Video games - Legend of the Red Dragon

Home > Listing Index > Video games > Legend of the Red Dragon

	Video games - Legend of the Red Dragon

Legend of the Red Dragon (LORD) is a text-based role-playing game written in Pascal run on Bulletin board systems as a third party door game. It was created by Seth Robinson of Robinson Technologies. The player's goal is to improve his or her skills in order to defeat the Red Dragon which has been attacking the village.

Storyline and Gameplay

The premise of LORD is that a Red Dragon is wreaking havoc in a town where the player has recently arrived. Multiple players compete over a period of weeks to advance their skills and to kill the dragon. In order to achieve this goal, players must face combat to gain experience. Once they have gained enough experience, they must face their master at Turgon's Warrior Training and advance in skill level. Advancement presents stronger enemies and masters; a player must reach level 12, the final level, before challenging Turgon himself and attacking the dragon.

Players also select a character class, choosing from among Death Knight Skills, Mystical Skills, and Thieving Skills. While a player is training in a particular skill, he is subject to random events in the woods for that particular skill, which provide opportunities for advancement. Eventually, players may master all three skills.

The game features many elements that later became mainstays in MMORPG's, although on a smaller scale. LORD allows many players (as long as the BBS supports it) to play simultaneously, even allowing real-time player-versus-player battles.

LORD features several in-game message boards as well as a limited electronic mail system which allow players to converse. Players may use the mail system to send flirtations to other players of the opposite sex, proposing trysts, marriage, or the conception of children (who may assist players in battle).

Locations

Action in LORD spans a variety of in-game locations:

The Inn is the workplace of Seth Able the bard and Violet the barmaid. It is also the place where players could buy a room for the night to be more safe until the next day. Other players can bribe the barkeeper to let them in and attack players staying there. The barkeeper can also trade gems for strength, defense, or charm.
King Arthurs Weapons and Abduls Armor are places where players may buy and sell weapons and armor.
Turgon's Warrior Training is a training hall ran by the master, Turgon. Here, players fight in order to attain the next level. Players must accumulate experience in order to challenge the master to advance.
The Forest is where players spend most of their time, earning experience to gain levels. Random events also take place here as players search for opponents. There is also a Healer's Hut located in the forest, as well as the road to the Dark Cloak Tavern.
The Dark Cloak Tavern is located "somewhere" in the forest. Players normally get to the tavern through a random event in the forest, or directly if they have a horse. Chance, the bartender, provides players with their only in-game opportunity to select a new skill class. The Tavern also offers games of chance, in which players may wager their gold.
Ye Old Bank is an establishment where players may store their gold to guard against attackers.
The Healer's Hut may be visited either from town or the forest. The healers can restore hit points lost by players during fights.

Events in the forest

Random events occur frequently in the forest, including:

an encounter with an old hag who can increse a player's hit points in exchange for gems.
a visit from an old man who needs to be guided to town in exchange for charm and gold.
a blackjack challenge
the opportunity to rescue a woman in distress
meeting a severed head
sorted dealings with fairies
running into a horse trader

Seth Able and Violet

There are two non-player characters located in the Inn, who provide services helpful to players. Their names are Seth Able the bard, named after the game's author, and Violet the barmaid.

Seth Able the bard will sing a song for a player, male or female. Once a day, players can listen to Seth's song and receive a bonus, such as the doubling of one's bank account or additional forest fight opportunities.

Male players can also flirt with Violet, and female players with Seth Able. There are several options ranging from a kiss on the hand to a proprosal of marriage, with success determined by a player's "charm" score. A marriage to Violet or Seth may last one day or two months or more; unlike player-player marriages, the software may terminate these bonds at any time.

Weapons and Armor

Throughout the history of LORD, the selection of weapons and armor has remained constant. The player begins with the Stick and Coat; upgraded equipment must be purchased with gold earned in forest fights. A player may carry only one weapon and one suit of armor at any time.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Legend of the Red Dragon ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Legend of the Red Dragon; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Searches on eBay