History Literature / KnightsOfDoom

* BasiliskAndCockatrice: You battle a Cockatrice terrorizing avillage at one point.

* {{Hellhound}}: You get to fight a whole horde of this while defending a cabin, from dusk until dawn breaks.

* TheWarSequence: Halfway through the story you have to lead the troops you have gathered along the way in a field battle against the vanguard of Belgaroth's Beastmen forces. [[spoiler: [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption you do pretty well, until Varen's troops turn on you.]]]]

For centuries, the brave Templar Knights of Telak Sword-bearer have protected the people of Ruddlestone from evil and chaos, destroying demonic threats from the nearby lands, and you are one of the most skilled warriors of their ranks. One day, King Rannor of Ruddlestone announced his terrible, debilitating illness, which has no natural origin: the fallen Templar of Telak Belgaroth, the Usurping Serpent, has returned from the dead along with his dreaded Chaos Knights, and from his ghost-ridden fortress of Caer-Skaal deep south he plans to invade Ruddlestone in the name of Chaos.
It's up to the most skilled member of the Templars (that would mean you) to venture south, slip through the enemy lines and find a way to stop Belgaroth before his demonic hordes tear Ruddlestone apart.

''Knights of Doom'' is the 56th entry of the ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' series of gamebooks, written by Jonathan Green.

''Knights of Doom'' more or less plays like Green's previous adventure of ''Literature/{{Spellbreaker}}'', though this time with a style which is remarkably similar to Hand's ''Literature/DeadOfNight'', (You have to pick up a series of both martial and arcane skills that may help you on your quest) but along with Jackson and Livingstone's narrow, item-grabbing path of progression which makes the game noticeably harder, forcing the player to follow a specific route to win and reducing the chances of exploring around. It also has a score of Honour and a Time score as your mission is timed.

So yeah, essentially is [[JustForFun/XMeetsY Dead of Night meets Spellbreaker]], or [[InTheStyleOf Dead of Night written by Green]].

!!''Knights of Doom'' contains examples of:

* {{Angry Mob}}: You encounter one quite early in the book. It's possible to calm them down by explaining what's really going on.

* KarmicTransformation: [[spoiler: Lord Taris Varen is transformed into a grotesque half-man half-raven hybrid when you unmask his identity.]]

* ReligionOfEvil: The Clerics of Lein used to be good, before being corrupted by Belgaroth and starting an evil cult worshipping an abomination made of thorns.

* SignificantAnagram: [[spoiler: The Raven, traitor of Ruddlestone, is, obviously enough, Taris ''Varen''.]]

* SpiderLimbs: Cadaver the Necromage somehow grafted some spider legs on his torso, for purely aesthetic reasons. They give you a malus if you got Arachnofobia.
* TinTyrant: Despite being a Sorcerer, Belgaroth resembles the classical good old Black Knight of Chaos with horned, skull-faced helmet, black cape, spiked cuirass and giant [[BlackSwordsAreBetter black claymore.]]

* {{Training the Peaceful Villagers}}: If you choose the Battle Tactics skill, you can whip the people of Assart into a makeshift army to defy Cadaver's undead.
* ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption: Subverted early on when you run into three people rousing a mob against the King: the safest and more honourable approach consist in talking them out of their rage against the sovereign.
* TheWarSequence: Halfway through the story you have to lead the troops you have gathered along the way in a field battle against the vanguard of Belgaroth's Beastmen forces. [[spoiler: [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption you do pretty well, until Varen's troops turn on you.]]]]

* {{Unwinnable by Mistake}}: In order to win the book, you need Aelfgar. To find Aelfgar, you need to find three verses of a song. One of those verses appears in an illustration, written in runes. To decode those runes, you need to find a statue with an engraving. That's all very well, but you can only find the statue by failing a [[AC:skill]] roll. Oh, and if you choose the Ride skill, that roll is an automatic pass.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Belgaroth granted the traitor the ability to transform at will, and he uses it to spy on you. [[spoiler: what animal he turns into provides a vital clue to unmask him.]]

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: A mandatory curse at one point can make you scared of snakes, spiders or heights. During your quest for the Spear, you have to face a special trial to conquer this fear.

* FiveBadBand: The villains form one:
** BigBad: Belgaroth of course.
** TheDragon: As said before, the Chaos Champion. The Knights of Doom as a whole can be seen as CoDragons, serving as the last line of defence between you and the BigBad.
** TheEvilGenius: Bryar the Arch-Cleric of Lein, who turned his religious order into a ReligionOfEvil.
** TheBrute: Murgrim the Cruel, the overweight and vicious leader of the beast men.
** TheDarkChick: Morgwyn of the Dark Tower, Belgaroth's wife and a skilled witch.
** SixthRanger: The mysterious traitor [[spoiler: Lord Taris Varen.]]

* ChekovsGun: Like in most Livingstone/Jackson-penned books, plenty of items you can aquire will play a pivotal role much later.

* {{Arming the Peaceful Villagers}}: If you choose the Battle Tactics skill, you can whip the people of Assart into a makeshift army to defy Cadaver's undead.

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Again, Orcs, Beastmen and Chaos-aligned Knights and Warriors..

* GetBackHereBoss: [[spoiler: Belgaroth, after losing too much STAMINA, will sic his Raven at you and run away like a coward on his Night-Mare.]]

* HopelessBossFight: At one point, you can face the Iron Golem of the forces of Chaos besieging a town. While at first it looks manageable (SKILL of 10 and STAMINA of 26), you soon find out that a series of factors (heavy armor reducing damage to 1, heavy fists dealing 3 damage per hit, heavy skill malus) makes this battle unwinnable or at least tediously long if you lack a certain item that you may need later in the endgame.

* SNKBoss: Belgaroth himself is a nightmare to fight, second only to Razaak from ''Crypt of the Sorcerer'' for the title of hardest FinalBoss of the entire franchise. As soon as you enter his throne room, you need many special items and win difficult tests just to reach him alive. He has max stats with 12 in skill and 17 in stamina, DamageReduction, deals 3 point of damage and drains your KarmaMeter when striking you, which can cause a NonStandardGameOver in which you become his slave... And when weakened enough, he runs away like the DirtyCoward he is, forcing you to survive yet another series of ordeals to fly after him when he escapes, and to successfully throw the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity+1 Spear]] at him... Suffice to say it is REALLY satisfying to finally take him down.

* ThatOneBoss: The gamebook is full of many battles against unforgivingly tough foes. Most notably the [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere Knight of the Flame]] and the Beast Man champion, with 12 in skill, 12+ in stamina, who deal 3 points of damage instead of 2; the Chaos Champion with 12 in skill and 12 in stamina, who cause a malus if not fought on horseback and with a spear, and can unhorse you to weaken you further; the Knights of Doom with 10 in skill and 12 in stamina, who kill you outright if faced head on, can deal greater damage and get DamageReduction. And last but not least, Belgaroth himself, who makes them all look like jokes.

So yeah, essentially is [[XMeetsY Dead of Night meets Spellbreaker]], or [[InTheStyleOf Dead of Night written by Green]].

''Knights of Doom'' more or less plays like Green's previous adventure of ''Spellbreaker'', though this time with a style which is remarkably similar to Hand's ''Literature/DeadOfNight'', (You have to pick up a series of both martial and arcane skills that may help you on your quest) but along with Jackson and Livingstone's narrow, item-grabbing path of progression which makes the game noticeably harder, forcing the player to follow a specific route to win and reducing the chances of exploring around. It also has a score of Honour and a Time score as your mission is timed.

* RecycledScript: The overall plot, progression, encounters and settings are nearly identical to Green's previous work ''Spellbreaker'', though now with an even more linear path. They both start with the hero, in the starting location, facing a monster sent by the BigBad.

* LoneWolfBoss: While Cadaver the Necromage was raised from the grave by Belgaroth's blight, he does not seem to answer to the Dread Lord, and raises an army of undeads to attack nearby towns. In any other gamebook, he would maken a quite standard BigBad, but here he merely provides a sidequest and a BossFight (admittedly pretty tough).

* ThatOneBoss: The gamebook is full of many battles against unforgivingly tough foes. Most notably the [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere Knight of the Flame]] and the Beast Man champion, with 12 in skill, 12+ in stamina, who deal 3points of damage instead of 2, The Chaos Champion with 12 in skill and 12 in stamina, who cause a malus if not fought on horse and with a spear and can unhorse you to weaken you further, the Knights of Doom with 10 in skill and 12 in stamina, who kill you outright if faced head on, can deal greater damage and get DamageReduction. And last but not, least, Belgaroth himself, who almost makes them all look like jokes.

* UnholyMatrimony: Belgaroth and his wife Morgwyn of the Dark Tower, who roams his caslte as a spectre. Both are equally evil and twisted, but she loved him enough to be DrivenToSuicide upon learning his demise, and he loves her enough to bring her back as a spectre after he returns.

* TheDragon: The Chaos Champion is sent directly by Belgaroth to face you, he is a very powerful Chaos Knight, likely linked to the titular Knights of Doom serving as a PraetorianGuard to the BigBad, and is easily the hardest BossFight of the game after Belgaroth himself.

** TheDragon: The Chaos Champion. The Knights of Doom as a whole can be seen as CoDragons, serving as the last line of defence between you and the BigBad.
** TheEvilGenius: Bryar the Arch-Cleric of Lein, who turned the order into a ReligionOfEvil.

* ThePhoenix: Close enough, the golden, luminous bird Celaestrix was captured by Murgrim and will prove to be an invaluable ally.

* ThatOneBoss: The gamebook is full of many battles against unforgivingly tough foes. Most notably the [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere Knight of the Flame]] and the Beast Man champion, with 12 in skill, 12+ in stamina, who deal more damage than normal, The Chaos Champion, and naturally Belgaroth, who might be the second hardest FinalBoss of the entire frnachise after Razaak from ''Crypt of the Sorcerer''.

* CollapsingLair: With the death of the Darkthorne, the whole temple starts to crumble, since apparently the Darkthorne's extended body was there under the pavement, holding the entire structure up.

* TheDragon: Murgrim the Beastman leader to Belgaroth. [[spoiler: Also, lord Taris Varen is secretly one to Belgaroth.]]

* OurLichesAreDifferent: In probably the lamest example ever, "Lich" here is a bug-eyed, freshly resurrected corpse of some hanged man. Cadaver is arguably one, but he's never identified as such.

* ThePhoenix: Close enough, the golden, luminous bird Celaestrix was captured by Murgrim and will prove to be an unvaluable ally.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: A mandatory curse at one point can make you scared of snaks, spiders or heights. During your quest for the Spear, you have to face a special trial to conquer this fear.

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: You're faced by the demonic master of the clerics of Lein, the Darkthorn... and you can istantly end its threat by pouring some weed-killing potion (which you can buy from a random alchemist) over him, causing him to wither and die in a flash.

For centuries, the brave Templar Knights of Telak Sword-bearer have protected the people of Ruddlestone from evil and chaos, destroying demonic threats from the nearby lands, and you are one of the most skilled warriors of their ranks. One day, King Rannor of Ruddlestone announce his terrible, debilitanting illness, which has no natural origin: the fallen Templar of Telak Belgaroth, the Usurping Serpent, has returned from the dead along with his dreaded Chaos Knights, and from his ghost-ridden fortress of Caer-Skaal deep south he plans to invade Ruddlestone in the name of Chaos.

For centuries, the brave Templar Knights of Telak Sword-bearer have protected the people of Ruddlestone from evil and chaos, destroying demonic threats from the nearby lands, and you are one of the most skilled warriors of their ranks. One day, King Rannor of Ruddlestone announce his terrible, debilitanting illness, which has no natural origin: the fallen Templar of Telak Belgaroth, the Usurping Serpent, has returned from the dead along with his dreaded Chaos Knights, and from his ghost-ridden fortress of Caer-Skaal deep south, to invade Ruddlestone in the name of Chaos.

* FatBastard: Murgrim the Beastman Leader is morbidly obese compared to his subejects, and you find him busy torturing some prisoners.

* SpiderLimbs: Cadaver the Necromage somehow grafted some spider legs on his torso, for purely aesthetic reasons.