History Franchise / FateSeries

** The series as it was released is gender-flipped compared to [[WhatCouldHaveBeen the scenario originally planned]]: Saber herself was originally going to be a male character and servant of a {{Meganekko}} who was the basis of [[DecompositeCharacter Shirou and Rin]]. The original scenario was eventually turned into a 12-minute long [=OVA=] called ''Anime/FatePrototype'' and later expanded to the ''Fragments of Pale Silver'' novels.

** When it comes to "Servants", they tend to have their true names hidden behind their class name, i.e "Saber", "Archer", etc. {{Downplayed}} in that it happens less for "magical" reasons and more for practical ones: Servants are (typically) [[HistoricalBadassUpgrade historical/mythical people]] and thus are famous in one way or another; their abilities and weaknesses can be easily discerned just by learning their true names, so they make sure to not reveal them to anyone but their "Masters". In ''Anime/FateZero'', two Servants discard this advantage by openly announcing their true names, both [[AwesomeEgo purely out of ego]]. [[spoiler:Alexander the Great]] (Rider) [[RefugeInAudacity tries to recruit all the other Servants to abandon the Holy Grail War and become his generals to conquer the world, while [[spoiler: Gilgamesh]] (Archer) simply thinks the other Servants and their Masters are so far beneath him that there's no point hiding his identity]]. It's played straighter with their "Noble Phantasms", an item/ability that is the "crystallized legend" of the respective Servants in question; they usually have to be invoked by [[CallingYourAttacks saying its name]] if they want to use the greater extent of the Noble Phantasms' strength. Like the identities of the Servants, having other people learn of a Servant's Noble Phantasm's name can lead to them deducing the Servant's identity, so they tend to not be used until the right time.

* ''Fate/Grand Order: From Lostbelt'' (2019-present) - A web manga focusing on side stories about the Crypters. Illustrated by Nakatani.

* '' Anime/FateGrandOrderFinalSingularityGrandTempleOfTimeSolomon'' (2021) - Film adaptation of the final chapter of ''Observer on Timeless Temple''. [[=CloverWorks=]]

* ''Fate/Grand Order: Ritsuka Fujimaru Doesn't Get It'' (2023) - A seven minute adaptation of the manga aired as a New Year's special, followed by a short series in 2023. [DLE]

* ''Fate/Grand Order -Epic of Remnant- Malignant Quarantined Devil's Realm Shinjuku: Shinjuku Phantom Incident'' (2019-2022) - Based on the first arc of ''Epic of Remnant''. Illustrated by Shonen Sasaki.

** ''Fate/Grand Order -Epic of Remnant- Pseudo Singularity II: Legendary Subterranean World Agartha: Women of Agartha'' (2019-present) - Based on the second arc of ''Epic of Remnant''. Illustrated by Hideo Takanaka.

* ''Fate/Grand Order -Epic of Remnant- Malignant Quarantined Devil's Realm Shinjuku: Shinjuku Phantom Incident'' (2019-present) - Based off of the first arc of ''Epic of Remnant''. Illustrated by Shonen Sasaki.
** ''Fate/Grand Order -Epic of Remnant- Deep Sea Cyber-Nirvana SE.RA.PH'' (2019-present) - Based off of the ''Fate/Extra CCC'' crossover arc of ''Epic of Remnant''. Illustrated by Nishide Kengoro.
** ''Fate/Grand Order -Epic of Remnant- Pseudo Singularity II: Legendary Subterranean World Agartha: Women of Agartha'' (2019-present) - Based off of the second arc of ''Epic of Remnant''. Illustrated by Hideo Takanaka.
** ''Fate/Grand Order -Epic of Remnant- Seven Swordsmaster Spirit Duels'' (2019-present) - Based off of the third arc of ''Epic of Remnant''. Illustrated by Rei Wataru.
** ''Fate/Grand Order -Epic of Remnant- Pseudo Singularity IV: Taboo Advent Salem: Heretical Salem'' (2019-present) - Based off of the fourth arc of ''Epic of Remnant''. Illustrated by Aoi Ohmori.

** The definition of '''Lancer''' is a horse-riding knight or similar wielding a lance. The definition of Lancer in ''FGO'' is anyone who wields a BladeOnAStick, which includes lances, spears, naginatas, scythes, etc. And then [[spoiler:there's the Grand Lancer, who isn't wielding anything. He IS the spear, and he fights by shooting energy from his hands]]. This was questioned by a LOT of people.

* DependingOnTheWriter: Nero presents herself as a cheerful, [[BoisterousBruiser boisterous]], [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething battle-ready Emperor]] [[HundredPercentAdorationRating who is loved by all]] and drips with AwesomeEgo. In some appearances, this is mostly a front for her massive InferioritySuperiorityComplex, her deluded narcissism, and her guilt over her [[MyGreatestFailure complete failure]] as a ruler. In others, it's taken at face value.

* ''LightNovel/LordElMelloiIICaseFiles'' (2014-2019) - Sequel to ''Fate/Zero'' featuring a now grown up Waver Velvet aka Lord El-Melloi II and his sidekick Gray solving magical mysteries.

* ExpyCoexistence: While Waver Velvet didn't ''start off'' as a SherlockHomage when introduced in ''Literature/FateZero'', he's acquired enough similarities to him by the time of ''LightNovel/LordElMelloiIICaseFiles'' to warrant occasional LampshadeHanging. Naturally, with the franchise being the FantasyKitchenSink that it is, Sherlock Holmes also exists and even becomes the MissionControl in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'''s second MythArc. Should you manage to summon both of them as playable Servants, Holmes will even ask to have a chat with Waver (with one piece of official art implying that said chat involved [[HigherUnderstandingThroughDrugs Holmes's stash of chemical assistance]]).

** {{Inverted}}. Whereas the first few installments had a greater emphasis on the human Masters (the ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' saga, ''LightNovel/LordElMelloiIICaseFiles''), many of the spin-offs will put focus on the Servants instead, with the Master either playing SupportingProtagonist or backup. ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' even plays around with this by taking alternate versions of previous Masters and turning them into Servants, either by posession or due to the feats they accomplished in their own timeline.

* DreamingOfTimesGoneBy: As established since ''Fate/stay night'', the contract between Master and Servant has for side effects that both sides can see the other's past in their dreams. Since Servants do not sleep, with the exception of Artoria, it's usually the Masters who are shown to have these dreams, which shed light on the past life of their Servant.

** The '''Archer''' class, which is not actually just archers but anyone who "fights from range". This includes people who use guns and crossbows, like Billy the Kid and William Tell, but also has some completely absurd members like Summer Artoria Pendragon (who uses a squirt gun), Nikola Tesla (who [[ShockAndAwe shoots lightning]]), [[Literature/TheGardenOfSinners Asagami Fujino]] (who can ''twist'' things - that's not even throwing anything!), and Summer Jeanne (who throws ''dolphins''. Yes, you read that right). And ''then'' there are the folks who can use a bow and arrow but choose not to, like the above mentioned ''FSN'' Archers and [[Literature/FateApocrypha Chiron]], who uses Pankration. The game itself pokes a lot of fun with this, but the grand prize has to go to Caster Merlin, who says that "even though his sword shoots beams, he's not an Archer."

** ''stay night'' places heavy emphasis on the fact that Anti-Heroes have been summoned as Servants when only good guys should be possible; this is eventually showed to be linked to a GodOfEvil that highjacked the Fuyuki Grail. By ''Grand Order'' this stopped mattering completely, and eventually several {{retcon}}s would clarify that the Fuyuki Grail system is specifically very constrained compared to the ancient rituals it was based on.

* CradlingYourKill: {{Defied}}. At the end of [[Myth/ArthurianLegend the Battle of Camlann]], after Arturia/Saber strikes down Saber of Red/Mordred, Mordred uses her dying breath to ask her [[ItMakesSenseInContext "father"]] to [[FinalFirstHug hug]] her. Arturia refuses, although this was because [[TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask Arturia believed showing emotion was unbecoming of a proper king]] and likely feeling too guilty to embrace her own "son" that she just killed (given that in ''Literature/FateZero'', Arturia doesn't say anything while Berserker/Lancelot apologizes to her after she is forced to kill him because she didn't want to make him feel any worse) rather than Arturia hating Mordred.

Keep in mind that the franchise doesn't have a completely straight continuity; in fact, many titles are in their own ''separate'' continuity, held together by the basic concept of the Grail War, the mage system, and the Servant system. ''VideoGame/FateExtra'', for example, takes place years after the first game's Holy Grail War, but the game itself only takes inspiration from its outcome while going off into a completely different direction. Others, like ''Literature/FateApocrypha'' and ''LightNovel/FateRequiem'', are straight up in an alternate universe.

* ''LightNovel/FateRequiem'' (2018-present) - Takes place in the aftermath of a large war that results in everyone having a Servant with the exception of its protagonist.

** ''LightNovel/FateRequiem'': Erice Utsumi ponders on the series' tendency to have men in history and myth actually be women, using Francis Drake as an example, as all of her contemporaries remember her as either male or female. Erice concludes that Drake's actual gender doesn't really matter, compared to the great feats achieved. So far, the Greek mathematician Euclid has been revealed as a woman.

** Just how many Servants can you fit in a Grail War? ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' and its [[Literature/FateZero prequel]] keeps it at about 7 (Gilgamesh and [[spoiler:True Assassin]] notwithstanding). Then it's revealed in the original version of ''Prototype'' that Saber would've had to fight the previous War's six Servants on top of the threats he already faces. ''Literature/FateApocrypha'' tops that by having two teams of 7 and a supervisor in the form of Ruler, [[spoiler:two of them, in fact]]. ''VideoGame/FateExtra (CCC)'' has ''128'' Masters all fighting (though gameplay and story limitations means the player gets to see about 15 of the actual participants) for the Grail. ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' allows you to use all those Servants and then some, even allowing you to swing by other eras' Grail Wars with all of ''their'' Servants. ''LightNovel/FateRequiem'' trumps them all with everybody on the planet but the protagonist getting Servants as a result of an unspecified war.

* GenderFlip: The series as it was released is gender-flipped compared to [[WhatCouldHaveBeen the scenario originally planned]]: Saber herself was originally going to be a male character and servant of a {{Meganekko}} who was the basis of [[DecompositeCharacter Shirou and Rin]]. The original scenario was eventually turned into a 12-minute long [=OVA=] called ''Anime/FatePrototype'' and later expanded to the ''Fragments of Pale Silver'' novels.

** While she was alluded to and had a voiced cameo prior to her official [[UnseenNoMore reveal]], ''Fate/Grand Order Arcade'' introduces Merlin Prototype, who is a gender-flip of both her male counterpart Merlin from the main game, and also of the mythological figure Merlin who himself was an [[CompositeCharacter amalgamation of different historical and mythological figures]]; in [[Anime/FatePrototype her native universe]], Arthur and Mordred are male, and she's the one who got gender-flipped. This is also a CastingGag as the Male Proto Arthur and Main Universe Merlin share the same voice actor, so too do Proto Merlin and Artoria. (Staff have joked this would also apply to a Proto Fou, since regular Fou also shares his actress with Artoria)

* UnconventionalAlignment: All Servants have one specific alignment of the regular axis, with the exception of TheBerserker Class, which [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity exchanges the sanity of the Servant for a Stat Boost]], overriding the Morality Axis for the simple "Mad" label, and for example [[spoiler:[[Myth/ArthurianLegend Lancelot]]]], the Berserker of the Fourth Holy Grail War was "Lawful Mad" while [[spoiler: [[Myth/GreekMythology Herakles]]]], the Berserker of the Fifth Holy Grail was "Chaotic Mad". Within the franchise, every Berserker introduced after them does not have the Mad alignment, though. With the exception of a gag character named Mori Nagayoshi.

** While she was alluded to and had a voiced cameo prior to her official [[UnseenNoMore reveal]], ''Fate/Grand Order Arcade'' introduces Merlin Prototype, who is a gender-flip of both her male counterpart Merlin from the main game, and also of the mythological figure Merlin who himself was an [[CompositeCharacter amalgamation of different historical and mythological figures]]; in [[Anime/FatePrototype her native universe]], Arthur and Mordred are male, and she's the one who got gender-flipped.

* SummonBinding: * ''Franchise/FateSeries'': A Servant - a Heroic Spirit which can be summoned as a familiar - is bound to their Master by Command Seals. These are three magical seals that, when used, force the Servant to obey a specific order no matter what.

* ''LightNovel/GardenOfAvalon'' (2015) - Prequel that focuses on the original Saber's backstory.

* ''LightNovel/FateLostEinherjar'' (2022-present) - A sequel to ''Apocrypha'' about Sigurd's and Brynhild's daughter Aslaug and her husband Ragnar Lodbrok, as well as a Sub-Grail War featuring the two.

** The original heroine of the franchise, Saber Artoria Pendragon, has fallen into this. She is the poster girl of the game, prominently featuring in just about every bit of promo material and even being its icon on any given app store. When the game had just launched, Artoria was still considered the "main heroine" of the franchise due to her prominence in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' and ''Anime/FateZero'', so leading with her made sense, especially since ''Grand Order'' was seen as a side project then. However, ''Grand Order'' [[AdvertisedExtra largely avoided developing Artoria]] (whether out of tentativeness with handling an iconic character or out of a sense that there wasn't much to be done with her after her many prior starring roles), instead focusing on characters from ''[[LightNovel/FateApocrypha Apocrypha]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FateEXTRA EXTRA]]'', its own OriginalGeneration, or lesser lights from ''FSN'' and ''Zero.'' Ask a fan who the main or most popular heroine of ''Grand Order'' is, and Saber Artoria probably wouldn't even make the top twenty, and as ''Grand Order'' has increasingly become the franchise's cash cow, you could probably argue that those characters are more central to the franchise at this point. It's particularly funny because her iconic status has led to her getting [[OverusedCopycatCharacter tons of alternate versions]] or characters who [[OnlySixFaces share her design]], some who exist [[BetterThanABareBulb only to poke fun at the franchise's overuse of her design]], and nearly every single one of them has had more significant showings than her -- even the gag BeachEpisode variant! Nonetheless, the sheer inertia of her prior appearances means that she isn't going to be taken out of the middle of group shots anytime soon.

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Servants are called by their character classes to disguise their [[PublicDomainCharacter true]] [[HistoricalDomainCharacter identities]] (and thus, their [[PublicDomainArtifact legendary weapons]], abilities, and (most importantly) weaknesses) from their opponents. Unless the Servant is too arrogant to worry about such things, as in the cases of [[spoiler: Gilgamesh]] and the ''LightNovel/FateZero'' Rider, [[spoiler: [[UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat Iskander]]]].

* ExpyCoexistence: While Waver Velvet didn't ''start off'' as a SherlockHomage when introduced in ''LightNovel/FateZero'', he's acquired enough similarities to him by the time of ''LightNovel/LordElMelloiIICaseFiles'' to warrant occasional LampshadeHanging. Naturally, with the franchise being the FantasyKitchenSink that it is, Sherlock Holmes also exists and even becomes the MissionControl in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'''s second MythArc. Should you manage to summon both of them as playable Servants, Holmes will even ask to have a chat with Waver (with one piece of official art implying that said chat involved [[HigherUnderstandingThroughDrugs Holmes's stash of chemical assistance]]).

** Saber's character is thoroughly explored in different ways in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' and the prequel ''LightNovel/FateZero''. It should be noted that she is quite insistent [[SheIsTheKing on being called "king,"]] and spent most of her life doing everything she could to ignore or hide her female gender. Due to sexism, she didn't have much choice. A relatively small core of her inner circle knew the truth, including Merlin, Lancelot, Gawain, Guinevere, and her older foster brother Kay. Certainly puts a different spin on Lancelot and Guinevere's affair, doesn't it?

** In ''LightNovel/FateApocrypha'', Assassin of Black is gender-flipped UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper (though justified as Jack's true identity is unknown, and while Assassin of Black killed prostitutes, she doesn't know for certain if she was Jack due to her vague memories) and Saber of Red is a gender-flipped [[Myth/ArthurianLegend Mordred]] (created through a bizarre set of circumstances involving sorcery who, like her "father," insists on not being treated as female). Non-historically, it also has a gender-flipped [[Literature/{{Frankenstein}} Frankenstein's Monster]], because Victor Frankenstein always intended to make a [[AdamAndEvePlot pair]] (instead of being blackmailed by The Creature to make a mate) but just made "Eve" first and was turned off after seeing how she turned out with her wanting him to finish the job. Amusingly, it also features a subversion with Astolfo, who several characters in-universe originally mistake for being female due to both [[DudeLooksLikeALady looks]] and [[{{Keet}} personality]], but he's still a guy, as Jeanne finds out first-hand [[UnsettlingGenderReveal when he comes out of the shower naked with his privates exposed]]. Worth noting is that Astolfo's existence as a gender neutral character is what lead to Modred being made female, so as to avoid having two amibigiously gendered characters.

** In fact, the power of a Servant varies depending of how much it's known and/or revered in their current location. For example, WordOfGod states that [[LightNovel/FateApocrypha Lancer of "Black"]] (UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler) could completely destroy Berserker ([[Myth/ClassicalMythology Heracles/Hercules]]) and Saber ([[HistoricalGenderFlip gender-flipped]] Myth/KingArthur) from ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', two Servants whose identities are known ''world-wide'', because he was summoned in his home country of Romania, close to his native city to boot, and has a Skill that lets him secure a certain amount of land as his own and boost his power as long as he remains within the bounds of that land (which fittingly enough, is at the headquarters of the Yggdmillennia). This dual-layer homefield advantage is enough he's able to fight toe-to-toe with [[PlayingWithFire Lancer of "Red"]] ([[Literature/TheMahabharata Karna]]) when normally he would be [[CurbStompBattle completely crushed]] by his [[StoryBreakerPower Gilgamesh-leveled opponent]]. [[spoiler:This is what ends up happening when he is forced to sacrifice said advantage to fight on the enemy's home turf]].

** ''Grand Order'' incorporates the greater Franchise/{{Nasuverse}} even outside the ''Fate'' subseries; one of the first "collaboration" events of the game was with ''LightNovel/TheGardenOfSinners''.

** ''LightNovel/FateZero'''s Lancer is very similar to the aforementioned Saber, and the two of them actually see each other as a WorthyOpponent and FriendlyEnemy because of that.

* LuddWasRight: {{Inverted}} in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' and ''LightNovel/FateZero''. This is how almost every magus views the situation, preferring to rely on magecraft and completely ignoring the technological side of things. 'As science moves towards the future, magic moves towards the past' is seen as the perfect summation, and that regressing and falling behind is perfectly okay. In LightNovel/FateZero, Kiritsugu exploits the hell out of this ''because'' magi are so rooted in tradition.\\

** The '''Archer''' class, which is not actually just archers but anyone who "fights from range". This includes people who use guns and crossbows, like Billy the Kid and William Tell, but also has some completely absurd members like Summer Artoria Pendragon (who uses a squirt gun), Nikola Tesla (who [[ShockAndAwe shoots lightning]]), [[LightNovel/TheGardenOfSinners Asagami Fujino]] (who can ''twist'' things - that's not even throwing anything!), and Summer Jeanne (who throws ''dolphins''. Yes, you read that right). And ''then'' there are the folks who can use a bow and arrow but choose not to, like the above mentioned ''FSN'' Archers and [[LightNovel/FateApocrypha Chiron]], who uses Pankration. The game itself pokes a lot of fun with this, but the grand prize has to go to Caster Merlin, who says that "even though his sword shoots beams, he's not an Archer."

** '''Rider''' sounds quite self-evident compared to the others... until Medb tells you that the only reason she qualifies for it is because she's [[DoubleEntendre skilled at riding men]]. Yes, you can ride ''anything'' in this class. [[EverythingExceptMostThings Except dragons, demonic beasts, or other kinds of magical entities.]] Then you need a special skill to actually ride them. Not to mention as well that Riding in particular has been shown in other ''Fate'' works to also be a skill that a Servant of any other class can have without being a Rider; Artoria Pendragon and [[LightNovel/FateApocrypha Mordred]], both Sabers, have it at a decently high rank, and in fact four of the currently nine Servants to have it at its maximum level aren't even Riders.

** The '''Ruler''' class, introduced in ''LightNovel/FateApocrypha'', sounds like a class where you'd find a lot of kings. No. It's a class for people who do not wish for the Holy Grail, and they're supposed to act as regulators for the other Servants... ''Except'' that Amakusa Shirou Tosikada didn't get the memo, because he sure wants that cup. And there are a whole bunch of people in other classes who are not interested in the grail either.

* OffTheRails: The horrible, horrible events of the Third Holy Grail War shape many of the awful circumstances that would later haunt the protagonists of the [[LightNovel/FateZero Fourth]] and [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Fifth]]. The Edelfelt sisters cheated using their Ore Scales ability to summon two Sabers. It ended with the sisters defeated, one of them running away from Japan. [[LightNovel/FateApocrypha Darnic Prestone]] attempted to steal the Greater Grail with Nazi help. It ended with the Imperial Army duking it out with the Nazis in Fuyuki. The Einzberns tried to cheat by summoning a GodOfEvil. It ends up tainting the Grail with All the World's Evils. [[ShaggyDogStory And in all the hoopla, the Lesser Grail was destroyed.]]

* OppositeSexClone: {{Subverted}}. In real life Arthurian legend, Mordred is the illegitimate son of King Arthur, made through the intervention of Morgan le Fey (exactly what she did varies depending on the legend). In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', one of the first major reveals is that [[spoiler: King Arthur [[HistoricalGenderFlip is actually female]]]]. Many fans assumed that Mordred would therefore be an Opposite-Sex Clone. In ''LightNovel/FateApocrypha'', we find out that Mordred is indeed an Opposite-Sex Clone... except [[spoiler: she's still female. Specifically, Artoria was [[GenderBender temporarily transformed into a pseudo-male]] by Merlin, and Artoria's sister Morgan le Fey used the opportunity to get a DNA sample. She then used that to grow a [[OurHomunculiAreDifferent homunculus]] of the opposite gender, meaning Mordred came out female]]. WordOfGod explained some of this before ''Apocrypha'' came out.

** Just how many Servants can you fit in a Grail War? ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' and its [[LightNovel/FateZero prequel]] keeps it at about 7 (Gilgamesh and [[spoiler:True Assassin]] notwithstanding). Then it's revealed in the original version of ''Prototype'' that Saber would've had to fight the previous War's six Servants on top of the threats he already faces. ''LightNovel/FateApocrypha'' tops that by having two teams of 7 and a supervisor in the form of Ruler, [[spoiler:two of them, in fact]]. ''VideoGame/FateExtra (CCC)'' has ''128'' Masters all fighting (though gameplay and story limitations means the player gets to see about 15 of the actual participants) for the Grail. ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' allows you to use all those Servants and then some, even allowing you to swing by other eras' Grail Wars with all of ''their'' Servants. ''LightNovel/FateRequiem'' trumps them all with everybody on the planet but the protagonist getting Servants as a result of an unspecified war.

** Servants can do this to replenish their {{Mana}}, though the more wholesome ones are understandably quite averse to it. In ''LightNovel/FateApocrypha'', the [[UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper Assassin]] Servant --a ChaoticEvil AntiVillain-- expresses a preference for ''evil'' souls because their foulness makes them that much tastier, and souls of similar alignment are easier to digest.

** This was originally suggested to be a trait common to all of TheBerserker-class Servants since their insanity has robbed them of their ability to speak. The Berserker of ''LightNovel/FateZero'' ([[spoiler:Sir Lancelot]]) also cannot speak and only vocalizes screams and growls. The one in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', [[spoiler: [[Myth/GreekMythology Herakles]]]], growls and roars a lot, but never talks. In fact, he's quite talkative after you [[spoiler: kill him]]. In ''VideoGame/FateExtra'', Lu Bu Fengxian likewise cannot speak. ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' did away with this convention, since a character who cannot speak is a very boring one to write for, and most of the Berserkers featured in it can speak, aside from those mentioned above.

* SummonMagic: The Servants in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', the [[Literature/FateZero prequel]], and the [[VisualNovel/FateHollowAtaraxia pseudo-sequel]] are copies of Heroic Spirits, heroes or other major figures from history and myth stored in the Throne of Heroes, an interdimensional realm where these figures go after death. A Magus prepares a magic circle, usually made of blood. Optionally, he/she can add a relic of that hero or specify them as a Berserker (provided that someone else hasn't summoned their Servant as a Berserker yet) in order to get a specific hero. If no relic is used, the Servant summoned will be a random one who has a compatible personality to the Master. Between the two is using a "generalist" relic that can potentially summon a pool of Heroic Spirits tied to it but will end up with the one most compatible with the Master. Then they show up, the Master makes a contract for a week or two throughout the Grail War. The Servant stays until either they are defeated or the Grail War ends, at which point the Grail stops helping the Master supply them with Prana and their copies disappear and merge with their original versions in the Throne of Heroes. [[spoiler:Except for [[Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh Gilgamesh]], who did not return to the Throne of Heroes after the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War. In addition, due to making a deal with the Earth, Saber/[[Myth/KingArthur Arturia]] has chosen not to join the Throne of Heroes until she wins a Holy Grail War and gets her wish, so instead, she returns to her original moment of death every time she dies in a Holy Grail War (which is what happens offscreen at the end of ''Fate/Zero'', and the cycle ends in the main ending of the ''Fate'' route of ''Fate/stay night'', where she accepts being KilledOffForReal). Saber and Rider/[[Myth/ClassicalMythology Medusa]] also stay in the present with their Masters in two of the endings of ''Unlimited Blade Works'' and ''Heaven's Feel'' respectively.]] Oh, and the magus who summons them generally has an absolutely 0% chance of ever being able to beat their Servant in combat, though there are a few exceptions. Among the Servants themselves, a few have the ability to cast their own Summon Magic. ''LightNovel/FateZero'''s Caster, for instance, instead of fighting the others directly, only ever uses his TomeOfEldritchLore to bring in monsters that fight on his behalf.

* TakeItToTheBridge: Fuyuki City has a red bridge (based on the [[https://en.japantravel.com/hyogo/kobe-ohashi-bridge/9671 Kobe Ohashi]]) as a prominent backdrop for several scenes, including Rider's last stand against Gilgamesh in ''LightNovel/FateZero'' and Saber's long-distance battle with Archer in ''VisualNovel/FateHollowAtaraxia''.

** ''Fate/Grand Order: First Order'' (2016) - An AdaptationDistillation OVA of the game's prologue chapter. [Lay-duce]

[[caption-width-right:300:A tale of heroes, desires, and destiny.]]

* WeakBossStrongUnderlings: Usually, Masters are human mages of variable magical prowess, although there have been cases of normal people being able to summon Servants. However, no matter how strong the Master is, their Servants will always be stronger by virtue of being a suprahuman Heroic Spirit. Pretty much any Servant can butcher the {{Squishy Wizard}}s that the Masters are. Masters only control their Servants because of the contract both parties signed at the moment of the summon, which grants Masters Command Spells to force the Servants into doing their biding.

*** "Last Piece" from VisualNovel/FateHollowAtaraxia" was remixed into "PIECE" and "Last Piece Again" for key emotional beats in ''CCC''.

* CameBackStrong: Anyone summoned as a Servant for a Holy Grail War gains enhanced strength, speed, immunity to non-magical attacks, and special powers based on their legends that they may not have held in life.