia forever. Moreover, being the god of necessity and hard choices, he is certain that he is ultimately right, and will never turn back on his work.
  • Blood Knight:
    • The PB takes great pleasure in fighting different deadly adversaries.
    • You can play your warrior Billy as one, making him exceedingly violent.
    • Female trolls generally act that way.
  • Bolt of Divine Retribution: Edire doesn't take too kindly to members of her order failing to honor their oath, and she might show her discontent in such a way.
  • Born Lucky: If you chose to be a cautious Billy, you can win a fight by pure dumb luck and kill most enemies this way.
  • Booze-Based Buff: ZigZagged. When you drink alcohol, it may give you an advantage, but always at the cost of something, like a reduced skill level or a loss of HP. Moreover, some of the advantages you can gain can be simply impressing an audience, giving you more Glory Points, but adding a disadvantage for the next fight.
  • Bossin Mook Clothing: Every class is weak to a particular enemy, who can in turn become this: warrior Billy will have a hard time against Gnolls, whose insults level down his skills; resourceful Billy will hate fighting against dark elves, who can dodge most of his attacks, including his precious critical hit; a farmer Billy's protection from damage can be bypassed by Mortelle and other minibosses who have the option to attack twice a turn; a cautious Billy is supposed to avoid fighting, and any enemy can be this for him.
  • Break the Cutie: Ytia and Mélène eternally suffer from Vetherr's betrayal. Ytia has it the roughest, as she took her sister's loss onto herself.
  • Bruiser with a Soft Center: The PB essentially is one, being a Friend to All Children (fitting as he acts more like a child himself when he's around his old pal Fanta) who quickly takes a liking to you and defend you fiercely against all that would wish you harm. If he becomes a family man, he will place the well-being of his wives and children above his old way of life. However, he is also a blood knight who can be equally cruel to his enemies (and anything that can be remotely considered to be one) as he can be kind to his loved ones.
  • Call to Agriculture: After he left his life as the Legendary Hero behind him, your grandfather spent the rest of his existance as a pumpkin farmer.
  • Can't Take Criticism: Heavily Downplayed in the case of Edire, as she is actually rather chill for a goddess. If you criticize her Pride or her way to deal with those who can't follow up on their promises, she will simply signify you that she is a bit displeased, but she will not hurt you. She is harsher towards those of her own order, as they have vowed themselves to her, but she still won't hurt them for something as trivial as criticism.
  • The Chessmaster: Atella, Zarkan, Edire and Vetherr often play this role, choosing mostly unwitting mortal champions and putting them on the path that will serve best their own interests, the first three's often being to oppose Vetherr's.
  • Cincinnatus: After saving the continent of Alkior from the forces of Virilus, Uther became emperor of Erenner and Isbor. Two months later, he had disappeared.
  • Close-Knit Community:
    • Plant-pumpkin was one before the Iron plague killed everyone who lived there but you.
    • The PB was also raised in one, and considers every single woman who lived there as a mother.
  • Code of Honour: The barbarian implies that he follows one, although he does not explain it in details.
  • Combat Pragmatism: If you want to survive when you are not an accomplished warrior (and even that isn't always enough), you must do anything you can to survive. Whether it is using sneak attacks, throwing sand in the eyes of your enemies, using poison, explosives, acid, flaming oil, fighting at three against one, kicking enemies while they are down, taking the treasure as hostage or plainly avoiding to fight.
  • Conflicting Loyalties: Vetherr had to choose a side between his creator and the other gods of Erenner.
  • Creating Life Is Bad: ZigZagged; The Greater-Scope Villain has spent eons doing just that, but there is also good in his creations, who can choose to join you in your quest, or simply be neutral.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: In combat if there is a difference of more than seven skill points between you and your opponent, the more skilled warrior automatically wins the fight.
  • David Versus Goliath: Considering your small build and the fact that you often face creatures that are larger than a normal human, you can expect a lot of fights to turn out like this.
  • Deadly Dodging: Critical Hits work like this: after dodging, you have one chance out of six to inflict maximum damage on an enemy, plus the damage of your crit, plus the damage of your initial attack. Most foes end up with negative HP after such a blow.
  • Debt Detester: Zarkan favors those who pay their debts, and he himself repaid immediately Ytia, the only god who has ever won a bet against him.
  • Deity of Human Origin: Phumtar is a deity of platypus origins.
  • Despair Event Horizon: Vetherr crossed it when his creator revealed what danger mankind represented to the world as a whole, prompting him to betray Mélène and Ytia and declare himself the enemy of mankind and of any mortal or godlike being that would protect this race. From this point on, he resigned himself to toil and plot endlessly to bring about an end he sees as necessary, but his immortal life is now deprived of any joy.
  • Deuteragonist: The PB is present throughout nearly all of your adventures, always helping you in your quest.
  • Difficult, but Awesome: You will rarely land a critical hit, but when you do, you feel like a god.
  • Divine Conflict: Vetherr is eternally locked in one with the rest of the gods (minus Phumtar); his main foe among them is Zarkan, god of adversity.
  • Divine Date: Ytia often parties with mortals and occasionnally shares a moment of passion with them.
  • Divine Intervention: Edire may be quick to punish those who break their oaths, but she is just as eager to reward those who follow it.
  • Divine Parentage: The union of Atella and Zarkan gave birth to Otos, the Shield, and Itos, the Sword.
  • Don't Fear the Reaper: Edire may be easily angered, but she is ultimately kind and just.
  • Doomed Hometown: The entire population of Plant-Pumpkin has been wiped out by the Iron plague, and you are the only survivor.
  • Dumb Muscle:
    • Orcs are described to be this, although they are capable of learning a long text by heart and recite it almost flawlessly, even if they most likely don't understand half of it.
      "If it's said that these rustic warriors have a muscle for a brain, it's also said that they know how to use it. Generally by headbutting those who say they have a muscle for a brain."
    • The PB himself generally borderlines on Book Dumb, but he learned the goblin language just so he could know which part of their bodies were the most painful to hit.
  • The Dung Ages: The streets of Lennonia are rarely paved and often filled with trash. Widespread epidemic are commonplace, and most people can't read or count.
    The PB: What's it saying?
    Billy: —That if we touch something, we gotta wash our hands by putting them in a fire.
  • Ethnic God: While they recognize the other pantheons' existence, different ethnic groups choose to worship different deities, who in turn manifest their powers through different means.
  • Et Tu, Brute?: It is implied that Vetherr was Ytia and Mélène's lover before turning on them. Or at least a very close friend.
  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The Pyro-Barbarian prefers to keep his actual name a secret, so that he can escape justice more easily.
  • Evil Genius: Vetherr constantly create new races, seeking to handcraft the perfect monster to destroy humanity.
  • Evil Only Has to Win Once: Vetherr states it word for word to Zarkan after congratulating him for your victory over Virilus.
    Vetherr: I would lie if I said that [this match] displeased me, but know that I don't play for sport. And keep in mind that, unlike you, I only have to win once.
  • Evil Virtues: Vetherr is a Determinator, and a good sport who never takes any defeat personally, which prevents him from any kind of villainous breakdown. He strives to learn from his past mistakes, shows never-ending creativity when it comes to creating new races, and does not fear the fact that a whole pantheon (minus Phumtar) and several mortal races are out to stop his plans. Finally, since his ultimate goal is to save the world from humanity, he forbids himself from creating any world-ending threat.
  • Exorcist Head: If you see Blathnat, he is also watching you, and no matter where you are, his visage will face your sight. If you are behind him, he is facing you, if you are above him, he's facing you, if you are below him, he's facing you.
  • Eyeless Face: When Atella wishes to see through her children's eyes, her sockets open wide, revealing her physical body's blindness.
  • Eye-Obscuring Hat: Zarkan is often represented with his helmet hiding his eyes.
  • Eye Scream: Atella willingly ripped out her eyes and gave them to Zarkan, so that he could implant them onto their children Otos and Itos. She now sees through them and every other shield and sword in existence.
  • Eyes Out of Sight: Runir's hair covers half of his face. Considering that he is half-yack, it's Justified.
  • False Friend: Vetherr may have initially faked his attachment to the twin sisters, although it's clear he regrets it now.
  • Fantasy Pantheon: There are actually several pantheons in Alkior, Erenner's and Stia's being the first two to have been revealed.
  • Fascinating Eyebrow: Blathnat has one.
  • Forever War: The kränelorian barbarians are locked in one with the goblins.
  • Forged by the Gods: Otos, the Shield, and Itos, the Sword, have been birthed by the gods.
  • For Science!: The entire meaning of Blathnat's existence.
  • God Couple:
    • Runir and Ytia are married, although it doesn't mean much to either of them.
    • Edire wishes she formed one with Zarkan, but he isn't as eager.
  • God Is Displeased: Edire is quick to anger, and generally prefers showing it than keeping inside.
  • God Is Flawed: Blathnat is asocial, Edire has too much Pride and is too quick to anger, Neit is incapable of letting go of his friend, Parodikos can be overly cruel, Ytia is naive, Zarkan does not always keep his word, and PHUMTAR IS A PLATYPUS !
  • God Is Neutral: Phumtar must be neutral when it comes to his job, as he is the impartial judge of everything that happens in the world.
  • God Job: Phumtar became the god of gravity, physics and administration simply because he was the first mortal who stumbled upon the divine stamps that came with the job.
  • God of Evil: Vetherr is considered to be this by most of the people in Erenner, as he betrayed the other gods, is the creator of all races of monsters, destroyed part of the Moon, and generally opppose mankind and Zarkan, its protector. However, he is a mostly benevolent figure to all the races that are Always Chaotic Evil, while they see the rest of the pantheon as their own gods of evil. As for Stia's dwarves, they see him as more of a challenge sent to prove their worthiness than a purely malevolent entity.
  • God of Light: Mutra is the god of the Sun.
  • God of the Dead: As goddess of renewal, Edire presides over both life and death.
  • God of the Moon:
  • Gods Need Prayer Badly:
    • Played Straight with the lesser gods of Erenner, like Bit'hum, protector of roads and pathways.
    • Reconstructed with the greater gods; their power comes from the fact that they no longer need to be actively worshipped to stay alive and well: now the simple actions of mortals are akin to worship, and some gods don't even need humans. For instance, Runir, god of craftmanship, is sustained by the fact that there are craftsmen in the world, and Mélène, goddess of motherhood, is inconsciously worshipped by every birth.
  • Go Mad from the Revelation: Vetherr became the betrayer after he learnt a dark truth about humanity.
  • Good Bad Girl: Ytia could be compared to a very horny child suffering from amnesia.
  • The Good Guys Always Win: Quite heavily Downplayed in-universe, as humanity simply surviving is considered a victory of Zarkan over Vetherr, regardless of the casualties.
  • Greater-Scope Villain: Vetherr is one to humanity as a whole, but the Grieving man himself acts on the behalf of his creator.
  • Guile Hero: If he is not a warrior or a farmer, Billy has to be this, although even the most action-heroic Billy has to use his wits to survive situations he can't fight through. Fanta seems to be one himself.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: You are a (mostly) innocent teenager, and the illustrations show you with blonde hair.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: Centaurs are commonplace, and arachnauresses (spider-women) also exist.
  • Healer God: Healing potions are related to Mélène in some way, and her followers are often doctors.
  • Henotheistic Society:
    • The PB and other Kränelorian barbarians often vow themselves to Zarkan, god of Honor, Duels and Adversity.
    • Averted with the scientific and magic community, who almost never openly worship Blathnat, god of Knowledge and Creativity, as he would likely consider it as slacking off when they could be working, and would not be happy about it.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Since he made the vow to protect you to repay his debt to Fanta, the PB is enclined to shield you from harm in more or less direct ways.
  • Hero of Another Story: The PB and Fanta already had a pretty eventful life before you came along.
  • Home of the Gods: Each greater god has his own domain, but they often meet each other at the top of the Montain of the Judge, which is Zarkan's home.
  • Horse of a Different Color: Uther rode into battle on the back of an emu.
  • Hot God: Ytia is one, but as the god of musculature, Mutra is a serious contender.
  • I Did What I Had to Do: Vetherr is essentially the god of this attitude.
  • Improv Fu: Your talent for this, and for Improv as a whole, is what make you and Uther so dangerous.
  • Interspecies Romance: It is generally accepted to have a relationship with or marry someone of a different species.
  • It's Up to You: It is litteraly up to the reader to make the good choices to save the world. Or to do something else. However, if their choices don't matter, the help of your allies will still be crucial, especially the barbarian's.
  • The Lancer: The PB mainly fills this role for your duo. Where you plan ahead, he is ready to act immediatly, where you are one to avoid fighting, he dreams of good duels, where you are largely inexperienced, he is used to this adventurous life. Averted if you choose to be a warrior, as he will be more of a mentor.
  • Long-Lived: It could be an explanation of why Fanta doesn't seem to age very much.
  • Love Goddess: Mélène is the goddess of maternal love, while her sisters Ytia embodies a more romantic love.
  • Luck-Based Mission: Some actions you may choose to undertake depend almost entirely on luck, but it's Justified by the fact that you accumulate Luck Points throughout your adventure, and have a class of character entirely centered around the concept of luck. It is played straighter when you play a game of Coup with someone, in which case you can only pray to the Random Number God and hope for the best, as it is the luck based game of Erenner.
  • Lunacy: Ytia, one of the two goddesses of the Moon, has lost her reason.
  • Mad God: Ytia goddess of pleasures and dusk, borderlines on a generally harmless version of this. Vetherr devoured her reason and she keeps forgetting most of her life, except for her loving twin.
  • Made of Incendium: The Pyro-Barbarian has always a vial of special flaming oil on him. According to him he can turn anything in the world into a little pile of ashes as long as he has some.
  • Misanthrope Supreme: While not being out for blood, Blathnat despises the compagny of the other gods, as he is so focused on his work that he considers any mild distraction to be an intolerable waste of his time. The only exception is Runir, whose skill and silence the god of creativity values.
  • New Neo City: Originally called Azure, the city of New-New-Azure is home to enduring fishermen who get raided by kränelornians every now and then before rebuilding what is left of their town and go back to their lives.
  • No-Sell: If you choose to be a farmer, you are so ridiculously sturdy that no attack can make you lose more than 3 HP. If you're hit with an attack supposed to make you lose 17.000 HP, you will only lose 3 HP.
  • Not So Omniscient After All:
    • Blathnat, god of knowledge, is known for his inescapable gaze, but Nyses, deity of secrets, is the one being that he has never seen and will never be able to see.
    • Atella, goddess of peace and war, is able to see through every manifestation of her children, the shield and the sword. This way, she can see almost everything on a battlefield. However, a good strategy cannot account for everything, and she may similarly be blind to an unarmed person, who could change the course of a battle without the patron of strategy ever seeing it coming.
  • Oh, My Gods!:
    • Vetherr's name is sometimes substituted to the term "devil" in Erenner.
    • The PB may end a vow by invoking Zarkan, while you will in turn call to Mélène if you show sympathy.
  • Older and Wiser: Uther found no more happiness from his life of heroic and slightly less heroic deeds and followed this trope, ending up as a simple and much happier farmer.
  • Older Sidekick: The PB is much older than you, although you are often the more mature of the duo. Before that, Fanta was one to the PB himself.
  • The Omnipotent: Zarkan has only lost one duel, when he forfeited against Ytia, but has never been truly beaten by another god. Subverted in the case of Mutra, who managed to fight him to a draw in an arm-wrestling contest that lasted until Mélène told them to stop and that they should find a real job.
  • Patron God: Any god can be this (except Phumtar, who has to much work to care about these things), but Édire acts with the most regularity.
  • Posthumous Character: Grandpa Pumpkin (alias Hard-Tooth-Uther, the Legendary Hero)had quite a bit of influence over you when you were a child[[spoiler , and over the P.B. long before that]].
  • The Protagonist: Billy is the protagonist, and "YOU ARE BILLY!"
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy: Downplayed in the case of the barbarian, who follows a number of kränelorian traditions, but does not really brag about it.
  • Psychopomp: Edire welcomes the souls of the dead inside of her.
  • Reality Warper: Those who gain the favor of Parodikos may briefly become one, as long as the way they use this power result in something funny.
  • Regretful Traitor: Since the time he betrayed Mélène and Ytia, Vetherr has been called the Grieving Man. He is sometimes overcome with guilt, but always shakes it off and goes back to work.
  • Retired Badass: Grandpa Pumpkin was once the Legendary Hero who thwarted Virilus' plans for world domination thanks to his wits: Hard-Tooth-Uther.
    After wreaking death on every corner of the continent, his legend disappeared at once. The invincible Hard-Tooth-Uther woke up one morning and everything changed. Blood no longer delighted his taste buds, the shrieks of his victims no longer evoked him a sweet serenade, and his fingers plunged deep into his enemies' guts no longer gave of the smell of happy days. Another fate called him, and he happily put on the rags of Grandpa Pumpkin.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Vetherr is described as a man of noble appearence, dressed in the finest clothes, but his sleeves are always rolled up, and his hands are perpetually stained with the blood of the monsters he endlessly handcrafts himself.
  • Schrödinger's Gun: Downplayed, as the writer has a plan for the whole saga, but still decides on certain aspects of the worldbuilding in between books, like the name of Phumtar's domain.
  • Sex God: Ytia is a litteral sex goddess, while Runir is one of the only beings in existence with enough endurance to relieve her from her urges.
  • The Silent Bob: Farmers communicate through the movement of their eyebrows. It's often Played for Laughs, as a surprising amount of information can be passed through these.
  • The Simple Life is Simple: Implied to be the reason why Grandpa Pumpkin followed the call of agriculture.
  • The Smart Guy: You are this to the duo you form with the P.B. If your character knows how to read, you are above three fourths of the cast in terms of intelligence.
  • Soldier vs. Warrior: Though they aren't really opposed, Atella represents the soldier to Zarkan's warrior.
  • The Speechless: Runir is mute.
  • The Stoic: Runir is eternally mute and inexpressive. It's also Played for Laughs in the case of the farmers, who speak through the slight movements of their brow.
  • Sword and Sorcery: Let's see: morally ambiguous action heroes who may act with combat pragmatism if needed ? Check. All about fast paced action? Unless you pick a cautious build, this will be the case. Corrupt figures of authority ? Check. The author wanted to pay hommage this genre, so he did.
  • That One Achievement: The text for the "Nice COUP" achievement admits that you have more chances of winning it by cheating than by chance.
  • These Are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know: Vetherr became the betrayer after learning a dark secret he alone knows, even among gods.
  • Top God: Zarkan is generally considered to be the head of his pantheon, though he doesn't give orders to anyone.
  • To Serve Man: Ogres, dark elves and archnauresses follow this regimen, though they can eat just about anything that walks or crawls if needed.
  • Trickster God: Parodikos is the god of laughter, absurd and flowers, patron of jesters and entertainers. He appriciates any kind of jokes, no matter if it's innocent or cruel, light-hearted or dark. He likes to trick the other gods, and sometimes allow mortals to slightly break the rules of physics if it's funny.
  • True Sight: You can try to hide from Blathnat all you want, be it through normal or magical means, but if you can see him, he's watching you. All of you. At once.
  • Überwald: Eccborian is a remote country, thought by many to be just a legend. The sun shines only for a few hours there, making it the ideal kingdom for vampires.
  • Ultimate Blacksmith: As the god of craftmanship, Runir is this.
  • The Unapologetic: Vetherr is sure that he ever only acted for the greater good, and will never allow himself to think he has made a mistake when he hurt the twin goddesses.
  • Undying Loyalty: The PB shows such loyalty to you and Fanta.
  • Unwitting Pawn:
    • The entire monster races that are not always chaotic evil power Vetherr through their sole birth and existence, even if they oppose him.
    • Similarly, anyone who would undertake a difficult or cruel but necessary action would inconsciously worship the thirteenth god.
  • Vast Bureaucracy: The domain of Phumtar is a gigantic castle made out of all the forms he has approved, disapproved, or has yet to read.
  • Victory by Endurance: If you choose to be a farmer, your main way to deal with a fight will be to just tank whatever attack you are subjected to while you wait for a good roll.
  • Violence is the Only Option: You can't complete your adventure without fighting at least twice, and avoiding killing is almost impossible. Even if you manage to do so, it will often be because someone else dirtied his hands.
  • War God: Zarkan is the god of duels, honor and adversity, helping those who fight against the odds; Atella is concerned with every fight that imply some kind of strategy, and more generally any battle with more than two warriors on each side. She also protects those who find a way to avoid fighting.
  • Weak, but Skilled: As a resourceful Billy, that is what you are. You have low HP, you do medium damage, but you are a dodging master who will destroy the final boss with two crits.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Vetherr is persuaded to be the only sane god that can save the world from humanity. The rest of the pantheon sees him as a traitor and the responsible of untold massacres.

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