Lands of Lore or
LoL is a
computer role-playing gameA computer role-playing game is a broad video game genre originally developed for personal computers and other home computers. While technically not a separate genre, and sharing the same defining characteristics as console RPGs there are nonetheless general tendencies that make them distinct...
series by
Westwood StudiosWestwood Studios was a computer and video game developer, founded in 1985 as Westwood Associates by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle and based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Westwood is best know for developing game series in the real-time strategy, adventure, and role-playing genres...
and
publishedA video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by
Virgin InteractiveVirgin Interactive was a British video game publisher. It was formed as Virgin Games Ltd. in 1981. The company became much larger after purchasing the budget label, Mastertronic in 1987. It was part of the Virgin Group...
.
Lands of Lore follows the tradition of
Dungeon MasterDungeon Master is considered to be the first 3D realtime action computer role-playing game, published in 1987 for the Atari ST by FTL Games....
, but introduced a linear scenario-based storyline, rather than characters and feats.
Westwood Studios made role playing games (RPGs) for years, most famously
Eye of the BeholderEye of the Beholder is a role-playing game for computers and video game consoles developed by Westwood Studios and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. in 1990 for the DOS operating system, later ported to the Amiga, the Sega CD and the SNES...
1 and 2. Westwood and
SSIStrategic Simulations, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher with over 100 titles to its credit since its founding in 1979. It was especially noted for its numerous wargames, and for the groundbreaking Panzer General series.-History:...
had artistic differences over a third
Eye of the Beholder game, however, so Westwood chose to make their own RPG without the restrictions from the D&D rule set.
Discussion
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Lands of Lore or
LoL is a
computer role-playing gameA computer role-playing game is a broad video game genre originally developed for personal computers and other home computers. While technically not a separate genre, and sharing the same defining characteristics as console RPGs there are nonetheless general tendencies that make them distinct...
series by
Westwood StudiosWestwood Studios was a computer and video game developer, founded in 1985 as Westwood Associates by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle and based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Westwood is best know for developing game series in the real-time strategy, adventure, and role-playing genres...
and
publishedA video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by
Virgin InteractiveVirgin Interactive was a British video game publisher. It was formed as Virgin Games Ltd. in 1981. The company became much larger after purchasing the budget label, Mastertronic in 1987. It was part of the Virgin Group...
.
Lands of Lore follows the tradition of
Dungeon MasterDungeon Master is considered to be the first 3D realtime action computer role-playing game, published in 1987 for the Atari ST by FTL Games....
, but introduced a linear scenario-based storyline, rather than characters and feats.
Development
Westwood Studios made role playing games (RPGs) for years, most famously
Eye of the BeholderEye of the Beholder is a role-playing game for computers and video game consoles developed by Westwood Studios and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. in 1990 for the DOS operating system, later ported to the Amiga, the Sega CD and the SNES...
1 and 2. Westwood and
SSIStrategic Simulations, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher with over 100 titles to its credit since its founding in 1979. It was especially noted for its numerous wargames, and for the groundbreaking Panzer General series.-History:...
had artistic differences over a third
Eye of the Beholder game, however, so Westwood chose to make their own RPG without the restrictions from the D&D rule set. Their efforts yielded
Lands of Lore. Originally planned as a series of eight titles, the series ultimately spawned three.
Games
- Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos
Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos is the first installment of the Lands of Lore series.-Plot:King Richard LeGrey is the leader and 40th heir of the Gladstone Keep and the White Army. Gladstone is the base of operations for all of the civilized areas. The White Alliance has been defending it from...
- Lands of Lore II: Guardians of Destiny
- Lands of Lore III
Lands of Lore III is the third game in the Lands of Lore computer game series. The game was released after much delay in 1999, by Electronic Arts...
Setting
The storyline of the games takes place in a fantasy realm known and referred to simply as "The Lands". The main realm of the Lands is Gladstone, where the civilized and "good" races are based.
The history of the Lands is divided into six periods.
- The first is "The Unknown Beginning" when the Lands were created.
- Then came "The Golden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology and legend, but can also be found in other ancient cultures . It refers either to the earliest and best age in a sequence of ages, such as the Greek range of Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages, or to a time in the beginnings of humanity that was...
" when the Ancients roamed the Lands. There were no wars.
- Then followed "The War of the Heretics". The Ancients fell and the Dark Army rose for the first time. The Ancients became a myth. In the era after the disappearance of the Ancients, a group of predatory Ruloi established a stronghold in the Claw Mountains. They were able to accumulate much of the ancient magic that had been left behind in the lands.
- "The Dark Times" was the fourth period- a period of darkness. Small states appeared with every race.
- After that followed "The Racial Wars". A lot of small wars not relating to each other. Some races were wiped out and the ultimate result was that the four races (Humans, Huline, Dracoids, and Thomgog) established domination over the Lands.
- The present period is called "Rise of the Dark Army".
In "Guardians of Destiny", a brief reference is made to the Kyragem of
Legend of Kyrandia, while
Legend of Kyrandia Book Two has an easter egg where letters written by Scotia, hinting at the possibility that both Westwood Studios fantasy games take place in the same
continuityA fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements which differ from the real world. It may be called, variously, a fictional realm, world or universe...
.
Races of the Lands of Lore
- The Ancients: In the beginning, there were immortal Ancients who lived apart from the world. Their powers were vast, yet they did not meddle in the business of mortals.
- Humans: Humans are the most common race in the Lands.
- Thomgogs: Thomgogs are four-armed humanoids with a brown, toad-like skin who possess a unique reincarnation ability: when a Thomgog dies, his "soul" becomes a "seed", which can strike roots in fertile soil and grow into a young Thomgog.
- Hulines: They are a humanoid cat-like race ([hu]man fe[line]). There are, technically, two sects of Huline. One group evolved and are now living a very quiet and peaceful life in a village in the Huline Jungle, while the so named "Wild Ones" now inhabit the Savage Jungle, formerly the home of the Dracoid nation. The Wild Ones claim to follow the "old ways" which the newer race of Huline seem to have dropped. The Huline specialize in hand-to-hand (or at least physical) combat.
- Dracoids: Thousands of years ago the Dracoid inhabited a large area of the Southern Continent. They had a great kingdom and were the most advanced race in technology and science; it's capital was called Tsar'Ille, but now it is only known as the Dracoid Ruins. The Dracoid themselves are now nothing more than hermits and menial laborers. They are common in cities like Yvel, Gladstone and Cimmeria, but not well liked since their war with the Huline brought them to an end as a nation. They are blamed for the war- in a small way, rightfully- and now are hated wherever they go. The holy symbol of the Dracoid nation is the Silverleaf. The Dracoid are also very powerful magic users.
Less common races
- Ghorka: Ghorka are frog-like humanoids who usually live in swamps. They are good warriors, even if they don't look that way. Their traditional weapons, the tridents, are manufactured in forges fueled by swamp gas.
- Orks: The Orks in the Lands have brown skin and two large tusks. Due to their bearing, they are only a little higher than humans, but at least twice as broad. They have bad reputation since they made up a large part of the Dark Army, but some of them are able live peacefully in Gladstone.
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