Flame of Conquests
🔥 Fatebinding through law & lore in Tyranny RPG & Tyrant Philosophers books.
🕊️ Salutation, folks ~
Long have I wandered in the shadow & night. Come now, sit with me in this forgotten nook, grant me a moment to share in ale & tale before the flame falls dim..
Within my humble cave, I’ve uncovered hidden gems overlooked by the passing eyes. The solitary path has granted me its wisdom, & here are some I have gathered:
🎮 Tyranny (CRPG)
While everyone is going for the trending & new GOTY games, I felt a pang of nostalgia. I finally picked this up after sitting on my wishlist for so long, & man.. it has become one of my personal GOTY & top favorites!
Tyranny (2016) is an isometric CRPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment, published by Paradox Interactive.
Set in Terratus, a continent long conquered, divided & reshaped by Overlord Kyros whose will is law. Unlike other RPGs, the world in Tyranny is not waiting to be saved, it’s already lost & broken. Evil did not rise, it already won.
As the Fatebinder, we are Kyros’ enforcer, judge & executor of Edicts. We craft our character, recruit companions with their own distinct agenda, & we navigate a land divided among multiple factions & Tiers. Our interactions with the world have lasting consequences.
This is a game about power, law & moral ambiguity. It challenges you to confront what it truly means to wield authority when evil has already won & to decide how far you are willing to bend to survive.
My Thoughts:
As Fatebinder Figurra, here are some of my highlights:
1️⃣ Narratives & Choices: — Great storytelling, strong worldbuilding & most importantly, choices that actually matter. It has extensive dialogues & decisions that shape quests, faction relationships, companion attitudes & more.
Without going into spoiler territory, I especially appreciate how the Conquest sets a foundation for my entire playthrough. Choices made there come back later in meaningful ways, which makes the world feel reactive & alive.
Self-preference or I might be biased here:
In any medium, I’ve always preferred thought-provoking stories. The ones that make me pause & stare at the wall. The kind that question my choices or linger long after I step away. I often find that depth lives in dark fantasy, magical realism & philosophical science fiction.
I like complex, morally-grey stories that demand reflection. I’m kinda tired of the same play-safe narratives that don’t challenge my thinking; or those that keep recycling linear templates of perfectly-savior role over & over again.
some of my in-game shots
Tyranny feels refreshing, as it matches my interests while delivering a unique experience. When it’s dark, it stays dark. It lets me sit with discomfort, doesn’t try to soften its themes or pretend everything is redeemable, which makes it more realistic. Beneath the darkness, there’s humor & sarcasm too (lol, thanks Josh).
2️⃣ Characters & Companions: — My first playthrough character is a mage from the Guild Apprentice. I heavily invested Lore as one of my main skills & it turned out to be a great build. It also unlocks extra dialogue options, alternative solutions, persuasion checks & deeper understanding of the world.
I find the clickable dialogue links help retain lore knowledge & the hidden ‘mind-reading’ exchanges are cleverly handled without lore-dumping or giving too much away.
I love how all the companions interacted with each other. I talk to all NPCs, exhaust dialogue options & bump the loyalties as there’s a lot of hidden lore & character development behind it. They reacted differently depending on your choices & had strong opinions about your actions, which makes them feel tied to the larger narrative instead of just being party members. Also, the voice acting is superb!
My personal favs: Barik alongside Verse (also their contrast dynamics & ‘different versions’ depending on decisions), as well as Lantry.
3️⃣ Gameplay: — It grew on me the deeper I got into the systems. Tyranny uses RTWP (real-time with pause) combat, so talent choices, positioning, ability timing & party synergies matter more. Just personal preference: I prefer this over turn-based because I enjoyed the dynamic reactiveness & chaotic multitasking flow rather than rigid order. I’m also sort of familiar with it from other similar RPGs.
I especially LOVE the spell creation system. Being able to craft my own magic, modify effects & experiment with different styles makes my mage builds feel flexible & more personal for me.
Some downside: I usually avoid walkthroughs to enjoy firsthand experience without spoilers. That said, I had to check forums later on because some quests can be locked-out (hint: keystones not responding). I also encountered inventory bugs when swapping characters.
4️⃣ Music & Atmosphere: — The soundtrack is excellent & fits the tone of dark & somber. It supports the narrative & reinforces the mood that this isn’t a heroic adventure. I like the contrast environment of day & night too.
5️⃣ Artwork & Additional Lore: — Last but not least, I love the art style! After I completed the game & its DLCs with few different endings, I’ve been diving into extra lore through the artbook, collector’s guide & short story collection.
👾 Verdict: 10/10 — An underrated gem! Absolutely worth picking up during sale.
My biggest gripe: Marking its 10th Anniversary this year, CAN WE HAVE THE SEQUEL PLEASE?
If you appreciate old-school RPGs, strong writing, morally ambiguous choices & deep worldbuilding, I highly recommend Tyranny. It rewards role-playing & replayability, especially for patient gamers who don’t skip dialogues or cutscenes.
This is a gritty, dark & complex game that subverts fantasy tropes & yes, expect heavy immersive reading & decision-making. That’s exactly why it is great!
📚 Tyrant Philosophers (Book Series)
Next up! While most people are spacefaring through Adrian Tchaikovsky’s widely known sci-fi novels, I chose to dive into his Tyrant Philosophers instead.
I read the first book while playing Tyranny RPG. They are both unrelated, but clearly I was in a grimdark fantasy mood so I paired them to spark ideas for writing this post while staying in line within its themes.
Also, I won’t deny — the first thing that caught me was the stunning cover artwork because yes, unapologetically, I judge books by their covers (& matching sizes). 💁🏻♀️
My Full Reading List of Tyrant Philosophers:
City of Last Chances (thoughts below)
1a. Woodmask
House of Open Wounds
Days of Shattered Faith
3a. Lives of Bitter Rain (can be 2a too)
Pretenders to the Throne of God
The Grave of Perfection (new upcoming)
(Edit Mar-14: Another new upcoming short story in anthology Iron Code, set in the world of Tyrant Philosophers too)
P/s: I’ll be expanding my full thoughts on future blogposts. My other in-depth book reviews here.
1️⃣ City of Last Chances
City of Last Chances (Tyrant Philosophers #1) is one of those books that doesn’t try to win you over or hook you immediately. It waits to see if you’re willing to meet it on its own terms.
This is my first fantasy from Adrian Tchaikovsky after reading his sci-fi Children of Time. I can say this book might not be for everyone, as it doesn’t follow a conventional structure & definitely not a casual, easy read.
If you’re planning to dive into this series, it’s important to manage your expectations from the start. I bounced off this book the first time, but rolling the dice again with the right initiative, mood, good amount of focus & patience, it crits into one of my personal favorites. Like I said earlier, the kind that challenge my thoughts.
Sets in Ilmar, a decaying border city in Telmark, the story unfolds under the Palleseen regime’s ruthless Perfection, with its proclamation & revolution simmering just beneath the surface.
Between the crumbling districts, the ancient grove Anchorwood opens into distant realms, while the cursed ruin Reproach haunts every soul who dwells within.
It doesn’t follow a single protagonist, but plays through multiple POVs: occupiers, aristocrats, foreigners, rebels, criminals, scholars, soldiers, bureaucrats, traders, priests & ordinary citizens.
When there’s a rope tightened around the city’s throat, who would dance in the air & who would stand for the cause?
Most of them don’t realize they become pieces in games & part of something larger. Each has their own goals, grudges, secrets & compromises where some seek change, others just want to survive.
“You can’t control the ripples once you’ve thrown the stone. You can only choose not to throw the stone.”
There is no simple good versus evil. In a world perfected to manipulate & control, it wrestles with compliance, morality, ethics & limits of authority.
The narrative interrogates messy uprisings where ideology collides with solidarity & desperation, while brutal politics & secretive factions pulling strings in the shadows.
My Thoughts:
Overall, this is a slow-burn philosophical grimdark fantasy & densely atmospheric book. It has an impressive writing style, complex narrative, & great level of details in its worldbuilding & characters.
The city itself is like the main character, with its people revealed gradually. Their interconnected stories form a mosaic, creating a broad & intricate eagle-eye view of the city & its conflicts. It reminded me of cutscene transition between narrative arcs in games, & I like seeing this perspective in the writing.
Countless factions & names appeared through multiple POVs in each chapter:
I treated this like the characters playing the Game of Chaq. Every time a new character or location appeared, I flipped to the front index & marked it like a checklist.
Bit by bit, I noticed the pattern: first meeting character profiles, then exploring every corner of the city, engaging with NPCs & narrative quests. Maybe I played several RPGs with heavy reading (& Adrian being a gamer himself), so this immersive approach really clicked for me.
I was also surprised by the moments of unexpected humor, a welcoming contrast to the city’s darkness & creepiness. My personal favs: Yasnic, Hellgram, Blackmane, Ostravar, Lemya, Ruslav.
Like playing big games, it takes time to sink in. There’s no hand-holding here; the book trusts you to piece things together on your own. As I leaned deeper into it, the bigger plot then revealed itself.
👾 Verdict: 5/5 — with set expectations:
If you need fast pacing & clear signposts, this may not be the city for you. This isn’t a guided tour story, but if you’re willing to wander, linger & reflect, you might find something special.
Not an easy book, but ended up being deeply rewarding for me. Personally, I think this series is very underrated & underappreciated. Clutching my ritual ward closely, I’m looking forward to where it takes me next!
Aye, folks.. the night now whispers my name, till our next descent into the shadows. May this missive sharpen your wits & blessings for reading.. 🕊️~figu.
