|
Best Files » The Coming of the Unborn King: A Pendragon Saga
|
The Coming of the Unborn King: A Pendragon Saga
|
Author |
File Description |
Gordon Farrell |
Posted on 01/15/00 @ 12:00 AM
File Details |
Version: |
Age of Kings 1.0 |
Number of scenarios: |
4 |
It is before the Age of Camelot, before the Age of the Roundtable. The Once and Future King of England is but a murky prophecy, a distant hope, a vague uncertain dream shared by a war-torn island under the rule of Uther Pendragon. An uncertain dream, that is, to all except one: The aging necromancer called Merlin of the Shadows. He alone knows that the glorious kingdom will indeed come to pass. But first he must secure the destiny of a king who has not yet even been born --- |
Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
---|
Ingo Van Thiel
Official Reviewer |
Posted on 09/29/00 @ 12:00 AM
The legend of King Arthur has inspired many campaign makers, but the "Coming of the Unborn King" is by far the best adaption of the saga I've seen. Gordon Farrell re-tells the origins of Arthur from different perspectives. There is a special, almost poetic atmosphere about the Pendragon Saga. It is easy to get caught up in this old, brutal world of intrigues and heroism, love and violent passion. Check out the beautifully crude and rough castles that add to the medieval feel of this campaign. The bitmaps and instructions as well as the language in the scenarios are brilliant and show that there's a master storyteller at work. Whatever you do, the old necromancer Merlin will be in the background, speaking in riddles and pulling the wires. In the last scenario, you'll finally slip into the role of the mighty old wizard himself.
Be warned: Gordon's dark and misty world is not friendly to the unwary traveller... Good players will find it challenging and well-balanced, but beginners will probably go under. You should definitely have some experience with the game before you try this one. Escaping from Uther Pendragon's castle took me several tries and put me in a cold sweat - an enjoyable cold sweat though. Rescuing the Viking boy was extremely hard until I found that you shouldn't always go to the same place together.
The map design was very good, although I did not find it as outstanding as the other aspects of this campaign. What I would have liked to see was some mixed forest, trees on cliffs, and a few more terrain elements such as mountains, rocks and flowers. What finally made me take off one point for map design is that all four scenarios take place on the same map. Although this gives the campaign a sense of continuity, I'd prefer to be rewarded with a new map every time I finish playing a scenario.
All in all, this is an excellent piece of work, with tough challenges, brilliant storytelling, a well-crafted map and a very special atmosphere you will not want to miss. You will not be surprised to hear that this campaign also won the King Arthur's Castle scenario designing contest in England.
A must download! |
CerberusXXL
Official Reviewer |
Posted on 07/31/01 @ 12:00 AM
“The coming of the unborn king: A Pendragon saga” by Gordon Farrell is a wonderful campaign based around King Arthur. I have to say that this campaign is an absolute must have for everyone.
The playability was very good as the game play has many twist and turn, which makes playing through this campaign a great adventure. However, I was a bit disappointed to have to play on the same map, and I feel that Gordon could have done a better job in that regard.
The balance was perfect and it’s obvious that a lot of people will have a hard time winning, but with a bit of strategy this game is manageable. In fact, every player can expect to be on the edge of his or her seat while playing the entire campaign. What’s is also great about the balance in this campaign is the degree of consistency that Gordon Farrell was able to achieve.
The creativity was very good and considering that this is a very old campaign I think we need to give even more credits to Gordon Farrell. For instance, in the second scenario I saw myself fighting other knights at a mini tournament like they use to do in the middle ages. In addition, all the triggers used really benefited this campaign and made it better.
The map design was excellent and nice to look at. The cities were nicely laid out and beautiful. The countryside was good but could have used more details and eye candies. For examples, the forest could have used more types of trees; more rocks and flowers could have made the visual aspect a feast for the eye. Moreover, the game takes place on the same map, which is regrettable and this take out some of the fun in this campaign.
The story line deserves an A+ as in was well written and intriguing. The dialogues taking place were of great quality and at the same easy to read. Furthermore, the instructions were brilliant and extremely helpful unlike a lot of campaigns were this part is sometimes neglected.
In conclusion, “The Coming of the Unborn King: A Pendragon Saga” by Gordon Farrell is an excellent campaign which is very challenging, captivating, and the story line is very intriguing. Not downloading this campaign would be a grave mistake, so don’t wait and longer and download now. |
Tanneur99
Official Reviewer |
Posted on 03/12/02 @ 12:00 AM
This genius campaign is based on the opening chapter of “Le Morte d’Arthur” (1485) by Sir Thomas Malory, which is the summary of all known Artus novels and legends of that time. Sir Thomas Malory wrote his novel 1469/70 under the title “The book of King Arthur and his knights of the round table” and it got printed by William Caxton 1485, originally under the title “Morte Darthur”. An earlier source is “Historia Regum Brittanniae” (1136) by Geoffrey of Monmouth (Book VIII Ch. XIX-XX), who based his book on Welsh tales, and his later poem Vita Merlini (c.1150). We are all fascinated by King Arthur and the knights of the round table, Camelot and the search for the Holy Grail. Here is the story of how it began.
The People: -Gorlois Duke of Cornwell and Tintagel. -Igraine, wife of Gorlois and mother of Morgan Le Fay, from a noble Welsh family. -King Uther, was Dux Bellorum under his brother King Ambrosius Aurelianus. Pendragon as an epithet means “Great Chief War Leader”. -Sir Ector, later knight of the round table. -King Lot of Lothian and Orkney, married to Igraine’s sister Morgause. -Sir Ulfius, later knight of the round table. -King Angwysshaunce. -Merlin, legendary a magician, historically Myrddin ab Morfyn a prophet, court adviser to three Kings.
The Places: -Tintagel Castle is situated on the Atlantic Ocean in Cornwell (look for Tingtagel Head and the town of Tintagel). -London. -Sir Ectors estate, Northern Welsh, west of Bala at the river Dee. -Canterbury. -Pendragon Castle (before Uther became King and governed from the London Castle, he stayed in Pendragon Castle in Westmoreland, south of Cumberland). -Garlot (land of King Nentres of Garlot, married to Igraine’s sister Elaine). -Merlin's land, which are the woods of Northern Welsh, today Cumberland. -Lothian, West- and East-Lothian around Edinburgh.
PLAYABILITY: All four scenarios are up to the highest rating. You’re dragged into the story from the beginning and there is not a boring second. Things happen, while your doing the last instruction, changing your strategy. I will not disclose more.
BALANCE: The balance is perfect. You have reloads, figuring out, what to do different next time. It is never that hard, that you’re frustrated and loosing all the fun this campaign is supposed to give you. As you’re given location names, which you should remember from the earlier scenarios, you‘re getting into problems by searching in the wrong places. Astounding the escape after the joust and the Viking boy had one HP left when I saved him.
CREATIVITY: The story, the storyline guiding through four scenarios; the map of Britain, with the historical or legendary locations; the well play tested balance; Merlin using forbidden magic and tricks; the bit map with a developing story and you playing different characters.
MAP DESIGN: This is art, not map design. Gordon Farrell is creating an atmosphere, which is the dark age and so is his map. Somebody with his skills knows that shores have flat water. He uses the dark blue colour for his mysterious painting. Where there is a harbour, he is practically forced to use a lighter colour, but with economy, not to ruin anything. His landscape as the towns follow the same rules. Something heavy, depressing lays over the scenes, which excludes the use of eye-candy. All four scenarios play on the same map, in England and Wales. A lot of research, time and effort went into this, as all locations are in the right places. There is no way, that you can make a different map of England, with it's historical places, for every scenario.
STORY/INSTRUCTIONS: The story connects the four scenarios and is romantic, mysterious and from the dark side. The objectives are clear, you always know what to do. The hint section, not only good in game objectives but also in game hints, like “you missed, go back” or your transport, going into the wrong direction is guided to the right one. It feels like Merlin is pulling the strings. A bitmap with the, over the scenarios developing, story. And last not least the history section. A must read.
Overall the perfect campaign, no recommendations, no critics.
THANK YOU for having posted this campaign, for your efforts and research. |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
---|
4.8 | Breakdown |
---|
Playability | 4.7 | Balance | 5.0 | Creativity | 5.0 | Map Design | 4.3 | Story/Instructions | 5.0 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 20,187 |
Favorites: [] | 1 |
Size: | 748.34 KB |
Added: | 01/15/00 |
|