Trilby's portrait in-game, where he is known as The Ministry Man.
Also known as the Ministry Man, Trilby is an agent from the Ministry of Occultism, and is one of the playable characters in The Consuming Shadow.
Character traits
Trilby has £100 and the full banishment incantation at the start of the game, as well as knowledge of all the towns in England and Wales. However, he only has 24 hours to banish the Ancient.
Trilby also has a unique constellation when using Birth Stars, in the form of The Emperor. It provides a bonus discount on all hospital and supplies purchases. Each Birth Star placed at the exact center gives a +20% discount on ammo, items and hospital services (to a maximum of +70%).
Unlocking
Trilby is unlocked by completing the game with ending A, B or C.
History
Before The Consuming Shadow
Sometime in 1988, Trilby became a cat-burglar and became quite well known. On July 24th, 1994, he became trapped in the DeFoe Manor, which serve as the main location for 5 Days a Stranger, a game created by The Consuming Shadow developer Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, as part of the Chzo Mythos series.
After Trilby escaped the manor, he was recruited for the Special Talent Project as a paranormal investigator for the Ministry of Occultism. His adventures there are the main plot of the sequel, Trilby's Notes. He plays a minor role in the subsequent game 6 Days a Sacrifice. His life before the paranormal events of the DeFoe Manor is shown in the more light-hearted platformer Art of Theft.
Trilby's activities over the last few days leading up to the events of The Consuming Shadow can be found in the diary he wrote, which the player can collect pages of while exploring dungeons in-game.
Trivia
- While Trilby is never referred to as Trilby in-game, a few clues are present that can point to suggesting his identity:
- The Ministry Man, when he sends the player text messages, signs them with a -T. It can be assumed that this is Trilby's digital signature.
- The Ministry Man wears a hat that bears resemblance to a trilby, which is Trilby's signature form of attire, hence the name.
- In the game's config files, the variable that keeps track of whether or not the Ministry Man is unlocked is called 'trilbyunlock'.
- In a review of the game made by the game's creator Yahtzee, he says that it is purposely heavily implied that the Ministry Man is Trilby. However, he said that he did not want to alienate players who may have not necesarilly played the games in the Chzo Mythos.