History VideoGame / QuestForGlory

Fans of the series might want to check out ''VideoGame/HeroinesQuest'', an homage fan made game available free of charge on Steam, ''VideoGame/QuestForInfamy'' an AffectionateParody game which is the inverse where you try to be as big of a b- ... bother you can be, and ''VideoGame/HeroU'' a SpiritualSuccessor made by the original creators of the series about a thief trying to enroll in a Hero academy involving a similar time mechanic as ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryII'' with similar aesthetics as ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryV'', but in an isometric view.

* AdventureGuild: Shows up in most of the games in one form or another. A RunningGag is how the hero always signs his name in the logbook with a floursih.

Fans of the series might want to check out ''[[VideoGame/HeroinesQuest]]'', an homage fan made game available free of charge on Steam, ''[[VideoGame/QuestForInfamy]]'' an AffectionateParody game which is the inverse where you try to be as big of a b- ... bother you can be, and ''[[VideoGame/HeroU]]'' a SpiritualSuccessor made by the original creators of the series about a thief trying to enroll in a Hero academy involving a similar time mechanic as ''[[VideoGame/QuestForGloryII]]'' with similar aesthetics as ''[[VideoGame/QuestForGloryV]]'', but in an isometric view.

** After the Peace Conference in the third game, you can't visit Tarna, the Simbani village, or the Leopardmen's village.

** Your character contains a limited version of this even without Detect Magic. You're character will notice the emotions or intent of areas particularly infused with magic energy. (The monastery of Avoozl, pretty much anywhere Erana went, etc.)
** The Paladin's "[[SpiderSense Sense Danger]]" ability, as its name implies, alerts the Paladin to dangerous situations or nearby objects, which can range anywhere from a minor niggling, (IE, an otherwise innocuous character who ''is'' dangerous, yet not actively threatening the Hero at the moment) to screaming alarms when a lethal threat is imminent. However it also plays like general extrasensory empathy, such as detecting a feeling of curiosity from [[spoiler:Katrina when they meet outside the town gates. And while he detects something "off" about her whenever she appears, he notes no ''immediate'' threat from her, either]].

* DispelMagic: Three of the five games feature potions with this ability, and they're used to dispel different magical effects in each game: BrainwashedAndCrazy in ''I'', BalefulPolymorph in ''II'', and VoluntaryShapeshifting and DemonicPossession in ''III''.

* MeaningfulName: There are '''tons''' of these in the series, from the baron's son Barnard ([[BalefulPolymorph bear]]) and Elsa (noble) in the first game, and the money changer Dinarzad ("Child of Gold Coins") in the second game all the way up to the final game's Kokeeno Pookameeso ("RedShirt").

** The first game has the Dryad. Indulging in any violence against nature (attacking the stag, killing the spitting spore plants, etc) will pretty much instantly gain her wrath, and a BalefulPolymorph spell, the moment you return to her.

** ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryV'': You can pick which one you want: become king and/or marry a LoveInterest, or turn into a KnightErrant. Regardless of that choice, what could count as the GoldenEnding has the Hero save Rakeesh and Ugarte from the assassin, and kill the Dragon without anyone on the Hero's side being sacrificed.

* KnifeNut: Bruno in the first game [[spoiler:and fifth game, as the assassin.]]
** The Chief of The Thief Guild in the first game also qualifies. Any hostile action towards him or Bruno in the first game invariably results in a throwing dagger through the heart. Heck, just [[TooDumbToLive walking in front of him while he's practicing his knife throwing]] can kill you.
** The player can become one as well (in gameplay terms at least), if you buy a ton of daggers and max out your Throwing skill. It's possible to hurl daggers at enemies and kill them before they can close to melee range. It's even possible to one-shot enemies in the second game, if you're sneaking through the desert and manage to hit them before they pass by. (If it doesn't kill them right away, it will at least do pretty good damage to them - making your fight with them easier.)
*** Or if you don't want to spend money on daggers, you can do the same thing with rocks. They're free and do a surprising amount of damage.

* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: The Dragon of Doom in the fifth game is so powerful, it can only be sealed, never killed. [[spoiler: The hero is powerful enough to kill the dragon - IF the one remaining dragon pillar nearby is set back upright.]] It's also said that the dragon cannot be defeated unless someone willingly sacrifices their life in the process. [[spoiler: while this does make the fight quicker, by depleting half of the dragon's health, it's really not required.]]

* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: The Dragon of Doom in the fifth game is so powerful, it can only be sealed, never killed. [[spoiler: The hero is powerful enough to kill the dragon. Although the dragon will be invulnerable to all attacks, unless the one remaining dragon pillar nearby is set back upright.]] It's also said that the dragon cannot be defeated unless someone willingly sacrifices their life in the process. [[spoiler: while this does make the fight quicker, by depleting half of the dragon's health, it's really not required.]]

* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: The Dragon of Doom in the fifth game is so powerful, it can only be sealed, never killed. [[spoiler: The hero is powerful enough to kill the dragon.]]

** Mildly averted in the fifth game when you can finally equip it as a weapon in close combat. It no longer has unlimited casting, you have to recast it when it is emptied, and the "Summon Staff" spell costs a lot, BUT all in all, it easily multiplies your usable mana point pool.

* AntiHero: The Thief character can do some pretty dickish things in his sidequests. Despite all this, the Thief is ultimately a good person, as he will still save the realm in each game. It's sometimes funny when your friends introduce you to others as an acrobat or spy, mostly because they're too embarrassed to admit you're a criminal.

* MoneySpider: Subverted. Only humanoid, sentient enemies (Goblins, Leopardmen, Mercenaries, etc.) carry money on their person. If you kill a wild Purple Saurus or a feral Necrotaur, you get bupkis. On the other hand, see VendorTrash below.

* VendorTrash: Certain enemies in the first two games have body parts that are of use to the local apothecaries, although first you need to ask what those parts are.

* YouShouldntKnowThisAlready: In the VGA versions of Quest for Glory I and II, you must first ask the local apothecaries what "components" they're interested in before you can loot the appropriate VendorTrash. In the original EGA versions of those games, you must specifically "get" the parts that the apothecaries asked for rather than just "search body".

-->'''Memory fragmented''': Suddenly, the deadly poison Fragmentation Bug leaps out of a crack in the system, and injects you with its poison. Alas, there is no cure, save to . . . Restore, Restart, Quit

-->You thought for a moment that you saw a deadly Fragmentation Bug, but then realize that it is actually the harmless Southern variety. You squash it under your boot, and it vanishes.

-->''He won't always follow orders, for he dares to answer, "Why?"''
-->''And unless he likes the reason, he refuses to comply.''

* ALoadOfBull: Traditional minotaur, except not quite as bloodthirsty as in mythology.
** Although since we only see ''two'' in the entire series, and the second one (Minos' bodyguard) seems to be quite bloodthirsty, it's hard to say which one is the typical example.

* ALoadOfBull: Toro and the War Minotaur.

One series that differed a bit from this formula, however, was the ''Quest for Glory'' series, using a MixAndMatch of Adventure and RPG. But that was not everything; the games also were a brilliant (and hilarious) AffectionateParody of the adventure genre and had a very strong continuity despite being spread out over the course of nine years. Originally called Hero's Quest, before trademark issues with Milton Bradley resulted in them changing the name.

** The stated reason fighters cannot use magic in combat (until the fifth game) is that you need a free hand to make magical gestures. In the EGA versions of the first two games you can simply drop your shield. Nothing in the games suggests this possibility, but the games have complete combat animations for fighters with a sword and no shield, and they can cast magic during combat.

** The stated reason fighters cannot use magic in combat (until the fifth game) is that you need a free hand to make magical gestures. In the EGA versions of the first game you can simply drop your shield. Nothing in the games suggests this possibility, but the games have complete combat animations for fighters with a sword and no shield, and they can cast magic during combat.

* DevelopersForesight: Certain commands produce amusing results; the most famous is "pick nose", which has you use your lockpick on yourself, either killing you or opening your nose depending on how skilled you are. ''Trial by Fire'' has a few of its own, such as "put down lamp" making your character verbally abuse the item, "drop lamp" makes you break up with it, and "give Ferrari the bird" has... well... [[FlippingTheBird the obvious result]].

* {{Unwinnable}}: Mostly averted. While there are instances of this (it is a Sierra series after all), most of the deaths are either the result of the hero not being strong enough, not being careful enough, or just a case of ViolationOfCommonSense like dropping your own sword before combat.

** As Aziza mentions at the beginning of [=QFG3=], Ad Avis' death released his life energy and caused enough of a "disturbance in the force" for demons to return to Tarna.

** In the backstory of [=QFG4=], Erana had used up her life energy to power a DyingCurse against the Dark One. Because her life energy was expended deliberately, wizards such as Zara and Erasmus weren't able to sense the moment of her death.

* MacGuffinBlindness: there's a thief-specific subplot running through the series regarding the search for a legendary blackbird statue, a ShoutOut to Literature/TheMalteseFalcon. In the second, third, and fourth games you can find a fake blackbird, and in the fifth you finally find the real one. However, the real bird also appears in the first game, but you can't pick it up because your character doesn't know what it is yet (and is busy eluding the Brigands anyway).

* MoneyForNothing: Present in a few games. Thieves tend to run across this problem, although one might suggest that the journey and the collecting of cash is its own reward. Probably the most prominent in the fourth game, as you can buy everything you need for the entire game in the first visit to the General Store with the cash you picked up in the first room of the game.

* MoneySpider: Subverted. Only sentient enemies (Goblins, Leopardmen, Mercenaries, etc.) carry money on their person. If you kill a wild Purple Saurus or a feral Necrotaur, you get bupkis. On the other hand, see VendorTrash below.

* WizardsLiveLonger And Are OlderThanTheyLook: Erasmus is implied to be over 100 years old (having built his house on Zauberberg a century ago), while Ad Avis first met the Dark Master 70 years ago and was presumably already an adult at the time, making him roughly 90 years old. Most other wizards' ages are [[OurElvesAreDifferent justified]] [[HalfHumanHybrid one way]] [[OurVampiresAreDifferent or another.]]