Trilby's portrait in-game, where he is known as The Ministry Man.
Better resources, but delayed by bureaucracy - Character description.
Also known as the Ministry Man, Trilby is an agent of the Ministry of Occultism, and is one of the playable characters in The Consuming Shadow. He is also a character featured in the Chzo Mythos, acting as the protagonist of the first and third entry: 5 Days a Stranger and Trilby's Notes, respectively. The Chzo Mythos is a videogame series made by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, who also developed 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, and doesn't know its identity.
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
Trilby was a student in mechanical engineering in his early life. Sometime in 1988, he became a cat-burglar and grew to be quite well known. With his engineering skills, he created his signature tool: a grolly, which was a blue brolly (British slang for 'umbrella') with a grappling hook inside it. In Trilby: Art of Theft, it also showed the ability to act as a stun gun.
Trilby prided himself as a "gentleman thief", never stealing what he thought the owner might really need. As well as his trilby, he frequently wore a two-piece suit, adding to his gentleman-like character. Yahtzee, during his review of 5 Days a Stranger, describes his voice as "affected upper-class but a little bit posh and enigmatic", which also adds to his image.
On July 24th, 1994, he became trapped in the DeFoe Manor by the ghost of John DeFoe. After Trilby escaped the manor, his five days inside traumatised him and caused him to become sloppy in his thievery. He was caught, but was offered a place on the Special Talent Project as a paranormal investigator for the Ministry of Occultism. His adventures there are the main plot of Trilby's Notes. He plays a minor role in the subsequent game 6 Days a Sacrifice.
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 necessarily played the games in the Chzo Mythos.
- It can be argued that the identity of the Ministry Man is just speculation, as Yahtzee at 1:04:18 in the same video says "Good ol' Trilby. If it really is him."
- However at 1:07:05, he says "The Trilby running the Ministry in this game...", which could lead one to believe that not only the Ministry Man is Trilby, but that he has been promoted to an extremely senior role.
- While his real name is never mentioned within the games he features in, the commentary in the Special Edition of 7 Days a Skeptic, the second entry into the Chzo Mythos, reveals it to be Malcolm.
- According to his file included in the 6 Days a Sacrifice Special Edition, his alias was coined by a newspaper after his famous Valentine's Day Heist on February 14, 1989.