DESCRIPTION

Welcome to the world of Arkania from the same company responsible for the Ultima titles, Sir-tech Software, Inc.. You and a party of adventurers have the fate of the kingdom squarely on your collective shoulders in this role-playing excursion into a fantasy-based realm filled with a powerful army of Orcs aiming to devastate Arkania. As the title suggests, the main objective is to find the legendary artifact that may just turn the tide in your favor, the sword known as the Blade of Destiny, lost for ages deep in Orcish territory.

Blade of Destiny features a massive world with gameplay incorporating all of the tried and true aspects of fantasy role-playing. Combat is turn-based (rounds) and the game contains both pre-generated characters and the opportunity to build your party from the ground up. More than 70 towns, villages, ruins and dungeons await the intrepid adventurers who must explore the land fully to find the revered sword.

As a member of the Thorwalian race, you'll have resources, a unique monetary system and the elements of physical combat as well as magic at your disposal. From the beginning of the game with it's unusual character generation options (there are four possible procedures) to the vast arsenal of weapons and spells to wield during gameplay, Blade of Destiny offers an immense and diversified game world.

In a numbers rundown of Blade of Destiny, the game has two difficulty settings and 12 possible Archetypes (warlock/witch, warrior/she-warrior, hunter/huntress, etc.) from which to choose. Each character has 14 attributes, both positive and negative (seven of each), money is a 10-based system using copper bits, silver crowns and gold ducats, 12 deities who impact gameplay, more than 75 spells divided into a dozen categories, seven groupings of skills encompassing 50 unique capabilities, 23 herbs and potions, 12 options during combat and seven diseases.

The game features a point-and-click interface, a multiple choice dialog system, automapping, NPCs and an isometric viewpoint during combat. Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny is based (c.1993) on the top role-playing system in Germany, namely, Das Schwarze Auge. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide