Dr. Cranium is the resident scientist (or rather, "doctor") living in the town of Mordavia.
Background[]
Dr. Cranium arrived in the Mordavian valley several months to years prior to Shadows of Darkness. It is known that he was a frequent world traveller, gathering scientific data and forming observations about the various locales of Gloriana. Among these places, it is known that the Doctor visited Spielburg Valley some time following the events of the first game, on an Antwerp-hunting expedition.
When the power of Avoozl began to heighten and his influence extendeded beyond the Dark One's Cave, strong, supernatural rains fell relentlessly until they formed an impassable swamp in the southwest, sealing off most of the valley's communication with the rest of the world. The Doctor is not too adversely affected by this, but he does lament that, "[he] has not received one shipment of scientific equipment this year." Despite these obstacles, Dr. Cranium continued his research and his projects within the sanctity of his laboratory. He won the trust of the townspeople by concocting various healing and poison potions - stating that, "[the townspeople] were childishly pleased."
Strangely, while most individuals are stuck in the valley due to the swamp, the swamp does not seem to faze him. It's more of an annoyance to him than anything, preventing scientific supplies from reaching him. It however doesn't stop him from leaving the valley to hunt Antwerps, or his plans to leave the valley to attend the Scientific Ball in his not too distant future.
Personality and traits[]
A devout scholar and advocate of Science (as opposed to Magic), he is a fish out of water among the sleepy, superstitious townsfolk in the area. He boasts a well-equipped laboratory where he spends most of his time, inventing medicinal elixirs and finding ways to bring life back to the stagnant Shapeirian desert. More importantly, he has been working tirelessly to create the world's first, "artificial, universally-agreeable woman" (see controversies). He is the great-great grandfather of Dr. Brain.[1]
Titles and nicknames[]
- Scientist
- Mad Scientist
- Certified Genius
- True Genius
- Wizard[2]
See also[]
Behind the scenes[]
The doctor is the only factor in the entire series that serves as copy protection[3]. He'll only give the hero the mandatory Rehydration Solution upon getting the right formula from the (originally physical) technical manual. Though getting them is only optional, he'll do the same for healing and poison potions.
Interactions[]
When the Hero first visits the Doctor, he learns that he has been dabbling in efforts to rehydrate the dead (both organisms and infertile soil) by means of a Rehydration Solution, the pivotal component of which is water. In doing some errands for the Doctor, he lets the Hero have his first batch of Dr. Cranium's Rehydration Solution, which is later put to good use in reanimating the Bad Place Domovoi (whereas regular water doesn't work despite the game's cynical comparison).
Dr. Cranium's primary project, Frankie, continually progresses on a day-to-day basis and the player may even be (un)forutnate enough to get a sneak peek at the Doctor's new lab assistant if he visits the lab on a certain day. For much of the remainder of the game, Dr. Cranium works on publishing his scientific report regarding Frankie and also speaks highly of the Academy of Science in Silmaria, which he states he will be happy to give the Hero a recommendation to.
Of all the people in Mordavia, Dr. Cranium certainly seems to have the most dialog. The Hero may regale him with stories of his adventures in Spielburg, Shapeir, and Tarna, to which the Doctor can provide some fairly interesting commentary.
Notes[]
- Dr. Cranium claims that there are five primal elements - Fire, Water, Earth, Air, and Pizza. This is actually not the first time that Pizza is claimed to be an element in the world of Gloriana. The Quest for Glory 2 manual actually made this claim several years earlier, along with the note that, "some theoreticians suggest that there are only four real elements, but most modern scholars agree that fire is undoubtedly a basic element."
- In a brochure located in the Adventurer's Guild, the Doctor predicts that one of his descendants will feature in his own titular video game by Sierra On-line, "The Castle of Dr. Brain".
- According to Yuri Markarov, Dr. Cranium came to Mordavia several years before the swamp closed off the pass into the valley. According to Cranium he has been there at least 15 years.
- A Certified Genius, Dr. Cranium obtained a Certificate of Genius from the Positively International Genius Society (PIGS).
References[]
- ↑ Imagine creeping through a cavernous castle in darkest Transylvania, only to swing open an ominous door and find... Dr. Brain! Well, it's one of his relatives, anyway,
- ↑ Compared to one, but most he would be more like Mr. Wizard
- ↑ Early video games' copy protection at Wikipedia