Fabled Lands choose your own adventure game books are back

[darjr]

Fabled Lands back in print « OgreCave

According to the Ogre Cave folks it is. I never had a chance to try these and have wanted to. Now I don't know if I want to do it in iphone/ipad format or dead tree....

The Fabled Lands series is one of the most ambitious gamebook projects ever attempted: a huge world which can be explored in a totally non-linear fashion, with each book representing a different region full of adventure and hazard. The tragedy of the series is that it never sold well enough for all of the volumes to be completed, and many adventurers have been roaming the world of the first six books aimlessly since the 1990′s, hoping that someday they could reach the distant lands of books 7 through 12. Just when it seemed all hope was lost, the books have been revived both as an iPod/iPad app and as new print editions. If these reissues sell well enough, the series may finally be completed. If you’ve never experienced the books, now is the perfect time to get involved. If you’re a fan from ages back, you can return to your old stomping grounds or share the adventure with your friends and family. Either way, buy some books and help complete a fascinating unfinished piece of gamebook history

 

[Aus_Snow]

Good to hear.

If anyone's keen on more Dave Morris-ish goodness, the Dragon Warriors RPG (recently re-released in hardcover) is also (again, partly) his baby. And a mighty fine one, too.

Unfortunately, it apparently didn't meet sales expectations (not to say it sold terribly, mind you) so it's effectively OoP; if not now, then very soon.

I believe there's an ongoing debate as to where to take the game, somewhere out there...

Sorry for the tangent. I'm just a bit of a Dave Morris fan. And how cool is it to have those initials, and be a long-time DM, in addition to being a writer, game designer, etc. ?

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

That's great news.

I was able to pick up all six copies secondhand earlier this year and I'm very happy I did. I will probably buy the new ones anyway... because I really want to see volumes 7-12!

 

[Technomancer]

There are also plans for a Fabled Lands tabletop RPG from Greywood Publishing (the makers of QUERP, if you're familiar with that).

Although the rules from the old gamebooks are almost robust enough to run a tabletop game. Still, I'm interested to see what they come up with.

 

[Stumblewyk]

I was entirely ignorant of these of these books before now, but I'm definitely interested. Are they in any way similar to the Lone Wolf "Choose Your Own Adventure" style books? I cut my teeth on those years ago after an aunt gave me a pile of them for a Christmas gift.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

(snip) Although the rules from the old gamebooks are almost robust enough to run a tabletop game. Still, I'm interested to see what they come up with.

The one FRPG that I created myself (but, being a fantasy heartbreaker, I never actually played ) was based largely on the mechanics from Fabled Lands.

I was entirely ignorant of these of these books before now, but I'm definitely interested. Are they in any way similar to the Lone Wolf "Choose Your Own Adventure" style books? I cut my teeth on those years ago after an aunt gave me a pile of them for a Christmas gift.

I like Fabled Lands because you can:

- level up;
- take the same character to different books through link points in each book; and
- buy a ship and trade commodities (yes, you can buy and sell cargo for a profit... and sometimes for a loss).

In short, they are the closest, IMO, that game books ever came to replicating the more open style of a well-run D&D/TTRPG game.

 

[Technomancer]

I was entirely ignorant of these of these books before now, but I'm definitely interested. Are they in any way similar to the Lone Wolf "Choose Your Own Adventure" style books? I cut my teeth on those years ago after an aunt gave me a pile of them for a Christmas gift.

They are very similar, in that you create a character and choose which path to take through the books. The big difference is style, LW is more of a railroad (and I mean that in a good way, you are following a plot trying to achieve a specific goal) while FL is a sandbox (go wherever you want and take on quests or not as you see fit).

If you join the Fabled Lands Yahoo Group, you can download the six existing books for free and check them out yourself.

Also, the first two books ("War-Torn Kingdom" and "Cities of Gold and Glory") were released in the US under the series name "Quest". I've seen these in the bargain section of Books-a-Million a few times, if you are near one of those you might have a look.

 

[Skywalker]

Unfortunately, it apparently didn't meet sales expectations (not to say it sold terribly, mind you) so it's effectively OoP; if not now, then very soon.

Dragon Warriors is in print but it has moved from Magnum Opus to Serpent King Games (Serpent King Games). All existing books are making their way back in print and the Players Guide is written and in preproduction phase.

 

[Skywalker]

Fabled Lands the RPG was released last week. There are previews of it on Order of the Eternal Knight. It looks very impressive. Respectful of the old material but with some chanegs to multiplayer play.