Part 1: Don’t Drink the Dragon’s Breath
Chapter 1: Don’t Drink the Dragon’s Breath
Quest for Glory started life titled “Hero Quest,” a name that made it line up with Sierra’s other Quest series, like King’s Quest, Space Quest and Police Quest. Unfortunately, there was a Milton Bradley board game that happened to share the same name, and so it was changed to the name it uses now.
I will be playing through the remake of the original game, mostly because that’s the version I played when I was a kid. Why they decided to create a remake of this game specifically, I have no idea; my theory is that they wanted to show off the new interface system without too much effort, and rebuilding graphics code for an existing game was easier than starting from scratch.
Our quest begins with a warning against piracy. Interestingly, this game and most of its sequels can actually be beaten without a manual; Shadows of Darkness is made more difficult, but you can technically beat that one without a manual, too. And for those of you who joined the gaming scene after CD’s showed up, I should add that many games used codes or required information that was only printed in the manual in order to curb piracy. It’s a system that’s actually quite similar to the CD key systems still in use today. Speaking of manuals, here, have a quotation:
QfG1 Manual posted:
So you want to be a Hero...
Take this simple one minute test to see if you have the 'right stuff'
to become a student of the Famous Adventurers' Correspondence School
for Heroes:
You are having dinner with a powerful and influential Wizard and he
starts to make rude remarks about 'Muscle-brained adventurers'. Do you:
A. Kill the Wizard and upset the magical balance of the entire universe
by breaking his spell preventing the eruption of the volcano that then
spews lava over the peaceful nearby town.
B. Ignore his remarks and pass the salt
You'd be surprised how many would be Heroes choose option A. But here at
the Famous Adventurers' Correspondence School for Heroes, we know that
the correct response, is of course, C. You, too, can become a useful and
productive member of the Hero community by taking this simple course in
'How to be a Hero'.
Oh, Sierra. What happened?
The part that they didn’t print on that poster was “no experience required.” Which, after all, is what they’re going to get.
Ooh, exciting intro! (Great music, too.)
The masterminds behind the whole damn thing. They were the main force behind the original tetralogy, and even the stepchild Dragon Fire had Corey sitting in as a “consultant.”
Here we are shown the three main classes of Quest for Glory. Paladins will show up later, but for now we are given the options of Fighter, Magic-User, and Thief. The abilities page looks the same for all three of them, but each starts out with different points in different skills. Most importantly, if a skill starts at zero, it is unusable; however, an extra ten points from the starting pool can be sacrificed to get five in a new skill (total cost: 15).
When going for the multiclass character, always stick with the thief. He starts out with the most skills, and because of that 10 point penalty, variety is important. Also of note is that any class can do the thief adventures, too; having points in Pick Locks also gives access to the thief’s sign, which is necessary for (normally) thief-only activities. Similarly, points in magic grant both the fighter and the thief the ability to do magic-user activities. Fighter only actions are only available to someone with a shield, making them more exclusive, but don’t worry, I’ll be doing them too. Later games will make all of these more exclusive, but for now they’re basically all available. In the end, class choice has a stronger impact on what generates points than on what you’re able to do.
Most of these skills are self-explanatory. Parry is specifically the ability to use a shield to block attacks, and since we don’t have one, we don’t get (or need) any points in it. The three numbers at the bottom are derived from certain numbers above; specifically, Health is the sum of two thirds of Vitality and one third of Strength, Stamina is one half Vitality and one half Agility, and Magic Points are based on two thirds of Magic and one third of Intelligence.
You are also given fifty points to spread how you will among your stats. 25 of them were used to raise Magic up to 15, while the rest went into Pick Lock. You may be wondering why I spent everything on that right now, but trust me, you’ll understand. And of course, our hero needs a good name.
Welcome to Spielburg. Population: 21 and dropping.
Many monsters have been trapped around here with the late snow. Between them and the brigands, we certainly could use a Hero around here. I am Sheriff Schultz Meistersson. This is Otto Von Goon, my assistant. As for you…red cloak, leather jerkin, poorly-hidden dagger—you’re an adventurer, aren’t you?
Hell yeah, I’m an adventurer! I just graduated from the Famous Adventurer’s Correspondence Course! Ja, good luck with that. Well, Wolfgang’s in the guild hall to your left, if you wanted to sign up there. There’s also a magic shop around here somewhere, and a dry goods store. Most excellent. And who did you say is that fellow next to you? Who, Otto? He’s a goon. What’s a goon? Like an ogre, but goons you can housebreak. In fact, Otto here lives under the stairs with me and the wife. He’s almost like a son to us, really. And recently I’ve got him to start bringing in criminals without killing them, which I can tell you is a help. So don’t you go getting on Otto’s bad side, you hear? Oh, I’ll try and avoid that. So is there anything else I should know about? Well, there’s a fresh produce stand to your right that’s run by the local centaurs, and a bar, but you’d probably want to avoid going there. Ooh, a bar? That’s where all the real adventurers get their quests! See you later, Mr. Meistersson! Try to stay out of trouble, kid. That’s the plan, man. Hey Otto, is that an authentic “whamma blamma three scoops of mana hilarious gregarious floats in the airious” yoyo?
…Otto? What are you planning on doing with that?
You get this by hanging around the sheriff’s screen for too long.
Ow! Alright already, I’m going now!
Good day, and welcome to Spielburg. Would you like to buy some of my nice fresh fruits or vegetables? Later, beautiful. Right now, I’m going to get drunk at a bar! …
Hm, not much going on here. I wonder why the butcher and the baker are closed down, though? Hey wait, a dark alley! I bet there’s all sorts of people being accosted that need rescuing in there!
Nuts, there’s only a beggar.
Alms? Alms for the poor?
Well, I suppose even a thief-hero must give to the poor. Let’s see…rations, jerkin, dagger, lockpick, ah, money pouch. Here you are, good man! Thanks, mate. Name’s Sam, by the way. Hi, Sam. So what’s a beggar doing in a tiny town like this? Well, it wasn’t always this small. Years back, this place was full of tourists, but the bandits have put a stop to that. I was actually just figuring on heading south to Silmaria once the pass cleared. Are they really that bad? Heck, we had some bandits back where I was from, but I didn’t even see them when I was leaving. Oh yeah, we’ve had bandits before, but they got really bad some time ago. Something about a new leader, I think. Anyway, it’s just not safe outside of the walls. What, and they haven’t attacked the town? They can’t, really. Some wizard chick came by a long time ago, long before I was here, and enchanted the town so that no one inside could even think of being violent. I think she might have missed this alley, though, because it’s always had this sort of dangerous feel to it. Plus the spell doesn’t go underground, either. Huh. Well, at least I still might be able to save someone from evildoers in the alley later. Nice talking with you, Sam.
Quests, here I come!
The bar.
Kind of dead in here. Guess I shouldn’t have expected more at midday. Hey guys, is there anything interesting going on?
Would we be wasting our time here if there was? There isn’t even any meat to butcher. Or flour to bake! Well, that’s too bad. I wonder what that white ball is? Oh hey, it’s a note!quote:
B-
He’s starting to get suspicious. Hold off on our meetings for a bit, but I’ll keep you posted by these notes.
-B
Too bad it’s not for me. Well, no sense in interrupting someone else’s important correspondence.
Dear sir, would you happen to know the goings-on in the town?
Do I look like a tour guide? Now are you going to order something, or does Crusher there need to open up some bar space for me? Oh, no, no, no need. What do you have, anyway? I got ale for one silver, Troll’s Sweat for five, and Dragon’s Breath for twenty five. Now where have I heard “Dragon’s Breath” before? …whatever you do, don’t drink the Dragon’s Breath. …don’t drink the Dragon’s Breath! Probably just a coincidence. One Dragon’s Breath, please! If you want a mug of Dragon’s Breath, house rules say it’ll have to be cash up front!
Then again, maybe not. One ale, sir! Whatever. Coming right up!
Can I get another?*You know, that actually tasted fine. This really isn’t such a bad place after all, and the bartender reminds you of an old friend you used to know.*
Man, I hated that guy. Come on, third time’s a charm!*Suddenly, you don’t feel so good. You seem to have gone a little overboard on the ale (or at least falling off the seat).*
You will end up with the same effect if you drink even one troll’s sweat. Also note the score.
*After dusting yourself off, you check to make sure you’re still in one piece. Unfortunately, you discover that while you were “out,” someone managed to relieve you of all your money. Now you’ll have to find a way to get some money. The street is not the most comfortable place to sleep, and you have to eat, sooner or later. However, this was not a good place to sleep. You’re stiff and sore all over and your wallet feels very light.*
Passed out and robbed in my very first bar. This adventure is going great!