History Literature / Moonrunner

* TheCavalry: During the fight against Kauderderwelsch's Monster (Mother), after some time the other inmates will break the door and storm the monster, tearing him apart. [[spoiler:After capturing Gruul, a division of Gallantarian soldiers will attack Hope's End, but you're not forced to help them out.]]

* LivingMacGuffin: Well, Undying MacGuffin with the talking (and often extremely annoying) Skull of Tal Mora, which demands life force to sustain itself and will penalize you multiple times on your quest in certain situations, but can also save your ass from one of Gruul's deadliest spells.

* LuckBasedMission: The final battle with Gruul has him throwing you a series of Notura-fueled spells, and both the spells ''and'' Gruul's Notura Score are randomly determinated by a dice roll. Hence, depending on which talismans you took with you, this can be a CurbStompBattle where you NoSell everything he throws at you or one where you're annihilated by a spell.

** Like mother like son, Doktor Welsch is one to Franchise/{{Frankenstein}} and, due to the bedlham house, to ''Film/FrankensteinAndTheMonsterFromHell''.
** Mister Hogg and Mister Kilmarney are real-life "resurrection men" Burke and Hare, as played by Creator/LaurelAndHardy.

* FantasticNoir: This book, being essentially an investigation set in a great, dark, city, verge into this genre.
* FedToTheBeast: If you're captured by Gruul he will try to dispose of you by releasing a swarm of hungry rats in the room.
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: When visiting a sorcerer who is a veteran of visiting nightmarish dimensions to acquire an talisman required to confront Gruul, have a little patience and just ''wait'' a little in the comfortable sitting room while he goes there to acquire said artifact. Because ''one look'' at what's behind the door is so unimaginably, indescribably horrid to those inexperienced in exploring alien dimensions that [[NonStandardGameOver one look is enough to drive you irrevocably mad.]]

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* ActionDad: At the very end it's revealed that the player character has a family waiting him home.

* GoMadFromRevelation: When visiting a sorcerer who is a veteran of visiting nightmarish dimensions to acquire an talisman required to confront Gruul, have a little patience and just ''wait'' a little in the comfortable sitting room while he goes there to acquire said artifact. Because ''one look'' at what's behind the door is so unimaginably, indescribably horrid to those inexperienced in exploring alien dimensions that [[NonStandardGameOver one look is enough to drive you irrevocably mad.]]

* LuckBasedMission: The final battle with Gruul has him throwing you a series of Notura-fueled spells, and both the spells ''and'' Gruul's Notura Score are randomly determinated by a dice roll. Hence, depending on which talisman you took with you, this can be a CurbStompBattle where you NoSell everything he throws at you or one where you're annihilated by a spell.

** The Fogwalkers are likely an homage to Film/LivingDeadSeries.

* BlackMagic: Specifically, a form known as "Notura", which Karam Gruul has studied. Its hexes can be repelled with magical amulets.

* BigDamnVillains: If you [[spoiler:tricked the Corpse Master into believing that Gruul wanted to kill him, he will appear during the final battle and force Gruul to waste all his Notura points on him.]]

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: Not only the adventure is more like a gothic-horror themed detective story, but the main villain, rather than being an undead sorceror or a powerful, NighInvulnerable warlord, is a scheming and dangerous DiabolicalMastermind guilty of many war crimes, and your final objective isnt' even killing him, but bring him to justice.

** The Corpse Master mixes ThePhantomOfTheOpera with traits of [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]].

* CrazyPrepared: As mentioned in the YMMV entry, Karam Gruul took myriad precautions for his evil plan, laying traps and obstacles everywhere just for your arrival and [[spoiler:using a body double mandrake to direct his minions while he safely waits behind the scenes.]]

''Moonrunner'' is the 48th book of the ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' series of gamebooks and the last one penned by Stephen Hand, after ''Literature/DeadOfNight'' and ''Literature/LegendOfTheShadowWarriors''.

With ''Moonrunner'', Hand returns to a gameplay closer to ''Dead of Night'', which means that the player has to rely more on his actual skills and talents rather than only on items he can find, and once again the game features multiple paths and sidequests to victory. The atmosphere of the game is this time a mix of Hand's fantasy/gothic horror pastiche and investigation series, with plentiful of quotes and nods to various popular characters and situations along the way in this urban adventure.

!!''Moonrunner'' contains examples of:

* SealedEvilInACan: The Demothrax Argolis was an ancient and powerful demon sealed under an abandoned Gaol, near a hellish pit. You can unseal her to recover her Chain, a Notura-proof talisman, but then you must deal with the monster permanently.

* ZombieApocalypse: The village outside Blackhaven is currently attecked by a horde of contagious Fog Walkers.

* TheAtoner: [[spoiler: You. You were the Moonrunner, Gruul's personal beast-like servant who fred himself from his grasp and became human. This quest is your way to make amend for that past.]]
* BedlamHouse: You can investigate into one, either by forging a document or by disguising yourself as a warden. Unfortunately, the owner, Doktor Welsch, secretly dissects the inmates for his secret project.

* BigDamnVillains: If you [[spoiler: tricked the Corpse Master into believing that Gruul wanted to kill him, he will appear during the final battle and force Gruul to waste all his Notura points on him.]]
* BlackMagic: Specifically, one known as "Notura", which Karam Gruul has studied. Its hexes can be repelled with magical amulets.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler: In the NonStandardGameOver, Karam Gruul manages to put you again under mind control as his faithful Moonrunner.]]
* BystanderSyndrome: Averted in the Waxhouse: upon defeating Conrad, you can make your escape because the crowd gathered there rushes at the revenant assassin before he can stand up again.
* CallBack: The story is once again settled in Gallantaria and Mandrakes reappears. There's also Doktor Kauderwelsch' son in town, who mentions how his mother died in a mysterious fire. (Literature/LegendOfTheShadowWarriors).
* TheCavalry: During the fight against Kauderderwelsch's Monster (Mother), after some time the other inmates will break the door and storm the monster, tearing him apart. [[spoiler: After capturing Gruul, a division of Gallantarian soldier will attack Hope's End, but you're not forced to help them out.]]

* CoversAlwaysLie: While the book does feature a burning mill, but the Argolis pictured on screen is not fought there, but inside a gaol.
* CrazyPrepared: As mentioned in the YMMV entry, Karam Gruul took myriads of precautions for his evil plan, laying traps and obstacles everywhere just for your arrival and [[spoiler: using a body double mandrake to direct his minions while he safely waits.]]

* DiabolicalMastermind: Karam Gruul, which is more dangerous and threatening compared to the usual villains of the series.

* EldritchAbomination: Minor examples with The Shocker and the Ectoplasmic Lurker: both are incredibly grotesque and horrifying creatures (the former is so horrifying you cannot even distinguish its features. Those examples are "minor" since while monstrous you can still fight them on equal ground and kill them.
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: [[spoiler: The true nature of your character: as the magically-altered Moonrunner, he's much stronger, swifter and perceptive than usual.]]

* EvilTowerOfOminousness: The final clash against Gruul and the Cabal takes place inside a ruined tower in a place called "Hope's End", where the Cabal is reunited [[spoiler: to prepare Gruul's superweapon aimed at Royal Lendle.]]

** Mister Hogg and Mister Kilmarney are a rather dark version of Creator/LaurelAndHardy.

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: The whole plot of the book consist in capturing Karam Gruul so that he can be put on trial for his hideous war crimes.
* FantasticNoir: This book, being essentially an investigation set in a great, dark city, verge into this genre.

* GratuitousNinja: The Jai-Hulud is a flying, asian-looking sorcerer assassin who wields two swords and seemingly pops out of nowhere to battle you.
* GuileHero: You are a bounty hunter, most of your skills involves "rogueish" abilities such as quick thinking, sleight of hand, nimble feet and tracking.
* HandOfGlory: One of the talismans you can craft against Gruul's Notura, you need the hand of an hanged corpse and have it enchanted by a neighbourhood-friendly Necromancer.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: If you disguise yourself as a Vampire to scare Hogg and Kilmarney, they will gather an angry mob who thinks you're a ''real'' Vampire. [[spoiler: In the end, Gruul is captured by his former servant and creation, the Moonrunner.]]

** The Fogwalkers are likely an homage to Film/TheLivingDeadSeries.

* BedlhamHouse: You can investigate into one, either by forging a document or by disguising yourself as a warden. Unfortunately, the owner, Doktor Welsch, secretly dissects the inmates for his secret project.

* HockeyMaskAndChainsaw: Ok, the chainsaw is out of question, but still doesn't stop Conrad from pulling a metal faceplate which uncanningly looks like one and serves the same purpose.

* HockeyMaskAndChainsaw: Ok, the chainsaw is out of question, but still doesn't stop Conrad from pulling a metal do

* EldritchAbomination: Minor examples with The Shocker and the Ethereal Lurker: both are incredibly grotesque and horrifying creatures (the former is so horrifying you cannot even distinguish its features.

* SealedEvilInACan: The Argolis was an ancient and powerful demon sealed under an abandoned Gaol, near a hellish pit. You can unseal her to recover her Chain, a Notura-proof talisman, but then you must deal with the monster permanently.

''Moonrunner'' is the fourtyeighth book of the ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' series of gamebooks and the last one penned by Stephen Hand, after ''Literature/DeadOfNight'' and ''Literature/LegendOfTheShadowWarriors''.