Shrat is an NPC in the Gothic 1 Remake who once confused and intrigued players of the original Gothic, and is now doing the same thing to a whole new generation of players since the game’s remake brought the adventure back in a big way.
Below, we’ll reveal who Shrat is, if he’s important to any quests, and what his value is as a character. Be warned, spoilers for Gothic 1 will lurk below. Now, here’s everything you need to know about Gothic’s most lovable oddball – and we don’t mean Mud.
Who is Shrat in Gothic?
Shrat is an NPC who lives as a hermit outside of the Swamp Camp in Gothic and the Gothic 1 Remake. He’s fallen out with the brass in the Swamp Camp and also has no love for the rules of the Old and New Camps, so he chooses to live in isolation.
He’s not hostile towards the player and can be befriended rather easily, though his camp is a death-trap, full of bloat flies and other nasty things. However, once you reach his hut, you’ll be perfectly safe.
Is Shrat involved in any quests?
Oddly no. And this is what confuses many players who think Shrat may have some hidden value or purpose. The character is not tied to any main or side quests, and may as well not even exist in the game.
His hut, however, is a key location in the Beasts of Khorinis quest, as it’s where one of the books is located. You’re free to pick this up without making Shrat hostile, and he has nothing to say about the book.
Does Shrat have any purpose?
Yes. Shrat can be recruited as a follower and has some fun dialogue as he follows you around the world.
The bad news is that Shrat isn’t much help in a fight; he’ll stand by you against weaker enemies, and can competently take them down. But if he’s up against stronger monsters, he’ll either run away or be killed quickly.
He’s permanently level 3, so don’t expect him to last long against enemies that are a higher level than this. If you decide to keep him around, he will die eventually.
So, tactically speaking, if you’re heading into a tough encounter, Shrat could serve as a distraction, so you can bring him with you for that purpose – if you’re a heartless monster. He’s unlikely to survive the encounter, but he’ll buy you a free hit or two.
If you grow fond of Shrat, you can recruit him for segments where you’re exploring safe areas and dismiss him before things get hairy. Or if you want to keep him safe, leave him at his shack until you’re able to secure his freedom from the colony.
Shrat doesn’t appear in Gothic 2, so he either died when the Sleeper was defeated, or after this when the colony fell to darkness, or he escaped and lives in another hut somewhere far away.
The character was originally intended to be a lone survivor of the Swamp Camp’s suicide mission at the end of the first Gothic game, but the developers decided to make him a hermit instead. The plan was to have Shrat babbling incoherently to himself after all his allies had been killed by the Sleeper – the false god they once worshipped.
