Prophecy of the Shadow

And worst of all, the hero's master was treacherously killed by a poisoned dirk, and the hero is blamed for his death... Prophecy of the Shadow is a fantasy role-playing game from SSI, published in the "post AD&D" era of the company. The player is controlling a single character in a 2D interface, using an engine specifically designed for this project. The protagonist has three main statistics: strength, magic, and agility (which influences his chances of dodging an enemy attack). In order to cast spells, the hero must learn them from magical tomes found in the game, and equip a catalyst that allows him to use them in combat. The combat takes place in the same area as the exploration, and is real-time: the player must select commands while the enemies are acting. The story is told using still pictures, text, and small animated sequences that used digitized actors superimposed over 3D rendered scenes.