History VideoGame / Exile

* BonusBoss: In the first game, there are five dragons, and one of them has to be killed in order to beat the game. Each of the others tells or gives you something that is also necessary to beat the game. Once they've done that, though, you're free to kill them and take their loot. (Later in the series, [[spoiler:Motrax does die, but it wasn't the player who killed him.]]) There are also the Pit Drake and Spider Lord, both optional to fight.

''Exile'' was a series of [[FantasyVideoGames Fantasy]] [[WesternRPG RPGs]] created by Jeff Vogel of Creator/SpiderwebSoftware. They [[http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/productsOld.html remain available]] as {{freeware}} for older computers running [[UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh Mac OS Classic]] or [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer 32-bit]] [[UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows Windows]]. (''Exile III'' was also ported to [[UsefulNotes/{{UNIX}} Linux]] by a third party.) The four games were later remade as an [[IsometricProjection isometric 3D]] series called ''VideoGame/{{Avernum}}'', which added a fifth, sixth, and seventh installment.

[[SimilarlyNamedWorks Not to be confused with]] ''VideoGame/MystIIIExile'', or a completely different ''[[VideoGame/ExileBBCMicro Exile]]'' created in 1988 for the UsefulNotes/BBCMicro, or the ActionRPG ''VideoGame/PathOfExile'' which shares the premise of being exiled to the very inhospitable place.

* ActuallyFourMooks: Wandering monsters (and occasionally non-hostile guard patrols) are represented this way on the map.
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Averted for the Slithzerikai, Nephilim and Vahnatai - there are plenty of good members of each race, and there are even a few friendly Undead spirits. Played straight with Daemons, who are always evil, though some do help you for entirely selfish reasons. Subverted with the Troglodytes and Giants - they are always your enemies, but then again it was the humans who virtually exterminated them in the first place, so they have good reason to hate you.
* TheArchmage: Several. The Triad mages, the ruling trio of the Tower of the Magi in Exile, are the most prominent examples. They have a very important role in the plot of the entire series - more important than the royalty, in fact. It is explicitly stated that the greatest mistake the Empire made was sending several powerful mages to Exile.
* ArtifactCollectionAgency: The Cult of the Sacred Item.

* AntiMagic: From Exile II on, Anti Magic fields make an appearance. These provide complete protection against most spells and also against "breath" type attacks.
* AntiMagicalFaction: The Anama. A cult on Valorim that considers all Mage magic to be evil (they allow - even encourage - the use of Priest magic, though).

* BuryYourGays: Played with. The Empire considers homosexuals to be "misfits" and sends them to Exile. The nation of Exile, however, is much more tolerant.

* FantasticSlurs: There are various derogatory nicknames for the non-human races, plus the human residents of the Empire, Exile, and the Abyss who all hate each other. Exiles call Nephilim "kitties". Those in the Abyss, who are basically Exile's truly dangerous criminals, call all other Exiles "voles". Empire jerks do so love to call Exiles "worms", though. Surprisingly, "Slith" is usually treated as a nickname for Slithzerikai rather than a slur.

* InconvenientlyPlacedConveyorBelt: The golem factory in Exile III is a maze of these.

* LastChanceHitPoint: Any hit that would reduce you to under zero HP first reduces you to zero and plays a "coughing up blood" sound. The LuckStat also gives you a chance to avoid otherwise fatal blows.
* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: Somewhat subverted: The warriors are weaker later in the game, but the most effective use of a mage or priest's spell points is buffing the warriors - a blessed, hasted warrior can usually do more damage than a single fireball.

** In ''Exile I'', Erika tells you that you need to find at least four, but preferably five brooches as part of the [[spoiler: mission to assassinate Emperor Hawthorne]]. If you try doing it with four, she will be unable to teleport you back after you have succeeded, leaving you to be cut down by hordes of guards.

* ReforgedBlade: The Demonslayer, the strongest sword in the games. You can reforge it in Exile I, and can obtain it in Exile II, but you can only get it in Exile III by cheating.

* RiverOfInsanity / InevitableWaterfall: ''Exile II'' has a section where your party must cross over a series of underground waterfalls, each one taking away some of your food. Eventually, a really big waterfall will make you lose ''all'' your remaining food, forcing you to scavenge (usually fighting off monsters along the way) or face starvation. It's also worth mentioning that there are no shops or training available along the way, and no way to identify the items you find (and you probably won't have enough space to take everything you find). Oh, and the caverns you pass are full of dangerous monsters...

* SufficientlyAdvancedAlien: The Vahnatai.
* SuicidalOverconfidence: Usually played straight. Monsters can flee unwinnable battles, but they do so only rarely, usually when you hit them with a fear spell.

** Nephil and Slith Warriors compared to ordinary Nephilim/Sliths.
** Empire Bladesmen and Dervishes compared to ordinary soldiers.
** Empire Archers compared to *any* archers.
** Vahnatai Blademasters compared to Vahnatai Warriors.
** Wights compared to Skeletons and Zombies.

* TheExile: The whole nation of them, and most of the player characters.

* LivingStatue: Some serve as "concealed" enemies, others can offer important information, but you often need to tell them a password of some sort.

* MoneySpider: Yes, but "gold" isn't [[GlobalCurrency standard currency]]. Instead, "gold" represents all sorts of valuable stuff you're lugging around.

* OurLichesAreDifferent: The classical robed, spellcasting skeleton type.

'''''Exile''''' was a series of [[FantasyVideoGames Fantasy]] [[WesternRPG RPGs]] created by Jeff Vogel of Creator/SpiderwebSoftware. They [[http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/productsOld.html remain available]] as {{freeware}} for older computers running [[UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh Mac OS Classic]] or [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer 32-bit]] [[UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows Windows]]. (''Exile III'' was also ported to [[UsefulNotes/{{UNIX}} Linux]] by a third party.) The four games were later remade as an [[IsometricProjection isometric 3D]] series called ''VideoGame/{{Avernum}}'', which added a fifth, sixth, and seventh installment.

** ''Exile III'' has a cult that worships magic items, and another one that takes martial arts a bit too far.

** In ''Exile I'', Erika you need to find at least four, but preferably five brooches as part of the [[spoiler: mission to assassinate Emperor Hawthorne]]. If you try doing it with four, she will be unable to teleport you back after you have succeeded, leaving you to be cut down by hordes of guards.

** Try opening a certain portal in Exile II and "forget" to close it before leaving. [[spoiler: The entire northwestern part of Exile will collapse, killing your party and many, many other people. On the bright side, most Empire troops were stationed in the northwest, which means Exile wins the war... at an enormous cost.]]
** There are a few more, usually triggered when you kill a plot-critical NPC like King Micah or Erika.

* UnwinnableByDesign: In the third game you are given three theories for who is creating the plagues: Erika, the dragons or the Vahnatai. You have to ask a group of wizards to create a powerful specialized magical item to counter attacks from ''one'' of these, and they can only create one as the process is so taxing it costs the ''life'' of one of the wizards. If you got the wrong one, you will not survive the endgame no matter how har you try.

* ''Exile: Escape from the Pit'' (released in January 1995) -- Your party is thrown into the vast subterranean prison-realm of called Exile. Your goal is simply to escape, possibly wreaking a terrible revenge on the Empire along the way. But, as the game progresses, you will learn that another evil threatens the underworld...

* GameMaker: ''Blades of Exile''. Now open source.

* LuckStat: Put points in it and you have a chance of "lucking out" of death. Max it out and you will essentially never die. And there's more: each point of luck will reduce damage from most sources by one point - it's not much if you have 1-2 points in Luck, but if you have say 9-10 it can make a huge difference.

* MonsterTown: You get to visit a Demon Fort and an Empire outpost in Exile II, and most of the locals aren't hostile.

The eponymous nation is a vast network of caves to which the surface world banishes its criminals, dissenters, and misfits. In each game, you play a team of Exiles swept up in conflicts between the people of Exile, their nonhuman neighbors in the caves, and the cruel Empire that rules the surface.

* ''Exile: Escape from the Pit'' (released in January 1995)
* ''Exile II: Crystal Souls'' (released in November 1995)
* ''Exile III: Ruined World'' (released in January 1997)
* ''Blades of Exile'' (released in December 1997)

* BagOfSharing: Averted. Everyone has their own inventory (limited by number, rather than weight as in VideoGame/{{Avernum}}), and you have to be adjacent to pass stuff along in combat.
** ''Exile III'' introduced the weight mechanic.
* BanditMook: Gremlins steal your food.

* BonusBoss: In the first game, there are five dragons, and one of them has to be killed in order to beat the game. Each of the others tells or gives you something that is also necessary to beat the game. Once they've done that, though, you're free to kill them and take their loot. (Later in the series, [[spoiler:Motrax does die, but it wasn't the player who killed him.]])
** In the first game, there is the Pit Drake and the Spider Lord that are optional to fight.

* CityGuards: Most towns are defended by Guards who will turn hostile if you steal something, damage a non-hostile creature or tresspass in certain areas. They are much more powerful than one would expect, and resistant to most types of attacks, even magical ones. In fact, if a town isn't protected by Guards (for example, if it has the much weaker Soldiers instead) and you reach it in the early or early-mid-game, there is a good chance it will be attacked or turn hostile towards you. This is because Guards are so powerful that a fight involving them early in the game would be a CurbStompBattle.

* {{Cult}}: The Church of the Anama, which believes that Mage spells are an ultimately evil force that humanity should abandon in favour of divine magic and alchemy.
** There's also some very weird ones, such as one that worships magic items, or one that takes martial arts a bit too far.
* DialogueTree: Of the hyperlink variety, in ''Exile III'' and ''Blades''. The first two games had you input keywords (of which the game ignored all but the first four letters). This led to bugs, like being able to say [[spoiler:"divulge" to the talking statues long before you'd met Erika, and "Icarus" to the Scimitar before you knew to say it]]. The later games have the same input system and the same potential for abuse, but obvious conversations can happen faster by clicking on text.
** This led to [=NPCs=] having a stock response for keywords they didn't have a response for. Each town had one that all its inhabitants (except for some notable exceptions) used, although some pairs of towns had the same one. (In ''Exile I'', for example, Fort Exile's was "I don't know about that", and Fort Duvno's was "You get a questioning look". In the Tower of Magi, it was "You receive a blank stare", consistent with the apprentices not being allowed to speak. The [=GIFTs=]? "You're silly!")

* FantasticSlurs: There are various derogatory nicknames for the non-human races, plus the human residents of the Empire, Exile, and the Abyss who all hate each other.
** Those in the Abyss, who are basically Exile's truly dangerous criminals, call all other Exiles voles. Empire jerks do so love to call Exiles worms, though.

* PlanetOfSteves: The Giant Intelligent Friendly Talking Spiders are all named Spider.
** At one point in ''Exile III'', [[spoiler:you need to drop the name of a GIFT chief to get access to him. As mentioned, they're ''all'' named "Spider". This, depending largely on how fast it took you to twig to it, was either a [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments brilliant]] or [[MoonLogicPuzzle horrid]] idea.]]

* RiddleMeThis: ''Exile II'' has a dungeon that is supposed to test your mind. In addition to several puzzles are many riddles.
** Which were omitted in the ''Avernum II'' remake in favor of more "normal" puzzles that fit directly into the gameplay.

* SequenceBreaking: The original series allowed for some cases of this - using the text-entry system, you could sometimes jump ahead simply by asking a character about something you really shouldn't know to ask them about yet. The loss of the text-entry function in the remakes closed most of these holes.

* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: In the first scenario of ''Blades of Exile'', you visit towns that are being devastated by a curse. The water is undrinkable, crops are being wiped out, entire generations of children are dying, and life in general is a living hell. Feel free to ransack their houses of everything they have left.

* YouAllMeetInACell: Or a colossal subterranean prison realm, anyway.
** Subverted somewhat. It's at least implied that your party met shortly before being thrown in. You meet ''everyone else'' in a cell.