Trying to join the Old Camp in Gothic Remake is a surprisingly long process, requiring you to earn the trust of important members of the faction through a bucketload of quests and tasks. It’s nothing like joining the Fighter’s Guild in an Elder Scrolls game, where you can just rock up and start killing rats.

There are two quests involved in joining the Old Camp, Admission to the Old Camp and Casting Shadows, the latter of which is the most important, as you convince the shadows to support your candidacy in joining the faction. So, here’s everything you need to do to complete that quest and become a member of the Old Camp.

How to complete Casting Shadows in Gothic Remake

After you arrive in the Old Camp and speak to Thorus at the castle gate, he’ll explain that if you want to get inside and join the faction, you need someone to vouch for you, namely, Diego, who you met at the start of the game.

Diego’s shack is right by the castle gate, and upon speaking to him, he’ll give you the Casting Shadows quest, which is all about making a good impression on the Shadows—the various NPCs inhabiting the Old Camp.

Here are the steps you need to complete. First off, the tasks:

• Speak to Scatty by the bottom of the arena and defeat a fighter: I recommend challenging Kirgo, since he’s the easiest. If you want an easy way to do this, acquire fire bolt through The Price of Magic quest, buy a mana potion from Torrez, then hit-and-run him with magic during the fight.
• Get to Level 5 and learn a skill from a teacher: Even after you complete all the necessary quests and tasks, Diego will still say you are too green and need more experience. I wasn’t able to determine whether this requires you to reach Level 5 or to learn a skill, because I did both and it worked. Try learning a skill first (I recommend a hunting skill from Drax) and if Diego still says you’re too green, then you need to get to Level 5.

And now the necessary quests:

• The Vanished Warder: If you head right when entering the Old Camp via the north gate (where you first entered), you’ll find Sly, who will ask you to track down his missing pal, Nek. All the details you need are in that linked guide.
• The Cult’s Recipe: You get this quest from Dexter in the market area with the cloth hangings on the south side of the Old Camp. He asks you to go to the Swamp Camp and steal a recipe—again, full details in the linked guide.
• Whistler’s Sword: This task is easy. Head right from the castle entrance and follow the path past Gravo’s shack to find Whistler sitting on a bench outside a shack to your right. He gives you 100 ore nuggets to buy his sword back from Fisk in the market a little further down the path. Fisk will ask for 110, but actually I suggest you just keep the money. Diego will be impressed that you swindled Whistler, and you’ll get 100 ore, which is a lot early on.
• Test of Faith: This quest comes from Diego if you ask him for a task. Simply head to the old mine in the northwest of the map—the location with the two little watchtowers on the Colony map. Descend to the bottom of the mine to find Ian, say the code phrase Diego gave you, then deliver the list back to Diego.
• Out of Sight: This final task is from Thorus if you keep bugging him to give you a job once you’ve done everything else. He asks you to get rid of the New Camp merchant, Mordrag, who hangs out on a bench outside a shack to the east of the market area, in the south of the Old Camp. Mordrag offers to take you to the New Camp, which will get rid of him and complete the quest. However, you can also fight him. If you have fire bolt from The Price of Magic quest, plus some way to regen mana like a potion or swamp weed, it’s fairly easy. Make sure to rob him when he’s down to get a Spike Mace and a Longbow, before telling him to leave, and then heading back to Thorus.

Speak to Diego once all this is done and he’ll give you his approval, which means you can now enter the castle for your audience with Gomez.

How to convince Gomez and join the Old Camp

When you meet Gomez in the main hall of the castle, you’ll have to convince him to let you join the faction. First off, don’t choose “Do I need to chop your head off to prove I’m a good fighter?” no matter what, as this will make him kill you.

Also, when you’re telling him about the people you know in the other camps, don’t choose “To Y’Berion” as this will make him kill you, too, since he realises it’s a lie. All the other options were safe for me and by the end, you’ll have convinced him to let you join the Old Camp.