History VideoGame / AsheronsCall

* GuiltFreeExtermiationWar: The humans want to make the [[InsectoidAliens Olthoi]] extinct, as they enslaved and ate a lot of them. Given that the olthoi are barely-sapient predators, the feeling is mutual.

* EverythingsBetterWithPenguins: Just penguins.

** In the first game the Viamontians ([[AmazingTechnicolorSkin blue-skinned people]]) call the other human ethnicities the "bloodless"

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Aluvian are late Middle Ages European of Saxon/Germanic flavour, Gharundim are Arabian and Sho Japanese/Chinese. Viamontese are imperialistic Norman/Spaniard/Italians.

It revolves on an island in an alternate universe called Auberean, [[AfterTheEnd after the world is destroyed]]. The titular Asheron, while researching dimensional portal magic, accidentally let loose the Olthoi, a race of [[HiveMind insect]] monsters that very, very quickly took over his world. The entire game of ''Asheron's Call'' takes place on a small island called by the original people, Ireth Lassel, and is the site where Asheron's research took place. Before the start of the game, the portal experiment, which had run wild after opening the portal to the Olthoi homeworld, opened random portals to a world with 3 (later 4) human races, Ispar. The Isparians come through and are quickly enslaved or killed by the Olthoi, but a later rebellion allows them to overthrow the Olthoi and, in killing the Olthoi Hive Queen, free the land, which they rename Dereth, for colonization.

The original game was sometimes considered a FranchiseZombie -- while monthly content updates continue, the active ''Asheron's Call'' player base has been shrinking for years. Many theories abound to why this is -- most people agree that at least one of the 100+ monthly updates fall under TheyChangedItNowItSucks -- but the answer may be more marketing than anything else. Whereas ''VideoGame/EverQuest'' released its expansion packs as new titles (thus keeping it eternally inside game stores) ''Asheron's Call'' instead chose to release its expansion packs as free downloads. As such, the game propagates mainly by word-of-mouth, and not much by that since a lot of things are showing their age nowadays.

Nonetheless, on January 31st, 2017, both the original game and its sequel were shut down after 17 years of activity.

** Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, [[Music/TheRollingStones "You cannot always acquire what you desire. You cannot always acquire what you desire. But if you attempt it occasionally, you potentially could discover, that you acquire what you require.]] I'm thinking of setting it to music."

* TwentyBearAsses

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: Tuskers. Big, stupid... save for Oolutanga.

* MadScientist: Aerbax.
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction / MinorInjuryOverreaction: For some reason creatures and PCs would make some kind of noise when hit with a critical (or just a lot of damage), but wouldn't make any noise when taking magic damage, even though it was usually much higher (I.E, you might get hit for 15 damage in melee and scream, but get hit for 100+ damage with a war spell, and you don't make a sound.)

* MoneySpider

* ValuesDissonance: InUniverse: The Virindi where [[StarfishAliens really alien creatures]] that normally live in [[EldritchLocation portal space]], and had a HiveMind. As such, they always knew what eachother are thinking, and the concept of deception was foreign to them, so that when they got stuck in the material world, they tried to blend in using [[PaperThinDisguise paper thin disguises]], consisting of a robe with a hood and a harlequin "drama" mask. It didn't exactly work, due to them having no feet and hovering, along with making a DroneOfDread. Oddly, when Aerbax and some other Virindi gained individual conciousness, they didn't seem to get any better at the whole deception thing and wore basically the same costumes. Maybe it [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm just wasn't possible for virindi minds to really figure such a concept out?]]

* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: [[AC:TREMENDOUS]] monougas.

* EldritchAbomination: Several. The Kemeroi; the Virindi Singularity; although the singular Bael'Zharon, the Hopeslayer was possibly the closest to the trope.

** The Olthoi are obviously inspired by the xenomorphs from ''[[Franchise/Alien]]''

** The Olthoi are obviously inspired by the xenomorphs from ''Franchise/Alien''

** The Olthoi are obviously inspired by the xenomorphs from {{Aliens}}

* Mordor Aerlinthe Island, a volcanic island full of Golems and Undead. It was the highest level area in the game when it was first implemented