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"In a universe where humans, elves, dwarves, demons and gods once existed peacefully, everything is slowly but surely unraveling. The Grand Alliance of old has fallen in defeat in the last Great War, and the once rival demons have banded together and founded a mighty empire on the land they have ravaged decades prior. Various new nations have risen from the ashes of the old, and new heroes and villains have arrived to play their part in the events that are about to unfold. Yet, even as this period of recovery and uneasy peace is about to come to an end due to unchecked ambitions, a great threat rises from the shadows and looms over them all. Can the light of hope still be restored to the world, or will all fall into darkness in the end?"

The Gamer's Alliance, or tGA, is a diceless, Discord-based Play By Post Role-Playing Game set in an original Medieval fantasy world which emphasizes writing and character development over combat. The rules are lax for the most part and allow a free playing environment although they are strict enough to prevent god-moding.

The world of tGA has seen many grand events unfold, most recently a worldwide Catastrophe caused by the destruction of the legendary mage city of Alent at the end of the last Great War between demons who had intended to conquer the world and various alliances who had fought back against the hordes. The magical explosion of the City of Mages decimated the armies, created a strange phenomenon known as the Anomaly in its place, rearranged the continents, unleashed a great many monsters of unknown origin into the wilderness and ushered in the Fourth Age. Those from all sides who had miraculously survived the explosion at ground zero suffered from an equally mysterious, widespread amnesia, having forgotten the last days of the war and how the Catastrophe had happened to begin with. The gods whose presence was once felt in the world had mysteriously grown silent, leading to changes within their clergies who tried to have their prayers reach them for answers.

In the following two relatively peaceful decades that have passed since then, the rival demon clans have set aside their differences and founded the Andarian Empire led by the Tetrarchy, four archdemons of the High Legions, although tensions still exist among these rivals who each want to be on top of the hierarchy. As the demons try to recover their fading strength and expand their empire via various means, so too have other new sovereign states—ranging from city-states to kingdoms—risen from the ashes of the old world as various races and factions try to adapt to a life after the Catastrophe in a world that has become both foreign and dangerous for them to explore. Although the Andarian Empire has reached out to the other nations diplomatically and seemingly wishes to coexist with its neighbors, many other budding nations fear that it is only a matter of time before the ever-scheming demons show their true colors and begin a war of conquest once more...a war from which the world might not recover this time around if ambitions of various rulers and power-hungry individuals are left unchecked.

Despite their different ideals, the demons and other races have their equal share of heroes and villains among them, thus blurring the line of good and evil. The world of tGA is not a happy place to live in, but heroes on all sides are willing to fight against the odds in order to reach a better tomorrow. However, unbeknownst to many, a great darkness is rising from the shadows, intending to consume all they hold dear...

Even though the world of tGA has its share of fantasy elements such as elves, dwarves, dragons, magic and such, there are also other elements such as the occasional airship, pirates, samurai, communists, fundies, the Soap, a gruesome plague, zombies and, last and least, Scuns. The stories have their share of dramatic elements, but humour is present as well. The world currently consists of many sovereign states and several continents, each of which has various factions with different motives. Although the story has the occasional battle and can get serious, humor is present as well, and the focus tends to be more on character development and interaction than combat.

The game started out as a small ezboard in early 2000 and moved from server to server before settling on its current home in Discord. In tGA's earliest years the plots were mainly individual quests with derivative characters and settings but these storylines were later woven together into a coherent, original Myth Arc which is still ongoing. The history of the RP has been compiled into a comprehensive wiki, but no prior knowledge of the plot is required to join and participate in the story.

To enter the ongoing adventure in Discord, click here.


tGA provides examples of:

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    A 
  • Above Good and Evil: The Godslayer considers itself above other creatures, sees gods as relics of the past which must be wiped out, feels good and evil are needless concepts, uses its acolytes to spread prosperity and a new world order, and wishes to increase its knowledge by any means necessary. In its views the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, even if that means sacrificing many innocents along the way.
  • Action Girl: Ax, Rhylian and Vaetris among others.
  • Action Mom: Glaurung, Skye and Varalia all have kids and kick ass. If you dare threaten or harm their children, you'd better run away while you still have legs to carry you.
  • Adventure Duo: Kaizoku and Shuu are a villainous version of this trope, the former being relatively straight and the other being quite quirky.
  • Affably Evil: Hannibal Losstarot is a teenager who flirts with girls, loves and respects his mother, takes his studies seriously, speaks politely, constantly trains with his elite guard, treats his servants and enemies well, often even preferring to not be called by his hereditary title. However, he is also the son of one of the BigBads and just as determined as she is to conquer the world under the Losstarot family's banner and will stop at nothing to make his mother's dream become a reality.
  • After the End: All tGA ages began after a catastrophe that ended the previous age. The current plot is set 11 years after the latest disaster known as the Cataclysm.
  • Alcohol Hic: Drunk people hiccup a lot, most notably the dwarven rogue Thorn Stronghelm.
  • The Alliance: The Grand Alliance. The Crimson Coalition is the Alliance's seemingly villainous counterpart. Then again, most of the story has only been seen through the eyes of the Alliance so far...
  • All of the Other Reindeer: Shyralis is bullied because she's a half-elf with snake-like eyes.
  • All Trolls Are Different: Trolls are hairy and seemingly dumb creatures although they are good at operating machinery of various kinds. They have invented a pastime referred to as trolling which includes having jokes on other people's expense.
  • All Your Base Are Belong to Us: The Yamato Empire and the Clergy of Mardük lead a surprise attack on the Aisonian capital of Myridia during the Yamatian Invasion arc.
  • Always Chaotic Evil: Initially played straight with demons until it is revealed that not all of them are bloodthirsty monsters.
  • Amazon Brigade: The army of the Eastern Horde consists of demonesses who specialize in fast and agile combat as well as deceiving and seducing males from their own race and other races to make them their willing slaves.
  • Amnesiac Dissonance: Happens to Ronove after the siege of Vanna when he recovers his memories and remembers that he used to be a Dreadlord of one of the demon hordes. He leaves his human friends behind and rejoins the demons, acting like a seemingly cruel Manipulative Bastard as most demons do, but he also still seems to harbor some feelings for his former companions in the Alliance who he is now forced to oppose.
  • Ancestral Weapon:
    • Refan's sword Smaragdos once belonged to his father Omaroch who in turn got it from his father Malakhia.
    • Osmond Locke's sword was inherited from his father.
  • Ancient Conspiracy: The Order of the Black Rose has existed since the First Age and has plotted behind the scenes to subtly take over the kingdoms one by one by infiltrating the top levels of government.
  • Anguished Declaration of Love: Refan and Khalid end up confessing their feelings to Ax. In Khalid's case it's particularly heartbreaking because he does it while also releasing Ax from their fake marriage, which will have grave repercussions for himself and the Sarquil tribes.
    Khalid: I'd want nothing more right now than kiss you and take you in my arms, make you bloom like the beautiful and strong desert rose you are and cultivate you, but I don't want to force my feelings on you. You deserve better than that as a fellow, independent warrior. I may damn myself by doing this, but so be it. We've had the cleaning ritual, and we've washed away the past. I set you free, Axikasha Keiran. You're no longer my wife or a Sultana of the Sarquil tribes. You can go find the happiness you deserve. I don't want to be a man in your life who holds you down. I admire and love you too much for letting that happen.
  • Animal Eyes: All Nymphs' have cat-like eyes.
  • Animate Inanimate Object: The Soap. The people of the world need it for the sake of clean, happy mouths everywhere!
  • Another Dimension: There are quite a few such as the High Plane, the Demon Realm and the Land of the Dead to name a few. However, the majority of the story takes place in the ordinary world known as the Land of the Living.
  • Antagonistic Offspring: Seven Sisters, the eldest daughters of the higher demoness Jahi Gallu, are very much antagonistic towards their mother. Each of them represents a different sin from her youth and actually use nicknames based on those sins such as Lust etc. They've ended up working for archdemon Vaetris, Jahi's Evil Former Friend, because they believe Jahi has gone soft and cares too much for the other races. The sisters' personalities range all the way from Ax-Crazy to Manipulative Bastard to Noble Demon with Wrath being the craziest and Sloth being the most sympathetic of the bunch.
  • Anyone Can Die: This happens quite a few times and often to major characters. Not all of them come back from the dead, and this includes prominent heroes.
  • Anti Anti Christ: After some soul-searching, Jemuel chooses to openly defy the lich warlock Drishnek even though Drishnek wants him to fulfill his destiny as the champion of the Underworld.
    Drishnek: I brought you back to be Death's champion! MY champion! Remember the hate that you had for this world last time you left it!
    Jemuel: No... you DESTROYED that man when you tortured his soul into becoming your servant, don't you understand!? I am Jemuel, born in Remon... I am Jemuel the Wise, Lord of Alent! I am Jemuel, and I will be your demise!
  • Anti-Hero: Although Belial works for the Grand Alliance, he is ruthless and does whatever is necessary to make his Order grow more powerful.
    Belial: Yes, I've been using you for my own gain, but it's been out of necessity. Things are hardly ever black and white in this Age of Emptiness. We all must do what we can to survive even if it means we need to act in... less pleasant ways.
  • Anti-Villain: Kagetsu I deeply cares for his subordinates and loves his wife Marya above anything else. He knows that his plan of destroying the world is an unfortunate but necessary step to create an everlasting utopia but he hesitates when he has to choose whether to sacrifice Marya to make his dream come true.
  • Apocalypse Maiden: Leon becomes this when he almost manages to regain his Andain powers during the First Battle of Remonton. He realizes at that moment that as long as he exists as a revenant, his existence will eventually make magic disappear and cause the end of the world. He gets better when he is revived as a full mortal for his services to the forces of Light. However, fate has a nasty way of making things worse when the Godslayer appears and causes the Cataclysm anyway.
  • Apocalyptic Log: The elven sages' diaries about the Blood Fever. The first entries show some curious, out of the ordinary events in the sages' lives, but as the entries progress, the effects of the Blood Fever start showing up in more gruesome ways and the writings become increasingly desperate and terrified, eventually culminating in the respective final entries where the writers perform a Heroic Sacrifice to end the plague... which doesn't work because the plague shows up deadlier than ever in the present day.
  • The Archmage: Jemuel is given the title of archmage because he is a very powerful de facto leader of the Council of Mages which rules over the Magicracy of Alent during the Third Age.
  • Archnemesis Dad: Archdemon Malakhia and his son Omaroch view each other with hostility. At first Malakhia tried to sway Omaroch to side with him against his mother Nhrakate, but ultimately Omaroch refused because he saw Malakhia as a being that was as evil as Nhrakate and began openly opposing his plans for world domination.
  • Aristocrats Are Evil: Played straight with Martin Struan and Koschei Dravaris and averted with various Maar Sulais nobles.
  • Armies Are Evil: Soldiers of Lea Monde and the Yamato Empire. Also inverted with the Grand Alliance
  • Army of Thieves and Whores: The Union Workers has an army of well-trained thieves, mages, assassins and the like.
  • Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Geraud Aurelac and Grady Silverbranch use the Silver Branch, a magical scepter, to fuse with the dying Yggdrasil World Tree. They seek to create a new, healthy world tree, the Silverbranch Tree, in order to cleanse the world from the taint which has plagued it for centuries. After the fusion, Geraud and Grady's spirits retain their individuality but promote the tree's agenda from that moment onward, becoming its spokesmen to anyone visiting the tree. There are also rumours of a way for a mortal, if they are in possession of certain artifacts, to ascend and attain godhood, which is the goal of the leaders of two separate factions.
  • Asian Fox Spirit: Kitsune are shapeshifting magical foxes who are often confused for demons. Guardians of lost knowledge and bardic songs, they're a musical and mischievious race who can just as easily be benevolent or malevolent depending on the circumstances.
  • Asskicking Leads to Leadership: The way of life for demons. The strongest and/or most cunning demons end up in leadership positions in the hordes. Anyone can challenge the current leader of any tier, and if the previous holder of the title is defeated, the victor takes the title.
  • The Atoner: Omaroch becomes this after the Cataclysm. Marcus is also headed for this direction now that he has broken free of Shyralis's control and wants to set things right again.
  • Attempted Rape: Ax almost ends up raped twice by her friend Refan when his demonic side takes over. The first time she deals with Refan herself by using a Groin Attack, and the second time Shyralis saves her. She gets assaulted a third time, this time by her comrade, Sultan Khalid, who is influenced by the demoness Lust, but manages to stop Khalid in time.
  • Authority Grants Asskicking: The archdemons are immensely more powerful than their subordinates. Various monarchs and military officers of tGA world also fit this trope.
  • Avenging the Villain: When a minor villain named Dorecia is killed, her lover Ferron promises to hunt down her killer who turns out to be Refan. Belial wants to avenge the death of his brother Antigonus who opposed various heroes in the past, and this later gets reversed when Antigonus comes back to life and finds out Belial has been assassinated.

    B 
  • Back for the Dead: Marya and Mori'sul in the Godslayer Era. One ends up setting the stage for a power-hungry prince's return to the political stage of Maar Sul before committing suicide, the other is crushed by a collapsing temple while saving the heroes of the Grand Alliance from certain death.
  • Back from the Dead: Drishnek, Jemuel, Leon and the Silverbranch brothers.
  • Backup from Otherworld: The spirits of Deidra Finian, Hiroshi Hayabusa and Megumi Nakamura assist people in the Land of the Living, providing them with a morale boost and valuable information. In Megumi's case her love allowed Hiroshi to cast Shiropyr and sacrifice himself to stop the shamanic mage Taro Ofuchi.
  • Badass Bookworm: Richelieu has glasses and looks frail, but his spells really pack a punch, going so far as to take out brainwashed Jemuel, an archmage, out of all people.
  • Badass Family: Clan Finian, Clan d'Zarnagon, House Aurelac, and House Ardyn definitely count. Their members have proven their mettle many times in fields of battle as well as in political scheming.
  • Badass Normal: Many characters such as Ax and Despard.
  • Balcony Speech: Jemuel addresses Alent from a balcony and announces the dawn of a new, glorious day for their magicracy.
  • Bald of Authority: Ismail served as the captain of the Black Guard of Vanna until his death in a duel against Leraje.
  • Bald of Evil: The elven mercenary Lucky is a shining example of this.
  • Ballroom Blitz: The Nightstalker gang crashes the ball in the Maar Sulais citadel, causes general havoc and kidnaps the elven mage Tiyana before the heroes can stop them.
  • Ban on Magic: Alent is remarkably tolerant of practitioners of many kinds of magic, including The Dark Arts, and can be rather liberal even on experiments which many other societies would consider unethical. However, they have a ban on using Blood Magic due to how destructive it can be in the wrong hands. After the necromancer Razravkar Dominus is framed for murdering an officer of the Anti Mage Police, Councillor Durin Halfstaff ends up using it as an excuse to begin a manhunt for any active necromancers who are arrested in the city, which leads to a ban on necromancy until the killer of the officer can be brought to justice.
  • Barbarian Tribe: The Khitans (horse riders of the grass plains) and the Sarquil (warriors of the desert) were this trope until the Cataclysm when they had to adapt their way of life to survive. The Khitans still keep their nomadic life and raise horses on the plains although their Khan has built the large camp Kara Khitai where more and more Khitans are settling into so that they can better protect themselves from outer threats if an invasion takes place in their homeland. The various squabbling Sarquil tribes, however, have been forcibly united by the Sultana of Vanna over the years into what has become known as the Sultanate of Karaganda.
  • Bare-Fisted Monk: The Shadowstrike operative Varjo and the sohei warrior monks of Yamato excel at unarmed melee combat.
  • The Baroness: Shyralis and Vaetris after the latter reveals herself as the Duchess of the Eastern Horde.
  • Bastard Understudy: Jemuel to Dante. Zarnagon to Distreyd XII.
  • Basilisk and Cockatrice: Basilisks are reptilian creatures which can turn people they gaze upon into stone.
  • Beard of Evil: Played straight with Koschei and Pronin and averted with Belial, Khasra III and Omaroch.
  • Beard of Sorrow: Refan grows a beard after his Heroic BSoD.
  • Beast and Beauty: Omaroch is a demon warrior and Delora ia a human cleric. Despite their opposite alignments, they bond and learn valuable lessons from one another, and eventually get married.
  • Beast Man: The Beastmaster (aka Maiyr Korath) has the ability to mutate and command various beasts of the forest. He puts his skill to good use when he sends his beastly minions to openly attack the elven capital Sanae.
  • Bed Trick: The goddess Hivena turns into Rhylian in order to fool Nesa into sleeping with her.
  • Being Tortured Makes You Evil: Tanya and Kaizoku were originally decent fellows but the Clergy of Mardük catches them and brainwashes them into obedient servants. Kaizoku breaks out of it, but Tanya on the other hand...
  • The Bermuda Triangle: Devilfish Strait is a narrow, navigable waterway between the borders of Eastern and Western Yamato and is surrounded by cliffs. It has an ominous reputation as the Gate to the Underworld in Yamatian folktales because few ships which enter it ever return...and those few that do do have usually become ghost ships.
  • Berserk Button: Do not insult Razia in front of Belial if you want to keep your head attached to your shoulders.
  • The Berserker: Razoul and the warriors of the Black Guard in general. They tend to devour Drakeroot before battle in order to become more ferocious and powerful, but the root also has the side effect of turning them into nearly mindless brutes as a result.
  • Beta Test Baddie: Rune is a clone of Jemuel and wants to show his superiority by becoming more powerful than him.
  • Big Bad: Several during various eras:
  • Big Bad Duumvirate: In the Godslayer Era, a couple of BigBads are working in tandem: Nina and Vaetris, and Drishnek and the Master.
  • Big Bad Ensemble: Many major antagonists are working for different goals separate from one another during the Godslayer era:
  • Big Badass Battle Sequence: Several big battles have taken place during the war, most notably the Battle of Folsworth Woods and the Battle of Vanna.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Several of these. In one instance the treacherous advisor Firion and his minions are about to assassinate the elven king Amandil but the heroes arrive at the palace just in time to save the king.
  • Big Eater: Ronove can devour a lot of food, and he'll get hungry not long after he's finished eating.
  • Big, Screwed-Up Family: The Matheson Crime Family and Clan d'Zarnagon.
  • Bilingual Bonus: There have been occasional sentences and words in e.g. Finnish, French, German, Japanese and Russian.
  • Black Cloak: Worn by clerics of Mardük and Totenkopfs.
    • Ragnar, Refan, and Stylianos are the rare heroic examples wearing a black cloak... at least until Refan does a Face–Heel Turn.
  • Black Magic: Black magic is magic with offensive spells most commonly used by their practitioners, the black mages.
  • Blood from the Mouth: Whenever a character of elven descent has blood coming from their mouth or coughs violently, it's usually a sign that they're showing the first symptoms of being infected with the Blood Fever.
  • Blood Magic: Blood magic is one of the magic schools which is rare and has a stigma on it when it was abused in the past. Because of this, very few mages are skilled in it, some notable exceptions being the Alentian councillor Harrad U'niviel and the wandering sage Dieter von Waldheim.
  • Body Surf: Drishnek likes to do this. Every time he swaps bodies, the body he leaves behind dies.
  • Bodyguard Betrayal: Hannibal is betrayed by his new bodyguard Caliban who turns out to be working for the Totenkopfs.
  • Born in the Saddle: The Khitans from the Khitan Khanate in Maar Sul are expert riders who are skilled in the use of both the bow and the sword. They bond with their horses at an early age and see them as their brothers and sisters.
  • Bow and Sword in Accord: Hannibal, Orestes and the Khitans have learned to use both the bow and the sword in battle.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: Zarnagon does this to Refan's friend Jessica and sends her to kill Refan.
  • Break the Cutie: Marya is a kind character but after her husband Kagetsu I's sealing she is forced to live her life as a wandering prostitute. Things get better for her for a while when she is reunited with Kagetsu but then Arawn kidnaps and rapes her. Marya is saved but only gets to spend a little while with Kagetsu who is later killed in battle. Marya is an immortal but her beloved Kagetsu is now dead so she realizes that she has to live her life without him for all eternity. This finally makes her snap, and she turns into a cold, ruthless individual who later kidnaps and corrupts Prince Geraden Aurelac of Maar Sul, going even so far as to boink him in order to control him. Once she's made sure Geraden can take over Maar Sul, she suffers from guilt of all the nasty things she's done and commits suicide with poison in order to be reunited with Kagetsu.
  • Break the Haughty: Amano and various other Yamatians suffer this fate when the rebels they thought of as "weak" end up beating their asses.
  • Bring News Back: When the Battle of the Rivers turns out badly for Alent's Western Army thanks to the Coalition's surprise attack, the commander orders one of his soldiers to flee to Alent to warn the Council of Mages about an impending Coalition invasion while the rest of the soldiers try to hold back the overwhelming Coalition army.
  • Brother–Sister Incest: Desdemona and Mordecai are siblings and very much in love although they have to hide their relationship from everyone else. She eventually gets pregnant with his child and intends to give birth to the child, using it as a means to install herself on the Remonian throne by claiming that the child belongs to King Marcus who is smitten by her.
  • Butt Biter: The bull sharks that gather at the harbor of Shipwreck Cove go into a frenzy when they taste blood from the battle happening there, and they end up biting the rogue Captain Kusotare in the ass.
  • Butt-Monkey: Pretty much every Scun ever. Also, The Guy The Gods Like To Pick On.

    C 
  • Cain and Abel: Refan and Zarnagon, Leraje and Ronove.
  • Call-Back: Lots of these. For example Leon reacts violently to seeing Drishnek as he recalls that Drishnek's former master Taro Ofuchi killed Leon's best friend Hiroshi Hayabusa in an earlier plot.
  • Captured Super-Entity: Awar manages to trap the god Shakkan into a shard of Krystallopyr, prompting the heroes to find a way to set the God of Beasts free.
  • The Captain: Ax, Kaizoku and Varalia among others.
  • The Cartel: Araña de la Noche is an influential drug cartel which operates in the city of Paraiso in Aison.
  • Cat Folk: The Itica are humanoid cat people who live a wandering lifestyle althouh other races rarely see them due to their preference to stay out of people's businesses. They have sharp senses.
  • Cavalry Betrayal: During the Second Battle of Victoire a regiment of Proninists disguised as Scun Loyalists manage to fool the Maar Sulais army into letting them get closer until it's too late and force the Maar Sulais to flee.
  • Chained to a Rock: The Sirithai do this to a few heroes, prompting the other heroes to challenge the monster in the Sirithai arena to save their friends.
  • Changing of the Guard: Khalid, who is revealed to be Belial's son at Belial's funeral, decides to continue the mission which Belial began. Razoul continues his father Ismail's mission as the captain of the Black Guard.
  • Character Development: Lots of it for both heroes and villains. Characters who begin on one end of the spectrum may end up having a complete turnaround by the end of their arc.
  • The Chessmaster: Distreyd I, Iblis and the Master.
  • Chess with Death: The rebel leader Mae Torazo ends up playing chess with the Grim Reaper after her death. She wins the game and is allowed to possess her corpse for a limited period of time to have her revenge on the people who murdered her.
  • A Child Shall Lead Them: Gerard becomes the King of Maar Sul in his early teens and comes up with a plan to capture Pronin whose forces are besieging Maar Sul City.
  • Child by Rape: Unithien and her half-brother Ildor were both conceived this way when two powerful men raped their mother Varalia.
  • The Chooser of the One: During the Stirrings of Chaos plot, the elven cleric Schuldich Cedheros is the sole survivor of the massacre of his order and is sent by the Gods of Order to find wielders for two special weapons, Dusk and Dawn, which the chosen ones will be destined to use to fight the forces of Chaos. Schuldich manages to deliver Dusk to its intended bearer but narrowly fails with Dawn (he did find two candidates for Dawn's intended bearer but before he could figure out which of the two women were meant to have the sword, an evil goddess appeared, killed him and stole the sword right in front of the women's noses).
    • Leon also ends up in this role when he is tasked with finding the bearer of the Silver Branch whose destiny is to stop the Landpoison of Yamato and heal the wound on the earth caused by the dark god Mardük's tainted magic.
  • The Chosen One: Marcus is destined to become the King of Remon and the wielder of Dusk. Ax is said to be the chosen wielder of Dawn but after Nergal's emotional taunting she begins wondering if she's not actually the intended wielder but only meant to deliver the sword to the true chosen one.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Due to players coming and going, it means their characters are often left hanging if they don't resolve their plots or put them on the bus before disappearing. This can lead to characters fading into the background never to be mentioned again although an effort is usually made to at least acknowledge in-universe what happened to the now missing characters, particularly if they played a major role in the plot beforehand.
  • Cincinnatus: When Gerard comes of age, Leon willingly abdicates the throne of Maar Sul to him. However, some people, most notably Geraden, see him as an usurper who only abdicated the throne in order to control the throne from behind the scenes.
  • Citadel City: Several cities in the Land of the Living are fortified to withstand assaults. The most notable ones are Vanna, Maar Sul City and Myridia.
  • The City Narrows: Threshold, Alent's northeastern district, has an ominous reputation and has driven many people who have ventured there insane. The very air, ground, buildings and narrow, labyrinthine and twisting alleys seem to be alive and hostile to any non-native, and the shadows play with trespassers' minds with sometimes fatal consequences. It later turns out that the people living in Threshold are in fact disguised demons whose chaotic powers have warped the district to suit their needs. The horrible experiences which trespassers had turned out to be manifestations of their own inner darkness and emotions which were triggered by the demonic auras in the area.
    Javan: The truth is that the only real darkness in this place is the darkness you bring in it yourself. Every sin, every repressed memory, every stray fear and blind rage. Everything people want to ignore about themselves. What's in here was always there, it's just a bit more... insistent in its existence in Threshold.
  • Civil War: Grandbell, Libaterra and Remon have it rough.
  • The Clan: Maar Sul and Scundia are full of these, for example the House of Aurelac and Clan Mallorein. Demons have clans too.
  • Clear My Name: Marcus has to do this during the Great War when Yamatians frame him for slaughtering defenseless villagers in Remon.
  • Cloak and Dagger: There are several groups spying on other groups in the Third Age. SAVAGE, Maar Sul's elite military corps, has the Covert Operations Department, the Grand Alliance has the Blades of Vigilance who are heavily involved in spying on the factions which oppose the Alliance, the Crimson Coalition has the Mullencamp spy network which monitors the Coalition territory and any non-Coalition faction it can gain access to, the Magicracy of Alent has Shadowstrike which keeps tabs on Alentian criminals but is also involved in internal affairs within the Anti Mage Police. Then there are also underworld organizations which use cloak and dagger methods, most notably the Union Workers, the Order of the Black Rose and the Dwarven Triad.
  • Cloud Cuckoo Lander: The amnesiac wanderer Ronove really doesn't understand what's going on most of the time. For example, when demons are about to invade the Sarquil capital during the Vanna arc, he decides to go on a picnic outside the city walls and convince the demon horde to surrender by offering them cake. When he is forced to impersonate King Marcus, his rousing speech to the Grand Alliance's army goes well at first until he decides to put his own spin on it (which involves his favourite dessert):
    Ronove: There's something important that I must share with you before we begin our march. Something terrible happened last night, something that truly, should I say, PISSED ME OFF! Here's what happened. There's an inn in this city that has this amazing strawberry cake, but the last FIVE FREAKING TIMES I've tried to order it, they don't have it! This is clearly unacceptable! If the king can't eat his daily strawberry cake... man, if that isn't god-moding, I don't know what is! I also have another announcement to make: henceforth this day of the week shall be officially known as Cake Day! Strawberry cake will become our national food, and we'll build bakeries and stuff everywhere so that you, my dear subjects, can have your daily dose of this excellent dessert!
  • Code of Honour: Some thieves follow specific rules of honour known as the Code of Thieves. The Code specifies what thieves can and can't do. Over the years many thieves have abandoned the Code as they see it as antiquated, but others have successfully integrated it into their guilds and their way of life.
  • Cold-Blooded Torture: The Church of the Memory of Cardia and the Clergy of Mardük are fond of this.
  • Les Collaborateurs: Martin Struan chooses to betray his Maar Sulais countrymen and work for the Yamatians in order to get the throne of Maar Sul for himself.
  • Colliding Criminal Conspiracies: Happens when the Nightstalkers end up entangled in the complex plots of Matheson Crime Family, the Order of the Black Rose and the Totenkopf cult, all of which take place in Maar Sul City. The gang tries to make the most out of it in the dangerous environment but does suffer quite a bit along the way because they simply aren't powerful enough to upstage the other influential factions in their own game.
  • Colonel Badass: Nobuo and Samachi are very competent although the former doesn't show it unless he's forced to act.
  • Combat by Champion: Ismail vs. Leraje during the siege of Vanna.
  • Combat Pragmatist: A few such as Ax, Briss and Refan. They fight dirty whenevery they can, using their enemies' weaknesses to their advantage.
  • Combat Sadomasochist: Vaetris and her succubi minions of the Eastern Horde get turned on by causing pain to others and receiving pain in combat and sex. They're really turned on by seeing and smelling blood.
  • Combat Tentacles: The Shadow loves morphing his hands into shadowy tentacles to dispose of his enemies.
  • Commie Land: Scundia becomes this after the Proninist Party has conquered it.
  • Conveniently an Orphan: Quite a few characters have had their parents die prior to the beginning of their respective story arcs.
  • Cool Airship: The M.S.S. Pandora and the Imperator.
  • Cool Boat: The Behemoth, the Eroean, the Flaming Monkey, the Hiltraud, the Law, the Lesbian Seagull and the Proletariat are the most (in)famous examples that come to mind.
  • Cool Horse: Ax's horse Widowmaker aka Dubya.
  • Cool Mask: Leopold has one.
  • Cool Old Guy: Josiah and Harrad are cool, old and eccentric wizards.
  • Corrupt Church: Clergy of Mardük originally promoted freedom of choice but became twisted when its deity Mardük was consumed by madness. The Church of the Memory of Cardia has also been acting not-so-nobly lately.
  • Corrupt Politician: Quite a few politicians, notably the ministers, are shown to be corrupt and often working towards selfish goals at the expense of others.
  • Cosmic Chess Game: The gods prefer manipulating mortals to do their bidding and fight wars for them when possible. Nergal the God of War goes as far as to refer to mortals as his pawns and actually likens the millennia-spanning conflict between the gods to a comic chess game which he intends to win.
  • Cosmic Plaything: The Guy Who The Gods Like To Pick On has it pretty rough because for some weird reason the gods really do like to pick on him all the time. He ends up from one miserable situation into another and can't even kill himself because the gods like to keep him alive to humiliate him.
  • Cosmopolitan Council: The council of the Crimson Coalition consists of leaders of different factions from all around the world who have banded together in order to not only to advance their different causes more effectively but also to stand against the Grand Alliance on equal ground. The members include:
  • The Coup: Several coups have taken place in the story. One of the more notable ones is when Countess Nina, who has been posing as Duke Hepnaz's lieutenant, takes over the Southern Horde by stabbing Hepnaz in the back just as Hepnaz is about to triumph over the Northern Horde and is too busy to notice treachery from within his own ranks.
  • Cradling Your Kill: Refan does this after he has killed Awar in the aftermath of the Siege of Vanna.
  • Cryptic Conversation: Taliesin talks to Leon about the Laws of the Andain by using riddles because he feels every Andain must figure out the laws and their meanings themselves with no outside help.
  • Cult: The Mullencamp are entirely devoted to serving the Losstarot line. The Totenkopfs are worshipping the Master as the avatar of death.

    D 
  • Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: When Omaroch is reunited with his son Refan, he explains to him why he has been absent for so many years and wasn't around to save Refan's mother from death. He had in fact been kidnapped by demons and was thus unable to help his family when they needed him the most. Although he claims that he managed to flee from demons, the truth ends up being much more horrific: he was actually tortured and brainwashed to become a servant of the dark god Mardük and was ordered to return to the world of mortals to make sure his sons would fulfill an ancient prophecy which would result in Mardük's resurrection. He eventually breaks free from the god's taint but at that point it's too late because his actions end up causing the Cataclysm as well as turning his son into a bitter, fallen hero. He does his best trying to set things straight and regain his sons' trust, but so far it's been futile.
  • Dances and Balls: The Maar Sulais ball starts out alright but then things start to get weirder and weirder as it progresses, or how else would you describe it when the herald suddenly introduces a freaking lion which promptly devours four nearby Scuns?
  • Dark Action Girl: Adela, Desdemona, Endoran, Etna, Glaurung, Shyralis, Tarna, Vaetris, Varalia and Zenobia among others.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Some of the demons such as Omaroch and Ronove are not as bad as one might think. The Forgotten are not as villainous as the Clergy of Mardük even though both worship the dark god Mardük.
  • Dark Messiah: Glaurung is a very charismatic leader with great oratory skills. However, her plans of creating an utopia are... quite unorthodox.
  • Dead Person Impersonation: Geraden takes the identity of Oswald Flynn during the war against the Proninists. He discards the false identity after he has gathered enough followers to take over Port Dunross from the Proninist Party.
  • Dead Person Conversation: The heroes talk to the spirits of the dead in Tes Pellaria.
  • Death by Childbirth: Viirsa gives birth to Kaisa and dies in her lover Hector's arms in the aftermath of the infiltration of Myridia during the Great War.
  • Death Is Dramatic: Played straight with Belial, Hiroshi Hayabusa, Ismail and Leon among others. Averted with Koryaksky who dies an undignified death in a back alley.
  • Death of a Child: Children are just as likely to die as adults... or become ravenous zombies if they end up infected with the Plague of Undeath. The senseless deaths of children play a plot point as watching an innocent child die in the hands of merciless thugs and being unable to stop it is what eventually prompts Bishop Arbriel Conrad to stray from the Path of Light and join the Totenkopfs with the intention of "purging" the world from those who in his view don't deserve to live in it.
  • Decoy Damsel: Mordecai is a male variant. He is seemingly kidnapped by the Totenkopfs for some nefarious ends. It later turns out it was all a ruse and he has in fact been working for them all along and put up the act of being kidnapped so that he can operate more freely without worrying about tipping off the heroes.
  • Defector from Decadence: Omaroch wants do something else with his life than just randomly kill people like other demons do. This leads him to enter the Land of the Living and he eventually falls in love with a human cleric, leaving his old life behind and siding with humans against his kin.
  • Demon Lords And Arch Devils: Each of the four demon hordes, later High Legions, has an archdemon leading it, but a few independent archdemons exist as well. The known archdemons are Hepnaz, Malphas, Nina, Pazuzu, Vaetris, Omaroch, Yurius, Nhrakate and Malakhia.
  • Depower: Leon loses his Andain powers when he is resurrected. All mortals lose their innate magical abilities after the Cataclysm caused by the Godslayer. Demons lose much of their power during the Second Battle of Vulpengaard Keep and in the magical fallout of the Catastrophe.
  • Designated Girl Fight: Ax vs. Varalia in the Ruined Kingdom.
  • Determinator: Leopold and Orestes stop at nothing to get the job done.
  • Deus ex Machina: When Leon is about to die in battle, a black wolf appears all of a sudden and saves his life. It later turns out that the wolf was in fact Kagetsu I whom Leon had unknowingly freed earlier. Technically Kagetsu was only a demigod, though.
  • Devious Daggers: Several assassins and thieves like using daggers in their line of work. Sinlarine shamans have ceremonial daggers which are mostly for show but with which they can focus their innate powers to travel between the Void and the Land of the Living by shifting from one plane of reality to another.
  • Diabolical Mastermind: Vesuvius Matheson is the wealthy head of the far-reaching Matheson Crime Family which owns the city of Matheson and has his minions infiltrating or bribing many government officials in Maar Sul. He hatches elaborate schemes to strengthen his power base, even going so far as to fund the Proninist invasion of Maar Sul.
  • Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: The heroes work together to defeat Nergal, the God of War, in combat.
  • Dirty Communists: The Proninist Party. They have cake.
    Pronin: Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your lives, your freedom, and all of your worldly possessions!
  • Dirty Cop: George Bush is a SAVAGE officer secretly working for the Totenkopfs.
  • Disability Superpower: Jono is blind but it doesn't stop him from kicking ass.
  • Disappeared Dad: Omaroch to Refan and Zarnagon, Razoul to Farah.
  • Distressed Damsel: Amarawyn and Marya both get in trouble a few times, prompting heroes to save them from kidnappers.
  • Distressed Dude: Happens to Refan when the Sirithai capture him and tie him into the arena where he is to be sacrificed to the monstrous Plushiebunny.
  • Divide and Conquer: Jemuel plays both the Grand Alliance and the Yamato Empire against each other during the Great War in order to carve his empire while the two are busy fighting.
  • Divine Conflict: As the gods follow and represent different ideas, they are bound to oppose each another by their very nature. The biggest conflicts exist between Cardia the God of Order and Mardük the God of Chaos, and Hephaestus the God of Smithing and Nergal the God of War. However, there are times when some of the rival gods may end up temporarily teaming up with one another out of necessity or they might just as well not work together despite it being beneficial because they can't get over grudges.
    Hephaestus: By our very natures, we must oppose each other. I exist to create, to build, to aid prosperity. He exists to destroy, to wage war, to spread strife wherever he goes. I can no sooner alter my nature than a fish could choose to live on land. It is the same for Nergal.
    Axikasha: Maybe mortals don't have it so bad after all. At least we're free to choose what cause we serve. What good are the powers of a god if you can't even control your own destiny?
    Hephaestus: I cannot control my nature, nor would there be any point in denying who—or what—I am. That does not mean I cannot control my actions. I do the best with what I have been given, and the choices I make are my own.
  • Divine Parentage: The Andain are demigods. The most famous Andain have been Kagetsu I, Leon, Pooka and Taliesin.
  • Do with Him as You Will: A villainous variant happens to Awar after the siege of Vanna. Ronove, who has betrayed his former companions in the Grand Alliance and has become the new Dreadlord of the Northern Horde, uses his authority to free Awar from demon captivity... only to end up handing him over to a pissed off Refan whose adoptive little sister Awar had killed some time earlier. Refan executes Awar then and there.
  • The Don: Vesuvius Matheson is the don of the Matheson Crime Family which rules the city of Matheson and has considerable influence in the Maar Sulais underworld.
  • Doomed Hometown: This happens to Skye when the Clergy of Mardük and Yamatians raze her hometown because it helped the Grand Alliance on its quest to liberate Remon from the Yamatian yoke.
  • Double Entendre: Ronove's ramblings are often taken the wrong way. On one occasion he asks if he can taste Ax's cherry pie. He actually wants to trade pie recipes with her and isn't thinking of anything sexual but everyone around them misunderstands the conversation. Hilarity Ensues.
  • The Dragon: Several:
    • Sydney Losstarot War: Yurius.
    • Ofuchi Usurpation: Drishnek.
    • Manster Rebellion: Kagetsu I.
    • Arawn Losstarot War: Gordius.
    • The Great War: Zarnagon.
    • Godslayer Era:
      • Endoran, Orestes and Leopold for Glaurung of the Crimson Coalition.
      • Varalia for Xerathas of the Grey Cult.
      • Koschei for the Master of the Totenkopfs.
      • Leraje, and later Ronove for Malphas of the Northern Horde.
      • Nina for Vaetris of the Eastern Horde.
      • Naamah for Pazuzu of the Western Horde.
      • Richelieu for Jemuel of the Magicracy of Alent.
      • Iblis for Adela during the first half of the Vanna arc.
  • Dragon Ascendant: Yurius becomes the next Big Bad when his master and father figure Sydney is killed. Richelieu ends up as this when Jemuel is frozen in stasis inside the beam of Alent.
  • Dragon with an Agenda: Ronove for Malphas.
  • Dreaming of Things to Come: Kaisa and Leon have these.
  • Dressing as the Enemy: The heroes use this tactic to infiltrate a city held by the Clergy of Mardük.
  • Driven to Suicide: Poor Marya finally cracks when she becomes guilt-ridden by all the bad things she's done and commits suicide but not after setting events in motion that will shape the fate of Maar Sul.
  • Drowning My Sorrows: Ax, Nobuo and Refan do this often.
  • Dual Wielding: Ismail, Khalid and Vaetris all dual wield swords.
  • Dude Looks Like a Lady: Izael is often confused for a woman because of his pretty face.
  • Duel to the Death: There have been plenty of these, the most brutal ones being Arawn vs. Leon, Amano vs. Ax and Leraje vs. Ismail.

    E 
  • Eaten Alive: Brak, a ruthless demon warrior who has manipulated and abused adolescent demons in a bid to force them to join the Northern Horde, ends up being eaten by the very same hungry adolescent demons in Alent's Threshold district after they turn on him.
  • Eldritch Abomination: The Unnamed Evil is a force beyond comprehension except that it is evil. Its true form is enough to drive the god Dreamweaver mad, and its whispers can corrupt even the purest and most powerful individuals if given enough time. Its reasons (if any) for doing the things it does remain a mystery.
  • Elemental Embodiment: Elementals are rare but powerful creatures whose power is rivalled only by the gods and the dragons. A fire elemental burned down the military school Graves Hall and most of the students and masters, an ice elemental froze one-quarter of Remonton and over half of its citizens, and an earth elemental killed off hundreds of demons.
  • Elite Mooks: The Blessed are the Master's most fearsome Totenkopf minions. The Coalition's S-Class Mullencamp are deadly efficient warriors and mages who are only surpassed by the Vulfsatz in effectiveness. Demons of Hoch class, particularly the Black Death squad, are surpassed only by the Dreadlords and the archdemons in raw power and cunning.
  • Emergency Impersonation: When King Marcus is kidnapped on the eve of the Grand Alliance's march to Maar Sul, the heroes who know about the king's disappearance quickly come up with a plan to make one person impersonate Marcus and thus keep the budding Alliance together until the real Marcus has been located. The candidate for "fake" Marcus ends up being Ronove who quickly goes drunk on power as soon as he gets the crown on his head, and Hilarity Ensues.
  • The Emperor: Takeshi Ofuchi.
  • The Empire: Yamato before it was taken over by demons.
  • Enchanted Forest: The Land of the Living has had its share of ancient magical woods over the past ages. In the Third Age Survivor's Woods in Libaterra turned into a dark, magical forest when two rival Faerfolc settled into it and changed it to suit their needs while enthralling giant spiders, nymphs, treants and wisps to do their bidding. Another mysterious magical forest is Kitsune Mori in Yamato where the secretive shapeshifting foxes known as the kitsune dwell.
  • Enemy Civil War: Although the four demon hordes want to take over the world and enslave "lesser beings", they also fight brutally against one another for power. Duchess Vaetris intends to change all that in late Third Age, however, by uniting the bickering hordes under one banner in order to take over the world in the Second Great War. She ultimately succeeds as the demons unite and found the Andarian Empire although with a compromise as she becomes only one of the four archdemons who jointly rule the Empire as the Tetrarchy.
  • Enemy Mine: Kagetsu I begins working with the Grand Alliance against Arawn when the Alliance saves his wife Marya from Arawn's stronghold. Likewise a group of clerics of Mardük and Samachi work with the Alliance during the battle of Vanna despite their animosity which stems all the way from the Great War.
  • Energy Beings: The Dwellers are manifestations of the Essence although they often take spider-like forms before attacking their prey.
  • Enigmatic Minion: The Shadow and Simon.
  • Enslaved Elves: The Sarquil use dark-skinned desert elves, whom they have conquered in various wars, as slaves. Some of the Alliance members don't like it, but some others are perfectly fine with it.
  • Ephebophile: Galeras likes to have sex with teenage boys. Marya ends up boinking the 16-year-old Geraden in order to control him.
  • Et Tu, Brute?: Belial is betrayed and killed by his niece Desdemona.
  • Evil All Along: Cain, Desdemona, Mordecai and Vaetris during the Godslayer Era.
  • Evil Chancellor: Drishnek to Jemuel and Iblis to Adela. On the one hand Iblis was behind the equally villainous Sultana Adela's rise to power and did his best to aid her over the years, a job in which he succeeded admirably. However, in the end he betrayed Adela during the battle against the Grand Alliance and revealed that he had ultimately been working for the demonic Southern Horde with the sole intention of weakening Vanna from within for his true masters' upcoming invasion. He had thus been playing both Adela and the Alliance against each other while furthering his own goals.
  • Evil Gloating: The Master loves these.
    The Master: You've outlived your usefulness, Belial de Ardyn. Die knowing that you've failed in your mission and that you've helped me achieve my goals!
    Belial: You're gravely mistaken. I still hold enough power to defeat both you and Kos.
    The Master: It is you who are mistaken! You've digged your own grave by underestimating me! Did you really think that I would've played all my cards this early in the game?
  • Evil Is Not a Toy: A greedy mage releases Yurius who immediately kills him.
  • Evil Matriarch: Grand Duchess Nhrakate fits this trope to a T.
  • Evil Overlord: There have been plenty of these, for example Mardük, Masamori Hyuga and Sydney Losstarot.
  • Evil Power Vacuum: When King Renu dies in the First Age, his kingdom becomes a battleground for rival factions until the Mullencamp cult led by Sydney Losstarot defeats the other factions and takes over. Demons begin fighting against each other when their master Mardük kicks the bucket in the Cataclysm during the Third Age.
  • The Evil Prince: Prince Geraden, the cousin of the current King Gerard Aurelac de Maar Sul, was kidnapped as a baby and ended up corrupted into an amoral, power-hungry warrior. He sees his younger cousin as a weak, easily manipulative fool who has in his view robbed him of his rightful throne and that it is his destiny to turn Maar Sul into a powerful, feared kingdom which it once was. Princess Emira Adela al-Saif ends up killing her twin sister Razia in order to become the Sultana of Vanna.
  • Evil Redhead: Vaetris and her sister Nina are both redheads, and their children are too. It runs in the family.
  • Evil Sorcerer: Arawn, Distreyd, Iblis, Ofuchi, Zarnagon...
  • Evil Tower of Ominousness: The Dark Tower in Myridia during Zarnagon and Xerathas's reign.
  • Evil Weapon: The Sword of Darkness can't be sheathed until it has tasted blood.
  • Extreme Omnivore: Ronove eats anything.

    F 
  • Face–Heel Turn: Abel makes this very clear by adapting the name Cain once he's turned to the dark side. The heroes are oblivious to his new, treacherous nature and think he's only acting emo because of his embarrassing encounter with a lustful mage earlier in the story.
    • Also happens to Refan and Ronove after the Siege of Vanna.
  • The Fair Folk: The Faerfolc are mysterious and powerful beings who can turn out to be friendly (provide a blessing) or hostile (kill or torture anyone who trespasses on their lands) depending on the circumstances... and what mood they happen to be in when you meet them. When they were released from captivity, they offered cryptic advice to the heroes but later on rampaged in Libaterra, killing hundreds of people in their lust for revenge before retreating back to the forests to live their life in peace. Currently, the fey have two factions: the neutral, tradition-bound ones led by Morrigan who wish to live away from the corruption of mortal civilizations, and the fanatic destroyers led by Curdardh who wish to purge the world from "impure" races.
  • Fake Defector: Briss betrays the heroes and escorts one of the heroes' enemies to Trinity Gask where he hopes to meet with the Big Bad.
  • Fake King: Marcus is kidnapped and the Shadow impersonates him to lure Ax into a trap. It also happens to Ax, who has become a Sultana, later on when Vaetris ambushes her and sends her into the Void Between the Worlds to her apparent demise, after which she shapeshifts into Ax and assumes her identity in order to manipulate the Alliance and Sultan Khalid.
  • Fallen Hero: Kagetsu I was originally a revered hero until his dream of a better world drove him to attempt to destroy the world and create it anew as a utopia.
  • Feuding Families: The Jardines and the Mathesons are two powerful Maar Sulais noble families, each of which controls one big city named after itself. They hate each other's guts and are often literally at each other's throats if given time. This animosity goes so far that if one of them joins a large faction like the Grand Alliance, the other will automatically oppose the Alliance even if it means siding with a faction they would normally consider their enemy.
  • Fiery Redhead: Vaetris.
  • Fighting a Shadow: The Shadow comes back to life more powerful than its previous form if it's killed.
  • Find the Cure!: Rhylian is desperately searching for a cure to the Blood Fever, a disease which is fatal to elves.
  • Finger-Lickin' Evil: Vaetris and her succubi minions from the Eastern Horde tend to lick their fingers clean of the blood of their enemies after battle.
  • Fusion Dance: A dragon, an archdemon and a mage join together into one entity known as the Godslayer.

    G 
  • Gayngster: Galeras Matheson oh so very much. He prefers young boys but doesn't turn down any handsome man if he happens to see one.
  • Gangbangers: The Nightstalkers are a gang of thugs with big plans for rising up in the Maar Sulais criminal hierarchy.
  • Geas: The archdemon Malphas ends up under a geas when he kisses fellow archdemon Nina Heeate's enchanted ring, and the geas forces him to serve Nina's every whim. It turns out that Nina was using magic and her female physique to mess with Malphas's mind, which confused Malphas enough to make the geas take effect. Nina doesn't keep Malphas on a tight leash, however, and instead lets him do what he wishes as long as he doesn't stand in her horde's way. The geas also requires Malphas to keep his mouth shut about the whole endeavour, further ensuring that Nina's part in the whole mess stays out of the limelight.
  • Genius Bruiser: Ismail. He's strong but also knows how to use his wits in battle.
  • Gentle Giant: Daven and Ismail, despite their size, are actually quite gentle outside combat, Daven even more so because of his experience.
  • Ghost City: Dar'Cenrath aka the Ruined Kingdom. It used to be a big city until its population was sacrificed to bind an evil dragon within a magical diamond.
  • Ghostly Chill: Ghosts and other entities from the Land of the Dead tend to chill the air around them when they interact with the Land of the Living, alerting knowledgeable people to their presence.
  • Giant Mook: The demon colossus during the siege of Vanna.
  • Giant Spider: Giant spiders are well, big spiders as the name suggests. They possess some intelligence and tend to move in 'packs' which hunt their prey together.
  • Gladiator Games: The heroes have to fight in an underground arena against the monstrous Plushiebunny for the amusement of the Sirithai.
  • Glorious Leader: Dylas and Pronin pretend to be saviours of their people but are actually power-hungry tyrants who use people for their own purposes and aren't afraid to break a few eggs to make an omelette.
  • Glory Days: When Agarwaen becomes the King of Manster, he starts yearning for the days when he was still a free adventurer.
  • Glowing Eyes of Doom: The eyes of demons and half-demons start glowing when they're about to kick some major ass.
  • Go Back to the Source: Khasra III enters the cursed city of Xar Daeon to purify it from the taint of darkness, which helps him weaken demons' regenerative powers. The heroes of the Grand Alliance are given the task of locating the source of the Blood Fever in order to put an end to it.
  • A God Am I: Zarnagon sees himself as a god and makes people worship him as such when he becomes the Witch-king of Myridia. He and two others later fuse together and transcend into a godly being known as the Godslayer.
  • Godhood Seeker: Arawn aspired to become a godly sorcerer and he would've succeeded unless those pesky Andain hadn't sacrificed themselves to stop him.
  • God in Human Form: Gods fill this role whenever they possess a willing mortal host.
  • God Save Us from the Queen!: Played straight with Adevia of Alenia and Adela of Vanna. Averted with Shyla of Lutherin and Razia of Vanna.
  • Good All Along: The Sirithai lizardfolk are introduced as violent human-eating monsters but are later revealed to be misunderstood victims of persecution from the Clergy of Artemicia. They still won't hesitate to brutally slaughter and eat captives but they're also willing to listen to reason once their opponents have proven their worth to them.
  • The Good King: Khasra Mallorein III of Scundia is a pretty decent and wise fellow even though he tends to also be a Deadpan Snarker and occasionally seduces and has sex with other people's wives. Gerard Aurelac of Maar Sul also becomes a good king when he's finally given the crown and the throne. Marcus Sarillius of Remon is also this whenever he isn't being manipulated by ambitious and/or villainous people.
  • Greater-Scope Villain: The Unnamed Evil, who took over the god Dreamweaver's body and became Death, has turned out to have influenced all the previous BigBads in a gamble of cosmic proportions.
  • The Grim Reaper: The Grim Reaper is a skeletal figure in a black cloak who wields a soul-harvesting scythe and who works for Death. He's also a Deadpan Snarker who loves strawberry jam.
  • Groin Attack: Ax's preferred method of dealing with male enemies. Poor Refan got to experience it first hand.
  • Grumpy Old Man: Vauldorf and Waldheim although the latter becomes more jovial later on.

    H 
  • Hair-Raising Hare: Bunnies look like fluffy rabbits, but they can quickly swarm and brutalize any would-be attacker.
  • Half-Breed Discrimination: Many halfbreeds end up being frowned upon or worse. Suffering from her half-elf heritage at the hands of elven bullies eventually drives Shyralis into villainy, and Refan's half-demon bloodline comes back to haunt him and causes all sorts of trouble.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: The world has a few half-demons, half-dwarves and half-elves.
  • Handsome Lech: The blind swordsman Jono keeps flirting with girls and tends to be quite successful with bedding them although he often gets in trouble with it. However, when he finds a challenge from Vaetris who doesn't fall for him quite so easily, he's intrigued and smitten by her. They eventually grow close until Jono discovers to his horror that Vaetris is in fact one of the four dreaded archdemons who has been deliberately manipulating his feelings for her to achieve her sinister goals.
  • Harping on About Harpies: Harpies are avian, humanoid creatures who are often found near cliffsides of straits. They're territorial and somewhat sadistic, attacking travellers who venture too close to their nests.
  • Haunted Castle: The palace of Daisuke Hyuga in Yamato is covered by a dark forest and becomes haunted after Lord Daisuke, in despair after having lost his wife Matami in a raider attack, makes a blood pact with the demon Yurius.
  • He Who Fights Monsters: Refan is diving deeper and deeper into the darkness within in order to fight against his foes, and it is slowly corrupting him.
  • Healing Hands: People gifted with white magic can heal themselves and others. Some examples are Nesa and Unithien.
  • Hearing Voices: Ax and Refan. The former because her tribe has a close connection with the dead, and the latter because his sword (which houses a malevolent spirit) is influencing him and triggering his demonic side.
  • Heel–Face Turn: A bunch of antagonists eventually switch sides and become more heroic. Some examples include Dalthas, Jemuel, Kagetsu I (he joins the Alliance because they saved his wife, but he still more or less pursues his agenda albeit with different means while being bound by his oath to the Alliance), Omaroch, Titaniel and Viirsa.
  • Hellish Pupils: Shyralis has these and it serves as a reason why many call her Snake Bitch.
  • Hemo Erotic: Quite a few of the succubi from the Eastern Horde, such as Lust, are more than happy to bite the partner they're having sex with and suck their blood, thus mixing extreme pain and extreme pleasure together to create the ultimate sensation.
  • Heroes "R" Us: SAVAGE is Maar Sul's elite military corps which has several branches such as Covert Operations, Enforcement Division, Strategic Response Team, and Bureau of Bullshit.
  • Heroic Bastard: Rastus turns out to be the illegitimate son of King Byron.
  • Heroic BSoD: Several. Some examples include:
    • Mardük is consumed by madness and grief when he sees the corruption of his son Kagetsu I. This leads him to the path of becoming a dark god of Chaos.
    • Refan freaks out when he finds out that his nemesis Zarnagon is in fact his long-lost older brother Kareth and that both of them are heirs of the Demon Realm who are fated to help Mardük plunge the world into darkness.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Hiroshi Hayabusa casts Shiropyr which kills both him and Taro Ofuchi. Kagetsu I does the same to Arawn Losstarot. Geraud/Grady chooses to become the new world tree when the old one dies. Mori'sul sacrifices himself to save the heroes from a collapsing temple.
  • Heroic Comedic Sociopath: Despite working for the heroes, Bashkar abuses his allies, openly shows his dislike for elves in increasingly ridiculous ways, actually represents Arawn Losstarot in a council meeting and is willing to betray and kill anyone for a chest full of treasure.
  • He's Back!: Ronove after he regains his memories during the Battle of Vanna. As soon as he's back in the game, he shows everyone why he was once called the Walking Death by defeating the seemingly invincible Dreadlord with ease.
  • Hidden Villain: The Master. The only things the heroes know about him is that he is the leader of the Totenkopfs, uses the alias Kamen Grimgaze, is connected to the spread of Blood Fever and is possibly male.
    • Ax's longtime friend and ally Vaetris turns out to be one of the four archdemons.
  • Hidden Agenda Villain: The Master. The heroes know that he is connected to the Blood Fever epidemic somehow, but his overall goals remain a mystery.
  • Hidden Elf Village: Illunii, Sanae and Tel'Elee are the three great elven cities in the world, all of which are hidden in ancient forests.
  • His Name Is...: After defeating Dreadlord Leraje, Ismail momentarily glances at the wall where the sultan's posse is observing the duel and suddenly realizes who Leraje reminds him of and who thus fits perfectly into Nergal's prophecy of a traitor being in the Grand Alliance. This distracts him momentarily, which allows Leraje to regenerate and skewer him. Ismail, realizing he's done for, uses the last of his strength to try to tell the Alliance the identity of the traitor, but is decapitated just before he can finish saying the name.
  • Hitman with a Heart: Sylus defects from the Order of the Black Rose when he can't bring himself to kill people anymore.
  • Hive Mind: The Dwellers have a hivemind which calls itself the Essence. Essentially every Dweller is just an extension of the Essence's will, and thus killing one Dweller (even a powerful, evolved one) doesn't harm the Essence itself.
  • Honey Trap: Anya is sent by the Matheson Crime Family to seduce Nivek Cheavin, the boss of the Nightstalkers, in order to spy on the gang's activities. Haruko Mizushima, posing as a young woman, infiltrated Castle Barjassil in the past by seducing King Anshar who wanted to marry her, and this is how she got closer to the king's treasure chamber to steal a valuable artifact. She later ends up becoming a target of many people who wish to protect her from harm, only for her to reveal later how she'd been using them all for her own ends.
  • The Horde: Four demon hordes led by archdemons settle into Yamato after the Cataclysm. These include:
  • Horse of a Different Color: Doomhounds are demons specifically bred to act as mounts, scouts and magic detectors.
  • Human Sacrifice: There are several attempted and successful human sacrifices. The Totenkopfs and the Sirithai in particular are fond of this little pastime.
  • Human Shield: Quite a few characters—heroic, villainous and anything in between—have no problem using people (whether humans or other races) as shields to get out of sticky situations. Sometimes it works, sometimes it...doesn't.
  • Hypnotic Eyes: Dante hypnotizes Leon to do his bidding for a time during the Great War. His eye can control a person and put a geas on his victim which forces the victim to subconsciously obey his orders. Leon learned this the hard way when he found out that all his actions during the Yamatian Invasion arc had in fact been Dante's all along.

    I 
  • I Am What I Am: Refan eventually accepts his demonic side.
  • I Have No Son!: Sumrah, Belial's older son, begins to rebel against his father's methods and refuses to follow the path he has set him on. Their arguments escalate over the years until both become so frustrated with one another that Sumrah leaves his home and enlists in the Maar Sulais military and Belial disowns him.
  • I Have You Now, My Pretty: Galeras Matheson forces Amarawyn Jardine to marry him and uses the marriage as a means to take over her business in Jardine.
  • I Have Your Wife:
    • Ferron forces Refan to work for him by threatening to kill Refan's son Gabriel if Refan refuses.
    • Arawn kidnaps Kagetsu's wife Marya, forcing Kagetsu to work for him and preventing him from joining the Alliance.
    Kagetsu I: Release her.
    Arawn: Oh, I think not, my dear friend Kagetsu. I'm afraid I'll have to have some assurance of our friendship from here on in. I cannot have you joining yourself to the elf-lover and the wizard. Know that from this day onward, I own your precious wife.
    • Unlike the other two examples, when Glaurung finds out that some shady people want to use her kidnapped son Hannibal as a means to control her, she doesn't submit as easily. Instead, she responds by placing a ransom on the heads of the kidnappers.
  • I See Dead People: The Sinlarine can hear and see ghosts, allowing them to communicate with the spirits of the departed. This is why they are often referred to as ghost whisperers.
  • I Will Find You: Natsumi is looking for her brother who was kidnapped by demons. Skye seeks Refan from whom she got separated in a battle. The lovers Katsutoshi and Haruko also swear to find each other when they're forcibly separated, and a more villainous variant occurs when Gilgamesh swears to stop at nothing to find Haruko whom he sees as his property.
  • The Immodest Orgasm: The Sarquil lieutenant Lamashtu al-Khadra ends up moaning loudly when she has an orgasm while having sex with Captain Razoul. It turns out that Lamashtu is in fact the succubus Lust and that she intends this act of pleasure to boost her magic which she intends to unleash on the Alentian populace to turn everyone in the city into lunatics who will be driven only by their passions.
  • Immortals Fear Death: When the gods witness the goddess Gaea's death at the hands of Kagetsu I, they realize that they can be killed by mortals if they manifest in the Land of the Living in their corporeal form and become scared. This fear of death forces the gods to adapt and from that moment on they possess willing people through whom they act and speak when they want to influence mortals. The possession comes with the added benefit that if the mortal host of a god dies, the god can simply return to the High Plane unharmed.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Happens to the monstrous arachnid Khamul after a lengthy fight against the Alliance's strike team in Myridia.
  • In the Back: Zarnagon betrays Omaroch at a crucial moment by stabbing him in the back.
  • In the Blood: Every demon is essentially faced with this choice because their very nature compels them to act in destructive and manipulative ways. Half-demons suffer from this even more so as their demonic side often tries to goad them to act on impulse and self-gratification. The descendants of the infamous warlord Sydney Losstarot also have to live under the shadow of their ancestor, and every Losstarot is feared more or less.
  • Indy Escape: The heroes of the Grand Alliance have to run from a giant boulder which does its best to smash them inside an ancient temple in the Ruined Kingdom. It turns out that the boulder and the descending ceiling traps are actually activated simultaneously and thus they end up cancelling each other.
  • Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Fred Nacht aka Nightstalker Fred who tries to do his job of being a menacing villain but always ends up bumping into Nesa who foils his plans and humiliates him (often without Fred even knowing who his mysterious tormenter is).
  • Inept Mage: Leon when he first gains his powers. At first he can only turn into a kestrel because of a goddess's poison that affects him, and he sucks at most spells.
  • Initiation Ceremony: Happens every now and then when people deemed worthy to join a faction are initiated into it. A horrific example includes the Master of the Totenkopfs turning a promising initiate into a Blessed after the initiate's mind has been driven past Despair Event Horizon by careful and cruel manipulation so that joining the Totenkopfs and carrying out atrocities in the Master's name seems like the only sensible option.
    • A more benevolent and awe-inspiring initiation ceremony occurs when Hephaestus, the God of Smithing, initiates Axikasha Keiran into his clergy.
    Axikhasa Keiran: Pawn or not, I won't sit by and let the world drown in darkness. I accept my responsibilities as your cleric, Hephaestus. I pledge myself to you and the people.
    Hephaestus: Go forth with all the strength of the Forge behind you, my High Cleric, and do not forget who you are. You are a worthy champion of the Light, a protector of those in need, a beacon of hope amidst the darkness of War and Chaos.
  • Internal Affairs: When a bunch of thieves from the Union manage to sneak the captive necromancer Razravkar Dominus out of the cells in the Anti Mage Police Headquarters, Captain Schtolteheim Reinbach III orders Lieutenant Irinthiel Maurath to assemble a small group of trustworthy and cunning operatives from within the Anti Mage Police to not only locate the renegade necromancer but also to investigate the possibility of the Anti Mage Police having corrupt cops within it. This group becomes known as Shadowstrike and remains literally unknown to the rest of the AMP as Irinthiel reports only to Captain Reinbach and has full authority to arrest and investigate any AMP officer to discover whether they're moles or genuine servants of the Magicracy of Alent.
  • Interplay of Sex and Violence: The succubi of the Eastern Horde are all about combining pain and pleasure into the ultimate experience through combat and sex.
  • Interservice Rivalry: Happens between the Alentian Defense Force and the Anti Mage Police in the Magicracy of Alent. A much more serious rivalry takes place between the Graves Hall military academy and the Magestar mage school in the Kingdom of Aison when the latter feels that the former isn't up to par teaching magic to students and will hamper Aison's defense, so the Masters of the Magestar decide to send a fire elemental to raze the rival mage school at Graves Hall to ensure future funding for themselves from the government.
    Andras: You've seen the transfers. They leech funding from us, and for what? They have no idea how magic works. All they want is more spells, for their own use. Most of them enter the private sector now, you know? They are a disgrace to the tradition of the Magestar.
    Amon: They have been a thorn in our side for some time. Their teachings are simply incompatible with ours, and they are too stubborn to see the error of their ways. They simply seek to be our rival.
  • Interspecies Romance: Omaroch and Delora are a demon and a human who fall in love although such union is seen by many as blasphemy. The Land of the Living witnesses several intermarriages between different races, including elves, humans and dwarves among others, which result in children with mixed ancestry such as half-elves. Interspecies romance becomes a major plot point with nymphs who need males from other races to breed because a magical curse makes them only give birth to female nymphs; this causes them to have no males of their own to keep their population going so they need to seduce men from other races in order to become pregnant and stop the nymph race from becoming extinct.
  • It Gets Easier: The thief Refan gradually stops worrying about the people he's killed as he turns more and more into He Who Fights Monsters who succumbs more and more to his demonic side in order to have revenge on those who have wronged him. At one point he comes to realize how far he's fallen but tries to justify it as being the only course of action to take in order to make sure the people who have hurt his loved ones won't hurt anyone ever again...even if it means abandoning his human side and siding with the demon hordes against humans to get the job done properly.
  • It's Personal: Refan goes after Zarnagon because Zarnagon has harmed Refan's loved ones. This also happens when Refan confronts Awar who has slain Refan's dear friend and adoptive little sister Nalaen, and it eventually leads to Refan brutally disarming and murdering Awar in cold blood, signalling Refan embracing his demonic side.
  • I Will Find You: Natsumi is looking for her brother who was kidnapped by demons. Skye seeks her husband Refan from whom she got separated in a battle. The kitsune lovers Katsutoshi and Haruko also swear to find each other when they're forcibly separated, and a more villainous variant occurs when Gilgamesh swears to stop at nothing to find Haruko whom he sees as his property.

    J 
  • Jerk Ass Gods: All gods (even the "good" ones) are this to a lesser or greater extent depending on the god. One thing they all have in common is that they use mortals as their pawns, partly because they don't want to risk getting killed by appearing in the world of mortals in godflesh. However, despite the things listed below, each god (even the "bad" ones) does have at least one redeeming feature which has aided their followers.
    • Artemicia, the Goddess of Healing, doesn't like her demigod son, going so far as to threaten to kill him if he ever interferes with her plans again.
    • Cardia, the God of Order, made his followers believe that other gods didn't exist and that he was the only thing they could truly rely on.
    • Dionysus, the God of Wine and Madness, uses various people as his playthings, manipulating them to his liking and leading them to their doom only so he can be reunited with his sister whom he wishes to free from the body of the mortal she has ended up trapped in.
    • Gaea, the Goddess of the Earth, ate her unpopular child Phil, the God of Arseholes, because he annoyed her.
    • Ganesha, the God of Merchants, cares only for profit, paying little if any attention to the suffering his complex trades with various factions, both mortal and divine alike, cause to the world.
    • Hephaestus, the God of Smithing, only gives cryptic advice to the heroes even when explaining things clearly would work far better for the heroes' favour. He also doesn't bother to stop the massacre of his clerics and only acts when other gods are taking action personally.
    • Hivena, The Goddess of Love and Fertility, manipulates, blackmails and eventually rapes an unlucky paladin to get pregnant and use her demigod child's power to attempt a coup in the heavenly court.
    • Laverna, the Goddess of Thieves, cheats and manipulates people, both her enemies and followers alike, choosing to sacrifice each and every one of them and forcibly take over the bodies of children just to get back at the goddess she believes has wronged her.
    • Mardük, the God of Chaos, corrupted and twisted his servants, the once noble demons, into horrific monstrosities.
    • Nergal, the God of War, seals any beings he doesn't like into ethereal prisons and helps spread conflict anywhere he can just so he can see people kill each others, which strengthens him.
    • Paedün, the God of Knowledge, created technology and spread it to his followers, hoping to get them addicted to it and thus turn them into his obedient servants.
    • Shakkan, the God of Beasts, began a campaign of genocide against humans because he sees them as responsible for the suffering of his followers, the lizardfolk Sirithai. He is also more than willing to pit a bunch of heroes against his deadliest monsters in an arena for his amusement.
    • Tiamat, the Goddess of the Sea, lashes out violently even at people seeking her aid, choosing rather to let the world and her brethren be destroyed if it comes to that because she simply doesn't care what happens anymore.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Kusobaba and Raistlin II slowly reveal this side of themselves as time passes.
  • Just Between You and Me: Nergal, the God of War, confronts the heroes in the Ruined Kingdom and taunts them about how they've been playing right into his hands all along. The Master does the same to Belial.
  • Just Like Us: Some of the members of the Grand Alliance have realized that the Crimson Coalition, the army they've been fighting against, might not be quite as bad as they originally thought. Many others in the Alliance refuse to see it that way, however, and point out the atrocities committed by the Coalition. However, it's eventually the Alliance member Jono Renfield who realizes that the Alliance's methods can be just as cruel and he points out that the two armies might not be so different.
    Jono Renfield: And I thought I was surrounded by black-hearted demons in the heart of Yamato. But here I find myself in Vanna, among ye honored personages of the Alliance and the Sultanate, shoulder to shoulder with simpering monsters willing to compromise morality for any edge in their damn war. The Vulfsatz, they're a death squad, soldiers. This sort of thing comes with the job. But in spite of his heritage, and your pants-wetting frights over him turning into the next Sydney or Arawn one day, Hannibal is a child. Separated from his mother. And you're willing to hand him to her enemy, have his life threatened in some cowardly attempt to cow her assault...and then what when she doesn't give in? Slit his throat? Move on to Plan B? If this is what the Grand Alliance has turned itself into in these many years...I'd rather go deal with the demons again. At least they don't fancy themselves heroes while bathing in the entrails of their enemies.

    K 
  • Katanas Are Just Better: Dokubaraken is a special katana which has been used by Kagetsu I, various Distreyd Thanadars and most recently Geraden Aurelac. Yamatians and the Akai Tora also prefer katanas as their main weapons.
  • Kill the God: What made Kagetsu the Dark Andain notorious was not only his open rebellion against the gods but also the fact that he was the first person in the Land of the Living to ever slay a god, which demonstrated that gods can in fact be killed even by mortals and half-gods if the gods are fatally wounded while they're in their corporeal form.
  • Killed Off for Real: A bunch of people, most recently Awar, Belial, Ismail, Marya and Pronin.
  • Killer Rabbit: Plushiebunny's first form looks like a cute and harmless black rabbit. It couldn't be further from the truth...
  • King Incognito: The dirty bum Howdy later turns out to be King Byron Kagawest of Aison in disguise. Oswald Flynn turns out to be Prince Geraden of Maar Sul.
  • Knight in Shining Armor: Marcus is a virtuous, and gullible, paladin who is always eager to save damsels in distress and set things right. Osmond and Swenson are other notable examples.
  • Knight Templar: The Clergy of Cardia and later the Church of the Memory of Cardia show signs of this in their quest to hunt down anyone worshipping Mardük or collaborating with demons.
  • Kukris Are Kool: Assassins from the Order of the Black Rose tend to use enchanted kukris when they want to leave a messy message to the Order's rivals or when they want to hack a tough opponent into pieces.

    L 
  • The Lad-ette: Ax is a spunky warrior who likes to fight dirty, drink, and curse.
  • Lady of Black Magic: Desdemona and Shyralis are quite frail-looking but wise women who possess tremendous magical powers.
  • Lady of War: Skye fights elegantly.
  • Last of His Kind: Daven is the last of the Lefein race... until he finds out that in fact There Is Another.
  • Left Hanging: Any plots introduced by players who disappear afterwards will often be left hanging unless some other players decide to carry on the plots and resolve them instead.
  • Legacy Character: Distreyd Thanadar is a hereditary name given to the high cleric of Mardük who comes from the Thanadar bloodline since the end of the Second Age. The only thing differentiating the Distreyds is adding a number after the name (e.g. Distreyd Thanadar XIII). The child of the previous Distreyd kills him and then takes over the title, becoming the next Distreyd Thanadar until their child kills them. Every Distreyd actively encourages their child to kill him and if said child fails in the task, the child as well as his or her mother is executed for being too weak.
  • Legion of Doom: The Crimson Coalition is the Alliance's villainous counterpart... although lately many heroes have found out that the Coalition might not be as bad as it originally seemed to be.
  • The Legions of Hell: Demons, demons, demons.
  • Licking the Blade: Vaetris licks her blade clean of blood whenever she has wounded someone with it.
  • Life Energy: Drishnek and the Master can suck lifeforce out of people.
  • Light Is Not Good: Many clerics of Cardia are more than willing to torture and enslave half-demons who they see as abominations. Artemicia, despite being the Goddess of Healing, has tried to kill her son Leon on several occasions, and her clergy has also committed atrocities.
  • Lima Syndrome: The Grand Alliance imprisons Glaurung Losstarot's son Hannibal during the Vanna arc and tries to figure out what's the best way of using his hostage status against his mother and the Crimson Coalition as a whole even when Hannibal calmly reminds them that using him against Glaurung will only enrage her and sign a death warrant for the Alliance. One of the heroes, Jono, ends up befriending Hannibal and starts seeing him as a woobie and an unfortunate, innocent victim of the Alliance's power play, and this eventually makes him confront the other heroes about the issue and when his arguments fail, he breaks Hannibal out of the dungeon and flees with him to Glaurung's headquarters.
  • Lizard Folk: The desert-dwelling Sirithai. They initially appear to be antagonistic but the heroes eventually convince them to join the Grand Alliance.
  • Loads and Loads of Races: The story features several races:
    • Humans. The most populous race in the world, they have many cultures ranging from nomadic horse lords to sophisticated mage societies.
    • Elves. Graceful people who often live in forests but can just as easily be seen in cities as well. They have great knowledge of nature and its remedies.
    • Dwarves. Short and passionate people best known for their prodigious skills with the forge, many of them live under mountains although some have settled into human cities.
    • Gods. The immortals who live in the High Plane, they follow their own agendas and scheme against one another while using the mortal races for their own ends.
    • Faerfolc. Mysterious protectors of the forests, they and elves have a connection. They possess fey magick which can be beneficial or dangerous to anyone who comes across them depending on circumstances.
    • Dragons. Massive creatures who can fly and breathe fire and decimate armies. They've chosen not to interfere in mortal affairs, however, and merely observe events from their home mountains nicknamed the Roost.
    • Demons. Winged beings who originate from the Demon Realm and who have recently begun settling into the Land of the Living. They can shapeshift into many forms and are rather chaotic, seeing other races than themselves as lesser beings.
    • Lefein. They look deceptively like humans yet live for thousands of years. They're collectors of wisdom and are at home with various machines which they keep inventing.
    • Nymphs. A curious all-female race which lives deep in the forests. They often end up having sexual encounters with travellers which is why rangers call a nymph their fondest conquest. Under their gentle and curious exterior is something far more troubled, however.
    • Itica. Humanoid cat people who live a wandering lifestyle although other races rarely see them due to their preference to stay out of people's businesses. They have sharp senses.
    • Kitsune. Shapeshifting magical foxes who are often confused for demons. Guardians of lost knowledge and bardic songs, they're a musical and mischievious race who can just as easily be benevolent or malevolent depending on the circumstances.
    • Sirithai. Desert-dwelling lizardfolk who are ruthless and bloodthirsty but also show a kinder side underneath their scaly exterior.
    • Trolls. Hairy and seemingly dumb creatures although they are good at operating machinery of various kinds. They have invented a pastime referred to as trolling which includes having jokes on other people's expense.
    • Merrows. Merpeople who govern the oceans.
    • Pixies. Tiny Winged Humanoids who can channel magic more easily than other races.
    • Undead. Unnatural beings whose souls haven't settled into the Land of the Dead for various reasons and who thus exist between life and death. Several variants exist such as zombies, ghosts, liches, revenants.
  • Lotus-Eater Machine: Nesa finally seems to achieve happiness by getting married to his sweetheart Rhylian in a world which is no longer plagued by wars... until he realizes that the goddess Hivena has trapped him inside a dream world.
  • Love Ruins the Realm: Sultana Razia al-Saif ends up having an affair with Count Belial de Ardyn, and they genuinely fall in love but have to keep their affair a secret because the Sarquil tribes and the court, who follow the rigid religious teachings of the Old Ways, would never accept their Sultana marrying a foreigner. However, the affair doesn't escape the eyes of the Sultana's twin sister, Emira Adela, who has also set her eyes on Belial, but Belial rejects her in favour of Razia. Adela doesn't take rejection well and, coupled with other things related to her sister's political moves, eventually challenges Razia to a duel which ends in Razia's death and Adela ascending the throne. This begins a chain of events which leads to the exile of Razia's son Khalid and his supporters, the Clergy of Artemicia rising to power thanks to Adela backing them up and forcing the Sarquil to convert to the new faith, and Adela's sorcerous accomplice Iblis al-Djinn becomes Grand Vizier. It leads to both the rise of the Sultanate of Karaganda but turns the Sarquil nation corrupt and decadent until Khalid returns with the Grand Alliance to dethrone Adela in a daring coup. The resulting battle weakens the sultanate enough so that the demons invade the divided land by surprise and eventually take over the sultanate, forcing the Sarquil into exile. All of this took place because both Razia and Adela simply fell in love with the same man.
  • Love Triangle: Ax, Khalid, Marcus and Refan.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: Omaroch turns out to be the father of Refan and Zarnagon.
  • Lured into a Trap: The Alliance often ends up lured into traps such as when Shyralis and Izael lure Ax's team to a library where they betray the team, locking them inside the room and leaving them to face the Shadow.

    M 
  • Mad God: Shakkan isn't exactly a sane god and only cares about his children, the lizard folk. He might just as easily oppose as help the heroes depending on his mood. Dionysus is even madder than Shakkan as he's always been like that whereas Shakkan was driven nuts by his lengthy imprisonment.
  • Mad Scientist: Dante clones and experiments on people to resurrect a powerful black mage from an earlier era.
  • The Mafia: The Matheson Crime Family is the oldest and most powerful crime syndicate in Maar Sul and is run by the House of Matheson who double as legitimate businessmen and nobles by day.
  • Mage Tower: The Magicracy of Alent has a lot of towers because the richest mages wish to erect such to display their power and knowledge of the arcane arts. Some people deridingly call them the Towers of Compensation.
  • Magic Knight: Belial can use both sword and spells.
  • Magic Music: Bards know how to sing and play songs of power, and the magic of the songs can affect the target in various ways such as making them feel relaxed or disoriented among other things. The more complex the song is, the stronger its effect.
  • Magical Land: The Isle of Yggdrasil is a magical place protected by the White Seal where the World Tree can be found in.
  • The Magocracy: The Magicracy of Alent is a city ruled by the Council of Mages and where most citizens are accomplished wizards of their own right who have rallied under Alent's banner for the common cause of advancing research on magic.
  • Malevolent Masked Men: The Totenkopfs wear masks that resemble human skulls.
  • Maligned Mixed Marriage: Omaroch (demon) and Delora (human) fall in love, get married and have two half-demon sons. Their respective clergies support rival gods and thus see the marriage as well as the offspring as utterly irredeemable. It escalates into a full-blown conflict as both factions actively hunt the family, which eventually results in Omaroch's capture and subsequent torture and brainwashing by demons, Delora's apparent death at the hands of human clerics and one of the children being sold into slavery.
    • The tragic chain of events later repeats itself when the aforementioned couple's half-demon son Refan marries the human warrior Skye. The human clergy sets its eyes on the couple not only because they once again see such a union as taboo but also because they want to capture and use Refan and his son for a more sinister purpose.
  • The Man Behind the Curtain: Distreyd Thanadar XII, the High Cleric of Mardük, used to be a powerful sorcerer but became weak and aged rapidly after his constant leeching of the power within the Krystallopyr shard drained most of his lifeforce while he kept casting the Plague of Nightmares across the globe so his army could conquer other nations more easily. By the time Jemuel confronts him in Vulpengaard Keep at the end of the Great War, Distreyd has become a mere shell of his former self.
  • Merchant City: Jardine and Matheson in the kingdom of Maar Sul.
  • Might Makes Right: The Sarquil tribe believes strength above all else, and think forcing their defeated opponents into slavery as simply natural, as the weak should serve the strong.
  • The Migration: When the demons conquer Vanna, the capital of the Sultanate of Karaganda, the surviving Sarquil who have lived in the desert for generations are driven into exile.
  • The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body: Whenever shapeshifters like Gerard, Leon and Pronin take an animal form, there's always a risk that animal instincts take over and they'll be stuck in their animal form permanently.
  • Miss Kitty: Calista Cypher aka Black Widow used to work as a prostitute (among other things) before she became the matron of Alent's finest brothels.
  • Mix-and-Match Critters: The chimaera is seemingly the last of its kind as other chimaeras have been hunted into extinction. It's capable of speech and uses its poison to attack its prey.
  • Mob War: The Matheson Crime Family vs. the Nightstalkers in Maar Sul, and the Union Workers vs. the Order of the Black Rose in Libaterra.
  • Mode Lock: Happens to Pronin when his wolfish form duels with Gerard. Also happens to Leon in his kestrel form until he learns to use the First Law of the Andain to turn back into his true form.
  • The Mole: Cain, Desdemona, Dylas, Megumi, Rune, Shyralis, Vaetris, Viirsa and Gwydion/Koskenkorva among others. The heroes have it rough.
  • Mondegreen Gag: The Rimnerian Songs are twisted versions of the songs they are based on and which tend to have naughty or downright incomprehensible lyrics based on the lyrics of the original songs.
  • Mook Promotion: Zenobia is a mere Totenkopf mook in her first appearance but she slowly climbs up the hierarchy and eventually achieves the status of the Master's Blessed.
  • Music Soothes the Savage Beast: Bards can use their songs of power to calm down beasts. The young bard Arcturius uses his songs several times to this effect such as when he pacifies the panicking kitsune Haruko.
  • Mystical Plague: The Blood Fever is a disease that is fatal to elves as it eats their blood cells from within and makes blood erupt from their bodies in the later stages. At first it seems like a natural plague, but over time and some investigations later it becomes apparent that the plague may in fact have a magical origin and has been created for a special purpose in which elven demise plays a part.
  • Mythology Gag: Quite a few such as "the fire was either accidental or one done on purpose", "monotonous carriage rides", "something warm and (definitely not) floppy".

    N 
  • N-Word Privileges: Quite a few characters (both good and bad) aren't afraid of calling people outside of their comfort group as niggers (blacks), faggots (gays), mudbloods (half-elves etc.), lesser beings (humans compared to demons) and such depending on who they're addressing. When a character uses such terms when referring to others, it's a sure sign that such character is a certified Jerkass at the very least.
  • Named Weapons: Plenty of these, the most famous ones being Dawn, Dokubaraken, Dusk, Inferno, Krystallopyr, Morninglight, Smaragdos, and Twilight.
  • Nature Spirit: Nymphs are agile female creatures with ebony skin and cat-like eyes who are in tune with nature, live in Libaterran forests and have intimate encounters with travellers, which makes books of lore refer to a nymph as the "ranger's fondest conquest". It serves as a plot point once it's revealed that the nymphs are seducing travellers because they need them to become pregnant; a magical curse makes nymphs only give birth to females of their kind and thus they need males from other races to keep their bloodline going. The Faerfolc are the forefathers of the elves who also reside in Libaterran forests, and they act as protectors of the earth and see themselves superior to elves and thus fit to rule elvenkind.
  • Necromancer: The elf Razravkar can summon shades when he's gathered enough life energy from slain foes. Although he's opportunistic and can do job for the occasional villain, he's not really that bad once you get to know him and doesn't mind working with the heroes either.
  • Necromantic: The elven necromancer Thanatos Barca ends up using questionable methods to bring his dead wife back to life.
  • Neutral No Longer:
    • Jahi and the demon clan she has gathered around herself have chosen to settle into living in Alent's Threshold district after entering the Land of the Living, staying out of the conflicts their new home is involved in. However, when agents of the demon hordes infiltrate Alent and keep harassing Jahi in order to force her to side with his old demonic allies, Jahi does her best to not choose any sides until It's Personal as both demons and humans cross the line and hurt her loved ones. She ultimately unleashes the darkness she has kept in check and embraces it, choosing to side with the Eastern Horde but not on their terms but her own terms, and her newfound ruthlessness in dealing with both enemies and allies alike quickly proves that bringing out the darkness within her may not have been a great idea.
    • Also happens, among other things, with the mischievous pixie Fear Dearg and the goatman Goatse who choose to side with demons to spite the humans who had thwarted their schemes, the Union Workers thieves guild which sides with Alent and the Alliance to fight against the Coalition and the demons who they have a score to settle with. The Dresdens attempt to convince the Faerfolc to side with the Alliance to thwart the demons, but their attempt is less successful although they at least succeed in planting a seed into the fey's mind about whether it's beneficial for anyone for them to remain neutral in the conflict for too long.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Oh so many. Some examples:
    • Leon is brought back to life so that he can find the destined bearer of the Silver Branch and fulfill an ancient prophecy. However, his passage into the world of the living opens up a rift that allows some of the spirits of the dead to escape and be resurrected. One such spirit belongs to the long-dead black mage Jemuel who becomes a major threat later on.
    • The heroes travel to the crystal catacombs of Tes Pellaria to find out who is the descendant of the long-dead King of Remon and happen to set the Faerfolc free. The Faerfolc are pissed off because they have been trapped in the caves for millennia, and they travel to a neighbouring kingdom and kill everyone in sight in their bloodlust.
    • The heroes charge up a magical artifact in an ancient reactor core underneath the city of Lutherin in order to use the artifact's power to weaken Big Bad Distreyd XII's black magic. The resulting energy burst succeeds in doing that but it also causes the reactor to explode, destroying Lutherin and killing thousands of civilians in the process. It also gives the black mage Jemuel an excuse to turn the locals against the heroes and take over the kingdom in the chaotic aftermath of the explosion. Whoops.
    • Ax and Marcus use their magic swords, Dawn and Dusk, in tandem to defeat an ice elemental which is attacking the city of Remonton. However, the released energy from the blades disrupts magic which opens the Gate of Light on the other side of the world and lets the ravenous Dwellers out.
  • Nigh-Invulnerability: Averted with the gods. If they manifest in the world in their own godflesh, they can be killed just like any other mortal. Hence the reason why gods prefer using hosts when visiting the world of mortals; if the host dies, the god's essence can simply leave the body and return to the High Plane safely.
  • Nightmare Weaver: Distreyd XII has an ability to make his victims have horrible nightmares.
  • Noble Demon: An interesting and complex example with Ronove after his memories return. He acts like a generic cruel overlord in front of his peers and enemies, but also occasionally shows a quirky side which most accept as remnants of his former goofy personality (most notably him munching on cake and sand gnome legs). He has shown a less evil persona recently but quite subtly. He let his caught friends flee the occupied city alive while weaving a convincing enough tale to his superiors for the seemingly "evil" reasons he let the escape happen. He takes over the torturing of his former, captured master seemingly because he enjoys the cruel act, but in fact it's because letting others torture said person would be far more severe than what he ends up doing to him. He openly manipulates Refan but does it for the man's own good because he sees Refan's demonic side useful and allowing the man to grow into a warrior who doesn't have to fear for his life anymore. However, Ronove harbors more complex plans than most people think, and even the one person who realizes that things don't quite add up is still being manipulated by him into believing one thing while the truth is actually quite different. It's thus clear that he has some sense of honor, but he's also capable of acts of Cruel Mercy by twisting seemingly benevolent acts into something far more sinister for reasons only he knows.
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Zarnagon single-handedly slaughters almost all of the heroes who come to arrest him during the Second Battle of Myridia.
  • Nosebleed: Nesa Mikoto's nose starts to bleed whenever he thinks of naughty things or sees women in skimpy clothing.
  • Not in This for Your Revolution: Belial only helps the Grand Alliance because it profits him. Ferron only helps the fellowship because he wants to regain his position in the government.
  • Not-So-Safe Harbor: Shipwreck Cove in Yamato is the base of the Blue Dragon pirates and also a hive of scum and villainy.
  • Not Worth Killing: This happens after the siege of Vanna when Ronove, the new Dreadlord of the Northern Horde, decides to spare the surviving defenders and allow them to flee while the horde takes over the city. His superior and peers later question the merciful act as well as the fact that the survivors will inevitably spread news of the horde's activities and strategies to other cities which will be prepared for the upcoming war. He quickly justifies his actions by explaining his reasons for letting the heroes flee: their worthy opponent status, the promise of a later even bloodier battle worthy of higher demons' time, as well as the heroes' tales of the siege which will weaken other cities' morale when they find out about the horde's unstoppable might. However, Ronove is playing a much more complicated game because he also wanted to pay the heroes back for helping him when he was helpless by letting them flee to fight another day.

    O 
  • Occupiers Out of Our Country: The Grand Alliance fights against Yamatian invaders during the Great War arc. The Akai Tora want to drive invading demons out of Yamato during the Godslayer arc.
  • An Offer You Can't Refuse: Arawn kidnaps Kagetsu I's wife Marya and uses her as a bargaining tool to blackmail Kagetsu to work for him.
  • Off with His Head!: Ismail gets decapitated by Dreadlord Leraje after their fierce duel during the Battle of Vanna.
  • Offing the Offspring: Every Distreyd Thanadar tries to kill his children when they're about to come of age; if he doesn't, said children will kill him to take his place as the high cleric of Mardük. This is also a twisted way for Distreyd to ensure that only the strongest of his children survive and kill him off to carry on his legacy as the next Distreyd Thanadar.
  • Older Than They Look: Daven, Despard, Leon, Marya, gods, elves, kitsune and demons in general. Some of them may look like they're in their 20s or 30s but can in fact be hundreds of years old.
  • Omnicidal Maniac: Yurius wants to make the whole world burn.
  • Order Versus Chaos: The story's about this in the beginning because of the complex plots of Cardia and Mardük to use others as pawns for their own ends.
  • Our Demons Are Different: The average demons are dark, horned, glowy-eyed, winged beings with tails who are stronger than an average human. Many of them can shapeshift into a human/elven/dwarven form. There are various different breeds, ranging from imps to colossal demons.
  • Our Dragons Are Different: True dragons are long-lived, very intelligent and powerful beings who possess high-level magic and who can decimate entire armies if they feel like it. Luckily they seem to show little interest in mortal affairs and prefer to live away from cities in mountain ranges.
  • Our Fairies Are Different: Pixies are tiny winged humanoids who can channel magic more easily than other races. They can occasionally play pranks on other races but they do show concern for nature. Pixie dust is a valued commodity in mage circles.
  • Our Gargoyles Rock: Gargoyles are creatures made of stone which can stay immobile and thus fool an adventurer into believing they're statues. Some gargoyle clans, such as the Unseen, act as guardians of crypts and move only when they're not looked at.
  • Our Giants Are Bigger: Like their name suggests, giants are huge, hulking creatures with somewhat humanoid features. They prefer a solitary life, living far away from civilization, which is why few adventurers have ever met them.
  • Our Gnomes Are Weirder: Sand gnomes are savage, bestial beings who live in deserts and try to kill and eat those who trespass on their lands. Grilled sand gnome legs are a delicacy among people living in the desert.
  • Our Gryphons Are Different: Majestic flying beasts which share distinct features from lions and eagles, and are fiercely protective of their nests. A few gryphons have been tamed, but they can still be rather unpredictable and dangerous creatures to handle.
  • Our Mermaids Are Different: Merrows are aquatic humanoids who live deep in the oceans and govern the sea creatures.
  • Our Monsters Are Different: The realms of tGA have several different creatures and monsters roaming, flying and swimming in them, some more intelligent than others.
  • Our Nymphs Are Different: Nymphs are agile female creatures with ebony skin and cat-like eyes who are in tune with nature, live in Libaterran forests and have intimate encounters with travelers, which makes books of lore refer to a nymph as the "ranger's fondest conquest". This serves as a plot point once it's revealed that the nymphs are seducing travelers because they need them to become pregnant; a magical curse makes nymphs only give birth to females of their kind and thus they need males from other races to keep their bloodline going.
  • Our Sirens Are Different: Sirens are a beautiful and uncanny aquatic race who enthrall and ensare their prey with magical songs of power.
  • Our Wyverns Are Different: Wyverns are winged, dragon-like but less magical and intelligent and more nimble reptilians.
  • Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions: The Magicracy of Alent believes only in the power of man, having forsaken the gods who they see as cruel, enslaving beings.
    Berandas: Don't you understand? We are the gods' unwanted children. We are the castoffs, the forgotten. And instead of following some doomsday cult, believing ourselves lost and hopeless like the Grey Cult, or clinging to some decayed bloodline like the Crimson Coalition, we will stand and fight for humanity! The gods don't like our choice of allies, our rising technology? They can burn for all I care, they have never helped us.
  • Outlaw Town: Hidefall, the Union Workers' main base of operations, is a hidden city full of thieves and cutthroats who support the Union's agenda.
  • Overlord Jr.: Hannibal and Xerathas are this to Glaurung and Zarnagon, respectively.

    P 
  • Parental Abandonment: Kaisa lost her parents in the Great War.
  • Parental Substitute: Ax ends up being a hybrid of a mother and a big sister to Kaisa who lost her parents in the Great War.
  • Parents in Distress: When Glaurung is kidnapped by demons, her son Hannibal wastes no time organizing a squad to bring her back and make the kidnappers pay with their life.
  • Path of Inspiration: The Clergy of Artemicia seems benevolent at first but it later turns out that the goddess they worship is an amoral bitch who stops at nothing to make others bow under her will and is even willing to create a doomsday weapon to show her power to the other gods. Most people, including many of the clerics, are blissfully unaware of the corruption within the highest ranks of the clergy.
  • Pegasus: Winged horses which can move at very fast speeds but rarely fly long distances and instead prefer galloping.
  • People's Republic of Tyranny: The Proninist Party adds "People's Republic of" in front of the name of every city it has conquered, e.g. People's Republic of Remonton.
  • The Phoenix: The Phoenix is an avian beast of legend, said to lay golden eggs and immolate itself before being born anew from the ashes. A highly sought after creature which no one has been able to find or catch even though several adventurers claim otherwise.
  • The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: The Wanderers are pirates but they don't burn or pillage. They just wander around the seas aimlessly, trying to run away from conflicts that have enveloped the world around them.
  • The Plague: The Blood Fever (which only affects those with elven blood) and its mutated variant known as the Plague of Undeath (which affects everyone).
  • Plant Person: Dryads are humanoid plant creatures whose first generation has recently appeared in one of the secluded forests in the world. Little is known about them for the time being due to their recent awakening.
  • Plot Coupon: The Cricket Ball of Magic, Dokubaraken, Krystallopyr and the Silver Branch.
  • Plot-Relevant Age-Up: The half-god Nyanna Mikoto's body, despite actually being only a few months old, has rapidly grown to resemble a 7-year-old's thanks to divine magic and her unique powers which she can't quite control yet. She has also learned to communicate thanks to the magic of her mother although she has problems grasping basic concepts such as what a 'father' is.
  • Plot-Triggering Death: The story of the Third Age begins during Aison's grand festival when a sniper targets King Byron Kagawest. The king survives only when his admiral sacrifices himself to protect him, and from that moment on Aisonians become aware that dark forces are plotting against their kingdom.
  • Powder Keg Crowd: When a mob consisting of Sarquil refugees goes to confront the demon population of Alent's Threshold district who have been kidnapping and killing their people as of late, they face Alent's Anti Mage Police who try to calm them all down while the Thresholders send an emissary to defuse the situation and explain that the kidnappings were done by rogue demons and not Threshold as a whole. It initially looks like peace will be restored thanks to good diplomacy and sensible people from all sides trying to sort things out, until several unfortunate incidents, including the appearance of a dark knight who set a dangerous prioner free and had him flee into Threshold, an angry Sarquil Sheikh who wants to rouse the crowd for his own power play reasons, and the Sarquil Sultana who finally does rally the crowd behind her with her authority, finally make the metaphorical powder keg explode and turn the scene into a full-blown riot between the Sarquil, Threshold demons, and Anti Mage Police. Alent's East Side becomes only a little short of a warzone as rioting spreads there with each of the three sides killing their enemies on sight, leaving hundreds if not thousands dead in their wake.
  • Power Degeneration: Distreyd XII ages considerably in a matter of three years when he starts using the full powers of the Krystallopyr shard to amplify his already considerable black magic.
  • Power Glows: All gods glow when they manifest in their corporeal form.
  • Power Limiter: During the Battle of Vulpengaard Keep, Khasra III manages to severely weaken all demons' innate link to the magics of the celestial city of Xar Daeon. From that moment on demons can no longer regenerate themselves quickly, which gives other races of the world a fighting chance against the previously nigh unstoppable hordes.
  • Powered Armor: Daven wears a Lefeinish power armor which is the last of its kind.
  • Powers via Possession: Anyone who is possessed by a god or other supernatural entity can use powers they normally can't. For example, this happens when Axikasha Keiran is possessed by Hephaestus, the God of Smithing, who heals her from near-death and gives her the strength to fight against Nergal, the God of War, who is possessing Jacob Seneron.
  • Private Eye Monologue: Fel the dwarven detective is quite fond of this.
  • Professional Killer: The Three are a group of three ruthless elven mercenaries who assassinate people for the right price.
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy: The Sarquil tribes are a proud people who are constantly warring. They respect strength and weakness and have a Might Makes Right worldview.
  • Psycho for Hire: Curdardh and Leraje enjoy all the killing. Oh so very much.
  • A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil: Harrad's student Warley turns out to be the one behind the mage murders in Alent. He desired power to surpass his mentor, and that eventually corrupted him into leeching power from other mages, which resulted in a killing spree.
  • Puppeteer Parasite: The Dwellers take over living and dead bodies which they use as hosts to masquerade themselves.
  • Put on a Bus: Happens to a few characters such as Despard Silverbranch who sails back home to Maar Sul after he has been heavily injured fighting alongside the Grand Alliance to liberate Vanna.
  • Putting the Band Back Together: 11 years after the end of the Great War, Marcus Sarillius returns to Remon and gathers many of his old comrades together so they can form the Grand Alliance of old once more to fight against new enemies. The same almost happens to the special task force called the Dresdens when the Union starts gathering them up for a new mission only for it to fall apart when several members choose not to associate themselves with the group anymore or have left on missions of their own.

    Q 
  • Quirky Mini Boss Squad: The Black Hunters, the Three and the Vulfsatz.
  • The Quisling: Martin Struan betrays his homeland Maar Sul to the Yamatians and causes the deaths of King Remy and Princess Réin in order to become the lord of Maar Sul City. He manages to stay as a puppet ruler of the kingdom for a while until Prince Kagetsu II comes to settle the score.

    R 
  • Race Against the Clock: The heroes have one week to find the lizardmen in the desert and bring back the head of the lizardmen leader or their friends will drown in sand in a giant hourglass.
  • Rag Tag Bunch Of Misfits: Various hero groups fit this trope to a T.
  • Rage Against the Heavens: Kagetsu I's modus operandi is to slay the gods and distribute their powers to mortals in order to create a more equal world. Zarnagon decides to fight against the gods when he finds out that they have been responsible for all the suffering he and his family have been through and that they have used his family as pawns in the war between Order and Chaos.
  • Rage Against the Mentor: Leon does this to Taliesin when he finds out that Taliesin has been using him as a pawn in a complex game of politics and sorcerous intrigue.
  • Rape as Drama: Varalia is raped twice, and Ax is almost raped on a few occasions.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Quite a few, for example Jemuel after he has been freed from Drishnek's influence.
  • Rebellious Princess: Shyla... although at that time she is actually a queen.
  • Rebel Relaxation: Several people tend to fold their arms and lean against a wall while chatting, one of the more recent examples being the sometimes ruthless half-elven thief Raul.
  • Rebellious Rebel: Damian thought that the Akai Tora were no more the virtuous group it had once been. When the Maar Sulais heroes were captured and were sentenced to be executed, he was disgusted that the heroes weren't given proper trial. When the heroes managed to escape from Vulpengaard Keep, he made sure that the rest of the Akai Tora would be too busy elsewhere to stop them.
  • Recurring Boss: Kaizoku, the Three, the Vulfsatz, Xerathas and the Shadow (aka Taliesin).
  • Redemption Equals Death: Mori'sul realizes the error of his ways and decides to sacrifice himself to help the heroes escape from a collapsing temple.
  • Regent for Life: Jemuel takes over the Kingdom of Cardia after Unne's death.
  • The Reveal: Plenty. Some examples: Refan and Zarnagon turn out to be brothers as well as sons of a powerful demon lord, the Shadow is Leon's old mentor Taliesin, Steve is the reborn Despard Silverbranch, Khalid turns out to be Belial's son and the exiled emir of Vanna, and Vaetris is actually one of the four archdemons.
  • Right Through the Wall: At one point, the sorceress Shyralis tortures King Marcus with her magic in order to keep him under her power. When the knights guarding the door hear the loud noises coming from the king's bedroom, one of them ponders if everything is alright but his commanding officer Signan jokingly implies that the sorceress and the king are having sex which would explain the loud grunts.
    Guard: D-Do you think everything's okay in there?
    Signan: Seems our boy Marcus likes it a little rough, that's all.
  • Rightful King Returns: Agarwaen, Khalid and Marcus turn out to be of royal blood and come to claim their rightful throne from usurpers. Averted with Byron who never manages to reclaim his throne despite his efforts.
  • River of Insanity: Alent's infamous Threshold district is an urban version of this trope. Its demonic influence (which manifests any trespaseer's doubts, fears and inner darkness) drive most unlucky trespassers either mad or turn them suicidal in the end, and the effect is greater the deeper trespassers venture into Threshold.
  • Rōnin: Kazuya Redeemer is a master-less warrior who fights his own battle against the Clergy of Mardük in order to cleanse and thus redeem his tainted family's name.
  • Royal Blood: There are many royal families. True heirs of the House of Aurelac in Maar Sul have the ability to shapeshift into a wolf.
  • Royal Harem: The court of Vanna in the Sultanate of Karaganda had a harem full of men serving the needs of the reigning Sultanas. When Emir Khalid al-Saif usurped the throne from his aunt Sultana Adela and became the first reigning male ruler, Sultan, since the time of the sultanate's founding, he was asked by his advisors whether he was going to have a harem to carry on the tradition of his predecessors.
    • Another example is the "court" of Pirate King Kuro Tori in Shipwreck Cove. He has several women whom he has hand-picked to be his concubines. They are essentially there to stimulate his body and mind with their beauty and wit, and some of them have risen to respectable positions among the pirates thanks to their cunning.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: All the royals shown so far have always participated actively in wars.
  • Running Gag: Plenty of these. Some examples include variations of the "something warm and floppy" scenes (referring to male genitalia in awkward situations), Nesa bumping into and tormenting the hapless Nightstalker Fred in various amusing ways much to the latter's horror, and Ronove's craving for sand gnome legs and cake during the weirdest scenes.
  • Running on All Fours: Several creatures can do this such as demons and nymphs.

    S 
  • Samurai: The Akai Tora, many of the Yamatian and Ryuugumi warriors are this.
  • Sarcastic Clapping: Vaetris, posing as Ax in Alent, starts clapping in this manner as she steps into the light while she witnesses the captive Refan nearly succeed in seducing Irinthiel with his demonic powers. However, part of it is also her being genuinely impressed by how quickly Refan has learned the demonic trick although she knows he's still no match for her.
    Vaetris: That was quite impressive, Refan. You learn quickly! And now, you see the secret to true power...the power that the North only wishes they could harness. Chaos without order is nothing. Power without control is nothing.
  • Savage Piercings: The Simoe tribes who live by the Great River of Libaterra tend to intentionally pierce and scar their faces and bodies in elaborate ways as they worship the water spirits.
  • Scars are Forever:
    • Ax has a nasty scar on her face. Although she could go to the white mages to heal it, she chooses to keep it as a reminder of her past mistakes.
    • Zain Bloodworth was heavily disfigured as a child by wretched during the Remon outbreak.
  • Scary Scorpions: Giant scorpions inhabit desert areas and attack anyone who gets too close to their nests.
  • Screw Destiny: Despite being told by the gods that one can't fight against fate, the heroes decide to find a way to change the world for the better.
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: Yurius has been banished twice to another plane of existence. Mardük ends up like this after the Chaos War but is released during the final battle of the Great War.
  • Sealed Good in a Can: Paedün and the majority of the Lefein were sealed by Nergal who wasn't happy about their advanced technology which would've hindered his plans for world domination.
  • Sea Serpents: Huge aquatic snakes which occasionally surface, usually with fatal consequences to sailors and ships who end up in their way.
  • Secret Relationship: The mage Belial and Sultana Razia have a secret affair. They can't make it public due to the political ramifications of a Sarquil ruler being intimate with a foreigner, which would be frowned upon in the court. They're eventually discovered, however, which leads to a coup in which Razia's twin sister Adela kills her and takes over the throne while Belial and his bastard children Khalid and Sumrah are sent into exile to Belial's homeland.
  • Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Before his banishment, Yurius tells the heroes that one day Sydney's descendant will appear and plunge the world into a war. The heroes begin searching for Sydney's descendants in order to prevent the prophecy, and their hunt eventually alerts the evil Mullencamp cult to the location of one such descendant, Arawn, whom they take under their wing. This ends up fulfilling Yurius's prophecy years later when Arawn has grown into a powerful warlock.
  • Self-Made Orphan: All the Distreyds except Distreyd I and Distreyd XIII have killed their fathers. Ax is forced to duel and kill her father when they find themselves on opposite sides of the Libaterran civil war.
  • Seven Deadly Sins: The seven elite demon infiltrators of the Eastern Horde have nicknames linked to the seven sins, and each one's dominant trait is based on the sin in question, e.g. Lust is rather promiscuous and tends to unleash uncontrollable passions in other people.
  • Sex Goddess: The nymphs are known to be talented seductresses and lovers. Their bodies naturally created pheromones that enhance their libido and can act as an aphrodisiac to men.
  • Sharing a Body: The spirit of Despard Silverbranch with Kagetsu Aurelac II, and the spirit of Grady Silverbranch with Geraud Aurelac.
  • Shock Collar: The Grey Cult uses magical shock collars donated by the Totenkopfs to force captured demons to work in the cult's army as foot soldiers against the cult's enemies...but once a spell ends up disabling the collars, the once enslaved demons lash out horribly and turn against their "masters". It later turns out that the Totenkopfs only used the cult for their own ends to help further test the collars' effectiveness. Once they make some adjustments, they force a few captured higher demons to wear the new, modified collars which will force the demons to work as their more or less loyal minions and use these new lackeys to infiltrate demon hordes so that the Totenkopfs can learn the demons' weaknesses.
  • Show Within a Show: The Midnight Circus ends up performing William Veer's play The Merchant of Scundia to an Alentian and Sarquil audience. The majority of the actors are actually diguised demons who plan to use the play as a means to subtly affect the audience with their dark magic and turn them more violent in order to make Alent descend into chaos. Meanwhile the Sarquil merchant Javan al-Kassis who has become the demons' captive and has ended up directing the play because the demon infiltrators don't know how to do so, is trying to subvert the demons' plans in a subtle manner by trying to make a statement about the dangers of prejudice and talk about tolerance between different rances while he's playing the part of the demonic moneylender Cravenbolt.
  • Sibling Team: Alain, Despard and Grady Silverbranch; Desdemona and Mordecai de Ardyn; Antigonus and Belial de Ardyn; Distreyd Thanadar XIII and Tarna; Vaetris and Nina Heeate L'andariel; Corwin, Deidra, Kendra and Irvin Finian; Thrax and Illyria; the Seven Sisters (each of whom represents one of the seven sins). Leraje and Ronove Thanadar were this until Leraje betrayed Ronove.
  • Siblings in Crime: The leaders of the Matheson Crime Family are all siblings or half-siblings. Crime runs in the family.
  • Sinister Minister: Almaric and Anthony are clerics who are corrupt by the power they possess. They'll do anything in their power to keep people kissing their feet.
  • Sins of Our Fathers: Belial uses this to force Refan to serve him. Yurius swears to make the descendants of the heroes who have sealed him to pay for it with their lives once he is released.
  • Slasher Smile: Whenever Leraje smiles like this, be very afraid.
  • Smart People Wear Glasses: Richelieu and Gertrude are two intelligent mages and both wear glasses.
  • Smug Snake: Jacob Seneron and Martin Struan are examples of this trope. They react to everyone else with disdain, claiming to be superior to everyone in every way.
  • Snowlems: Frosty the Snowman is a sentient Remonian snowman but dies a gruesome death in the hands of Leon who thinks Frosty is after his life.
  • Sorcerous Overlord: Various Distreyd Thanadars, Arawn, Jemuel, Zarnagon, Xerathas.
  • Soul Jar: Drishnek has stored his soul in a phylactery.
  • Sour Supporter: Elendur isn't exactly happy about helping the Grand Alliance.
  • Specs of Awesome: Richelieu, the resident Badass Bookworm, has these.
  • Spoony Bard: Leon oh so very much. He's quite skilled as a bard, but lacks in a few other areas.
  • The Spymaster: Alistair is initially the head of SAVAGE's Covert Operations department but is later replaced by his sister-in-law Siobrach.
  • Squishy Wizard: Xerathas and most other mages fit this trope. They can cast powerful spells but can be defeated relatively easily in melee
  • Sssssnaketalk: The Sirithai Lizard Folk sssometimesss ssspeak like thisss.
  • Standard Royal Court: Played straight with the Maar Sulais court.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: Omaroch and Delora are a demon and a human whose relationship the society couldn't accept.
  • The Starscream: The resurrected Jemuel betrays his master Dante.
  • The Stoic: Xerathas shows no emotion whatsoever. This is caused by an incident in the past which sucked out part of his soul, turning him into a cold, calculating sorcerer.
  • Storming the Castle: Plenty of these. Some examples include the infiltrations of the enemy headquarters in Remonton and Myridia.
  • Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum: Yurius goes berserk when he witnesses the death of his father figure Sydney. He wants to make the whole world pay for Sydney's death by destroying everything in sight.
  • Summoning Ritual: Happens during the Day of the Damned festival in the city of Reign when the Clergy of Artemicia summons a magic crystal from the earth and release the being inside it which they hope to enslave and use in the war against the Grand Alliance. The plan doesn't exactly worked out as intended because instead of releasing the Destroyer as the clergy had hoped, an amnesiac Yamatian girl appears instead although it quickly becomes apparent that the girl in fact has Laverna, the Goddess of Thieves, trapped within her body. The clergy then decides to go for Plan B and just take the girl by force and sway the goddess to side with them, but the sudden arrival of several thieves guilds and Shakkan, the God of Beasts, ends up complicating matters as they all have different plans in mind for Laverna. Ironically the Destroyer does end up being summoned after all but in a different city. It turns out that the Dwarven Triad, one of the thieves guilds, deliberately manipulated events with their moles to make the clergy believe that they were summoning the Destroyer instead of the goddess, the Triad's objective, who they ended up with.
  • Superpowered Evil Side: Refan's demonic form.
  • Super Smoke: Many Faerfolc can shapeshift and often turn into smoke or mist to disappear and appear in different locations.

    T 
  • T-Word Euphemism: A group of Scuns unknowingly make fun of the political correct speech of the Maar Sulais court at the grand ball which was set up to welcome the Grand Alliance's army into the kingdom's capital during the Godslayer era. The Scuns address King Gerard's black girlfriend Elena as a n*** (pronouncing the row of asterisks effortlessly) repeatedly and in honest astonishment. The use of the uncensored n*** word is prohibited in the kingdom, but the version with asterisks is more tolerable although still frowned upon for being insensitive against the kingdom's racial minority. Being the Jerkass racists they are, the Scuns simply don't know when to quit and can't fathom seeing a white king ever dating a woman of another colour. This understandably upsets quite a few reasonable people in the court who react by trying to teach the brutish Scuns some manners but end up using the n*** word repeatedly themselves to make a point in the argument. Hilarity Ensues as the debate escalates into epic levels which leads to one person actually dying of brain aneurysm (rather, his head actually graphically explodes from all the blood pressure) when he hears too many "naughty words" in rapid succession which his politically correct brain simply can't process on such short notice.
  • Take Over the World: The goal of various villains such as the Yamato Empire which led a campaign to conquer the other nations.
  • Take Up My Sword: Khalid continues Belial's mission after Belial has been assassinated.
  • Taking Up the Mantle: Marya becomes a dark version of this after her husband Kagetsu bites the dust. She doesn't take his death well, and after a long period of mourning she becomes fixated on making his dream become real, going so far as kidnapping and corrupting a prince to do her bidding while acting as his Evil Mentor, setting the stage for a brutal civil war in Maar Sul, and subtly opposing the Grand Alliance which she had once called friends. Once she has done all this and made sure that the prince will carry out her mission, she is overcome by guilt of all the horrible things she has done to achieve her husband's dream, and she commits suicide to be reunited with Kagetsu in the afterlife.
  • Taking the Bullet: Kage pushes Ax away and ends up being fatally stabbed by the Shadow during the Battle of Remonton in the Great War.
  • Taking You with Me: Kagetsu I does this to Arawn Losstarot, and Hiroshi Hayabusa to Taro Ofuchi.
  • Tarot Motifs: The necromancer Razravkar encounters the witch Befana who reads his fortune from her tarot cards.
  • Tattooed Crook: Leraje and Shakkan have elaborate tattoos and aren't exactly friendly.
  • Team Pet: Kaisa's pet dire wolf Liulfr has become this to the Alliance after they warmed up to him.
  • Telepathy: Several mages are capable of telepathy although the recipient can always resist a mage accessing his or her mind with enough willpower.
  • Temple of Doom: The gigantic temple in the middle of the Ruined Kingdom is filled with all sorts of traps.
  • Terms of Endangerment: Taro Ofuchi calls Hiroshi Hayabusa "Prentice" whenever they talk. This always disturbs Hiroshi because it makes him remember his time as Ofuchi's student and by using the term Ofuchi states that he is still superior to Hiroshi in every way.
  • Terrible Trio: The Three, the Korath brothers, the Triune of the Dwarven Triad, the trio consisting of Xerathas, Varalia and the Shadow, and the trio consisting of Arbriel, Ansgar and Traugott.
  • Thanatos Gambit:
    • When Kagetsu I realizes that the only way to kill Arawn is to sacrifice himself, he decides to modify his original plan and uses his death as a catalyst to kill off Arawn and all the half-gods and distribute their powers to mortals. This results in the birth of Innate Abilities but also has a nasty side-effect known as the Explosion which kills a lot of people and rearranges the continents.
    • Grand Duchess Nhrakate set a complex plan in motion that will result in her death and the unification of all the rival hordes into one massive demon army which will then launch a full-scale assault on the world and begin a new, glorious era for demonkind.
  • The Theocracy: The Godslayer takes over the kingdom of Aison after the Cataclysm and gathers a group of followers, the Grey Cult, which begin ruling the country in the Godslayer's name with the High Prophet as the Godslayer's spokesman.
  • Thirsty Desert: The Tronin Desert in Southern Libaterra which also doubles as The Savage South. It's the home of the Sarquil and the Sirithai, and recently the Northern Horde has conquered it.
  • Throw the Dog a Bone: After suffering a lot of hardships, Leon finally finds happiness by getting married, becoming a father and getting the position of a respected councillor in the Maar Sulais court.
  • Thwarted Coup de Grâce: Happens during the Battle of Vanna to Dreadlord Leraje twice: first when he's about to kill Marcus and Refan swoops in to blocks the hit, and later Ronove saves Refan from the same fate.
  • Token Evil Teammate: Ferron who most people in the party know to have a shady past but who they allow to tag along anyway because he is useful thanks to his magic and political connections. Too bad that decision comes to bite the heroes in the ass when Ferron tries to assassinate Jemuel while the heroes are busy elsewhere.
  • Tongue-Tied: Gerard experiences this when his wolf form is magically forced to serve Xerathas for a while during the Vanna arc.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: Raistlin II in the Second age is at first a cold, calculating individual but the time he spends with his new allies slowly changes him for the better. Also happens to Nymgrock in the Third Age who learns to see people as friends instead of disposable pawns.
  • Transhuman Treachery: When Arbriel's plan fails and he turns into a zombie who manages to retain his sentience, he decides to turn everyone into his undead servants so that they can share his pain.
  • Trash Talk: Ax and Leraje are fond of this. An example from a duel between Ax and Varalia:
    Ax: Come on, let's fuck that pretty face up a bit more!
  • Treacherous Advisor: Firion is this to the elven king Amandil in Folsworth Woods during the Great War. Iblis also ends up being one in the Godslayer era because the only reason he aided Sultana Adela as her vizier was to subtly weaken Vanna from within and let his true masters, the demons of the Southern Horde, invade Adela's realm.
  • Truce Zone: Bella and Fehr's Crafty Crow inn in Reign is a neutral zone for every faction where no harrassing or bloodshed is allowed. The inn side acts more like a Good-Guy Bar whereas the tavern underneath the inn is a more typical Bad Guy Bar.
  • Tsundere: Unithien is usually a kind and compassionate white mage but she reacts violently to any man who is unlucky enough to provoke her. A hilarious example takes place in Vanna when she tries to seduce a guard in order to gain access to a cell where her mother is. Let's just say it doesn't end well for the lecherous guard.
    • Haruko is another example and is downright unpleasant to anyone who attempts flirting with her or touching her.
  • Turn Coat: Dylas and Gordius turn on their respective commanders at crucial moments as their ambitions grow.
  • Turn Out Like His Father: The premise of the Descendants of Losstarot storyline. The heroes fear that the descendants of Sydney Losstarot will become as dangerous as he was and thus they actively try to find the descendants, turn them into decent people and kill those who have stepped over the line. The strategy works for the most part, but the heroes fail to find all the descendants, and thus one line eventually breeds Arawn who follows his forefather's footsteps by becoming a Big Bad.

    U 
  • Undercover as Lovers: Micah and Shuu do this to infiltrate Enenra's fortress in Hyama. Micah, who's straight, isn't really comfortable with it, and Shuu teases him about it to no end.
  • The Un Favourite: Omaroch, the demon son of the Grand Duchess, and Phil, the God of Arseholes and Bastards.
  • The Undead: There are ghosts, liches, revenants and zombies running loose in the world.
  • Underwater City: Adlivun is a thriving underwater city populated by merfolk known as merrows.
  • The Underworld: The Land of the Dead is where all the spirits of the dead go regardless of their alignment. It used to be a neutral realm ruled by Dis Pater until Death took over and turned the land into the verse's equivalent of Hell with his corrupting influence.
  • Unicorn: Unicorns are equine beasts with a magical horn growing from their foreheads. Said to be drawn to virgins, and other myths claim they're actually flesh eaters and not as gentle as they appear as, but encounters with unicorns are rare, so the truth about these legendary beasts remains shrouded in mystery.
  • Unresolved Sexual Tension:
    • Ax and Khalid, Ax and Marcus, Ax and Refan, Ax and Shyla. Notice the pattern?
    • Nesa and Unithien also have this, not the least of which is due to him being in a relationship with Rhylian and complicated by a Child by Rape Nyanna courtesy of a Bed Trick by Hivena.
  • Utopia Justifies the Means: Kagetsu I wants to create a world where everyone can be equal and live in peace. However, to make this happen, he has to destroy the world and slaughter everyone, including the gods.

    V 
  • The Vamp: Desdemona does everything in her power to seduce King Marcus in order to become his queen and thus the most powerful person in the kingdom.
  • Vestigial Empire: Yamato Empire becomes a mere shadow of its former self after the demons conquer it and enslave its populace in the aftermath of the Cataclysm. Four demon duchies now rule the lands of the former empire, but some Yamatian rebels still fight a guerrilla war against their new demon overlords in hopes of driving them away and restoring their homeland to its former glory.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: Ferron, who worked for the dark clergy in the past, has become the beloved high cleric of the Church of the Memory of Cardia in the Godslayer arc.
  • Viral Transformation: The Plague of Undeath kills people and turns them undead.
  • Void Between the Worlds: The Void, or the ghost paths, is a dimension located between other planes of reality which is populated by proto-elementals, revenants, some stray ghosts and other eldritch creatures. The Sinlarine ghost whisperers and shamans have a native ability to access it and travel unhindered, but non-Sinlarine often have to use mind-altering substances like magic mushrooms to travel through the Void without going insane. While in the Void, the traveller can see spiritual, glowing representations of people and cities whose physical forms are located in the Land of the Living.

    W 
  • We Help the Helpless: The Union Workers do this, shielding people who have nowhere else to go.
  • We Used to Be Friends: Vaetris and Jahi were once prostitutes in the Demon Realm and close friends, but things changed when they were abused too much and Vaetris's ambition to change their living conditions turned her to the path of conquest, bloodshed and manipulation whereas Jahi chose to nurture her young instead, which set the two on different paths. Ronove and Nesa became friends while the former was amnesiac but once Ronove regained his memories of being a demon lord, he took back his position in the demon hierarchy and ultimately betrayed his friends, Nesa included. However, both cases are more complex and grey than that and have shades of Friendly Enemy because neither Vaetris nor Ronove act in a truly villainous way and they do seem to care for their former friends somewhat whenever they're dealing with them although in both cases manipulation is also involved.
  • We Will Meet Again: Nergal and Xerathas like to say this to the heroes.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Glaurung wishes to create a world with no borders and make everyone equal. Jemuel wishes to unite Libaterra under his rule and make others see the threat posed by the demon hordes. Kagetsu I wishes to destroy the world and kill the gods in order to spread their powers among mortals and create an everlasting paradise. Taliesin is willing to kill a lot of people in order to maintain the balance in the world. Xerathas manipulates people in order to keep Aison safe and to prevent a bigger catastrophe which he has seen in visions.
  • Wham Line: Several, some examples listed below. Here there be spoilers!
    Desdemona: Farewell, uncle.
    Janus (to Thorn): Things taken should be returned once their usefulness has come to an end as the Triad's golden rule says. And as masters have their place, so do their apprentices. Isn't that right, master? Or should we skip the pleasantries and just call you...Fox?
    Leraje: You, the oh-so-serious Count Ronove Thanadar, rise from the dead after all this time and then dare to insult me? How very unlike you, brother.
    Nergal: Remember that girl, Shyla? What if I told you that she is still alive and waiting for you? I figured out that it was she who was originally meant to have Dawn.
    Oswald: If you truly wish to know, my name is Geraden Aurelac de Maar Sul, and I am the rightful King of Maar Sul!
    Ronove: I'll become a new Dreadlord of this horde...and I'll also take over Vanna!
    Vaetris: Woman, do you understand who you're dealing with? Vaetris L'andariel, Duchess of the Eastern Horde...soon to be Grand Duchess of the Four Hordes.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Marcus chops off the head of an unarmed Yamatian officer in anger even though the officer was a prisoner of war who was to be interrogated the following morning. Ax leaves a group of injured Totenkopfs, who plead for their lives, to die in a collapsing temple out of anger for them hurting her friends. The heroes' friends are shocked by the aforementioned duo's actions and call them out. When Marcus rejoins the Alliance and explains his reason for siding with the antagonist Xerathas during the Vanna arc, the heroes call him out and blame him for acting selfishly and endangering everyone's lives in the process by keeping the truth from them.
  • When Trees Attack: Treants are mobile tree creatures who walk on all fours. They're found in very old forests and are gentle unless they're guarding something or if they're harmed.
  • Whispering Ghosts: The Sinlarine can hear and see ghosts, allowing them to communicate with the spirits of the departed. This is why they are often referred to as ghost whisperers.
  • White Hair, Black Heart: The half-elven cleric Izael has white hair and looks so pretty in fact that he's often mistaken for a girl. He used to be brainwashed to do evil things until he finally began a path towards redemption...or so it seems at any rate. Janus, the cunning and deceitful dwarven necromancer, is willing to lie in every other sentence and also has white hair despite being young by dwarven standards.
  • White Magician Girl: Unithien, Kaisa and Gweneth are mages who use white magic.
  • White Stallion: Khalid's horse Buraq is a white stallion.
  • Wild Card: Zain Bloodworth is a misantropic lone wolf mercenary who’s more than willing to kill and/or steel, doesn’t follow the law and ond is Only in It for the Money.
  • Willing Channeler: Any god who wishes to possess a mortal body must be granted access by the host him/herself. If the host isn't willing, the god can't enter the body (if they try anyway, the control will be temporary, and they will get kicked out not long after).
  • Will-o'-the-Wisp: Wisps are semi-sentient balls of light which are attracted to anything which oozes with mana, whether it's a place of power or a creature or person. They live by leeching magic from their target and are thus desired by mages who wish to channel the magic within them.
  • Wise Beyond Their Years: Gerard and Hannibal are teenagers and yet they're already in high positions of their respective armies. They're also well-cultured and very intelligent, beating overwhelming enemy forces with their cunning plans. And the icing on the cake is that these boys are on the opposite sides of the war.
  • The Wise Prince: Geraud and Kagetsu II.
  • With Friends Like These...: Khasra III and Steve insult and pull brutal pranks on each other (e.g. Khasra sleeps with Steve's wife and gets syphilis from her because Steve predicted his actions). Their prank war escalates until Steve is revealed to be the reborn Despard Silverbranch, after which they make a truce.
  • Wizarding School: The Magestar in Aison.
  • A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Gwydion, an agent of the Coalition, infiltrates the Fellowship of Maar Sul by posing as their comrade Koskenkorva.
  • Woman Scorned: Let's just say that Adela does not take the news of Belial loving her twin sister well...
  • World Tree: Yggdrasil's existence keeps the Land of the Living in a harmonious balance. However, when the Landpoison corrupts it and makes it wither, the existence of the world is threatened. Yggdrasil eventually dies from the poison but Geraud Aurelac/Grady Silverbranch uses the Silver Branch and sacrifices himself to become a new world tree known as the Silverbranch Tree.
  • Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Averted. Not only will men hit women, they also rape and kill them (and sometimes even eat them if you're Leraje).
  • Wrecked Weapon: An ice elemental shatters Ax's sword Dawn during a climactic battle in Remonton. Another example is the shattering of Krystallopyr which kicks off a storyline where various factions try to restore it to its former shape.
  • Wutai: The Yamato Empire (and later Grand Duchy of Yamato) is based on Feudal Japan with all the geisha, ninja, samurai, monks, kitsune and shoguns among other things.

    X 
  • Xanatos Gambit:
    • Kamen Grimgaze, the Master of the Totenkopfs, ends up putting quite a few gambits in motion which benefit him no matter how they turn out and which take into account even most of the unforeseeable variables which would otherwise ruin a plan of any lesser man (and even if something happens which even he didn't somehow think of, he can simply adapt and use that new event and outcome to further his goals). Whether his Crimson Coalition succeeds or not is trivial: either way his opponents in the Grand Alliance will still have to spend considerable time fighting the Coalition which is seen as the greater enemy, and that gives him enough time to manipulate events in relative peace. Although remaining undiscovered while acting as a mole within the Alliance is preferable to him (he gains the Alliance's trust and can use his authority to misdirect them), he has prepared for the possibility of being revealed as the mastermind. If the heroes discover his true identity, he can simply drop the fake kindness act (thus being able to operate more freely without needing to be cautious anymore) and use the revelation of his betrayal to shatter the Alliance's morale by showing that even the seemingly incorruptible Alliance has hidden evils within it and that those evils are in fact people the Alliance trusts the most (which in turn creates even more paranoia among the Alliance members who can't be sure how many of the Master's minions are still within it, which hinders the Alliance even more). His acts of corrupting various heroes follow a similar pattern: if successful, he'll gain valuable new acolytes, but if he doesn't succeed, he'll just kill the person then and there with his superior magic in order to get rid of the liability which he or she presents to him. Even if the heroes who refused to follow him survived somehow, he'll still know their weaknesses because he has spent considerable time with them in the past and has heard their confessions. He even actively encourages backstabbing within his ranks (whether the minion is a former, corrupted hero or a full bona fide villain) because the thrill of a possible betrayal keeps him on edge. If/when the betrayal takes place, he has secretly placed a magical killswitch on every one of his acolytes and can simply trigger it get rid of the problem right then and there if he so chooses.
    • Grand Vizier Iblis also pulls a gambit off during the Vanna arc. He intends to reforge the godblade Krystallopyr which will grant its wielder enough power to threaten even the gods, and the only way to stop the process is to destroy the Black Stone while the magical forging is taking place within the stone. He doesn't care whether the heroes of the Alliance thwart Krystallopyr's reforging or not, because either outcome will benefit him. If Krystallopyr is forged, he and his masters will possess an unbeatable weapon which will advance their goals immensely and incinerate any members of the Alliance who try to oppose them. If the Black Stone (and Krystallopyr within it) is destroyed, however, it will make the ancient magical shield around the city of Vanna disappear and allow Iblis's masters to finally invade Vanna en masse with a demon horde without worrying about the city's former magical defenses.
  • Xanatos Speed Chess: Xerathas often resorts to these when he's captured by the heroes. His plans keep constantly getting derailed because someone acts more idiotically than he had expected, so he has to adapt his strategies so that the outcome of these new actions still end up benefiting him.

    Y 
  • You All Meet in an Inn:
    • Happens during the story preceding the Yamatian invasion of Remon in the Third Age. People who will later be known as the Fellowship of Tes Pellaria actually meet in an inn and later become core members and founders of the Grand Alliance.
    • A villainous variant happens to a few prominent clerics of Mardük and Yamatians who meet in a shady inn and start working together as a group to stop Marcus Sarillius's rebellion against the Yamatian overlords in Remon.
  • You Are Not Alone: Marcus is about to face the ice elemental alone but is quickly joined by Ax and various other heroes who tell him that he's not alone and that they'll fight the elemental together.
  • You Have Failed Me: The Master and Zarnagon prefer to kill their subordinates if they fail one time too many.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: What the Master says to Belial before letting his minions kill him.
  • You Kill It, You Bought It: Whoever kills a higher level demon takes said demon's place and title. The Alliance uses this fact as part of their strategy during the Battle of Vanna when they try to first weaken the Northern Horde's Dreadlord Leraje and then make the half-demon Refan deliver the killing blow, thus transferring authority over the horde to Refan who will then use said authority to end the battle then and there.
    • The son of Distreyd Thanadar must kill his father to become the next Distreyd while also dealing with siblings who are after the same title. However, this is subverted with Distreyd XIII who takes the title without having to kill Distreyd XII because Distreyd XII had already fallen by the time he gets to him.
  • You Killed My Father: Refan finds and kills his mother's murderer Derak. Belial tries to kill Refan when he mistakes him for Omaroch who killed Belial's brother Antigonus.
  • You Monster!: Uttered by Khalid during the Battle of Vanna when he saw how coldly Razoul acted even though Razoul's father Ismail had been slain only a moment ago before their very eyes.
    Khalid: You're a monster.
    Razoul: I am what I am. Someone has to be.
  • You Will Be Assimilated: The Dwellers do this to their victims. Anyone (whether the victim is alive or dead) whose body they invade in their glowing spidery forms becomes part of the Essence, the Hive Mind which guides the Dwellers' actions, and the victim's memories become part of the collective consciousness with traces of the original personality left.

    Z 
  • Zombie Apocalypse: The Plague of Undeath hits Remon during the civil war and makes those who had fallen and had been affected by it rise as the undead who hunger for the flesh of the living.


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