Characters

On the Avatar's adventures through the Valley of Eodon, ten different people join up to help end the Myrmidex threat and unite the tribes. Some of them are, like the Avatar, modern explorers who have found themselves trapped in Eodon. Others are reincarnations of the Avatar's friends from his journeys through Britannia. Some are among the best warriors in the valley, each siding with the Avatar in an attempt to better their own lands. And one (only one), is the woman the Avatar is dedicated to rescuing.

Created in the late 1980s, and released in 1990, the characters do not hold up well to modern views of inclusion. In fact, of the ten, one, as mentioned, is a woman (one who is scantly clad, relatively weak, and needing to be rescued by a big strong man), one is a literal humanoid reptile, and the rest are all white men (though, admittedly, one of them is a neanderthal, so he might not count as "white").

However, despite the lack of modern political correctness, following a more traditional late 1800s to early 1900s classical adventure motif (like The Land that Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs or The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle), The Savage Empire still manages to include some diverse and unique characters, mostly through their own individual personalities and strengths.

The Avatar may ask up to four characters to join him at a time, not counting special characters. To get a character to join the party, talk to the individual and in the command prompt say "Join" (some characters join automatically).

If you want to remove a member from your party (possibly to add a different character), talk to that party member and say "Leave."

Overall, there are not many differences between characters except appearance. However, some characters have special traits or abilities, and others have more room for growth.

The maximum level for each character is 8. When a character kills an enemy, they gain experience. If they have enough experience to level up, the next time the party sleeps that character will have a dream. In that dream they will see three animals run into the forest, a Bear, a Jaguar, and a Monkey. They will then ask you which animal they should follow. Depending on what you say, one of their stats will improve: Bear +1 Strength, Jaguar +1 Dexterity, Monkey +1 Intelligence. What each stat does can be found on the Savage Empire homepage of this site.

In this section, with the exception of Triolo and Aiela, all of the characters will be listed alphabetically instead of in the order in which they are met. Triolo is first, however, because you begin the game with him, and Aiela is second because she represents the entire first arc of the storyline.

Strength: 20

Dexterity: 26

Intelligence: 17

Level: 7

Hit Points: 64

Special: Magic User (the only one in the game)

Triolo is a shaman-in-training, apprenticing for the Kurak Tribe Shaman, Intaya. Because he is only in training, he does not have access to the full range of magic in the Valley of Eodon. However, he is the only playable character capible of using magic, making him indispensable.

Triolo does not know much about his past. It is as if there is a fog on his memories. He stumbled into the Kurak village from out of the jungle "many moons ago" without a name or memory. When the Kuraks took him in, he stayed.

If asked to Leave the party, he will return to Intaya's home in the Kurak Village to return to his training.

Strength: 19

Dexterity: 28

Intelligence: 22

Level: 5

Hit Points: 58

Special: Crystal, Auto-Join, Love Interest

Aiela is a warrior princess, daughter of the Kurak Chief Aloron. She is fierce and beautiful, and has recently been subjected to dreams of the Avatar before his arrival, in the same way that he dreamt of her before getting there.

When rescued from the clutches of Darden, Aiela automatically joins the party, even if there is no room in the party. She takes up a 5th slot in the companion list, guaranteeing she can always be part of the party.

The only thing Aiela has at first is a giant crystal, which is so necessary for the game that if she is asked to Leave the party, she will drop it on the ground before returning to her father.

Aiela is one of two love interests in the game. Except for a few extra slides at the end of the game, declaring the Avatar's Love for Aiela only makes it impossible to ask her to Leave without truly hurting her feelings.

Strength: 26

Dexterity: 20

Intelligence: 17

Level: 5

Hit Points: 72

Special: Hates Ugyuk

Like Triolo and Shamuru, Dokray has only recently arrived in the valley, but he also does not know where he came from or how he got here.

He is one of the best warriors in the game, however, he and the Neanderthal Ugyuk hate each other so much that they claim they are unwilling to work together, even if it means saving the entire valley*.

Dokray can be found in the Pindaro Village at the northern-most section of the valley, and will return there if asked to Leave the party.

Strength: 16

Dexterity: 23

Intelligence: 20

Level: 2

Hit Points: 40

Special: Modern Man, Notebook, Auto-Join

Jimmy Malone is a newspaper reporter who, along with the Avatar and Professor Rafkin, found himself suddenly thrown into Valley of Eodon. Unlike the Avatar, however, he is captured by the Disquiqui tribe and locked away in a small room, waiting for rescue. Once the door to his cell is opened, Jimmy will automatically join the party if there is room for him.

Of all the characters in the game, Jimmy has the lowest starting level, making him fairly weak at first. However, he also has the most room to grow, becoming, by Level 8, truly powerful.

Jimmy's greatest gift, however, aside from being able to use modern weaponry like rifles, is his notebook. Talking to him and saying, "Notebook," will bring up a detailed review of what the Avatar has done so far, and what he still needs to do.

Strength: 14

Dexterity: 18

Intelligence: 27

Level: 7

Hit Points: 56

Special: Modern Man, Scientist (Nitrate), Auto-Join

Dr. Johann Spector begins the game as a primary antagonist. Sometime before the Avatar arrives at Eodon, Dr. Johann and his assistant Fritz found their way to the valley. Johann, however, discovers the ancient city of Kotl, and uses the technology there to make himself, and a person of his choosing, invincible. Using that power, Johann is planning on conquering the world.

After the Avatar thwarts Johann's plans, the madness claiming his mind clears, and he joins the Avatar for the final act of the game.

Johann replaces Yunapotli in the party automatically, even if the party is full. If the party is not full, he does not take up a companion slot.

Johann can pull Nitrate out of crystals if needed, and can use modern weapons like rifles.

Strength: 27

Dexterity: 22

Intelligence: 18

Level: 5

Hit Points: 74

Special: None

Kysstaa is the greatest warrior of the Sakkhra Tribe. Descended from the Kotl, Kysstaa is a humanoid lizard capable of devastating enemies in hand-to-hand combat.

Outside of combat, however, Kysstaa does not contribute too much to the gameplay, and with one exception, no one on the overworld reacts to him.

The exception is Denys, who will draw a portrait of Kysstaa if he is in the party. This portrait has no effect on the game.

That being said, because of his carrying capacity and combat strength, Kysstaa is a great addition to any party planning on long excersions through Eodon.

Strength: 8

Dexterity: 14

Intelligence: 29

Level: 6

Hit Points: 40

Special: Modern Man, Scientist (Nitrate, Flintlock)

Professor Elliot Rafkin is one of the smartest men in the world, and is the curator of a natural history museum. He is also an old friend of the Avatar, and is the one who the Avatar takes the black moonstone to before the game begins. He's also the reason why the Avatar is in the Valley of Eodon to begin with, as one of his experiments on the stone goes horribly wrong (or right).

Rafkin was taken by the Yolaru Tribe, but he managed to talk his way into a hut of his own and a position of power there. Although he is the weakest, physically, of all the Avatar's potential companions, he is able to use modern weaponry, like the rifle, can pull Nitrate from crystals, and is the only one capable of making flintlock rifles (if he's at his laboratory), making him a vital asset to anyone wanting to explore the deeper jungles.

Strength: 21

Dexterity: 23

Intelligence: 18

Level: 6

Hit Points: 66

Special: None

Shamuru, like Triolo and Dokray, wandered out of the jungle one day with no memory of who he was or how he got there. He was adopted by the Barako Tribe, who live primarily in mountainous regions, but Shamuru has stated that he feels more comfortable deep within the jungle, and so spends most of his time away from the Barakos. He is, however, highly respected by them for his hunting abilities.

Shamuru does not have any special abilities, beyond a recognition of the Avatar, and is somewhere around the fourth or fifth most powerful fighter.

He can typically be found north of the Barako Village, along the road by the river, and will return there if asked to Leave.

He is, however, the only character who is capable of being killed before joining the party, as a poisonous rat spawns near him.

Strength: 30

Dexterity: 22

Intelligence: 8

Level: 8

Hit Points: 92

Special: Hates Dokray

Ugyuk is a giant Neanderthal from the Hakkur Tribe that live within the caves at the south-eastern corner of Eodon. He is a man of very little words, and has some of the fewest command words within a dialogue with him.

However, he is the most powerful fighter in the game, with a strength and maximum hit point level that no other character can achieve (except for Yunapotli when within the Kotl City).

However, due to past incidents, Ugyuk and Dokray hate each other with a passion. As a result, Ugyuk not only will not join the Avatar if Dokray is in the party*, but when the dialogue choice "Dokray" is made, there is an option to have Ugyuk fight against the entire party (typically to the detriment of everyone).

Strength: 25

Dexterity: 12

Intelligence: 15

Level: 8

Hit Points: 82

Special: Auto-Join, Invincible in Kotl

One of the last characters to join the Avatar, Yunapotli has been abandoned within the city of Kotl for, if you believe his stories, centuries. Recently, he lost his head (literally), and only reactivates once you return it to him and Use it near his body. As soon as you do so, Yunapotli joins the party automatically, even if the party is full. Like Aiela, Yunapotli does not take up a companion slot.

Once his head is reattached, Yunapotli mentions that if he had his Brain he'd be more helpful. It's up to the Avatar to figure out what happened to it, though. Even without his brain, though, Yunapotli is the only character capable of opening the doors to the city.

While within the city of Kotl, Yunapotli is invincible, capable of exploring the entire city without any danger. He cannot, however, use any portals while alone, limiting his exploration a little.

He is designed to only be used within the city of Kotl, but the Avatar can take him anywhere in the world. Doing so does not seem to have an effect on anyone, though. Apparently human-sized golden robots are just another part of life in Eodon.

Image from

stratigywiki.org

*Making Dokray and Ugyuk Play Nice

Although the game actively tries to keep you from doing it, it is possible to have both Dokray and Ugyuk in the party at the same time by following the following video: