Lands of Adventure

Lands of Adventure is a role-playing game published by Fantasy Games Unlimited (FGU) in 1983. Although similar to fantasy role-playing games in its scope, the suggested setting is historical rather than pure fantasy.

Description
Lands of Adventure is a role-playing system designed for use with historical settings rather than fantasy worlds. The rules ae "generic" — not tied to a specific game such as Dungeons & Dragons or RuneQuest. The game comes with two "Culture Packs" that give details of specific historical settings, specifically mythic Greece and medieval England.

Although players can create characters who are giants, elves, dwarves or animals, the emphasis is on human player characters, who advance by improving in their chosen skill areas. Magic is divided into types that correspond to character abilities. A priest must attract his deity's attention if he wants to perform a miracle.

Publication history
Lands of Adventure was designed by Lee Gold, with a cover by Bill Willingham, and was published by FGU as a boxed set with a 32-page rulebook, a 28-page "Culture Pack", a sample character record sheet, and dice. As game critic Rick Swan noted, FGU's plan was to publish more Culture Packs for various historical eras, "However, the game drifted out of print before the concept could be fully explored, making Lands of Adventure a good idea that really never got off the ground."

Reception
Richard Clyne reviewed Lands of Adventure for White Dwarf #58, giving it an overall rating of 5 out of 10, and stated that "Coupled with the expensive price it is a classic case of far-too-little, far-too-late."

William A. Barton reviewed Lands of Adventure in The Space Gamer No. 71. Barton commented that "for its Culture Packs alone [...] Lands of Adventure might prove a good buy for any FRPGers who don't consider themselves experts on the specific cultures covered. As for the game itself, Lee Gold admits in the introduction that it isn't the perfect FRPG.  But then, what is?"

Chris Hunter reviewed Lands of Adventure for Imagine magazine, and stated that "Lands of Adventure is definitely not for the beginner [...] as the amount of 'freedom' would almost certainly leave them floundering. If on the other hand you are a veteran gamer who enjoys perusing new games systems and has a few pounds to spare then this is a must."

In his 1990 book The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games, game critic Rick Swan was a bit puzzled by some of the character generation rules, and found the combat and magic systems "adequate but routine." But the Culture Packs describing historical settings "is where Lands of Adventure really shines, containing scholarly, entertaining discussions of Greek and English settings that could be easily adapted into other role-playing systems." Swan concluded by giving the game a rating of 2.5 out of 4, saying, "While it's unlikely that the role-playing rules of Lands of Adventure will replace anybody's favorite fantasy game, the Culture Pack material might be worth a look for referees with an interest in the featured eras."

Other reviews

 * Different Worlds #36 (Sept./Oct., 1984)