History VideoGame / SixAges

* MultipleEndings: While there's only one good ending [[spoiler:the wedding of Beren the Tall to Redalda]], it does have some variations depending on what divine blessing, if any, you pass on to your descendants. Meanwhile, there are a variety of ways to end the game, ranging from your clan disbanding due to lack of people or cows, to the Orgovaltes tribe arriving when you fail to achieve your destiny, to [[spoiler:losing Redalda to Beren the Swift, and either helping defend their wedding or treacherously attacking it]], to a last-minute tragedy [[spoiler:should either Redalda or your own Beren die at their wedding.]]

** Wheels are an amalgamation of Chariot Cultures, with their [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/sixages/images/f/f2/RideBy.png/revision/latest?cb=20190622190714 chariot]] [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/sixages/images/3/3b/Wheel_Demands.PNG/revision/latest?cb=20181215103815 designs]] resembled both [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9e/b2/1b/9eb21b65febf61c4e7f5438002ab1ef3.jpg Mycenean]] and [[http://www.womeninthebible.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Ur_chariot.jpg Sumerian]] designs. Furthermore, they have a tinge of {{Mayincatec}} which they have inherited from their Dara Happan progenitors who are more strongly based on it.

** Wheels are an amalgamation of Chariot Cultures, which their [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/sixages/images/f/f2/RideBy.png/revision/latest?cb=20190622190714 chariot]] [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/sixages/images/3/3b/Wheel_Demands.PNG/revision/latest?cb=20181215103815 designs]] resembled both [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9e/b2/1b/9eb21b65febf61c4e7f5438002ab1ef3.jpg Mycenean]] and [[http://www.womeninthebible.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Ur_chariot.jpg Sumerian]] designs. Furthermore, a tinge of {{Mayincatec}} as they share the Rider's Dara Happan progenitors who shared this culture.

** The Orlanthi also appear in this game, which they retained their overall Celtic and Germanic feel.

* PressXToDie: Some of the options during events will give you an instant Game Over, such as murdering Venef or telling Teghern to destroy your own clan.

* NonStandardGameOver: Most commonly, you lose the game by your clan being forced to disband due to lack of cows, horses or able-bodied adults, or by failing the endgame quest. However, some particularly bad decisions -- [[spoiler: having your clan turn to cannibalism]] (the other clans will unite and wipe you out), allowing a [[spoiler:gigantic gorp to grow unchecked for too long]] (your clan will be dissolved -- literally), or choosing your own clan when [[spoiler:a chaos goddess asks who you want her to destroy]] -- will lead to an instant game over. You will also lose if Beren's bloodline dies out, as the magic sustaining Berenstead's walls will fail and your clan will be forced to abandon it. [[spoiler: Assassinating an infant Venef after Iverlantho dies is therefore a really bad idea]].

* NonStandardGameOver: Most commonly, you lose the game by your clan being forced to disband due to lack of cows, horses or able-bodied adults, or by failing the endgame quest. However, some particularly bad decisions -- [[spoiler: having your clan turn to cannibalism]] (the other clans will unite and wipe you out), allowing a [[spoiler:gigantic gorp to grow unchecked for too long]] (your clan will be dissolved -- literally), or choosing your own clan when [[spoiler:a chaos goddess asks who you want her to destroy]] -- will lead to an instant game over. You will also lose if Beren's bloodline dies out, as the magic sustaining Berenstead's walls will fail and your clan will be forced to abandon it.

* NonStandardGameOver: Most commonly, you lose the game by your clan being forced to disband due to lack of cows, horses or able-bodied adults, or by failing the endgame quest. However, some particularly bad decisions- [[spoiler: having your clan turn to cannibalism]] (the other clans will unite and wipe you out), allowing a [[spoiler:gigantic gorp to grow unchecked for too long]] (your clan will be dissolved - literally), or choosing your own clan when [[spoiler:a chaos goddess asks who you want her to destroy]]- will lead to an instant game over.

* CameBackWrong: Occasionally, after one of your exploration parties goes missing, its leader can later return to your clan all alone, offering various explanaintions for their absence and why the other party members are gone. Some in your clan will not believe them, fearing that they have been somehow changed, or even that they're an imposter. That said, you will regain control of the returning leader, and the only in-game effect is that they will have aged seven years.

* Tagline:

* NonStandardGameOver: Most commonly, you lose the game either if your clan is forced to disband due to having too few cows, horses or able-bodied adults or if you fail the endgame quest. However, some particularly bad decisions can lead to an instant game over, such as: [[spoiler: having your clan turn to cannibalism]] (the other clans will unite and wipe you out), allowing a [[spoiler:gigantic gorp to grow unchecked for too long]] (your clan will be dissolved - literally), or choosing your own clan when [[spoiler:a chaos goddess asks you who do you want her to destroy]].

* SoleSurvivor: The endgame starts with ''everyone'' dying, except one clan member of your choice. Choose wisely, because that character will have to wander through an abyss of nothingness, fighting off despair until they meet Arachne Solara and (hopefully) learn how to reweave the world. [[spoiler:Once that's done, it's revealed that some other Berenethelli survived, including the heir.]] Basically, they go through a prototypical [[https://glorantha.tumblr.com/post/98538736928/what-was-the-battle-of-i-fought-we-won "I Fought We Won"]] battle.

* CharacterPortrait: All the nobles of your clan have these— most chosen at random, but your preset heroes always have unique faces. Their expressions don't change, but they do age over time. [[spoiler:And if Beren loses an eye, he gets a new portrait set reflecting that.]]

* AnyoneCanDie: Including {{the Chosen One}}s. And [[spoiler:the demi(?)goddess who singlehandedly restores the valley's flora]]. In fact, part of playing the game is getting the stats of future ring members high for when your current ring members die off. A successful player will have seen several generations pass in-universe.

* IdenticalGrandson: Erenlanth looks almost identical to his great-grandfather Brolarulf, and they even share the same portrait set.

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: The demo ends with a screen where the clan ring talk about what awaits them.

# ''Lights Going Out'': The second game, set in the apocalyptic Great Darkness. Currently in development for iOS; a demo was released May 4, 2023, and the full game is set to be released on August 21st of the same year.\\

* AncestorVeneration: Everyone— Riders, Rams, Wheels, and even nonhumans like the trolls— has to uphold their ancestors' ways or suffer the consequences. For the player clan, this means that your ancestors will reward you for striking against their foes or following their example when it comes to adopting outsiders, and curse you if you do the opposite.

# ''Lights Going Out'': The second game, set in the apocalyptic Great Darkness. Currently in development for iOS; a demo was released May 4, 2023.\\

* DiegeticCharacterCreation: Clan creation includes a prolog, which takes place a generation before the game proper. Advised by the previous king and his ring, you play through the disintegration of the tribe, choosing enemies, reacting to the deaths of major gods, and determining which political faction holds sway.

* ActionGirl: Followers of Osara, the Hyaloring goddess of Action Girls, count as Elmali for most purposes. And most Rider and Ram women fight if the clan is attacked, though Wheel women do not fight.

* AllThereInTheManual: All ''TabletopGame/RuneQuest'' sourcebooks are set centuries after ''Lights Going Out'', in a time when the basic events of the Great Darkness are common knowledge. [[CanonFodder Fortunately, details on the Berenethelli tribe are much more sparse.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Chalana Arroy may tell the tribe that "travel will heal the world". [[RescuedFromTheUnderworld And damn if she isn't right about that.]]

* DeathOfTheOldGods: Many names in the Religion panel are outright ''crossed out'', and none of the heroquests from the previous game are even an option. [[spoiler: Ernalda, Orlanth, Issaries and Lhankor Mhy all die during the prologue, and Pela and Zarlen died at some time between the two games.]]

* OnlyMostlyDead: If Ernalda's temple is preserved, she may grant the clan a crop blessing at random times. One of her devotees says this proves she's only sleeping, which is what post-Darkness Ernaldans believe.

* SuspiciousVideogameGenerosity: The player clan is large compared to those of ''Ride Like The Wind'', and produces a lot more cows, goods, and magic points. Which is good, because you'll probably need to slaughter dozens of cows every year to keep from starving, sell goods to pay the skyrocketing price of food imports, and expend magic points persuading gods who can barely take care of themselves to fix that week-long ''acid rain'' over your lands.
* TragicVillain: In one event, a group of gatherers return home as zombies. When their clanmates tell the zombies what's happened to them, they think they're joking.

[[/folder]]

* ActionGirl: Followers of Osara, the Hyaloring goddess of Action Girls, count as Elmali for most purposes. And most Rider women fight if the clan is attacked. The Ram People also have female warriors, although the Wheels do not.
* AllianceMeter: Other clans' opinion of you is measured on two scales. One measures whether they Like or Hate you, which is what it sounds like and is reflected in the color of their clan name on the map. The other measures whether they Fear/Respect or Mock you (that is, do they think you're a threat or not?)

* CharacterPortrait: All the nobles of your clan have these— most chosen at random, but your preset heroes always have unique faces. Their expressions don't change, but they do age over time. [[spoiler:And if Beren loses an eye, he gets a new portrait set reflecting that.]]

* CoolHorse: Horses are a big deal to the Riders. The standout is Gamari Horse Mother, a goddess who started life as Hippogriff and later became the first horse, but honorable mentions go to the Flying Horse (a living treasure that Gamari herself can give you) and the fiery-maned steed that Elmal rides.

* CreatorCameo: Several possible noble portraits are based on various members of the dev team. These portraits were also used in lieu of photographs for a series of [[https://blog.sixages.com/index.php/2018/07/09/the-six-ages-team-robin-laws/ interviews]] [[https://blog.sixages.com/index.php/2018/06/26/the-six-ages-team-jan-pospisil/ with]] [[https://blog.sixages.com/index.php/2018/06/25/the-six-ages-team-liana-kerr/ team]] [[https://blog.sixages.com/index.php/2019/02/13/the-six-ages-team-david-dunham/ members]].

* DealWithTheDevil: The outlaw god [[spoiler:Uldak]] offers his aid in exchange for sacrifice. Your pantheon will ''not'' approve of you taking him up on it.
* DeityOfHumanOrigin: Hyalor, founder of the Rider culture, is now worshiped as a god by the Riders, although he is rejected by the related Wheel culture.

* EthnicGod: The Hyalorings worship Hyalor, the Wheels worship Samnal (and both worship Elmal and consider him the king of the gods, so the two cultures are sometimes grouped together as Elmali). The Alkothi worship Shargash, the Demon Sun. And the Ram People worship Orlanth, which is one of the reasons you don't get on with them, because their god killed yours.
* FacialMarkings: The Rams tattoo their faces (as well as arms, necks, and presumably other body parts) with magical runes.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: The Hyalorings are Glorantha variants of Steppe Nomads of Central Asia.
** CultureChopSuey: Their clothing, [[https://assets.rockpapershotgun.com/images//2018/03/sixages-620x300.jpg armor]] resembling [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Antique_Indian_char-aina_%28chahar-aina%29%2C_kulah_khud_and_madu.jpg mirror armor]], and theme tend to amalgamate Indo-European predecessors of India, Scythians, Native Americans, {{Mayincatec}}, and Far Eastern agrarian culture.
** The Orlanthi also appear in this game, which they retained their overall Celtic and Germanic feel.
** Wheels are an amalgamation of Chariot Cultures, which their [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/sixages/images/f/f2/RideBy.png/revision/latest?cb=20190622190714 chariot]] [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/sixages/images/3/3b/Wheel_Demands.PNG/revision/latest?cb=20181215103815 designs]] resembled both [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9e/b2/1b/9eb21b65febf61c4e7f5438002ab1ef3.jpg Mycenean]] and [[http://www.womeninthebible.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Ur_chariot.jpg Sumerian]] designs. Furthermore, a tinge of {{Mayincatec}} as they share the Rider's Dara Happan progenitors who shared this culture.

* FantasyPantheon: In this case, the Sun Pantheon, centered on Elmal now that Yelm is dead. There's also a Storm and a Darkness pantheon. Some gods have counterparts--for example, all three have a god or goddess of trade--and some of those counterparts, like your Earth Queen Nyalda and Ernalda, Earth Queen of the Storm gods--are so very similar that one might be forgiven for confusing them...
* FoodGod: The role is split among several deities: Busenari Cow Mother, Uryarda Goat Mother, Pela Barley Mother, Inilla the foraging goddess, and Dostal the god of the hunt. You will likely need all their help to keep your clan alive.

* GodCouple: Elmal and Nyalda, the two chief gods of the Hyaloring pantheon, are one example. There's also their daughter Inilla and the hunting god Dostal. The Orlanthi have Orlanth and his wife and advisor Ernalda (and be careful how you bring up the similarities between her and Nyalda!) And before his death, Yelm was married to Oria, the first Earth Queen. [[spoiler:Hyalor and Aldrya]] are also treated as this trope sometimes, although other stories put a different spin on the relationship.
* GodIsDead: Yelm, the TopGod of your clan's ancestors, has been killed by Orlanth. Many of his duties have been taken on by other gods (most notably Elmal), but the world is still feeling the effects. And due to the ongoing Gods' War, the bones of fallen deities can periodically be discovered.

* GuideDangIt: Like all ''TabletopGame/RuneQuest'' games, ''Six Ages'' prioritizes immersion and setting verisimilitude over giving the player actual concrete stats to work with.
** Players are never outright told what the endgame is, so as to make the plot twist around it and the decision of [[spoiler:allying with the Rams]] more emotionally impactful.
** The descriptions explaining what spirits and treasures do are vague at best. How useful is a magical brazier that "aids you against Darkness"? Is it more valuable than another treasure you can trade it for? What the ''hell'' is the Antelope spirit, who "lets our heroes and their horses leap into the air" good for?
** If your explorers meet other explorers, you will be asked if you want to "waylay" them. Waylay here means attack.
** The "low clan magic" event, unlike every other event that involves hurting another clan, does not give you an opportunity to choose ''who'' you want to kidnap from. If you're unlucky, you can accidentally break an alliance by doing this.
** Some ritual blessings last for the rest of the game, others for only a few years. You're not told this, or which ones are temporary until you pick.
** Many shamans look androgynous, which can be a problem if you've just started a ritual that requires someone of a specific gender and [clan's best magician] turns out to be incompatible. (Rituals cannot be stopped once they've started.)
** Some events let players choose multiple responses to them (such as the endgame marriage preparations); you're not told beforehand which.
** The game doesn't tell you that [[spoiler:Beren]] has a hidden "heroism" score that gives him bonuses to certain tests. It is increased when he pulls off suitably heroic stunts or you perform actions appropriate to his heroic fate. Sacrificing at his birth also helps. This score also helps [[spoiler:Redalda]] during the endgame.

* HorseArcher: The Riders are accomplished cavalry archers.

* NoStatAtrophy: Averted for Combat, the one skill that measures physical ability— after age 50, there's a chance that characters may lose Combat skill rather than gaining it. Played straight for all other skills, however.

* NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering: Once again, your clan circle is prone to this - even more so since they now represent the interests of major families within the clan.

* OrderVersusChaos: Chaos is a force inimical to all existence, something that scares even the gods. And it's getting stronger.

* PlayingWithFire: The form of battle magic most Riders specialize in.

* RaceLift: An in-universe example. In the "real" scenes (see ArtShift above), Orlanthi are only slightly darker than Hyalorings, but Hyaloring art depicts them as distinctly brown-skinned- likely to emphasize just how different the two peoples are.
* RelationshipValues: Other clans can Like or Hate you, and Fear or Mock/Respect you. The three are separate, which makes maintaining your reputation more complex than it was in ''King of Dragon Pass''.
* ReligionIsMagic: As with the previous game, magic involves propitiating either gods or spirits. The game tab that deals with worship and enacting sacred rituals is even called Magic.

* SlidingScaleOfTurnRealism: Each turn you can take one action (build a shrine, send out a trade caravan, and so on), and each turn takes half a season.

* StayInTheKitchen: The Wheels (more formally known as the Samnali) are distinguished from your people by refusing to allow women to fight or lead, in addition to driving chariots rather than riding horses. [[spoiler: One storyline includes a Wheel clan "marrying" off their [[TheLadette rebellious woman]]--who will [[GoingNative embrace Rider culture and even become a noble]]-- into your clan just to get rid of her]].

* TheTimeOfMyths: ''Ride Like The Wind'' is set in the Storm Age, prior to the beginning of linear time. Many of the events that occur in the game have become myths and legends by the time of ''King of Dragon Pass''.
* TricksterArchetype: Followers of the Raven spirit.

* VideoGameTutorial: The tutorial introduces you to the game through a scripted year of play, which can't be continued into a normal game.

'''Premise:''' Glorantha is dying, and your gods with it. Everywhere the earth is withering, monsters emerging, and sunlight growing dimmer day by day. Never before has it been so hard to survive. But you are Berenthelli, and death is not an option. Somehow you will persevere through the darkness- as its stalwart foes, or [[LesCollaborateurs desperate servants]].

* DeathOfTheOldGods: Many names in the Religion panel are outright ''crossed out'', and none of the heroquests from the previous game are even an option. [[spoiler: Ernalda, Orlanth, Issaries and Lhankor Mhy all die during the prolog, and Pela and Zarlen died at some time between the two games.]]

* SequelNonEntity: Uryarda, the Rider goddess of goats, is not worshiped by the Berenthelli and therefore unimportant to the narrative.
* SuspiciousVideogameGenerosity: The player clan is large compared to those of ''Ride Like The Wind'', and produces a lot more cows, goods, and magic points. Which is good, because you'll probably need to slaughter dozens of cows every year to keep from starving, sell goods to pay the skyrocketing price of food imports, and expend magic points begging gods who can barely take care of themselves to fix that week-long ''acid rain'' over your lands.

* DeathOfTheOldGods: Many names in the Religion panel are outright ''crossed out'', and none of the heroquests from the previous game are even an option.