History Literature / ThePowderMageTrilogy

* BloodMagic: The magic of the Bone-eyes have elements of this, alongside elements of {{Hollywood Voodoo}}. Specifically, the [[spoiler: creation of red-stripes]] involves blood magic. To date, Ka-Poel is the only Bone-eye character.

* ''Blood of Empire'' (forthcoming)

** Less common in ''Gods of Blood and Powder.'' New major characters Fidelis Jes, Ivana ja Fles, Michel Bravis, and Benjamin Style all have surnames, and Vlora has extended her name to "General Vlora Flint." The exception is Lady Chancellor Lindet, though this is justified in the text; Lindet keeps information compartmentalized as much as possible, and doesn't want anyone to know that [[spoiler: Ben Style is her older brother]], which using her surname would give away.

* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: A big part of the [[spoiler: Dynize]] threat in ''Sins of Empire''. The rank-and-file soldiers are only a threat because of their numbers and Sorcery that keeps them panicking. The Dragonmen, on the other hand, are solitary elites that can be a match for as many as ''forty'' normal soldiers.

** Vlora and [[spoiler; Olem]] have been one for close to a decade by the start of ''Sins of Empire''.

* Untitled third book (forthcoming)

* ''Sins of Empire'' adds a couple Badass Grandmas to the cast, in the form of an elderly Powder Mage and an even more elderly Mad Lancer. The second is also more badass, considering that she charges into battle with no protection whatsoever.

* EthnicMagician: While the Nine have their own mages in several forms, Ka-Poel wields magic unlike anything the Nine's Privileged, Knacked, Predeii, powder mages, [[spoiler:or gods]] understand or know how to deal with.

* LoanShark: Palagyi is one. Adamat is in debt to him after taking out a loan from a friend's bank, who sold the loan to Palaygi. He tripled the interest, forced Adamat's publishing business to fail and threatens Adamat throughout the book in order to make him pay it back.

* CorruptChurch: Pretty much Charlemund's whole hat. His staff openly refer to the orgies held at his villa. Said staff are all young, beautiful, and clad exclusively in sheer silk.

* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: Taniel, to Ka-Poel. It isn't always necessary.

* AntiHero: Tamas, to some extent. While he has the best interests of his men and Adro at heart, he starts the story off killing Privileged in their sleep and putting every single nobleman of worth in Adro to the guillotine.
** Taniel, in a stricter sense. He's well-loved by the Adran military, but considers himself little more than a brute only good for killing. He goes on a self-destructive streak at the start of ''The Crimson Campaign'' that takes him nearly to DeathSeeker levels.
** Privileged Borbador is generally amiable and competent. He also tortures and kills people without pause, casually enough in one case that it makes Adamat nervous to be around him. In his defense, Bo is quick and emphatic to tell anyone who mentions him in a heroic light that he's a Cabal Privileged, and they don't let good people into a Royal Cabal.

** Magebreakers have the ability to nullify the Else, giving them the power to prevent Privileged from being able to use their magic.
** Red Stripe bullets imbue anti-Privileged magic into the bullet itself. As long as his supply holds up, it allows Taniel to kill Privileged through their shields and wards.
** Gunpowder is unique in that it has no aura in the Else, meaning Privileged can't manipulate it. In fact, they're allergic to it.

* AttemptedRape: To [[spoiler:Ka-Poel]].

* BadassGrandpa: Tamas certainly qualifies. As one of the most powerful Powder Mages in the setting, he is not only capable of [[OneManArmy slaughtering droves of enemies by himself]], but over the course of the story he has been [[MadeOfIron stabbed, shot, pummeled]], had the Powder Mage equivalent of [[KryptoniteFactor Kryptonite]] inserted into his leg and [[TheDeterminator still kept going.]] He is also a brilliant strategist and tactician, AFatherToHisMen and commands respect even amongst his enemies.

* BayonetYa: Considering the setting, it's no surprise that this trope shows up. Muskets with bayonets are the standard weapon for the armies in the story and are used with gruesome efficiency.

** Don't threaten Tamas', either. [[spoiler:The ''entire coup'' was orchestrated because Manhouch allowed Ipille to have his wife, Erika, executed.]]

* BloodMagic: The magic of the Bone-eyes have elements of this, alongside elements of {{Hollywood Voodoo}}. To date, Ka-Poel is the only Bone-eye character.
* BoringButPractical: Tamas wants the army to do this at every possible opportunity, and downplays individual heroism (except from magically-enhanced individuals, at least). The Adran military's preferred means of dealing with Privileged is to BoomHeadshot from a distance before they even knew an attack was coming.

* CannonFodder: A Kez favorite.
* ChildSoldiers: Ka-Poel.

** In the first book, armed royalists seize the main armory of Adopest and have to be blasted out with artillery fire.

* ColdBloodedTorture: Vetas and Borbador both engage in this.

* CrusadingWidower: While Tamas is genuinely outraged at the abuses the king and nobility commit, his main motivation is the death of his wife. She was beheaded by the kingdom of Kez and his king not only refused to do anything about it but was additionally preparing to sign a treaty making his nation a vassal to Kez.

* DecisiveBattle: The Battle of Ned's Creek is the highwater mark of the Kez invasion.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Vlora cheating on Taniel once, under pretty understandable circumstances[[note]]She for sincere and understandable reasons thought he was cheating on her first, and had left her alone while off fighting a war for almost two years. And then a dandy was deliberately hired to seduce her.[[/note]] is widely regarded as having completely wrecked their relationship, abandoned their engagement, and ruined her life. While Taniel breaking up with her is understandable, everyone else who knows about it also seems to regard it as being entirely her fault. Tamas regards it as a betrayal as much as Taniel does, and notes that's when he stopped treating her like a daughter.
** Taniel travels around with a "savage" girl he picked up in a foreign country as a companion and servant. While nobody minds this in and of itself, most assume he's sleeping with her simply because she's "his savage" and think it a little uncouth. While she's never actually referred to as a slave and slavery is explicitly illegal, almost everyone in the setting regard her in possessive terms ("Taniel's savage") rather than as an individual. She's also subjected to a fair amount of racism.

** [[spoiler:Taniel uses two of Ka-Poel's Red Stripe bullets to kill - or at least badly wound - Kresimir as he returns]]

* DivineRightOfKings: This is known as Kresimir's Promise. The god Kresimir established a number of bloodlines as the rightful rulers of the various kingdoms. If one of the bloodlines is removed from the throne, Kresimir would return and destroy the nation who dared to defy his will. The king of Adro is extremely wasteful, weak minded and LethallyStupid and Field Marshal Tamas decides to remove him from power and execute the entire royal family and most of the aristocracy. Tamas then discovers that Kresimir's Promise is not just a story told to keep the common people in line, and that the country's enemies are planning to summon Kresimir so he can fulfill the Promise and destroy Adro.

** Gold in a Powder Mage's body nullifies their powers.
** The Red Stripes created by Bone-Eyes seem to have some form of nullifying the Else, as they pierce Privilegeds' shields easily. This is likely similar to the wards Ka-Poel has placed [[spoiler: around Taniel]].
** Most Privileged are allergic to black powder. Doesn't affect their magic directly, but having a horrible fit of congestion while your face swells up isn't very conducive to spellcasting. Gunpowder is also the only known substance with no aura in the Else, meaning it's the only thing that Privileged magic can't affect.

** Next are the Knacked, people with a single small power, usually a supernatural extension of some mundane skill. These can be useful but are often trivial, so Knacked are considered the weakest type and looked down on by everyone else (though a specific Knacked with a highly useful talent can be highly desired as an individual). Some Knacks can do things even a Privileged cannot.

* OnlyOneName: Most of the characters, even non-Adrans like Nikslaus.

A TabletopRoleplaying game using the ''TabletopGame/SavageWorlds'' system called ''Powder Mage Roleplaying Game'' was funded through ''Website/{{Kickstarter}}'' and released in 2018.

** Taniel travels around with a "savage" girl he picked up in a foreign as a companion and servant. While nobody minds this in and of itself, most assume he's sleeping with her simply because she's "his savage" and think it a little uncouth. While she's never actually referred to as a slave and slavery is explicitly illegal, almost everyone in the setting regard her in possessive terms ("Taniel's savage") rather than as an individual. She's also subjected to a fair amount of racism.

* FantasticDrug: The way that powder mages use black powder is clearly reminiscent of drugs, especially powdered opiates like heroin like cocaine. It grants them the ability to endure pain, heightens their senses, and gives them extreme powers of concentration. It's also swallowed or snorted, to the point that Taniel winds up with a bloody nose after imbibing too much under stressful conditions. It's also strongly implied to be addictive, and there are implications that imbibing too much powder can blind a powder mage's third eye, making them unable to sense magic.