Fabled Lands

The Fabled Lands books deviated from other mainstream gamebooks (such as the Fighting Fantasy or Lone Wolf series) in a number of ways. The most notable of these was the open-ended, free roaming gameplay. Other gamebooks gave the character a linear quest, with some leniency in how they went about accomplishing it; when they completed the quest, the gamebook ended. The Fabled Lands series gave the player an entire fantasy world to roam around in, doing whatever they wished with no limits or linearity; there was no set quest and there is no way to "finish" the series (unless the player dies). There are hundreds of quests in the seven books that were published, of varying lengths. The player is free to pursue these at their leisure, or spend their time doing entirely different things – wandering, trading, exploring or building up their abilities.

Each book contained a different geographic area of the Fabled Lands, and the player could easily travel between regions by switching to another book. The books became increasingly difficult as they progressed, with tougher enemies and harder quests; this was to account for the player becoming more powerful as they went through each book.

Other differences between previous gamebook series included:

• A greater number of sections, 679 to 1200
• Large (A4) format with fold-out character sheet and colour map
• Open-ended trade via marketplace goods, investment or shipping
• Acquisition of large assets such as houses and ships
• Plot discovery through use of uncovered keywords

Although the final six books in the series were neither published nor written in the 1990s, Dave Morris has indicated in the past that he is interested in reviving the series, saying in an interview:

I'd love to complete the series. It would take some time to get back into the flow of it, but I still have our (very extensive) notes. I would think the first step might be to set up books 1-6 as Web pages and see what kind of interest they generated. This, I think, is a better format for gamebooks now – we are no longer in the era of the printed word. If that worked out, and the net publisher could set up a subscription system, I think Fabled Lands and many other gamebook series could enjoy quite a renaissance.[2]

On September 13, 2010, Dave Morris indicated that the series had a possible chance of a revival on his blog, saying, in response to a fan query about the future of the fabled lands and particularly the book The Serpent King's Domain, "My lips are sealed, though I will say that Frank Johnson, the head of Fabled Lands LLP, was throwing those same words around last week. He might even have thrown in a labyrinth and some legions :)".[3] In a later announcement, Morris indicated that the publisher was willing to greenlight the production of books 7-12 of the series, provided that the reprintings of books 1-6 each sold approximately ten thousand copies.[4]

In 2015, Book 7 of the series, titled "The Serpent-King's Domain," was funded successfully via a Kickstarter campaign, about 20 years after the last book was written. While series creators Morris and Thomson did not write Book 7, they were involved with the Kickstarter campaign, and Thomson appeared in-person in a promotional video for the Kickstarter campaign. Paul Gresty wrote Book 7, and Mikaël Louys and Richard S. Hetley co-produced. Russ Nicholson returned to provide illustrations and Kevin Jenkins returned to create the cover of Book 7. A playable demo of Book 7 was made available to the public for free download via the Kickstarter campaign page.[1] In 2016, Morris revealed the map of Ankon-Konu, the setting for Book 7, on the Fabled Lands blog.[5] Book 7 is currently available for purchase.

The Fabled Lands system was fairly simple, as with most other gamebooks. The player has six basic attributes:

• Charisma - the knack of befriending and impressing people; also represents bardic skills
• Combat - fighting skills
• Magic - the art of casting spells
• Sanctity - the gift of divine power and wisdom
• Scouting - the techniques of tracking and wilderness lore
• Thievery - the talent for stealth, agility and lock picking

The player's initial score in each of these six attributes is determined by their chosen profession. There are six different professions to choose from: Warrior, Mage, Priest, Rogue, Troubadour and Wayfarer (a wandering traveller, most similar to Rangers in other fantasy systems). Each profession is proficient or weak in different abilities; for example, Priests have high SANCTITY but low COMBAT scores, and Wayfarers have high SCOUTING but low CHARISMA scores. The player has opportunities to increase these abilities throughout the books by completing quests. For example, after successfully tracking down a wild boar in a forest, the player can roll two dice, and if they score higher than their SCOUTING ability they can increase it by 1. No ability can be raised higher than 12, or drop below 1.

When the player is given the opportunity to use an ability, the task is given a Difficulty rating. The player rolls two dice and adds their score in the ability; to succeed in the task, they must score higher than the difficulty. For example, a player wishes to calm down an angry innkeeper. This might have a CHARISMA score of 9, and the player's CHARISMA ability is 3. The player would have to roll 7 or higher to succeed. It is possible to obtain "blessings" in various abilities from different shrines and temples, which allow the player to reroll failed ability rolls. These work once only, however, and cost money.

Combat in the Fabled Lands is an extension of ability rolls; the enemy's DEFENSE is the Difficulty, and the player uses their COMBAT skill to try to defeat their opponent. The amount the player rolls above the enemy's DEFENSE is how many Stamina points the enemy loses.

The player's own DEFENSE score is equal to their Rank + their COMBAT score + the bonus for any armor they are wearing (if any). Their own Stamina score is given when they begin playing, and can be increased by going up in Rank (which gives them 1d6 Stamina).

The player's starting Rank is equal to the number of the book they begin in (e.g. a player starting in The War-Torn Kingdom begins at 1st Rank, while a player starting in Lords of the Rising Sun begins at 6th Rank). The player can increase Rank by performing extremely difficult tasks, such as slaying a dragon or defeating three samurai in unarmed combat (the book will tell the player when they can increase in Rank).

The player can carry up to 12 possessions, which are marked in bold text (e.g. "gold compass"). Some items give ability bonuses - for example, an "amber wand (MAGIC +1)" or a set of "splint armour (DEFENCE + 4)". The player can carry unlimited amounts of cash.

The series feature a number of smaller quests, which can help the player increase their personal might, status and wealth. Many of these, however, are profession-specific: In the War-Torn Kingdom, for instance, only a Wayfarer will get the Chief Druid's mission on the Druid's Isle, while in The Plains of Howling Darkness only a Rogue may claim the title of 'Nightstalker'.

Scott Malthouse of The Trollish Delver gave the Fabled Lands series a positive review based upon a playthrough of Book 1, remarking that "Fabled Lands is nothing short of astonishing. It presents a living world that you can do pretty much what you want in. With other books added to your repertoire there is seemingly no end to the adventures that you can have in this fantasy world."[6]

Steve Faragher reviewed the Fabled Lands series for Arcane magazine, rating it a 5 out of 10 overall. Faragher comments that "All in all, these books represent a pleasant but ultimately unchallenging diversion for younger players. A better option would be to get someone older to run a simple AD&D game."[7]

Byron Alexander Campbell of Entropy magazine gave the Fabled Lands series a more positive review based upon a playthrough of Book 5, remarking "It’s not perfect, of course – there’s a bit too much ticking and erasing boxes, especially when death is always so close on your heels – but damn if it’s not satisfying. For reasons I can’t quite describe, being able to trace roads and geographic features on a map and read my way through those same locations, but full of people, weather and birdsong, just feels great... One of the most enticing things about Fabled Lands is the way that every book provides a way in. Each book is a microcosm of the same world, and while they get progressively more challenging with each successive release, there is nothing narratively that compels you to read them in order."[8]

• Choose Your Own Adventure

• Details on the Fabled Lands series at Gamebooks.org
• Webpage of Java Fabled Lands (formerly FLApp), a Java-based computer program which allows you to play the six published books
• Extensive interview with the authors about their planned MMO