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Probably the most intricately designed gamebooks ever published, the Fabled Lands books are all interconnected; each book represents a different segment of a larger world, and it is possible to hop from book to book in a non-linear fashion, completing quests and gaining in experience. Players have six attributes (Charisma, Combat, Magic, Sanctity, Scouting and Thievery) whose initial scores are determined by character profession. There are also Stamina points to represent health and a limited inventory for storing items. Codewords are used in each book to keep track of which areas have already been visited and which major events have already occurred, and there are sometimes places in the text where players may leave behind items to be retrieved later. The unfortunate thing about this series, though, is that it was never completed; after six volumes, it went out of print, so the entire world is inaccessible to readers. For many years, the situation was even worse in the United States, where only two books were published under the Quest label. Fortunately, starting in 2010, the original six books were reissued; however, as of this writing, the second half of the series is still unwritten (unless you count unofficial, fan-generated efforts).
It's a great shame that only half of the planned 12 books were ever released, because Fabled Lands were [or would've been] the largest and most expansive gamebook series ever. Each of the books represented a specific area in the world, and players could choose a profession, and literally travel from book to book.
There were many, many quests available to be undertaken. Many of these were one-time only, or could only be taken by a certain profession. Some quests even required multiple books.
The free roaming world was really innovative compared to all other gamebooks, where the goal is fixed and certain. In Fabled Lands, you choose what you do, where you go, how to make money, and much more.
-- Haoie
Fabled Lands is quite probably the best gamebook series ever. And now the first four books are BACK IN PRINT!! So now there is no excuse. Do yourself a favor and buy them. They are available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. So do it.
-- zat
Demian's Gamebook Web Page (c)1998-2013 Demian Katz.