Fabled Lands Gamebook: The War-Torn Kingdom

Fabled Lands is a unique gamebook series that debuted in 1995 – next year it celebrates an incredible 30 years since its inception. It was created by none other than Dave Morris and Jamie Thomson, the minds behind many other great series and works, such as Talisman of Death or The Way of the Tiger from the Fighting Fantasy series.

What makes Fabled Lands so unique? It is a vast world divided into several parts (books) that you can travel between without any restrictions. At the start, you choose a profession (priest, mage, rogue, troubadour, warrior, or wayfarer) with unique starting skills and dive into exploring every corner of the land called Sokara, which is – as the book title suggests – war-torn. However, it is entirely up to you whether you participate in the conflict or stay out of it.

You can traverse the territory of Sokara on foot or, with a suitable ship and crew, by sea. Over time, your hero faces various trials, fights different opponents, and completes quests to earn experience points and increase their rank. By helping others or winning battles, you can also obtain various items and money, which you can use to trade in cities, invest, or even buy your own house. Want to worship a god? No problem. Several of them watch over Sokara, and it is up to you to choose one to follow faithfully.

The gamebook is divided into nearly 700 sections enriched with great illustrations; it also features a detailed map of Sokara, a list of code words, an Adventure Sheet, and a Ship's Manifest to record all necessary changes. It is clear that the Fabled Lands series offers endless possibilities and hours of fun, so you shouldn't miss it. The first volume, titled The War-Torn Kingdom, was published in Czech at the end of 2023 by Mytago.

Fabled Lands has also been adapted into a classic tabletop RPG (Sokara - The War-Torn Kingdom) and a well-received old-school RPG video game.

author Jiří Zahradníček