History VideoGame / LilGuardsman

* PuppetKing: The council of Ashe, Stryker and Malcolm would prefer if Princess Desdemona is kept in a ceremonial position while they control the kingdom.

* {{Treants}}: One of the monsters that appears on Level 5 is an Ent named Scary Tree Monster. He's territorial and quick to anger, and will Stomp and Thwomp Lil to death if she angers him. Their society is also surprisingly democratic, and with the right dialogue options you can even help him ''run for a position as mayor''.

* BewareTheSillyOnes: Malcolm is a complete kook who acts just as silly and nonsensical as you'd expect from a CourtJester. He's also a master of trickery and deception and [[spoiler:manages to force Lil into working for the three advisors by using LoopholeAbuse and MetaphoricallyTrue to make a bet she couldn't win]].

* PhysicalMysticalTechnological: The Sprawl is the Mystical, being the only one of the three important countries with a prominent mages' guild which a fair bit of the plot centers around. Petrard is the Technological with its massive sulfur mines which allows them to make gunpowder and weapons of war ''en masse''. Marvagh is the Physical, run by [[BloodKnight combat-happy]], ProudWarriorRace women who are adept at melee combat. In terms of (potential) villains, Prince Finius of Petrard is the Technological, Praetor Karghan of Marvagh is the Physical, and [[spoiler:Tyronius Athanatos of The Sprawl]] is the Mystical.

* StoryBranching: The antagonistic faction that attacks the Sprawl and starts the war will be the one whose representative doesn't get picked as Princess Desdemona's suitor. If Prince Finius is chosen, the enemy will be the Mavarghians, if Praetor Karghan is chosen, the enemy will be the Petrardians.

* PhysicalMysticalTechnological: The Sprawl is the Mystical, being the only one of the three important countries with a mages' guild. Petrard is the Technological with its massive sulfur mines which allows them to make gunpowder and weapons of war ''en masse''. Marvagh is the Physical, run by [[BloodKnight combat-happy]], ProudWarriorRace women who are adept at melee combat.

* GuysSmashGirlsShoot: Inverted during the war. The Petrardians use male troops that mostly wield guns, due to having sulfur deposits which allow them to easily produce gunpowder. The Marvaghians are an AmazonBrigade of [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Girls]] who specialize in brutal melee combat.

* SlidingScaleOfGameplayAndStoryIntegration: Varies quite a bit
** Much of the time, the gameplay affects the story. People reference past events and the entire story changes based on your actions.
** However, there are some times where the ending narration of the day contradicts the later parts, and numerous people are in the city even if you denied them.
*** The shapeshifter and fake Praetor are in the city on day 7 even if you denied them earlier. However, this is {{Justified}} due to the fact that they could gain entry through another gate.
*** If you get a 4-star with Gary on day 11 [[spoiler: his wand is taken and he is explicitly cast out of the mages guild and put into rehab by Chuck]], so he shouldn't be in the city at all. However, he is present every time in day 12 no matter what you do.

* LiteralMetaphor: At the start of the fourth night, Lil is on a ''Series/TheDatingGame''-like show interviewing three potential heroes to go and save the missing Princess Desdemona: [[FighterMageThief a barbarian, a mage, and a thief]]. Halfway through, she has to pick one for the "Lightning Round", and freaks out if her chosen hero is then [[ReducedToDust turned into an ash pile]] by actual lightning (though if Articulus is chosen, he'll be immune due to being an elemental mage and Lil would totally deny it being a random lucky guess).

* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The "Lightning Round" of the gameshow consists of having somebody struck by lightning.

* LiteralMetaphor: At the start of the fourth night, Lil is on a ''Series/TheDatingGame''-like show interviewing three potential heroes to go and save the missing Princess Desdemona: [[FighterMageThief a barbarian, a mage, and a thief]]. Halfway through, she has to pick one for the "Lightning Round", and freaks out when her chosen hero is then [[ReducedToDust turned into an ash pile]] by actual lightning.

** Chloe on Day 2 appears to be like [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast Belle]] from a ''Disney'' musical, being overly cheery and speaking in a sing-song voice. She's also a ruthless criminal ''hiding a flamethrower on her'' and is seeking to kill and commit crimes. If not handled properly, she can even burn down the Guardhouse and kill Lil.

* FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADemon: Chloe on Level 2 has the beautiful face of a Disney Princess, more specifically [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast Belle]], but is a ruthless murderer and psychopath who wants to be let in so she can commit theft, forgery, smuggling drugs, piracy, and arson. She even has a home-made flamethrower on her, and if Lil angers her, she'll throw a molotov and burn down the guardhouse, causing a GameOver.

* ExplosiveStupidity: If Elmer alone is drafted into the land war on Level 8, he will cause a defeat for the Sprawl by holding onto a live grenade without throwing it, blowing himself up with a bunch of Sprawl soldiers.

** During the land battle, putting either Elmer or Bosco alongside Glory Ann, the three of which are in a complicated LoveTriangle, will not end well for the Sprawl due to LoveMakesYouDumb. Elmer will bicker with Glory Ann and distract the Sprawl forces while Bosco will try to be macho and impress her by taking down a dozen soldiers... on ''[[TeamKiller his own side]]''.

** The kindly old woman on Level 10 appears to be a cheerful pie seller... except that she's also a WickedWitch and those pies are made from children she puts to sleep with drug-laced candy.

** Drafting both Bosco and Glory Ann in the land war will cause Bosco to try and impress her by taking down a dozen troops... ''on his own side''. This will shatter morale so badly that the Sprawl surrenders.

* RunningGag: Senor Capello Fantastico is always seen with a different hat each time as he's trying to find a new hat as fantastic as the old one he lost, but none of them come close.

* {{Treants}}: One of the monsters that appears on Level 5 is an Ent named Scary Tree Monster. He's territorial and quick to anger, and will Stomp and Thwomp Lil to death if she angers him. However, he can be reasoned with, and with the right dialogue options you can even help him ''run for a position at the government office'', allowing him to even gain a mayoral position.

* KillerRabbit: Dennis is a fierce-looking pet fish who is a candidate to be drafted in the sea battle. Despite being a small fish, Dennis is as vicious and deadly as he looks -- if Lil bullwhips him, he'll ''kill Lil''. Furthermore, he can ''single-handedly win the sea battle'' if he's drafted by himself, but if he's drafted alongside anyone else, the battle will be lost because he will ''[[TeamKiller attack and eat your other drafted members]]''.

* TeamKiller:
** Drafting both Bosco and Glory Ann in the land war will cause Bosco to try and impress her by taking down a dozen troops... ''on his own side''. This will shatter morale so badly that it will lead to a defeat.
** Dennis the Sarcastic Fringehead is a KillerRabbit of a pet fish that will ''attack and eat your own drafted forces'' if he's drafted alongside anyone else, leading to a loss. He can still be used for a victory as long as you don't draft anyone else, since he will focus his vicious ferocity on the enemy.

* FictionalSport: Goblinball is a competitive sport that's played around the game's setting, and it contains several odd rules that involve random objects including wagon wheels, spiked pits, flaming gates, wiggly pigs, slingshots, glistening gargoyles, and more. It's never actually mentioned how the rules ''actually'' [[NoodleImplements work alongside these random objects]].

* FictionalSport: Goblinball is a competitive sport that's played around the game's setting, and it contains several odd rules that include wagon wheels, spiked pits, flaming gates, wiggly pigs, slingshots, glistening gargoyles, and more. It's never actually mentioned how scoring works.

* KillerRabbit: Dennis is a pet Sarcastic Fringehead fish who is a candidate to be drafted in the sea battle. Despite looking like a fish, Dennis is as vicious as he looks -- if Lil bullwhips him, he'll ''kill Lil''. Furthermore, he can ''single-handedly win the sea battle'' if he's drafted by himself, but if he's drafted alongside anyone else, the battle will be lost because he will ''[[TeamKiller attack and eat your other drafted members]]''.

** Dennis the Sarcastic Fringehead is a KillerRabbit of a pet fish that will ''attack your own drafted forces'' if he's drafted alongside anyone else, leading to a loss. He can still be used for a victory, as long as you don't draft anyone else, since he will focus on the enemy.

* TeamKiller: Dennis the Sarcastic Fringehead is a KillerRabbit of a fish that will ''attack your own drafted forces'' if he's drafted alongside anyone else, leading to a loss. He can still be used for a victory, as long as you don't draft anyone else.

---> '''Game Over screen:''' THE PET FISH KILLED YOU. '''STOP AND READ THAT AGAIN: ''YOU WERE KILLED BY A PET FISH. GAME OVER.'''''