Treasures of the Savage Frontier
Encyclopedia
Treasures of the Savage Frontier (1992) is a Gold Box
Dungeons and Dragons computer role-playing game. It was developed by Stormfront Studios
and published by SSI for the Amiga
and DOS
.
game engine
in 1989 after the completion of The Secret of the Silver Blades
, they passed responsibility for continuing the Forgotten Realms
Gold Box games to Stormfront. SSI had planned to do only one more Gold Box game (Gateway to the Savage Frontier
) before retiring the series in favor of the Dark Sun engine, but when Dark Sun was delayed and Gateway went to #1 on the charts they asked Stormfront for a sequel.
Designers Don Daglow
, Mark Buchignani, Mark Manyen and David Bunnett recognized that the Gold Box engine was past its prime and needed some kind of story or character enhancements to feel like a new game and not a tired sequel.
Although they added many small enhancements to the game in addition to its all-new story, the largest feature was the first-ever option for either of two NPC
s to fall in love with a player character. The sophisticated AI
(for its time) tracked the player's actions in the game, much as the modern game Fable
charts the player's actions as good or evil. If the player's actions matched the values of the NPC there was a chance they could fall in love.
A few weeks after the events of Gateway to the Savage Frontier, the mage Amelior Aminitas magically summons the party (by now called the "Heroes of Ascore") to eliminate the (apparently) last remaining troops of the Zhentarim
from the dwarven city of Llorkh.
Afterwards, the party is given a seemingly simple mission - to protect ambassadors of the "Lord's Alliance," which holds together the different cities of the frontier. However, the ambassadors are kidnapped, the Zhentarim and its allies (the Kraken Society and the Hosttower of the Arcane) plot to break up the alliance to conquer the region, and the party is framed as traitors.
Much of the game is devoted to the players attempting to clear their names (usually done by completing a mission in each town of the Lord's Alliance) and alerting the alliance's leaders of the plot. The final mission (which doesn't necessarily fit in the overall plotline) involves retrieving a treasure held by a dragon
.
To uncover the plot, the player has to collect two different sets of items:
#184 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.
character in a video game, Ougo the Strange. Created by Daglow as a tribute to Theatre of the Absurd playwright Eugène Ionesco
, Ougo is a bizarre Ionesco-style character in the otherwise normal island of Farr Windward who ends up playing a key role in one of the game's missions.
The game's principal technical enhancement to the aging Gold Box engine was the addition of weather to wilderness play, with combat encounters in the snow restricting character movement and adding variety to the game.
Gold Box
Gold Box is the name for a series of computer role-playing games produced by SSI. The company won a license to produce games based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game from TSR, Inc...
Dungeons and Dragons computer role-playing game. It was developed by Stormfront Studios
Stormfront Studios
Stormfront Studios was a video game developer based in San Rafael, California which had one of the longest creative histories in the industry. In 2007, the company had over 50 developers working on two teams, and owned all its proprietary engines, tools and technology. As of the end of 2007 over...
and published by SSI for the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
and DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
.
Development
When SSI began work on the Dark SunDark Sun: Shattered Lands
Dark Sun: Shattered Lands is a turn-based computer role-playing game that takes place in the Dungeons and Dragons campaign setting of Dark Sun...
game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
in 1989 after the completion of The Secret of the Silver Blades
Secret of the Silver Blades
Secret of the Silver Blades is the third in a four-part series of Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons "Gold Box" adventure computer games. The game was released in 1990.The story is a continuation of the events after Curse of the Azure Bonds.-Story:...
, they passed responsibility for continuing the Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
Gold Box games to Stormfront. SSI had planned to do only one more Gold Box game (Gateway to the Savage Frontier
Gateway to the Savage Frontier
Gateway to the Savage Frontier is a Gold Box Dungeons and Dragons computer game developed by Stormfront Studios and published by SSI for the Commodore 64, PC and Amiga personal computers...
) before retiring the series in favor of the Dark Sun engine, but when Dark Sun was delayed and Gateway went to #1 on the charts they asked Stormfront for a sequel.
Designers Don Daglow
Don Daglow
Don Daglow is an American computer game and video game designer, programmer and producer. He is best known for designing a series of pioneering simulation games and role-playing games, as well as the first computer baseball game and the first graphical MMORPG, all between 1971 and 1995...
, Mark Buchignani, Mark Manyen and David Bunnett recognized that the Gold Box engine was past its prime and needed some kind of story or character enhancements to feel like a new game and not a tired sequel.
Although they added many small enhancements to the game in addition to its all-new story, the largest feature was the first-ever option for either of two NPC
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s to fall in love with a player character. The sophisticated AI
Ai
AI, A.I., Ai, or ai may refer to:- Computers :* Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science* Ad impression, in online advertising* .ai, the ISO Internet 2-letter country code for Anguilla...
(for its time) tracked the player's actions in the game, much as the modern game Fable
Fable
A fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized , and that illustrates a moral lesson , which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim.A fable differs from...
charts the player's actions as good or evil. If the player's actions matched the values of the NPC there was a chance they could fall in love.
Plot overview
Zhentarim
The Zhentarim is a fictional organization in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Also known as the Black Network, it is an evil organization based on the continent of Faerûn. One of its goals is to dominate the lands from the Moonsea to the...
from the dwarven city of Llorkh.
Afterwards, the party is given a seemingly simple mission - to protect ambassadors of the "Lord's Alliance," which holds together the different cities of the frontier. However, the ambassadors are kidnapped, the Zhentarim and its allies (the Kraken Society and the Hosttower of the Arcane) plot to break up the alliance to conquer the region, and the party is framed as traitors.
Much of the game is devoted to the players attempting to clear their names (usually done by completing a mission in each town of the Lord's Alliance) and alerting the alliance's leaders of the plot. The final mission (which doesn't necessarily fit in the overall plotline) involves retrieving a treasure held by a dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
.
To uncover the plot, the player has to collect two different sets of items:
- Three different colors of crystals held by one of the three enemy groups (the Zhentarim, the Kraken, and the Hosttower). This can only be done by, in melee battles, carefully selecting and attacking different enemies in the right order.
- "Lucky papers" from each city in the game. Nominally good luck charms, when combined with the crystals, these papers spell out the entire enemy plot.
Reception
The game was reviewed in 1992 in DragonDragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#184 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.
Trivia
One interesting side note to the game is the presence of what may be the only absurdistTheatre of the Absurd
The Theatre of the Absurd is a designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction, written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, as well as to the style of theatre which has evolved from their work...
character in a video game, Ougo the Strange. Created by Daglow as a tribute to Theatre of the Absurd playwright Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco was a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist, and one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd...
, Ougo is a bizarre Ionesco-style character in the otherwise normal island of Farr Windward who ends up playing a key role in one of the game's missions.
The game's principal technical enhancement to the aging Gold Box engine was the addition of weather to wilderness play, with combat encounters in the snow restricting character movement and adding variety to the game.
See also
- Neverwinter Nights
- Gateway to the Savage FrontierGateway to the Savage FrontierGateway to the Savage Frontier is a Gold Box Dungeons and Dragons computer game developed by Stormfront Studios and published by SSI for the Commodore 64, PC and Amiga personal computers...