Legacy of Dragonholt Review
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According to the official description, Legacy of Dragonholt is a narrative adventure game for 1-6 people. In fact, this is not an RPG and not even a tabletop as such. It's a big story book, kind of like the game books from the 1980s.
The stories are divided between 5 small quest books and one thick one dedicated to the adventures in the village. Inside - numbered paragraphs. You read the specified paragraph, then choose one of the suggested actions, and then move on to the next specified paragraph.
What is unusual is the creation of your character; approximately as in role-playing games, only according to a simplified model. You choose a race and profession from a large list, invent a name and biography for the character. After that, you choose a set of skills for him - and this very point will greatly affect the gameplay: the range of actions available to the character in the game depends on these skills. Fictional example: you want to cross a river, but the bridge has collapsed? Is there agility or athleticism? No? Do nothing, stay on the other side. Stop - maybe there is alchemy to create an ice bridge? Great, go ahead.
This spectrum gives the game great flexibility. Of course, to some extent; the plot is still scripted, and you are just a character in the story.
During the game, you can learn new skills, as well as temporarily lose them. You can also find or buy items: this is a small deck of cards that either directly benefit or move the plot branches.
Periodically during interactions, as well as after completing quests, you will have to make a corresponding mark (say, A5), which can play an important role later ("If you have A5, then... otherwise..."). Thanks to this, the game "remembers" the choices you made and the plot changes accordingly; brilliantly simple mechanics Sometimes it leads to unnecessary fuss, but for the most part it works with a bang.
The difference between "Legacy of Dragonholt" and ordinary game books lies in the skills and marks. A simple and elegant system. The layout and assembly of the game is almost instantaneous; it is enough to open the desired page of the book and continue to follow the story, and, after a break, just make a bookmark. As for the plot as a whole and the NPCs, the game does not go beyond standard fantasy, but they are written well, so that you are guaranteed an exciting read and interesting choices.
The game also welcomes roleplay; make decisions that are like your character, rather than what seems true to you personally. Several times I doubted whether my character was doing the right thing, but I gave in to him. As a result, everything descended into chaos, which I myself certainly would not have wanted, but all the fault lay with my stupid cat person... in general, it turned out great.
Although the game is formally designed for 1-6 participants, I would not advise playing with three or more; it's like reading a book together. The two of them are quite normal, but ideally alone.
The retail price of $59 is clearly overpriced. It makes sense to take only with a discount. In addition, the game is essentially one-time, the main plot branches out minimally. Although, you may not see all the side quests the first time, and you certainly won't explore the entire village.
It is also worth noting that the game has LGBT moments: some may not like it.
I would like to believe that there will still be games based on the "Oracle" system; A Cthulhu, Android, or Twilight of the Empire setting would be perfect.
In general, it is not cheap, but a pleasant book-game, which you can read to relax after a busy day.
