King of Dragon Pass - (by A Sharp)

[abstractgamefreak]

Beautiful update, thanks so much! Although it wasn't a real dealbreaker for me playing in 2x mode, the higher resolution really rocks. Just left an updated review at the german store. This made my day, too

[Riotgirl]

What the hell took me so long? Seriously. I almost missed out, as I was deliberating between Kard Combat and Spectromancer. Then, a nagging voice in my head whispered, "KoDP".

The sheer enthusiasm in the thread - as well as the usual suspects, with whom I tend to share the same taste in games - convinced me to finally purchase KoDP.

The manual is a long read, but vitally important for not only understanding how to play KoDP, but also setting the scene for the game in terms of the cultural, historical, mythological setting in which your clan finds itself. The best advice is to try and get into the mindset of an Orlanthi clan.

As others have stated, the beauty of KoDP is the vast array of choices, presented through an interactive narrative, coupled with the beautiful hard-drawn artwork. It is a wonderful feat of story-telling, with the choices you make guiding your clan (with advice provided by your clan ring) possessing meaningful consequences - possibly creating a smaller story-arc, that doesn't reveal itself until the culmination many years later when a favour that is owed is suddenly called in ..

My clan's fortunes have ebbed and waned with the passing seasons. In the early years, clan Ling suffered the common problem of wrestling with sufficient harvest and cattle to feed the people. Trading and improving relations with other clans (including the odd cattle raid) have greatly enhanced the reputation of clan Ling.

Unlike Kingbuilder's experience, clan Ling made peace with the Duck people, and negotiated 50 food tribute every year. Unfortunately, skirmishes with the Horse-Spawn and other bandits have been mixed. A particularly problematic Shamanic bandit is a continued thorn in the clan's side, making even routine emissary and trade delegations difficult. Clan Ling has lost 2 Warchiefs in attempting to deal with the Shamanic bandit menace (shamanic magic has resulted in a resounding defeat).

Clan Ling has completed a Heroquest, and also failed another due to the bumbling performance of one of the Clan Ring members failing to remember the to act the part of the 'Storm-Bull' in the myth.

Whilst there have been suggestions that Clan Ling has potential to unite the clans and form a tribe, more mysteries need to be uncovered to ascertain the secrets of the particular Heroquest in question ..

Such rich source material, and such a shame that only KoDP is the only game to draw upon it. However, I am glad to have the opportunity to experience KoDP and Glorantha.

[LordGek]

Originally Posted by Riotgirl

What the hell took me so long? Seriously. I almost missed out, as I was deliberating between Kard Combat and Spectromancer. Then, a nagging voice in my head whispered, "KoDP".

The sheer enthusiasm in the thread - as well as the usual suspects, with whom I tend to share the same taste in games - convinced me to finally purchase KoDP.

The manual is a long read, but vitally important for not only understanding how to play KoDP, but also setting the scene for the game in terms of the cultural, historical, mythological setting in which your clan finds itself. The best advice is to try and get into the mindset of an Orlanthi clan.

As others have stated, the beauty of KoDP is the vast array of choices, presented through an interactive narrative, coupled with the beautiful hard-drawn artwork. It is a wonderful feat of story-telling, with the choices you make guiding your clan (with advice provided by your clan ring) possessing meaningful consequences - possibly creating a smaller story-arc, that doesn't reveal itself until the culmination many years later when a favour that is owed is suddenly called in ..

My clan's fortunes have ebbed and waned with the passing seasons. In the early years, clan Ling suffered the common problem of wrestling with sufficient harvest and cattle to feed the people. Trading and improving relations with other clans (including the odd cattle raid) have greatly enhanced the reputation of clan Ling.

Unlike Kingbuilder's experience, clan Ling made peace with the Duck people, and negotiated 50 food tribute every year. Unfortunately, skirmishes with the Horse-Spawn and other bandits have been mixed. A particularly problematic Shamanic bandit is a continued thorn in the clan's side, making even routine emissary and trade delegations difficult. Clan Ling has lost 2 Warchiefs in attempting to deal with the Shamanic bandit menace (shamanic magic has resulted in a resounding defeat).

Clan Ling has completed a Heroquest, and also failed another due to the bumbling performance of one of the Clan Ring members failing to remember the to act the part of the 'Storm-Bull' in the myth.

Whilst there have been suggestions that Clan Ling has potential to unite the clans and form a tribe, more mysteries need to be uncovered to ascertain the secrets of the particular Heroquest in question ..

Such rich source material, and such a shame that only KoDP is the only game to draw upon it. However, I am glad to have the opportunity to experience KoDP and Glorantha.

I'm so on the verge of grabbing this but am I right in recalling the Hero Quests basically boil down to you answering a series of multiple choice questions about the vision your character just had?

[Fallen_Grace]

Originally Posted by LordGek

I'm so on the verge of grabbing this but am I right in recalling the Hero Quests basically boil down to you answering a series of multiple choice questions about the vision your character just had?

Well,most quests are multiple options...so yes,to complete an Hero Quest you have to:

-sacrifice to get to know it's history/secrets
-send someone to do it
-pick the right answers (based on what the knowledge you gathered) AND have a character with high enough attributes to complete that choice

[sapphire_neo]

Originally Posted by LordGek

I'm so on the verge of grabbing this but am I right in recalling the Hero Quests basically boil down to you answering a series of multiple choice questions about the vision your character just had?

Not exactly, Heroquests are recreations of ancient myths. Your selected quester travels to the world of gods and you have to pick the correct actions from choices to recreate the myths. Do poorly and your quester might be injured grievously or might even perish, succeed and you gain the favor of the gods and their supernatural powers.

[LordGek]

Originally Posted by sapphire_neo

Not exactly, Heroquests are recreations of ancient myths. Your selected quester travels to the world of gods and you have to pick the correct actions from choices to recreate the myths. Do poorly and your quester might be injured grievously or might even perish, succeed and you gain the favor of the gods and their supernatural powers.

Okay, I like the stat driven aspects but am weary of stuff that feels like I'm taking some reading comprehension test and am afraid stuff like this will suffer on replay.

[sapphire_neo]

Originally Posted by LordGek

Okay, I like the stat driven aspects but am weary of stuff that feels like I'm taking some reading comprehension test and am afraid stuff like this will suffer on replay.

I would say you'll get a huge amount of replay value out of this, there is a lot of content and the heroquests are only the icing on the cake. And there are a lot of heroquests as well. But, you are correct in assuming that there is quite a bit of reading involved. It's equal parts fantasy civilization and pick your adventure book.

[sizzlakalonji]

I'm not a stupid person. Honestly. That being said, this game is impenetrable to me. I bought it when it first came out and tried it. I was completely overwhelmed. I deleted it and forgot about it. Months later, I tried again. I had the exact same experience. I just don't think this game is for me. I love reading, and I enjoy strategy games, so I don't really know why this seems so obtuse to me, but it just does.

[LordGek]

Originally Posted by sizzlakalonji

I'm not a stupid person. Honestly. That being said, this game is impenetrable to me. I bought it when it first came out and tried it. I was completely overwhelmed. I deleted it and forgot about it. Months later, I tried again. I had the exact same experience. I just don't think this game is for me. I love reading, and I enjoy strategy games, so I don't really know why this seems so obtuse to me, but it just does.

It sounds very indirect control and stat driven which I LOVED in the PC Football Manager games (...and this is coming from a guy who doesn't give a lick about soccer or any other sports). I like games that feel like there is a world going on around you even without your direct influence which I'm hoping would be the case here.

[sapphire_neo]

Originally Posted by LordGek

It sounds very indirect control and stat driven which I LOVED in the PC Football Manager games (...and this is coming from a guy who doesn't give a lick about soccer or any other sports). I like games that feel like there is a world going on around you even without your direct influence which I'm hoping would be the case here.

This is EXACTLY the game you want then. You can build an incredibly deep narrative and the gorgeously detailed writing brings it to life in a way I have yet to encounter in any other game. At any point in time you can view the Saga screen to get an overview of every significant event that has happened in the game and you can save this grand record of your adventure as a text file.