The Fire Shadow seems to be both an Undead creature and a Fire Creature that has the appearance of a bearded man whose head and hands are engulfed in flames. Its nature and predilection are unknown, but they share a lot of traits with the Undead — a vulnerability to light and never fleeing from combat (but no specific weakness to Holy Water) — and Fire Creatures — an immunity to fire based attacks and a weakness to water.[1] The Fire Shadows' most unique characteristic is that they will eventually reappear after been dispatched of and leave a single Fire Crystal behind each time they disappear. They are an extremely rare opponent being found only once in the Bonehoard and once in the Sealed Section of Old Quarter (Thief Gold only).
It is possible that they are the reanimated spirits of people that have died by fire, given their connection to it, and that Garrett mentions "raging fires" occurred in the Sealed Section.[2] An other theory is that they are the resurrected souls of Fire Mages, because they have the appearance of bearded old men, but this seems unlikely.
Strategy[]
The Fire Shadows' appearance is grim and looks intimidating but in reality is quite easy to defeat. One of the most easiest ways to dispatch it is to sneak behind and Backstab it with the Sword although care must be taken not to touch it since they have an area of fire damage.
A ranged way to "kill" them is to use Water Arrows since fire creatures are weak to water bases attacks. Take note that Holy Water arrows cause no more damage then regular Water Arrows, despite the fact that they are Undead creatures, so using Holy Water on them is useless. Gas Arrows do not seem to cause damage and are also not encountered until the mission The Mage Towers, while Fire Shadows are only encountered in previous missions (Down in the Bonehoard and The Haunted Cathedral).[1]
An alternative way to defeat them is to "drown" them where deep water is easily accessible. Due to its swiftness, the Fire Shadow can easily slip over the edge of a massive well chamber in the Halls of Echoing Repose.
Keep the following in mind when attacking Fire Shadows:
- Backstab – routs a Fire Shadow with one swing (be careful as not to touch it)
- Blackjack – cannot be knocked out
- Water Arrow – takes two or three to finish a Fire Shadow
- Fire Arrows or Mines – no effect
- Flash Bomb – as a back up, it takes three to finish it
Death and Rekindling[]
When a Fire Shadow is damaged enough, it begins fleeing at superhuman speeds until it leaves Garrett's line of sight and vanishes, leaving a Fire Crystal behind. If trapped in a location from which there is no escape, a defeated Fire Shadow will either wander aimlessly at an ever increasing "walking pace" or become frozen in place. After a few seconds, it will disappear. Note, however, that the Fire Shadow will return to the place it once patrolled after about twenty seconds. It always reappears in the same location and does so only when Garrett is not nearby.
Appearances[]
A Fire Shadow patrolling in the Bonehoard.
Thief Gold[]
- Down in the Bonehoard (on Hard and Expert difficulty)
- The Haunted Cathedral
Tips[]
Fire Shadows can be used as an endless supply of Fire Crystals, since they return after they have been "scared away".
Trivia[]
- Fire Shadows are the only enemy that are "resurrected" after they have been firmly disposed of unlike Zombies who die permanently when they are destroyed.
- They only appear twice in Thief Gold and always near doors that require one or more Fire Arrows for them to be opened.
- Fire Shadows are the only type of Undead that are found only where other types of Undead are. Giles and Lorna as well as Captain Markham, the Haunts in the catacombs of the Eastport Mechanist Seminary and the Zombies in the mines of Cragscleft and in the Graveyard at Garrett's Home Turf are all the only types of Undead in their respective areas.
Behind the Scenes[]
Developers[]
It was confirmed by the developers around the time of the launch of Thief Gold that the Fire Shadow was invented in order to avoid a non-winnable game state in which the player had consumed too many Fire Arrows and did not have enough left to solve certain puzzles. Hence, a renewable supply of Fire Crystals was required, and the Fire Shadow was born.
IGN[]
The websites on the IGN network sometimes refer to Fire Shadows as "Flaming Spirits" for unknown reasons. The name Fire Shadow - which, like most of the monster names usually only appears in DromEd, and there only as a contracted, intracapped word: "FireShadow" - bears some resemblance to an AD&D monster that first appeared in the Dragonlance module DL4 Dragons of Desolation, under the name "Fireshadow". This might or might not be an inspiration for the name, but as monsters, the two have little in common.