Betrayal at Krondor

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Betrayal at Krondor
Developer(s)	Dynamix
Publisher(s)	Sierra On-Line
Designer(s)	Neal Hallford, John Cutter
Platform(s)	MS-DOS
Release date	June 22, 1993
Genre(s)	Role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single Player
Rating(s)	USK: unrestricted
Media	7 3½" floppy disks; also released on CD-ROM and as a download

Betrayal at Krondor is a DOS-based computer role-playing game developed by Dynamix and published by Sierra On-Line in 1993. Betrayal at Krondor takes place largely in Midkemia, the fantasy world developed by Raymond E. Feist in his Riftwar novels. The game is designed to resemble a book, separated into chapters and narrated in the third-person with a quick-save bookmark feature.

Although neither the dialog nor narrative were written by Feist himself, the game is considered canon as it has been novelized by Feist as Krondor: The Betrayal and events in the game were subsequently written into his later Riftwar novels.

PyroTechnix completed a long-anticipated sequel, Return to Krondor, which was released by Sierra in 1998. It went through considerable development problems and was not as warmly received as its predecessor.

[edit] Gameplay

The main interface of Betrayal at Krondor. The party is travelling east along a road.

Gameplay occurs mainly from a first-person perspective while traveling in the overworld, dungeons, and caves, but switches to a third-person view during combat. The user interface is mouse-driven, with keyboard hotkeys for most actions.

The game has two possible views, the 3D view and the 2D top-down map view, where the player is represented with a triangular marker. The overworld is completely mapped, but other locations are automatically mapped in the top-down view as the player explores them. The player can also view the full map of Midkemia and see their location.

Each chapter's main plot usually takes place completely within one of two regions of the game world. However, the player is given enormous freedom to explore the world however they wish, allowing for ample opportunity to perform sub-quests and develop characters' skills, acquire money, etc. However, only certain locations are accessible in certain chapters. While traveling, the party camps in the wilderness to rest and recover lost health/stamina.

[edit] Moredhel wordlock chests

One of the unique features of the game are the moredhel wordlock chests. These chests have combination locks with letters on each dial, and a riddle written upon them whose answer opens the chest. Wordlock chests can hold valuable items and equipment, as well as quest items essential to completing the game. If no member of the player's party can read moredhel, the writing on the chest will appear untranslated, although it can still be opened by trying each possible combination. The moredhel alphabet is a character substitution of the A-Z alphabet. Gorath, a moredhel, can read it, and casting the Union spell allows Patrus to do so for short periods of time.

[edit] Plot and dialogue

Plot is advanced through literary cutscenes. Each chapter begins and ends with a cutscene, consisting of text and dialogue with animations. The player characters meet various NPCs during their travels. Dialogue is text-based often with short voice clips, and some NPCs have their own pictures as well. Conversation is tree-based: in certain cases, the player can choose between various dialogue keywords. This is used to get information, training, and items from NPCs, often for a price.

[edit] RPG system and player character development

Character sheet. Two skills - melee and crossbow accuracy - are emphasized, as indicated by the red pommels of the swords.

There are two or three characters in the adventuring party at any time. While the player meets various non-human characters - dwarves, elves, goblins, and dragons - during their journeys, five of the six player characters are human (the exception being Gorath, a dark elf). There are two classes of characters: Fighters (Locklear, James, and Gorath) and Magicians (Pug, Owyn, and Patrus). Fighters use swords and crossbows, while magicians only use a staff - the only long-range attacks magicians are capable of are through spells.

The character system is unique. The main character attributes in combat are health, stamina, speed, and strength. Speed determines how many combat grid squares the character can move. Strength influences the amount of damage the character inflicts in mêlée combat. Spell-casting, swinging one's weapon, and combat damage first use up stamina. Once stamina is depleted, health is used and as it decreases, the character's skills (such as weapon accuracy), speed, and strength are also negatively affected.

In addition to attributes, each character has a set of skills expressed as percentages. Skills can be emphasized, causing them to improve faster, while deemphasized skills improve slower. Unlike many other role-playing games, skills are improved by using them rather than through a leveling up system. For example, fixing weapons will improve the Weaponcraft skill, which in turn will make the character more effective at fixing weapons in the future. Skills include defense, crossbow accuracy, mêlée weapon accuracy, spell-casting accuracy, assessing enemies during battle, weapon and armor repair, barding, haggling, lockpicking, scouting for enemy ambushes, and stealth. Some NPCs offer training in certain skills and some items can improve skills both permanently and temporarily.

Characters can acquire various status effects that affect their health or skills. Characters whose health drops to zero in combat are knocked out and acquire "Near Death" status, making them heal very slowly and ineffective in combat; if the wounds are properly cared for using herbal packs or restoratives, they will heal faster. If the health of the entire party drops to zero, the game will end. Improved rate of healing is handled as a status effect as well, as are poisoning, drunkenness, and sickness.

[edit] Magic

Combat spell-casting menu. Groups of spells are chosen through the buttons, spells itself through the symbols that appear within the pattern. For variable-strength spells, the desired magnitude is chosen by clicking the rim of the pattern.

Spells are organized into six groups, grouped by magic symbol. Four groups of spells are combat spells and two groups are non-combat spells.

Spells first drain the caster's stamina and then health. Some spells have variable strength; the player can choose how much energy the spell consumes. Some combat spells also require that the target being within line of sight of the caster.

Spells are learned from scrolls that are found in shops or various locations as well as from NPCs throughout the world.

[edit] Items and inventory

Inventory screen.

The game features a wide variety of items, including equipment, food, treasure, and magical artifacts. Each item also has detailed background information available by right-clicking it.

The inventory management allows transferring items between the party characters. In case of stacks of multiple items, there's also an option to share them evenly with the party. The game also manages money and keys independently.

Each weapon and type of armor has modifiers affecting its combat effectiveness, such as accuracy, damage, blessing, and racial modifiers. After combat, most weapons and armor must be kept in shape with a whetstone or armorer's hammer, respectively. There are also items that augment weapons and armor, such as Silverthorn, used to poison swords or crossbow quarrels, or Silverthorn anti-venom, which neutralizes it.

Player characters must carry and eat rations every day, or their health starts dropping. They are sold in taverns and can be found on enemies and in caches. Rations can also be poisoned or spoiled and will make characters poisoned or sick, respectively, if eaten.

[edit] Combat and traps

A battle scene. Gorath, marked with a green square on the grid, is having his turn; hovering mouse over the target marks it with a yellow square, and shows attack damage estimate on the bottom of the screen.

Combat is turn-based and takes place on a grid, similar to tactical role-playing games. The characters can move to a different location on the grid and if they can reach an enemy, can attack in the same move. There are two options for attacking: a thrust and a swing. The thrust is the default attack used when moving to attack an enemy. The swing usually does more damage but is less likely to hit and uses up one point of health/stamina. Fighters can use crossbows and magicians can cast spells, but only if there are no enemy units in adjacent squares. The player can also rest, which regains health and stamina, defend against enemy mêlée attacks, or assess an enemy's capabilities.

Damaged enemies may try to run away, unless the player can kill them or otherwise prevent them from doing so. Killed enemies remain on the ground afterwards, allowing the player to loot their corpses.

The combat interface is also used in solving magical traps. Traps involve various kinds of hazards, such as fireball throwers and laser crystals, and the player either has to disable them using the objects provided, or otherwise navigate through the trap and reach the top of the combat field.

Although the game uses a GUI many actions can be performed using keys as well. There is a glitch (or intended hidden feature?) that allows the player to make certain combinations of two moves in a single turn--one using the mouse and another using the keyboard--or rest twice by pressing 'R' before the turn begins and holding it through the turn. Computer opponents also seem to use this in some instances (like moving and defending in the same turn).

[edit] Temples, stores and inns

Temples offer a variety of services, including healing and blessing weapons. They also sell a relatively expensive teleportation service; the player is able to teleport between any temples they have visited earlier, the price based on the distance traveled. This operates on the principle that a person visiting a new shrine will memorize a unique pattern upon the wall, and by recalling this pattern at a later time at a different shrine, be transported to the first shrine with the aid of a priest.

Stores buy and sell various kinds of items; some also repair equipment. Inns and taverns allow characters to buy food and alcohol, get information, earn money by playing the lute, and sleep overnight, which allows full healing of wounds and fatigue, whereas resting in the wilderness only restores 80% of health and stamina.

[edit] Technical details and graphics style

The game runs in 256-color 320x200 VGA mode. The graphics engine uses textured 3D graphics to draw the terrain and uses sprites for most of the detailed objects. The engine does not support multi-level terrain as such, but obstacles such as hills and mountains are supported. Most shops, inns, temples, special locations, and large cities are navigated though pictures usable through hotspots, while smaller towns have 3D buildings.

NPC, character and some monster art is based on photographs. Environments are a mix of captured images and hand-drawn. In combat and puzzle screens, all characters are animated, except for movement - characters do not appear to move their legs while walking.

The game models illumination to certain extent: In the overworld, day and night are modeled, and in underground locations, the player needs to use a torch or a light spell to illuminate the surroundings.

[edit] Compatibility with modern systems

The game runs in protected mode, using Borland C++'s Ergo DPMI / RTM DOS extender.^[1] It remained quite compatible with Microsoft Windows up to the 9x series. The game also works quite well in DOSBox^[2] and VDMSound.

xBaK is a game engine recreation which allows Betrayal at Krondor to be played natively under the X Window System, using the original data files.^[3]

[edit] Major characters and NPCs

[edit] Main characters

Seigneur Locklear

(Chapters 1, 5, 7) Locklear is the youngest son of the Baron of Land's End, a Seigneur in Prince Arutha's court, and a skilled swordsman decorated for his service at Armengar and Sethanon during the Great Rising (A Darkness at Sethanon). Locklear recently entered the service of a Kingdom garrison in Yabon to investigate reports of moredhel activity, where he rescues Gorath of the Ardanien shortly after his arrival.

Squire Owyn Beleforte

(Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9) Owyn is the nineteen year old magician and the youngest son of the Count of Tiburn. Uninterested in the politics of the Eastern Realm, Owyn idolized the magician Pug, making him a political embarrassment to his father. A resourceful and crafty boy, Owyn used part of his father's wealth to travel and study magic in secret. His father eventually discovered what he was doing and since then has given him a great deal of freedom in the hopes that he will eventually settle down and become suitable for a political marriage. Owyn is traveling home from visiting his aunt in Yabon, when he meets Locklear and Gorath and joins them in their journey to Krondor.

Gorath of the Ardanien

(Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9) A hero of the Riftwar, Gorath was chieftain of Clan Ardanien. One of Delekhan's rivals to the throne in Sar-Sargoth, Gorath considers Delekhan's plan to invade the Kingdom madness and betrays the moredhel to warn Prince Arutha, believing it the only way to save his people from another disastrous war. There is also another reason for his exile from the Northlands: he has broken away from the Dark Path and seeks to journey to Elvandar and "return" to the eledhel, assuming he isn't killed by his brethren first.

Seigneur James

(Chapters 2, 3, 5, 7) Once known as Jimmy the Hand and legend among the Mockers, James is the son of the Upright Man, though he is unaware of his parentage. After he foiled a Nighthawk attempt to assassinate Prince Arutha (Silverthorn), James was forced to give up his life as a thief and became a squire in Arutha's court, where he became best friends with Locklear. James eventually rose to the rank of Seigneur, becoming one of Arutha's most trusted and loyal servants but still wanders the Thieves' Highway, often on business for the Crown.

Patrus

(Chapters 5, 7) Patrus is the court magician and magical adviser to Baron Gabot in Northwarden, and one of Owyn's early magical tutors. Despite his old age, he is a spry and capable magician. Patrus' knowledge of the spell "Union" allows him to read moredhel, albeit temporarily.

Duke Pug conDoin

(Chapters 8, 9) As an orphan growing up in Crydee, Pug was apprenticed to Kulgan the magician but showed little magical ability until he was captured by the Tsurani during the Riftwar (Magician: Apprentice). Seeing potential in the boy, Tsurani Great Ones trained him in the magic of the Greater Path, which did not previously exist on Midkemia. When he returned, Pug helped the sorcerer Macros the Black end the Riftwar and was adopted into the royal family and given land to start his Academy of Magic at Stardock (Magician: Master). Pug is considered the most powerful magician in Midkemia, having inherited much of Macros' power in addition to his Tsurani training. He is married to Katala, whom he met on Kelewan, and has two children: a biological son William and an adopted daughter Gamina, who has telepathic powers.

[edit] Allies

Prince Arutha conDoin

Prince Arutha of Krondor is ruler of the Western Realm, younger brother of King Lyam, and half-brother of Duke Martin of Crydee. Arutha proved himself one of the Kingdom's best field commanders defending Crydee during the Riftwar and became Prince after the unexpected deaths of King Rodric, Prince Erland, and his father Duke Borric. He is a well-loved and capable ruler, albeit a reluctant one.

Duke Martin conDoin

Once known as Martin Longbow, Duke Martin of Crydee is the elder half-brother of King Lyam and Prince Arutha. The illegitimate son of Duke Borric, he was raised and trained by the elves in Elvandar before becoming Huntmaster and later Duke upon the death of his father. One of the best archers in Midkemia, Martin dislikes court life and often roams the forests, longbow in hand.

Squire Phillip

A young squire Owyn met at a party in Yabon prior to the start of the game, Phillip looks about the same age though he is actually thirty-seven years old. He appears to be a young noble, but Phillip is actually a captain in the Kingdom Army and a courier for the secret garrison near Sethanon.

Tomas

Prince Consort to Queen Aglaranna and Warleader of Elvandar, Tomas was best friends with Pug as they grew up in Crydee. During the Riftwar, Tomas discovered the dying dragon Rhuagh, who gave him an ancient suit of armor (Magician: Apprentice). The armor transformed Tomas, making him a strange blend of human and Valheru, and gave him the memories and powerful abilities of Ashen-Shugar, the ancient Valheru to whom it once belonged. After marrying Aglaranna, Tomas considers Elvandar under his protection and only leaves in the most extreme of circumstances.

The Oracle of Aal

The Aal are among the oldest races in the universe and one of the few to survive the Chaos Wars between the Valheru and the gods. The Oracle, the last of its dying race, agreed to help Pug and Tomas during the Great Rising (A Darkness at Sethanon) in exchange for salvation. After the battle of Sethanon, Pug brought the Oracle to Sethanon and placed it in the body of the dragon Ryath, whose mind was drained during a fight with a Dreadlord. The Oracle of Aal now watches over the Lifestone and will send warning to the secret garrison near Sethanon if it is disturbed.

Cullich

Gorath's estranged wife Cullich is a moredhel witch, though she bears no love for her husband, viewing his willingness to give up his position as a powerful clan leader to be a sign of weakness. However, she is distrustful of Delekhan and therefore willing to use her mystical arts to aid Gorath if she can.

Liallan

Delekhan's consort and a powerful clan leader herself, Liallan openly supports him, though she believes his plan is futile and doomed to fail. Since she has her eye on the throne of Sar-Sargoth for herself, she aids many of Delekhan's enemies and was responsible for Gorath's first escape from the Northlands in the hopes that Delekhan and his son Moraeulf will die, leaving her in a prime position to take over the leadership of the moredhel.

[edit] Villains

Delekhan

Delekhan is the leader of the moredhel Nations the North. One of the Murmandamus' field generals during the Great Rising (A Darkness at Sethanon), Delekhan believes Murmandamus still lives, imprisoned by Prince Arutha at Sethanon. He has unified his people with the help of magicians known only as "the Six" (later revealed to be Tsurani Great Ones helping Makala) in order to invade the Kingdom of the Isles, free Murmandamus, and finish what was started a decade before.

Makala

Makala is a Great One, a magician from the Tsurani homeworld of Kelewan who is visiting Prince Arutha's court, ostensibly as a representative of the Emperor of Tsuranuanni. Believing that Pug hid some weapon of tremendous power which could be used against the Tsurani, Makala set out to investigate what really happened at the battle of Sethanon. He manipulates Delekhan and the moredhel, using their attack as a diversion so that he can enter Sethanon unhindered and destroy the Lifestone.

Moraeulf

Delekhan's son and Warleader of the moredhel.

Narab and Nago

The brothers Narab and Nago are both magicians and two of Delekhan's closest advisers.

Navon du Sandau

Leader of the Nighthawks

[edit] Locations

[edit] Midkemia

Midkemia, the Kingdom of the Isles, the Northlands, and Elvandar – as shown on the paper map included with Betrayal at Krondor

Cavall Keep

(Accessible in Chapters 1, 2, 3, 6) Cavall Keep is a small eastern farming town in the Kenting Hills, ruled by Count Geoffrey Corvalis, Owyn's uncle. The keep burned down mysteriously three years ago, preventing access to the caverns underneath, which runs south to the waterfall known as Cavall Run. It is discovered that the keep was destroyed by the Count's wife's illegitimate son, Neville aka Navon du Sandau, leader of the Nighthawks, so that they could use the caves as their hideout.

Elvandar

(Accessible in Chapter 6) The forest city of Elvandar, home of the eledhel (the elves), lies far to the northwest of the duchy of Yabon and is ruled by Queen Aglaranna and Prince Tomas. Though isolated and well-protected, the Tsurani attacked Elvandar during the Riftwar and there are still occasional skirmishes with the moredhel on its northern borders.

Highcastle

(Accessible in Chapters 1, 2, 3) The frontier fort town of Highcastle guards Cutter's Gap, one of the four passes between the Kingdom and the Northlands. Overrun by the moredhel during the Great Rising (A Darkness at Sethanon), Prince Arutha had the fortifications reinforced in recent years. Highcastle is currently commanded by Baron Baldwin de la Troville and, in his absence, Baron Kevin of Zun.

Krondor

(Accessible in Chapters 1, 2, 3, 6) Krondor is the capital of the Western Realm of the Kingdom of the Isles and the traditional home of the heir apparent to the throne. It is currently ruled by Prince Arutha and Princess Anita. The sewers under the city are a maze of tunnels known as the Thieves' Highway and controlled by the Mockers, the thieves' guild, and their mysterious leader, the Upright Man.

LaMut

(Accessible in Chapters 1, 2, 3, 6) The city of LaMut is located in the duchy of Yabon, near the reopened rift to Kelewan. It is home to a large Tsurani population that settled there after the Riftwar and is ruled by the Earl Kasumi.

The in-game map of Midkemia

Malac's Cross

(Accessible in Chapters 1, 2, 3, 6) The city of Malac's Cross marks the eastern boundary of the Western Realm and is home to the Abbaye Ishap, an ancient temple currently run by the Abbot Graves. Outside of the city, where the old city once stood, is a statue of a dragon, built as a tribute to Malac himself, from which the Oracle of Aal can be contacted.

Northwarden

(Accessible in Chapters 1, 2, 3, 5) The fortress of Northwarden lies on a narrow mountain path overlooking one of four passes between the Kingdom and the Northlands. It is currently commanded by Baron Gabot.

Romney

(Accessible in Chapters 1, 2, 3, 6) Located on the river Rom, the eastern city of Romney is known as the City of Guilds. Although ruled by Duke Romney, control of the city lies with its various merchant guilds, leading to the occasional guild war.

Sarth

(Accessible in Chapters 1, 2, 3, 6) Located north of Krondor, the town of Sarth is home to an ancient mountaintop fortress converted into an abbey and library by the Order of Ishap. The vaults have hundreds of thousands of books, containing a wealth of knowledge about the history and lore of Midkemia, tended to by Brother Anthony and Brother Marc. Beneath the vaults is an abandoned dwarven emerald mine known as the Mac Bourgalan Dok.

Sar-Isbandia (Armengar)

(Accessible in Chapter 4) The fortress city of Sar-Isbandia was built atop miles of naphtha tunnels long ago by the glamredhel (the mad elves) before they were obliterated by the moredhel. Located in the Vale of Isbandia north of the Inclindel Gap, humans from Yabon settled in the city hundreds of years ago, renaming it Armengar and becoming lifelong enemies of the moredhel. The Armengarians were among Murmandamus' first targets during the Great Rising so Prince Arutha and Guy du Bas-Tyra, the city's Protector, evacuated the residents and attempted to destroy Murmandamus' army by incinerating the city (A Darkness at Sethanon). Recently, moredhel have moved into the ruins and started to rebuild.

Sar-Sargoth

(Accessible in Chapter 4) Twin city of Sar-Isbandia, the fortress city of Sar-Sargoth to the north was also built by the glamredhel and taken by the moredhel as their capital. The tunnels beneath the city are home to Delekhan's dungeons.

Sethanon

(Surface ruins accessible in Chapters 1, 2, 3, 6, underground ruins only accessible in Chapter 9) Once a minor Barony in the heart of the Kingdom, Sethanon was poorly defended and completely destroyed during the Great Rising (A Darkness at Sethanon). Coincidentally built above ancient Valheru city containing the Lifestone, King Lyam and Prince Arutha ordered the city abandoned after the Battle of Sethanon, ostensibly as a memorial to those who had died there, and stationed a secret garrison nearby to protect the city. Within a hidden chamber in the labyrinth beneath the city lies the Lifestone and its guardian, the dragon Ryath, whose mind contains the Oracle of Aal.

Silden

(Accessible in Chapters 1, 2, 3, 6) The eastern fishing town of Silden is a seaport on the Kingdom Sea. Located on a nearby island off the coast is the abandoned temple of Eortis, the dead god of the sea. Known for its shady underworld, an organization run by someone known only as The Crawler has recently establish themselves within the city and is disrupting business for both the Mockers in Krondor and the guilds in Romney.

[edit] Timirianya

(Accessible in Chapter 8) The desolate world of Timirianya was destroyed by the Valheru and is currently inhabited by Panath-Tiandn, humanoid serpents akin to Pantathians. During the Chaos Wars, the gods of Timirianya crystallized magic into manna, causing the Valheru to leave when they thought the world's energy was depleted. In order to cast magic on Timirianya, one must use a crystal staff and keep it recharged with raw manna.

The Temple of Karzeen Mauk

Located at the northern part of the island, all that remains of the high temple of the gods of Timirianya are nine pillars, within which the surviving gods have taken refuge. Only Dhatsavan, Lord of Gates, still has enough power left to communicate with visitors.

The Temple of Dhatsavan (Riftworld Mine)

Also known as the Riftworld Mine, the ruins of the temple are buried underground and are currently occupied by Panath-Tiandn. After Makala abducts her, Gamina is imprisoned in a crystal cage within the ruins.

[edit] Plot

Ten years after A Darkness at Sethanon, Seigneur Locklear is serving at a northern Kingdom garrison when he saves Gorath of the Ardanien from an assassin. Gorath has brought a warning of an invasion planned by Delekhan, leader of the moredhel, so Locklear agrees to take him to see Prince Arutha in Krondor. They meet Owyn Beleforte, a young magician from Tiburn, who helps them with their injuries before joining them on their journey. The game begins in their camp in the duchy of Yabon, north of LaMut.

[edit] Chapter I: Into A Dark Night

Owyn is bandaging Gorath's and Locklear's injuries when they are attacked by a moredhel assassin. Gorath kills the assassin as the three of them set out south. Surviving multiple assassination attempts, they eventually reach Krondor, where they find the palace gates sabotaged, but are able to enter the palace via the sewers with the help of Seigneur James. Upon meeting Prince Arutha and Pug, another moredhel assassin sneaks in and attempts to kill Gorath, only to be foiled by Pug.

[edit] Chapter II: Shadow Of The Nighthawks

Gorath informs Arutha of Delekhan's plans, but Arutha does not trust him because he does not know where the attack will occur. Gorath thinks they can find out by intercepting a message from Delekhan's Nighthawk spies in Romney. Arutha arranges for James to escort Gorath to Romney and meet with a group of King Lyam's soldiers investigating recent Nighthawk activity in the east. Arutha will muster his army and await word of where the attack will occur. James, Owyn, and Gorath secretly slip out of the city through the sewers and head east. Upon arriving in Romney, they discover that the king's soldiers were poisoned.

[edit] Chapter III: The Spyglass And The Spider

Two clues were left behind at the scene of the murder: an enchanted spyglass and a silver spider. James, Owyn, and Gorath follow the trail of the spyglass and the spider north to Cavall Keep and their owner, Navon du Sandau, leader of the Nighthawks. After killing du Sandau, they enter the Nighthawks' hideout in the caverns beneath Cavall Keep. Finding Delekhan's plans to attack Northwarden, they realize that Nighthawks probably infiltrated the fortress so it will fall in an attack. Splitting up, James heads to Northwarden while Owyn and Gorath head south to warn Arutha. Before they can reach Arutha though, Owyn and Gorath are captured by Narab, one of Delekhan's chieftains.

[edit] Chapter IV: Marked For Death

Gorath and Owyn are taken to Sar-Sargoth, where Narab presents them to Delekhan. Delekhan, enraged that Narab has ruined his plans, tells him his life is forfeit. Narab turns on Delekhan and, unbeknownst to them, frees Owyn and Gorath.^[4] They escape Sar-Sargoth and head south, eventually reaching the Inclindel Gap, where they meet a Kingdom patrol and are escorted to Arutha's camp. Learning of the impending attack on Northwarden, Arutha is distrustful at first, but Owyn convinces him of the truth and Arutha readies his army, sending Owyn and Gorath back to Krondor to seek Pug's help in case magic is employed during the attack.

[edit] Chapter V: When Rivers Run Blood

James and Locklear arrive at Northwarden and are sent by Baron Gabot to find his magical adviser Patrus. After meeting Patrus, the three of them help Duke Martin prepare for the attack by poisoning moredhel food caches, finding Tamney the Minstrel, stealing the moredhel battle plans from their headquarters, and killing six moredhel magicians who slipped behind Kingdom lines.

Having completed Martin's tasks, the party returns to Northwarden as the moredhel attack, but discover that Nighthawks infiltrated the castle and killed the baron and his commanders, leaving James in command. The battle goes badly and they are about to be overrun when Arutha arrives with his army in time to drive off the moredhel.

[edit] Chapter VI: Betrayal

Makala visits Pug in Krondor, telling him that Gamina is considered an abomination by the Assembly of Magicians and he has abducted and imprisoned her until her fate can be decided. Pug is enraged and vows to find her, blasting "The Book Of Macros" into the wall after Makala leaves. When Katala is unable to find him or their daughter, she discovers his message and informs Owyn and Gorath. Following clues from the libraries at Sarth and the Abbaye Ishap, Owyn and Gorath head west to Elvandar, where Gorath reveals that he has "returned" and pledges his allegiance to Queen Aglaranna and Prince Consort Tomas, who shows them the Book of Macros, a gift from Pug to find him should he ever leave the message to do so. Having recently been injured in a skirmish by a poisoned arrow, Tomas cannot go and asks Owyn and Gorath to go in his stead. Owyn and Gorath read the book, which teleports them into the unknown.

[edit] Chapter VII: The Long Ride

In Northwarden, the moredhel raiding leader is captured and reveals that they plan to use a rift machine in the Dimwood to bypass Arutha's army, enter Sethanon, and free Murmandamus, whom they believe is alive and imprisoned there. Realizing that the attack was a diversion engineered by Makala, Arutha orders his troops to Sethanon and instructs James, Locklear, and Patrus to find the rift machine and destroy it. After learning that the machine can be disrupted by a Tsurani device called a Waani, they find the machine and disable it. However, as the rift collapses, it pulls in everything nearby before exploding. James and Locklear grab onto trees but Patrus is sucked into the collapsing rift and dies in the blast. A flash of purple light then signals the arrival of Spellweavers...

[edit] Chapter VIII: Of Lands Afar

Owyn and Gorath are teleported to Timirianya, where Owyn realizes that magic does not work and that Pug would also be powerless. Owyn and Gorath eventually find Pug, who has figured out that by manipulating Delekhan into attacking Arutha's army and abducting Gamina to lure Pug away from Midkemia, Makala is free to enter Sethanon unopposed and seek out the Lifestone. Using the Cup of Rlnn Skrr, Owyn restores Pug's powers and together they find Gamina imprisoned in a crystal cage in the underground ruins of the Temple of Dhatsavan. Gorath smashes the cage with his sword and, using a special pattern stone Pug has brought, the four of them return to Midkemia.

[edit] Chapter IX: Mad Gods Rage

In a flash of purple light, Pug, Owyn, and Gorath appear before James and Locklear in the Dimwood and tell them to wait for Arutha and let him know that there is no magical threat to his army; Makala will be waiting for Pug at Sethanon. Pug, Owyn, and Gorath travel to the underground caverns beneath Sethanon and kill the six Tsurani Great Ones protecting the Lifestone Chamber. Gorath remains behind to protect the Oracle of Aal, which has been incapacitated by Makala's spells, while Pug and Owyn confront Makala. Makala believes that Pug was keeping the Lifestone hidden to use as a weapon and wants it destroyed, but Pug refuses because doing so could release the Valheru souls trapped inside. Engaging Makala in a magical battle, Pug and Owyn eventually kill him.

Immediately afterwards, Gorath enters the chamber, locked in combat with Delekhan. When Delekhan reaches for the Lifestone and Gorath tries to stop him, they begin to transform as the Valheru within try to escape. As they struggle over the Lifestone, Pug and Owyn are forced to kill them both with a blast of magic in order to prevent the Valheru from being released. Returning above ground to the ruins of Sethanon, Pug creates illusions of Murmandamus and Delekhan, visible to the attacking moredhel, which are then incinerated by the Oracle of Aal dragon. Having seen both their leaders killed, the moredhel retreat, during which Narab kills Delekhan's son Moraeulf and fulfills his own plans of becoming leader of the moredhel. Owyn is left alone with Pug, who reveals that since Owyn now knows about the Lifestone, Pug must ensure that that the secret is safe and suggests that Owyn become one of his students at Stardock. Owyn laughs and replies that he's never wanted anything else.^[5]

[edit] Development

[edit] Neal Hallford and Feist's influence

Although the game was based on a license of Raymond E. Feist's Midkemian universe, a long held myth was that the text and the story of the game were actually created by Feist himself. Feist states in his afterword to Krondor: The Betrayal that he was busy writing The King's Buccaneer during the game's production and that the plot, text, and new characters were created solely by designers Neal Hallford and John Cutter. Feist did have editorial final say on the game, but most of what Hallford and Cutter created was left intact.

[edit] Release history

The following commercial editions of the game have been released:

• The original 3½" floppy disk release (1993).
• CD-ROM edition, which includes Red Book CD-audio versions of the original game's MIDI music tracks, a 5-minute AVI video interview with Raymond E. Feist, and a Windows hint program/package ("Multimedia Viewer" + Krondor hint file).
• Re-release of the CD-ROM in SierraOriginals budget line, circa 1996.^[6]
• The CD-ROM that came with the hardcover edition of Krondor: the Betrayal (1998). Contains manual in PDF format and video interview with Feist, promotional materials for Return to Krondor (including a trailer video clip), and promotional information on other 1998 Sierra releases, but without the CD-audio soundtrack.

Sierra offered a free download of Betrayal at Krondor on its website in 1997 to promote the game Betrayal in Antara, though it is no longer available. Contrary to popular belief, Vivendi Universal Games has stated that the game is not free to be redistributed by others.^[7]

[edit] Krondor: The Betrayal

Feist later wrote Krondor: The Betrayal, a novelization of the game and the first in a series of new Midkemia books called The Riftwar Legacy. Feist credited Hallford and Cutter as co-authors of the original story for Krondor: the Betrayal, and dedicated the book to both of them.

In regards to the Midkemia canon timeline, the book is set approximately halfway between A Darkness at Sethanon and Prince of the Blood. The novel, while adding some more twists, covers the main plot of the game accurately and ignores most of the sidequests. There are also minor differences, such as Owyn's last name being "Belefote" rather than "Beleforte" as in game, and the towns of Tanneurs and Eggley in the game are Tannerus and Eggly in the book.

The game is significant in that it first introduced Lysle Rigger, Jimmy the Hand's long lost twin brother as well as Kat and Abbot Graves, whose granddaughter was Katherine "Kitty" Graves. Both Lysle Rigger and Kitty Graves would play significant roles in Feist's Serpentwar books.

[edit] Reception

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Sales of the original 3½" floppy disk release were slow, but the game became a hit when it was re-released on CD-ROM. The game was received well by both the players and the critics and currently has an 88% rating at Game Rankings.

Finnish computer game magazine Pelit^[8] gave the game a 94% verdict, calling the game citing "the wonderful game system, lack of bugs, and the book-like atmosphere" and said "Krondor is as big a revolution in turn-based role playing games as the Underworlds were in 3D role playing games." Quandary gave it a 4.5/5 in its 1996 review^[9], calling it "no ordinary roleplaying game" with its "complex" immersive environment, traps, and riddles replacing "the usual pits and levers and rolling rocks that are more common in roleplaying dungeons." They also called the strategic turn-based combat "very satisfying" though "it takes a little getting used to."

PC Gamer listed Krondor as one of the top fifty computer games of all time in their 1997 survey.

Computer Gaming World (Now Games for Windows) ranked Betrayal at Krondor #43 on their list of the 150 best games of all time in their November 1996 Anniversary Edition.^[10] and was added to their Hall of Fame in 2001,^[11] saying it was the "first role-playing game to offer a 3D environment and...one of the first games to use digitized images effectively in the context of a role-playing game."

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Betrayal at Krondor Help Web, one of the most complete resources on the game
• Betrayal at Krondor at MobyGames
• Betrayal at Krondor at Mike's RPG Center
• XBAK project, native play under X Window using original files
• Download Official AbandonWare version of Betrayal at Krondor