Line #38 Literature/ShadowKeep


1	[[quoteright:292:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shadowkeep.jpg]]
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3	''Shadowkeep'' is a short 1984 novel from Creator/AlanDeanFoster, based on his work on the Trillium [=RPG=] of the same name. (The 1991 Platform/{{Mac}} game ''VideoGame/ShadowKeep'' is no relation.)
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5	The good wizard Gorwyther, owner of the eponymous fortress of Shadowkeep was tricked and sealed by the evil [[BigBad Demon King Dal'Brad]], who's now planning the invasion of Earth. The young smith apprentice [[MagneticHero Practor Fime]] decide to try his luck and venture forth in the cursed castle. Along the way he befriends the [[BeastMan Garoo Sranul]], the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Thaladar sage Maryld]] and the [[LizardFolk mighty Zhiss'ta Hargrod]]. Together, they venture in the castle in order to free Gorwyther, stop the Demon King and reclaim the legendary treasure of Shadowkeep.
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7	The book, while sounding similar to a Role-Playing fantasy adventure, is still not too bad.
8	----
9	!!This work contains examples of:
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11	* ActionGirl: Maryld, despite being a sage, isn't afraid to go dungeon crawling.
12	* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Goblins and Trolls are listed as such. The former are introduced attacking a caravan of LizardFolk unprovoked, the latter have... [[IAmAHumanitarian peculiar taste in food.]]
13	* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever:[[spoiler: Dal'Brad can easily tower over a medium size town.]]
14	* BaitAndSwitch: When Practor is suddenly surrounded and seemingly attacked by the Garoos he thinks his adventure is already over... turns out, it's a Garoo custom to capture a traveler to make him the "king" of a day-long feast, where he gets plenty of food and drink alongside the clan who captured him.
15	* BaitAndSwitchBoss:[[spoiler: Our heroes manage to defeat the Demon Prince, only to find themselves face to face with the ''true'' Dal'Brad.]]
16	* BattleCry: Averted by the Zhiss'ta who are silent fighters. The Troll Boss' one is [[IAmAHumanitarian "Lunch! Lunch!"]]
17	* BeastMan: Garoos are humanoid Kangaroos, capable of great jumps. Zhiss'ta are LizardFolk.
18	* {{BFS}}: The Troll boss has a gigantic sword.
19	* BigBad: Dal'Brad the Demon King.
20	* BigFun: The Garoos have a propension for parties and banquets.
21	* BigGood: Gorwyther the wizard. [[spoiler: Who sadly is also a PosthumousCharacter by the time they free him.]]
22	* BoobyTrap: Shadowkeep is filled with traps of any kind, usually paired with SchmuckBait.
23	* BrickJoke: In the beginning one of the street kids asks to another one if [[TheBlank the Spinner]] "looked like his mad uncle". When the party confront [[spoiler: fake]] Demon King and ask him if he's Dal'Brad, he says: "Well, I'm surely [[{{Narm}} not your uncle Thavel]]."
24	* CallToAgriculture: Former hero Shone Stelft decides to turn down the call to adventure and remain a blacksmith.
25	* CantArgueWithElves: Can't Argue With Thaladars. Thaladars are really cold and unbearable, but thankfully Maryld and her relatives are "eccentric", hence friendlier and kind.
26	* CombatTentacles: The Brollachian monster has several of these along with clawed arms (his physical description isn't too clear).
27	* CoolHelmet: Halfway through, Practor obtains a well-crafted metal coif/skullcap to wear. According to Hargrod's judgement, it's well-built enough to protect him from lighter weaponry.
28	* ChekhovsGun: Many, especially [[spoiler: the staff in the Brollachian chamber, the inscribed stick and the altars of teleportation]].
29	* DarkIsNotEvil: The Spinner is apparently made of gloomy shadows, but is good-naturated.
30	* DeadpanSnarker: Sranul, Hargrod and the Innkeeper Norell.
31	* DeathIsCheap: [[spoiler: For Sranul, who's killed by the Demon Prince but revived thanks to the Keep's magic.]]
32	* DontTouchItYouIdiot: Will Sranul ever learn the lesson?
33	* DungeonCrawling: Pretty much a DungeonCrawling book.
34	* FantasticRacism: Thaladars are cold and detatched to strangers: you won't see them throwing petty slurs or employing sarcasm, but they'd hardly move a finger to help them, with the aversion being Maryld and her family. Maryld's ultimate goal is to use her part of the loot to make a school open to children of all races.
35	* FeedItABomb: [[spoiler: How Practor kills Dal'Brad. The latter even has a moment of OhCrap when he realizes he just swallowed the cithqua.]]
36	* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Albeit with a very mild case of said humors
37	** Practor Fime as TheHero (mild choleric)
38	** Sranul as TheLancer (sanguine)
39	** Maryld as TheSmartGuy (phlegmatic)
40	** Hargrod as TheBigGuy (melancholic)
41	* HolyHandGrenade: [[spoiler: The ''cithqua'' (Demon Gem) forged by Gorwyther, which obliterates Dal'Brad in a volcano of pure light.]]
42	* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler:Sranul is impaled through the chest by the Demon Prince's scimitar. Later Practor repays him in kind.]]
43	* InTheBack: [[spoiler: How Practor kills the Demon Prince. He feels a little ignomious for doing that, but given the situation he can't afford to be picky.]]
44	* InsultBackfire: The Troll Boss, while facing our heroes in his lair/office.
45	-->'''Troll Boss''': A deal? I don't make deals with trash like you!
46	-->'''Sranul''': But you ''eat'' trash like us? You have strange tastes!
47	* ItGetsEasier: Downplayed, though when Practor kills one of the Goblins attacking the Zhiss'ta, the narration mentions that it was the first time he killed a sentient being and he feel discomfort with that. Since he's in battle though, he soon recovers.
48	* JavelinThrower: Sranul fights with javelins.
49	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Sranul sometimes acts like a selfish, foolish money-obsessed jerk.
50	* LargeAndInCharge: The Troll Boss is far larger than his subordinates and so too Dal'Brad. [[spoiler: Especially the true one!]]
51	* LightningBruiser: Sranul is very fast and can jump [[InASingleBound really high]].
52	* LizardFolk: Zhiss'ta are a race of gray-scaled, stout but powerful lizardfolks who're mostly nomadic. They prefer to be left alone and rarely disturb others, but are honorable and powerful warriors.
53	* MadeOfAir: [[spoiler: The Demon Prince can't be harmed by physical weapons, which just phase through, but the magical staff can turn him solid for a moment.]]
54	* MadeOfIron:
55	** Hargrod can run as a strong steed for whole days without getting tired.
56	** The Brollachian is one of the few monsters that not even Hargrod can slay in combat, with the latter commenting that probably even decapitation would feel like a minor nuisance.
57	* MagneticHero: Practor manages to hold his odd fellowship together.
58	* MistakenForGranite:
59	** Subverted. At one point the heroes walks in a corridor full of mean-looking, demonic statues. This being [[EverythingIsTryingToKillYou Shadowkeep]], Sranul thinks that the statues will come to life and attack them, but they're eventually revealed to be just harmless statues.
60	** Played straight [[spoiler:in the finale with the Demon King Dal'Brad, masquerading as a titanic demon idol.]]
61	* MrViceGuy: Sranul pass off as a really greedy, money-obsessed guy, but he's more hedonistic than greedy.
62	* OrcusOnHisThrone: Dal'Brad. Justified in that he believes that movement is for people who don't think and prefer to control things from behind the curtains.
63	* OurTrollsAreDifferent: Vicious humanoid monsters inhabiting caves and dark places with a great love for gold and meat. [[IAmAHumanitarian Any meat]].
64	* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Zhiss'ta. Not even the LegionsOfHell dares to mess with them.
65	* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: While not that old, Maryld is still older than she looks. When she calls Practor "Young friend" he jokingly threatens to call her "Granny".
66	* RedHerring: The golden ring shown by Norell to Practor. Also some of the secrets of Shadowkeep are left unexplored.
67	* RetiredBadAss: Shone Stelft, and he's not coming out this time.
68	* RodentsOfUnusualSize: The guards of Dal'Brad are described as large rat-looking monsters.
69	* RoyalRapier: Maryld's weapon of choice is a sword, though unlike Practor's standard arming sword she has a thinner, sharper rapier fitting her noble birth and frame.
70	* SchmuckBait: Shadowkeep is filled with baits of many kind. Discussed at one point when they go on a brief discussion on wether or not the massive mirror and chessboard puzzle they're looking at is actually a hidden door to a cache of treasure or an elaborated trap before opting for leaving it alone.
71	* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Maryld and her family towards the obstructive Thaladar Council.
72	* SealedGoodInACan: Gorwyther. [[spoiler: However he's already dead and only his "echo" is left.]]
73	* SexySoakedShirt: There is a scene with getting clothes wet, and ChasteHero Practor attempts to ignores the FanService.
74	* ShipTease: Despite being already promised, Practor can't stop noticing how attractive Maryld is, and she likes to tease him a little about it.
75	* SinisterScimitar: The Demon Prince, upon seeing how badly his troops are performing against the heroes, pulls out a massive curved sword from his throne and joinst the fray.
76	* TechnicolorToxin: A cloud of orange toxic gas appears as a trap.
77	* TentacledTerror: The Brollachian is a massive green monster with many claw-tipped tentacles and a vaguely humanoid torso. Even Hargrod is unable to slay it after a long underwater battle.
78	* ThatMakesMeFeelAngry: [[spoiler: Dal'Brad, upon revealing himself, takes his time to tell the heroes just how angry he is for their meddling before he tries to crush them all.]]
79	* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: During the final fight, Hargrod suddenly throws his axe at the Demon Prince, to no avail, causing him to sarcastically ask if he really thought that tossing his weapon would make it more efficient. [[spoiler: It works as a distraction from the runed staff, which is promptly used to turn the demon solid and kill him.]]
80	* TooDumbToLive: [[SarcasmMode Yes, Sranul, I'm sure there's nothing wrong with that ominous silver altar covered in magical runes.]]
81	* WhatYouAreInTheDark: When the heroes finally stumble into the famous treasure of Shadowkeep they were looking for, each of them has to see which of the two really matters the most: getting the treasure for their long-term goals or stopping the evil Dal'Brad.
82	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Discussed when Practor, Maryld and Sranul help the Zhiss'ta carovan against the goblins.
83	* WhamLine: [[spoiler: Gorwyther drops one when he reveals that he's already dead and that they're talking to his echo.]]

Context Literature / ShadowKeep