Gothic Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Gothic - the first game in the Gothic series developed by Piranha Bytes, and tells the story about Nameless Hero and his adventures, who, as it would later turn out, has been chosen by the god of light and justice – Innos.

Setting[]

The plot of the game tells the story of the Nameless Hero in the penal colony, known as the Valley of Mines. It is situated on the isle of Khorinis, and is surrounded by a magical barrier that transmits everything from the outside world, but is a deadly obstacle for every living being trying to penetrate it from the inside. This magical barrier was created on the orders of king Rhobar II by magicians to protect the extraction of magical ore from the mines. The king Rhobar II needed a lot of it to produce weapons for his army, and the mine was supposed to provide it.

The king Rhobar II defeated almost all enemies of his kingdom. The orcs were an exception. They never sinned with cunning or intelligence, but they had a powerful advantage in the form of enormous strength and determination in the war against human kind.

Synopsis[]

The story begins when the Nameless Hero (TNH) is sentenced to the Valley of Mines as another, seemingly ordinary convict. Before he is cast behind the magical barrier, he receives a letter from a Fire Mage, with the task of delivering it to the High Magician of Fire in the Old Camp, one of the three main organizations in the game.

Once inside the valley, he is introduced to the main three camps of the Valley: The Old Camp, the oldest and most powerful camp. The New Camp, made up of convicts who wish to have more freedom than the Old Camp and the Sect Camp (also known as the Brotherhood). The Brotherhood is a sect located in the swamps of the Valley made up of religious convicts who believe in a mysterious God called "the Sleeper".

After doing tasks for the Old Camp's guard known as the Shadows, TNH meets the Magicians of Fire and delivers the letter. It is revealed that the Sect camp poses a large threat to the Old Camp, threatening to compromise its trade deals with the outside world. TNH is dispatched by the Old Camp's corrupt leader Gomez to investigate the Sect Camp and find out what exactly is going on there. TNH arrives at the Sect Camp and is given a task by the Camp's leader Y'Berion: to find a special specimen of an artifact called a focus stone, which was used in the creation of the Barrier.

He instructs the TNH where to find the focus stone that was supposed to be retrieved earlier by a Sect camp novice. Since the novice never returned, Y'berion asks TNH to retrieve it himself. TNH discovers that the focus stone drove the novice mad after the Sleeper gave him a "self glorifying vision". TNH defeats the novice and gives the focus stone to Y'berion.

Y'berion then reveals that he needs stronger secretion from a certain insect. Y'berion then tells TNH that he must go to the Old Mine and find the secretion of the Minecrawlers, monsters who reside in the deepest reaches of the Mine.

After venturing down the Mine and killing the Minecrawler Queen, TNH retrieves the secretion and returns to the Old Camp. After retrieving a stolen Almanac needed for the invocation, the preparations for the Sleepers Awakening are complete.

At night, Y'berion, in front of the entire Sect camp, delivers a speech about the Sleeper, claiming the Sleeper will lead the camp to true freedom. After using the focus stone to contact the Sleeper, Y'berion receives a strange vision, showing an Orc in the nearby Orc cemetery. Y'berion then collapses. Cor Angar, Y'berions right hand man, sends TNH to the Orc cemetery, in hopes that he can decipher Y'berions vision. TNH fights through the interior of the graveyard along with another novice, but finds nothing. Suddenly, the novice, under the influence of the Sleeper, goes mad and attacks TNH. After killing the novice and returning to Y'berion, TNH delivers the bad news: there's no Sleeper in the cemetery and everything rests on Y'berion waking up.

Despite TNH and Angars best efforts, Y'berion dies. The disastrous failure of the Sleepers contact has cast doubt among the sect camp if worshiping the Sleeper will lead them to freedom. Anger concludes that the Sleeper must be some sort of Orcish Demon. Angar then reveals that Y'berion was counting on the New Camp's escape plan if the Sleepers' contact went awry. TNH then goes to the New Camp with the focus stone and almanac and meets the Water Mages, the magicians of the Old Camp.

Saturas, the head magician, instructs TNH to find the remaining four focus stones, which are located all around the Valley. Saturas plans to blow up a massive ore mound in the New Camp, which should be powerful enough to destroy the barrier. During his quest, TNH meets several members of each camp, Deigo, a guard at the Old Camp, Milten, a fire magician at the Old Camp, Lester, a warrior for the Sect Camp and Gorn, a mercenary for the New Camp.

Once all four focus stones have been collected, Saturas still needs the aid of the Fire Magicians, so he sends TNH to get the aid of the Old Camp.

When the TNH arrives at the Old Camp, he is confronted by a group of guards who block the entrance and denounce him as a traitor. TNH escapes them and meets up with Diego who reveals that the Old Mine has collapsed. Without a healthy supply of Ore to give to the King, Gomez panicked and sent his troops to raid the New Camp's Mine.

TNH returns to Saturas and delivers the bad news. Saturas then tells TNH about a thirteenth sorcerer who participated in the creation of the barrier. He broke off from the rest of the magicians and now resides in a tower in the orc lands. TNH reaches the tower and meets Xardas the necromancer, the thirteenth and most powerful magician in the colony. Xardas reveals that the New Camp's escape plan will fail and that the ore mound explosion will do nothing.

Xardas explains that TNH must find a banished orc shaman, who may be the key to finding the Sleeper. TNH locates the Shaman, who tells him he must locate Tarrok, an orc imprisoned in the new mine. Tarrok will craft the ULU-MULU, a sign of respect among orcs. TNH sets off to the new mine in search of the imprisoned orc.

When TNH reaches the new mine, Gorn is there waiting for him. The pair then lead an assault to recapture the new mine from the old camp. The pair are successful and TNH finds Tarrok. Using ingredients TNH found across the colony, Tarrok crafts the ULU-MULU, enabling TNH to enter the Orc City. The Orc City houses a temple, which may belong to the Sleeper. TNH enters the city unharmed and enters the temple.

TNH fights his way through the temple and kills four orc priests. TNH then acquires a strange sword. Unable to harm the final orc priest, TNH escapes the temple and teleports back to Xardas. Xardas explains that the sword belonged to URIZIEL, a legendary hero. Its magic has drained over time and must be recharged. After acquiring powerful new armor, TNH is told by Xardas that only a powerful source of magic can restore the sword's power. He concludes that the ore mound in the new camp will be powerful enough.

TNH then goes to Milten and tells him his plan. Milten agrees to assist TNH in restoring the swords power. At the ore mound, the TNH drains the mounds power and recharges the sword. The water magicians are furious and attempt to kill TNH, but he uses a magic rune to escape.

Now prepared to defeat the Sleeper, the TNH storms the temple and kills the final orc shaman. At the Sleepers antechamber, Xardas appears and explains that the hearts of the shaman bind the Sleeper to this world, and the only way to defeat the Sleeper is to stab the hearts with swords TNH found previously found in the temple. Xardas then collapses and falls asleep.

TNH reaches the throne of the Sleeper and confronts Cor Kalom, a member of the Brotherhood turned mad by the Sleeper. TNH defeats Kalom and then stabs the shamans hearts. With the hearts destroyed, the Sleeper is climactically banished from Myrtana. The Sleepers chamber collapses and TNH becomes trapped under the rubble.

Meanwhile, outside in the colony, the barrier collapses, allowing the convicts to escape to the mainland of Khorinis.

Game world[]

The land presented in the game is a medieval fantasy world, full of magic, inhabited by various creatures. During the initial part of the game, you must decide to belong to one of the three camps. Regardless of the choice, sooner or later it hits the main storyline. The main axis of the game is linear, but the development of individual tasks may be different, and the story is full of twists and unexpected events. The Unknown Hero, during his adventure, meets both characters favorable to him (Diego, Milten, Lester and Gorn), neutral and hostile. In the game, you can encounter various monsters, for example, Scavengers, Lurkers, Shadowbeasts or Trolls. The Orcs also live in the colony, waging war with the Myrtans.

There a three camps inside the game world, and the player has to choose which one suits him the most.

Old Camp[]

The oldest of all camps, located in the castle where the royal guardians, barons, Fire Mages, Water Mages and diggers used to live, which after the creation of the magical barrier was taken over by prisoners led by Gomez. In contrast to the rest, the Old Camp is governed by strict laws. They excavate and trade ore with the outside world. Only the inhabitants of the Old Camp exchange with king Rhobar II, although the New Camp also has its own mine. Of all the three camps, only this one does not plan to destroy the magical barrier, its only purpose is to trade with king Rhobar II and the inhabitants of the Psionic Camp. Thanks to this, it's is the richest of all. King Rhobar II, in return for the magical ore, gives up everything that the Old Camp will demand. The Old Camp is surrounded by a wooden palisade and is divided into an outer ring, in which there are diggers and shadows, and internal (castle in the Valley of Mines), where the Old Camp's guardians, Magicians of Fire and ore barons are staying. The leader of the Old Camp is a baron named Gomez. In the outer ring is also the Scatty's arena, where the representatives of the three camps are fighting, as well as the market square. Other groups of prisoners also have their own leaders. The leader of the Old Camp's guardians of is Thorus, shadows - Diego, and the Fire Mages - Corristo.

New Camp[]

The new camp was created as a result of the split in the Old Camp. It strives to destroy the magical barrier and release prisoners by detonating a great mound of magical ore. The raw material needed for this is mined in the Free Mine. Most of the houses, the headquarters of the Magów Woda and the mountain of ore are located in a large cave. The members of the New Camp are mainly deserters and runaways from the Old Camp. There are no rules in the New Camp, and the law is just an abstract concept. However, to protect the great mound of magical ore, the Magi of Water hired mercenaries who protect them and the mound against pests. This is, despite the huge amount of magical ore owned, the poorest camp, which mainly survives from assaults on convoys of the Old Camp, which is a step away from the civil war. Thanks to water dam and appropriate conditions it is possible to grow rice, which is used, among others for the production of rice - alcohol sold in the inn. The leader of the mercenaries in the New Camp is General Lee, thrown into the colony for the murder of the wife of King Rhobar II, whom he did not commit. The leader of the pests is Lares, and the Archmage of the Waters - Saturas.

Psionic Camp[]

It is a camp (also called the Swamp Camp or the Sect Camp), whose members have renounced the old gods, worshiping the Sleeper who is to help them regain freedom. Thanks to the vision of Y'Berion, the spiritual leader of the Brotherhood of the Sleeper, they believed that the dreamer is to help the faithful, destroying the magical barrier, and unfaithful punishing. Members of the Brotherhood of the Sleeper promote the burning of swamp herb, growing only here. Each novice of the Brotherhood of the Sleeper gets a daily portion to be able to stay in spiritual contact with the Sleeper. Some gurus have more visions about the Sleeper after more swampy herb. For the remaining prisoners, members of the Brotherhood of the Sleeper are considered to be freaks or madmen, perhaps because of body tattoos, strange costumes, completely shaved heads or just different beliefs. Many prisoners join this camp mainly because of the swamp herb and its special properties. The camp consists of wooden houses standing on the ground and suspended in trees and the temple where Y'Berion lives with Natalia and Chani, who are probably their courtesans. Campers are divided into novices, whose main task is to collect and process swamp herb, gurus who receive visions from the Sleeper and temple guards who look after security, and collect creep secretions - monsters similar to big spiders plaguing diggers in the Old Mine. Eight gurus lead the camp. The highest of them is Y'Berion, whose deputy is Cor Kalom, and the third most important person in the whole Brotherhood of the Sleeper is Cor Angar. The other five gurus are Baal Namib, Baal Cadar, Baal Tyon, Baal Orun and Baal Tondral.


Artifacts[]

There are many different artefacts in the game, such as rings, necklaces, amulets and more. One of the most important are:

  • Uriziel - the legendary sword needed to complete the game. The Nameless Hero finds him in the Temple of the Sleeper, after which he must restore his former power. He does so by charging the sword with the energy hidden in the great mound of the magical ore of the New Camp.
  • Death Wave Uriziel - the most powerful spell in the game. It arises after Xardas pulls the magical stone from Uriziel. To use it, you need to know the sixth circle of magic.
  • Ulu-Mulu - A powerful weapon that, despite the relatively low damage rate, allows you to become not an enemy in the eyes of the orcs, but a friend. The Unknown Hero wins it in the second half of the game, after learning about Xardas. He orders him to find an exiled orc shaman, while he directs him to his friend in the Free Mine. After collecting the appropriate elements, he receives Ulu-Mulu.
  • Wrath of Innos - Gomez's two-handed sword. The Nameless Hero can get it only by killing the owner.

Gothic: The Movie Based on the first game, the German fan band T.M.T. Production created the movie Gothic: Der Film, based on the graphics engine of the game, from which a large part of the dialogues were taken. Some details from the movie do not happen in the game, but the whole story is almost identical. The film lasts about two hours.

There is also an English version of the movie - Gothic: The Movie - which in relation to the German version is shortened by a dozen or so scenes.

Technique of the game[]

The three-dimensional world of the game is presented from the third person perspective. He talks with independent characters to obtain information, kills monsters and performs important tasks for the plot of the game, as well as side missions, not necessary to complete the game. For all these activities, the player receives the experience points needed to learn new skills. The game has been fully localized, including spoken issues, into English language.

The hero's character can be developed by gaining skill points, with ten levels for each level of experience that can be spent on acquiring any skill for the Nameless Hero. Character statistics can only be increased by teachers. The same goes for the science of magic circles. Employees of Pirahna Bytes sought to simplify character statistics, which were limited to four aspects of development - strength, dexterity, mana and health. Skills that can be gained include the use of one-handed, two-handed weapons, bow, crossbow, picking locks, sneaking, acrobatics and hunting skills (skinning animals and like it).

Trivia[]

  • In an interview for Gothicz.net, Michael Hoge said: "I designed the whole story of Gothic I. Of course, there were a few writers, but all the guilds, history, scenery and most of the characters came from me. It took me three years to put it all together, and I made so many key changes to the story even four months before graduation ", which is proved by the game files, e.g. the possibility of saving Y'Berion's life.
  • Michael Hoge in an interview for Gothicz.net said that some of Piranha Bytes' team members worked on the addition to the first Gothic part called the Gothic Sequel, but the project was canceled, as a result of which Gothic is the only one without an add-on. Gothic II has Gothic II: Night of the Raven, and Gothic 3 - Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods.
  • Demonstration version of Gothic contains all possible codes, so that you can move to each chapter and experience all the tasks from the full version.
  • In the intro and outro game the Nameless Hero does not have a pony, mustache or small beard.
  • Initially, the world of the Gothic game was quite intensely related to the desert climate, for example: the sandstone underground.
  • The interface was supposed to look different, which can be seen on the official trailer of the game. The bar of life was in the form of hearts, mana - drops of water, and the equipment was more rounded.
  • It was also planned to release versions of the game for the Nintendo Gamecube, Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation 2, but the developers gave up this idea, because the engine ZenGin Engine did not give such opportunities and decided to spend the game only on personal computers.
  • Michael Hoge revealed that when creating the game, the giants were modeled on the first two games of the Ultima series. He also added that for this reason he expected the success of the game.
  • In the initial production phase, the game was called Orpheus, then changed to Finster (from German language - Dark, which was to refer to the dark atmosphere prevailing in the game). Later, Bert Speckels, one of the creators of the game, influenced by gothic rock, which he listened passionately, suggested changing the name to Gothic, because it sounded dark and international enough to make the game come outside of Germany.
  • Initially, only four people worked on the Gothic band (then called Orpheus).
  • Based on the codes to summon the closest friends of the Nameless Hero (Gorn: Fighter, Diego: Thief, Milten: Mage, Lester: Psionic), it can be concluded that Gothic was originally a game with classes to choose from. In addition, the issue of "Powerful Heroes" was cast in the game trailer, which further confirms the theory.

Gothic 1 Pages[]

Advertisement