History VideoGame / FireEmblemAwakening

The thirteenth ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' game, and the first wholly original title (as in, not [[VideoGameRemake a remake]]) since ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Radiant Dawn]]'' in 2007.

The game brings back the world map system of ''Gaiden'' and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones The Sacred Stones]]'', and reintroduces the Skills system in a form similar to ''Radiant Dawn'', allowing you to learn additional Skills simply by leveling up, and [[EliteTweak even more of them by switching to different classes]]. It sports a graphical style reminiscent of the Tellius games with a more cartoonish bent, sporting a TwoAndAHalfD map and 3D fights. The character design and portrait art style--the work of Yusuke Kozaki, of ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' fame--looks like it belongs in a {{seinen}} anime, which is a fresh departure from the [[UncannyValley overly-realistic]] art style from the DS games. A new feature introduced allows units to gang up on or block attacks from enemies when next to an attacking ally, which is also tied to an expanded [[RelationshipValues Supports system]], containing great amounts of dialogue between characters and extensive {{shipping}} mechanics.

Both Chrom and Lucina will appear in ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone 2''.

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The thirteenth ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' game, and the first wholly original title (as in, not [[VideoGameRemake a remake]]) since ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Radiant Dawn]]'' in 2007.

Both Chrom and Lucina will appear in ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone 2''

The offical site can be found [[https://fireemblem.nintendo.com/ here]].

Set nearly two-thousand years after the events of [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia the Akaneia titles]], '''''Fire Emblem Awakening''''' tells the story of Chrom: the [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair blue-haired]] prince of the [[TheTheocracy Halidom of Ylisse]] who [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething also leads]] a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits ragtag]] [[MildlyMilitary peacekeeping force]] known as the Shepherds. One day, Chrom happens upon [[PlayerCharacter a man/woman]] with [[IdentityAmnesia no memories]] but an incredible aptitude for military strategy, whom he recruits into the Shepherds. With the aid of this mysterious tactician, Chrom must deal with the warmongering nation of Plegia (whose king holds an insane grudge against Ylisse), the appearance of [[TheUndead the undead "Risen"]] and an [[CoolMask enigmatic masked youth]] by the name of "[[NamesTheSame Marth]]" who prophesies a doomed future for the world.

!!This game has examples of:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Tropes # through E]]
* HundredPercentCompletion: Getting ''every possible'' support log is a monumental task requiring multiple playthroughs. You can technically cut down on that number via SaveScumming [[note]]By viewing the S rank support, saving into another file. Completing the paralogue for that child, getting A support between the child and their father (since he's the only variable) and Morgan (if they are your Avatar's child, but if they aren't AND they are the opposite gender, then they will also have to marry him/her, unlock Morgan, then get the A support with him/her anyway), then going back to the save from before they married. Yes, this will take a while, probably best saved for toward the endgame[[/note]], but at the very least you will need one for every possible spouse Chrom has, since she won't be able to marry anyone else for that game.
* AccidentalPervert: In their B Support, Chrom walks in on a female Avatar naked, and she returns the favor in their A Support.
** In their Supports with Vaike, the Avatar (male or female) is also accused of being one by Sully's horse when it catches the Avatar trying to stop Vaike from peeping on girls. The Avatar, of either gender, will also accidentally walk in on a bathing Gaius, and a female Avatar will walk in on a changing Say'ri in their Supports.
* ActionGirl: As usual in the series, all the female playable characters. Although this time they can be upgraded to {{Action Mom}}s. This game also cranks it UpToEleven with the mostly female-exclusive "Galeforce" skill, which lets the user take another full turn should they defeat an enemy.
* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: The official localized titles of the enemy phase themes all start with an "A" and the boss themes all start with an "M"(with the exception of [=StreetPass=] battle themes).
* {{Adorkable}}: Characters being adorkable in all of their opposite-sex Supports is the standard, not the exception.
* AerithAndBob: The named Plegian characters are: Gangrel, Aversa, Tharja, Validar... and Henry. [[spoiler:As well as whatever you name the Avatar, which by default is Robin]].
* AesopAmnesia: Characters will often address their flaws and fix them (or at least begin to work at it) by their A Supports, but the very next conversation will have them bringing it up all over again. This is due to the limitations of the Support system, as they're completely optional and can be done in any order.
** The worst perpetrator of this is [[CowardlyLion Yarne]], who literally has different versions of the same conversations with almost every single character.
* AffectionateNickname:
** Gaius has one for everyone, like "Blue" for Chrom, "Sunshine" for Tharja, or "Bubbles" for the Avatar.
** Frederick is known as "Frederick the Wary", a title he wears with pride. On the other hand, the Avatar calling him "Fredericson" (if male) or "Freddy-bear" (if female) during their supports are very much a EmbarrassingNickname to him.
** Tiki called Marth "Mar-Mar" during his lifetime. She [[FreudianSlip occasionally uses it towards people who remind her of him]] throughout the game.
* AfterTheEnd: The world shown in the Future Past Xenologues, as well as [[spoiler:the time from where Lucina came from]].
* AllDeathsFinal: Par for the course for the series, though it's [[AvertedTrope averted]] if you select Casual mode, where all fallen units will return in the next battle. Also [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] for plot-critical characters, who will only retreat, but will not remain playable, if they fall in battle.
* AluminumChristmasTrees: The hoop skirt Lissa (and War Clerics) wear isn't just some goofy ScaryImpracticalArmor or BattleBallgown. It's called a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crinoline crinoline]] and was popular among ladies in the mid-[=19th=] century.
* AlwaysChaoticEvil:
** PlayedStraight with Grima's backstory if the Knights of Iris suggested backstory is true, then he's the same species of dragon as the villain from the first game. And also happens to be the BigBad.
** Downplayed with the Plegians. At first they're treated as warmongering assholes, but after [[spoiler: Emmeryn's HeroicSacrifice]] they start deserting en masse and chanting her name, forcing Chrom to realize that his sister was right about them all along.
* AmbidextrousSprite: Averted with Chrom, who has [[http://www.serenesforest.net/fe13/img/15022012C.jpg two different portraits]] for when he faces left or right.
** Some characters avert this by having symmetrical character designs.
** Oddly enough, Chrom is the only asymmetrical character with two different portraits. Other asymmetrical characters, like Basilio (who has an eyepatch) and Vaike/Brady/Donnel (who have scars), play this trope straight with mirrored portraits. This results in their facial features flip-flopping sides during conversations.
* AmbiguousDisorder: Miriel and Laurent display unmistakable signs of autism-spectrum disorders.
** Cynthia as well, having the rigid worldview, trouble reading nonverbal cues, and obsession with heroes, not to mention poor motor skills.
* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: Not present in the game itself, but [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4rxJG4Rgqs compare the the Japanese Swapnote stationery with the American one.]]
** Later subverted, as America and Europe ended up getting the original version too.
* AnimeHair: Present, but nowhere ''near'' the level of what was previously feared by some since most of the hairstyles are at least plausible aside from the colors.
* TheAntichrist: [[spoiler: The Avatar was bred to be Grima's vessel. However, after a series of events they end up becoming the AntiAntiChrist.]]
* AntiPoopSocking:
** This game seems to be designed to be played in small increments. Usually after a Chapter, a Risen horde or a merchant shows up so you can train characters or buy stuff respectively. But they won't show up more than once in one sitting. So if you want to play for more than an hour, you better be prepared to go through multiple save files. Also, events in the Barracks only show up once every couple of hours, or a whole bunch at once if you leave it off for a day or two. In Hard Mode, the Reeking Boxes which summon hordes of zombies are 9x more expensive, making grinding not an option. Nintendo seems REALLY concerned about eye strain.
** After completing a chapter, Anna will sometimes remind you to take a break.
** If you play the game very late at night and go to the barracks, all of the characters will comment on how late it is, with most them advising you to go to sleep.
* AntiFrustrationFeatures: In older FireEmblem games, some recruitments required you to send one of your units to chat with the character in question to acquire him/her. This could be problematic, since there is a chance the character could be too weak to reach the character, if not already dead (and this is assumming [[GuideDangIt that you would even know who to send]]). In Awakening, all recruits are done by Chrom, who is forced into every level, so is likely to be strong enough to hold his own to reach the recruitee. The flip side of this though, is that you now have to put the one person you can't afford to lose in harm's way.
** Taken even further with the kids' paralogues: either Chrom or the mother (or father if your Avatar is male) the child is tied to can recruit them, and the opening cutscenes usually make it obvious who the mother is if you haven't read a guide (Lissa talks to Lucina in Owain's paralogue, Olivia talks to the Avatar in Inigo's, and so on). Some of the children can be told who their mother is at face value, especially [[KillerRabbit Yarne]] and [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Nah]], with the two exceptions probably being Kjelle and Severa.
** Depending on who you ask, the inclusion of the Casual Mode can be considered this for those new to the series (or [[StrategyRPG TRPGs]] in general). In this mode, the permadeath is removed and you're allowed a limited number of mid-battle saves.
** Many key elements of the series are re-worked to be less frustrating or more clear. The best example is probably [[RelationshipValues Supports]], characters are no longer limited to 5 conversations (though they can only have one S support), all possible supports are listed (including potential S-ranks) for each character, relationships between units are improved by fighting together instead of just standing adjacent to each other, and finally, the numerical benefits of fighting together are made explicit.
** As for item management, it is now possible to purchase items for specific units and shops are in every point of the map for easy selling. Also, the convoy has unlimited space (which is great, given the number of items you can randomly pick up) and there's a Restock option to replenish a weapon's uses by combining with another item in storage, eliminating the problem of having useless single-digit durability weapons lying around.
* AntiVillain: [[spoiler:Mustafa and Yen'fay]] are [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type II]], both being forced to fight the heroes because their hands are tied behind their back. [[spoiler:Walhart]] is a Type I and Type III, in that he chose his villainous path but does it to attempt to avert an even larger disaster.
* AnyoneCanDie: A distinct possibility in gameplay if you have the permadeath option turned on. The only exceptions are Chrom and the Avatar, [[WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou since you automatically lose if any of them die]]; Lucina also gets this treatment, but only in Classic Mode.
** Even with permadeath, all of the first-generation female characters will only ''retreat'', as all the children (save Lucina and female Morgan) are tied to their mothers. The same can be said for some of the plot-important characters, such as Frederick, Say'ri, and Virion (and the latter only because he shows up in a single scene that has minor significance to the plot). Anna is the only first-generation female in the army who ''can'' die for real since she has neither a pre-destined child nor story significance (unlike Say'ri and Flavia), although Tharja can die in-story (from the 11 females with predestined children, she is the only one who starts as an enemy and whose recruitment isn't mandatory).
* ArtificialBrilliance: Like with the recent games, the enemy knows that players will restart the game, and thus lose, if they lose even one character. They even arrange a trap to catch anyone using a certain [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Laguz-like]] unit in the [[WakeUpCallBoss Wake Up Call Chapter]].
** Later on, when enemies with [[StatusBuff Rally skills]] start showing up, the A.I. knows how to use them so they affect as many units as possible. And if the enemy has a Dancer (which usually only occurs in [=StreetPass=] teams, though it can also occur in [[spoiler:Paralogue 22]]), they know how to use them.
*** Zig-zagged with the rally skills, however, in that they pretty much always use them at the end of the turn, meaning none of the enemy units actually benefit from the rally effects on any turns but yours.
** The enemy A.I. in Paralogue 17, a HoldTheLine mission that has you protecting a defenseless [[spoiler:Tiki]], has enemies that employ a very simple, yet brilliant, strategy: They'll always ignore your units and head straight for the NPC you're guarding instead. (Unless they have no choice but to fight you to get to her, of course.) Given that most missions like this in earlier games were won by by positioning your troops in the enemy's path and waiting for them to [[SuicidalOverconfidence suicidally charge into you]], it's a wonder why the series has never tried this behavior before.
*** This tactic also occurs in any chapter with NPC's.
** A common tactic to level grind is to removed the CrutchCharacter's weapons and used them as a glorified meat shield. While the enemy attacks the defenseless, but nearly invincible CrutchCharacter your weaker characters can gang up and kill them. Not so much in Awakening, where the enemy will bypass an unarmed-but-powerful character if someone weak and killable is within their range.
* ArtificialStupidity: Enemies will sometimes attack units who will most surely kill them on a counterattack. While normally, the series' A.I. will do this to weaken them so another unit can eventually kill them, they'll even do this when none of the enemies nearby that unit could even ''scratch'' them. They may also body-block their own units by throwing a ranged weapon at someone ''behind'' an easily killable target very early in their turn.
** For that matter, it doesn't even matter if an enemy literally ''cannot do any damage to their target'' - if they're the only PC in range, they'll almost certainly waste health and effort trying anyway.
*** Though this veers into FridgeBrilliance territory, in that the ability to gauge the damage output of a particular round of combat is explicitly a special ability of the Avatar as a skilled tactician. Although it seems suicidal to send a low-level archer against an armored opponent, the enemy can't tell the difference.
** The enemy A.I. will also always use the maximum amount of movement required to get in range of your units. Most of the time all you have to do is [[FishingForMooks move a few of your toughest characters into the edge of their range]] with the rest on standby right behind them, and watch as the enemies all charge forward and leave themselves vulnerable to a counterattack.
*** This is especially obvious if you've put a lot of effort into hitting max level on just a few characters very early (particularly the player character and Lucina.) You can put a single over-leveled unit in the middle of the enemy forces and watch your foe rush to their death!
** The villagers' A.I. in the third Paralogue. When you're being attacked by Risen that can easily kill you and you can't fight back, what do you do? If you answered "Run right ''towards'' them", then you surely know the frustrations players had trying to save them.
** Anna's A.I. in the second Paralogue is a DoubleSubversion. She's supposed to be protecting a village from bandits out to destroy it. So naturally, her A.I. prioritizes the enemies that go for villages. That's good. What's NOT good is that she prioritizes killing bandits ''over any sense of self-preservation''. Even if she'll die in one more hit, she still won't use her healing potion until there are no enemies around.
** Severa in the Paralogue you can recruit her in. Even when you get Cordelia to talk to her, Severa will remain A.I. controlled until she reaches a mission-critical NPC. Unfortunately, this means she'll just charge blindly forward into the enemy fortress, ignoring the fact that any one of the enemies inside can kill her in a single attack and turning the whole thing into an EscortMission (or a good time for staff-users to grind, if they brought a fresh Rescue staff).
** The NPC A.I. in this game will prioritize sacrificing itself even to only weaken enemies. This is fine in the DLC chapters, where there's no penalty for allies dying, but when it comes to [[SpitefulAI recruitable allies in the main story...]]
* ArtShift: The series as a whole seems to have shifted its art style towards more of a {{Seinen}} look and feel. With the exception of Nowi and Nah, everyone normally has realistic eyes.
* AscendedExtra: Anna, the [[PluckyGirl plucky]] [[SeriesMascot mascot]] of ''Fire Emblem'' who has only made [[OneSceneWonder walk-on appearances]] in every game so far, is ''finally'' recruitable.
* AscendedMeme:
** [[http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=194733 Frederick's body is ready!]]
** Western fans [[LostInTranslation probably won't know]], but the game apparently ascends several of the Japanese fandom's memes, at least in the Japanese version. Most obvious is the option to identify yourself as an "Emblemer" in your [=StreetPass=] profile: that's actually a FanCommunityNickname for ''FE'' players in Japan. You can find a full list of others [[http://www18.atwiki.jp/fireemblem3ds/pages/809.html here,]] if you can read Japanese.
** A good chunk of the fandom tends to call [[SeriesMascot Anna]] the [[RandomNumberGod RNG Goddess]] or [[PhysicalGod some form of mystical deity]]. With this game, not only does she have [[InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals infinite identical sisters]], they're ''all'' hinted to have divine powers. [[spoiler:The alternate boss for the Apotheosis DLC map is a Level 30 Merchant class Anna with stats way beyond what her class allows, a forged Brave Lance and Spear, and the skills Aether, Counter, Dragonskin, Rightful God, and Vantage+.]]
** The idea that all the games are in the same continuity didn't have any official support before, but this game seems to confirm it.
* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:Gangrel, in his supports with the male Avatar at least.]]
* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: The third [[NintendoHard Ultimate Training]] DLC map features ''giant'' Risen.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Many characters, but especially Chrom, Lucina, Basilio, and Flavia.
* AwesomeButImpractical:
** Expect War Clerics to be this. Considering how low Lissa's strength growth is, it's unlikely that this class would be the most practical outside [[SquishyWizard fighting mages]]. Libra, on the other hand falls under BoringButPractical.
*** Although, gaining the skill Renewal (which restores 30% of an user's HP every turn) make it worthwhile to reclass Lissa, even if it is temporary.
** The DLC characters, as they cannot support other units.
** Certain skills that require killing an enemy to activate (including the Dark Knight's Lifetaker skill and the infamous Galeforce skill that Dark Fliers can learn) can either make or break a unit and leave them vulnerable.
** Lethality, a skill learned by Assassins, can OneHitKO an enemy. The catch is that it has an absurdly low activation rate (the unit's skill divided by 4), so even if a unit has a high skill cap, Lethality still infrequently activates.
** The Swordmaster's Astra skill allows five attacks in one hit (which goes up to ''ten'' if the unit is using a Brave Weapon), but each attack is cut in half from a normal attack. On harder difficulties, enemies gain defensive skills (i.e Pavise+) that will ''always'' activate, so Astra becomes useless on Lunatic mode and some maps.
** Counter can become this. Having an enemy's attack bounce back at them is great, but it becomes pointless if the unit using it becomes a tank. Since it relies on the unit having low defense, it can become risky. The same can be said for Wrath (+20 critical), which activates if the unit's HP is less than half.
** Forging, typically. While powerful, it's really too expensive to justify except for certain items (Hector's Axe, for example, can be forged into a weapon more powerful overall than the legendary Armads), and Brave weapons. Units with the Armsthrift skill and a high luck stat are typically the only way to make forging practical.
* AxCrazy: Evil Plegian King, Gangrel. [[spoiler:Until he joins you.]]
* BackFromTheBrink: The entire point of The Future Past DLC pack: [[spoiler:Outrealm!Naga sends the party to a version of the BadFuture where the end of the world is all but assured without their intervention.]]
* BackgroundMusicOverride: Used in Chapter 10, both in the preparation screen and in the actual chapter, to amazing emotional effect. The final chapter also does this once you gain control of your characters.
* BackToBackBadasses: The Pair Up system works this way.
* BadassAdorable: Nowi. She looks and acts like a small child who loves to play games instead of work and train, and also can transform into a dragon to mow down any enemies in her path.
* BadassFamily: Due to the existence of second-generation characters, you can get lots of these.
** Special mention to Chrom's family, which can get HUGE if you marry the right characters. Specially crucial is to marry a male Avatar with Lucina. If you get all the second and third generation characters, you can fill the entire party just with Chrom's family tree and still be awesome!
*** You can also achieve the same effect by having a male Avatar marry Lissa while Chrom marries someone else, though that means the Avatar would only be related to Chrom's children by law rather than blood.
*** Chrom's extended family tree can, in fact, include up to ''twenty-two'' units if you marry the male Avatar to [[spoiler:Emmeryn]] to keep Lucina free to marry another unit, and then count all the units related by law (including Lucina's, Owain's and Morgan's marriages, thus bringing their spouses' parents into the tree). Or, even better, twenty-three, if you choose to count [[spoiler:Aversa as the Avatar's adoptive sister]]. And then there's also [[spoiler:Validar]] if you just want to count family members even if they aren't recruitable.
* BadFuture: [[spoiler:Lucina hails from one, where [[PlayerCharacter Avatar]] [[GrandTheftMe was killed and possessed by Grima]], [[http://i46.tinypic.com/e9stas.jpg killed Chrom,]] and [[OmnicidalManiac Grima]] as well as [[ZombieApocalypse the Risen]] [[EarthShatteringKaboom killed everything]]. Knowing that, her AntiHero disposition, and later [[TheWoobie woobification]] is justified.]]
** [[spoiler:[[FromBadToWorse The Future Past DLC]] is an even darker scenario, which is quintessentially saying that all the second generation characters got lucky to escape when they did.]]
* BaitAndSwitch: Since ''Awakening'' mostly adheres to Fire Emblem unit archetypes (early level 1 Paladin, red/green cavalier duo, etc.), one would expect [[spoiler: Phila]] to join the party to finish the [[spoiler: pegasus knight trio who can Triangle Attack]] archetype since you already have two of them. Said character dies a plotline death unexpectedly and the archetype never gets fulfilled.
* BarehandedBladeBlock: You don't need a weapon to dual-guard, and if it activates while the partner unit is unarmed, and isn't using a class that has a shield or anything, they will stop the enemy's weapon with their bare hands.
* BashBrothers: Chrom and a male Avatar are a textbook example of this trope.
* BattleCouple: Loads of them. In fact, it's a game mechanic. Playing matchmaker with certain couples results in their marriage, which allows them to kick more ass than usual when they fight together. [[UpToEleven Your whole army can end up being composed of these.]]
* BattleInTheRain: Chapter 10. It's also one of the most emotional battles in the game.
* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Subverted this time around, albeit it's mostly because of the art style. All of the heroes are still incredibly good-looking, and most of the villains, bandits included, are nowhere ''near'' as ugly as previous titles (they all lack buck teeth, for one). Even Victor and Vincent, the resident CreepyTwins bosses, don't look so bad (alternate versions of them appear in some DLC maps where they are made into comedy relief, so that also helps).
** The only truly ugly villain is [[SissyVillain Excellus]], and the only thing deterring from Validar and Gangrel's appearances are their creepy facial expressions and really bizarre skin colors. Validar in particular is a frightening looking sorcerer, but he still has a six-pack.
* BecauseDestinySaysSo: This quote from Validar says it all:
-->"Gya ha ha! Fools! Struggle all you want! You cannot unwrite what is already written!"
* BeefGate: The Paralogues where you recruit the [[KidFromTheFuture Kids from the Future]] are available as early as [[spoiler:Chapter 13]], provided the parents are married. Most of them, however, contain enemies ''far'' beyond what the average party at that point is capable of handling, forcing you to come back later. And given that the higher the parents' stats, the higher their kids' stats will be, this is highly recommended.
* BefriendingTheEnemy: There's a variant involving TastesLikeFriendship. Gaius, a Thief, is working for the Plegians in a mission to kill "the Exalt" the Ylissean leader, but he doesn't have the heart to be a part of killing her. If Chrom talks to Gaius, he'll offer him sweets and they instantly become friends and he joins your army.
* BilingualBonus:
** Stahl's name is German for "steel."
** The Deadlords' names are Latin words for the animals of the Chinese zodiac.
* BirthmarkOfDestiny: The Brand of the Exalt, carried by members of the Ylissean Royal Family as proof of their HeroicLineage. Emmeryn has one on her forehead, Chrom on his right shoulder, Lucina in her left eye, and Chrom's other child (or at least Chrom!Inigo) in his/her right eye. Lissa doesn't have the Brand, making her fear she's illegitimate, but her son Owain does have it (on his arm, covered up by his sleeve).
** One [[MarkOfTheBeast dark example]] is [[spoiler:Grima's mark on the back of the Avatar's right hand.]]
* {{Bishonen}}: There are a fair number of male characters who fit this. It's also a definite possibility for a male Avatar.
* BlackAndWhiteMorality: Seemingly, the issue between Ylisse and Plegia on the surface. Ylisse worships the benevolent [[LightIsGood Divine Dragon]] [[GodOfGood Naga]], ruled by the kind and just [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Emmeryn]], and minus the Shepards, is mainly peaceful. Plegia, on the other hand, worships the monstrous [[DarkIsEvil Fell Dragon]] [[GodOfEvil Grima]], ruled by the cruel [[TheCaligula Gangrel]], and at least a portion of its people are Barbarians who like to RapePillageAndBurn. Even the {{Token Heroic Orc}}s, [[BlackMagicianGirl Tharja]] and [[SociopathicHero Henry]], don't even seem to be that heroic. There a few mentions, Emmeryn's predecessor had oppressed Plegia in the past with the goal of exterminating the Grimleal, so relations between the two countries were naturally sour by the time she took over, and [[spoiler:Gangrel's supports]] speculate that some members of the Grimleal treat it like a normal religion. However none of this is really seen ingame, every Grimleal member encountered is a CardCarryingVillain for example.
* BlackHumor: Henry and his ''incessant'' jokes about blood and death.
* BleachedUnderpants: Celica from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Fire Emblem Gaiden]]'' makes an appearance as a DLC character, and her new design is drawn by Masatsugu Saito, a {{Hentai}} {{doujinshi}} artist. [[{{Stripperific}} The artist's past]] definitely shows through, [[http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130506005540/fireemblem/images/4/4d/Celica_%28FE13_Artwork%29.png as can be seen here.]]
* BleakLevel: The Midmire, setting of Chapter 10, "Renewal", which takes place right after a PlayerPunch. You have to fight in the midst of a giant dragon's ribcage in the middle of a rainy wasteland, all while slow SadBattleMusic plays regardless of whether it's your turn or the enemy's. Furthermore, the Plegian soldiers you fight are deeply ashamed of their role in the events of the last chapter, with one unit stating outright to his sympathetic general that he would rather desert and face execution than fight against the Shepherds. So as if the previous plot context and battle setting weren't bad enough, the catharsis you might otherwise get from dispatching enemy troops is somewhat lost as well.
* BlockingStopsAllDamage: When a partner unit pulls off a Block, they intercept the enemy's attack and take zero damage themselves. This gets a bit silly when characters with nothing suitable to block with end up stopping a giant axe swing or a huge fireball with just a magic tome. And [[http://www.awkwardzombie.com/index.php?page=0&comic=062413 even sillier]] if the character they were defending seems to [[ArmorIsUseless have better armor than they do]].
* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Chrom's romance choices, Sumia (Brunette, sort of [[note]]it's more of a grayish-brown[[/note]]), Sully (Redhead), Maribelle (Blonde), plus a pink-haired Olivia and a [[CharacterCustomization variably-haired]] female Avatar.
* BookEnds: [[spoiler:The opening scene takes place with Chrom and Lissa finding the Avatar passed out in a field. In one of the possible endings, the Avatar's fate is left somewhat ambiguous and ends with this same scene as the TheStinger, with only one extremely heartwarming change.]]
* BoringButPractical: Expect some classes and skills to be this.
** On Normal and Hard, the classic Bronze/Iron/Steel/Silver line of weapons. Not as flashy as the weapons you can find, but they're reliable enough that you can finish the game using mostly those. They're also practical in that they can be infinitely resupplied, making logistics easy by hitting Restock before each battle to have a fresh weapon at hand. Note that on Lunatic mode, you'll need the fancier weapons just to get by.
** Unless you're playing the game on Lunatic+ or are tackling [[NintendoHard Apotheosis]], where the enemies have a skill that guarantees a 100% hit, all of the "-breaker" skills are this. Each skill grants a unit an additional 50 points of Avoid depending on the weapon, which in turn can make certain boss fights ''much'' easier. In addition, all five skills are available from five highly accessed gender-neutral classes.[[hottip:*:They are Wyvern Lord (Swordbreaker), Griffon Rider (Lancebreaker), Hero (Axebreaker), Bow Knight (Bowbreaker), and Sorcerer (Tomebreaker).]]
** Aegis and Pavise reduce damage from a set of weapons (depending on the skill) by half, though like the -breaker skills, they don't always work [[note]][[EliteTweak unless you're Morgan with Inigo or Brady as your father and Chrom as your grandfather (or Chrom being your father and you have "All Stats + 2" equipped), with the avatar's asset being skill and her flaw not being strength or speed, your class is assassin, your partner is a hero, sniper, bow knight or villager and your partner has 30 or more skill, you have limit breaker and rightful king equipped as skills, you're using Mystletainn, you've used a skill tonic, and "Rally Skill", "Rally Spectrum" and "Rally Heart" have been used on you that turn.]] Congratulations, you now have enough skill combined with rightful king to activate any "skill%" proc 100% of the time![[/note]]
** The Valkyrie's Dual Support+ skill, which gives a unit the ability to pair up with another unit and grant them A-support level bonuses from the get-go, even if they cannot have a support conversation with them. It's also a female-exclusive skill that can be passed down to some of the male children.[[hottip:*:Owain, Brady, Male Morgan, Gerome, and Laurent]]
** The Veteran skill, which the Avatar has from the start, and if he/she has kids, they can also learn it. It grants the unit 50% more EXP if they fight while paired up. It's because of this skill that the Avatar is usually the one who promotes/class changes first.
** The mercenary's Armsthrift skill, which prevents weapon degradation based on the unit's luck. This can be all too vital when you start getting the Brave and Holy weapons, since both sets tend to have low durability.
* {{Bowdlerisation}}: One of Tharja's conversations (Nowi asking her about her "boingy bits") in the "Harvest Scramble" DLC was altered in the European version ([[GettingCrapPastTheRadar but not the American version]]). Then in "Summer Scramble", Tharja's swimsuit {{Fanservice}} was [[http://www.serenesforest.net/fe13/cg/tharja_eng.png censored]] in the American version (though some think this actually made it look ''more'' risque than before) but was surprisingly left alone for the European version.
** Any possible KissingCousins pairings are labeled as "companions" instead of husband and wife. The most common cases are if Owain marries either Lucina or either Cynthia or Kjelle if one of them has Chrom as their father. Oddly, this doesn't apply to incestuous pairings involving a third-generation Morgan (e.g. a Lucina-mothered female Morgan with a Chrom-fathered Brady or Inigo).
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler:Aversa's backstory reveals that she was a victim of this, thanks to her having a power that interested Validar -- he murdered her family, friends, and her entire village, and [[LaserGuidedAmnesia wiped her memories]] so she'd believe he had saved her life so she'd serve him...]]
* BreadEggsBreadedEggs:
** In the C Support conversation between Lissa and Avatar in which the Avatar is woken from his/her nap, he/she exclaims "Risen! Wolves! Risen riding wolves!", much to Lissa's amusement.
** In the C Support between Olivia and Henry, Olivia refers to Henry as "that creepy kid who likes blood and magic and...blood magic!"
* BreadEggsMilkSquick: In Miriel's A Support with Frederick, she says, "I've collected flowers, fished in the river, and [[BeeAfraid been chased]] [[EverythingsWorseWithBees by bees]]."
* BreakTheBadass: The Future Past DLC depicts an alternate timeline so bleak that even the {{Determinator}} children are ready to give up and say their prayers.
* BreatherLevel: WordOfGod says the "Other-World Resort" episodes of the second batch of DLC were [[InvokedTrope designed to be this]], focusing more on character relationships and dialogue than on combat. Contrast the [[NintendoHard Ultimate]] [[UpToEleven Training]] missions.
* BribingYourWayToVictory:
** The "Golden Pack" DLC contains three levels blatantly designed for easy grinding. They also contain hilariously flimsy {{Excuse Plot}}s, so even if you're not interested in farming lots of cash/EXP/gear you can still play them once to watch Chrom play the OnlySaneMan.
*** Cordelia will even call you out on it during [=EXPonential=] Growth.
** The Limit Breaker manual, which boosts ''all'' of a character's maximum stats by 10. Sounds totally broken, exclusive to the last DLC chapter. Then the second batch of DLC was revealed, and let's just say [[PowerCreep you're going to NEED it.]]
* BrickJoke: When Tiki wakes up and sees Lucina, she mistakes her for her "Mar-Mar."
** Cordelia mentions reading a book called ''Make Him Fall for You in a Fortnight'', and feeling embarrassed over reading it. Severa--her daughter--finds the book and wonders who would read something like that.
** Panne wonders that pretending to have buck teeth makes people feel more comfortable around her. Her son Yarne complains that she lied when he used the same trick himself and everyone looked at him funny.
** Maribelle tells Olivia that the best way for her to overcome her shyness is to talk to men, only for the two of them to find out later that the book Maribelle derived the advice from was meant for men to hit on girls. Inigo later reveals that the reason why he's so forward with women is because Olivia told him the same advice.
* BrokenAesop: Sacrificing one person for the sake of many, regardless of who the person is, can be worth it. [[spoiler:Except that the two people sacrificed, Emmeryn and the Avatar, don't actually die. Emmeryn survives her apparent death, and the Avatar just returns from the dead despite supposedly being DeaderThanDead.]]
** Possibly justified. [[spoiler: The Avatar's sacrifice was averted because the bonds between them and their friends were stronger than the bond between the Avatar and Grima. However, it's still broken somewhat: if you have Chrom fight Aversa in Chapter 22, he will mention to her that the weight of one life is nothing compared to millions, yet when the Avatar accepts sacrificing themself to slay Grima three chapters later, Chrom immediately protests. The Avatar even echoes Chrom's words to Aversa from earlier, but Chrom doesn't lisetn.]]
** [[spoiler: Meanwhile, in this case it's a matter of one aesop breaking another. Meanwhile, in the case of Emmeryn, given her [[DamagedSoul mental state]] after surviving her sacrifice and the fact that she never really recovers, she didn't get off scot-free. You could even say that the Emmeryn you met earlier in the game did die.]]
* BrotherSisterIncest: {{Averted|Trope}} for once in the series - Chrom cannot marry Lissa, and their relationship is far more healthy and sibling-like compared to, say, [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Ephraim and]] [[{{Twincest}} Eirika]]. Also, should Lucina have a male sibling[[note]]can be either Brady, Inigo, or a male Morgan[[/note]], she cannot marry them, nor can the other male siblings marry a female Morgan if she is their sister. However, you can still get ''some'' [[KissingCousins incestuous pairings]]. The game still missed one technical example, although the developers were clearly aware of it: [[spoiler: a male Avatar can marry his adopted sister, Aversa]].
* BrutalBonusLevel: All chapters in the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Challenge Pack"]] DLC. And then Apotheosis takes it UpToEleven, or Twelve.
* BucketHelmet: The badly-equipped Villager class wears these. Donnel, who starts off as a Villager, keeps his through all of his possible class changes - even when he's a Hero or Warrior swinging around weapons old enough to have songs written about them, he'll still have that old tin pot on his head.
* BusmansHoliday: The FestivalEpisode, BeachEpisode, and HotSpringsEpisode [=DLCs=]. Generally any trip to the Outrealms throws Chrom and co. into the middle of a battle.
* ButThouMust: An interesting variation. In Chapter 9, you're given the choice of [[spoiler:whether to give up the Fire Emblem to save Emmeryn, or to listen to her warnings and refuse the offer.]] Which option you choose makes no difference, not because you're forced into one option, but because [[spoiler:Emmeryn [[TakeAThirdOption Takes A Third Option]] and [[HeroicSacrifice makes the choice for you.]]]]
** There are several choices throughout the game, none of which actually matter due to the actions of another character. [[spoiler: Only the very final choice makes a difference.]]
* ButterflyOfDeathAndRebirth: Appears throughout the intro.
* BystanderSyndrome: [[spoiler:If Chrom strikes the final blow on Grima, he is merely put to sleep for another thousand years, meaning that it'll be up to future heroes to defeat him again.]]
* TheCaligula: Gangrel. [[spoiler:Until he joins you.]]
* CallBack: There are tons in the Einherjar's conversations in the DLC chapters. To name a few:
** Caeda assuming Kellam is only helping brigands because his mother is sick.
** The previous Avatar of ''Heroes of Light and Shadow'' is alluded to a few times.
** Outside of the Einherjar, Stahl and Sully bring up Cain and Abel in one of their support conversations.
* CameBackWrong: [[spoiler:Of the DamagedSoul variety in the case of Emmeryn, who is revealed to have survived her HeroicSuicide in a late/postgame [=SpotPass=]-sidequest... tragically, with amnesia so bad she can't even talk right. [[BittersweetEnding Her condition is stated to never fully improve, but she ends up living a simple, happy life.]]]]
* TheCameo: A LOT of characters from past ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' games will appear in the extra content. Using [=SpotPass=], many characters from previous games can be fought in Skirmishes and may be recruited upon defeat. Most of the main Lords from previous games can also be won as prizes for completing certain downloadable chapters.
** MarthDebutedInSmashBros: About half of the legacy characters make their first international appearances here. [[note]]Averted for Marth himself even if ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' is ignored, as ''Shadow Dragon'' received an English translation. Fellow ''Smash Bros.'' fighter Roy, on the other hand, made his first in-series European appearance here.[[/note]]
* CanonWelding: Even WITHOUT the dimension-warping aspect of this game, there's overwhelming evidence in this game that every other ''Fire Emblem'' game is indeed in the same universe. Taking the dimension-warping into account, it seems that some worlds are historically connected while others are MutuallyFictional, such that characters have heard the stories of the other games as folklore and songs rather than history.
** [[spoiler:The Avatar's child is a tactician named Morgan, who, because they dress like their parent, shares the same outfit as [[PlayerCharacter Mark the Tactician]] from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Blazing Sword]]'', and even shares their name in Japanese (though Morgan's name is spelled Mar'''c'''). The best ranking in the Japanese version of ''Blazing Sword'' gives Mark the same "Grandmaster" title as a promoted Avatar, and Morgan, like their parent, also has access to the Grandmaster class.]]
** Valm is the future form of ''Gaiden'''s Valentia, as Ylisse is to Archanea. Chapter 16 takes place at the "Mila Tree", and the setting of chapter 18, the Demon's Ingle, is where Duma was defeated (it's named "Doma's Remains" in the Japanese version).
** The Holy Weapons from [[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral the Jugdral games]] make an appearance (and anyone with the appropriate weapon rank can use them now), as do [[spoiler:the twelve Deadlords, some of whom are in possession of said Holy Weapons.]]
** Donny and Olivia's Supports in the Japanese version reference [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Naesala and Leanne]]!
** Ricken and Olivia's C Support reference Sigurd and Deirdre. Sigurd being a prince who fell in love with a forest maiden (Deirdre).
** And Stahl and Sully's Supports reference [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Cain and Abel]], and Sully even lampshades the fact that she and Stahl are part of the archetype.
** The conversation with Lyn('s Einherjar) after her DLC chapter (Smash Brethren 3) makes her speculate that Avatar is the Tactician of ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Blazing Sword]]'' due to their mostly similar appearances and shared habit of waking up in unfamiliar locales without any knowledge of how they got there.
*** This also doubles as FridgeBrilliance and LeaningOnTheFourthWall, since the Avatar is the player. She is essentially asking if YOU played ''Blazing Sword''. The player has the choice of confirming or denying her hunch: "Yes" if you were the Tactician or "No" if you weren't. It may also reference the player's resemblance to [[spoiler:their child Morgan]]. See the first example.
** The last Bonus Unit, [[spoiler:Priam, claims to be a descendant of Ike. Yes, [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius THAT Ike]].]]
* CantActPervertedTowardALoveInterest: [[CasanovaWannabe Inigo]] plays this straight, with all his romance options excluding [[IceQueen Severa]] and Kjelle.
* CastOfSnowflakes: As per ''Fire Emblem'' tradition, each playable character has a unique design and personality.
** {{Subverted}} for enemies and some Paralogue bosses that reuse generic portraits.
* CelShading: Uses this in the CGI scenes to give a look much like that of hand-drawn anime.
* CerebusSyndrome: Not in the main story, but in the "Golden Pack" DLC episodes. The first two are hilarious [[ExcusePlot Excuse Plots]] that don't even ''try'' to hide their status as BribingYourWayToVictory. The third, "Infinite Regalia", is not only considerably more difficult, gameplay-wise, but contains a ''lot'' of Fridge Horror as it hints at who the [[spoiler:Deadlords]] really are.
* CharacterDevelopment: The entire point of the Support conversations. Many of them feature the characters learning new things or getting over their issues.
* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler:S supports feature the male character presenting the female with a ring as they propose to them. Later, when their children come from the future, they present the mother the rings they received from them in the future as proof that they are their children. In Gerome's case, Minerva, herself, is also used as proof of his identity, since the wyvern he rides is the future version of his mother's.]]
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Two of Chrom's love interests (Sully and Maribelle) have known him since they were young; Sully was a playmate and fellow sparring partner, and Maribelle, being the daughter of an Ylissean duke, probably also spent time with him when they were young. This also applies to [[spoiler:most of the children from the future]], as all of them grew up together. In particular, if Cynthia is paired with Inigo, she reveals that she has always liked him; the same can be said if you pair her with Owain, except that ''he's'' the one who had feelings for her; finally, should you pair Gerome or Inigo with Lucina, they'll note that [[LoveAtFirstSight they always loved her]].
** There's also Cynthia and Gerome, where they played together as children and she helped him get over his fear of heights. He notes during their S-rank support that the reason he's not comfortable around her is because he's had a need to impress her for a very long time, but that she's seen him in his uncool phase as well.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: None of the other Manakete tribes of Akaneia make an appearance in ''Awakening'' for unexplained reasons. Also Xane and Gotoh, though the latter may have died of old age.
* ChurchMilitant: The only possible explanation for War Clerics/Monks, who use both staves and ''axes''.
* ClassChangeLevelReset: In addition to traditional promotion, the Second Seal allows switching to a new basic class at Level 1. However, the game keeps track of "internal levels", meaning that resetting your level gets less and less effective for gaining XP faster the more times you do it.
* ClimaxBoss: [[spoiler:Gangrel is the early game climax boss, and he is also a DiscOneFinalBoss. He stands out from his peers in that: A. He's of the [[MagicKnight Trickster class]], rather than the [[MightyGlacier General class]]. B. He uses a [[CoolSword magic-casting sword]] which goes off his Magic stat, rather than his Strength stat. C. The battle is fought on a plain, rather than in or near a castle[=/=]fortress that tends to be the usual spot for a climactic early game battle. D. He moves towards you along with his troops, rather than sitting on a throne or gate and waiting for you to battle your way through to him.]]
** Fun note about the Gangrel battle: it takes place in the same part of the map where Altea, Marth's original homeland, was located. This may or may not be intentional.
* ColorCodedElements: A staple in ''Fire Emblem''. As usual:
** FireIsRed
** [[YellowLightningBlueLightning Thunder Is Yellow]]
** WindIsGreen
** [[SupernaturalIsPurple Dark Is Purple]]
* ColossusClimb: [[spoiler:The endgame chapter is like this, with all of your units fighting on Grima's back to take it down.]]
* CombatByChampion: Justified. Ferox does this to decide which khan rules (despite being a ProudWarriorRace nation) since having the khans fight each other would result in a lot of dead khans and bitter rivalries.
** FridgeBrilliance kicks in when you realize that they are still testing the khans, but by their leadership skills in backing, training, and arming the strongest and most capable fighters.
* CombatMedic: An ever-growing number of classes can use both staves and a weapon, from the classic Sage and Valkyrie (tomes and staves) to a few surprising ones like Falcon Knight (lances and staves), Trickster (swords and staves), and War Monk/Cleric (''axes'' and staves).
* ComicTrio: Probably the most realistic example of it. [[CasanovaWannabe Inigo]], [[LargeHam Owain]] and [[KnightInSourArmor Brady]] give off the impression of being three best friends, but their overall place in the ComicTrio varies from conversation to conversation. Brady is usually the OnlySaneMan, but Inigo and even Owain have played it from time to time.
* CommonalityConnection: Many supports between characters that don't know each other previously will employ this to get the two characters talking. Taken even further if the reason they end up marrying is because of this one shared interest!
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: From Serenes Forest's page on forging: "There is an overall limit of 8 intervals that can be raised per weapon. For example, you can raise Might by 5 intervals and Critical by 3 intervals, but no more than that. [...] Enemies on higher difficulties can have weapons that exceed the 8 interval limit." That should tell you enough. And then there's the enemy-exclusive Skills for Lunatic+ Mode, which include one that ''always'' makes them hit, regardless of stats and a Luna that ALWAYS activates.
* ContemptibleCover: The cover of the Japanese manual shows nothing but a picture of [[TheVamp Aversa.]]
* ContinuityCavalcade: Just see CanonWelding above. And that's the ''least'' of it. The game is absolutely ''filled'' with {{Mythology Gag}}s to earlier games in the series, [[GeniusBonus some of them extremely subtle.]]
* ConvectionSchmonvection: Averted in a DLC scenario, which has you rescuing a bunch of NPC merchants from a lava cave, while they're taking damage (presumably from the heat) every turn.
** Played straight, however, in Chapter 18 of the main story. The showdown with Yen'fay takes place inside an ''active volcano'' with magma on all sides. If a unit falls into the liquid molten lava, they're hit with a whopping 10 damage.
* CreativeClosingCredits: [[spoiler:[[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue Postscript epilogues]] are featured for all the recruited characters, documenting their lives after the end of the war. There are variations depending on which characters married or if they were not.]]
* CriticalHit: A staple of the ''Fire Emblem'' series, this time each one paired with a PreMortemOneLiner and a SuperMovePortraitAttack. The animations for the said attacks are a lot less fancy this time around, though, with the Hero's double flip slash probably being the most elaborate. At least [[ArmorPiercingAttack Luna]] and [[OneHitKill Lethality]] have their own unique class-specific animations.
* CrutchCharacter: In classic ''Fire Emblem'' tradition, Frederick provides this role. He is an unstoppable, mook-slaughtering juggernaut for the first handful of chapters in the game, but his stat progression isn't quite as good as for other characters, and he typically gets sent to the bleachers by the time endgame comes around.
* {{Cult}}: The ''entire nation'' of Plegia is a theocracy dedicated to the worship of the ''[[ObviouslyEvil Fell Dragon]]'' Grima.
** ReligionOfEvil
*** [[spoiler:However, Gangrel tells Male Avatar that while said ReligionOfEvil is a state religion, people do not necessarily worship Grima out of choice.]]
* CustomUniform: A few, albeit most of them being fancier {{Palette Swap}}s, like Anna's red Trickster outfit or Brady's dark purple robe. The biggest examples are Frederick's tapered and less bulky Great Knight uniform, Henry's modest sweater for his Dark Mage outfit, and Aversa's {{Stripperiffic}} getup (she's a Dark Flier).
* CuttingOffTheBranches: Several non-Lucina children [[spoiler: (specifically, Severa, Inigo, Owain, and maybe Morgan)]] are all but stated to be canonically born, considering [[spoiler: Severa, Inigo, and Owain are all Nohr characters in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', and it's suggested Morgan might be the Mark from ''Blazing Sword'' if Robin isn't]]. That said, the whole thing with the [[TheMultiverse Outrealms]] and [[spoiler:{{Alternate Timeline}}s]] suggests that every playthrough is equally canon, with each representing a slightly different universe.
* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: The ''developers themselves'', when designing the "[=EXPonential=] Growth" DLC chapter. Its very existence shows they know full well that players love to [[PinataEnemy exploit Entombed for easy EXP]], but made sure if you just blindly rush in and started beating them up, you'll be met with a nasty surprise... [[spoiler:Level 30 Entombed with [[ThatOneAttack Counter]]. Given that Entombed have massive HP, but abysmal Defense, that's an awful lot of damage coming right back at you.]]
** The Entombed encountered in the Harvest Scramble DLC map. [[spoiler:''Every single one of them'' has their Luck boosted to 50 and have the [[LastChanceHitpoint Miracle]] skill, as well as a random assortment of skills that take advantage of the fact that they're likely to survive with little HP left. The map may not be hard, but they weren't gonna make it ''that'' easy to blow through.]]
** The developers do it ''again'' in [[spoiler:In Paralogue 22. Savvy players may reason that since the Wellspring of Truth creates reflections that the fewer members in your party, the fewer enemies you will face. ''The game responds by spawning multiple copies of said characters''.]]
** They finally found out about boss EXP abuse, [[NoFairCheating and promptly smashed it to pieces for anything above easy]], as [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxDaDqDEc6Q this]] Lunatic Mode video shows.
* DemonicPossession: [[spoiler:What the Avatar succumbs to in the BadFuture.]]
* DespairEventHorizon: Chrom and Lissa nearly crosses into this when [[spoiler:Emmeryn sacrificed herself.]]
* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: Every possible pairing has a totally unique set of Supports justifying it. In short, cutscenes and support conversations always account the different possible relationships between characters.
** The only aversions are conversations between children and fathers (which all seem to be the same), since the children are [[GenderEqualsBreed tied to their mothers,]] with the exception of Morgan and Lucina, who are specifically tied to the Avatar and Chrom respectively. Lucina's sibling and mother Supports are also the one exception to the above, as her Support with her sibling is the same across all possible siblings/mothers (which makes sense, given that she has ''five candidates '''each''''' for such).
*** Even then, this is not completely averted, at least in the Western version: While the events are the same between children and fathers, the fathers' speeches alter depending on who the father is (so, for example, Vaike will still speak in third person occasionally no matter who his child is, Henry will mention curses). Similar modification occurs with Lucina and her mother supports, and with a female Morgan and her mother supports.
*** One certain plot point roughly halfway through the game will have different dialogue depending on who Chrom married a few chapters ago. [[labelnote:explanation]]When it is revealed that Lucina is Chrom's daughter, Chrom's wife, who is late to the reveal, will suspect that Chrom is cheating on her with Lucina. Sumia picks flowers apart saying, "He loves me - he loves me not." Maribelle ''immediately'' confronts Chrom about it. Sully is about ready to kick Chrom and Lucina across the room. Olivia is crying and saying "IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy." Interestingly enough, if Chrom is married to a female Avatar, her reaction is unchanged until Lucina speaks to her; she simply notes that she trusts Chrom but the situation might look bad to others, exactly the same as the reaction of an Avatar with whom Chrom is just friends.[[/labelnote]]
** Things get particularly crazy with Morgan, the Avatar's child, as each of the other children could potentially be their sibling, spouse, or parent, and naturally each possibility has to have different supports.
** The devs even alter a certain character's appearance based on the story events, despite the visual effect being so minor: Chrom's Great Lord in-battle model normally wields [[spoiler:the Fire Emblem]] as his shield. [[spoiler:When the Fire Emblem is stolen, the model also loses the shield until the Emblem is retrieved.]] A similar effect occurs if you [[LevelGrinding somehow]] manage to promote him before he obtains [[spoiler:the Fire Emblem.]]
** Due to plot reasons, Chrom must be married to a female character by the end of Chapter 11. However, if the player doesn't manage to get an S Support level between Chrom or a female character, the game will default to the female character with the highest Support level with him. If ''none'' of the female characters have any Support points with him, Chrom then marries the one at the top of the list, excluding the ones that are dead or married. If they are all dead or married (Olivia has to be dead, because she joins in the previous chapter and can't get married in time), then Chrom marries a generic village girl.
*** And if you manage to marry Chrom to Olivia (who he literally ''just'' met), the game will add an extra message making fun of this.
** Owain mentions in his Support conversations with his dad that he [[spoiler:witnessed his father's death]] in the BadFuture, specifically noting that Owain saw the event. Because it would create a plot hole if his father is the Avatar, Owain's dialogue is instead changed to only say that "[[spoiler:[he] never saw [his father] again]]". This is the only case in the game where the events of a Support are altered to fit the storyline.
** The Hubba Tester actually has quite a variety of responses. The two characters being both single, married, parent and child, siblings or one married and the other not all produce different sets of potential messages.
** The [=SpotPass=] and DLC versions of Marth can use the Falchion, despite it being restricted to Chrom and Lucina, since it was originally ''his'' weapon.[[note]]The Falchion's weapon description is "Chrom and ''Marth'' only", so technically he isn't restricted.[[/note]] (Oddly enough, the same doesn't apply to Alm.)
** If a character does an attack that makes them continue past the enemy and has that enemy survive, a crit or activated ability instead shows the character's activation portrait facing the ''opposite'' direction due to trading positions with the enemy.
** On a desert level, Lissa doesn't wear the tights she normally does due to the heat and sand.
** Manakete are still vulnerable to anti-dragon weapons after changing to a normal class - because they're still shapeshifted dragons getting hit with magic anti-dragon weaponry, even if they are fighting like humans. The same applies to the Taguel, except that they're weak to anti-beast weapons instead.
** Characters have multiple level up quotes depending on how many stats they end up increasing, with fittingly disappointed quotes for most of them if they only manage a increase a single stat or [[EmptyLevels no stats at all]] and multiple quotes depending on the number of [[{{Cap}} stat caps]] they've already reached for their current class.
** You first meet [[SeriesMascot Anna]] as a unit in Paralogue 2, defending a village from a group of brigands, and later meet one of her [[InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals identical]] [[StrongFamilyResemblance sisters]] getting assaulted by a group of brigands led by the previous [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal brigand band's boss's brother]]/twin/IdenticalStranger, having mistaken her for the first Anna. This is the way most people will do things, but since Paralogues are optional, you are completely free to wait for Paralogue 4 to show up, get Anna, then go do Paralogue 2 and watch as there are two completely identical units on the field at the same time, with the dialogue changing to reflect your unorthodox approach. Sadly, there is no special scene or Talk event to be had with the other Anna even if you do this.
** The game recognizes if the birth date of the Avatar overlaps with another character's, in which case it will say "Today is Avatar and (other character)'s birthday." instead.
** In Chapter 2, you can leave Kellam as a green unit for as long as you want. Unless you talk to him, the enemy ''won't'' notice he's right there even if he's within their attack range (you can use him as a wall even). And if you don't talk to him for a few turns, he'll complain nobody has noticed him yet.
** Validar in Chapter 23 is behind a barrier, preventing anyone in your army other than Chrom and the Avatar from reaching him. He has special boss quotes for both of them, so you normally won't get to see his "generic" boss quote, but he ''does'' have one: the only way to see it is to use the long-range tome Mire.
-->Validar: ''Destiny is your master, one way or the other!''
* DiabolusExMachina:
** [[WhamEpisode Chapter 9]] consists of clearing a courtyard of enemies so that [[spoiler: Emmeryn]] can be safely extracted by air. However, at the very last minute, [[spoiler: Aversa summons a veritable army of risen archers that promptly [[OneHitKO insta-kills]] the Pegasus Knights that were supposed to do the extraction, rendering your efforts up to that point utterly pointless.]] Up to that point there's no indication whatsoever that she might have such an ability, and indeed she never uses it ever again.
** Even better, Aversa herself [[LampshadeHanging Lampshades]] that what she was to do was cheating. Gangrel was also shocked by the development and wondered how it happened.
** In the BadFuture this was the fate that befell Chrom and the Avatar. [[spoiler:After seemingly defeating Validar and winning the day, the Avatar is suddenly possessed by Grima and kills Chrom. Especially vicious after Chrom makes a speech at the beginning about the Avatar being one of them despite what destiny says and the happiness in his voice when he thought they had finally achieved peace.]]
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: [[spoiler: No matter what, you'll defeat Grima. If you let Chrom kill Grima, then he's put back to sleep just like Marth did to Medeus. If the Avatar delivers the final blow, then it's a step above, because this means that Grima is ''permanently'' dead and can never come back, with the added bonus of finding out that the collective strength of the Avatar's bonds with the many friends s/he made along the way turning out to be stronger than the Avatar's connection with Grima, and will survive Grima's death.]]
* DifficultySpike:
** Beginning with Chapter 12. It's not the first time you faced promoted enemies but it is the first time you faced promoted enemies mixed in with squads of four or five enemies who move as one, mixed with large amounts of cavalry and infantry. (Whereas before, a huge number of your enemies were on foot.) Oh, even despite the game giving you a unit equipped with anti-infantry weaponry, you better keep her out of range of the bow knights. In addition, you also get confronted with bottlenecks, forcing you to either let them come to you or hope your units are strong enough to survive the onslaught of the squad on the other side of the map. The fact that Master Seals become available in the shop pretty much shows that if you haven't already promoted some of your units, you should do so soon. (And it's not like you'll be short on money if you've been fighting the optional maps that give bullions like candy.) Chapter 13 is even worse, as you're surrounded right from the start, with ranged troops hammering you from cliffs on either side. It also features more reinforcements than ever before, including one particularly nasty group of promoted reinforcements that spawn all at once and will gladly pile in on anyone weak in range. And the chapter after is the first one to feature reinforcements you're ''not'' warned of in advance. It's safe to say all bets are off in the Valm arc, which delights in handing you [[FanNickname Asshole Reinforcements]] in nearly every single chapter.
** Chapter 17 officially marks the point that NOTHING you face is unpromoted anymore, save for a select few Paralogues.
** Some of the side missions (see BeefGate above) can be this as well, forcing you to farm random Risen groups to complete several story missions before your characters are remotely strong enough.
** The transition from Hard Mode to Lunatic Mode.
* DiscOneNuke:
** {{Averted|Trope}} with the DLC characters, such as Alm and Eirika. There are a vast number of DLC characters and weapons you can acquire, but you have to be strong enough to complete the DLC mission that unlocks the characters, and most of the weapons are of a very high rank and can't be used until you have a unit skilled enough to equip it. You won't be blitzing through the early-game with any of these.
** Played straight with some of the other DLC maps, however, with the most notorious example being "[=EXPonential=] Growth." You can actually purchase any of the maps as soon as the Outrealm Gate opens (which is nefariously early in the game), and they'll always stay when you start a new file, so if you want to get that Galeforce or Zeal skill passed down to one of the children right away, [[spoiler:more so if you want to get certain skills for Lucina, as she's forcibly recruited after Chapter 13]], or if you simply want to grind for the much-harder DLC maps, then with enough effort, spamming [=EXPonential=] Growth among others is possible.
** Renown points are carried over to new game files as well, so while you may not get to use them for a while, you can have a buttload of incredibly powerful weapons and items at your disposal from the get-go, including a free Second Seal and a copy of [[HolyHandGrenade the Book of Naga.]] Having the maximum possible renown of 99,999 points carried over to a new file gives you access to the Supreme Emblem, which you can sell for 99,999 Gold. Combined with the Large Bullion at 1000 points gives you enough gold to recruit a Limit Breakered, max stats Avatar with a plethora of skills in your logbook as soon as you get access to the wireless features at Chapter 4.
** You can also summon the [=SpotPass=] teams once you get access to wireless features. And since all the [=SpotPass=] teams are unlocked at once, there's nothing stopping you from summoning high level teams to buy their endgame-strength weapons. Granted, most of your units probably won't be at A or even B rank experience, but the ever-handy Killer weapons are available and only require rank C, and you can also buy lower ranked ranged weapons. And there's always the fact that you can grind weapon experience against the easier teams, especially since they can be summoned as often as you want for no cost.
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:No major character who has a plotline death actually stays dead (except Yen'fay, whose [=SpotPass=] chapter explains that he's a different Yen'fay who came from the bad future where Lucina and all the other children came from), with characters such as Emmeryn, Gangrel, and Walhart all being revealed to have survived their apparent deaths, though not entirely free of consequences.]] [[note]][[spoiler: Gangrel and Aversa suffer from enormous guilt over their actions and are never forgiven, plus their pride keeps them from begging for forgiveness. Similarly, the alternate Yen'fay blames himself for not being able to save his version of Say'ri. Walhart claims to actually]] [[spoiler: ''be'']] [[spoiler: dead (he tells Chrom his heart stopped beating), but either possibly revived as a very powerful Risen with free will or simply is a {{Determinator}} of the highest order. Emmeryn has it the worst, suffering heavy, incurable brain damage that essentially]] [[spoiler: ''does'']] [[spoiler: mean the Emmeryn we know is dead, it's just that her body and a few of her basic personality traits are still left.]][[/note]] [[spoiler:Validar]] technically gets revived twice. Fully averted for most your entire army if played on Classic Mode as some of them for story purposes "retreat" never to be seen outside of cutscenes.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Female Morgan's behavior around Yarne is essentially that of an immature child playing rough with a small pet (like, say, a rabbit) without any concept of how much she is hurting or traumatizing him. A female Avatar will also treat Yarne somewhat like a pet, but being older she is far more mature about it, and is mostly just patronizing to him at first.
* DoubleEntendre:
** One of Sully's Battle quotes:
-->'''Sully''': "Quick and dirty... Huh! I like it!"
** Predictably, half of Aversa's quotes are littered with them.
* DoubleInLawMarriage: Possible to pull off, as long as [[spoiler: Chrom marries either Maribelle or Olivia, and a male Avatar marries Lissa, Miriel, Cherche, Panne, Maribelle, or Olivia (whoever doesn't marry Chrom.) Then Chrom's daughter can marry the Avatar's son and Chrom's son can marry the Avatar's daughter.]]
* DoubleMeaningTitle: Chapter 13: Of Sacred Blood. [[spoiler:Validar]] provides the TitleDrop, [[spoiler:referring to the Avatar as his child and thus "destined" to become the new vessel of [[GodOfEvil Grima]].]] But said chapter also features [[spoiler:TheReveal of Chrom's KidFromTheFuture Lucina]] who, [[spoiler:having the Brand of the Exalt]], is also "of sacred blood." The exact opposite variety, in fact. It's also the chapter that introduces us to [[CreepyGood Henry]]. What's his favorite thing again?
* DownerBeginning[=/=]SpoilerOpening: [[spoiler:The game begins with the player character being possessed by Grima, and murdering Chrom after seemingly defeating Validar. It turns out to be a premonition of things to come (at Chapter 23).]]
** Before even that, in the game's title animation, if you look very carefully you can see [[spoiler:the Hierophant amongst the Risen spilling out of the rift in time. Anyone who notices this will put together just who the Hierophant is pretty quickly once they're introduced.]]
* DownloadableContent: The very first Nintendo game to feature it, in fact. There are loads of new playable maps that range from rewarding you with classic characters to letting you grind for money and EXP.
* DubNameChange[=/=]SpellMyNameWithAnS: Pretty much everyone had their name changed or altered in some way. Some characters had their names changed in the Non-English European versions as well, for some reason. See the character pages for details.
* DysfunctionJunction: Most of the first generation characters are merely quirky, but practically all of the second generation characters are either a little insane or have some other sort of personal complex as a result of [[spoiler: losing their parents and struggling to survive in a BadFuture.]] See the Fridge subpage for details.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:The Avatar literally had to die to earn the True Ending, though he/she is later brought back to life.]]
* ElCidPloy: In one sidequest, a leader of a band of thugs passes himself off as the legendary hero "Chrom". For some strange reason, the townsfolk he's terrorizing seem to mistake the real Chrom for him even though they look nothing alike.
* EleventhHourRanger: In the main story, [[spoiler:Basilio and Flavia will join you automatically during Chapter 23, but they're weaker than the usual trope]]. Straighter examples are the [=SpotPass=] Paralogue Characters - not only do each of them excel in a particular stat or have unique skills ([[spoiler:Walhart's Conquest skill, Aversa's Shadowgift skill, and Priam's mishmash of skills that he could not obtain normally]]), but you can only obtain them right before the final chapter.
* EleventhHourSuperpower: [[spoiler:The Exalted Falchion, obtained two chapters before the final battle. True in form, it's super effective against Grima.]]
* EliteFour: Walhart's CoDragons: Excellus, Pheros, Yen'fay, and Cervantes.
* EliteTweak: With the return of the Inheritance system and the new Modifiers system (where each character possess unique additions to their Caps across all classes) and the changes to the Reclass system, as well as how the Skills play out, the ways to maximize a character's potential now goes far beyond just leveling up -- it's [[MindScrew mind-boggling]] [[UpToEleven to the eleventh degree]].
* EncounterBait: The Reeking Box item causes a company of Risen to show up on the map.
* EnforcedMethodActing: InUniverse example. [[spoiler: The Avatar and Basilio fool ''everyone'' into thinking the latter was killed at the hands of Walhart, and the green gem on the Fire Emblem is replaced with a fake, meaning that Grima cannot actually possess the avatar. In order to put up a show for Validar, the avatar still "kills" Chrom, so that everyone's reactions will be legit.]]
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** Gangrel may be a murdering psychopath, but at least he doesn't worship Grima like the majority of his people.
** Pheros and even Walhart himself don't like Excellus's manipulative tactics which involve turning the enemies against each other. Moreover, [[TheConqueror Walhart]] wants to conquer the land. [[spoiler:Not destroy it with Grima's revival.]]
* EvenTheGuysWantHim:
** Invoked in-universe, with the Skills system if a male character gets the "Demoiselle" skill from his mother.
** Libra, [[spoiler:who was courted by women and men alike in his solo ending]].
* EveryoneIsBi: PlayedForLaughs with the Hubba Tester, which might as well be called "Wheel of {{Shipping}}."
* EverythingsBetterWithSamurai: The Swordmaster class has a strong samurai-esque feel this time around.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Neither Validar nor Grima can understand the value of human bonds and relationships. Needless to say, this lack of understanding led to both of their undoing.
* EvilSorcerer: Validar, the leader of the Fell Dragon-worshiping Grimleal.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Seems to be the justification for the heroes and villains teaming up in the DLC map "Rogues And Redeemers 3", as you are apparently perceived to be a world-threatening menace. The enemy dialogue describe your forces as ''eldritch''.
* ExcaliburInTheRust: One of the top-tier legacy weapons is an aged and worn-out looking [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Ragnell]]. [[spoiler:Its owner is Ike's descendant, explaining why it has aged. Granted, the blade was still pretty worn even when Ike wielded it, as shown [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6eaEsxFEmw here.]]]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tropes F through L]]
* FaceDeathWithDignity:
** [[spoiler: Emmeryn]] willingly and serenely walks to their death, [[GoOutWithASmile with a smile too]].
** [[spoiler: The Avatar also faces their death with a smile if they chose to sacrifice themselves to kill Grima.]]
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: [[spoiler:The mission to rescue Emmeryn.]]
* FakeDifficulty: Lunatic+ in a nutshell. Right from the start, {{Mooks}} are given unique, stupidly overpowered skills. The problem is that these skills are distributed randomly. This renders a lot of the difficulty a case of LuckBasedMission. To illustrate:
** If the random Mook with the Hammer in Chapter 1 gets both Hawkeye and Luna+, [[CrutchCharacter Frederick]] is ''guaranteed to die against him unless you get a lucky Dual Guard'', as shown [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku-PMHcFPAY here.]] It's worth noting that it only one-shots Frederick due to the Hammer's damage bonus against armored units, but it's not terribly likely that anyone else in your party can take the hit unless you invested almost all of the Prologue's XP into the Avatar (or, less likely, Chrom) and got good defense and/or HP on level ups.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p9sXN2AaN8 This]] video shows that early chapters can become flat-out {{Unwinnable}} before they even begin if too many enemies are given the combination of [[AlwaysAccurateAttack Hawkeye]] and [[ArmorPiercingAttack Luna+]].
** But don't let that make you think the non-Lunatic modes are free of this, no sir. This particular game delights in shoving [[ZergRush swarms]] of enemies at you, usually coinciding with a complete lack of chokepoints to manage them.
** Reinforcements that spawn at the ''beginning'' of the computer's turn on any mode harder than Normal. It basically punishes the player for not being able to ''predict exactly where and when they're going to spawn.'' While this isn't the first game in the series to do this, it's the first to make it out of Japan.
* {{Fanservice}}: The "Scramble" DLC chapters, in which the second episode features BeachEpisode and characters in swimsuits while third episode has HotSpringsEpisode and KimonoFanservice.
** All characters (except Henry, who has a unique sprite) in the Dark Mage class. Females have what amounts to a bikini, and males have a wrap around their waist. Aside from their cloak (not that it covers much), that's all they're wearing.
** For no discernible reason, the Annas in Five Anna Firefight are all wearing bikini tops. Granted, they're in a volcano, but even the one in town wears it.
* FantasticRacism: Far less of it in this game compared to the others. Panne treats her human companions with disdain due to how her own race was nearly wiped out by them, but it's not plot-vital.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Played with. At a glance, the world map appears similar to a real world map [[http://fireemblem.nintendo.com/story/img/pop7.jpg (if not the whole world, then at least North America, Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East.)]] But Ylisse, which is notably European, is where the Middle East/East Asia would be. Plegia is similarly Western but is located where Africa would be, though its Dark Mages seem to at least draw some Egyptian inspiration. Ferox is home to the only brown skinned characters and is located where Europe should be. Valm is home to the most Swordsmasters (who look more like Samurai in this game than any other in the series) and its most powerful sword is based on Japanese regalia, but the land itself is shaped like the Americas.
* TheFatalist:
** Validar and Grima fit firmly in this trope, believing everything that will happen is predestine.
** Gerome also holds this view, finding it pointless to meddle in the past since the world will end regardless of their actions. He changes his mind by the endgame.
* FemalesAreMoreInnocent: [[spoiler:Aversa]] seems to be the one truly evil woman throughout the game[[spoiler: not counting a female Avatar]], with any other women merely being antagonists and/or mooks. But if you receive the [=SpotPass=] chapters, [[spoiler:you suddenly find out that she was practically mind controlled for the entire game, she then joins your team.]] To compare, [[spoiler:Gangrel]] was a genuinely messed up individual, with a long list of atrocities to his name; [[spoiler: he joins too,]] but he actually ''has'' to bear responsibility for his actions, instead of shifting the blame to someone else.
* {{Filler}}: The chunk of the game with Walhart as the antagonist has absolutely no impact on the overall story, outside of supplying Chrom with a few MacGuffin gems he could've acquired otherwise. Combined with the fact that he's a generic evil emperor with generic motives, it makes his section probably the weakest part of the game, story-wise. It's still fun to play, though.
** However, Aversa does mention later on that Walhart had intended to stop the Grimleal from resurrecting Grima, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero and that had he not been stopped by the main characters they would've not been able to resurrect Grima]]. Furthermore it establishes the Avatar's ability to make plans that work [[RefugeInAudacity largely because they're too insane to be seen in advance]] and provides a necessary component for the one that defeats Validar, namely [[spoiler:Basilio's faked death.]]
* FirstEpisodeSpoiler: [[spoiler:Within the first five minutes, the Avatar beats TheDragon, [[DemonicPossession get possessed by the]] BigBad, and kills Chrom. [[EvilLaugh And laugh maniacally about it.]]]] In fact, the opening "Premonition" chapter was actually removed from the demo, presumably to avoid giving this away. [[LateArrivalSpoiler Not that that stopped a bunch of official footage already revealing it or people who had already seen it.]]
* FirstGirlWins: If Chrom and a female Avatar end up marrying. A female Avatar is arguably the easiest romance option to build Support with, since they fight alongside each other from the very start and can reach C Support level by the end of Chapter 2 or 3.
* {{Flanderization}}: Although the localization [[{{Woolseyism}} is considered good]] for the most part, there were some changes in some of the characters that had this effect:
** Unlike most other characters, who were either toned down or kept mostly the same, Henry's [[HeroicComedicSociopath creepier habits]] were played up considerably in the English version, and some of the more [[FreudianExcuse sympathetic elements]] of his backstory were downplayed. His DarkAndTroubledPast still traumatizes him into what he is today, but the end result is that he [[BlueAndOrangeMorality doesn't quite understand human emotion, and the morality of normal people]], and he gained an obsession with blood that didn't show up nearly as often in the Japanese version.
* FlirtingUnderFire:
** Stepping on an event tile with any couple. They will spend their time complementing each other looks, promising each other to survive, or given each other presents.
** Chrom kisses the female Avatar (if they are married) in the Summer Scramble DLC during the battle.
* [[SleepsWithEveryoneButYou Flirts With Everyone But You]]: Comes up in Inigo and Noire's S Support. Noire was the only one he never flirted with. He even flirted with a sign in front of the baker's shop one day, but never with her. As it turns out, Noire just wanted a chance to turn him down too.
* ForDoomTheBellTolls: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXCZNJAZ0-o "Annihilation"]].
* {{Forgiveness}}: A major theme, especially with Emmeryn and eventually [[spoiler: Gangrel]] of all people. See the character pages for more details.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** Early in the game, Frederick believes the Avatar could be a Plegian spy. [[spoiler:Later on, it's revealed the Avatar is indeed Plegian (by birth) and an important part of the Grimleal's plan.]]
** Similarly, Chrom remarks on the Avatar's unusual name and asks if it's foreign. A new player will likely dismiss this as as [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] HelloInsertNameHere, but [[spoiler: considering the Avatar's past, their name likely is Plegian in-universe]].
** Lon'qu loses to "Marth", much to everyone's surprise. [[spoiler:Turns out "Marth" is a woman, something Lon'qu fears.]]
** During their FearfulSymmetry cutscene fight, "Marth" states he learned his skills, which are identical to Chrom's, from his father.
** The "Premonition" chapter as soon as you start a new game: [[spoiler:Chrom and the Avatar kill Validar, but then the Avatar gets possessed and kills Chrom.]]
** Right after Premoniton, you get the only shot of the Avatar barehanded as Chrom helps him/her up. It has a mark similar to yet entirely distinct from the mark on Chrom's shoulder. [[spoiler:As you might have guessed, it's an opposing mark from the Mark of Naga; the Avatar is of Grima's bloodline.]]
** Owain says "By the ghost of Ike!" in the chapter he's recruited in. [[spoiler:It makes sense because Ike's long dead and you meet his descendant, Priam.]]
** During the epilogue of Chapter 18, a messenger informs the gang of [[spoiler:Basilio's]] death. While the others are shaken by the news, [[spoiler:the Avatar says nothing and in fact doesn't even flinch. This suggests that there might be more going on than the others, including the player at this point, know of.]]
** In Paralogue 17, Chrom and his gang enter a holy glade wherein they find Tiki, the daughter of the Divine Dragon Naga, resting. The rest of the army remarks that the area is very calming and peaceful. The Avatar remarks that they felt nothing out of the ordinary. [[spoiler: This probably has something to do with the whole the Avatar is the vessel of the Fell Dragon Grima thing.]]
** Chrom immediately identifies Henry as Plegian, and, if you pay attention, you can see marks on Henry's collar that resemble [[spoiler:the ones on the Avatar's sleeves, thus further hinting that he/she is Plegian]].
** The first time that Validar lays eyes on the party is Chapter 6, and when he does, he seems to have ''great'' amounts of interest in the Avatar for some reason, which is easy to write off as him surveying the enemy commanders. [[spoiler: He's intrigued with how his child has grown up and thinking on the particular significance he/she has to his plans...]]
* FourthDateMarriage: Played straight. The game's support system has marriageable characters tie the knot in their fourth and final unlockable conversation.
** It's ''very'' common for supports to take a sudden swerve from platonic friendship or camaraderie to romance going from A Support to S. This is because unlike previous games, every character can reach A Support with all of their options, so including romance in earlier Supports would be problematic if one of the parties is already married.
** Chrom/Olivia and Chrom/Generic Village Maiden in particular stand out among the others, and both are [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by the game.
* FriendshipMoment: The selling point of the Scramble DLC. Humorous, and even heartwarming banter is available between characters, even those that usually don't get along well.
* FullContactMagic: The Avatar character's Ignis ability is a variation of this and SpellBlade in that they add half of their magical strength to a physical attack or vice versa.
* FunetikAksent: The "alternotte" Anna in the [=EXPonential=] Growth DLC. Parodied, as it turns out she's faking it, and she herself points out how ridiculous it is.
* FunnyForeigner: Gregor is this in spades. He has a Russian accent in the English versions.
** The Anna from the [=EXPonential=] Growth DLC has a French accent, which she is apparently faking!
* GameFavoredGender: Somewhat interestingly done: Females (including your Avatar if you choose female as the gender) have access to the Dark Flier, a MagicKnight class which gives you Galeforce, which allows them to move again if they defeat an enemy, which is a GameBreaker. However, males (including your Avatar if you choose male instead) can all get access to the male-only Dread Fighter class, a MagicKnight which learns Aggressor, a skill which increases your Attack by 10 if you attack on the player phase, which is also a GameBreaker (as well as Resistance +10 which is basically a fuck-you to enemy Mages). And because Galeforce is able to be passed down to a second-gen male, while Aggressor cannot, the best units in the game are actually males of the second generation with access to Galeforce. Avatar-wise, you may think this gives the female Avatar the advantage because the child she bears is male, compared to the male Avatar's daughter, but the male Avatar has the choice of marrying no less than three women who all have sons who can get Galeforce through their mothers' genes, but who can also choose to marry one of three women who can't pass down Galeforce to their daughters, but who can learn Galeforce through Avatar's ridiculous genes (and male Avatar marrying a spouse that can have a child results in the child being able to go through every normal class + the class they start out with, granting them super customization) instead. Female Avatar is restricted to only one spouse with a child on his own. This makes the genders surprisingly well-balanced in regards to the Avatar.
* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: Very late in the game, when [[spoiler:the Fire Emblem is stolen, it vanishes from Chrom's model, since he was using it as his shield.]]
** If you promoted Chrom too early, the Fire Emblem isn't present on his arm.
** Lon'qu's gynophobia extends beyond support conversations and story; whereas everyone else has the same dialogues for barrack conversations and event tiles, Lon'qu will act more hostile towards female characters for those two events in particular. [[spoiler:Even during the final boss fight, when everyone else is calling for the Avatar to wake up, Lon'qu will stutter if the Avatar is female.]]
*** There is one situation in which Lon'qu won't stutter in the above scene: [[spoiler: if he's married to the avatar, because their S-support establishes that his gynophobia doesn't apply to her anymore.]]
** In the Harvest DLC map, Lissa wears a party hat that's present on both her conversation portrait ''and'' her battle model.
** A minor one, but in Cherche's support conversation with Vaike, she offhandedly mentions that she was originally training to become a cleric when she met her wyvern Minerva. Her two reclassing options with a Second Seal are the cleric and troubadour classes.
** In fact, most reclass options are based on character backstory. For instance, Kellam can become a thief because of his talent for staying hidden.
** Flying units (like Pegasus Knights) are weak to archers. [[spoiler: In Chapter 9, the Pegasus Knights that act as reinforcements for the Shepards die to Risen archers. They're even {{One Hit Kill}}s]].
** The battle between [[spoiler: Basilio and Walhart is done the same way a regular game battle is done; the player has access to the camera controls, and the game even has reasonable damage/accuracy/critical values for either character. Flavia blocks an attack using the dual guard system as well.]]
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: The class-changing feature using Second Seals is not part of the plot or support conversations, so characters like Kjelle or Kellam will always be in heavy armor in their portraits and talk about their armor even when, say, class-changed into Assassins. This is especially jarring in scenes that involve portraits and models, because, unlike the portraits, the character models do change according to class. (Heads always remain the same, though, so Donnel will always have his pot.) The lack of class recognition in supports is a necessary evil and makes some sense in that characters still have the past and training that ties them to their original class, but it is nonetheless a bit silly when Cordelia asks Severa why she didn't become a Pegasus Knight while Severa ''is'' one and Cordelia ''isn't''.
** A particularly bad example of this is Sully and Kjelle's supports, where Sully asks why Kjelle never became a horse-rider like her. One of Kjelle's first promote options is to Great Knight which is, naturally, a mounted character.
** Additionally, some characters, in-story, are significantly less badass than others. However, they can be just as powerful and deadly as any other unit in your army. Yarne, for example, is said to spend the most of his time in battles running and hiding, even if you've had him take on the entire enemy force singlehandedly. Furthermore, Gerome and Kjelle are said to be the group's strongest fighters, wiping the floor with all who challenge them, while in terms of stats Kjelle's strength is among the worst of all of the physical fighter children (the ''absolute'' worst if you consider Cynthia and Owain to be magical rather than physical) and Gerome can't get galeforce.
** Some support conversations (e.g. Sully and Frederick, Lon'qu and Gregor) involve the characters practicing against each other and one character easily beating the other even if the losing character is significantly stronger in-game.
** Cherche has a lot of intimacy for her mount, Minerva, a black wyvern, and talks to her or mentions her in conversations in every chance she can have. Not only can Cherche reclass into a Cleric or Troubadour, but one of the promotions in her default class ''also'' has her ditch her wyvern, replacing it with a Gryphon. [[http://awkwardzombie.com/index.php?page=0&comic=052013 Hilarity ensues]].
** Yarne makes constant reference to being TheLastOfHisKind. Which is true... as long as the avatar hasn't married Panne, in which case Yarne will have a Taguel sister in Morgan and the dialogue makes a lot less sense. This still doesn't seem to set his mind at ease (though it is at least referenced in his supports with her).
** Vaike learns how to speak with Minerva in his B-support with Cherche, but if the two wind up getting married, he forgets he ever knew how in his A-support with Gerome (with the excuse, "It's an acquired skill!")
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Quite a few.
** Nah's C Support with her father:
--->'''Nah:''' "I don't know what you see in her. Unless... you rushed into marriage for some reason? [[ShotgunWedding Like you got her]]--"
** From Maribelle and Lon'qu's A Support:
--->'''Maribelle:''' "I could bring you to an establishment where a pack of lovely ladies wait on you?\\
'''Lon'qu:''' "Pass. ...Wait. How would you know about such a place?"\\
'''Maribelle:''' "Rude! A woman must have her secrets."
** One of Inigo's Event Tile quotes:
--->'''Inigo:''' "I snuck in some practice, [[LampshadedDoubleEntendre if you know what I mean...]]What? No, FIGHTING practice."[[note]]He's talking about his dancing[[/note]]
** From Inigo and Owain's B Support:
--->'''Inigo:''' "[[ADateWithRosiePalms Well, at least you'll be grappling with something tonight.]]"
** From Maribelle and Olivia's A Support:
--->'''Olivia:''' "Those pantaloons must be made of mirrors, for I can see myse—"
* GiantFlyer: [[spoiler:The fell dragon Grima. It's so huge that the final chapter takes place ''on its back''.]]
* GlassCannon: {{Invoked|Trope}} with the Glass weapons (Bow, Sword, Lance, and Axe). They have a low weapon rank (so that even underleveled characters are allowed to use them), have the same damage and accuracy as Silver Weapons, but only 3 uses before breaking. There is also a tome variant called Dying Blaze.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Transformed Panne and Yarne have them. The Risen have this crossed with GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath.
* GoryDiscretionShot:
** In the cutscene featuring [[spoiler:Emmeryn's HeroicSacrifice]], we are never shown the body during [[spoiler:her fall down the cliff and impact on the ground]], only the other characters' reactions to it.
** One cutscene showing [[spoiler:the bad future has a few moments where people are killed by the Risen ''barely'' offscreen.]] Also, when Lucina impaled a Risen, it was not completely displayed.
** The skill "Lethality" instantly kills an enemy. As the hit connects, the entire scene goes red, except for the black silhouetted characters and a spurt of BlackBlood.
* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler:Emmeryn]].
** Also, [[spoiler:the Avatar, if you decide to give your life to kill Grima]].
** Henry too, if he dies in battle. Then again, he's always smiling.
* GoshDangItToHeck: A common Ylissean trait, but special mention goes to the Avatar's "Gods bless it!" while berating Lissa. Also averted on occasion; "damn" and "hell" are clearly spoken at several points, and Brady says "piss" and "ass" repeatedly in supports.
** Also, characters use the term "dastard" (as in "dastardly") as though it is completely interchangeable with "bastard." Granted, nowadays it is; however, "bastard" actually gets the slip a few times, namely in Sully and Chrom's S Support conversation.
* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: Averted, as the epilogue reveals that all the central events of the game's story were well-chronicled and remembered, right down to [[spoiler:the time-traveling children]]. The only exceptions are [[spoiler:Kellam, whose name will be forgotten, and the Avatar's past before joining Chrom. It will be noted that the only thing all the scholars and bards could agree upon about the Avatar was his/her valour and how s/he loved his/her spouse with all of his/her heart if married.]]
* GuideDangIt: Chrom's wife. While the game does in fact tell you Chrom's four options (five if the Avatar is female, as the Avatar can romance anybody of the opposite sex), it does ''not'' tell you that you will commit to his marriage roughly 42% of the way through the game. It also does ''not'' tell you that there is a priority, beyond dropping a few hints in-story about who is first on the priority.[[note]]If all of them have the exact same support points, it's Sumia. After that, in order of priority, it's Maribelle, Sully, Olivia, and a female Avatar. If all of them can access C Support, but have not initiated the C Support, it's Olivia. After that, in order of priority it's Sumia, Maribelle, Sully, and a female Avatar.[[/note]] That's the one thing that might trip up players, and did in fact trip up a few uninformed players.
** While the game ''does'' tell you that Chrom can in fact marry Olivia, getting this to happen is the GuideDangIt.[[note]]To get Chrom to marry Olivia, you must never access Sumia, Sully, Maribelle, or a female Avatar's C Support. To make it easier, you can try to avoid giving Chrom Support points with any of them, or marry them to other characters. Finally, if Chrom has enough Support points to access Olivia's C Support, they will marry.[[/note]] In fact, there is an option that happens if [[TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything all of Chrom's candidates are married off, or he has no Support points with either]], but getting ''this'' is the ''true'' GuideDangIt.
** During Owain's Paralogue, he claims he's searching for the legendary weapon Mystletainn. The weapon turns out to be a fake weapon that Owain nonetheless believes is real and is called Missiletainn, but the game never tells you you need to speak to a specific Sage with Owain in order to obtain it. Finding the Goddess Staff in Laurent's Paralogue is even more difficult, since it requires you stand on a specific tile after visiting the mirage villages.
* HarderThanHard: Think beating the game on Lunatic makes you a master? Think again; accomplishing this feat unlocks Lunatic'''''+'''''.
** [[BrutalBonusLevel The final DLC chapter]] [[ReadingsAreOffTheScale isn't even given a difficulty rating out of five]], it's instead labeled as one word: '''[[ThisIsGonnaSuck Insane.]]'''
* HeHadAName: [[spoiler:Inverted. During the TearJerker BattleInTheRain--after Chrom's sister, Emmeryn, [[HeroicSacrifice kills herself]] [[SelflessWish to save both the enemy kingdom and her own]]--the [[AntiVillain enemy general]] vows to protect your party in Emmeryn's name if they surrender. Across the battlefield, Chrom screams "Don't speak her name!". Once the battle starts, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWO4ff1HXYY the song of the same name]] [[BackgroundMusicOverride begins to play]]]].
* HelloInsertNameHere: There's a Player Character, so of course this is in play.
* HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic: Unlike the generic {{Mooks}}, all of the playable characters' faces are fully visible.
* HereWeGoAgain:
** Gaius and Panne's supports start off with Gaius climbing a cliff to gather honey and requiring Panne's help to get back down. When Panne mentions the impossibly sweet berries at the top of the cliff, Gaius starts climbing again, and gets stuck again.
** Chrom says this during the Champions of Yore DLC when Old Hubba starts acting up again.
* HeroicComedicSociopath: Many of the characters casually discuss mangling and butchering their enemies, all of which is played in a heroic, humorous light.
** Henry gets this most of all. He enjoys blood and killing so much he even gets a small high off of the sight of ''his own'' blood.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:One of the possible outcomes from the final battle has the Avatar doing this.]]
** However, ultimately, [[spoiler:[[TheStinger it is]] [[EarnYourHappyEnding subverted]].]]
* HeroicSuicide: [[spoiler:Emmeryn commits suicide in Chapter 9 to spare Chrom the guilt of choosing A) Give the Fire Emblem to Gangrel, or B) Say no and let Emmeryn get executed]].
** [[spoiler:This can get subverted if you have the Emmeryn [=SpotPass=] Paralogue.]]
* TheHerosBirthday: Each character has a unique birthday. If you visit the barracks on their birthday, they'll get experience, a random item, and a random skill surge. However, if it's the Avatar's birthday, all the characters will wish him or her a happy birthday.
* HesDeadJim: In the ending [[spoiler:where you sacrifice the Avatar to kill Grima]], [[spoiler:when Chrom is reunited with the Avatar, you can see that Grima's Seal on his/her hand is missing--confirming Grima's death.]]
* HeterosexualLifePartners[=/=]PlatonicLifePartners: All playable characters when they reach an A Support. However, there are some standout examples:
** Chrom and the Avatar, both male (Heterosexual) and female (Platonic). They will end up with this relationship in the main storyline regardless of their Support levels.
** Chrom and Frederick.
** Chrom and Sully.
** Lissa and Maribelle.
** Sumia and Cordelia.
** Most Second Generation Characters, due of them being ChildhoodFriends.
* HiddenDepths: For most non-Lord party members, you can roughly summarize their personality and background in two sentences. However, their characterization mostly comes from Support conversations (true to form for Fire Emblem) and usually their characters get fleshed out or their various oddities get explained.
* HighCollarOfDoom: A distinguishing part of the [[MagicKnight Dark Knights]]'s attire.
* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: In-universe, several thousands years really glossed over some details of other ''Fire Emblem'' games. Very visible in Donny and Olivia's Support (in the Japanese version), in which they sing a ballad of [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Naesala and Leanne]]. The Serenes Massacre is still there, but there's no trace of Naesala's more questionable actions and ChronicBackstabbingDisorder or his reason of such actions and instead goes for a more fairytale-like story of prince meets a princess along with their happily ever after.
* HopeSpot: The entire of Chapter 9. [[spoiler: Just as it looks like Emmeryn is saved thanks to the Avatar's plan, everything goes completely wrong and Emmeryn is forced to sacrifice herself.]]
* HopelessWar: [[spoiler:In the future world, the few surviving humans banded together and settled in the one place that they still have left, but everyone knows that it's only a matter of time before the Risen overwhelms their defenses and wipe out all of humanity.]]
* HostageForMacGuffin: See SadisticChoice.
* HotterAndSexier:
** Compare Divine Dragon child Tiki's appearance in ''[[http://serenesforest.net/fe13/img/0404/tiki.jpg Awakening]]'' with her appearance in ''[[http://serenesforest.net/media/fe11illust/l/L_Chiki.jpg Shadow Dragon]]'' and see that the proof is in the pudding.
** Again, compare Micaiah's [[http://serenesforest.net/fe13/img/dlc/001.jpg DLC artwork]] with her [[http://www.feplanet.net/media/gallery/view.php?id=351 original art.]]
** Also, ''Radiant Dawn'' [[http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100327181854/fireemblem/images/f/f3/Ferd_Elincia.jpg Elincia]] versus her [[http://serenesforest.net/fe13/img/0601/elincia.jpg DLC Artwork.]] Hot damn.
** [[OverlyLongGag Another example]] being Anna. (Compare her ''Sacred Stones'' [[http://images.wikia.com/fireemblem/images/4/4a/Anna-FE8.gif appearance]] to [[http://images.wikia.com/fireemblem/images/4/4f/Chara24.jpg that of]] ''Awakening'' appearance. ''HNNNNG.'' (Truth be told, it's a different Anna, but still.)
** Really though, the character design in general is this to the entire series, particularly the women's uniforms. It's not uncommon for female classes to sport [[MinidressOfPower Minidresses]] or [[LeotardOfPower Leotards of Power]] along with ZettaiRyouiki while in combat.
* HPToOne:
** One of the [[NintendoHard Ultimate Training]] DLC missions features a floor of SpikesOfDoom that inflict this on ''every unit on the map!'' '''At the start of every turn!''' And FinalDeath may still apply here.
** [[spoiler:Briefly in the final chapter, but it doesn't come into play because Naga heals your units before it matters.]]
** [[spoiler:Happens to Lucina, Severa, Gerome and Laurent in the final chapter of [[DownloadableContent The Future Past DLC]]. It doesn't change back, so you'll have to heal them if you want them at full health.]]
* HumanMomNonhumanDad: This can only be played straight if a Female Avatar marries Yarne, otherwise it is inverted.
* HybridPower: Players have the ability to pair units in marriage, and allows their offspring to inherit their last equipped skill (one from the father and one from their mother) as well as letting their base stats be influenced by the stats of the respective parents at the time the player encounters each kid on the game. One useful niche of skill inheritance is that a gender-specific skill, such as the Dark Flier's (female) Galeforce skill, or the Fighter's (male) Zeal skill, can be passed down to children of the opposite sex.
* HyperactiveSprite: Par the course for a ''Fire Emblem'' game. ''Awakening'' adds a few nice touches to it by giving some character sprites their own unique animations. For example, Virion can be seen tousling his hair and Miriel adjusts her glasses as a Dark Knight.
* ICallItVera: You can forge weapons and give them names if you wish. Owain also loves to name his weapons.
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Most of the songs on the game's soundtrack are named after quotes from the scene where they're first played.
* IHaveYourWife: [[spoiler: Eventually, Gangrel captures Chrom's older sister, Emmeryn, and forces Chrom to give him the Shield of Seals for her safety. But, [[HeroicSacrifice she kills herself via falling off a cliff]] so that Chrom doesn't have to choose]].
* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: [[spoiler: Said almost word from word by Chrom and the other Shepherds when the Avatar was absorbed by Grima.]]
* ImDyingPleaseTakeMyMacGuffin: [[spoiler: During the Valm campaign, it was revealed that the nation of Ferox held onto one of the gemstones for the Fire Emblem (Gules). Guess what Basilio gives away when killed by Walhart several chapters later.]]
* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: Whereas the entire franchise so far has generally maintained a (relatively) realistic and practical bent in its character design, this game leans much more in the direction of this trope. The best examples by far are the knight characters.
* ImpoverishedPatrician: Ricken and his family. The reason is never explained, but he says that his house is the laughing stock of the Ylissean aristocracy.
* ImprobableAge[=/=]AChildShallLeadThem: Emmeryn is around 24 or 25, and inherited the position of Exalt after her father died when she wasn't even ten years old yet.
* InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals: The Annas. It should be noted that some translations, such as the French localization, refer to them as sisters, which explains things somewhat.
* InfinityMinusOneSword: The [[spoiler:Parallel Falchion and the Exalted Falchion, upgraded versions of the Falchion that retain its infinite-use propety, but also gain a nice boost in attack power and can be used as healing items that restore 20 HP per use, again with no usage limits.]] The only requirements to obtaining them is to complete Chapters 13 and 24, respectively.
* InnocentInnuendo: In their A Support:
-->'''Lucina''' (''to Brady''): ''[[ThatCameOutWrong "Now, submit! Give your body over to me!"]]''
* IntercontinuityCrossover: 120 Characters from all past ''Fire Emblem'' installments return here, through a dimensional portal that exists in the land. The player can face them, hire them to join their army, or buy items from them. And this is mostly unrelated to the game's main story. However, aside from their portraits, they just use generic classes and models colored like their original designs. Only a few characters, who are paid DLC content, actually get their own models and personal classes. The story of the paid DLC does involve many past characters though, including the ones that use generic models.
* InterfaceSpoiler:
** Both Gangrel and Aversa appear on the map for the first turn of Chapter 9. An astute player will notice [[DragonWithAnAgenda Aversa's stats are much higher than his.]] Checking Gangrel's description there will have him referred to as [[spoiler: the ''former'' king of Plegia]], when [[spoiler: he's still king]] at the time.
** Every character's Support library shows shadowed map sprites of the support partners you haven't recruited yet. Since the Avatar can support with ''everyone'', scrolling to the bottom of his/her list can spoil some of the {{secret character}}s if you look hard enough. [[spoiler:Since Walhart has a unique class, it's pretty obvious one of them is him. Gangrel's sprite shows his trademark crown, and Yen'fay and Emmeryn are similarly recognizable.]]
*** Interestingly, this trope (in the form of blank spaces in the Support library and a name in the Japanese voice credits) was the ''only'' indication the final [=SpotPass=] character, [[spoiler:Priam]], even ''existed'' before his reveal!
** Chrom's recruitment conversation with Libra reveals [[spoiler:[[DudeLooksLikeALady the surprise of his actual gender.]]]] However, it's already stated if you view Libra's touch screen description during the preparations phase.
** Looking at the descriptions of the downloadable content cheerfully spoils the child mechanic.
* InUniverseGameClock: The barracks go by one. The other characters make different comments depending on the time of day.
* {{Irony}}:
** [[spoiler:Emmeryn]] and [[spoiler:Gangrel]]'s profiles reveal that [[spoiler:Emmeryn is the most resilient in the army]] while [[spoiler:Gangrel is afraid of heights]]. This is darkly funny when you remember that [[spoiler:Gangrel had trapped Emmeryn on a cliff, and Emmeryn enacted a HeroicSacrifice]].
** [[spoiler:Yen'fay's profile reveals that he can resist intense heat better than anyone in the army. It's ironic because his other self died in a volcano, even if it was from combat rather than the heat.]]
** A particularly painful example is Chrom's frustrated declaration to [[spoiler:Emmeryn]] before the events of [[WhamEpisode Chapter 9]]: "[[spoiler:Walking to your own death]] will not bring peace to anyone!" That is exactly how [[spoiler:she dies]], and that is exactly the result of [[spoiler:her]] actions. It's a bitter consolation.
** Grima, the Fell Dragon, is the subject of three ironies within the game:
*** [[spoiler:The Avatar, created since birth to be Grima's vessel and bring about the end of the world, not only ends up being Chrom's greatest ally, but being the only person able to kill Grima.]]
*** [[spoiler:Him accidentally erasing the Avatar's memory to a blank after a failed merger allowed them to bond more deeply with the Shepherds, given the Avatar not only the strength to fight his control, but the courage to sacrifice themselves to end Grima's curse.]]
*** [[spoiler:Him going back into the past to ensure his future ends up not only killing him, but saving two alternative worlds (the one he left and the one he attempted to take over).]]
**** [[spoiler:For bonus irony sprinkles, he went back to insure his future, not knowing that time travel creates alternate universes. He could've sat home, munching on virgin souls, and be completely unaffected by whatever Lucina did.]]
* ItemAmplifier: The Armsthrift Skill will not reduce a weapon's durability when activated.
* JackOfAllStats: The Avatar has balanced stat growths as a Tactician and Grandmaster, making him/her equally good at melee fighting and magic. You can customize your Avatar by selecting a stat to receive bonus growth to and a stat to have reduced growth.
* JokeItem: Each part of the Weapon Triangle has a joke weapon. Soup ladles are axes, logs are lances, and tree branches are swords. All of them are terrible and are [[LampshadeHanging described in-game as unsuitable weapons]].
** There's also a Slack Bow, a Kneader (healing staff), and a Miniature Lance (javelin).
*** LethalJokeItem: The Miniature Lance. It has a crit rate of 35, beaten only by the Sol Katti and Dark Magic tome Ruin. And this is unmodified. Give it to someone with high strength to make up for its measly 1 attack, and you've got a powerful weapon on your hands.
*** The other weapons are surprisingly effective in the hands of powerful units as well, or at the very least useful to save your stronger weapons for later.
* JustInTime: The concept behind Dual Guard. A supporting unit will jump in and perform a DivingSave on the attacked unit.
* KidFromTheFuture: The entire second (and, if applicable, third) generation.
* KissingCousins: The Support conversations between Lucina and Owain, who are first cousins, were changed in the English translation to remove any hints of incest. They still can S Support, but they're referred to as "companions," not husband and wife. The same thing will happen if you pair him with Cynthia or Kjelle if either of them are fathered by Chrom.
** It's still possible for Morgan to marry her uncle/his aunt. Pair Chrom with Maribelle or Olivia. If you then pair the Avatar with Lucina, Morgan can still marry Brady or Inigo. If you have the Avatar paired with Brady or Inigo, Morgan can still marry Lucina.
** Female Morgan can also marry her cousin(s). [[spoiler:Pair Chrom with Maribelle or Olivia. Pair the Avatar with Lissa or Emmeryn. If paired with Emmeryn, pair Lissa with any other character. Now Morgan can marry either Inigo/Brady or Owain. If the Avatar is paired with Lissa, Morgan can marry Inigo/Brady.]]
* KryptoniteIsEverywhere: Winged cavalry have a crippling weakness to bows and wind magic. Nearly all campaign missions (plus several of the paralogues) have enemies wielding one or both of these to prevent the player from blitzing the map with pegasi/wyverns/griffons.
* LadyOfWar:
** Lucina
** Also the female Avatar.
* LastChanceHitPoint: The skill Miracle gives you a chance of this based on the character's Luck stat.
* [[LastGirlWins Last Boy/Girl Wins]]: Olivia is the last of Chrom's love interests to be introduced - she's recruited in the ''very chapter he's supposed to get married in.'' If you didn't S-support with any of his other love interests but have enough support points, you get a special conversation with them (either Female Avatar, Sumia, Maribelle, or Sully) at the end of the chapter; Olivia doesn't have one. The game does [[LampshadeHanging lampshade and lampoon]] you a bit for it though.
** In a similar vein, since Sumia has a small pool of love interests, her falling for Henry is this, as he joins after the two-year {{Timeskip}} (''after'' Chrom is married with a daughter).
** And while the Avatar can marry ''anyone'', [[spoiler:marrying any of the Spotpass characters]] takes it to a new level, as you can only play their chapters and recruit them right before the Endgame. [[spoiler:Marrying Priam]] to a female Avatar is probably the biggest case of all, because he isn't seen ''at all'' during the game proper, whereas the other five are.
* LauncherOfAThousandShips: The Avatar in-universe. This is completely intended.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall:
** In an early tutorial, the Avatar mentions that they "see things", such as information on enemies and their weapons, and can reveal more info if they focus. This leads in to a tutorial on how to check enemy stats using the bottom screen. A second one occurs later, at least in the demo version, with masked Marth saying "what you just saw was but a prelude", subtly alluding to the fact you're playing a demo which is about to end.
** At the end of the ''Champions of Yore 3'' DLC, Old Hubba tells Chrom of the other things he can expect in the Outrealms, which are to the players the content of future DLC.
--> '''Old Hubba:''' "[[BribingYourWayToVictory I foresee gold! Experience! Legendary weapons and heroes!]] But that's not all!"
--> '''Chrom:''' *sigh* "Why do I feel as if I'm being sold something at market?"
** The swimsuit and kimono scenes of Summer Scramble and Hot-Spring Scramble respectively will have Anna allude to the actual character popularity polls of the Japanese fanbase. To wit: Chrom, Gaius, Cordelia, and Tharja are the most commonly paired-up units for Japanese players, so they get their own little [[{{Fanservice}} shots of changing into modern swimsuits.]]
* LegoGenetics: Second-generation characters will have exactly the same skills and stats (averaged) of their mother and father (or at least their canonical parent if he/she wasn't paired up)
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNW-ChB3sZg&list=PLJk2mw2kvnXWmXz6KWpBBwj7Wo7lkKWSO "Id,"]] the Avatar's theme, which is remixed into several different songs over the course of the game - there's the base version, "Serenity," that you hear at the beginning of the game, the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OCHRlkVxOk&list=PLJk2mw2kvnXWmXz6KWpBBwj7Wo7lkKWSO&index=72 "Sorrow"]] version, which plays at certain points like [[spoiler:Lucina trying to find the resolve to kill the Avatar (and failing if they're Avatar her mother (female) or husband (male)]], [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdvSJPRSmnk&list=PLJk2mw2kvnXWmXz6KWpBBwj7Wo7lkKWSO "Dilemma"]], heard [[spoiler:when the identity of the mysterious Hierophant of Plegia is revealed]], [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqh9bRtz1Ig&list=PLJk2mw2kvnXWmXz6KWpBBwj7Wo7lkKWSO "Darkness,"]] which is a further riff on "Dilemma" and is used [[spoiler:when the Avatar's true heritage comes to light]], and then [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ4FqqBf0X4&list=PLJk2mw2kvnXWmXz6KWpBBwj7Wo7lkKWSO "Return"]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz0X2ybZ3a0&list=PLJk2mw2kvnXWmXz6KWpBBwj7Wo7lkKWSO "Purpose,"]] which are the set-up and stage theme [[spoiler:for the final chapter]], respectively. The last one even mixes the main ''Fire Emblem'' theme into it! [[spoiler:The Future Past DLC includes another remix of the Avatar's theme: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On7tugSvq1A "Hope,"]] which plays when you enter battle with the Morgans, and with [=FoD=]!Grima.]]
* LevelGrinding:
** Since the map system is back from Sacred Stones, it's possible to fight Risen for EXP and Bullion (to sell for gold). However, this time the player is restricted to map encounters (no designated grinding spot unless [[BribingYourWayToVictory one pays for DLC]]) and on Hard/Lunatic modes, [[EncounterBait Reeking Boxes]] cost 4500 instead of 500, which greatly restricts how much you can powerlevel.
** Although, you can grind using the Spotpass characters on Easy/Hard. In Lunatic and above, however, these encounters will only wield you 1 exp. It is also a bit of a money sink since you have to constantly re-supple your weapons and Spotpass battles offer no gold reward.
* LikeBrotherAndSister[=/=]NotBloodSiblings: [[spoiler:Thanks to Aversa being [[MoreThanMindControl More Than Mind Controlled]], she believed she was Validar's daughter, [[LukeIAmYourFather like the Avatar]], and if the Avatar is male, both of these tropes are fired off...]] this being ''Fire Emblem'', [[SubvertedTrope however, one may guess the]] [[BrotherSisterIncest result.]]
* LineageComesFromTheFather: Averted for the most part, as only Lucina and Female Morgan come after their fathers. All other children characters, male or female, come ''decidedly'' after their mothers.
* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: With the exception of the Grandmaster line, spellcasters are weak compare to physical attackers at the beginning of the game; Sages tend to be extremely fragile, Dark Fliers tend to do low damage due to low MAGIC stats, and Sorcerers and Dark Knights, the sturdy spellcasters, tend to have both low SKILL and SPEED, making them both weak AND fragile. However, during endgame or if you are over-stat compare to the enemy (such as due to grinding or lower difficulty settings), rallying and pairing up will cover their weaknesses and allow them to outperform physical attackers in most cases due to the tomes' attack range of 1-2 squares.
** If you manage to cover these fatal flaws, Nosferatu-type tomes can be a relatively easily obtainable game-breaking setup outside of Lunatic+ mode.
** Tome's ability to attack 1-2 squares were off-set by the Brave weapons, which gave physical attackers superior damage. However, with the inclusion of Brave-type tomes, the advantage has been nulled.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: A staple in all ''Fire Emblem'' games, although the cast of this game has received particularly high praise both by critics and gamers. Most people agree that the characters MAKE ''Awakening'', both the story and the gameplay.
* LockedOutOfTheFight: Chapter 23 where Chrom and the Avatar face Validar while your other units face the {{Mooks}}. [[spoiler:At least until Chrom and the Avatar defeat Validar for the first time, upon which the barrier shatters, and allows them to join the others, as well as allowing Validar to be defeated for a second time by anyone else.]]
** Kind of subverted in that it's also entirely possible for one of your Sorcerers to kill him with a Mire tome (which has an attack range of 3-10 spaces) if their Magic stat is high enough.
* {{Lolicon}}: Nowi's husband, in his A Support conversation with Nah, mentions that he was attracted to Nowi because of her youthful appearance. In the English versions, it's changed to a ShotgunWedding scenario.
--> '''Nah's Father:''' ''I'll tell you anything you want to know, even the embarrassing story of our courtship... As you know, your mother has always looked young, and...''
* LongSongShortScene: The boss battle themes can be up to six minutes long and are absolutely epic. Sadly, battles play out fairly quickly in this game, so you'll only hear about twenty seconds of them.
* LostInTranslation: Kind of a weird example. The localisation is truly excellent (and, given the quality of past installments, that says a lot) and--in a first for the series--the UK version actually has British English spellings and edits some of the dialogue ([[SeparatedByACommonLanguage as some things just aren't shared between the two]]). So far, so good. However, some of these dialogue edits mesh with how the American voice actors read the lines. For example, Brady's British English text could very well be read in a Cockney accent but, since an American accent is the one you'll hear, any attempt to localise said accent ultimately gets lost.
* LoveBubbles: Appear in some of the special {{Love Confession}}s involving the Avatar, for example Chrom's and Lissa's.
* LovecraftLite: As expies of Loptyr and the Lopytrians, Grima and the Grimleal wouldn't look out of place in a Lovecraftian horror story, given Grima's unknown motives and the Grimleal's fanatical worship of him. But you are able [[spoiler:to kill Grima for good]]. That said, [[spoiler:given the way that Grima has to be killed in order for him to stay dead (which was only made possible through a loophole created by the TimeTravel shenanigans that Lucina and Grima engage in), and the way that TimeTravel works in the ''Fire Emblem'' universe, it does go from LovecraftLite into a borderline CosmicHorrorStory at some points]].
* LoveTheme: When two characters reach '''S''' level Support (marriage) either "Id (Serenity)" plays if the Avatar is one of them or "Ha, ha! Yes, it will take some getting used to" if between other characters.
* LuckBasedMission: Success in the Paralogue where you can recruit Anna is solely dependent on how well she can dodge incoming attacks. If the RNG really hates you, it's possible she can die as early as the second or third turn.
** What makes it particularly annoying is that she always attacks if an axe-wielding bandit is nearby. She does this to protect the town, but she could just stand in front of the town's only entrance and drink her healing items there. Axes have a very poor hit rate against her sword.
* LukeIAmYourFather: As it turns out, the Avatar is [[spoiler: Validar's]] child. He/she... does not take that well.
* LukeYouAreMyFather: Lucina does this to [[spoiler: Chrom]] when she accidentally cries out "Father!" while protecting him. She explains herself afterwards.
* LuminescentBlush: Applied to the characters' dialogue portraits mostly during their S-rank Supports.
** Olivia has it almost all the time.
** If you tap their face in the information screen to watch their attack animation, any married character will have this, provided they're paired up with their partner at the time.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tropes M through R]]
* MageKiller: A character with the new Tomebreaker skill gains an extra 50% hit rate ''and'' 50% evasion when fighting a tome-wielding enemy. As usual for Fire Emblem, Pegasus Knights are adept and killing mages, having enough resistance to even [[ScissorsCutsRock shrug off wind magic]] (usually).
* MagicKnight:
** The second protagonist's main class: the "Tactician." It functions the same as [[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Jugdral's]] Mage Fighter, wielding both magic and swords.
** [[WhiteMage NUNS]][[MemeticMutation WITHAXES]]
*** Which later proved to also be MONKSWITHAXES.
** Tricksters and Falcon Knights also qualify, since they use staves as well as weapons. So do Dark Knights and Dark Fliers, which are closer to the traditional Magic Knight class from ''[=FE4=]'' and ''[=FE5=]''.
** DLC Class "Dread Fighter": Swords, Axes, Tomes.
*** As well as its followup, the "Bride" class: Bows, Staves, and Lances.
* MagikarpPower: Donnel. At first, he may seem weak, but his skill Aptitude increases the odds of each of his stats by leveling by 20% -- For example, the chance of his HP increasing when leveling up increases from 85% to 105% with Aptitude equipped -- meaning that now not only is there is a 100% chance his HP will go up by 1, but there is also a 5% chance that it will go up again! This can make him turn him into a powerhouse -- if you take the time to train him. And by marrying him with a character who can have children, he can produce a child who can become extremely strong. [[http://www.ign.com/wikis/fire-emblem-awakening/Donnel This page]] has more details.
** Donnel actually teeters back and forth on this one a little. While it's true that Donnel's growths are boosted to pretty ridiculous levels, which gets him very strong early on if you get him past the Villager class (the "Magikarp" stage), his actual stat caps, as well as the abilities he has available to him (and can pass to his children), are fairly lackluster compared to most characters. That leaves him a little underwhelming later in the game once the others catch up.
*** Donnel's class inheritance depends on who he pairs up with, because two of his classes are male only. If he has a daughter, the classes she receives as replacements can learn some of the best abilities. The only down side is that she can't naturally learn the Aptitude skill and must have Donnel pass it down to her directly.
*** Though like with everyone else in the game, the better his stats, the smarter it is to Pair Up him to anyone you want to grind and/or survive against a group of enemies.
** The children characters are recruited during missions with promoted enemies, but are unpromoted themselves. With some training, though, they can far surpass their parents in terms of usefulness.
* MamaBear[=/=]PapaWolf: Every first generation character has the potential to become this when they marry and have children.
* MayDecemberRomance: The Avatar can marry Flavia, Basilio, [[spoiler:or Aversa]] depending on their gender -- all of whom are [[VagueAge potentially twice their age]].
* MayflyDecemberFriendship: In Tiki's support with Nah (a half-manakete), Tiki laments that this is a "curse" of their race, saying Manaketes that care for the human race are destined to suffer because they always outlive them.
* MayflyDecemberRomance: Any marriage with a Manakete will likely be this. The confession scene with Tiki in particular can be both a TearJerker and a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}} at the same time.
* MeaningfulName: Most of the game's villains hail from a kingdom known as Plegia, to which the citizens are called "Plegians." [[PunnyName "Plegian" sounds a lot like "Plebian."]] Aversa sound suspiciously like "adverse."
** Presumably "Plegian" comes from the Greek root "plege" (yes, like the second half of paraplegic) which means "a blow or stroke".
* MedievalStasis: It's been well over a thousand years since King Marth's reign and technologically, little has changed. Going by the absence of cannons, one could even argue technology has gone backwards. Some blame this on Grima, though it's not known.
* MenAreTheExpendableGender: If a female unit falls in classic mode, she only retreats. The only male characters who don't actually die are the plot-important Frederick, Basilio and Virion. Plus, almost all the bosses are male and [[spoiler: one of the only three female bosses can even be recruited]]. Also, the only heroic manaketes to survive the 2,000 year stretch between the Akaneia saga and Awakening are female, while the three male manakete characters don't appear at all, though Bantu is mentioned as appearing offscreen.
** DoubleSubverted with the mooks. There are female ones, but they really only show up as the female exclusive classes. [[MenAreGenericWomenAreSpecial If a class is available to both genders, it will virtually always be a male,]] with the exception of clerics, priests, and war clerics and war monks, which are technically two sets of different but identical gender-exclusive classes. Aside from the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Jugdral games]] this is a feature of all Fire Emblem games.
** Subverted with the Spotpass and second-generation characters; female characters in these groups die when defeated just like the male characters.
* MidSeasonTwist: Chapter 6 (which when you count the Prologue is the actual seventh Chapter of the game) reveals that Marth [[spoiler:is a woman who somehow knows of the future]]. Also introduces Validar, the BigBad from the [[TheTeaser Premonition Chapter]], and has him meet the fell dragon Grima (the {{obvious|lyEvil}} BiggerBad) in human form for the first time. Chapter 7 is when Emm gives Chrom the Fire Emblem to protect as she splits with the rest of the team to lead the war against Plegia.
* MineralMacguffin: The five gemstones that empower the Fire Emblem. The Emblem starts off with only one gemstone, Argent, and the other four are spread across the two continents.
* MildlyMilitary: The Shepherds do not place much value on formality, coming off as more of a group of wacky teenagers than an army. This isn't too noticeable at first, as they are officially a peace-keeping force, though once they get promoted to Ylisse's main wartime army the silliness doesn't go away. Even their RedShirtArmy counts. There's also the fact alone that most of them marry each other...
* MirrorMatch: Paralogue 22, due to the Wellspring of Truth casting mirror images of the Shepherds, which include their skills although their stats cap only goes to a point.
* MiseryBuildsCharacter: Discussed by the Shepherds in the intro to Chapter 1.
* MoodWhiplash: Chapter 16, after an intense build up for the battle at hand, you're treated to... Cervantes and his mustache.
** After the climatic battle against the [[BigBad evil Validar]] in Chapter 23, come Chapter 24, you find yourself in a beautiful valley covered in rainbows and sunshine.
** [[spoiler:The post battle scene of "Infinite Regalia" as the leader of the Deadlord tells him to come back again and gives him the Silver Card and an Einherjar card. The whole thing is oddly lighthearted as they come off as lonely and want company. This is after being bombarded with bits of Fridge Horror during the battles.]]
* MoreHeroThanThou: The main conflict between the nations is this. Ylisse [[spoiler:was a warmongering kingdom at the time of Chrom's father, who had exhausted their resources in the last reign around 15 years ago, opting to be TheAtoner by becoming a nation with a very small military force but was unable to make it up to Plegia for a while due to Emmeryn being stuck mending her own country (justified considering she was ''nine'' at the time and Ylisse had almost no resources). They end up getting kicked around many times in the present]]. Valm, on other hand, [[spoiler:tries to unite its dividing countries like its first king and maintains order under Walhart's rule. He's a good king, it's just that many of his men either don't want that and prefer to spread chaos (Excellus especially), don't understand said motivation, blindly throwing their lives into a wrong cause in the name of following their king's will, and that Walhart himself has an odd style that not many people like]]. Hell, even Plegia jumps the bandwagon. [[spoiler:Valm's unification war made Plegia's memory of Ylisse's orgy of destruction come to the surface and Gangrel makes a unification plan on his own to prevent that before MotiveDecay takes place]]. The Shepherds (a primarily Ylissean militia, no less) are the only ones who actually banded up members from all over to take down Grima once and for all, and they are the only ones who are more concerned with saving the world than deciding who is going to save it or how (though they do believe that they will be the ones to do so).
* MundaneMadeAwesome: Tome users strike fantastic poses as they read their magic books.
* {{Mukokuseki}}: Except for Nowi, who isn't human, most everyone's eyes are proportional to their faces.
* MythologyGag:
** Cherche's wyvern is named [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Minerva]], the first Wyvern Rider in the series.
** [[spoiler: Paris was Ike's early code name.]] It's used as the Japanese name for the final [=SpotPass=] SecretCharacter, Priam, who claims to be a descendant of Ike and wields the Ragnell.]]
** One support set has a story about two birds, named after [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius two of the Bird-tribe Laguz]].
** Owain's quotes reference previous games in the series, such as "Radiant Dawn!" as a battle cry.
** Some of the higher spells have runes floating around them when cast, which, upon closer examination, are written in [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius the Heron language]].
** One event with Nowi has her saying she's met a new dragon friend [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia named something like Banta.]]
** In Nowi and Stahl's B Support, she names a bird [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Janaff]].
** Every second generation character's birthday, save Morgan's, corresponds with the Japanese release dates for most of the games in the franchise.
** In Ricken's C Support with Olivia, he says he's reading a story about "[[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral a prince who falls in love with a forest maiden.]]"
** The map for Paralogue 2 is a big chunk of map taken right out of Chapter 4 of ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Genealogy of the Holy War]]''.
** Inigo's Paralogue map is a throwback to Chapter 4 in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Gaiden]]'', complete with a boss who's a loyal follower of a ReligionOfEvil (both bosses even share the same name), while [[spoiler:Gangrel]] and [[spoiler:Emmeryn]]'s Paralogue maps are based on the first Chapters of ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Mystery of the Emblem]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Gaiden]]'' respectively.
** Lucina and Cynthia's non-sibling A Support references the Triangle Attack, a recurring technique in the series. (One that's sadly missing from ''Awakening'', in fact.)
** Noire has a talisman that, when touched, causes her personality to go 180 and become an AxCrazy BloodKnight. Sounds an awful lot like Lehran's Medalion from the Tellius installments.
** The three main lords can be comprised of two dudes (who happen to he HeterosexualLifePartners) and a girl, and the first Lord in the story strikes a friendship with a tactician. Am I talking about this game?, or [[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Blazing Sword]]?
* NaginatasAreFeminine: Well, lances are. A variety of factors heavily skew lance use towards women:
** Of the 8 promoted classes that can use lances, 1 of them is exclusive to two characters and 3 more are female-exclusive. Furthermore, 3 of the 4 female-exclusive classes use lances.
** Lancefaire, a skill that improves strength when using a lance (or magic when using a Shockstick) by 5, is not only from a female-exclusive class (Falcon Knight), but that class is part of the same class set as Dark Flier, meaning that any male child who could inherit lancefaire could also inherit Galeforce. And since male children can only inherit one skill from their mother, and since Galeforce is arguably the most powerful skill in the entire game, Lancefaire is never the best skill to pass down to a male child. Thus, the only units who can reasonably get Lancefaire (and thus specialize in lances) are female units who can get both galeforce and lancefaire without their mother's help. The exception is a [[SchrodingersPlayerCharacter male]] Morgan, who can inherit Galeforce from one of the [[FanNickname Galeboys]] and Lancefaire from the Avatar (or technically vice versa, but that defeats the point).
* {{Nerf}}:
** The forging system seems to have had one, compared to how utterly broken it was in the previous two games. You can now only give a limited number of "buffs" to a single weapon, meaning you can no longer forge both Might and Critical up to max. You'll need to choose between a weapon that hits ''really'' hard all the time, or one that's slightly weaker but criticals more often. Needless to say, [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard this limit does not apply to enemies]]. While they have used forged weapons on the harder difficulties in ''[=FE11=]'' and ''[=FE12=]'', they now go past the forge limits.
** Because your units do not have proper [[LamarckWasRight Holy Blood]], the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Holy Weapons]], such as [[MageKiller Tyrfing]], [[GameBreaker Forseti]], and [[LastDiscMagic Book of Naga]] are all far weaker than they were when used properly in ''[=FE4=]''.
** Skills in general also were hit HARD with the Nerfbat. While attacks that hit more than once no longer use up durability for each extra hit, every single one of them has its effect only do half of whatever the max is of what's being added, rounded down, and none of them get the damage buffs ''Radiant Dawn'' threw in. For example, Sol (and the Nosferatu tome by association) only restores HP by half of the damage inflicted on the enemy. If the enemy with 13 health left was killed by an attack that does 40 damage, you only get 6 HP back. If you kill an enemy with only 1 HP left, you get nothing.
* NeverFoundTheBody: [[spoiler:During Emmeryn's "demise"]], [[GoryDiscretionShot the death itself is not shown]] ([[ReactionShot just everyone's reactions to it]]) and the main characters are unable to recover the body. Said character survives and turns up later.
** This is revealed as the case for [[spoiler:Miriel]] as well in the time the second generation characters are from, as mentioned by [[spoiler:Laurent]] in both Future Past 3 and Infinite Regalia.
* NewGamePlus: After beating the game, future playthroughs will start with the same level of Renown that the previous playthrough ended with. Also, the Avatar Logbook carries over between saves, making it possible (with a lot of gold) to buy back high-level troops earlier than you originally got them.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
** [[spoiler:It isn't mentioned immediately, but another reason for Walhart's massive conquest, in addition to [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans world peace and unity]], was to stop Validar and the Grimleal in their ''own'' conquest. He actually would've at least caught up to him if Chrom did not fight him when he did, so Chrom and his army unintentionally allowed Validar's plans to carry on.]]
** It is implied that Lucina's interference in the past actually speeded events up, like the Plegian war ending sooner because of Emmeryn willingly sacrificing herself instead of being assassinated, which allowed Validar to become king.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler:Future Grima really messed up by following Lucina into the past. His attempt to merge with the Avatar early inflicted amnesia on them (which likely allowed the Avatar to form stronger bonds with Chrom's group), gave the Avatar memories that allowed them to make the fake gemstone plan, and his being in the past allowed for a loophole that could get him KilledOffForReal. All-in-all, Grima should probably have just stayed in the future.]]
** [[SadisticChoice However]], [[spoiler: Future!Grima's only other option was letting Lucina undo his resurrection in the past, which she did, as her intervention caused Validar to be killed two years early. Had Future!Grima not been been there to resurrect him, Past!Grima's summoning would never have happened.]]. As such, no matter what choice the BigBad made, it would have been a NiceJobFixingItVillain moment. Although, [[spoiler: given how the Outrealm Gate worked, there was the possibility that Lucina's interference would had simply made an alternate timeline where Grima never awoke, therefore leaving Future!Grima alone to tear apart his timeline. The DLC ''The Future Past'' seems to support this theory]].
* TheNicknamer: Gaius.
* NintendoHard: Lunatic and Lunatic+ are so hard that the fans [[http://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=38539 won't even make a tier list about them.]]
* NoBodyLeftBehind: Standard for the Risen, their bodies just fade away like ash and/or magical energy when killed. With their mounts, it tends to vary on how they're slain.
* NoKillLikeOverkill: In this game, ''all'' attack skills can stack with critical hits, thus elevating the hurt from skills like Ignis and Luna to [[ForMassiveDamage near or over triple-digit proportions]]. Amusingly you can even get this to happen with [[OneHitKO Lethality]], but it doesn't do anything - Lethality always deals fixed damage. So you'll just [[FridgeHorror have to imagine]] what your unit just did to make their victim DeaderThanDead.
* NoManOfWomanBorn: [[spoiler:Naga said that Grima cannot be killed even with the Exalted Falchion, but only be [[DeepSleep sealed away]] for a millennium. [[OnlyICanKillHim The only power capable of destroying Grima is his own]].]] This gives the Avatar[[spoiler:, who is said to be "one and the same" as him,]] a EurekaMoment, and you are given the choice to [[TakeAThirdOption take another option]] in the final battle.
* NoodleIncident: The Avatar accidentally sees a tattoo given to Gaius that marks him as a thief. In order to convince Gaius he won't blackmail him, the Avatar tells him an embarrassing secret involving a cow.
* NotUsingTheZWord: They're called Risen. However, Henry does refer to them as zombies when he first appears.
* OddFriendship: Many supports play off this dynamic, but notably:
** Chrom and Gaius, the royal and the lowly thief.
** Frederick and Henry, the serious lieutenant and the carefree sociopath.
* OfficialCouple: None as such, but Sumia is strongly hinted as Chrom's "canon" wife. [[InternetBackdraft Be very careful while discussing this, though]].
** Every pairable character has another with whom they support the fastest. Unlike with Chrom and Sumia, this is downplayed, as there are no "extras" that come about from supporting them.
* OffModel: The character models '''HAVE NO FEET'''. They instead have tiny, strange hooves. WordOfGod from [[http://fireemblem.nintendo.com/developer-interview/page3.html this interview]] says that the dev team wasn't sure how many bones and joints they could put on the character models. Turns out, the CPU for the 3DS had more than enough power to allow it. The models in the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates following game]], also on the 3DS, do have feet.
* OhMyGods: Common in the English dialogue.
* OminousLatinChanting: Some of the music, such as [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uStWYhENgJk& "Divine Decree"]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSz1l-0mC0s& "Mastermind"]].
* OminousPipeOrgan: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5fSyKUMXEQ& "Chaos"]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXCZNJAZ0-o "Annihilation"]], further accentuated in their Ablaze versions.
* OnlyICanKillHim: [[spoiler:Only the Avatar striking the finishing blow can truly kill Grima.]]
* OnlyOneFemaleMold: Technically played straight, but unlike most instances of this trope, there's only one ''male'' mold too. Body types for classes are all shared with only one per gender, creating bizarre situations when characters are reclassed. This is most notable with the flat-chested Lucina wearing the [[AbsoluteCleavage Archer]] outfit, or when a dark-skinned character such as Flavia is reclassed, giving her a generic model where she has light skin on her legs and arms.
* OrnamentalWeapon: Some classes, like the Assassin and Swordmaster, carry additional knives or swords on their person, but these are merely part of their model and cannot be drawn even if their other weapons break.
* OutGambitted: Chapter 23, the Avatar pulls it off quite well.
** This is soon followed up by [[spoiler: the Hierophant/Grima out-gambit the Avatar]].
* PairTheSpares: It's possible to do this if one feels like pairing off their entire party and the two odd ends happen to be compatible romantically.
* PenultimateWeapon: Brave Weapons. The Regalia weapons are statistically the most powerful and offer interesting stat bonuses, but the Brave Weapons let a unit double up their attacks, allowing an unit to strike up to ''four'' times. They can also be purchased from a regular shop near the end of the game.
* PetalPower: The [[CherryBlossoms Ignis skill has this effect]] after landing a successful hit on an enemy.
* PimpedOutDress: [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Eirika's]] [[http://serenesforest.net/fe13/img/dlc0607_img.jpg DLC costume]], showcasing the female-exclusive Bride class. Complete with GiantPoofySleeves, lots of frills, and what appears to be [[ImpossiblyCoolClothes sheer]] FluffyFashionFeathers. May double as a BattleBallgown.
* PinataEnemy: The gold Entombed variant of the basic Risen gives out a '''lot''' of EXP when taken down, up to 100 points for a unit of sufficiently lower level. Thieves also give rather more EXP than other units of their level.
* PlayerCharacter: The Avatar; you get to select your gender, [[HelloInsertNameHere name him or her]], select a character portrait and model, and select his or her voice. You're locked in with the [[TheStrategist Tactician]] class, though, but you can use Second Seals to change into almost every other class.
* PlayEveryDay: This seems to be the designers' intention, as opening up the game on a daily basis results in 5 new barracks events and at least a few random encounters naturally spawning. On Hard/Lunatic mode, this is especially important since those encounters are the main renewable sources of EXP and gold.
* PleasePutSomeClothesOn: Chrom asks one of the bikini-wearing Annas to do this in the intro to the Summer Scramble DLC.
* PlotArmor: Even in [[AllDeathsAreFinal Classic Mode]], characters that are killed, but still have an important role later on will simply retreat. You can't use them in combat, however (and naturally [[WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou Chrom and the Avatar are exceptions]]).
* ThePowerOfLove: An actual mechanic. Units in relationships with each other (i.e. have Support ranks), whether platonic or romantic, give better stat bonuses fighting together and have better chances of getting an attack in with their partner or blocking a hit for them. Naturally, the highest ranking (S) between married couples has the best bonuses.
* PreAsskickingOneLiner[=/=]PreMortemOneLiner[=/=]BondOneLiner: ''[[UpToEleven Everyone gets several of each!]]'' When units are paired, the non-attacking partner character cheers the active one with the [[PreAsskickingOneLiner former]]. Then, they get the [[PreMortemOneLiner second]] upon nailing a CriticalHit or activating a skill, complete with SuperMovePortraitAttack. Some of them are simple, like "''Here goes!''", while others are more badass, like "''Pick a god and pray!''". The last one naturally occurs if you defeat an enemy, though you can get some gems like Severa's "''[[KillSteal That was mine!]]''" should the paired partner get the kill instead.
* ProductionThrowback: The DLC chapters reuse past music, like 8-bit and 16-bit chiptunes.
** The entire game has its basic mechanics thrown back to the semi-nostalgic feel of ''Shadow Dragon'' and ''New Mystery'', with no in-battle supports or proper rescue mechanics, and the weapon triangle's effects (when applicable) only becomes noticeable the better you get with a certain weapon, and only with the basic physical weapons, not magic.
* ProperlyParanoid: Lucina might actually be onto something in her supports with a female Avatar when she gets absurdly paranoid that Robin's trying to seduce Chrom. Lucina catches Robin outside Chrom's tent and instantly assumes she's sneaking off to meet with him in secret and her response is: "...Is this his tent?". While it's unlikely Lucina's right about the affair, Robin's definitely hiding ''something'', because she reveals in her B support with Lon'qu that she knows exactly when and where everyone in the camp sleeps, so her feigning ignorance of whose tent they were next to is a bald-faced lie.
* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: Not in the main story, but in most of the DLC Einherjar chapters, a member of the side you're fighting against (and only on the side you're fighting against) will question the righteousness of what they're doing, even in "Rogues and Redeemers 2", where you ''team up with the bad guys''.
* ProtectionMission:
** As a staple of the series, this naturally shows up. The first instance is Chapter 6, where the party protects Emmeryn from an assassination attempt and the second is Chapter 15, where they have to save Say'ri from a horde of Valmese troops. Both count as BadassInDistress since both protect-ees ''would'' be capable of fighting back if not for their lack of weaponry.
** Paralogue 3 makes you protect three unarmed Villagers. Since the class is designed to be very weak, their defenses are paper-thin and can easily be mowed down if you don't intercept the enemy army. You are rewarded for the trouble, though.
** Paralogue 10 counts since you have to protect Severa as she makes her way to a certain NPC. Severa is especially annoying since she's constantly moving and will blindly charge enemies that can easily kill her.
** In Paralogue 11 you get a reward for every villager that survives the end of the chapter (5 in total).
** There is also Paralogue 17 where you have to protect Tiki as she gathers her Divine Dragon power. Bonus points that the enemy will make a beeline straight for her and won't bother to attack your army.
* PunctuationShaker: Seems to be standard for those hailing from [[{{Wutai}} Chon'sin]].
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Nearly everyone in Chrom's army, especially the recruited enemies.
* RammingAlwaysWorks: How the Avatar decides to deal with the Valmese fleet, which outnumbers the Ylissian/Feroxian/Plegian fleet by severalfold. The twist is that they set half their own boats on ''fire'' and jump off before the ramming happens, since the remaining ships have enough room for their whole army. [[CrazyEnoughToWork This crazy plan actually works]].
* RainbowSpeak: [[spoiler:Grima's lines when in the appearance of the Avatar are red.]]
* RankInflation: Notable aversion in that the S rank for weapons is absent in this game. This means an A rank is sufficient to wield any weapon of the category, so there is no need to specialize in one type anymore.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Emmeryn, Basilo, Flavia.
* RecurringRiff: There is one that functions as some sort of main theme of the game. Although it's always attached to other themes and never appears on its own. A clear example is the first 20 seconds of the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLIZd7NpTbo Opening Theme.]] If you pay attention, you will hear those notes very often throughout the game.
* RedEyesTakeWarning:
** The Risen, in both their portraits and battle animations.
** Played with by the party. Just about every redheaded character, as well as Maribelle, Panne, Brady, and Yarne, all have russet brown eyes (which are more red on the redheads), but they're only dangerous to the enemy, naturally.
* RedMage: There's no longer any magic triangle whatsoever. A unit with a Tome weapon level can use all three regular varieties, and Dark Mages can use dark tomes on top of that. The class which comes closest to fitting the classic model is the Sage class, able to use both tomes and staves. However, they are fully capable of taking ranks to use the most powerful of both.
* RedundantRescue:
** Lucina blocking the Risen that ambushes Chrom at the end of Chapter 13 can become this if Chrom's level is high enough.
** Several support conversations involve one character blocking an enemy hit or taking it for themselves, regardless of whether the original target is enough of a {{Badass}} to handle it on their own.
** Any time Double Guard activates when a character takes no damage from an attack or had zero chance of even getting hit.
* RelationshipValues:
** The relationship system from the Jugdral games [[http://andriasang.com/con0hp/fire_emblem_love/ returns]], only this time allowing (almost) any two units of the opposite sex to tie the knot. Even [[PlayerCharacter the Avatar]] can [[DatingSim get in on the action.]]
** When certain characters obtain an S rating with each other, they will also have children. These children are dependent on the mother, except for Chrom, who always has Lucina after Chapter 12 no matter who he's supported with, and the Avatar, who has [[spoiler:Morgan.]]
* RespawningEnemies: Unlike other chapters with reinforcements, the final chapter will have infinite reinforcements that do not stop spawning after a set number of turns, meaning you have to take out the boss or you will eventually be overwhelmed.
** The game is merciful enough to warn you about this upfront, and it even tells you just kill the boss as quickly as you can.
* {{Retraux}}: The ''Champions of Yore'' DLC recreates the first level from [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia the original game]] (And by extension, ''Shadow Dragon''). The ''Lost Bloodlines'' one recreates part of the first level from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Seisen no Keifu]]'', and ''Smash Brethren'' is the ''last'' level from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Blazing Blade]]''. They also use the musics from these games, in their original forms.
* TheReveal:
** [[spoiler:"Marth" is actually Lucina, Chrom's daughter from the future]].
** [[spoiler: The Avatar is Grima's vessel]].
* ReverseGrip: The Thief class branch and Dancers wield their swords like this. The Dread Fighter only does it in his VictoryPose. Since all the weapons in the game tend to be rather big, it looks a bit unwieldy and, in the case of a Dread Fighter wielding an axe, painful. Stranger yet, female Thieves (and ''only'' Thieves, not Assassins or Tricksters) hold their swords the normal way... until the moment they dodge or start to swing, where it suddenly flips around into a reverse grip again!
* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: This happens to an NPC in Chapter 8 after he betrays Ylisse for Plegia.
* RewardingInactivity: Like stated above, a new event is triggered in the Barracks every 2 hours regardless of whether or not you actually play the game, with a maximum of 5 of them. Then again, since this means that you should optimally play at least once every 10 hours to avoid missing any events that can give you temporary stat boosts, free items, EXP or increased RelationshipValues, it's not certain to which degree of this they were actually going for.
* RousseauWasRight: Emmeryn truly believes that deep down, everyone is redeemable and just wants peace, in contrast to the slightly more cynical Chrom. After [[spoiler: Emmeryn sacrifices herself]], Chrom realizes that even Plegian soldiers are just regular people. However this is contradicted by villains such as the Grimleal, none of whom possess any redeeming qualities.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Actually quite a few characters, among those being Chrom (the prince of Ylisse), Lissa (Chrom's sister, and therefore the princess of Ylisse), Lucina, Maribelle, Virion and several others. Being a khan of Ferox means that Basilio and Flavia are expected to lead from the front ([[ProudWarriorRaceGuy not that they'd have it any other way]]). Of course, Chrom gets lots of crap from the other chars for [[RiskTheKing putting himself in danger]], but he always ignores them.
** [[spoiler:The Avatar, too, once [[LukeIAmYourFather Validar]] becomes King of Plegia.]]
*** Or marries Chrom, Lissa, or anyone else of royal or noble blood.
* RunningGag: Several, almost one per character.
** Chrom [[HeroInsurance breaking stuff]] while training.
** Female Avatar walking in on people [[NakedPeopleAreFunny while they're naked]]. [[LikeFatherLikeSon Her son inherits this]] in his S Support with Kjelle.
** Frederick and his obsession with gravel. Also his obsession with [[{{Pyromaniac}} starting fires]]. [[AvertedTrope Campfires]], of course.
** Lissa and her long list of [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes phobias]].
** Donnel and his skills with [[HunterTrapper traps]] and [[FarmBoy farming]].
** Noire and her [[CuteAndPsycho freak-outs]].
** Cordelia and her [[AllLoveIsUnrequited pursuit of Chrom]]. Also her [[HeroicSelfDeprecation low self-esteem]] [[{{Irony}} despite]] [[TheAce being good at everything]].
** Cherche and [[FluffyTamer her wyvern, Minerva]].
** Gerome and his [[CoolMask mask]].
** Sumia and her [[LovesMeNot flower petal fortunes]]. Also, [[CuteClumsyGirl her tendency to trip on thin air]].
** Panne and [[TrademarkFavoriteFood carrots.]]
** Yarne and [[LovableCoward retreating]].
** Gaius and his [[UpToEleven extreme]] SweetTooth.
** Henry and his obsession with {{blood|Lust}}. Also his [[PungeonMaster puns]].
** Libra and his [[DudeLooksLikeALady gender]].
** Ricken and his [[TheNapoleon height]].
** Lon'qu and his traumatic [[DoesNotLikeWomen aversion to women]].
** Morgan and his/her [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} self-induced head traumas]].
** Maribelle and her [[ASpotOfTea tea]] and [[BlueBlood nobility, looking down on the "lowborn masses."]]
** Stahl and his constant [[BigEater hunger]] and [[RidiculouslyAverageGuy averageness]].
** Tharja and her [[StalkerWithACrush creepy infatuation with the Avatar]].
** Gregor and his difficulty with [[BluntMetaphorsTrauma idiomatic phrases]].
** Owain and his [[LargeHam colorful theatrics]].
** Brady and his [[SandInMyEyes sensitivity]].
** Inigo and his [[CasanovaWannabe failed dates]].
** Virion [[EngagingConversation proposing to every female]].
** Miriel and her [[ForScience scientific study/theories of the strangest things]].
** Anna and her [[MoneyFetish love of money]].
** Severa [[NeverLendToAFriend wasting other people's money]] and her {{Jerkass}} attitude .
** Kellam and [[WhoIsThisGuyAgain his lack of presence]].
** Sully's [[SirSwearsALot foul mouth]].
** Basilio and his "[[CatchPhrase sweet brown arse]]."
** Lucina and her [[NoSenseOfHumor dull wit]].
** Tiki and her [[HeavySleeper sleeping habit]].
** Kjelle's armor and constant training.
** Cynthia acting like a superhero.
** Nah acting above her age.
** Nowi and her childishness.
** Vaike and his ego.
** On top of this, pies are mentioned rather frequently in Support conversations.
** Everyone except Lissa and [[spoiler:[[NotSoAboveItAll Frederick]] ]] being into bear meat, with Maribelle even saying her favorite tea blend is mixed with the still-warm blood of an adult male grizzly (she quickly says it was a joke when Lissa freaks out about it).
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tropes S through Z]]
* SadBattleMusic: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?MfvY1S-j67k&v=woZEftd0w5o "Don't Speak Her Name,"]] which plays during Chapter 10 [[spoiler:after Emmeryn's HeroicSacrifice]], [[BackgroundMusicOverride on the map, during battles, and even against the boss!]] Essentially LonelyPianoPiece combined with PlayingTheHeartStrings. For bonus points, the chapter is also a BattleInTheRain.
* SadisticChoice:
** [[spoiler:Gangrel holds Chrom's sister Emmeryn hostage, and forces him to either give up the Fire Emblem, dooming his nation to ruin, or watch her die. To spare him the pain, she [[DefiedTrope defies this Trope]] [[HeroicSacrifice by making the choice herself.]]]]
** Later in the game if the Avatar has married Chrom or Lucina this puts Lucina in this situation after one of many {{wham episode}}s at that point in the game. [[spoiler: If she doesn't take action the Avatar will likely murder Chrom under Validar's control, but to take action means murdering her lover (Male Avatar) or her mother (Female Avatar). In the end she can't bring herself to do it, which does little to help her emotionally since she knows this only puts Chrom in mortal danger.]]
** Also [[DiscussedTrope discussed]] by certain DLC characters.
* SamusIsAGirl: [[spoiler:Marth]], but it's pretty easy to tell because of the voice. It's revealed fairly early on, but her gender is far from the biggest [[TheReveal reveal]] about her...
* SatelliteLoveInterest: The generic "Maiden" (yes, that's what she's called in-game) Chrom marries if all his other options are taken fits this to a T. She has practically no characterisation and only exists so Chrom can have a kid. In fact she ''isn't even present'' when [[spoiler:Chrom's KidFromTheFuture reveals herself]], while all Chrom's other potential wives get special scenes. Lissa even lampshades the hell out of it.
* SceneryCensor: Tharja in the "Summer Scramble" DLC in the NA version of the game. You can see the original CG scene and the censored version [[http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=56645224&postcount=5368 here.]]
* SceneryPorn:
** The whole game is very pretty, but Chapter 16, The Mila Tree, ''really'' stands out.
** Mount Prism is also really pretty. It's a level with an endless rainbow and hills in the background.
** While the game is grid-based, very few elements of the maps are recycled tiles. Most of one chapter takes place on a perilously narrow path with a mountain range on top and a steep cliff on the bottom, making 90% of the map inaccessible to non-flying units. Where previous games would show a Cliff and probably pitch black darkness beyond it, this game has the "cliff" tile that takes up most of the map be a very detailed canyon with a river running along the bottom.
** Another map takes place atop a series of plateaus connected to each other with bridges. The background consists of the trees in the valley ''miles'' below, with wyverns and smaller birds flying in between it and the plateaus where you fight. Other maps have chickens searching for food on a farm, fish swimming past the boats you're battling on and a lazy cat on a roof paying no attention to the fight in the streets.
* ScrewDestiny: What Chrom and the other Shepherds firmly believes and the driven force behind the second half of the game.
-->'''Chrom''': "Anything can change!"
* SecretCharacter: Six of them. They are recruited through playing six Sidequest Chapters unlocked through [=SpotPass=], and are only available at the very end. Thanks to DLC, they aren't really {{Bragging Rights Reward}}s, and each can Support with the Avatar, and potentially marry him/her if they're the opposite gender. They are, in order of the first to last unlocked through [=SpotPass=]: [[spoiler:[[AxCrazy Gan]][[TheCaligula grel]], [[BigRedDevil Wal]][[TheConqueror hart]], [[SheIsTheKing Emme]][[ReasonableAuthorityFigure ryn]], [[MasterSwordsman Yen]]'[[AlternateSelf fay]], [[TheDragon Ave]][[RecurringBoss rsa]], and [[DevelopmentGag Pri]][[HeroicLineage am]]]].
* SelfImposedChallenge: Being a Fire Emblem game, there's no limit to the ways that you can challenge yourself. The classic ones are "[[AllDeathsAreFinal No restarting chapters in Classic if you lose units]]" or "[[SpeedRun No grinding EXP in random encounters]]" or "Only use certain units/types of units" but these are far from the only kinds that exist. For extra [[SarcasmMode fun]], [[SchmuckBait try these on Insane or Insane+ mode]]!
* SelfMadeOrphan: Technically possible in The Future Past [[spoiler: if the Avatar is Lucina's mother.]]
* SenselessSacrifice: [[spoiler:Inverted actually. ''Not'' sacrificing yourself turns out to be the foolish choice in light of the sacrifice ending, since you survive anyway, with the bonus of killing off the BigBad for good. So you actually screwed over future generations ''for nothing''.]]
* SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains: Compare Validar and Aversa to say... Chrom and the Avatar. Subverted with Tharja and Nowi.
* SerialEscalation:
** The previous addition to the ''FireEmblem'' series, ''Shadow Dragon'', featured a story and multiplayer mode, and class changing. ''Awakening'' has all that, and throws in new classes with branching promotions, a fully-customizable Avatar, ability to Pair Up units in combat, a new Skill system with new Skills, limited voice acting during conversations, more Support options without limitations, a return of the world map, allowing grinding, downloadable content, Event Tiles on maps, full 3-D fights (naturally), the option for characters to marry and have children in-game, and PLENTY of cameos from past ''Fire Emblem'' characters.
** To summarize, think of all the best aspects of every Fire Emblem game, mixed them with several new features, and you pretty much have what ''Awakening'' is. Very fitting for a game that could have been the last of the series.
* SchrodingersGun: The first generation and their children. Each first generation character will have one child guaranteed to them. This means that if they pair with a first generation, that couple will have two children who are siblings. Or if first generation pairs with second generation, that couple will have one offspring. This leads to a diversity of relationships, parents, children, siblings; and uncles, aunts, nieces and nephews. For example, if a female Avatar pairs with [[spoiler: Crom, then they are by extension Lucina's mother. (And Lucina will have different dialogue with them for it) But a male character can wait and marry Lucina, and have different dialogue for that. Or not be related to them at all.]]
* ShipperOnDeck: [[PhysicalGod Naga]], of all people, in the [[HalfHumanHybrid Nah]]/[[MommasBoy Morgan]] supports.
* ShootTheDog: A lot of the fights with the Einherjar can feel this way, as the Einherjar genuinely believe that they are defending themselves and/or innocent lives, and ''you'' are the interlopers who are threatening their way of life. Attacking their Clerics or Troubadours comes off as this as well, ''especially'' if they're the [[ShootTheMedicFirst last ones]] [[SubvertedTrope standing]], because those classes can't even use weapons. They have no way to defend themselves and once their comrades are down for the count they are absolutely no threat to you, but you have to cut them down.
* ShootTheMessenger: Aversa apparently has a habit of doing this. [[EvenEvilHasStandards Even Gangrel]] has to ask her to try not to kill ''all'' their soldiers, [[PragmaticVillainy since they still need them]].
* ShoutOut: See them [[ShoutOut/FireEmblemAwakening here]].
* SignificantReferenceDate: Some of the characters' birthdays reference the release dates of the earlier games in the series or holidays. Nearly all of the second generation characters' birthdays are the same as the Japanese release dates for most of the games in the series. [[note]]Japanese-only releases do not have a region assigned to them.[[/note]]
** Sully's birthday is December 5th, the European release date for ''Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon''.
** Ricken's birthday is May 23rd, the North American release date for ''Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones''.
** Cordelia's birthday is July 7th, the same date as the [[StarCrossedLovers Tanabata Star Festival]] in Japan.
** Cherche's birthday is October 17th, the North American release date for ''Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance''.
** Henry's birthday is November 13th, which is World Kindness Day.
** Aversa's birthday is November 3rd, the North American release date for ''Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword''.
** Lucina's birthday is April 20th, the release date for the very first game, ''Fire Emblem: The Dark Dragon and the Sword of Light'', and the Japanese release date for ''Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance''.
** Owain's birthday is July 15th, the release date for ''Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem ~Heroes of Light and Darkness~''.
** Inigo's birthday is August 7th, the Japanese release date for ''Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon''.
** Brady's birthday is February 22nd, the Japanese release date for ''Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn''.
** Kjelle's birthday is September 29th, the release date for ''Fire Emblem: Akaneia Saga''.
** Cynthia's birthday is May 14th, the release date for ''Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War''. Incidentally, the in-game record of this game, "Ribald Tales of the Faith War", is her mother Sumia's favorite novel.
** Severa's birthday is January 21st, the release date for ''Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem''.
** Gerome's birthday is September 1st, the release date for ''Fire Emblem: Thracia 776''.
** Morgan's birthday is May 5th, which is Children's Day in Japan and Cinco de Mayo in North America.
** Yarne's birthday is March 14th, the release date for ''Fire Emblem Gaiden'', the European release date for ''Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn'', and White Day in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China.
** Laurent's birthday is April 25th, the Japanese release date for ''Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword''.
** Noire's birthday is October 7th, the Japanese release date for ''Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones''.
** Nah's birthday is March 29th, the release date for ''Fire Emblem: Sword of Seals''.
* SingleStrokeBattle: The Assassin's Lethality skill when done with a sword. For extra effect, put Lethality on a Swordmaster and give him/her a [[KatanasAreJustBetter Killing Edge]].
* SinsOfOurFathers: The previous Exalt of Ylisse, the father of Chrom, Lisa, and Emmeryn was a ChurchMilitant KnightTemplar that led a devastating crusade against Plegia for the fact that they worshipped Grima. Gangrel uses this against them to try and get revenge on Ylisse by attempting to provoke the country into war.
* SkippableBoss: [[spoiler:Male Morgan and Female Morgan in The Future Past's first and second chapters respectively, achieved by talking to them with an Avatar of either gender. Talking to them with the opposite gender Avatar will yield a longer conversation for your trouble.]]
* SlidingScaleOfFreeWillVsFate: Firmly on the side of free will.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: The protagonists of all types (regular, Paralogue, and [=SpotPass=]) avert this. It's played with in regards to the villains; out of all of them, only four bosses (Raimi, Pheros, [[spoiler:Aversa]], and [[spoiler:Lucina!Marth]]) are women, and two of them (Raimi, a Feroxi soldier, becomes an ally because of a misunderstanding, [[spoiler:while Masked Marth is really Lucina, Chrom's daughter]]) are allies (the player can also opt to recruit [[spoiler:Aversa]] in a Paralogue), so Pheros is the only "villainous" female boss.
* SNKBoss: In the higher difficulties, bosses gain more skills to use. The most ridiculous examples are in Lunatic+, which is basically TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: The Game. On Lunatic+, enemies and bosses receive broken skills like Luna+, which always ignores half of your Def or Res, Hawkeye, which ensures all attacks hit, and some of the harder bosses get Rightful God, which adds 30% to skill activation rates. The most ridiculous examples are in the DLC map Apotheosis, where not only every enemy receives skills like these, they all have Dragonskin (which halves damage that you do and prevents you from using Counter or Lethality), most will also have Pavise+ and Aegis+ to further reduce the damage to the point you're doing single digit damage, but every enemy will have stats [[UpToEleven beyond regular limits]], reaching up to '''70''' in a stat (or, in the case of one enemy's luck stat, '''99''').
* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: A father dying in combat would mean that the wife is already pregnant at this point, leading to this trope.
** This can get a little bizarre when the Avatar is concerned, since it's heavily implied that [[spoiler:Morgan]] is the youngest of the second generation. This creates the strange implication that, if a female Avatar's husband dies in combat, every single female in the army must already be several months pregnant.
*** In one support conversation, Laurent (who is older than Lucina, the only second-generation character to be born in the "current time") implies that there's a valid reason why the childrens' ages are so weird, but then dodges the question and leaves. [[note]]His B Support reveals that the children all arrived at different points in time in the past. Laurent, for instance, had arrived two years prior to Lucina's trip to the past.[[/note]]
* SortingAlgorithmOfWeaponEffectiveness:
** Mostly played straight, but you can end up with some powerful weapons early on if you pick them up by random.
** It is more of an avert. Increasingly stronger weapons do become available as you progress, but since they [[BreakableWeapons break after so many uses]], you'll generally want to save these weapons for the toughest enemies, so the beginner weapons still have value even late in the game, especially when grinding for experience. Although, if the character have the armsthrift, you can used stronger weapons much longer.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS:
** Nowi's daughter is named ンン in the Japanese version, roughly pronounched un-un or nn-nn. How are you supposed to spell that?! Because of this, the fandom jokingly called her "[[{{Emoticon}} n_n]]" until her English name "Nah" was revealed.
** Up until the first English trailer was released, everyone called Chrom "Krom."
* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Awakening'' is this to the Jugdral times in several ways, including a few plot details (though not nearly as grimdark), the Jugdral legendary weapons are one of the few of which the full set is provided (unlike, say, Elibe's or Magvel's holy weapons), and there are a few similar gameplay mechanics too, including the emphasis on skills and a children/inheritance system. Also, the Tactician and Dark Knight classes are basically Mage Fighter and Mage Knight under a different name.
* SpitTake: Lissa does this in her C Support with Maribelle when the latter jokingly claims her favorite tea is mixed with bear blood.
* SpitefulAI: In two flavours. If the AI can deal enough damage with its units, it ''will'' send all of them toward a single character, even if it causes the death of every unit in range. If there are a few characters in range but none of them can be killed and all can counterattack, the AI goes after the ''highest leveled character'' to deny experience points to your weaker characters that would get more out of it.
* SpockSpeak: Miriel and Laurent. So much so that it's been pretty much {{Fanon}} that they're autistic.
** Miriel never stops speaking this way, even during her S Supports. Laurent does break off from his mother's speech patterns every so often, though, particularly when he speaks to his father. In fact, in both his A Supports with whomever his father is and in the Japanese version of his love confession to the Avatar, he speaks normally.
* StarCrossedLovers:
** [[spoiler:If Chrom, or any of his relatives who are infused with the bloodline of Naga, marries the Avatar this trope is PlayedStraight in the BadFuture where the Avatar becomes Grima and kills everyone and {{Defied}} in the alternative timeline where Grima is killed by the Avatar]].
** Tiki and the Avatar also fits this role since Tiki is Naga's daughter.
* StaticRoleExchangeableCharacter: Intermarrying your characters opens up an extra map where you can meet a child whose identity is determined by the female half but who is also said to be the child of the male half of the pairing (in effect, for every marriable female character, there is a static role "Her Husband" that can be assigned to any marriable male). The child can support with their father, but the main point of the support conversations is always the same (e.g. Nah wondering why her father married her mother), with only the father's speech patterns and rarely personality impacting the way it is presented.
* StockSubtitle: "Awakening."
* StopHelpingMe: [[invoked]] In-game, some of the more proud characters may actually get upset if their allies "steal kills" from them via Dual Strike.
** In the Champions of Yore 2 DLC map, Old Hubba's attempt to reason with the Einherjar only serve to piss them off even more. This is after the first map, where he says that you can't reason with them.
* StormOfBlades: The Feroxi knights use this tactic on Chrom in order to steer the Shepherds away from their outpost. It fails thanks to Sumia who arrives {{just in time}} to save him.
* StoryBranchFavoritism: Main character Chrom is the only character forced to get married to progress the game, and has a noticeably restricted set of possible lovers. He has to choose between [[SilkHidingSteel Sumia]], [[TheLadette Sully]], [[{{Ojou}} Maribelle]], [[TwiceShy Olivia]] or [[PlayerCharacter a female Avatar]]. However, the game makes it ''very'' clear that either Sumia [[note]](several in-game scenes have ShipTease and she generally will have the highest priority among his prospect girlfriends unless you deliberately pursue one) [[/note]] or the Female Avatar [[note]](gets a special alternate dialogue during a scene with Lucina, is the only Chrom wife who remain relevant to the story after the reveal of Chapter 13 and is extremely close to Chrom even if you don't marry him.[[/note]] is the ImpliedLoveInterest. Naturally, be careful when discussing which is more the case.
* {{Stripperiffic}}:
** AbsoluteCleavage: Aversa.
** ChainmailBikini: Nowi, arguably. It's unclear whether the material is ''supposed'' to be protective, but it clearly isn't covering anything.
** Olivia's Dancer is pretty risque, and practically see-through to boot. Her being the ReluctantFanserviceGirl because of her dancing talents makes it all the more ironic.
** The all-female Pegasus and Falcon Knights, as well as Dark Riders, sport LeotardOfPower[=/=]ZettaiRyouiki combos, while only wearing some light upper-body armor. This is to some degree [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by the fact that they're flying units who have to be light enough for their mounts to stay airborne with the added weight of their passengers, with the Dark Riders in particular specializing more in ranged spellcasting than hand-to-hand combat anyways.
** In general, if one compares the female and male versions of each class, both will usually be wearing about the same amount of actual armor, but the clothes worn underneath will be a bit more revealing on the female version.
* SuicidalOverconfidence: Certain enemies' AI is actually coded to go after the ''strongest'' unit in range rather than the weakest. [[http://fireemblem.wikia.com/wiki/Champions_of_Yore_2 An example from the early-game DLC.]]
* SuperMovePortraitAttack: Right before a CriticalHit.
** [[SuperMovePortraitAttack Mastery Skill Portrait Attack]]: The cut-in also occurs when a skill activates.
* TakeYourTime: You're free to spend as much time as you want doing Paralogues, random skirmishes, and DLC chapters before progressing in the story, in spite of a sense of urgency. In a specific early-game example: a Paralogue chapter is unlocked ''right after'' finding out [[spoiler:Emmeryn is scheduled to be executed]] and you're told have to hurry to save her. Another becomes available immediately after [[spoiler:Emmeryn commits her HeroicSacrifice]], and Basilio specifically told you to hurry and flee the area.
** {{Justified|Trope}} for the Outrealm missions, since Old Hubba explains that [[TimeyWimeyBall time works differently]] in the Outrealm, meaning they can spend as much time as they want in it and [[YearInsideHourOutside return to the normal world at exactly where they left off.]]
** This also applies to the postgame. The postgame in ''Awakening'' occurs right before the fight with Grima, which means that everything you do during the post game will be occurring while Grima is flying in the air doing god knows what.
* TemporalParadox: Averted. [[spoiler: The Avatar understandably worries when Adult!Lucina makes her reveal, asking what happens to Infant!Lucina. Apparently the two of them can exist at the same time with no harm done.]]
* TerminatorTwosome: [[spoiler:Chrom's daughter Lucina was sent back in time to prevent a BadFuture happening. The BigBad Grima sends himself back in time to prevent her from altering the past.]]
* ThemeTuneCameo: One of Olivia's voice clips is humming the level-up jingle.
* TheTheocracy: Two of them, the Halidom of Ylisse and the explicitly-named Theocracy of Plegia.
* ThisLoserIsYou: Completely inverted. Not only does Avatar have a special class and is the first true MagicKnight since Judgral, but he/she can also get paired with [[TheHero Chrom]] and Sumia, and even have kids. Way to go, stud!
** It gets inverted even harder when dealing with the game's inner mechanics. [[spoiler:Specifically, the "children" units can inherit classes to promote to and certain skills from their parents. The classes they can change into will decide their final skill list, since multiple "mastery" skills can be learned and carried through class changes, with some of them halving damage, healing half HP when defeating an enemy, granting another turn when defeating an enemy, causing an instant KO, or the like. ... What's that? Avatar can reclass into and pass down ANY non-gender specific class? Well, at least they won't be getting the Aether skill... but their son/daughter Morgan can, if paired with Chrom or Lucina. With lots of change seals and the right supports, one can have a Morgan with all of the extremely powerful attacking skills (Lethality, Astra, Sol, Luna, Aether) on at the same time. Even worse, if it's a Morgan with access to Galeforce (entirely possible by passing it down for Male Morgan, or just learning it directly from the Dark Flier class if Female Morgan), [[LightningBruiser he/she will rip holes in the enemy army.]] All this from the Avatar's stupidly powerful genes.]]
** Of course, you're also [[spoiler:[[GodOfEvil Grima]]...]]
* ThroughHisStomach: This seems to be a sort-of theme for several characters:
** In Sumia and Chrom's supports, she bakes him a series of savory pies (a bento in the Japanese version) in hopes of both winning his heart ''and'' help him outside the battlefield. If she's married, her "gift" reply to her husband (whoever he may be) on an event tile is her showing him that she has made lunch for him... [[CuteClumsyGirl even if she dropped it twice]].
** Kellam can have two girls cooking for him... not bad for a guy [[WhoIsThisGuyAgain who's often forgotten]]. On one hand, Lissa bakes him a "rainbow-filled" pie [[LethalChef but it doesn't go that well]]. On the other, Olivia makes rock candy for him with [[ChekhovsGun some honey that he brought her before]] [[SweetTooth and it works much better]].
** Gaius invokes the trope several times too. He tries to win the aforementioned Olivia's heart with pies [[spoiler:and proposes to her via hiding a ring inside a tart he baked for her]], helps Lissa improve her cooking, and a good part of his supports with Sumia include their EpicFail at finding honey for pies. (She manages to bake him a cake in the end.) In his own "gift" dialogue with a girlfriend has him saying he's baked a treat for her.
** Stahl wins Panne's trust and affection over by trying to come up with meals she can enjoy with the others. This one's quite justified: being a Taguel instead of a human (meaning she has the dietary needs of a rabbit, the animal that the Taguel are based from), there are several things that Panne simply ''cannot'' eat, lest she'll get sick or even die.
** As a NinjaMaid, Cherche is said to be a pretty good cook too. Her ending with Stahl has him actually ''gaining weight'' from eating all of her delicious food.
** Mixed gender example: [[PlayerCharacter the Avatar]] (whether male or female) makes a carrot stew for the aforementioned Panne. S/he is a LethalChef. Panne loves it anyway.
*** The male Avatar starts cooking for Nah in their A Support after seeing that her diet consists of little more than berries, leaves, and roots. She ''greatly'' appreciates the gesture because [[spoiler:in the BadFuture, where Nah was raised by scornful foster parents, food was scarce, which was especially a problem for a half-dragon like Nah, as [[OurDragonsAreDifferent manaketes]] require [[BigEater far more food than humans to survive]].]]
** [[StalkerWithACrush Tharja]], in her attempts to get closer to the Avatar (regardless of gender), tries her hand at [[GenkiGirl "acting normal"]] and cooks [[YourFavorite their favorite meal]]: ''liver-and-eel pie''. The Avatar is taken aback by Tharja's drastic change in personality (even saying that [[WeWantOurJerkBack they preferred her old habits]]), [[BizarreTasteInFood but they DO find the pie in itself to be delicious]].
** [[spoiler: Tharja's daughter]] Noire is an excellent baker. Her supports with Owain show her baking for him, and if she supports with a Male Avatar [[spoiler: who's not her dad]] he agrees to go out in a date with her to taste her cakes.
** The "gift" reply from event tiles involving [[spoiler: Cordelia's daughter]] Severa have her giving her lover something she baked for him. Being a {{tsundere}}, she immediately tells him "don't you DARE complain about the taste!"
** Sully and Cynthia mention in some of their supports that the village girls often give them savory pies with cream (Sully) and sweet cakes (Cynthia) [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer to show their admiration for them]].
** In Lon'qu and Cordelia's supports, it's revealed that Cordelia often cooks dinner for the army with this trope in mind.
-->'''Cordelia:''' Right then! To the sound of thunderous gratitude, I'll go and prepare supper. You like cabbage stew, don't you?
-->'''Lon'qu:''' It is my favorite dish. Are you the one who keeps preparing it every meal?
-->'''Cordelia:''' Oh, so you DID notice! Yes, that's me. I like to keep morale up by serving little treats now and then. Anyways, see you at supper!
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: How most 1-2 Range swords work in ''Awakening''. The magic based Levin Sword is the exception.
** Axes and Lances behave like this. They'll return to your hand (somehow), too!
* TimeTravel: [[spoiler:Of the AlternateTimeline variety. One timeline has [[GodOfEvil Grima]] revive and turn the world into a ZombieApocalypse, killing everyone except Lucina and whoever came with her to the good timeline, which you're in. Then there's Morgan, who may have come from the good timeline instead of the bad, or a third, entirely different timeline.]]
* TimeSkip:
** ''Awakening'' is a direct sequel to the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Archaneia series]], albeit over a thousand years later.
** A minor two-year time skip occurs between Chapter 11 and Chapter 12.
* TimeyWimeyBall: [[spoiler:Your characters' children come from the future in order to prevent the end of the world. Expect a lot of this. It's most apparent when two characters marry, and then a new Paralogue featuring their child instantly becomes available.]]
** [[spoiler:It turns out that it's not only the characters' children who can come from the future...]]
** [[spoiler:It also turns out that they're not really from the future so much as from an alternate timeline.]]
** [[spoiler:The ending reveals that all of the second generation characters do not disappear, even when the BadFuture is averted, so they all go off on their own adventures.]]
** [[spoiler:Then there's the fact that Morgan, depending on who you married, could have potentially come from ''yet another'' timeline. Timey Wimey doesn't even begin to cover all the possibilities.]]
* TimeTravelRomance: If the Avatar marries any of the second-generation characters.
* TitleDrop:
** "Awakening," being a flexible StockSubtitle, can refer to any number of things in the story but in particular:
*** The Avatar's awakening at the beginning of the story. [[spoiler:And, should they sacrifice themselves, their BookEnd reawakening after the story.]]
*** The Awakening of Grima to wreck havoc on humanity.
*** Naga awakening to bless the Falchion.
*** One Chapter is actually titled "Awakening."
** The title of Chapter 20, The Sword or the Knee, comes from the conversation Chrom has with Walhart should the two fight each other.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Played with. As usual in Fire Emblem, you can recruit from the enemy side. Here, both Plegians you can recruit are Dark Mages, have something of a creepy or mentally unstable streak, and show no intent of atoning (Tharja pulls a ScrewThisImOutOfHere and is self-serving while Henry joins because he can spill more blood that way). However, both of them are alright people deep down, as their supports reveal, despite their dark streaks. [[spoiler: The Avatar is Plegian too, and the embodiment of a god of evil no less, but he/she is the ultimate AntiAntiChrist.]]
* TookALevelInBadass: Axefighters. With no weight system slowing anyone down, axes have gone up from powerful, yet inaccurate, to the best weapon type in the game.
* TournamentArc: In order to gain the help of Flavia, you have to win a one-round tournament so she will gain regency. {{Justified|Trope}} in that it's the country's custom for determining which Khan will rule for a term, and even more justified why strangers are doing the fighting -- Flavia explains the Khans won't fight themselves because they don't want to leave dead Khans left and right and have the whole country collapse due to blood feuds.
* TrappedInVillainy: This conversation between a Plegian general and his soldiers after [[spoiler:Emmeryn's HeroicSacrifice]] causes a HeelFaceTurn amongst the Plegian army:
-->'''Mustafa:''' "So be it! Those of you who are unwilling to fight are dismissed!"\\
'''Soldier:''' "But I don't wish to abandon you, sir!"\\
'''Mustafa:''' "I cannot defy the king, lad. I know him well. He would murder my wife and child to set an example. I will accept the blame for your actions today. Now go!"\\
'''Soldier:''' "W-wait, General! I see a cause worth fighting for, one I believe in: [[UndyingLoyalty loyalty to my general]]."\\
'''Mustafa:''' "...Aye. That's a good lad."
** Averted in that, off-screen, the vast majority of the Plegian army deserted ''on the spot'' when [[spoiler:Emmeryn committed suicide, chanting her name]] as they went.
** The rebels-turn-turncoats in Valm seem to be this at first, but it turns out they only sided with Walhart because he threatened them. When Chrom and the Avatar show up in Valm and start putting the boots to Walhart, they side with Say'ri and the rebels again.
* TrialAndErrorGameplay: Reinforcements on any difficulty above Normal invoke this, since they can act immediately after arriving. The game will (early on) warn you that reinforcements are ''coming'', but not when, where, who they are, what they have equipped, or for how long they'll be coming. Left a flyer within the range of a bow-wielder who wasn't there a turn ago? Got your SquishyWizard killed by a spawning Pegasus Knight? Tough. About halfway through the campaign, the game drops all pretenses and [[ParanoiaFuel stops letting you know if reinforcements will even be coming.]]
* TriumphantReprise: Various versions of the Avatar's theme, "Id", play at several key points throughout the game, such as "Id (Serenity)" when the Avatar reaches S Support, or "Id (Sorrow)", which plays during the [[spoiler:Lucina's judgement]] scene. For the final chapter, an orchestral, incredibly uplifting variation of the song called "Id (Purpose)" plays, which features a Latin chorus and incorporates portions of the main ''Fire Emblem'' theme into it.
* TrueCompanions: The playable characters (see HeterosexualLifePartners[=/=]PlatonicLifePartners above). Another staple of the ''Fire Emblem'' series.
** FireForgedFriends
* TurnsRed: The Wrath skill increases crit rate by 20% if the unit is below half health, making it good on Berserkers or other units that are likely to reach that point frequently.
* UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny: Most sets in the first series of DLC feature massive battles between heroes of past games. So if you ever wondered who would win a fight between, say, [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Ike]] and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Hector]] or [[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Sigurd]] and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Marth]]...
* UncleSamWantsYou: Fredrick's idea of a morale boosting recruitment poster is having picture of Chrom naked with a sword and scale in each hand with the phrase "Chrom Wants You!" posted underneath his feet. He puts one such poster in ''every tent'', much to Chrom's dismay.
* UnderdogsNeverLose: Channeled through the new Villager class skill, Underdog. If the Underdog unit fights a higher-level opponent, they gain a boost in evasion and accuracy.
* UndyingLoyalty: The Avatar is extremely loyal to Chrom and he is to him/her, even after finding out [[spoiler:that they are the vessel for Grima and destined to kill him.]]
* UnexpectedCharacter:
** [=SpotPass=] allows you to recruit [[spoiler:Gangrel. Yes, [[AxCrazy TH]][[TheCaligula AT]] Gangrel. And later, [[BigRedDevil Walhart]] and... [[RecurringBoss Aversa]]. Emmeryn also joins the [=SpotPass=] characters. The final [=SpotPass=] character, Priam, also happens to be the DESCENDANT OF IKE.]]
** The DLC Bride class. Let's just say no-one saw ''that'' coming and leave it at that.
** The first chapter of The Future Past DLC features [[spoiler:Male Morgan as its boss]]!
*** And the second chapter of The Future Past DLC has [[spoiler:Female Morgan as the boss]]!
* UnexplainedRecovery: [[spoiler:Done with most of the [=SpotPass=] characters, which makes their being ''alive''--let alone recruitable--egregious. Gangrel, Walhart and even Aversa should, by all rights, have been slain in combat against Chrom's army (especially since they are all dangerous individuals who threaten peace, and you'd think the army would ensure they killed their enemy commanders), yet they show up with no explanation for surviving. Emmeryn somehow survives stepping off a cliff--while the game lampshades how hard she is to kill, one would more likely be a broken, lifeless mess on the ground at that height, and her injuries miraculously aren't as severe as you'd expect.]] Subverted with [[spoiler:Yen'fay and Priam -- the former is explicitly stated to be from an AlternateUniverse were he lived and his sister died, the latter is a SecretCharacter who you mightn't know exists if not for the DLC.]]
** It's also somewhat debatable in [[spoiler:Walhart]]'s case: dialogue in the recruitment paralogue [[spoiler:has him implying he is actually dead]].
* UriahGambit: After finding out about Excellus' plans to abandon him while the Shepherds and their allies begin closing in, Walhart generously "promotes" him to be the captain of his personal guard, ensuring he will be forced to fight on the front lines rather than trying to escape.
* UtilityMagic: PlayedForLaughs in the Summer Scramble DLC, where the Anna running the resort makes use of "Megaphone" and "Snapshot" ''magic tomes''.
** Ricken is weirded out by Miriel's use of magic to do noncombat-oriented things like alchemy. Apparently turning solid metals into other metals has no use in combat, even if it was only electroplating it could to reduce the rusting of weapons and armor.
* VagueAge: The age of the characters is never stated, but most first generation characters look in their early-to-mid 20s, if not teenagers, while the second generation characters look and sound to be around the same age as, or older than in some cases, their parents. The problem is that according to Lucina, [[spoiler:her and every other second gen character come from an ambiguous 10+ years into the future, meaning that they were probably in their mid to late teens when they traveled to the past. This is [[{{Woolseyism}} averted in the non-English translations]], though, since in them it's stated that they come from 15+ years into the future, instead of just 10.]] The most controversial characters would be Lissa, Ricken and Donnel, who look the youngest. And then, you have [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld Nowi and Nah]], the explanation for them being that manaketes age slowly.
--> '''Nowi''': Oh, I'm a thousand... something? But look, no wrinkles!
** In Chapter 6, Chrom tells the Avatar that his father, the previous exalt, died 15 years ago and that Emmeryn was just under 10 at the time, which would make her about 24 or 25 at this point in the story. Chrom and Lissa are also implied to have been born a few years apart, since Chrom tells the Avatar in Chapter 6 he was old enough during the time of [[spoiler:his father's campaign against Plegia]] to remember it firsthand, whereas Lissa tells the Avatar in their C Support she never really knew her parents.
*** According to an artbook, Emmeryn is six years older than Chrom and ten years older than Lissa, which would mean that Chrom is 18 or 19 and Lissa is 14 or 15 in the game's first story arc.
** Lissa tells Donnel in their C Support that he's one of the very few Shepherds younger than her, meaning he could potentially be under 15.
** In Flavia and Basilio's B Support, Flavia tells Basilio that he's twice the age of future Lucina, and he retorts that she's old enough to be Chrom's mother.
** In her B Support with the Female Avatar, [[spoiler:Aversa]] claims to be 8 years older than Chrom, though the Avatar suspects this number is actually 12. Since Chrom is at most 21 at this point (see above and then factor in [[spoiler:the two-year TimeSkip after Chapter 11]]), [[spoiler:Aversa]] can be inferred to be in her late 20s or early 30s at the youngest [[spoiler:when she is recruited late in the game]]. Additionally, [[spoiler:Aversa]] tells the Male Avatar in their B Support that she's older than him, meaning the Avatar cannot be more than 7 or 8 years older than Chrom.
** Cherche (who joins [[spoiler:after the two-year TimeSkip]]) tells Vaike in their A Support that she's been with Minerva for over a decade. Considering that Cherche tamed Minerva when she was ''[[LittleMissBadass nine]]'', she's no younger than 19 and likely no older than her early 20s.
* VariableMix: When field actions like battles or healing are initiated, the music segues into a more intense version while the scene plays out, and goes back to the original version when it ends.
* VendorTrash: Bullion of three different sizes get dropped at least once per Challenge map and are commonly lootable during Story missions too. Their only purpose is to sell to the shop for gold.
* VideoGameCaringPotential: WordOfGod says they were aiming to further heighten the series' penchant for this with this game. The expanded supports, marriage system, and voice acting were all intended to give the players a greater sense of attachment to the characters. To say nothing of the fact you can make everyone in your party HappilyMarried, kick major ass as {{Battle Couple}}s, and later become full-fledged {{Badass Famil|y}}ies.
** In the Paralogue chapters, there are several instances of helpless villagers or less useless but still vulnerable NPC's surrounded by enemies. There's even a physical reward for saving them or helping them survive.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential:
** In the Outrealm chapters, it's entirely possible to have Tiki fight to the death against Marth and his army, many of whom were probably people she knew personally when they were alive (including Tiki's past self!)
** Or even better, in the paralogues where recruitable second generation characters start off as hostile, you can have their own parents unknowingly kill them or vice versa.
* VillainByDefault: All the characters who worship Grima are portrayed as {{Card Carrying Villain}}s with no apparent motivation [[ForTheEvulz other then being evil]].
* VillainousHarlequin: Gangrel wouldn't look out of place as a villainous court jester. His class is Trickster, but he's the king of a whole nation, though. [[spoiler:He can also join you come [=SpotPass=] Sidequests, dropping the villainous part.]]
* WackyWaysideTribe:
** The DLC Chapters. Full Throttle. Just replace "Tribe" with "Cameos."
** Paralogue chapters basically have an ExcusePlot of "bandits/thugs/jerks are terrorizing innocents, go stop them" so you can unlock optional characters or get goodies. You can easily finish the game without doing them, though recruiting the children characters can certainly help.
* [[WakeUpCallBoss Wake Up Call Chapter]]: Chapter 12. While not the first time the game pits you against promoted enemies, it still ups the levels of the Valmese forces, who proceed to run as a group to attack you. At the same time, you're forced into multiple bottlenecks, meaning you have to either let them come to you and hope your defenses are solid enough, or you go to them and risk another squad getting the jump on you.
** Chapter 6 marks the point where there are so many enemy units that running up to them with your units will leave you with several dead characters.
** The second chapter in Lunatic mode qualifies, due to ''everyone but Frederick dying in two hits''. To make it worse, any Risen with swords are able to ''double'' most of your units.
* WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou: Present as usual for the game's main Lord, Chrom, as well as the Avatar. Should they ever go down, no matter the situation, it's GameOver.
* WeaponTwirling: Some critical animations. Also, all of Chrom's victory poses as a Lord.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Walhart. He may be a conqueror, but he truly believed that the world would be better off living by his rule united in peace. He also wanted to stop Grima's revival.
* WhamEpisode: Several;
** Premonition: Invisible Threads: [[spoiler:You, the Avatar, kill Chrom after seemingly defeating Validar.]]
** Chapter 9: [[spoiler:Your plan to rescue Emmeryn fails, [[MauveShirt Phila]] is killed, and [[HeroicSAcrifice Emmeryn sacrifices herself]] so Chrom won't have to give up the Fire Emblem, sending him into a HeroicBSOD.]] The following chapter is a lesson in WhiteAndGreyMorality set to SadBattleMusic.
** Chapter 13: You learn that [[spoiler:[[ObviouslyEvil Validar]] has now become king of Plegia, he has an EnigmaticMinion, the Hierophant, who looks exactly like the Avatar, and [[LukeIAmYourFather he's the Avatar's father.]]]] [[SerialEscalation As if it couldn't get any more insane]], [[spoiler:at the end, "Marth" pulls a BigDamnHeroes, [[WhamLine calls Chrom "father"]], and reveals herself as Lucina, Chrom's KidFromTheFuture. Then she drops another bombshell: the future she comes from had [[TheBadGuyWins the bad guys winning]], [[EverybodysDeadDave all the parents dying]], and humanity about to be wiped out by a ZombieApocalypse. But on the plus side, TimeTravel exists, and she wasn't the only one who came back.]]
** Chapter 18. Previously, [[spoiler:Basilio]] went to take on Walhart's main forces to buy the rest of you time. Before the start of the chapter, you witness [[spoiler:him being presumably killed in battle by Walhart himself.]] Your next opponent is Yen'fay, Say'ri's brother, who seems reluctant to fight you, though he doesn't reveal why. But after his death, [[SmugSnake Excellus]] is all too willing to. Turns out that [[spoiler:Yen'fay only joined Walhart on the condition that his men spare Say'ri's life. He was fighting to ''save'' her, and she never knew. Cue MyGodWhatHaveIDone.]] And after all this, Chrom and the Avatar officially learn that [[spoiler:Basilio is dead]] and they'll be facing Walhart himself next.
** Chapter 21. Outright confirmed that [[spoiler:the Avatar is Validar's child]] and Lucina later reveals that [[spoiler:the premonition the game opened up with wasn't just a bad dream, he/she actually did kill Chrom in Lucina's time, causing her to attempt to take his/her life.]]
** Chapter 23. [[spoiler: The chapter starts off almost identical to how the game begins, with the added [[TheReveal reveal]] that the Avatar is the host for the soul of the Fell Dragon. At first, it seems that the Avatar kills Chrom and is possessed by Grima. But, as it turns out, things aren't as they seem. The premonition experienced at the beginning of the game was a dream the Avatar had, and he/she remembers it well. So the Avatar took steps to avoid his/her fate. Thanks to Lucina's intervention, Basilio survived his encounter with Walhart in Chapter 18. The gems in the Fire Emblem that Validar received are fake, meaning he cannot use it to awaken Grima. And Chrom survived the Avatar's attack, foiling Validar's plan entirely.]] But then, [[spoiler: after defeating Validar, the Hierophant, previously seen in Chapter 13, [[TheReveal reveals himself as the Avatar from the future Lucina escaped from.]] In that future, Grima possessed the Avatar and killed Chrom for real. When Lucina went back to the past, the Avatar (who is now Grima) followed her. Grima then tried to possess the present Avatar, but failed, causing his past self to [[LaserGuidedAmnesia lose his memory.]] Grima then went into hiding, occasionally intervening with events, such as reviving Validar in Chapter 6. Now that Validar has failed, Grima begins Plan B, reviving the Fell Dragon with his power.]]
* WhamLine: ''Two'' in Chapter 13. First we get:
-->[[spoiler:'''Validar''': "You dare take such a tone... [[LukeIAmYourFather with your own father?!]]”]]
** And later:
-->'''"Marth"''': [[spoiler:"[[LukeYouAreMyFather Father, no!]]"]]
** From Chapter 23:
-->[[spoiler:'''Validar''': "You carry my blood—the blood of the fell dragon. His soul slumbers within you. And now the time has come to awaken you both!"]]
** And later:
-->[[spoiler:'''Grima/Future Avatar''': "I told you. I'm Avatar. The Avatar that murdered you and became the fell dragon, Grima. When this "Marth" of yours decided to come back in time...I came with her."]]
** Another big one for Inigo's character is in his B support with his father. His father once again chews him out for being overly carefree and girl-obsessed to the point of skewed priorities. Inigo utterly ''snaps'', and shouts this at his father, which precedes a huge and depressing revelation about his character and his time in the future:
-->'''Inigo''': [[spoiler:''Do you think I'd be out here if I were ONLY after girls!?'']]
* WhamShot: In Chapter 13, Validar and Aversa introduce Chrom and the Shepherds to the hierophant, a high-ranking member of the Grimleal. Frederick asks the hierophant to remove their hood, which they do, [[spoiler: revealing that they have the same face as the Avatar.]]
** Later in the same chapter, [[spoiler: a close-up on Marth's eye shows the Brand of the Exalt in her iris, exactly the same as the one seen in the eye of Chrom's newborn daughter several chapters earlier.]]
* WhatMeasureIsAMook: Chapter 10, probably also a MookHorrorShow chapter. Many of them do not wish to fight (but are forced to, possibly due to IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure), and they just got in the way of Chrom's RoaringRampageOfRevenge.
** Hammered even further in Ricken's Support with Henry, which gave Ricken a HeroicBSOD.
** Played straight later on when [[spoiler: the characters are surrounded by all sides in Fort Steiger and Basilio is sent to the north with some Feroxi troops to engage Walhart in a hopeless battle to buy some time for the others to escape.]] He outright tells them that it will result in the deaths of many of his men.
* WhereAreTheyNow: As is custom in ''Fire Emblem'' games, the end credits has brief summaries on what every ([[AnyoneCanDie surviving]]) character does after the events of the game.
* WhosOnFirst: The names of Nowi and her daughter Nah. Nowi's case is a little odd, but it's probably meant to be pronounced like "no way". Nah's case is more obvious, and is the only of the two to lampshade it. [[{{Woolseyism}} The puns are also present in the Japanese localization]] (where they are called Nono and Nn respectively).
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Manaketes live for thousands of years. [[CaptainObvious Humans do not.]] Most of Nowi's supports involve her and her partner promising to be with each other forever. [[FridgeHorror Yeah.]] (This also goes for Nah, Nowi's daughter, and Tiki.)
** Also for Tiki, who's far older than Nowi. One of her generic Barracks conversations has her stating something to the effect of "I want to make friends. I know I'll lose them all eventually, but it beats never having them at all." [[TheWoobie Ouch.]]
* TheWorfEffect: After Chapter 12, you find out Basilio and his army took a devastating blow from the Valmese forces off screen. The characters explicitly comment on how "they must be tough if they beat his forces."
** Poor Basilio gets used for this ''twice''; the second time, [[spoiler:he's going up against Walhart himself, and gets his ass handed to him in proper fashion to show off how much of a beast Walhart is in combat]]. That said, [[spoiler:it also ends up being a huge fake-out, as Basilio fakes being dead thanks to Lucina's warning so he can come back and be a {{Big Damn Hero|es}} later on]].
* WorldOfBadass: This is a ''Fire Emblem'' game. What did you expect? And in Lunatic+, even the lowliest enemy soldier has a good chance of having crazy abilities.
* {{Wutai}}: The nation of Chon'sin isn't shown in-game, but it's easy to see after seeing Say'ri's Support conversations (she mentions cherry blossoms being a common sight and that fish and rice are staples of her people's diet, and the way that she, Yen'fay, and Lon'qu dress (outfits that vaguely resemble kimonos, at least on top) also adds to this.
* {{Yandere}}: Tharja, as one could tell from her various Support conversations, especially the ones she has with [[AudienceSurrogate the Avatar]].
* YankTheDogsChain: It's possible to recruit [[spoiler:Emmeryn]] from a [=SpotPass=] chapter, despite [[spoiler:her supposedly having died through making a HeroicSacrifice.]] You'd think that this would result in everyone living happily ever after as one big family. Instead, [[spoiler:it turns out that she's become heavily brain damaged and has developed amnesia. She has no memory of Chrom or anyone else and she ''never recovers'' (aside of remembering the Avatar's name in their Supports)... ''unless'' she '''''dies''''' (in Classic Mode) after you manage to recruit her, where she remembers her siblings in her final moments. Whether or not Chrom succeeds or fails to save her, he's either heartbroken that she doesn't remember him and Lissa or he is sent into a second HeroicBSOD in the event that she dies. This family just can't seem to catch a break.]]
* YouCantFightFate:
** At first, this seems to be the case, as most of the changes Lucina makes to the timeline (such as saving Emmeryn from being assassinated) are eventually undone (Emmeryn dies later anyway). Some characters believe that this is the timestream trying to return to its original flow, [[spoiler: however, Lucina's efforts are secretly being undone by ''another'' time traveller: the Fell Dragon Grima.]]
** This trope is PlayedStraight in Lucina's timeline where despite all of Chrom and the Avatar's struggles, they couldn't stop the return of Grima.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: [[spoiler:The party asks Lucina what she will do after the world is saved, whether or not she will stay in the past, or go back to the future. Lucina tells them it's not a question of whether or not she can go back to her own time, it's whether or not there's a world for her to go back to.]]
* YouCantThwartStageOne: [[spoiler:Grima returns no matter what anyone does. Although this time, they have a way to outright kill Grima.]]
* YouDontLookLikeYou: Most of the [=SpotPass=] and DLC characters, [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius such as]] [[http://www.kano-bi.com/3ds/fekdlc5.jpg Ike]] and [[http://www.kano-bi.com/3ds/fekdlc6.jpg Micaiah,]] are just a customized Avatar head on a generic body of whatever class they are.
* YouHaveFailedMe: [[TheDragon Aversa]] kills a Plegian soldier who failed to bring back accurate information about Chrom's army. Gangrel actually comments on "trying not to kill ''all'' the help".
* YouShouldntKnowThisAlready: It's possible for the player character to know about the Risen's names from Lissa's C-rank conversation, despite not actually being named yet. This is averted in the PAL version, due to all mentions of Risen being changed to "bandits" instead.
** Rushing through some Supports (like the male Avatar and Chrom, for example) will have the two talk about being in a war even if there isn't one currently.
** In Cordelia's supports with Frederick or Stahl, she'll mention [[spoiler: Phila]]'s death... even if you haven't been to that chapter yet.
** If you're playing on Normal difficulty, the game prevents you from using the Pair Up system until you're given the tutorial on it in Chapter 3... [[TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything unless you turn the tutorials off. Then you can use it right from the start.]]
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: [[spoiler:Grima's Awakening ritual fails due to the fake stones in the Fire Emblem, and Validar is killed for good. That should be the end of it, but then the Avatar's mysterious twin shows up. Said twin reveals him/herself to be the future Grima, and decides to use his power to awaken the present Grima.]]
* ZettaiRyouiki: Fairly common with female units, particularly the Pegasus Knights. There are exceptions, however, most notably the Cleric and Troubadour class lines, all of which include either pants or long dresses.
* ZombieApocalypse: Like [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Sacred Stones]], one's getting underway with the mass appearance of the "Risen"... [[spoiler:There's a BadFuture where it got to full-fledged Apocalypse levels.]]
** OurZombiesAreDifferent: Unlike ''Sacred Stones'', the Risen are all normal classes instead of their own exclusive ones, [[PinataEnemy Revenants and Entombed]] notwithstanding.
[[/folder]]

* BreadEggsMilkSquick: In Miriel's A Support with Frederick, she says, "I've collected flowers, fished in the river, and [[GoshHornet been chased]] [[EverythingsWorseWithBees by bees]]."

** Depending on who you ask, the inclusion of the Casual Mode can be considered this for those new to the series (or TRPGs in general). In this mode, the permadeath is removed and you're allowed a limited number of mid-battle saves.

[[folder:Tropes R through Z]]

[[folder:Tropes # to L]]

[[folder:Tropes M to Z]]

** Severa [[NeverLendToAFriend wasting other people's money]].

** Tiki and her sleeping habit.

** Possibly justified. [[spoiler: The Avatar's sacrifice was averted because the bonds between them and their friends were stronger than the bond between the Avatar and Grima. In this case it's a matter of one aesop breaking another.]]
** [[spoiler:In the case of Emmeryn, given her [[DamagedSoul mental state]] after surviving her sacrifice and the fact that she never really recovers, she didn't get off scot-free. You could even say that the Emmeryn you met earlier in the game did die.]]

[[folder: Tropes # to L]]

[[folder: Tropes M to Z]]

[[folder: Tropes # to M]]

[[folder:Tropes # to M]]

[[folder:M-Z]]

** [[spoiler:[[DevelopmentGag Paris was Ike's early code name.]] It's used as the Japanese name for the final [=SpotPass=] SecretCharacter, Priam, who claims to be a descendant of Ike and wields the Ragnell.]]

** In Sumia and Chrom's supports, she bakes him a series of savory pies (a bento in the Japanese version) in hopes of both winning his heart ''and'' help him outside the battlefield. If she's married, her "gift" reply to her husband on an event tile is her showing him that she has made lunch for him... [[CuteClumsyGirl even if she dropped it twice]] -- this event shows up regardless of ''who'' said husband is [[note]](Chrom, boy!Avatar, Frederick, Gaius or Henry)[[/note]], so it shows that she cooks for '''all''' of her love interests and not just for Chrom, [[DieForOurShip regardless of what the fandom says.]]
** Kellam can have two girls cooking for him... not bad or a guy [[WhoIsThisGuyAgain who's often forgotten]]. On one hand, Lissa bakes him a "rainbow-filled" pie [[LethalChef but it doesn't go that well]]. On the other, Olivia makes rock candy for him with [[ChekhovsGun some honey that he brought her before]] [[SweetTooth and it works much better]].

* CuttingOffTheBranches: Several non-Lucina children [[spoiler: (specifically, Severa, Inigo, Owain, and maybe Morgan)]] are all but stated to be canonically born, considering [[spoiler: Severa, Inigo, and Owain are all Nohr characters in VideoGame/FireEmblemFates, and it's suggested Morgan might be the Mark from Blazing Sword if Robin isn't]].

* ActionGirl: As usual in the series, all the female playable characters. Although this time they can be upgraded to {{Action Mom}}s.

* OnlyOneFemaleMold: Body types for classes are all shared with only one per gender, creating bizarre situations when characters are reclassed. This is most notable with the flat-chested Lucina wearing the [[AbsoluteCleavage Archer]] outfit, or when a dark-skinned character such as Flavia is reclassed, giving her a generic model where she has light skin on her legs and arms.

* SNKBoss: In the higher difficulties, bosses gain more skills to use. The most ridiculous examples are in Lunatic+, which is basically TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: The Game. On Lunatic+, enemies and bosses receive broken skills like Luna+, which always ignores half of your Def or Res, Hawkeye, which ensures all attacks hit, and some of the harder bosses get Rightful God, which adds 30% to skill activation rates. The most ridiculous examples are in the DLC map Apotheosis, where not only every enemy receives skills like these, they all have Dragonskin (which halves damage that you do and prevents you from using Counter or Lethality), most will also have Pavise+ and Aegis+ to further reduce the damage to the point you're doing single digit damage, but every enemy will have stats [[UpToEleven beyond regular limits]], reaching up to '''70''' in a stat.