History VideoGame / Outward

* DemBones: The player will encounter Animated Skeletons at Corrupted Tombs and Ziggurat Passage. The former mainly fight with picks, and only possess the same durability (90 HP) as a common Bandit. The latter wield axes or claymores, and are substantially tougher, with their 150 HP equivalent to Bandit Captains or Defenders. Being undead, both varieties are immune to bleeding and poison; however, their skeletal frame also makes them easier to stagger than the living humans.

* DropTheHammer: Hammers are treated by the game as a subset of maces, and like them, they will stagger enemies more easily than the swords, but deal less pure damage. When it comes to the enemies, Bandit Lieutenants typically wield greathammers.

''Outward'' is a WesternRPG with a WideOpenSandbox world, developed by the Canadian Nine Dots Studios, and released on March 26th, 2019 for [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer PC]], UsefulNotes/PS4 and UsefulNotes/XboxOne.

* TheCityNarrows: Levant has the Slums, a ramshackle patch of crude buildings which are also spattered with blood and littered with bodies, the living inhabitants either begging to get by or preparing for illegal activities. Levant is notably the only city in the game that has such a disparity in its citizens, and is also the only one that eschews the Blue Chamber's laws of enforced equality. Then again, said laws include exiling those who can't pay their debts in to monster infested wilderness, which is basically a [[KillThePoor death sentence]]. It's that kind of setting.

* CrapsackWorld: Best exemplified by the intro: your friend's ship crashes because the lighthouse wasn't lit, killing everyone but you two and losing all the treasure you obtained while away. He's struck blamed for this accident with a blood debt, and you still need to pay your long-dead ancestor's, with the only reason your house isn't immediately taken away being because the town chief is reasonable. You can comment how unfair this is, at which point you'll be told that it's in place because it works, but you're free to venture out. Sounds like typical scaremongering, right? Well, when you ''do'' venture out, you'll find the world is '''bleak'''. Aside from bandits, there's no human civilization that hasn't been long destroyed in the starting area, and the world is mostly empty. For all the issues the blood debt has, it ''works''. There are further explanations that state that the reason it's a bloodline debt instead of one to the individual is to prevent the debtor from committing suicide to spare their family the debt, or their family from killing the debtor to escape from having to pay it. Of course, you're always free to leave and take your chances in the outside world. No one is going to try and force you to come back... since they know you'll probably die well before you reach the closest settlement. Just to drive home how awful this world is, one of the few places that offers freedom from the blood debt system is The Heroic Kingdom of Levant, a city-state built upon this world's equivalent of the Nile floodplain. Levant is separated from other regions by a monster infested ThirstyDesert, and impoverished debtors are unlikely to be able to afford any means of crossing said desert other than walking there with whatever they can carry. And yet, there are STILL enough disenfranchised people managing to reach Levant that the city is undergoing an OverpopulationCrisis.

** Wendigos are monsters focused on ice magic. Bandits can at times be accompanied by Ice Witches, who cast Ice Bolts and Ice Explosions. Balora, one of the Vendavil warlords, is an much more powerful ice witch.

* NoSympathy: What is your home village that you've lived in your entire life's response to you finally waking up after being rescued from a shipwreck? [[YouOweMe To scold you for not keeping up on your Blood Price.]]

* SquishyWizard: Played straight for the players, as getting any mana in the first place requires them to permanently sacrifice HP and stamina, so a spellcasting character is always squishier than a pure warrior character of the same level. When it comes to the enemies, however, the mages are generally substantially tougher than most enemies: Ice Witches have 200 HP, which is more than double of basic Bandits' 90, and is even greater than 150 of Bandit Captains and Defenders. Same goes for the Mana Troglodytes. Ash Giant Priests have a 100 more HP than the normal Ash Giants, giving them HP of 800 that exceeds any other non-boss enemy.

** Once the player joins one of the three main factions, each faction gains a "Parallel Quest" that can be pursued by any player regardless of their faction choice. Failing to complete these quests in time leads to various penalties. For example, if the Blue Chamber's Parallel Quest is failed, [[spoiler:Cierzo, the first city in the game, will be permanently destroyed, and be a host a bunch of tough enemies instead.]] And if the Holy Mission's Paralle Quest is failed, [[spoiler:the culprits behind a string of murders will permanently escape, draining Monsoon's manpower while also cutting off access to a major settlement.]]

* CrapsackWorld: Best exemplified by the intro: your friend's ship crashes because the lighthouse wasn't lit, killing everyone but you two and losing all the treasure you obtained while away. He's struck blamed for this accident with a blood debt, and you still need to pay your long-dead ancestor's, with the only reason your house isn't immediately taken away being because the town chief is reasonable. You can comment how unfair this is, at which point you'll be told that it's in place because it works, but you're free to venture out. Sounds like typical scaremongering, right? Well, when you ''do'' venture out, you'll find the world is '''bleak'''. Aside from bandits, there's no human civilization that hasn't been long destroyed in the starting area, and the world is mostly empty. For all the issues the blood debt has, it ''works''. There are further explanations that state that the reason it's a bloodline debt instead of one to the individual is to prevent the debtor from committing suicide to spare their family the debt, or their family from killing the debtor to escape from having to pay it. Of course, you're always free to leave and take your chances in the outside world. No one is going to try and force you to come back... since they know you'll probably die well before you reach the closest settlement.
** Just to drive home how awful this world is, one of the few places that offers freedom from the blood debt system is The Heroic Kingdom of Levant, a city-state built upon this world's equivalent of the Nile floodplain. Levant is separated from other regions by a monster infested ThirstyDesert, and impoverished debtors are unlikely to be able to afford any means of crossing said desert other than walking there with whatever they can carry. And yet, there are STILL enough disenfranchised people managing to reach Levant that the city is undergoing an OverpopulationCrisis.

* EliteMooks: Played with, in that the enemies that are literally called Elite in their name are usually a straight-up KingMook OptionalBoss. Thus, Elite Alpha Tuanosaur is a boss found at the Ziggurat Passage, the two Elite Obsidian Elementals and an Elite Burning Man make up a Burning Tree boss fight, Three Elite Ash Giants are one of the boss fights in the Giants' Village, and the special Troglodyte varieties - Armored Troglodyte, Mana Troglodyte and Troglodyte Grenadier - also possesses Elite versions, which are all encountered guarding their queen.

* AnIcePerson: It is possible to specialise in ice spells, though like with all elemental magic, most are less-glamorous things like weapon buffs, magical shields, or even a Cool spell that simply counters getting overheated in hot regions.

* KingMook: Frequent; see EliteMooks above. In particular, the boss battle at the Burning Tree of an Emmerkar Forest overlaps with WolfPackBoss, as you confront an Elite Burning Man and two Elite Obsidian Elementals. Notably, the Burning Man is buffed much more than the Elementals - the latter go from 400 HP for the basic version to 900, while he gets 10X values with 2500 HP over the basic variety's 250. To be fair, it also gets a second phase at 75% HP, with attacks that are unique to it.

* TimedMission: The very first mission of paying off the 150 silver blood debt (or obtaining a Writ of Tribal Favour instead) can be failed if not done within five days. Afterwards, each of the three factions also has at least one quest with a time limit; failing them will not stop the player from completing the game, but will still have consequences, ranging from some [=NPCs=] dying of starvation to getting locked out of a secondary location or receiving a permanent stamina debuff.

The player begins as a shipwrecked castaway, who is rescued from Chernonese coast, but must now repay a blood debt to the Cierzo city within five days, or be kicked out. They may succeed or fail; either way, they will have managed to attract the interest of the world's three dominant factions, the Blue Chamber Collective, the Holy Mission of Elatt or the the Heroic Kingdom of Levant, who are all hoping the player will join them and finally turn the ongoing stalemate into their favour.

* BonusBoss: The Unknown Arenas are a series of hidden areas, three for each overworld region, that only become available after a player completes a main faction quest line. Each contains a boss fight against an enemy or small group that is substantially tougher than anything the player will encounter during a quest. Most of these are enhanced versions of regular enemies, as designated by the title "Elite".

* EliteMooks: Played with, in that the enemies that are literally called Elite in their name are usually a straight-up KingMook BonusBoss. Thus, Elite Alpha Tuanosaur is a boss found at the Ziggurat Passage, the two Elite Obsidian Elementals and an Elite Burning Man make up a Burning Tree boss fight, Three Elite Ash Giants are one of the boss fights in the Giants' Village, and the special Troglodyte varieties - Armored Troglodyte, Mana Troglodyte and Troglodyte Grenadier - also possesses Elite versions, which are all encountered guarding their queen.

* TheCityNarrows: Levant has the Slums, a ramshackle patch of crude buildings which are also spattered with blood and littered with bodies, the living inhabitants either begging to get by or preparing for illegal activities. Levant is notably the only city in the game that has such a disparity in its citizens, and is also the only one that eschews the Blue Chamber's laws of enforced equality.

* PointsOfLightSetting: Cities are relatively isolated, and outside of the larger metropolitan settlements there are essentially no villages as the wilderness is simply that hostile. When the game begins, your character has never left their village except on a boat that was headed to other pockets of civilization.

* BladeOnAStick: The game has Spears and Polearms as separate weapon categories, since the former do quick thrusts and the latter are swung in wide arc. Troglodyte warriors exclusively wield crude polearms, while Mana Troglodytes have rather similar staves. Scourge Immaculates fight with Halberds.

* OurLichesAreDifferent: According to WordOfGod, they're individuals who have bound their life force to a [[SoulJar phylactery]] in order to achieve immortality. Not exactly undead, they're not necessarily evil either, though of the five liches that can be encountered in the game, three are innately hostile. Their immortality isn't perfect, either: one, the creator of the Walled Garden in Abrassar, was killed in the initial attack by the Scourge and their body can be found there.
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: The ghosts in ''Outward'' obviously do not bleed or suffer from poison, and are '''mostly''', but not entirely resistant to all physical attacks - 20% of the damage will still get through, while the Green Ghosts in the Corrupted Tombs only possess 40% Physical Resistance. Still, it is very much preferable to obtain a source of Ethereal damage instead, which deals doubled damage to them (even though that's also the damage they are using). Besides the weaker Green Ghosts and the "default" purple ones, there are also Ghosts of the Scarlet Lady, which have the least HP but inflict burning with their attacks, and the elite Red Ghosts, which possess 270 HP and can heal themselves with a ShockwaveStomp explosion that also damages the player and renders them vulnerable to further Ethereal damage.

* LeyLine: Leylines are concentrations of magic, and visiting one is the only way for a character to learn magic skills. Within the explorable area of the game, there is only one currently active, under the Conflux Mountain in the Chersonese.

* AnAxeToGrind: Axes are weapons with greater pure damage but lower impact on the enemy stability (and thus the chance to stagger them) relative to the "average" swords. With the enemies, Ash Giants and Elite Ash Giants are most notable for wielding large two-handed axes.

** Once the player joins one of the three main factions, the long, multi-stage Vendavel Quest will begin as well. If it is not completed within 20 days, [[spoiler:Cierzo, the first city in the game, will be permanently destroyed, and be a host a bunch of tough enemies instead.]]

The player begins as a shipwrecked castaway, who is rescued from Chernonese coast, but must now repay a blood debt to the Cierzo city within five days, or be kicked out. They may succeed or fail; either way, they will have managed to attract the interest of the world's three dominant factions, The Blue Chamber Collective, The Holy Mission of Elatt or the The Heroic Kingdom of Levant, who are all hoping the player will join them and finally turn the ongoing stalemate into their favour.

* VillainousLineage: Your character's bloodline debt is accused of being the result of this, with causing harm to your settlement being something inherited InTheBlood. The reality is not so simple: [[spoiler: When the war with the corruption began, your ancestor, the village leader at the time, turned away priests of Eliat and sided with the Cabal of Winds. This was at a time when the Holy Mission's power was waxing and the Cabal's power was waning, the Cabal of Winds couldn't protect your home town, while the Holy Mission could have. As a result, many died, and a bloodline debt was levied against your line. That's all it was. No great crime, no vicious or malicious misdeeds, just a bad choice that led to people dying that would only ever have been clear with hindsight. That's all it takes to ruin a family line for generations in this world.]]