Darksword Adventures

by Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman

Enter the World of the Darksword

In the enchanted realm of Thimhallan, magic is life, and the fate of the world rests in the hands of the one who wields the powerful, magic-absorbing Darksword...

Now the Darksword saga comes to life in this all-new fantasy role-playing game that takes you to a time when Magicians and Technologists battled to rule the world. A companion volume for gamers and nongamers alike, Darksword Adventures is an indispensable Who's Who guide to the world of Darksword that no fan of the bestselling trilogy will want to be without. Here is the full, never-before-told history of Thimhallan, the secret texts of its priestly caste and expanded character backgrounds of Joram, Saryon, Bishop Vanya, King Garald, the Duuk-tsarith and much more.

Including a full set of rules and guidelines for play, this single volume contains everything you need to join the adventure. Let the quest for the Darksword begin!

Genres: Fantasy, Role Playing Games, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Collections, Epic Fantasy, Games

437 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1988

About the author

Margaret Edith Weis is an American fantasy and science fiction author of dozens of novels and short stories. At TSR, Inc., she teamed with Tracy Hickman to create the Dragonlance role-playing game (RPG) world. She is founding CEO and owner of Sovereign Press, Inc and Margaret Weis Productions, licensing several popular television and movie franchises to make RPG series in addition to their own.
In 1999, Pyramid magazine named Weis one of The Millennium's Most Influential Persons, saying she and Hickman are "basically responsible for the entire gaming fiction genre". In 2002, she was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame in part for Dragonlance.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the book that introduced me to roleplaying. Having just finished the Darksword trilogy at age 13, I picked up this -- the only other Darksword book I could find on the bookstore shelves -- not realizing that it was a rulebook for an RPG. This book sold me on the idea of roleplaying games and started me on a lifelong interest in RPG's. I soon after graduated to more complex RPG systems, and I can't claim the rules of this particular game are really all that worthwhile. But the book does contain additional information on the fantasy world of the Darksword trilogy and may be of interest to any fan of that world.

[Leslie D. Soule · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I found this book in the used book store, and thought, "Whaaaat? An RPG based on the Darksword Trilogy that I'd read forever ago? Freaking awesome!"

And it did end up being pretty awesome. This volume is packed with imaginative source material. It's in the non-traditional novel format, which seems unique for an RPG manual (for all intents and purposes, a dungeon master guide of sorts).
Everything you need for the Phantasia RPG is included in this one book, including stats and character sheets.
I didn't know that this book existed, but I like it!

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really related to the original trilogy except that it still takes place in Thimhallan. It has a great overview of all the different creatures and classes of people living in Thimhallan, along with specific strengths and weaknesses. It is designed to provide details for a role playing game, which the book includes rules on how to play. I never got interested int eh RPG aspect, but still found the information and details interesting.

[Steve]

Darksword

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a surprise to me, I had initially thought it was a new dark sword book. But it is a rule book for a pen and paper RPG based on the dark sword world. Its fun, if a bit overly complicated.

[Mark Hartman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book that lets you role play in the Darksword world the books were set in. The complete history and people and items. It’s a great introduction to RPGs. Keep in mind it’s not a novel like the trilogy.

[Isaac Fasher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a supplementary role playing game and setting book for the Darksword series of novels by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman.

The first section dives into the world of Thimhallan; detailing and expanding on the lore and setting as alluded to in the novels. It does this via a short story starring Wildreth, who finds himself traveling throughout the land. It's a fun read in and of itself.

The second part is the mechanics, class specifics and 'monster' statistics of a role playing game called "Phantasia."

Simply put, the mechanics work like this: You have natural Attributes & magical abilities.

You can do mundane things with your attributes, for example using your strength to lift a thing; or your intelligence to know a subject.

You can use your magical abilities to cast a spell which replaces or augments your natural attributes, for example casting a movement spell to lift a thing; or a divination spell to know a subject.

Magic is a free-form points based system, which you use to cast spells from your 'lifewell'. You either replace the points slowly over night or quickly with the aid of a catalyst. In fact, with the aid of a catalyst providing a continuous conduit of magic, you can directly draw magic from them (instead of or as well as, from your lifewell), casting more powerful spells.

You can use weapons or armour to replace or augment your natural attributes.

If you're familiar with the novels, you'll know that weapons and armour (technology) is banned, ostensibly as it gives life to dead things but the subtext is it's a power move by the ruling caste.
If you're adventuring in Thimhallan true to the books, it might be a fun twist.

Also if you've read the novels, you'll know catalysts are essentially non-casters, gifting life to others but having no magical abilities of their own. In an RPG, catalysts are crucial to the flow of magic and & the game but they're a one trick pony & require a selfless, team orientated type of player. Two tricks if you count opening 'Corridors.'

The format of the book and the game system itself is a little clunky. Spell creation can be quite convoluted which can slow down the flow of the game. I find this interesting as Tracy Hickman who co-authored this book has also co written a book called XDM: X-Treme Dungeon Mastery which leans away from crunch.

Darksword Adventures has been out of print since I discovered the Darksword series as a teenager. However, I was so taken with the idea of being able to craft your own spells, I fell in love with this book and have been collecting it whenever I stumbled across a copy in secondhand bookstores.... To keep them safe...

Of late I'm trying to keep a copy available for sale on our local 'TradeMe' website for anyone who is Darksword curious.

[DW]

This covered all the ground I wished I had seen in the original trilogy and I found the framing stories for all the information more engaging than The Talented Mr. Joram OG. Truly, scrap Simkin and the lot of them. The imagined characters and framing narrative that takes us across all the lands of Thimhallen are more humble, human, and readable.

I was always fascinated by the mysteries, particularly those that were lost or in the background of the story.

I felt this book is better than the Trilogy itself in the way it engaged my imagination. The game system itself is very interesting and welcoming. They even devised an arch system for coming up with random numbers using a complex hand-gesture 'rock-paper-scissors' game if you couldn't get a d10. Pretty original idea, though also so complicated I'm not sure if it is usable.

[James Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully fantasticly magical world