History VideoGame / TheLifeAndSufferingOfSirBrante

* OptionalSexualEncounter: In addition to the three LoveInterests, Sir Brante gets the chance to have two one-night stands in Youth. In his first night in Eterna, at 16, he can have drunken sex with 16 year old girl he met in a bar whose name he doesn't remember afterwards. At 18, in the Noble path, he can have RescueSex with [[HotWitch Aylis]].

* OptionalSexualEncounter: In addition to the three LoveInterests, Sir Brante gets the chance to have two one-night stands in Youth. In his first night in Eterna, at 16, he can have drunken sex with 16 year old girl he met in a bar whose name he doesn't remember afterwards. At 18, in the Noble path, he can have RescueSex with [[HotWitch Aylis]].

** In the Commoner Path, if the Spy Network gets too low, Felipe El Ferre may demand you execute some of agents as a scapegoat. Some of Oliver Moss' men are chosen because [[KickTheSonOfABitch they were degenerates anyway]].

* GambitPileUp: Several schemes are occurring in Anizotte at the same time, you'll never see all of them in the same playthrough, and they all come to a head in the last chapter. [[spoiler: [[SecretPolice Felipe]] is plotting to create a fake uprising he can easily crush so he can take control of the city, [[RebelLeader his agent Sophia]] is secretly plotting to make a real uprising to destroy the Empire, [[AristocratsAreEvil Remy El Vermans]] is plotting to oust Augustine in a coup to take control of the city for the Archduke and the old aristocracy, [[CrusadingLawyer Augustine El Borne]] and [[InternalReformist Gaius Tempest]] are plotting to expand the rights of the common people and limit the power of the old aristocracy, [[SinisterMinister Patriarch Cassius]] is plotting to create a Godless world by blaspheming the Gods in the holiest ritual of the faith, [[GoodShepherd Father Lennart]] is plotting to get Patriarch by the community and to spread the New Faith through Magra, and [[AGodIAm Father Ulrich]] is plotting to subject the whole city to his will.]]

* ApocalypticLog: Since the game is framed as Sir Brante writing his autobiography on his deathbed, the last two chapters can come across as this trope since they consist of Sir Brante describing the decline and potentially the fall of the Arknian Empire.

* [[TheBadGuyWins The Bad Guy Wins]]: Who counts as "bad" in this setting is debatable, but there are several examples of this trope in play.

* [[BigBad Big Bad]]: Each of the three lifepaths has a central antagonist who provides conflict through the majority of the plot.

** The Commoner path has Felipe El Ferro, a high-ranking member of [[SecretPolice Secret Police]] who blackmails you into doing his dirty work. [[spoiler: Downplayed again in that you can remain loyal to Felipe and assist him in his schemes]].

* BigFancyHouse: Several nobles are shown living in houses like this. The Brante house is a downplayed example; it's not as big or fancy as the manors of the older noble blood-tides like the El Vermins, but it's still much better than anything working-class commoners like Tommas Guerro would have grown up in.

* [[BigFirstChoice Big First Choice]]: The "Three Lots" scene in Chapter III (Youth). Although previous two chapters are full of choices, their general structure is the same for all playthroughs. In Youth, however, you choose your Lot and career, and each of the three Lots is a completely different story.

* [[ChoiceandConsequenceSystem Choice-and-Consequence System]]: The game is played as a progression of choices and decisions Sir Brante makes over the course of his life. Many choices (usually the more profitable ones) are "locked", represented by an actual doorlock icon. They are unlocked if Sir Brante fullfils certain criteria, or has made specific choices in the past. At some point, the sum of choices he's made leads him down certain paths and endings.

* DeadlyEuphemism: [[spoiler: There's a hidden Steam achievement called "Second Date", which is obtained by returning Sophia to Dorius Otton as a prisoner. Otton [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped]] Sophia in her childhood.]]
* DealWithTheDevil: There are several factions you can bind yourself to to achieve your goals, depending on your route, but the clearest examples are [[spoiler: the deal with El Verman in the Noble route and becoming Ulrich's disciple in the Priest route]]. Both deals give you a massive boost to their relevant power stat, but if you successfully maintain said high power, [[spoiler: the bill comes due, both leading to very suboptimal endings to Chapter 4 or else requiring a heavy price to get out of]]. [[DownplayedTrope To a lesser extent]], the similar deal with [[spoiler: Mayer in the Noble route]], as getting out of that deal requires a little help, but [[spoiler: ''not'' paying the price is in fact cheaper than paying and sets you up for a very good chapter ending]]. As for the Lotless route, [[spoiler: being forced into the Secret Chancellery is this, saving your life but binding you to Felipe's will, and how you deal with that contract determines the ending. However, you can dishonor any ''other'' factional deal in that route without negative consequences, averting the trope.]]

* DuelToTheDeath: An aristocratic tradition that predates the Arknian Empire and is still practiced to the present day. Augustin El Borne spent his life trying to ban these kinds of duels,[[spoiler: and in the Noble Path, Sir Brante can make that dream a reality.]]

* EarnYourHappyEnding: The general goal of the game. It is practically inevitable that your [[PlayerCharacter Player Character]] will know losses and suffering, ranging from a hard and demanding job to deaths of your loved ones and complete ruination of your family. But in the end, it is totally possible to triumph over your enemies, protect what (and whom) you hold dearest, achieve fame and prosperity and make the world a much better place.

* [[EvilIsEasy Evil Is Easy]]: Cowardly and selfish actions often replenish Sir Brante's resolve. Generally speaking, it is much easier and less costly to play Sir Brante as a selfish or fanatical bastard than as someone who actually has principles and standards.

* TheFamine: Can come to the Magra Region if the revolution takes too great a toll.

* FantasyGunControl: Averted; guns and gunpowder feature in this fantasy setting and play a major role in the last chapter.

* FaustianRebellion: If Sir Brante makes a [[DealWithTheDevil Deal With The Devil]], it usually leads to an endgame scene where he can switch sides and subvert the devil in question. Doing so is never cheap or easy, but it allows Sir Brante to redeem himself and set the stage for a better ending of chapter IV.

** In the noble path, [[spoiler: as Sir Brante finds out that Remy El Verman is plotting to murder Augustin El Borne and other [[CrusadingLawyer Crusading Lawyers]], you can use that chance to warn El Borne and subvert the whole conspiracy. It costs you a lesser death and lowers your Career.]]

* [[FirstGirlWins First Girl Wins]]: Possible. During the second chapter, Sir Brante can experience romantic feelings for the first time. If years later he enters a proper romance with the girl who provoked said first feelings, this trope applies. Moreso if the romance ends on a happy note.

* [[GoldenEnding Golden Ending]]: It's challenging, but there are at least two lifepaths where you can play Sir Brante as an unambiguously good man and achieve unambiguously good endings on all fronts of his life.
** The New Faith priest can [[spoiler: unite the family with no negative consequences, save his best friend with minimal effort, convert his [[LoveInterest Love Interest]], save the life of Octavia Milanidas, avert the downfall of the Silver Tree Temple and win a peaceful victory for the rebels. By the end of this path, all sympathetic characters are happy and/or in power, and all the tyrants are dead and/or removed from power]].

*** One possible downside to this one is that you have to push Gloria into an [[ArrangedMarriage Arranged Marriage]], but even then, it is fairly easy on this path to maintain brotherly ties with her and turn her marriage into a [[PerfectlyArrangedMarriage perfectly arranged one]].

* [[GoodFeelsGood Good Feels Good]]: Befitting [[AWorldHalfFull A World Half Full]] theme of the game, selfless, kind and heroic deeds of Sir Brante often beget rewards, although they tend to come later and be more subtle than immediate gains from selfish actions.
** If Sir Brante maximises his family's Unity, the household becomes so loving and peaceful it replenishes his [[HeroicResolve Heroic Resolve]].

* GrayAndGreyMorality: The central conflict between [[TheEmpire The Empire]] and [[LaResistance the rebellion]] avoids the black-and-white perspective commonly found in such stories. The Empire as a whole is oppressive, stagnant and cruel, but it's not irreedemable, and there are people and Arknians actively working to make it better (your [[PlayerCharacter Player Character]] potentially included). Meanwhile, the rebellion is led by the Last Straw, a group of humans who do fight for freedom of their fellow man, but are also bitter, vindictive and ready to commit acts of terror with high civilian casualties. [[spoiler: Not to mention that the rebels winning without Sir Brante in charge leads to one of the worst endings in the game]].

* [[HoistbyHisOwnPetard Hoist by His Own Petard]]: Constantly. Due to how the game is structured, Sir Brante will frequently find himself in positions where he can't take a preferable course of action because of his previous choices.

* LowFantasy: Through and through. The world of Sir Brante is grounded, gritty, morally complicated, and operates much like you'd expect a real-life feudal society to operate. Can even turn into a proper [[DarkFantasy Dark Fantasy]] depending on player's choices.
** Stakes and scope. The focus of the story lies not in epic battles of good and evil, but in how a single man struggles to make the best out of his life. The main conflicts arise not from any high power or a threat of [[EvilOverlord Evil Overlord]], but from various social, political and religious tensions between classes and estates. Sometimes, the scope of a conflict is as small as a fierce argument between two family members.
** Races. It is explicitly mentioned several times that only two races inhabit the known world: humans and Arknians. There were more nations and races in the past, some of them possessing weird mystical powers, but by the present day, they are all extinct (partially because the aforementioned humans and Arknians exterminated them in a [[GreatOffscreenWar Great Offscreen War]]).

* [[MultipleEndings Multiple Endings]]: Lots and lots of them. Your career, family life, every major character and the Empire itself can come to vastly different fates. You can play the game a dozen times and never get two identical endings.
* [[MundaneMadeAwesome Mundane Made Awesome]]: Befitting the [[LowFantasy Low Fantasy]] genre, some choices and actions can be very low-key and mundane, yet still have lasting consequences. Examples include but are not limited to:

* [[NeutralityBacklash Neutrality Backlash]]: To achieve anything of significance, Sir Brante has to pick a side in any conflict sooner or later. The game does not take kindly to those who hesitate too long or switch sides in the middle of the story. These are just several examples.

** Sir Brante who picks a side during the Revolt can hope to achieve some sort of good, or at least satisfying, ending for his homeland. Even the Anizotte Massacre, horrible as it is, can feel quite cathartic. Sir Brante not picking a side and running away from Anizotte, however, [[spoiler: leads to nobody winning, no positive changes and the new [[DungAges Dung Ages]] for all.]]

* [[PoliceState Police State]]: Magra becomes this if the Order rating goes up to 10 by the end of the game. Roads and streets are clean and secure, and there is little to no crime, but there is also no room for civil protests or any action against the Imperial law.

*** As a Noble judge, even if Sir Brante doesn't become a full-blown [[CrusadingLawyer Crusading Lawyer]], it is possible to build a successful career and get useful noble connections while still protecting the rights of commoners and helping your province prosper.

* [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified The Revolution Will Not Be Vilified]]: ...however, the grievances of common Lot against the Empire are completely solid, and the tyranny of nobles is an absolute travesty. And if Sir Brante does act decisively, he can lead the Revolt into fighting for a better future and win freedom for his people.

* [[SlidingScaleofIdealismVersusCynicism Sliding Scale of Idealism versus Cynicism]]: Amusingly, it's up to you, the player, to decide where the game stands on this scale. If you see Sir Brante's world as a [[CrapsackWorld Crapsack World]] where trust is betrayed, oppression prevails and [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished No Good Deed Goes Unpunished]] - and play Sir Brante accordingly - that's what the world will be. If, however, you view it as [[AWorldHalfFull A World Half-Full]] and play Sir Brante as a good-natured and principled person, or a well-meaning [[AntiHero Antihero]], the game will provide many opportunies to prove your mettle, stand by your morals and be rewarded for your good deeds. "The world is what we make of it" might as well be an official tagline of the game.

* [[StoryBranching Story Branching]]: The protagonist's last name almost foreshadows the game's main course. The life of Sir Brante and his bonds with other characters can go in many different directions, with secret events, locked choices and multiple endings aplenty.
* SuperRegistrationAct: The House of Humility, a place where witches and mages who consent to it are fixed with collars that eliminate their magical ability as well as their free will. The ones who don't consent are hunted down and burned at the stake by the inquisition.
* TokenHeroicOrc: Anthony Foss is a token heroic Arknian, having joined a rebel movement against TheEmpire because he valued freedom for all over his own immense privileges. He's described as the ''only'' Arknian to care about the common people.
* [[TrialByCombat Trial by Combat]]: The Court of Honor, an ancient tradition of nobility to settle disputes and feuds in a duel to True Death. The Court is not only a contest of swordsmanship, but also of bloodlines: a noble from an old dynasty who respects and venerates his ancestors has better chances at winning thanks to a local example of [[BloodMagic Blood Magic]].

* [[VelvetRevolution Velvet Revolution]]: [[spoiler: If Sir Brante leads the Revolt and unites estates under his banner, the rebels can make quick peace with the Empire and obtain freedom for Anizotte after a single short battle with little to no casualties.]]

* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: The Last Straw is a shady revolutionary organization filled with vengeful extremists, radical preachers, greedy opportunists [[spoiler: and an [[AgentProvocateur Agent Provocateur]] or dozen]]. There are people in it who genuinely believe in cause of freedom and seek to liberate their fellow commoners from the Lot of suffering, but even they are willing to use such methods as theft, bombing, assassinations and mass executions.
** The morality of the Last Straw depends heavily on its leadership. [[spoiler: With remorseless Sophia as the leader, the Straw becomes a bunch of [[BombThrowingAnarchists Bomb Throwing Anarchists]] and, if successful, engages in [[ReignofTerror Reign of Terror]] and a full-blown genocide against the Arknians]]. If, however, [[spoiler: Sir Brante makes an active effort to lead the Last Straw, avoid excessive violence and optionally give Sophia a hope for a better world, the Straw becomes much more similar to the popular image of heroic [[LaResistance La Resistance]]]].

*** One possible downside to this one is that you have to push Gloria into an [[ArrangedMarriage Arranged Marriage]], but even then, it is fairly easy on this path to maintain brotherly ties with her and turn her marriage into a [[PerfectlyArranged perfectly arranged one]].

** The Imperial nobleman can [[spoiler: achieve perfect balance of career and justice on his job, increase family reputation through brave and valiant deeds, ennoble his family without doing anything shady, remain friends with Augustin El Borne, kill Dorius Otton, save the Empire from the brink of destruction and make it a much less cruel place. It might be the only lifepath in the game where Sir Brante stays loyal to the Empire and still can be roleplayed as a good, brave and compassionate person.]]

* GodIsGood: The Twins are widely believed to be good and just by the majority of the population. Even the New Faith does not dispute this, only that others have misinterpreted or spreaded falsehood about the will of the Twins. Others such as Father Mark, and potentially Sir Brante himself, [[GodIsEvil believe otherwise however]]. [[spoiler:There is a conversation with the Elder after the Revolt where one of the gods himself speaks to the player, and it appears that while they may be [[GodIsFlawed flawed or oblivious]], the Twins seem to be at least well-intentioned and capable of changing their ways for the better if convinced.]]

* DeathIsCheap: Everyone gets three "lesser deaths" before the big one, unless they die under certain circumstances.

* CessationOfExistence: The Markian Society, lead by Father Mark believes that this is the true fate of the soul after death, regardless of whether you are taken to the Peak or the Foot of the Pillar; their belief is that your soul is dissolved into the Will of the Twins. Certain events seem to contradict this (such as the fact that your family is able to communicate with Gregor Brante within his tomb on a certain day of the year, and his approval of you can even change depending on what you say, implying he is truly still around. Though whether he reached the Peak or the Foot of the Pillar is never stated.)

* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: When the revolution comes, it is initially characterized by riots, vendetta-killings, and summary executions by the People's Court. Unless Sir Brante acts decisively to suppress or course-correct the revolution, it ends with a ReignOfTerror and possibly the total collapse of civilization.

** If Sir Brante maximises his family's Unity, the household becomes so loving and peaceful it replenishes his [[HeroicResolve]].

** As a noblem you can save your land from famine and poverty by... signing a single paper.

** As a priest, you can save your best friends from certain death by... writing a polite letter to a local feudal overlord.

** Saving your land from famine and poverty by... signing a single paper.
** Bringing your family fortune and prosperity by... printing a lot of books and selling them.

** Gaius Tempest, the Overseer of Magra, tries to secure order in his province and expand the rights of commoners at the same time. And though he tries to squash an open rebellion, he can still work out a peaceful resolution of the crisis with the help of rebel Sir Brante.