Quest for Glory: Shadows of Darkness: Difference between revisions

'''''Quest for Glory IV: Shadows Ofof Darkness''''' is the fourth game in the ''[[Quest for Glory]]'' series. Literally moments after his victory in the third game, the heroHero was teleported away by dark magic. He awakens in a very large, and very strange cave, whose caverns seem to resemble organs or bones, and is littered with skeletons and much worse things. The heroHero finds his way out of the cave and stumbles upon Katrina, a young woman who is surprised that anything made it out of the cave in one piece. She points him toward the local town where there, the heroHero gradually learns more about the land he has found himself in.

The land is called Mordavia, (this time the setting is inspired by Eastern European and Russian folk myths and Gothic imagery), and it was scarred by an old conflict long ago between good and evil. Once a group of deranged cultists who worshiped an [[Eldritch Abomination]] called [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Thethe Dark One]] attempted to summon it from its natural dimension and into the world. A group led by the paladin Pioytr and the famous sorceress Erana fought against them, and managed to interrupt the ritual. Erana disappeared in the fight, and most but not all of the cult was killed. Shortly afterward, Piotyr also vanished, which caused many to think he had abandoned the land and his responsibilities.

Because Thethe Dark One had already been partially summoned, interrupting the ceremony did not get rid of it entirely. Instead, it has been lying dormant in the form of the cave the heroHero appeared in, and its partial presence in the world has been warping the land, turning it into a center of dark magic and evil creatures. Monsters of various kinds haunt the forests and lakes of Mordavia, and swamps filled with [[The Undead]] have overgrown the only road out of the valley, effectively cutting off Mordavia from the rest of the world. Although the land and its people have limped on since the battle against the cultists, the people have shut themselves in the town, only daring to leave it in order to work their fields.

But suddenly, the castle of Mordavia's former ruling family is inhabited again, and unknown to all, a new evil force has made its way into the valley to finish the ritual that would unleash [[Sealed Evil in a Can|Thethe Dark One]]. The heroHero will need to use all his might and wits to heal the wounds of the land and discover who brought him to Mordavia, why, and how to save the land and its people. Old foes and new challenges will both be found, and the heroHero will face his greatest challenge yet...

* [[Dating Catwoman]]: {{spoiler|[[Femme Fatale|Katrina]], also known as [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Thethe Dark Master]], a vampiress and a powerful sorceress trying to unleash a [[Cosmic Horror|Dark One]] into the world.}}.

* [[Department of Redundancy Department]]: - "''Shadows of Darkness''."

* [[Dream Sequence]]: Sleep at Erana's Staff in town, or at Erana's Garden, for some [[Dreaming of Times Gone By|meaningful]] (and occasionally [[Bad Dreams|disturbing]]) dreams. Seems that [[Dream Weaver|a trapped spirit]] is trying to [[Talking in Your Dreams|communicate with you.]].

* [[Dude, She's Like, in a Coma]]: Trying to kiss or even "cop a feel" on a sleeping vampire woman. She's not happy when you [https://web.archive.org/web/20200108015330/http://zarla.comicgenesis.com/d/20040630.html wake her up with a boobhonk.].

* [[Eldritch Location]]: The Dark One's Cave. {{spoiler|It actually IS the Dark One, in a state of partial summoning.}}.

** Probably the most ridiculous one: it's possible to have the [[Big Bad]] kill you during the finale... after you've already killed {{spoiler|him.}}.

* [[Genre Savvy]]: Between ''QfG1Quest for Glory I'' and ''4Quest for Glory IV'', Baba Yaga wised up enough to realize that actively antagonizing you is a bad idea. She'll offer you [[Fetch Quest|Fetch Quests]] (all but one are optional), but won't harm you unless you agree to a quest and then welsh on the deal.

* [[Gone Horribly Right]]: As a result of the attempt to complete the summoning of the Dark One, {{spoiler|Katrina obtained "all of the darkness she so desired... and much, much more.}}.

* [[Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!]]: Magda is described as an older, but still attractive woman, and after a few good deeds, she talks a little about how she'd pursue the heroHero if only she was about twenty years younger.

* [[Heel Face Turn]]: The Rusalka. {{spoiler|Initially, she tries to drown you because, well, that's what Rusalki do; she doesn't particularly want to, but she's compelled to seduce men and drown them. Giving her flowers convinces her that you're a nice guy, and jump-starts the sidequest that results in her being allowed to move on to the afterlife.}}.

* [[Lopsided Dichotomy]]: When the heroHero is surrounded by the thankful people of the land after completing yet another heroic quest, cue Erasmus and Fenrus taking that moment to scry on the heroHero, with Fenrus commenting:

* [[Money for Nothing]]: The other games in the series suffer from this, but none more so than ''Shadows of Darkness''; you will only ever need money for two things: Roomroom and board at the inn (1 crown for a week) and various items from the General Store that only cost about 10 crowns total. You can also spend crowns on (optional) tarot readings (to a maximum of four), but that only costs you one crown per reading. And for the record, one of the first things you do in this game is loot a couple of bodies for about 15 crowns.

* [[Moral Dissonance]]: Parodied. If the player is a Paladin, he'll refuse to smash open a cabinet containing healing potions because it's wrong to destroy other people's property. Thing is, the cabinet's in a monastery formerly used by a cult worshipping an [[Eldritch Abomination]], and the narrator mentions your character will happily torch the place if he gets the chance (in fact, you get honor if you ''do'' torch the place!)! Capped off with a line like, "Nice consistency of belief there, eh?".

* [[Morality Pet]]: {{spoiler|Tanya to Katrina.}}.

** {{spoiler|[[Fan Disservice]]: Once the Paladin defeats her murderer's Wraith. Yuck. Oh, and he has to kiss her to free her.}}.

* [[No Honor Among Thieves]]: Quite literally;: a Thief character can kill the Chief Thief after restoring his human form, but doing so immediately knocks your Honor rating down to 0.

* [[Politically-Incorrect Villain]] -: While he's a bit low-key about it, {{spoiler|Ad Avis}} never seemed to like women. 50 years of service to Katrina and being forced to serve her in death has probably done little to improve his disposition toward them.

* [[Public Domain Soundtrack]]: "Anitra's Dance" by Grieg, plays in the Inn. Dr. Cranium's lab music has [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]]'s [[Toccata and Fugue in D minor]]'s intro.

* [[Star-Crossed Lovers]]: The Playerplayer and Erana, in some cases (having magical ability helps; so does having high Honor and not being a Thief.). While you two never met, your immense goodness resonates with hers so much that even despite being dead, she falls for you. Doubly so if you are a Paladin. The [[Accidental Pun|climax]] of a number of dreams (see [[Dream Sequence]] above.).

* {{spoiler|[[Where It All Began]]: You end where you started, in the Dark One's Cave.}}.