Quest for Glory/Characters

Recurring Characters
The Hero

"Obviously a graduate of the Famous Adventurer's Correspondence School."


 * Adventurer Archaeologist
 * An Adventurer Is You
 * The Chosen One
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": You are referred to by your name a handful of times. For the most part, you are referred to as "Hero", "Prince of Shapeir", and "Paladin" (if you are that class).
 * Fan Nickname: Devon Aidendale, the name given in the prose-style writeup for the official strategy guide.
 * Fighter, Mage, Thief
 * Magic Knight
 * Lovable Rogue
 * Silent Protagonist: Not literally, as the character is able to communicate with others, but the Hero will almost never say anything directly, instead having the gist of his speech relayed by the narrator. There are several exceptions, in the first two games. Clicking the mouth on him in the VGA remake in QFG1 will yield "Overworked... underpaid... no control over my life". QFG2 has him talking to Aziza when talking about Julanar, with "Yes ma'am", "Only the facts ma'am", and "What's a pomegranate?". The fanmade VGA remake adds him babytalking to Simba, complete with a facial portrait. He shuts you up pretty good.
 * The Hero
 * Mighty Whitey: In the third game. Your character will pick up spear throwing and wrestling on the wooden bridge of the Simbani. Within a week or so of training he'll be able to defeat Simbani warriors who trained at this all their lives. Can be considered Justified since he's a skilled adventurer who's had to do more than his fair share of throwing and balancing in the past
 * Took a Level In Badass: Dude went from fighting bandits aided by magicians to fighting Eldrich Abominations.
 * Culminates in the final game, when the Big Bad of the game,, is outright stated to be unkillable, and can only be sealed. But the hero is so badass at this point that he can safely ignore that and kill it.
 * Walking the Earth
 * What the Hell, Hero? / What the Hell, Player?: The few truly evil deeds you can do in the games will be noticed. Except for the Thievery optional quests.

Erasmus

A powerful and pun-loving wizard who lives in Spielberg with a summer home in Silmaria. He and his familiar, the smart aleck rat Fenrus, help the hero out directly in games So You Want to Be a Hero? and Dragon Fire as well as mentoring him at the Wizards' Institute of Technocery in game Trial By Fire (and making a cameo at the end of Shadows of Darkness).


 * Eccentric Mentor
 * Familiar: Fenrus is Erasmus'...or is it the other way around?
 * Obfuscating Stupidity
 * The Obi-Wan
 * Pungeon Master

Erana

A mysterious half-Faerie Folk archmage whose presence is seen throughout the series even though she herself isn't. She is known for creating magical gardens of incredible peace and safety.


 * Barrier Maiden
 * The Betty of a Betty and Veronica choice
 * Friend to All Living Things
 * Half-Human Hybrid
 * The Messiah
 * My Species Doth Protest Too Much
 * A Plague on Both Your Houses: "By all my will, I banish you to-"
 * Posthumous Character
 * Psychic Dreams for Everyone
 * Sealed Good in a Can
 * The Ghost: For the first three games.
 * Sealed Good in a Can
 * The Ghost: For the first three games.

Rakeesh Sah Tarna

A Liontaur Paladin, Rakeesh was the king of Tarna until he abdicated power to his brother Rajah in order to pursue the demons that threatened the land. In his travels he became a Paladin and suffered a Game-Breaking Injury that keeps him out of action. The hero meets him in Shapeir, and Rakeesh rapidly becomes his mentor and father figure (even more so if the player chooses to become a Paladin himself).


 * Cool Old Guy
 * Cool Sword: Soulforge, which is also a...
 * Flaming Sword
 * Game-Breaking Injury: A poison sting from a demon left him with one bad leg.
 * Happily Married
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Anime fans will recognize Rakeesh's voice in Dragon Fire as Beau Billingslea, best known for playing Jet Black.
 * Ho Yay: In Universe, You can offer him the engagement ring in game 5; he'll actually consider it, but he's married
 * Knight Errant
 * Knight in Shining Armor
 * My Species Doth Protest Too Much
 * Supporting Leader: Especially in the third game.
 * The Mentor
 * Petting Zoo People

Baba Yaga

An ogress witch with a taste for human flesh and a mean streak a mile wide. She serves as the Big Bad for the original game, her curse being the reason everything bad is happening in Spielburg. After you break the curse and get rid of her, she returns in game 4, hanging out in Mordavia because of the dark energy given off by the Dark One's cave. She isn't fully antagonistic in this game, despite her desire for revenge (which can be bought off), but you still have to deal with her to win.


 * Affably Evil
 * Baleful Polymorph: One of her favorite tricks.
 * Genre Savvy: When she shows up again in Shadows of Darkness, she'd certainly like revenge but realizes that antagonizing you is a bad idea; instead she gives you Fetch Quests. However, if you tick her off sufficiently or fail to honor your end of the bargain, she will kill and eat you.
 * I'm a Humanitarian
 * Extreme Omnivore: In addition to mandrake mousse and elderberry pie (and humans, of course), she is also partial to bones, the secretions of an Eldritch Abomination, and garlic. She'll also go into explicit details about the "wyvern waffles" she had for breakfast, if you dare to ask...
 * Public Domain Character
 * Wicked Witch

Ad Avis

The Big Bad of Trial By Fire. An evil wizard who rules over the land of Raseir with an iron fist while attempting to release the demon Iblis. Because the prophecy says he needs a hero to recover the status in which Iblis is sealed, he engineers events to get the hero to Raseir and hypnotizes him, but this ultimately causes his downfall, as he cries out to his master.


 * Batman Gambit: How he gets rid of.
 * Charm Person: His stand-by ability.
 * Ethnic Magician
 * Evil Sorcerer
 * Hoist by His Own Petard: You wouldn't be able to beat him in Trial By Fire if he didn't try to trap you.
 * The Man Behind the Man
 * The Plan: His actions in Trial By Fire are part of a larger one.
 * Politically-Incorrect Villain: He hates women
 * The Plan: His actions in Trial By Fire are part of a larger one.
 * Politically-Incorrect Villain: He hates women
 * Politically-Incorrect Villain: He hates women

Shema and Shameen

A married couple of Katta (a race of anthropomorphic cats), Shameen and Shema came to Spielburg in order to find a hero to help solve the crisis in Raseir, but were trapped by the avalanche that sealed off the valley. They quickly landed on their feet and set up the Hero's Tale Inn, which is where the hero first meets them. After dealing with Baba Yaga, he travels along with them back to Shapeir, where they open the Katta's Tale Inn and provide the hero with free room and board for the duration of Trial By Fire.


 * Adam Smith Hates Your Guts: Averted in Trial By Fire. Since you helped Shameen and Shema get out of Spielburg by getting their flying carpet back from the brigands, they give you free room & board at their inn in Shapeir.
 * Happily Married
 * Holding Out for a Hero
 * Perverse Sexual Lust: Let's face it, Shema's dancing probably helped turn more than a few young gamers into furries.
 * Petting Zoo People

Elsa von Spielburg

The missing daughter of Baron Spielburg, whose rescue is one of the central goals of So You Want To Be A Hero?


 * Action Girl
 * Chainmail Bikini
 * Hot Amazon
 * Lady of War
 * The Von Trope Family
 * Lady of War
 * The Von Trope Family

Uhura

A member of the Simbani tribe from Tarna, Uhura left her homeland in order to get around the restrictions placed on women. She took up residence in Shapeir, becoming the head of the Fighters' Guild and having a son, Simba, by one of the palace guards. She helps the hero with information and sparring, then returns to Tarna along with him and Rakeesh. Back home, Uhura again helps the hero by showing him the Rite of Passage for Simbani warriors and trying to convince the Laibon (chief) to seek peace with the Leopardmen.


 * Action Girl
 * Action Mom
 * Eloquent in My Native Tongue
 * Lady of War
 * Proud Warrior Race Gal
 * Take a Third Option: The Simbani let their women be mothers OR warriors, so Uhura left, had Simba out of wedlock with a Shaperian palace guard, and returned home as both.
 * Vapor Wear: In the third game, and retroactively in the Fan Remake of the second game, Uhura wears a large necklace instead of a top.

Katrina

A mysterious and beautiful young woman who is the first person the hero meets in Shadows of Darkness. She only appears by night, never in Mordavia proper, and has brief conversations with the hero. As it turns out, however, she is the Dark Master, a powerful sorceress and vampire who is attempting to bring the Eldritch Abomination Avoozl into the world, casting eternal night over the land.


 * Back From the Dead: Well, she is a vampire.
 * Broken Bird
 * Charm Person
 * Dark Magical Girl
 * Dating Catwoman
 * Femme Fatale
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Jennifer Hale (in QFG4).
 * Love Redeems
 * Most Definitely Not a Villain: Like it needs to be spoilered.
 * The Veronica of a Betty and Veronica choice.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: A possible interpretation of her actions in Mordavia prior to the events of Shadows of Darkness:
 * She hired Boris as daytime gatekeeper of Castle Borgov after he had a falling out with his wife and ran away into the woods. Considering that he was still in the woods when night fell, she may have saved his life by finding him before any other undead did.
 * She sent Toby to comfort and befriend Tanya when Tanya didn't have any other friends and really needed the comfort. (Yuri's and Bella's treatment of Tanya at this time could charitably be described as harsh, or uncharitably be described as abusive.) Especially if you tell her why you resurrected Tanya, it is pretty clear that she really thought she was doing the right thing: "You think it was wrong of me to take her from her parents? They ignored her! They never gave her anything! I gave her everything!"
 * Katrina's whole "plunge the land into darkness" plan ends up sounding a lot less evil when it's explained that she thought this was literal. While it's intensely stupid to summon an Eldritch Abomination and expect to use it as a dimmer switch for the sun, but she wasn't actually intending to directly hurt anyone on purpose. She really did think she could control it.
 * Katrina's whole "plunge the land into darkness" plan ends up sounding a lot less evil when it's explained that she thought this was literal. While it's intensely stupid to summon an Eldritch Abomination and expect to use it as a dimmer switch for the sun, but she wasn't actually intending to directly hurt anyone on purpose. She really did think she could control it.

Ferrari

A "legitimate businessman" in Raseir, Ferrari is the player's main contact in the final act of the game. He informs the hero about the particulars of Kaveen and Ad Avis' rule over the city. Thief characters go one step further, stealing a rather familiar statue from Kaveen for him. When Kaveen has the hero arrested, Ferrari seems to abandon him, but he returns in Dragon Fire as the head of the Dead Parrot Inn, trying once more to win the hero's trust.


 * Blackmail: He'll blackmail a Thief character off the throne in Dragon Fire by revealing your "night job" - but it is possible to prevent this.
 * Blackmail Is Such an Ugly Word
 * Man of Wealth and Taste
 * The Don
 * Most Definitely Not a Villain
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: If the name wasn't enough of a tip-off, Ferrari is based wholesale on Sydney Greenstreet's character from Casablanca, with elements of Kasper Gutman from The Maltese Falcon thrown in.
 * Shame If Something Happened

Ugarte

Ferrari's right-hand man; like the hero, he seems to be something of an unwilling accomplice (more so as the game progresses). In Trial By Fire, he smuggles water in Raseir, a capital crime which sees him dragged off supposedly for execution. However, Ugarte returns in Dragon Fire, having been freed thanks to the hero's actions and much more grateful than Ferrari, serving as the Thief's source of info in the underground dealings of Silmaria.


 * His Name Is
 * Knowledge Broker
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: As with Ferrari, Ugarte is a composite of Peter Lorre's characters from Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon.
 * Pet Rat
 * Smug Snake: He isn't as fond of Ferrari as one would initially suspect.

Quest for Glory I: So You Want To Be A Hero
Bruno

A member of the brigands, Bruno conspired with his friend Brutus to overthrow their leader and take over. He can usually be found hanging out at the town gate and will give the hero (false) information about the goings-on in the valley... for a price.


 * Knife Nut
 * Knowledge Broker: But the information he offers is available in other, less expensive ways. Bruno is only there to prevent the game from becoming Unwinnable.
 * Blatant Lies: "Oh, and if you want a good time, try the Dragon's Breath!"
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge:
 * Smug Snake
 * The Mole: He appears to be a normal (if untrustworthy) thief at first, but it turns out he's a brigand who's joined the thief guild to act as a spy within the town.

Baronet Barnard von Spielburg

Baron Stephan von Spielburg's son, who disappeared while on a hunting trip several years before QFG1. The hero finds him captured by the Kobold, transformed into a bear and bound by an enchanted shackle. His rescue restores hope to the despondent baron.


 * Baleful Polymorph
 * Stay in the Kitchen: Holding this mentality is what drove Elsa away from Spielburg circa Dragon Fire.
 * Ungrateful Bastard: The "gratitude" for his rescue is more of a formality forced upon him by his father.
 * Upper Class Twit
 * The Von Trope Family

Brauggi

A frost giant from Jotunheim, he comes to Spielburg to fill his food stores with the local fruit. He is willing to barter a glowing gem (one the hero needs for his quest) in exchange for fifty apples, after which he leaves satisfied.


 * Added Alliterative Appeal/Rhymes on a Dime
 * Amazing Technicolor Population: Brauggi has blue skin.
 * An Axe to Grind
 * One Screen Wonder
 * Our Giants Are Bigger

Quest for Glory II: Trial By Fire
Aziza

The resident spellcaster of Shapeir, Aziza is a powerful water-attuned sorceress with a focus on divination and mind for manners. She serves as the hero's magical contact in Trial By Fire and instructs him in how to defeat the elementals and help Julanar.


 * Making a Splash
 * Ms. Exposition: Tells you all you need about the elementals and Julanar and Iblis in the 2nd game. In the third game she gives the player a recap of the end of the second game, and sets up the plot of the third.
 * Seers

Poet Omar/

A fabled poet of Shapeir, Omar's poems clue the player as to what is going on with the plot. Poet Omar is also.


 * Expy: Of the real Harun Al-Rashid
 * Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: He's very... poetic. Good thing he hangs out with a translator who will interpret everything for you.
 * Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: He's very... poetic. Good thing he hangs out with a translator who will interpret everything for you.

Julanar

A long time ago, a Shaperian woman went against the sexist rules of society and became a healer. Unfortunately, one day a bandit tricked her into coming to his camp. As she tried to escape from the bandits, she cried out for help and was transformed into a tree by a passing djinn. In Trial By Fire, Aziza relates this story to the hero and tells him how to restore Julanar's sense of self in order to obtain the Fruit of Compassion he needs for a Dispel Potion. In between games, Salim ventures to Shapeir and restores Julanar's humanity, the pair falling in love and marrying before moving to Silmaria, where they meet their friend the hero once more.


 * Closer to Earth
 * Granola Girl
 * Happily Married
 * The Medic

Nawar

One of the many harem girls in Raseir's palace, Nawar's first introduction is a voice making lots (and we do mean lots) of innuendo when the hero sneaks through the harem on his way to battle Ad Avis. She returns in Dragon Fire, having been uncomfortable with the peace and going with Ferrari to Silmaria. At the Dead Parrot Inn she serves as a dancer and the manager of the inn's games of chance. She's also a potential love interest for the hero (and the most obvious), being best suited to Thieves but available to all classes.


 * Ascended Extra: In Quest for Glory II, she is just one of many harem girls, not even having a distinct sprite. The only thing that makes her noticeable is that she is more flirty than the others. In Quest for Glory V she's a full blown love interest.
 * Belly Dancer
 * Gold Digger
 * Hello, Nurse!

Quest for Glory III: Wages of War
Yesufu

Son of the leader (Laibon) of the Simbani. Less eager for war than his father, he is divided by his father and people's wishes, and the hero and Uhura's words for peace. Yesufu is soon to enter his rite of passage, in which he will compete against The Hero if he is a fighter or paladin. Despite this rivalry, he forms a strong friendship with the hero, and eagerly comes to his aid at the end of the game.


 * The Rival
 * The Lancer
 * The Lancer

Rajah Sah Tarna

Rakeesh's younger brother, and current king of Tarna. Eager to send Tarna to war, and comes off as a bit of a General Ripper, but not without reasons. A bit of an ego.


 * General Ripper: Subverted, in that he does give Rakeesh's peace solution a chance and...
 * Papa Wolf: The main reason he is so eager for war: He sent Rakeesh's daughter as an envoy to the Leopardman. She was like a daughter to him, and when her peace mission was attacked, Rajah wants nothing more than to avenge her. He even questions Rakeesh's reluctance to go to war over his own daughter.

Salim Nafs

The resident apothecary in Tarna, as well as an out-and-out tree-hugging hippie. Salim is eager to help out the hero because of his auspicious aura, and in return learns that his dreams of a tree becoming a beautiful woman are real. While the hero is in Mordavia, Salim heads to Shapeir and restores Julanar's humanity; the couple then moves to Silmaria and opens up an apothecary, where they once more encounter their friend the hero and help him save those poisoned by the assassin.


 * Cloudcuckoolander: He rambles about Colonel Mustard following the murders and poisonings in Dragon Fire, only for Julanar to remind him that mustard is just a seed.
 * Erudite Stoner: He doesn't actually light up in-series, but he has a hookah in Wages of War, and Julanar mentions his dipping into their "celebration stock" when they make the antidote in Dragon Fire.
 * Friend to All Living Things
 * Happily Married
 * The Medic
 * New Age Retro Hippie: Without the sexual promiscuity or railing against the Man.
 * Steven Jay Blum: Plays him in Dragon Fire.

Kreesha Sah Tarna

Rakeesh's wife, a rare Liontaur magic-user and a member of Tarna's ruling council. Along with her husband, Kreesha helps the hero's attempts to bring peace to Tarna, as well as serving as a mentor for Wizard characters and helping them create their magic staff.


 * Reasonable Authority Figure: On the council, she is the one most in favor of avoiding war, realizing that the Demons are behind this.
 * Happily Married
 * Ms. Exposition
 * Seers

Harami the Thief

A thief the player helps capture early in the game. As the hero shows him kindness, Harami begins to reconsider his life. Not enough to risk his skin for you however.


 * Heel Face Turn
 * Unperson
 * Big Damn Heroes
 * Big Damn Heroes

Manu The Monkey

A talking monkey the hero frees from a trap. Manu quickly declares the hero to be his friend, willing to invite him to the Monkey Village and make him an honorary monkey. Manu is one of the few who know where the lost city is.


 * Sixth Ranger
 * Talking Animal
 * Team Pet

Johari

Daughter of the Leopardmen's chief, she is captured by the Simbani in their efforts to discover the location of her village. Upon being revealed as an attractive woman, the hero pays the Simbani bride price to release her and discover her peoples' intentions.


 * Action Girl
 * The Chief's Daughter
 * Nubile Savage
 * Samus Is a Girl: Before her shapeshifting is dispelled, she looks like any other Leopardman.
 * Tsundere: Justified, what with being imprisoned and purchased against her will.
 * Voluntary Shapeshifting

Quest for Glory IV: Shadows Of Darkness
Dr. Cranium

A Mad Scientist who has taken up residence in Mordavia in order to conduct his experiments which include controlling electricity, raising the dead, and brewing the perfect cup of tea. He helps the hero out by brewing up healing potions in return for running minor fetch quests.


 * Copy Protection: In order to advance in the game, you need to give Cranium some missing formulae...which come printed in the game manual.
 * Expy: Of Dr. Brain, from another Sierra series; gets a lampshade in-game.
 * Flat Earth Atheist: He insists that all magic is either nonsense or science that people don't understand yet.
 * Frankenstein's Monster: Frankie, his greatest creation.
 * I Love the Dead: Better keep your Brain Bleach handy when he unveils Frankie...
 * Mad Scientist
 * The Medic: Cranium is the only consistent source of healing and poison cure potions in the game.
 * They Called Me Mad: "Mad? Mad?! They ALL call me mad, but what do they know of madness? I am not mad! A bit perturbed about the world situation and how I get so little respect, perhaps. But certainly not mad!"
 * Also: "Some call me mad, but I much prefer 'Dr. Cranium'."
 * Suspiciously Similar Substitute: The doctor's Rehydration Solution, when you finally get it, is described as "If you didn't know any better, you'd think this was just an ordinary bottle of water".)

Tanya

The daughter of Yuri and Bella Markarov, the innkeepers in Mordavia. When things got bad in the valley, her parents tried to keep her safely locked up, but a large furry creature named Toby befriended her by visiting her secretly at night. When he gave her a doll, her parents got even more worried, and Toby took her away to Castle Borgov, where Katrina turned her into a vampire. She does miss her parents, but is convinced they hate her and would be scared of her now that she's a "Bad Thing".


 * Beware the Nice Ones She's really nice as long as you're friendly to her, but if you try to attack her, she'll hypnotize and then bite you.
 * Genki Girl: Surprisingly energetic for a vampire.
 * Heroic Sacrifice
 * Morality Pet
 * Noble Demon
 * Undead Child

Igor

Mordavia's gravedigger, he is...um, well, he's the standard Igor type. The biggest departure is his generally chipper attitude and love of graveyard humor.


 * Catch Phrase: "Hah hah, little graveyard humor there!"
 * The Igor: Duh!
 * Pungeon Master: Oh lord, the puns...
 * Suspiciously Specific Denial: If you ask him about Rumors, he'll say something like "Igor not hear rumors. Igor not hear [Insert rumor here]. Igor not know [Insert another rumor here]... Igor not hear many things."

Avoozl

More commonly referred to as the Dark One, he is the source of Mordavia's woes. The hero must prevent him from being summoned to Glorianna, lest he shroud the world in (non-literal) darkness.


 * Bigger Bad
 * Composite Captain Ersatz: Looks like a cross of Chernabog and a Xenomorph.
 * Eldritch Abomination
 * Sealed Evil in a Can
 * Womb Level: The Dark One's cave is

Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire
Magnum Opus

A Hesperian hero who came to Silmaria to participate in the Rites of Rulership. He has a reputation for heroism, but unfortunately not one for his massive ego.


 * Arrogant Kung Fu Guy
 * Fake Ultimate Hero
 * Ted Baxter
 * Not entirely. He does win the first challenge if you don't. And in the Arena he tends to defeat any opponent except (usually) Elsa.
 * Third Person Person
 * Third Person Person