Shadow Sorcerer

Shadow Sorcerer is a 1991 strategy role-playing game developed by U.S. Gold and published by Strategic Simulations. The third installment in SSI’s Dragonlance series, it follows Heroes of the Lance and Dragons of Flame and adapts the third and fourth Dragonlance modules, Dragons of Hope and Dragons of Desolation.

Gameplay

Unlike the side-scrolling action of the two games before it, Shadow Sorcerer is built around strategy and survival. The player commands the Heroes of the Lance together with the roughly 800 refugees who have just escaped the slave-mines of Pax Tharkas, and must shepherd that fragile column across hostile country to the safety of the dwarven kingdom of Thorbardin while the dragonarmies hunt them.

Play unfolds from an isometric viewpoint in real time. On the overland march the player rations food, makes camp to rest and heal the wounded, watches the refugees’ flagging morale, and sends the heroes off to forage, scout, or fight off raiders — leaving the column unguarded invites disaster. Encounters and dungeons drop into a closer isometric view where the Companions explore and battle in real time, drawing on their Advanced Dungeons & Dragons abilities and the magic of heroes like Goldmoon and Raistlin. The result is a slower, more deliberate game than its predecessors; contemporary reviewers found it atmospheric but noted the refugees move so slowly that the escort can become a test of patience.

Plot

The plot is a faithful representation of the third and fourth modules of Dragonlance, Dragons of Hope and Dragons of Desolation. The same two modules were also adapted into a novel, Dragons of the Dwarven Depths.

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