While the Star Pupils are the most notable, many a gamebook features a powerful and benevolent wizard, warrior or supernatural being, more than willing to help you, to advise you or give you Info Dump, play Mr. Exposition or the Quest Giver. They will most often give you some priceless McGuffin, or help your quest progress one way or another, and might even play the Big Damn Heroes from time to time.
open/close all folders
Allansia
Barolo
Barolo, standing behind a rat he had slain by throwing a sword. Without looking.
Appears in: Slaves of the Abyss
While seeking for a way to save Kallamehr, you happen to stumble across Barolo, your tutor and mentor during your years of training in the treacherous north lands. Unfortunately Barolo is unable to partake in the quest for Kallamehr due to losing his leg to a dragon, but he is more than eager to assist by further honing your skills as a warrior...
- An Arm and a Leg: Lost a leg to a dragon.
- Badass Teacher: In spades. You owe him most of what you know and he's not done teaching you.
- Cool Sword: You inherit your impressive weapon from him. It is made of steel from the Dwarf Sacred Mountain of Fangthane, no less.
- Cool Teacher: Oh yes he is! A certified badass-maker.
- Handicapped Badass: His lack of a leg isn't going to stop him from kicking ass!
- Improbable Aiming Skills: When it comes to sword-throwing, he can hit his target dead on without even looking. He can pass this skill to you.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Gives you a nice buckler shield that gives you +1 in skill.
- Mentor Archetype: The Yoda to your Luke, except that this one ends the story alive... If you win that is.
- Master Swordsman: Oh very much so...
- Old Master: Ageing instead of really old, but he more than qualifies.
- Remember the New Guy?: Barolo's character came literally out of nowhere, but the text made it sound like you already knew him for years!
- Retired Badass: No longer participating in quests anymore, but still capable of helping you.
- Secret Art: His special skill of the Spitting Fly, which he only pass to his students deemed worthy. When he learn of your quest to save Kallamehr, he decides you are indeed worthy of it.
- Throwing Your Sword Always Works: He knows the skill of the Spitting Fly, which allows the user to throw his sword with a 100% chance of hitting its target with instantly deadly accuracy.
Corianthus
Appears in: Siege of Sardath
A mighty Storm Giant who lives in Hamcloud Castle, who was abducted by the vile Dark Elves threatening the land. You release him at the peak of the adventure.
- Badass in Distress: Corianthus is captive of the Dark Elves and subjected to Cold-Blooded Torture during the entire story.
- Barbarian Longhair: His looks, hairdo and clothing are definitely barbarian inspired, though there is more than meets the eye.
- Big Fun: A giant with a jovial personality and a love of feast.
- Big Good: Corianthus is the most powerful among the benevolent characters of the story and many praise his wisdom. In a twist of the trope, he spends the story at the Big Bad's mercy, for the villains need him out of the picture and covet his powers. See just below...
- Captured Super-Entity: An enormously powerful giant wielding the Power of the Storm, captured and tortured by the Dark Elves to syphon his power. Justified in that the Big Bad is one of the few Evil Overlords in the franchise skilled enough to pull off such a feat.
- Cultured Badass: Corianthus owns a gigantic library and knows about all sorts of subjects.
- Face of a Thug: Looking at him, he appears to be another brutal giant enemy like so many others encountered in the series. But Corianthus is strictly on your side.
- Our Giants Are Bigger: He is not a normal Fantasy giant but an Elemental Giant. They are exceedingly rare, practically immortal and gifted with vast intelligence and knowledge.
- Shock and Awe: Corianthus wields enormous powers over storms and lightning.
- Weather Manipulation: By virtue of his Shock and Awe powers, he can cause tremendous storms and winds.
The Dragon Conclave
The Green Dragon, about to give you a lift to where the Conclave are gathered.
Appears in: Night Dragon
The alliance of Dragon Elders whose Legendary gathering occurs in times of great danger and emergency. In the conclave, a Dragon elder of each type, Gold, Silver, White, Black and Green forges their alliance with the humans. Only Blue Dragons are prevented from attending the Conclave by ancient bonds imposed by their master Sukh, the Storm God. The Conclave only meets when terrible dangers threaten the draconian race, or even the entire world. Only such extraordinary circumstances can bring together a full Conclave, because the Dragons of Law and Chaos have not much love for each other.
- Big Good: The Gold Dragon is the most powerful and lawful of the group, and even breaks the rule of the dragons to save you at the end of the quest.
- Big Damn Heroes: After you finally defeat the Night Dragon and make your way out of its Collapsing Lair, the Gold Dragon will arrive just in time to save you from death.
- Blood from the Mouth: The Green Dragon, moments before expiring, does this due to an Incurable Cough of Death.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: The ranks each dragon represents are noted by their colour.
- Delightful Dragon: Noble and benevolent, the Conclave seeks to protect the world against the Black Sheep of their kind.
- Dragons Are Divine: Dragons are servants of the gods in this setting.
- Giant Flyer: Naturally. The Green Dragon and Gold Dragon will give you a lift at certain points in your adventure.
- God's Hands Are Tied: The dragon elders are unable to provide assistance for your quest, due to being forbidden from interfering with the affair of humans.
- Gold and White Are Divine: The most noble of dragons, ultimate Big Good and leader of the conclave, the Gold Dragon.
- Gold-Colored Superiority: No surprise that the Gold Dragon is the leader and most powerful of the bunch.
- Heroic Sacrifice: The Green Dragon will give up its life to help you advance on your quest.
- Light Is Good: The Gold Dragon might just be the shinning example, being the leader of the lawful dragons.
- Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: The Gold Dragon can break its own rules to save your life at the end of the adventure, because he's the one who made them in the first place.
- Talking Animal: They are dragons, who have absolutely no problem communicating with your human character.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: The Gold Dragon has the ability to shape-shift itself into a cat.
Greylock
Appears in: Demons of the Deep
- Barefoot Sage/Magical Barefooter: He is an old sage/magician, and is depicted barefoot in the book illustration. It may have to do with his eccentricity or the fact that he has no need for shoes due to living at the sea bottom.
Julius Lecarte
With his pet Sabre-toothed Tiger, Snag
Appears in: Battleblade Warrior
While on a quest to save your kingdom of Vymorna, you encounter this hunter and tracker, Julius Lecarte, who is on a hunting mission on his own. You accompany him for a while as you try to stay ahead of the Lizard Folk hot on your tails...
- Assist Character: You may end up in a fight with several Lizard Men, with him and Snag, both whose SKILLS are higher than 10 and can make short work of the Lizard Men soldiers.
- Attack Animal: His pet Snag fulfills this purpose.
- Blow That Horn: Uses this weapon to cause distraction among the Lizard Men.
- Booby Trap: An expert in setting up explosive traps which can take out several Lizard Men.
- Bow and Sword in Accord: Equally skilled with a bow and a sword.
- Classical Hunter: He fits the archetype, being a tracker who spends his days living in the hills.
- Continuity Nod: Lecarte mentions that his travels have brought him across various locations in the FF-verse which seasoned players should find familiar, including Kallamehr and Sardath.
- Disappeared Dad: His father Tadeus Lecarte disappeared years ago, and he's on a quest looking for his father when he crosses path with you.
- Forest Ranger: A hunter and tracker who befriends animals with ease.
- Guest-Star Party Member: He accompanies you for a while, helping you slay several Lizard Men before you had to part ways with him.
- Hero of Another Story: He's on a quest of his own with impressive stories to tell, but these aren't explored any further once you part ways with him.
- In the Hood: The illustration shows him in a hood.
- Master of Disguise: Or at least, he disguises you in one scene, where you had to infiltrate an orc funeral.
- Panthera Awesome: His pet is a Saber-toothed tiger named Snag.
- The Strategist: Comes up with ideas to defeat the numerically superior Lizard Men soldiers.
The Lore Master
Appears in: Night Dragon
A mysterious, timeless Ambiguously Human mage who lives outside of Time and Space and watches over the Dreamtime. His help is mandatory to reach said Spiritual Plane plagued by the Night Dragon, and to destroy the eldritch titan before it can doom the entire world.Khul
Astragal
Appears in: Fangs of Fury
A lawful wizard leader of the Mage Order in South of Khul, successor and sworn Arch-Enemy of the Big Bad Jaxartes. He appears in all three gamebooks
- Animorphism: Astragal can turn into birds and frequently appears under a hawk's shape.
- Animal Motifs: Birds.
- Archenemy: The worst enemy of Jaxartes, the Big Bad of Fangs of Fury, who swore to destroy him.
- The Archmage: The ruler and mightiest member of the Mage Order.
- Benevolent Mage Ruler: The wise and noble ruler of the Mage Order, who has the realms' best interest at heart.
- Big Good: The most powerful and most active force of good around, who takes matters in hand in times of crisis.
- In Fangs of Fury, he and the Mage Order oversee the defences of the city of Zamarra, defending it from the Big Bad's forces.
- In Chasms of Malice, he watches over the True Shield and assists the regent of the Kingdom of Gorak.
- The Chooser of the One: In Chasms of Malice, he identifies you as the last heir to the throne and the only one who can defeat the Big Bad Orghuz.
- Cool Old Guy: Ageing instead of really old, and a wise, mentor figure.
- Foil: Astragal represents what Jaxartes was and should always have remained: A highly powerful yet selfless protector of the realm.
- Good Counterpart: To Jaxartes.
- Good Witch Versus Bad Witch: A male version between Astragal, the wise Benevolent Mage Ruler and Jaxartes, the vile Sorcerous Overlord.
- Redeeming Replacement: Jaxartes disgraced the Wizard Order by loosing himself to The Dark Arts and making a Face–Heel Turn. By contrast, Astragal went down in history as one of the greatest mages of Titan.
- Quest Giver: In all three books in which he appears.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Basically Khul's answer to Gereth Yaztromo.
- Wizard Classic: A textbook case.
Alkis Fearslicer
The Fearslicer fighting a horde of goblins. Guess who's on the losing side.
Appears in: Chasms of Malice, Daggers of Darkness
Alkis Fearslicer is a leader from the legendary blind Sensewarriors, the sightless warriors of the Gaddon People who lives in the deep chasms beneath Gorak. His home town is Govanthian. You can encounter him in two separate gamebooks, where he will provide you with invaluable assistance on your quest.
- Blind Weaponmaster: He may be the sightless, but it's not going to stop him from kicking ass.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: You encounter him fighting a horde of goblins. You help him kill one, but by the time you're done Alkis have defeated the rest.
- The Faceless: Despite being featured in two gamebooks, Mr. Fearslicer only appears in one illustration, and even then his back is facing you.
- Step into the Blinding Fight: If you befriend him, Alkis will teach you a thing or two about fighting in total darkness, at which point you can fight enemies in the dark without the usual SKILL penalty.
- Walking the Earth: Like most adventurers of his kind, Alkis spends much of his life travelling across distant lands.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: You never get to say a proper goodbye to him, he just kind of leaves partway through the adventure.
Credas
Vashti the Ageless
The Old World
Alsander
Appears in: Stealer of Souls
Alsander is a trusted follower of the Benevolent Mage Ruler Vanestin, who works to discover the Evil Plan of the Archmage Necromancer Mordraneth. He made major discoveries but was spotted and is held captive in one of Mordraneth's secondary bases. As such, Vanestin hires you to go and save him, and more if possible...
- '70s Hair: He sports bushy sideburns.
- Badass Bookworm: Alsander is a powerful mage and a trusted agent of the Big Good Vanestin, smart enough to decipher and bypass Mordraneth's Anti-Magic tampering. This got him in hot water, as he submits him to Cold-Blooded Torture to learn how he did.
- Badass in Distress: He got captured by Mordraneth's agents and you must rescue him before it's too late.
- Badass Longrobe: What else to expect from a mage?
- Badass Teacher: He can teach you some useful spells that will get you out of more than one pinch later.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: Thick and black.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: The poor bloke got on the receiving end of some, and is understandably quite worse for wear.
- Cool Old Guy: Ageing instead of old, but still on the line of fire and damn good at his job.
- Dented Iron: Alsander fights on the first line in the war between Vanestin and Mordraneth, but the torture he suffered left a heavy toll.
- The Dog Bites Back: If you free him before killing his torturer, said torturer will get a Fireball to the face. No tears shed there, and you finish off the f***er afterwards.
- Emotion Control: He can teach you a spell to ease your fears.
- Fireballs: He can teach you how to throw one, dealing - 6 stamina to foes, even the Big Bad himself.
- Good Is Not Soft: No monster can expect mercy from this guy.
- Good Witch Versus Bad Witch: A male variant: Vanestin and Alsander are the good wizards opposing Mordraneth and his students, textbook Evil Sorcerers if there ever were some.
- He Knows Too Much: The reason why he is held captive. Played with in that the Big Bad wants to learn how he discovered what he knows before silencing him.
- Heal Thyself: He masters a spell to regain stamina and teaches it to you.
- The Infiltration: He entered Mordraneth's lair to learn about his plan and resources, but he got caught.
- It May Help You on Your Quest: Again, the spells he teaches you sure won't come to waste.
- Living MacGuffin: Your mission, if you accept it, is to rescue Alsander and use his hard earned knowledge to confront Mordraneth.
- Mister Exposition: Alsander learnt everything about the Big Bad's Evil Plan, the Very Definitely Final Dungeon and The Reveal, and tells you all about.
- Old Master: More like ageing, but a notable Badass Bookworm who even teaches you magic.
- Old Soldier: Ageing again, but still on active duty in an Enforced Cold War (at best) against the local Sorcerous Overlord.
- The Red Mage: Alsander knows battle magic and healing/support magic, and will teach it to you.
- Teleporters and Transporters: He teleports away after emptying his crates of Exposition. Justified in that he is too weakened by torture to be of any more help and must warn Vanestin of Mordraneth's Evil Plan.
- Useless Useful Spell: Downplayed. The illusion-breaking spell he teaches you is not useless, but the Big Bad being a world class Master of Illusion, some of his are too powerful for it to fully dispel.
- Wizard Classic: Very much this despite lacking the hat and the beard.
Jack-in-the-Green
Appears in: Legend of the Shadow Warriors
A mysterious Nature Spirit refering to himself as an "Ancient King", being a major servant and messenger of the Gods. He appears several times to guide you in your quest to stop the titular Shadow Warriors and the god-like Evil Overlord Voivod.- Divine Ranks: A divine servant of more than likely demi-god status, although his exact rank and power remains mysterious. He is clearly more than he appears, but he is content with playing Spirit Advisor.
- Exposition Fairy: A supernatural being dispensing advices and guidance.
- Mysterious Past: No-one knows when, where or even how he came to be.
- Some sources speculate about him being an aspect of the Messenger God Atlan.
- Nature Spirit: He is literally made of vegetation and can appear in every bush, shrubbery or tree leaves.
- Plant Person: He manifests as a human face inside leaves, and is made of them. The illustration even shows vines sprouting from his mouth.
- Really 700 Years Old: Jack-in-the-Green has been around for eons.
- Red Baron: He introduces himself as the Ancient King.
- Quest Giver: Jack-in-the-Green directs you to places plagued by evil where your intervention is needed, to make sure that you're the one the gods can grant the Infinity +1 Sword.
- Shout-Out: He is based on the Green Man, also known as the Man in Leaves, an Older Than Feudalism representation of Nature, Spring and the rebirth of vegetation used in decorations all across the globe, from Europe, to Scandinavia, up to Middle-Asia.
- Spirit Advisor: Jack-in-the-Green only appears to you, though only when you are alone, and guides your quest with clues, directions and precious pieces of advice.
- Violence Is Not an Option: He always advises you to defuses the situation whenever possible, and avoid needless conflict. And true to form, situation is usually better when not fighting more than necessary.Jack-in-the-Green: "Be warned! Violence can never be the final answer. Evil must be left to consume itself. Your duty is to help, not to beget further chaos."
The Netherworld Sorcerers
You only interact with their Leader.
The soulless husks of the others...
Appears in: Dead of Night
A group of extremely powerful Ambiguously Human mages, keepers of the Balance Between Good and Evil. As their name indicates, they reside outside the Physical Planes, but can manifest in the country of Gallantaria, former centre of the continent of the Old World.The Big Bad, the Demon Prince Myurr hijacks their spells of True-Seeing without them knowing to make them believe Good has too much influence and asks their help to restore balance, tricking them into tipping the scales in Evil's favour. While three of them follow Myurr in his Evil Tower of Ominousness and become his mindless slaves, their leader remain to speak to The Hero, Myurr's Arch-Enemy the Demon Stalker. A meeting that can change the quest...
- Above Good and Evil: They cannot keep balance between both without being absolutely unfazed by each. They will side with the one who they find too disadvantaged, no question asked. However, when they get misled, they rectify it at once.
- Ambiguously Human: They look perfectly human, but are seemingly immortal servants of the gods from outside the Physical Planes. What they are and how they came to be remains unsaid.
- The Archmage: The Netherworld Sorcerers are extremely powerful, using magic that seemingly transcends what mortal spell-casters can do by many orders of magnitude.
- The Atoner: If you can prove him that Myurr tricked them, the Leader grants you the Villain-Beating Artifact as a penance, to give you the means to settle the score and right their wrong.
- Awakening the Sleeping Giant: Myurr will regret bringing them into the fold if you prove to their Leader that they got duped, for they own the only weapon that can harm him.
- Balance Between Good and Evil: Their first and foremost role is to make sure that both sides are as well-balanced as can be, neither with a distinct advantage.
- It is said All There in the Manual that they serve Logaan, God of Balance and arbiter of the gods.
- Bald Mystic: The Leader is bald and has huge powers. The others are presumably bald as well, but you never see their mug.
- Big Good: Downplayed for they work with the Big Bad, but only due to said Big Bad being one heck of a Manipulative Bastard. Despite being
True Neutral the Leader play the role, providing priceless help in the right circumstances. Knowing how dangerous they could be was one of the reasons why Myurr intrigued to get them in his pocket. - The Blacksmith: While clearly not of the profession, nor even looking like it, they did forge their fair share of uber-powerful artefacts.
- They forged the Ting Ring, pretty much the mightiest Ring of Power that can be found on Titan, granting literally New Powers as the Plot Demands depending on its wearer and circumstances.
- They are also rumoured to have forged the Crown of Kings, the MacGuffin for the spin-off Sorcery!, said to boost the wisdom and ruling abilities of any monarch wearing it.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: The three of them in Myurr's tower are completely under his control and are ready to help him unleash Hell on Earth without batting an eyelid, despite this completely screwing the Balance they were sworn to protect.
- The Dividual: They all share the same role and seem to share a single-minded devotion to Balance, but since you only meet one and the others are nothing but Empty Shells by the time you get face to hood with them, it is hard to tell.
- Duality Motif: The three of them in Myurr's throne room wear perfectly symmetrical half-white, half-black robes, symbolising the Balance they no longer serve.
- Empty Shell: The three of them in Myurr's throne room are nothing more than husks of their former selves, sitting motionless as the Final Battle unfolds before them, not moving a muscle and being Reduced to Dust as soon as the Big Bad gets his scaly butt kicked back to Hell.
- Facial Markings: The Leader has tattoos on his face, presumably of mystical nature.
- In the Hood: The three present in Myurr's throne room hide their face under their hood.
- Last of His Kind: The Leader is the only one alive at the end, the others being Reduced to Dust.
- MacGuffin Guardian: The Netherworld Sorcerers keep the powerful Demon-Slaying Sword, the only weapon able to harm a Snake Demon.
- Mage Species: The Netherworld Sorcerers are seemingly immortals and trans-dimensional servants of the gods, who appears to be mere mortals but at the same time seem much more.
- Mysterious Past: Whether they are an order of normal human mages or Ambiguously Human divine servants remain unexplained, though the latter is more likely.
- No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Dine: The Leader welcomes you warmly and serves you the meal seen in the illustration. Justified in that he bears you no animosity and wants to learn of your role in earnest. His reaction depends on what you tell him.
- No Name Given: They are only referred to as their collective title.
- Not So Omniscient After All: Despite seeing and knowing all, they can't see where you fit in Myurr's schemes. Besides, they were completely blindsided by Myurr, but only because he knew how to tamper their omniscience.
- The Omniscient: They use powerful spells of True-Seeing to watch over Titan and every Plane of Existence. However, see right above...
- Pocket Dimension: The Leader can send you in one if you cannot convince him that Myurr is the Big Bad.
- Really 700 Years Old: The Netherworld Sorcerers have been around for many millennia, if not eons.
- Reduced to Dust: The three in Myurr's throne room disintegrate after you win the Final Battle, leaving nothing but their robes behind.
- Stupid Neutral: They take much pride in their neutrality. Too much. It leaves them open to Myurr's scheme.
- Teleporters and Transporters: The Leader can teleport you wherever he wants, but always sends you near The Very Definitely Final Dungeon.
- True Neutral: The Netherworld Sorcerers can serve either Good or Evil, depending on which side they find lacking in the Balance.
- Unwitting Pawn: Myurr plays them like a fiddle, like he does with everyone in the country... Until you come around. To their defence, Myurr is just that good at manipulation.
Samatz
Appears in: Dead of Night
A mysterious old man whom you, the Demon Stalker encounter in a dark and stormy night. He kindly offers you shelter and a meal in his caravan, and quickly proves to be much more than meets the eye, knowing things none normally could but being insufferably cryptic. He plays a small but crucial role in your quest to save the country of Gallantaria from your Arch-Enemy the Demon Prince Myurr.- Above Good and Evil: Like the Netherworld Sorcerers, Samatz makes sure that the Balance Between Good and Evil is maintained. He acts more subtly though.
- Ambiguously Human: Whether he is a powerful mage or a supernatural being is never explained, but what is sure is that he serves the same gods as you.
- Angel Unaware: You meet this friendly old-man seemingly by complete happenstance, but he soon turns out to be a powerful divine servant. His disappearance after giving clues hints a supernatural origin, likely being sent by the gods themselves to help you out.
- Badass Longrobe: Samatz dons a lavish set of Oriental-looking robes, hinting that he is much more than a mere passer-by with a sense of hospitality.
- Connected All Along: Turns out the Netherworld Sorcerers know him. And trust him so much than merely speaking his name convinces their Leader that you speak the truth about Myurr's deceit.
- Cool Car: He lives a medieval ancestor of sort, a lavish and well-furbished caravan.
- Cool Old Guy: A wise old man of supernatural origin, who gives crucial help.
- Cryptic Conversation: He frustrates your character by clearly knowing much more than he lets on, but evading all your questions. Still in the end he tells just what was needed.
- Dream Walker: He appears in your dreams as you spend the night in his caravan, to provide clues.
- Duality Motif: He has one eye light-coloured, the other dark, subtly hinting his role as keeper of the Balance Between Good and Evil.
- Hermit Guru: Samatz is very wise and powerful, and is Walking the Earth alone in his caravan.
- Level Drain: If you're enough of a dick to attack him despite his hospitality, he takes down one of your god-given Secret Arts. This hints that he could be more than a normal human.
- Magical Asian: His looks and the interior of his caravan are clearly of Western-Asian slash Middle-Orient inspiration. And the rest of his list explains well enough how magical he is.
- Mysterious Backer: Samatz is mysterious and cryptic as they come, but a priceless ally to have.
- Mysterious Past: Whether he is a powerful but perfectly human mage or an envoy of the gods is never explained, though the latter is strongly hinted. Additionally, where does he come from, how long has he been around, how does he know the Netherworld Sorcerers and whether he is one of them remains equally unsaid.
- Old Master: A friendly old man and a powerful, if cryptic, force of good.
- Riddle for the Ages: Who or what he is will always remain a mystery.
- Sacred Hospitality: Samatz appears to you offering shelter from the rain and a cup of tea. Once inside his caravan, he treats you a meal and offers you to spend the night. Refusing would be unwise...
- Secret Test of Character: Merely meeting him is one. If Myurr's endless waves of traps makes you too paranoid for your own good, you miss a precious source of help.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Just an easily missed meeting... which can seriously tip the scales of the conflict in your favour.
- Spanner in the Works: Samatz is the only one Muyrr never accounted for in his plan. And he is the one who can break his hold over the Netherworld Sorcerer.
- Tea Is Classy: He is richly clad, lives in a lavish caravan, and offers you tea.
- Video Game Cruelty Punishment: Should you prove dumb enough to attack him, he vanishes and causes you to lose mastery of one of your Paladin powers. Which decreases your Karma Meter as well, just to hammer the point home.
