Line #172 DarthWiki/ChroniclesOfConflict


1	This is a idea for a JRPG. The only thing I have fully planned are several organizations and the ending. The battle system and CelShaded graphics are heavily based on those of the VideoGame/{{Tales Series}} (I really hope that I will become wealthy enough to become an PromotedFanboy and make this into an official ''Tales'' game)
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3	In the world of Tero, people rely on [[MinovskyPhysics aether]] for their everyday lives. The world is split between the {{Magitek}} ClockPunk [[TheEmpire Anorev Kingdom]] and the SteamPunk [[TheFederation Rutledge Republic]]. Day after day, the threat of war between these two powers grows...
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5	Meanwhile in a small town somewhere in the Anorev Kingdom, a mercenary named Cielo Kersey is passing through the town (after intervening in a situation involving a noble) when he notices a young woman named Diana Zangan being hasseled by some corrupt knights who accuse her of being the ClassyCatBurglar "Rogue Ruby". Cielo steps in and a fight ensues and Diana reveals her ActionGirl skills by also joining in. They defeat the knights, Diana thanks him, and she leaves, but Cielo suspects something and follows her. He discovers that Diana ''is'' "Rogue Ruby" and they are attacked by a group of hitmen. They defeat the hitmen and Cielo [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique interrogates]] the leader. Things escalate from there into a epic tale of justice, adventure, and war.
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7	The first part of the story will look like a typical “LaResistance fights to overthrow TheEmpire” ClicheStorm plot, but will get ''much'' [[DeconstructorFleet more interesting as the game/story goes on.]]
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9	With all the characters and [[{{Troperiffic}} tropes]], I might make this into an manga/anime/tv series instead...
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11	!!Tropes Utilized
12	* TheAlliance: The Federation of Workers is an alliance of several labor unions. The Quracistan Dominion [[VestigialEmpire (defeated and dismantled before the start of the game)]] was a rare evil version because they were a [[MiddleEasternCoalition powerful alliance of the Quracistani city-states]] that banded together in hopes of overpowering the [[TheFederation Rutledge Republic]].
13	* AmazonChaser: The party (especially Cielo and Rafael) admire Diana for her combat skills.
14	* AnarchyIsChaos: The ultimate goal of the [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized Commoner's Revolutionary Union]] [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny for Social Harmony]] is to provoke a war between the [[TheFederation Rutledge Republic]] and the [[TheEmpire Anorev Kingdom]] in hopes of crippling both countries so that anarchy will ensue and socialist democracies will rise in their place.
15	* AppliedPhlebotinum: Aether, the seventh element. It exsists as small particles in the air that some people can sense and channel through their bodies to cast spells. Aether can also be collected and used to enhance the abilities of objects such as coal (which explains the SteamPunk tech) or medicine.
16	* AristocratsAreEvil: With the few exceptions, most nobles tend to be {{Jerkass}}es at best.
17	* BadassCrew: The Omega Berets in Cielo's backstory
18	* BatmanGambit: Pops up ''way'' too many times to even mention.
19	** For [[EvilOverlord King Iago]] pulls one off with [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Zachary's]] help when it is revealed that [[spoiler: the Sword of Oblivion was just a plot by them to make Jade Faction waste their resources looking for the pieces of the LostSuperweapon. Even if LaResistance succeeds in gathering all the pieces of the DismantledMacGuffin, the LostSuperweapon is really a TrackingDevice that will allow the Anorev Kingdom to locate Jade Faction's hidden underground headquarters.]]
20	* BigBadDuumvirate: Arcturus Iago, the [[EvilOverlord king]] of the [[TheEmpire Anorev Kingdom]] and Akito Ogawa, the [[LadyOfWar Shogun]] of [[{{Wutai}} Namikawa]] and the head of the [[MegaCorp Ogawa Zaibatsu]].
21	* BigBadEnsemble: Hoo boy, there are five {{Big Bad}}s in this game; [[EvilOverlord Arcturus Iago]], [[{{Cyborg}} Infernal]] [[BombThrowingAnarchist Echelon]], [[LadyOfWar Akito Ogawa]], [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Frick]] [[MegaCorp Xion]], and [[spoiler: Adrain]] in addition to two {{Big Bad Wannabe}}s, [[TheDon Donatello DiCosta]] and [[spoiler: [[DirtyCommunists Venia]] Debs]]. If that weren't enough, almost all of them are {{Chessmaster}}s as well. I think this might result in TheBigBadShuffle or a GambitPileup.
22	* BigBadFriend:[[spoiler: Adrian, who is also the ultimate BigBad.]]
23	* BittersweetEnding: Although the alternate ending avilaible on the NewGamePlus is a EarnYourHappyEnding.
24	* BlackComedyBurst: Overall, I'm aiming for a T-rated anime vibe, but dark humor occasionally pops up here and there. Most of the bursts are provided by [[GallowsHumor Cielo]]. For example:
25	-->'''[[BadassBookworm Diana]]''': (Looking theough some newspapers) Hey guys. this article mentions something called the "Hobo Brigade". Does anyone know more about them?
26	-->'''[[TheStrategist Adrian]]''': During the Galay War the Chancellor at the time tried to kill two birds with one stone by gathering all the homeless people in Neo-Rutledge and drafting them into their own brigade.
27	-->'''Diana''': So what happened to them?
28	-->'''Adrian''': They all got slaughtered.
29	-->'''[[DeadpanSnarker Cielo]]''': In other words it was a success.
30	* BloodKnight: Many of the characters, especially Cielo. In fact, a major theme is that most (if not all) humans secretly desire conflict and violence.
31	* BlownAcrossTheRoom: The effect of the "Give Em Both Barrels" and "Magnum Aim" abilities on enemies. This also makes a useful counter to a SuicideAttack.
32	* BombThrowingAnarchists: C.R.U.S.H.'s political ideology is a cross between this and DirtyCommunists. [[TheHeavy Infernal]] [[BigBad Echelon]] is this in that he only wants to provoke a war between the two superpowers and cause chaos and destruction along the way.
33	** Minor detail, but there was also the "Liberty Party" political party which was a peaceful subversion of this until they broke up and the bomb-throwing radicals joined C.R.U.S.H.
34	* BreadAndCircuses: The previous Anorev royal family used to have a benevolent version in which free government-funded circuses traveled the Anorev Kingdom and were run by the Gypsy people. When [[EvilOverlord King Iago]] took over, he suspended these circuses and starting hunting down the gypsies at the request and backing of the [[CorruptChurch Toiracsi Church]]. The only thing left of this policy is the battle arena in the capital in which the admittence is free and free loaves of bread are thrown out. [[MegaCorp Xion Enterprises]] also did this during Senator and Chancellor elections to support a candidate they backed.
35	* BreakingTheFourthWall: Wade Cooper and Otto Faustus's roles.
36	* TheChessmaster: Quite a few characters, especially the villains.
37	* ChessMotifs: With a BigBadEnsemble of {{Chessmaster}}s, this is inevitable.
38	* ChurchMilitant: The Paladin Order serves as the armed forces branch of the Toiracsi Church.
39	* {{Clockpunk}}: The Anorev Kingdom's main form of technology.
40	* ConstructedWorld: It ''is'' a JRPG after all.
41	* CorruptChurch: The Toiracsi Church which holds much sway in the Anorev Kingdom.
42	* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Many of them make up the management of Xion Enterprises.
43	* DecadentCourt: The Noble Council of the [[TheEmpire Anorev Kingdom]] are so corrupt that the only reason they haven't taken the throne is because the King frequently plays the noble families against each other. [[spoiler: They get hit by LaserGuidedKarma when they flee to [[{{Wutai}} Namikawa]] after the party overthrows the EvilOverlord. They are defeated, captured, given a fair trial for treason, corruption, and other crimes and almost all of them are sentenced to death or long prison terms.]] Interestingly, the board of directors for [[MegaCorp Xion Enterprises]] is alot like this trope.
44	* DeathByOriginStory: Diana's parent's (both real [[spoiler: and adopted)]], and Cielo's parents and his TheSquad (the original [[BadassCrew Omega Berets]]).
45	* DeconstructorFleet
46	* DefectorFromDecadence: The [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized Commoners Revolutionary Union for Social Harmony's]] membership is almost entirely made up of radical splinter factions of other groups (the radical wings of [[LaResistance Jade Faction]] and the [[DirtyCommunists Collective Party]], [[ShellShockedVeteran disillusioned Rutledge Republic veterans]], [[TheRemnant former soldiers of the Quraicstan Dominion]], and [[BombThrowingAnarchists the remnants of the defunct Liberty Party]]).
47	* DirtyCommunists: C.R.U.S.H.'s political ideology is a cross between this and BombThrowingAnarchists. They frequently mention "social harmony" and "liberation of the common man" and list [[CorruptChurch religion]], [[MegaCorp business]], and [[TheGovernment governments]] among their targets. The Collective Party is a subversion for they are a moderate Socialist-style political party and denounce the actions of C.R.U.S.H. (which is partially made up of radical Collective Party members who view the rest of the political party as "too soft").
48	* DiscOneFinalDungeon: The party has gathered the {{Dismantled MacGuffin}}s, brought them to the HQ of LaResistance, rebuilt the LostSuperweapon, and are planing to attack the Capital and overthrow the EvilOverlord. [[spoiler: But YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle. The LostSuperweapon is revealed to be a TrackingDevice, the EvilOverlord invades LaResistance, a mysterious new organization shows up, the RebelLeader is killed, LaResistance is all but destroyed, and the party has to flee to the [[TheFederation Rutledge Republic]].]]
49	* DismantledMacGuffin: The [[LostSuperweapon Sword of Oblivion]] was dismantled and scattered around the world [[spoiler: it's actually a TrackingDevice]].
50	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: After [[spoiler: Venia Debs]] is exposed as the leader and founder of C.R.U.S.H., the Preparation Party urges the Rutledge Republic to start arresting members of the Collective Party (which he founded and used to lead) out of suspision of collaberation between C.R.U.S.H. and the Collective Party. [[RedScare Hmmmm...]]
51	** For the really dense: Preparation Party=Republican Party, Collective Party=Socialists/Communists, C.R.U.S.H.=anarchist terrorists, and the above mentioned event is both {{Red Scare}}s.
52	* DysfunctionJunction: It is revealed that the BadassCrew Omega Berets were this, consisting of a ColdSniper, a StepfordSmiler, a ColonelKilgore, and other messed-up people. Cielo even describes them as "a collection of the Republic's most elite sociopaths. I had never felt so at home."
53	* EarnYourHappyEnding: Playing the game on the unlockable NewGamePlus difficulty will result in a happy ending in which [[spoiler: Cielo lives and hooks up with Diana.]]
54	* ElaborateUndergroundBase: [[LaResistance Jade Faction]] and [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized C.R.U.S.H.]] both have underground headquarters.
55	* EliteMooks: The {{BFG}} wielding Royal Guard of the [[TheEmpire Anorev Kingdom]], the Omega Berets of the [[TheFederation Rutledge Republic]], and the Sughdian Corps who used to fight for the [[MiddleEasternCoalition Quracistan Dominion]], but now fight for [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized C.R.U.S.H.]]
56	* TheEmpire: The Anorev Kingdom which eventually starts calling itself the Anorev Empire. Eventually turns back into the kingdom.
57	* EvilChancellor: Completely averted in that the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor are merely the titles for the leader and vice leader of the [[TheFederation Rutledge Republic]] and even then the Chancellor is a weak-willed HeadInTheSandManagement and the Vice Chancellor is a BoisterousBruiser ReasonableAuthorityFigure. Subverted in the case of the Archpatriarch of the [[CorruptChurch Toiracsi Church]] who advises the king of the [[TheEmpire Anorev Kingdom]], but is loyal to him. DoubleSubverted in that the king is evil and is plotting with the Archpatriarch to conquer the Rutledge Republic. A subtle version of this is [[spoiler: Adrian who mentions he used to be a shrink and three of his patients were the Chairman of a MegaCorp, the Archpatriarch of the CorruptChurch, and the leader of C.R.U.S.H.]]
58	* EvilPlan: Each of the {{Big Bad}}s (and some of the {{Big Bad Wannabe}}s) have their own goals, most of which involve causing a world war:
59	** [[EvilOverlord Arcturus Niccolo]]: Crush LaResistance and then have the [[TheEmpire Anorev Kingdom]] conquer the world and rule it through [[ThePrince Machiavellian]] fear.
60	** Akito Ogawa: Manipulate Lezareno Xion and Zachary into helping her acquire the ancient machines, usurp control of the Anorev Kingdom from Arcturus, conquer the world, and rule it with strict [[Literature/TheBookOfLordShang Legalism]].
61	** [[{{Cyborg}} Infernal]] [[NietzscheWannabe Echelon]]: Start a world war [[HiddenAgendaVillain for some reason]] [[spoiler: but his real plan is to usurp Adrian's SuperSoldier army and destroy the world.]]
62	** [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Frick]] [[MegaCorp Xion]]: Cause a world war in which the [[TheFederation Rutledge Republic]] will win (with the backing of Xion Enterprises) and then create a monopoly of the world economy under his MegaCorp.
63	** [[TheDon Donatello]] [[TheMafia DiCosta]]: [[spoiler: PlayingBothSides in the Xion Enterprises/Federation of Workers labor dispute and use the party to keep an eye on his Capos.]]
64	** [[spoiler: [[BombThrowingAnarchist Venia]] [[DirtyCommunists Debs]]]]: Use terrorism attacks to provoke a world war in order to destroy the existing institutions and somehow replace them [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans with democratic socialist utopias.]]
65	** [[spoiler: Adrian Pazar]]: [[spoiler: Pull off a massive {{Genghis Gambit}}/{{Zero Approval Gambit}} in order to unite the world against himself creating a state of "peace through endless war."]]
66	* EvilVersusEvil: When [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized C.R.U.S.H.]] attacks the [[TheMafia DiCosta Syndicate]]. Earlier, they also attack the [[TheEmpire Anorev Kingdom]] and [[MegaCorp Xion Enterprises]].
67	* FalseFlagOperation: C.R.U.S.H. has this as one of their tactics. [[MegaCorp Xion Enterprises]] also plotted to have the [[TheMafia DiCosta Syndicate]] sabotage a Rutledge Republic battleship so it will explode in Anorev Kingdom waters with the Vice Chancellor, [[BoisterousBruiser Teodor]], aboard. This would get rid of Teodor (a ReasonableAuthorityFigure who is a threat to them) and provide propaganda for their media division.
68	* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Many of the towns and nations are based on real life cultures and sometimes involve CultureChopSuey. Second tier are the real life cultures while the third tiers are HollywoodAtlas tropes:
69	** Rutledge Republic: United States with a dash of UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany
70	*** {{Eagleland}} (Mixed Flavor), {{Kaiserreich}}, TheFederation
71	** Anorev Kingdom: Medieval Europe, Renaissance Europe
72	*** MedievalEuropeanFantasy, UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance, TheLateMiddleAges, TheEmpire
73	** Panarium: United States Corn Belt
74	*** TheWildWest, DownOnTheFarm
75	** New Fete: New Orleans, UsefulNotes/LasVegas
76	*** TheBigEasy, ItsAlwaysMardiGrasInNewOrleans, VivaLasVegas
77	** Neo-Rutledge: New York City
78	*** BigApplesauce
79	** Little Namikawa: Chinatown
80	*** FriendlyLocalChinatown
81	** Gevanni: Italy (specifically Venice)
82	*** SpaghettiAndGondolas
83	** Narnia: Constantinople
84	** East Quracistan: Middle East
85	*** {{Qurac}}, ArabianNightsDays
86	** West Quracistan: Mexico
87	*** {{Spexico}}, SouthOfTheBorder
88	** Namikawa: Feudal Japan with a dash of China
89	*** FarEast, {{Wutai}}, JidaiGeki
90	** Quracistan Dominion: Ottoman Empire, Nazi Germany
91	*** VestigialEmpire, MiddleEasternCoalition, UsefulNotes/NaziGermany
92	** Church of Toiracsi: Roman Catholic Church
93	*** CorruptChurch
94	* FantasyGunControl: Justified aversion due to the fact that the game takes place in a SteamPunk setting. Literal gun control does exist in the [[TheEmpire Anorev Kingdom]].
95	* TheFederation: The Rutledge Republic. In fact the Rutledge Republic acts more like a confederation than a true republic (the Rutledge Republic consists of a union/alliance of several independent city-states overseen by a Senate which is made up of representatives from each city-state). Eventually becomes TheRepublic.
96	* TheFellowshipHasEnded: At the end of the game the party goes it separate ways as [[spoiler: Diana is the ruler of the Anorev Kingdom, Rafael is the Commandant of the Anorev Knights, Hospitaller is the Archpatriarch of the Toiracsi Church, Teodor is the Chancellor of the Rutledge Republic, Wade is the new head of the Collective Party and is running for Chancellor, and Adrian is now a part of the WorldTree]]. As for Cielo...
97	** Normal Ending: [[spoiler: Cielo is still dead, but HerHeartWillGoOn as Diana marries Rafael and they have a daughter (named [[DeadguyJunior Madeline]] after the deceased RebelLeader) together and Cielo is remembered as a legendary hero and saviour. The party goes to Kratos and visits the WorldTree and discover a surviving albino SuperSoldier clone who looks like Cielo and is the same age as Madeline after the boy saves Madeline. Diana names the boy [[DeadguyJunior Cielo Jr.]] and he [[PuppyLove immediately hits it off with Madeline]].]]
98	** Alternate Ending: [[spoiler: Diana hasn't gotten over his HeroicSacrifice when, one night, she dreams that she and Cielo were still children and he tells her to go to the WorldTree. This starts the PlayableEpilogue where Diana starts PuttingTheBandBackTogether and goes to the WorldTree where it turns out that Cielo has come BackFromTheDead.]]
99	* FictionalPoliticalParty: Being a republic the Rutledge Republic has 5 major political parties ("major" meaning they have seats in the Republican Senate), each with a color and a animal symbol:
100	** [[UsefulNotes/PeaceThroughSuperiorFirepower Preparation Party]] (Blue Dogs)
101	** [[StrawCivilian Stability Party]] (White Sheep)
102	** [[DirtyCommunists Collective Party]] (Red Oxen)
103	** [[GreenAesop Eco Party]] (Green Deer)
104	** [[HolierThanThou Pious]] [[MoralGuardians Party]] (Purple Fish)
105	* FloatingContinent: Kratos, the former capital of the [[VestigialEmpire Cajamarca Empire]] where the WorldTree currently resides.
106	* FriendlyLocalChinatown: The ethnic enclave of "Little Namikawa" in Neo-Rutledge.
107	* FunWithAcronyms: One of the major villain organizations is named the '''C'''ommoner's '''R'''evolutionary '''U'''nion for '''S'''ocial '''H'''armony. The republic's intelligence agency is named the '''P'''reparation '''A'''gency fo '''T'''actical '''R'''esponse, '''I'''ntelligence, and '''O'''ther '''T'''actics.
108	* GambitPileup: With a BigBadEnsemble consisting of {{Chessmaster}}s, this was inevitable.
109	** If you really want to know: [[TheStarscream Duke]] is plotting with [[LaResistance Jade Faction]] against [[EvilOverlord Arcturus]], [[spoiler: but [[MagnificentBastard Arcturus]] already knew this and used Duke’s treachery to further his EvilPlan to destroy Jade Faction]]. [[MagnificentBastard Infernal]] [[{{Cyborg}} Echelon]] is working with Zachary, [[spoiler: Frick Xion, and [[DirtyCommunist Venia]] Debs]], but has his own agenda and is manipulating them and pretty much EVRYONE else. [[MegaCorp Frick Xion]] [[spoiler: works with Infernal Echelon and]] takes advantage of the actions of [[DirtyCommunist C.R]][[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized .U.]][[BombThrowingAnarchists S.H.]], the Federation of Workers, the [[TheSyndicate DiCosta Syndicate]], the [[TheFederation Rutledge Republic]] government, and even his own Directors in order to further his own profit-oriented ends. [[IronLady Akito]] is a member of the BigBadDuumvirate with Arcturus and has business deals with [[MegaCorp Frick Xion]], but is manipulating all three for her own ends. [[TheDon Donatello DiCosta]] is [[spoiler: manipulating the party in order to keep an eye on Sindacco and is]] working with the Federation of Workers [[spoiler: and [[MegaCorp Xion Enterprises]],]] but is actually being manipulated by the latter and Infernal Echelon and is quickly OutGambitted (let's not even get started on what his Underboss were up to). Ultimately [[spoiler: [[MagnificentBastard Adrian]] turns out to have the LastPlanStanding as he turns out to be [[TheManBehindTheMan Infernal Echelon’s boss]] and has been manipulating the party towards his own ends and already manipulated Zachary, Frick Xion, and Venia Debs long before the events of the story via implanting an idea for a world war in all three of their heads.]] As [[ConspiracyTheorist Wade]] lampshades:
110	-->"So he was manipulating him, but him already knew so him used he against her, but she was plotting against both of them so he, she, they, it... My brain!!!"
111	* GetOutOfJailFreeCard: [[spoiler: When Teodor becomes]] Chancellor, he pardons all the Collective Party members unjustly imprisoned in the event mentioned in DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything above. Also over the course of the game the party is wanted in the [[TheEmpire Anorev Kingdom]] from crimes ranging from assault to treason. [[spoiler: When Diana becomes the Princess of the Anorev Kingdom, she pardons herself and the party.]]
112	* GhostTown: The "city-state" of Burleson in the Rutledge Republic. It was a small town that had a heavy [[MegaCorp Xion Enterprises]] presence. When the town went on strike, Xion Enterprises shut down its businesses there and moved. This caused Burleson to become a DyingTown, then a WretchedHive, and then a GhostTown when it was razed in the Galay War. It is revealed to be [[spoiler: the headquarters of C.R.U.S.H. who's leader encouraged, organized, and led the strike and [[MyGreatestFailure blames himself for the town's ruin]].]]
113	* GoodRepublicEvilEmpire: More like Burecratic Republic, Corrupted Kingdom.
114	* GottaCatchThemAll: The goal of [[LaResistance Jade Faction]] and the [[TheEmpire Anorev Kingdom]] is to collect the pieces of the [[LostSuperweapon Sword o]][[DismantledMacGuffin f Oblivion]] before the other. [[spoiler: Actually [[InvokedTrope invoked]] by the BigBadDuumvirate so that Jade Faction would waste their resources looking for the MacGuffin]]
115	* GovernmentAgencyOfFiction: The Preparation Agency for Tactical Response, Intelligence, and Other Tactics [[FunWithAcronyms (P.A.T.R.I.O.T.)]] which acted as a [[VideoGame/SplinterCell Third Echelon]]-style covert ops agency for the [[TheFederation Rutledge Republic]], but has been reduced to a incompetently bureaucratic organization.
116	* GreatOffscreenWar: The Galay War was a major two-year war on the continent of Galay between the [[TheFederation Rutledge Republic]] and the [[MiddleEasternCoalition Quracistan Dominion]] and it is mentioned several times and even has an occasional flashback. Even more offscreen are the Rutledge-Gevanni War (fought between the Rutledge Republic and the oligarchy republic city-state of [[SpaghettiAndGondolas Gevanni]]) and the Rodina War (a war of conquest fought by the [[TheEmpire Anorev Kingdom]] against [[{{Wutai}} Namikawa]]).
117	* GunsAreWorthless: Played with. One of their main advantages is infinite reloads and the ability to very temporaily "stun" non-blockers (and the shotgun's ability to knock people down). For gameplay purposes though, guns cause a low amount of damage, need to be reloaded (not to mention you need to stand still while reloading), can be blocked, and could jam (unless the gun is a SawedOffShotgun or a [[RevolversAreJustBetter revolver]]).
118	* HatePlague: The "Chaotic Fury" spell gives enemies a [[UnstoppableRage boost in attack power]], but also causes them to ignore the party and attack each other. When the spell wears off, remaining enemies will go into a brief VillainousBSOD as they [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realize what they did]]. The [[CorruptChurch Toiracsi Church]] banned the use of this spell because too many criminals were claiming that they were under the influence of the spell, but [[AntiHero Cie]][[BloodKnight lo]] mentions that this is one of his favorite spells.
119	* HollywoodTactics: I'm trying to avert this, but if I do have to resort to this in order to continue the plot it will be lampshaded by [[TheStrategist Adrian]] who will point out the flaws in the tactic.
120	* TheHorde: [[spoiler: Adrian creates the "Eternal Horde" as an army of {{Super Soldier}}s to plunge the world into a state of "peace through endless war"]]
121	* HufflepuffHouse: While it is mentioned that the Rutledge Republic has five major political parties, only the [[UsefulNotes/PeaceThroughSuperiorFirepower Preparation Party]], [[HolierThanThou Pious Party]], and [[DirtyCommunists Collective Party]] matter to the plot thus making the other three parties ([[GreenAesop Eco]] and [[StrawCivilian Stability]]) fit this trope.
122	* ItsAlwaysMardiGrasInNewOrleans: The PortTown city-state of [[TheBigEasy New]] [[VivaLasVegas Fete]] is regarded as the party capital of the world as they always have a parade and/or festival every week.
123	* TheJoysOfTorturingMooks: Cielo's special ability is to grab mooks and engage in interrogation minigames with them. Being a T-rated game, he mostly used EnhancedInterrogationTechniques that threaten death and then a GoryDiscretionShot when he does go through with killing the mook.
124	* JustLikeRobinHood: Diana does this as ClassyCatBurglar, "Rogue Ruby", robbing the Anorev nobility and giving most of the wealth to the peasants (she keeps a small bit for herself). [[LaResistance Jade Faction]] also does this occasionally. [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized C.R]][[BombThrowingAnarchists .U.S]][[DirtyCommunists .H.]] likes to believe that they're this, but they're more "rob and bomb the businessmen and give the money to ourselves".
125	* IndustrialGhetto: The Industrial District of Neo-Rutledge.
126	* KansasCityShuffle: [[BombThrowingAnarchist Infernal] Echleon]] is pretty good at using these. [[HeadsIWinTailsYouLose After every boss battle with him, it is almost always revealed that he was merely delaying the party while his true goal is being achived]]. One example is when the party hears about [[MegaCorp Xion Enterprises]] paying the [[TheMafia DiCosta Syndicate]] to blow up a Rutledge Republic battleship as part of a FalseFlagOperation. The party foils the plot, but the [=DiCosta=] Syndicate is attacked all over Galay by C.R.U.S.H. When the party battles with Infernal Echelon (who is working with the chairman of Xion Enterprises and the leader of C.R.U.S.H.), he reveals that while the party was focused on preventing the {{Mega Corp}}'s plot, C.R.U.S.H. was free to get into position without any real hinderence and the riots resulting from the fighting between C.R.U.S.H. and the [=DiCosta=] Syndicate will weaken the Republic making the [[TheEmpire Anorev Kingdom]] more likely to invade. [[XanatosGambit Either way Infernal Echelon increased the chances of a world war]].
127	* LawEnforcementInc: The Blackwater Detective Agency, the de facto private military of Xion Enterprises. The "Reconstruction Bureau" is also operated by the MegaCorp
128	* LimitBreak: The "Ultima Strikes"
129	* LostSuperweapon: The Sword of Oblivion was an ancient superweapon developed by the VestigialEmpire that was [[DismantledMacGuffin broken into several pieces and scattered around the world]]. [[spoiler: Psych! The whole "superweapon" thing was just a rumor/plot started and encouraged by the EvilOverlord. It's actually a recently made TrackingDevice.]]
130	* LostTechnology: The Sword of Obilivion (see LostSuperweapon above) and the "Ancient Machines" which can provide alot of power. However, there's a reason why this technology is lost: [[spoiler: It's PoweredByAForsakenChild.]]
131	* LoveTriangle: Cielo and Rafael both have feelings for Diana and she's having trouble deciding who she wants.
132	* LowFantasy
133	* TheMafia: The [=DiCosta=] Syndicate that runs Gevanni. Given a sympathetic twist when it is revealed that they used to be LaResistance, but after overthrowing the corrupt ruler they couldn't blend back into society and thus [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized became a criminal organization.]] They are later revealed to be TheSyndicate as they have a presense in [[TheBigEasy New]] [[VivaLasVegas Fete]] and [[PortTown Saladin]] as well.
134	* TheMagicVersusTechnologyWar: One of the main goals of the party is to prevent a war between the two superpowers, the [[{{Magitek}} magic-driven]] MedievalStasis ClockPunk Anorev Kingdom and TheGayNineties-inspired SteamPunk Rutledge Republic.
135	* {{Magitek}}: The Anorev Kingdom uses magic in a similar way to the world of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''.
136	* MegaCorp: Xion Enterprises is a Type 1, a conglomerate that is the main producer of SteamPunk technology that holds much influence in the Rutledge Republic and has its [[LawEnforcementInc own armed security force.]] There's also the smaller Ogawa Zaibatsu of [[{{Wutai}} Namikawa]].
137	* MinovskyPhysics: Aether has clearely defined limits and rules and is even studied like a science.
138	* MoreDakka: The "Barrage" ability that is only avilable to firearms users will make any firearm fire five times it's normal ammo count in a automatic stream. However, the gun must be full, only one target can be hit at a time, it increases the chances of a jam after its use, and it is mentioned in a skit that it has a lot of recoil.
139	** During the battle between the Anorev Empire and the Rutledge Republic the Empire's vast numbers are balanced out by the Republic's firearms. [[spoiler: Arcturus planned on this and had a HumanResources-fueled SuperweaponSurprise in store.]]
140	* [[spoiler: TrickAndFollowPloy:]] The party spends the first part of the game looking for the pieces of the DismantledMacGuffin LostSuperweapon before the EvilOverlord can, [[spoiler: but it turns out that the LostSuperweapon is really a TrackingDevice]] Oops.
141	* NoManOfWomanBorn: A prophecy states that a [[VirginSacrifice virgin with]] [[RoyalBlood "Sacred Blood"]] [[VirginSacrifice will need to be sacrificed to revive Ashvastha]]. When [[spoiler: Diana is revealed to be both a princess and a virgin, she is about to sacrifice herself when the rest of the party stops her in time. When it is pointed out that someone ''needs'' to be sacrificed, Cielo does it instead. He meets the qualifications due to the fact that he is a virgin and he received a blood transfusion from Diana after TakingTheBullet for her in an earlier arc.]]
142	* NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine: Sort of used. [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Fri]][[FauxAffablyEvil ck]] [[MegaCorp Xion]] invites the party to a dinner at Shinra. [[YourFavorite Each of the dishes are their favorite foods]] (which Xion comments were [[FromMyOwnPersonalGarden made from ingredients freshly produced in Shinra]]) and the dinner ends with Xion trying to [[BuyThemOff buy off the party by offering them each a large amount of money]], but each party member [[BribeBackfire rejects the bribe and cites their own reasons for turning it down]] before leaving, leaving the buisnessman [[EvilCannotComprehendGood thoroughly baffled]] (who believes that EveryManHasHisPrice). [[WarriorTherapist Adrian]] and Wade both lampshade this trope.
143	* NotSoSafeHarbor: Saladin is the largest city in Quracistan, but it is a bombed-out ViceCity PortTown that is de facto run by [[MegaCorp Xion Enterprises]] with the [[TheMafia DiCosta Syndicate]] acquiring a foothold on the underworld.
144	* ObstructiveBureaucrat: The Rutledge Republic is seemingly staffed with these. Of special note is the "Reconstruction Bureau" which is supposed to be a Rutledge Republic agency dedicated to reconstructing Quracistan, but it's really just occupation forces under the control of [[MegaCorp Xion Enterpises]] and its head is the Underboss of the [[TheMafia DiCosta Syndicate]].
145	* SpaghettiAndGondolas: Gevanni, a city built on an archpelgo in the middle of a major river that is run by TheMafia.
146	* OneHitKill: The "Grapple Kills" that can only be performed on stunned human enemies. Trying to perform these on a boss will result in a unblockable "Grapple Counter".
147	* OneNationUnderCopyright: [[MegaCorp Xion Enterpises]] is the de facto ruler of [[ShiftingSandLand Quracistan]] after it was defeated and occupied by the [[TheRepublic Rutledge Republic]] after the Galay War. The head of the Ogawa Zaibatsu is also the Shogun of [[{{Wutai}} Namikawa]].
148	* OrcusOnHisThrone: When the party goes to the [[TheFederation Rutledge Republic]], the [[TheEmpire Anorev Kingdom]] conveniently doesn't cause any trouble until they get back. Justified because reading the optional newspapers will reveal that [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized C.R.U.S.H.]] has embarked on a terrorist bombing campaign throughout the Anorev Kingdom and the Kingdom has its hands full dealing with it.
149	* PayEvilUntoEvil: This is a major theme which many characters ([[AntiHero Cielo]], [[JustLikeRobinHood Diana]], and [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized Draxon]] to name a few) abide by.
150	* PeaceConference: The party;s main goal is to set one up so they can prevent the war between the Anorev Kingdom and the Rutledge Republic [[spoiler: it is also part of the [[BigBad antagonist's]] EvilPlan / GenghisGambit to attack the PeaceConference and get the world to unite against himself.]]
151	* ThePlague: The Indigo Plague
152	* ThePlan: A look around this page will reveal a lot of people using a lot of different plans.
153	* PlayableEpilogue: Beating the game on the unlockable HarderThanHard difficulty will unlock a playable epilgoue [[spoiler: where Diana goes around the world regathering the members of the party after being told in a dream that Cielo is still alive.]]
154	* PointOfNoReturn: Temporary version. After [[spoiler: Jade Faction is destroyed]] the party can't go back to [[spoiler: the Anorev Kingdom]] until later in the game.
155	* [[spoiler: PoweredByAForsakenChild: In the story there are [[LostTechnology ancient machines that provide a lot of power]], but are fueled by HumanResources. Adrian and [[MadScientist Otto]] have found a way to modify the machines so they would be powered from nearby dying humans instead of being fed humans directly.]]
156	* PowerOfLove: Justified. It is mentioned that aether responds strongly to the combination of strong emotion and hormones that comes from love.
157	* PretextForWar: Xion Enterprises is trying to provide one because of WarForFunAndProfit, the Anorev Kingdom wants to go to war so they can TakeOverTheWorld, but wants the Toiracsi Church to prepare a heroic sounding excuse first, and C.R.U.S.H. just wants for both superpowers to go to war. It is revealed that [[spoiler: the Chairman of Xion Enterprises, the leader of C.R.U.S.H., and the Archpatriarch of the Toiracsi Church had the idea for this war implanted by their mutual shrink, [[BigBad Adrian]].]]
158	* PunchClockVillain: The Blackwater Detective Agency is the private army of [[MegaCorp Xion Enterprises]], but they are sympathetically revealed to be this as well. Many of them are {{Shell Shocked Veteran}}s who are too used to the military lifestyle and they joined Blackwater for the [[OnlyInItForTheMoney decent salary]] and the [[SignedUpForTheDental medical benefits for them and their families.]]
159	* LaResistance: Deconstructed. Jade Faction fights against the iron-fisted rule of the [[TheEmpire Anorev Kingdom]], but their [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters methods are shown as morally ambiguous]] and there is [[WeAREStrugglingTogether conflict within Jade Faction between members]] who either [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified truly want to do good]] or those who [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized just want to cause destruction against]] the [[TheEmpire Anorev Kingdom]]. Eventually [[spoiler: Jade Faction is crippled when the infighting leads to the radical followers leaving to join C.R.U.S.H. and the RebelLeader is killed.]] The [=DiCosta=] Syndicate also used to be a rebel group before having to mutate into a criminal organization.
160	* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: The [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny Commoner's Revolutionary Union for Social Harmony]] (or C.R.U.S.H.) advocate reform and the liberation of the common man and wish to acheive that via terrorist attacks on those they don't like and provoking the two superpowers into going to war so that they will destroy each other, [[BombThrowingAnarchists anarchy will ensue,]] and socialist utopias will rise in there place. The bulk of their roster is made up of [[TheRemnant former members of the Quracistan Dominion's army]] and the radical former members of Jade Faction.
161	* UsefulNotes/{{Romani}}: The gypsy people are in this game in the form of a FantasyCounterpartCulture. They have a negative reputation as depraved thieving [[ConMan con artists]], but they are actually colorful fun-loving tricksters. They used to run the [[BreadAndCircuses free traveling circuses]] for the Anorev royal family, but the gypsies are now in hiding because the [[CorruptChurch Toiracsi Church]] has encouraged and backed persecution of them. Many of them have taken refuge in the [[TheFederation Rutledge Republic]] or joined [[LaResistance Jade Faction]].
162	* {{Samurai}}: The armored warriors of Namikawa. They are a {{Deconstruction}}, however, because they are obesessed with honor ([[SeriousBusiness fighting duels over minor issues]]), [[MyMasterRightOrWrong loyally obedient]] to the point of being unable to competently think for themselves, [[TakeNoPrisoners mercilessly ruthless to prisoners]], and too willing to throw away their own lives (the Samurai also pioneered the SuicideAttack tactic as an alternative to {{Seppuku}}). Cielo even refers to them as "suicide happy honor nuts".
163	* SdrawkcabName: The "Anorev" in Anorev Kingdom is backwards for [[Anime/RomeoXJuliet Neo Verona (without the "Neo")]]. The "Toiracsi" in the Toiracsi Church is also backwards for "Iscariot".
164	* ShiftingSandLand: Quracistan is a large desert that makes up the southern part of the Rultedge Republic. East Quracistan is {{Qurac}} while West Quracistan is {{Spexico}}.
165	* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: As noted above in GunsAreWorthless, shotguns tend to inflict more damage than other firearms, can knock people down with a direct unblocked hit, and the SawedOffShotgun never jams, but they have [[ShortRangeShotgun short range]], the slowest rate of fire, and the longest reloads.
166	* ShowWithinAShow: The party will occasionally be able to go to a movie theater in the town/city they are currently in and watch a trailer-style movie a la ''Stuntman: Ignition''.
167	* ShurFineGuns: Averted in that any firearm that isn't a SawedOffShotgun or a [[RevolversAreJustBetter revolver]] could jam, but that just means you won't be able to use your firearm until a certain amount of time passes.
168	* SignedUpForTheDental: When Cielo [[TortureForFunAndInformation interrogates]] a C.R.U.S.H. mook...
169	-->'''Mook''': "I only joined C.R.U.S.H. because they have free dental!"
170	-->'''Cielo''': "So I guess you won't mind if I do this then." (Knocks some of the mook's teeth out)
171	** On a more serious note, C.R.U.S.H. is able to provide medical benefits to its members because they have a bunch of altruistic doctors working for them. The Blackwater Detective Agency also has medical benefits for its members and their families.
172	* SmartPeoplePlayChess: [[GuileHeroine Diana]], [[EvilOverlord Arcturus]], [[IronLady Akito]], [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Frick]], [[TheDon Donatello]], [[BigBad Infernal Echelon]], and especially [[TheStrategist Adrian]] (to name a few) can all be seen playing and/or talking about TabletopGame/{{Chess}}.
173	* [[TheHeavy Smart Villain Smart Story]]: It [[ViewersAreGeniuses really says somthing about the story]] when you have [[BigBadEnsemble five big bads]] and all of them are [[TheChessmaster Chessmasters]].
174	* SpringtimeForHitler: In one sidequest, the party comes across some producers who are trying to pull a scheme that involves intentionally releasing a flop play so they can profit off it. To ensure that the play is a flop, they choose a ClicheStorm script, cast [[IdiotHero Rafael]] as the hero, make [[TalkativeLoon Wade]] the narrator, allow [[BadassBookworm Adrian]] to make some ViewersAreGeniuses changes to the script, put [[PersonOfMassDestruction Cielo]] in charge of special effects, and cast [[MsFanservice Diana]] as the villain just for the hell of it. The play ultimatly turns out a large success since Rafael's HotBlooded nature makes him into a enjoyable LargeHam, Wade's BreakingTheFourthWall makes him an interestingly eccentric narrator, Adrian's revisions turn the ClicheStorm script into a intriguing {{Deconstructor Fleet}}, Cielo makes EverythingIsBetterWithExplosions, and Diana turns out to be a great, sexy, and [[TheHeavy intelligent]] villain.
175	* SpyFiction: When Cielo talks about his time as a "glove" (assassin) for P.A.T.R.I.O.T. it sounds like Stale Beer while he makes several [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructive]] {{Take That}}s toward the Martini tropes.
176	* {{Steampunk}}: The Rutledge Republic's main technology, courtisy of Xion Enterprises
177	* StrawmanNewsMedia: Type I in the case of the MegaCorp-owned media in the Rutledge Republic and Type II in the case of TheGovernment-controlled media in [[TheEmpire The Anorev Kingdom]]. Whenever you look at a newspaper for tips on where to go next, the headline and front cover story will often be a biased vilication of the party's actions.
178	* SuicideAttack: Some of the more fanatical/deranged enemies such as the Samurai or C.R.U.S.H. Bomber, respectively, will sometimes try to attack a character with a suicide attack that involves lighting a stick of dynamite in each hand and charging at a character.
179	* [[spoiler: SuperSoldier: The grand plan of the BigBad is to create an army of these via DesignerBabies born from UterineReplicator to plunge the world into "peace through eternal war". Cielo and Gideon are both prototypes of this.]]
180	* TakeThat: Several towards ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga'' and ''Literature/{{Harry Potter}}''.
181	** There's also a TakeThat to the infamous [[SolveTheSoupCans hunt for the Ymir fruit]] from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''. The party is going through a forest when a child blocking their way needs to get a special fruit to make the medicine needed to heal her sick mother. When the group goes over to the fruit, [[FourthWallObserver Wa]] he bemoans that they will need to solve an unnessasarily convoluted puzzle, but [[TriggerHappy Cielo]] simply [[CuttingTheKnot shoots the fruit off the branch and cathes it.]]
182	* ThereAreNoTherapists: Enforced and lampshaded by the fact that "Therapist" is a very rare job in this world.
183	* [[ThereAreTwoKindsOfPeopleInTheWorld There Are Three Types Of People]]: The analogy for this game is sheep (normal people), wolves (evildoers who prey on the "sheep"), and dogs (guardians who protect the "sheep" from the "wolves"). Cielo identifies himself as a "cannibal wolf" (as vicious and brutal as any "wolf" and doesn't get along with "dogs", but won't harm "sheep").
184	* {{Timeskip}}: After [[spoiler:Diana becomes the new ruler of the Anorev Kingdom and confirms her position be defeating [[MagnificentBitch Akito]] and [[DragonAscendant Charles]] [[TheSocialDarwinist Godwi]]n]] there is a month long time skip to the PeaceConference. During the timeskip, the building where the PeaceConference is to take place in is constructed and [[spoiler: the Anorev Kingdom's last mass execution takes place after the corrupt nobles are given a fair trial and many of them are sentenced to death]].
185	* TrademarkFavoriteFood: ''Every'' character has their favorite food listed.
186	* {{Troperiffic}}: Have you been paying attention?
187	* VestigialEmpire: The Cajamarca Empire. A great earthquake caused it's capital to rise in the air and during a debate over security versus freedom, whatever was left split in two to form the Anorev Kingdom and the Rutledge Republic. Is also AncientGrome with a dash of {{Mayincatec}}. There is also the [[MiddleEasternCoalition Quracistan Dominion]] which was a powerful federation of the city-states of Quracistan that was conquered and dismantled after it lost the Galay War to the [[TheFederation Rutledge Republic]].
188	* ViewersAreGeniuses: I'm trying not to make the game ''too'' complicated, but it is more intelligent than most ''Tales of'' games as one of the countries is a republic complete with its own [[FictionalPoliticalParty political parties]], revanchism and labor are major themes, and all the members of the BigBadEnsemble are {{Chessmaster}}s.
189	* WarArc: The overall plot is the prevent a war between the two superpowers, but the party also involves itself in many regional conflicts that often have something to do with the beforementioned overall plot.
190	* WarForFunAndProfit: Xion Enterprises tries to goad the Rutledge Republic into going to war with the Anorev Kingdom for this reason. This is also the goal of C.R.U.S.H. and Infernal Echelon.
191	* {{War Is Glorious}}/{{War Is Hell}}: War is a major theme and both tropes are examined, but the game leans towards WarIsHell.
192	* WeHaveReserves: During a battle between the [[TheEmpire Anorev Empire]] (the Anorev Kingdom has just renamed itself) and the [[TheFederation Rutledge Republic]], [[EvilOverlord Arcturus]] orders [[ZergRush waves of his knights to attack the republic's forces]] and says this when it is pointed out that the knights are being cut down by the Republic's [[MoreDakka firearm technology]]. [[spoiler: It turns out that [[XanatosGambit he has a SuperweaponSurprise in store that is powered by the dead in case the ZergRush doesn't work]].]]
193	* WorldTree: Ashvastha, named after the sacred Hindu tree. It is also the world's only producer of Aether [[spoiler: and it needs a VirginSacrifice to sustain it]].
194	* {{Wutai}}: Namikawa
195	* XanatosSpeedChess: The plot a game of this with [[GambitPileup everyone playing off against everyone else to further their own goals]]. Out of the BigBadEnsemble [[spoiler: Adrain comes out on top.]]
196	* YouCanNotKillAnIdea: The leaders of [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized C.R.U.S.H.]] and [[LaResistance Jade Faction]] both believe this and mention this line. [[spoiler: It is also revealed that Adrian subconciously planted the idea for a world war in Frick Xion, Zachary, and Venia Debs long before the events of the story.]]
197	* ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld: They even have "skyports" which is basically a skyscrapers that also serves as a mall, an airport for airships, and an apartment building.

Context DarthWiki / ChroniclesOfConflict