History Tropers / Nrjxll

CharacterDevelopmentThread/{{Capital}}

CharacterDevelopmentThread/Capital

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=38#929 here]]

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=38#931 here]]

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=38#928 here]]

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=38#929 here]]

* [[Tropers/StrixObscuro Nioba, Lihiri]], [[Tropers/{{Gault}} Adrien]], and [[Tropers/{{nrjxll}} Rey]] are currently in the '''hotel lobby'''. Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=38#929 here.]]

* [[Tropers/{{Sonzai}} Hvpvdqia]] is now in an '''Entertainment Hall Side Building''' along with [[Tropers/{{nrjxll}} several of the Fat Man's agents.]] Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=38#931 here.]]
* [[Tropers/TeraChimera Peter]], [[Tropers/KillerClowns Xiong, and Isaac]] are at '''Camp Leatherneck''', which is not located in the Fair. Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=37#925 here.]]

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=38#929 here]]

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=38#931 here]]

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=38#929 here]]

* [[Tropers/{{Sonzai}} Hvpvdqia]] is now in an '''Entertainment Hall Side Building''' along with [[Tropers/{{nrjxll}} several of the Fat Man's agents.]] Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=38#929 here.]]

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=37#914 here]]

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=37#916 here]]

** Current characters: [[Tropers/KillerClowns Xiong, Veneris, Sigmund (as a transmission)]], [[Tropers/TeraChimera Peter, Ksana]], [[Tropers/{{Sonzai}} Iono]]
** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=37#913 here]]

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=37#914 here]]

* [[Tropers/StrixObscuro Nioba, Lihiri]], [[Tropers/{{Gault}} Adrien]], and [[Tropers/{{nrjxll}} Rey]] are currently in the '''hotel lobby'''. Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=37#904 here.]]
* [[Tropers/SolipSchism Somlan]] and [[Tropers/{{Sphinxyness}} Shay]] are in the '''Courtyard.''' Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=37#912 here.]]

* [[Tropers/StrixObscuro Dimi and Nazerno]] are currently in '''Room -217''' of the hotel. Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=36#896 here.]]

* [[Tropers/{{Sonzai}} Hvpvdqia]] is wandering around the '''Entertainment Hall.''' She is being followed by an unknown alien. Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=37#916 here.]]

* [[Tropers/StrixObscuro Nioba, Lihiri]], [[Tropers/{{Gault}} Adrien]], and [[Tropers/{{nrjxll}} Rey]] are currently in the '''hotel lobby'''. Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?

discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=37#904 here.]]
* [[Tropers/SolipSchism Somlan]] and [[Tropers/{{Sphinxyness}} Shay]] are in the '''Courtyard.''' Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=37#912

here.]]

* [[Tropers/{{Yomegami}} Nagako]] is heading through the market hall towards the '''Courtyard.''' She is being followed by [[Tropers/SolipSchism Masum]]. Last post

[[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=37#912 here.]]
* [[Tropers/{{Sonzai}} Hvpvdqia]] is wandering around the '''Entertainment Hall.''' She is being followed by an unknown alien. Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?

discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=37#916 here.]]

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=37#913 here]]

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=37#910 here]]

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=37#913 here]]

* [[Tropers/StrixObscuro Nioba, Lihiri]], [[Tropers/{{Gault}} Adrien]], and [[Tropers/{{nrjxll}} Rey]] are currently in the '''hotel lobby'''. Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=37#904 here.]]
* [[Tropers/SolipSchism Somlan]] and [[Tropers/{{Sphinxyness}} Shay]] are in the '''Courtyard.''' Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=37#912 here.]]

* [[Tropers/{{Yomegami}} Nagako]] is heading through the market hall towards the '''Courtyard.''' She is being followed by [[Tropers/SolipSchism Masum]]. Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=37#912 here.]]
* [[Tropers/{{Sonzai}} Hvpvdqia]] is wandering around the '''Entertainment Hall.''' Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=36#897 here.]]

** Current characters: [[Tropers/{{Yomegami}} Mahiro and Nagako]], [[Tropers/KillerClowns Suela]]
** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=36#881 here]]

** Current characters: [[Tropers/TeraChimera Shane]]
** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=34#829 here]]

** Current characters (first group): [[Tropers/KillerClowns Xiong, Sigmund]], [[Tropers/TeraChimera Peter, Ksana]]
*** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=36#885 here]]
** Current characters (second group): [[Tropers/KillerClowns Veneris]], [[Tropers/{{Sonzai}} Iono]]
*** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=36#884 here]]

** Current characters: [[Tropers/SolipSchism Ejra]], [[Tropers/{{nrjxll}} Ghiln]]
** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=36#889 here]]

** Current characters: [[Tropers/{{nrjxll}} Krott [=voSudir=], Hazzer drones]], [[Tropers/{{Sonzai}} Hvpvdqia]], [[Tropers/TeraChimera Marion]]
** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=36#889 here]]

* [[Tropers/StrixObscuro Nioba and Lihiri]] and [[Tropers/{{Gault}} Adrien]] are getting breakfast in the '''hotel lobby'''; they have been joined by Rey. Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=36#883 here.]]
* [[Tropers/SolipSchism Somlan and Karl]] are also in the '''lobby.''' Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=33#806 here]].
* [[Tropers/StrixObscuro Dimi]] is on his way to the '''hotel basement''', while Nazerno is still in his '''room (217)'''. Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=34#846 here.]]
* [[Tropers/SolipSchism Masum]]'s current location is unclear. Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=34#848 here.]]

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=36#886 here]]

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=36#886 here]]

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=35#855 here]]

*** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=35#868 here]]

*** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=35#866 here]]

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=35#872 here]]

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=35#870 here]]

* [[Tropers/StrixObscuro Nioba and Lihiri]] and [[Tropers/{{Gault}} Adrien]] are getting breakfast in the '''hotel lobby'''; they have been joined by Rey. Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=35#870 here.]]

* AbortedArc: Beginning around the end of Chapter 7, the story starts building up to a party to celebrate the defeat of Atlas, with large amounts of TemptingFate foreshadowing that it's going to be a spectacular disaster, including a surprise attack by Major Powers. Not long after the party began, however, the author ([[CharacterFilibuster as expressed through the Emperor]]) got bored with the storyline and ended it suddenly in a bizarre and anticlimactic fashion, with Powers being effortlessly captured by the Archmagister Prime and Kaylethia and Marnia getting into a fight for basically no reason.
* ActionGirl: Both Kaylethia and Princess Marnia are high-level adventurers and skilled combatants just like the male cast, though the latter is somewhat ineffective against anything but {{mooks}} as a result of being [[OvershadowedByAwesome "only" fifteenth level.]]
* AffablyEvil: In addition to the many recurring villains who act this way, Chapter 12 features none other than [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer40000}} Khorne]], [[EldritchAbomination Chaos God of War]], who is quite polite and easygoing after being summoned by Sereyentheous, even going so far as to give him suggestions on what to name his ultimate attack. [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope He stops acting like this to an extent]] [[LetsGetDangerous once Rand and Powers violate the rules of their duel by saving Ser]], [[DoubleSubversion but resumes it when battling the Emperor.]]]]
* AggressiveNegotiations: Near the ending of Chapter 9, representatives from High Aios, the Magebane Empire, and the Imperium of Man have all gathered on the Astral Plane to discuss the fate of Major Powers, and things seem to be proceding in a peaceful enough fashion. Then evil-aligned Arcane Incarnation Clanor, for essentially no reason at all, pitches a fit and blasts one of the Adeptus Custodes present with an Ultimate Destruction spell [[spoiler: and kills him.]] Things rapidly go downhill from there.
* AIIsACrapshoot: The AI civilization of Hypt seems to be prone to this. Millennia before the story even begins, their mechanical Hypt Dragons apparently went rogue and began attempting to eradicate all organic life. Then the ending of Chapter 10 reveals that the Superintendent of Hypt Academy has also gone insane and is trying to do the same thing, apparently supported by most of the other Hyptians. (Which in turn suggests that the Hypt Dragons may not have actually gone rogue after all...)
* AirborneAircraftCarrier: Both Eternus and Magebane are shown to have vessels of this nature among their other {{Cool Airship}}s, though they aren't shown to actually deploy small aircraft. An Eternus carrier (confusingly, it's also interchangeably referred to as a cruiser) plays a prominent role in Chapter 8, where Team Rand has a race around its cavernous interior after it's loaned to them by the royal family. It's later attacked by a Magebane carrier, kicking off the events of Chapter 9. [[spoiler: The Eternus ship ultimately manages to escape despite very heavy damage; the Magebane carrier winds up being accidentally destroyed by Xeno.]]
* AllJustADream: Invoked by Lord Secundus in Comic 282, who disguises himself as Torn in an attempt to trick Rand into believing that several recent events and reveals were all a dream he was having. Rand sees through it and is able to trick Secundus into giving himself away.
** Played straight in Comic 541, where the [[BizarroEpisode Pokemon battle mini-arc]] turns out to have been some sort of hallucination by Major Powers.
* AllLoveIsUnrequited: The status quo since the 300s has been this way: Princess Marnia has a crush on Rand, who hates her, while Torn has a crush on Marnia, who only sees him as a friend. [[spoiler: As of Comic 696, Marnia may finally be starting to get over Rand, or at least accept that he'll never like her back. Torn, however, remains as much a victim of the trope as ever.]]
* AllThereInTheManual: Since the comic exists as a series of forum threads, it's very easy for side information about the characters or setting to buried deep in the archives where new readers can't easily find it. One example would be the precise nature of Arcane Incarnations, which is only mentioned in Clanor's entry in a set of character bios that did not make the transition to the current comic thread.
* AmbiguousSyntax: In Comic 684, Sereyentheous runs into Kaylethia and they have this exchange:
-->'''Ser:''' I was informed females of this planet loved bouquets no matter how abominable.\\
'''Kaylethia:''' So wait, are the females themselves abominable, or do they like abominable bouquets?\\
'''Ser:''' I'm... not sure.\\
'''Kaylethia:''' Pleased to meet you, Not Sure. Have these grenades on the house.
* AMillionIsAStatistic: In Comic 558, a Madness News report informs us that the Custodes' "ragesplosion" on the Astral Plane (caused by [[spoiler: the theft of their brother's remains]]) has killed somewhere between 100,000 and 400,000 githyanki. This is [[PlayedForLaughs played as a cutaway gag]] and never mentioned again.
* AmusingInjuries: Done all the time, and usually (though not always) paired with MajorInjuryUnderreaction. Characters are routinely stabbed, impaled, blown up, and even ''decapitated'' without serious ill effects. This is partially [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by the comic operating under D&D rules, as the characters are all extremely high-level and could be reasonably expected to shrug off some injuries; however, it's mostly just RuleOfFunny.
* AnimatedArmor: Called Haunted Armors, these are the first type of mook to appear in Icktepetchis's Dungeons early in the comic; they aren't particularly dangerous and are kind of [[TooDumbToLive stupid.]] They later make a reappearance much later in Chapter 9 with an art upgrade, but this time they have the sense to avoid fighting the heroes and wind up just being a cameo (though some of them still get blown up anyway).
* ArcVillain: The main villains of the comic are clearly the Magebane Empire. However, on a couple of occasions more minor villains have served as the primary antagonists of a chapter or two:
** Chapter 4: [[NebulousEvilOrganization Atlas]], a terrorist organization with [[TerroristsWithoutACause slightly vague motivations]] whose lair the main characters wind up storming. They return for an encore appearance in Chapter 7, where they're finished off for good.
** Chapter 6: Serg'Ken, a gang boss and sorcerer with a coincidental resemblance to Rand. Played mostly for laughs, he's ultimately beaten to a pulp by Marnia and hasn't been seen since.
** Chapters 10 and 11: The [[AIIsACrapshoot insane]] and [[OmnicidalManiac omnicidal]] Superintendent of Hypt, who leads the other Hyptians in an attempt to wipe out the population of Eternus, though his role isn't revealed until the very end of Chapter 10. Unlike the other arc villains he's explicitly allied with Magebane, but his goals don't entirely match theirs and the cast spends far more time fighting Hyptians than Magebane forces in these chapters. Still a threat as of Chapter 12, though the war is taking place off-screen for now.
* ArtEvolution: The comic's art style has become considerably sleeker and more detailed since its beginning; compare the extremely ornate design of one of the Adeptus Custodes to Rand's original look.
* ArtShift:
** Scenes set in or near the Magebane Empire, or sometimes merely involving its technology, often shift entirely into Madness style, even for characters not normally drawn in it. This grows less common as the comic goes on, though.
** Beginning with Comic 79 and ending with Comic 301, some of the shorter comics would be randomly done as sprite comics for no apparent reason.
** The art style for the comic as a whole permanently shifted at the beginning of Chapter 12, with ''The Order of the Stick's'' style being largely abandoned in favor of a new non-stick figure (but still cartoony) style. Among the major changes are drastically different snout shapes for the reptilian characters and colored eyes with pupils for all characters.
* AttackItsWeakPoint: The only weakness of the gigantic Hyptian Apocalypse Cruiser in Chapter 11 is the firing dish for its city-wrecking laser. Professor Savaddor actually uses the phrase "attack its weak point for massive damage" while explaining the plan to Jeroshaw, though the latter doesn't seem to get it.
-->'''Savaddor:''' You've never seen Film/{{Independence Day}}? This is ''exactly'' like that.
* AuthorAvatar: An unnamed blue-robed Arcane Incarnation has occasionally acted as the voice of the author, doing things such as downsizing excessively large speech bubbles, providing art upgrades, and warning the readers in advance about an ExpoDump-heavy comic. [[spoiler: He may actually be Rand's future self.]]
* AuthorFilibuster: The author has inserted his opinions into the story through the mouths of existing characters a few times, usually using either Rand or the Emperor. The latter delivered a particularly annoyed one in Comic 229, when he vaporized a good chunk of the continent in frustration over readers not following the plot.
* BaitAndSwitch: A lot of the comic's humor relies heavily on subverting the expected joke or other reader expectations. One example is Comic 393, where we're led to believe the guard accusing Rand of having robbed the Eternus treasury is [[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy an idiot]] because his "evidence" consists of some red scales ([[DontExplainTheJoke Rand has green scales]]). Then the last panel reveals [[spoiler: he's talking about an entirely different kind of scales, making the whole thing much more ridiculous.]]
* BaitAndSwitchBoss: Comic 496 features an enormous monster bursting through the gate to High Aios and roaring at the protagonists, accompanied by lots of impressive magical SFX. In the next comic, just as [[TemptingFate Xeno and Torn finish expressing their relief that it's "only" an Arcane Spawn Larva]], it collapses to reveal it's been killed by Major Powers.
* BalefulPolymorph: In Comic 220, Lord Secundus polymorphs the entire adventuring group but Xeno into reflections of their worst fears, kicking off a subplot that lasts for the rest of Chapter 4. Rand [[SeriousBusiness loses his tail]], Torn becomes a kobold, Kaylethia becomes a [[DraconicHumanoid "dragonoid"]] (for reasons that are a mystery at the time), Marnia becomes undead, and Powers [[KarmicTransformation becomes a Tau.]] However, most of them get over it surprisingly fast, and the effects are all eventually either dispelled by Rand or wear off on their own.
* BattleCry: Parodied in Comic 626, where a rookie Tau Shas'Ui struggles to come up with a battle cry for his troops after realizing that the Tau (unlike almost every other ''Warhammer 40,000'' faction) don't have one. He eventually settles on "For the Greater Good", although Xeno suggests "For the Lesser Evil" would be better, though not best:
-->'''Xeno:''' I think "Freedom or Death" is more appropriate for what is coming.
* BeamOWar: During their battle at the beginning of Chapter 9, Rand and Xeno do this, with their respective Galick Gun spells colliding. [[spoiler: Rand eventually loses the subsequent battle, but manages to survive thanks to the timely arrival of Jeroshaw.]]
* BetterThanABareBulb: The comic lampshades just about everything, no matter how insignificant. This is eventually semi-lampshaded itself in Comic 654, where Jeroshaw follows an unusually-serious motivational speech with "Also, something about lampshades!"
* BoomStick: In addition to the Guardian Spears used, as in Warhammer canon, by the Adeptus Custodes, the comic features what appear to be [[FrickinLaserBeams laser]]-[[BladeOnAStick halberds]] in use by the Khorran Confederacy soldiers seen at the beginning of Chapter 10. [[RuleOfCool They also project an energy backwash that can be surfed on.]]
* BossSubtitles: Khorne is accompanied by a set upon manifesting in Comic 702, which identify him as a "First One class Sidereal" (whatever that means).
* CallingYourAttacks: As in ''The Order of the Stick'', most spellcasters shout out the names of the spells they're using; the exceptions tend to be a sign that the character in question is extremely powerful. Eventually parodied in Comic 703, where Sereyentheous and Khorne debate things for the former to shout as he casts his newly-invented ultimate attack. [[spoiler: After a lot of flowerly suggestions, Ser ultimately just settles on "KILLSYOULASER".]]
* ChestBurster: After Kaylethia (in dragonoid form) eats the disembodied head of Major Powers in Chapter 4, she starts experiencing severe chest pain. Eventually, in Comic 248, it's revealed to be caused by Powers, who rips his way out. (Of course, Kaylethia survives this).
* CoDragons: Xeno, Major Powers, and the Apprentice collectively form the three top minions of the Emperor, though the latter is the only one who's fully loyal to him. They only all work together once, and Powers does not remotely get along with the other two (though really, he doesn't get along with ''anyone''), but they're all about equally important and powerful.
* CollapsingLair: At the end of Chapter 7, the ice floe that the Atlas polar base is located on starts collapsing into the sea as the result of Rand's spells during the battle. Our heroes aren't actually inside the base at the time, but their escape onto a gunship plays out pretty similarly to the trope.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: As in ''The Order of the Stick'', different spellcasters each have their own individual spellcasting color. Several of the different factions have their own distinctive colors as well:
** Magebane: Gray, to an exceptional degree. Everything associated with it, from technology to spellcasting to clothing to even the Emperor and Lord Magebane's ''skin'', is gray. The only exception is the Apprentice, who is instead associated with red and orange.
** Eternus: Red and white, to such an extent that Rand eventually complains about it.
** High Aios: Purple, though each Arcane Incarnation also has their own individual signature color.
** Hypt: Black and neon green. Good-guy Hyptians Professor Savaddor and Arc are instead blue and dark grey.
* ComedicSociopathy: A lot of the humor is derived from characters acting nastily - or downright violently - to each other, with no one save the Emperor (who's a bit too powerful to ever be the butt of the joke) really being immune from being either a perpetrator or a victim, regardless of their apparent CharacterAlignment. Of course, there's a certain feeling of versimilitude to it if the comic is seen as resembling a D&D campaign, as many allegedly-sympathetic [=PCs=] do act like jerks in practice.
* CommonalityConnection: Played for laughs in Comic 690, where Marnia and Sereyentheous find some common ground in an otherwise awkward date by bonding over their mutual interest in... [[StuffBlowingUp high-yield ordinance.]]
* ConversationalTroping: Given the heavy amount of LampshadeHanging in the comic, this naturally occurs occasionally. One example is in Comic 379, where after meeting the Superintendent of Hypt, Kaylethia and Torn irritate him by loudly speculating on possible tropes that could occur with him, such as [[TheWorfEffect getting "owned" by Xeno to show how powerful he is]] or becoming [[RedemptionDemotion "really wimpy and pathetic when he joins our side"]].
-->'''Superintendent:''' Riiiight. I am leaving now.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: Somewhat deconstructed in Chapter 6, where Marnia "punishes" Rand for tricking her earlier by chaining him to the ceiling and forcing him to listen to "Bohemian Rhapsody" ([[WriterOnBoard a song the author was apparently sick of hearing]]). Rand is ''genuinely furious'' over this and hates Marnia for it for the rest of the comic.
* CostumeTestMontage: One appears in Comic 673, with Rand putting Sereyentheous in increasingly absurd costumes as part of his efforts to [[BlatantLies "help"]] the latter prepare for his date. Surprisingly, the final outfit they settle on is just a mildly tacky suit of the kind you'd expect from a [[HonestJohnsDealership stereotypical used car salesman.]]
-->'''Ser:''' I don't know... I feel as though I should treat my customers like they are superstars. [[InsaneProprietor I should be institutionalized because of how crazy I have to be to offer such low rates.]]\\
'''Rand:''' Ppht. You look fabulous.
* CrashingDreams: Comic 504 starts off looking like a continuation of the previous comic's events, but very quickly becomes extremely bizarre. As it goes on, it's periodically interrupted by different characters suddenly developing the heads of Custodes and having dialogue that has nothing to do with what they were previously saying. Naturally, it turns out to be this trope: Torn is unconscious and dreaming after crashing onto the floor of the Astral Plane, and the Custodes have found him and are marveling at how anything could have gotten hurt by a 7-mile fall.
* CrypticBackgroundReference: For all that the comic generally does not take itself seriously, the world of Aios seems to have a long and richly detailed history. Naturally, there have only been a handful of allusions to it, most of which haven't been elaborated upon. What was the Time Freeze that the Emperor (or the being that became the Emperor, anyway) apparently sacrificed himself to end? What really happened in the Vector Wars? These and other historical events have been mentioned in passing during the comic, but their details remain unknown.
** One cryptic background reference has been at least somewhat explained: the Treaty of Abberoy. Exactly what Abberoy is or was remains unclear[[note]]though Comic 560 alludes to something called the Abberonian Conflicts[[/note]], but the treaty itself was apparently some sort of neutrality pact for Aios that the Arcane Incarnations enforced upon the Imperium of Man and Tau Empire. The Tau seem to have largely abided by its terms, while the Imperium constantly tried to get around it. [[spoiler: As of Chapter 10, the treaty appears to have been rendered defunct thanks to the all-out battle between the Arcane Incarnations and the Imperium that ended Chapter 9.]]
* DeathIsCheap: Resurrection magic seems to be somewhat rarer in Aios than in most D&D settings, with apparently only a few powerful individuals being able to raise the dead. Still, though, several characters have died and been raised, including King Ezekiel, Lord Magebane, and Custodian Sereyentheous - ''twice''. Marnia also alludes to having died before in Comic 350, and [[spoiler: the entire population of the planet has been killed and resurrected countless times by the Emperor, though only a few people know about this.]]
* DoomedHometown: [[spoiler: Team Rand's hometown is ultimately blasted off the map by a Hyptian Apocalypse Cruiser early in Chapter 11. In a bit of a subversion, none of them seem particularly bothered by it, and at least a percentage of the population either evacuated or was inadvertently saved by the Custodes.]]
* DragonAscendant: After Armzept, the blue dragon leader of Atlas, is captured during Chapter 4, his unnamed tarrasque lieutenant takes over the remnants of the organization. She's a much bigger threat than he ever was (being a ''spellcasting tarrasque'' and all), but is still gone for good by the end of Chapter 7.
* DressingAsTheEnemy: [[BaitAndSwitch Humorously subverted]] in Comic 194, which opens with what appears to be Kaylethia and Torn in disguise as Atlas guards to infiltrate their base. However, they're subsequently revealed to just be a couple of [[IdenticalStranger lookalike mooks]] when the real Kaylethia and Torn appear and kill them.
* DungeonBypass: Thanks to the high levels of the cast, this happens several times:
** Chapters 1 and 2 have several instances of teleportation and flight magic being used to bypass areas or obstacles in Icktepetchis's Dungeons, though it's apparently expected of them given the nature of the dungeon.
** Comic 232 has Xeno teleport the party past no fewer than 12 levels of the Atlas-occupied Genesis Spire.
** Played for laughs in Comic 488, where Rand uses a cursed scroll of "[[TravelMontage Running]] [[BreakingTheFourthWall Montage]]" to skip through many areas of a dungeon in a single montage comic.
* DungeonCrawling: The futuristic D&D world of Aios seems to have ''institutionalized'' this in the form of Icktepetchis's Dungeons, a series of linked caverns and other areas run much like a tourist attraction or LARP by an Arcane Incarnation, the eponymous Icktepetchis. The dungeons, of which there's at least 18, can be tailored for different sizes and levels of adventuring parties, and are run by a "GM slave" that seems to be some kind of artificial intelligence. A visit to them makes up most of Chapters 1 and 2, and they make a return appearance in Chapter 9.
** A less meta example appears in Chapter 4 with the Genesis Spire, an enormous tower occupied by the terrorist group Atlas. The party only winds up exploring a small portion of it, though.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Naturally, there's a fair bit of weirdness in the early comics (especially the "prologue" Chapter 0), but one particularly bizarre case is Comic 14, which shows Rand and Kaylethia apparently sleeping together. While even at the time it seems to have been mostly meant as a throwaway {{fanservice}} joke, it's completely contradictory to all subsequent portrayals of those characters and their relationship.
* ElementalEmbodiment: Much of Chapter 2 is set in a frost demiplane inhabited by beings made of ice known as Frost Denizens, which seem to act as {{mooks}} for Clanor. They use swords with a cold effect, ride around on sheets of ice, and, naturally, [[KillItWithFire are extremely vulnerable to fire.]]
* EliteMooks:
** In addition to their normal, rather puny infantry, Magebane Empire forces also include an unidentified type of undead who always wear white suits and usually double-wield swords. They're often found leading ordinary troops and are much, much more dangerous than them, and while the protagonists can defeat them they can't do it casually, as is directly discussed in Comic 486.
** Hypt Dragons basically become this after the first one encountered. Most of the higher-level protagonists can defeat them pretty handily, but only in small numbers, and ordinary troops are no match for them.
** Atlas in Chapter 4 has a unit of guards literally ''called'' Elites, who wear impressive-looking powered armor. Their eliteness is something of an InformedAttribute, however, as [[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy they're not very bright]] and the one time they're seen in action, they're killed pretty easily.
* EnergyBeings: Arcane Incarnations are immortal beings composed of pure arcane magic, [[AllThereInTheManual apparently created from mortal souls by infusing them with vast amounts of magic.]] They appear to be made up of purple energy and are only semi-corporeal at best. All of them are apparently part of a still-mysterious organization called High Aios, which seems to govern magic upon the world of Aios and protects the Heart of Arcaea, the source of all magic. In combat they're largely unstoppable by anything short of the Adeptus Custodes, though they can't enter antimagic fields and the Emperor's lieutenants have been able to fight them to a draw.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: Atlas mooks seem to be very racially diverse, including elves, goblins, kobolds, undead, at least one member of Rand's race, and humans of several ethnicities. It's eventually [[LampshadeHanging directly stated]] in Comic 230 that they are an equal-opportunity employer.
* EurekaMoment: Parodied in Comic 649, where Rand, bemoaning his [[spoiler: loss of magic]], grumbles that the only way he could possibly affect the Apocalypse Cruiser is if he hit it with his face. This is immediately followed by a [[StockSoundEffects loud DING]]... which turns out to be the timer on the muffins he was inexplicably making mid-battle. [[spoiler: Naturally, Rand does wind up saving the day by more or less hitting the cruiser with his face.]]
* EvilGloating: The tendency of villains to spend time gloating rather than just finish the protagonists off is repeatedly parodied and lampshaded, and is one of the more common jokes in the comic. One particularly exaggerated case occurs in Comic 555, where High Lord of Terra Levinary has our heroes at gunpoint, only to launch into an increasingly rambling monologue about heretics. One comic later, he's ''still'' going on without apparently having taken any notice of the heroes teleporting away.
-->'''Marnia:''' I hate monologifying villains.
* EvilVersusEvil: Lord Secundus and Clanor, while evil themselves, are at least as much enemies to the Emperor and his minions as the protagonists are, and they spend a fair amount of time fighting each other. Best exemplified by a battle between Secundus and the Apprentice early in Chapter 8, which winds up [[PassThePopcorn being watched]] by a group of Eternus guards rooting for both of them to lose.
** Major Powers wishes to murder pretty much the entire cast, including his fellow villains. Though the one he spends most of his time fighting is Xeno, who isn't really that evil.
* ExperiencedProtagonist: All of the main characters are high-level, veteran adventurers, or otherwise very experienced at what they do. Even the comparatively underleveled Princess Marnia is fifteenth level and apparently the second most powerful paladin in the world. The sole exception is Rand's {{familiar}} Jeroshaw, who is apparently fairly young for a dragon.
* ExtremelyShortTimespan: The entire comic has only covered about two weeks in-universe, including a four-day TimeSkip between the end of Chapter 9 and the beginning of Chapter 10.
* FacelessGoons:
** While the nature of Madness Style makes it hard to be certain whether what look like full-face helmets are actually their faces, Magebane Empire soldiers certainly ''look'' like faceless goons, and true to the trope they're some of the absolutely mookiest mooks in the comic, being easily killed in large numbers and prone to pursuing idiotic tactics like [[FiveRoundsRapid repeatedly shooting the heroes that have proven]] ImmuneToBullets.
** The squad of Imperial Guard troopers accompanying Major Powers in Chapter 12 all wear helmets with opaque visors, in contrast to the open-face helmets normally worn by the Guard elsewhere in the comic and in ''Warhammer 40,000'' canon. In this case it's probably more about saving the effort on drawing their faces in the new art style, as they're no more or less expendable than the Guard always are.
** Subverted by the Tau fire warriors in the comic. While they wear face-concealing helmets as in canon, the little lights on the ends of their helmets are treated like eyes, making them fairly [[ExpressiveMask expressive]], and they're often portrayed rather sympathetically.
* FalseReassurance: In Chapter 6, Torn and Kaylethia take a mercenary who tried to double-cross them prisoner, but promise to untie him if he leads them to where they want to go. Which they do... [[spoiler: after first dangling him over a ledge.]]
* FamousLastWords:
** [[CurseCutShort What the fu-]] BLARRAGAG!! [[spoiler: Ke'tie'pert'nek. [[CameBackStrong He got much better.]]]]
** Don't be ridiculous! It's trying to say that it REALLY loves us! [[spoiler: Gary. Also got much better.]]
** By High Aios!! The Exalted! [[spoiler: Eric.]]
** Skrew this. It's official, dying is overrated. Also, how long has that illusion been there? [[spoiler: The Atlas tarrasque.]]
** Look, I - [[spoiler: Custodian Sereyentheous, first death.]]
** I... *bzzt* might want to *kzzt* re-think my priorities. [[spoiler: Clanor.]]
** ...I don't want to fight you, [[TemptingFate but if you must kill Clanor you must get through me.]] [[spoiler: The Archmagister.]]
** Blah blah blah, I've heard enough. [[spoiler: Icktepetchis.]]
** [[TooDumbToLive Sure, I'm bleeding out, but negative 9 is like nothing, it's like -]] [[spoiler: Custodian Sereyentheous, second death.]]
* FantasyTwist: In Comic 188, Torn perceiving King Ezekiel Eternus as being Santa Claus isn't all that unusual. His fantasy sequence going on to have Santa beat the crap out of him after Torn picks a fight, on the other hand...
* FashionableAsymmetry: High Lord Levinary has a disproportionate amount of cybernetic enhancements, as well as some sort of massively-oversized shoulder pad thing, on his right side. Apparently the only way he stays balanced is by not thinking about it; when the asymmetry is pointed out to him at one point, he falls over.
* ForInconveniencePressOne: Beginning as early as Comic 18, a running gag involves characters attempting to use some piece of technomancy or particularly structured spell, only to be stuck with an answering system of this sort. Their standard response is something along the lines of "Stupid freakin' "user-friendly" mageware!"
* FreakyFridayFlip: At the end of Chapter 10, [[spoiler: Rand and Custodian Sereyentheous wind up switching bodies due to the effects of a botched resurrection attempt. Rand has a lot of trouble adjusting to his new Custodes body and corresponding SuperStrength, though he eventually somewhat gets the hang of it and it comes in handy during the climax of Chapter 11. Ser, for his part, almost immediately ''dies'' due to not understanding how fragile his new body is, but after being raised, he takes to exploring his newfound nature with much more enthusiasm than Rand has, aided by the fact that Rand's magical power is massively magnified under his control. As of Comic 709 the switch has not yet been reversed.]]
* FrickinLaserBeams: Dangerous energy beams of all sorts, from spells to Eternus and Tau plasma weapons to Imperial lasguns, are commonly seen in the comic, and are generally referred to as lasers whether they act anything like real lasers or not. They're generally effective, except for lasgun fire, which has its uselessness as a minor running joke. A single unarmed civilian ''was'' killed by lasgun fire in Comic 691, but WordOfGod explained this as "Hotshot Lasguns. Like Lasguns, except not useless."
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Several:
** Comic 191 is mainly about a conversation between Kaylethia, Torn, and Clanor. However, readers are likely to find themselves paying more attention to ''[[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext something]]'' going on behind them involving two E-SEC officers arresting some guy in horned power armor while a couple of bodies randomly fall from the sky.
** The entirety of Comic 420 consists of these, with Rand wandering around downtown Eetwosees and paying mild attention to the events going on in the background until he gets bored. Highlights include several guards visiting a "Free Art Upgrade", several humorous holographic signs, and a mage fighting some guy with a gun.
** In Comic 567, one of the members of an attacking Imperial Guard squad is a Tau spy wearing [[PaperThinDisguise a cutout of a Guardsman's face taped to his helmet]] and yelling things like [[PunctuationShaker "Xe'nos Sc'um!"]]
* FunWithAcronyms: The bizarre name of the Eternus capital city, "Eetwosees", is explained in Comic 147 as having been derived from the abbreviation ECC, for [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Eternus Capital City"]]. (In other words, "E two [=Cs=]").
* FusionDance: During the Battle for Leesburg arc, in Comic 638 "Vinny" (in [[spoiler: her]] red dragon form) and Arc fuse into one giant cyber-organic dragon, giving them enough power to damage the attacking Apocalypse Cruiser. Elements of both their personalities seem present, but unfortunately we see fairly little of the fusion before it's taken down and forcibly reversed by the Superintendent of Hypt.
* GenderBender: Clanor's signature Ultimate Destruction spell, ''intended'' to be an unavoidable instant-death spell, actually does nothing but gender-bend its victims most of the time. This has happened to Rand - ''twice'' - as well as a minor villain in Chapter 5 who was killed off immediately afterward. In both cases where it happened to Rand, it was eventually reversed by magic, but not for a while.
* GrayAndGrayMorality: The main conflict of the story is a lot less morally clear-cut than it's initially presented as. The Emperor is certainly a very destructive and selfish being, but he causes far, ''far'' less harm than he could. And while some of his minions are unambiguously evil, their conflict with [[TheKingdom Eternus]] was actually provoked by the latter, and they seem largely correct in their assessment of High Aios as an organization of cowardly, patronizing immortal bureaucrats. In the end the Emperor is still clearly the "bad guy" compared to his opponents, but it's obvious both that they're not all great people themselves and that he's not nearly as bad as he could be.
* GodzillaThreshold: In Comic 622, "Vinny" tries to convince Xeno that the presence of [[spoiler: a living Vector Witch]] constitutes one of these, urging him to destroy the entire city they're trying to defend from orbit just to make sure [[spoiler: Torn]] is killed. [[SubvertedTrope Xeno just laughs it off, though.]]
* GoodTimesMontage: Comic 423 features a montage of Rand's newly acquired laser dragon familiar engaging in "shenanigans" all around downtown Eetwosees, such as buying himself a hoard and trying on many hats simultaneously.
* GoodVersusGood: Marnia and "Vinny's" battle during Chapter 12. Both of them are (more or less) on the good side, but they have completely antithetical views on the situation they're fighting about, and it's not clear yet which of them is correct.
* GoryDiscretionShot: Generally averted, as the comic has no hesitation about showing gory stick figure violence. However, Comic 227 features one PlayedForLaughs, with the brutal beatdown Rand is inflicting on Powers (for pointing out that he has no tail) taking place offscreen and portrayed entirely through the horrified reactions of the other characters.
* GroupHug: Played for laughs in Comic 326, with Marcellan (who wasn't even present in all of the previous panels) randomly joining in on a hug between Marnia and her resurrected father.
-->'''Marnia:''' *sniff* thou dost realize mineself might be *sniff* in thought, right?
* HarmlessFreezing: During Chapter 0, Rand actually blasts his own brother with an ice spell in order to stop him from being underfoot; he's none for the worse when Kaylethia eventually thaws him out. Later, Rand and Princess Marnia are both temporarily frozen solid on separate as a result of their reptile physiologies being exposed to extreme cold, and neither suffers any lasting harm from it.
* HatePlague: [[spoiler: As the first side effect of Khorne's summoning in Chapter 12, sudden outbursts of violence start breaking out across Eetwosees. High-level characters like Rand and Powers seem immune to the effects, while lower-level ones like Marnia are affected briefly but not permanently. Ordinary civilians and guards who succumb to it, however, go utterly AxCrazy, resulting in destruction across the city.]]
* HeKnowsTooMuch:
** At the end of Chapter 10, the Superintendent of Hypt paralyzes Professor Savaddor and attempts to have Xeno kill him in order to prevent Savaddor from revealing his suspicions that the Superintendent is behind the recent Hypt Dragon attacks. Savaddor manages to escape, however.
** In Comic 614, [[spoiler: Torn kills both minor character Toby the Tyranid and a squad of Magebane Empire soldiers to make sure that none of them can tell anyone about his being a Vector Witch.]]
* HisNameReallyIsBarkeep: The Tau Ethereal leading Xeno's enclave turns out to be named Aun'Ui Eth'Er'Eel.
* HopeSpot: Played for laughs in Chapter 11: as the battle for Leesburg rages, TheCavalry apparently arrives in Comic 633 in the form of Captain HughMann of the Eternus skyship frigate ''King's Middle Finger.'' As the names suggest, it's not a real frigate, [[spoiler: just an illusion created by Xeno, and its weapons prove to have no effect on the enemy Apocalypse Cruiser.]]
* HowWeGotHere: Subverted in Chapter 9, which opens with a badly injured Rand being interrogated about what happened since we saw him last by a group of Arcane Incarnations. Rand proceeds to recount much of the story as a flashback (completely with various forms of playing with the fourth wall, such as characters whose names Rand couldn't remember being referring as things like "Lord Idontremember"), but stops after reaching the point where he was knocked out. We later get to hear a little bit of what else happened from Marnia, but her story also gets cut short abruptly and the audience never does get the full flashback.
* IconicSequelCharacter: Some of the more central or popular characters of the comic didn't show up, and indeed hadn't even been ''conceived'' of, for a long while after it began. The most notable cases are Princess Marnia, who has become a member of the core cast but wasn't introduced until over 200 strips into the comic, and the Custodes trio, who have easily become the most popular characters in the comic but didn't appear until as late as Chapter 9.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: A relatively common form of the comic's AmusingInjuries, impalements have a particular tendency to occur to Kaylethia, who grows [[MajorInjuryUnderreaction increasingly jaded about it over the course of the comic.]] [[spoiler: In fact, this actually serves as a clue that "Vinny" is really Kaylethia, as she underreacts to a massive chest wound in a very similar fashion in Comic 630.]]
-->'''Kaylethia''' ''(after getting a tarrasque's talon rammed entirely through her)'': Huh, that's unpleasant.
* JerkassGods: The gods of Aios have generally not been portrayed in a fashion that suggests the Emperor killing most of them was really that bad a thing, with notable gods appearing so far including [[spoiler: former GodOfEvil Secundus]], his rather {{Jerkass}} friend the Great Mechanicus, and a "Lesser God of Expendability" who seemed to imply that he was helping Marnia mostly so that she could act as cannon fodder.
* KentBrockmanNews: The "Madness News" service, which occasionally is shown providing exposition, generally seems to run ridiculous and superficial stories and openly admits its reporting is biased and dumbed-down. It says something that Xeno briefly taking the place of one of their reporters in Chapter 8 doesn't seem to do much at all to affect the quality of reporting.
-->'''Reporter:''' Stay tuned to Madness News. Keeping you informed with totally biased and superficial information that makes YOU feel like you know anything of current events.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: In Chapter 6, Marnia beats the living hell out of a sorcerer named Serg entirely because she mistook him for Rand. Luckily, Serg also happened to be a sleazy gang boss involved in a particularly ugly type of slaving, so there's no reason to feel very sorry for him.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: Clanor, who was killed by Custodian Lahvin in retaliation for the death of his "brother" Sereyentheous. Sereyentheous was later raised, but Clanor seems to be dead for good.]]
* KudzuPlot: Although WordOfGod says the plot isn't supposed to be taken that seriously, it nevertheless manages to be extremely complex. Despite the high degree of improvisation involved in their creation, very few plot points are ever completely forgotten about, which means that over 700 comics, quite a lot of them have managed to build up. Apparently the ending sequence is the only part of the story that's actually be planned all along, but whether it's being updated to account for each new plot point is unknown.
* LaserBlade: Most characters associated with the Kingdom of Eternus have at one point or another been shown using an Eternus beam-saber, which is apparently the local {{magitek}} version of this trope. King Ezekiel wields a double-bladed one in Chapter 5's Battle for Eternus arc, but otherwise they haven't had many important appearances or much information provided about them.
* LivingShadow: The demon prince Lord Secundus, who is shrouded in magical shadow for his first few appearances, eventually turns out to ''be'' an amorphous, vaguely serpentine shadow with glowing red eyes. Smaller shadow demons acting as his minions appear in Chapter 3, where they attack Rand and company.
* LizardFolk: Rand's race, which are definitely ''not'' standard D&D lizardfolk but have otherwise remained unnamed for the entire comic. We do know several other facts about them, however, including that they are carnivorous and generally eat humans, have extremely slow metabolisms, and that each one's name is unique to him or her. Only a few have appeared in the comic besides Rand himself, though it's implied that they're the dominant species in the Khorran Confederacy (the nation which Rand is a general in the armed forces of).
* LongList: In Comic 54, after Xeno destroys a Haunted Armor that was attempting to sneak up on the party ([[WithCatlikeTread badly]]), Kaylethia tells him some of the more ridiculous things that have tried to sneak up on her. It's over twenty things long and extends for multiple panels.
* LosingYourHead: One of the comic's more common AmusingInjuries - to the point that an old banner proudly proclaims "Well That was Unexpected: Where decapitation is in style" - is for characters to survive losing their heads. It's happened to Major Powers and Xeno on many different occasions, as well as various other characters. Comic 272 features a rare [[JustifiedTrope justified case]], where Xeno saves a Tau fire warrior that Powers decapitated by putting his body in magical stasis until his head can be reattached. The same thing happens to another Tau later in the same story arc, though things don't end as well for him.
* LoveConfession: Marnia delivers one to Rand in Comic 355. Unfortunately for her, some of their interactions prior to her realizing her feelings lead Rand to shoot her down hard. (As in, "barely restraining himself from violence" hard).
* {{Magitek}}: Virtually everything in the world of Aios seems to run on a mixture of magic and high technology, with the most common terms used being "mageware" and "technomancy". This is perhaps most exemplified by the magic-using AI civilization of Hypt, but in general identifying any individual item as purely magical or technological is difficult to do. Even some spells appear to be structured more like computer programming, although this is partly RuleOfFunny.
* MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext: A lot of events in the comic are pretty bizarre, but one in Chapter 12 is particularly lacking in any sort of explanation. Beginning with Comic 697, Major Powers begins randomly transforming into some other being or creature (usually from other fictional works, although on one occasion he became an Arcane Incarnation) with each comic he appears in, often taking on the appropriate speech patterns. The other characters seem aware of this, but are only mildly interested by it, and it's still unclear if it's an actual plot point or just RuleOfFunny.
* MassTeleportation: An Eternus strike force enters Magebane this way in Comic 127 through use of the actual ''mass teleport'' spell. Magebane's eventual retaliation in Chapter 5, in turn, sees the Apprentice do this on [[ExaggeratedTrope a much more ridiculous level]] as he teleports in an army so huge it spans the entire horizon.
** Magebane forces do this again in Comic 627, teleporting in to form a second front behind our heroes' front lines. The Hypt Dragons in the same battle also engage in tactical mass teleportation, though unlike the other instances in the comic this is through their individual teleportation abilities, not a single powerful spellcaster.
* MauveShirt: The orc Praetorian pilot of our heroes' gunship in Chapter 7, who at first seems like [[DisposablePilot he's obviously going to be killed off]], winds up becoming this, as over the course of the chapter he develops a personality (mostly based around resenting the [=PCs=]' tendency to ignore him) and manages to survive all of the action despite never getting a name or indeed even taking off his helmet until his very last appearance.
* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: Comic 398 features an ominous-looking cloaked figure prominently crossing the screen in the background while Xeno speaks to a camera in the foreground. [[spoiler: As some readers could probably guess, he later turns out to be Major Powers, infiltrating the party being held.]]
** A foreshadowy one occurs in the last panel of Comic 504, where in the distant background Kaylethia, sporting a chest wound that's nasty even by her standards, can be seen drinking a healing potion. [[spoiler: In light of later events, this is a strong hint that she was really the red dragon who was massively injured by Powers in the previous couple of comics.]]
* MillionMookMarch: Played for laughs in Comic 407, where Lord Magebane has assembled a vast force of Magebane soldiers in ordered rows entirely to ask them "Which one of you sons of bitches stole my monocle?!"
** Parodied in a different way in Comic 257, where the Apprentice shows off the size of his obscenely huge invasion force by going ''surfing'' in it.
* MinorMajorCharacter: Several characters who are extremely important figures in the setting as a whole have only appeared briefly in the actual comic, or at least in minor roles compared to the protagonists. Chapter 8 features a whole party full of world leaders who mostly only act as cameos, though admittedly some of them (like the Archmagister Prime of High Aios) might appear again later.
** Chapter 9 features as one of its antagonists High Lord of Terra Aron Levinary, the Master of the Administratum, a title that according to ''Warhammer 40,000'' canon would make him perhaps the single most powerful political figure in the Imperium. Although he sticks around for a while, he's completely outweighed in narrative relevance by his Adeptus Custodes bodyguards and even his name is only mentioned once.
* MissingEpisode: Many earlier comics were lost when the author abandoned his [=ImageShack=] account (which apparently had a habit of randomly shrinking them). While some of these have been re-uploaded or can otherwise still be found, seven of them are still missing. Probably the most important of these is Comic 280, in which [[spoiler: the Apprentice kills King Ezekiel.]]
* MonowheelMayhem: A couple of "monocycles" appear in Chapter 8, including two used by Kaylethia and Torn in a race, and one driven by the ruler of the Khorran Confederacy, which defuses an apparent confrontation by accidentally mowing down one of Lord Magebane's bodyguards.
* MookLieutenant: The rookie Tau Shas'Ui commanding Xeno's forces in Chapter 11, who is unusually an example of a MookLieutenant allied with the protagonists. He has something of a personality and delivers the punchline a few times, but he primarily exists to put a "face" on Xeno's troops and relay their orders. [[spoiler: He ultimately survives the battle.]]
* MotivationalLie: In Comic 603, "Browncloak" sics Jeroshaw - who is currently under restraint because of his obsession with the mysterious cambro - on the attacking Hypt Dragons by telling him that they're here to steal it. Jeroshaw promptly destroys several of the attacking dragons while screaming in rage.
* MultipleHeadCase: The leader of the Khorran Confederacy is (are?) Lord Drehalle and Pert'eren, a two-headed member of Rand's race, who apparently has more than his (their?) share of problems as a result - for starters, the right head is gay. They apparently share control by having the left head control walking and the left arm and the right head control the right arm and punch him in the face occasionally; it works out less unfairly than you'd think.
-->'''Kaylethia:''' Oh, I see. A ''completely'' efficient distribution of motor function that works out satisfactorily to ''everyone''.\\
'''Left Head:''' No! I only control ''one'' arm and it ''still'' hurts to blink!\\
'''Right Head:''' Oh yeah, ''totally'' works out great for the both of us.\\
'''Left Head:''' You gave me a ''concussion''!\\
'''Right Head:''' Works out great!
* NamesTheSame: A great deal of both confusion and humor has arisen over the course of the comic from the fact that the Emperor of the Magebane Empire shares the title that is his only known name with the (God-)Emperor of Mankind. Interestingly, the author [[WordOfGod once said]] that he regretted not giving Magebane's Emperor a more distinctive title.
** The fact that "Arcane Incarnation" is often abbreviated to "AI" can be a bit confusing when there are also a number of ArtificialIntelligence characters in the comic.
* NebulousEvilOrganization: The terrorist group Atlas, who act as the villains of an arc stretching from Chapter 4 to Chapter 7 (with some interruptions). They have access to advanced technology and magic, but their goals are rather vague, to say the least.
* NeckSnap: Played for morbid laughs in Comic 125, where Powers kills [[spoiler: renegade psyker Eric]] by snapping his neck... then starts experimenting with seeing how many revolutions he can make with it.
-->1080... ''twist'' 1260... ''twist'' 1440!
* NiceHat:
** True to ''Warhammer 40,000'' canon, a number of large and ornate hats are shown in use by characters from the Imperium of Man, including the cap Rand uses for his commissar disguise and High Lord Levinary's bizarre cyber-miter.
** For [[RuleOfFunny unclear reasons]], the Eternus Royal Palace ''itself'' has a giant hat with the Eternus "E" on its roof. It's even been called a "spiffy hat" in-universe.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Thanks to being a mashup of ''Dungeons and Dragons'', ''Warhammer 40,000'', and its own ScienceFantasy elements, the comic has a couple of these:
** Xeno is an undead Tau wizard. Or at least a spellcaster of some sort.
** Hypt Dragons are robot dragon skeletons - though technically they're just robots designed to look like skeletal dragons.
* NoHuggingNoKissing: While unrequited love has driven a fair bit of the story and humor, there has been no ''actual'' romance in the comic so far, and given its general tone it seems unlikely that there ever will be.
* NominalImportance: As a general rule, the longer a character appears in the comic without getting a name, the less likely that character is to survive for the long run. Notable examples include the tarrasque second-in-command of Atlas and the squad of Arcane Incarnations who appeared in Chapter 9 and stuck around for over a hundred comics without any of them ever getting names - - with one who repeatedly tries being shouted down with [[LampshadeHanging "NO ONE CARES"]][[note]]Though in fact, he was apparently a character with a brief earlier appearance named Icktepetchis[[/note]]. [[spoiler: True to the trope, they all die at the end of the chapter - [[ZigZaggingTrope though so does long-time named villain Clanor.]]]] The trope is averted, however, with minor one-off characters, whose death or survival doesn't really hinge on whether they have a name.
* NoOSHACompliance: Played for laughs in Comic 675, where an assassin fleeing through the Eternus Royal Palace is cornered in the so-called UCOOPOL room:
-->'''Marnia:''' "UCOOPOL room"?\\
'''Marcellan:''' [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Unnecessary Catwalks Over Open Pools Of Lava"]] room, your highness.
* NotADate: In Comic 299, Torn and Kaylethia go on a "man date", described by Torn as being "like a date except no romance is involved". Of course, being Torn and Kaylethia, they spend much more time on it killing gangsters and having rambling arguments than doing anything that actually resembles a date.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: High Lord Levinary spends most of Chapter 9 seeming like a somewhat doddering old man, who's treated with utter disrespect by his Custodes escorts and whose rants about Imperial xenophobia don't seem nearly as threatening as those of Major Powers. Then in Comic 554, he suddenly [[spoiler: kills an Arcane Incarnation with one blow, just for saying that it's wrong to kill people just because they're different from you. [[SubvertedTrope However, he then goes right back to harmless, launching into an incoherent monologue about heretics rather than shooting the heroes he has at gunpoint.]]]]
* OddJobGods: The gods killed by the Emperor prior to the comic include gods and goddesses with portfolios such as cyberpunk, soft objects, and architecture. Within the comic, a "Lesser God of Expendability" briefly appears before also being killed by the Emperor.
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: A number of different types of dragons appear over the course of the comic:
** Standard D&D dragons are represented by Armezpt, the blue dragon leader of Atlas, and a couple of unnamed red wyrms that show up in Chapter 9 and 11; the second of these is all but explicitly stated to be minor character "Vinny" in shapeshifted form. [[spoiler: Comic 684 confirms that Vinny is really Kaylethia, and that she is indeed a red dragon posing as an elf; the first red dragon was probably also her.]]
** Rand's {{familiar}}, Jeroshaw, is a dragon made ''[[RuleOfCool out of lasers]]''. Little information has been provided about his exact nature, though he's implicitly pretty young.
** The Hypt Dragons are [[SkeleBot9000 robotic skeletal dragons]] first introduced in Chapter 10. Almost all of them seem to be bent on wiping out all organic life, though one, Arc, is apparently friendly and rather childlike. Hypt Dragons seem to be able to respawn from Hypt's server demiplane after dying, and at least some of them can disguise themselves as humanoids, while Arc has a small mobile robot form.
** Apparently unrelated to the Hypt Dragons, another robot dragon - called a "metadragon" - briefly appears as a member of the Eternus Praetorians in Chapter 5. Named Geboren, he didn't seem to have any kind of transforming ability, though he was pretty tough and was one of only a few people to know Princess Marnia's true appearance. He hasn't been seen since, however.
** Kaylethia was turned into a [[DraconicHumanoid small red "dragonoid"]] in Chapter 4 by an effect that caused people to become what they were most afraid of. In this form she didn't seem to have any kind of breath weapon or shapeshifting ability, though she was physically much tougher than she had been as an elf. The spell was eventually reversed. [[spoiler: Later information makes it clear that the reason this was her worst fear was her desire for her friends not to find out about her true nature.]]
* PaintingTheMedium: The comic features many standard types of PaintingTheMedium, such as colored speech balloons and the like. However, it also contains one notable ''subversion'' of the trope in Chapter 9: when a flashback Marnia is recounting is portrayed as a play - with wooden floorboards, all the characters talking like she does, and the normal inventory text being replaced by signs dangling from the ceiling - it's assumed that this is just reflecting the bizarre way in which she views the world. But then [[spoiler: one of the signs falls and injures the actress playing Marnia, revealing that it's an ''actual'' play that she wrote, found a cast for, and dragged the rest of the characters to watch.]]
* PassiveRescue: Occurs in Comic 163, where the Apprentice helps Major Powers (who has been arrested) escape custody entirely by telekinetically using a beam-saber to cut his bonds. Powers takes care of the rest in his usual fashion.
* PieInTheFace: In Comic 618, "Vinny" follows up Marnia and Savaddor's accusations that Xeno is untrustworthy by shooting him in the face with a ''rocket-propelled'' pie. In the name of diplomacy, Xeno waves the incident over by claiming that [[BlatantLies pies to the face are one of the most sincere signs of friendship in Tau culture.]] He later says they're ''actually'' an extremely obscene gesture.
-->'''Vinny:''' [[LampshadeHanging That's still oddly specific.]]
* PimpedOutDress: According to Torn in Comic 576, these are extremely popular among the Eternus royal court. Princess Marnia has been shown to have a great many different ones - some of them shout-outs to other media - including one self-parodic monstrosity that's too large to fit through a door. Rand also experiments with dresses of this sort after the second time he's turned female, though they're comparatively restrained next to Marnia's.
* PlayingBothSides: Xeno and [[spoiler: Torn]] in Chapter 11 provide assistance to both our heroes and the enemy Hyptians; while they're more open with the latter, they were apparently prepared to directly intervene in order to stop the Hypt Apocalypse Cruiser if Rand couldn't. The full details remain unclear as of Comic 710.
* PowerCrystal: The primary macguffin driving the events of Chapters 1 and 2 is the Magus Crystal, an enchanted crystal that is supposedly the only key to the gate into High Aios, and which the Emperor is seeking to obtain. [[spoiler: He ultimately fails - though the Magus Crystal is subsequently established to be unnecessary.]] This is, of course, inevitably lampshaded:
-->'''Xeno:''' As usual in fantasy-themed adventures, the very important quest item is a crystal...
* PoweredArmor: The Adeptus Custodes all wear [[BlingOfWar shiny brass]] Imperial powered armor - not, for some reason, gold as in canon. [[spoiler: After Sereyentheous switches bodies with Rand, he gets a version modified for his new physiology. It's apparently integrated directly into his body, with the result that he has to devote a portion of Rand's magic just to keep himself from dying, and he bleeds copiously after taking it off.]] A few other types of Imperial power armor appear in the comic, most notably worn by Major Powers.
** Eternus apparently uses a less advanced form of powered armor for its police, military, and Praetorians, though the fact that it's powered armor is only explicitly mentioned once. It's noticeably less bulky than Imperial armor, and correspondingly isn't as effective at stopping all forms of damage, though it ''does'' easily resist basic gunfire.
** The Atlas "[[EliteMooks Elites]]" use a form of powered armor that seems midway in size between Eternus and Imperial armor. Judging from the one time the Elites were shown in action, though, it's rather less effective than either of them.
* PowerFist: Comic 238 reveals that among the many items in Princess Marnia's inventory is an Eternus Metafist, a giant powered fist that can also act as a gun. Although its comically-oversized nature makes it not seem like much good for anything besides pratfalls, Torn still uses it during Chapters 5 and 6, when he is temporarily without an axe.
* PowerGlows: Discussed and invoked in Comic 404. After meeting the Archmagister Prime, Kaylethia notes that she thought he'd be shinier. The Archmagister obliges, apparently taking the appearance she'd expected right out of her head.
* PraetorianGuard: The royal family of Eternus are protected by an elite military force that are actually ''called'' the Praetorians, who wear snazzy white and red armor and spend a lot of time standing around the palace halls. Although Rand and Kaylethia have both derided them as [[RedshirtArmy glorified cannon fodder]], they've generally appeared reasonably competent when depicted in action, though they're no match for the more powerful villains.
* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: In-universe, Rand tells Gromm in an early comic that this is one of the benefits of being a PC: other characters will easily forgive you for offenses you commit against them ''because'' you're a PC. In practice, though, this hasn't really been borne out, except by the general tendency of characters to not seriously hold each other's acts of ComedicSociopathy against each other (though it's interesting to note that the biggest aversion to this - Rand's grudge against Marnia - is between two [=PCs=]).
* PunctuationShaker:
** The tendency of canon ''Warhammer 40,000'' Tau names and words to do this is repeatedly parodied with the Tau in the comic, who randomly interject apostrophes into their everyday speech - as in "Good d'ay" - as a RunningGag. Apostrophes are also repeatedly used to give Tau or their items {{punny name}}s, including at least two that draw attention to the apostrophes themselves.
** Played straight with the naming conventions of Rand's species, with an apostrophe separating the first name and surname, as in "Rand'Teh" and "Gromm'Teh".
* RammingAlwaysWorks: Somewhat subverted in Chapter 7, where after his gunship is damaged by enemy fire, Major Powers tries to use it to ram the Atlas base. This has no real effect except getting him captured, though of course that doesn't last long.
* RandomEventsPlot: The whole comic has traces of this, but it's particularly notable with Chapter 8, which suffered from a clear case of writer fatigue about halfway through. In short order: the Emperor rampages through an ongoing party, then undoes all his damage; Major Powers shows up inexplicably sporting AnimeHair and is anticlimactically apprehended and taken away by the Archmagister Prime of High Aios; and Marnia and Kaylethia start trying to kill each other for very little reason, only for their fight to peter out as they watch Rand injure his head with a falling pulse rifle. (And naturally, this last leads to the introduction of a major character as Rand, after storming out in disgust, winds up going to buy a familiar).
* RapidFireNo: Xeno delivers a series of panicked "NO"s in Comic 656, after realizing that Rand [[spoiler: (in the body of a Custodian)]] is about to try and deflect the falling Apocalypse Cruiser that he's standing on by ''punching'' it.
* RashomonStyle: Several early portions of the flashback Rand is narrating at the beginning of Chapter 9 have him arguing with the Arcane Incarnation Icktepetchis over what exactly happened. Though it's never made clear which of them is accurate, in general Rand's version is... slightly less plausible:
-->'''Icktepetchis:''' Hey Commisssar, I'm gonna go over there and be completely useless while you risk your life against an invincible foe.\\
'''Rand:''' Sorry, can't hear you over the sound of how much win is going on right now!
* ReadingsBlewUpTheScale: In Comic 503, Marnia's Detect Evil ability overloads and shuts down when she uses it on Powers, though it doesn't actually cause her any harm.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The Ethereal heading Xeno's Tau enclave. Unlike many other characters in the comic, when faced with challenges unlike anything he's prepared for he's quick to accept that he's in over his head, and is willing to let Xeno run the show when necessary.
* RecurringExtra: Early in the comic, a kobold janitor (possibly named Nik) in Icktepetchis's Dungeons gets shot in the eye by Major Powers and takes revenge upon him and Gary. Through the remainder of the comic, and now with a cybernetic eye replacement, he's made various cameo appearances in the background, none of them really plot relevant. He even made it into a fan-submitted guest comic once.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: Parodied and subverted in Comic 640, when the "Vinny"[=/=]Arc fusion comments "Huh, black and red color scheme and text boxes. I must be extremely evil"... before declaring "Naaah" and getting on with the battle.
** Played straight with Lord Secundus, a shadow-creature with red eyes and outline and ''actually'' evil red and black speech bubbles. A demon he summons in Chapter 4 has similar colors and special effects, and his right-hand man happens to be heavily associated with red as well.
* RedSkyTakeWarning: Demon Lord Secundus likes this trope. His private demiplane, seen briefly at the beginning of Chapter 8, has both an evil-looking red sky and an equally red ground. And in Comic 288 he turns the (non-supernatural) storm clouds over Rand's hometown red when he manifests there - though he quickly knocks it off after his buddy the Great Mechanicus complains.
** In a variant on the trope, the Hyptian attacks in Chapter 11 are accompanied by nasty-looking ''green'' skies, similar to the neon green of Hypt technomancy. They may be caused by the glow of the Apocalypse Cruiser, and clear up quickly once it's gone.
** Another ominous red sky appears in Chapter 12, after Sereyentheous summons Khorne to Aios and engages him in combat. For bonus points, either the summoning ritual or the battle also turned the immediate ground area nearby into a hellish-looking red landscape.
* ReferenceOverdosed: Thanks to its heavily improvisational nature, the comic references all kinds of nerd culture, both existing and as it happens in real time. This has had the side effect of making it into something of an UnintentionalPeriodPiece when it comes to internet memes.
* RememberTheNewGuy: Done in typically bizarre fashion in Comic 611, in which a talking [[http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Zoanthrope Tyranid Zoanthrope]] named Toby is suddenly introduced as an old friend of Torn and company, without any explanation of how he knows them or, just as importantly, why he's talking and not a vicious alien monster. [[spoiler: He's killed off three comics later, making an explanation unlikely.]]
* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Rand's species are dangerous man-eating predators that the human population of Aios generally seem to distrust. In practice, however, it winds up being averted with the actual characters from that species: Princess Marnia is generally one of the nicer people in the comic (though she does have a vicious side), and Rand, while a ''colossal'' {{Jerkass}}, has never actually been shown to have eaten anyone who didn't try to kill him first, and is generally much more callous and self-centered than genuinely evil.
* RobotRepublic: The City-State of Hypt (or the Hypt Academies, the difference isn't clear) is a civilization of artificial intelligences called Functions and a few other kinds of [=AIs=], which mostly exists in a private cyberspace demiplane but apparently has some physical presence on Aios as well. Its origins are unknown, but it's an old ally of the Kingdom of Eternus. Unfortunately, as of Chapter 10, [[AIIsACrapshoot the Superintendent of Hypt has seemingly gone mad and is using the city-state's resources in an attempt to wipe out all organic life.]]
* RPGMechanicsVerse: In addition to operating under ''Dungeons and Dragons'' rules (with some ''Warhammer 40,000'' mixed in), the setting also draws upon aspects of computer [=RPGs=]. "[=PCs=]" have inventories in which they can instanteously store items in or equip them from, which is indicated with inventory text above their heads. [[spoiler: Major Powers has actually learned how to shut his text off.]]
* ScrewYouElves: While [[BoomerangBigot Kaylethia is extremely vocal about her hatred of other elves]], the true victims of this trope are the Arcane Incarnations. They've been depicted onscreen as patronizing and dismissive of mortals, and among the Emperor's minions both Xeno and [[spoiler: Torn]] have argued that the true reason they oppose him is not because he's really a danger to the multiverse, but because they hate and fear the possibility of a human managing to become that powerful independently of them. Indeed, [[spoiler: Torn]]'s MotiveRant in Comic 560 is almost entirely this trope when it's not RageAgainstTheHeavens.
* SealedEvilInACan: Parodied in Comic 563, in which a character ominously warns Rand that the Lich-Lord Punof Obscurevilgod has returned to threaten Aios "after spending many weeks in prison for a parole violation".
* SecretTestOfCharacter: Comic 136 features one involving the villains, in which Lord Magebane presents Xeno with a captured Tau fire warrior - supposedly caught spying on them - and orders Xeno to kill him. Xeno refuses, proving that [[spoiler: when the Emperor brought him back from the dead, it was with his soul still present, which is apparently not the case for most undead.]] Lord Magebane himself isn't actually happy with this, but it's evidently what the Emperor was hoping for.
* SeparateSceneStorytelling: Unusually subverted in Comic 383, which opens with Torn and Kaylethia trying to figure out why Rand has had the bizarre idea to hide from Marnia by staying in her palace. This leads him to begin telling them about how she had shown up at his house last night, and the ensuing flashback takes up most of the comic. But when we cut back to Rand, he's ''actually'' telling his friends a (probably bullshit) story about [[NoodleIncident the time he killed and ate a Hyptian Professor]], with apparently nothing more having been said about the incident with Marnia.
* SeriesContinuityError: There are surprisingly few despite the nature of the comic, but one notable case occurs with the Apprentice. When he first debuts, Xeno tells him to just go along with Powers's automatic assumption that he is a Daemon Prince of the Warp rather than try and convince Powers of something outside his indoctrinated worldview. All future appearances of the Apprentice, however, treat him as ''actually'' being a Daemon Prince even when Powers isn't around to fool, and the end of Chapter 9 actually has his ability to navigate the Warp as a minor plot point.
* ShaggyDogStory: The ultimate outcome of all of the dungeon crawling and double-crossing in Chapters 1 and 2 is [[spoiler: Kaylethia turning the Magus Crystal over to Clanor, effectively putting it back where it began.]] Though at least Team Rand all gained a level out of it.
* SlapstickKnowsNoGender: Kaylethia, Marnia, and gender-bent Rand are just as prone to being made fools of and being comedically injured as the male characters are.
* SmokeShield: Played surprisingly straight (though still lampshaded, of course) in Comic 366, where after Rand blasts the Emperor with a Galick Gun, the effects remain shrouded in smoke for a protracted period of time. Naturally, once Rand has finished declaring victory, the smoke clears to reveal the Emperor was unaffected.
* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: Discussed, and ultimately [[DefiedTrope defied]] in Comic 220, where Clanor complains to Lord Secundus about the standard villain procedure he's following of slowly confronting the heroes with progressively stronger opponents. Secundus attempts to defend it, but ultimately agrees that it's stupid, and instead directly strikes at the heroes with a polymorph effect intended to turn them against each other.
** Played straight in terms of the standard opponents the protagonists face over the comic as a whole, which have gone from relatively mundane gangsters and terrorists to Hypt Dragons and daemons of Khorne.
* SpaceIsNoisy: Averted for comedic effect in Comic 368, where the Emperor is forced to communicate telepathically with Powers when in a vacuum, commenting that "I'm using telepathy because I wanna stick it to Star Wars by an insane quasifantasy setting being more realistic than they are".
* SpecialEffectBranding: Most types of energy weapons and spellcasting in the comic have their own unique visual and sound effects. However, one aversion shows up with the Tau and Eternus energy weaponry, which share a bright blue appearance and distinctive "FREEN" (or sometimes "BREEN") sound effect despite being from entirely unrelated sources.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: InUniverse, Team Rand discusses early in the comic the risk that the "Warhammer guys" are stealing their spotlight as the supposed main characters. In truth, both sets of characters get more or less equal screentime.
* StableTimeLoop: Comic 556 features a very brief one: when the Apprentice opens a rift to the Warp, a version of Custodian Limbaw from eight months in the future emerges from it and rather stupidly throws Major Powers into it, causing the present Limbaw to dive in after him. Future Limbaw then explains that he drifted in the Warp for eight months, becoming increasingly confused and remembering only that he threw Powers into the Warp - explaining why he did it.
* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: For some reason, among the non-sequiturs uttered by an apparently-drunk Rand - really suffering the aftereffects of a mind-scan by Professor Savaddor - in Comic 593 is "I'm a magic man. I have magic hands," a phrase earlier used by his quasi-doppleganger Serg over two hundred comics before. Making it more amusing, Serg originally said it as part of an attempt to hit on [[AbhorrentAdmirer Marnia]].
* TankGoodness
** At the end of Chapter 0, Rand and his friends acquire an Imperial main battle tank that formerly belonged to Major Powers. It's apparently a variant of the Imperium's ubitiquous Leman Russ design, but when introduced to Aios it proves extremely effective at dealing with random encounters, and it's taken even further when Rand starts casting ''fly'' spells on it. [[spoiler: Sadly it's eventually destroyed by Powers, who considers it irreversibly tainted as the result of spending so much time in use by xenos.]]
** Chapter 12 introduces an Adeptus Custodes Grav-Fellglaive, a solid gold tank which Rand accurately sums up with "Like all things Custodes, it must be insane and over the top." The Grav-Fellglaive can fly unaided, is apparently completely indestructible, and has at least ''[[LudicrousSpeed 87 gears]]'', the highest of which can theoretically let it travel in time. It's initially used only as [[MisappliedPhlebotinum transportation for Marnia and Ser's date]], but later on Rand and Powers use it to literally punch out Khorne.
* TemptingFate: Another of the comic's stock running gags is to have characters obviously and obliviously do this, often to the consternation of a more GenreSavvy witness. Comic 361 features Rand attempting to [[ExploitedTrope exploit it]]: still seething with rage against Marnia, he decides to start talking about how safe they are in hopes that whatever horrible thing happens as a result injures her the worst.
-->'''Kaylethia:''' Ah, the high-tech method.
* TerroristsWithoutACause: While Atlas is described as a terrorist organization working against Eternus, pretty much every character we see - from the protagonists to the people of Eternus to most of the ''members'' of Atlas - seems unclear on exactly what its goals or motives are. As with everything in the comic, this eventually gets lampshaded.
* ThereWasADoor: In Comic 316, Torn smashes through the wall of an (ironically empty) enemy base rather than use the door, prompting an annoyed Kaylethia to deliver a bizarre spiel of exposition ([[UnreliableExpositor or at least supposed exposition]]) about a time long ago before the door was invented, when people had to use rocket launchers to get into their homes, often with fatal results, before concluding:
-->'''Kaylethia:''' In honor of the great sacrifices of King John and others which spurred on this great technological marvel... '''USE THE GODDAMN DOOR!!!'''
* TheArtifact: To an extent, the original ''premise'' is this: although originally one of a number of "backstory comics" for the Avatar Battle Royale threads, it has long since outlived both those threads and Avatar Battle Royale itself.
* TheEmpire: Subverted with the Magebane Empire. It's an empire, evil-aligned, and home to the main antagonists, but far from being a huge expansionist superpower, it's a tiny flyspeck of a nation whose existence is maintained only through the overwhelming power of its ruler.
* TheKingdom: Eternus, which is the largest and most magitechnologically powerful nation on Aios, is generally portrayed this way, as a benevolent and diverse kingdom whose royal family (however terrible their relations with the protagonists frequently are) are among the more powerful forces for good in the comic. However, it's played with slightly, as Eternus was actually the nation responsible for starting its conflict with [[TheEmpire Magebane]], whose representatives have repeatedly indicated that they just want to be left alone.
* TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed: Despite being one of the most magitechnologically powerful and stable nations on Aios, the Kingdom of Eternus has been under pretty much constant - not to mention constantly ''escalating'' - threat from its first appearance in Chapter 3. within the span of the comic's timespan of roughly two weeks, it's face a crime wave, terrorists, an invasion attempt by Magebane, an extermination attempt by Hypt, and the manifestation of a Chaos God (technically the only one of these to threaten the entire world). There's also been plenty of smaller-scale problems.
* ThirdLawOfGenderBending: Noticeably averted: during both of the times in which he's been turned female, Rand acts pretty much ''exactly'' the same as he did when he was male. In fact, since the comic also averts NonMammalMammaries, during the first gender-bending incident virtually the only way to tell anything's happened is that the characters mention it in dialogue. During the second time Rand does experiment with wearing dresses, but this is mostly because [[InsaneTrollLogic Marnia's fondness for them has convinced him they're some sort of armor.]]
* ThisCannotBe: Parodied in Comic 484, where Xeno reacts to losing control of a very destructive spell in the face of an attacking Custodian by crying out "Noooo, generic villain denial of the limits of my poweeeeeeeer!"
* ThisIsReality: Played with in Comic 158. As Major Powers attempts to kill an orc civilian, Rand rejects Torn's urging that they help by suggesting that they instead wait and see what wacky thing occurs to stop him. Torn angrily insists that "this isn't some movie or some comic. This is serious. That orc is going to die unless we do something now," only to be interrupted by a Space Marine on a flying motorbike randomly crashing into the area... and ''missing'' Powers, forcing our heroes to intervene after all.
** Played with again in Comic 235, where Princess Marnia melodramatically monologues to herself about whether she should help Torn fight Xeno. Xeno erupts with a rant about how in real life, you don't stop mid-battle to give dramatic speeches. [[HypocriticalHumor He then resumes the monologue he was previously delivering to Torn]], resulting in Marnia interrupting with a rather harsh beatdown.
* TrainingMontage: Comic 245 (the longest comic as of the end of 2014, incidentally) features Xeno, who has recently suffered a massive loss of power, regaining his strength under the Apprentice's supervision. It's set to a parodic version of [[Disney/{{Mulan}} "Be A Man".]]
* TrapIsTheOnlyOption: In Comic 258, Rand is GenreSavvy enough to figure that being told by a mysterious stranger to meet him somewhere isolated outdoors is a trap, but goes to meet him anyway, presumably figuring he can easily deal with it. [[spoiler: Unfortunately for him, he's underestimated his opponent, and the ensuing fight does not go well.]]
** Done again in Comic 314, where Princess Marnia and Archduke Araske arrive at the lair of some gangsters and are told to wait in a small room, which is obviously a trap. They have perfectly good reason for walking into it, though:
-->'''Marnia:''' Might I inquire as to why must a tarrasque shalt behave worriedly towards a trap?
* TronLines: One of the common elements of Hypt's technological aesthetic. Everything within Hypt's cyberspace demiplane appears composed of these, but even without it, they're a common element of both Hyptian technology and character designs. In particular, the Superintendent of Hypt's features are virtually nothing ''but'' glowing lines.
* TroubledBackstoryFlashback: Parodied in Comic 262, where a wizard attacking Rand, while explaining why he wants revenge, declares "I still remember that day like it was yesterday" and proceeds to hover motionlessly for several panels, having apparently gone into one of these without the readers seeing it. Rand takes advantage of the distraction to loot some new robes from the ruins they're fighting in.
** Played straight in Comic 628, where "Vinny" briefly flashes back to [[spoiler: her]] mother being killed by a Vector Witch.
* UnnecessarilyLargeVessel: The Eternus skyship carrier seen in Chapter 8, which has an interior so large it gives off (insulting) echoes and that Team Rand can use to have races in. Its crew never even appears; although it's hard to tell whether this is because the carrier is so huge or the crew is so small, both would fit the trope.
* UtilityMagic: One of Rand's more commonly seen spells is "Summon Aspirin", which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. He uses it to deal with headaches, although this frequently doesn't quite work out right.
* VillainousRescue: In Comic 706, the Emperor teleports into the battle between Khorne and Sereyentheous, saving not only the latter but very likely the entire world, because he's very eager to take the opportunity to kill another deity. [[spoiler: Though the ensuing battle is actually surprisingly even...]]
* VisualPun: Near the end of Chapter 1, while in a frost demiplane, Kaylethia and Powers are seen using a couple of [[ManOnFire flaming Tau]] to keep warm and make popcorn. While this at first appears to be just more of the comic's standard wacky nonsense, it makes ''slightly'' more sense when you remember that the name for Tau soldiers is [[spoiler: ''fire'' warriors.]]
* WackyRacing: In Chapter 8, Rand, Torn, and Kaylethia take advantage of the cavernous nature of the Eternus skyship they're inside to have a very ''VideoGame/{{Mario Kart}}''-esque race around its interior, with Rand using his magic and the other two using monocycles. The comic goes all the way with the GenreShift, with Princess Marnia summoning up a "holy HUD" to help readers follow the situation, and Rand dropping random items onto the track at one point. In the end, Torn winds up in third, but whether Rand or Kaylethia wins is left forever unclear thanks to a sudden attack by a Magebane skyship.
* WalkingSpoiler: [[spoiler: Gromm, Torn, and Kaylethia]] have all had major revelations about their true natures that (especially in the case of the first two) make it very difficult to discuss them without bringing it up.
* WarArc: Chapter 11, "Scions of Hypt", deals heavily with Hypt's attempt to wipe out the population of Eternus, and more than half of the chapter is focused on the battle to save the city of Leesburg. Part of Chapter 5 - in which a huge Magebane army attacks Eetwosees - ''could'' have qualifed, but despite their massive numeric advantage the Magebane forces are so comparatively weak that the battle winds up being [[CurbStompBattle more of a massacre than a "war"]].
* WartsAndAll: Played for laughs in Comic 184, when an Eternus Praetorian delivers a message to "the hero of Harraski" and "the defender of Leniserend" - Torn and Kaylethia, respectively - and finds them somewhat different from what he was expecting, ultimately culminating in Kaylethia [[GroinAttack kicking him in the crotch]] for his annoying behavior.
* WeaksauceWeakness: Comic 675 reveals that entering an antimagic field is fatal to Arcane Incarnations. Since they're literally made of magical energy, this makes some sense, but it's nevertheless a bit odd to learn that these seemingly-unstoppable beings can be utterly thwarted by a spell available to 11th-level arcane spellcasters.
* WhamEpisode: Rand's storyline in Chapter 5 begins as a fairly random battle against a never-before-mentioned enemy from his past. But when said enemy tries to extend his revenge to Gromm, it turns out [[spoiler: that Gromm is, and has ''always been'', a guise used by Lord Secundus. The ensuing scenes reveal Secundus's true nature as the former God of Pain and a lot about his motivations and the Emperor's nature (though the latter is not entirely new information).]]
** The ending of Chapter 9 has an almost constant stream of major twists that together add up to at least one wham episode:
*** Comic 542: [[spoiler: When told by Custodian Lahvin that the Imperium was never meant to be as xenophobic as it has become, Powers ''attacks'' him, showing that he's so fanatically indoctrinated that he'll even go against one of the Emperor's most trusted servants if what he says contradicts Powers's beliefs. In the ensuing battle, Powers somehow manages to lift one of the Custodians' glaives - which supposedly weigh as much as ''stars'' - and ''rips off Lahvin's arm'' before he's taken down. Lahvin gets better quickly, but it still shows Powers is ''far'' more dangerous than he appeared.]]
*** Comic 550: [[spoiler: Following the ensuing dispute over what exactly to do with Powers, we get a heavily expositional comic that still manages to drop a major reveal: High Aios is aware of a prophecy suggesting that Rand can kill the Emperor. Clanor immediately dismisses it as "a stupid prophecy written by a stupid man", but he's been WrongGenreSavvy before. And on a less significant note, Rand's been turned into a girl again.]]
*** Comic 551: [[spoiler: On an uncontrollable ego[=/=]anger trip, Clanor fires off an Ultimate Destruction spell at Custodian Sereyentheous [[StupidEvil for basically no reason]] - and it ''works'', vaporizing the seemingly godlike Custodian in one hit.]]
*** Comic 552: [[spoiler: Lahvin proceeds to effortlessly curbstomp Clanor in retaliation for his brother's death - and when the Archmagister commanding the Arcane Incarnation squad tries to intervene, Lahvin kills him and Clanor with a single blow, triggering a massive brawl in which the Custodes completely slaughter the [=AIs=].]]
*** Comic 559: [[spoiler: After we've been given ample evidence of just how badly the Custodes are taking their brother's demise, we find out that Rand has ''stolen his ashes''. [[WhatAnIdiot To use as a table centerpiece.]]]]
*** Comic 560: And just when it all seems over, the biggest twist of the whole storyline - and arguably the whole comic - occurs when [[spoiler: the sole surviving Arcane Incarnation encounters Torn, who proceeds to deliver a very uncharacteristic monologue about how the Custodians and High Aios can't be allowed to ally, and how High Aios is nothing but a bunch of petty immortal bureaucrats terrified of the potential the Emperor represents for humanity. He then {{No Sell}}s an attack from the AI before killing him in one hit, revealing his true nature as a [[PersonOfMassDestruction Vector Witch]] apparently aligned with Magebane's deicidal agenda.]] This one even features the UnsoundEffect [[LampshadeHanging PLOT TWIST]] to let readers know just how big TheReveal is.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Several minor characters have disappeared without a trace after their role in the plot came to an end. Sometimes this is more noticeable than in other cases:
** Minor villains Armzept and Serg both completely vanish after the end of their respective chapters, despite both being still alive when last seen. They were presumably arrested by E-SEC, but the details are never specified.
** High Lord Levinary hasn't been seen since Comic 560, despite the continuing major story presence of the Adeptus Custodes who were supposedly meant to act as his bodyguards. Of course, they never listened very much to him anyway.
** The beginning of Chapter 10 sees Rand and a squad of Khorran troopers taking on the Lich-Lord Punof Obscurevilgod in something of a parody of stock adventures. When Imperial Guard forces suddenly attack, Obscurevilgod briefly teams up with Rand against them, but he suddenly teleports away after it's revealed to be an ambush spearheaded by Major Powers. He's never seen again, and whether he - as Rand accuses - helped set up the ambush is never made clear. The ultimate fate of the Khorran troopers also winds up being left unclear, as they aren't mentioned again after Comic 567 (though they probably survived, as their armor was shown easily shrugging off lasgun fire).
** Also from Chapter 10 is the unnamed elderly human messenger who originally told Rand about Obscurevilgod. Nicknamed "Browncloak" by Rand, he stuck around for a while and even played a role in helping defend the town against Hypt Dragon attackers at the beginning of Chapter 11. However, after Comic 615, which revealed that he survived the attack thanks to Custodian Limbaw, he has not been seen again.
* WholePlotReference: Much of Chapter 1's later half is an extended reference to ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'', with Gary the psyker encountering many elements from that game and acquiring his own floating Weighted CompanionCube. [[spoiler: However, the cube later turns out to be evil, resulting in Gary's death and Xeno battling it in a "boss fight" early in Chapter 2.]]
* WorldOfBadass: As one might expect from a setting that mashes up ''Dungeons and Dragons'', ''Warhammer 40,000'', and various action science fiction elements, the world of Aios is one of these. With exactly two exceptions - [[ButtMonkey Lord Magebane]] and Rand's little brother Gromm - the entire cast are high-level characters, starting at fifteenth level and going up, with all of the combat skills and ability to take ridiculous damage that entails. [[spoiler: And even Gromm turns out to be a demon lord in disguise.]] As for the rest of the world, while there are certainly lots of ordinary non-badass people, the main cast are by no means the only high-level characters on Aios: between the well-established fact that [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking "nobles are the deadliest mortal sons of bitches in the world"]], the Arcane Incarnations everywhere, and the miscellaneous other powerful beings - such as a tarrasque acting as a ''flunky'' for a terrorist group - the planet clearly manages to qualify as this trope.
* WorldOfSnark: While one might expect a lot of snark from Team Rand, given their nature as GenreSavvy NominalHero adventurers, and ditto the LaughablyEvil villains, what really propels the comic into this trope is the level of snarkiness from characters who it wouldn't be as predictable: whether it's characters who otherwise act like they're in a more serious story or utterly random extras, it's extremely rare for any character to appear for more than a handful of panels without either delivering sarcastic lines or being the victim of others' snark. Usually, it's both.
* YouKeepUsingThatWord: Throughout the early-middle comic, a running gag involved dozens of various creatures suddenly appearing to correct anyone who used "sentient" for "sapient", much to the confusion of the regular cast. The gag seems to have been brought to a close with Comic 372, as it has not been seen since.
** Major Powers seems to use "heresy" to mean literally anything to which he is opposed. People have called him out on this several times, but - as one might expect, given it's Powers - they've had no success.
-->'''Xeno:''' Wait a second, how is that heresy? Heresy is a difference of opinion on religion.\\
'''Powers:''' Yeah, your point?\\
'''Xeno:''' ...nevermind.


Characters

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Team Rand]]

* FighterMageThief: Fitting the D&D archetypes to a T, Rand is a standard blaster mage and Torn a frontline fighter. Kaylethia varies it a little more - she's a ranger specializing in guns, not a rogue - but her fighting style and general role in the party matches the Thief archetype all the same.
* LikeBrotherAndSister: Kaylethia and Torn, while they do go on a "[[NotADate man date]]" once and have on a few occasions exchanged vaguely flirty comments, never show any remotely serious signs of romantic interest in each other and in general act like a pair of - extremely fond of bickering - siblings, with Torn as the older brother figure and Kayl as the annoying younger sister. [[spoiler: Ultimately subverted, but not in a romantic sense: when Kaylethia discovers Torn is really a Vector Witch, she becomes obsessed with killing him for the sake of the entire planet, with no hesitation about their previous friendship.]]
* NominalHero: Out of the three of them, Torn is the only one to show any meaningful interest in idealism or doing good for good's sake, [[spoiler: and he's possibly the worst of the bunch.]] Rand and Kaylethia adventure pretty much entirely for the thrills and rewards, and are generally only about as moral doing it as they're required to be. Rand, at least, is quite honest about admitting he's not actually a hero to his friends, though that doesn't stop him from trying to ''look'' good in front of average people. All this is, of course, entirely in keeping with their portrayal as "typical" [=PCs=].
* VitriolicBestBuds: Kaylethia is this way with both of the male party members, but especially so with Torn. Their relationship is pretty much built on constant snark, bickering, teasing, and miscellaneous passing insults - mostly on Kayl's end, but Torn occasionally manages to turn the tables on her. It's lampshaded (of course) more than once, but never more obviously than in Comic 294:
-->'''Bartender:''' ...I assume you two are friends?\\
'''Kaylethia:''' How do you know?\\
'''Bartender:''' Well, between the fighting, rage, and death threats, I could only come to one plausible conclusion.\\
'''Torn:''' Oh yeah that makes sense.\\
'''Kaylethia:''' It's actually pretty obvious if you think about it.
** Rand and Jeroshaw are also this way. Jeroshaw is probably [[MoralityPet the one living being that Rand genuinely, altruistically cares about]], but that doesn't stop him from periodically insulting the dragon or [[ItMakesSenseInContext using a Disperse Form spell to ride inside his head.]] Jeroshaw, for his part, can be equally insulting to Rand.
* WithFriendsLikeThese: Rand and Torn, especially in earlier strips, can really only be considered friends because they say so. As early as Comic 16, Rand is placing command words inside Torn's head to make him suffer [[DisproportionateRetribution in retaliation for welching on a 100 gold piece bet]], and their relationship does not improve from there. While Torn is generally more of a victim than a perpetrator, he does periodically try to get revenge against Rand for this and at one point actually ''blows him up'', though he has semi-good reasons for it. Eventually, they do mellow out to be more VitriolicBestBuds.

!!Rand'Teh

* AngstWhatAngst: Played for laughs in Comic 273, where Lord Secundus expects Rand to be experiencing anguish and "mental turbulence" over the revelation that [[spoiler: his brother never existed, actually being a demon prince.]] Rand tells him "No, I'm fine" and we then see inside his head to prove that while he may be experiencing quite a few different emotions over the reveal, angst is distinctly not among them.
* AttractiveBentGender: During Rand's second time as a girl, she's hit on by Professor Savaddor - though it's anyone's guess at this point if he was serious - and Torn, who's already demonstrated an attraction to a member of her species, seems a bit favorably impressed by seeing her in a dress, though he's also quite insistent that he still thinks of Rand as male. It's also subverted in Comic 566, where a couple of Khorran soldiers talk about the first one hoping to "get" with Rand; turns out [[spoiler: he's actually talking about his Connect Four team.]]
** During Rand's ''first'' gender-bending incident, meanwhile, the trope is played for laughs in Comic 67, where Kaylethia confidently declares "Besides, I'm certain that nobody outside your species will notice it anyways." [[RecurringExtra The kobold janitor]] promptly enters and makes a pass at Rand.
* BoxedCrook: In Chapter 7, he's roped into acting as the cavalry for Marnia's expedition against Atlas by King Ezekiel agreeing to release him from his CoolAndUnusualPunishment early. In fact, given that Marnia's directly responsible for said punishment, the agreement's the only reason he bothers to help her at all.
* BreakTheHaughty: For the first six chapters of the story, he's about as confident and arrogant as you'd expect from a high-level sorcerer who's been one of the most powerful people he knows for his entire life (since he ''hatched'' tenth level). On the few occasions where other characters manage to pose a serious threat to him - as with Powers and Xeno - he ultimately shrugs it off, and he remains insistently in denial about the existence of the godlike Emperor. Then he actually meets the Emperor and finds out he's exactly as powerful as advertised. Since then, he's been subject to periodic bouts of depression over his inadequacy, and it's not helped by the introduction of other extremely powerful characters like the Adeptus Custodes.
* ButForMeItWasTuesday: Rand [[InvokedTrope invokes]] this in Chapter 5, by claiming to not remember the incident an enemy spellcaster wants revenge on him for (destroying a group of rebels as part of his adventuring career). Unfortunately for him, he's eventually tricked into admitting it. The trope may also have been played straight at first, as it's not clear when he actually remembered.
* CelibateHero: While his distinct unwillingness to return Marnia's romantic interest is pretty understandable given their history, the fact that finding her attractive never seems to cross his mind even before getting a reason to hate her suggests this trope at work. Indeed, Rand has ''never'' displayed any hint of concern about sex or romance in general over the entire 700+ comics so far.
* CharacterDevelopment
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}
* CursedWithAwesome
* {{Determinator}}
* EveryoneHasStandards
* GhostInTheMachine
* HighClassGlass
* HeavySleeper
* HeroicComedicSociopath
* HeroicRROD
* HidingBehindTheLanguageBarrier
* HowDoIShotWeb
* ImAHumanitarian
* IndyPloy
* InelegantBlubbering
* InsaneTrollLogic
* ItAmusedMe
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold
* MasterOfDisguise
* MasterOfIllusion
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished
* OptOut
* PunchClockHero
* PurpleEyes
* {{Sabotutor}}
* SelfServingMemory
* SignatureMove: Rand has a lot of signature spells, but the one that most stands out as being associated with him personally is his [[ShoutOut Galick]] [[Anime/DragonBallZ Gun]] spell, a [[WaveMotionGun massive beam of magical energy]] intended to completely obliterate the opponent. [[TheWorfBarrage Unfortunately for him, it works as intended maybe three times at most in the course of the comic.]]
* SquishyWizard
* TalkToTheFist
* TheChosenOne
* UnskilledButStrong: [[spoiler: After being body-swapped with Sereyentheous. He has no more skill at physical combat than he ever did (that is to say, none whatsoever), but the indestructibility and SuperStrength of his Custodian body still make him an extremely dangerous opponent.]]

!!Kaylethia

* BadassLongcoat
* BoomerangBigot
* DarkSecret
* DressesTheSame
* EyesAreMental
* TheGadfly
* GenreSavvy
* GunFu
* HairTriggerTemper
* HateAtFirstSight
* HeroicComedicSociopath
* InSeriesNickname
* KnowNothingKnowItAll
* LeeroyJenkins
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction
* MrExposition
* OffscreenTeleportation
* OverlyPreparedGag
* PutOnABus
* SelectiveObliviousness
* TookALevelInJerkass
* WeaponOfChoice

!!Torn

* AngstWhatAngst
* ConsummateLiar
* DoggedNiceGuy
* EvilAllAlong
* GlowingEyesOfDoom
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter
* HypocriticalHumor
* InterspeciesRomance
* LimitedWardrobe
* MessyHair
* NotSoAboveItAll
* OnlySaneMan
* RageAgainstTheHeavens
* StraightMan
* TheBigGuy
* TheGenericGuy
* TheWatson
* TriggerPhrase
* TokenGoodTeammate[=/=]TokenEvilTeammate
* WeaponOfChoice

!!Jeroshaw

* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan
* MoralityPet
* ParrotPetPosition
* SanitySlippage
* SixthRanger
* TalkativeLoon

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Kingdom of Eternus]]

!!Princess Marnia Eternus

* AbhorrentAdmirer
* BadassPrincess
* CassandraTruth
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}
* CombatMedic
* CoolCrown
* DropTheHammer
* GoodIsNotNice
* GuileHero
* HappilyAdopted
* HeroicAlbino
* HeroicBSOD
* HonorBeforeReason
* InSeriesNickname
* InsistentTerminology
* LoveEpiphany
* LoveMakesYouDumb
* LovingAShadow
* MoodSwinger
* NeverHeardThatOneBefore
* OpenSecret
* OvershadowedByAwesome
* PowerGivesYouWings
* RationalizingTheOverkill
* RescueRomance
* RoyalBrat
* UngratefulBastard
* UnstoppableRage
* WalkingArmory
* WrongGenreSavvy
* YeOldeButcheredEnglish
* YouKilledMyFather

!!King Ezekiel Eternus

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking
* BadassBeard
* BigGood
* TheGoodKing
* HonorBeforeReason
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething
* WhatsUpKingDude:

!!Marcellan

* CloudcuckoolandersMinder
* ExtremeDoormat
* HypercompetentSidekick
* SenselessSacrifice
* ServileSnarker
* UndyingLoyalty

!!"Vinny"

* AmbiguousGender
* BadassLongcoat
* CassandraTruth
* CoolMask
* CrazyPrepared
* GunFu
* InsaneTrollLogic
* NoEscapeButDown
* NoNameGiven
* YouKilledMyFather

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Magebane Empire]]

!!The Emperor

* AboveGoodAndEvil
* AffablyEvil
* AntiVillain
* BadBoss
* BerserkButton
* BigBad
* DeityOfHumanOrigin
* EvilFeelsGood
* FallenHero
* GodEmperor
* ItAmusedMe
* MetaGuy
* MotiveRant
* TheOmnipotent
* OrcusOnHisThrone
* PhlebotinumOverload
* SeenItAll
* SelfMadeOrphan
* SpellMyNameWithAThe
* {{Troll}}

!!Lord Magebane

* AuthorityInNameOnly
* ButtMonkey
* ChekhovsGunman
* {{Flanderization}}
* HighClassGlass
* OutOfFocus
* TimeAbyss

!!Xeno

* AntiVillain
* BunnyEarsLawyer
* ConsummateLiar
* CloudcuckoolandersMinder
* CuttingTheKnot
* EngineeredHeroics
* EvenEvilHasStandards
* FriendlyEnemy
* GoodThingYouCanHeal
* KlingonPromotion
* MagicKnight
* ManipulativeBastard
* MookPromotion
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname
* SpikesOfDoom
* StoppedCaring
* TheChewToy
* TheMenFirst
* TookALevelInBadass
* TwentyFourHourArmor
* UnfortunateNames
* VillainBall
* VillainousBSOD
* WellIntentionedExtremist
* WillfullyWeak

!!Gary[=/=]The Apprentice

* CardCarryingVillain
* FauxAffablyEvil
* GoodWingsEvilWings
* TheHeavy
* HumanoidAbomination
* IHaveManyNames
* ISurrenderSuckers
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction[=/=]MinorInjuryOverreaction
* MindControl
* OutOfFocus
* PunchClockVillain
* TokenGoodTeammate
* VillainousFriendship

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Imperium of Man]]

"It is the 41st millennium. For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth..."

!!Major Maximillian Powers

* AbsoluteXenophobe
* ArchEnemy: To Rand. However many other people the two of them come into conflict with - and it's a pretty long list for both - each will always be the other's most hated enemy. WordOfGod says this is why Powers [[spoiler: could instant recognize that Sereyentheous in Rand's body wasn't Rand, despite being in mindless berserker mode at the time.]]
* AttackAttackAttack
* AwesomeMcCoolname
* BadassNormal
* BlackAndWhiteInsanity
* BloodKnight
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou
* CharacterizationMarchesOn
* {{Determinator}}
* FeelNoPain
* HypocriticalHumor
* IRejectYourReality
* JetPack
* KarmicTransformation
* LanternJawOfJustice
* MorphicResonance
* MurderIsTheBestSolution
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness
* PunnyName
* ScreamingWarrior
* StayingAlive
* TautologicalTemplar
* TeethClenchedTeamwork
* TheDreaded
* UnstoppableRage
* WalkingArmory
* WreckedWeapon
* YouAreWhatYouHate

!!The Adeptus Custodes

* BashBrothers
* BlingOfWar
* BreakoutCharacter
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower
* DivergentCharacterEvolution
* DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength
* InSeriesNickname
* MixAndMatchWeapon
* NoHeroToHisValet
* PutOnABus
* SmugSuper
* ThoseTwoGuys

!!Custodian Sereyentheous

* BloodKnight
* DeathOrGloryAttack
* FatalFlaw
* HeroAntagonist
* HumanityEnsues
* HypocriticalHumor
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone
* RealityWarper
* SupernaturalGoldEyes
* WeHardlyKnewYe
* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove

!!Custodian Lahvin

* TheGenericGuy
* GeniusBruiser
* StraightMan

!!Custodian Limbaw

* AccidentalHero
* CoolShades
* TheDitz
* LateToThePunchline
* MakeMeWannaShout
* NiceHat
* OverrankedSoldier

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Hypt]]

!!Superintendent Kalros

* AffablyEvil
* ArcVillain
* BadassBoast
* CardCarryingVillain
* ChekhovsGunman
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep
* FriendlyEnemy
* ForScience
* LudicrousPrecision
* NoSell
* OmnicidalManiac
* SurroundedByIdiots
* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath
* TautologicalTemplar
* VillainExitStageLeft

!!Professor Savaddor

* {{BFG}}
* BunnyEarsLawyer
* ChivalrousPervert
* EstablishingCharacterMoment
* HighTechHexagons
* InformedAttribute
* InsufferableGenius
* OddFriendship
* RobeAndWizardHat
* ScienceHero

!!Arc

* AdultChild
* AmbiguousGender
* GeniusDitz
* LetsGetDangerous
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch
* RememberTheNewGuy
* TransformingMecha

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Other]]

!!Gromm'Teh

* AnnoyingYoungerSibling
* DreadfulMusician
* LimitedWardrobe
* OvershadowedByAwesome
* TheReveal

!!Lord Secundus

* BadBoss
* BigBadWannabe
* BondVillainStupidity
* CharacterizationMarchesOn
* EvenEvilHasStandards
* GlowingEyesOfDoom
* GodOfEvil
* OutOfFocus
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver
* VitriolicBestBuds

!!Clanor

* ConflictingLoyalty
* CharacterizationMarchesOn
* EnragedByIdiocy
* EstablishingCharacterMoment
* HairTriggerTemper
* TheDragon
* KarmicDeath
* MagicStaff
* SarcasticDevotee
* SignatureMove
* SmugSnake
* TokenEvilTeammate

!!Archduke Araske

* GoodThingYouCanHeal: In Comic 310, he ''rips off his own head'' in frustration over Marnia's complete inability to understand how claiming to be "the beautiful princess" is not actually a disguise when you're the only princess in the city. Of course, he's regenerated by the next time we see him.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: He spent millenia after his Awakening atoning for the damage he caused before it, carving out his own realm in the process, and today is known as one of the most powerful forces for good upon Aios. He is famous worldwide and repeatedly namedropped by the protagonists. His total presence in ''this'' story so far? One chapter and a few cameos.
* HighClassGlass
* NiceHat
* OffingTheOffspring
* PimpDuds
* UnexplainedAccent

[[/folder]]

** Current characters: [[Tropers/{{Yomegami}} Mahiro and Nagako]], [[Tropers/KillerClowns Suela]], [[Tropers/SolipSchism Masum]]
** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=34#827 here]]

** Current characters: [[Tropers/KillerClowns Xiong, Olara]], [[Tropers/{{Sonzai}} ???]], [[Tropers/TeraChimera Peter, Ksana]]
** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=34#835 here]]

** Current characters: [[Tropers/SolipSchism Ejra]], [[Tropers/{{nrjxll}} a currently unnamed qrtxian]]
** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=34#841 here]]

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=34#841 here]]

* [[Tropers/StrixObscuro Nioba and Lihiri]] and [[Tropers/{{Gault}} Adrien]] are getting breakfast in the '''hotel lobby'''; they have been joined by Rey. Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=34#841 here.]]

* [[Tropers/StrixObscuro Dimi]] is on his way to the '''lobby''', while Nazerno is still in his '''room (217)'''. Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=34#836 here.]]

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=34#829 here]]

** Current characters: [[Tropers/SolipSchism Ejra]]
** No posts yet today

** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=34#830 here]]

* [[Tropers/StrixObscuro Nioba and Lihiri]] and [[Tropers/{{Gault}} Adrien]] are getting breakfast in the '''hotel lobby'''. Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=33#822 here.]]

* [[Tropers/StrixObscuro Dimi]] is on his way to the '''lobby''', while Nazerno is still in his '''room (217)'''. Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=33#808 here.]]
* [[Tropers/{{nrjxll}} A currently unnamed qrtxian]] is wandering around the '''courtyard'''. Last post [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=33#803 here.]]

** No posts yet today

** Current characters: [[Tropers/KillerClowns Xiong, Olara]], [[Tropers/{{Sonzai}} ???]]
** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=34#828 here]]

** Current characters: [[Tropers/{{nrjxll}} Krott [=voSudir=], two disks]], [[Tropers/{{Sonzai}} Hvpvdqia]]
** Last post: [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400&page=34#828 here]]

** Current characters: [[Tropers/{{nrjxll Krott [=voSudir=], two disks]], [[Tropers/{{Sonzai}} Hvpvdqia]]