No Dice is a web comic by Mike Perry.
Set in a fantasy world with goblins, elves, demons, magic, guns, ninjas, pirates, dragons and vampires. Oh, and those human things as well. Each book (chapter) tells a different story with a different set of characters within the world, although elements and characters from books tend to cross over. As of comic 500 (and seven books) the comic is currently on a hiatus until January 2013.
Tropes for the Web comic in general
- Art Evolution: It's fairly subtle, but noticeable when you compare chapter 1 to 7.
- Bittersweet Ending: Quite common. Chapters 1-4 play it straight, with Chapters 2 and 4 bordering on Downer Endings.
- Standard Fantasy Setting: the world of the comic
Tropes for Book 1
Darrius Briggans has just had his village destroyed. Goblin raiding parties step up their attacks all over the country. Darrius teams up with a musician he hates, a failure witch and a woman in a frenchmaid outfit to stop them.
- Heroic Sacrifice: A fatally wounded Darrius gets voluntary eaten by Lord Scrion and cuts his way to his heart. The resulting explosion kills them both.
- Heel–Face Turn: Abby briefly turns when Korrigom reveals he's her father. She promptly turns back when his spell wears off, though.
- We Can Rule Together: Korrigom tries this with the Eldritch Abomination he's just awakened. He gets eaten for his troubles.
Tropes for Book 2
- Alas, Poor Villain: Gruck is turned into a Fire Demon and dies during the final battle.
- Action Girl: Malleth and Daenes. As they're on opposing sides, this also leads to a couple of Designated Girl Fights between them.
- Fanservice: The first fight between Malleth and Daenes has them ripping off each others clothes.
- Gone Horribly Right: Xan's first bit of magic is to bring his stuffed bear and tiger to life. He does so, and they act exactly like a real life wild bear and tiger and try to maul him.
- Loser Protagonist: Peshkar pretty much blunders through the entire adventure doing almost nothing to help resolve it. Until the final battle, where he unties himself and Malleth, somewhat accidently kills Gruck and runs Bahal through with his sword.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Xan releases the Fire Demons from their prison when a bit of magic goes horribly right.
- Parental Abandonment: Xan and Peshkar's parents are famous adventurers. This means that they are also never around.
- Sequel Hook: The Fire Demons are still around by the end, and Daenes seems set to take all of Lord Bahal's power. However, Bahal is still alive and currently residing in Xan.
- Skilled, but Naive: Xan is a brilliant magician for a child. Unfortunately, he thinks the Fire Demons would be an ideal solution to taking care of his stuffed animal problem.
- The Starscream: Daenes appears to be a double agent in league with Bahal at first, but ultimately just wants his power. She's the one who takes him out.
- Throwing Your Sword Always Works: Double subverted. Peshkar tries this to take out Fire Demonized Gruck this way, but his throw falls way short. Gruck steps on the sword anyway, and while bouncing around in pain he falls into the giant fire pillar and gets his head vaporized.
Tropes for Book 3
- Action Girl: Hildy, Josia, and Josia's daughter
- Ambiguously Gay: Hildy
- Badass Normal: Hildy and the Captain
- Big Bad: The Collector, a spectral bald man who collects things, creatures and people.
- The Bad Guy Wins: He gets what he wants (Josia and a few other perks on top) and suffers no consequences for it.
- Byronic Hero: The Captain
- The Captain: Josia is defiantly an aversion. She's very cold and will leave behind anyone who falls behind. Including her own daughter, a mistake she continues to regret.
- Killed Off for Real: Thay gets shot with arrows in the first few pages, with Josia leaving him behind. Tinark gets impaled by a scorpion creature, which turns him to stone. He later appears as a ghost to Josia, and he isn't happy. Harrak gets eaten by a giant worm.
- Pirates: What the cast for chapter 3 are.
- Red Shirt: Thay has a red shirt. The author pointed it out in his first appearance and told the readers not to expect him to stay around. When they make their getaway, Thay is gunned down.
Tropes for Book 4
- Bittersweet Ending: Borders on Downer Ending, because at least Chapter 2's was a reversible Sequel Hook. Plunk and Moses slay the dragon and his remaining kobold minions swear loyalty to him. After that, they return to the Death Elves, asking for gold to get their economy back together. Then the Death Elves pull an Loophole Abuse gambit and everyone in the town is turned to gold, including Moses' wife. The two arm their kobold battalion and launch an attack on the Death Elves, defeating them by seemingly killing their leader. The story ends with Moses and Plunk still living in their town, economy restored and they have the kobolds living trading and doing work. The Death Elf Priestess is still alive, and Moses ends the comic by saying good night and looking mournfully at his still gold wife.
- Loophole Abuse: The Death Elf Priestess gave the heroes their gold. Too bad Moses didn't specify exactly how she should do so.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Moses.
- Obviously Evil: Lampshaded; the antagonists of this arc are called Death Elves, and Moses takes time to point out to Plunk that their name is Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
Tropes for Book 5
- Action Girl: Hildy and Claudette
- Ambiguously Gay: Still Hildy.
- Red Shirt: Lon
Tropes for Book 6
- Lovable Coward: One member of the party is a half Dwarf, half Orc (A Dorc), and he faints and wets himself when there's trouble.
Tropes for Book 7
- And the Adventure Continues: Calias' final words for the arc sum it up neatly: "An adventurer never truly retires!"
- Back for the Finale: Pretty much all the main characters who are still alive make an appearence here.
- Big Damn Heroes: Abby takes out Chee'Nala after being absent for almost all of the battle.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: The Death Elves and Fire Demons are killed off once and for all, Peshkar and Xan meet up with friendly elves to rebuild their home, Xan is no longer possessed by Lord Bahal, Bluerock's inhabitants are restored to life, Moses makes peace with Reggie and Shavonda, Annelese and Basil team up with Hildy and Claudette, and Calias retires from adventuring and returns to his music... for all of five minutes, as another monster rolls into town shortly after.
- Grand Finale
- The Starscream: Both Daenes and Chee'Nala attempt to kill Bahal. After Xan is returned to normal, Chee'Nala succeeds in draining Bahal's power from him, but Abby kills her before she can use it.
- Talking Is a Free Action: Averted. Daenes stops for a moment during the final battle to taunt Peshkar. A random kobold impales her through the head with his spear as she does so.
