Totems of the Dead
Totems of the Dead is a Heroic Fantasy RPG setting inspired by the Ancient Americas.
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Tropes used in Totems of the Dead include:
- Action Girl: Present on the cover art.
- All Myths Are True: Particularly Native American, aztec and Norse myth. Cryptozoology is also referenced occasionally.
- Alternate History: Not a historical setting, but draws a lot of inspiration from history.
- Ancient Astronauts: As seen in the adventure "The Star Being from Yog."
- Atlantis: In this case it is an evil dystopia and Advanced Ancient Acropolis.
- Aztec Mythology
- Badass heroes.
- Big Bad "Wildcard" villains.
- Big Badass Bird of Prey: Thunderbirds and a number of other giant deadly avians.
- Big Badass Wolf
- Black Magic: Called "sorcery" or "following a black road."
- Blood Magic: Used mainly by the Maztlani.
- Chupacabra
- Cool Pet: As seen on the cover and some of the interior art/Edges.
- Damsel in Distress: Present on the cover art.
- Dreaming of Times Gone By in the Obsidian Shadows adventure.
- Eldritch Abomination with the possibility of Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu? in some adventures.
- Everything's Better with Dinosaurs with a nod or two to Dinosaurs Are Dragons.
- Everything's Better with Princesses: And why not?
- Everything's Sparkly with Jewelry
- Evil Sorcerer: Can't have swords and sorcery without them!
- Famed in Story
- Fan Service: Not as much as in some other sword and sorcery titles, but it is in there, both male and female.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Most cultures in the Untamed Lands have a real world analogue.
- Giant Spider
- God of Evil: There are several, particularly the ones worshiped in Atlantis.
- Heroic Fantasy: A.k.a. swords and sorcery.
- Hot Amazon is present, both as literal Amazon warrior women and through other strong female characters.
- Human Sacrifice
- Inca Mythology: As seen in the Yaurcoan Empire.
- Intoxication Ensues: In the "God in the Pit" adventure.
- Kill It with Fire: Most spirit creatures are susceptible to fire damage.
- Leg Cling: Present on the cover of the Player's Guide.
- Mysterious Mist: Masnifest in the "spirit mist."
- Native American Mythology
- Necromancer
- The Need for Mead: Most (sucessful) adventures end in carousing and revelry.
- Noble Savage is an Averted Trope
- Norse Mythology
- Our Demons Are Different: Demons based on Native American legend.
- Our Vampires Are Different: Scaled vampires.
- Panthera Awesome: See the panther animal companion on the cover.
- Physical God: Human god-kings, as well as gods, demons and other spirits taking physical form.
- Pirates are present in both Type I and II.
- Random Events Plot
- Rated "M" for Manly
- Religion of Evil: Ass seen in the religion of Atlantis.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Sheti serpent men.
- Run or Die: One adventure starts like this.
- Scaled Up: Several varieties of giant animal.
- Scenery Porn: The art features some dramatic cityscapes.
- Shapeshifting abounds, particularly Voluntary Shapeshifting.
- Shrouded in Myth
- Silver Has Mystic Powers: As does turquoise and jade.
- Skin Walker: As a player race.
- Sorcerous Overlord: Several sorcerer kings.
- Tome of Eldritch Lore: Or birchbark scrolls, petroglyphs, or a runestone in some cases.
- The Trickster: Manifests in several forms, from Coyote to Mudhead Kachinas.
- Vision Quest: Game contains rules for embarking on one of these.
- Wendigo
- Wild Child: This trope is turned into an entire player race as seen in the Feral Ones.
- World Half Empty: War, invasions, rampaging monsters, awakening eldrich horrors, environmental and social decline.
- A World Half Full: Thanks to the heroes, there is still hope.
- Wretched Hive: Vidar, city of thieves. Also the Pirate Isles.