Graham (KQGS)

Graham is the narrator and the main player character in the King's Quest reboot. He is the husband of Valanice (either Vee or Neese), and father to a son and daughter, Alexander and Rosella.

This article discusses the alternate reimagined history (for the character, and specifically the various choice, events, and situations Graham is able to experience through decisions that follow the Bravery, Wisdom, and Compassion virtue paths (as well any differences introduced by his reimagined backstory). See also KQGS timeline.

Graham is not a native of Daventry, but in his teens immigrated there from the far away northern land of Llewdor to become a new knight of Daventry.

There are three main versions of Graham's story based on choices made (Graham (Bravery), Graham (Wisdom), and Graham (Compassion)), and each of those divide along two paths based on chosen wife which ultimately get reflected in the Tapestry of Time.

Background
Graham grew up outside of Daventry in the far north, in the land of Llewdor. His father was a knight, and his grandfather was a knight, and his great-grandfather was a dentist, his great-great-grand father was a knight. He comes from a long line of nobles and one dentist known for protecting crowns Ever since he was a child he used to read about the kingdom of Daventry in his guide books, and wanted to visit its famous land marks. His second dream was to become a knight. He lived with his mother. He and his sisters were animal people. They owned two pet jinxes, a circus of weevils, were-hogs, and a miniature chimera. He had no friends other than his pet gerbil Triumph the Third which he saw as human.

He started looking for knight jobs while he was still in Knight School (KQGS) the academy where he studied to be a knight, but once he graduated all the opportunities dried up. Daventry was his last shot. His mother designed his cape, putting all kinds of pockets in it to hold things. She gave him the feather he kept in his favorite blue Adventurer's Cap, and also made his favorite choco-chip pancakes, and custard pies.

A Knight to Remember
During his teens (age 16) he learned of a Knight Audition in Daventry in a brochure, and decided to travel there to take part in it. Finishing his choco-chip pancake breakfast his mother prepared for him, he left his mother behind. Reaching Daventry the same day (or a few days later), he had nothing but trouble from the first few minutes he had been in the Kingdom for the first time.

Graham missed the Parade of Hopeful Knights, but caught up with the knights near the Tournament Theatre. He discovered that the challengers were stuck and couldn't reach the theatre due to a missing bridge. Graham 'assisted' each knight with a way to cross the river, finally coming across one final method, using his wits. He made his own raft, and rowed across the river. One of the knights, a small individual named Manny, found a path to simply walk across the river, congratulated Graham on his abilities, and offered to become his friend, and work together towards winning the tournament.

Graham made it in time for the Tournament intro ceremony, and after learning about his fellow knights, the Tournament began. Graham was tasked with finding the eye of a hideous beast as the first challenge before they could start on the tournament (Graham had several options to choose from). Graham also discovered the Forest Well following foreigner knight Achaka into it *he may have been told to look for the missing knight). While Graham caused problems for the knight including waking it up from its slumber, Achaka and Graham soon learned to help each other despite not understanding each other's language, and Achaka even taught Graham how to use a bow and arrow.

Both finally reached the Dragon's resting spot and Achaka attempted to defeat it. Unfortunately the dragon awoke Graham was able to escape (possibly with one of the dragon's eyes), but while attempting to defend himself the Achaka was killed in a fiery blast. It was an event that would forever have an impact on his life. Afterwords he met Manny who told him that Achaka respected him, and wanted him to continue in the tournament.

Next Graham found a way to beat Acorn in the Duel of Strength, and Whisper in the Duel of Speed guaranteeing him a place in the final challenge the Duel of Wits, where he could win a chance to become not only a knight, but also the potential heir to the kingdom.

After successfully defeating Manny and winning the final competition, it turned out, that it had been a ploy by Manny to become the next king. But after being revealed, and having the citizens turn on him, he escaped. Soon after, Graham joined Daventry's army. Early on he helped push the Wedzel Wolves back north to Serenia, and even helped restore trade, and the flow of gold to the weakening nation. Not only had he won an opportunity to become a knight of Daventry, he also won the oppertunity to become the next heir. His father could not be less proud when he learned of King Edward's decision.

In his twenties (now 21), after becoming the 'greatest knight in all of Daventry', he was sent on his last major quest by King Edward to find the kingdom's stolen Magic Mirror (KQGS), the mirror that could forsee and warn of danger in the land, and tell the stories of the past. Along the way, he solved the 'impossible riddle', climbed a beanstock, played a jig for the leprechauns, and even had a mushroom that made him shrink. He was able to recover the kingdom's other lost treasures, including a magic shield and a magic chest filled with gold.

Graham had looked everywhere in the kingdom for the mirror, but it was in the last place he had to look. He entered the Forest Well which he hadn't visited since the loss of Achaka, and found that Bed Caves had changed since he last been there. Old passages had collasped, and new passages could be accessed with the help of rickety bridges made out of Beds and mattresses. Graham discovered evidence of evil wizard, which controlled the Well Dragon, the large dragon he had encountered when he first came to Daventry.

After a series of adventures avoiding the dragon, obtaining the mirror, a raft ride on a mattress in an underground river, chased by the Dragon, Graham made his escape with the mirror back to the entrance to the well. Just before he climbed out, Graham made an important choice on how to defeat/escape the dragon, which had an impact later in his life.

Rubble Without a Cause
Not long after becoming the new king, the kingdom was at war with the Stone Goblins who were stealing stuff and kidnapping subjects in the Northwestern region of the kingdom. An inexperienced Graham found himself kidnapped by the Goblins after he left the safety of his castle, to visit his subjects in the small village in the region.

Weakened, and trapped for days or weeks he was forced to live off cold porridge piped into his cell. But after a while even that food ran out. Soon after he was let out of his cell, and enslaved by the Goblins who made him do chores for them. Graham discovered other fellow citizens of Daventry who had been kidnapped, and were near starvation.

Finally helping as many prisoners as possible he frees one of them, and they help him escape the prison and reach the Goblin Castle, where Graham encounters the Goblin King, and convinces him to free all the prisoners, and let them return to Daventry.

Once Upon A Climb
In his 30s (some 8-9 years later), after the events of the second chapter, King Graham, traveled far to Kolyma looking to save a princess from a tower to be his queen. He makes a long trek to get to the tower. No matter how far along the path Graham travels, the tower still looms in the distance, seemingly not changing in size.

Graham eventually gets to the tower with his future queen in it, only to find two women waiting for him. Not only that, Graham now finds himself stuck at the top of the tower with both of them.

Graham, during his attempt to escape gains affinity with one of the princesses until finally deciding on asking one to join him as the queen of Daventry. Along the way, he explores the awkwardness of love and dating while attempting to gain freedom from the evil witch Hagatha.

Snow Place Like Home
Not more than a year or two later, Graham had married his bride and they became the parents of two lovely twins. Not long after Manny, now revealing his true name Manannan (KQGS), reappeared at the castle. He burst into the castle keep killing or incapacitating several of the guards, and bursting into the King and Queen's bedroom where the twins were also being kept. Graham had already jumped out of bed to try to protect the twins but was magically stopped. He and his wife were magically bound to their bed, while Manannan explained his reasons for being there, and kidnapped Alexander, renaming Gwydion before leaving.

Graham searched around Daventry and sent out messages to friends to look for his kidnapped son, but never heard a thing. He searched the goblin holes, finding an entrance to the Well Bedroom, where he found a piece of cloth from Alexander's blanket but not much else.

For 18 years Graham never stopped looking for his son, but the everyday work of castle life began to take much of his time, in signing addendums and laws. The kingdom remained peaceful during the period, and Graham went on many adventures with his daughter.

Not long after Rosella's 18th birthday, while they were working on law paperwork, and thinking about having a winter holiday vacation, while taking a break to have a staring contest with his daughter, Alexander bust through the doorway of the Great Hall, announcing his return from Llewdor. Graham remembered him instantly calling out Alexander, while the boy announced himself as Gwydion. The family was overjoyed to see each other, and decided to take that vacation. They traveled to the location where Valanice's long-time childhood had last been seen, only to discover that the region had been frozen over.

Personality and traits
Graham was a bit of a "mommy's boy" in his youth.

Graham likes to pun a lot. He also doesn't know how to swim. Growing up outside of Daventry, Graham heard many tales were shared about the world around his family. Some real, some legend, and others purely superstition.

Grahams character is influenced by many many choices either Bravery, Compassion, or Wisdom (or the mix of all three).

Honesty is not one of Graham's virtues and he willingly lies to others sometimes to hide his thefts and kleptomania, and embellish his stories, or his background. He is even capable of cheating (though he does put the blame on that at Manny being a bad influence).

Graham can be a bit naive and gullible at times, and even a tad neurotic and exciteable. He is a bit geeky. His favorite jelly beans are popcorn.

While scrawny in his youth, by his 30s he bulked out, albeit still lanky with an exceptionally long neck, arms and legs. By his 50s he's still pretty strong, but has let his gut out a bit.

Graham had much interest in magic as a youth, and was even a fairly competent spell caster if needed to be. In fact he has much latent magical ability residing inside of him, but he never actually took the time to foster. After the kidnapping of his son, he began to shun magical altogether, in particular the 'snapping' required in certain magical spells. But after his son's return who saw Graham's potential, and with his help he was teech him how to cast the Fireball spell, that the prince had previously learned from the The Sorcery of Old (KQGS).

Titles and nicknames

 * Old King Graham
 * Young Graham
 * Grandpa Graham
 * Graham of Llewdor
 * Representative of Llewdor
 * Sir Graham
 * Graham the Squire
 * Graham the Wise/King Graham the Wise/The Wise
 * Graham the Brave/King Graham the Brave
 * Graham the Soft of Heart
 * Graham the Compassionate/King Graham the Compassionate
 * King Graham the Imbecile
 * King
 * King of Daventry
 * King Graham
 * Buttercup
 * String Bean
 * Honey Bee/Bridge Bee/Bee
 * Bandi/Bandicoot/Bridge Bandicoot
 * King Honeybee
 * King Bandicoot
 * King Goosey
 * Mister Bandi
 * Bridge Troll
 * Goose/Goosey/Bridge Goose
 * Pockets
 * Twinkletoes
 * Skinny Jeans/Skinny Pants
 * Skinny Teenager
 * Little Feather
 * King Boy
 * Sire
 * Your Highness
 * Your Majesty
 * Kingly One
 * Princess Graham
 * Grahammy
 * Moron
 * Muscles
 * Logic Lad
 * Mr. Majesty
 * Good Knight
 * Mister One Shiney Gold Coin
 * Royal Assistant to the King/Royal Assistant
 * Dad/Daddy/Padre/Father
 * Pestering Padre
 * Grandfather/Grandpa/Grampa
 * Dueling Archer
 * Monologuing Archer
 * Grandpa Ghost
 * Graham Cracker - Graham's last name is claimed to be Cracker as per the original series (and in other Sierra material), but in Daventry he is never allowed to actually say it. "My name is Graham, last name Cr-" This is a nod back to his full name according to KQ2 ("What is Graham's last name? Cracker", an Easter egg), KQ2 Hintbook, the King's Quest Companion and also nodded to in KQ1SCI, and Quest for Glory I. For more info, see below.

Whisper misnaming

 * Germaine
 * Gale
 * Gaston
 * Gerry
 * Geraldine
 * Giorgio
 * Gideon
 * Gordon
 * Geoffrey
 * Gob
 * Garret
 * Grant
 * Gabe
 * Greg

Dragon

 * Shoot the dragon in the eye.
 * Free it.
 * Distract it

How to win a duel

 * A deft maneuver
 * A quick-witted distraction
 * An act of kindness even in victory.

Choose a wheel

 * Bread (with tip)
 * Bread (no tip)
 * Shield (with tip)
 * shield (no tip)
 * Table top (with tip)
 * Table top (no tip)

Choose where to give a tip

 * see above choice for other versions


 * Baker Shop (no wheel)
 * Alchemist Shop (no wheel)
 * Blacksmith (no wheel)

Befriend Olfie

 * Threaten Olfie (or back off)
 * Impersonate a troll (or mess up)
 * Offer to feed him.

Extentuating Circumstances

 * I didn't hear about the date change
 * (My mom wouldn't let me leave before I finished breakfast
 * I don't know what extenuating means

Amaya's Apprentice

 * Become apprentice
 * Refuse
 * Think about it

Defeat goblins

 * Kill goblins
 * Disarm goblins

Wedzel wolves

 * Keep gate closed, and get Wedzel Patch
 * Leave gate open more than twice (no patch for Graham)

Merchant of Miracles

 * Buy ticket (different ways to get it)
 * Don't buy ticket
 * Save Merchant from goblins
 * Let Merchant be kidnapped

Dragon's Eye

 * Have Achaka shoot the dragon (get eye)
 * Stop Achaka

Picnic

 * Knock down bee hive on table (Wente stung)
 * Get rid of beehive (two solutions)

Achaka and Dragon

 * Go during hideous eye quest
 * Go after hideous eye competition

Bravery Path

 * Choose Dragon's eye
 * Get alternative eye from Manny

Wisdom path

 * Substitute eye/lantern

Compassion path

 * Give pie to Olfie

Pillare's mouthpiece

 * Use sleeping leaf
 * Use hypnosis powder

Duel Wits

 * Don't cheat
 * Cheat

Defeat Manny

 * Knife
 * Bird Bombs
 * Pie

The Boulder

 * Have Acorn push boulder.
 * Have Amaya destroy boulder with Crumbler.

Save Triumph

 * Acorn helps
 * Have Amaya cut down tree.

Opposite Day Decree

 * 1) Medicine
 * Save Mr. Fancycakes
 * Save Bramble Fey.
 * Give Frog to Hobblepots (as food, they remember fly wings)
 * Leg of meat can be used to feed self, giant rat, or any of the prisoners.

Llewdor homeland
It's a point of contention among fans as to the location of Graham's homeland, where he grew up. Fans have their own views, and Activision and The Odd Gentlemen didn't help by forcing a story detail in Chapter 1 in which Graham either claims he's from Llewdor to Olfie (lieing or half-truths depending on fans point of views), or not (other choices he doesn't mention anything about his homeland to the trolls) all depending on the characters' choices. As well as Waddles claiming he is a 'representative from Llewdor no matter what choices the player made, or claims the player made to the trolls. Further more it doesn't help that Activision claims that Graham is from Llewdor in their story FAQ for the game.

Graham's homeland begins fairly murky in Chapter 1 (other than one or two lines in which he is claimed to be from Llewdor).

In Chapter 1, Graham at first mentions that he is not from Daventry, and grew up somewhere outside of Daventry. This is similarly repeated in Chapter 2, and Chapter 3. This differs from the backstory given in classic King's Quest material which had him growing up as a child in Daventry (but somewhat closer to the account in the KQ novels).

The Merchant of Miracles states he's just a boy, and doens't know where he is from, but its probably hard to pronounce", another indication he's from outside Daventry, however he's clearly meant to be joking (it's likely a reference to how several KQ games take place in lands that get mispronounced by players and voice actors alike). The people of Daventry and fellow knights do not seem to know who he is, another indication that he has come to Daventry from a far away land. Graham also says it was his 'first day in Daventry' which also support this as well. He states in Chapter three that he wasn't originally from Daventry but is a transplant from a land in the far north.

In Chapter 1 depending on the player's choices, Graham can claim he's from Llewdor to the trolls when he first initially encounters Olfie (but he maybe lying at this point, or at least partially lying, as he claims to know the native troll dance of Llewdor). However, if you take one of the other conversation choices, Olfie will never 'find out' about Graham's 'homeland' from this method.

Still there is the fact that no matter what you choose when talking to Olfie (and Olfie doesn't learn about "Llewdor" from you), Waddles and Pillare will still peg Graham as having come from Llewdor (perhaps indicating that they have figured it out by some other means: again perhaps clothing, his dance style, accent, or whatever).

The Activision website further states that Graham is form Llewdor, and explains that Waddles had learned about this and figured this out from his resourcefulness and the 'news' spreading about Graham.
 * 11. Waddles the Bridge Troll is calling me the “Representative of Lwedor” even though he shouldn’t be aware of this title. Is there something wrong?
 * No. Waddles is just very resourceful and plugged into the news.

Which still states the idea that Graham is from "Llewdor/Lwedor".

In Chapter 1, Graham also mentions that he was with his mother that morning, which seems to indicate that Daventry is within a half-day's journey of his homeland (Llewdor is also within a half-day to day journey from Daventry in KQ3, and some of the spinoff material, so Llewdor could still be a possibility, however it's also seemingly disputed as Amaya has also lived in Llewdor, and Graham surprisingly has no reaction to learning this (although he may have already figured it out in the same way Waddle's did (perhaps due to clothing style, accent, or other indicators), see below, so it wouldn't be much of a surprise to him). Likewise in Chapter 4, Graham learns that Alexander was held for years in Llewdor, one would think that he would be shocked to hear his son was hidden away in his former homeland (even if he has tried to forget about his old homeland as much as possible over the years). Granted he is altogether shocked about his son's return in general (while he makes no references to Llewdor himself, Llewdor is already a place he knows of by other means (in his past), so the country itself wouldn't be much of a surprise, just that Manannan was hiding there, he's already shocked about most of what has been revealed about his son and the evil wizard).

Chapter 3 only offered a few new clues about his homelands and hometown that it lies to the far north, is apparently the home of were- creatures, weevils, chimaera, and jinxes. There are also oak trees there. It also indicates that the Knight School lies in the north. Some of these details could fit Llewdor, Eldritch, or even Serenia which all border the Infinite Desert and Serenia woods (we're the were- races live). which suggest he lives near all these locations. We also learn that 'acorns' and oak trees are important part of his home town. Acorns were associated with Llewdor in the original King's Quest series.

Graham Cracker
Graham mentions he has a last name but is always interrupted before he can mention it.

"Cr-" is a nod to a running joke in the Sierra series and published material, likely not meant to be taken seriously, and some fans speculate it could be a name that starts with "Cr-" but could mean something else, or a name that sounds SIMILAR enough to "Cracker" that of course people joke about it, or Graham was simply lieing and about to tell a joke, if Acorn can call himself Sir Cumference (why not Graham make a pun name joke out of his first name, in chapter 3 Graham uses his own name in a another pun, as well as his attempts to give other puns for names.). However, many fans just go with Graham Cracker out of amusement, or entertainment, or take enjoyment from it. Leading to Tumblr/Twitter hashtag #Graham Cracker"' as well as fan art marked with Graham Cracker, and even in fan fiction, and reviews.   

Tony Hawk's easter egg
Graham appears as an unlockable skateboarder in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5. The game may also include a 'Cedric' reference as their appears to be an owl wearing a crown on one of the skateboards.

Cut material
Graham would have gotten another nickname from Whisper in CH2: 'Sparkly Head'