Ravenloft: Stone Prophet was a video game released in 1995 for the PC, developed by DreamForge Intertainment for Strategic Simulations, Inc. and set in the Ravenloft world of Dungeons & Dragons.
A strange aurora filled the skies of Elturel one morning. Through the lights, any onlookers can see a strange desert as far as the eye can see. Two of Lord Dhelt's finest retainers meet up with the Captain of the Hellriders and decide to investigate. They come across a dying and boil-covered woman who gasps out a few dying words before she decays into a skeleton, and then into dust within the span of a few seconds, leaving only her clothes and her dagger. The aurora disappears, leaving the retainers trapped in the world of Har'Akir.
Set after the events of Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession, the characters are implied to be the same party members from that adventure, and can be imported into the tale.
Tropes:
- Arson, Murder, and Lifesaving: The commander says this when the party returns, as they were only supposed to scout Har'Akir. He declares their punishment will be two parades, comfortable living in the palace, and a thousand pieces of gold.
- Because Destiny Says So: The party is destined to be on the path to fight and liberate Har'Akir. But both Min Deir and the ghost of the Obelisk, the titular Stone Prophet, mention that it will be a difficult journey.
- Children Are Innocent: Only the young boy from Muhar has the courage to face the party. Kineta, the lost little girl, is slightly better, but quite the brat.
- Deader than Dead: This can be given to Senmnet with the Scroll of Retirement.
- Death World: Unlike Barovia, Har'Akir is a deadly place where the land itself can kill, manifest in the Wrath of Ankhtepot: Boils that rot and cause the living to quick die and turn to dust.
- Escort Mission: Three, although only one is required. The party can bring an injured woman named Sennef back to the village of Muhar, and a girl named Kineta back to her father. Later, the party must take Min Deir, an old blind priestess, to the obelisk. Sennef and Kineta are commoners with very few hit points. Min Deir has class levels, but is permanently blind.Min Deir: The journey before you will be long and arduous, and even more so now. For you must protect this old blind woman.
- Evil Versus Evil: Anhketepot is the villain of the story, but he is fighting against the Hierophant, the man who killed Ankhtepot and created the Wrath because he believed the people worshipped Ankhtepot instead of Ra.
- Hostile Weather: The Wall of Ra, a blinding desert wind and heat that keeps Har'Akir trapped. Anhketepot maintains it, and the party escapes through it when he is busy fighting the Hierophant.
- I Am Dying Please Take My Macguffin: A man braved the hostile wastes in order to beg Anhketepot for mercy. He's inflicted with the Wrath, and the party has to deliver a sack of basic necessities to his wife.
- Karma Meter: The game keeps track of good deeds the player does, such as escorting an injured woman back to her village. Not doing enough can lead to a Non-Standard Game Over.
- Kill It with Fire: The other way to make desert trolls stay down permanently (see below).
- Kill It with Water: Desert trolls are vulnerable to water. As 'Dungeons & Dragons'' trolls often do, they regenerate health and thus have a nasty habit of getting back up once downed in combat. Emptying a waterskin on one will help kill it for good.
- Macguffin: The Sacred Scroll of Return, needed to flee Har'Akir.
- Make a Wish: This is the power of the "Calcite Wishing Cup", and if given to the right place, the party can earn a wish. This is limited, however, to immunity to thirst, resistance to fire, immunity to poison, some powerful weapons, or to be given away to someone else.
- Nerf: When compared to the predecessor game, Strahd's Possession, the Dagger of Throwing (and it's new counterpart, the Axe of Hurling) are significantly weaker, for no other purpose than in Barovia, an attack with the dagger was an automatic hit, whereas in Har'Akir, it can miss.
- Peninsula of Power Leveling: The Obelisk is home to a number of high EXP foes like Manscorpions, that aren't too hard to kill. The party will tend to be around level 5 (unless imported) when they arrive at the Obelisk, and will be around 9 or 10 when they leave.
- Puzzle Boss: Anhketepot is invulnerable. He must be lured to the gateway opened by the seals. This will let him get distracted by the Hierophant.
- Religion of Evil: Set. Although Isu claims he is the god of secrets.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Both Anhketepot and the Hierophant are sealed in their tombs. The Hierophant is sealed further, as he cannot leave the Temple of Ra at all.
- Speaks Fluent Animal: Rangers have the ability, a mage or cleric can cast a spell, or the Mask of Hathor found in the Temple of Harvest can allow one to talk to animals. The party must speak to a cat in the Temple of Harvest to get a key. In the temple of Ra, the party must talk to a falcon.
- Stealth Sequel: While the game is an open sequel to Strahd's Possession, it's also something of a stealth sequel to the Ravenloft module Touch of Death. Stone Prophet references specific events from that adventure, including Isu Rehkotep's worship of Set, her partnership with Senmet, their rebellion against Anhktepot, and their resulting "deaths". The lively orphan boy in the centre of Muhar is likely intended to be the same character from the adventure. Both stories also feature a desert encounter labelled The Half-Buried Villager, though these don't share continuity. The treatment of Darklord Ankhtepot as merely a useful tool for defeating the actual big bad of the adventure is also pretty much the same.
- Taken for Granite: Tekhen the bard has been turned into a statue. There's no way to cure him, but the party can use him to open up a dungeon.
- The Plague: The Wrath of Anhketepot, a powerful wind that carries an infliction that causes rotting boils and eventually death. Interestingly enough, the pharaoh is not the cause, but actually, the Hierophant is the one who creates it, because he believed the people worshipped Ankhtepot.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Sennef, the villager rescued in the shrine, will chew out the villagers in Muhar when they want to try and kill the party, chewing out the weeping man for blaming the party for his daughter's own wayward nature, and blast the widow for claiming the party killed her husband, as he set off for Ankhtepot before the party ever arrived.
- Too Dumb to Live: The husband. His heart is in the right place, but why would he think an evil mummy king would stop a plague because he is asked? Downplayed a little, because it's clear he was doing it out of desperation more than anything.
- Title Drop: You find the actual "Stone Prophet" in Min Deir's obelisk.
- Underground Level: The Buried Temple of Ra, which, as it's name implies, is underground.
- Warp Whistle: Special obelisks have runes on them, and their runestones are nearby. Invoking a runestone will teleport the party to that obelisk.
