Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos
Encyclopedia
Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos is the first installment of the Lands of Lore series. It was developed by Westwood Studios
and distributed by Virgin Games, Inc. The game presents a real-time, three dimensional view from the character's perspective that is similar to the interface used on the Dungeon Master game and the Eye of the Beholder series.
The player has to choose among 4 playable pre-made characters
:
When the hero finds Roland, he learns that the Ruby of Truth has been stolen as Roland dies. When he returns to Gladstone, he sees Scotia poison King Richard and escape. It is now up to the player to save the King and defeat the evil witch Scotia. He must visit the Draracle and obtain the recipe of an elixir that will save King Richard.
Once they have the recipe, the party must travel the Lands of Lore to find the ingredients, while simultaneously learning as much as possible about the Nether Mask in the hopes of defeating Scotia.
"talkie" version in 1994 which featured an additional narrative history of the Lore of the Lands by Patrick Stewart
(who also voices King Richard), and a Special "White Label" European Release in 1996.
#200 by Sandy Petersen
in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Petersen gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.
In his 2008 work Dungeons and desktops:
the History of Computer Role-playing Games, Matt Barton said that Lands of Lore is a Dungeon Master–style game that is easy to learn but not without challenge. He added, "The result was a thoroughly captivating game that is as fun to play today as it was in 1993".
Westwood Studios
Westwood Studios was a computer and video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in as Westwood Associates, and renamed to Westwood Studios when it merged with Virgin Interactive in...
and distributed by Virgin Games, Inc. The game presents a real-time, three dimensional view from the character's perspective that is similar to the interface used on the Dungeon Master game and the Eye of the Beholder 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 many threats for three generations. The King is worried about Scotia, an old witch and ruler of the Dark Army who has recently acquired a ring called the Nether Mask, which allows its user to assume any form of any power or capability.The player has to choose among 4 playable pre-made characters
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
:
- Ak'shel: a Dracoid, an ancient race of dragonDragonA dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
-lizardLizardLizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
hybrid origin, specialized in magicMagic (gaming)Some role-playing games or game systems can include a set of rules that are used to portray magic in the paranormal sense. These rules simulate the effects that magic would have within the game context, according to how the game designer intended the magic to be portrayed...
. - Kieran, a Huline, an ancient race of humanHumanHumans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
-felineFelinaeFelinae is a subfamily of the family Felidae which includes the genera and species listed below. Most are small to medium-sized cats, although the group does include some larger animals, such as the Cougar and Cheetah....
hybrid origin, specialized in dexterityFine motor skillFine motor skills are the coordination of small muscle movements which occur e.g., in the fingers, usually in coordination with the eyes. In application to motor skills of hands the term dexterity is commonly used....
. He is the canonicalCanon (fiction)In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
hero, as revealed in Lands of Lore: Guardians of DestinyLands of Lore: Guardians of DestinyLands of Lore: Guardians of Destiny, colloquially referred to as Lands of Lore 2, is the critically acclaimed second installment of the Lands of Lore series. It brought about a drastic change in gameplay style from its enormously successful predecessor, opting away from the original's D&D...
. - Michael, a human specialized in strength and fighting.
- Conrad, another human, who is a well-balanced combination of all.
When the hero finds Roland, he learns that the Ruby of Truth has been stolen as Roland dies. When he returns to Gladstone, he sees Scotia poison King Richard and escape. It is now up to the player to save the King and defeat the evil witch Scotia. He must visit the Draracle and obtain the recipe of an elixir that will save King Richard.
Once they have the recipe, the party must travel the Lands of Lore to find the ingredients, while simultaneously learning as much as possible about the Nether Mask in the hopes of defeating Scotia.
Versions
The game was critically acclaimed and was followed by two re-releases: a CD-ROMCD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
"talkie" version in 1994 which featured an additional narrative history of the Lore of the Lands by Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
(who also voices King Richard), and a Special "White Label" European Release in 1996.
Reception
The game was reviewed in 1993 in DragonDragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#200 by Sandy Petersen
Sandy Petersen
Carl Sanford Joslyn Petersen is a game designer.Petersen was born in St. Louis, Missouri and attended University of California, Berkeley, majoring in zoology....
in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Petersen gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.
In his 2008 work Dungeons and desktops:
the History of Computer Role-playing Games, Matt Barton said that Lands of Lore is a Dungeon Master–style game that is easy to learn but not without challenge. He added, "The result was a thoroughly captivating game that is as fun to play today as it was in 1993".