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10th May '13 2:12:14 PM aerojockey

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Modesty bedsheet incident occurs in NOTW

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20th Mar '13 2:13:22 PM Discar

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* CharacterDevelopment: One example of major character development is Felurian who was a narcissistic personality when she "met" Kvothe. Even after they came to a truce, her lessons and other nice things she did for him were motivated by how it helped her. However, after Kvothe's ordeal with the Cthaeh, Felurian was moved to genuine pity for Kvothe, something that was apparently so rare for her she hadn't any idea how to comfort him.
* ChekhovsGun: As in ''Literature/TheNameOfTheWind'', exposition and important future plot points get mentioned in stories the characters tell.
** Kvothe works on an intricate and difficult bit of artificiery that uses a kind of chemical that can seep through the skin[[note]]This is a real thing, as is much of the magic in the story, albeit with fantastical effects. DMSO, or dimethyl sulfoxide is an example of such a delivery agent, many compounds will dissolve in it, and it moves readily through the skin, making it an effective delivery agent[[/note]], and the text stresses the danger when, after getting ''a single drop'' on his sleeve, he cautiously lifts the cloth away from his skin with tongs and cuts it off with scissors rather than risk touching it. Later, he's drugged using that exact same method.
* ChivalrousPervert: As of book two, Kvothe ReallyGetsAround, but he's very careful not to make any unwanted advances, and he has nothing but disgust for men who treat women poorly.

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* DoorStopper: Parodied in [[http://www.goblinscomic.com/03032011/ this]] ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'' [[CharacterShill strip/ad]] for the book. It has ''one hundred and fifty two chapters,'' clocking in at nearly 1,000 pages.
* DoubleMeaning: When he meets [[spoiler: the Ruh impersonators]], Kvothe makes a series of misleading statements to them that all have a chilling double meaning.
** When Kvothe persuades Anne to let him try the stew while it's cooking, she says it won’t be her fault if his stomach starts aching. He laughs and says, "No, Mother, it won’t be your fault." [[spoiler: It will be his own fault, because he is secretly adding poison to it.]]
** Kvothe declares, "Anyone who does not enjoy this fine stew is hardly one of the Ruh in my opinion." [[spoiler: The false Ruh who eat the stew will not enjoy it, because it is now poisoned.]]
** He asks them if they know how to play "Piper Wit." When they don’t, he picks up his lute and says, "Let me. It’s a song every one of us should know." [[spoiler: A real Ruh would have known the song.]]
** When they ask how long he will travel with them, he replies, "Until no one objects to my leaving." [[spoiler: After he kills them all, he asks their corpses if any of them object to his leaving.]]
** He declares, "I swear on my mother’s milk, none of you will ever make a better deal than the one you made with me tonight." [[spoiler: None of the fake Ruh will survive to make another deal.]]
* DoYouWantToCopulate: The Adem are like this. They consider sex to be nothing particularly special, to the point where Kvothe's teacher asks the question almost verbatim when she realizes he is DistractedByTheSexy. In contrast, the Adem also have strict cultural taboos against showing emotion and playing music in public.
* DramaticPause: When singing his song to Felurian, Kvothe pauses to get her to attention right before serving her with a BackhandedCompliment.

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* MusclesAreMeaningless: A discussed trope. The Adem mercenaries say that women are better fighters even though they are smaller and weaker than the men. Vashet asserts that strength has very little to do with fighting ability.
* ModestyBedsheet: Fela uses one ([[{{Fanservice}} and not very effectively]]) when Kvothe calls upon her in her dorm room late one night.
* MookHorrorShow: 
** Near the end of the book [[spoiler:Kvothe [[TranquilFury dispassionately]] hunts down and kills the false troopers who have kidnapped and raped a pair of girls while pretending to be Ruh.]] Recognising the brutality of what he has done actually gives him nightmares wherein he sees himself as a pitiless monster hunting down his actual family.
** When Kvothe and the Maer's mercenary group track the bandits who stole the Maer's tax money and attack their camp, Kvothe uses sympathy to systematically and mercilessly kill most of the bandits.
* MyGirlIsASlut: While it's suggested that Denna usually abandons relationships whenever the men try to coerce her into having sex with them, she does kiss and flirt with one after another practically as a way of making a living, even while simultaneously romancing Kvothe. Kvothe, who has not even done that much with her, consoles himself with the knowledge that none of those men have the emotional connection with her that he does.
* NecroMantic: How Lanre the war hero became Haliax, the leader of The Chandrian.
* TheNeedsOfTheMany: 
** The Amyr's credo is ''Ivare Enim Euge'', which translates to ''For the greater good''.
** The Duke of Gibea, [[spoiler: thought to be an Amyr in hiding by Kvothe]], killed tens of thousands of people in medical experiments that resulted in "the most thorough [work] ever done" on the human body and physique and the research has likely saved ten times more people than he killed.

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20th Mar '13 12:57:03 PM Discar

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Reverting unilateral change.

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!!Examples:

* AboveTheInfluence: Kvothe states, "There are names for men who take advantage of women when they are vulnerable, but I shall never rightfully be called any of them." 
* {{Alchemy}}: One of the courses taught at the University. It is very explicitly ''not'' "chemistry with a bit of magic," as shown when a fireproofing balm becomes extremely flammable when exposed to water--something that Kvothe thinks is a prank until he sees it with his own eyes.
-->'''Simmon:''' Repeat after me: "I know absolutely nothing about alchemy."
* ArbitrarySkepticism: Kvothe at times. Sometimes he calls himself on it, as when he's complaining to Felurian that light acts like a wave, not thread, and then realizing how silly this is. Played straight with his reaction to the Lockless Box and the suggestion its sealed with magic, however. Its made pretty clear this is a mix of his university training and disdain for vintish superstition talking.
* AristocratsAreEvil: Most aristocrats are stuffy, elitist and selfish. Ambrose is a particular example, but Kvothe meets quite a number more like him. The Maer is selfish and used to getting his way. There are some aversions, such as Bredon and Simmon. 
* ArmorIsUseless: The Adem don't wear armor. It apparently would just slow down their perfect martial arts moves. Armor also doesn't seem to be much use against them.
* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Carceret is a female version.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: 
** Kvothe makes an impression in Vintas as follows.
--> I was one of '''those'''. I meddled with dark powers. I summoned demons. I ate the entire little cheese, including the rind.
** 'Oh perfect, a musician on top of everything else.' The Adem, part of whose hat is being TheStoic, consider musicians equivalent with prostitutes because they express their emotions. To a whole room. Again and again.
* ArtisticLicenseMartialArts: The Adem mercenaries practice a martial art that is so powerful that 10-year-old girls can kick the snot out of men. The Adem also claim that being morally superior makes women better fighters.
* AttemptedRape: Implied rather strongly with [[spoiler:Kvothe, in a flashback to his beggar-orphan days. He manages to fight them off, and the memory of it saves him from Felurian's mind control]] 
* BerserkButton: 
** Don't accuse Devi of Malfeasance without proof. It will end badly. 
** Don't [[spoiler:pretend to be Ruh and go around kidnapping and raping young girls. There won't be much left after Kvothe is done with you.]]
** Hurting, humiliating or belittling Kvothe when Bast is around is also a poor idea.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Felurian. Kvothe specifically notes that she's not evil, it's just her nature. The Fae overall seem to play by a different set of rules. Bast seems to understand basic human morality, though he occasionally chooses not to follow it.
* BookEnds: Bast reciting the "Elderberry" counting rhyme. At the beginning, it's to choose what bottles to pick for a mixed drink. [[spoiler:At the end, it's to decide which of the soldiers to kill first, with which [[NoodleImplements random]] implement about the camp.]] And, as before, the book begins and ends describing the silence of three parts.
* BrickJoke: In the [[TheNameOfTheWind first book]], Elodin asks Kvothe, "Do you know the seven words that will make a woman love you?" Several examples pop up:[[spoiler: "I need you to breathe for me," "I was just wondering why you're here," "I guess I'm doomed to die loveless," "You know, I could have carried you," and "For all that, she lacked your fire,"]] showing that the right words are based on context, as does Naming.
* CallBack: 
** When Vashet tells Kvothe, [[spoiler:"I will admit, I've never had a student offer himself up for a vicious beating in order to prove he's worth my time,"]] Kvothe replies, [[spoiler:"This was nothing. Once I jumped off a roof." This is a reference to Elodin's test of recklessness in ''The Name of the Wind'']].
** In ''TheNameOfTheWind'', Bast sneaked into Chronicler's room at night and opened a discussion with the line, "We need to talk." Mostly, Bast talked and Chronicler listened. In this book, it's Chronicler's turn.
* CantArgueWithElves: The Adem fit this trope to a T. During the time Kvothe spends with them, there isn't a single scene where an Adem proclaims how infinitely superior they are to pretty much every other culture in the world to Kvothe, who is constantly referred as a barbarian by the Adem. Kvothe, who doesn't take shit from anybody, only occasionally tries to defend himself and his arguments are defeated every time, even when he's factually correct.
* TheCasanova: Subverted--Kvothe discovers that, even though AllWomenAreLustful, their idea of what constitutes a working relationship involves more emotional commitment than he can offer.
* CassandraTruth: Kote tries to convince one of his friends in the village not to head off to war [[spoiler: by telling him the truth about who he is and why Chronicler is there. He is not believed.]] It's implied that some of the other things the boy has been told (his mother is sick and his girlfriend is pregnant) have also been dismissed.
* ChekhovsGun: As in ''TheNameOfTheWind'', exposition and important future plot points get mentioned in stories the characters tell.
* CloserToEarth: The Adem believe that women are morally superior to men and that only women can teach the Lethani because they understand it better and are better fighters because of it.
* CoolOldGuy: Bredon quickly befriends Kvothe by teaching him to play a strategy game and giving him advice on how to manuever through court politics. Bredon doesn't seem to care what other nobles think of him, and might even indulge in pagan orgies. 
* CoolSword: 
** Besides "Folly" which is still hung on the wall of the Inn, Kvothe gets an ancient sword he calls "Caesura" during the story. Kvothe mentions they are not the same sword.
** When Kvothe makes up a story about Chronicler, he claims he has a sword of paper that can cut you from anywhere if he writes your name on it.
* DarkerAndEdgier: Than the first book. YMMV, but Kvothe kills a ''lot'' of people in this book, and in some pretty nasty ways. Also, a lot more sex.
* TheDreaded: The Cthaeh, a being that can see the future perfectly and is one of the most evil things in existence. It specializes in [[ButterflyOfDoom creating butterflies of doom]] by acting as a malicious oracle, telling visitors whatever truths will cause the most damage. And if that weren't enough, the flowers that surround it act as a panacea so there's always someone trying to talk to it. Bast says that he would rather fight all the Chandrian together than exchange ten words with Cthaeth. There is an ancient order of immortal Fae, wielding bows that can kill a man with perfect accuracy from half a mile off. Their ''only'' purpose is to make sure '''no one''' speaks to the Cthaeth, and no one even goes near anyone who went near it.
* DoorStopper: Parodied in [[http://www.goblinscomic.com/03032011/ this]] ''{{Goblins}}'' [[CharacterShill strip/ad]] for the book. It has ''one hundred and fifty two chapters,'' clocking in at nearly 1,000 pages.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: This book ends on a slightly brighter point of Kvothe's story, with him [[spoiler:surrounded by friends, able to study freely at The university, and moderately wealthy for the first time in his life.]] However, Kvothe mentions that going forward a bit, things get darker real quick, so this is just a [[HopeSpot Hope Spot]].
* EccentricMentor: Elodin. ''Finally.''
* EloquentInMyNativeTongue: Tempi. Also Kvothe, just the other way around.
* EverybodyHasLotsOfSex: The Adem. [[spoiler:They have so much sex they never discovered its correlation with pregnancy.]]
* FailureHero: Kvothe believes this about himself which is why he is hiding out as an innkeeper.
* TheFairFolk: Felurian, The Sithe, The Cthaeh, Bast...we hear about a few more, as well.
* FamedInStory: Partly due to his own efforts, Kvothe is becoming this by the end of the book.
* FantasticRacism: Various ethnicities have stereotypes against each other. People think the Cealdim are obsessed with money, due to the abundance of Cealdish moneylenders and the strength of their currency. A lot of people hate the Edema Ruh, believing them to be thieves and kidnappers, which is actually untrue. Kvothe tells a story that portrays several nationalities by their stereotypes, then lionizes the Edema Ruh. It offends his audience. 
* FantasticSlurs: ''Ravel'' is a slur against the Edema Ruh. As Kvothe puts it, "its use makes light of the systematic slaughter of thousands of Ruh." ''Shim'' seems to be a slur against Cealdish people, as it denotes a low-value piece of their currency; Simmon mentions that Ambrose called Wilem this at one point.
* {{Fetish}}: Kvothe finds extremely erotic to see a woman playing an instrument.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Full of this. 
** [[spoiler:The researching on the Adem and Denna's letter about meeting a mercenary lead up to Kvothe's training with them. Learning about playing a "beautiful game" of tak from Bredon hints at the philosophy of Lethani.]] 
** An offhand reference to persecution of the Edema Ruh begins at the start and eventually culminates in the encounter with Lady Lackless.
** Bast's [[spoiler:strange reaction to Kvothe being mugged is a sign that he paid the soldiers to rob the inn.]] 
** "There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man." Kvothe runs afoul of all three.
** The rhyme regarding the rings worn by Kvothe can be considered this; he acquires rings of wood, bone, and iron (at least) in his travels.
** Read carefully the description of Meluan Lackless. Pay attention to her reason for hating the Edema Ruh. There will be a quiz later regarding a certain relative of Kvothe's.
* GenreBlindness: Rather perplexeingly, given how [[GenreSavvy savvy]] he usually is, Kvothe does not realize that Elodin's inane and pointless requests are not designed to directly give answers, but to enable a person to find the answers themselves, until long after he has left the class. [[spoiler:This directly ties back to his Fatal Flaw: impatience.]]
* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: The Adem consider themselves to be on a higher moral level than "barbarians," and part of that is their total lack of sexual inhibitions. However, Felurian is [[BlueAndOrangeMorality completely amoral]], and has terrific sex as well.
* HardLight: The shaed Felurian makes for Kvothe uses shadow for cloth and light for thread.
* HornyDevils: Felurian magically causes men to be overwhelmingly attracted to her. She has sex with them until they go insane. Kvothe's memory of AttemptedRape saves him. 
* HotForTeacher: Kvothe is turned on by grappling with his Lethani instructor so much that he gets a boner. Luckily, she takes care of it for him whenever he needs.
* IKnowYourTrueName: 
** Kvothe gets the upper hand on [[spoiler:Felurian]] this way.
** He fakes this with Dedan when he gets too unruly, as well.
* IntoxicationEnsues: The "plum bob" alchemical concoction Kvothe is dosed with completely strips him of his inhibitions and moral grounding. When asked if he would consider murdering his mortal enemy in cold blood worse than stealing a pie, he asks whether it's a meat or fruit pie. When asked what would happen if he did kill Ambrose, he says, there will probably be a trial and people will buy him drinks. Someone ''had'' just bought him a drink for messing with Ambrose, but that was ''how'' he got plum-bobbed.
* LeastRhymableWord: Kvothe is interrupted in the middle of a song, right after he sings a line that ends in "silver." We never do find out what on earth he was planning to rhyme it with.
* LetsGetDangerous: Two thugs stop in to rob Kote's inn. Kote attempts to fight them. [[SubvertedTrope He loses]]. 
* LittleMissBadass: Kvothe is paired with a fighter of a comparable level of skill to his own. This turns out to be Celean, a little girl, no more than ten years old. [[spoiler:She wins. Over and over again.]]
* {{Matriarchy}}: Adem society is a Patriarchy Flip. The Adem all believe that women are morally and physically superior to men. One female Adem says with some pity that men have absolutely nothing to contribute to the world.
* MagicAIsMagicA: Considering the way sympathy works, some of the audience wondered what's stopping you from using a ''person'' or a corpse as a [[VoodooDoll mommet]]. The answer? ''Absolutely nothing''. There's a reason they used to burn sympathists at the stake.
* MeaningfulName: In-world, names are very important to say the least. Many (possibly most) of the names in the story are inspired by words in various RealLife languages.

* MusclesAreMeaningless: A discussed trope. The Adem mercenaries say that women are better fighters even though they are smaller and weaker than the men. Vashet asserts that strength has very little to do with fighting ability. 
* NoGuyWantsAnAmazon: Notably averted by the Adem. The women are thought to be stronger fighters, yet they're screwing so often that no one, over the course of several thousand years, has figured out that sex has something to do with reproduction. That's a lot of screwing.
* NoodleIncident: "Chapter Fifty Two: A Brief Journey." Also, Kvothe's trial in Imre, which he skips because it bores him.
* NotSoDifferent: Kvothe and [[spoiler:Denna. Both stay somewhere where they're abused because it's the only place they can learn what they want to learn.]]
* OhCrap: Many, many times. But probably the most notable was when [[TheFairFolk Bast]] hears that Kvothe has spoken to Cthaeh.
* OldMaster: Shehyn.
* TheOmniscient: The Cthaeh, who can see all possible futures perfectly, and is "perfectly malicious." It knows the exact outcome of every single possible action it could ever make, and always chooses the one that will cause the most harm to the world. Bast describes people who come into contact with it as "plague ships sailing for a harbor," because their actions will [[ButterflyOfDoom set up terrible events to occur]]. Bast describes it as infinitely more dangerous than even the apparant BigBad of the series, the Chandrian. Chronicler, however, isn't quite as convinced that it can have as much influence as Bast believes. The Fae in general however are so afraid of it that they kill anyone who talks to it from out of hearing range. And then shoot the crows too.
* PlayingCyrano: Kvothe to Maer Alveron of Vintas.
* PrecisionFStrike: Bast delivers the only instance of the f-word as of yet after Kvothe gets done talking about the Cthaeh. 
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Any Adem mercenary. Played with in that they are extremely practical in terms of doing what it takes to win.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: When Kvothe gets drugged with a poison that completely removes his ability to judge morality, he can't figure out which is worse, killing a man or stealing a pie. But when it's suggested he might rape a girl, he just says, "I could never do that. Just like I couldn't eat a stone or walk through a wall."
* RevealingCoverup: Kvothe notices that almost all hard fact concerning the Amyr has been either removed or muddied, creating a consistently inaccurate mess. Later, the Maer corroborates this.
* RhymesOnADime: Felurian often speaks in rhyme, and Kvothe lapses into it when he's with her. He and Denna also engage in some of it as repartee. Simmon can compose verse on the spot as well.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Kvothe goes on one against the [[spoiler:fake Edema Ruh]].
* ShaggyDogStory: Kvothe tells one to the mercenaries he's leading so they stop asking him for stories.
* ShockAndAwe: There's a thunderstorm when the mercenary band confronts the bandits. Kvothe puts this to good use.
* ShoutOut: Caudicus, the Maer's arcanist, has a [[ApothecaryAlligator stuffed crocodile]] hanging from his ceiling.
* SpeakOfTheDevil: The Chandrian know when you speak their true names. [[spoiler:This is how and why they tracked down and killed Kvothe's family.]]
* StandardRoyalCourt: The court of the Maer of Vintas. Since we're seeing this story from Kvothe's point of view, it comes off as a bit of a DeadlyDecadentCourt.
* StarvingStudent: Kvothe's struggle to come up with his tuition money drives a large part of the plot.
* SublimeRhyme: Felurian speaks almost entirely in rhymes. It's easier to notice in the audiobook.
* SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic: Sympathy and Alchemy, analyzed to the point that they aren't even considered magic anymore.
* TooCleverByHalf: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by Elodin as a reason he's not keen on teaching Kvothe.
* TookALevelInBadass: After Kvothe studies with the Adem.
* TrainingFromHell: Kvothe's time among the Adem, which leads to [[SecretTestOfCharacter whippings]], [[CantArgueWithElves being constantly belittled and humiliated for being a barbarian]], and on several occasions being tossed around by a [[LittleMissBadass 10-year-old girl]].
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: [[CloudCuckoolander Elodin]] decided to enter the Masters' Hall one night by climbing on the rooftop, then knocking on the glass window like a door. [[TheStoic Lorren]] responded to this by unhinging the window and saying hello. (He's probably seen Elodin do much stranger things.)
* VoodooDoll: Mommets, a key component in Malfeasance. [[spoiler:Though an actual corpse serves this purpose later on in a grisly and disturbing fashion. There's a reason people used to burn arcanists at the stake.]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Some of the Amyr are implied to have been this. And at times Kvothe is well on his way.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** Skarpi has yet to reappear.
** In [[http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/05/rothfuss-reread-pat-answers-the-admissions-questions a recent interview,]] the author has stated that Sovoy [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome now lives happily on a farm in the countryside]].
* WhatTheHellHero: 
** Marten is rightfully freaked out when Kvothe [[spoiler:kills the bandits using sympathy with a corpse]].
** Quite a few people are alarmed at the fact that he [[spoiler:killed the fake Edema Ruh]].
* XanatosGambit: Alveron's scheme to send Kvothe after bandits would result in either the bandits being removed or Kvothe's position in the court and the Maer's obligations of support, significantly weakened.

13th Feb '13 11:14:27 AM DanglyLeggedOwl

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21st Oct '12 2:57:42 PM aerojockey

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Moved tropes to the Kingkiller Chronicle page

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!!Examples

* MusclesAreMeaningless: A discussed trope. The Adem mercenaries say that women are better fighters even though they are smaller and weaker than the men. Vashet asserts that strength has very little to do with fighting ability. 
* NoGuyWantsAnAmazon: Notably averted by the Adem. The women are thought to be stronger fighters, yet they're screwing so often that no one, over the course of several thousand years, has figured out that sex has something to do with reproduction. That's a lot of screwing.
* NoodleIncident: "Chapter Fifty Two: A Brief Journey." Also, Kvothe's trial in Imre, which he skips because it bores him.
* NotSoDifferent: Kvothe and [[spoiler:Denna. Both stay somewhere where they're abused because it's the only place they can learn what they want to learn.]]
* OhCrap: Many, many times. But probably the most notable was when [[TheFairFolk Bast]] hears that Kvothe has spoken to Cthaeh.
* OldMaster: Shehyn.
* TheOmniscient: The Cthaeh, who can see all possible futures perfectly, and is "perfectly malicious." It knows the exact outcome of every single possible action it could ever make, and always chooses the one that will cause the most harm to the world. Bast describes people who come into contact with it as "plague ships sailing for a harbor," because their actions will [[ButterflyOfDoom set up terrible events to occur]]. Bast describes it as infinitely more dangerous than even the apparant BigBad of the series, the Chandrian. Chronicler, however, isn't quite as convinced that it can have as much influence as Bast believes. The Fae in general however are so afraid of it that they kill anyone who talks to it from out of hearing range. And then shoot the crows too.
* PlayingCyrano: Kvothe to Maer Alveron of Vintas.
* PrecisionFStrike: Bast delivers the only instance of the f-word as of yet after Kvothe gets done talking about the Cthaeh. 
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Any Adem mercenary. Played with in that they are extremely practical in terms of doing what it takes to win.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: When Kvothe gets drugged with a poison that completely removes his ability to judge morality, he can't figure out which is worse, killing a man or stealing a pie. But when it's suggested he might rape a girl, he just says, "I could never do that. Just like I couldn't eat a stone or walk through a wall."
* RevealingCoverup: Kvothe notices that almost all hard fact concerning the Amyr has been either removed or muddied, creating a consistently inaccurate mess. Later, the Maer corroborates this.
* RhymesOnADime: Felurian often speaks in rhyme, and Kvothe lapses into it when he's with her. He and Denna also engage in some of it as repartee. Simmon can compose verse on the spot as well.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Kvothe goes on one against the [[spoiler:fake Edema Ruh]].
* ShaggyDogStory: Kvothe tells one to the mercenaries he's leading so they stop asking him for stories.
* ShockAndAwe: There's a thunderstorm when the mercenary band confronts the bandits. Kvothe puts this to good use.
* ShoutOut: Caudicus, the Maer's arcanist, has a [[ApothecaryAlligator stuffed crocodile]] hanging from his ceiling.
* SpeakOfTheDevil: The Chandrian know when you speak their true names. [[spoiler:This is how and why they tracked down and killed Kvothe's family.]]
* StandardRoyalCourt: The court of the Maer of Vintas. Since we're seeing this story from Kvothe's point of view, it comes off as a bit of a DeadlyDecadentCourt.
* StarvingStudent: Kvothe's struggle to come up with his tuition money drives a large part of the plot.
* SublimeRhyme: Felurian speaks almost entirely in rhymes. It's easier to notice in the audiobook.
* SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic: Sympathy and Alchemy, analyzed to the point that they aren't even considered magic anymore.
* TooCleverByHalf: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by Elodin as a reason he's not keen on teaching Kvothe.
* TookALevelInBadass: After Kvothe studies with the Adem.
* TrainingFromHell: Kvothe's time among the Adem, which leads to [[SecretTestOfCharacter whippings]], [[CantArgueWithElves being constantly belittled and humiliated for being a barbarian]], and on several occasions being tossed around by a [[LittleMissBadass 10-year-old girl]].
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: [[CloudCuckoolander Elodin]] decided to enter the Masters' Hall one night by climbing on the rooftop, then knocking on the glass window like a door. [[TheStoic Lorren]] responded to this by unhinging the window and saying hello. (He's probably seen Elodin do much stranger things.)
* VoodooDoll: Mommets, a key component in Malfeasance. [[spoiler:Though an actual corpse serves this purpose later on in a grisly and disturbing fashion. There's a reason people used to burn arcanists at the stake.]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Some of the Amyr are implied to have been this. And at times Kvothe is well on his way.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** Skarpi has yet to reappear.
** In [[http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/05/rothfuss-reread-pat-answers-the-admissions-questions a recent interview,]] the author has stated that Sovoy [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome now lives happily on a farm in the countryside]].
* WhatTheHellHero: 
** Marten is rightfully freaked out when Kvothe [[spoiler:kills the bandits using sympathy with a corpse]].
** Quite a few people are alarmed at the fact that he [[spoiler:killed the fake Edema Ruh]].
* XanatosGambit: Alveron's scheme to send Kvothe after bandits would result in either the bandits being removed or Kvothe's position in the court and the Maer's obligations of support, significantly weakened.

to:

21st Oct '12 2:40:03 PM aerojockey

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move some to tkkc

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17th Aug '12 1:12:32 PM CaptainCrawdad

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Even though they're wrong, they still manage to defeat Kvothe's arguments from a logical standpoint.

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17th Aug '12 12:37:09 PM hitchopottimus

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23rd Jul '12 2:49:53 PM moderator ccoa

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see discussion

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11th Jul '12 10:35:44 AM CaptainCrawdad

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YMMV

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