Set in a fantastical version of Warsaw in 1905, you are placed in the shoes of Wiktor Szulski, who has returned to the city after several years on hearing of his father Stanislaw's death. Wiktor, as his father before him, is a thaumaturge, a magically gifted person who can perceive the thoughts and emotions of others; they can also form pacts with salutors, supernatural creatures attracted to the flaws in humans, which allows them to potentially manipulate others. However, it soon becomes clear that there is more to Stanisław's death than meets the eye, particularly given that his Black Grimoire, the only thing that he has left Wiktor, is missing. Complicating matters further is the growing discontent against the Russian Empire and Tsar Nicholas II himself, and the suggestion that deeper forces are at play...
Gameplay typically involves using Wiktor's skills of perception along with his thaumaturgical powers and his salutors to unravel several mysteries while roaming around Warsaw, along with using the information obtained to decide how these cases may be resolved. Wiktor may also fight adversaries when Combat is also carried out in a turn-based fashion, with Wiktor being able to use his salutors to hurt and stun his enemies.
The Thaumaturge contains instances of the following tropes:
- Actually, I Am Him: When Wiktor asks Ariel Rofe to introduce him to Javier, Rofe introduces him to Barszczyk, a fighter at the Powisle fighting ring, who promises to introduce him to Javier if Wiktor can win three bouts. Completing the bouts reveals that Barszczyk is Javier. Notably, this can be subverted if Wiktor looks around the arena before talking to the two of them, as he can find this information by himself and confront Javier, though he still insists on Wiktor having to fight the bouts to help him.
- All for Nothing: The plan to get Svetlana out of Warsaw to safety in Vienna. Wiktor saves her from Okhrana officers, searches across Powiśle for Javier, potentially has to fight three bouts in the fighting ring, and has to find a way to carry her giant trunk full of Blackmail material onto the ship, all for a hope of her using her extensive contacts in Nikolai II's court to help him. Then the golem tries to attack Wiktor, causing the pier to collapse, killing both Svetlana and Javier.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Most of the students of the Flying University are distrustful of Polina because she is Russian. This gets amplified when Waldemar gets arrested and everyone believes that one among them is an Okhrana mole; while Dickstein emphatically rejects the idea that it is Polina, everyone else immediately supports that theory, increasing the backbiting and harassment she faces. Wiktor's thaumaturgical lecture definitively confirms that she is not the mole - her primary reason for joining the University is to study at the Sorbonne - and "Higher Education" reveals that Czeslaw is the real mole.
- Ambiguously Gay: Danis from "Bastards of the Night" is heavily implied to be gay, but it is not confirmed either way. The loss of his Blood Brother Pasha has clearly affected him so much that he has started to behave extremely recklessly, not caring anymore whether he lives or dies to the point he has started to enjoy playing Russian Roulette, and it would explain why his fiancee dumped him soon after Pasha's death. That said, his closest friends Selim and Timur deny it, saying that Pasha was their blood brother and close friend, and Danis himself doesn't confirm or deny it even when his flaw is exposed.
- Asshole Victim: Vasili, the village elder who died in the fire, is revealed to have been beating his daughter Vesna so badly that she snapped and stabbed him with a pair of scissors, with the house fire having been a coincidence.
- The Bet: Wiktor's investigations into Ludwik's death in "The Price of Friendship" reveal that a wager between him and Petya was central to the events. While they were both drunk, Petya bet Ludwik a large sum of money that he could walk on a balcony railing at the Imperial Hotel; Ludwik, needing the money for a chance at marrying his girlfriend Hanna, accepted, but he slipped and died.
- Bilingual Bonus: Large parts of the dialogue are spoken in untranslated Polish and Russian.
- Bittersweet Ending: Most quests have their better endings typically be some form of this.
- The prologue mission, if Wiktor doesn't learn that Vesna was the one who killed Vasili and thus does not take the wise woman to the forest clearing, but does convince Luka to not abandon her. This leads to both of them being exiled from the village, but at least they are together.
- The Flying University quests can end bittersweetly. Czeslaw betrays the University to the Okhrana, and Samuel flees back home to Vienna, with Cecilya and Polina morosely declaring that the university has ended. However, Ligia and (optionally) Wiktor can provide hope to them, saying that while they may have to lay low, the university will return, and the ending slides show that the University does in fact return.
- Cult of Personality: Rasputin quickly develops a cult-like following in the Nadarczynski home once in Warsaw, attracting people from such diverse backgrounds as tsarist officers and working women. This reaches its logical conclusion when Rasputin causes a miracle in the Mary Magdalene church.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: All over the place, unsurprisingly, particularly given the early 20th century time period, most notably when Georgi Skalon, while declaring martial law on Warsaw, openly states that anti-imperial groups such as "brutal socialist subversives, communists, Jews, or other Satanic provocateurs" will not be allowed to exist. The common folk of the village in the prologue show little sympathy for Vesna when it is revealed that she killed Vasili after years of being abused by him, and Polina at the Flying University worries that her brother would beat her till she bled if he knew that she was at the university, believing that an educated woman is a disgrace to her family. Svetlana's party also has the guests openly speculate (to Wiktor's face) that Ligia is a lesbian because she is not married in her late 20s, and looking around her room has Wiktor find several letters from suitors who act as if they are doing her a favour by asking to marry a woman who is excessively independent, wears pants, and is "intelligent, which bodes no good in a woman".
- Dreaming of Things to Come: At the end of the prologue, Rasputin tells Wiktor that he wishes to join him because he has had disturbing visions of the future, including the murder of Franz Ferdinand, the deaths of workers in the Odesa uprising, and the horrors of chemical warfare in World War I; he believes that going to Warsaw will help him prevent these tragedies. Meeting him again in Warsaw has him reveal that he has had further visions, including one of the sinking of an unsinkable ship.
- Evolving Title Screen: The title screen always shows Wiktor with the last salutor he has tamed.
- Fatal Flaw: Central to the game, as salutors are attracted to the flaws within human beings, and so finding these salutors typically involves discerning the person who exhibits the flaw.
- Wiktor's flaw is Pride, to which Upyr was attracted. Several conversation options allow him to feed this flaw, with dialogue options being closed off if you do not. Notably, it is a significant reason for Stanislaw exiling Wiktor when him trying to help Abaurycy blew up in their face.
- The entire village in the prologue is mentioned to have become quick to anger since the fire that claimed the elder Vasili's life. Wiktor's investigation reveals that this is caused by the Bukavac, a salutor who is attracted to the wrath in Vesna's heart born out of years of abuse at Vasili's hands.
- The Lelek in "Bastards of the Night" is attracted to "madness, carelessness, and drunken elation". It is revealed to be attracted to Danis, one of the Cossacks, who has taken to reckless risk-taking after losing his comrade.
- The Veles in "The Reptilian Bash" is attracted to secrecy and manipulation, and is revealed to have been attracted by Sofya Skalon, daughter of Governor-General Skalon, who tries to use elaborate schemes to overcome her sadness.
- He's Back!: Wiktor starts the game having lost contact with Upyr after he failed to capture a salutor, causing him to appear sickly and be unable to communicate with it. He says that he has been searching for help with this for several years across Europe and Asia, with little benefit. Meeting Rasputin in the prologue has him finally be able to speak to Upyr again, allowing him to be able to use it in battle, and subsequently recruit the Bukavac; with Rasputin's help, he can subsequently form pacts with over half a dozen salutors.
- Historical Domain Character: Grigori Rasputin is a major character, with other famous people of the era such as Nicholas II and Georgi Skalon
also showing up. - Hurricane of Euphemisms: After Rasputin leaves the Szulski home at the end of "To Dust, You Shall Return", Ligia complains that Wiktor's activities since returning to Warsaw have caused several worries for her, including "ladies of the night" hanging around the house near the windows. If Wiktor asks who they are, Ligia frustratedly clarifies:Whores, Wiktor, prostitutes. Women of easy virtue. Daughters of Corinth, courtesans, moths, hookers, floozies.
- Like Reality, Unless Noted: This world is largely similar to our own, with historical events mostly progressing similar to our timeline. Most notably, not only is thaumaturgy real, it is also widely acknowledged within the world: several characters note that a thaumaturge with their book is a force to be reckoned with, and thaumaturges are among those persecuted by the Empire.
- Multiple Endings: The game has several endings, with the player's choices throughout the game varying three primary ending paths, along with ending slides showing the fates of characters and factions from sidequests and minor choices.
- Escape: Wiktor (and Ligia, if her Flaw was removed) use Abaurycy's help to escape Warsaw for Paris. If Ligia joined Wiktor, the two are seen in Paris meeting their mother and "Jean-Pierre". However, regardless of whether Ligia is with him, Wiktor hears Rasputin's voice warning him that he cannot escape him.
- Coterie: Wiktor collaborates with Burnakovich, Samira, and potentially Ariel Rofe to test Stanislaw's theory of using his Black Grimoire to unite their thaumaturgical powers. They succeed and visit Prince Alexei's birthday party, causing Skalon to have a mental breakdown and gaining an audience with the tsar to stop the violence enacted by Skalon in Warsaw. They gain the assurances of the tsar and declare that they will collaborate with him, with Rasputin being denounced as a charlatan before he is fought. After Wiktor wins, the epilogue shows the members of the coterie preparing to stop another anti-thaumaturge movement, though Rasputin temporarily tells Wiktor that his comrades won't protect him and that every debt will be repaid.
- Rasputin: Wiktor burns the Black Grimoire and goes to Prince Alexei's birthday party, making Lazarev, Maria, and Magdalena to abandon Rasputin. As Wiktor enters the room where the tsar is giving a speech, Rasputin suddenly appears and ingratiates himself to the tsar, even calling on Wiktor from the crowd. The endings then go several ways:
- If Wiktor was supportive of Rasputin throughout the game and vouches for him, Rasputin asks Nikolai II to make Wiktor the court thaumaturge while embedding himself into the royal court, and the epilogue shows the two talking before Wiktor must leave for Manchuria.
- If Wiktor was supportive of Rasputin throughout the game but betrays him at the end, Rasputin fights Wiktor; upon defeat, Wiktor can choose to either show mercy or end him. If he shows mercy, Wiktor suggests that Rasputin work with himself as the court thaumaturge, with the epilogue being similar to the above; if he ends him, Rasputin is put to death and Wiktor is appointed court thaumaturge, with the epilogue showing him ruthlessly interrogating a Bolshevik prisoner and assigned to find its leaders before Rasputin speaks to him again.
- If Wiktor did not support Rasputin throughout the game, Rasputin denounces him in the court and asks that he be put to death. If Wiktor cannot object, he is put to death. If he can object, he and Rasputin fight, and after Rasputin is defeated, the endings are similar to those above.
- Notably, the tone of the latter two set of endings changes significantly depending on whether Wiktor convinces Wanda to not assassinate the tsar; if she does, Warsaw goes through extreme violence and state repression regardless of the tsar's promises, and the cotorie must act independently and much more covertly.
- Non-Standard Game Over: If Wiktor surrenders to Ivan Konechkin when he visits the Szulski house in Act III, a scene is shown where he is executed. This scene is also shown if Wiktor chooses the Rasputin ending while he was not supportive of Rasputin throughout the game and then cannot stop him from denouncing Wiktor as a thaumaturge.
- Notice This: When Wiktor uses his powers of perception near an important object, several red particles form near it; approaching the object allows for the particles to coalesce towards it, with it becoming selectable when Wiktor is sufficiently close.
- Optional Party Member: The only mandatory salutors are Upyr (who Wiktor starts with), Bukavac, and Lelek, all of whom are unlocked in mandatory story missions. Wiktor can allow Veles to be tamed by Samira, and keep his word to Rofe by letting him tame Golem. Morana, Djinn, and Krampus are found in side missions and can thus be missed.
- Patriotic Fervor: Polish nationalism is mentioned by several characters; one of the first things you see at the train station when entering Warsaw is that the sign has the city's name in Cyrillic marked out, and one of the first questions Wiktor is asked after entering is whether he considers himself Polish. Notably, this being 1905, Poland as a state does not exist: the country is partitioned between the Russian Empire (who also hold Warsaw), the Habsburgs, and the Kingdom of Prussia. This nationalist sentiment does contribute to the discontent against the Russian Empire.
- Psychometry: A principal thaumaturge power. Wiktor can use his power of perception to identify objects, and touch them to find more information about the person who touched it last. This also allows for eavesdrop-proof communication between thaumaturges.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: The wise woman in the village, though initially suspicious of Wiktor, is revealed to have been helping Vesna with her abuse at Vasili's hands. Notably, if she is brought along to the forest clearing, she will shame the villagers who brand Vesna a witch and a murderer, declaring that they did nothing as Vasili abused her for years and daring them to exile her too; this leads to the only ending to the quest that does not definitively involve Vesna being exiled from the village.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Samuel Dickstein leaves Warsaw in a hurry after the Okhrana crack down on the Flying University after Czeslaw is revealed to be their mole. This is also a potential ending for the game, with Wiktor (and potentially Ligia) deciding that his/their best option is to escape Warsaw, potentially going to their mother in Paris.
- Secret Police: The Okhrana are a significant force operating in Warsaw and have been keeping tabs on several people. This includes both factions such as the Warsaw Anti-Thaumaturge Society and the Flying University as well as major players such as Svetlana Rumyantseva; visiting the latter after the party in Act 1 has Wiktor find her being accosted by several men in her suite; fighting them off reveals that they have Okhrana badges, and Wiktor has to find a way to get her out of the Russian Partition and to Vienna. Ivan Konechkin is revealed to be the head of the Okhrana, having blackmailed Stanislaw Szulski with potentially jailing Wiktor after the Semecin murder.
- Serial Killer: A serial killer called "The Fisherman" prowls the neighborhood of Powiśle, leaving corpses of naked, eyeless men on the banks of the Vistula. Wiktor is attracted to the case by the prospect of taming a Morana near the river. The killer is revealed to be Klara, a prostitute at Aunt Jadzia's brothel, who killed several of her clients to vent her hatred of her dead brother and kidnaps Piotrek when he gets too close to the truth.
- Shout-Out:
- Fejgin's pseudonym for writing in non-state-run newspapers is "Kmicic".
- One of the responses to the dream seller in Mirow asking for your wish in "Fearless" is "Say you want to be the very best, the best that ever was."
- Going to the Harborside Barber in Praga Port has him request Wiktor to not move around while being shaved, and Wiktor agrees, saying he wants to avoid a "Fleet Street scenario".
- Wretched Hive: Powiśle is essentially a giant slum, inhabited primarily by layabouts and prostitutes surrounded by mud and muck. As a loading screen note states,
Strolling through Powiśle, Wokulski mused that it's a miniature of a country where everything is headed toward the degradation and extermination of the human race. I'm beginning to understand.
- Wrong Turn at Albuquerque: Parodied, likely as a deliberate Shout-Out to the Trope Namer Bugs Bunny. After completing the Bukavac questline, Wiktor finds a man sitting at the train station who asks him how he can get to Albuquerque; Wiktor, nonplussed, replies that it is a long way to the Atlantic ocean and a significant journey even once he reaches the New World (the village in question is in modern-day Georgia). He then rues that after he took a wrong turn while going to Albuquerque, he has little idea how he found himself here. However, if Wiktor helps him in Warsaw when he is attacked by criminals, the ending slides show that he did eventually reach Albuquerque, with Wiktor stating that his source for that information is a secret.
- Yiddish as a Second Language: Jewish characters such as Chajat and Ariel Rofe pepper their speech with random (and typically untranslated) Yiddish words, most notably when Rofe calls Svetlana a "klafte"note .
