The characters in Quest for Glory are fictional characters who appear in the Quest for Glory series of roleplaying graphical adventure games by Sierra.
The Hero is the protagonist and player character in Quest for Glory. During the character creation process, the player is given the opportunity to name the Hero. If no name is given in QFG1, his name defaults to Unknown Hero, or Hero in QFG5. The only background known is that he is the 'Hero from the East', having left from an eastern village to become a hero. Only a few narrations offer any further mundane background, such that he has an Aunt Helen, or that he received a tie on All-Fool's Day.
Several names given to the character have been shown in screen shots in the game documentation: Brutus,[1] Gonad the Barbarian,[2] Dingleberry,[3] Joker, Jester, and Wednesday.[4] Quest for Glory: The Authorized Strategy Guide, an official strategy guide and novelization, written by Paula Spiese with Lori and Corey Cole, refers to him as Devon Aidendale and gives him a backstory. In the games, he is usually referred to by one of his titles, such as Hero of Spielburg. Apart of the name, the player may select the Hero's character class. Initially, the Hero can be a fighter, wizard, or thief, but in the sequels he can become a paladin.
According to Quest for Glory: The Authorized Strategy Guide, Devon Aidendale came from the town of Willowsby, located in a valley east of the mountains from Spielburg, a month's journey away, where he lived with his parents prior to the events in Quest for Glory: So You Want to Be a Hero. His parents protested his dream of becoming a hero, but ultimately relented and let him train. He began his studies at the Willowsby Adventure's Guild.[5] He completed his Famous Adventurer's Correspondence School course and left his eastern homeland to become a hero.[1]
He arrived at Spielburg just before an avalanche of snow blocked the only mountain pass into the valley. After exploring the valley, he found both of the Baron's lost children and drove Baba Yaga from the valley, earning him the title Hero of Spielburg. Traveling south, he restored peace to the twin cities of Shapeir and Raseir, and was adopted as prince by Sultan Harun al-Rashid. Later, he eliminated the demon threat in Tarna, freed the soul of Erana, and stopped the summoning of Avoozl. Finally, he was offered the throne of the King of Silmaria, which the player can choose to accept or refuse, and was married, to either Elsa von Spielburg, Katrina, Erana, or Nawar, depending on the Hero's class.
Abdulla Doo, son of Ali, grandson of Hasan, is a master merchant from the desert city of Shapeir. Unfortunately, Abdulla was robbed by brigands while traveling to the Valley of Spielburg. He is taken in by his friends Shameen and Shema, a pair of Kattas who had also traveled from Shapeir. After the Hero defeats the brigands, Shameen, Shema, and Abdulla bring the hero back to Shapeir on Abdulla's magic carpet.
Upon their arrival in the city, he gave his magic carpet to the Sultan as a gift, and the Sultan rewarded him with great wealth. In the second game, Abdulla once again spends his time in the company of Shameen and Shema in the new Katta's Tale Inn in Shapeir, and he provides the Hero with information that helps him in his quest to defeat the elementals which threaten the city.
Abdulla is portrayed as an honorable, compassionate merchant with a strong love for food. He is somewhat self-centered, but cares very deeply for his friends.
Ad Avis is an evil wizard who was the primary antagonist in the second and fourth installments of the series. He is the primary nemesis of the Hero.
In the backstory given for Ad Avis in Trial by Fire and Shadows of Darkness, he was a powerful wizard who served a mysterious Dark Master, who is ultimately revealed to be the vampire Katrina. He served for seventy years, all the while awaiting the fulfillment of a prophecy concerning the return of the evil Djinn Iblis, and honing his magical ability to hypnotize and control other men, knowing he would need a hero to bring the prophecy to fruition.
Some time before the events of the first game, AdAvis deposed the Emir of the city of Raseir, transforming him into a saurus, and put the Emir's weak, cowardly brother on the throne as his puppet. Ad Avis installed his loyal henchman, Khaveen, as captain of the city guard. Not long afterward, Ad Avis caused the magical fountain of the city to dry up, devastating the city, and Khaveen drove out most of the Katta who lived there. Avis had the new Emir impose open slavery, and forced all the women to remain indoors and with their faces veiled. When the Sultan of Shapier sent an army to investigate, a fierce sand storm prevented them from reaching the city.
By the beginning of Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire, Rasier is almost completely deserted. Ad Avis remains largely out of sight, not wanting to draw the attention of other spellcasters in the world. He uses his immense powers to create a magical shroud over Rasier, preventing any magic user from using their abilities to see the city from afar. It is implied he does not allow anyone who even knows his name to remain free long. During the course of the game, he creates four elementals to attack the city of Shapier. He has also mastered the ability to polymorph humans into animals and other fantastic creatures that reflect the true nature of their souls. In addition to the Emir, he transforms his apprentice, Al Scurva, into a beast, and leaves him to die in a cage in the desert.
It is after the Hero saves Al Scurva that Ad Avis first takes notice of the Hero. A few days after the Hero arrives in Rasier, Ad Avis has him arrested. When the Hero escapes Khaveen's dungeon, Ad Avis finds the Hero in the city and hypnotizes him. Going out to the Forbidden City of Suleiman, Ad Avis forces the Hero to enter city and retrieve the statue that contains the evil Djinn Iblis. Ad Avis leaves the Hero to die in the city once he has Iblis. After escaping the city, the Hero finds Ad Avis attempting to summon the demon Iblis and knocks him off the tower, presumably to his death.
In Quest for Glory III: Wages of War, during an introductory flashback, it is noted by Aziza that Ad Avis' apparent death released an enormous amount of magical energy, which was felt by powerful magic users worldwide. This release actually widened the World Gate in Tarna, allowing a Demon Wizard to enter Glorianna and setting into motion the events of the game. At the very end of the game, Ad Avis and the Dark Master use their considerable power to summon the Hero to them.
In the fourth game, Ad Avis has been resurrected as a vampire in Mordavia. The Hero learns that, years ago, Katrina defeated Ad Avis in a duel and then bit him. He was infected by her vampire bite, and after he was killed by the Hero, he became a nosferatu in Katrina's service. According to the mythology of the game, Ad Avis cannot harm Katrina unless she harms him first, since he is in effect her vampire descendant. Katrina seeks to summon the Hero as part of her bid to awaken the Dark One, Avoozl. Due to the powerful influence of the Dark One's Cave in Mordavia, the Hero does not arrive in their spell circle, but rather in the Cave itself. Katrina decides to manipulate the Hero, recognizing that he may need his free will to help her retrieve the rituals needed to awaken Avoozl. Ad Avis constantly argues with her, insisting that the Hero cannot be trusted and will defeat them both. Ad Avis tries and fails to trick the Hero into killing Katrina.
During the ceremony to summon Avoozl, Ad Avis, aware of Katrina's feelings for the Hero, attacks the Hero in a calculated attempt to destroy both his enemies; Katrina then attacks Ad Avis and allows him to engage her in battle. Ad Avis then goads Katrina into sacrificing herself by putting herself between him and the Hero, resulting in her death by Avoozl. The Hero is then able to destroy Ad Avis with the help of Erana's Staff.
Ad Avis is depicted as a very powerful wizard in both of his appearances. He is also portrayed as a misogynist who deeply resents Katrina's domination. Mayzun, a character in the second game, describes him as having snake's eyes, and says he hates all women. As a vampire, his disposition is even more sour, and he is universally reviled. He was named after Trial by Fire's creative director Bill Davis.
In Quest for Glory I, an Antwerp is a gelatinous blob of a creature with horns, a walrus-like mouth and two sets of eyes. It bounces continuously, and its rubbery body makes it very difficult (and humorous) to defeat. When attacked, it bounces high in the air and then plummets downwards in an attempt to squash its enemy. When an Antwerp's body is punctured by a weapon, it can split into many smaller Antwerps. These smaller Antwerps are harmless to humans. The guild master in the town of Spielburg, Wolfgang Abenteuer, claims that he and Sheriff Schultz Meistersson prevented the Valley of Spielburg from being overrun by Antwerps with the help of the Two Guys from Andromeda. In Quest for Glory IV, Dr. Cranium's mansion contains a number of small Antwerps he acquired when he visited Spielburg.
Avoozl is the Dark One, implied to be one of several such beings, but the only one dealt with in the game. It is an evil being of gargantuan stature, power and dark magic. It is not native to the reality of Glorianna and must be summoned there. A summoning was once attempted in the valley of Mordavia; success would have been an apocalyptic event. The valley was left with a cave decorated with corpses and twisted, almost organic features. This cave's influence would cause signs of corruption and a proliferation of monsters as it seeped into the land, while interfering with advanced spellcasting near the cave and minor magic inside it. It is revealed during the course of the game that the cave was meant to become the Dark One's body. Avoozl is said to be too powerful for anyone to control.
Avoozl's physical form is as large as a mountain with a large, elongated head, a pair of huge, bat-like wings, and a somewhat human-shaped torso and arms, although the torso tapers and ends at the waist and as such it lacks any legs. Its entire body is black. Avoozl is reminiscent of and inspired by the Great Old Ones of the Lovecraft Mythos.
Avoozl was worshipped by a cult which resided in Mordavia about fifty years before Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness takes place. The cultists constructed a monastery in the town of Mordavia, where they worshiped Avoozl and presumably prepared to summon it into their reality. A fortune teller in the game refers to the Cultists as "weak minded fools who worshiped [Avoozl] because it promised them their every desire." The summoning of Avoozl was to be achieved by performing certain magical rituals that would prepare a cave for Avoozl's spirit. Each of the seven rituals would call a corresponding part of Avoozl. In the order in which they were to be performed, the rituals were for the mouth, bone, blood, breath, senses, heart, and essence of Avoozl.
The cultists were already at the Dark One's cave when they were met by a small band of soldiers led by the paladin Piotyr and the Archmage Erana. To stop Avoozl from entering the world, Erana engaged Avoozl's soul in battle. Although she succeeded in stopping Avoozl from fully entering the world, she was killed in the process, and her soul was trapped inside the Dark One's cave in a large crystalline structure. Avoozl was trapped between dimensions, not fully in one world or the other, which caused a leakage of dark magic into the valley. Thus, a stalemate was reached between Erana and Avoozl, both trapped by the other. All that Piotyr found of Erana was her staff, which he placed in a natural rock formation near the gates of the town of Mordavia, and which from that time magically protected the town.
The plot of Shadows of Darkness involves Katrina, a vampire, summoning the Hero to Mordavia. Hoping to succeed where the cult failed, Katrina wants the Hero to discover the rituals necessary to summon Avoozl, because his coming will bring perpetual darkness, freeing her from the need to rest in a coffin during the day. Her plans go awry, and Avoozl is again nearly summoned, but the Hero frees the spirit of Erana, who banishes Avoozl back to his own dimension permanently.
Aziza is a powerful sorceress living in the city of Shapeir, and appears in the second installment in the series, Trial by Fire. Her magic is based on the element of water, and focuses on sight and healing. Aziza values honor and good manners, and provides the Hero with background information and clues toward solving several major puzzles in the game, such as defeating the four elementals that attack the city. She also explains what the Hero must do to restore Julanar's soul, and can give him information about Ad Avis. Rakeesh's son, Shakra, apprenticed as a wizard under her tutelage.
Aziza appears briefly at the beginning of the third game, Wages of War, to pass on a request from Kreesha for the hero and Rakeesh to travel to Tarna without delay, and deliver the troubling news that Ad Avis's body was not found after he fell from his tower.
In Quest for Glory I, Baba Yaga is directly patterned after the Baba Yaga of European folklore. Known for her chicken-legged hut, the Ogress serves as the villain and antagonist of the first game, and a minor character of the fourth.
Baba Yaga is originally from Surria, a land east of Mordavia. When she first arrived in Spielburg, the Baron tried to force her to leave by sending a contingent of his guards to her hut. After quickly killing the guards, she put a curse on the Baron that led to the death of his wife and the disappearance and transformation of his son and daughter. The evil witch can also turn people into frogs, after which she either eats them or gets them to perform tasks for her. The Hero drives her away by reversing her own spell on her, transforming her into a frog.
After the Hero forces her to leave Spielburg, Baba Yaga eventually gets transformed back into her original form. She decides to go to Mordavia, a small valley filled with dark magic because of the presence of the Dark One's cave. Not long after her arrival, the Hero turns up in the valley. She first plans on eating the Hero, but quickly forgets about revenge when she realizes she can use him to fetch her an elderberry pie. She actually helps the Hero track down one of the Dark One's rituals.
Baba Yaga lives with her pet bat and spider, Bats and Scarlett, and her chicken legged hut is always guarded by Bonehead, a talking skull. In order to access Baba Yaga's hut in both games, the Hero must give the skull something it wants.
Baronet Barnard von Spielburg appears in the first installment, So You Want to Be a Hero. Approximately 5 years before the events of the first game, Barnard went out hunting and happened upon a Kobold magic user's cave. When told to leave, the Baronet told the Kobold that he was "heir to the lands and all within" and ordered the creature to bow down, whereupon the Kobold transformed the Baronet into a bear. As further punishment, he was bound with a magical chain and starved into attacking and eating any further intruders. This transformation was unknown to the Baron and his people, as only Barnard's horse returned to the castle, covered in claw marks. His disappearance was presumed to be a part of the Ogress Baba Yaga's curse, and the Baron became a recluse in his despair.
Barnard was later freed from his enchantment by the Hero, but was reluctant to show thanks for the deed, even at the urging of his grateful father. He announced his plans to unite his father's soldiers and drive the brigands from the valley to claim the title of Hero for himself, but his words never became actions.
Barnard is portrayed as incredibly vain and arrogant, so much so that his father has to insist he thank the Hero for freeing him from his condition.
Shortly after the events of So You Want to Be a Hero, Barnard's sister Elsa von Spielburg defeated the remaining brigands and attained the title of Hero, while Stefan von Spielburg retired and left the throne to Barnard. In Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire, Elsa angrily describes her brother's refusal to acknowledge her accomplishments and attempts to marry her off to a nearby nobleman. Elsa's friend Toro describes Barnard as a "dumb boss, bad boss", but the new Baron's effect on Spielburg is ultimately never explored in the series.
Bruno first appears in Quest for Glory I : So You Want to Be a Hero as an untrustworthy seller of information. He wears a cloak, possesses the talents of a thief, and shows extreme skill with poisoned daggers. He can be found during certain days outside the town gates. He will sell information to the Hero, but some of his answers are untruthful. He responds to the Thief Sign and is a member of the Thieves' Guild; it is implied that he is the spy for the brigands about whom the Chief Thief is furious.
Bruno plays an important background role in the events of So You Want to Be a Hero as a co-conspirator against Elsa von Spielburg. Bruno leaves crumpled notes from his brigand accomplice Brutus in the Aces and Eights Tavern, and a meeting between these two in the forest can be spied upon for crucial information. Bruno planned to allow the Hero to distract brigand leader Elsa in order to kill her. His plans were foiled when the Hero removed the enchantment from Elsa, rather than fighting her. After the events of So You Want to Be a Hero, Elsa drove the leaderless brigands from the valley of Spielburg and was declared a Hero, leaving Bruno without a band of thieves to lead or the brigands' many treasures to plunder.
He plays a final and more deadly role in Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire as a hired assassin for Minos, although he reveals his identity only at his death. He can be found in the city at certain times in the Dead Parrot Inn and the Thieves' Guild, where he will speak to the Hero in a glaringly hateful manner (and he is sure to conceal his face with his cloak). In addition to the pay received for the murder of the former King of Silmaria and other marks, he eagerly seeks personal revenge on the Hero and Elsa for ruining his plans in Spielburg. It is implied that he murders both Kokeeno Pookameeso and Magnum Opus, two of the contenders for the throne of Silmaria, in order to help Minos carry out the prophecy that will release the Dark Dragon. He also injures Rakeesh and Ugarte with poisoned daggers (the Hero has the option of saving either or both). He makes his move against the Hero during the Rite of Justice, using his now trademark poisoned dagger. Even after being mortally wounded, he refuses to betray who hired him.
The Dryad was a spirit of nature who appeared in the first Quest for Glory game, So You Want to Be a Hero. After the hero followed the white stag to its resting place, the dryad asked if he was one with the woods, and if he answered in the affirmative dispatched him to fetch a seed of the spore-spitting spirea to ensure the rare plant's survival. Upon returning with the seed, the dryad tells the hero the recipe for an invaluable dispel potion and gives him one of the ingredients, a magical acorn. If the player attempts to harm the stag, or destroys one of the spirea, the Dryad will turn him into whatever he attacked, invoking a Game Over.
In the fifth game, Dragon Fire, the hero can visit a grove on the island of Delos that is home to seven dryads. By giving each a gift of water from the Hippocrene stream, he can dance with them. If the hero is a wizard, they thank him with a branch of magical wood which he can use to create a magical staff.
Elsa von Spielburg first appeared in Quest for Glory I : So You Want to Be a Hero and later appeared in Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire. After her father Baron Stefan von Spielburg was cursed by the Ogress Baba Yaga, eight year-old Elsa was abducted from the castle grounds by a winged creature (which was presumably a servant of Baba Yaga or possibly her pet "Bats"), after which she was enchanted (given spells of protection and magical amnesia) by the Ogress. By means unexplained in the game, Elsa then somehow came to be raised by the brigands of Spielburg Valley, where she grew to become the Brigand Leader with no awareness of her past. Her trusted friend and the Baron's jester Yorick eventually found her, but being unable to release her from Baba Yaga's spell, he chose to remain at her side as her Warlock. She was freed by the playable Hero when he threw a Dispel Potion upon her, breaking Baba Yaga's spell and restoring her memory.
In Dragon Fire, the player learned that she and Toro, her minotaur bodyguard and childhood friend from her Brigand days, left Spielburg because her arrogant brother, Barnard von Spielburg, had assumed the throne upon their father's retirement and did not approve of her adventuring. She competed with the Hero during the trials to become King (or Queen) of Silmaria. She lived in an island palace owned by Minos, who was secretly behind the plot to assassinate the King of Silmaria, the Hero, his allies, and the other prospectives in the trials. After Minos' treachery was revealed, she sided with the Hero against him. Elsa eventually becomes King of Silmaria, if the Hero does not claim the title himself. She was one of the four possible brides of the Hero, particularly if the Hero was an honorable Fighter or Thief.
"She was a Paladin in all but name."—Rakeesh
Erana was a powerful half-faerie wizard, who traveled around Glorianna doing good and establishing blessed places of safety. She passed through Spielburg where she cast a spell of peace in the town and left a haven in the forest known as Erana's Peace. She also blessed a pool in East Fricana. In each game there is a spot enchanted by her where the player is able to rest peacefully and recover his strength. Despite the lack of a place of peace created by Erana, her presence is still felt in Trial by Fire, as her portrait is seen at the Wizards' Institute of Technocery. Erana is said to look like Genesta from Sierra's King's Quest series, which is not surprising given their shared faerie heritage. She was killed battling Avoozl (the Dark One) in Mordavia alongside the paladin Piotyr. Her spirit was trapped in a crystal in the Dark One's cave, leaving her unable to reach her final rest. Her magical staff was left in the town of Mordavia as a monument.
In the fourth game, the trapped spirit of Erana communicates with the Hero in his dreams when he sleeps in her enchanted garden or beside her staff in the town. Later, he obtains the staff and uses it to restore life to a vampire child. If the Hero is a Wizard, he battles other faeries for the right to keep the staff. Erana finally appears at the end of the game, when the Hero frees her spirit from its crystal prison.
In the fifth game in the series, the Hero is given the opportunity to sacrifice a portion of his life force to restore either Erana or Katrina to life. Either one is a potential bride for the Hero, and will assist him in his quest. Erana is particularly suited to an honorable Wizard or Paladin.
However, she is prone to sacrificing herself during the battle with Dragon in the fifth game, unless Hero explicitly wooes her giving some appropriate presents.
Erasmus is a powerful, friendly and somewhat eccentric wizard that helps the player in his quests. Always with his rat familiar Fenrus, both provide some comic relief with witty comments and bad jokes. In the first adventure Erasmus lives in the Valley of Spielburg high atop Zauberberg Mountain in a strange purple house, guarded by a gargoyle who will test the player with three questions (a parody of the Gorge of Eternal Peril scene of Monty Python and the Holy Grail). Sitting in his high tower, he loves to tell pun-laden jokes and engage in the game of Mage's Maze, and is known to associate with other magic users in the valley such as Baba Yaga, Zara, and Henry the Hermit.
In the second game, he can sponsor a magic user to the Wizard's Institute of Technocery, turning the Hero into a fully accredited Wizard.
In the fourth game, Erasmus attempts to locate the Hero using his crystal ball, but the dark magic in Mordavia (or perhaps merely Erasmus's own shortcomings as a wizard) prevent him from getting a clear "signal." He can be heard occasionally conversing with Fenris about the problem while the Hero tries to sleep. At the end of the game, he summons the Hero to Silmaria, setting up the fifth game.
In Dragon Fire, he sponsors the Hero in the Rites of Rulership, which will allow the Hero to earn the title of King of Silmaria. He explains that the former King was assassinated and the kingdom has been invaded—a situation desperately calling for a hero to aid the land. Erasmus is later poisoned, but he and the other victims of the mysterious poisoner are cured by the Hero with the assistance of Julanar and Salim Nafs.
His name is probably an allusion to Erasmus, the Dutch humanist.
Fenrus or Fenris is the rat familiar of the Wizard Erasmus in the Quest for Glory universe. He is a known member of RABID (Rodents Against Boring Idiosyncratic Discrimination). Being the familiar to such a powerful wizard, Fenrus himself possesses formidable magical prowess (he often jokes that Erasmus is really his Familiar). He appears as a large rat with hands instead of paws and wears a blue magical cap reminiscent of cap worn by Mickey Mouse in Fantasia.
Fenrus always accompanies Erasmus, and like the whimsical wizard, he appears in four out of the five Quest for Glory games. In So You Want to Be a Hero, he is present at Erasmus's mountain castle and provides some useful bits of information for the Hero. Through magical communication with Erasmus, Fenrus can also be heard joking in Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire when the player is a magic-using character, after the magic user enters the Wizard's Institute of Technocery (W.I.T.) and requests Erasmus as his sponsor. Both Fenrus and Erasmus also make cameos in the fourth game, Shadows of Darkness, being heard occasionally while the Hero sleeps and more importantly at the end (to summon him from Mordavia to Silmaria and set up the fifth game).
Finally, Fenrus again appeared in Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire. Erasmus functions here much the same as he did in the first game, although at a point fairly early in the game Erasmus is drugged, falling into a deep sleep. Fenrus first summons the apothecary Salim and his wife Julanar, but they are unable to wake the Wizard. Thankfully, Fenrus has enough magic to keep Erasmus's floating castle from falling out of the sky. The Hero is able to heal Erasmus by giving him the waters of Lethe (although he does not wake up until the very end of the game). If either Katrina or Erana fail to summon allies to the final battle against the Dragon, Fenrus will summon them instead.
Harami is one of the first people the hero encounters in Tarna. Harami is a thief who attempts to rob the money changer. The hero aids in Harami's arrest and witnesses his trial, where Harami is declared honorless. Harami scoffs at this punishment, but later realizes exactly how harsh it is—no one in the city will conduct any sort of business or even speak with him. The hero comes to the aid of the starving thief by giving him food.
Later, Rakeesh brings Harami to the lost city to aid in facing the Demon Wizard. Harami refuses to fight, but is replaced by Manu the monkey to fulfill the "Five Friends" prophecy. Harami redeems himself by coming to the hero's aid during the battle with the doppelgangers.
Harami only appears in Quest for Glory III: Wages of War.
Henry the Hermit lives alone in a cave upon a rocky ledge near the Flying Falls in the Valley of Spielburg. He is a magician, master cribbage player and source of information on all topics. Henry loves to talk and is known to be friends with the great wizard Erasmus, Erasmus's familiar Fenrus, and the mysterious Brigand Warlock. Henry can be quite ruthless when crossed, but otherwise is very friendly and always invites guests to 'hit the hay' in his glowing moss covered cave. He has a cockney accent.
Johari is a woman of the Leopardman tribe, with the ability to transform into a cat/human hybrid. She appears in Quest for Glory III: Wages of War. The hero meets her when she is captured by the Simbani. He frees her and she leads him to the Leopardman village, deep in the jungle. If the hero uses magic, she will teach him the Lightning Ball spell. Johari is one of the five friends who aid the hero in defeating the Demon Wizard.
In Dragon Fire, Rakeesh tells the hero that Johari has been married to Yesufu, bringing peace between the warring tribes.
Julanar was first mentioned in the second installment, Trial by Fire. Julanar's story is told if the hero asks the sorceress Aziza. In a culture where women were treated as property, Julanar was an independent soul who defied tradition and became a healer. She was tricked by a bandit into traveling out of her home city to heal his stricken brother, but she was captured by the bandit and his fellows. Julanar managed to escape and hearing her cries for help, a passing genie turned her into a tree. The hero helps Julanar regain fragments of her humanity throughout the quest, and in return she gifts him with the magical Fruit of Compassion. He is told that true love is the only thing that can bring Julanar back to life.
In the third game, Wages of War, the hero meets an apothecary named Salim Nafs who has had dreams about Julanar. The hero tells Salim about his experiences helping her, and Salim vows to travel to Shapeir and find the girl of his dreams. For setting them up, Salim gives the hero several expensive magic-dispelling potions for free. In the final Quest for Glory game, the hero meets Salim again, operating Silmaria's apothecary with the assistance of his wife, Julanar. She is extremely grateful for his help in bringing her back to life and heals the hero whenever he enters their shop while wounded.
The woman known only as Katrina was a character who appeared in the fourth Quest for Glory computer game, Shadows of Darkness. The Hero first meets her at the (literal) mouth of the cave where he arrives after being teleported to the land of Mordavia. She later meets him several times at the gates of the nearby village after nightfall, or the castle gates where the local noble lives, flirting with him.
Katrina turns out to be a vampire residing in the Castle abandoned long ago by its previous owners, and the "Dark Master" of Ad Avis, the villain of the second game in the series. She manipulates the Hero into finding the various rituals that will bring the Dark One Avoozl back to life. Her goal is to use Avoozl to plunge the world into eternal darkness. Despite her sinister intentions, Katrina is depicted as a sympathetic and deeply lonely character; the Hero learns at one point that she has abducted a child from the village, Tanya, because she longs to have a daughter of her own. Katrina becomes furious when the Hero later rescues Tanya and returns the child to her real parents. During the finale of the game, Katrina realizes that she does have genuine affection for the Hero, and she sacrifices her un-life to save him from an attack by Ad Avis - well according to the plan of the latter. In Shadows of Darkness, Katrina was voiced by Jennifer Hale.
In the last game of the series, Dragon Fire, one of the Hero's quests takes him to the Greek Underworld. There, he is given the chance to give up a portion of his life force to bring Katrina or Erana back to life. If revived, Katrina takes up residence on the island of Zante. Although no longer a vampire after her resurrection, Katrina still feels unused to daylight and casts a spell over the island so that anyone who approaches can only do so at night (i.e. if they approach during the day, they arrive after nightfall). Learning that the Dragon of Doom is rising she urges the Hero to flee the islands lest he become just another of its victims. She claims her own enchantments will protect her new home from the Dragon's power and claims at first she has no interest in "playing the hero." Ultimately, however, she assists the Hero in his desperate battle against the Dragon of Doom that is threatening the land of Silmaria (and she causes a great deal of damage to the Dragon, showing how tremendous her magical powers are). Katrina is a potential bride for the Hero in Dragon Fire, and is most suited to a wizard or a warrior (not paladin) character, but the game must be patched before she can be successfully wooed. In Dragon Fire, Katrina was voiced by Joyce Kurtz.
Khatib Makar'ram was a minor but important character in Quest for Glory III: Wages of War.
A skilled and much respected diplomat, Khatib was asked by the Council of Tarna to put together a peace mission to prevent a war between the Simbani and the Leopardmen, both of whom lived in the Kingdom of Tarna. The Simbani had complained about recent aggression by the Leopardmen (who were ordinarily reclusive) and the Council asked Khatib to seek them out and seek why they had become so hostile. The Council assigned Reeshaka dar Kreesha, the niece of King Rajah, to lead the mission. Khatib selected five others to come along, each bringing a unique talent. Unfortunately, the peace mission is ambushed in the jungle one night. Khatib survives the slaughter, though he is seriously injured and covered in blood (his and his friends'). He flees out of the jungle and eventually arrives in a small fishing village, though his appearance is so disturbing that he is first thought to be a demon. He is brought back to Tarna, his injuries so severe that he loses an eye, an arm, and much of his memory. He recalls only "terrible claws" and "demonic eyes" attacking the party.
The Hero has the opportunity to speak to Khatib at the Welcome Inn, but he speaks only briefly before becoming lost in his own living nightmares. His memory is fragmented the peace mission and the bits of the attack are about the only thing he does remember. Within the next few days, he dies under mysterious circumstances. He is found dead at night near the river. Rumors that a "dark cloud" was seen exiting his body right after his death (this happens in the game to another character temporarily possessed by a demon). Jhanna, the Welcome Woman, is deeply saddened over his death, as she loved him like a father.
The Kobold Magic User was a reclusive Gollum-like creature in the Valley of Spielburg. His cave was guarded by a large male Ogre. He used powerful magic to cast the force bolt spell, hid his valuables with invisibility and explosive spells, and could transform people into enchanted animals. The Kobold Magic User was a known menace in the Valley of Spielburg and the Baron Stefan Von Spielburg was happy to be rid of the creature upon its defeat.
Kreesha is a liontaur and the wife of Rakeesh in the third game. Kreesha also has two children, her daughter Reeshaka who is a soldier and Shakra, who is also a wizard and operates a magic store in the kingdom of Silmaria. She is a powerful wizard, and serves on the governing council of the city of Tarna. Her home is where a wizard character can practice his spells without losing Honor points, and once the wizard finds a stalk of magical wood she assists him in a ritual which transforms it into a magical staff for him.
Kreesha is mentioned in the final game of the series, Dragon Fire. She has taken on an apprentice, which prevents her from traveling to Silmaria and helping her family see the kingdom through the time of upheaval. Kreesha is an anagram of Rakeesh.
Meeps resemble walking pom-poms. They have two limbs that serve as both arms and legs which are strong enough to lift the heavy rocks they use as doors. Attached to their limbs are hands with three fingers and an opposable thumb. Meeps are covered in bright colored fur which can be used by the Healer to make dispel potions. Most of the meeps are either purple or blue with the exception of one green meep.
The meeps enjoy visitors and bounce up and down out of their holes while balancing their rock doors on their heads to get a better look. They are all too shy to talk with strangers with the exception of the green meep. Assuming the green meep’s personality is characteristic of all meeps, meeps are upbeat, carefree and friendly creatures. As shown in the game, meeps live in a meadow on the western outskirts of the Spielburg Valley. They make their homes in tunnels or burrows underneath rocks which they use as doors to avoid danger and bad weather. It is not clear if the Meeps have individual burrows or if their homes are connected underground. It is unknown if there are other meeps in Spielburg.
Their appearance may be based on Beep the Meep from the Doctor Who Weekly.
Nawar was first seen in the second game, Trial by Fire as a member of the Emir of Raseir's harem, and was seen only in a thief character's path. She flirted heavily with the hero before he left to stop the magician Ad Avis from releasing a powerful evil genie from its captivity.
Nawar was seen again, and more prominently, in the final series game, Dragon Fire. She was working at the Dead Parrot Inn owned by Signor Ferrari with her friend from the Emir's harem, Budar. Nawar works as a dancer and hostess for a dagger-throwing minigame. She is one of four potential brides for the hero, and is intended for a thief, although the guard at the door fancies her for himself.
Piotyr is a major character in the fourth game in the series, Shadows of Darkness, if the Hero protagonist is a Paladin himself. The Paladin will encounter the ghost of Piotyr at night in the town of Mordavia (at Erana's staff). As a side quest, he will be able to redeem Piotyr's family name. Others will only hear Piotyr being mentioned when the history of Mordavia is unfolded. Piotyr is a Paladin and the grandfather of Mordavia's Burgomeister Dmitri Ivanov.
When the cult of the Dark One tried to summon Avoozl into this realm of existence, Piotyr and the mage Erana led an army against the cult members in order to stop their ritual. The battle was nearly lost when the Cult members transformed into the horrid monsters known as the Chernovy Wizards, until Erana sacrificed herself to stop the summoning of Avoozl. Piotyr would be the only person to leave the cave of the Dark One alive. He brought the Staff of Erana with him (the only trace of her left in the cave), and planted it in the town square of Mordavia. A garden of flowers sprung up around it instantaneously. Unknown to most members of the community, the staff also prevented anything Undead from entering the town.
To make sure that no one would ever try to summon Avoozl again, Piotyr decided to seek out the seven rituals of the Dark One so that he could destroy them. He was killed by a Wraith in the forest soon thereafter. When Piotyr died, he left behind his fiancée pregnant with his child. The citizens of Mordavia did not realize the Paladin had died on a noble quest and assumed that Piotyr had fled from his responsibility. When the child was born, the scandal was hushed up as best as it could be, though the rumors persisted for years. The child, Dmirtri's father, carried a bitter resentment towards the father he never knew his entire life. He passed this resentment on to his son. Dmitri's grandmother, however, always knew the truth, even if no one would believe her. It is mentioned she would often be found sleeping by Erana's staff in the town, a smile upon her face (undoubtedly, Piotyr would appear to her in her dreams because of the power of the staff and his own soul being bound in the valley).
Piotyr's ghost gives the Hero some guidance and explains a few things about the valley. He also warns the Hero that, as a Paladin, should the Hero fail to stop the Dark One and be killed, his soul will also haunt the valley. The Hero then can bring back Piotyr's sword to Burgomeister, proving that the Paladin actually died honorably, and did not just run away. This knowledge gives Dmitri Ivanov a great deal of peace, as the honor of his family is thus restored. In gratitude, he gives the Hero Piotyr's shield, which is magically enchanted.
"There is no glory in war...there is only death."—Rakeesh
Rasha Rakeesh SahTarna (or Rakeesh Sah Tarna) is a liontaur: a centaur-like creature with the torso and arms of a human and the hindquarters, head and claws of a lion. He is also a Paladin: a warrior who gains mystical powers from his great honor. He first introduces the Hero to the concept of honor and becomes his guide in the ways of the Paladin in the city of Shapeir.
He is a former ruler of his homeland of Tarna. While he was king, Rakeesh led the liontaurs to victory over an invading army of Demons, but he suffered a permanent injury to one of his hind legs in the process. After vanquishing the Demons, he forfeited the throne in favour of his proud brother Rajah Sah Tarna. (The relationship between the two brothers is rather strained, though they profess to respect each other; in Quest for Glory III, Rajah is seen to scoff at Rakeesh's paladinhood and desire to help humanity.)
After leaving Tarna, Rakeesh traveled to Gaza on a quest to hunt down any remaining Demons in the world. In one of the city's bazaars, he was mistaken for a monster by the locals and nearly killed, but he was saved from the mob by a female Paladin who later became his mentor (this backstory is established during an optional conversation segment in Quest for Glory III). Throughout his subsequent career as a Paladin, Rakeesh's duties often took him far away from his magic-using wife Kreesha Mar Asha and his homeland.
In Quest for Glory II, the Hero and Rakeesh meet after they are both summoned to the desert city of Shapeir to deal with a crisis in Shapeir's sister city, Rasier. In Shapeir, Rakeesh helps run the Adventurers' Guild with his friend Uhura, the Simbani warrior woman; he also valiantly but unsuccessfully battles an Earth Elemental that attacks the city.
After the Hero saves Shapeir and Raseir, Rakeesh and Uhura return to Tarna with the Hero in Quest for Glory III; their mission is to prevent a war that is brewing between their two peoples and the shape-shifting Leopardmen. Rakeesh is reunited with his wife, Kreesha, and learns their daughter, Reeshaka, is missing following a peace mission she led that was seemingly ambushed by the Leopardmen. Rakeesh never believes she is dead, however. Rakeesh pledges on his honor to prevent war and his oath is honored by King Rajah and the Council of Elders ruling Tarna by being granted time to fulfill it. He sets out with the Hero to the Simbani village to start their efforts, but soon has to return to Tarna because of the great pain caused by his injured leg. Kreesha theorizes that the Demon Wizard is still linked to Rakeesh through the injury and is intensifying the pain to disrupt the peace process. The link also allows the Wizard to spy on Rakeesh whenever he is away from Kreesha's house. Eventually, the Hero, Rakeesh and their allies vanquish the Demon Wizard who is inciting the war, and in the process rescue Reeshaka from the Demon's clutches. Before they can celebrate, however, the Hero is transported away through dark magic.
In Quest for Glory V, the Hero arrives in Silmaria, where Rakeesh is helping to oversee the Rites of Rulership that will determine the land's next king. Rakeesh was asked to come by his old friend, Logos, and is discouraged that there is so little he can do (as his fighting days are mostly behind him). Rakeesh, along with Minos, helps coordinate and establish what the Rites of Rulership will involve. He returns some of the Hero's equipment lost when the Hero was brought to Mordavia. Rakeesh's son, Shakra, runs the local magic shop. During the Rites, Rakeesh is poisoned by an assassin, but he is revived thanks to the Hero's efforts and the talents of Salim the apothecary. If the Hero is a Paladin, Rakeesh also prompts him into creating a Ring of Truth.
Throughout his various appearances in the games, Rakeesh demonstrates mystical abilities connected to his status as a Paladin. In Quest for Glory II, he has the ability to make his magical sword, Soulforge, burst into flame. In Quest for Glory III, he uses magical powers to heal his daughter's injuries and, somewhat more mysteriously, has the ability to disintegrate an entire mound of rubble through apparent force of will. Though a formidable fighter, Rakeesh rarely engages in combat during the games, partly because he is a pacifist and partly because his advanced age and his leg injury hamper his fighting abilities. His fights (off screen) the Earth Elemental in the second game, but his leg prevented him from defeating the magical construct. Rakeesh is portrayed one of the Hero's closest friends.
Reeshaka is a Liontaur warrior, the daughter of Rakeesh and Kreesha. When hostilities among the Simbani and the Leopardmen threatened to escalate into open war, the Council of Tarna asked Kreesha to lead a peace mission into the jungle to speak with the reclusive Leopardmen. Reeshaka was to escort the diplomat Khatib Makar'ram and five others (including a guide and a magic user). Once in the jungle, the mission was attacked at night by demons. Reeshaka fought them fiercely, but was ultimately captured and taken to the Lost City. All the other members of the mission save Khatib were killed. The demons framed the attack on the Leopardmen, hoping to bring about a full scale war.
Reeshaka is discovered, alive but injured, by the Hero when he reaches the Lost City. A demon possesses her, as the Demon Wizard hopes this will prompt the Hero to kill her (or be slain should he refuse to fight). The Hero frees her, however, by use of a dispel potion, though she is gravely injured by the effort. Fortunately, her father arrives mere moments later and uses his Paladin abilities to heal her. She then agrees to fight at his side against the demons, fulfilling part of a prophecy that leads to the ultimate defeat of the demons and the prevention of war.
Salim Nafs, the herbalist in Tarna, resembles Corey Cole. When he heard the story of Julanar, a woman turned to tree and to whom the Hero had restored her faith in humanity, he left for Shapeir and completed her transformation back into a woman by giving her the only thing the Hero couldn't: love. Both moved to Silmaria to run the apothecary there. They assisted the Hero in his quest to become the King of Silmaria, as well as cared for his allies Shakra and Erasmus after they were drugged, and helped him create an antidote for the poison of the assassin who had killed the previous King. With this, the Hero was able to defeat the assassin and save the lives of not just his ally Rakeesh, but his own as well. In Dragon Fire, Salim is voiced by Steven Jay Blum.
Shameen and Shema are a husband-and-wife pair of a cat-like race of humanoid desert-dwelling people known as Kattas. Shameen and Shema fled to Spielburg in search of a hero after Ad Avis took control of a city named Raseir in their homeland. In the Town of Spielburg, Shameen set up the Hero's Tale Inn complete with great food, cozy beds and the atmosphere of his homeland in Shapeir. Shameen was the innkeeper, and Shema cooked and served food. Unfortunately the Kattas' friend, the trader Abdulla Doo, was robbed by brigands upon his arrival in Spielburg.
After the Hero defeated the brigands, Shameen, Shema and Abdulla Doo brought him back to Shapeir on Abdullah's magic carpet. In the second game, after returning to their homeland, Shameen set up the Katta's Tail Inn in his home city of Shapeir, with both reprising their roles from the previous Inn while also entertaining the guests with Shema's dancing, which had been mentioned in the previous game. Additional entertainment in the inn was also provided by the poet, Omar. Shema is mentioned in Quest for Glory III: Wages of War in a note she asks the hero to deliver to a relative who lives in Tarna.
Uhura first appears in Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire, and later in Quest for Glory III: Wages of War. Her name is likely a reference to Star Trek's Uhura Character.
Uhura is a female Simbani warrior, whom The Hero first encounters as the Adventurer's Guild Master and trainer in Shapeir. Desiring a child of her own, she left her native village, because according to Simbani custom, she was not allowed to be both a warrior and a wife. So Uhura ventured to Shapeir so that she could have a child out of wedlock and still return to her home village as a mother, yet remain an unmarried warrior. She and her son Simba accompany her good friend Rakeesh and the Hero back to Tarna at the beginning of Quest for Glory III: Wages of War. She meets up with the Hero again in the Simbani Village and helps prepare him for his own initiation as a Simbani Warrior by teaching him spear throwing and on the balance beam. Lastly she encounters the Hero one last time helping him out against the Demon Wizard along with Rakeesh, Manu, Reeshaka, Yesufu, Johari and Harami.
Yesufu appears in Quest for Glory III: Wages of War. He is a youth of the Simbani tribe, and the son of the Laibon, the leader of the tribe. He befriends the hero on his first visit to the Simbani village. If the hero is a fighter or paladin, he must compete against Yesufu in the trials to become a warrior of the Simbani. Yesufu is one of the five allies that aid the hero in defeating the Demon Wizard at the end of the game.
In Quest for Glory V: Dragonfire, Rakeesh tells the hero that Yesufu and Johari have been married.
Quest for Glory I : So You Want to Be a Hero
Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire
Quest for Glory III: Wages of War
Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness
Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire