Hamlet

Hamlet is a named town and major location of Barony. It serves as a transition between the main dungeon and the battle between either Baron Herx or Baphomet, to The Caves where the player can then continue their adventure in confronting both Erudyce and Orpheus.

Description

Hamlet is one of the few named locations found in the game, often written about in Books and visited by the player once they had beaten Baron Herx himself. It is home to a dozen humans after the Baron is defeated, sporting several shops, buildings and a Magic Guild outpost.

Depending on the race the player has chosen to play as, they are either greeted warmly as the hero of Hamlet, or have to sneak into the Inn for the night if they are playing as a monster race.

Layout

Hamlet is small in its layout, with a main road connecting all the buildings and often an alleyway to their sides a block wide, even if they had an alley or not. Scattered throughout the city are items, chests and potential party members, allowing a player to restock on supplies after the battle against Baron Herx or Baphomet.

Buildings

Building	Description	Image
The Inn	Starting area for the player, a large Inn with a resting area. Has a trapdoor which leads into the sewers beneath the town.
Baron Herx’s Mansion	Has an NPC named Mol Blinn inside and a chest. Requires a method of opening the gates or digging through the walls to access.
Abandoned Hovel	A sealed room, containing two beds, a table, five potions of Extra Healing, five potions of Magic Regeneration, and five throwing weapons. Requires a method to digging through the walls to access.
Water Building	A little building with water flowing through it. Contains a chest and a sink.
Magician’s Guild Outpost	Contains several NPCs which provide exposition of Erudyce and Orpheus leading up to the removal of Baron Herx. Plenty of furniture inside. Contains five +2 potions of water and five +1 potions of acid. At the end, contains the portal leading to The Caves.
Shops	See below.	-

Sewer System

If the player interacts with the trapdoor inside their room when they wake up, they are transported to an underground segment with water, gates and levers. Progressing through this section yields a few potions of Polymorphy or an Alembic, as well as a direct path towards the portal leading to the Caves.

This alternate path is intended for non-human races, as the humans of Hamlet are still apprehensive to monsters and will engage in battle if they see the player as one. While it is possible to combat and sedate most humans, Shopkeepers are extremely resistant to all forms of attacks and cast more harmful spells, making confrontation of them a massive risk.

Shops

Throughout Hamlet, several shops are set up throughout the town. The types of shops available to the player are scripted so that there is a large and helpful variety of items for the player to access before heading off to the Caves. The names of those vending are randomized as usual.

Shop Type	Description	Image
Delicatessen	Inside the Inn, where the player wakes up from.
Fine Staffs	Next door to the Water Building, connected to the Jewelry Store.
Jewelry Store	Next door to the Magician's Guild Outpost, connected to the Fine Staffs shop.
Bookstore	Behind the Inn.
Arms and Armor	Across from the Magician's Guild Outpost, with two shopkeepers inside who both vend arms and armor.
General Store	Across from the Magician's Guild Outpost, has the Potion Store in the backroom.
Potion Store	Across from the Magician's Guild Outpost, connected to the General Store room.

Mysterious Merchant

Main Article: Shopkeeper

The Mysterious Merchant is a special merchant introduced in the Legends and Pariahs update, being found within the sewer system. He is unique from other merchants, donning glasses, a Healer’s doublet, a cloak, and being notably peaceful to monster races.

He exists to allow the player to trade in their Mystic Orbs in exchange for a rare item purchase. Each orb provides a unique and thematically appropriate set of items to choose from. Once the player has made their purchase for an orb type, they cannot purchase that weapon or any other items provided by that orb type.

History

Not much is known about Hamlet itself prior to the events of Herx, with a large majority of information presented through Book accounts, the intro sequence and word-of-mouth from citizens of Hamlet, all of which focus much more on the effects of Herx and the revenge he had brought to the town afterwards.

Originally, Hamlet was a mining town under the rule of mayor Baron Herx, which was thriving financially but overworking its workers. As a result, the citizens of Hamlet would overthrow Herx into the mines they had dug out, and take back the city for a time.

After converting to a lich, Herx reemerged some time later and killed the citizens of Hamlet, with only a few descendants being able to escape back into the mine and setting up a new town inside - what would be known as Minetown.

Trivia

• Mol Blinn may be a reference to the Legend of Zelda franchise, as their name is very close to that game’s common enemy, the Moblin.
  • The phrase “It’s a secret to everybody” is another reference to the Legend of Zelda franchise, which they use twice in their dialogue.