History Literature / SpellsSwordsAndStealth

* GenreSavvy: Thistle and his party are aware that their universe seems to treat Adventurers differently than everyone else. While they don't know they are in an RPG, they've been observant of enough RPG tropes that their plans often take that into account.
** Thistle and Grumph, having traveled with Adventurers in their past, are much more savvy than most anyone else they come across.

* SheIsTheKing: The God of Death is female but is always referred to as a "god", never a "goddess", even though other female goddesses are called thus.

** In ''Noble Roots'', Timuscor and Eric meet a cursed dwarf, who explains that [[spoiler:a member of his adventuring party was a True Paladin as well. Likely one of the last True Paladins before the gods began making their own paladins and suppressing the knowledge of True Paladins, as they represented a threat to them]].

* WithholdingTheirName: Servants of the dark god Kalzidar give up their names as part of their service to him. One such nameless priest is the primary antagonist of the second book. For this reason, upon meeting a rogue in the third, the party is immediately wary when she initially refuses to give her name. In that case, it's just the rogue, Elora, being cautious.

And so begins the saga of ''Spells, Swords, & Stealth'' by Drew Hayes. The series consists of four books, ''[=NPCs=]'', ''Split the Party'', ''Going Rogue'', and ''Siege Tactics''. The fifth book, ''Noble Roots'', was released March 30, 2022.

And so begins the saga of ''Spells, Swords, & Stealth'' by Drew Hayes. The series consists of four books, ''[=NPCs=]'', ''Split the Party'', ''Going Rogue'', and ''Siege Tactics''. The fifth book, ''Noble Roots'', is scheduled for release March 30, 2022.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Grumble is fairly casual, as gods go. He does demand Thistle at last ''appear'' to offer proper platitudes when they speak. He ''is'' a god after all. At the same time, he is also perfectly willing to accept a bit of snark. He also takes the time to explain to Thistle why he can't just tell his paladin what's going on in ''Split the Party'' and has to rely on vague visions to hint at his goals. In ''Going Rogue'', he explains to Thistle that he and the god of rogues, Tristan, are in conflict over a claim on Eric's soul and explicitly orders Thistle ''not'' to try to influence Eric on the matter since, as a matter of faith, the decision must be wholly Eric's own. In ''Siege Tactics'', when another god appears, while Thistle is having an audience with Grumble, Thistle gives her a deep bow. Grumble casually complains that Thistle never does that for him. Thistle explains that he's seeking divine aid, so he's willing to grovel.

** Tim, as well, but to a lesser extent than Alexis. Tim will play the paladin role to the hilt and even worries about how to interact with [=NPCs=]. This is why Mitch, Terry, and Glenn prevent him from using a paladin throughout the first book, since they know Tim would use his paladin status to put a damper on their fun of killing and looting whatever they come across.

* WithholdingTheirName:
** Servants of the dark god Kalzidar give up their names as part of their service to him. One such nameless priest is the primary antagonist of the second book.
** Upon meeting a rogue in the third, the party is immediately wary when she initially refuses to give her name. In that case, it's just a case of the rogue, Elora, being cautious.

* PlayerCharacter: This is what the Adventures controlled by Tim and Mitch's groups, and presumable other Adventure parties, happen to be, with their actions and choices affecting their respective fates - Tim's group managed to score a nice haul of dragon gold, which they shared with Thistle's group, and Mitch's group ran away like a bunch of cowards.

And so begins the saga of ''Spells, Swords, & Stealth'' by Drew Hayes. The series consists of four books, ''[=NPCs=]'', ''Split the Party'', ''Going Rogue'', and ''Siege Tactics''.

* HeroOfAnotherStory: Both this, and its inverse, VillainOfAnotherStory come into play where the Player Characters are concerned. Tim's group, for instance, has a tendency to help those in need, and will fight evil, even if the reward is low and the difficulty is high. Mitch's group, on the other hand, it's quite clear that the only things they like doing is looting, killing, and causing bloodshed, especially if the person they are doing it to is weaker than themselves or can be placed at a disadvantage.

* SquishyWizard: Grumph averts this by virtue of being a half-orc. He is naturally big and tough. Not spending most of his life as a wizard means he has plenty of experience with hand-to-hand combat and prefers to carry a blade into battle in order to avoid relying exclusively on magic. He is specifically taught the SuperStrength spell in preparation for his mage trial in order to play to this strength even further.

** In NPCs, an unnamed knife-thrower pulls one off to protect Gabby from a Demon attack. [[spoiler:One would have to wonder if he was a Player Character, whose player thought that it would be a good idea to risk his character to protect an NPC, or if they were an actual person trying to protect another.]]

* JurisdictionFriction: After the events of NPCs, Thistle and the group flee Solium, into the neighboring kingdom of Alcatham. Thistle explains that while Solium's forces aren't allowed in this kingdom, it was possible that local forces could apprehend them if they proved to be troublesome, and use them as political bargaining chips.

* MagicKnight: Much like in D&D, it seems that the classes known as Paladins and Rangers have access to magic and are good with weapons. Of course, the right Race-Class combination could produce a similar effect, as Grump, a half-orc wizard, has no issues mixing melee with magic when need be.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Along with UnexpectedlyRealisticGameplay, ''Spells, Swords, & Stealth'' runs on this.
** Forget to bring food, you starve to death. That, or one must hunt or forage for food.
** Some mushrooms produce deadly effects, especially when mixed with alcohol.
** Some hard jobs pay very little, while some easy jobs pay a lot.
** Folks tend to give deals to those who help out their kin.
** Murdering people is a great way to make enemies. Being a jerk is also a great way to make enemies.
** Being helpful is a good way to make friends or allies, or at least keep others from wanting to kill you.
** Cutting someone's arm will cause them pain, and might get them to run away from you.
** Just because one has fled from a country that they are Wanted in, doesn't mean that they don't need to worry about Bounty Hunters, or getting arrested by the Local Law Enforcement, who might turn them over to the other country for punishment.