Fable II

Damn that weird pool.


"Welcome child. Your story is waiting. The world that was has changed and grown. So will you. Choose your fortune."
—Theresa

The second game in the Fable series. This game follows the Hero of Bowerstone as he seeks to prevent Lord Lucien from destroying the land of Albion with an ancient artifact known as the Spire.

The story begins on a cold evening in Bowerstone. The young "Sparrow" and his/her older sister, Rose, are doing their best to get by on the streets dreaming of a life in Castle Fairfax. Their day is interrupted by a travelling salesman claiming to be selling all manner of magical items. Despite Rose's cynicism, a mysterious woman named Theresa approaches them, convincing them that the musical box is in fact genuine. The two set about raising the coin and purchasing the musical box.

Using it to wish for a life in the castle, they quickly find themselves brought before it's current owner Lord Lucien himself. Just when it seems their dreams are coming true Lucien suddenly turns his gun on the duo, believing one of them is the hero destined to stand in his way. He coldy kills Rose and proceeds to shoot her sibling out of the castle tower to their apparent doom.

But heroes prove hard to kill and the youngster survives. The child grows to adulthood armed with a new purpose in life - stopping Lucien and saving Albion from certain destruction.

Tropes used in Fable II include:
  • Adult Fear: Herman is looking for his son, Joey in the Hobbe Caves. You decide to help him, and later he finds his son was turned into a Hobbe. He is then killed.
  • Adventurer Outfit
  • And Your Little Dog, Too: The game does a very good job of making you hate Lucien.
  • Announcer Chatter: During the Crucible.
    • Also occurs during the Blacksmith and Bartender jobs, you'll have the 'owner' commenting on your work.
  • Anticlimax Boss: At the end of Fable II, when you finally catch up to Lord Lucien, you simply shoot him in the head (or Reaver does it for you if you hesitate). It's not even a fight, you just kill the sucker. The actual final boss is so unremarkable that few players will realize that it is the such until the main quest ends about twenty minutes later.
  • Back from the Dead: Lady Grey, if the Love Hurts subquest is completed.
    • Depending on the choice you make at the end of the game, either the hero's family or everyone who died as a result of Lucien building the Spire
  • Badass Longcoat: You've got Highwaymen coats, Noble Gent's coats, and a few others. Of course, they look more badass with the right colours.
  • Bittersweet Ending: If you chose The Sacrifice for your wish. Even in the other endings, you've received whatever it was you so desperately wanted, but Theresa's closing lines in the game open the possibility that the whole thing was an Evil Plan to put the power of the Spire in her hands.
  • Brawn Hilda: A female player character with maxed out physique will look like this. The third game fixes the problem but still alters the physique.
  • Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: Chesty's Tea Party Invitation from the See the Future DLC:

"I will be serving tea, biscuits, cakes and arsenic."

  • Breaking the Fourth Wall: Banshees say some nasty things in an attempt to demoralize you. At least one line is directed towards the player.

"Think about all the endless hours you've wasted playing this game. And for what? Nothing!"

  • Broken Bridge: In a way, Demon Doors. Not to mention an actual Broken Bridge.
  • Bully Hunter: Compulsory, as your character has to fight off an adolescent thug who was tormenting a dog after Rose has a Leeroy Jenkins bully hunter moment herself. (She runs up to challenge the thug and promptly gets knocked out.)
  • But Thou Must!: When Herman is at the door in Hobbe cave, if you use Will to kill his (now Hobbeified) son, he dies anyway. This is also the reason Theresa took the Spire and gets you to usurp Logan, because if you don't Albion is doomed.
  • Camera Screw: The camera tends to whip around to look at whatever the game thinks you should be looking at. This leads to a particularly irritating moment about two thirds through the game, where to bypass an unnecessary enemy, you're running directly sideways and almost backward with no way to look at what's in front of you.
  • Character Alignment: There's nine convenient titles:
  • Chekhov's Gun: That music box...
  • Chest Monster: Chesty, a unique example who greets the hero in his own nightmare asking if he wants to "play a game" with him (his favorite game involves tearing off a person's legs and throwing them into a pool with flesh eating piranhas.) Unlike most examples however, the chest itself isn't the dangerous (gameplay wise), just his "friends" and "doggies".
  • The Chessmaster: Theresa controls both sides of the central conflict, convincing Lucien to build the Spire then assembling and manipulating the four Heroes into killing him in a magnificent Evil Plan that results in Theresa claiming the power of the Spire for herself.
  • Coming Out Story: The "Blind Date" sidequest.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Derek, in a funny sort of way. In the prologue, you meet him as he asks you to collect some warrants he has carelessly allowed to blow away through an alleyway, and comes across as rather incompetent, but if you listen to him, he swears "I'm going to clear up this town." If you help him get the warrants, he's as good as his word; he even gets a book written about him.
  • Cute Bruiser: Your main character as a child, while not nearly as powerful as others of this trope, does manage to take down a much larger bully in a few hits with nothing more than a toy sword and a spitball shooter. Consider the fact that Rose, a much older teen, got knocked out in one headbutt from this guy.
  • Cutting Off the Branches: The murals in the ruined Heroes' Guild show that The Lost Chapters was Canon, and that in the last scene of that the hero chose to destroy Jack of Blades instead of become him.
  • Crapsack World: It's downplayed somewhat, but Albion is a Somalia-esque anarchic failed state with nothing more than a small, ineffectual police force, no real government, and no military. While people seem to still be living relatively normal lives, the fact remains that everywhere that isn't actually in a town is swarming with literally hundreds of bandits and highwaymen, each one of whom is individually more powerful than any guard or civilian (and they always attack in groups). That's not even getting into the monsters, the evil spirits, or the slave traders who operate pretty much openly. The player character can either slightly improve it or make it much worse depending on their actions.
  • Dead Little Sister: Lord Lucien got his Start of Darkness when his wife and daughter died of an unexpected illness. He quickly gives the main character a dead older sister.
  • Death by Newbery Medal: The ending of the prologue.
  • Deconstruction: Curious as to what happened to the Heroes' Guild? The citizens got tired of Heroes being able to just casually take on evil quests without taking consideration of the people they were supposed to protect. All that talk of the old Guildmaster giving Heroes freedom to choose? Apparently that freedom isn't extended to normal people.
  • The Dragon: The Commandant and the Great Shard are the Dragons to Lord Lucien. The Commandant's personality screen even describes him as Lucien's right hand man.
  • Drill Sergeant Nasty: That Goddamn Commandant!
  • Easily-Conquered World: Justified; see Crapsack World. With the state of the country, it actually makes perfect sense that Lucien's minions would be able to pretty much run rampant, and that the Hero can take over all of Albion purely through the power of real estate.
  • Elite Mooks: Spire Guards. justified, as most spire guards are either mercs hired from champions of The Crucible, or just have their memories and identity ripped apart and become unthinking brutes.
  • Enemy Chatter: When fighting a banshee, they will attempt to demoralize you by saying some pretty horrible and personal things to the player character. The worst of which is this exchange:

"Did you know Rose didn't die right away from that shot? No, she watched you fall through that window, heard as your body thudded against the ground and cried bitter tears before a final shot from Lucien ended her life."

    • It also gives the player an opportunity to deliver a satisfying Shut UP, Hannibal to the bitch.
    • The funniest thing is that even if you're playing as a squeaky clean good guy and aren't doing anything otherwise threatening, town guards will still comment negatively if you drink a health potion near them. "Don't you dare drink a health potion!" "What's that? A health potion? You cheeky bugger!" "We really need to get those health potions banned!"
  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Like in Fable I, the main character is always either referred to as "Hero" or whatever title he currently has.
    • Rose refers to the Hero by his/her nickname "Sparrow".
  • Evil Plan and Gambit Roulette: It's heavily implied that Theresa was manipulating both Lucien and the Hero and was responsible for much of the game's plot.
  • Five-Man Band:
  • Flipping the Bird: One of the many actions your character can do.
  • Foreshadowing: During the intro, a sparrow takes a dump on the main character just before the action starts. While his/her sister Rose seems to think that it may be a sign of good luck, the character's life is going to take a big dump on him/her with the events that follow.
  • Gallows Humour: "Til Death Do Us Part", a quest, requires you to court someone who's fiancé killed themselves. One of their disliked expressions is Play Dead.
  • Gameplay and Story Segregation: In the beginning of the game, Rose says that one could eat for a week with five gold coins. The cheapest food item in the game costs ten.
    • Also, you get shot multiple times by pistols, rifles, and crossbows throughout the game, so how can one shot from Lucien's pistol (pretty much) kill you?
  • Gentleman Adventurer: Charlie/Charles.
  • Giant Mook: White Balverines are larger and more powerful than the normal ones.
  • Good People Have Good Sex: Having sex gets you some Good points so long as you don't pay for it. Even if you do pay, if you use a condom you still get a net gain of 5 good points.
  • Groin Attack: There's an achievement for shooting enemies 25 times in the crotch.
  • History Repeats: The Tattered Spire was constructed by the Archon of the Old Kingdom, and used to re-create the world, just as Lucien is trying to do.
  • If You're So Evil Eat This Kitten: You'll only be let into the Temple of Shadows if you eat several crunchy chicks.
  • Infinity+1 Sword: The crossbow that you get for shooting all 50 gargoyles. However, since there's a gargoyle in Fairfax Castle, you can't get it until you've already beaten the main quest and amassed a fortune.
  • It Is Beyond Saving: Lucian plans to use The Spire to wipe most of the world out and start fresh, creating a world where death and despair won't exist.
  • It Is Not Your Time: "Death is not your destiny today, little Sparrow."
  • Kick the Dog: Done literally by Thag during his entrance. A more figurative example is seen when Reaver shoots his sculptor for a perceived flaw in the statue.
  • Lampshade Hanging: Done by Hannah (later Hammer) when you're escorting her through a dungeon.

Wow, you really are a quiet one, aren't you? I hope you're not one of those creepy silent types.

  • Leeroy Jenkins: Rose gets a moment of this. When you're walking through an alleyway, a dog yelping is heard. Cue Rose rushing right up to its tormentor to challenge him, hands on hips... only to get promptly knocked out by a head butt, leaving you, her much smaller but thankfully surprisingly tough sibling to take the bully down. She gets up and, of course, promptly says "Thanks! I could've taken him though..." in true Leeroy style. It does illustrate the fact that while Rose is trying to be a responsible adult figure, she's still just a kid herself.
  • Lost Forever: If you don't have the Knothole Island DLC and you don't choose the Love ending, then all items buried beneath the ground are Lost Forever, as you can't dig them up without your dog, who dies during the endgame. The DLC allows you to resurrect your dog, at the cost of a human sacrifice.
  • Meaningful Rename: Call. Me. HAMMER. (Later, after she's stick of violence, she sighs she wishes to be called Hannah again.)
  • The Mole: Lilith. She runs up to you and she exclaims, distraught, that her family had been attacked. Her husband had been killed and her son had been kidnapped. She requests that the Hero rescue her son who had apparently been taken to the nearby Howling Halls by Balverines. Hammer agrees to this and, along the way to Howling Halls, reassures Lilith a few times that they will rescue her son. However, this all turns out to be a trap, and once inside the Howling Halls, she exclaims "Children, I bring you flesh!" in a demonic tone and disappears, prompting her "children" to attack. Once all of the Balverines are defeated, she reappears as a White Balverine and attacks the Hero, who eventually kills her. You can just beat the crap out of her upon meeting her, you'll get some evil points, but two lines of extra dialogue.
    • If you look at her info, one of her likes is "Travel-Ready Beef Jerky". This could be a hint at her love for flesh as a Balverine.
  • Mugging the Monster: The Hero will still get attacked by random bandit gangs even if they're the most feared and hated being in the history of Albion with a kill count in the tens of thousands - often while s/he is openly carrying a pair of deadly-looking weapons, bulging with more muscles than the Incredible Hulk, and sporting glowing red eyes and devil horns.
  • Multiple Endings: There are three endings: Sacrifice/The Needs of the Many, Love/The Needs of the Few, and Wealth/The Needs of the One. Each ending has its ups and downs, and you may spend a lot of time thinking about which one you want. However, the choice is somewhat cheapened by one of the rewards having no noticeable effect on the world as a whole, the second impacting gameplay significantly, and the third reward is something that is likely for an evil/corrupt player to already have, and not particularly difficult for a good character to obtain either.
    • While the "Wealth" option wasn't terribly interesting as it doesn't get you anything you can't get anyway ("Power" would have been better), being forced to choose between the other two "good" options was quite beautiful to some players. The ending was ultimately a good portrayal of what sacrifice truly means - most any player could resist taking the pile of gold, but are you willing to give up the lives of your sister, your family (or families), and your beloved dog, and take a permanent hit in your effectiveness as an adventurer in order to do the right thing?.
    • Its also worth noting that one thing in the game world does change if you take the Sacrifice ending. The people of Bowerstone know about your sacrifice, send you a letter telling you that they are grateful, and build a statue in your honour. Evil or good, hated or loved by all, that's something that can't be taken away from your character.
  • Naked People Are Funny: If you strip naked in front of people, you'll get quite a large (though temporary) amusement boost with them. Just...don't try the Vulgar Thrust expression.
  • Necromantic: The gravekeeper towards Lady Elvira Grey. Though she's been deceased for five centuries, he's been obsessed with her ever since he first saw a picture of her. He recruits the player to gather her dismembered body parts in order to resurrect her. Said resurrection process also includes a bit of magic to make her fall in love with the first person she sees (which he intends to be himself, of course). Because of this, it can go horribly wrong if the player doesn't leave the room before the spell takes full effect, since they are always the first person she sees upon waking.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: To an extent. Lucien intends to deal with a prophecy of four Heroes that will stop him by murdering your sister and nearly killing you. Instead he sets you on your path to kill him.
  • No Port For You: There's no sign of a PC version.
  • Nostalgic Music Box: Near the end, the player character encounters the music box from the prologue in a moving scene.
  • Obvious Beta: On launch, the game lacked much of the promised multiplayer support, though a patch was available to add much of it. More serious are the instabilities and bugged quests that can make the game unbeatable, of which Lionhead has presently acknowledged two serious ones.
  • Outlaw Town: Bloodstone.
  • Painfully-Slow Projectile: Magic basically requires to to stand still and charge it. Getting hit does not ruin your concentration, but it is entirely impractical. And in some instances, like The Shard, it's mandatory.
    • To a lesser extent, this applies to most ranged weapons that have slow attack speeds or immensely draconic reload time. Time Control and Raise Dead can be useful for combatting this. However, this is averted by one particular gun, which is basically a machine gun; just press the shoot button really fast.
  • Phosphor Essence: Very good/pure characters develop a faint aura.
  • Power-Up Food: Food items not only heal the player, they also affect the hero's appearance and status.
  • Rapid Aging: There is a location in the Wraithmarsh where either you or a girl will age rapidly.
  • Rich Bitch: Many of the locals in Fairfax Gardens.
  • Roma: The stereotype is subverted; though the hero(ine) is raised in a Gypsy caravan, they are more or less normal people making a decent living. Theresa fits the stereotype, though she isn't one.
  • Running Gag: Reaver attempting to get an image of himself every time the Hero visits him. It always ends in Reaver finding something he doesn't like about the image, then shooting the artist.
    • And then horribly, horribly not funny when you see the third artist is Barnum.
      • YMMV: That depends on how much you liked Barnum.
  • Sadistic Choice: Aside from the ending, when you decide whether to age yourself or allow an innocent girl to age.
    • Granted, should you decide to let it happen to yourself, said aging is purely aesthetic, and doesn't appear to have noticeable effect on the gameplay itself. There are also a few rare items that will reverse the effects if you hold onto them.
  • Samus Is a Girl: Despite the fact that everyone calls Chesty a "he" (even Chesty), according to this developer's post, Chesty is, in fact, a girl.
  • Senseless Sacrifice: For all that it was noble for your dog to take Lucien's bullet for you, there's nothing to stop him from shooting you again.
  • Sequel Hook: The "See the Future" Downloadable Content, which sets up Fable III starring the child of this game's main character as a monarch.
  • Shut UP, Hannibal: A by-the-book example at the end, with either the Player Character or Reaver interrupting the Big Bad's ramblings with a bullet.
  • Skeleton Government: Taken to extremes - the government of Albion seems to consist entirely of the police, apparently organized and commanded by no one. Prior to the beginning of the game the government was slightly larger - namely, it consisted of the police and Lord Lucien. The player character can actually declare themselves absolute dictator of the country by virtue of simply buying all the property in Albion, as there's no actual government to dispute that claim (canonically, this is actually what happens).
  • Soundtrack Dissonance: At the end of the game, in the "Perfect World," you as a child pass through a burning, destroyed portion of the farm while a soothing music box plays in the background.
  • Spoony Bard: Roland the Bard, who, after you complete a quest, sings of your glory at Bloodstone, and at The Sandgoose in Oakfield.
  • Taking the Bullet: Your dog near the end.
  • Tarot Motifs: Tarot cards become all-important in this game.
  • Toilet Humour: So much of it.
  • Transparent Closet: Averted during the "Blind Date" quest; the father doesn't know his son is gay.
  • Video Game Caring Potential: Especially regarding your dog and your family (or families). Which gives the player real motivation to kill the game's Big Bad because he murders your spouse(s) AND children near the end of the game. And if that wasn't enough, he shoots your dog because said dog takes the bullet for you.
  • Wizard Needs Food Badly: You will come to rely on potions if you don't want to "die". Food is also cheap and effective way to heal yourself while in town, and can do wonders for your appearance and alignment.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: A minor example when Theresa gives you a lesson about how you murdered a group of bandits who had just as many life experiences and memories as you did. Subverted seconds later when she reassures you that the world is better off with the bandits dead.
  • X Meets Y: The developers have described Fable II as "A Monty Python sketch directed by Tim Burton. It's a dark fairy tale with a light-hearted English twist."
  • You All Look Familiar: Lampshaded in a loading screen, which says something along the lines of, "After many years of research, we have come to the conclusion that many of Albion's citizens sound exactly the same!"
  • You Are Number Six: "You are number 273. That number is not randomly assigned. It is because I have broken 272 guards already. And I will break you."
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