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Introduction
First, some history. Fabled Lands was a series of gamebooks released in 1995 and 1996, right at the end (or even after) the solo gamebook era. It was unique in that it did not present a single story line. Instead, each book covered a region of the world and you could travel around freely, creating your own story. It was a sandbox fantasy RPG campaign turned into a gamebook.
Unfortunately, only 6 of the 12 books planned were published but with the current revival of gamebooks, the first four books of Fabled Lands have been released again to test to see if there is a market to complete books 7 to 12. Alongside this release has been the release of the first two books on an iPad app by Megara Entertainment and a Roleplaying Game by Greywood Publishing.
The last few years has seen both gamebooks and the related RPGs see something of a revival. Dragon Warriors, Lone Wolf Multiplayer Games and Advanced Fighting Fantasy have all returned to the RPG hobby. Though none have been amazing commercial successes, they have all received support in terms of further books and a fanbase of old and new has begun to form.
Unlike Dragon Warriors, Lone Wolf, and Advanced Fighting Fantasy, Fabled Lands does not quite has the same legacy given that it is much younger. Those who do know of it are just as enthused, if not more enthused, by its return and the related RPG as any of the other three. Its youth can be seen as a disadvantage, but it is also an advanatage. Fabled Lands RPG feels more modern to me than the other three, yet it still has all the flavours and depth that I love about the other three too.
Physical Product
Fabled Lands is a 180 page softcover book. The physical quality of the product is average as is par for the course for Cubicle 7. The printing both on the cover and in the interior seems a little too dark.
The interior layout is attractive. There are some minor typos and format spacing issues, but on the whole its easy to follow. The dark printing does make the parchment page background a little obscuring in places.
The RPG has no index but it has a comprehesive two page contents page.
The art is a mixture of line work and a lot of CG images. The art is generally of good quality for what it is but I think that the art choice will split a lot of fans out there. It really does emphasise the modern feel of the game and I can see it being an attractive book to new and young RPGers with little history of the gamebooks. However, CG style art rubs some RPGers up the wrong way and a few of the examples in Fabled Lands prove why this is the case, with at least one being absurb looking (the Barbarian, I am looking at you).
The front cover is perhaps the best example of this as seen here: http://shop.cubicle7store.com/WebRoot/Store3/Shops/es113347_shop/4D59/6A36/FB41/7C98/74E7/0A0F/110C/D434/FABLED_LANDS_RPG_C7.jpg. I liked the fact that it had a modern feel and that a female character takes prominence. However, I have also seen people express dislike for it.
The other hurdle here is that the gamebooks were originally illustrated by the beloved Russ Nicholson and his line work is superb. I personally think that though the style is drastically different, the RPG does evoke a similar atmosphere to the gamebooks but this will be very much a your mileage may vary matter.
The Contents
Inside the RPG you get all the things you would expect of a core rulebook - rules for the game, PC creation, GM advice, setting material, and an introductory scenario. None of the space is wasted and what space there is is used wisely to make the book as useful to a newcomer as possible as well as cover all the bases.
The game seems aimed at getting you to play it as quickly as possible, but also allowing you time after that to delve deeper into the setting and mechanics. I really like this set up. A good example of this is in the setting material that covers both the very broad and the specific. It contains a detailed chapter on Yellowport which is likely to be the starting city for many new games, given that it was often the case for many readers of the gamebooks. It is a hotbed of post-civil war turmoil, shady dealings, and adventure, all of which drip with atmosphere.
Core Mechanic and Abilities: The book starts with the basics. The core mechanic is roll 2d6 add one of 8 Ability scores (measured from 1 to 12 or 1 to 6 for starting PCs). You must exceed a Difficulty, the average being 9. It is worth noting that you must exceed the difficulty not equal or exceed. This sounds kind of odd but it actually makes margin of success, which is used a lot in the game, a little simpler to determine and avoids the pitfalls seen in RPGs with equal to or exceed mechanics where margin of success is often 1 plus 1 for each point you exceed the difficulty.
This core system comes direct from the gamebooks. The main difference is that there are two new Abilities (Muscle and Intelligence, being added to Charisma, Combat, Magic, Sanctity, Scouting, Thievery) and that there is also a Skill system which adds to an Ability in specific circumstances. It is noted that Skills are more like specialities or focii as Ability remains the dominant factor. In fact, you don't get any Skills at rank 1 at all except from backgrounds and only get 2 Skill ranks at rank 2 and each rank thereafter. Its a way to add a little more flavour and differentiation without having a complex Skill system to manage.
PC Creation: Following the base system is PC creation. This is a mixture of choices and random generation. Though no alternatives to random generation are given, it would not be hard to come up with a point buy system. Most of the random elements are balanced in and of themselves anyway, so turning them into choices is not a problem. In my experience, the use of the random generation elements seem to help player makes PCs more quickly whilst generating story ideas and ways of placing the PC into the world.
PC generation is a simple process. You choose Background and Profession. Generate Abilities and Stamina. Then you are ready to buy equipment and go.
Professions are flexible but also add a little bit of niche protection. It can handle mixed concepts like a warrior mage very well, as all that a Profession requires is to be good at the Professions signature Ability and not appalling at two related Abilities. You can also change Professions to add even more flexibility.
The RPG adds two Professions to match the two new Abilities being the Barbarian and the Druid. The other 6 Professions are Mage, Priest, Rogue, Troubadour, Warrior, and Wayfarer. The two new Professions seem to help flesh out the choices nicely and both certainly are seen in the gamebooks.
It must be noted that there are no non-human PCs in Fabled Lands RPG. You can choose a Feyblooded Background but you remain undeniably human. This is a signature of Dave Morris' work who expressed a dislike with having a plethora of standard fantasy races. There are non-human races in the setting, but they remain mysterious, rare and unknowable.
There is a short equipment section. One thing I like about Fabled Lands is that Equipment generally works the same and can add Ability bonuses. So, weapons add to Combat, wands add Magic, holy symbols add to Sanctity, instruments add to Charisma, various tools add to Scouting and Thievery. Its a simple concept from the gamebooks and give equipment a simple concrete feel. For example, weapons only add to Combat skill, they have no seperate damage or accuracy rating. This is one area where the game feels modern in that it is similar to recent computer games and D&D4e. However, this system is dervied from the original gamebooks.
Combat: Combat in Fabled Lands takes up 7 pages. As a default, it uses a battle map much like WFRP2e or a very light version of D&D3e/4e. The system however is so simple that it could be easily run off the battle map.
Combat is essentially roll 2d6 add Combat and you do 1 point of Stamina damage per point you exceed the opponents Defence, which is a static value (Rank + Combat + Armour).
I have a few concerns regarding the scaling of Defence. At high levels it would seem to grow proportionally high to Combat and with increasing Stamina, combats would become more protracted. On saying that, removing Rank from Defence would solve that issue completely.
The combat system has a few options such as defensive fighting, flanking, disarm and knockdown for those who want to do other than just swing their sword.
One thing I did like is that initiative is designed so that all GM NPCs move at the same time so their initiative is not rolled seperately.
Magic: Magic is an extension of the core mechanic. As a Mage or in a more limited capcity as a Druid, Priest (of certain Gods) or Troubador you can get access to one or more magic schools. These are Aeromancy, Astromancy, Battle Magic, Beastology, Divination, Electromancy, Enchantment, Geomancy, Healing, Herbcraft, Hydromancy, Illusion, Necromancy, Pyromancy, Telepathy, Transportation and Transmutation. Each of these have 4 spells. There is no other resource to keep track of other than needed to make the difficulty with a 2d6 plus Magic roll.
Priests also normally have a seperate system inspired by the gamebooks for Curses and Blessings relating to their Gods primary Ability. This is much more limited and focussed, but can be incredibly powerful. For example a Priest of Molhern, God of Magic and Lore, can reroll all Intelligence rolls and can, on a successful Sanctity roll based on how many times the PC has taken the Curse Power per quest, curse someone with 0 Intelligence for 24 hours.
The Magic system highlights something that I especially like about the system. The system does not contain many modifers. Instead, it goes for concrete effects. So instead of getting a +1 to an Ability, you will instead get the ability to pass any one test once per Quest. Some of the effects are almost narrative in nature, such as the Wayfarer being able to find sustenance for the PCs once per quest, regardless of the environment. Essentially, the PC power overrides the narration and the player gets the joy of describing the PC doing something extraordinary.
Also, there is generally no resistance mechanic like a Save. Some people may find this to be unsettling. An Arcane Bolt hits if the caster makes their Magic check - that's it. There is no reference to the target's power and abilities. The upside is that mechanically this makes the game straightforward to run and play and reduces the whiff factor considerably. You make your roll and it works. End of story.
Setting: I briefly mentioned the setting material above. The setting material consists of the very broad and the very specific. You get a history of the world and an overview of the setting. Mysteriously Chrysoprais and the Great Steppes are missed. You also get a detailed description of how people and buildings look in each place as well as some specific stories and places throughout the world. This has immediate in game benefit. The book does a good job to provide an overview of what is a big sandbox setting, but there is clearly space for a lot more, hopefully rectified in upcoming supplements.
The very specific is the city of Yellowport which gets quite a few pages dedicated to it s well as a map and a number of personalities stted in full. Though I would have preferred pregenerated PCs for use in play, seeing full statted NPCs is good especially as they include some of the iconis people from the gamebooks.
There is also an introductory adventure being the Lair of the Rat King. Fans of the gamebooks will recognise this straight away and I think it was a good choice. The descriptions in the adventure are very good and evocative but it does come across a little too much of a straightforward dungeon crawl for my liking. More details on alternate resolution (the gamebooks allowed for assassination, combat and negotiation (sort of) attempts) and using the lair as a home base for the PCs would have rounded it out. As an RPG, I would like to have seen the flexibility and options highlighted more.
Finally, the setting material is supported by some mechanics and details on ships and trading which seem closely aligned to what's in the gamebooks.
Conclusion
I am impressed with Fabled Lands. Though it has a few rough edges (starting wealth appears to be ommitted!), the overall package is exactly what an RPG should be. The rules are solid and support play without cluttering it up. The setting is well presented and atmospheric without being intimidating. There is lots of open space to play in. It hits the British gamebook vibe, as well as a light D&D style fantasy perfect for sandbox play. It does all this whilst attractive to both experienced RPGers and newbies.
As an endnote, Greywood Publishing is planning to support the RPG with 12 supplements, one for each of the originally intended gamebooks. Given that the setting is the real gem of the game, I have no doubt that each region will bring a lot more to the table.
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