The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim/Tropes 0-G: Difference between revisions

** The Dragonborn during Dragon Attacks on various towns. The Dragonborn basically drops what they're doing, promptly kills the Dragon single-handedly, then goes straight back to what they were doing [[Unusually Uninteresting Sight|like nothing happened]].

* [[Badass Cape]]: The {{spoiler|Nightingale armor}} from late in the Thieves Guild questline has this.

** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYCMTjkk_XE&feature=related Case in point].

* [[Badass Longcoat]]:

* [[Blessed with Suck]]:

** The Greybeards. On one hand, they're masters of an ancient and powerful magic art that takes most people years to study. On the other hand, they're forced to take a vow of silence because of it, or they risk accidentially killing outsiders with a single word.

** Being a werewolf is considered this [[In-Universe]] by Kodlak Whitemane, who would prefer to go to Sovngard upon his death, but is bound by his curse to spend eternity in Hircine's hunting grounds instead. A quest involves breaking the curse for him... and you can later do it for yourself.

* [[Blown Across the Room]]:

*** Moreso if you specialize in Greatswords, since you can get your first one for free due to Farkas dropping his sword during his first transformation. If you have decent smithing, this weapon will likely be your only one until you can obtain a Daedric artifact.

** Simple, brute melee combat is more than enough to overcome any non-scripted challenge the game has to offer, once you max your skills. Only a very few quests ''require'' you to be sneaky or use magic. Especially deadly when mixed with a good Enchanting skill; Siphoning life is a popular choice.

** For combat, one of the best possible skill sets is decent equipment and a modest Sneak combined with high Archery, One-Handed, Block and Heavy Armor. With these skills, you can pummel enemies in hand-to-hand while attacking rapidly and taking little damage yourself, snipe out foes that are less easily accessed on foot, and use your bow and sneaking to stealthily headshot anything too tough for the previous two strategies. Certainly not as fancy as dual-casting terawatt lightning bolts and summoning eldritch god-spirits to aid you in battle or using your insanely leveled Sneak to creep straight through your enemies' line of sight and then knifing them in the back for a 30,000x damage multiplier, but it works well against almost anything that doesn't outnumber you ten to one.

** At higher levels, Draugr Deathlords, normally boss-level draugr, are now part of the rank and file. And they've lost none of their stats; Shouts, hard-hitting weapons, [[Damage Sponge Boss|damage sponge-level health]]. Taking over for them in some dungeons (in the absence of Dragon Priests) are their new bosses, the {{spoiler|Draugr Death Overlords}}.

* [[Bragging Theme Tune]]: The Skyrim theme song, towards the Dragonborn.

* [[Bratty Half-Pint]]: A lot of Skyrim's children are obnoxiously rude to you. Special mention goes to Braith of Whiterun who tries to pick a fight with you even if you're wearing armor made of dragonskin and covered with the blood of your enemies, and Belkir of Whiterun who sneers you're likely there to suck up to his father.

* [[Breast Plate]]: Full suits of armor have masculine and feminine models. Note that the full armor does fully protect and cover the character, it just has boob-curves. The Forsworn armor is perhaps the most true to the trope, becoming a [[Fur Bikini]] for female characters.

{{quote|''Marcurio'': These Forsworn don't even have the decency to dress properly.}}

** The "Steady Hand" Archery perks, which slow time by 25-50% (depending on what rank the perk is at) when using the bow's zoom feature, as well as the "Slow Time" Dragon Shout.

** You can also invoke bullet time with a block perk: if you have your guard up, and the enemy performs a power attack they slow down temporarily, allowing you, if you time it right, an excellent opening to slash them into ribbons. You can also use the opportunity to shield-bash, interrupting the pending power attack, or simply jump out of the way, if you don't think you could kill them before their attack goes through.

{{quote|''Random guard'': Let me guess, somebody stole your sweetroll?}}

* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]: Wylandriah, the Jarl's mage in Riften, who is so completely wrapped up in her own experiments that she fails to realize that none of what she's saying about them makes sense to anyone else.

*** The in-game book "The Book of the Dragonborn" also lists a prophecy that references all of these.

** As with most Elder Scrolls games, the player starts as a prisoner and/or going through a starter dungeon. However, this game ups the ante by leading players to their ''execution'', right up to having his/her head on the chopping block.

** The Dark Brotherhood questline has several of these:

*** A power you gain during the questline is the ability to summon {{spoiler|Lucien Lachance's ghost}}. You also acquire several artifacts associated with him from his previous appearance, including [[Cool Horse|''his horse'']] (who's apparently had a sex change in the process of reincarnation).

** The location where the main character and Ulfric Stormcloak were captured by imperials is given as "Pale Pass". Pale Pass is a pass between Cyrodiil and Skyrim, the Cyrodiil side of which one can visit during a side quest in ''[[Oblivion]]''. ''Oblivion'''s quest in Pale Past would also tie heavily on the defeat of the Akaviri and their subsequent loyalty to the Reman dynasty... the follow up to those events (Sky Ruler Temple, Alduin's wall, The Blades) would factor greatly in the adventure of the ''Skyrim'' PC.

** There are many references to Queen Barenziah, an NPC appearing in ''Daggerfall'' and ''Tribunal'' featured in the thieves' guild. Barenziah's crown is the object of a long, long quest chain. The term "Nightingale" in conjunction to Queen Barenziah dates to the events of ''Arena'', where a bard under that name gets the location of the staff of chaos by seducing her. "The Nightingales Vol. 2" reveals he is not Jagar Tharn as previously thought but {{spoiler|one of Nocturnal's Nightingales, and that current Nightingale Karliah is Barenziah's grand-daughter through this union}}.

** The Nerevarine (the player character of ''Morrowind'') is indirectly a part of the main quest: he sent the Heart of Lorkhan away in order to remove Dagoth Ur's immortality, leading to a crazed scholar trying to find it again, leading to him trying to find an Elder Scroll, leading to the Dragonborn seeking out this scholar.

* [[Calling Your Attacks]]: The dragons, instead of simply using breath weapons, use a form of vocal magic related to the "thu'um" magic of the Nords (which, in fact, the dragons had first; the Nords got it from the dragon Paarthurnax). Meaning that they're not simply shooting fire, ice and whatnot at you. They are speaking those things into existence, and you get to do it too (meaning that instead of shooting fire, they're shouting fire).

* [[The Cameo]]: Thanks to collaborative DLC from Valve and Bethesda, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWWiIy4zyEY the Space Core] from ''[[Portal 2]]'' can be picked up as an item just outside of Whiterun. You can also spot Wheatley from the same game floating about in the Skills Menu.

** The Dwemer were very much into music and tuning reality.

** Heimskr recites part of the Obscure Text describing how Talos transformed Cyrodiil from a jungle to a forest.

* [[Career-Ending Injury]]: The infamous "arrow to the knee" incidents, to the guards.

* [[Cassandra Truth]]: One of M'aiq the Liar's comments is a thinly-veiled complaint about this. Made more funny when you realize he actually is (semi-)right about some things he says ({{spoiler|like some of the dragons just hiding, as documents from the Blades reveal}}).

* [[Cats Are Mean]]: The game features Sabre Cats, quite possibly some of the meanest cats in video gaming outside of ''[[Red Dead Redemption]]''. They're large, quick, powerful enough to take you down in a flash at low levels, and they still prove to be a challenge once you've grown your character. [[It Got Worse|Occasionally they team up with]] [[Everything's Worse with Bears|bears]].

** Falmer armor (a Heavy variety) does this as well... a "chitin-mail" bikini, if you will.

* [[Chain of Deals]]: A few times. Especially funny in Cidhna Mine where {{spoiler|the final deal can be trading your shiv to the guard rather than killing him with it}}.

** Most spells need to be charged briefly before releasing. Once the dual casting perk is unlocked, charging the same spell in both hands results in a massive boost to the individual spell's power.

* [[Charles Atlas Superpower]]: Theoretically, anyone can use the Thu'um, they just need to be trained by the Greybeards, as Ulfric Stormcloak was. What makes the Dragonborn so special is that he can use it ''without'' training, not merely that he can do it.

* [[Cheap Gold Coins]]: One merchant mentions that with the dragon attacks, supply routes are cut off and he can charge almost anything.

* [[Chill of Undeath]]: All undead enemies resist ice magic, some have a weakness to fire, and almost all of them besides the most basic mooks can use ice magic against the player very well.

* [[The Chosen One]]: The last known Dovahkiin is set to turn the tide against the evil enveloping Skyrim. [[I Am Who?|You are playing as this fabled hero by the way]].

* [[Civil War]]: One of the central plot points, between the Stormcloaks and the Empire.

* [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]]:

** Dragons are different colors based on how powerful they are. Additionally, {{spoiler|the "good" dragon, Paarthurnax, is white/grey}}, whereas [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Alduin the World-Eater]] is jet black with red eyes.

* [[Contract on the Hitman]]: {{spoiler|Emperor Titus}} gets posthumous revenge not by having his assassin killed but by {{spoiler|asking his assassin to kill the man who wanted him dead}}.

** A certain horse from a certain previous entry ({{spoiler|Shadowmere}}) makes a comeback, complete with an awesome introduction.

** Frost, the only other horse obtained from questing. While he's not invincible like {{spoiler|Shadowmere}}, he's stronger and more aggressive than regular horses, won't hesitate to [[Badass Normal|charge dragons]], and has a grandsire named [[Norse Mythology|Sleipnir]].

** Special mention must be given to the leader of the Greybeards, Paarthunax: he's {{spoiler|old even by dragon standards}}, and doesn't even hesitate to try and buy you some time by taking on {{spoiler|Alduin}} himself. In ''single combat''.

** Although he's not as old as the above examples, Brunwulf Free-Winter is an aging, wary war veteran who happens to be the nicest guy in Windhelm. {{spoiler|And he ultimately becomes Jarl should you choose to side with the Empire against the Stormcloaks}}.

** Kodlak Whitemane, Harbinger of the Companions, is also rather cool. He takes the Dragonborn under his wing almost immediately and offers heartfelt advice and words of encouragement.

** Galmar Stone-Fist may be an old man, but he'll kick down those damn walls of Whiterun's with his bare feet anyway. He's also the one of the best warriors in the Stormcloak army aside from a Stormcloak Dragonborn and Ulfric.

* [[Cool Versus Awesome]]:

** Yes, you can become a werewolf, and yes, you can kill a dragon in wolf form. Have fun!

** The [[Civil War]] is essentially [[The Roman Empire]] versus [[Horny Vikings]].

* [[Coup De Grace Cutscene]]:

** If you have the perks for it. Also, finishing moves which randomly trigger.

** The Thalmor plan to destroy the world by wiping out mankind. And they're winning.

** The Thalmor are pretty much Ayleids MkII. Saint Alessia must be rolling in her grave right about now...

* [[Creepy Child]]:

** Aventus Aretino. Though his tone is a perhaps a little too whiny, the fact that he's going through with the Black Sacrament (using his mother's flesh) speaks for itself. Arguably the rest of the kids from the Honorhall Orphanage also count, at least when they're chanting, "Hooray for the Dark Brotherhood!". Given how Grelod treats those kids though, they can't really be blamed... {{spoiler|The fact that you receive no bounty on your head for gutting the old hag, even in broad daylight, pretty well says it all}}.

** Nelkir, Jarl Balgruuf's son, at first simply seems to be a little moody or angsty, behaviours we may consider somewhat normal in a child. You later discover, however, that he's like that because he's discovered personal, corrupting secrets floating around Dragonsreach. It all being {{spoiler|Mephala's}} doing sums it all up.

* [[Deader Than Dead]]:

** {{spoiler|Malyn Varen}} has his soul destroyed by the Dragonborn to purify {{spoiler|Azura's Star (or corrupt it to turn it into the Black Star)}}.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]:

** Corpulus Vinius.

** Hircine indirectly gives you one as well. {{spoiler|Becoming a werewolf}} imbues you with Hircine's power, but as long as you have the spirit of the beast within you, your soul belongs to Daedra Prince of the Hunt.

** If you listen to what Lucien Lachance's ghost says, apparently the Dark Brotherhood gets a claim on your soul when you die too. Come to think of it, it's possible to sell your soul to all of these factions at the same time... By the end of the game, you can owe your soul to [[Serial Escalation|Nocturnal, the embodiment of nothingness (Sithis), the 9 divines, Shor, Hircine and possibly a few other Daedric Princes, depending on what you take "Champion" to mean]]. All in all, you have to wonder who's going to decide who gets your characters soul when something DOES manage to kill them. Although the 9 Divines and Shor are much nicer about it, they're just sort of the "Default Afterlife" for dead people and Skyrim's Heroes. Explore gloriously in this [http://skyrimkinkmeme.livejournal.com/1639.html?thread=77159 fill of the Skyrim Kink Meme] (don't worry, it's Safe For Work). Given that Sithis is infinitely older (the interaction between it and another universal concept are essentially what created the Aedra and Daedra in the first place) and presumably much more powerful than anyone else on the list, it probably has the best chance at winning. Assuming it's [[Blue and Orange Morality|even capable]] of caring enough to make a claim.

* [[Death by Genre Savviness]]: {{spoiler|Alduin}} is actually smart enough to try to kill the Dovakhiin at the start of the game. Ironically, this actually ends up ''saving'' the Dovakhiin: if he'd just let the Empire do their thing, he'd have won (and the game would've been very short).

* [[Death Trap]]: You gotta watch your step in pretty much every dungeon if you don't want a spiky grate embedded in your face. There is a perk that prevents pressure plates from triggering, but it does not stop trip wires or trapped chests and doors, nor does it apply to [[Artificial Stupidity|your followers]].

* [[Decapitated Army]]: Justified. Alduin is more than just the leader of the dragons, he's summoning them, as shown in the pre-Sahlokniir scene.

* [[Degraded Boss]]: Dragons. At the beginning of the game, every time you encounter a dragon it feels like an adequately epic battle, especially with the music that accompanies it. By the end of the game (or some levels into it, considering that this game doesn't actually "end"), you will be able to force dragons to the ground and kill them with a few hits in under 10 seconds before the music even has a chance to kick in. They become more of a nuisance than an epic battle. At least until you start meeting the [[Demonic Spiders|Elder and Ancient Dragons]].

* [[Dem Bones]]: Unsurprisingly, there are walking skeletons in the ruins. And they make a very satisfying clatter when they go flying apart when you kill them.

* [[The Dev Team Thinks of Everything]]: Drop a bunch of weapons and armor on the ground in front of a guard. He'll tell you to stop doing it because someone could trip on them and get hurt. Not as in generic "don't do that" words either; more to the effect of "I saw you throwing those weapons around, keep doing it and I'll arrest you." Alternatively, poorer characters (yes, the game tracks class and income) will notice what you just dropped, and ask if you mind whether they grab it for themselves. Also, using too many Thu'ums in a city will cause a guard to tell you it makes the citizens uneasy and asks you to stop.

** Similarly, doing something clumsy or wreckless like hitting a sign causing it to swing around. If a guard sees you do it, he'll call you out on it (e.g. "Watch what you're doing!"). What's more, the sign can swing back ''and hit you in the face'' causing minor damage. If you have extremely high HP, this won't be noticable statistically, but you can see bloodstains on the screen as if you were hit.

** A quest in Morthal has you hunting down a vampire who's been living in a the town for a while, if you try to confront her and you're a vampire yourself, she says she knows you're one in the same and snidely tells you keep it a secret "that there are wolves living amongst the sheep."

** You can just bypass Riverwood and Whiterun altogether and go to Windhelm or Solitude ([[Beef Gate|though this isn't advisable early on]]), join the Stormcloaks or Legion before even initiating any part of the main quest, and completely take over Skyrim for one faction or another before ever drawing a weapon against a dragon. And yes, the game includes unique dialogue for this eventuality.

** For the thieving killing types, joining the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood at the same time would be an ideal goal. Join the Thieves Guild beforehand and get acquainted with Delvin Mallory. After you've joined the Dark Brotherhood and received an amulet which Astrid tells you to show off to Delvin, he will remark how you're making friends all over the place and comments on your work as an assassin.

** Entering rooms through doors results in a Door Opening animation before actually loading the area. You can also close doors that are stuck open this way through the same method. If you click fast enough, ''the door will open and close, and the area won't load''.

** When you first enter Markarth, a small scene will trigger where a visitor to the city will be murdered by an agent of the Forsworn. If you're fast enough, you can kill the agent before he gets to her. Talk to her, and she'll thank you for saving her life and reward you with a piece of jewelry.

* [[Diegetic Theme Cameo]]: A variation. The lyrics for "Dragonborn" can be found in-game in the book ''[http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Songs_of_Skyrim Songs of Skyrim]'', along with a translation.

* [[Disc One Nuke]]: