[[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Descended_Avvy_9292.bmp]]
[[caption-width-right:150:[[SarcasmMode Nice Flying]]!]]

->''"How the Mighty Have Fallen..."''
-->-- '''Slogan'''

''[[http://descended.thecomicseries.com The Descended]]'' is a webcomic run by Brian D. Lewis, also known as Ranger_Brian_New (on the forums), hosted on Platform/ComicFury. It is set in the fictional world of [[FunWithAcronyms Soano]], an original setting with unique rules built from scratch, governed by mechanics of an RolePlayingGameVerse Brian created. The story follows the quests and adventures that three individual groups have the misfortune of undertaking: The Elementals, The Latens, and The [[MeaningfulName Outcasts]]. Because each group has [[FourIsDeath four]] members (with the promise of a fourth group to come), it obviously has numerous characters, each with their own distinctive personality and rich backstories.

The comic suffered from a two-and-a-half-year [[SeriesHiatus hiatus]] as Brian finished patching up and solidifying the details of the world he did not have consistently filled when he started the comic, a mistake he felt lead to the WritersBlock which kept him from continuing. As of July 2012, he has announced that he has mostly finished with his revisions, to the point where July 30th marked the relaunch of his comic, which is now updating regularly every Monday at 6:00 PM, Pacific Time. Currently, he estimates it will take until approximately November for him to get into new content.

Plans are also under way for him to [[KillerGameMaster run]] a game based off of the mechanics he's created as well, though he has not announced an approximate date for this.

----
!!''The Descended'' contains examples of:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:#-C]]
* HundredPercentHeroismRating:
** The Elementals started off fairly small, but became widely known as some of the greatest adventurers of their nation by the time they were called on to thwart a demon invasion. After [[HeroicSacrifice losing]] [[OurHeroIsDead Sanik]], his reputation skyrocketed. It wasn't until shortly after repelling an enemy invasion that they well and truly became this, though. However, they've since started from scratch, owing to [[spoiler: Helops being destroyed]].
** Jason Argo Maustrat is hailed as one of the greatest adventurers of all time, a hero across all of Soano. For that same reason, Argus (now anything but heroic) prefers not to use his old name, only invoking it when absolutely necessary.
* TwentyFourHourArmor: Out of author laziness.
* AbandonedInfoPage: Owing to the constantly-evolving nature of Soano, Brian has had most of his extra pages fall behind, with only a couple up to date.
* AbandonedMine: The dungeon which The Elementals and The Latens are going into at the start of the story is one of these.
* AbsurdlySharpBlade:
** Nathan's dual katanas.
** Argus's [[OverlyLongName Gloriously Gemed Ultimate Supreme Master Angelic Hand-and-a-Half Light Sword Of Absolute Destruction]]. There's a reason he calls it "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Angel of Death]]".
* ActionGirl: Considering the series focuses on groups of adventurers--whose daily jobs involve fighting endless hordes of monsters--it's really no surprise that the entire female cast is (or was) one of these. However, the main ActionGirl is Aria.
* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Sarge S. Shovexo and [[spoiler: Celaren Craftsmen]].
* [[AnAdventurerIsYou An Adventurer Is Everyone]]: Well, everyone in the primary cast, at least.
* AerithAndBob: Some of the names are perfectly mundane. Others...not so much.
* AffablyEvil: Argus has a little more affable than typical. Kinas has a little less.
* AllInARow: A given, as The Descended is based off of a game.
* AllThereInTheManual: Significant amounts of the backstory and setting details do not appear in the actual comic, but in the various info pages, this Website/TVTropes page, and even Ranger's "edit reason" comments.
* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: Part of The Elementals and Latens backstory.
* AloofBigBrother: Inverted; Enlecar is the younger brother of [[spoiler: Celaren]], yet was more skilled than him.
* AltText: Providing just as much humor as the actual comic itself.
* AmbiguousGender: M. M's predecessor, L, also qualifies.
* AmbiguouslyHuman: [[spoiler: Nathan Betrax]] is listed as "Human?" on the cast page.
* AnimeHair: Very common among most of the cast.
* [[{{Animesque}} Mangaesque]]: Brian's new choice for an art style.
* TheAntiNihilist: Sanik after the Battle of Helops.
* ArbitraryGunPower: Guns fire faster than bows and crossbows, have greater accuracy than either, and have a range and reload time between the two, but at the cost of damage. Justified, as guns in Soano are not powered in quite the same way as guns in real life, owing to the fantasy setting. Sinaer using one made her TheSniper.
* {{Arcadia}}: Hidenva, the hometown of many characters.
* ArcWords: Each arc has a quote associated with it. And So Our Story Begins, the current arc, has the words "Those who know life best are the ones who have lost one already."
* ArrangedMarriage: Nathan's parents were already in a relationship when this happened for them.
* ArtEvolution:
** The desire to have this is one of the reasons why Brian chose to change styles from being a SpriteComic into {{Animesque}} art. He's certainly succeeded; even over the course of just the [[http://descended.thecomicseries.com/comics/2 first comic]], it was clear Brian was improving.
** The decision itself may qualify; the difference between sprite-like and manga-like art is large, as demonstrated nicely [[http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25894775/ranger%20art%20evolution.png here]].
* ArtShift:
** Certain areas of the comic still employ the [[SpriteComic sprite art]] Brian created, as a type of [[SuperDeformed chibi art]] standin.
** Various different ConceptArt pictures and side-drawings are given in a large variety of styles.
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Ascension, achieved at Level 900, is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin exactly what it sounds like]].
* AstonishinglyAppropriateAppearance:
** Built into the rules of the world, appearances reflect actions taken in life. As a result, most characters look exactly how one would expect of them.
** Of note, Argus and Kinas both look like a FallenHero, and both are. Davos looks like a vampire, and Sasha looks like a goblin. Sarge looks like a Fire Warrior, and M looks like a Water Mage.
* AsYouKnow: Done frequently to help explain the mechanics of the world and the backstory of the characters.
* TheAtoner: [[spoiler: Hank]].
* AuthorAvatar: Rather than using his Ranger persona--which has an avatar of its own--Brian has created an avatar in ''The Descended'''s original art style, and intends to use it for the mail slots.
* [[AWizardDidIt A Mage Did It]]: Brian's typical HandWave in response to inconsistencies.
* AxeCrazy: While many cast members have their moments, there are a few frequent offenders.
** Argus is ruthless.
** M is incredibly destructive and thinks little of it.
** Nathan Betrax when berserking.
** [[spoiler: Celaren]] becomes this after becoming an Agent of Chaos.
* BackFromTheBrink:
** The [[spoiler: Battle of Helops]] had this for both sides. With [[spoiler: The Elementals defeated and the forces of Helops beginning to tire]], it looked like total defeat would happen...[[spoiler: until Voss, David, and Ian unleashed their fury]]. This managed to wipe out nine tenths of the invading army and seriously cripple their leader, [[spoiler: Celaren]]. However, [[spoiler: Celaren]] managed to [[spoiler: kill David, Ian, and Voss]] before leaving. [[spoiler: Helops]] survived the attack, but was unable to recover and fell apart, whereas the remnants of the army were still strong enough [[spoiler: to level Revan, Lejus, and Yeras Wharf]] before they died.
** Argus had this during his fight with [[spoiler: Chaos]], who had [[spoiler: killed two of their traveling companions and critically wounded Hank]]. Only after [[spoiler: Hank stabbed Chaos from behind]] did Argus get a chance to counter-attack.
* BadassLongcoat: [[http://descended.thecomicseries.com/comics/3 Kinas]]. Many other characters are slated to feature some in their concept art as well.
* BagOfHolding: Standard adventuring equipment once a character gets close to level 100. It doesn't take long before...
* BagOfSharing: ...It evolves into this trope, as inevitably, adventurers need to access each others' items.
* BalanceOfPower: Currently leaning towards Good, since it's difficult to get to the highest-level range as an Evil alignment.
* BattleAura: Common in important fights.
* TheBeautifulElite: A small part of Davos's backstory; his parents were extremely wealthy. Also present in Nathan Betrax's backstory.
* BehindTheBlack: Used when The Outcasts don't see Sasha until we do.
* BerserkButton: In general, it is a ''very'' '''''bad''''' ''idea'' to [[MindScrew mess]] with any of the cast members, because each group has at least one member who reacts very negatively to seeing their companions in mental pain.
** Argus->Davos. Physically, he doesn't mind if Davos is beaten to a pulp. Mentally mess with him, and you'd [[FateWorseThanDeath wish Argus had finished you off]].
** Sanik->Latens, especially Kinas. They may be his rivals, but he still considers them comrades; mess with them, and he will not show mercy.
** Tyra->Sanik.
** Sarge->Elementals. Even M. They're his comrades, and he won't tolerate it.
** Kinas->Elementals and Latens. The Elementals are his rivals, but they're still his friends. Much more so for The Latens, though; they are '''''his''''' group, and he does '''''not''''' tolerate them suffering.
** Sinaer->Kinas, since ''someone'' has to look out for him.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Davos, Sasha, Tyra, Sarge, Sinaer, and Nathan are among the kinder half of the cast. They're also the most dangerous when they need to be.
* BigBad: [[spoiler: Chaos]].
* BigBrotherInstinct: Played straight with Sanik to Kinas, inverted with Enlecar, who has the instinct for his older brother, [[spoiler: Celaren]]. Argus and [[spoiler: Chaos]] canonically had an older brother who was like this for them until they became old enough to look out for themselves. Kinas also has the instinct towards, of all people, Nathan Betrax.
* BlackAndGrayMorality: Over half of the cast is on the negative or neutral side of the alignment chart, with two of the group leaders being rather evil. They're just fighting things which are worse than them.
* BlackAndWhiteMorality: When it comes to ascension, there can't be too many good gods or too many evil gods; the two have to roughly be equal in numbers.
* BlackMage: While the FireIceLightning and Earth Elements have spells which aren't offensive, their main focus is almost entirely on attack, making any practitioner of one or two of them into this.
* BlackMagic:
** All over the place. Ironically, it is strongest in Warriors, rather than Mages, as many Warrior skills involve sacrifices. This trend it taken up to eleven with the Darkness Warrior, making it the best fit.
** Necromancy, one of the only forms of magic actually illegal in Soano, however, is actually made up of the Light and Water elements' combination--fittingly enough, its name is "Reflect", and Necromancy involves inverting the norms.
* BlatantLies: [[http://descended.thecomicseries.com/comics/3 "Those other two groups are just Cameos, right?"]]
* BloodlessCarnage: While the art shows characters getting wounded as they take damage, there is not a great deal of blood clearly shed with little more than cuts being displayed.
* BlowYouAway: The Wind Element has [[IncrediblyLamePun elements]] of this.
* BondCreatures: Abilities such as Charm Animal create the bond, and abilities such as Summon Steed bring them onto the field.
* BottomlessMagazines: The arrow variant; archers never run out of arrows.
* BowAndSwordInAccord: A common choice for Martial Artists. Kinas, Tyra, and Sarge have all previously wielded this combination for periods of time.
* BreastPlate: Subverted--that area is the '''most''' heavily armored, but it's not the ''only'' area which is armored.
* BrokenHero: Multiple cast members fulfill some of the criteria, but Sanik is by far the champion of this trope. Despite having his [[spoiler: hometown destroyed as a child and losing his friends and family]], losing his adventuring partner Celaren (and later learning Celaren [[spoiler: was now working for his enemy]]), and being powerless to stop [[spoiler: the deaths of Voss, Ian, and David, along with the destruction of his entire '''''nation''''']], he's actually become '''''more''''' heroic, as each tragedy has turned him increasingly less pragmatic.
* ByronicHero: Argus. Kinas is becoming one as well.
* CainAndAbel: Argus and [[spoiler: Chaos]], Enlecar and [[spoiler: Celaren]].
* CallingYourAttacks: As one can expect of an RPG world, especially with magic.
* CanonWelding: Many of Brian's older works have found their way into World of Soano canon.
* CardCarryingVillain:
** There is no character on the evil half of the alignment chart who does not proudly show it off. Some (like Argus) are so good at it that they can convince others that the "evil way" is ''better''.
** As an unfortunate side-effect, the SlaveToPR half of the trope ''also'' applies to Argus, and every time Aria points out he's done a good deed, his bar on the KarmaMeter shifts a little in the wrong direction.
* CastingAShadow: Darkness, particularly for Mages.
* [[{{Splat}} Character Classes]]: Seven total. The three base classes of [[FighterMageThief Warrior, Mage, and Rogue]], along with their combinations: Mage+Warrior = (Death) Paladin, Mage+Rogue = Woodsman, Warrior+Rogue = Martial Artist, All = Joat.
* CharacterCustomization: Brian is working out the system on how to allow this; he intends for Soano to be a fully-functional game universe, meaning this is essential.
* CharacterLevel: Goes up to 999, but a person [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascends]] at level 900.
* TheChessmaster: Central to the plot, so many are present.
** Most notably, Argus, Hank, and [[spoiler: Chaos]] are considered to be in a four-way chess battle. The fourth player being [[PowersThatBe The Cosmos]], which all three are trying to manipulate to their advantage without getting fried.
** Voss is also an extremely notable one. Despite him [[spoiler: being dead at the start of the story]], he managed to predict the exact way both The Elementals and The Latens (before the latter even existed) would act, equipping them with what they would need for their new lifetime of adventuring.
* CityNoir: Revan, the counterpart to Helops, after it was decided that it would not be the capital of the nation. Before the decision was made, it had the potential to be the ultimate military Capital City. After Helops was chosen as an economic Capital City instead, Revan began to fade.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Because the artist Brian is one himself, a large number of his characters take different personality traits from the trope, each incoherent in their own ways, though none are a perfect match.
** Argus rants about tropes by name, which people tend to just shrug off.
** Davos frequently spurts out things which sound like nonsense, though [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight they often have basis in fact]]...
** Sanik, being of the Wind Element, tends to operate on a different wave of thought.
** Nathan, designated hanger of lampshades, naturally is not normal, either.
* ColorCodedElements: White/Gray (Wind), Green (Earth), Red (Fire), Light Blue (Ice), Yellow/Blue/Red/White, depending on alignment and power (Energy), darker Blue (Water), Golden (Light), and Black/Purple (Darkness). The Elementals and Latens--being formed from the eight elements--show this color scheme perfectly.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience:
** Most magic has a color coding for good, neutral, and evil alignments, as well as coding for low-level, mid-level, and high-level.
** The Elementals and Latens are also color-coded for their elements, as mentioned above.
* ColorCodedWizardry: Exists.
* CombatMedic: Sasha is a Light Paladin, skilled in both healing and melee. Tyra is her team's designated healer, but is among their best fighters. Sinaer is a Light Mage, but used to be a Darkness Martial Artist, and therefore is more than capable of fighting when the need arises.
* CombatPragmatist: It'd be easier to list the members of the cast who fight fair.
* CompositeCharacter:
** All of The Elementals and Latens take from three different source materials. Most of them remained overall the same, but the two most notably different are M and Nathan Betrax.
** Furthermore, both Lord Demon (two different demons) and Indigo Montimer were formed from two separate ideas merging.
* ConspiracyTheorist: Argus and Kinas both view the world as "out to get them". Given what they've been through, [[ProperlyParanoid they may not be entirely wrong]]...
* ContinuitySnarl: What originally caused the hiatus; thankfully, it has been sorted out.
* ContractualGenreBlindness: All characters are required to have at least some to their surroundings, to keep the fourth wall from [[BreakTheFourthWall shattering]]. However, quite a few [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall tend to bend it severely]]...
* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: It'd be easier to list the cast members who aren't.
* CoolHelmet: Sarge's helmet.
* CoolOldGuy:
** Argus, though he [[OlderThanTheyLook doesn't look his age]].
** Voss, David, and Ian also count, having been famous before even ''Argus'' started adventuring.
* CoolSword:
** Sarge's Flame Sword.
** Nathan's Dual Katanas certainly are.
** Argus's "Angel of Death" sword.
* TheCorrupter: [[spoiler: Chaos]] has become one. It's so powerful that those he's corrupted are themselves capable of corrupting. [[spoiler: Celaren]] did this to The Latens, and Argus is one as well, able to convince even Sasha ([[WhatTheHellHero most of the time]]) that the way of evil is perfectly fine.
* CrazyPrepared:
** Argus, having lived through life once already, is well-prepared for pretty much anything he encounters, since he's encountered it before and knows exactly how to deal with it.
** Voss, in the Elementals' backstory, was this. He was so skilled that he [[spoiler: prepared for his own death and the death of his old friends, knew exactly how and why The Elementals would be defeated]], gave them all new equipment, and wished Kinas well on creating The Latens, something which happened after [[spoiler: his death]].
* CriticalExistenceFailure: Surprisingly averted--despite being an RPG, characters begin to notably wear down in battles, becoming scarred and damaged.
* CurseCutShort: "Ah, $&--"
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow:
** All The Elementals. Nathan Betrax also plays it straight. Kinas (dark gray eyes, black hair), Sinaer (purple eyes, black hair with purple streaks; yellow eye, yellow streaks of hair), and Enlecar (yellow and blue eyes, with yellow and blue streaks in his hair) all contain the spirit of the trope as well
** Both Davos and Sarge originally had hair colors different from their eye colors. Now, Sarge has red hair, and Davos's hair is canonically very-dark-crimson.
* CutAndPasteComic: Originally invoked with Brian's tendency not to redraw characters; it's now averted in the actual comic since the ArtEvolution as his [[JustifiedTrope justification]] of the art being based off of a game was lost. However, he still uses it for filler comics.
-->''"It'd not be a filler comic if it took me just as long as a normal comic would."''
* CutAndPasteEnvironments: Averted--originally by [[WhiteVoidRoom forgoing backgrounds entirely]], and now by hand-drawing the backgrounds each time.
* CuteMonsterGirl: All of The Outcasts except for Argus aren't human.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:D-H]]
* DarkAndTroubledPast: ''The whole cast!''
* TheDarkArts: Ironically, not the Darkness element. While the darkness element has the typical negative connotations, it is [[DarkIsNotEvil no more evil than any other element]], only having its reputation because Darkness Mages (illusions), along with Water Mages (manipulation) are the primary elements of deception, making users less trustworthy. Warriors (especially Darkness Warriors) have a negative reputation because their skills mainly involve sacrifice and bloodlust, but they're not a dark art, either. The ''true'' Dark Art is the "Reflect" sub-element, a combination of Light and Water--it's the basis of necromancy.
* DarkIsNotEvil: The Darkness element is not evil. However, many evil-aligned players prefer it, as it is one of the most helpful elements for them, along with Water, Wind, and...[[LightIsNotGood Light]].
* DeadToBeginWith:
** [[spoiler: Voss, Ian, and David]].
** While not 'dead', Hank is [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascended]] at the start of the story.
* DeathGlare: Frequent.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: How many of The Elementals and The Latens came to join their group.
* DesignItYourselfEquipment: Voss's main contribution to his team. He created all the current equipment both The Elementals and The Latens use.
* DeusExMachina:
** [[JustifiedTrope Justified]]--gods generally are not allowed to ''directly'' interfere with the mortal realm of Soano, but are permitted to do a little manipulation here and there, creating many of these situations.
** Argus, as a fallen god, is a walking DeusExMachina due to this whenever he intervenes in the affairs of others.
** The Elementals and Latens run on them, as Enlecar points out.
* DevilInPlainSight: Argus can choose to hide himself rather effectively, although most of the times, he makes no effort to hide who he really is. WordOfGod is that he learned the trick from [[spoiler: Chaos]], who fit the trope far better.
* DirtyCoward:
** Rogues are ''supposed'' to be played this way. Aria's refusal to do so is what got her killed.
** Hank played it straight most of the time, though as an adventuring companion to Argus when Argus was "good", he picked up a few bad habits...
* DishingOutDirt: The Earth Element is largely made up of this.
* DoomedHometown: Part of The Elementals' backstory. All four members were present at the [[spoiler: destruction of their original hometown, Faragawa]] and got a view of the aftermath from a distance.
* TheDragon:
** In their character pages, Sinaer (actual) and Nathan (official) are called this to Kinas, because their group is [[TheRival rival]] [[EvilCounterpart counterparts]] to The Elementals.
** [[spoiler: Celaren]] is one to the BigBad, [[spoiler: Chaos]].
* TheDreaded: [[spoiler: Chaos]] has become this.
* DualityMotif:
** Argus (Blue and Red eyes) has them for his switch from good (Blue) to evil (Red).
** Sinaer (Purple and Yellow eyes) has them for her switch from Darkness Marital Artist (Purple) to Light Mage (Yellow).
* DualWielding: Aria (daggers), Nathan Betrax (katanas), and Enlecar (Sword-and-dagger).
* DumpStat:
** In the backstory, the PowerTrio covered nine of the ten stats as strong points. Their universal DumpStat? [[NaiveNewcomer Wisdom]]. HilarityEnsues.
** Each character except for Argus has one, but the only one [[WordOfGod Brian]] has made official is that Nathan's is Wisdom.
* DungeonCrawling: How the series opens for The Elementals and The Latens.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette:
** All evil characters become this over time, as a ShoutOut to Fable. However, Davos (as a vampire) has it naturally.
** Sinaer became one as well after The Battle Of Helops.
* ElementalEyeColors: Sanik (Wind) has Gray, Sarge (Fire) has Red, Tyra (Earth) has Green, M (Water) has Blue, Kinas (Darkness) has Dark Gray/Black, Sinaer (Light, former Darkness) has Yellow and Purple, Nathan (Ice) has Blue, and Enlecar (Energy) has Blue/Yellow.
* ElementalPowers: The standard eight-element system, borrowed from VideoGame/AdventureQuest, was adapted for its relative simplicity. However, there are elemental combinations.
* ElementalRockPaperScissors:
** Energy electrocutes Water.
** Water extinguishes Fire.
** Fire melts Ice.
** Ice absorbs/deflects Light.
** Light vanquishes Darkness.
** Darkness consumes Wind.
** Wind beats Earth.
** Earth nullifies Energy.
* EmoTeen: Argus may not be that mental age (being [[OlderThanTheyLook well over 80]]), but his physical age was reset when he nerfed himself. Given his alignment change, this was how he was for a while.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Argus [[spoiler: and therefore Chaos as well]] had an older brother, who died of old age. His son--Argus's nephew--is still alive.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Especially those on the idealistic side of the scale. Among others:
** Argus is theoretically ruthless, but cares for his companions.
** Kinas is evil, but still maintains a great deal of his code from his days on the other side of the spectrum.
** Nathan Betrax is pragmatic and technically evil, but has a set of codes he follows.
** [[spoiler: Chaos]] didn't want to harm Argus (or at the very least, [[spoiler: wanted to kill him last]]) because of their relationship.
** The same applies to his servant [[spoiler: Celaren]], who didn't wish to kill [[spoiler: Enlecar]].
* EvenTheGuysWantHim: A small part of Davos's backstory as part of his UnwantedHarem.
* EvilCounterpart:
** All of the Latens are technically this to The Elementals, but their leader, Kinas, shows this strongest.
** Team EVIL is built to be one for The Outcasts.
* EvilPaysBetter:
** Variant--it's not Evil which pays better; being cynical on the "third wheel" makes the character play their alignment most effectively to its standard.
** Also subverted with ''quality'' of life. When it comes to quality of life, it's neither cynical nor idealistic characters who have it best; it's those in the middle.
* EvilTwin: [[spoiler: Chaos]] to Argus. Technically, Kinas to Sanik counts as well.
* ExperiencePoints: The maximum number is 999,999: more than any other stat in the game. Brian's still working out how the levels are applied exactly, but he knows that 999,999 experience gets someone to level 999.
* ExponentialPotential: Brian had this problem initially with the class/element system; he calculated that he needed to create 259 individual combinations. After a simplification or two, he's managed to cut it down to 27.
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Argus and Kinas both gained bangs, though Kinas's only covers half his eye.
* {{Expy}}: Argus is one for Aldran, from ''Webcomic/AntiHeroes''; it was the foundation of the comic. M became one for Vaarsuvius, from ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', though M didn't start as one.
* EyeColorChange:
** Eye color can change with any number of events, though most frequently, it's due to alignment--brighter colors for good, darker colors for evil. Ultimately at the higher levels, this results in characters universally having blue eyes, golden/orange eyes, or red eyes, regardless of original eye color.
** Argus has one blue eye and one red eye, despite neither being his natural eye color. Kinas's original eye color was golden, shifting to dark gray post-FaceHeelTurn. Sinaer had one of her purple eyes turn gold.
* FaceHeelTurn:
** While all of The Latens dropped at least a ring or two on the alignment spectrum, none took the hit harder than Kinas. However, even he isn't the most extreme example--that honor belongs to Argus, as he dropped from good to evil.
** One need only look at the [[MeaningfulName title of the webcomic]] to see why this trope is common yet its [[HeelFaceTurn counterpart]] is nowhere to be found.
* FacePalm: A very frequent occurrence.
* FailedASpotCheck: Justified in the backstory of The Elementals and The Latens: [[spoiler: the army of Chaos]] was capable of [[spoiler: attacking Helops directly and catching them off-guard]] because they specifically chose to avoid harming so much as a single village on their way, whereas most [[spoiler: armies sent to destroy or conquer Helopia]] wasted their time attacking villages near the boarder of the nation. [[spoiler: Faragawa]] fell through the same tactic, [[spoiler: as it was orchestrated by the same man]].
** Argus's failing of one is how Sasha is introduced.
* FallenHero: It's not called "[[MeaningfulName The Descended]]" for nothing; ''the whole cast'' is a fallen hero of some degree or another.
** The most literal example would be Argus, falling from godhood and goodness to the worst form of evil.
** However, the true champion of the trope is Kinas, who of all the characters took his fall the hardest.
* FamilyThemeNaming: The Strat family has a tradition of the first son inheriting the unaltered name and all other male children having a modified surname, and they've made a habit of abbreviating their names. For instance, Argus's birth name is Jason Argo Maustrat, abbreviated as [[EmbarrassingNickname Jams]].
* FantasticNuke: Level 3 spells in offensive elements tend to act this way; they are the most powerful spells available, and the strongest of them can typically kill anything.
* FantasyWorldMap: As Brian intends for other people to use the World of Soano, he specifically decided not to create the whole world, as to give potential dungeon masters a greater amount of freedom with the details of the setting. However, he has made a prototype [[http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/3910/fargawania2.png partial map]] for Helopia, one of the two key settings.
%%* FauxActionGirl: Tyra and Sinaer; unusually for the trope, it's intentional.
* TheFettered: Most of the cast is this rather than TheUnfettered, however, the strongest example is (surprisingly) Sarge: Out of all the characters, he is the only one whose faith in his beliefs has never faded.
* FighterMageThief: The base three classes.
* FireIceLightning: Adding in Earth, they make up the four offensive elements.
* FishOutOfWater:
** The Elementals and Latens--they're used to adventuring at Level 100. They're Level 15, and many have switched classes. As such, they're still adjusting to the changes in their lives.
** Variant: Argus spent either too long or too short in the company of gods, ocasionally being blind to tropes he really should have seen coming.
* FlamingSword: Sarge's blade is literally a flaming sword. One of Nathan's Dual Katanas is also ablaze.
* FloatingContinent: A few exist throughout Soano; most notably, Wevan.
* ForcedToWatch: Kinas, during The Battle Of Helops, due to his stubbornness and iron-will at the time, was the last of The Elementals to fall, so he had to watch all of his friends slowly die. As such, he was the only one conscious to witness the following events, powerless to stop them.
* FourIsDeath: There are four main groups, and each of them has four members.
%%* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Naturally.
* FourthWallMailSlot: Filled by Brian's AuthorAvatar.
%%* FreakyIsCool: The idea behind The Outcasts.
%%* FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire: Davos, [[BlessedWithSuck unwillingly]].
%%* FunctionalMagic: Has pretty much most of the different types.
%%* FunWithAcronyms: Team EVIL.
%%* GadgeteerGenius: Voss.
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Addressed by [[WordOfGod Brian]], [[GenreSavvy expecting this]].
-->''"Being stabbed in the back during combat? Minor inconvenience. Being stabbed in the back outside of combat? Won't kill you [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Aeris]]-style, but will cause far more damage than should be possible."''
* GargleBlaster: Kinas's preferred alchoholic beverage. He can chug down three or four of them without ill effect.
* GenerationXerox:
** The Strats are a long line of heroes, with adventuring being InTheBlood...however, most Strats settled down and retire, and do their best to try and keep their children from experiencing the horrors that they faced over their long years of questing. They discourage the horrific lifestyle they once had and hide any evidence that they or any of their ancestors had ever been an adventurer--so as a result, every generation of Strats believes they are the first of their family to have gone adventuring. Argus and [[spoiler: Chaos]] are no exceptions.
** The Elementals and Latens have become this as well.
* GeniusBruiser:
** Most Paladins are this, as they require extensive knowledge of magic while still performing exceptionally in combat.
** Master Joats at a high enough level are all pretty much this. The two most notable are Argus (though he prefers magic) and Voss (though [[spoiler: he's dead]]).
* GenreSavvy: It's canonical that Gods have access to Website/TVTropes. This, combined with their experience, means they naturally tend to know what's coming.
* GentleGiant: Davos, Sarge, and Voss all filled this role.
* GISSyndrome: Considered as an option but ultimately averted--initially in favor of WhiteVoidRoom, and now with properly-drawn backgrounds.
* GlobalCurrency: Gold.
* GlowingEyes: While all characters can gain them (thanks to various magicks), Argus and Aria are the only characters who have them all the time.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom:
** Magical characters have these on so frequently it is almost permanent. Higher-leveled characters get alignment-based variations, blue for good, red for evil, and orange for neutral. Characters who have switched elements and/or alignments tend to frequently maintain one eye from each side, meaning that when their eyes shift fully to one side, it is never a good sign.
** Argus is the best example. If his HiddenEye glows blue, you're dead. If his HiddenEye glows red, you'll [[FateWorseThanDeath wish you were]]. If ''both'' eyes go red, you're deader than dead.
* GoodAngelBadAngel: Subverted--since they're angels for Argus, the good angel has to convince Argus that the good option is best for the 'greater evil'.
%%* GoodCounterpart: The Elementals to The Latens.
* GoodIsNotNice: The Outcasts, The Latens, and M. Sanik ''used'' to fit as well.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Most of the cast have visible scars from their traumatic pasts. It is noticeably worse on "evil" characters. However, there is one aversion--due to the circumstances of his backstory, Argus's scars are still of the good kind.
* GoodWingsEvilWings: Gained in the upper-hundreds. The latter also comes with an optional tail.
* GraphicsInducedSuperDeformed: Inverted with Aria--in the new art style, her head is drawn no larger or smaller than normal, but canonically, her head is supposed to be far larger, as shown in the original sprite art.
* GreenThumb: While Earth's specialty is DishingOutDirt, this is within its element.
* GuysSmashGirlsShoot: And "guys cast spells to attack, girls cast spells to keep the guys from dying". Both Tyra and Sinaer receive the least amount of damage in their respective groups, due to their role as TheMedic. Neither has any problem with it.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: As a ShoutOut to Fable and ''Manga/DragonBallZ'', any good-aligned character of a high enough level develops this. However, Kinas originally had it naturally.
* HalfTruth: Argus's specialty.
* TheHero: All three leaders have ties to this trope, reflected in their {{leitmotif}}s.
** Argus isn't exactly a hero, as he is evil. However, he used to be one, and still possesses many heroic trends--among them, that his actions still make the world a better place, as they did when he was still a hero.
** Sanik fit many of the literal requirements pre-Battle of Helops, but only became a true hero after it.
** As a contrast, Kinas used to fit the mold even better than Sanik did, but [[FallenHero is anything but]] since his FaceHeelTurn, which started because of that same battle.
* TheHeroDies: Sanik performed a HeroicSacrifice, leaving The Elementals like this for some time (until [[UnexplainedRecovery he got better]]).
* HeroesPreferSwords:
** Kinas's weapon of choice [[FallenHero when he still fit the type]].
** This is also Sarge's, Sasha's, Nathan's, and Enlecar's weapon of choice, though none of them are the "main" party member.
* HeroicBSOD: A small portion of the backstory for The Elementals, but a significant part of the backstory for The Latens, particularly, Kinas.
* HeroicFantasy: Naturally.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Voss, David, and Ian all]] made one in the backstory of The Elementals and Latens.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: Though they are central to the overall plot, Sanik and Kinas initially come across looking like this compared to Argus and his Outcasts.
* HiddenElfVillage: Hidenva.
* HiddenEyes: Argus has one. Kinas has a partial example.
* HisStoryRepeatsItself: Though this could apply to most of the characters, this is most evident for Argus, as [[WordOfGod Brian]]'s description of the comic basically says that it revolves around Argus's past, and how he's going through everything a second time.
-->''Argus's backstory is also the future of the comic.''
* HistoryRepeats: The fate of [[spoiler: Helops]] is identical to the fate of [[spoiler: Faragawa]]. The only difference is that things ended up far, ''far'' worse for [[spoiler: Helops]]. Justified, in that [[spoiler: they were orchestrated by the same man]].
* HitPoints: Shown as an HP bar whenever things get bad.
* HoldingOutForAHero: Averted; being a fantasy setting, most towns know how to defend themselves. It's just that when faced against the army of [[spoiler: Chaos]], trained specifically to disable cities' defenses, there's not really much they can do to resist without a hero to save them.
* HolyHalo[=/=]HornedHumanoid: Gained at the same time as the [[GoodWingsEvilWings wings]] are.
* HonorBeforeReason: Lawful and good characters suffer this most frequently. LawfulStupid and GoodIsDumb both exist. In general, idealists fall into this far more often than cynical characters do.
* HopelessBossFight: [[spoiler: Celaren]] was one for The Elementals and The Latens. [[spoiler: Chaos]] almost was one for Argus.
* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: It's not the webcomic's slogan for no reason; every single character has experienced ''really'' bad falls, hero or antagonist.
* HumanityEnsues: Aria's ultimate goal.
* HumansAreBastards: Kinas's current view of the world. Argus has a minor version--most gods are ascended humans, and he thinks this of [[JerkAssGods gods]].
* HyperspaceArsenal: By the lower hundreds, this is a ''necessity'' in adventuring.
* {{Hypocrite}}: A few cast members have taken actions in direct confliction with their stated beliefs. Most commonly, it is to show that these characters are [[TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget not who they]] [[MotiveDecay once were]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:I-P]]
* AnIcePerson: Ice, a universally-offensive element.
* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Celaren, AKA, [[spoiler: The Agent Of Chaos, Enlecar's brother]], had a rather bad [[IncrediblyLamePun case]] of this. When it became BloodFromTheMouth during times it should not have been (during adventures, not unusual. When resting, extremely unusual), it forced him into a hospital.
* InfiniteCanvas: Conversed during a critique. [=TheOneBlueGecko=] pointed out the advantages inherent in the digital artform; it allows for panels to be longer (and therefore have more room for dialog), and for there to be a greater number of them on a page.
* InformedEquipment: Very little of characters' equipment actually shows in their art.
* InMediasRes:
** The Outcasts were formed months before the comic began, with all members present at the beginning having been there for weeks.
** The Elementals and Latens have already gained 15% of their levels back, and begin the comic at the start of an adventure, rather than at the point they begin planning one.
* InnocentBlueEyes[=/=]IcyBlueEyes:
** Nathan fits both.
** Enlecar's blue eye fits into the Icy category. As do M's.
* InstantExpert: Averted with regards to SkillPointReset--the person has to learn how to use their new abilities.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Argus is technically well over 80. Aria died young, but has been a ghost for an unknown number of years. Davos is in his 20s. Sasha's middle-aged for a Goblin. They're TrueCompanions.
* IronicEchoCut: The series originally started with one. It's still featured [[http://descended.thecomicseries.com/comics/3 early on]].
-->'''Argus:''' Other than recruitment, the only starting option left is a {{Dungeon Crawl|ing}}. And, really, who does those these days?
-->''(Text reads "Elsewhere, At A Dungeon")'' '''Sanik and Kinas:''' Alright, team, here's the deal...
* ItsAllAboutMe: Kinas's view on life. Argus has it as well, though in his case, it's [[JustifiedTrope justified]].
* ItsASmallWorldAfterAll: Big time.
* JackOfAllStats: When used as designed, Joats are this. If done poorly, they're [[MasterOfNone masters of none]]. If done well and with enough levels, they can take this trope to its [[LightningBruiser next level]]. Argus and Voss have both done so.
* JerkAss: A large portion of the cast.
* JerkassGods: As far as Argus is concerned.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Most of the cast, as they display sympathy for others.
* KatanasAreJustBetter: Nathan's weapons of choice, and they're even [[DualWielding dual-wielded]].
* LackOfEmpathy: M, Kinas, and Nathan Betrax.
* LampshadeHanging: Nathan Betrax is the designated CaptainObvious and lampshade hanger. However, as every character knows that Soano works on game mechanics, they all have a certain level of awareness. Argus, having been a god for a brief period of time, has it the highest, since he really [[GenreSavvy knows his tropes]].
* LazyArtist: The main reason the comic was guilty of being a CutAndPasteComic. Since he has lost his justification of the [[SpriteComic art style]] being redesigned from a 2-D game he was making, Brian has been forced to step up on his art. However, he still slacks off on scenery, and is quite vocal on the subject.
-->''"Why no scenery? HAVE YOU SEEN HOW'' [[SoundEffectBleep *CENSORED!*]] ''LONG IT TAKES TO DO SCENERY?!?'' [[ShoutOut By Lor]][[VideoGame/AdventureQuest ithia]], ''it takes FOREVER! Now, even if I'' [[CutAndPasteComic copy and pasted]] [[CutAndPasteEnvironments scenery]] ''from every single panel, I still have to draw it once! And, believe me, it's harder than you think, unless you've done it before. I sure was caught by surprise. What scenery I try to add often fails, and if it DOESN'T fail, then it'll still take a long time.''
* LeakedExperience: The Latens and The Elementals have stayed at approximately equal levels...despite some party members having been gone for a long time missing whole arcs of their travels.
* LeftJustifiedFantasyMap: Inverted; Fargawania/Helopia is a Right-Justified map; they have an ocean to their east/right and mountains covering their northern and western boarders, separating them from their rival nation.
* TheLegionsOfHell: Instead of just one demonic dimension, there are several, though none of them are technically "hell". The primary one is the largest, because it's the only group smart enough to never launch a full-scale invasion: instead, they just perform an occasional raid. Their [[GambitRoulette complex plans]] were laid out by Argus.
* LifeMeter: Displayed whenever a character takes significant damage in combat.
* LightEmUp: The Light Element has some of this, particularly for Warriors.
* LightIsNotGood: While many characters using Light are positively-aligned, smarter evil-characters (knowing they'll get hurt more often than heroes) have a tendency to use it just as often.
* LuckStat: One of the ten stats.
* MacGuffin: Any item from a sufficiently-powerful player used by a lower-level player becomes this. These are also what many of the adventurers seek to gain.
* MadnessMantra: Brian, to avert schedule slips, has taken to chanting one.
-->''"Must keep working, must keep working, must keep working......"''
* MagicAIsMagicA: Brian's currently working on making consistent rules for Soano, enough to make it a viable gaming world.
* MagicalGirlWarrior: Sasha, as a [[MagicKnight Paladin]], is literally this.
* MagicKnight: The basic idea behind Paladins and Death Paladins. Sanik and Kinas technically fit, though they both have an over-reliance on the 'magic' half.
* MagneticHero: Argus and Sanik--both veteran adventurers--have a talent for this. Kinas has it to a lesser degree.
* MakingASplash: Some Water abilities.
* ManaMeter: Shown whenever a spell is cast.
* ManChild: Davos has an adult body, but as vampires age slowly, his mind is still considered that of a child.
* MartialArtsHeadband: Tyra, M, Sinaer, and Enlecar all play it straight. Sarge is sometimes depicted with one, but not always. Kinas and Sanik are subversions--they wear what effectively is a ring around their head, but because it's difficult to draw, it frequently is shown as a MartialArtsHeadband instead.
* MasterOfIllusion: The Darkness Mage is mainly this.
* MeaningfulName: It'd be easier to list the names which aren't meaningful. [[WordOfGod Brian]] explained why on the forums in [[http://comicfury.com/forum/viewthread.php?id=5938&page=4#p275229 this]] post.
-->''"I should put in the effort of figuring out their full names. Yes, I consider it more 'figuring out' than 'thought out', because to me, they're living, breathing people. Their names are part of who they are, so I take great care to make sure that their name is, well,'' them''."''
* MeanwhileBackAtThe: Used just as often as MeanwhileScene; Brian frequently transitions between the three groups.
* MeanwhileScene: Used just as often as MeanwhileBackAtThe.
* TheMedic: The core focus of the Light element, especially for Mages.
* TheMentor: Voss was this for Enlecar (and later, M). His travel companions Ian and David were Sinaer's and Kinas's. All three inspired Argus as well.
** FairWeatherMentor: Davos fears that Argus takes this approach, seeing Davos as just a disposable tool.
** SinkOrSwimMentor: Justified--As Argus is not a vampire, he is unable to actually demonstrate the vampiric abilities Davos wishes to learn. Instead, he simply tells Davos what to do with a vague idea of how and forces him to learn it on his own.
* MentorOccupationalHazard: [[spoiler: All three of them died in a HeroicSacrifice]].
* MethuselahSyndrome: Adventurers--humans included--can live well beyond their years.
%%* MightyGlacier: Warriors tend to be built this way.
* MilkingTheGiantCow: Brian is a fan of this in real life, as Ranger, and in the comics--many of the characters display the exaggerations typical of the trope. Most notably, Argus.
* MindControlEyes: The swirly variant.
* MindProbe: The spell "Mindreader" and similar abilities.
* MindRape: Of the psychological kind, this is the specialty of [[spoiler: Chaos]], to both enemies and allies alike. As WordOfGod puts it, "[[spoiler: Chaos]] likes to break people, ally and enemy alike."
* MoneyForNothing: The standard RPG variant: Money is extremely valuable in the lower levels, but in the upper levels isn't as valuable.
* MoneySpider: Surprisingly, averted. Characters get experience from defeating enemies, but they don't get gold unless the enemy had gold on them; adventurers get most of their gold from loot which the enemies are guarding, as a reward, and from selling the junk the defeated enemies ''were'' carrying.
* MoralityKitchenSink: While all nine alignments are in play, many characters' usage of them is different from the typical expectations of that alignment, causing a blur between the lines.
* UsefulNotes/MSPaint: Default program used, as Brian knows all the tricks of the program. However, to encourage ArtEvolution, he has begun using Paint.NET to further his artistic skill.
-->''"I feel like such a cheater."''
* MysteriousPast: All of the cast has one. Argus is the champion of the trope, however, as exploring his past forms the backbone of the story.
* NaiveNewcomer: Anyone with a low Wisdom stat.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Chaos.
* NeverGetsDrunk: Warriors have this as a built-in ability. Rogues and mages can acquire it by using the abilities which permit them to be immune to toxins.
* NewGamePlus: A version is given to any character nerfed. The Elementals and The Latens both receive minor benefits from this. Argus (having been a far higher level) receives far better bonuses. He even calls out the trope by name.
* NiceGuy: Despite the nature of their pasts, a few still exist.
** Sasha is this for The Outcasts. Similarly, Sinaer fills this role for The Latens.
** Tyra is the default for The Elementals, but she is not the only one. Both Sanik and Sarge can fill the role when needed.
* NietzscheWannabe: Cynical evil characters see the world as their playthings, as just toys which can easily be broken and replaced, ultimately having no meaning.
* NominalImportance: Big time.
* NoodleIncident: "The cart incident". Davos's fight when he was recruited also counts.
* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted with the usual author justification: It's a fantasy setting. They use magic to avoid it.
* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler: Chaos]].
* ObfuscatingStupidity: This is how [[spoiler: Chaos]] managed to hide himself for so long.
* OccultBlueEyes: Argus's single blue eye.
* OhMyGods: Normal characters say this. Gods, already being Gods, aren't going to say, "Oh my me", so instead say "COSMOS". Argus, having been among their ranks, picked the habit up.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Argus is over 80. Aria hasn't aged since she died years ago. Voss and David were also examples.
* OldMaster: Voss, Ian, and David (though only Ian looked the part). Since he's now training Davos, Argus counts as well.
* TheOmniscient: Gods in general. The plot-related ones are Hank and [[spoiler: Chaos]], with Argus also having similar potential.
* OneDegreeOfSeparation: Revealed in the full version of characters' backstories; nearly the entire cast is tied to one or two individuals, mainly, [[spoiler: Argus's brother, Chaos]] and one of [[spoiler: Chaos's Agents, Enlecar's brother Celaren]].
* OneSizeFitsAll: The main restriction for clothing is by class and stat attributes. As such, there is no difference between male and female equipment, nor is there a distinction in most equipment for race.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname:
** M.
** David Smith was called "The Blacksmith", and Ian Oman was called "The Old Man".
** [[spoiler: Chaos]] is called by his nickname. Though, technically, [[spoiler: it's an acronym of his real name, Cedric Hector Aostrat]].
** The Agent of Chaos has a real name, [[spoiler: Celaren]], but is never called as such, due to [[ThatManIsDead his]] [[FallenHero fall]].
* OnlyOneName: Tyra, M, and Sinaer.
* OrderVersusChaos: Whereas BlackAndWhiteMorality has a "cosmic balance" and can't tip too far to one side when it comes to ascension, this is actually averted for Gods; there is no similar scale for Order and Chaos, due to a loophole/paradox involving how the act of balancing them out itself tips the scales towards order.
* OrphanedSeries: While for the longest time, it looked like this would be played straight (with the last update having been January 2010), it is finally looking like this has been Averted. To paraphrase,
--> ''"I'm determined. I might have procrastinated, but I never gave up. This means far too much to me for me to abandon it, and that has given me the will to keep on going."''
:: True to his word, Brian's work on The Descended has gotten to the point where he is almost ready to continue the comic.
* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Brian has a whole tree of terms for different vampires. The strongest of them are Purebloods, those born from two pureblood vampires like Davos. They have few-to-none of the typical vampire weaknesses (except the bloodlust) and most of the typical strengths.
* OxymoronicBeing: Exist.
* PaletteSwap: Though [[DivergentCharacterEvolution they are each beginning to become more unique]] with the ArtShift and ArtEvolution, there were originally only three types of clothing, one for each of the base classes--robes (Mage), plate armor (Warrior), and leather armor (Rogue); every character had one of the three, only differentiated by the colors.
** This also applied to the AnimeHair used on the sprites for Argus, Sanik, Kinas, and Nathan.
* ParentalSubstitute: Argus, when needed for Davos. Each team also has a female cast member who acts as the TeamMom, keeping the rest of the team from getting into too much trouble.
* PerpetualSmiler:
** Before the Battle of Helops, Kinas. After the Battle of Helops, Sanik. Tyra, Sasha, and Sinaer frequently are shown smiling as well.
** Davos is almost always shown with a smile, but WordOfGod is that the smile is simply so that he can have an easier time showing Davos's teeth to make sure people know he's a vampire.
* PersonalityPowers:
** Sanik's slightly whimsical (Wind), Sarge is a little confrontational (Fire), M is coldly logical (Water), and Tyra is strong, yet calming (Earth).
** In general, Water users tend to be distant and calculating, as Mages specialize in manipulation, Warriors in conservation, and Rogues in sabotage; Light users tend to be heroic, as Mages specialize in healing, Warriors in duty, and Rogues in confusion and charm; Darkness users tend to be villainous, as Mages specialize in deceptive illusions, Warriors specialize in passion, and Rogues specialize in stealth; Wind users tend to be airheads, but when it matters, helpful, as Mages specialize in Buffs/Debuffs, Warriors in opportunism, and Rogues in support; Fire users tend to be aggressive, as the element focuses on attack power, Ice users tend to be snappy, as the element focuses on speed; Energy users tend to be stubborn and defiant, as the element focuses on willpower and outlasting the enemy; Earth users tend to be calm and in control, as the element focuses on keeping hold on the situation.
* PetalPower: While the Earth Element is primarily DishingOutDirt, there is no "Nature" element, and so, this falls under Earth's domain as well.
* PixelArtComic: What the comic was before its permanent ArtShift / ArtEvolution.
* PlayerParty: The Outcasts, The Elementals, and The Latens.
* PlayingWithFire: The Fire Element, naturally.
* PocketDimension: As a Fantasy setting, Soano is filled with these.
* PointBuildSystem: Ten per level.
* PortTown: Yeras Wharf, Nathan Betrax's home city.
* PowerEqualsRarity: In most cases.
* PowerFloats: Obviously, people of the Wind Element have this when casting certain buffs like "Hover", but all magic users actively casting spells have minor resistance to gravity.
* PowerGivesYouWings: And the Halo/Horns.
* PowerGlows: Magical spells make the user's hands glow.
* ThePowerOfFriendship: The only universally redeeming character trait in the cast. If not for their friendships with each other, a lot of the cast (The Latens in particular) would be far worse people than they are.
* PowersThatBe: The Cosmos are considered to be this.
-->"Humans tend to say, 'Oh, Gods', praying/cursing to/at a higher power. When they '''''become''''' that higher power, what do they believe in, then? What could be greater than a God? That greater force is what they call The Cosmos, a force which nobody can mess with and have it end well. (Though manipulating it is possible...)"
* PowerTrio: While all the groups in the present are made up of ''four''-member groups, the backstory features a core trio consisting of Argus, Hank, and [[spoiler: Chaos]].
** ThreePlusTwo: During their "final battle" before ascension, their adventuring party was this. The three above were also traveling with two others, one of them [[spoiler: Davos's father]] and the other, Hank's LoveInterest. [[spoiler: Chaos killed both of them before they knew what hit them, but failed to kill Hank]].
** BeautyBrainsAndBrawn: [[spoiler: Chaos]] as the Brawn, with Argus and Hank sharing traits of Brains and Beauty.
** ComicTrio: Who filled what role depends on the situation. In towns, Argus was the OnlySaneMan. During adventures, it'd frequently be [[spoiler: Chaos]], with Argus as the leader and Hank as the follower.
** FireIceLightning: Hank (Fire+Light), Argus (Lightning+Wind), and [[spoiler: Chaos]] (Ice+Darkness).
* PrestigeClass: One can multiclass at any time, however, Martial Artists (Warrior+Rogue), (Death) Paladins (Warrior+Mage), and Woodsmen (Rogue+Mage) only become prestige classes at Level 300, where the penalties for multiclassing once are removed, allowing an upgrade to a mixture of two classes rather than specializing in just one. At level 850, the penalty for Master (All) is removed, allowing for a character to have full access to all abilities from all classes to make ascension easier.
* TheProtagonist: Argus. Sanik, HeroOfAnotherStory, is one as well. Kinas has become another.
* PsychicBlockDefense: The spell "Closed Mind" and similar abilities give this.
* PsychicLink: The spell "Telepathy" and similar abilities allow for this.
* PsychicPowers: Some of them are ElementalPowers, some of them are class abilities, and others are given by items or racial bonuses.
* PuppyDogEyes: Aria's large eyes allow her to pull this off perfectly.
* PuttingTheBandBackTogether: Sanik tried to after The Battle of Helops. He mostly succeeded--he got Tyra, Sarge, and M back. He failed to get The Latens back, but as Kinas formed his own team with them and they frequently adventure at the same spots, he might as well have.
* PyrrhicVictory: How The Elementals and The Latens eventually 'won' their fight with [[spoiler: Celaren]]. There's a reason everything they do is divided into "pre-defeat" and "post-defeat"; their victory was anything but.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:R-Z]]
* RageAgainstTheHeavens: Argus's motivation.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: All of the groups have this to some degree, but it is most obvious in The Outcasts.
* TheRant: Brian is known for rambling. His webcomic is no exception. He tends to keep it more polite than a Rant, but when it comes to scenery...
* RazorWind: The Wind Element has some attacks of this nature, particularly, from Warriors.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Voss, David, and Ian.
* RedemptionQuest: The Elementals and Latens embark on quests mainly to deal with the consequences of their failure at [[spoiler: The Battle of Helops]].
* RedEyesTakeWarning:
** Evil characters who get to a high enough level gain these. Argus has one, hidden behind his hair.
** Subverted with Sarge--he has the eyes, and is the main combatant for The Elementals (making him a large threat), but he is not the most dangerous member of the team overall, and is one of the better people in the group on any given average day.
** Davos [[ZigZaggedTrope zig-zags]] this--he's the most deadly combatant of The Outcasts (straight). However, he is generally a kind person (subverted). It's when his [[GlowingEyesOfDoom red eyes glow]] that you're really in trouble.
* TheRedMage: It is possible to combine any two elements together. You can also master all eight.
* ResetButton: When Argus was nerfed, he was sent back to Level 1 (though he kept his equipment). When The Elementals and Latens were defeated by an Agent Of Chaos, they were sent back to level 1 and lost a good portion of their equipment. Unfortunately, this reset only applied to '''''them''''', with their mentors, hometown, and homeland not having such luxuries. As a result, [[spoiler: [[DownerEnding they all died]]]].
* RetiredBadass: Voss, David, and Ian. Sinaer also counts, as she now focuses on healing her teammates rather than fighting.
* ReverseGrip: When shown, Aria wields her second dagger this way.
* RightMakesMight: Inverted, subverted, and played straight at different points in the story.
** PlayedStraight: The Elementals, who have a higher moral standing than their counterparts The Latens, take less damage in combat.
** Inverted: The Elementals and Latens, when they were the same group, were weaker than the Agent Of Chaos sent to destroy them, who was evil.
** Subverted: Argus gets weaker when he is being "good", but frequently puts more into his fight, [[DoubleSubversion resulting in him being more powerful]].
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Motivates a few characters, most notably, Argus.
* RolePlayingGameVerse: The World of Soano runs on this, a custom system created by Brian from scratch.
* RPGMechanicsVerse: Kind-of. Though characters heavily lean on the fourth wall, it remains intact and has not been broken.
* RuleOfCool: The main reason Kinas's name is what it is; Brian just thought it sounded cool.
* TheRunaway: Part of many characters' backstories.
* SarcasmMode: The cast is made up largely of cynic [[JerkAss jerkasses]], including the artist. With a cast like that, [[SelfDemonstratingArticle this trope can't come up frequently]].
* ScarfOfAsskicking: Multiple characters are shown to have one in their ConceptArt.
* SelfDeprecation: Brian pokes fun at himself all the time.
* SeparatedAtBirth: Though not quite at birth, Kinas and Sanik were separated at a very young age and only reunited many years later.
* SharedUniverse: The World of Soano which The Descended takes place in is intended as one; Brian specifically said this was the reason he didn't want to think out every single detail for the whole world, as doing so would limit the freedom of others who would potentially want to have a work in the world.
* ShellShockedVeteran: All of The Elementals and The Latens, having fought for many years, but especially Sarge.
* ShiningCity: Helops.
* ShockAndAwe: The Energy Element is almost entirely this.
* ShockingDefeatLegacy: Technically, the [[spoiler: Battle of Helops]] ended in victory for The Elementals and The Latens--the leader of the army of [[spoiler: Chaos]] was defeated and the army was almost entirely wiped out. Given that it cost [[spoiler: the lives of Voss, David, and Ian]] to accomplish, [[spoiler: Helops still fell]], [[spoiler: the remnants of the army destroyed almost every city in Helopia anyway]], and [[spoiler: The Elementals and Latens were reset to level 1 without most of their equipment, half-way across the world]], it certainly didn't ''feel'' like they won. They don't call it "post-defeat" because they won, after all.
* ShoutOut: Now featuring [[ShoutOut/TheDescended its own page]]!
* SiblingRivalry: Argus and [[spoiler: Chaos]], Sanik and Kinas, Enlecar and [[spoiler: Celaren]]...
* SignatureMove:
** Argus's preferred spell of choice is [[ChainLightning Storm3]], one of the [[FantasticNuke most powerful]] Energy-element attacks possible.
** "[=Drain5=]" is a LimitBreak which drains health, mana, and experience from the target, but can only be used by vampires.
* SignatureStyle:
** Two separate online friends of Brian--completely independent from each other--commented:
--->''"Only you could turn a webcomic into a wall."''
** Another signature of his is to use exclusively UsefulNotes/MSPaint, both classic and Windows 7, though his ArtShift means he has begun using other programs to best encourage ArtEvolution.
** His favorite fonts are Arial and Agency FB. Arial is typically for normal speech, with Agency FB used for everything else. He almost-universally has 'whispers' as being drawn with lines rather than speech bubbles as well.
* SkillPointReset: Played with--this can be done at any location where a character can rest. However, a character is not an instant expert and their new set of abilities and stats either must already be familiar to them or take some heavy adjusting to. Also, changing class and attributes generally requires a different set of equipment the character should have.
-->''When changing class and stats, you don't lose the knowledge of the ability; you simply lose the capability to use the ability. Vice-versa, too: when you become a class with new stats, you don't learn how to use the new abilities; you simply gain the capability to use them.''
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Brian's "third axis" to the alignment chart is based off of this--Idealists are better people but tend to not be as successful, whereas cynics follow the expectations of the alignment far better, and therefore fall victim to the negative stereotypes of them.
* SlidingScaleOfUndeadRegeneration: Vampires (at least, pureblooded vampires) are Type IV.
* SmallSecludedWorld: Many [[AlternateDimension Alternate Dimensions]] exist of this nature.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Sinaer, for The Latens.
* TheSoCalledCoward: Rogues are meant to be played like this: fighting directly will get them killed, as Aria can attest to. However, they still find ways to fight no matter their situation, as [[spoiler: Hank]] does.
* SoundEffectBleep: Brian dislikes cursing, avoiding spelling out even minor ones, frequently in favor of this.
* SpeechBubbles: Averted with whispers, but otherwise used straight.
* SpriteComic: Custom-made sprites, modified from a game he never finished, but the idea is the same. The ArtShift means that they are currently only used to invoke SuperDeformed.
* SquishyWizard: Mages follow this build.
* StandardizedLeader: Sanik. Argus used to be one. Kinas never really fit the mold, though, and him knowing this was one of the contributing factors to his FaceHeelTurn and forming The Latens.
* StarCrossedLovers: Nathan Betrax's parents were a subversion: their clans were rivals, so they appeared to have been this...until the clans--already wanting to end their feud--decided that marriage would be a cheap and easy way to do so.
* StevenUlyssesPerhero: It'd be shorter to list the characters who don't have this.
* StoryArc: Even called Arcs; The Descended is divided up into plotlines this way, currently in the arc And So Our Story Begins.
* SundayStrip: Came [[http://descended.thecomicseries.com/comics/6/ a bit early]].

* SwissArmySuperpower: Most class abilities are very loosely defined, allowing the user a great amount of freedom on what can and can't be done with them. In the few incidents where what they want to do won't work, there's items, which overwrite the rules of class abilities, as they can do anything.
-->''"Nine times out of ten, if the rules of an item conflict with the rules of Soano, the item wins."''
* SwordLines: Featured in combat frequently.
* TakeThat: Brian enjoys ''Webcomic/AntiHeroes'' (''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''-style comic), so would never insult it. He insults the idea of copying it. This is what sparked the flame of what became Soano.
* TakeUpMySword:
** When Sanik was dead, Tyra took his place, continuing on to deal with even larger threats. When Sanik was found again (but still not fit to lead), Tyra stepped down and Sarge took up the mantle of the largest threat they had ever faced. He was more than relieved when Sanik took the helm again.
** Hinted at with Ian to Sinaer, David to Kinas, and Voss to M.
* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler: Ian]] almost succeeded in taking out [[spoiler: Celaren]] this way. Unfortunately, [[spoiler: Celaren]] thought he would die, so he pulled the same move on [[spoiler: Voss]], hoping to take out The Elementals and The Latens at the same time.
* {{Telepathy}}: The "Magic Mail" tree and (to some extent) "Who Needs A Crystal Ball?" tree, along with similar abilities.
* ThatManIsDead: Argus says this of his old name, Jason Argo Maustrat. [[spoiler: Celaren]] says it as well. As does [[spoiler: Chaos]] to his birth name [[spoiler: Cedric]].
* ThemeTwinNaming: Of the SdrawkcabName variety for Sanik and Kinas. Furthermore, Sanik's middle initial is A, the first letter in the alphabet, whereas Kinas (the EvilTwin) has a middle initial of Z, the last letter in the alphabet.
* ThereAreNoCoincidences: Given how [[OneDegreeOfSeparation connected]] the cast is, and how certain characters are consistently suffering, it's not unreasonable to conclude this.
* ThinkNothingOfIt:
** Of all the groups to display this, the strongest advocates? ''The Outcasts''.
** Justified with Argus, who really '''doesn't''' want people to think of any good deed he's done. Also justified with Davos, who is [[BlessedWithSuck biologically compelled]] to help; if he had his way, he wouldn't.
** Sasha is a more traditional example from the same team, who chose her lifestyle because she wished to.
* TimeTravel: It's possible under extreme circumstances, but has limits. While little changes to the past/present are possible, [[PowersThatBe The Cosmos]] always ensure that things play out "the way they are supposed to".
** Time Travel to the past cannot change it, since it has already happened. Do nothing to alter history? That's how it was supposed to go. Try to mess things up, or make things better? Circumstances always foil you. Think that you're supposed to do something in the past and not do it? Someone else takes your place. Think someone else is supposed to do something, but end up doing it yourself? That's how things were supposed to work. Try saving someone who was supposed to die? Only possible if you make it look like they have. And so on.
** Time Travel to the future is not recommended, because if you travel to the future and come back, the future you went to is destined to happen no matter what you try. Do nothing? It happens. Try to prevent it? You end up securing its existence. Try to cause it? You succeed.\\
\\This rule has a couple of loopholes, though. It only kicks in for physical travel to the future, so people with the ability to see the future aren't actually seeing "The Future"; they're simply seeing how events are most likely to play out. The other loophole was found by [[spoiler: Chaos]]--by [[spoiler: traveling to the future but not traveling back]], [[spoiler: Chaos]] managed to [[spoiler: cheat Gods into thinking him dead, rendering him untraceable]].
* TitleDrop: In the group descriptions.
* TotalPartyKill: Effectively inflicted on The Elementals and The Latens when they were the same group, but they were saved by [[spoiler: the HeroicSacrifice of David, Ian, and Voss]].
* TragicVillain: [[spoiler: Celaren]]. Kinas technically is one as well.
* TraumaCongaLine: The majority of the cast.
* TraumaInn: A good night's rest can cure everything short of death.
* {{Troperiffic}}: For a webcomic with only six pages, you'd expect this page to be a little bit shorter. Nope! Not with Brian knowing a lot of tropes by heart and using many in daily real-life conversations.
* TrueCompanions: All the main groups.

* TwinDesynch: Played with--Sanik was originally less heroic and Kinas more heroic, so after the Battle of Helops when Sanik became more heroic, he became more like Kinas...but Kinas became less heroic and had his appearance drastically altered.
* TwoLinesNoWaiting: While there are three main groups, The Elementals and The Latens frequently adventure so closely together that they are almost the same, allowing this.
* {{Uncanceled}}: Two and a half years after having gone on hiatus, Brian finally succeeded in getting his comic running again.
* UncannyValley: Invoked by the [[WordOfGod artist]] for Demons. Drawn with more realistic proportions and without lines surrounding them, they were drawn to intentionally invoke a sense of unnatural unease.
* UndeadChild: Davos, by vampire standards, is still a young child, despite being in his 20s.
* TheUnderworld: Where people go when they die (or are struck down); it's actually a pretty good place to live the afterlife. However, it's not quite as good as Ascension.
* UniversalPoison: Almost. Strictly speaking, there's only one 'poison' status ailment, but there are other similar status ailments such as 'burn'.
* UniverseBible:
** Brian's earlier blogs as well as early posts in his thread served this purpose, to give him a guideline.
** UniverseCompendium: The [[http://descended.thecomicseries.com/about/ About]] (and to some extent, the [[http://descended.thecomicseries.com/characters/ Characters]]) page served to refine the blogs and give better, clearer, easier-to-access information for everyone.
* UnSoundEffect: Most notably, [[FacePalm facepalms]].
* UnwantedHarem: A small part of Davos's backstory while at The Academy.
* UselessUsefulSpell: Averted. Sometimes the smaller abilities are more effective than their more powerful counterparts, and every ability has a use.
* VictoriousChildhoodFriend: Tyra and Sinaer.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: When Argus introduces himself as Jason Argo Maustrat, chances are, he'll be recognized as a hero. (Justified, in that he [[FallenHero used to be one]].) Kinas might be less-known, but he still has a fairly high standing in the adventuring community, despite his alignment.
* TheVoiceless: One of the original problems with the comic; certain characters barely got any lines of dialog. It has since been fixed, all characters having roughly equal amounts of speaking time.
* VolcanicVeins: As one of the main inspirations of Soano is Fable, characters who are sufficiently well-versed in magic at a high enough level may gain these.
* WalletOfHolding: There is no limit to how much gold a person can carry, even if they lack a BagOfHolding.
* WallOfText: The author of The Descended is ''Ranger''. You can expect nothing less.
* WarIsHell: The Elementals and The Latens have seen more than their fair share of warfare, and the experience of their last 'war' changed them forever.
* WatchingTroyBurn: [[spoiler: Helops]], the hometown of [[spoiler: The Elementals and The Latens]]. Worse, it wasn't the first time, as [[spoiler: many of their party members suffered a similar experience at Faragawa]].
* WaterIsBlue: [[JustifiedTrope Given that the webcomic has a white background]], it'd be difficult to show water in any other way.
* WeBuyAnything: The standard conservation of detail; the heroes only go to stores where they can buy and sell things they need and have acquired.
* WhiteMagic: Light Magic.
* WhiteMagicianGirl:
** Robes? Check. Support role in combat? Check. Designated healer of the team? Check. A staff? Check. Caring and compassionate? Oh so very much check. Sinaer plays this almost completely straight; the only things missing are long hair and poor combat skills.
** Tyra is a good example as well, having most of the same characteristics, though she plays a little more of an active (albeit still indirect) role in battle. As a bonus, she originally had longer hair, too.
* WhiteVoidRoom: A side-effect of Brian's hatred of drawing scenery.
* WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief: An in-universe example--people in the world of Soano like hearing good stories, so when someone embellishes their tales, it is rare for anybody to call them out on it, because they are willing to push aside their skepticism.
* WillTheyOrWontThey:
** The lead male of each group with the lead female of each group.
** Subverted with Sanik-Tyra and Kinas-Sinaer, though: WordOfGod says they will, they do, and have been for some time. It's just that when you live your life constantly on the move, adventuring consistently every day and having very few nights where you have private chambers, they don't get the chance very often.
* WingdingEyes: Used often.
* WingedHumanoid: Any who get enough points into Good or Evil at a high enough level earn them.
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: At times, Davos.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: [[spoiler: Celaren]] was driven insane by [[spoiler: Chaos]], who made him a lot more powerful.
* AWorldHalfFull: Given how much suffering the cast has gone through, Soano certainly seems like a gloomy place. However, changes do occur over time, and mostly for the better.
* WorldOfHam: Brian/Ranger is a LargeHam. He can't create a world which ''doesn't'' feature this.
* XanatosGambit: Called in-universe the "Gargoyle's Gambit" after the TropeNamer who benefited from plans that fail.
* YouAllLookFamiliar: Originally a problem with the sprite art; Brian is doing his best to diversify the cast so that there is less similarity between people.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain:
** The Elementals and Latens can't.
** While she settled down in a new town, Sasha can't go back to her original home or people.
[[/folder]]

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