plaugemouse on 14/6/2024 at 22:13

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Ive hit a wall on my FM journey (I'm a little late to the game here), but was hoping the veterans of the community could suggest some recommendations for some spooky FMs that are a little off the beaten path. I fell in love with classics like the Scarlet Cascabel, Rose Cottage, and Duncan Malveine. Ive loved them, and The Burning Bedlam, Mortis Liber campaign, Coaxing the Spirit, and Better Tomorrow has such lovely dark and oppressive atmosphere. I was wondering if there were a few hidden gems anyone could bring to light?

baeuchlein on 15/6/2024 at 02:43

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Parts of the "Ruins of Originia" campaign also fit this category. The player enters caves and other environments where there is usually not much human presence, only Burricks and other strange and alien creatures, and even some parts where no one is there. Feels rather lonely, then. By the way, "Mines of Margroth" is an early version of the first mission of the campaign. "Mines" is for Thief 1 while "Ruins" is for Thief 2.

The three missions of the "A Night in Rocksbourg" ("ANIR"/"UNAR") series start in a town area with rather tight spaces, but only a few spooky areas, but the areas Garrett visits change towards some with more sinister residents than the ordinary citizens.

"Shadows of Eidolon" sounds like the typical undead mission first, as the player flees some guards and enters a group of caves, but there's one rather uncommon thing: It is pitch black in many areas of the caves, but the player has a portable lantern to still illuminate his/her surroundings. Of course, the undead stinky inhabitants of this place also see the player if the lantern is lit.

"The Curse" places Garrett inside the grounds of the haunted Herman manor, as a result of a lost bet. While it looks like a simple "undead+mansion" mission first, a few not-so-common things happen later on.

"Deceptive Perception" and especially "Deceptive Perception 2: Phantasmagoria" are missions fit for Halloween. A haunted warehouse marks the start for rather unpleasant encounters Garrett has in a night.

"Death's Turbid Veil" is a bit like a mystery paired with a "Haunted house" story. It starts as a break-in on the grounds of a mansion, but it gets more dark once the player goes below ground level.

If you prefer an abandoned town where you're alone first, and in unpleasant company later on, try "Eclipsed".

Pyramids and Egyptian-like environments with undead inhabitants can be found in "From Beneath the Sands" and its remake, "Whispers in the Desert", but also in "Secret Breaking of a Pyramid". The first two contain riddles and puzzles which are a bit above the usual ones, while "Secret Breaking..." is more along the lines of a labyrinth that mutated into an egyptian pyramid.

"Godbreaker" is a three-mission campaign in which not Garrett, but the aging master thief Conall stars as the protagonist. To get off the radar of some pursuers, he decides to go looking for the legendary sword "Godbreaker" (in mission 2), which is rumoured to be somewhere in an area that slowly sinks into a swamp. A small town deep in the area is the only place where civilization still prevails, but everywhere else, swamp creatures, undead and other beings you're not keen to meet wait for you. Once that is done, Conall tries to sell his newly acquired sword (mission 3, a city mission), which turns out to be far less easy than he thought.

"Having a Ball" sounds like the perfect game if you're an european citizen enjoying the soccer events currently unfolding, but unfortunately, the real ball game starts when the ball is shot over the walls of a castle that's supposed to be haunted. Guess who's been chosen to get the ball back again...

"Into the Dark Forest", the second mission in a series, throws you into a large wood and cave environment just outside a city. Hammerites, Trickster creatures, Mages, and even some Keepers just love to "play" with you. Your main task, however, is to travel through the cave-like environments with the help of some maps you get in the beginning, and complete your objectives en route. If you like pathfinding in nature environments, this one might be just up your alley.

Visit "King Abedzen's Tomb" instead if you want a definitely smaller play area starting in a cemetary and then going to the undeground area of that graveyard. Some uncommon puzzles keep you occupied for some time.

"Kingsbridge" plays in the town of the same name and its surroundings, where a deadly plague has befallen the citizens. Snow and some fog create a wintery environment. See whether you can complete your objectives and get away without catching the disease!

"Les Korrigans" a.k.a. "The Goblins" is a classic by Gaetane, part of the "L'Arsene" series. While you are in a city trying to escape the clutches of L'Arsene the Master Thief, you get closer and closer to an equally deadly force: Goblins ("Korrigans" in French). They're very small... and surprisingly deadly in combat. Don't underestimate them if you want to get out alive!

"Making a Profit" begins as a typical "sneak through a town and meet your contact" style mission, but since the contact doesn't show up, Garrett has to improvise again. A visit to a Hammerite cloister, a graveyard with subterranean areas, and finally the home of the city's major power, a sinister Lady, take you deeper and deeper into trouble you did neither expect nor wanted to have when you started the mission. An ancient and deadly enemy and the ever-annoying Keepers are just what you need to make this night's disaster perfect.

"Malazar's inscrutable tower" is the former home of a recently deceased (or rather publicly slain) wizard, and while it's easy to get in, it's far less easy to get out again. And if you thought that undead are nightmarish... wait until you meet creatures that are various kinds of hybrid undead and mage-summoned enemies. That's what you get when you go into a dead mage's former domain without an invitation.

"Morbid Curiosity" takes Garrett into a city where a Captain boasts he's going to use his special sword to permanently remove other people's genitals, and where a special exhibition is taking place in a gallery or museum. And although Garrett prefers another use case for the weapon, he's still interested in finding it. The exhibition also sounds inviting. Rumours of a bloody and possibly non-corporeal murderer, however, sound like it would have been better had Garrett not come into this city.

"Ravensreach" is the name of an abandoned fortress which has been the target of an expedition of some warriors and thieves who did not return. Guess why. You're going after the same book they wanted to get out of the fortress, and once again meet what results if undead, magic spells and mutations come together. You are not alone there, but you will wish you were ere the night is over.

"Relic - Left for Dead" places poor Garrett in the role of an undead. He starts out to avenge his own death, and uncovers other people's greed, treason, and finally a hope for a cure.

"Rowena's Curse" starts out as a standard "rescue the damsel in distress" task in and around a mansion, but then you begin to get strange messages. Dead and undead start to come up as you go down into the bowels of the earth to find said damsel before it's too late for her. Some interesting puzzles complete one of the late Lady Rowena's masterpieces.

"The Last Lighthouse Keeper" is the one who draws Garrett into another adventure - after Garrett killed him some years ago in what appears to be an accident on Christmas. But after being transported back to the Lighthouse keeper's home - the "Snowever" estate - by the ghostly remains of said keeper, things happen which suggest that there's still something you don't know about the "regrettable incident", as Garrett used to say. Some ghosts in this mission are not undead enemies, but rather lost souls that wish to get avenged or otherwise helped so that they can finally move on into another realm. Puzzles which would fit a classic adventure game of the 80's or 90's make this an uncommon trip through the old mansion and some surroundings.

"The Builder's Paradise" is an alternate end of the Thief 2 storyline. Garrett failed to stop Karrass from releasing rust gas onto the unsuspecting inhabitants of The City, and now follows Karras into what should have been the Builder's paradise... but rather turns out to be a remote ruin of a Mechanist installation covered in orange dust created by the rust gas. The lonely ruin is where the showdown between the destroyer of the world and the failed hero Garrett takes place. Make your way through the notably damaged alien installation where some enemies still remain among the abandoned ruins, and find a way to get rid of Karrass once and for all.

"Unholy Vivid Innocence" is the first mission of a series by Haplo. Like the other ones, it is a rather linear mission that reminds one of an old adventure game. It takes place in a crypt, and the undead have a smaller part than usual in such missions. The puzzles are what really drives this mission forward. Play the following missions ("Insanity's Crescendo", "Of the Sinister Awakening", and "A Sorrowful Farewell") as well if you like the first one.


Enough for now. Off you go and play these missions, taffer!:cheeky:

LordBooford on 15/6/2024 at 07:27

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I'm currently playing invitation to Castle Morgoth and am impressed by some innovative aspects. The shadows are pure black so there's no cheating with turning up the gamma to see your way around. And the way in the dark sometimes can only be seen by a hand held lantern so it gives sense of venturing into the unknown.

SlyFoxx on 16/6/2024 at 01:32

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These taffers are thorough. We have to be or we're coming up 300 short on loot with all other objectives ticked! Sad state of affairs to be sure.