Avernum 4

"In Avernum 4, Avernum is an established nation at peace with the Empire. Some come to Avernum to work the mines. Others come to hunt monsters for their treasure. And some risk life in the underworld because it is the only place where a person can be free from the total rule of the Empire. But then everything goes wrong. The monsters that hide in the lower caverns start surging out, attacking people everywhere. Huge shades, shielded by powerful magic, have taken up residence in the cities, and are wandering and killing at random. And normally peaceful citizens have been afflicted by a strange, overwhelming paranoia that makes even regular townsfolk unpredictable and dangerous. And the player is the one who manages to stumble upon a clue to what's going on, and gets sucked into the adventure." The quote is from an interview with the President and Designer of Spiderweb Software, Jeff Vogel. I definitely couldn't have said it better myself :)

The game is one of my absolute favorites and I cannot stop playing it. Especially given that Avernum is an absolutely huge world and after (many many) hours of playing I have yet to reach its Western border :) It does get a bit tedious at times, but the highs far outweigh the lows. Just remember that this is a casual game after all so don't complain about the lack of 3D graphics LOL.

Enter the underworld :)