History EnemyMine / TableTopGames

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': This comes up often between the Empire and Bretonnia, who often join forces against the [[BloodKnight Greenskins]], [[YouDirtyRat Skaven]] and [[EldritchAbomination Chaos]] despite the two human nations being rivals. The Empire has also in their past wars against Chaos received some rather... [[{{Understatement}} unexpected]] help from the Vampire Counts and their undead minions, though here the dynamic is more like a rancher protecting his cattle from wolves even though he plans to slaughter them later.

** Came to a head with ''The End Times'', which saw the [[BigBadDuumvirate Skaven and Chaos joining forces]], the Skaven curbstomping much of the world and the forces of Order (the Empire, Dwarfs and ''united'' Elves) joining up with the forces of Death (the Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings) against the combined forces of Chaos in a final battle at Middenheim to decide the fate of the Old World. [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Chaos won]]. [[TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar That didn't mean the end though.]]

** In ''Rise of the Runelords'', of the PCs fail to prevent Karzoug's return into the world and to sabotage the Leng Device, Karzoug's return completes a ritual that allows [[EldritchAbomination Mhar, the World Thunder]], to be born from beneath Xin-Shalast, annihilating the city and Karzoug's forces. Although Karzoug survives by teleporting away, the narration notes that Mhar would pose such a cataclysmic threat to... everything, essentially, that the PCs might be forced to ally with Karzoug to face it down.
** In ''Wrath of the Righteous'', if the PCs lose to the demon lord Deskari and his forces and fail to halt the next major demonic incursion from the Worldwound, then the already overwhelmed defending forces quickly collapse and the hordes of the Abyss swiftly overwhelm most of northeastern Avistan. The existential threat posed by this impending apocalypse causes a number of alliances to form as nations that have been enemies with each other for most of their existences -- including the eternally-warring Nirmathas and Molthune; the crumbling empire of Taldor and its former colonies, the freedom-loving democracy of Andoran and the devil-worshipping tyranny of Cheliax; and the Ulfen warriors of the Land of the Linnorm Kings and the winter witches of Irrisen -- join forces with one another to hold back the demonic tide.

* Just about all the Successor States in ''TabletopGame/{{BattleTech}}'' were quite happy to blow each other to kingdom come. And then the Clans came, and all of a sudden, [[ArchEnemy Arch Enemies]] were forming alliances to stop the threat. A few decades later, the [[ChurchMilitant Word of Blake]] started nuking everyone. So the Successor States ended up forming an alliance with ''the Clans'' to nuke the Blakists back.
* ''TabletopGame/ChroniclesOfDarkness'':

** ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' has pretty much the same dynamic, with the Traditions and the Technocracy setting aside their conflict long enough to take down a [[OmnicidalManiac Nephandus]] or [[PowerBornOfMadness Marauder]].

** Heroes in ''TabletopGame/BeastThePrimordial'' will happily team up with any other race in the TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness for the sake of hunting down and killing Beasts. This is intended to show just why they are {{Designated Hero}}es; they are so obsessive that they will gladly ally with actually evil monsters to kill a harmless Beast, simply because they are so fixated on killing Beasts that they regard other supernatural entities as harmless.
** ''TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil'':
*** It's not unheard of for Hunters, the people Heroes ''think'' they are, to form alliances of convenience between cells that dislike each other for personal or ideological reasons against the horrors in the dark - a fundamentalist Protestant from the Tribulation Militia likely doesn't have much regard for the secular, scientific compact of Null Mysteriis, for example, but at least a Godless evolutionist is somewhat better than a vampire. (Although any Hunter cell with a white nationalist or Neo-Nazi bent is not going to be able to form an alliance with [[TheAtoner the Loyalists of Thule]] under any circumstances, and indeed can consider themselves lucky if they survive the encounter.)
*** Some Hunter cells will even ally with the less evil monsters in order to drive out something worse. However, Hunters don't generally have access to the core books from other game lines, so their ability to tell which monsters are the "good" ones isn't necessarily reliable. The Hunter term for such an arrangement is a "cancer cell".
** ''TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful'': On the fan-made side of things, Princesses are often mentioned to dislike Beasts for their habit of hurting people as "lessons". Yet, ''[[TabletopGame/HunterTheVigilDarkAndLight Dark and Light]]'' reveals the two of them regularly join forces in their common hatred toward the Hunter Compacts known as the Ashwood Abbey.
* In ''TabletopGame/RocketAge'' when humanity started pushing its interests on Mars many warring city states put aside their differences to combat the new threat. Thus far this hasn't worked so well for them. There are also some adventures where the heroes could find themselves shoulder to shoulder with their rivals and enemies, at least for a little while.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'', even if someone's ideology is directly opposed to yours (Psion vs. Anti-Mutant, Corpore Metal vs. Frankenstein Destroyers), alliances can always shift to suit the demands of the moment. You can always hose them later.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' very, ''very'' occasionally has instances where the more reasonable factions will hold off on killing each other to deal with a mutual threat. For a few minutes, anyway.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'', this comes up often between the Empire and Bretonnia, who often join forces against the [[BloodKnight Greenskins]], [[YouDirtyRat Skaven]] and [[EldritchAbomination Chaos]] despite the two human nations being rivals. The Empire has also in their past wars against Chaos received some rather... [[{{Understatement}} unexpected]] help from the Vampire Counts and their undead minions, though here the dynamic is more like a rancher protecting his cattle from wolves even though he plans to slaughter them later.

* Several years ago, Arcanacon in Australia featured a freeform called "''Film/MarsAttacks'' the ''TabletopGame/WorldOfDarkness''". The blurb for the game included:
--> Will the Camarilla fight alongside the Sabbat?
--> Will the Garou fight alongside the Wyrm?
--> Will the Traditions fight alongside the Technocracy?
--> Will the Seelie fight alongside the Unseelie?
--> ...and will the [[CloudCuckooLander Malkavians]] fight alongside the Martians?

** Heroes in ''TabletopGame/BeastThePrimordial'' will happily team up with every other race in the TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness for the sake of hunting down and killing Beasts. This is intended to show just why they are {{Designated Hero}}es; they are so obsessive that they will gladly ally with actually evil monsters to kill a harmless Beast, simply because they are just that fixated on killing Beasts that they regard other races as harmless.
*** It's not unheard of for [[TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil Hunters]], the people Heroes ''think'' they are, to form alliances of convenience between cells that dislike each other for personal or ideological reasons against the horrors in the dark - a fundamentalist Protestant from the Tribulation Militia likely doesn't have much regard for the secular, scientific compact of Null Mysteriis, for example, but at least a Godless evolutionist is somewhat better than a vampire. (Although any Hunter cell with a white nationalist or Neo-Nazi bent is not going to be able to form an alliance with [[TheAtoner the Loyalists of Thule]] under any circumstances, and indeed can consider themselves lucky if they survive the encounter.) Some cells will even ally with the less evil monsters in order to drive out something worse; however, because Hunters don't generally have access to the core books from other game lines, their ability to tell which monsters are the "good" ones isn't necessarily reliable...
** On the fan-made side of things, [[TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful Princesses]] are often mention to dislike Beasts for their habit of hurting people as "lessons". Yet, ''[[TabletopGame/HunterTheVigilDarkAndLight Dark and Light]]'' reveals the two of them regularly join forces in their common hatred toward the Hunter Compacts known as the Ashwood Abbey.

* In ''TabletopGame/RocketAge'' when humanity started pushing its interests on Mars many warring city states put aside their differences to combat the new threat. Thus far this hasn't worked so well for them. There are also some adventures where the heroes could find themselves shoulder to shoulder with their rivals and enemies, at least for a little while.

* Heroes in ''TabletopGame/BeastThePrimordial'' will happily team up with every other race in the TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness for the sake of hunting down and killing Beasts. This is intended to show just why they are {{Designated Hero}}es; they are so obsessive that they will gladly ally with actually evil monsters to kill a harmless Beast, simply because they are just that fixated on killing Beasts that they regard other races as harmless.
** It's not unheard of for [[TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil Hunters]], the people Heroes ''think'' they are, to form alliances of convenience between cells that dislike each other for personal or ideological reasons against the horrors in the dark - a fundamentalist Protestant from the Tribulation Militia likely doesn't have much regard for the secular, scientific compact of Null Mysteriis, for example, but at least a Godless evolutionist is somewhat better than a vampire. (Although any Hunter cell with a white nationalist or Neo-Nazi bent is not going to be able to form an alliance with [[TheAtoner the Loyalists of Thule]] under any circumstances, and indeed can consider themselves lucky if they survive the encounter.) Some cells will even ally with the less evil monsters in order to drive out something worse; however, because Hunters don't generally have access to the core books from other game lines, their ability to tell which monsters are the "good" ones isn't necessarily reliable...

* ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'' generally sees the Pentacle Orders locked in battle against the [[AncientConspiracy Seers of]] [[DespotismJustifiesTheMeans the Throne]], with [[KnightTemplar Banishers]] attacking both sides. However, when [[PowerBornOfMadness The Mad]], [[YourSoulIsMine Reaper Legacies]] or the [[EldritchAbomination Abyss]]-aligned [[OmnicidalManiac Scelesti]] show up, all three sides will most likely declare a truce to stop them.
** ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' has pretty much the same dynamic, with the Traditions and the Technocracy setting aside their conflict long enough to take down a [[OmnicidalManiac Nephandus]] or [[PowerBornOfMadness Marauder]].
** ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheForsaken'' does the same thing as well, with the Forsaken and the Pure reluctantly willing to put aside differences and put down Bale Hounds or the Idigam whenever they pop up. An entire Lodge, the Lodge of the Hunt, exists to invoke this trope, bringing together werewolves who have a common ArchEnemy.
* In ''TabletopGame/RocketAge'' when humanity started pushing its interests on Mars many warring city states put aside their differences to combat the new threat. Thus far this hasn't worked so well for them. There are also some adventures where the heroes could find themselves shoulder to shoulder with their rivals and enemies, at least for a little while.

* Just about all the Successor States in ''TabletopGame/{{BattleTech}}'' was quite happy to blow each other to kingdom come. And then the Clans came, and all of a sudden, [[ArchEnemy Arch Enemies]] were forming alliances to stop the threat. A few decades later, the [[ChurchMilitant Word of Blake]] started nuking everyone. So the Successor States ended up forming an alliance with ''the Clans'' to nuke the Blakists back.

** ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar II'' has a new mode which exemplifies this, known as "The Last Stand", where a Space Marine Captain, an Ork Mekboy and an Eldar Farseer cooperate to HoldTheLine against a swarm of enemies. The ''Chaos Rising'' expansion throws the Chaos Sorcerer and the Tyranid Hive Tyrant into the mix of heroes in the play mode, which technically cements-- if it wasn't apparent with the widely opposing team we had before-- that the game mode is not to be taken as canon, especially when a loyalist Marine cooperates with a Chaos Marine in any way.

** The Eldar, being [[ManipulativeBastard who they are]], will often manipulate any allies they do make so that they take the brunt of the fighting (and thus causalities), in essence back-stabbing their allies during the alliance, as well as overtly so 5 minutes before its usefulness ends. Their evil cousins, the Dark Eldar, pretty much always do the same.

** Rules for the 6th Edition allow "allies"; if the player's army allows, they can take a HQ and a Troop choice (or more if they really want to) from another army. Specifically, the categories ''Desperate Allies'' and ''Unholy Alliance'' allow players to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this trope if they want. The example given involved the [[BloodKnight Blood Angels]] fighting alongside the [[OmnicidalManiac Necrons]] to stop a [[ZergRush Tyranid invasion]], ''without either side backstabbing the other'', which led to many cries of "WAAARD!!!" among the fandom (this was shortly before the Necron cultural retcon had been released; for the new saner Necrons it isn't ''that'' unusual).
*** Maybe the Necrons not [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder backstabbing the Marines]] isn't unusual for the new generation, but the Blood Angels would likely blast the Necrons into atoms (or at least try to) the second it's feasible.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'', this comes up often between the Empire and Bretonnia, who often join forces against the Greenskins, Skaven and Chaos despite the two human nations being rivals. The Empire has also in their past wars against Chaos received some rather... [[{{Understatement}} unexpected]] help from the Vampire Counts and their undead minions, though here the dynamic is more like a rancher protecting his cattle from wolves and bears even though he fully plans to slaughter them later.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'', even if someone's ideology is directly opposed to yours (Psion vs. Anti-Mutant, Corpore Metal vs. Frankenstein Destroyers), alliances can always shift to suit the demands of the moment. You can always hose them later.

--> ...and will the [[CloudCuckooLander Malkavians]] fight alongside the Martians?
* Just about all the Successor States in ''TabletopGame/{{BattleTech}}'' was quite happy to blow each other to kingdom come. And then the Clans came, and all of a sudden, [[ArchEnemy Arch Enemies]] were forming alliances to stop the threat. A few decades later, the [[ChurchMilitant Word of Blake]] started nuking everyone. So the Successor States ended up forming an alliance with ''the Clans'' to nuke the Blakists back.
* Heroes in ''TabletopGame/BeastThePrimordial'' will happily team up with every other race in the TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness for the sake of hunting down and killing Beasts. This is intended to show just why they are {{Designated Hero}}es; they are so obsessive that they will gladly ally with actually evil monsters to kill a harmless Beast, simply because they are just that fixated on killing Beasts that they regard other races as harmless.
* In ''TabletopGame/RocketAge'' when humanity started pushing its interests on Mars many warring city states put aside their differences to combat the new threat. Thus far this hasn't worked so well for them. There are also some adventures where the heroes could find themselves shoulder to shoulder with their rivals and enemies, at least for a little while.

** Rules for the 6th Edition allow "allies"; if the player's army allows, they can take a HQ and a Troop choice (or more if they really want to) from another army. Specifically, the categories ''Desperate Allies'' and ''Unholy Alliance'' allow players to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this trope if they want. The example given involved the [[BloodKnight Blood Angels]] fighting alongside the [[OmnicidalManiac Necrons]] to stop a [[ZergRush Tyranid invasion]], ''without either side backstabbing the other'', which led to many cries of "WAAARD!!!" among the fandom.

** Rules for the 6th Edition allow "allies"; if the player's army allows, they can take a HQ and a Troop choice (or more if they really want to) from another army. Specifically, the categories ''Desperate Allies'' and ''Unholy Alliance'' allow players to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this trope if they want.

* Heroes in ''TabletopGame/BeastThePrimordial'' will happily team up with every other race in the TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness for the sake of hunting down and killing Beasts. This is intended to show just why they are {{Designated Hero}}es; they are so obsessive that they will gladly ally with actually evil monsters to kill a harmless Beast, simply because they are just that fixated on killing Beasts that they regard other races as harmless.

* Several years ago, Arcanacon in Australia featured a freeform called "MarsAttacks the WorldOfDarkness". The blurb for the game included:

* Just about all the Successor States in ''TabletopGame/{{BattleTech}}'' was quite happy to blow each other to kingdom come. And then the Clans came, and all of a sudden, [[ArchEnemy Arch Enemies]] were forming alliances to stop the threat. A few decades later, the [[ChurchMilitant Word of Blake]] started nuking everyone. So the Successor States ended up forming an alliance with ''the Clans'' to nuke the Blakists back.

* Just about all the Successor States in ''TabletopGame/{{BattleTech}}'' was quite happy to blow each other to kingdom come. And then the Clans came, and all of a sudden, [[ArchEnemy Arch Enemies]] were forming alliances to stop the threat. A few decades later, the [[ChurchMilitant Word of Blake]] started nuking everyone. So the Successor States ended up forming an alliance with ''the Clans'' to nuke the Blakists back.
* TabletopGame/{{IronKingdoms| WARMACHINE}}

* Just about all the Successor States in ''TabletopGame/{{BattleTech}}'' was quite happy to blow each other to kingdom come. And then the Clans came, and all of a sudden, [[ArchEnemy Arch Enemies]] were forming alliances to stop the threat. A few decades later, the [[ChurchMilitant Word of Blake]] started nuking everyone. So the Successor States ended up forming an alliance with ''the Clans'' to nuke the Blakists back.

** This is actually so rare that a substantial amount of backdraft is directed at a minor incident where a Necron Lord and Space Marine force allied against a massive Tyranid invasion before separating on poor terms-- mentioned in a total of two paragraphs over ''two different books''-- as a betrayal of the setting.

** In the ''Scars of Mirrodin block'', the Mirran forces in all five colors were forced to team up against Phyrexia... although the black section was wiped out by the second set, and [[TheBadGuyWins Phyrexia won]].

** ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' has much the same dynamic, with the Traditions and the Technocracy setting aside their conflict long enough to take down a [[OmnicidalManiac Nephandus]] or [[PowerBornOfMadness Marauder]].
** ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheForsaken'' does the same thing as well, with the Forsaken and the Pure reluctantly willing to put aside differences and put down Bale Hounds whenever they pop up.

** This most commonly occurs between forces of the Imperium, Eldar, and Tau against Tyranids, Necrons, or Chaos, and matching temporary alliances may occur between Chaos, Orks, and Dark Eldar, as prominently seen during Dawn of War: Winter Assault.
** The [[ManipulativeBastard Eldar]], being the trope they are, will often manipulate any alliance they do make so that their allies take the brunt of the fighting (and thus causalities), in essence back-stabbing their allies during the alliance, as well as overtly so 5 minutes before its usefulness ends. Their evil cousins, the Dark Eldar, pretty much always do the same.

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' has a number of scenarios, including current events on Zendikar (with the vampires, elves, humans, Kor, minotaurs, goblins, merfolk and what-have-you uniting against the [[EldritchAbomination Eldrazi]]), and a significant part of the dynamic for the good guys in the Archenemy variant (since they can easily be colors that either do or would hate each other slightly less than they hate the main opponent).

** In Scars of Mirrodin block, the Mirran forces in all five colours were forced to team up against Phyrexia...although the black section was wiped out by the second set, and [[TheBadGuyWins Phyrexia won]].
* ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'' generally sees the Pentacle Orders locked in battle against the [[WellIntentionedExtremist Seers of the Throne]]. However, when a Left-Handed Legacy (servants of the [[EldritchAbomination Abyss]]) makes itself known, both sides will declare a truce and stamp it out as best they can.
** ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' has much the same dynamic, with the Traditions and the Technocracy setting aside their conflict long enough to take down a [[OmnicidalManiac Nephandus]] or Marauder.

** This is actually so rare that a substantial HateDumb is directed at a minor incident, mentioned in a total of two paragraphs over ''two different books'', where a Necron Lord and Space Marine force allied against a massive Tyranid invasion before separating on poor terms as a betrayal of the setting.
** ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar II'' has a new mode which exemplifies this, known as "The Last Stand", where a Space Marine Captain, an Ork Mekboy and an Eldar Farseer cooperate to HoldTheLine against a swarm of enemies.
*** ''Chaos Rising'' throws the Chaos Sorcerer and the Tyranid Hive Tyrant into the mix of heroes in the playmode, which technically cements, if it wasn't apparent with the widely opposing team we had before, that the gamemode is not to be taken as canon, especially when a loyalist space marine cooperates with a chaos space marine in any way.
** New rules for the 6th Edition allow "allies"; if the player's army allows, they can take a HQ and a Troop choice (or more if they really want to) from another army. Specifically, the allies category ''Desperate Allies'' allows players to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this trope if they want.

** The [[ManipulativeBastard Eldar]], being the trope they are, will often manipulate any alliance they do make so that their allies take the brunt of the fighting (and thus causalities), in essence back-stabbing their allies during the alliance, as well as overtly so 5 minutes before its usefulness ends.

--> ...and will the [[CloudCuckooLander Malkavians]] fight alongside the Martians?

--> Will the Traditions fight alongside the Tachnocracy?