Divinity II

An RPG released in 2009 and 2010 and the sequel to Divine Divinity, Divinity II encompasses both Divinity II: Ego Draconis, the original game, and Divinity II: Flames of Vengeance, the expansion (as well as the Updated Rerelease which combined these two, Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga). It was made for the PC and Xbox 360, and released in German first before the international release a few months later.

In the land of Rivellon, the Divine, the hero of Divine Divinity, was betrayed and murdered by his former allies, the dragons, shortly after his victory. As a result, almost all of the dragons have been exterminated by Dragon Slayers. The player starts the game as a new Dragon Slayer being given their powers, before news of a dragon comes and their squad leaves to track down the dragon. Through a turn of events, the new Dragon Slayer is instead made into a Dragon Knight, which the Slayers have sworn to kill, and is told that the true danger to Rivellon is not the dragons, but the evil which the dragons had been fighting: a man named Damien.

The expansion, Flames of Vengeance, picks up immediately after the main game. Through the manipulations conducted by his Not Quite Dead girlfriend, Damien has returned stronger then ever and the player is trapped in diamond. The player is eventually freed, and must now fight undo the damage they unwittingly caused by taking vengeance on Damien's lover who used and misled them and finally defeating Damien once and for all.

Halfway through the game, the character gets the ability to transform into a dragon and engage in aerial combat instead of ground-based combat. It has been praised for its clever writing (including the ability to mindread almost every NPC), amazing soundtrack and sense of exploration. The game could best be described as Gothics gameplay meets Baldur's Gate 2s roleplaying, with hints of Fable thrown in.


 * Ambiguous Gender: Played with by the resident illusionist of the Battle Tower, Hermaphroditus. He appears male for the most part, but alternates between a soft, effeminate voice and a deep, masculine voice, as he can change your character's gender.
 * Berserk Button: Never say the word "Maxos" in Amdusias's presence. Actually, do say it; the results are hilarious.
 * Bittersweet Ending: Flames of Vengeance.
 * Boss Rush:
 * Cargo Ship: In-universe. There is a wishing well that flirts with you when you throw coins down it, and an enchanted treasure chest that sounds like it's orgasming when you solve the riddles to open its locks.
 * Continuity Nod: A handful of characters also appeared in the first game, and they often mention something about their role in that game or about the main character of the first game.
 * Deadpan Snarker: It's rare to find a conversation where the main character doesn't have the option of cracking a joke or two at an NPC's expense.
 * Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: At the end of the main game, you fight and kill
 * Everything's Better with Chickens: Not only a common creature to find, there is also a man who was Soul Forged with a chicken, as well as the magical Chicken Rune, which can summon endless supplies of chickens.
 * Fate Worse Than Death: Happened to both Lovis and a group of scholars under the same curse as him; they were trapped in the mortal realm, and their only freedom comes at the expense of the other party, who would then be trapped for eternity.
 * Fetch Quest: Lampshaded by a potion brewer who says 'I'm sure an adventurer like you must have fetched all kinds of things in your day!' when asking you to go grab some of his potions.
 * Go Mad from the Revelation: Averted; when you read the mind of an ancient dragon god, you just get a bit of a headache and some extra skill points.
 * Hermaphrodite: The illusionist in the battle tower is named Hermaphroditus and can change your gender (as well as switching between a male and female voice).
 * He's Back: The Dragon Knight at the beginiing of Flames of Vengeance.
 * Hurricane of Puns: You meet a talking painting in a gentleman's club in Aleroth. The conversation that ensues is filled with puns related to being a painting, from both parties involved.
 * Inner Monologue: Most mindreads give you a glimpse at the character's thoughts, ranging from mundane farming to thinking about a special piece of loot they have stashed.
 * Interspecies Romance: Taken to a frightening level with a Black Ring general who is fond of plants. In a letter, he says that while nymphs are nice, he wants to try something combining botany and necromantic grafts.
 * Jerkass: Richard, the arrogant, stuck up Defender of Aleroth.
 * Laser-Guided Karma: You meet someone in the first area of the game who wants money to help buy a house for you—which never materializes. When you meet him in Aleroth, a group of assassins are trying to take his house from him, and you can side with them.
 * Lost Forever:
 * Monochromatic Eyes / Prophet Eyes: A non-blind variant, where part of the change your character undergoes is gaining glowing bluish-white eyes.
 * Multishot: The splitting arrow skill.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: So, you made your way through whole armies of opponents, to . Turns out that . Nicely done *clap*.
 * Nintendo Hard: The main game has a few brutally difficult parts, most notably directly after reaching the center of the first big zone. All enemies are a good chunk stronger than you, and you will have a hard time picking them off one by one.
 * No Bisexuals: Averted; female NPCs will comment on the male or female player character's attractiveness, and the owner of a brothel in Aleroth flirts with the player character regardless of their gender.
 * Robe and Wizard Hat: Played perfectly straight by the book with Zandalor, who gets starred robes, a big pointy hat, huge white beard, and spectacles. Other wizards have to make do with hooded robes.
 * Running Gag: Maxos!
 * Screw The Rules, I'm A Dragon: Some of the player's actions are justified simply because they are the Dragon Knight, and at one point, they get the option to say, essentially, 'Screw you, I'm a dragon.'
 * Heh heh.
 * Shapeshifter Mode Lock: In the Flying Fortresses and elsewhere, you find shimmering barriers that force you to stay in human form and kill you if you fly through them as a dragon.
 * Shout-Out: All over the place, from the titles of quests (clearing the ghosts out of a Dragon Elf's cellar is called Ghostbuster) to characters (the ghost of a man killed by a whale is named Jonah) to dialogue (Vae Victis pops up as a fake magic spell).
 * Super Sentai Stance: Parodied by the Dragon Terror Squad, a bunch of drunken rejects from the local army. When they attack you, you get to see a transformation sequence with dramatic posing backed by power metal.
 * Don't spend too much time laughing at it though, because no matter how big a bunch of losers they are in the cutscene, they can kick your ass once the cutscene ends.
 * Tragic Monster: Inverted. After finding out that you have become a Dragon Knight, your Dragon Slayer comrades turn on you, as they see you have become the sort of monster they have sworn to kill.
 * Treacherous Advisor:
 * Unwitting Pawn:
 * Video Game Cruelty Punishment
 * Voluntary Shapeshifting: Once you kick out the necromancer squatting in your battle tower, you can turn into a dragon at will, whenever you have space.