1988 · U.S. Gold
Heroes of the Lance
1988 video game
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance is a video game released in 1988 for various home computer systems and consoles. The game is based on the first Dragonlance campaign module for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Dragons of Despair, and the first Dragonlance novel Dragons of Autumn Twilight.
Gameplay
Heroes of the Lance is a side-scrolling action game. The eight heroes from the Dragonlance series are assembled for the quest, but only one is visible on the screen at a time; when the on-screen hero dies, the next in line appears. Heroes of the Lance uses Dungeons & Dragons game statistics, with character statistics taken exactly from the rule books. Three characters have special abilities (healing magic, wizard magic, and trap removal), but the other five merely act as “lives” for the player as in traditional action-platforming games.
Plot
Heroes of the Lance focuses on the journey of eight heroes through the ruined city of Xak Tsaroth, where they must face the ancient dragon Khisanth and retrieve the relic, the Disks of Mishakal. Even if it is a faithful representation of a portion of the novel Dragons of Autumn Twilight, it was a departure from the role-playing game module Dragons of Despair the book itself is based on.
Screenshots
Click any shot to enlarge. Platform tag shows where each image is from.