Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning: Difference between revisions

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''Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning'' is an Action RPG developed by Big Huge Games (''[[Rise of Nations]]'', ''[[Rise of Legends]]'') and 38 Studios, founded by baseball legend [[Boston Red Sox|Curt Schilling]] and named after his jersey number. The game features the efforts of three "visionaries": a story written by fantasy author [[The Dark Elf Trilogy|R.A. Salvatore]], a lead artist in [[Spawn|Todd McFarlane]] and it's lead designer [[The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind|Ken]] [[The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion|Rolston]]. Schilling, [[One of Us|a long-time MMO gamer]], provided the money... or, at least, [http://www.joystiq.com/2012/05/16/the-scene-following-38-studios-emergency-meeting-with-rhode-i/ somebody's money].

The game forgoes choosing a [[Fighter, Mage, Thief|standard class]] from the start in favor of a new "Destiny" system. This allows the player to build their characters stats from the outset in ''any'' of the three disciplines - Might(Warrior) Sorcery(Mage) and Finesse(Rogue). These choices will unlock Destiny cards that enhance their selected abilities. Each card is rewarded based on the type of build you choose allowing unique bonuses for specializing in a single disciple, creating a [[Magic Knight|hybrid warrior]] or even choosing to possess skill [[Jack of All Stats|in all three]]. The system is an attempt to allow stats and bonuses to be altered with a level of flexibility that most RPG's don't offer and to avoid the player being locked into a specific build. ''Reckoning'' also seeks to merge the deep RPG mechanics with the combat system of action games. It takes advantage of hybrid abilities and skills, allowing the merging of abilities and cross-class combos, and lets you carry up to two of nine weapon types, with [[Real Time Weapon Change]].

* [[A God I Am Not]]: Akara in "Legend of Dead Kel" allowed the people of Cape Solace to think he was a god to give them peace of mind, but admits he isn't one when the Fateless One finally meets him.

** Which is odd. Due to his power and the fact he was old when the world was made he has a good claim for [[Physical God]].

* [[Alternate Continuity]]: According to [[Downloadable Content|DLC]], a previous leader of the Warsworn was [[Mass Effect|Commander Shepard]].

* [[And I Must Scream]]: The villain of the Scholia Arcana questline was trapped within a prison under the college for centuries. {{spoiler|The Archsage}} gets trapped as well, thanks to the spell used to seal {{spoiler|the Dark Empyrean.}}

* [[Asskicking Equals Authority]]: The current Archsage of the Scholia Arcana has the sole vote on who becomes the next Archsage, and always insists on choosing the greatest master of war magic, rather than someone more rounded who would be better suited to administering the school. {{spoiler|This is because the actual purpose of the Archsage is to fight the Dark Empyrean if she ever manages to free herself}}.

** "The Legend of Dead Kel" DLC has the three volume log of the architect that built Gravehal Keep long ago. It ends with him desperately writing his final words as the ''things'' assaulting the fortress start breaking down his door...

* [[Applied Phlebotinum]]: Prismere, a crystal that enhances magic in people and items—for mortals. For fae, it corrupts their power and drives them insane. The Tuatha use mountains of the stuff.

** A common occurrence for the Fae, they die, resurrect, and then lead essentially the same life they led before.

** Interestingly, the Fateless One did not have his corpse resurrected, but it was actually completely reformed from nothing in the Well Of Souls. The creator of the Well wanted to revive the dead, but did not want to desecrate corpses to do so. So the pile of corpses that the Fateless One wakes up in is from people who did not reform as successfully as he did.

* [[Body Horror]]: Dead Kel has a thick branch in place of his left arm and a skull mask that might not really be a mask at all but rather his own deformed skull. His twisted appearance is one of the reasons he's not happy that {{spoiler|Akara brought him back from death. It's implied that he was left in that state because Akara aborted the revival process midway when he realized Kel was a [[Complete Monster]] who would abuse Akara's power.}}

* [[Body Surf]]: The method used by the Dark Empyrean to facilitate her escape. She uses several high level mages to create the artifact necessary for her release. And she controls all of them simultaneously.

* [[Blue and Orange Morality]]: A key aspect of Fey culture is "The Telling", of which our modern re-enactments and [[LARP]]ing is but a pale shadow. New Fey will assume the roles and responsibilities of past heroes by actually fighting their old enemies, living their triumphs and even dying their deaths. Over. And. Over. Again.

** Most Fey consider deviating from the telling a bad thing. So dying when you are supposed to as part of the telling is a good thing. If a mortal helps them they will get upset if the mortal assuming the role of a doomed person does not die (they may forget that mortals don't go to the Great Cycle like they do).

* [[Breakable Weapons]]: all EQ has a "durability" rating that goes down over time. Blacksmith [[NPCs]] can repair it, but the cost goes up dramatically if you're using blue (rare), purple (unique) or gold ([[Set Bonus]]) gear; you'll save money by buying Repair Kits from vendors and making field repairs.

* [[Broken Angel]]: The Fae are slowly losing their magic and immortality thanks to the Tuatha Deohn's actions wrecking havoc on the Great Cycle. They're not happy about it, but most of them know deep down that their time has passed.

* [[Call a Rabbit a Smeerp]]: It's not skeleton, it's faer gorta. Likewise, those are not elves, they're alfar. Nope, not a demon. A niskaru.

** They really go out their way with this trope. Those creatures all other RPGs would happily call goblins? Those are Brownies! Yeah.

** In a strange twist of this trope in the Teeth of Naros DLC, the goddess Ethene knows that she is not fated to have a champion, and so she waits for someone who is not bound to Fate.

* [[Came Back Strong]]: The Fateless One. Whatever he was like before his or her death, (s)he's definitely come back more powerful.

* [[From Nobody to Nightmare]]: Before murdering the heads of the Winter Court, forming the Tuatha, and leading them on a war to annihilate all mortals, according to the lorestones, Gadflow was... [[Who's Laughing Now?|the court jester of the Winter Court.]]

* [[Full Set Bonus]]

** A more subtle example in the main questline. One quest requires you to recover a spear that is the only thing that can defeat a greater Niskaru. When the weapon is lost during the battle against this monster, and you have to take it on, once it's health is reduced to a sufficient level, you use a finisher, and what you create to destroy the enemy is {{spoiler|AN EXACT REPLICA OF THE SPEAR, FORGED FROM THE WEAVE OF FATE.}}

** Another example comes up in the "Teeth of Naros" DLC. {{spoiler|Primos Anakatos uses the Fateless One's role as Beckoned to fulfill the Kollossae's prophecy just enough to open the way to the Hyperian and breaks the Fateless One's Cipher. At that point, [[Irony|since the Fateless One had gained a new fate, he becomes the very victim of the kind of power he commanded, becoming inflicted with the Broken Fate status.]]}}

* [[The Magic Comes Back]] ''and'' [[The Magic Goes Away]]: Having been lost to the mortal races since ancient times, magic has returned to the world. The era the game takes place in has been dubbed "The Age of Arcana". However, as the mortals' magic waxes, the fae's wanes. It's not clear whether or not there is a connection or if it is just a coincidence; fae and mortal magic are too different from each other to be really sure. [[All There in the Manual|And according to the Amalur webpage's history section]], magic will become even stronger over time. Roughly 1600 years after the events of the game, people all over the world are manifesting incredible abilities ranging from [[The Archmage|an unprecedented control over magic]] to physical abilities beyond anything seen in previous ages. This era is dubbed, quite fittingly, the [[World of Badass|Age of Heroes]].

** Also, {{spoiler|fate disappears after the death of Tirnoch.}}

** Bonus points to the [[Jack of All Stats|Universalist Destiny.]] Putting 37 points in all skill trees nets you a destiny that gives 20% bonus damage to all weapon types, 12% resistance against all types of damage, 10% chance to critical hit and a +3 skill point bonus to all skills. Equipment restrictions are also reduced by half.

*** It also "Unlocks all weapon mastery abilities.", meaning the player can use all special attacks for all weapon types.

* [[Screw Destiny]]: Imagine a giant upthrust middle finger flipping off fate, destiny, and all things pre-determined. Now imagine that finger given human form. That is the Fateless One in a nutshell. As mentioned above, he can rip a person's fate out of the weave, turn it into spears, swords, daggers, or gigantic maces, and pummel people to death with it. Oh, you're not fated to die this day? Let's change that. Permanently.

** At one point Agarth starts yelling at you about this. Until he realizes that your ability to do this just saved him from his predetermined death.

** {{spoiler|Aid a couple of refugees and former citizens of the region and snubbing your nose at the local church's claims that it's their gods plan that these people deserve what they got arbitrarily.}}

** {{spoiler|Aid a thief in stealing the donations of the citizens meant for the war effort, the thieves intent being to donate it to refugees who the town gives a knowing cold shoulder to, again because of their local beliefs}}

* [[She Is the King]]: Playing through the House of Ballads storyline lets you take on the role of Sir Sagrell, a fae hero, and eventually {{spoiler|King Wencyn himself}}. This doesn't change if the Fateless One is female.

** Nor does it change if you choose the tyrannical approach which is {{spoiler|choosing to spare the life of the end boss and become [[Les Yay|king to her queen]] in a changing of the telling}}

** The name of the Greater Niskaru, Balor, is a shout out to the Formorian king by the same name from [[Celtic Mythology]]. In addition, the devs [[Shown Their Work|showed their work]] by giving it an [[Evil Eye]] and having it (usually) require a [[Mook]] to open and close it.

* [[Smoke Out]]: A Finesse skill allows you to turn briefly invisible by throwing down a smoke bomb.

** Averted in one sidequest in "The Legend of Dead Kel" DLC. {{spoiler|Take too long to come to the aid of a man who left to pursue his wife's attempted rapist and you'll find the man bleeding to death outside of a cave.}} Oddly enough, the reward is actually ''better'' {{spoiler|since you can loot the man's body afterwards and his widow still gives you the same reward though she also chews you out for releasing her attacker from his cage in the first place.}}

* [[That Man Is Dead]]: {{spoiler|The Maid of Windemere if you spare her. If you talk to her about it, she declares that the name will soon have no meaning anymore.}}

* [[The Unfought]]: {{spoiler|The Niskaru Lord at the end of the Warsworn questline. All you do is decide whether to let it rot in its prison or become its new champion.}}

** {{spoiler|Gadflow in person. You only fight [[Actually a Doombot|a clone of him]] before [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|Tirnoch fries him.]]}}

* [[World Tree]]: Nyralim is a huge sentient talking tree that is one of the oldest mortals in existence. {{spoiler|Akara from "Legend of Dead Kel" is one as well. Akara reveals that he was once a member of a group of twelve such trees that called themselves the Ring of Watchers.}}

* [[You Can't Fight Fate]]: A big theme in the game. Prophecy keeps on reiterating that no one is actually destined to defeat the [[Big Bad|Tuatha Deohn.]] [[All Up to You|Until you come along that is.]]

** [[The Fair Folk]] take the trope [[Up to Eleven]] by being tightly bound to their Cycle, gaining pseudo-immortality through the fact that as a ''Cycle'' it will repeat their parts again and again. When the Fateless One severs them from the Cycle they lose this immortality. Their House Of Ballads is essentially a bunch of Fae destined to repeat the same heroic deed over and over again, never failing to perform whatever deed was needing doing, or always dying whatever tragic death fate had in store for them.

*** The Fae are so super serious about this that it is part and parcel to the reasoning behind the long standing war in Amalur currently.