The six published Fabled Lands gamebooks had been compiled and automated in the FLapp program, but arguably the unpolished infodump prioritized quantity over quality. Here, instead, the first of the six (originally interconnected) gamebooks, originally dating to 1995, has been presented in an autonomous computer conversion, with full-colour illustrations for the first time.
Though it begins on the introductory Isle of the Druids, the medieval fantasy setting here is the mainland realm of Sokara, a kingdom striven by civil war between the regicidal General Marlock and pockets of resistance following the late king’s heir in hiding. Many smaller and unrelated quests can be found and completed, in the areas of Yellowport, Scorpion Bight, or the Curstmoor, the Lake of the Sea Dragon, and the Forest of Larvn among other places. The Fabled Lands system utilizes D&D-like statistics to define its player characters’ abilities (CHARISMA, COMBAT, MAGIC, SANCTITY, SCOUTING and THIEVERY) rating from 1 through 12 and they are all weighted appropriately between a number of classes a player has to choose from (Warrior, Mage, Priest, Rogue, Troubadour and Wayfarer). In this electronic version of the gamebook, all randomization and number-crunching is done by the machine, as well as keeping tabs on various flags originally tracked according to a codeword system.
Player input is tracked through multiple-choice options selected through the touch screen.