The Staff of Karnath

The Staff of Karnath is an action-adventure video game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game for the Commodore 64 originally in 1984 and in the United States in 1985. The game is the first instalment of the Pendragon series and is the first to feature the aristocrat adventurer Sir Arthur Pendragon. In the game, Sir Pendragon is tasked with searching a castle for the ancient Staff of Karnath, which he must destroy prior to midnight, before it wipes out the human race.

The game was created and designed by brothers Dave and Bob Thomas and was the first game to be released by Ultimate without founders Tim and Chris Stamper's direct involvement. The Staff of Karnath's setting and visuals were heavily inspired from the 1962 film Jack the Giant Killer. The game was met with mixed reviews upon release. Critics were divided over its graphics and presentation, and criticised the sound. It was followed by a sequel, Entombed, which was released in 1985.