Tropes:Ways of Darkness


 * This page is about tropes that apply to the whole franchise in general. For tropes about the FRPG or any of the video game adaptations, see Tropes:Ways of Darkness (FRPG), Tropes:Ways of Darkness (2012 game) and Tropes:Ways of Darkness (2013 game).

Tropes applying to the franchise in general include:
 * : The Massenpreost Despotanfras were not nice, to say the least. They maintained a and, highly oppressive , in which they were on the top as the Magician-Priests and the ruling class, below them were the Lizardmen as -, and at the bottom were the Goblins, Trolls and Ogres as.
 * : The period between the fall of the Ancient Lizardman Empire (3000 BEKE) and the Golden Age of Froturn (~800 BEKE) was this world's equivalent of the Dark Ages.
 * : The Dwarves and the Massenpreost Despotanfras both came from different planets originally. The latter is now extinct, while the earlier went through a collective amnesia and can't remember their secret origins.
 * : Most Demons, with a few noteworthy exceptions.
 * Lizardmen are obviously
 * Pepetoka are
 * Qori are (the furry kind).
 * : See Early Installment Weirdness at the FRPG tropes page. This trope is heavily mixed with the trope.
 * : Many.
 * The Human Kingdom of Etrand is clearly modelled on Medieval Europe (mostly France, England and Hungary), and to a lesser extent, the Roman Empire (continental hegemony, military powerhouse).
 * Some of the Human subraces were inspired by real-life subraces/phenotypes and cultures, with the Steelhelmi being the Alpine race, Western Etrandish being the (Slavo-)Turco-Hungarian race (or Turano-Dinaric race), Southern Etrandish being the Iberian (Spanish-Portuguese) race, Brevian being the Nordic/Germanic race, Dracfoldi being the Celtic race, and last but not least Hulran being the Dutch race.
 * The Earldom of Etrancoast (formerly Kingdom of Hulra) is inspired by the Dutch, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. Northern Etrancoast/Hulra has a very Nordic/Scandinavian architecture, while Southern Etrancoast/Hulra has more traditional Continental European medieval aesthetics.
 * The ancient, pre-unification Etrandish were based off the real-life Germanic peoples, with a tinge of Turkic influence in the western steppes.
 * The High Elven Kingdom of Froturn is... Romans-Byzantines (proud and ancient civilization that influences everyone else culturally, also having a Senate like Rome), with a hint of English (constitutional monarchy), French (high culture and high cuisine, both influential abroad) and Chinese (heavy bureaucracy, reliance on appointed bureaucrats instead of a landed aristocracy). Their architecture is basically Ancient Rome meets Japan, with cherry blossoms being a mandatory element.
 * Neressa is... Byzantium meets Sassanid Persia meets Ancient China? The city itself is heavily influenced by Constantinople.
 * The Ancient Lizardman Empire was a civilization meets Ancient Rome, and to a lesser extent Mesopotamia. The current Lizardmen are a lot like Native Americans - a marginalized, neglected and stateless race that is given some autonomy on their home turf that happens to be nominally under foreign suzerainty.
 * The Wood Elves of Dragoc are (culturally) like a mashup of Celts, Native Americans and Japanese... sorta.
 * The Orcs are mostly a mashup of various tribal cultures, though they take some influence from the various Paleo-Siberian peoples and real-life Celtic and Germanic peoples.
 * The Free City of Gabyr takes heavy inspiration from Ancient Carthage, as well as the medieval republics of Venice and Genoa, and the early-modern Dutch East India Company.
 * The Free City of Charnek is essentially a medieval version of Singapore or Hong Kong, being a highly multicultural city-state where various different races, cultures, languages and religions peacefully coexist.
 * The Goblins are basically Bedouins put into a non-desert environment (and with camels replaced by other animals), still retaining the strong emphasis on caravans. Their languages were based off the real-life Paleohispanic languages.
 * The Aeséni are essentially Fantasy Sámi.
 * The Qori people and the Halflings are basically Vlachs. Early Halflings had more Celtic and Iberian overtones, with a strong emphasis on guerrilla warfare.
 * The Shár Empire is clearly China. The Shár language in particular is based off a mixture of Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese.
 * The Sak people are a stand-in for the various nomadic tribes that China had to contend with throughout its history, such as the Xiongnu, Mongols and Jurchens/Manchus, with also a few Khazar/Jewish references in their religion. Nevertheless, they have Korean-sounding names, and the Sak language takes heavy inspiration from Korean.
 * The Kingdom of Strba is based off Serbia, despite being a vassal of Shár (China).
 * The Empire of Týrýng is loosely inspired by Japan (presence of a samurai-like warrior caste with emphasis on archery, strong naval traditions) and Korea (having a history of formerly being a vassal of China, whose stand-in here is the Shár), with maybe some aspects of Medieval Wales (longbowmen and a general emphasis on archery).
 * The Dwarves are essentially a mix of the Scottish with some Indian and Jewish influences.
 * The Qaemedi people are basically a race of  whose culture and language are based off a mix of Ancient Egyptian (pyramids, mummies, embalming, ancestor-worship), Nubian and Khmer (history of struggle with order races, and the existence of a brutal dictator with crazy death toll as a reference to the Khmer Rouge), with maybe a hint of Phoenician/Punic (city-states) and Jewish (existence of a diaspora that somehow manages to be present in all corners of the world, albeit in tiny numbers, stereotyped as a certain profession).
 * : Averted. Primitive wooden cannons and experimental hand cannons are confirmed to exist as of 831, and there is a Firearms skill in the RPG module.
 * Hand Cannons saw usage during the Battle of Ancestors Field, in 809 AEKE.
 * : More or less.
 * : Zigzagged. Technology is clearly evolving, albeit at a snail's pace. In certain places, we see, with mixing of Medieval and Steampunk elements.
 * : Angels are a race whose existence is dubious and are.
 * : Demons are literally (who merely happen to resemble the classic red-skinned demons with animal horns) from another planet/dimension called Nortiimus.
 * : Dragons are a sentient race that can speak like Humans and even learn their languages. They can also learn how to use Magic, with many of them being shapeshifters. Winged Cobras are an offshoot species of Dragons.
 * : Dwarves have a culture influenced by Celtic, Semitic and Indian cultures, but they are also very technology minded, with their society being -land in the middle of Etrand.
 * : There are High Elves, Wood Elves, Dark Elves, Half-Elves... and even the Humans and Orcs are actually Elven races!
 * : Distinction is made between two types of ghosts: Spirits and Spectres.
 * : Goblins are a race of semi-nomadic merchants, animal herders and farmers who don't have much in the way of martial traditions. They also have some subraces.
 * : Gnomes are designated as the race of engineers, scientists, alchemists and inventors in the Dwarven caste system.
 * : Gryphons are a sentient race related to Dragons. However, unlike Dragons, they cannot speak - which more or less makes them avian equivalent of dolphins.
 * : Humans are an Elven race evolved from the Proto-Elves, making them a closely-related sister-race to the High Elves and Wood Elves.
 * : Ogres are a sentient humanoid race, but they don't eat other humanoids.
 * : Orcs are an Elven race. Corrupted Elves.
 * : Vampirism is caused by a disease, but our Vampires can still grow up and reproduce sexually - as long as they are well-fed.
 * : Therianthropy is a diease most likely related to Vampirism. Our Werebeasts are also undead, like Vampires.
 * The Týrýng are (the kemonomimi type) - a race of s.
 * The Azisiri are (the kemonomimi type).
 * : Don't believe me? Just look at the four categories: canon, legacy, non-canon and player.
 * : The Massenpreost Despotanfras race is extinct because the Lizardmen killed them all right before founding their empire.
 * Ironically, the Lizardmen themselves might also qualify for the trope - after killing of the Despotanfras, they had their empire, which  (and an immesurably amount of written records). However, unlike the race they killed, the Lizardmen are alive and well, if somewhat marginalized (similar status to real-life Native Americans).
 * : Military technology seems to be stuck at the level of the real-life 13th century throughout most of the world, with swords, bows, crossbows, halberds, chainmail, plate mail, trebuchets, primitive wooden cannons and experimental hand cannons being the the most advanced it can get. In contrast, civilian technology seems to be more advanced, with obviously post-medieval inventions (such as the wine cork, printing press and rickshaw) already being present, and some societies - like the Dwarven one - being downright steampunk, Etrandish cities like Grandfolk going through a sort of proto-industrialization as of 831 AEKE, etc.
 * Ironically, the Lizardmen themselves might also qualify for the trope - after killing of the Despotanfras, they had their empire, which  (and an immesurably amount of written records). However, unlike the race they killed, the Lizardmen are alive and well, if somewhat marginalized (similar status to real-life Native Americans).
 * : Military technology seems to be stuck at the level of the real-life 13th century throughout most of the world, with swords, bows, crossbows, halberds, chainmail, plate mail, trebuchets, primitive wooden cannons and experimental hand cannons being the the most advanced it can get. In contrast, civilian technology seems to be more advanced, with obviously post-medieval inventions (such as the wine cork, printing press and rickshaw) already being present, and some societies - like the Dwarven one - being downright steampunk, Etrandish cities like Grandfolk going through a sort of proto-industrialization as of 831 AEKE, etc.