History Literature / LegendOfZagor

* DropTheHammer: [[FrankensteinMonster Mungus the jailer]] wields a huge maul, the orc chieftain wields a magic hammer that [[BoomerangComeback he can throw at you and recall to his hand]] while you fight his goons, and Stubble can find a legendary Stone Hammer as his InfinityPlusOneSword.

* ContractualBossImmunity: Useful abilities like an InvisibilityCloak or a [[spoiler: [[OneHitKO paralyzing genie]]]] are completely ineffective against dragons or Zagor.

[[SequelEpisode After the events of]] ''Literature/ReturnToFiretopMountain'', Zagor was once again stopped and killed by a brave adventurer, who slew the treacherous revenant Warlock and put an end to his threat to Allansia and Titan... the keyword here is, ''to Allansia''. In the parallel world of Amarilla, a great battle was fought by the forces of good to defeat the powerful Bone Demon plaguing Castle Argent and his armies of Dragons, orcs and demons, and the being was sealed forever in the Casket of Souls. However, your hero is soon summoned by the good king Irian of Sanctuary to discuss an urgent matter: using a magical crystal he contacted Gereth Yaztromo, of Titan, who reveals that the soul of Zagor entered the dimension of Amarilla and was sucked inside the Casket of Souls, merging with the Bone Demon, who's now free back at Castle Argent, free to start a new kingdom of ruin and horror from Tower Island. It is up to you to wear the shoes of one of four adventurers (Anvar the Barbarian, Braxus the Warrior, Stubble the Dwarf and Sallazar the Wizard) and undertake a perilous quest: enter Castle Argent, defeat Zagor and make sure that this time he doesn't return from the dead again to threaten Titan or Amarilla.

''Legend of Zagor'' is highly unusual since, as stated above, you can play as four pre-generated characters (though you still have to roll the scores), each having unique advantages and disadvantages (Anvar is never taken by surprise but cannot wear metal armor, Braxus can use any weapon and armor he wishes, Stubble is advantaged against certain enemies and traps but is too short for certain sections, Sallazar is the best spellcaster and can read runes, but cannot use two-handed weapons or wear armor) which greatly adds to the replay value, as each hero has a different way to reach the end. You can explore many parts of the castle searching for Zagor or the Tower Chests to weaken his powers and are frequently allowed to revisit certain hub locations in case you miss something, sometimes you can even revisit a certain room later if you wish so.

On the other hand, as many reviewers point out, there are plenty of combat situations with powerful opponents, more often than not in compulsory battles. There's also a magic system that has you spending Magic Points to activate scrolls and items or, if you're Sallazar, spells. Magic points can be partly replenished by using Magic Rings.

** The three thieves you can find hidden in a dungeon room behind a secret passage survive by scavenging food and items from the floors above while avoiding the Orcs or the dungeons. You can even hire one of them to be your guide, unlock chests and doors and help you in combat.

* AntagonistAbilities: Nearly all the "Bosses" have special attacks that can deal more damage or handicap you in some way, as well as having a lot of STAMINA and SKILL around 8 or more. Zagor in particular can cast spells that can drain your SKILL as well as your STAMINA.
* AntagonistTitle: With a nice "The Legend of" attached to it, a privilege only granted to [[Literature/LegendOfTheShadowWarriors the Shadow Warriors]].
* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Thanks to the freedom of exploration, it is possible to revisit some key locations that hold important stuff.
* ArmorAndMagicDontMix: Sallazar cannot wear armor beside his standard leather vest, which is quite an inconvenience. Note that at least he can freely casts spells on his own, while the other three heroes need a Scroll.

* TheAtoner: Remstar the Wizard is bound to serve the Bone Demon, but is forced to do so and wishes to repent genuinely. You can release him of his bond if you sacrifice a Magic point or 1 ''Initial'' point of SKILL, STAMINA and LUCK.
* AttackItsWeakPoint: When fighting Crown Zombies, you can try knocking their titular circlets off their heads. Doing so will both cripple and damage them.

* BalancePowerSkillGimmick: The four heroes could count as this trope. The JackOfAllStats Braxus who can use any weapon or armor is balanced, Anvar who has the highest raw SKILL and STAMINA potential counts as power, Stubble who relies on luck and other dwarfish advantages counts as skill, and Sallazar who isn't physically strong but has magic as his gimmick.
* BarbarianHero: Anvar is one. While he can use all weapons without restriction, he won't wear platemail. He also possess a keen instinct, which means that he's never caught by surprise and can avoid taking damage from sneak attacks.

** The Orc Chieftain really hates dwarves, such that he gains a bonus when fighting Stubble.

* BlowYouAway: When you fight the Air Elemental, you must test your skills to see if he can knock you down with the gusts of wind, dealing minor damage and lowering your attack.
* BoringButPractical: Braxus: average stats, can use all armors and weapons, no further special skills but no disadvantages whatsoever.
* BreathWeapon: The War Dragons can breath fire, predictably enough, as well as the Champion Hellhorn (toxic fumes that lower your attack) and the Mutant Chaos Ogre, who belches globs of highly-corrosive slime.
* CameBackStrong: Zagor returned from the dead once more, has fused with a Bone Demon and became incredibly more powerful than he was before.

* CollapsingLair: Downplayed example, Castle Argent begins shaking and trembling when you defeat Zagor [[spoiler: and start dragging him all the way to the Heartfires.]] But it does not collapse in the end.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Four rooms on the second floor have distinctive colors and heraldic symbols, namely White, Green, Blue and Yellow. [[spoiler: You must fight the guardian inside to see the number and color of the heraldic symbols (Blue Chevrons, Red Lions, Yellow Goblets and Green Stars) to know how to use the Onyx Wand against the Champion Hellhorn, the Dark Knight, Grool and the War Dragon respectively.]]
* ContinuityNod: Plenty to ''Literature/TheWarlockOfFiretopMountain'' and ''Literature/ReturnToFiretopMountain'': Zagor once again is served by Orcs and Undeads, has an evil portrait through which he can see you in his lair, use magical tarots and is guarded by a Dragon. As a nod to the latter book, the only thing left of Zagor was his skeletal left arm, which can be seen embedded in his Demon form's chest, and his treasure chest is filled with Golden Zagors, the money he mints.

* DeathByMaterialism: If you defy sense and safety to get at the treasure chest in the Mutant Chaos Ogre's room while he's about to flood the room with acid, you're corroded to death.

* {{Dracolich}}: A powerful Bone Dragon can be encountered in the dungeons of Castle Argent. It has powerful scores of SKILL 10, STAMINA 20 but you can attack him first twice since he's composing his skeletal body to fight. Killing it lets you have the Wand of the Hawk that Sallazar can use.

* FiveManBand: The major bosses of the game form one.
** The BigBad: Zagor, who else?
** TheDragon: The War Dragon, who gains point for being a real one.
** TheEvilGenius: Two in fact. Fist, Grool the hulking cyclopean ogre, who proves a much craftier and bothersome GeniusBruiser that he would let it appear. He shares the spot with Thulu the Orc King, who leads the Bone Demon's armies and keeps a healer hostage.
** TheBrute: Two as well. The Dark Knight and the Hellhorn Champion, two of the mightiest and most dangerous foes of the game, but little more than tough {{Boss Fight}}s.
** TheDarkChick: The Dark Elf fought early on, who created several of the monstrous beings you will face, but is significantly weaker and more reclusive.

* AnAxeToGrind: The starting weapon of Anvar and Stubble, the Chaos Templar in the West Wing carries a large one engraved with a draconic head, and deals lot of damage, potentially to all your skills.