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To guide him on his way, a spirit named Xana will reside in Sareth's mind. Menelag apparently is unable to continue his search without the Crystal. Menelag and Phenrig have certain "mutual interests" that involve finding an artifact called the Skull of Shadows. After finding the Crystal and disposing of the would be rival expedition, Sareth is tasked to bring the crystal to an associate of Phenrig's, the Wizard Menelag, who is also the lord of the city of Stonehelm. After years of studying the arts of magic and physical training in the arts of war, he is finally taken on an expedition to retrieve a rare artifact known as the Shantiri Crystal. The protagonist of Dark Messiah is a young man named Sareth, who is under the tutelage of the Wizard Phenrig.
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Additionally, advanced items typically have a skill requirement, with the end result being that the character equips only a handful of different items over the course of the game, as allowed by skill selections.
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Each item has fixed stats, and the selection of items is also limited, with only a small number of different weapons or armor in each category. Valuable items are placed in specific locations for the player to find. The Miscellaneous tree contains general improvements, including Stealth.Īlthough some enemies will drop unremarkable, normal items when killed, looting in Dark Messiah is mostly a fixed affair. The Magic tree grants access to new spells. The Combat tree improves the power and efficiency of physical attacks. Magic spells can be used to damage the enemy, heal the player, or serve a number of utility purposes.Īs the player completes objectives throughout the game, Dark Messiah awards experience points that can be used to buy skills in one of three skill trees: Combat, Magic, and Miscellaneous. Characters with high stealth can sneak up behind enemies and perform a lethal backstab maneuver, while players skilled with a bow can use it to snipe enemies from a distance. Actions include cutting ropes to release heavy objects, kicking enemies over a cliff or into a bed of spikes, and breaking support beams to collapse a structure and crush enemies underneath.Įnemies are generally difficult to kill in straightforward combat, although characters developed for this purpose may have an easier time. The game emphasizes environmental combat, by way of using scripted traps or terrain features.
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