Line #91 VideoGame/FallFromHeaven


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fall_from_heaven.png]]
2	->''"Hear me, mortals, and heed me well. Whispers of forgotten lore have found my ears, the currents of time flows through my veins with every beat of my heart and bear visions of death and despair... ...As the wickedness of man takes hold of him, darkness will start to engulf his world. At first he will see nothing, only a few of the most gifted will even sense the change. The world will go on as it has, for a time, but the seed of its downfall has been sown..."''
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4	A DarkFantasy [[GameMod mod]] for ''[[VideoGame/{{Civilization}} Civilization IV]]'', arising from the [=CivFanatics=] Civ boards, and one of the game's most famous mods. It is vaguely based on the originator (Derek "Kael" Paxton)'s long-running ''VideoGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' game.
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6	After the Age of Ice, the various tribes of the world of Erebus are forming into civilizations once again, seeking to reclaim the glories of a previous age, leave their own mark upon Erebus, conquer everything in sight, [[OmnicidalManiac or just blow it all to Hell]]. But untamed Erebus is [[DeathWorld not a nice place]], and many of the civilizations (possibly including your own) will quite happily make it [[CrapsackWorld even worse]].
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8	A prequel to the mod, ''VideoGame/FallFromHeavenAgeOfIce'' was included with the ''Beyond the Sword'' expansion for VideoGame/{{Civilization}} IV.
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10	You can get it [[http://kael.civfanatics.net/ here]]. A standalone sequel was in the works, but has now been cancelled. (see [[http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=361727 here]]) That being said, [[http://forums.civfanatics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=190 there's mods of the mod itself that are still being worked on]].
11
12	!!This mod provides examples of:
13	* AbnormalAmmo: The Balseraph Catapult launches ''[[DropTheCow live cows]]'', complete with sound effects and the relevant ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' quote.
14	* TheAlliance: The mechanics encourage this when the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Armageddon]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Counter]] gets too high.
15	* AlliterativeName: A few:
16	** Alazkan the Assassin
17	** Gibbon Goetia
18	** Kithra Kyriel
19	** The Octopus Overlords
20	* AgeOfTitles: The Age of Ice scenario.
21	* AlienNonInterferenceClause: The Compact forbids the gods from directly intervening on Erebus. By default (unless the game is set up otherwise), it's essentially an unenforceable joke; the Infernals and Mercurians will burst onto Erebus the moment that someone opens a hole for them to enter through.
22	** The reason it's an unenforceable joke is that the gods are free to empower their human followers to act in their stead, as well as be summoned into Erebus via human-controlled magic. The aforementioned Infernals and Mercurians (as well as the Illians) take these loopholes to their logical conclusion.
23	** This is actually the main reason Cassiel fell: he felt that the gods could and should have made the Compact absolute, with no exceptions for divine magic or summoning, and that they chose not to when they had the chance was proof that the gods (even the Good and Neutral ones) cared more about their own power than the suffering of the humans caught in the crossfire. [[{{Satan}} Agares]] on the other hand loves the Compact, since despite being the most powerful of the angels, [[TheCorrupter he prefers to work through subterfuge and corruption]] over direct force, anyway.
24	** The gods are free to exercise almost unlimited power over mortals who worship them, including those who don't consciously worship them but whose personalities are dominated by their precepts. They cannot do much directly against their enemies' worshipers, but can encourage their worshipers to kill them. They can claim their own worshipers' souls and process them into angels or demons.
25	** The angels, even archangels, or a god can choose to fall. A fallen angel is treated like a mortal, even if he retains superhuman strength.
26	* AllThereInTheManual: Sort of. The in-game Civilopedia is less then trustworthy, but there is a PDF manual to help out newbies. And if it's a {{backstory}} question, go to the forums and ask away.
27	* AngelsDevilsAndSquid: As mentioned under EldritchAbomination, the Octopus Overlords are {{Exp\|y}}ies of the Literature/CthulhuMythos and coexist alongside classical angels and demons. That said, their coexistance is {{justified\| trope}} because they're the accidental ''creations'' of one of those classical angels being influenced by a classical demon, which depending on your perspective can either [[LovecraftLite dampen some of the existential terror]] or make you appreciate what those "classical" angels [[AngelicAbomination are really capable of.]]
28	* AnIcePerson: Auric, the reincarnation of the slain God of Winter. And The Illian civilization in general.
29	* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil:
30	** Basically, Kylorin had twenty-one like this during the [[BackStory Age of Magic]], including [[MonsterClown Perpentach]], [[WhoWantsToLiveForever Os-Gabella]] and [[GoodPowersBadPeople Laroth]]. [[InvertedTrope Inverted]], however, as Kylorin himself was horribly evil when he first recruited them. He repented, but most of his students remained committed to the evil he taught them.
31	** [[GrandTheftMe Gibbon Goetia]] toward [[ScaryBlackMan Chalid Astrakein]]. [[EldritchAbomination Not that he wasn't creepy before that...]]
32	* ArcNumber: The numbers [[RuleOfThree three]] and [[LuckySeven seven]] (and their multiple, 21) appear all over the place. There are three factions of gods (Good, Neutral, and Evil), and each faction originally had seven gods each until Bhall's fall shifted the balance towards evil.
33	* ArtificialStupidity: The AI doesn't understand many of the mod's new mechanics.
34	* TheAtoner: The player is free to do this with any of the evil civilizations by adopting a good-aligned religion to alter their alignment. Some civs, like the Clan of Embers, actually fare pretty well with this strategy, since the [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Runes of Kilmorph]] and [[KnightTemplar the Order]] [[ZergRush play to the Clan's strengths]] far more than any of the evil religions. In the lore, [[RetiredBadass Kylorin]] was once ''the'' EvilSorcerer of Erebus, but he turned from evil and led the Amurites to save the world from [[EvilReactionary Mulcarn]].
35	%%** Corlindale, the Elohim Hero, and [[RetiredBadass Kylorin]], at least in the [[FallFromHeavenAgeOfIce Age of Ice]] scenario.%%ZCEs
36	* AwesomeButImpractical: Gibbon Goetia has the ability to allow you to control another faction for a while. However, your actions are limited,and since there is no way to control two civs at the same time, the AI makes a mess of your empire while you're away.
37	** For that matter, Auric Ascended, who comes very late in the game. The real strength of the Illians are their [[QuirkyMinibossSquad three Priest of Winter units]] and their BoringButPractical ability to cover the map with only-produces-food-for-you snow tiles, with cottages, gaining a fairly good Research rate.
38	** Drifa the White Dragon also falls under this. Unlike Abashi and Eurabatres, Drifa can't be built directly, instead requiring a ritual to be completed that itself requires that you destroy at least one other civ by then. The thing is, if you're already powerful enough to destroy another civ, then you probably don't need Drifa anyway.
39	* AxCrazy: Let's see... the [[BarbarianTribe Doviello]]. The [[OurOrcsAreDifferent barbarians and Clan of Embers]]. The [[CircusOfFear Balseraphs]]. The [[LegionsOfHell Infernals]]. And [[LightIsNotGood just to top it off]], the [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Mercurians]].
40	* BadassNormal: Grigori Adventurers upgrade to the normal unit types (swordsmen, archers, mages, et cetera) but also passively gain experience until they reach 100, making them incredibly dangerous.
41	* BewareTheNiceOnes:
42	** Ethne the White, secular leader of the [[SaintlyChurch Elohim]], is a Female {{Expy}} of Buddha and bastion of IncorruptiblePurePureness. In the official scenarios released with the mod, she [[spoiler: summons [[KnightTemplar Basium]] to defend her people against the evil factions.]] Yes, ''him''. [[spoiler: She ends up asssasinated for this by the Sidar, who were trying to mantain BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil (sort of)]].
43	** The Luchuirp are peaceful craftsmen and sculptors who let golems do their work for them and defend their lands, and are usually more interested in making beauty and money than in conquest. But a side effect of relying on {{Magitek}} for warfare is that their armies aren't threatened when the world is dying and plague or famine stalk the land, meaning that when Armageddon nears, the Luchuirp get stuff done. In lore, their golems nearly defeated the Illians at the end of the Age of Magic after Bhall's fall had decimated the world's food supplies, only losing when Mulcarn entered the world just as they breached the walls of Letum Frigus. In the game, their golems are immune to the blight and pestilence caused by Armageddon, and they're better than anyone else when it comes to deploying the anti-Armageddon Mithril Golem of Kilmorph.
44	** Kilmorph in general qualifies. She punished the rampaging Archangel Odio by [[TakenForGranite sinking him into the earth and petrifying him]] and it is implied that he [[AndIMustScream is still conscious]]. Flavor text has her doing what is impossible for mortals and animating the Mithril Golem after distraught prayers over the massacre of one of the cities of her worshippers and turning its women and children into undead.
45	** Varn Gosam is a kind AllLovingHero, forgiving his wife after she cheated on him. Which meant that, [[spoiler: when the Queen of Sorrow's whispers made her unable to bear her guilt and she killed herself, he began a crusade against Lethe to eradicate her taint from Erebus]].
46	* BigBad: Overall, Agares. In-game, ''any'' evil leader that becomes particularly powerful will probably qualify. Likely examples include [[AGodAmI Auric Ulvin]], [[EvilSorcerer Tebryn Arbandi]], and [[TheLegionsOfHell Hyborem]].
47	* BigBadEnsemble: [[{{Satan}} Agares]], [[OmnicidalManiac Ceridwen]] and [[EvilIsDeathlyCold Mulcarn/Auric Ulvin]] have variously been the greatest threats to Erebus at various points in time. [[GoodPowersBadPeople Laroth]] is working on [[SequelHook usurping the non-interventionist Arawn, God of Death, and becoming the fourth]].
48	* BilingualBonus: There's a bit of a pun in the Elven racial benefits. Ljosalfar ranged units get the "Dextrous" advantage, while Svartalfar recon units get "[[ASinisterClue Sinister]]."
49	* BlackAndGreyMorality:
50	** There are a few genuinely virtuous leaders (The Elohim leaders, for example) but this is the overall feeling. Good and Neutral characters are frequently AntiHero flavoured, while evil characters, with the possible exceptions of [[OnlySaneMan Mahala]] and Sheelba leave [[KickTheDog little doubt they live up to the title]].
51	** The conflict between the Elves has largely become this. Faeryl Viconia, the Winter Queen, has turned to the worship of Esus and her Svartalfar have become thieves, kidnappers and murderers. However, while the Summer Queen Arendel Phaedra is as pure-hearted as ever, she is not well-suited to leading the defense of the Ljosalfar in the harsh world of the Age of Rebirth, and her lieutenants are the ruthlessly Neutral Amelanchier and Thessa, who will do anything to protect their forests and care nothing for the suffering of men or the burning of the world outside.
52	* BlackMagic: Is your mage playing with Death and/or Entropic magic? They'll be joining the [[LegionsOfHell Infernals]] as a manes if they get killed.
53	* BloodKnight: The Eidola, the [[TheLegionsOfHell demon]] version of the ProudWarriorRaceGuy
54	* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Most angels tend to fall in this category. Specifically, Basium and his Mercurians are only 'good' in the sense that they fight demons, so that they will ally with any non-Ashen Veil civilization regardless of alignment.
55	* BonusLevelOfHell: The Lord of the Balors scenario.
56	* CapitalismIsBad: The Runes of Kilmorph religion features an inversion of this trope. Their philosophy is opposed to Evil (though it permits Neutrality) and glorifies the idea of getting rich through hard work, fair trade, and excellence. It's not a coincidence that the religion was canonically founded by the [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Khazad]], who consider material wealth a virtue. {{Greed}} along with un-earned wealth are still considered sins, though, and they fall under the domain of Mammon, the fallen God of Mind.
57	* CharacterAlignment: InUniverse, civilizations start out as good, neutral or evil, which plays a large role in diplomacy. It's very hard for good and evil civilizations to get along, but not impossible. Adopting state religions can change alignment; for example, switching to Order turns a civilization Good, while the Ashen Veil turns you Evil. There are other gameplay effects of alignment; most importantly, only good or neutral factions can go for the Altar of the Luonnotar victory.
58	* ChivalrousPervert: Falamar. A less-than-chivalrous impostor of his attacks a woman in the opening text of one of the scenarios, only for the real Falamar to show up, kick his ass, and escort the poor girl home.
59	* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: In terms of story there are a couple of people who qualify, and this being VideoGame/{{Civilization}} it runs rampant in the game. In particular, the Council of Esus religion has a synergy with this attitude, since its powers revolve around illusion and trickery.
60	* CircusOfFear: The Balseraph civilization's [[PlanetOfHats hat]]. Occasionally mixed with RuleOfFunny.
61	* CirclesOfHell: [[SwampsAreEvil There]] [[TownWithADarkSecret are]] [[HellIsWar six]] [[AllGhoulsSchool Vaults]] [[TheNothingAfterDeath filling]] [[LotusEaterMachine this role]], plus Ceridwen's PortalNetwork that connects them.
62	* ConservationOfNinjitsu: The standard military units are represented by a group, but most of the more powerful units depict a single fighter.
63	* CrapsackWorld: The default state of Erebus. Most ([[AWorldHalfFull but not all]]) civilizations, if not actively evil, [[EmpireWithADarkSecret have some skeletons in their closets]](often animated with black magic). In case that's not enough, there's [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Armageddon]].
64	* CreepyChild: Keelyn, who was raised by [[RaisedByWolves summoned demons]]. Cardith Lorda, though [[AChildShallLeadThem basically decent]], is a small child sharing a body with an ancient gold dragon.
65	* CrystalDragonJesus: The Order definitely has some shades of this.
66	* DealWithTheDevil:
67	** The Ashen Veil religion's theme in general. Most of those who sign up for it want something out of it, but by the end, they're trying to damn all Erebus simply to justify their own existence.
68	** The Infernal Pact technology in particular fits. A civilization who researches this develops a lot of benefits, most notably the ability to halve their food consumption by sacrificing the weak...at the small, small price of summoning Hyborem and releasing Hell Terrain unto Erebus.
69	* DeathWorld: In the early stages of VideoGame/{{Civilization}}, barbarians represent a minor but incessant nuisance. In VideoGame/FallFromHeaven, they are far more dangerous.
70	* DefectorFromDecadence: Cassiel, who fell because he could no longer accept the Gods meddling in Creation.
71	* DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu: Charadon is a scary [[BackFromTheDead resurrected]] AxCrazy who [[ScienceIsUseless forbids his people to craft even their own axes]] and [[AnimalMotifs teaches them to act like wolves]] but [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments he will always enjoy]] [[SugarWiki/HaveANiceCupOfTeaAndSitDown a nice cup of tea]].
72	* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: The safest way to kill [[PhysicalGod Auric Ascendant]] is with the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Godslayer]], but [[ZergRush sending soldiers en masse]] will suffice.
73	* DiscOneNuke: In earlier games, civs with an archmage hero coming reasonably early could [[MindRape Dominate]] [[{{Cult}} Sons of the Inferno]], who have good strength and [[GameBreaker can summon Fire Elementals]]. It is now significantly harder to do this, but still possible.
74	* DoesNotLikeMen: You play a male leader? You will have a little diplomatic malus with [[Myth/{{Lilith}} Os-Gabella]], who [[DoubleStandardRapeDivineOnMortal has]] [[AvertedTrope her]] [[AttemptedRape reasons]].
75	* DoomMagnet: Chaos and destruction follow in Hemah's wake, since the mage's nightmares turn into reality.
76	* TheDragon:
77	** For a literal example, Drifa the White Dragon is [[OurDragonsAreDifferent a dragon]] who is TheDragon to Auric.
78	** Hyborem is the Archangel of Agares, GodOfEvil and the BigBad of the setting.
79	* DragonInChief: Hyborem, Archangel of Agares. Agares is the source of most of the world's corruption, but when the Demonic Pact is made, it's Hyborem who's summoned and begins to personally lead TheLegionsOfHell to conquer and ruin Erebus.
80	* DrivenToSuicide: Talia Gosam cheated on her husband, the [[OurElvesAreDifferent elven prince]] and priest of Lugus [[AllLovingHero Varn Gosam]]. They had made up and he had forgiven her...[[spoiler: but due to the whispers of Lethe, Queen of Sorrow, she couldn't forgive herself.]]
81	* EarnYourHappyEnding: While the Fall From Heaven universe is, as the name suggests, [[WorldHalfEmpty usually unpleasant]], some of the civilizations are genuinely decent people... and there's the [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence the Altar of the Luonnotar victory]].
82	* EldritchAbomination: The Octopus Overlords are incomprehensible Lovecraftian entities created by nightmares of a mad man, empowered by the dreams of the sleeping god of water, who has the Lord of Nightmares and Madness whispering in his ear. [[{{Expy}} They're]] [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Cthulhu]], to be clear.
83	* ElementalPowers: A whopping 21 of them are available to the mage classes: [[AnotherDimension Dimensional]] versus Enchantment, Law versus [[EntropyAndChaosMagic Chaos]], [[PsychicPowers Mind]] versus Metamagic, Creation versus [[EntropyAndChaosMagic Entropy]], [[GreenThumb Nature]] versus [[AnIcePerson Ice]], [[HealingHands Life]] versus [[AnimateDead Death]], [[LightEmUp Sun]] versus [[CastingAShadow Shadow]], [[PlayingWithFire Fire]] versus [[MakingASplash Water]], [[SoulPower Spirit]] versus [[SuperStrength Body]], [[BlowYouAway Air]] versus [[DishingOutDirt Earth]], and [[AntiMagic Force]].
84	%%* EncyclopediaExposita
85	* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt:
86	** Courtesy of the Armageddon Counter. If enough evil happens on Erebus, plagues are released on the land, the HorsemenOfTheApocalypse are let loose... and they aren't even the worst. That honor goes to the [[TheHeartless Avatar of Wrath]]. Finally, if the Counter hits 100, all hell breaks loose. Well, moreso than usual. Oh, and the [[OmnicidalManiac Sheaim]] and [[LegionsOfHell Infernals]] actively seek to cause this.
87	** The Ilians don't like Armageddon any more than most factions, but that's because they have a different endgame: Cover Erebus in snow and ice, destroy civilizations to awaken the White Dragon, sacrifice half their people to awaken the God of Winter, and leave Erebus a frozen world covered in ruins.
88	* EnemyMime: The Balseraphs have a sword-wielding mime unit called a Mimic.
89	* EntropyAndChaosMagic: both entropy and chaos are names of spell schools. Entropy magic is associated with slower decay, with spells such as wither and rust. Chaos magic is associated with randomness and energy, with spells like Dance of Blades and mutate, providing random bonuses.
90	* EscapedFromHell:
91	** The entire Bannor civilization was (undeservedly) hurled into Hell itself when their goddess [[TitleDrop fell from heaven]]. They carved their way out with divine aid, but it's left them [[KnightTemplar a bit intolerant]].
92	** Such a problem, in fact, that [[{{Satan}} Agares]] commissioned Esus, God of Deception to build a Hell for would-be escapees who didn't quite make it. In it, his MasterOfIllusion minions create a LotusEaterMachine version of Erebus, and try to fool the trapped into thinking Erebus is even more of a WorldHalfEmpty then it actually is, so that they end up going back to the more honest Hells on their own. What happens to people who figure out the ruse is not explained.
93	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Even some of the evil civilizations will fight against the [[DemonicInvaders Ashen Veil]].
94	** EvilVersusOblivion: The Infernals and Sheaim want the world to burn, while most of the other evil factions want to ''rule'' it (or else just run around plundering everything, like barbarians do).
95	** Even DarkFantasy Has Standards: As a meta-example, the lore and scenarios pack a lot of dark material into the game, but at least one story ended up on the cutting room floor. Originally, the "Cavern of Trials" scenario was going to be played out by a teenage Amurite girl named Tya Kiri. [[spoiler: She goes through the trials guided by the spirit of a young boy, who she learns later is actually the soul of her unborn child who she didn't know she was pregnant with. Unfortunately, the trials put so much stress on her body that she miscarries, [[TearJerker after having gotten to know and love her child]].]] According to [[WordOfGod Kael]], the original story was so sad that the team re-wrote it so that another Amurite leader would take Tya's place, though the original still seems to be canon; Perpentach references [[spoiler: Tya's miscarriage]] in a later scenario when she appears as a rival to the player (as Falamar).
96	* EvilIsDeathlyCold:
97	** The Illians exemplify this. During the Age of Ice, they ruled the world, and now their objective is to restore the fallen god of Winter and smother the world under a blanket of ice once again.
98	** The Doviello are the wild men who survived the Age of Ice by becoming barbarian raiders instead of hiding underground in caves. They do not specialize in ice magic (that is the special birthright of the Illians), but they nonetheless thrive in the wild tundra and are indeed savage plunderers.
99	* EvilIsNotAToy: [[EnfantTerrible Keelyn]] attempts to summon and control [[BigBad Hyborem, Lord of the Balors]], who is second only to [[{{Satan}} Agares]] in the hierarchy of Hell. [[spoiler:Subverted: [[LittleMissBadass she manages to summon and even temporarily contain him]], and when Hyobrem escapes she hunts him down with an army, [[MultipleEndings possibly]] ending in her replacing him as master of the LegionsOfHell.]]
100	** In-game, any faction can study the Infernal Pact technology, which gives some great benefits...and summons Hyborem into the world. Hyborem and his Infernals want to see evil people die and become productive citizens of his empire.
101	* EvilIsSterile:
102	** The Fallow trait (unique to the Infernals in the base game) is this as a mechanic. Fallow civs do not gain or lose population with food, so they can ignore food production completely but have to grow their cities in some other way. In the case of the Infernals, that means waiting for Evil or BlackMagic-using citizens of other civs to die and become Manes in their capital, which can be added as a pop to any city. Conquering rival cities and taking their inhabitants as their own is another option.
103	** Lore goes [[ZigZaggingTrope back-and-forth]] on this trope. Agares originally went out of his way to defy it by using the power of creation the One gave him to [[LoopholeAbuse create infinite planes for all twenty-one elements]], so he could draw power from them and continue creating after the One withdrew His own power, forming the backbone of how magic works. Unfortunately, his creations were seen as flawed compared to those made using the One's power directly, and Agares, jealous of the others, went on an [[SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum Omnicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum]], destroying his plane and everything in it, and then restructuring it into the deepest circle of {{Hell}}. Technically, Agares still has all the power of creation he had before, but he ''doesn't want'' to create anything new, preferring to corrupt and destroy creation to show that the One is just as flawed as he is. It's also implied that not wasting his power on creating things is why Agares is individually the most powerful of all the archangels.
104	* EvilTowerOfOminousness: Quite a few: The Black Tower from one of the scenarios, and the Tower of Eyes and Tower of Complacency wonders.
105	* TheFairFolk:
106	** The Svartalfar elves are slavers, pillagers and kidnappers ruled by the Queen of Winter, traditionally worship the God of Deception, and their "pranks" tend to involve murdering anyone they don't enslave.
107	** The Ljosalfar of the Age of Rebirth aren't much better. Hunted nearly to extinction by their Svartalfar kin, the majority of the race have become ruthless and militant defenders of their forests, the commander of their military is [[BystanderSyndrome content to watch the world go to Hell (literally) rather than risk his home in fighting the Ashen Veil]], and their chief archmage is a necromancer who sacrificed her own true love to purify corruption from the forest. Of their leaders, only Arendel Phaedra, the Summer Queen herself, remains Good.
108	** Varn Gosam and Arendel Phaedra avert this. The Once-Elven Varn Gosam is the noble and merciful leader of the Malakim and prophet of [[LightIsGood Lugus]], though he'll burn down Hell itself to protect or avenge the ones he loves. Arendel Phaedra, the Summer Queen, remains true to everything the Ljosalfar once were, encouraging her people to spend their lives in love and song, and [[AllLovingHero not even hating her treacherous sister]]. Of course, in her case she's a little ''too'' good for the harsh realities of the Age of Rebirth, which is why her chief lieutenants have taken the Ljosalfar down a darker road.
109	* FallenAngel: Let's see... [[{{Satan}} Agares]], God of Hope, and the six others angels who rebelled against [[{{God}} the One]]. Bhall, Goddess of Fire, who lately joined them (with collateral damage). All the good angels who did the same.
110	** And, for non evil equivalents, [[NayTheist Cassiel]], who wanted the gods to end completely their war and deliberately falls, and Basium and the Mercurians, who pursue [[GoodIsNotNice the]] [[AxCrazy exact]] [[PayEvilUntoEvil opposite]] [[KnightTemplar goal]].
111	* FantasticFallout: If the Armageddon Counter is high enough, then the Hell Terrain will appear and begin to spread - first in empires following the Ashen Veil and then in neighboring neutral ones too. Terrain infected by the Hell Terrain will lose all features, are less productive, and can only be restored by Sanctification.
112	* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Largely averted, but some examples stand out: the Malakim (Bedouins), and the modmod [[http://forums.civfanatics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=313 Fall Further]] has the Chislev (Native Americans). Less obvious examples include:
113	** The disappeared empire of Patria has some [[AncientRome Roman]] aspects. ''Fall Further'' pushes this, well, [[AccidentalPun further]] with the [[TheNecrocracy Scions of Patria]], which, if they ''aren't'' the undead remnants of the original Patria, at least modelled themselves after the latter and also have heavy Roman aspects.
114	** The Order and the Bannor, both the protegees of Junil, the God of Order, have some aspects of the Catholic Church with their Crusaders.
115	** The Grigori are [[EagleLand a nation unable to adopt a state religion and noted for an independent, self-reliant people]].
116	* FantasyGunControl: Averted, though gunpowder is a very late-game tech and not all civilizations have access to it.
117	* FantasyKitchenSink: And the [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot combinations]] between civilizations and religions increase even more this fact.
118	* FantasyPantheon: Technically "angels" (through far more powerful than the others), they were created by [[{{God}} the One]] and their opposition form the main part of Fall From Heaven's backstory. The Twenty-One Angels created the world of Erebus, and many others, before The One kicked them out of the true heaven and cut off all contact with them. They created all the lesser angels after this.
119	** The Good Gods (who stayed true to the One and chose to protect humanity from the Evil Gods):
120	*** Amatheon, Angel of Fertility, youth, creation and emergence. His mana is [[ThePowerOfCreation Creation]], and his civilization [[TheAlliance the Kuriotates]] (governed by his [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Dragon]], Eurabatres).
121	*** [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Junil]], Angel of Justice, [[ForGreatJustice transcendant law]] and [[UndyingLoyalty submission to authority]]. His associated mana is Law and he is the patron god of the Bannor (their leader Sabathiel being his Archangel). Worshipped by [[CrystalDragonJesus The Order]], though in a gradually [[KnightTemplar more]] [[CorruptChurch corrupted]] [[LawfulStupid way]].
122	*** Lugus, Angel of Light, [[EnlightenmentSuperpowers Revelation]] and [[WillNotTellALie honesty]]. His mana is [[LightEmUp Light]], and his civilization [[ShiftingSandLand the Malakim]]. Worshipped by the Empyrean.
123	*** Nantosuelta, Angel of Faith, and direct self-improvement. Her mana is Enchantment, and her civilization [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame the Luchuirp]].
124	*** [[TheHeart Sirona]], Angel of Wisdom, [[AFriendInNeed charity]] and goodness. Her mana is [[SoulPower Spirit]] and she is the patron god of [[TechnicalPacifist the Elohim]].
125	*** [[SixthRanger Sucellus]], formerly Angel of [[GreenThumb Growth]], [[BackFromTheDead resurrected]] as Angel of Life at the End of ''VideoGame/FallFromHeavenAgeOfIce''. Associated with [[TheDeterminator resilience]] and [[HeroicSacrifice self-sacrifice]], [[HealingHands Life mana]], [[{{Druid}} the druids]] and theorically [[OurAngelsAreDifferent the Mercurians]], though their leader [[KnightTemplar Basium]] has only contempt for this God.
126	** The Neutrals (Loyals to the One, but less involved than the Good Gods):
127	*** [[TheGodsMustBeLazy Arawn]], Angel of Death, [[BystanderSyndrome passivity]] and retirement. Associated with [[AnimateDead Death mana]] (even if he disapproves its use), and [[OurGhostsAreDifferent the Sidar]] (even if he doesn't care about them).
128	*** Cernunnos, former Archangel of Sucellus and now Angel of Growth and progressive change. Associated with [[GreenThumb Nature mana]] and [[OurElvesAreDifferent the Ljosalfar]]. [[InHarmonyWithNature The Fellowhship of Leaves]] worships nature as a whole, so he has a prominent place in this religion, among various gods.
129	*** Dagda, Angel of [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil Balance]], contracts, and democracy. Associated with [[AntiMagic Force mana]], and [[BadassNormal the Grigori]] (due to their leader [[DefectorFromDecadence Cassiel]] being his former Archangel, even if the Grigori themselves [[NayTheist don't worship any God]].
130	*** [[CoolOldGuy Danalin]], Angel of Water and serenity. He is associated with [[MakingASplash Water mana]] and [[{{Pirates}} the Lanun]]. [[HeroicBSOD Now sleeping]] after the [[DespairEventHorizon disparition]] of his race, [[FishPeople the Aifons]], [[YourMindMakesItReal his nightmares created]] [[EldritchAbomination the Octopus Overlords]].
131	*** Kilmorph, Angel of Earth and hard work. She is associated with [[DishingOutDirt Earth mana]] and [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame the Khazad]]. Worshipped by the Runes of Kilmorph religion.
132	*** Oghma, Angel of Knowledge, memory and curiosity. His mana is Metamagic, his civilization [[TheMagocracy the Amurites]].
133	*** [[CloudCuckoolander Tali]], Angel of Air, [[TheLoonie fun and irresponsability]]. He is associated with [[BlowYouAway Air mana]] and [[CoolHorse the Hippus]].
134	** The Evil Gods, who rebelled against the One for various reasons:
135	*** [[GeniusBruiser Aeron]], former [[TheBigGuy Angel of Strength]], now Angel of Rage, [[TheSocialDarwinist domination of the strong]] and [[{{Lust}} physical pleasure]]. Associated with [[SuperStrength Body mana]] and [[OurVampiresAreDifferent the Calabim]].
136	*** [[{{Satan}} Agares]], former Angel of [[HopeSpringsEternal Hope]], now Angel of [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Despair]]. Associated with [[EntropyAndChaosMagic Entropy mana]] and [[TheLegionsOfHell the Infernals]] (with his Archangel Hyborem leading them). Worshipped along with the demons and the various evil gods by [[DealWithTheDevil the Ashen Veil]].
137	*** [[FallenHero Bhall]], former Angel of Fire and [[HeroicResolve righteous indignation]] up until the [[VideoGame/FallFromHeavenAgeOfIce Age of Ice]], now Angel of Passion and [[UnstoppableRage fury]]. Her associated mana is [[PlayingWithFire Fire]], and her civilization is [[OurOrcsAreDifferent the Clan Of Embers]].
138	*** Camulos, former [[TheHeart Angel of Peace]], now [[AxCrazy Angel of War]] and strife. Associated with [[WildMagic Chaos mana]], [[BarbarianTribe the Doviello]] and [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Werewolves]].
139	*** Ceridwen, former Angel of the Stars, now Angel of Magic and unhealthy relationships. She is associated with [[AnotherDimension Dimensional mana]] and [[OmnicidalManiac the Sheaim]]. Possibly [[TheManBehindTheMan the woman behind Agares]], and on of the most active of the gods in [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the destruction of Erebus]].
140	*** Esus, former Angel of [[ThePowerOfTrust Trust]], now Angel of [[ConsummateLiar Deception]], relativism, and incertainty. Associated with [[CastingAShadow Shadow Mana]] and [[TheFairFolk the Svartalfar]]. Worshipped by [[SecretCircleOfSecrets the Council of Esus]].
141	*** Mammon, former [[{{Seers}} Angel of Foresight]], now Angel of {{Greed}}. Associated with [[PsychicPowers Mind mana]] and [[CircusOfFear the Balseraphs]]. His Archangel [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Hastur]], [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Lord of the Nightmares]], is responsible for twisting the [[YourMindMakesItReal nightmares]] of [[MakingASplash the god Danalin]], making him partially responsible for the creation of the [[EldritchAbomination Octopus Overlords]].
142	*** Mulcarn, former Angel of Ice, now Angel of Winter and [[NostalgiaFilter reactionnarism]]. Associated with [[AnIcePerson Ice mana]], [[HaveYouSeenMyGod the Illians]] and [[ReligionOfEvil the White Hand]]. [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu Killed]] at the end of ''VideoGame/FallFromHeavenAgeOfIce'', he is in the way of being replaced by [[AGodAmI Auric Ulvin]].
143	* FauxAffablyEvil: The Balseraphs. Think of them as entire nation of [[ComicBook/TheJoker Jokers]].
144	* FinalBoss: Any number of particularly powerful units can wind up being essentially this, but ''especially'' Auric Ascended.
145	* FluffyTheTerrible: Keelyn's balor, Giggles.
146	* FriendlyEnemy: Sabathiel and Cassiel. They have completely different views on the humanity's role on Erebus, yet are still personal friends.
147	* GameMod: Not only is it a mod for VideoGame/{{Civilization}}, it has its own [=ModMods=].
148	** And modmodmods, and [[SerialEscalation modmodmodmods...]]
149	* AGodAmI: Auric, leader of the [[AnIcePerson Illians]], believes himself the reincarnation of the slain God of Winter, Mulcarn. [[PhysicalGod He is]].
150	** Also, [[MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning Laroth]].
151	* GoodIsNotNice: A common trait amongst the good guys. The [[KnightTemplar Order]] and [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Mercurians]] come to mind.
152	** The Bannor are also like this, [[LawfulStupid or worse]], though there are numerous exceptions.
153	* GoodPowersBadPeople: Spirit Magic is usually used to bring peace, inspire courage, and generally do good things. The dead archmage Laroth is using it to [[RageAgainstTheHeavens conquer the underworld and overthrow the]] [[BystanderSyndrome non-interventionist God of Death]].
154	* GrandTheftMe: Gibbon Goetia's modus operandi. Also what [[MonsterClown Perpentach]] does when his old body grows, well, old.
155	* GreaterScopeVillain: Hyborem ultimately answers to Agares, but he, along with the other fallen angels, never appear in the game proper, [[AllThereInTheManual only the backstory and supplementary materials]].
156	* GrievousHarmWithABody: The Doviello berserkers' preferred method of combat.
157	* HeadsIWinTailsYouLose: In the Splintered Court scenario, [[spoiler: Faeryl Viconia becomes the leader of the elves no matter which side wins the war: if you were the Svartalfar, she wins the way you'd expect. If you played the Ljosalfar instead, she fakes her death and impersonates Arendel Phaedra while the real Arendel is BuriedAlive in "Faeryl's" coffin.]]
158	* TheHeartless: The Avatar of Wrath. Born of people's hatred, fury, and despair. Since he's creat on [[WorldHalfEmpty Erebus]] during the grand finale of TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, it usually takes [[ZergRush a very large army to kill him]].
159	* HeelFaceTurn: [[BarrierWarrior The]] [[WarriorMonk Elohim]] can construct buildings and units from the original civilization of captured cities.
160	* HeelFaithTurn: Also FaithHeelTurn. The only way to change alignment in the original game is to change religions.
161	* HeroKiller: Anyone with the Nether Blade (initially the Sidar hero Rathus Denmora) gains a whopping +80% strength bonus against other heroes. [[spoiler: In-story, it also works nicely against Auric Ulvin, though not without side-effects...]]
162	* HeroUnit: Not usually a representation of the [[NonEntityGeneral player]], but very useful and capable of turning the tide of battle.
163	* HeWhoFightsMonsters: The Ljosalfar civilization were nearly wiped out by the elven civil war. Now that they're free of the Winter Queen's cruel grip, they have become [[TheFairFolk murderously]] [[HiddenElfVillage isolationist]], while dabbling in dark magics and [[HumanSacrifice Elven Sacrifice]] to defend their forests from the corruption of Erebus. The Summer Queen herself, however, has averted this; she's a Good ruler and AllLovingHero, and if she leads the Ljosalfar, she will lead them back to their ancient ways: lives of art, song and leisure in harmony with nature.
164	* HiredGuns: The Hippus civilization, mercenary horsemen.
165	* HorsemenOfTheApocalypse: Sthephanos (Conquest), Buboes (War), Yersinia (Pestilence) and Ars Moriendi (Death).
166	* IfICantHaveYou: [[LoveMakesYouEvil "Love most tragic, love most fair...]] [[YouDoNotWantToKnow you don't want to know the rest]].
167	* InfinityPlusOneSword: The Godslayer, which [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin slays gods]]. [[MundaneUtility Also works nicely on mortals]].
168	* JavelinThrower: Javelins are used by the Winterborn civilizations (the Illians and the Doviello) in place of bows. They're more offensively-oriented and can be built without archery ranges, but less effective as city guards (the main purpose of Archers).
169	* KnightTemplar: The Order religion. [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Maybe]].
170	** Then we have Basium, the leader of the Mercurians. He likes killing demons. And people who associate with demons. And people who use magic of a vaguely demonic nature. And anyone who's been in the same room as a demon at some point in time. And good people, but that's for a different reason: he wants them to return as angels to fight on his side. And he [[SubvertedTrope subverts]] it too, as he knows that the Underworld is far better for the innocents than any evil god's [[CirclesOfHell Vault]].
171	** The entire Bannor civilization is based on this trope. They are dedicated to destroying evil wherever they find it, and they tend to favor the Order religion.
172	* LightIsGood: Of all the religions, the Empyrean, religion of the Sun and the Archangel Lugus, is the kindest and most tolerant, seeking wisdom and the redemption of evil. However, this also means that they tolerate far more questionable behavior from their followers than the Order does, and accept Neutral civilizations without making them change alignment.
173	* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: Both on a per-unit and per-civ basis. Mages can fill whatever role you need in your army just by developing the right mana nodes and picking the right promotions, and the magic- and divine-related branches of the tech tree offer powers like terraforming, making all your units immortal, revealing the whole world map at once, and restoring your civ's unique World Spell so you can use it again. The industry-related branch, by contrast, pretty much revolves around finding [[{{Mithril}} new kinds of metal]] to make weapons out of and [[BoringButPractical hitting things harder]] in direct combat.
174	* LivingRelic: Many of the leaders of the various factions are survivors from elder ages, including angels, elves, and immortal humans.
175	* LookOnMyWorksYeMightyAndDespair: All that remains of Patria, the ancient empire of magic and philosophy, are a few LivingRelic survivors (often the leaders of civilizations) and some ancient ruins. The Amurites may claim to be the heirs to their legacy, but the only actual links between the two are the teachings of the Archmage Kylorin.
176	* LostTechnology: During the Age of Magic, all twenty-one forms of {{Mana}} were in use and their schools practiced. Now, [[ThePowerOfCreation Creation]], [[AnotherDimension Dimensional]] and [[AntiMagic Force]] are not currently in use, except in very limited forms such as the Planar Gates of the Sheaim.
177	* MagicalGirlfriend: Os-Gabella is a [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] of the OlderThanDirt version of this trope. She was created by the Angels as a wife for Nemed, the progenitor of humanity, but nobody (including her husband) asked her whether ''she'' wanted to sleep with Nemed or bear his children. Eventually, she fled, and later captured Nemed to use for her experiments in killing immortals (so she can finally [[WhoWantsToLiveForever end her own existence]]).
178	* MagicKnight: Fairly uncommon, but they exist; usually, these are soldier units with access to a spell or two (like the Radiant Guard of the Empyrean, who can use [[ThePowerOfTheSun blinding sunlight]] as a weapon), or individual [[HeroUnit heroes]]. Only the Amurites can mass-produce broadly-capable magical warriors.
179	* TheManBehindTheMan: ''Possibly'' Ceridwen, the evil Goddess of Magic and patroness of [[OmnicidalManiac the Sheaim]]. [[EpilepticTrees It is supposed]] that all the efforts spent by the villains to destroy the world are really her EvilPlan to take the place of [[{{God}} the One]].
180	* MeaningfulName: "Grigori" is a term in Biblical apocrypha for a group of angels tasked with watching over humanity. Which is quite an inversion, since the Grigori try to escape angelic influence unlike the other nations.
181	* MonsterClown: Perpentach, king of the [[CircusOfFear Balseraphs]], a telepath who doesn't believe in MindOverManners. Every time he [[MindRape invades another's mind]], however, [[TalkingToThemself he gets a copy of that person permanently placed in his]]. Suffice it to say, [[TheCaligula he is quite nuts]], though [[TheMadHatter he's learned to enjoy it.]]
182	** The Balseraph hero Loki is also a good example.
183	* MindRape: The game includes a [[DeconstructedTrope very dark portrayal]] of the usually-innocuous CharmPerson spell; essentially, it warps the genuine emotions of love and protection that the target feels for, say, their friends or family, and then maps it to the caster instead. The victim still hates the person who's doing this to them, but the mental manipulation is so great that it leaves the victim [[AndIMustScream completely unable to fight back or even defend themselves while the caster's allies cut them to ribbons]].
184	** The domination spell is a better example, gameplay-wise, since it takes the unit over, instead of just stopping it for a turn.
185	* NayTheist: The Grigori are are a motley collection of peoples who mostly left their homelands to escape oppressive theocracies. Many were once devout but don't want anything to to with religion anymore. They know that the Angels exist and have considerable power, but they don't believe them to be gods worthy of worship. Their leader is a former archangel who left his post because he believed that the gods had no right to meddle in Erebus or use mortals as pawns in their petty games. Cassiel is a monotheist but believes that The One is such a perfect being that he would never desire worship. Since the one true God has not chosen to reveal himself to mortals, Cassiel believes he wants his existence to be kept a secret. He has provided a refuge to the Luonnotar, a sect that worships The One, but would never publicly endorse their theology or give them any special treatment. Grigori law does not discriminate against anyone based on religious beliefs, so long as believers do not try to force their beliefs on others. The average Grigori citizen is however skeptical of all religions and does not like talking about the supernatural.
186	* NeutralNoLonger: Sucellus remained largely neutral in the Godswar, due to his responsibilities to the forest and his nurturing of the Ljosalfar. However, when Mulcarn entered Erebus, Sucellus went in to fight him, and lost. At the end of the Age of Ice he was resurrected as Angel of Life, and is now firmly on the side of Good.
187	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler: The campaign ends with Auric Ulvin killed. Too bad, it was with a sword who brings is soul right to Laroth, giving the archmage what he needs to become the new God of Death.]]
188	* NotTheIntendedUse: Both the Doviello and Clan of Embers' {{metagame}} is based around strategies that take them away from their barbarian roots to one degree or another. The One True Strategy for the Doviello is to capture and train slaves using Mahala (who represents the Doviello adapting to the new age and turning away from their barbarian roots), while the Clan's most powerful exploit is to combine their ability to produce [[ZergRush giant legions]] through the Warrens with the Soldiers of Kilmorph (dwarven warrior-smiths who can be sacrificed to build things) to create massive amounts of industrial production.
189	* NumerologicalMotif: Twenty-one gods, twenty-one civilizations, twenty-one Magic Spheres. As you can guess, they are related in some way or another.
190	* OmnicidalManiac: The Sheaim civilization's [[PlanetOfHats hat]].
191	* OmniscientMoralityLicense: Sabathiel: "His mind appeared to work on an entirely different plane. While humans had to stumble through their choices, hoping the one they made was the best possible, the angel simply knew. He was capable of total mercilessness, of deceit and exquisite cruelty, but the results of an action commanded by Sabathiel would always be better than any alternative course of action could have brought. The angel, however heartless and wrong he seemed at the time, was always right."
192	* OneHitKill: The [[InfinityPlusOneSword Godslayer]] does this to, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well, gods]]. It was created when the gods formed The Compact, where all 21 of them agreed that the sword would be allowed to do this if they ever broke it, which didn't work out well for Mulcarn. In-game, it's the easiest way to deal with [[TrueFinalBoss Auric]] [[AGodAmI Ascended]].
193	* OnlySaneMan: Jonas Endain was the first orc to realize that the priestesses of Bhall were not, in fact, communing with the goddess, and promptly tossed them in their own fire. Unfortunately, just because he was right doesn't mean that Bhall wouldn't notice when he ''disrupted'' the ritual.
194	* OrcusOnHisThrone: Acheron the Red Dragon cannot leave the city he is created in.
195	* TheOrder: Oddly enough, The Order (the religion) is not TheOrder. The Elohim, however, are essentially an Order of hospitallers and peacemakers that became a nation unto itself in the aftermath of Patria's fall, and continue as guardians of the sacred and the world's first line of defense against [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Armageddon]].
196	* OurAngelsAreDifferent:
197	** Archangels are the chief subordinates to each god. Confusingly, each god is also called the Angel of their domain (e.g. Junil is the Angel of Law), as the gods were created as mere angels of The One True God before he abandoned them and they made their own lesser angels to serve them.
198	** The Mercurians, rogue angels who fell for the sole purpose of hunting demons, are a case of "Our Angels Are AxeCrazy." After all, if they kill bad people, that sends them to Hell where they belong. And if they kill ''good'' people, that sends them to Heaven where ''they'' belong.
199	* OurDragonsAreDifferent: They are weapons of mass destruction from the Godswar. The strongest is Eurabates the Golden Dragon, weapon of the Angel of Creation.
200	* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame:
201	** The Khazad are isolationists who love their gold, have a slight taste for SteamPunk, build the best siege engines in the game, and are completely useless with regular magic (though their Dwarven Druids are pretty awesome earth-priests).
202	** The Luchuirp avert this. They don't live underground (although they retreated to caves to avoid the cold during the Age of Ice, just like many humans did), prefer {{Magitek}} to SteamPunk, and use golems for everything, including and especially war. They're more like [[OurGnomesAreWeirder gnomes]] than anything. (In the D&D campaign on which FfH2 is based, they were gnomes.)
203	* OurElvesAreDifferent:
204	** The Ljosalfar are the local wood elves. As usual, they're [[RainOfArrows masters of archery]]. But they exchange [[HiddenElfVillage the usual isolationism]] for [[TheEmpire a more proactive approach]].
205	** The Svartalfar are the resident dark elves. They don't live in caves: [[DependingOnTheWriter depending on the player]] can become backstabbing city-dwellers or dark versions of their tree-hugging cousins. They're [[MasterOfIllusion masters of illusion]] and [[CastingAShadow shadow magic]], and they're [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder even more aggressive]].
206	** Varn Gosam is, as an individual, a "Once-Elf." His father was a mercenary king whose followers abandoned their Elven heritage in exchange for the human culture of their clients. Their last client was Laroth, who trapped them in the Netherworld when Varn was a small child. His older brother Haerlond led the Once-Elves to escape and found a kingdom in a liminal realm between Erebus and the Netherworld. When Haerlond was planning to unjustly execute Talia (an innocent Ljosalfar Druidess, whom Varn later married), Auric Ulvin channeling sunlight into this dark realm and broke down the barrier that separated it from Erebus. Varn saw a vision of Lugus in this light, and devoted himself to become the high priest of that god and embody LightIsGood to the point of being an AllLovingHero. He came to rule the Malakim, who are not elves but desert nomads. He (normally) follows the Empyrean instead of the Fellowship of Leaves or Council of Esus.
207	* OurOrcsAreDifferent: The orcs of Fall From Heaven are physically like Blizzard orcs ([[SpikesOfVillainy WITH SPIKES!]]), and culturally straddle the line between Blizzard and Tolkien variants; the Clan of Embers is slightly more the former, the barbarians more the latter. Jonas Endain of the Clan is almost a counterpart to [[VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} Thrall]], except evil.
208	* OurVampiresAreDifferent: The Calabim, a vampiric aristocracy who [[{{Dystopia}} treat their human subjects]] [[ToServeMan like cattle]] (or worse). They aren't undead, and the blood-drinking isn't necessary; they [[DeaderThanDead devour souls]] for [[ImmortalityImmorality immortality]].
209	** It's a bit of a FlipFlopofGod in that regard, as in some pages of the civilopedia they are stated to eat souls, whereas in some others they are able to subsist on "lesser blood" when in need.
210	* PalsWithJesus: The original Bannor [[EscapedFromHell who escaped from Hell]] with the aid of the archangel of the god of law.
211	* PeopleFarms: The Calabim specialize in industrialized vampirism. Humans are treated like cattle, even down to being clinically mated in Breeding Pits, so that their lords will have all the food they could ever want, along with a massive labor force for their plantations and mines. Furthermore, their society is organized to ensure that even the most rebellious will serve their masters, one way or another.
212	* PersonalityPowers: Each Magic Sphere has such influence on the mage (or the god).
213	* PerspectiveFlip: The civilopedia entries for [[OurElvesAreDifferent Arendel Phaedra]] and [[TheFairFolk Faeryl Viconia]] are set up like this, with the same events and dialogue but with each leader getting their own narration. [[AllLovingHero Arendel]] apparently sees the event as a friendly chat with her sister by her favorite window, while Faeryl is [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder suppressing the urge]] to [[DestinationDefenestration throw her sister through that window.]]
214	* PhysicalGod: Auric Ascended.
215	* PhysicalHell: Hell terrain.
216	* ThePlan: [[PowersThatBe The One]] might have let [[{{Satan}} Agares]] fall and become evil for the sake of preserving free will through out the universe. Or some other greater purpose. This is [[EpilepticTrees debated]].
217	* {{Pirate}}: The Lanun civilization, although they still live on land.
218	* ProudMerchantRace: Both varieties of Dwarves (the Khazad and Luchuirp) qualify; the Khazad virtually worship gold while the Luchuirp are simply master traders. Also, the Lanun and Hippus have elements of this, trading across the sea and the land respectively.
219	* ProudScholarRace: The Amurites fit this the best, as a civilization built on widespread magical knowledge and study. The Kuriotates and Grigori are also both advanced civilizations led by philosopher-kings. The Ljosalfar ''traditionally'' fit this (though they were more artistic than magical or scientific), but only Arendel Phaedra still represents this aspect of their civilization. And finally, the Luchuirp fit TheEngineer variant of this race, being a civilization of enchanters, mechanists and golem-crafters.
220	* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: The Hippus. The Doviello and Bannor have hints of this too, though the Bannor are more KnightTemplar and the Doviello more AxCrazy. Among the nonhumans, the Orcs fit this, as do the world-purging Mercurians.
221	* RaisedByWolves: While the [[BarbarianTribe Doviello]] were inspired by wolves, Keelyn of the Balseraphs was actually [[RaisedByWolves Raised By]] [[LegionsOfHell Demons]]. This made her [[CreepyChild what]] [[LittleMissBadass she]] [[RoyalBrat is]].
222	* RealityWarper: Hemah and Danalin's dreams.
223	* RealityWarpingIsNotAToy
224	* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Cardith Lorda, who is basically possessed by the soul of a dragon and doesn't physically age beyond ten.
225	* ReforgedBlade: The Godslayer; indeed, the main point of the 'Age of Ice' scenario is to seek out the scattered fragments of the Godslayer, since only that weapon can bring down Mulcarn, the God of Winter. The actual reforging is passed over lightly, and was apparently performed by Kylorin the Archwizard himself — so presumably, it was magical in nature, rather than involving hammers and anvils although a forge is still required. Of course, considering the intense magic held in those shards, it may have just spontaneously reassembled itself when all the pieces were gathered together in a heated forge.
226	* ReligionOfEvil: The Ashen Veil. Octopus Overlords and the Council of Esus also qualify quite often.
227	** The de facto religion of the Illians, the White Hand, also qualifies.
228	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Lethe, Queen of Sorrow, [[spoiler: [[DrivenToSuicide drove Varn Gosam's wife to suicide]]]]. Varn Gosam, High Priest of the Empyrean and AllLovingHero, responded by invading HellOnEarth in order to remove Lethe from Erebus forever.
229	* {{Room101}}: The Octopus Overlords Asylum.
230	* SaveTheWorldClimax: The Armageddon Counter is usually detrimental to the world. However, when the clock is close enough to midnight, the good guys get access to some endgame material designed for cancelling the apocalypse. Followers of the Runes of Kilmorph (especially the Luchuirp, though anyone can do it) can build the awe-inspiring Mithril Golem (which is unaffected by the tides of death and disease that plague the world during the end times, and can strike down any one of the HorsemenOfTheApocalypse by itself), while those who have the Righteousness technology (the philosophical underpinnings of The Order religion) can cast the ritual of Glory Everlasting and wipe out ''every single undead and demon on the map''.
231	* ScaryBlackMan: Chalid Astrakein, a BadassBookworm who has his own spell, [[KillItWithFire Pillar of Fire]], and was incidently the teacher of [[APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil Gibbon Goetia]]. That said, he's a [[SubvertedTrope pretty nice guy]]. The Empyrean code he lives by is one of the more tolerant religions in the game universe (as opposed to [[KnightTemplar the Order]]), so as long as you're not a demon worshiper or other enemy of Good, you're safe with him around.
232	* SculptedPhysique: The angels, including [[NayTheist Cassiel]], Sabathiel and others.
233	* SealedEvilInACan: Exploring a dungeon can unleash some nasty monsters. Sometimes they are strong enough to wipe out your whole civilization early in the game.
234	* SealedGoodInACan: Brigit the Shining, ancient archangel of Bhall.
235	* ShadowDictator: Sabathiel is this for the Bannor. [[spoiler:He's quit them a long time before the time of the official scenarios.]]
236	* ShoutOut:
237	** The Grigori cities are named after locations from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''.
238	** The Lanun cities include [[Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth Innsmouth]] and [[Literature/TheDunwichHorror Dunwich]].
239	** You can summon a trio of giants named [[Film/TheThreeStooges Larry, Curly, and Moe]].
240	** One of the [[{{Pirate}} Lanun]] heroes is [[VideoGame/MonkeyIsland Guybrush Threepwood]].
241	** The Tower of Mastery victory is a homage to ''VideoGame/MasterOfMagic''.
242	** The original score list of historical leaders is replaced by a list of fantasy characters, from Cthulhu to Tweedledee.
243	** Many references to Creator/MontyPython.
244	** Hyborem's model is [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} a Bloodthirster]].
245	** According to WordOfGod, a large part of the Great People names are [[SignificantAnagram anagrams]] of [[Franchise/TheMuppets Muppets names]].
246	* SlaveMarket: The Undercouncil can vote the Slave Trade resolution, allowing members to buy and sell slaves.
247	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Its exact location depends on what civilizations are involved in any given game, and how well they do. It can go anywhere from [[LighterAndSofter a peaceful world ruled by fundamentally good people]] to [[DarkerAndEdgier a twisted hellscape where evil lunatics fight slightly less evil dictators to determine whether the world will be brutally enslaved or annihilated outright]]. The canonical position, though, is pretty far on the Cynical end.
248	* SoulsavingCrusader: Basium is a deconstruction of this. After they die, good people go to Heaven and evil people go to Hell. Therefore, killing good people gets them to their eternal reward (and some of them come back as Mercurian warriors, creating a feedback loop sort of like an angelic ZombieApocalypse), while killing evil people puts them where they belong anyway. So, why not [[OmnicidalManiac kill everyone off as quickly as possible?]]
249	* SoulJar: Tebryn Arbandi makes one out of Abashi the Black Dragon. (Technically he just inscribed a resurrection rune on her forehead.)
250	* StandardFantasyRaces:
251	** The good civilizations:
252	*** Stout: [[MechaMooks The Luchuirp]], [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dwarven]] {{Golem}} [[ClockPunk crafters]].
253	*** Fairy: [[SoulSavingCrusader The Mercurians]], [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angels]] come to battle the [[TheLegionsOfHell Infernal]].
254	*** Mundane: [[YearInsideHourOutside The Bannor]], [[KnightTemplar holy crusaders]].
255	*** High Men: [[ActualPacifist The Elohim]], [[BarrierWarrior defenders of Holy places]], and [[FantasyCounterpartCulture the Malakim]], [[ShiftingSandLand desert nomads]] and [[BadassPreacher priests]].
256	*** Cute: [[CityOfAdventure The Kuriotates]], [[OurDragonsAreDifferent "children" of the Gold Dragon]].
257	** The neutral civilizations:
258	*** Stout: [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame The Khazad]], [[TheEmpire dwarven empire ruled]] [[{{Greed}} by gold]].
259	*** Fairy: [[TheSoulless The Sidar]], [[OurGhostsAreDifferent the undying ghosts of Erebus]].
260	*** Mundane: [[DefectorFromDecadence The Grigori]], [[NayTheist godless heroes]], [[AnimalMotifs the Hippus]], [[HiredGuns mercenary]] [[CoolHorse horsemen]], and [[TrueNeutral the Lanun]], [[{{Pirate}} pirates]] and [[BoardingParty rulers]] of [[NotSoSafeHarbor the sea]].
261	*** High Men: the [[ProudScholarRace Amurites]], [[TheMagocracy masters]] of [[MagicalSociety sorcery]].
262	*** Cute: [[Myth/NorseMythology The Ljosalfar]], [[OurElvesAreDifferent elven defenders]] of [[TheLostWoods the forest]].
263	** The evil civilizations:
264	*** Savage: [[BarbarianTribe The Clan of Embers]], [[LizardFolk united tribes]] of [[OurOrcsAreDifferent bestial races]], and the [[BarbarianTribe Doviello]], [[TheHorde raiders]] and [[AnimalMotif the wolves of winter]].
265	*** Eldritch: [[DemonicInvaders The Infernal]], [[TheLegionsOfHell demonic harbingers]] of [[PhysicalHell Hell]].
266	*** Humanoid: [[MonsterClown The Balseraphs]], the [[CircusofFear twisted carnival]].
267	*** Fallen: [[OurVampiresAreDifferent The Calabim]], [[AristocratsAreEvil vampiric aristocracy]], and [[TheFairFolk the Svartalfar]], [[OurElvesAreDifferent elven assassins]] and [[MasterOfIllusion illusionists]].
268	*** Crafty: [[AnIcePerson The Illians]], [[HaveYouSeenMyGod legacy]] of the [[EvilIsDeathlyCold fallen god of winter]], and [[EvilSorcerer the Sheaim]], [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Seekers of Armaggedon]].
269	* StoryAndGameplaySegregation: The two are kept in separate corners and forbidden to speak to each other on pain of death. Nothing prevents you from playing lore-wise pacifistic nations as greedy conquerors, and vice versa.
270	** They do manage to whisper to each other, on occasion. For example, in the civilopedia, Ethne The White has a dream in which she [[AChatWithSatan discusses morality with Hyborem]]. He asks her if she would be willing to push one man into the path of a werewolf to save five others. It happens that a random event can ask the player to make the same choice.
271	** Also, the scenarios included with the main mod are more scripted.
272	* SummonBiggerFish: The [[TheLegionsOfHell Infernals]] cannot come to Erebus until summoned by an existing faction, but Hyborem owes no loyalty to his summoner, and may in fact decide that his summoner's people will serve better as Manes.
273	** His GoodIsNotNice counterpart, Basium, also fits. Unlike Hyborem, he ''is'' bound to not attack his summoner by way of Permanent Alliance, but can freely go after any ''other'' Good civ in order to build up his army of angels. And the aforementioned Permanent Alliance has the side-effect of dragging Basium's summoner into any wars he starts.
274	* TarotMotifs - actually more of a ThemedTarotDeck minigame. Rather than the four suits of ten cards of the minor arcana and regular cards, there are tens suits of four (numbered three to seven). The suits are Angels, Demons and Dragons, and the remaining seven use a Tarot image and are paired with one of the game's religions. There are four specials cards, Death and three [[strike:Jokers]] Fools.
275	* TechnicalPacifist: Corlindale will quickly become this if the player knows what he is doing.
276	* TechTree: It's a VideoGame/{{Civilization}} mod, what do you expect? Differs from the original game's by having a greater variety of shorter, more specialised 'branches'.
277	* ThenLetMeBeEvil: Sheelba was an orc girl raised by the intolerant Bannor civilization, and of course was treated like dirt by the humans. The final straw came when she overheard her adoptive father say that he wasn't her father, but keeping her with him amused him. He realized that he had become her father about the time she ran off and joined the Clan of Embers.
278	* TooAwesomeToUse: A few faction-specific heroes can end up being this, usually by being at the end of the tech tree, hilariously expensive or [[OvershadowedByAwesome not awesome ''enough'']] to use compared to more conventional units you could be pumping out. The debate could be out on [[PhysicalGod Auric Ascended]], who requires no less than two high-tech projects to create (one of which halves your population and makes ''every other civ'' declare war on you), but can easily have almost [[CurbStompBattle triple]] the strength of any unit in the game. Needless to say, you should stop caring about the effects of The Draw at that point.
279	* TokenEvilTeammate: In the scenario ''[[BonusLevelOfHell Lord of the Balors]]'', Keelyn. In normal gameplay, this is rare but possible -- usually [[EvilVersusOblivion against]] the [[OmnicidalManiac Ashen Veil]], but sometimes due to pure, brutal {{realpolitik}}.
280	* {{Treants}}: The Ljosalfar's World Spell, "March of the Trees", causes all forest tiles within the faction's borders and unoccupied by enemy units to transform into Treants for five turns. After that, they turn back into forests wherever they're currently standing.
281	* UnwittingPawn: The Sidar civilization has [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Shades]], men who give up part of their souls to become quite immortal. These souls are used by [[MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning Laroth]] as soldiers and weapons in TheUnderworld.
282	%%* VoiceOfTheLegion: Sabathiel.
283	* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Os-Gabella, the only true immortal (can't die even a violent death) in the cast of characters, wants to [[SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum end her existence]] and leads the Sheaim in their quest to [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt destroy the world]].
284	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Os-Gabella. She [[WhoWantsToLiveForever just wants to find a way for her cursed existence to end]], and her current plan is to [[SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum destroy everything, including herself]].
285	* AWorldHalfFull: After reading a lot of this page, you might get the impression that Erebus is a terrible CrapsackWorld. Which it is, but the good guys do tend to win out in the end. Evil is often inherently self-destructive, the [[AlienNonInterferenceClause Compact and the Godslayer]] protect humanity from the worst excesses of power-mad gods, and [[{{God}} the One]] really does seem to have the good of Erebus in mind despite being [[HaveYouSeenMyGod something of an absentee landlord]]. For the clearest example of this, the Age of Ice ended because (under the guidance of [[TheAtoner Kylorin]]) a bunch of ordinary humans got their shit together, reforged the Godslayer, took down Mulcarn and built a new civilization based on knowledge and magic.
286	* WorldWreckingWave: Many spells and rituals do something like this, but the best example is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Worldbreak]], the Sheaim unique spell. It deals direct Death-element damage to every unit in the game based on the Armageddon Counter. Use it too early and it will barely do ScratchDamage, but use it after the AC is over 100 and you can render the rest of the world defenseless while your Death-immune demons and undead steamroll over them.
287	* ZergRush: The Clan of Embers specializes in this. The AI however are more keen to do this with the Sheaim and their [[GoddamnedBats Pyre zombies]]

Context VideoGame / FallFromHeaven