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1[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/qfg4box_7197.png]]
2[[caption-width-right:256:Oi, Hero. [[EnemyRisingBehind Behind you]].]]
3''Quest for Glory: Shadows Of Darkness'' is the fourth game in the ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory'' series. Literally moments after his victory in the third game, the hero was teleported away by dark magic. He awakens in a very large, and very strange cave, whose caverns seem to resemble organs or bones, and is littered with skeletons and much worse things. The hero finds his way out of the cave and stumbles upon Katrina, a young woman who is surprised that anything made it out of the cave in one piece. She points him toward the local town, where the hero gradually learns more about the latest strange location he has found himself in.
4
5The land is called Mordavia, (this time the setting is inspired by [[Myth/SlavicMythology Eastern European]]/[[Myth/RussianMythologyAndTales Russian]] folk myths and [[GothicHorror Gothic imagery]]) and it was scarred by an old conflict between good and evil. Once a group of deranged cultists who worshiped an EldritchAbomination called [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The Dark One]] attempted to summon it from its natural dimension into their own world. A group led by the paladin Pioytr and the famous sorceress Erana fought against them, and managed to interrupt the ritual. Erana disappeared in the fight and was presumed dead, and most but not all of the cult was killed. Shortly afterward, Piotyr also vanished, which caused many to think he had abandoned the land and his responsibilities.
6
7Because The Dark One had already been partially summoned, interrupting the ceremony did not get rid of it entirely. Instead it has been lying dormant in the form of the cave the hero appeared in, and its partial presence in the world [[LeakingCanOfEvil has been warping the land]], turning it into a hotbed of dark magic and evil creatures. Although the land and its people have limped on since the battle against the cultists, the actions of the cult made the people extremely suspicious of outsiders.
8
9Decades later, a few such outsiders came to Mordavia and took up residence in the abandoned castle north of the town. Not long afterwards, heavy rains created a swamp blocking off the only road out of the valley, effectively cutting off Mordavia from the rest of the world. The people of Mordavia shut themselves in the walls of the town, leaving only to plow their fields during the day, and became more paranoid than ever.
10
11Now a new evil force has made its way into the valley to finish the ritual that would unleash [[SealedEvilInACan The Dark One]]. The hero will need to use all his might and wits to heal the wounds of the land and discover who brought him to Mordavia, why, and how to save the land and its people. Old foes and new challenges will both be found, and the hero will face his greatest challenge yet...
12
13This was the first game of the series with voice acting (including narration by Creator/JohnRhysDavies and Creator/JenniferHale in her first VideoGame role as Katrina). The game is often regarded as the best of the series, combining a gripping plot with colorful characters and a pleasant atmosphere. It's also known for being [[GameBreakingBug the buggiest]], though thankfully ''most'' rereleases have come with the game pre-patched. Also a first in the series is an optional strategy mode which let the computer fight for you [[ArtificialStupidity with predictable results]]. You can control the level of aggressiveness, defensiveness, magic use and special attack you want.
14
15!!Contains examples of the following:
16* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler:Katrina's excuse for kidnapping Tanya.]] They are ultimately revealed to be overprotective at worst.
17* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Magically enforced: When you tell the Ultimate Joke about the wizard and the farmer's daughter to [[spoiler:Ad Avis]] (a wizard), he sneers and claims it's not even funny, but begins laughing uncontrollably after another second; which is actually what the joke is meant to do, but will only work once.
18* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: "In a bitter battle you were better than the Badders. You kicked some butt, too."
19* AdventureGuild: There's an old one in town that hasn't been used in years (all the adventurers got killed by the various monsters haunting the forest, you see). It still has some useful stuff inside, such as books with background information, a better sword for the combat classes, and a stair stepper for training strength.
20* AffablyEvil: Baba Yaga, as well as the Rusalka.
21* AlchemyIsMagic: Zigzagged. MadScientist Dr. Cranium is a firm non-believer in magic, but he often describes his scientific experiments in alchemical terms, refers to "life energy" at certain points, and provides the hero with healing and poison cure potions that work as well as the less explicitly-scientific alternatives seen in previous games.
22* AllThereInTheManual: In fact it didn't even make it into the manual: Almost ''all'' of Lori Cole's backstory for Katrina went unreleased for nearly ''twenty years'', when it was finally posted online in 2012.
23* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: The Rusalka's complaints about her lover. First she tells you that he treated her like he was [[EntitledToHaveYou entitled to have her]], and that he murdered her when she disagreed. After you summon and defeat his ghost and tell her about it, she comments that he also had bad breath.
24* ArtificialStupidity: The strategy mode which let the computer control fight for you. The AI does well against some monsters, but terribly bad against others, such as Chernovy Wizards. Your hero will insist on jumping over their spells and never succeed no matter how high your skills are.
25* AskAStupidQuestion: You can ask the Chief Thief if it's fun [[ForcedTransformation to be turned into a giant cockroach]]. He retorts angrily at you, calling you an idiot.
26* AutobotsRockOut: Unlike the rest of the series, this game's music use lots of guitar. All the battle music are rock and roll.
27* BagOfSpilling: Lampshaded by the Narrator: "In what country did your luggage end up in THIS time?" [[spoiler:You never see any of your equipment again (except for the Paladin's sword or the Katta pin, and that's in the next game, and even then Rakeesh notices you have a new sword so he'll just hang onto your old one), and have to get replacements for everything but your armor.]]
28* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler:Ad Avis uses this to kill Katrina by manipulating her feelings for the main character]]. Having been turned into a Vampire by her, he's unable to directly attack her. But if she attacks him first out of revenge for him attacking the hero, then that frees him to attack her back. And if he can't stand up to her in a pure magical duel, well... [[spoiler:her love interest is right there unable to defend himself]].
29** He also tries to set up an earlier one: [[spoiler:after capturing you, he chains you up in rusty chains and leaves a stake and mallet directly in front of you, allegedly to "taunt you with your ineffectiveness." When you inevitably escape, the only way out leads you directly into Katrina's chambers. While you have the option to kill her (which in turn kills you) it's fairly obvious that this is a setup.]] The narration even lampshades it, pointing out that Ad Avis ''isn't'' that stupid.
30* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Ad Avis, who is now a vampire.]]
31* BigNo: [[spoiler:Nikolai's wife Anna]], upon finding out that she is undead and has been dead for a long time.
32* BittersweetEnding: More than any other game in the series. There are ''very'' few victories for the Hero that don't come at a steep cost:
33** The Dark One is forever banished from the world, and [[spoiler:Erana is freed. Unfortunately, Erana is dead and freeing her only allows her to move on to the afterlife. At least, until the next game; wherein the hero can resurrect her.]]
34** [[spoiler:Ad Avis is destroyed for good, but at the cost of Katrina's unlife when she is tricked into sacrificing herself out of her [[LoveRedeems love for the Hero]].]]
35** [[spoiler:Tanya is reunited with her parents, but to do so her best friend and confidant, Toby, [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices himself]] at Erana's staff to restore her to life.]]
36** Nikolai and Anna are together again. [[spoiler:But only after the Hero discovers Anna's ghost wandering the forest, and they are only reunited in death.]]
37** For the Paladin, [[spoiler:the spirits of the Rusalka and Piotyr are finally laid to rest. The Rusalka, who was murdered by her unfaithful lover, particularly laments how she hoped all her life for a man like the Hero as she passes on.]]
38* BlackComedy: Some of Igor's "graveyard humor" falls under this.
39* BloodyBowelsOfHell: The Hero begins the game trapped in a cavern that looks like the insides of a huge demonic beast [[spoiler:later revealed to be the Dark One itself, trapped halfway between Gloriana and its own hellish dimension]].
40* BlueAndOrangeMorality:
41** Played with in regards to Baba Yaga, in how the game mentions that she's not a human, and thus has no qualms about making gourmet dishes out of them anymore than we do with pigs and cows.
42** As a vampire, [[spoiler:Katrina has much different priorities than humans. She is mostly driven by an overwhelming fear of lying powerless in her coffin during the day, and she specifically wants to complete the summoning of the Dark One for the "endless night" it would bring, irrespective of all the chaos and destruction it would also bring.]]
43* BooksThatBite: The ''Necrophilicon''.
44* BullyingADragon: [[spoiler:Ad Avis]] is quite frankly close to suicidal in mocking the Hero, considering [[spoiler:how he was defeated once before by the same person]]. He is no more powerful than his last appearance, and to add salt to the wound, a Wizard hero even defeats him with the ''exact same spell'' that defeated him last time.
45** Becoming a vampire ''did'' make Ad Avis more powerful than he was before, and he's still just as good at killing the Hero in one shot if the Hero isn't careful.
46* ButNowIMustGo: Done for you by Erasmus in the end.
47* {{Callback}}:
48** [[spoiler: When you're captured by Ad Avis near the end of the game, you can escape pretty easily. An attentive player may remember such was the case in the last game where he was the main villain, and will probably figure out they're meant to do that and do something else to play into his plans.]]
49** Dr. Cranium visited Spielburg some time ago and collected a number of baby Antwerps.
50* CardCarryingVillain: You, literally, if you play a thief.
51* ChekhovsGun: The Ultimate Joke. As illustrated below in ComedyAsAWeapon.
52* ChekhovsSkill: Javelin throwing, for fighters and paladins. They first learned it in ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIII'', and they use it in this game to defeat the BigBad (after incapacitating him with the Ultimate Joke).
53* ClingyMacguffin: The Dark One sign, if you attempt to store it in your chest in the inn: "You realize with horror that you are totally unable to put down the Dark One Sign here. It seems to have a will of its own." Downplayed when you do things with it that are in accord with its own will, [[spoiler:such as opening the monastery door]]. Also downplayed in that [[spoiler:Katrina had no trouble either putting it back or not touching it at all when she retrieved the Mouth Ritual from under it]].
54* ComedyAsAWeapon: The Ultimate Joke of the gnomes, while not lethal by itself, can be used to incapacitate anyone who hasn't heard it before. [[spoiler:It's used by all classes to distract Ad Avis long enough to finally dispose of it]].
55* ContinuityNod: [[spoiler:Erana's staff turns into a spear for fighters and paladins during the confrontation with Ad Avis - Fighters and paladins had to learn and master the art of spear throwing last game]].
56* ContinuitySnarl: Efforts to reconcile all of the information about the timeline are... fraught, to say the least. In particular:
57** Whether Katrina arrived at Castle Borgov before or after Anna went missing and Nikolai went mad. (The chronology given by Olga and the other townsfolk says long after; yet if so, Nikolai could not have remembered anything about a "Dark Master" arriving at the castle, as he clearly did.)
58** Whether Ad Avis arrived at Castle Borgov at the same time that Katrina did or more than three years later. (The official hintbook says that they arrived at the same time; Tanya says that Ad Avis' arrival was more recent than even her own.)
59** Whether the heavy rains that flooded the pass south of Mordavia happened before or after Boris became Katrina's gatekeeper. (Boris and Olga say before; Magda and Davy say after.)
60** Whether Ad Avis' service to Katrina lasted 70 years (as Ad Avis says) or 50 (as Katrina says). One possible way to reconcile this is to interpret Katrina's statement thus: "I made him my slave (70 years ago) for fifty years, until I grew bored with him and turned him loose (20 years ago)."
61* CopyProtection: The manual has a list of several element-related passwords, and Dr. Cranium asks you for a couple of them to make potions. One of these potions is required to complete the game.
62* DatingCatwoman: [[spoiler:[[FemmeFatale Katrina]], also known as [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The Dark Master]], a vampiress and a powerful sorceress trying to unleash a [[CosmicHorror Dark One]] into the world.]]
63* DarkerAndEdgier: Easily the darkest game in the series because of the Lovecraft influences.
64* DarkIsNotEvil: Toby is this giant, furry, hulking, red-eyed, fanged, ill-tempered monstrosity. However, he's just protective of his ward to the point where he will [[spoiler:sacrifice himself to bring her back to life]]. He's like a hulking, red-eyed Chewbacca.
65** Arguably [[spoiler:Katrina. Her actions are motivated by feelings of loneliness (turning Tanya) and fear (summoning Avoozl to bathe the world in darkness—as a vampire, the light of day is fatal to her). She acts selfishly, but does not simply wish to harm others, as opposed to her [[TheDragon Dragon]], Ad Avis]].
66* DeadCharacterWalking: A bug occured when you kill the BigBad and moments later, he comes back to kill you. Fixed by [=NewRisingSun=]'s non-official patches, or by running in UsefulNotes/DOSBox with slow settings.
67* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: "Shadows of Darkness."
68* DieLaughing: The way to deal with the final boss -- [[spoiler:tell him The Ultimate Joke and]] knock him off the ledge with Erana's staff turned into a javelin (if you're a fighter or paladin), a spell (if you're a wizard) or a stake or dagger (if you're a thief) while he is laughing.
69* DirtyOldMan: [[MadScientist Doctor Cranium]], whose goal for re-animating dead bodies (think Frankenstein) seems to be to create a living sex toy for himself...
70* DramaticIrony: By way of DevelopersForesight: If you (as a Fighter or a Paladin) break down the front gate of Castle Borgov and kill the Necrotaurs guarding it, the next day Boris will comment on it: "I would not like to meet whatever was powerful enough to kill those Necrotaurs."
71* DreamingOfThingsToCome:
72** Bella has had at least two:
73*** Years before the start of the game, she dreamed about her daughter Tanya being taken away. This worried her, so she and Yuri started to overprotect her, never letting her out of their house. Things got worse when Tanya got a mysterious doll. Her doll was confiscated and Tanya would angrily argue with her parents. Then one night, she disappeared without a trace, never to be seen ever again.
74*** During the game, she'll talk to the Hero about a dream she had about Tanya being alive and playing by Erana's Staff, and telling Bella that the Hero had brought her there. Guess where the Hero has to bring Tanya to restore her to life...
75** If you sleep about 10 times at Erana's Staff or in her garden, the next few dreams after that will be about [[spoiler: completing the summoning of the Dark One, which you will do at the end of the game.]]
76* DreamSequence: Sleep at Erana's Staff in town, or at Erana's Garden, for some [[DreamingOfTimesGoneBy meaningful]] (and occasionally disturbing) dreams. Seems that [[DreamWeaver a trapped spirit]] is trying to [[TalkingInYourDreams communicate with you.]]
77* DudeShesLikeInAComa: Trying to kiss or even "cop a feel" on a sleeping vampire woman. She's not happy when you [[http://zarla.comicgenesis.com/d/20040630.html wake her up with a boobhonk.]]
78* DudeWheresMyRespect: The villagers, since they don't know you from Adam. You have to earn their respect. Being a stranger among townsfolk who are justifiably fearful and suspicious of strangers (what with the Cult decades ago and the new residents of Castle Borgov a few years ago) doesn't help either.
79* EasterEgg:
80** If you wait in the Inn for about 5 minutes while Bella is out, she will exercise with a barbell.
81** If you wait in the Burgomeister's Office for about 30 minutes while he's present, the Burgomeister's head will suddenly rotate 360 degrees clockwise.[[note]]Mind the time of day if trying this. Being in his office at the moment of dawn is a game over.[[/note]]
82** If you stand at the northernmost portion of the graveyard until lightning strikes the left side of the area, some kind of glowing-eyed tentacle monster will briefly peek from under a coffin lid. It doesn't show up if you're standing anywhere else.
83* EldritchLocation: The Dark One's Cave. [[spoiler:It actually IS the Dark One, in a state of partial summoning.]]
84* EnergyWeapon: The other skulls hanging out near Bonehead aren't capable of talking, but [[EyeBeams they can shoot laser beams out of their sockets]]. Word of caution: don't get hit by one of those.
85* EquivalentExchange: The "final spell" of Erana's staff requires one to give their life to return someone else to life. [[spoiler:The Paladin Player knows he's expected to offer his, as is the Paladin's way. But no matter the class, Toby volunteers to resurrect Tanya]].
86* EvenEvilHasStandards: While Baba Yaga loves dark magic and is certainly plenty evil herself, Bonehead remarks in conversation that the Cult trying to summon a Dark One into the world is too evil ''even for her''.
87** Katrina could easily have mind-controlled the Hero into helping her from the start, however it's only ''after'' he angers her by [[spoiler:rescuing Tanya and returning her to her rightful parents]] that she takes an active hand and forces him to assist her with a geas. She specifically tells [[spoiler:Ad Avis]], who objects to her letting the Hero go about freely, that she doesn't want him to be a puppet, but to help and love her by his own free will. Furthermore, when [[spoiler:Ad Avis]] attacks the Hero in the climax Katrina steps in to defend the hero and attacks [[spoiler:Ad Avis]] in turn. It's really saying something about [[spoiler:Ad Avis]] that the one who's seeking to release an ''EldritchAbomination'' into the world is the one with standards. Of course, that has to do with the fact that Katrina really isn't considering the consequences of her actions.
88* EvilIsNotAToy: Magda says this about the Dark One: "Powerful fools seek to control it, but it too is powerful. Too powerful for anyone to control." [[spoiler:Katrina learns this the hard way.]]
89* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: Two instances:
90** [[spoiler:Getting captured by Ad Avis at night is the only way to trigger the events that will lead to the end of the game. If you're fast enough, you can actually evade him. However, the next time you leave town at night, he'll be waiting for you at the gates and he ''WILL'' capture you.]]
91** [[spoiler:As explained by Magda, you need to complete the Dark One's rituals and release [[SealedEvilInACan Avoozl]]. It's the only way to free [[SealedGoodInACan Erana]] who is strong enough to drive away Avoozl for good.]]
92* TheFairFolk: The wizard hero will have to fight off a few who want to claim Erana's staff from him.
93* FarmersDaughter: When the player tells the Ultimate Joke, we learn that it's about the "Wizard and the Farmer's Daughter".
94* FemmeFatale: Katrina and the Rusalka, if you go in...
95** On the other hand, if you "tame the Rusalka" with an appropriate item, she will reverse her stance and insist you not come near her.
96* ForcedTransformation: Has a high likelihood of happening to anyone poking around the monastery. The Chief Thief learned this the hard way by being transformed into a man-sized cockroach with a human head. If the hero isn't careful about what he touches, he can be permanently transformed into a man-sized banana slug. Baba Yaga can also transform the hero into a hedgehog, but she turns him back just a moment later.
97* {{Foreshadowing}}: A few examples regarding some of the castle's inhabitants:
98** Katrina's exact nature is foreshadowed subtly through the game. The hero first meets her outside the Dark One's cave, a place you rapidly learn the locals all avoid. Why would she be there? [[spoiler:Because she's the one who summoned the hero]]. And why did the cave mouth just happen to remain open long enough for the Hero to escape, when as far as the townsfolk knew it had never been open? [[spoiler:Because she used the Mouth Ritual to open it.]] She will only ever meet you at night, displays the ability to vanish out of sight before the hero can react, and won't let him talk to her for long or even think about attacking her. She will never enter town and send the hero letters to meet outside of town when she wants to meet [[spoiler:because Erana's staff's protection enchantment prevents her from entering]].
99** Boris identifies one of the inhabitants of the castle as "the Master's daughter, I believe." Boris isn't certain that she really is the Master's daughter, and for good reason: [[spoiler:She is actually Yuri's and Bella's daughter, who had been kidnapped by the Master.]]
100* FortuneTeller: Magda the gypsy.
101* FrankensteinsMonster: Frankie.
102* FreudianExcuse: Katrina's not a bad person, she's just ''really'' lonely. Just ignore the part where she'll doom the world by bringing forth an EldritchAbomination to blanket the world in darkness to let vampires reign supreme.
103** Even then, the "vampires reign supreme" bit is only [[spoiler:Ad Avis's]] story. Given your history with him and [[TheStarscream what he's trying to manipulate you into doing for him]], it's questionable how much you can really trust him on that. [[spoiler:Katrina's only real desire is to not have to fear the sun killing her.]]
104* FunetikAksent: The castle guards' speech is spelled like this; for example, the way they pronounce "Ad Avis" is spelled "Adda Bees".
105* FunWithSubtitles: The townsfolk's ad-libbed dialogue.
106* {{Geas}}: [[spoiler:Katrina places one on the Hero. You have three days to find the missing Dark One's rituals or you'll "suffer".]]
107* GagDub: Of a sort. In the voice-acted version of the game, the spoken dialogue does not always match the text; The voice actors often ad-lib their lines in comedic ways. Hans, Franz and Ivan, the farmers who hang out at the inn, do this the most, [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools to very good effect]].
108* GameBreakingBug:
109** While arguably one of the best games in the series, ''Shadows of Darkness'' suffered from numerous bugs that would crash the game at important points. This wasn't fixed when rereleased in an anthology, even. Fortunately most issues have been found and fixed in modern rereleases.
110** The floppy version had a particularly terrible bug for the Thief: after completing all the various quests, the beginning of the endgame is contigent on a particular note showing up in your room at the inn. For the Thief, and only the Thief, that note would never, ever show up if you missed one very easy to miss and normally completely optional sequence.
111** Probably the most ridiculous one: it's possible to have the BigBad kill you during the finale... after you've already killed [[spoiler:him.]]
112** A non official patch set by [=NewRisingSun=] fixes most of the timer-related problems: http://www.sierrahelp.com/Patches-Updates/Patches-Updates-Games/QuestForGloryUpdates.html
113* GameplayAndStorySegregation:
114** The celebration at the gypsy camp offers a description of the food you eat, but in terms of gameplay mechanics it's still possible to wake up hungry.
115** Early in the game you have to save Igor after he falls into an open grave and the headstone falls over it and traps him. When you remove it, he crawls out of a spot at the bottom where the headstone wasn't even close to covering.
116* GentleGiant: Toby, the monstrous guardian of [[spoiler:[[UndeadChild Tanya]]]].
117* TheGhost:[[spoiler: At the end ceremony of the game, Dmitri has been promoted as the new boyar by the king. The king was never seen anywhere in the game though the implication is he lives outside Mordavia.]]
118* GhostAmnesia: The Rusalka doesn't remember her life. [[spoiler:Finding out who she was and fulfilling her GhostlyGoals allows her to move on.]]
119** Anna as well. Fortunately convincing her to accept that she is a ghost is all that it takes to restore her memories.
120** Inverted with Nikolai who regains sanity and memories by being a ghost compared to when he was alive.
121* GodivaHair: The Rusalka.
122* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: Tatiana, the Queen of Faeries. She is vain and arrogant toward the PC mage whom she view as a mere inferior human. If Tatiana is the same Queen as described in WordOfGod's [[http://www.theschoolforheroes.com/questlog/1543/women-of-qfg4-eranas-peace/ website]], then she's even worse. She's responsible for kidnapping Erana while she was just a child and kept her as a slave. (No wonder she refuses to let the Queen take her staff from the hero!)
123* GoneHorriblyRight: As a result of the attempt to complete the summoning of the Dark One, [[spoiler:Katrina obtained "all of the darkness she so desired... and much, much more."]]
124** Also happens if you screw up after casting the Essence Ritual, dying against Ad Avis instead of freeing Erana.
125* GossipyHens: Hans, Franz, and Ivan, the three farmers who hang out at the Inn at night, despite their staunch denial of spreading rumors. Olga Stovich is less in denial about it, but she's more of a one-woman gossip depository.
126* GraveHumor: Most of the tombstones in the graveyard have funny epitaphs on them, and of course there's Igor, the guy who ''works'' there. Practically every exchange you have with him has some kind of death or graveyard pun mixed in, with him always chuckling "Little graveyard humor there!"
127* HauntedCastle: Castle Borgov is this. A ghost can be found along with a wraith, [[MixAndMatchCritters badders]] goons, an unknown tentacle monster, a furry creature and [[spoiler:vampires who are the primary residents]].
128* HeelFaceTurn:
129** The Rusalka. [[spoiler:Initially she tries to drown you because, well, that's what Rusalki do; she doesn't particularly want to, but she's compelled to seduce men and drown them. Giving her flowers or candy convinces her that you're a nice guy, and jump-starts the sidequest that results in her being allowed to move on to the afterlife, unfortunately, the Paladin is the only class who can help her.]]
130** [[spoiler:Katrina sacrifices her un-life for you during the Endgame when Ad Avis tries to kill you, revealing that she truly does [[LoveRedeems love you]]]].
131* HitodamaLight: Hitodama are the souls of dead children and appear as colored lights above the swamp at night, called "Will o' Wisps" in the game.
132* IdenticalGrandson: The Paladin Piotyr looks identical to his grandson, Dmitri the Burgomeister. Only the latter has a longer beard.
133* InfinityPlusOneSword: The combat-oriented classes (Fighter and Paladin) will find an extra weapon upgrade (battle axe and [[FlamingSword Paladin sword]], respectively) after defeating the Wraith that also has one of the ritual sheets.
134* InformingTheFourthWall: Narrator John Rhys-Davies voices an exasperated ''"That doesn't do ANYTHING"'' each time the player does something that doesn't work.
135* IronMaiden: An iron maiden is present in the castle dungeon. However it's subverted in that it houses a secret passage leading to Katrina's chambers. [[spoiler:[[TheStarscream Ad Avis]] locks the Hero in the dungeon [[BatmanGambit specifically intending for him to find the passage, and take advantage of Katrina's helpless state to stake her]].]]
136* ItsAWonderfulFailure: [[spoiler:Getting killed by Ad Avis after the Dark One is summoned treats the player to the sight of the Dark One bursting out of the mountain like in the vision the hero had to get the blood ritual scroll.]]
137* ItsPersonalWithTheDragon: The Hero has a past with this game's [[TheDragon Dragon]], and by the end of the game, you'll definitely have more of a grudge with him than with the actual BigBad, Katrina. [[spoiler:The narration makes it clear that Katrina's sacrifice to protect you from Ad Avis, and learning she truly did love you, drives it home even further.]]
138* KillerRabbit: A literal example, although also averted with them actually being among the weakest monsters in the game.
139* LampshadeHanging: The Thieves' Guild has a document that lampshades several InsecuritySystem tropes such as ConcealingCanvas and ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish, saying they happen because people are too stupid and/or lazy to get really creative with their hiding places and passwords.
140* LaughThemselvesSick: The effect of the Ultimate Joke.
141** It even works ''[[LeaningOnTheFourthWall on the narrator]]''.
142--> '''Narrator''': You tell the Ultimate Joke...about the Wizard and the Farmer's Daughter. (Ha ha! It's a killer!)
143* ALighterShadeOfBlack: Baba Yaga, the closest thing the first game had to a BigBad returns as a supporting character. That she mainly stays in the sidelines illustrates both how much higher the stakes are and how far the Hero has come since.
144* LopsidedDichotomy: When the hero is surrounded by the thankful people of the land after completing yet another heroic quest, cue Erasmus and Fenrus taking that moment to scry on the hero, with Fenrus commenting:
145-->"It's either an award ceremony or a lynch mob."
146* TheMaster: Boris, the Goon guards, and (according to Tanya) Toby refer to their employer as such. Boris only slips up and mentions her as a "she" once, after the Hero breaks in, so at this point, for one or more of the following reasons, the player already "knows":
147** The Goons guarding the dungeon refer to the Master as "she."
148-->'''Goon 1''': "The Master's really something, ain't she?"
149-->'''Goon 2''': "Yeah."
150** The Hero can overhear Katrina and Ad Avis arguing about what to do with him, and at one point Katrina says, "I have always been your Master..."
151** According to Tanya, "Toby says Aunt Trina is his Master."
152* MeaningfulName: Mordavia means "Dark Valley", which is appropriate considering all the bad stuff happening.
153* MentalAffair: If a Wizard or a Paladin spends enough nights in Erana's Garden or near the staff, he'll have a dream about hugging and kissing Erana. At the end of the game, Erana's ghost will reveal that she had the same dream.
154* MiniGame: Disarming traps requires you to play a mini-game. You have to set a row of three identical symbols that switch randomly. The higher the difficulty, the faster they'll switch. Failure will cause the trap to fire up.
155* MoneyForNothing: The other games in the series suffer from this, but none more so than Shadows of Darkness; you will only ever need money for two things: Room and board at the inn (1 crown for a week) and various items from the General Store that only cost about 10 crowns total. Even the usual biggest drain on your wallet, healing items, are taken care of with the local MadScientist giving you healing and poison cure potions ''for free'' in this game, plus picking a fruit per day at Erana's Garden takes the place of mana potions. You can also spend crowns on (optional) tarot readings (to a maximum of four), but that only costs you one crown per reading. And for the record, one of the first things you do in this game is loot a couple of bodies for about 15 crowns. Worse still, your money doesn't even carry over into the next game.
156* MoonLogicPuzzle: So, Bonehead wants a hat before he'll let you talk to Baba Yaga? [[spoiler:Better find Nikolai's ghost wife, let him wander into the dangerous forest after her, and find him dead and also a ghost so you can take his hat from his body]]! At least it's clear that he needs a hero's help, even if the two puzzles are completely unrelated.
157** This comes across as a MoonLogicPuzzle only if one does it that way - it's in fact more likely the player will have done (either completely or partially) the Nikolai part of the quest (out of their goodhearted desire to help a confused and heartbroken old man) before they meet Bonehead, as Nikolai is in town and Anna is near town, while Bonehead's located in an otherwise hidden area, and it's thus likely they have the hat ''already'' by the time they get there.
158* MoralityPet: [[spoiler:Tanya to Katrina.]]
159** Later, [[spoiler:the Hero]] takes this role.
160* MsFanservice:
161** The Rusalka.
162*** [[spoiler:FanDisservice: Once the Paladin defeats her murderer's Wraith. Yuck. Oh, and he has to kiss her to free her.]]
163** The first time you see Katrina without her [[ImpossiblyLowNeckline hood and cloak]].
164* TheNightThatNeverEnds: The Dark Master's ultimate goal [[spoiler:in attempting to complete the summoning of the Dark One. Unfortunately for her, the "Shadows of Darkness" were figurative as well as literal, and the Hero ultimately averts this trope.]]
165* NoHonorAmongThieves: Quite literally; a Thief character can kill the Chief Thief after restoring his human form, but doing so immediately knocks your Honor rating down to 0.
166** You can also achieve this effect by stealing the old man's locket, putting it back and then stealing it again.
167* NoodleImplements: The Ultimate Joke, which we are only told involves a wizard and a farmer's daughter, will make even a BigBad vampire villain bend over in laughter. It's further explained that the joke works only once.
168* NoSell: Trying to [[KillItWithIce cast frostbite]] against undead such as revenants and wraiths will result in no damage. [[spoiler:If you sling attack spells at Ad Avis without first summoning Erana's staff and incapacitating him with the Ultimate Joke, he'll simply laugh at you.]]
169* ObsoleteOccupation: PlayedForLaughs. Ivan is a professional elephant herder... but the game is set in Mordavia, a wooded mountain valley smack in the middle of the {{Uberwald}}. According to Ivan, at least, elephants were once endemic to Mordavia, but have migrated away during his lifetime due to supernatural calamities plaguing the valley.
170* OnlySmartPeopleMayPass: A literal example at Dr. Cranium's house. "Entry by prior appointment or demonstration of superior intelligence only."
171* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: Ivan the Elephant Herder, who lives in a country with no elephants. He's rather bitter about his unemployment.
172* PointOfNoReturn: [[spoiler:Returning to Katrina's castle after gathering the ritual scrolls takes you back into the cave at the start of the game for the endgame, with the entrance shutting behind you.]]
173** [[spoiler:To a lesser extent, answering Ad Avis' forged note ends with the player getting geassed and forced to collect the ritual scrolls in three days. Lesser because the punishment of the geas specifies for the hero to "suffer", not actually die.]]
174* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: While he's a bit low-key about it, [[spoiler:Ad Avis]] never seemed to like women. 50 years of service to Katrina (Or 70, depending on whom you ask) and being forced to serve her in death has probably done little to improve his disposition toward them.
175* PowerDynamicsKink: The part in which Katrina ties up and tortures the protagonist in her dungeon has some not-so-subtle erotic overtones. {{Lampshaded}} by her DressedLikeADominatrix outfit and WhipOfDominance.
176* PublicDomainSoundtrack: "Anitra's Dance" by Grieg, plays in the Inn. Dr. Cranium's lab music has [[Music/JohannSebastianBach Bach]]'s Music/ToccataAndFugueInDMinor's intro.
177* ReadingIsCoolAesop: Katrina, Tanya, and Bella give us this message indirectly; Katrina had taught Tanya to read and write while Tanya was at Castle Borgov, and when Tanya came back to the town she taught her mother Bella to read and write as well; apparently they plan to teach every woman in Mordavia to read and write, which is regarded as a good thing and a big break from tradition.
178* QuietingTheUnquietDead: The Hero needs to help multiple undead to let go of whatever holds them back in the mortal realm and to pass on to the afterlife: Anna, who doesn't even realize she has been a ghost for years, needs to be reunited with her husband Nikolai; the Rusalka (a.k.a. [[spoiler:Elyssa]]) needs revenge on her murderer and a kiss from a true Hero; and Paladin Pyotir needs someone to restore his honor by delivering evidence to his grandson that Pyotir died in battle, rather than walking out on his pregnant bride. In the same spirit, there is the soul of [[spoiler:Archmage Erana]], who has SealedEvilInADuel for almost 80 years after her physical body had been killed: she is [[MortalityGreyArea not, technically, undead]], but still unable to move on to the afterlife until the Hero helps her complete the banishment of the BigBad.
179* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Dmitri is hostile and untrusting of the Hero when he first arrives, but when Igor goes missing and everyone is quick to blame gypsy werewolves, he refuses to believe in the rumors and tries to get everyone to settle down until they find out what actually happened. He's also much more accepting of the Hero after Igor is saved (and even takes the time to ''ask'' the Hero to find Igor if he can), and is downright lavish in his praise once the Hero rescues [[spoiler:Tanya]]. More so, if the hero is a paladin and brings him Piotyr's sword; thereby restoring his family's lost honor.
180* RedHerring: A couple regarding the inhabitants of Castle Borgov, as described by Boris:
181** Conversations with Boris and Katrina make it easy to infer that Katrina is the Master's daughter, whom Boris has never met but whom the Master is quite proud of, and indeed, Katrina speaks of her parents living in the castle. [[spoiler:But Katrina is actually the Master herself; the daughter (or "the kid," as the goon guards call her) is Tanya.]]
182** Boris also describes the castle's guards as "not quite human", and based on other rumors about the castle's inhabitants, it can easily be inferred that they are vampires. [[spoiler:They're actually goons; it's the Master, the Foreigner, and the Daughter who are the vampires.]]
183* RestoredMyFaithInHumanity: The Paladin can do this for Dmitri by returning Piotyr's sword to him, convincing him that his grandfather didn't run out on his family and was killed on a noble mission; until then, Dmitri doesn't really believe in heroes and paladins.
184* RewardingVandalism: Downplayed in that you don't get anything for it except a bonus to your [[KarmaMeter honor]] and a measure more respect by the townspeople, but you are rewarded for destroying the Monastery.
185* RunningGag:
186** Mordavia (an otherwise stereotypical Eastern-European/Transylvania-esque setting) used to have elephants. And a thriving elephant herding business. This comes up indirectly once. But with the voice acting one, a lot of the ad-libbed dialogue of the three townspeople at the tavern at night will revolve around the constant mention of Mordavia's elephant herding past. In particular Ivan (who mentions he used to be an elephant herder) will constantly bring it up, often times when it has nothing to do with the topic at hand. In the voiced version of the game, Franz ad libs how he used to be ''married'' to an elephant during these conversations.
187** Mordavians' obsession with garlic. Both as their national food (replacing the peanut, which they used to grow for their elephant herds) and its supposed protective qualities. Every one of Bella's meals features garlic as an ingredient. The rations are garlic and avocado sandwich. Garlic flowers are common Mordavian decorations and wreaths of garlic are ''everywhere''. When you stay at the gypsy camp, it specifically points out it's the only meal you've had with no garlic since getting there. Ironically [[spoiler:Katrina points out garlic has no effect on Vampires, other than to disgust them]]. It gets even funnier as the Mordavians don't even ''know'' they have Vampires living in the castle to begin with. They just all pivoted to garlic on their own.
188* SacrificialRevivalSpell: Erana's staff has the power to exchange the life of one person for that of someone they love. [[spoiler:Toby ultimately uses it to resurrect Tanya.]]
189* SealedEvilInACan: A rather larger can than usual, but Mordavia has basically become the can holding the Dark One: trapped halfway between wherever it comes from and the real world, it can exert a corrupting influence on the valley, but can't act directly.
190** SealedGoodInACan: [[spoiler:Erana, while attempting to banish Avoozl years ago, was caught in a death hug by the Dark One, trapping Avoozl halfway through manifesting in the real world, but also trapping Erana in an endless prison of torment and death. The only way to break the death hug is to free Avoozl, and thereby free Erana to finish her banishment.]]
191* ShoutOut:
192** You drink from the [[Literature/TheCaskOfAmontillado Cask of the monk Amon Tillado]].
193** Dr. Cranium is the ancestor of [[VideoGame/DrBrain Dr. Thaddeus Egghead Brain]].
194** The manual contains a poem by [[Creator/HPLovecraft "P.H. Craftlove"]].
195** Two of the three townspeople who hang out at the inn every day are doing Jack Nicholson impressions (the third is doing a Rodney Dangerfield impression instead.)
196** One of the random monsters is a [[Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail killer rabbit]], complete with blood around its mouth.
197** Boris is one to Boris Karloff, the first (and most famous) actor to portray FrankensteinsMonster.
198** Lorre Petrovich, the Chief Thief of Mordavia, was [[LorreLookalike drawn and voiced like Peter Lorre]] as Ugarte in ''Film/{{Casablanca}}''. [[StrongFamilyResemblance He is, in fact, Ugarte's uncle, as Ugarte will inform you in the fifth game.]]
199** One of the musical bell sequences to open Dr. Cranium's door is the same as the notes from the aliens' signal in ''Film/CloseEncountersOfTheThirdKind''.
200* SilverFox:
201** Magda is described as an older but still attractive woman, and after a few good deeds she talks a little about how she'd pursue the hero if only she was about twenty years younger.
202** It's unclear just how old [[spoiler:Katrina actually is, but Ad Avis has served her for the better part of a century and she still looks like she's [[Really700YearsOld 20-something]]. And once she takes off her [[MsFanservice cloak and hood...]]]]
203* SkepticismFailure: Dr. Cranium does not believe in magic, only science. Even though he lives in a world with Wizards, Genies, Witches, Gypsies who can turn themselves into wolves, to name only a few.
204** Though justified Mordavia has been under dark influences for almost three generations, and cut off from the rest of the world for several years, the Gypsy/wolf fact is spread around as an urban legend, and he really doesn't seem to get out of the house much regardless anyway.
205** His skepticism is so strong, it prevents you from spellcasting in his presence!
206* SkinnyDipping: The Rusalka and her fiance took a dip in the Lake of Lost naked while they were still alive. [[spoiler:And the former also after her death.]]
207* SmoochOfVictory: After avenging [[spoiler:the Rusalka's death, she asks a kiss from you. Too bad she's now a decaying corpse.]]
208* SpeakIllOfTheDead: The Rusalka, about her fiancé. "I told you he was a jerk..."
209* SpeakOfTheDevil: The townspeople have this opinion of the Dark One, and speaking its TrueName (Avoozl) really does get its attention, which is why its name almost never is spoken aloud except when ''trying'' to get its attention.
210* StarCrossedLovers: The Player and Erana, in some cases (having magical ability helps; so does having high Honor and not being a Thief.) While you two never met, your immense goodness resonates with hers so much that even despite being dead she falls for you. Doubly so if you are a Paladin. The [[AccidentalPun climax]] of a number of dreams (see DreamSequence above.)
211** [[spoiler:Katrina as well. It's revealed over the course of the game that she genuinely does love the hero, and depending on the dialog options they select, the player can take the angle that he loves her as well. And then she sacrifices her un-life to save you from Ad Avis at the end.]]
212* StartXToStopX: [[spoiler:Going along with Katrina's plan to revive the Dark One is actually the only way to get rid of it permanently, since undoing the seal will also release Erana, the only one powerful enough to banish Avoozl permanently.]]
213* StolenGoodReturnedBetter: After kidnapping Tanya and turning her into a vampire, Katrina treated her kindly and taught her to read and write. Bella mentions that even though she can't forgive Katrina for kidnapping Tanya, she can appreciate what Tanya learned while she was gone.
214* StoppedNumberingSequels: This trope is set up in this installment, but ultimately subverted by the next one: unlike the previous three games, this one does not have a numeral, instead being titled simply ''Quest for Glory: Shadows of Darkness''... but the next game was again numbered, as ''Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire'', implicitly acknowledging ''Shadows of Darkness'' as the fourth mainline entry. This [[https://www.filfre.net/2018/10/quest-for-glory-iii-and-iv/ whole numbering mess]] happened largely because the game was originally conceived as ''Quest for Glory III: Shadows of Darkness'' (and even announced as such at the end of ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryII''), but the Coles felt that its somber tone would be too much of a MoodWhiplash right after ''II'', so they've slotted an extra game, ''[[VideoGame/QuestForGloryIII Wages of War]]'', between them, reassigning the numeral ''III'' to it. Even so, they still wanted to keep the original numbering scheme for ''Dragon Fire'', so ''Shadows'' was released without a number (and then creative attitudes shifted again during the ensuing SequelGap, so ''Dragon Fire'' was numbered ''V'', anyway). Even internally, the game does number itself as "Quest for Glory 4", since [="QG4"=] is used on several file names and in the readme.
215* StoryBranchFavoritism: Morel like "unfavoritism" in case of the fighter class, which does not get any characters or side quests exclusive to it in this game, unlike wizards (who get to meet Tatiana the Fairy Queen), thieves (Lorre Petrovich), and even paladins (Piotyr, Rusalka[[note]]other classes can meet the latter, just not help her[[/note]]).
216* TakingYouWithMe:
217** [[spoiler:Avoozl, the Dark One, reacted to Erana's attempt to banish it by essentially attemping to banish her. Neither succeeded, but both were essentially trapped, caught up in each other's halfway banishment, with the Dark One content to wait for its next opportunity, and Erana stuck in a hell of darkness and death.]]
218** If you fail to save the gypsy, [[spoiler:when he's unjustly executed, his dying curse will kill everyone in the town, including you]].
219* TarotMotifs: Very important, and uses an [[http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/russian-st-petersburg/ actual tarot deck]] and some surprisingly accurate interpretations. It's obvious that the Coles [[ShownTheirWork did their research]]. However, the specific method of card reading used is made up, which [[WordOfGod they have openly admitted.]]
220* TeleportInterdiction: A downplayed example, courtesy of the Dark One. [[spoiler:As Katrina finds out the hard way, it technically IS possible to forcibly teleport somebody from outside of Mordavia to inside; it's just that the Dark One tends to swallow the targets of those teleportation spells. This is also why Erasmus does not teleport the Hero out of Mordavia until the Dark One is gone.]]
221* TentacledTerror: There is cephalopod imagery all over the place to represent The Dark One, possibly a reference to Lovecraft or Czernobog of Russian mythology. There are also "hexapods", six-legged monsters that guard the monastery.
222* ThereWasADoor: In the character creation screen, before you pick the class, the fighter and the mage make dramatic entrances by breaking their respective doors with a kick and with magic. Then the thief cautiously opens his door.
223* ThroughHisStomach: If you decide to try to get Olga and Boris together again, what ultimately convinces Boris to go back is a reminder about Olga's avocado and garlic sandwiches. Sadly, you can't just show him one of your rations; you have to keep going back and forth between them until Olga finally tells you to tell Boris about them.
224* TimedMission:
225** [[spoiler:Subverted. Once Katrina inflicts a geas on the hero, she says that you have three days to gather the rituals before the geas causes the hero to "suffer". As promised, [[ExactWords delaying will make the hero suffer]], but he won't die.]]
226** When the gypsy is captured and accused of killing Igor, you have two days to find out what happened before the townsfolk go BurnTheWitch. Even if you jailbreak the gypsy, Igor will die in about two days if not rescued.
227* TogetherInDeath: Anna and Nikolai.
228* TomeOfEldritchLore: The ''Necrophilicon'' in the Monastery certainly looks the part, though you never get a chance to read it.
229* TotallyNotAWerewolf: Gypsies are {{voluntary shapeshifter}}s and scoff at the villagers' fervent belief in the stereotypical werewolf legend (involuntary change, weakness to silver, etc).
230--> '''Davy''': Gypsies are not werewolves! But we ''are''... ''shapeshifters!''
231* {{Uberwald}}: Mordavia is an Eastern European-esque setting with vampires, werewolves (well, shapeshifters, anyway), Gypsies, and a mad scientist. It is not a nice place, and its similarities to [[VideoGame/QuestForGloryI Spielburg]] only serve to accentuate that.
232* UndeadBarefooter: [[spoiler:Katrina, at least while in her peasant girl disguise. She does wear boots, while torturing the hero for snooping around her castle, but that's the only time she's ever seen with any footwear on. In the next game, she resumes going barefoot.]]
233* UndeadChild: [[spoiler:Tanya]]
234* UnderestimatingBadassery: Tatiana thought she could easily beat that [[PunyEarthlings puny inferior PC mage]] and claim Erana's staff for herself. She got her ass kicked and [[VillainExitStageLeft was forced to flee]].
235* UnfinishedBusiness: Ghosts in general exist because of this. Two notable examples.
236** Nikolai's wife Anna. She is pinned to the place of her death until she can be reunited with her husband.
237** The Rusalka is forced to haunt the lake and kill people because she was drowned by an unfaithful lover; to release her spirit you have to tell her her real name and avenge her death by calling up the spirit of her murderer and [[WifeBasherBasher delivering some holy justice]].
238* TheUnintelligible: Toby. Tanya is his TranslatorBuddy.
239* UnintentionallyUnwinnable: Attacking Tanya or Toby does not kill you instantly (since Toby just kicks you out), but it does make the game unwinnable (since Tanya kills you if you come back). And it's an extremely stupid thing to do.
240* TheUnReveal: The only thing you ever find out about 'The Ultimate Joke' is that it involves a wizard and a farmer's daughter.
241* UnInstallment: The game officially doesn't have ''IV'' in its title, it's simply ''Quest for Glory: Shadows Of Darkness''.
242* UntrustingCommunity: Decades of misfortune due to outsiders such as the Chernovy Cult and the Dark Master have made the townsfolk of Mordavia extremely suspicious of strangers, and particularly suspicious of magic users.
243* UnwinnableByDesign: If you free Davy from jail but fail to rescue Igor within a reasonable timeframe, then Igor will die of exposure and the Burgomeister will arrest you the next time he sees you. If you know exactly what you're doing, you can just avoid seeing the Burgomeister again for that playthrough, but it's a delayed game over for anyone not expecting it.
244* VampiresAreSexGods: The Dark Master [[spoiler: is an attractive vampire woman who knows how to play up her sex appeal for all it's worth when she wants to.]]
245* VideoGameDelegationPenalty: "Strategy Mode" in which, rather than the player directly controlling the Hero's actions, allows the computer to do so, based on the Hero's current skill levels and settings defined by the player. However, the AI controlling him is [[ArtificialStupidity rather sub-par]], and no matter what settings you use, the AI generally ends up using the AttackAttackAttack strategy.
246* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: As a Thief, you can get away with stealing Nikolai's locket despite acknowledging how important it is to him, or with murdering the Chief Thief once you restore his humanity. If you do either, your Honor score will immediately drop to 0.
247* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment:
248** If you murder Nikolai while robbing his house, he'll become a ghost and kill you.
249** If you attack Tanya or Toby, Tanya will drink your blood and kill you the next time you enter their room.
250* VoluntaryShapeshifting: The gypsies can turn into wolves at will.
251* WasOnceAMan: The Chernovy cultists look vaguely humanoid, but with tentacles for hands and horrifically mutated faces. Their High Priest, however, doesn't even look human anymore.
252* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler:The two goons that were guarding Katrina's castle. Since the ending ceremony take place in the great hall of the castle and everyone was present except them, one can wonder what were their final fate.]]
253** [[spoiler:The Rusalka can come across this way, if you're playing any class other than paladin. In those games, there's no way to end the Rusalka's curse or definitely find out her backstory (although one might be able to piece it together by reading a couple of the epitaphs in the graveyard), things you'd normally expect in a game like this. All she does if you're the thief, wizard, or fighter is, after warming up to you, give you clues about where to find an important item. For what it's worth, the Rusalka doesn't seem all that upset about her un-life...]]
254* WhatMeasureIsANonCute: Quite high, it seems.
255** When Igor, the hunch-backed gravedigger, goes missing, the townspeople worry about him, and are so hungry for justice they're prepared to lay the death sentence on a captured gypsy they think is responsible. Finding Igor and saving him is probably the first act the player will do that gets them to start warming up to them.
256** The same can be said for Toby, a hulking {{Benevolent Monster|s}}, dearly cherished by her friend Tanya, and after reviving her, even her parents have good things to say about him.
257* WhatTheHellHero: Punny Bones scolds the hero for being indirectly responsible for the loss of his humor, and in an inversion, Katrina chews him out for kidnapping Tanya and killing Toby.
258* WhipOfDominance: Near the end of the game, the seductive dark sorceress / vampire Katrina captures the protagonist when they break into her home, and she decides to interrogate him in her dungeon by giving him ATasteOfTheLash, and she specifically dresses in a [[DressedLikeADominatrix skintight dominatrix outfit]] just to give the scene an S&M tone. {{Downplayed|Trope}} in that her attitude in the scene is not seductive and she's legitimately angry, though if the protagonist confesses his love for her, she does lampshade the situation by joking that he must tell this to every woman that ties him up and whips him.
259* WhereItAllBegan: [[spoiler:You end where you started, in the Dark One's Cave.]]
260* XanatosSpeedChess: While Katrina wants the Hero to work for her of his own free will, she does have [[{{Geas}} backup plans]] in case he doesn't cooperate, although, as she tells Ad Avis, "I will use them only if I must."

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