The Fabled Lands series of gamebooks (printed under the name Quest in the United States) is one of the coolest concepts to hit the gamebook scene ever. The concept is that the player can send his character anywhere in the world that he/she wants. Each book in the series covers a certain geographic area. Let's say that you start with book 1, which covers the Eastern section of one of the main continents. You wander around there for awhile, gettting quests and undergoing several adventures. Then you head West, and eventually got to the border of a neighboring area. The book will tell you to get another book in the series that covers that geographic area, and will tell you what paragraph to go to in that new book. Then you get the new book, go to that section, and take over from there.
You see, nothing is set in the Fabled Lands. You can choose from six different character classes. Each has strengths and weaknesses, and certain classes are far better suited for certain adventures than others. There is also no set story line. You can go wherever you want, and do whatever you want. Each book probably contains close to a score of little adventures or quests for you to get involved in. I really like this concept, and I've never had a character survive long enough to actually run out of things to do. If you bite off more than you can chew, or do somethign stupid, you will die. You can take that to the bank.
Fabled Lands characters have six attributes: CHARISMA, COMBAT, MAGIC, SANCTITY, SCOUTING, and THIEVERY. They are fairly self-explanatory, based on their names, with the exception of SANCTITY, which measures your spiritual strength. There are also six character classes to choose from: Priest, Mage, Rogue, Troubadour, Warrior, and Wayfarer. The Priest is high in SANCTITY and does best with adventures that shy away from combat. Same for the Mage, who is high in MAGIC. the Warrior, high in COMBAT, is a good character to start with, though he/she is certainly deficient in finesse. The Rogue is high in THIEVERY and seems to do best in urban environments. The Wayfarer is high in SCOUTING, and seems to do best in the wilderness and deep forests. The Troubadour is high in CHARISMA, and is an incessent traveler. There are some subtlities to the classes and attributes, but I won't go into that here. Buy the books and discover them for yourself.
Because there is no set storyline, you can wander around to your heart's content. The game handles through the use of tickboxes above certain sections, and through the use of codewords. Sometimes, the first time you enter a section, you are instructed to check a tickbox. Then you move on. Later, if you go to the same section, you will note that you have already ticked the box and then move on to a separate paragraph. This makes sure that if something special happens at a certain location, it doesn't happen again and again, only once. This helps add to the story you tell with your character, because you don't have to worry about remembering to ignore certain things in the section, like some gamebooks make you do.
You will pick up codewords throughout the game as you accept quests, accomplish quests, and encounter unique circumstances that give you knowledge or prestige. These affect the game, as some sections will ask if you have a certain codeword. If you do, then you go to a special section. This sounds a little artificial, but it works very well in practice, and helps the game flow well without getting overly clunky.
NOTE: This series was published under two names; Fabled Lands in the United Kingdom, and Quest in the United States. The UK publishings are much better, in my opinion, with color maps and a little better layout. There were twelve books planned for the series, but only six were published in UK editions, and only the first few in the US.
Fabled Lands 1, 1995, Dave Morris and Jamie Thomson
Wow. This book is fun! This was a major delight to read, and it does so many things right, that the things it doesn't do right pale by comparison. I'm not even sure where to start. Well, how about a little background? If you begin your adventures in the Fabled Lands in this book, then you shipwreck yourself on the Isle of Druids. It is simple to get off the Isle, but it may pay to snoop around a bit. After that you will most likely head to the mainland country of Sokara. Sokara recently underwent a military coup, with the top general, Marlock, killing the King and taking the throne. However, the King's son escaped and plots in exile to have his revenge on the general. You can get involved in those events, or you can wander further inland to explore the Lake of the Sea Dragon, the Forest of Larvn, Scorpion Bight, or The Curstmoor. It's all up to you.
The writing in the book is perfect. It perfectly captures the feel of what's going on, though in places it is a little terse. And the authors use the game mechanics to perfection to tell the story of your character and to build suspense. An example: with my second character, I took a job from a temple to hunt down a ghoul. As I began my hunt, I had to make a number of attribute checks. I made them all (I got lucky), but the writing told me that danger was approaching, actually making me tense. Then I finally met the beast and fought it. It was a tough fight for this particular character, and the combat could have gone either way, based on the roll of the dice. But I was successful, and really felt like my character had accomplished a great feat. It was a marvelous feeling. That is good writing, and good use of mechanics. The writing carries through throughout the book, just in case you were thinking that it only applied to that one section.
The internal art is wonderful, too, all done by Russ Nicholson. I've never seen Mr. Nicholson's work before, but it is great. The maps are okay, but I've seen better. They are done in a fanciful style, which fits the book fine.
The only real quibble I have with the book is that you have to be very careful what you do and where you go with a character that is not high in COMBAT. Mages and Priests have fragile lives in the Fabled Lands, but if you can pull off a successful adventuring career with one, your accomplishment is that much greater.
All told, I think this may just be the finest gamebook I have ever read. It has earned the coveted five-star rating, and everyone should quickly head out and grab a copy before it goes out of print. You will lose many hours with this book, and many more if you are lucky enough to get your hands on the others.
Fabled Lands 2, 1995, Dave Morris and Jamie Thomson
NOTE: The copy of this book that I have reviewed is the U.S. printing by Price Stern Sloan under the series title of Quest. I do not know if there are any differences between the U.K. and U.S. printings.
Cities of Gold and Glory is the second installment in the Fabled Lands series of gamebooks. It concerns itself with the Merchant Kingdom of Golnir, which is situated to the West of Sokara, the domain in the first book in the series.
I found this book to be a disappointment. It was not near as satisfying a playing experience as The War-Torn Kingdom. I should note that I played through this book with a beginning, Rank 2, character. I was carrying nothing over from a previous book. I felt that this would give the best experience for the book itself. So what disappointed me? First of all, I was unable to get myself on a single quest. I could never figure out how to find one. In The War-Torn Kingdom you could find quests by buying folks drinks in bars, or by visiting temples or guild halls. This does not work here. And without the quests, you are just wandering aimlessly. And the wandering wasn't that much fun, either. There are WAY TOO MANY situations where the authors have transpired to strip you of all your equipment. I couldn't even keep a weapon in my possession, for crying out loud. And the skill tests are too difficult for beginning characters, even at Rank 2.
Granted, the book isn't terrible, just a major disappointment after the first one. The art is good, and the writing is still of good quality, if terse. As part of the whole Fabled Lands series it fits in OK. An experienced character coming over from Sokara would likely fare better than my poor saps did. However, as a stand-alone gamebook I find it lacking.