Fabled Lands

[mmielke]

This thread is going to be about the Fabled Lands series written by the amazing Dave Morris and his pal Jamie Thomson

http://www.sparkfurnace.com/fabled-lands/fl-buy-books/

http://fabledlands.blogspot.com

Fabled Lands is a series of solo role-playing games in book form. It has everything you can possibly want in an RPG, hundreds of hours of gameplay (at the very least), multiple character classes, good and/or evil plotlines, travel by foot or ship, and much, much more! An entirely open-ended series, one could play however they wanted; purchase homes in various cities, gamble, invest in the stock market, choose to worship various deities which grant blessings (or not, purchase a ship and open up quicker (but more dangerous) routes and upgrade your crew. This is only the tip of the iceberg, as a Fabled Lands player can lose countless hours swept up in intrigue, fantasy, adventure, and even go to college (in book 3)! Each book contained a separate continent of the world of Harkun, and could be played alone or with the rest of the books to unlock interconnected quests.


The original series of 6 books (out of a possible 12) was released from 1995-1996 (the first 2 were released in the US under the "Quest" title). Due to MacMillan's refusal to raise the price so the series will be profitable, the remaining 12 books were never completed. But Dave never gave up...... he continued to design and program computer game including Warrior Kings, as well as animated series, graphic novels, and many other projects under his wing. December 2010 was the launch of the Fabled Lands reprints, and boy did it cause a stir amongst fans of the series, as they were ecstatic that their beloved series might be completed. Books 1-4 were released in December of 2010, with books 5 and 6 due in May.

If we can stir up enough interest, the ever-elusive bottom half of the Fabled Lands series will be given the go-ahead.

At $8.99 a book, it's actually cheaper than the original copies were, and grants players a world of endless fun!


CHECK THEM OUT AT http://www.sparkfurnace.com/fabled-lands/fl-buy-books/

and don't forget to check out the wealth of information at the official blog:

http://fabledlands.blogspot.com and mention that Mike Mielke sent you!

 

[Eridger]

How does one communicate with this.... Welath or yours? I must know its secrets..!


Sounds interesting. I think I wanna check this out.

 

[lulzfish]

At $8.99 a book, it's actually cheaper than the original copies were, and grants players to a world of endless fun?

Or does it, really?

 

[mmielke]

[QUOTE='Eridger]How does one communicate with this.... Welath or yours? I must know its secrets..!


Sounds interesting. I think I wanna check this out.

[/QUOTE]

Communicate with what? Oh.... "Welath"..... it should say "wealth"

 

[mmielke]

At $8.99 a book, it's actually cheaper than the original copies were, and grants players to a world of endless fun?

Or does it, really?

It honestly does, lulzfish. Back when I was 12, I played Cities of Gold and Glory endlessly; if you enjoy RPG's and don't mind a little dice-rolling, then you should enjoy the Fabled Lands series as well. I've purchased a set as soon as the reprints were official.


Here are the titles:


The War-Torn Kingdom


Cities of Gold and Glory


Over the Blood-Dark Sea


The Plains of Howling Darkness


The Court of Hidden Faces (June 2011 est.)


Lords of the Rising Sun (June 2011 est.)


The Serpent King's Domain (TBA)


The Lone and Level Sands (TBA)


The Isle of a Thousand Spires (TBA)


Legions of the Labyrinth (TBA)


The City of Clouds (TBA)


Into the Underworld (TBA)


EDIT: Capitalized the "T" in "The Plains of Howling Darkness"


Added the titles for Fabled Lands 7-12

 

[Stuckie]

I've got the originals of books 1 and 3


They really were quite amazing solo adventures... and as I had book 3, I got to sail the seas and pirate things, was great!


Think I had a few houses as well to store things...


I'll be grabbing the new ones when I get some money, as they look a bit more bookshelf friendly too!

 

[Asiyura]

Looks like they're doing a pen & paper version of this game.


I've always found multiplayer pen & paper games more interesting than "choose your own adventure" books.

 

[mmielke]

Looks like they're doing a pen & paper version of this game.


I've always found multiplayer pen & paper games more interesting than "choose your own adventure" books.

They are releasing a multiplayer RPG, but it's from Greywood Publishing, not from Dave himself necessarily (although he has input). Fabled Lands is in a whole other league than the "Choose Your Own Adventure" or "Fighting Fantasy" series. There is no set path, meaning however you wish to solve a puzzle or battle, go ahead and try it. Though there are some items that have a certain use, such as keys. If you have played a mainstream RPG such as Final Fantasy or World of Warcraft, I would highly recommend it. Look at the reviews on Amazon US and Amazon UK; they aren't wrong, I can tell you that.


There's also an Ipad/Ipod app of the first book, which is different from the printed version. Only the printed version sold directly from Amazon and Barnes and Noble count towards sales, NOT from anyone else.

 

[mmielke]

I've got the originals of books 1 and 3


They really were quite amazing solo adventures... and as I had book 3, I got to sail the seas and pirate things, was great!


Think I had a few houses as well to store things...


I'll be grabbing the new ones when I get some money, as they look a bit more bookshelf friendly too!

The new editions are the size of any average paperback, so they are smaller than the wide-page format of the originals. Over the Blood-Dark Sea functioned as a hub, in which you can travel to the other books easily. That was the book where the Reavers rules the high seas and you can enroll in a wizard's college at Dewomer (this was before Harry Potter or Eragon). "The War-Torn Kingdom" had you choosing to side with General Grieve Marlock, or the deposed king Nergal Corin. This led to different events arising, and travelling to Book 4 "The Plains of Howling Darkness" allows access to a fortress with the banner of your chosen allegiance. The Fabled Lands series was and is truly innovative, where a series of codewords, checks boxes, and Ranks/Titles allow the world to change around you based on the player's decisions, and no 2 adventures are truly alike.

 

[mmielke]

Fabled Lands 5: The Court of Hidden Faces and Fabled Lands 6: The Lords of the Rising Sun were released last year on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Only new full-price copies purchased directly through Amazon or Barnes and Noble count towards the sales goals, so lets purchase copies and see the completion of the series!  In other news, Megara Entertainment have iOS apps of the first two books, and Spirit are taking the reigns with PC/MAC/Android versions as well.