Line #107 Roleplay/AtherCity


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4
5	->''"Tell me. Do you want to be a hero?"''
6	-->--'''Nick''', pretty well summing up one of the game's big themes
7
8	''[[http://www.kongregate.com/forums/36-forum-games/topics/127143-ather-city-main-game/ Ather City]]'' is part of a PlayByPostGame created by [=SpiritfChaos=]. It focuses on the titular city, and the events therein after it's devastated by a massive nuclear explosion. At the game's start, most of the city's civilians are dead, and the survivors have grouped into several factions which are locked in a brutal gang war. Eventually, the gangs dissolve, and the focus shifts to the characters' attempts to survive in, and eventually escape, the hellhole the city has become.
9
10	The story is told in the form of a forum roleplay, or as the creator calls it, "collaborative fiction". While this format makes it vulnerable to [[{{Troll}} trolls]], it also means that it updates constantly, sometimes reaching almost two hundred posts in one day. Short, action-based posts are often interspersed with increasingly long [[WallOfText walls of text,]] which
11	increases the story's length considerably.
12
13	The game has two sequels. The first one is known as ''[[http://www.kongregate.com/forums/36-forum-games/topics/158746-the-world-after-ather-city-2-main-game The World After]]'', or ''Ather City 2''. This one is run by [=Gambi69=], although [=SpiritfChaos=] was still a major figure in the production. It has now ended, and is succeeded by ''[[http://www.kongregate.com/forums/36-forum-games/topics/256311-tabula-rasa-ather-city-3-main-game?page=1 Tabula Rasa]]'', or ''Ather City 3''; this one is once again run by [=SpiritfChaos=].
14
15	''Ather City'' started at the end of 2010, and the series ran for two years before being abandoned during ''Tabula Rasa''.
16
17	----
18	!!The ''Ather City'' series provides examples of:
19	%%* AbsurdlySharpBlade:
20	%%** Dominic's sword. Doesn't matter which one, it just seems to happen to every sword he picks up.
21	%%** Pretty much any weapon made of adamantium, orichalcum, brimstone, luciferite, or some other form of {{Unobtainium}}.
22	%%** And Osiris' {{BFS}} in the sequel, to at least some extent.
23	%%** And Luke's sword in the third game.
24	%%* ActionGirl: Rogue in the original, Solaris in the sequel.
25	%%** Pretty much all female player characters count, more or less.
26	%%* ActionHero: Dominic.
27	* AerithAndBob: The major players of the first game include Dominic, Victor, Nick, Matthew, Riley, Michael... [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Eclipsis 'Void' Eclipsion.]]
28	%%* AIIsACrapshoot: Averted with ARGUS, played straight with Matthew and Achilles.
29	* AllLovingHero: Nick. He's currently devoted his life to improving human-mutant relations, and has gone so far as to confront the BigBad by offering him tea before fighting. His pacifist outlook helps a bit.
30	%%* AllPowerfulBystander: Attempted by Dominic in the sequel.
31	%%* AncientConspiracy: The Klilox, fulfilling the Prophecy of Death (simply put, the apocalypse).
32	%%* {{Anticlimax}}:
33	%%** As seen in Void's confrontation with Alice.
34	%%** And Dominic's confrontation with Chaos.
35	%%* AntiHero: Most of the characters.
36	* AntiMagic: Chaos's black fire has this effect. So Lucius, how does it feel to have your supposedly indestructible magical metal [[SoulJar soul containers]] reduced to ashes?
37	%%* AntiVillain: Michael, after he quits being the Silencer.
38	* AnyoneCanDie: Officially announced by Gambi for TWA - before the announcement, people had around three weeks and a certain number of warnings to post with a given character before they were killed off, assuming they were remembered by him before they posted; as of 19th January 2012, no warnings are given for disused characters, and the time they have to post is roughly altered to "the point at which the character cannot keep up with the game". In the third game, a random player character will be killed if no one posts anything for a week.
39	* AppliedPhlebotinum:
40	** So far, brimstone (hellish substance which secretes incredibly deadly venom, is horrifically radioactive, superheated, and virtually indestructible), {{Orichalcum}} (absorbs energy and substance traits upon contact, excluding those of brimstone, which can then be used to great effect), luciferite (a metal that directly opposes brimstone, is virtually indestructible, and is saturated with a form of energy apparently only usable by a select few) and bloodsteel (corrupts other substances to turn them into more bloodsteel, and violently repels orichalcum).
41	** The pieces of unnamed ThunderboltIron that Chaos has been hunting down. It grants scary boosts in mutant and magic power, but drives the user horribly, horribly insane.
42	%%** Adamantium, although considering that its only notable effect - that of nigh-invulnerability - is replicated in a minimum of two.
43	* ArtifactTitle: The city that the series is named for no longer exists as of the end of the first game, though it is back in the third game.
44	* ArtisticLicensePhysics: Averted by Solaris' lightbending ability, which conforms to real physics as part of the in-game power limitation agreement that everyone has. Played straight with Dominic's teleportation in the first game, as he apparently ignores gravity for a fair while after teleportation, and can seemingly control whether excess momentum is carried over between teleports or not.
45	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence:
46	** Dominic after his torture, Nick after training in the Mindscape for ten years. That's without accounting for that time goes more slowly in the Mindscape. Nick even uses the word ascended to describe Dominic and himself, but it's actually a reference to ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' rather than this trope.
47	** The term 'godsoul' has been officially adopted as the term for characters with power on a deific scale. Other than Nick and Dominic, the only other ascended characters in existence are [[TheOmniscientCouncilofVagueness the Phases,]] and [[EldritchAbomination the TKoH]].
48	%%** Arthur [=McQuietus=] and Lucius also count for this. Evangeline Wright may or may not count, given that her secret ability implies a great amount of strength.
49	%%* AxCrazy: '''''MICHAEL.'''''
50	%%* BackToBackBadasses: Keyes and Matthew against Plague.
51	%%* BadassBiker: Michael for a short time.
52	%%* BadassBookworm: Nick.
53	%%* BadassCrew: The main characters of both games, and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
54	%%* BadassNormal: Everyone except Nick in the beginning of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI''.
55	%%* BadassLongcoat: Argus and Solaris. In addition, Jonathan wears a black leather duster.
56	* BadassTransplant: Michael. Twice. The first transplant occurs when he loses his arm and Cepheus gives him one made of brimstone; he is then given a mechanical arm from Nick after the brimstone arm is torn from the roots. Granted, he kicked ass before either transplant, but after that, it's made clear he could probably beat anyone in the series in a fight if he wanted to.
57	* BaitAndSwitchBoss: Wallenquist is set up to be the BigBad of TWA... and is then killed off by Riley in an [[ChargeIntoCombatCut unseen battle]] ending in both their deaths.
58	%%* BashBrothers: Several combinations:
59	%%** Nick and Michael;
60	%%** Nick and Matthew;
61	%%** Dominic and Matthew;
62	%%** Dominic and Victor.
63	%%* BattleCouple: John and Jenny.
64	* TheBattleDidntCount: When Nick broke into Lucius's Mindscape, at first it seemed that Nick totally [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]] Lucius. But that turned out to be not the real Lucius himself but a presumably much weaker psychic stand-in.
65	* BerserkButton:
66	** Do NOT call Void 'Tentacles'..
67	** Don't threaten Riley if Dominic or Haseo are nearby, either.
68	** Woe betide thee if you question Abel's calculations. Even if he has gotten something wrong.
69	** Insulting or threatening Michael if Nick is anywhere within earshot is a big no-no.
70	%%* {{BFG}}: Void's Vulcan cannon.
71	* {{BFS}}: Pharoah Osiris' sword, now in Solaris' possession - assuming an average height of 180cm, and considering the fact that it's about twice as long as him, that gives the sword a minimum length of roughly three and a half meters.
72	%%* BigBad:
73	%%** Cepheus for the first game.
74	%%** Wallenquist for the second. He's dead now, but a new Big Bad in the form of Lucius has arisen.
75	%%** Other notable villainous characters include Chaos, Arthur [=McQuietus=], Legion, and Reverse Aether.
76	%%* BigGood: Arguably Nick. Could be Dominic, were it not for his more [[{{Jerkass}} disagreeable qualities.]]
77	* BitchInSheepsClothing: Rick's mother, Sarah. On the other hand, her FreudianExcuse gives her a fair reason to be as such... but not really. Turns out she's lying, and then she somehow resurrects herself [[spoiler:and indirectly kills her own son.]]
78	* BlindfoldedVision: Demonstrated by Andrus against General Monash. After being deprived of sight, he continued the whole of the rest of the battle by sensing the heat energy from his surroundings, and the energy created from attacks.
79	%%* BloodKnight: Michael. The only times he isn't sleeping in the sequel is when he's in combat.
80	* BloodMagic: In the sequel, two kinds are seen in several characters - a certain mutation allows the user to control and solidify their blood for use as weaponry and such, whilst actual, vampire-esque blood magic exists, having been derived from Water magic, to make the user ageless and significantly more powerful than the average human, so long as they continuously drink the blood of others for sustenance.
81	* BulletProofFashionPlate:
82	** Averted with Nick. Almost every fight he's part of ends with one or both of his wings broken.
83	** Played straight with Jonathan. Jonas [[IncendiaryExponent set himself ablaze]] [[InvokedTrope to look cool]], while blatantly stating that his black leather duster was badass enough to be fireproof. Justified, since he was covered from head to toe in [[InstantArmor psionic armor]], including his clothes.
84	* ButForMeItWasTuesday: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Lee.
85	-->'''Lee:''' Because, while all this is ‘fighting huge groups out for your blood’ thing is new to me, for you it’s just damn Tuesday and Sarah is only Number 152 on the list of things trying to kill you, just below ‘Generic NOS Mage Number 34’ and just above that rock over there.
86	%%* CallingTheOldManOut:
87	%%** Void and Dominic perform this towards one another. A lot.
88	%%** Connor is not pleased when Nick forces him to abandon his team.
89	%%* CallingYourAttacks: The various Chinese and Japanese superpowered characters tend to do this a lot.
90	* CaptainObvious: As seen here:
91	-->'''Solaris Embarta (to self):''' ...sadness. That's a depressing emotion.
92	%%* CastingAShadow:
93	%%** Void uses a type 1 variant of this in the sequel.
94	%%** More recently, Solaris has achieved a type 2 use of this trope.
95	* ChargeIntoCombatCut: The fight between Riley and Wallenquist is [[OffscreenMomentOfAwesome completely unviewed.]]
96	* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Michael gets BroughtDownToNormal during the fight against the dragon, he's bleeding out, and then he gouges the dragon's eye out with his good arm.
97	* ChekhovsGunman: Matthew. He disappears halfway through the story, then shows up for the fight against the Horsemen.
98	* CloudCuckooLander: Norman, Nick's brother/physical personification of latent insanity. His power is literally driving people insane.
99	%%* CloudCuckooLand: The Mindscape is heavily implied to be this in the right hands.
100	%%* CoitusUninterruptus: Wallenquist manages to do this.
101	%%* CollapsingLair: The temple in Machu Pichu. Courtesy Sol Shard's rainforest magic.
102	%%* ColossusClimb: Occurs several times in the sequel. Colossi include a giant rock golem, a frost giant, and a massive sandworm to date.
103	%%* CombatTentacles: Void, but he mostly uses them to hold up his Vulcan. Later on, and in the sequel, they become one of his primary weapons.
104	* ComboPlatterPowers:
105	** Lucinda could manipulate everything up to an inch away from her, including herself, which caused her to become a FlyingBrick. She also glowed weakly.
106	** Jonathan's psion control lets him do pretty much anything from conducting electricity to crushing minds... just as long as he doesn't overexert himself.
107	%%* CompellingVoice: The only aspect of the Mindscape that Connor seems to be any good at.
108	* ConvectionSchmonvection: Apparently, it is quite possible to get right up close to the Field of Black Glass without suffering too horribly, either from the heat or the radiation emanating from the pure brimstone it is composed of. Woe betide you if you actually move over it, though.
109	%%* CoolAirship: The 'Colossus.'
110	%%* CrapsackWorld: Confined to the titular city in the original, but played straight in the sequel, after the closing of the hellhole. Averted in the third game... at least at the moment.
111	* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: While not necessarily stupid, Michael tends to be rather lazy in the sequel, and spends a lot of his time either asleep or unconscious. If he wakes up, however, he will absolutely wreck your shit.
112	* CurbStompBattle:
113	** The actual fight against Colonel Howard is confined to page 93.
114	** Every single fight Dominic engages in in the sequel. [[PhysicalGod Every.]] [[CompleteImmortality Single.]] [[NighInvulnerable One.]] With the exception of his fight against Chaos. [[NotSoInvincibleAfterAll That was a spectacular (if somewhat feinted) loss for Dominic.]]
115	** Subverted in the battle against [[spoiler: Sarah]]. She gets beaten up by Solaris, and is just taking punches from her for no reason, then when Lee goes to stab her she bursts into life and kickstarts the battle again.
116	%%* DarkIsNotEvil: Apparently done with Void in the sequel.
117	* DeaderThanDead:
118	** Achieved by Dominic against Void; after essentially being disembowelled, the latter's body is impaled hundreds of times beneath the neck, then crushed between two slabs of rock on his left and right, leaving only his head behind. [[KillItWithFire His head is promptly incinerated, too.]] [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill Ouch.]]
119	** The trope also applies to elementals in the second game, in a very literal sense indeed - because they have no souls which can be sent to Heaven or Hell, [[CessationOfExistence their consciousness evaporates when their magic does.]]
120	* DeadlyUpgrade: Lucius gives one to Isis Ptolemy in Thinis. Lucius has a shard of brimstone stored in his body, ready to be assimilated at any time. Said shard also acts as a HellGate. In fact, Isis's upgrade seemed to have been obtained from this HellGate in the first place.
121	%%* {{Determinator}}
122	%%* DiabolusExNihilo: In the form of the NUO sniper who kills off Jake, moments before he gets into a submarine of sorts to head for Australia.
123	%%* DiagnosisFromDrBadass: A non-dialogue version with Michael.
124	%%* DishingOutDirt: One of the many abilities of Dominic. Also Colonel Howard, and, in a late phase, General Monash.
125	%%* DoNotTauntCthulhu: Invoked several times near the beginning of TWA against Dominic.
126	* DoomedHometown:
127	** Paris, in case of Andrus. Its destruction is what set him off on his journey in the first place.
128	** The City of the Dying, where Solaris originates from, is also destroyed, with her only learning of it a looong time afterwards.
129	* DownerEnding: The ending of TWA. [[BigBad Lucius]] wakes up the [[EldritchAbomination True King of Hell]], who proceeds to destroy the whole universe and [[EverybodyDiesEnding everyone in it]], save for a few survivors who manages to escape to other universes.
130	%%* DyingMomentOfAwesome: Dominic. He gets better. [[{{Immortality}} Better than better, as a matter of fact.]]
131	%%* EldritchAbomination: True King of Hell. Enough said.
132	%%* ElementalEmbodiment:
133	%%** As of their introduction by Abel. Comes in Self and cardinal flavours. And anticardinal. And bicardinal, and anti-bicardinal, and tricardinal...
134	%%** Their ultimate form being the Cosmic and Null elementals, using every possible elemental combination and anti-elemental combination respectively.
135	%%* EmotionlessGirl: Solaris, for a short while after Void's death.
136	* EnergyWeapon:
137	** Solaris can use her lightbending ability to produce these. Lucinda's force control can perform a weaker version.
138	** Lucius used a light beam attack against Jonathan.
139	* EscapedFromHell:
140	** This is why Dominic is still alive after the timeskip; he broke out of Hell. In fact, he's managed it twice.
141	** Void also escaped from Hell after being thrown into the hellhole by War.
142	* EvilWeapon:
143	** Michael's brimstone arm. It actually tries to strangle him a few times.
144	** The ''Juuchiyosamu'', or Ten Thousand Cold Nights katana, forged using dark magic. It contains brimstone and bloodsteel, two of the "evil" [[{{Unobtainium}} supermetals]].
145	** The Darendrake, later renamed the Apocalypse, also contains dark magic and is said to have similar powers as the sword above. But whereas the Ten Thousand Cold Nights is wielded by the protagonist Cheryl Smith, the Darendrake belongs to the [[OmnicidalManiac Angel of Death]].
146	* ExtraOreDinary: Lucius can transform his body into silvery metal.
147	* ExtremeOmnivore: Both Void and Solaris are capable of consuming nearly anything you could think of with no ill effects, as their stomachs break the ingested matter into its base atoms before appropriately reforming said atoms as excess cell biomass.
148	* EyeScream: Michael does this a couple times, with a harpoon and an ice shard to an ally gone berserk and a frost giant, respectively.
149	* FacePalmofDoom: While not lethal, Nick's facepalms are often setups for unconsciousness and a BattleintheCenteroftheMind.
150	%%* FallenHero: Dominic in the sequel.
151	%%* FantasticRacism: The NUO against mutants, and the NOS against humans and non-mages.
152	%%* FastballSpecial: Invoked by name when Michael tells Void to throw him at War.
153	* FateWorseThanDeath: Ancalagon, the Dragon of Hell.
154	-->'''Cepheus:''' It would seem that Ancalagon could not keep his powers from Hell intact. How unfortunate to lose such a valuable asset; his punishment when he returns to Hell shall be long and exquisite.
155	%%** Also, having your soul absorbed by Legion.
156	* FieryCoverup: Giza is burned down by the NOS to cover up the murder of Osiris Ptolemy.
157	%%* FlashStep: Chaos, Dominic, and many other character with some form of super speed.
158	* FloatingContinent: Thinis, the capital of New Egypt. The 'ground' of the city is made up of etinarg, a rock that has [[ArtisticLicensePhysics negative gravity]] compared to other substances... such as granite, for instance. What's more, granite and etinarg can be combined in equal proportions to form granarg, which has ''exactly zero gravity'' if done correctly.
159	%%* FlyingBrick: Lucinda, until she was BroughtDownToNormal.
160	* ForTheEvulz: Pretty much everything Chaos has done has been because he thinks it would be fun and/or awesome. This includes taking over a city by setting much of it on fire, announcing said victory by setting the sky on fire and writing 'I WIN, BITCHES.', and almost killing his commanding officer by setting most of his soul on fire.
161	* FromASingleCell: Phaeus "Shade" Eclipsion boasted this ''after'' getting the exact same RasputinianDeath as his grandfather Eclipsis. His soul was then subjected to the [[ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} Omega Sanction]], [[FateWorseThanDeath forced to reincarnate through an infinite number of painful lives, each one more torturous than the last.]]
162	%%* GadgeteerGenius: Nick.
163	%%* GambitRoulette: How Lucius managed to convince Jonathan that Jenny sold him out when they tried to leave Novus Ordo Seclorum. It's quite complicated.
164	%%* GiantSpider: Michael kills one. Then he eats part of it.
165	%%* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Whenever Nick is about to do something dangerous in the first game.
166	%%* {{GMPC}}: Dominic in the sequel. Sadly, of the bad kind.
167	%%* GodOfEvil: The True King of Hell.
168	%%* GogglesDoSomethingUnusual: Nick's welding goggles.
169	%%* GoodIsNotNice: Take a wild guess.
170	* GreaterScopeVillain: The True King of Hell, on account of his unimaginable form and cosmic power. If he ever made a move against the mortal realm, it's game over. Good thing he doesn't care!
171	%%* GunsVsSwords: Comes up in a lot of the fights, particularly when Dominic is involved.
172	* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: Manipulation of everything up to one inch away from yourself? That thing has no range! Until you [[AwesomeByAnalysis notice you're always in range,]] and that there seems to be no other cap whatsoever. Get your [[ImplacableMan flesh to never come apart]] when hit, never bruise, never catch fire. [[KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter Fly into enemies, counting your speed in Mach numbers.]] Lucinda, the owner of the above, was requested to be depowered as a result.
173	* HiddenAgendaVillain: Chaos. Most of his actions seem to be ForTheEvulz, but recent events make his plan being that simple seem unlikely. Confirmed later when he manages to open a HellGate.
174	* HorsemenOfTheApocalypse: Three of them show up as the QuirkyMinibossSquad during the fight against Cepheus; the fourth had previously caused a miniature zombie apocalypse-type scenario and subsequently been [[DefeatMeansFriendship defeated and uncorrupted.]]
175	* HypocriticalHumor: Void is quoted as being a "wandering whore" by Dominic, despite not enjoying how frequently others wish to have sex with him due to his age; Dominic himself, meanwhile, was merely "practising" for the last two hundred and fifty years, and is about five hundred relative years older than even the other members of the Old Guard. Perhaps not humorous, but at least somewhat hypocritical.
176	* IdiotBall: Void, you cannot reason with or fight against God. Even if you don't care whether he is or not, you should at least read his mind to check before insulting him repeatedly. Or attempt to use your telepathy to alter his mindset, thereby getting out of dying at his hands.
177	%%* IfItsYouItsOkay: Void for Mike.
178	* ILetGwenStacyDie: Riley goes and fights Wallenquist herself, resulting in both their deaths. Cue Dominic destroying a huge portion of NYC.
179	%%* ImAHumanitarian: Also Void. He's complex.
180	%%* {{Immortality}}: Any form of damage that Marvin takes simply causes his body to phase around it like water.
181	%%** Dominic becomes type I after five years in the Abyss; Void, and presumably Solaris, are type III due to their mutant abilities.
182	%%** Nick and Sarah have this resulting from the latter's necromancy abilities.
183	%%* ImplacableMan: Pretty much anyone with any powerful defensive/self-healing ability is this. Notable examples include [[{{Immortality}} Dominic]], Void, Matthew and [[BadassNormal Michael.]]
184	* IneffectualLoner: To some extent, Void in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'', after the Council is destroyed completely. Example: taking on War by yourself means you're going in the massive hellhole. [[FastballSpecial Throwing a psychopath who happens to be your ally in that battle at him instead?]] Instant success! On the flip-side, he does manage to kill a supposedly immortal being by himself... perhaps only through the luck of discovering [[WeaksauceWeakness his one weakness,]] but that's still a plus.
185	%%* IntergenerationalFriendship: Connor and Michael.
186	* IronicEcho: Hey, Void? Remember you said you wouldn't even care if Dominic were God himself...?
187	%%* JerkAss: A lot of characters have their moments, but the most noticeable ones are Michael and Dominic.
188	%%* KillItWithFire: Victor, and later, Andrus and Chaos.
189	%%* LamarckWasRight: A lot. Solaris inherits her power directly, Andrus is nearly identical to his ancestor Victor as well. Lucinda's family ability of shared memories might also count.
190	* LandmarkofLore: Stonehenge, Machu Pichu among others. They are sites from where magical energy can be obtained (simply put, one can become a mage by absorbing the magical energy of these places).
191	* LargeAndInCharge: Matthew. He's by far the largest of the original cast, and definitely the strongest.
192	* LeaveNoWitnesses: The NOS decides to destroy all of Giza only because, contrary to their plans, the dead body of king Osiris Ptolemy landed within the city.
193	* LeaveYourQuestTest: One is presented to Dominic: either he traps himself in the Mindscape, forever left to create and destroy as he sees fit; or he returns to the mortal world, and continues to defend it from threats. This being Dominic, [[spoiler: he goes for the former option. He promptly returns, after he realises that he cannot control his own mind. And then he goes completely insane.]]
194	* LegacyCharacter:
195	** A lot of characters in the sequel are in some way related to members of the cast in the original.
196	** The name Chaos doesn't refer to the guy from the second game, but whoever happens to wear the mask at the moment.
197	* LetsYouAndHimFight: Michael just randomly attacks Dominic on sight in the sequel. Presumably he knew Dominic was basically a god by now, so he likely knew it would be a CurbStompBattle. He does it anyway.
198	* LightIsNotGood:
199	** Lucius Ferre, the current BigBad, uses [[WhiteMagic Light]] [[HolyHandGrenade magic]]. His name is also made to resemble "Lucifer".
200	** Rick's mother, Sarah, has wings, wears a long white robe (which has only been mentioned once), and is generally made to resemble an angel. [[spoiler: She killed Rick.]]
201	%%* LittleMissBadass: Sarah, before the timeskip.
202	* TheLostLenore: The deaths of Riley in both the original and the sequel are an ongoing source of grief and turmoil for Dominic.
203	%%* MadeOfIron: Pretty much everyone, but Matthew is a notable (and almost literal) example.
204	* MagikarpPower: It has been explicitly stated that Connor is pretty much worthless in combat, but since he was exposed to magic recently, that might start to change eventually. He later becomes a white mage.
205	%%* MasterOfIllusion: Any Mindscape user can have some skill at this, but only Nick, Connor, and Lucius have been seen doing so.
206	* MeaningfulName:
207	** Sarah's last name translates from Latin as 'undead'.
208	** ARGUS is said by Nick to see everything, much like his namesake from Greek mythology.
209	** "'Conglacior Solus' translates from Latin to English as 'Freeze Alone'."
210	** "Lucius Ferre" looks a lot like [[LouisCypher Lucifer]]. His first and last names also refer to [[LightEmUp light]] and [[ExtraOreDinary metal]] respectively, indicating his power over these two elements.
211	** Lucinda's name is the same reference. She emits a weak glow.
212	** Wu Shuang, i.e. Frost. His name in Chinese, "吴霜", literally means "Wu Frost". But it has the exact same pronunciation as the word "无双", which means "unique". "双" also means "two", indicating his dual nature (life and death powers, mutation and magic, Chinese and British heritage).
213	** His cousin Wu Ming has a similar pun in his name. "吴明" means "Wu Bright", but it has the same pronunciation as "无名", or "nameless" in Chinese.
214	** Arthur [=McQuietus's=] name consists of 'quietus', which means 'a state between life and death'. Considering how Arthur generally doesn't consider himself to be a human being, but a machine of destruction... His second form, Pictor Mortis, is Latin for 'Painter of Death'. His signature material is known as Paint.
215	%%* MechaMooks: The ARGUS drones.
216	%%* MessianicArchetype: Dominic, up to a certain point.
217	%%* MindScrew: Happens to anyone on the receiving end of the Mindscape.
218	%%* MorphWeapon: Michael's morningstar after it gets separated from his arm.
219	* MundaneUtility: Jennifer Lorenz has the power to heal or destroy biological matter. Among other things, she uses this power to trim her fingernails, keep her skin flawless, and regrow a piece of half-eaten steak. She even wears [[HellBentForLeather leather clothes]] because they can be repaired by her ability.
220	%%* MutagenicGoo:
221	%%** Entropy. Created by the Grey.
222	%%** In the sequel, its processed form Paint/Furor.
223	* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Here's a few things Dominic has managed so far: defeated the ruler of hell in single combat; survived unimaginable torture at the hands of an EldritchAbomination; possessed Matthew's body, which is mechanical and should not be able to contain a soul; learned how to flash-step after fighting Chaos for a couple of minutes; learned and mastered the Mindscape spell (which only Nick can do without training) after talking to Nick for a few minutes; destroyed a person and absorbed both their bodily mass and their soul; and expanded his own soul to cover ''the entire planet.''
224	* NighInvulnerable:
225	** Void has this of the regeneration variety. His grand daughter does as well.
226	** Matthew is MadeOfIron, with mild healing ability.
227	** Marvin has both of these, and he literally can not die. He just regenerates from everything. He has nanomachines in his body that are actively regenerating the instant injuries occur. Nothing can kill him because there's nothing fast enough to do the job before he heals it.
228	** Jonathan has his psionic armor. Usually not too indestructible, unless the dominant personality is [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Nathan]].
229	** And Lucius has his silvery metal, luciferite. It can't be destroyed by anything except AntiMagic. It even managed to chip off a small shard of brimstone and fuse with it.
230	%%* NotSoInvincibleAfterAll:
231	%%** Dominic, when faced with Chaos' power nullification ability. Promptly subverted due to the nanites in Matthew's body, which Dominic is possessing, that make him essentially immortal anyway.
232	%%** Same thing happened to Lucius, except replace "Dominic" with "Lucius' [[SoulJar soul jars]]".
233	* NotTheFallThatKillsYou: This applies to Void and Solaris in equal measure, since both have tentacles and regeneration to absorb the impact. Void frequently uses this to his advantage when travelling in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI''; Solaris also uses it, but not very often.
234	%%* NukeEm: Lucius plans to do this to Chaos because AntiMagic can't nullify an ordinary nuclear blast.
235	* OfficerAndAGentleman: Both Nick and Lucius. Leaders of their respective factions, two of the three strongest people in the world, both rather cultured under most circumstances.
236	* OffscreenMomentofAwesome: Nick and Michael's fight, which was supposedly awesome enough to spawn an entirely new universe, takes place entirely between near the end of the second game and the third.
237	* OmniscientMoralityLicense: Dominic in the sequel; being immortal, and having lived for two hundred and fifty years or so at that point in time, he honestly doesn't care what happens to the world around him any more, and has even considered ending it a few times just to end his own life.
238	%%* OneManArmy: Dominic.
239	* OneSteveLimit: Averted big time.
240	** There are a lot of Michaels running around.
241	** Sol and Solaris have very similar names; they even have respective relatives named Lune and Eclipsis. Then Solaris gets a baby dragon who she names Solus.
242	** There are three Sarahs. One is Rick's now-dead mother, one is Nick's nigh-immortal necromancer assistant, and the last is Sara Sylvestria Wright, [[MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter Lucius's daughter]].
243	** The name Argus is shared by both the mutant Void meets at the start of TWA, and Nick's AI system. Distinguished by the way their names are capitalised - Argus the mutant to ARGUS the AI.
244	* OppositesAttract: Michael and Nick were best friends before the events of the first game. One is an AxCrazy BoisterousBruiser who has a sword made out of one of his victims. The other is an introverted GadgeteerGenius who has killed two people in his 250+ years of life, neither time intentional.
245	%%* OutrunTheFireball: At the ending of the original, when the whole city is engulfed by the expanding hellhole.
246	%%* ParentalIncest: Solaris is HEAVILY attracted to Eclipsis, and makes no effort to hide it from him once they meet. He does not approve.
247	* PhysicalGod: Dominic in the sequel. Immortal, teleporting, powerful mage.
248	* PlayingWithFire: Victor (and his great^X grandson Andrus) can control fire.
249	* PowerMakesYourVoiceDeep: Applicable to Isis Ptolemy. Her voice grows heavy and 'demonic' when she taps into her inner potency.
250	%%* PoweredArmor: Seems to be standard issue for the Hive.
251	* PrecisionFStrike: Two by Nick in the sequel.
252	-->'''Nick (after Lucius accused Michael of causing the events of the first game):''' That wasn't Michael's fault, motherfucker.
253	-->"If those kids don't kill you, just know that I can. Now get the fuck out of my city."
254	* PutOnABus: Dominic in the sequel. Promptly [[TheBusCameBack gets off the bus and walks back into the game]] after only a short while. Then he goes mad.
255	%%* QuickDraw: Jack Scarlet vs. Michael De'Lore in Japan
256	%%* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: ...as, apparently, is even threatening rape, as Void found out to his cost.
257	* Really700YearsOld:
258	** Any given character who survived the timeskip. Justified in that all of them except Michael have some form of {{Immortality}} working for them, while Michael's cell death rate was slowed to about 1/25th its usual rate due to his exposure to the Hell arm.
259	** Dominic plays the trope completely straight by actually being seven hundred years old, due to the severely stretched passage of time within Hell.
260	* RetGone: Jonathan and Jennifer are whisked from the Atherverse by two immensely powerful beings from a game of their controller's own creation without ever meeting the main group; one Phaeus "Shade" Eclipsion was also completely destroyed by one of these beings.
261	%%* SandWorm: In the deserts near Giza, two females and one territorial male attack the party in the sequel.
262	%%* SanitySlippage: Arguably, Michael.
263	%%* SchizoTech: If Nick brings a weapon out of the Mindscape, it qualifies.
264	%%* ScienceHero: Nick.
265	%%* ShipperOnDeck: Solaris to Andrus and Lucinda.
266	* ShockAndAwe: Dominic can control electricity.
267	%%** Also, Jonathan.
268	* ShoutOut: Several.
269	** Both Nick and Alex have used VideoGame/MegaManClassic-esque {{Arm Cannon}}s.
270	** Nick references ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' a few times during his fight against Wallenquist.
271	** One of the most blatant examples in the sequel comes when Void and his bedfellows are shown playing ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' and ''VideoGame/{{Halo}}''. The issue with the Platform/XBox logging out all players on a console when a single one does so is even referenced.
272	** [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/QuarterLifeHalfwayToDestruction "Atuhor's Nose:]] [[MeaningfulName 'Conglacior Solus']] translates from Latin to English as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPJp_R0ldqg 'Freeze Alone'."]]
273	** The entirety of Lucinda's character or pretty much any addition to the story by her author is a reference to something.
274	** Nick's weapon of choice in [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Cloudcuckooland the Mindscape]] is a giant key reminiscent of a [[Franchise/KingdomHearts Keyblade.]]
275	** Cheryl Smith can apparently use [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Fire Release ninjutsu]] and has a [[Manga/{{Bleach}} zanpakutou]] that is basically a fusion between Senbonzakura and Ryuujin Jakka. Her "zanpakutou" also has several attacks that are blatant expies of Byakuya's techniques.
276	** Lee channels [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Ulfric Stormcloak]] during his speech on why he fights the NUO.
277	* SomeoneHasToDie: In the end, Dominic sacrifices himself in order to prevent the world from being engulfed by the expanding hellhole. Somebody has to die in order to close it. Of course, with Dominic's escape five earth years later, he has gained immortality and general powerful magery skills to go with his teleportation... not a bad reward for surviving five hundred years of torture against [[EldritchAbomination The True King.]]
278	%%* SoulJar: Lucius had hundreds of these around the world. Most of them got destroyed by Chaos's AntiMagic fire though.
279	* SplitPersonality: Jonathan has three that can [[TalkingToThemself communicate among themselves]]. They form a FreudianTrio, with [[TechnicalPacifist John]] as the ego, [[ClusterFBomb Jonas]] as the id, and [[TheSpock Johann]] as the superego. Plus Nathan, his latent insanity and hatred for absolutely everything else.
280	* StealthPun: Most of Nick's weapons are giant key(e)s.
281	* SteppingStoneSword: Andrus used his sword as a handle to maintain grip on the sandworm when it took him for an underground ride.
282	* SupernaturalMartialArts: The trademark ability of the Wu family, complete with KiManipulation. Users include Emperor Wu Zheng Yuan, Wu Ming, and Wu Shuang (a.k.a. Frost).
283	%%* SuperpoweredEvilSide: Nathan.
284	%%* SwissArmyAppendage: Michael's shapeshifting arm.
285	* SwissArmySuperpower:
286	** Jonathan and Lucinda, on the first sight, 'only' have telepathy and telekinesis. On the other side, they can get really creative with them. [[labelnote:List by character's author]][[BarrierWarrior create force fields]]; control [[PlayingWithFire fire]], [[AnIcePerson ice]], and [[ShockAndAwe electricity]]; [[HealingFactor control]] [[PoisonousPerson chemistry]] via the [[DisintegratorRay manipulation of molecular bonds]]; have PhotographicMemory; [[BulletTime speed up his perception of time]]; [[FeelNoPain block out pain]]; [[MindProbe read]] and [[MindControl control]] minds, as well as [[PsychicBlockDefense defending]] against these.[[/labelnote]]
287	** Same goes for Arthur. His control over Entropic Paint and creation of Mind Particles allows him to simulate each and every one of the above.
288	* SwordFight: Occurs frequently. In the original, barring other smaller (but no less important) sword fights, the fight against Cepheus is noteworthy.
289	* {{Telepathy}}: Too many to count; most notably, Void has some powerful telepathic techniques which will start injuring him as though he were a human being if used too much. Jonathan has this too, which can be used in hundreds of different ways. It also seems to be a prerequisite for becoming the BigBad in either game, as seen with Cepheus and Lucius.
290	%%** The Mindscape could be considered a more in-depth version.
291	%%* TeleportSpam: The first power Dominic gets.
292	* TemptingFate:
293	-->'''German NUO Soldier:''' ''[moments before his soul is absorbed into Legion]'' Oh, come on! What could be [[FateWorseThanDeath worse than death]] at the hands of whatever ''that'' is?
294	* ThereWasADoor: Matthew's entrance into the Speedster's hideout, charging in with a strike that [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom did some damage]] to a group of mutants.
295	%%* TookALevelInBadass: Everyone, once they mutate.
296	%%** And in the sequel, anyone who gains access to magic.
297	%%* TrueCompanions: Clearly visible with the main group in the second game. Less so in the first.
298	%%* UltimateBlacksmith: Dick, Dominic's teacher, turns out to be this.
299	* VitriolicBestBuds: Nick and Michael's past hostility seems to completely disappear if anyone else insults them. Thus we have Nick completely [[CurbStompBattle curb stomping]] [[BigBad Lucius]].
300	%%* WastelandElder: Argus, the incredibly tall mutant present in the town Void visits at the beginning of the game.
301	* WeaponTombstone: Not a weapon per se, but Nick's goggles are hanging from the grave Sarah dug for him before the start of TWA.
302	* WeHardlyKnewYe:
303	** Wu Ming, one of the main NOS members, was killed off before his character was elaborated upon. Then his corpse was [[SoullessShell reanimated]] by his cousin Frost.
304	** Phaeus "Shade" Eclipsion, evil grandson of Eclipsis, who was meant to be encountered by the main characters in England.
305	%%* WhatCouldHaveBeen: One of Luke's dreams in the third game shows what could've been the epic final battle of the second game if it wasn't CutShort.
306	* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway: Connor's bug-whispering. It has been used exactly once, and for something completely unnecessary.
307	* WhiteMagicianGirl: A rare male example, Connor has been training to use WhiteMagic, complete with ThouShaltNotKill ultimatum.
308	* WhoWantsToLiveForever:
309	** Marvin, upon realising that he can never die, becomes cripplingly depressed for several decades, extending right through the first game to its end.
310	** Dominic expresses hatred for his immortality, wishing to meet his mother and sisters in this universe's equivalent of Heaven. He's forever banned from it, unfortunately, because of his exposure to the True King.
311	** This trope is averted with Void, although unlike the other two, he actually can (and does) die in the sequel.
312	* TheWorfBarrage: The sandworms in the deserts between Cairo and Giza specifically target Solaris, only to fail to do lasting damage due to her [[HealingFactor abilities]]. Runihura in Thinis unleashes one of his most powerful attacks on the same character with identical results.
313	%%* ZombieApocalypse: After Sarah becomes Death.

Context Roleplay / AtherCity