Cover art was by Kevin Jenkins with Russ Nicholson and Arun Pottier providing maps and illustrations.
A Kickstarter campaign was launched in 2015 in order to fund the production of a seventh book, which reached its base target within 45 minutes.
[1] The Fabled Lands books deviated from other mainstream gamebooks (such as the Fighting Fantasy or Lone Wolf series) in a number of ways.
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.
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.
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).
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.
Some items give ability bonuses - for example, an "amber wand (MAGIC +1)" or a set of "splint armour (DEFENCE + 4)".
This background provides the book's two major quests; the player can choose to either help the heir to the throne and his band of partisans regain power, or assist the new leader General Grieve Marlock in crushing the last few pockets of resistance.
Other quests involve assassinating the king of the rat-men infesting the sewers in the city of Yellowport, looting treasure from the lair of Vayss the Sea Dragon, delivering packages between the druids of the City of Trees and the Forest of Larun, defeating the Black Dragon Knight in combat to the death and rescuing a trapped god from the summit of Devil's Peak.
There are still several major quests, however, including slaying a dragon for the Baroness Ravayne (the ruler of Golnir), searching for magical artefacts for the wizard Estragon, bringing to justice a murderer on behalf of his victim's ghost, finding the key of stars to gain access to a treasure filled tomb in the Forest of the Forsaken and making a map of the northern mountains.
Travel is severely restricted without a ship, making it a difficult book to start off in, particularly for less experienced gamebook readers.
Key quests include liberating the Citadel of Veris Corin for the King of Sokara (closely linked with quests in The War-Torn Kingdom), releasing the King of Harkuna from his prison underneath the Rimewater (closely linked with quests in The Court of Hidden Faces) and killing the immortal tyrant Kaschuf (based on the legend of Koschei the Deathless) who rules over the village of Vodhya (which requires the player to find and release his soul, hidden on an island in Over The Blood-Dark Sea).
This was the first book in the series to introduce the concept of a harsh environment—out on the Steppes, the player must make constant SCOUTING rolls in order to find enough food, and on the northern steppes the player loses one point of stamina a day from the cold, unless they have a wolf pelt to keep warm.
The book takes its title from Uttaku's court of ruling nobles, who wear elaborate masks as a status symbol and to hide their faces.
Other major quests involving retrieving a tatsu pearl from a great dragon, exploring Kwaidan Forest to learn the secrets of the tengu, and venturing into the Black Pagoda.
Quests include activating the titan at Borotek, restoring order at Ruined Tarshesh over who was to blame for its fall, defeating the Serpent King, Namagal (which requires some mini-quests on its own), and merging with the verdant spire, which allows dominance over the land itself.
"[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.
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.
Eidos was sceptical as to whether an MMO could be successful, but was interested to see what might happen, and set the authors up with a team to research the relevant technology.
The team's plans for the game were extremely ambitious for the late 1990s, as the Fabled Lands MMO was supposed to include an advanced AI that acted as a digital gamesmaster, tailoring the experience for each player.
[11][12] The standalone game is based on the content from four of the gamebooks, namely The War-Torn Kingdom, Cities of Gold and Glory, The Plains of Howling Darkness and The Court of the Hidden Faces.