[[quoteright:272:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/legend_of_grimrock_cover_231.png]]
''Legend of Grimrock'' is a 2012 indie RPG developed by Almost Human Ltd and available for Windows, Mac and Linux. Played from a FirstPersonPerspective with a party of four PlayerCharacters, the game is a throwback to DungeonCrawling classics like ''VideoGame/DungeonMaster'' and ''VideoGame/EyeOfTheBeholder''.

The game begins when four prisoners, [[AnAdventurerIsYou created by the player]], are accused of vile acts of treason by the court, but by the "mercy" of the king, the prisoners are given a chance to atone for their crimes via the ancient prison of Mount Grimrock. If the prisoners can make their way through the prison and escape it via the mountain's base, their crimes will be forgiven and they will be free to go. There is just one problem: Mount Grimrock is a den of evil and mystery, home to countless monsters, traps and other dangers. Will you survive?

The game is played in real-time, and provides the players with many puzzles to solve, harkening back to the {{RPG}}s of yore. A sizable amount of [[GameMod fan-made campaigns]] for the first game (created with its built-in Dungeon Editor) are available through Steam Workshop and Nexusmods.

Due to the positive reception of the first game, a sequel titled ''Legend of Grimrock II'' was produced and released on October 15, 2014. Set on an IslandOfMystery instead of inside a single dungeon complex, it adds a new race (the cheese-loving, mutation-prone [[{{Ratmen}} Ratlings]]) and several new classes, along with an overworld connecting various dungeons.

In 2024, a port of the original game for the Platform/NintendoSwitch was released.
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!!''Legend of Grimrock'' I and II provides examples of:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: A-K]]
* AbsurdlyHighLevelCap:
** In the first game, reaching the skill cap of 50 requires over 100,000 experience points, with monsters giving around a thousand at most. It's reachable with normal endgame stats, but only if you put ''every'' level-up into a single skill.
** It's unknown what the level cap of the sequel is, but it's ''at least'' in the quadruple digits. Even a completionist playthrough will only get enough xp to reach level 14 by the end of the game.
* AchillesHeel: The unusual Air Elementals in the second game are [[{{Main/FragileSpeedster}} Fragile Speedsters]] that inflict trivial damage, but they're virtually impervious to ''everything'' in your arsenal save for two specific things: the Dispel spell (requiring a magic-user with one skill point of Water magic) or the Ethereal Blade (only available in a remote location in the Cemetery). Better not let yourself get cornered by one.
* ActionBomb: Also in the second game, Fire Elementals are fast-moving flaming clouds that zoom towards you and blow up in your face before dying. If you want to get experience points from them, you'll have to hit them quickly with ranged attacks. They're usually hidden in secret compartments in walls that open after you activate certain triggers.
* AdvancingBossOfDoom: If you get caught by the [[spoiler:FinalBoss, it's an [[TotalPartyKill instant game over]]. It's a giant metal cube whose only "attack" is to roll on and crush you.]]
* TheAlcatraz: The eponymous Mount Grimrock, at least the higher levels with numerous jail cells and shackles hanging on the walls. Near the end of the game it's revealed that [[spoiler: the real threat imprisoned within is the Undying One.]]
* AllThereInTheManual: The "Ramblings of an Old Sage" found in the manual fleshes out the backstory of the game, detailing Lord Perel's ill-fated expedition into the dungeon and the reason the king is sending prisoners into its depths.
* AlreadyUndoneForYou:
** At least Toorum and no doubt other convicts have gone through the dungeon before, but all the traps, treasures and monsters are still there. Lampshaded by one of Toorum's notes.
-->'''Toorum:''' There have been people in these hallways before me but when I went through this place here it seems like I was the first to open all the doors and press all the buttons. There has to be some people who oversee the dungeons.
** It's heavily implied that it's Goromorgs who maintain the dungeon and its traps. [[spoiler:Which seems to be backed by the fact that they're the only thing barring you that ''is able to open doors''.]]
* AlwaysAccurateAttack: In the first game, ranged attacks such as spells and throwing weapons have a 100% accuracy. Since accuracy is based on Dexterity and damage on Strength, this actually makes the strong but clumsy minotaurs the most effective archers. The sequel removes the perfect accuracy for ranged weapons, but spells still play this trope straight.
* AmbushingEnemy: The first encounter with the Tentacles happens very suddenly; they spring up from a grate you've crossed multiple times after you complete 3 out of the 4 puzzles on Level 4.
* AmplifierArtifact: [[MagicStaff Shaman Staff]] and Zhandul's Orb boost the damage of Earth and Fire spells respectively.
* AncientArtifact: [[PowerNullifier The Weapon of Power]], created by the dungeon's architects as the only possible defense against the BigBad of the first game.
* ArmorPiercingAttack: The Sword skill Thrust bypasses an enemy's Protection value.
* ArrowsOnFire: The first game has Fire Arrows and Fire Quarrels. Every spell school can enchant projectiles with that school's element.
* ArtifactOfDoom: [[spoiler:The Undying One]], an ancient mechanism of unknown origin that was imprisoned at the bottom of Mount Grimrock for its destructive nature and abilities.
* ArtifactTitle: The sequel. While the original game is named after its location in the dungeons of Mount Grimrock, the sequel takes place in an entirely different setting, the Isle of Nex.
* AwesomeButImpractical:
** Many of the final perks in skill trees. For example the final perk of Spellcraft [[ReducedManaCost reduces all spell costs by 50%]] which is great on paper -- but getting it also means your mage won't have any real spells, making them dead weight for most of the game and the perk itself practically pointless.
** The Ogre Hammer. It hits as hard as the Icefall Hammer and you obtain it 5 floors earlier, but the cost for that damage is an even greater accuracy penalty than most maces have.
** The HandCannon in the second game, a massive cannon that can deal well over 200 damage in a single shot. The downside is that ''it's a massive cannon'', and even if you strip your firearms user to just the bare essentials they'll probably only be able to carry a few shots worth of cannonballs before they're over-encumbered. On top of that, the cannonballs themselves are a limited resource, with most of them being in secret areas. Even worse, to be able to even use it you have to have Firearms skill on at least 4, and Firearms is the most useless skill in the entire game.
* BackStab:
** In the first game, Rogues specializing in Assassination deal extra damage when attacking enemies from behind, and the final perk of the skill tree [[OneHitKill makes all backstabs lethal!]]
** The sequel adds it as a perk in the CriticalHit skill.
* BareFistedMonk: You can create a character specializing in hand-to-hand combat with the Unarmed skill tree. Adding the "Fist Fighter" trait pre-game is always helpful too.
* BearsAreBadNews: Inverted in the sequel. There are no bears as enemies, but you can make potion that temporarily transforms one of your characters into bear, granting him powerful attack with bear claws.
* BigBad: [[spoiler:A sentient mechanical cube known as the Undying One imprisoned in Mount Grimrock a long time ago. Exactly why is left unclear, as in-game the only things it can do is communicate through dreams and... roll around.]]
* BigCreepyCrawlies: Gets worse the deeper you get.
* BilingualBonus:
** The name of the unique axe ''Norja'' means Norway in the Finnish language, and its FlavorText speaks of the "fjord-dwellers", fjords being a well-known landmark of the country.
** One of the locations shown on the world map found in the game extras is called ''Literature/{{Kalevala}}''.
* BlackMage: The games have no healing spells and most of the Mage spells are damaging ones, making any mage character this by default.
* BoringButPractical:
** The Light spell in both games. It does ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, lighting up the area around the party. This means no one in the party needs to carry around torches, freeing up some inventory space and the hand they would have had to hold the torch in. It also works underwater.
** Orb of Radiance provides constant Light effect in the first game, meaning you'll never ever need torches once you find this. It has to be in hand, but since it provides bonuses to your Mage, there's not really any reason not to have it, until you find [[InfinityPlusOneSword Zhandul's Orb at least]]. It has been nerfed in second game so now you can only cast Light spell with it more easily, though it still comes handy for bonuses.
** Some low-level perks are incredibly handy and relatively easy to get (at least when compared to ultimate perks), such as cooldown reduction for weapons/magic, ability to hit enemies from back row, or elimination of evasion penalty for wearing heavy armor.
** "Forcefield" spell in second game. What it does is that it surrounds the enemy in front of you by force field cage, preventing them from moving, attacking and being attacked. Doesn't sound too exciting, but in this game the biggest problem is being swarmed by enemies, something this spell helps a lot with if used tactically. While it has a complex casting sequence being second behind only "Dispel", it has otherwise low requirements, low casting cost and fast recovery, making it easy to use it continuously and in tandem with offensive spells. It is also very handy to block fireballs shooting from the walls when dealing with traps and puzzles.
** The Rope in the sequel. It simply allows you to climb down through hole without injury (that is, if that floor doesn't lead to another hole). Since in this game jumping through hole has also good chance to cause an injury to a foot or a leg which can be removed only by using healing potion or a crystal, it becomes quite handy if you don't want to reload a lot.
* BossBanter:
** For a [[spoiler:mechanical cube]], the [[spoiler:Undying One]] is quite vocal.
** In the sequel, the [[spoiler:Island Master]] is also prone to taunting you from atop his [[spoiler:[[OurDragonsAreDifferent Lindworm]]]].
* BossInMookClothing:
** Ogres. The first time you fight one on Level 6 it certainly feels like a boss fight; the gate to the previous level closes behind you and you're left to hunt it (or be hunted by it) in the large main area of the level. If they see you from a distance, they'll storm towards you with a ramming attack that damages the whole party. They present a tougher challenge than anything you've faced so far and don't hit any less hard when you level up.
** Level 12 gives you the Wardens, the toughest enemy you'll fight in the game. They use the same charging attack as Ogres but are much more powerful. Luckily there are only 4 of them.
* BossVulnerability: While initially unkillable, finding the Weapon of Power will allow you to momentarily stop the BigBad in place which in turn allows you to [[ShieldedCoreBoss remove the parts you previously fixed it with, making it vulnerable.]]
* BottomlessPits: Averted, none of the pits in the game are bottomless and in fact often have valuable items and secrets in them.
* BraggingRightsReward: Beating the TrueFinalBoss in the second game rewards you with the Wizard's Virge, a staff that can OneHitKill any enemy with its Disintegrate ability. Since getting to that point means you've probably already beaten almost every encounter in the game, there aren't many enemies left to use it on.
* BrutalBonusLevel: The slime dungeon and the Fighter's Challenge are far more difficult than the levels they're hidden on.
* BubblegloopSwamp: Keelbreach Bog in the sequel.
* CallBack: The cutscene for the sequel's true ending contains several objects from the first game, including several of the treasures, a dragon statue, and a Goromorg statue.
* ChainedHeat: Why are the four prisoners walking in such a tight 2x2 formation in the first place? As the manual states and the intro shows you, the four are ''literally'' shackled together at the legs. The manual explains further that this is because the King who sentences prisoners to Mount Grimrock believes they would have no choice but to work together this way.
* ChallengeRun:
** There is an ''Old School Mode,'' wherein the player doesn't have the luxury of the automap. A SoloCharacterRun is forced in [[spoiler:Toorum]] mode.
** The sequel goes further, giving you the option to make all save crystals single-use should you feel so inclined, or even make saving ''only possible at crystals'' (likely to encourage speedruns). All of these are difficulty "modifiers" rather than full-fledged difficulty modes, meaning you can use them on Easy mode to make them more manageable. Or you can use all of them on Hard mode for a particularly brutal self-imposed challenge.
* CherryTapping: The sequel encourages this with an achievement for killing an enemy with a thrown set of leg armor. In short, they want you to beat something to death with a pair of pants.
* CombatTentacles: The Unseen One of the first game is never fought directly. You only ever see its tentacles emerging from sewer gratings.
* CommonplaceRare:
** Justified given you're in a dungeon full of monsters where prisoners are thrown for an ImpossibleTask.
** There's a single piece of pie in each game, and finding it is even worth an achievement.
** Bottles as well in first game. There are maybe ten but are thankfully reusable.
* ConfusionFu: Goromorgs, due to them casting spells of each element, make elemental shields mostly useless (since due to how skills work it's unlikely for a single mage to know all shields) and it's just simpler to dodge their attacks.
* CosmeticAward: Finding the seven well-hidden treasures scattered around the dungeon doesn't reward you with anything except an achievement and a nice "7/7 treasures found" in your statistics page. They don't even officially count as "secrets" in the game's counter.
* CreatorCameo: The four names written on the walls of the aptly named [[spoiler:Tomb of Designers]] are the names of the four game developers, spelled backwards.
* CriticalEncumbranceFailure: Each character has a carrying capacity dependent on their strength stat. There is also a hidden limit, about 80% of capacity, at which the character is slowed down (slowing the entire party, since they are chained together). In the sequel, foot injuries drop a character's maximum capacity, so a character can be fine one moment and then get an injury and be suddenly slowed or completely unable to move....
* CriticalExistenceFailure: Played straight, however.
* CriticalHit: All physical attacks have a chance to be critical hits. Certain perks in the first game and the Critical skill in the sequel increase this chance.
* CutAndPasteEnvironments: Every wall tile on a floor looks the same; however this works to your advantage as looking for hidden switches would otherwise be very frustrating.
* DamageOverTime: The classic [[StatusEffects poison]], a common hazard in the dungeons of Mount Grimrock, particularly Level 3.
* DeadlyGas: Available as a spell, released as an attack by certain enemies and used in a number of traps as well.
* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: Unlike others in this genre. If party members die, they may easily be brought back to life at no cost at a HealingCheckpoint. The worst that may happen is they'll miss out on experience points while they are dead.
* DeathTrap: All over the place in both games. From gargoyle heads that shoot out fireballs to spikes that shoot up from the floor, the deathtraps will probably kill more players than the actual monsters will.
* DeflectorShields: Goromorgs. You need to deplete their shield first before you can actually harm them.
* DegradedBoss: The sequel's first bosses, the Viper Roots, make several more appearances past Shipwreck Beach.
* DifficultyLevels: The most noticeable difference between Easy, Normal and Hard is the monsters' movement and turning speed, making them a lot trickier to avoid if playing on the highest difficulty.
* DoorToBefore: Handy shortcuts tend to open up back to the savepoint after you go through something strenuous.
* DualBoss: First boss of ''II'', Viper Roots, is this. In its DegradedBoss version, however, it will fight you alone and later ''in packs''.
* DumpStat: In the first game, Dexterity is this for archers oddly enough. Dexterity increases your accuracy, but ranged weapons never miss, so archers don't actually need dexterity. This makes minotaurs the best archers in the first game as their lack of dexterity won't be missed (hah) but their high strength certainly is valuable. The sequel rectifies this by making ranged attacks capable of missing just like melee attacks, so dexterity becomes ''much'' more important for ranged fighters.
* DungeonCrawling: A genre that was missed by many old-school gamers returned.
* EasterEgg: In the sequel, digging in a specific place in the desert three times (the location only being indicated by an extremely vague hint that is both written in a cypher ''and'' a FreezeFrameBonus in the final cutscene) will unearth what appears to be an ancient and rusted version of [[spoiler: the first game's FinalBoss.]]
%% * ElaborateEqualsEffective
* EmptyRoomUntilTheTrap:
** "Enter thy grave" would be the soonest example.
** Happens plenty of other times too, especially when you grab some really nice weapon.
** Sometimes can be avoided by placing other item first then taking the one you came for. [[spoiler:This is the only way to grab The Dismantler and actually live to use it]].
* EverythingFades: Or, more specifically, explodes in a shower of sparks on death.
* FantasyCharacterClasses: The sequel adds a number of them, which affect a character's starting health and energy (and determines their growth per level), and confer a few unique traits.
** [[CloseRangeCombatant Fighter]]: Fighters have strong healthpools and growth, and they [[ChargedAttack charge]] their [[SpecialAttack special attacks]] in half the time for 25% less energy than other classes with melee weapons.
** [[TheSneakyGuy Rogue]]: Rogues have [[GlassCannon little health]], but don't suffer nearly as big a damage penalty for DualWielding as other classes, and increase their CriticalHit [[CriticalHitClass chance by 1% per level]] when using ranged or throwing weapons.
** [[BlackMage Wizard]] [[note]]formerly known as Mage in the first game[[/note]]: Wizards have [[SquishyWizard poor health, but excellent energy growth]]. They can cast spells without needing [[MagicFocusObject a magical implement]], and receive [[MagicIsMental an extra two points in Willpower]] at first level.
** [[AlchemyIsMagic Alchemist]]: Alchemists can [[ItemCaddy grow more of any herb they're holding in their inventory]], increasing the number of [[StandardRPGItems potions and bombs]] you can make. Additionally, any firearms they use are 50% less likely to malfunction.
** [[BarbarianHero Barbarian]]: Barbarians have the [[MadeofIron largest base healthpool and the biggest health growth]]. In addition, they increase their Strength by one point every level-up, and [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower can become absurdly strong very quickly]].
** [[MagicKnight Battle Mage]]: Battle mages, like wizards, can cast spells without [[MagicFocusObject magical implements]], but have better health, reduce the weight of worn armor by half, and gain bonuses to Protection and Resistance when holding a magical implement.
** [[KnightInShiningArmor Knight]]: Knights have the same healthpools and growth as fighters, but are [[StoneWall more defensively-minded]]. They gain one point of Protection every level, reduce the weight of worn armor by half, and increase the evasion bonus of shields by 50%.
** [[JokeCharacter Farmer]]: Farmers have the worst health and energy of any class, start with no skillpoints, [[MechanicallyUnusualClass and do not gain level up from killing monsters]], [[BigEater instead gaining experience by eating food]].
* FauxFirstPerson3D: The game has a Dungeon Master-style UI and gameplay, like what was used when 3D rendering in video games wasn't a cheap or easy-to-make option. This is actually played with, however, as everything is actually rendered in full 3D.
* FighterMageThief: In the first game. The second adds more classes.
* FireBalls: Probably the most powerful spell in the game in terms of damage.
%% * FireIceLightning: [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Earth]]
* FlamingSword: The Fire Blade, which actually shoots FireBalls when swung.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** You get rampant dreams with a being who is supposedly in the bottom of the dungeon. [[spoiler: The background of the dream is surrounded by cogs, which hint at its mechanical nature.]]
** Also, in the first level, you can activate a switch which leads into a secret area which has an ominous statue and some loot. [[spoiler: It's an Illithid-like being, which you will fight deeper down the dungeon.]]
** The introduction movie at the start of the game shows much larger versions of the ominous statues standing around the entrance hole to the dungeon.
* FlunkyBoss:
** [[spoiler:The FinalBoss of 1. The biggest difficulty of boss fight is not the boss itself, but not getting cornered by it and its flunkies and [[TotalPartyKill rolled over by it]].]]
** It would be easier to enumerate Bosses from ''II'' that ''do not'' fight you with flunkies. Ratling boss fights you with ratlings, Herder's Den summons Herders ...
* FragileSpeedster: The Shrakk Torr are extremely fast insects but fall to a couple of blows. Also any character wearing the purely evasion-based Lurker armor. Rogues, especially Lizardman rogues, generally end up as this.
* FreezeFrameBonus: The cutscene for the true ending of the sequel quickly flips through several pages of a book written in cyphered English. Most of it can be translated, and includes both some of the world's lore and an extremely obscure hint to an EasterEgg.
* FriendlyFireproof: Averted; while you can't directly hit yourself, casting a spell while facing a wall or actions like [[TooDumbToLive throwing a dagger through a portal which sends it back]] will hurt your own party members. It's also possible to outrun your own projectile spells (fireball, etc), and thus get hit by them.
* GenreThrowback: To pseudo-3D tile-based dungeon crawlers that existed in various consoles and home computers during the 1980s.
* GiantEnemyCrab: A surprisingly dangerous enemy in both games. Their tendency to move side-to side makes it hard to maneuver around them, and their shells make them very heavily armored.
* GladiatorSubquest: The Fighter's Challenge.
* GlassCannon:
** [[SquishyWizard Mages]], which is why their place is in the back row. Watch out for ambushes or traps and spells that damage the whole group, though.
** Rogues usually retire to the back row after picking up the Level 12 Assassination ability (melee attacks can be used from the back) or using missile weapons, after which attention to their protection and vitality usually wanes.
* GoombaStomp: Falling into a pit and landing on an enemy will immediately kill it (and net the player an Achievement). However, you'll still take falling damage, and don't get any XP.
* GradualRegeneration: Sleeping shortens the wait.
* GunsAreWorthless: The sequel adds firearms, which have a high chance of jamming and damage that is completely unaffected by the character's stats. While the latter sounds like it could be useful in the hands of a character with low dexterity (such as serving as a backup weapon for a mage to use while their energy recharges), you still need high dexterity to actually hit the things you're aiming at since that's the stat that decides accuracy, and any character with high enough dexterity to reliably hit things with a gun would inevitably deal more damage with a bow or crossbow since a character's dexterity is added to the damage of those weapons. Also, unlike arrows, bolts, and darts, bullets cannot be recovered after they've been used.
* HeWasRightThereAllAlong: The BigBad of the first game is [[spoiler: in the middle of floor 12. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero And you just released it.]]]]
* HealingCheckpoint: Crystals of Life, usually found once per level.
* HealingPotion: The only way to restore health in the middle of combat, barring fighting near a Crystal of Life. You'll find a couple, but most you'll have to brew yourself.
* HealthyGreenHarmfulRed: Damage number pop-ups are white normally; red when you hit an [[ElementalRockPaperScissors elemental weakness]]; green when you use an element the enemy absorbs, thus healing them.
* HerdHittingAttack: The biggest advantage of spells over other attacks is their ability to damage every enemy on a single tile. For the same reason they're also one of the biggest threats against your group. Some weapons have a chance to cause such effect on hit, and bombs do this as well.
* HeroicMime: Your group members never say a word, though their heroism is debatable since they're prisoners just trying to survive.
* HintSystem: Various pieces of text written on the walls or scrolls often give hints for puzzle solutions, and in the case of at least one puzzle, several failures will [[PlayerNudge open up a room with an additional tip written inside.]]
* HitAndRunTactics: By design the most effective combat strategy in the game, provided you have the space to do so and don't get surrounded by enemies. A rather humorous consequence of this is getting an enemy parked on the other side of a door or gate, raise it, immediately pound it with an attack by your entire party and then close the gate before they get a chance to fight back. You can even rest between killing enemies while doing this, basically forcing the monsters to just sit there and watch the prisoners fall asleep right in the middle of combat.
* INeedYouStronger: In Legend of Grimrock 2, the Island Master has been putting these shipwrecked innocents through hell, testing their minds and bodies to the utmost [[spoiler: because he’s trying to find and train his replacement]].
* IndieGame: ''Legend of Grimrock'' was created by only four people.
* InfinityMinusOneSword:
** Sword of Nex for swords. Slightly weaker than The Dismantler mainly because of lack of bonus damage, but it can be acquired two levels earlier and is required to access local BrutalBonusLevel anyway.
** Orb of Radiance for Mages. It boosts Willpower and Energy and also generates constant Light effect, meaning you can ditch Torches for the rest of the game.
* InfinityPlusOneSword:
** The Dismantler for swords. Not the most powerful weapon but considered the best when accounting for its speed and the bonus lightning damage it can sometimes inflict. It has even dedicated floor for it and you can skip most of it if you decide to ignore it. It makes the rest of the game considerably easier though.
** Zhandul's Orb is this for staves despite being, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well]], Orb. Besides providing nifty bonuses for your casters it also boosts offensive fire spells, which are probably the most useful.
** Crookhorn Longbow for missile weapons, The Icefall Hammer for maces and the Ancient Axe for, well, axes.
** ''II'' has the Bane axe and the Meteor Hammer for heavy weapons. Which one is the best pretty much depends on the player and situation (Meteor Hammer has the highest [=DPS=] and Meteor Storm as its charged attack, but its fire damage can be a hindrance on occasion and Meteor Storm has limited number of charges, plus the weapon is much harder to get; Bane on the other hand deals slightly smaller but consistent non-elemental damage). Sickle Sword for light weapons and Lightning bow for missile weapons are other examples.
* {{Invisibility}}: One of the spells in the Air school.
* InvisibleGrid: As per genre tradition.
* IslandOfMystery: The setting of the second game. It has a full set of ancient ruins (including a pyramid), talking statues, extremely dangerous wildlife, a vicious band of {{Ratmen}} pirat(e)s and the mysterious Island Master who likes to leave taunting messages to anybody unfortunate enough to wash up on its shores.
* ItsPersonal: Some time after beating the Ratling Boss in the sewers, players can enter the Hamlet of Stormbreach to find it crawling with Ratlings and a Boss. [[spoiler:When killed, he drops a letter from the Island Master inviting him to the island to [[AvengingTheVillain deal with the people who killed his twin brother]].]]
* JackOfAllStats: [[HumansAreAverage Humans]] during character creation, with them having average stats, unlike the other races that are meant for a particular class, but also having the most skill points starting off.
* JumpScare: If you get attacked while resting, the black screen will smash back to life out of nowhere.
* KaizoTrap: In the first game [[spoiler:killing The Undying One effectively wins the game, but it doesn't end it outright; it will continue with Undying One sparking and blowing until everything [[FadeToWhite fades to white]]. Since there are still monsters roaming around, they may as well manage to kill you in the meantime, especially if they are Uggardians or Goromorgs.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: L-Z]]
* LanguageOfMagic: The spell system is based on runes presumably spoken by the caster and representing different concepts such as Fire, Balance and Spirituality.
* LastLousyPoint: On the last floor with two or three secrets missing? Hopefully you're not a completionist, or you'll be backtracking through the entire dungeon with a fine comb.
%% * TheLegendOfX
* LethalJokeCharacter: The farmer class in the sequel starts off with rather weak stats and about as useful in combat as one would expect an ''actual'' farmer to be compared to career warriors and wizards. However, farmers have one advantage that, if properly taken advantage of, makes them surprisingly effective: they gain XP from eating food rather than fighting enemies. With the right combination of XP-boosting items (see SequenceBreaking below) and constant binging, a farmer can over-level and outstrip the rest of the party.
* LifeDrain:
** The Assassin's Dagger in the first game does exactly this with every hit.
** The second game has Backbiter, a dagger which can be obtained in the first location provided you can and are willing to use Gold Key to obtain it, which can drain health with its special attack.
** The Bone Sword's special ability in the sequel is an attack that transfers the enemy's health to the wielder. In an odd variation of ReviveKillsZombie, using this ability on an undead will damage the wielder instead.
* LightningBruiser: Master sword fighters get double attack speed with swords at 50 skill points in addition to health, strength, dexterity and evasion.
* LizardFolk: One of the races you can choose in character creation. They have a bonus to dexterity but a penalty to willpower, and the description notes that other races view them as duplicitous and untrustworthy.
* LoadBearingBoss: Destroying the [[spoiler:Undying One]] causes the ''entire mountain'' to explode!
* LongRangeFighter: Spellcasters and characters specializing in missile or throwing weapons specialize in weakening and destroying enemies from a safe distance.
* MagicIsMental: The stat governing a character's maximum Energy, which is needed to cast spells, is Willpower.
* MagicKnight:
** [[spoiler:Toorum]] has access to both physical and magical abilities.
** The sequel's more open-ended skill system allows any character to potentially be this by investing points in magic skills and the armor skill, but it's particularly encouraged for the Battlemage, which cuts the weight of any equipped armor in half.
* TheMaze: Without the automap the game can easily become this.
* MeaningfulName: The Wormbound family, who acted as ambassadors for dragons. It gains a second meaning for [[AnimateDead the members you meet]].
* MegaDungeon: The first game is set in the interior of Mount Grimrock, which has been hollowed out into a thirteen-level dungeon. Criminals, including the player party, are thrown in at the top and can earn their freedom if they make it to the bottom.
* {{Metroidvania}}: The sequel has some Metroidvania elements, with a non-linear world and early closed paths that will become openable later. However, the means to open them are usually through puzzle solutions rather than new abilities.
* MightyGlacier:
** Ogres and especially Wardens move and turn very slowly, but they can potentially kill a character in one hit.
** Fighters, especially Minotaur fighters, with maces or axes, maces with accent on survivability and axes on damage. Both are quite slow compared to the rest of your party on high levels.
** Heavy weapons (ie. Maces, Axes) users in ''II''. Those have longer cooldowns can cannot be truly dual-wielded like Light Weapons, but deal much higher damage.
* MonsterCloset: It's not uncommon to hear the noise of several hidden doors open up when you pick up an important item, that is when the monsters aren't just teleported in.
* MooksButNoBosses: [[spoiler: First game has only FinalBoss and even there the most of difficulty comes from it summoning other monsters and figuring out how to defeat it.]]
* MultipleEndings: In the second game, there are two. [[spoiler:If you defeat the Lindworm and leave the island for good, the Island Master will watch you depart. If you stick around and defeat the Island Master, you become the new Island Master]].
* MushroomMan: Herders. They come in three kinds: one is a basic mook, another shoots poison projectiles, and the last spews poison clouds.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: Enemies disappear in a flash of sparks.
* NoExperiencePointsForMedic:
** Characters who don't damage the enemies you kill will quickly fall behind in experience, which is especially a problem for your back row characters early on. Equipping them with spears is a good idea, allowing them to attack and be useful until ranged weapons and spells become available.
** [[AvertedTrope Averted]] in the sequel: the entire party gains experience whenever anyone kills monsters.
* NotCompletelyUseless:
** "Darkness" spell in first game cancels out Light spell. You'll almost never want to use this since you usually want to see things around you. [[spoiler:However Weapon of Power shows only in total darkness and this spell provides fast way of cancelling Light spell you most likely applied before.]]
** ''2'' has "Dispel", which is a low-damage spell with an awkward casting sequence (the only spell in the game that requires all nine runes). The only time you will ever use it is against Air Elementals — because it's the only spell that can damage them.
** For the same reason, the Ethereal blade. It passes through solid matter, thus dealing no damage to material enemies, making it useless in most circumstances, but is handy against Air Elementals.
* NoticeThis: The various keys you'll find usually shine to make them easier to detect.
* NotTheIntendedUse: Minotaurs were designed to be powerful but potentially inaccurate front line warriors with high health, strength, and defense, but low stats in other areas (like accuracy). Logically they'd be best fit to be a front line tank right? In the first game, they actually work best as rogue-ish ''archers'' due to bow damage scaling off strength rather than dexterity. This is due to the fact that in the first game projectiles never miss, so minotaurs' low accuracy doesn't matter with a bow, but their high strength certainly does. In 2, even projectiles can miss, making dexterity much more important for an archer and making Minotaurs not as suited for the role anymore.
* OneManArmy: Over the course of the game, you find the notes of Toorum who has been advancing through the dungeon entirely by himself. [[spoiler:Once you unlock Toorum mode, you get to find out how he managed it: he can move twice as fast as other party members.]]
* OneSizeFitsAll: Huge minotaurs and fragile insectoids can wear the same armor, provided they have the proficiency to do so.
* OrganDrops: One of your primary sources of nutrition is eating these. Edible mushrooms harvested from Herders, giant frog's tongues, giant snail meat...
* OurMinotaursAreDifferent: One of the races you can choose in character creation.
* OurOgresAreHungrier: You can get an achievement for killing one. Good luck with that.
* PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling: ''II'' has something like this. In Herder's Den, there's a boss consisting of a number of fungi [[MookMaker that spawns various Herders indefinitely until they're killed]]. If you go there when you're supposed to, before entering The Ruins of Desarune, the fight is quite hard and you'll be happy to just kill all fungi before getting overwhelmed, and you can't leave the place until you do so. If you postpone your visit here until later (nothing stops you from doing so, as there are no items required for further exploration) you can exploit infinitely respawning enemies here for level grinding. In fact, killing the top-right fungus makes that part a good spot for resting, as it is on the side with single entrance that you can even block temporarily with force field, as long as you didn't destroy nearby branches.
* PlayerMooks: You control four prisoners, and that's as far as characterization goes.
%% * PlayerParty
* PlayingWithFire: Mages using fire magic seems to have been a favored approach in both games:
** In the first game, you get the most items that buff it (between the Fire tome on Level 6 and Zhandul's Orb, an item that greatly boosts fire spells) and the large number of Uggardians in the mid- to late-game levels give a strong incentive for you to invest enough skill points to at least cast a Fire Shield. In comparison, the other schools of magic get less attention and are more circumstantial in providing direct advantages against enemies and obstacles.
** In the second game, the strongest spell bar none (Meteor Storm) is fire-elemental, and considering it's the only spell requiring its respective magic school to be maxed, it gives an incentive to do so.
* PointOfNoReturn: While you can backtrack as many floors as you like at any time to search for treasure and secrets, you should do so before [[spoiler:inserting the four mechanical parts on floor 12.]]
* PoisonMushroom: Poignant Potions have no other uses but to poison you should you brew and drink one.
* PowerCrystal:
** In both games, giant Blue Crystals allow you to save and have power to restore even dead person and remove every negative status effect except starvation.
** The sequel introduces crystal shards that have various effects. The blue shard is even presumably the piece of the above crystal, since it has the same color and effect, albeit it disappears after use.
** Also Power Gems in the sequel.
* PowerEqualsRarity: Many of the best items are one-of-a-kind and often hidden behind a puzzle or in a secret room.
* PowerFloats: Uggardians and Goromorgs. Especially the latter.
* PowerGlows: Uggardians and to lesser degree, Goromorgs again. In fact, if you don't have torch lit on the best indication they're about to emerge from walkway is approaching red or blue light respectively.
* PowerUpFood: In second game the Ratmen, Lizardmen and Insectoids like to eat cheese, turtle eggs and horned fruit respectively. Eating a given amount of each will randomly raise given character's stat by one.
* PowerfulButInaccurate: Axes and Maces are usually stronger than other weapons but come with penalty to accuracy. Ogre's Mace from the first game in particular has power of [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity +1 Mace]] but comes with much bigger penalty to accuracy.
* PressurePlate: There are plates which remain active as long as something is on them, be it a player, a rock or something else.
* PromotedToPlayable: [[spoiler:Toorum]], after helping him.
* PurelyAestheticGender: Male and female party members have no statistical differences, and any bonuses or penalties depend on a character's race. In fact, the only difference besides their portrait is the voice you hear when they're injured.
* PuzzleBoss: [[spoiler:Undying One is, true to its name, invulnerable ... at first. The main challenge of the game is figuring out how to defeat it, which also requires a trip to remote location to acquire a means that allows you to do so.]]
* QuadDamage: Speed Potions and Sulphurous Potions.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Your group consists of four prisoners who are promised freedom should they survive through the dungeon alive.
* RareCandy:
** In the first game, there are three hidden types of magical tomes in the game, each giving permanent bonuses to the character who reads it.
** Second game keeps the tomes while expanding their variety and throws in potions that permanently increase specific stat by one. These can be also crafted by anyone with maxed Alchemy. Unfortunately, the number of Crystal Flowers required to make them is limited ... but if you have Alchemist in your party, they will duplicate as long as at least one is in their inventory.
* {{Ratmen}}: In the sequel, Ratlings exist both as NPC enemies (with a distinct piratical theme) and as a playable race. They start out with fewer total stat points than other races, but they can gain random permanent stat bonuses from eating [[StockAnimalDiet cheese]] and can take a trait that will grant them a random stat increase at each levelup.
* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: In the game's universe, lizardmen are generally mistrusted and treated as outcasts. But luckily, you can play as one!
* RespawningEnemies: While [[AntiGrinding most monsters never respawn,]] there are a few exceptions, generally either for a puzzle or to prevent making the game {{Unwinnable}} due to running out of food sources.
* SecretCharacter: If you find [[spoiler:Toorum]]'s remains, use them on a Crystal of Life, start a new game, enter the name "[[spoiler:Toorum]]" and press enter, you start the game with [[spoiler:Toorum]] who is alone but has access to a unique combination of skills and the ability to move twice as fast as normal party members.
* SecretLevel: Spoiled if you look at the achievements in the steam version.
* SequenceBreaking: In the sequel, Sleet Island and the back half of Cemetery are locked behind puzzles whose solutions are found in the Archives, requiring completion of the Ruins of Desarune dungeon to reach them. Once you know the puzzle solutions, on a second playthrough you can access these areas in the first hour of the game, which lets you get a very early Spirit Mirror Pendant (which increases XP gain by 25%, and so is worth more the earlier it's found).
* SharedLifeMeter: The bosses from ''Grimrock II'' always have one Life Meter, and it's the variation where each part of boss has its own, hidden life meter, so you can kill individual parts before depleting it completely.
* ShipwreckStart: ''Grimrock II'' starts with the player's party as prisoners being transported by ship. The ship goes down in a storm, and the cage containing the party washes up on the Island of Nex.
* ShockAndAwe: Air Magic (which is mostly based around Lightning) seems to be favored by developers right after [[PlayingWithFire Fire Magic]]. In ''I'' the InfinityPlusOneSword is lightning-based and [[spoiler:The FinalBoss is vulnerable to shock damage]]. In ''II'' each ranged spell requires at least one skill point in Air Magic, and the ultimate Fire Magic spell requires ''three'', making it more or less essential. It also comes with handy Invisibility spell if you don't to fight monsters or you want to have a drop on an ambush when picking up plot-critical item or a nice weapon.
* SicklyGreenGlow: Slimes in both games. They even glow in complete darkness, which is actually a good way to see them before they emerge from side tunnels.
* ShoutOut: In the second game you can find the "Orb of Vilson" on a beach. It's an [[JokeItem extremely weak throwing weapon]] described in-game as "A spherical object made of a strange, elastic substance." Yep, it's a [[Film/CastAway volleyball decorated with a red handprint.]]
* SkeletonKey: The Master Key in the sequel, which can open any lock in the game. Since you get it from beating the TrueFinalBoss, [[BraggingRightsReward it's pretty much only useful if you were wondering what was behind all those golden locks you didn't open]].
* SoftWater: In second game falling from higher floor into water entirely prevents damage to limbs and health.
* SoundCodedForYourConvenience: Since you can hear monsters' movement through doors and walls, memorizing the sounds they make will give you an idea of what you're about to face.
* SquashedFlat: Surprisingly, despite the first game being full of various traps, usual crusher ceiling is not one of them. [[spoiler:However, the only attack of FinalBoss is to inflict this trope on you, and it's quite gory.]]
* SquishyWizard: Mechanically encouraged. While there are skills available to Mages that boost their defenses, it's generally a better idea to invest those skill points into magic skills so as to unlock more and more powerful spells. Mages also have very little health compared to other classes, and the fact that they otherwise have no use for strength means they'll probably be encumbered even if they do wear heavier armor. The sequel averts this with the [[MagicKnight Battlemage class]], which gets some defensive bonuses and considerably more health than the Wizard.
* StandardStatusEffects: Both of games have a host of them:
** ''I'' has Dead (pretty self-explanatory), Poison (standard damage-over-time effect), Paralyzed (character cannot act, wears off on its own), Diseased (health and energy won't recover over time), Starving (same as Diseased, but eating food will remove it), Burdened and Immobile (happens when character's load surpasses 80% and 100% of his carrying capacity respectively; in the former case the movement gets slower and camera gets wobblier, in second case you can't move at all).
** ''II'' keeps all of the above and adds limb injuries that have various effects (can't cast spells, can't regenerate energy, decreased carrying capacity ...) and can be only cured by a potion or Crystal, Blinded (the camera blocks your field of vision, which wears off on its own) and Petrified (character is turned to stone and cannot act, can be removed by Antidote).
* StatSticks:
** Each person can hold two weapons (unless it's missile weapon, in which case you have to have ammo in off hand). Chances are the second weapon is in hand just because it gives nice stat boost but it's not actually used.
** Mage weapons such as [[MagicWand Whitewood Wand]] enhance spellcasting but can't be used to actually hit things.
%% * StockVideoGamePuzzle: Puzzles are one of key elements found in the dungeon.
%% ** ControlRoomPuzzle
%% ** LockAndKeyPuzzle
%% ** TrickShotPuzzle
%% ** TwoKeyedLock
%% ** WaitingPuzzle
* SubsystemDamage: In second game, in addition to HP each limb can be damaged as well. This has a number of effects depending on what was hurt, ie. inability to use weapon that is in damaged hand etc. This is simply healed by using a potion or touching a crystal, but it makes jumping into holes much more annoying unless you have a Rope.
* SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity:
** Just before the third level, you come across a sack which contains the items necessary to create potions. [[spoiler: The antidote comes especially useful in the third level, since it is full of poisonous spiders.]]
** Ceremonial Chamber in the sequel. It's the top level of the Pyramid of Umas, reached after getting through extremely gruelling combat and puzzles on the lower levels. It contains several herbs and potions, some great equipment upgrades, and no enemies whatever. It also contains a teleporter... [[spoiler:which dumps you in the middle of Barren Desert, a zone ''swarming'' with mummies. You will have to, at the very least, fight your way through dozens to claim a safe corner for your party.]]
* TakenForGranite: In ''II'' there are nasty Gorgons that can turn your members to stone. A petrified person cannot act at all and can be only cured by an Antidote or using a Crystal. Thankfully it's easy to avoid, as you just need to avoid Gorgon's Gaze attack, which has a long execution time and is telegraphed by a specific sound.
* TechnoWreckage: The final levels of the dungeon.
* TeleFrag: Teleport to a tile occupied by an enemy for a free kill. The sequel even has an achievement for this!
* {{Telepathy}}: Throughout the first game, a mysterious voice communicates with the party through collective dreams.
* TempleOfDoom: The Goromorg Temple in the sequel, which spans two entire levels.
* TooAwesomeToUse:
** Blueberry Pie. Only one is in each game and serves the same function as other food, so most likely it stays in your inventory until the end of the game.
** Various charged weapons, such as The Fire Blade. They allow to cast a spell when used (for example, Fire Blade shoots Fireball), but the number of charges is very limited and they ''cannot'' be recharged. Though even empty weapon is handy, as it occasionally causes some after-damage (Empty Fire Blade has a chance to cause Fireburst), but it's still a considerable downgrade. Best to keep this for [[BrutalBonusLevel Fighter's Challenge]]. The sequel has red crystal shards that can be used to recharge them, but the amount of those can be counted on one hand and thus they themselves are an example of this trope.
** Bombs. You won't find many of them. Each of them damages everything on given tile. Again, you'll most likely use them for hardest challenges of the game. The sequel allows you to craft them and if you have Alchemist, they'll be able to grow more plants required to make them in their inventory, mitigating this somewhat.
* TrapDoor:
** These can be found throughout the dungeon and have to be closed to be crossed over.
** Or you could fall down them, since they all lead to isolated areas in the floor below you, with teleports leading back up, and sometimes containing secrets!
** Sometimes you find nothing, and this too is lampshaded in one of Toorum's notes found after falling down a particular pit:
-->'''Toorum''': I know, I was disappointed too when I took the jump just to discover that there was nothing useful here.
* TraumaInn: While there obviously are no inns, sleeping on the cold dungeon floor will heal even the worst wounds or poisonous spider bites. Napping won't revive a dead character, however.
* TreacherousQuestGiver: The voice in your dreams.
* TricksterMentor: [[spoiler:The Island Master]] in the second game.
* UnusableEnemyEquipment: Averted with weapons and shields, played straight with clothing and armor.
* UselessUsefulSpell: Pretty much every spell in the Earth school due to their reliance on poison, which deals damage very slowly and doesn't work on the undead.
* VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon:
** While ''I'' takes place in an essentially [[MegaDungeon one giant dungeon]], [[spoiler:you can tell that you're approaching final confrontation by radically different design of last floors (TechnoWreckage instead of usual tiled dungeons) which are also locked by a key that you have to get on previous floors.]]
** PlayedWith in ''II''. The Castle of Nex is the highest structure on the island and while you get to it quite soon, getting inside will take you most of the game. [[spoiler:The climatic FinalBoss takes place on its roof. However, if you're going for HundredPercentCompletion the TrueFinalBoss is fought elsewhere.]]
* WeightAndSwitch: One recurring trap is an important item weighing down a pedestal in an alcove, which opens walls filled with enemies when released. Placing something unneeded in the alcove before taking the item can keep them from opening.
* WhenTreesAttack: Herders from the first game, Ents from the second one.
* WithThisHerring: You don't even have ''basic clothing'' at the beginning.
* WizardNeedsFoodBadly: Like the Dungeon Crawlers of old, your party members need to be fed regularly. However, food isn't that scarce, and starved party members will simply stop regenerating health whilst resting. In the sequel, the Farmer class actually ''levels up'' by eating food.
* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: [[spoiler:The true ending of the second game. Upon defeating the Island Master, you find his [[DeadManWriting last letter]], explaining the history of the island and his true purpose in bringing you to it-he was the guardian of Nexus (home to the [[LanguageOfMagic words of creation]], the incantations [[CreationMyth used to shape the world]]), and [[StealthMentor sought to test your suitability]] as his replacement. For defeating him, your party inherits his title of Island Master, ownership of Castle Nex, and his role as guardian, and you can now enter Nexus.]]
* YouWakeUpOnABeach: The sequel begins with the player characters as prisoners being transported by ship. When the ship is wrecked, they are the only survivors, washed up on a beach still in their cage.
* YouWillNotEvadeMe: The [[spoiler:FinalBoss]] of the first game will try to crush you relentlessly, making the fight against it quite hectic since failing to dodge leads to an immediate TotalPartyKill.
* ZergRush:
** [[http://i.imgur.com/ksjT9.jpg Scavengers]] are some of the weakest enemies in the game, but they tend to appear in such overwhelming numbers that the few times you encounter them are some of the most dangerous situations you'll find yourself in.
** Exaggerated by the Fighter's Challenge, which teleports you into the middle of a 7x7 grid filled with Scavengers and is one of the hardest battles in the game.
** In the sequel, the late-game area Barren Desert is a fight against nearly ''a hundred'' mummies, an early-game enemy that hardly poses a threat by this point. [[spoiler:The zone also contains two Magma Golems, so the ''real'' threat of the mummies is that their sheer number makes it easy to get cornered with a Magma Golem approaching....]]
* ZipMode: To make up for the lack of party members, [[spoiler:Toorum]] has the unique [[SprintShoes Thunderstruck]] trait which doubles his movement speed.
[[/folder]]
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