History VideoGame / Avernum

-->-- '''Conrac'''

* AllEncompassingMantle: The traditional clothing of the Vanhatai, though it looks more like a poncho than a mantle.

* AdaptedOut: The Twelve Masters of [[DenOfIniquity Angierach]] in 2 are reduced to Ten (Three humans, three Rakshasi, a Criodemon, two Ifrits and Midori the Lich) in ''Crystal Souls''.

** While she's a minor NPC that is mostly irrelevant to main quests, Yong-Mi appears in Avernum 1, 2 and 4. In the first game, she's a voluntary exile that is trying to find a way inside an undead crypt. In the second, she does recon missions at the ruins of Cotra. The fourth game reveals that [[spoiler:she's helping the Darkside Loyalists by letting local bandits into Cotra, for which you have to confront her and then kill her.]]

** Monastery of Madness in the above-mentioned game is basically the "Lair of AxCrazy Monks"

** Similarly Sulfras in ''Ruined World''. Should you decide to fight him, he will cast Death Curses now and then during combat, which will cause the target to take a huge amount of damage after a few turns. For no apparent practical reason there are several water basins around him which will dispel the curse.

** Early in ''Escape From the Pit'', Lagram is something of a warmup boss helping your party get accustomed to combat. You can face Lagram again much later in the game; you find that [[spoiler:in the meantime he's suffered a HumiliationConga where he's been rejected not only by Avernum, but also [[TruceZone the freehold of Kyass]] and even [[WretchedHive the cities of the Abyss]]. He tried to set up his bandit nation in the no-man's-land between Fort Saffron and Fort Spire, only for his base to get destroyed by eyebeasts. You're basically there to put him out of his misery.]]

** In ''6'', there's a fortress in the Western Reaches (based on an old Vanhatai fortress) where Avernites are trying to dig a way through to reach a fabled way out to the surface, as a double nod to the first game (the passage) and fourth (the Vanhatai fortress). One of the troubles in ''6'' is also derived by a summoned Haakai inside Colony Tower (former Tower of Magery), just like in the first game.

* FallenHero: Solberg: for the first four games, Solberg is a humble, kind and helpful if reclusive sorcerer who defeated Grah-Hoth in the past alongside Erika and Patrick and helped the heroes saving Avernum plenty of times. By the time of the fifth game, he's been reduced to a paranoid, senile ControlFreak who has established his own "utopic" domain in the north for a limited amount of people, uses potentially unstable golems as sentinels and regularly blames everyone else for his mistakes. Because of his senility, he's lost (almost) everybody's respect in the sixth game and nobody in Fort Duvno cares enough to stop him when he decides to join you to fight the Slith Horde head-on.

* FantasticHonorifics: The Vahnatai add suffixes to their names based on rank, including "Ihrno" for high-level mages and "Bok" for Crystal Souls (as well as individuals who will become Crystal Souls when they die).

* FlowerFromTheMountaintop: In the third installment, there is a quest like this. Said flower is also guarded by hordes of gremlins who [[CharmPerson charm]] you constantly.
%%* ForcedTutorial: In the fourth and fifth games.
%%* FriendlyFireproof: Most spells use this. However, Wall of Blades will damage anyone nearby.

* GrayAndGrayMorality: Especially true in ''5'': as you're told pretty soon, you're an empire soldier, a stranger, thus the long-term benefits of Avernum do not really concern you and none of the various cities and villages you visit are especially good or bad. More often than not, completing certain quests will result in you making an enemy of a faction you just aided and viceversa.

* LackOfEmpathy: The Vanhatai in ''6'' are insesitive to the suffering of the Avernite caused by the Blight and the Slith Horde, feeling that it's only the best solution to restore the balance to the caverns.

* {{Magitek}}: Some of the rarer technology of the Vahanati and even the Empire fits as this, in Blades the abandoned Skylark School of Magery even had functioning supercomputers.

* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:When you assassinate the Slith King Sss-thsss in the first game, King Micah then dispatches you to look into the destruction of Fort Remote. Grah-Hoth reveals himself, and expresses anger that you killed his "pet".]]

* NotSoHarmlessVillain: In ''Escape from the Pit'', the bandit Lagram serves little purpose other than to serve as your intro to combat at the start of the game. [[spoiler:Late in the game, he reappears not only ''much'' stronger than before (complete with an upgraded sprite), but he has an entire team of high level bandits and monsters at his command.]]

** In ''Escape from the Pit'', Lagram's thugs have this reaction if you choose to immediately attack rather than plead for mercy as they expected.

** The entire plot of ''3'' revolves around this, and the primary suspects are Erika, the remaining three dragons, and the vahnatai. All of them have motivation to take revenge on the Empire. [[spoiler:It's a large portion of the vahnatai, led by Rentar-Ihrno, who are behind this. Erika eventually comes to help you stop the plot--apparently, laying waste to the surface is too much even for ''her''.]]

* SmallNameBigEgo: Lagram of ''Escape From the Pit'' incorrectly thinks he will become the great leader of a bandits' paradise. Even [[spoiler:his last words are that he knows your weakness, and that he will defeat you next time... cue him falling dead]].

* StarterVillain: Lagram in ''Escape from the Pit'', the Slime Plague in ''Ruined World'', Lysstak the Beast in ''5''.

** Not all the sentinels of Tranquility are under control and an entire quadrant has lethal sentiles ready to murder anyone passing through.

* VillainousBreakdown: In ''Escape'', [[spoiler: Grah Hoth undergoes one as you fight him. At first, he's amused when you wound him and summon mooks to help him out. Then he claims that he should punish himself after killing you for having grown so weak in these years. By the time you've gravely injured him, he's reduced to a psychopatic, frothing berserk bent on destroying you above all else. Averted, strangely enough, with Emperor Hawthorne: he's so deluded and senile that he doesn't even realize that his shield has exhausted, allowing you to land the finishing blow.]]

** Dorikas costantly talks about how he wants to make the Empire safe and strong again against all threats and sees himself as the right man for the right time. [[spoiler: Even when defeated, he's willing to leave his fortress to the Empire as an outpost to keep Avernites in check.]]

''Avernum'' was rewritten ''again'', starting with '''Avernum: Escape From The Pit'''. The main reason behind this is that the first series (Avernum 1, 2, 3) doesn't run well or at all on modern [=OSes=] (especially UsefulNotes/MacOS X 10.6 or above), and the programmer wanted to use a better looking engine. As well as porting the game to the iPad. '''Avernum 2: Crystal Souls''' was released for the same three systems, with '''Avernum 3: Ruined World''' being released in 2018.

* BonusBoss: Very common, a particular istance of this trope happens in ''5'' if you either go for the optional [[BrutalBonusLevel side areas]] or you follow the Lark questline and hunt for rare unique monsters so that she can make power up soup with their body parts. The last of these battles pits you against the Black Horror in what's possibly the hardest battle of the game.

[[quoteright:259:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/avernum_vi_928.jpg]]

* BladeOnAStick: Preferred weapon of Sliths, who favor the two-pronged variant. The first series had, in order, spears, pikes and halberds, while from ''Escape'' onwards they have been reduced to spears and halberds, both two-handed weapons (contrasting swords, which are all one-handed)

** To WesternAnimation/SouthPark in one of the Blades of Avernum scenarios. There is a statue guard with a muffled voice [[spoiler: who gets smashed by an explosion.]]

** Quite a few of the names in the various games [[{{Tuckerization}} contain shout-outs of various kinds]].
* SmallNameBigEgo: Lagram of ''Escape From the Pit'' is this, thinking he's to become the great leader of a bandits' paradise. To the point where [[spoiler:his last words are that he knows your weakness, and that he will defeat you next time... cue him falling dead]].

Avernums 1 and 2 were originally released in 2000, while Avernum 3 was released in 2002.

* RudeHeroesPoliteVillains: Used in a roundabout way in ''5'': the Avernite people you meet and your own Imperial superiors treat you with contempt, disgust and in some cases hatred. The Darkside Loyalist you're there to destroy however are much more sympathetic to your cause, try to win you over and, before fighting, comments how's a shame that they've come to this and promise to give you a proper burial.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In 1 alone, you have to [[spoiler: release the satanic Grah-Hoth from his prison, allowing him to reform his castle, so that you can kill him for good.]] You can also questions Erika's plans for assassinating the Emperor, though she's very aware of the consequences, but doesn't care.

--> Before they send us
--> to a grave
--> Alien Beasts use
--> Burma Shave

* TheStarscream: Subverted by Garzahd in ''Escape'': Even if you try to entice him by telling him that he could rule in lieu of Hawthorne if he lets you pass, he laughs at this ridicolous notion. Indeed, even after becoming leader of the punitive expedition in ''Crystal Souls'', he does obey Prazac, though he considers her weak and foolish. In ''5'' you can play as a traitor who secretly wants to ditch his place and join the Darkside Loyalists.

* TurnsRed: A feature seen in the remake trilogy, Bosses this time around will resort to special tricks (often with dialogue to go along with it) when wounded enough, making the fights more memorable and trickier. Usually involves powering up, using more attacks, teleporting characters away or summoning more help.

* AdaptationExpansion: What ''Avernum'' is to the ''VideoGame/{{Exile}}'' series.
** In turn, the latest re-release of the first game adds more to the original game yet again (especially an extended tutorial intro), much like how the first ''Avernum'' polished and refined the gameplay from the first ''Exile'' game.

* AnimatedArmor: Doomguards.

* AnvilOnHead: In the first game, 'X' is trying to research a spell that literally does this. [[spoiler: By the last game, he perfects it.]]

* AutomatonHorses: ''Avernum 3''. Averted in ''Ruined World'', where horses are absent.

* BarrierChangeBoss: A few minor bosses in the second trilogy.
* BeneathTheEarth: The setting, except for ''3'' and ''Blades'', most of which take place on the surface.

* BookcasePassage

** X and his anvil spell.

* DeadpanSnarker: The PC's self-narration in 5 can falls into this category.

* DialogueTree: It's a lot like VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'s.

* FightWoosh: Only for outdoor battles in the original trilogy.

* FireIceLightning: And poison, acid, and "disruption."

* ForcedTutorial: In the fourth and fifth games.
* FriendlyFireproof: Most spells use this. However, Wall of Blades will damage anyone nearby.

* {{Geas}}: This is what you get if you accept to work for Gladwell as a price for his help.

* GhostlyChill: A good sign that you're entering a crypt or other haunted place is the sudden chill in the air.

* HarderThanHard: Torment. It [[NintendoHard lives up to its name]], particularly in the fifth game.

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: [[spoiler: Garzahd's background, shockingly enough, as well as ultimately Rentar-Ihrno.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Rentar-Ihrno in the 4th game, depending on your dialogue choices.]]

* InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals: The Merry brothers in the third game.

* InsurmountableWaistHeightFence: Plenty of them.

* LaResistance: The Scimitar.

* LemonyNarrator: Particularly in regard to being a DeadpanSnarker.

* LimitedSoundEffects

* MinmaxersDelight: The "Divinely Touched" character trait.

* NPCAmnesia
* NumericalHard

* OnlySaneMan: Solberg in 3 is one of the few wizards in the Tower of Magi who still distrusts Linda, rightfully so.
* OpeningTheSandbox: The final chapter in ''Avernum 2''.
* OrganDrops: Fortunately, they're usually quest items rather than food.

* PamphletShelf

* PortalNetwork: In the second trilogy.
* PsychoSerum: Skribbane. See FantasticDrug above.

* {{Tuckerization}}: See [[http://spiderwebforums.ipbhost.com/index.php?/topic/9166-name-cameos-in-jeffs-games/ this thread]] for a list.

* VendorTrash
* VideoGameRemake: Of the ''VideoGame/{{Exile}}'' series.

* YouAllLookFamiliar: Lampshaded three times in the third game. They are brothers.

* DeathIsCheap: Only 375 GP at your local healer. Games 4, 5, and 6 replace it with {{Non Lethal KO}}.

* CallForward: In ''Escape from the Pit'', completing a quest for for the talking spider tribe rewards with an unusually thin cloak and strange, shuriken-like blades. Veterans of the series will recognize these as Vahnatai equipment.

* CallBack: The Black Horror in ''5'' looks identical to the Shades from the previous game and even undergoes three phases where he obtains a power up based on the Shades themselves.

* DudeWheresMyRespect: To ludicrous extent in 5: since you're playing as an imperial soldier, everyone in Avernum will absolutely hate your guts over the still-strong anti-imperial feeling, even by younger generations born years after the war. Furthermore, since you're basically a vanguard of fledgelings tricked into carrying out an extremely dangerous mission, even your coworkers treat you with disdain. This trend seems to be extremely common in the second trilogy as a whole, with the starting town/fortress having its people treating your party as a bunch of idiots prone to cut off their own heads if handed a sword.

* ClimaxBoss: Sss-Thsss in the first game, as well as Rentar-Ihrno's [[spoiler:first]] fight in the 4th game. Though the fact that you still have a third of the map to explore might spoil this one.

* DudeWheresMyRespect: To ludicrous extent in 5: since you're playing as an imperial soldier, everyone in Avernum will absolutely hate your guts over the still-strong anti-imperial feeling, even by younger generations born years after the war. Furthermore, since you're basically a vanguard of fledgelings tricked into carrying out an extremely dangerous mission, even your coworkers treat you with disdain.

* EndOfAnAge: ''Avernum 6''.

* FighterMageThief: From the gameplay basis, we have Fighters (Soldier, Berserker, Archer), Thief (Rogue, Rebel) and Mage (Shaman, Priest, Sorcerer, Hedge Wizard). The three human Masters from Angierach are also this, combined with OldMaster (they're described as so old and wizened you cannot even tell their gender or appearance).

* FinalBoss: In ''Escape'', each of the three Main Quests has a boss fight with a powerful creature near the end: You have to fight Grah Hoth, the [[DemBones Deathtouch Horror]] and, of course, Emperor Hawthorne. In ''Crystal Souls'' you have to face Garzahd (depending on the order you completed the missions, once as a true boss battle and once as an AdvancingBossOfDoom who rains deadly spells on you on a roof while Quickfire advances.

** The final game has a similar approach to decide the future of Avernum and who will remain on the top.

* NotSoDifferentRemark: Kyass in ''Escape'' unfavorably compares the kingdom of Avernum and Hawthorne's Empire - after all, the Avernites have been busy establishing a new monarchy over as much territory as they can and driving out the "monstrous" races, as well as banishing their own undesirables to an even less pleasant part of Avernum, the Abyss. The Nephilim and Sliths may be violent, but the Avernites ''are'' invaders as far as they're concerned.

* TheStarscream: Subverted by Garzahd in ''Escape'': Even if you trite to entice him by telling him that he could rule in lieu of Hawthorne if he lets you pass, he laughs at this ridicolous notion. Indeed, even after becoming leader of the punitive expedition in ''Crystal Souls'', he does obey Prazac, though he considers her weak and foolish.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler: Garzahd is really terrified of the threat posed by demons and other beings such as Vahnatai, and he believes that the only way to save his Empire and even Avernum is to crush them with might and violence until they're gone.]]

* FallenHero: Solberg: for the first four games, Solberg is a humble, kind and helpful if reclusive sorcerer who defeated Grah-Hoth in the past alongside Erika and Patrick and helped the heroes saving Avernum plenty of times. By the time of the fifth game, he's been reduced to a paranoid, senile ControlFreak who has established his own "utopic" domain in the north for a limited amount of people, uses potentially unstable golems as sentinels and regularly blames everyone else for his mistakes.

* {{Hellfire}}: Quickfire. Only certain magical barriers can prevent it from spreading.

* MildlyMilitary: For some reason Avernum's military is fond of sending its ill-prepared new grunts (not even special forces or shock troops) out on scouting missions in groups of four (in plainclothes, no less, though somehow other Avernites will recognize you as a team of soldiers), while the better-trained and stronger troops remain to guard the fort. In most of the cases the loose justification is that you're actually PrivateMilitaryContractors (and therefore disposable). Justified in the fifth game: your party of Empire soldiers was simply supposed to get to New Harston and get the permission papers for the real Dorikas-hunting team... but was force by the Avernites to take part to the hunt themselves.

** Demons: Of a secular variety, believe it or not. They're a ProudWarriorRace with a sadistic sense of humor, but they spend most of their time fighting each other. The game also has Ifrits who, however, use a different sprite.

* SetAMookToKillAMook: Control Mind spell can charm a monster (or a player), turning it against the opponents. Used in a curious PuzzleBoss in ''5'': in order to defeat the NighInvulnerable Prime Sentinel, you have to damage the four Unstable Servant summoned hard enough to turn them by your side for a while, causing them to attack the Sentinel instead.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** OurDragonsAreDifferent: Avaricious, arrogant, and annoying, they're also ridiculously tough. Fortunately, only five of them are left alive as of the first game. Unfortunately, they're breeding...

** RodentsOfUnusualSize

* WizardingSchool: The Tower of Magi.
* YouAllLookFamiliar: Lampshaded three times in the third game.

* AnimalWrongsGroup: In ''Avernum 5'' there is the Circle of Life cult which breed various nasty critters and release them back into their (newly settled) natural habitat, much to the displeasure of others. However when the group is confronted it is shown that they are quite pacifistic.

* DudeWeresMyRespect: To ludicrous extent in 5: since you're playing as an imperial soldier, everyone in Avernum will absolutely hate your guts over the still-strong anti-imperial feeling, even by younger generations born years after the war. Furthermore, since you're basically a vanguard of fledgelings tricked into carrying out an extremely dangerous mission, even your coworkers treat you with disdain.

* PuzzleBoss: In ''Escape'', [[spoiler: Emperor Hawthorne]] is one, protected by an impregnable barrier and watched over by Golems and spawing reinforcements. However, if you damage the golems enough, he will replenish their health at the cost of his barrier. Once said barrier's gone, you can kill him with any attack.

* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: The Vahnatai.

* StarterVillain: Lagram in ''Escape from the Pit''.

* TownWithADarkSecret: The western city in Drake Pillars in 5 has a very old, weakened Drake imprisoned beneath the city, not to mention people in cahoots with the local bandit lord plagueing the area.

*** ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Subverted; in the first game, they're introduced as an enemy, but they're only fighting you because of the warlike leader Sss-Thsss commanding them. [[spoiler:Then you find out that he and many of the others were influenced by demons, so now you have to rid the sliths of their taint.]] By the second game, most sliths are peaceful, though you still have to deal with some slith brigands from time to time. The Alien Beasts from ''Ruined World'' have a more reptilian look, despite looking more wolf-like in 3 and Blades.

* AntiMagicalFaction: The Church of Anama is a downplayed example in that they still use and promote priest spells but are vehemently opposed to sorcery and wizards, an [[WellIntentionedExtremist overly-paranoid but not-entirely-unjustified stance]]. By the time of the fifth game though, Prazac declared the Anama outlaw and sent them to Avernum.

* BookEnds: In ''Avernum 4'', one of the first side caves you enter near the beginning of the game is dead-ended by three squares of cave-in. Much later, you find that the other side of that cave-in was a hideout of endgame-level mountain giants.

* EnemySummoner: in a [[SummonMagic literal sense]].

* UngratefulBastard: While most of the mayors of the various Empire towns in 3 are more than grateful for your assistance, even if you're an Avernite, the ones from Lorelei and Gale are the worst: the former keeps expecting help from the Empire, and downright [[DudeWheresMyRespect refuses to believe that you've stopped the plague, treating you like a mad vagrant.]] The one in Gale doesn't move a finger to aid against the Golems, refuses to interact with you and has your entire party arrested if you stay in Gale for too long.

* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:When you assaassinate the Slith King Sss-thsss in the first game, King Micah then dispatches you to look into the destruction of Fort Remote. Grah-Hoth reveals himself, and expresses anger that you killed his "pet".]]

* MildlyMilitary: For some reason Avernum's military is fond of sending its ill-prepared new grunts (not even special forces or shock troops) out on scouting missions in groups of four (in plainclothes, no less, though somehow other Avernites will recognize you as a team of soldiers), while the better-trained and stronger troops remain to guard the fort. In most of the cases the loose justification is that you're actually PrivateMilitaryContractors (and therefore disposable).

* AllInARow

* AscendedExtra: [[spoiler:Anastasia/Zemera goes from a minor early-game boss in ''1/Escape from the Pit'' to one half of the BigBadDuumvirate in ''4''.]]

* UnwinnableByMistake:
** In ''1'' and ''Escape from the Pit'', it is possible to [[spoiler:kill Athron before she teaches you a password you need.]] The latter game has a console cheat specifically for remedying this.
** Similarly, in ''Crystal Souls'', you can [[spoiler:destabilize the Empire Portal]] and set off its countdown before completing the quests needed to not die afterwards. There is also a console code for this.

* NotSoDifferent: Kyass in ''Escape'' unfavorably compares the kingdom of Avernum and Hawthorne's Empire - after all, the Avernites have been busy establishing a new monarchy over as much territory as they can and driving out the "monstrous" races, as well as banishing their own undesirables to an even less pleasant part of Avernum, the Abyss. The Nephilim and Sliths may be violent, but the Avernites ''are'' invaders as far as they're concerned.

''Blades of Avernum'' happens after ''Avernum 3'' and doesn't follow the exploits of Avernites per se. In fact, it does not have any cohesive, overarching plot at all. Instead, it lets you [[GameMaker create your own scenarios]] and [[GameMod play the ones other people have made]]. It has been all but abandoned by Spiderweb Software. However, there is still a community of designers for it and dozen scenarios have been produced.