5 ms·

The Betrayal at Krondor Help Web

93 points by ccanassa 4y ago

bencollier49 4y ago
The book "Magician" by Raymond E. Feist, which this game came from, is a great read and interesting in as much as the book came after and grew out of a long-running RPG campaign, if I remember correctly.
- RektBoy 4y ago
  It is, would be interesting as a movie or game.
  - bencollier49 4y ago
    That's a good shout actually. It would make a terrific film in the right hands.
    - woolly 4y ago
      It's recently been re-optioned after the initial deal fell through to a company called Six Studios: https://www.tor.com/2022/02/03/riftwar-cycle-series-in-development-raymond-e-feist-janny-wurts/ https://www.tor.com/2022/02/03/riftwar-cycle-series-in-devel...
- mabster 4y ago
  There's also "Krondor, The Betrayal" where he turned the game back into a book! Unfortunately not as good as his earlier works.
  - 2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
    Yeah, the later works were very much fan service. Very easy reads if you’re on a holiday though.
  - xen0 4y ago
    That trilogy (Betrayal, Assassins, Tear of the Gods) is weird. 'Krondor: The Assassins' is 'readable' at least, but is also the only one not based on a game; it can be a little more focused, although it retains it's DnD campaign style story.
- stevekemp 4y ago
  There's a good writeup here with some more background https://www.filfre.net/2019/10/betrayal-at-krondor/ https://www.filfre.net/2019/10/betrayal-at-krondor/
- Andrew_nenakhov 4y ago
  It is not from the "Magician", it is set between 4th and 5th books in the main series and later was made into a novel.
  - bencollier49 4y ago
    I mean to say that Magician was the book which introduced the world.
- luciusdomitius 4y ago
  It is a great book, somewhat better than the competition, but being aware of Feist in the age of Tolkien, GRRM and even the Harry Potter lady, simply means a lonely childhood hah.
- kemayo 4y ago
  Magician was the start of a reasonably entertaining sword and sorcery series. The RPG campaign roots are really visible once you pay attention, but (as far as I can remember) in a better way than, say, Dragonlance managed. I always enjoyed the political fantasy spin-off series Daughter of the Empire by Janny Wurts more, though. :D
  - TillE 4y ago
    Feist gets a lot of flak for being yet another Tolkien ripoff, but I think he's by far the best of the ripoffs. The first trilogy, anyway. And yeah, the Empire trilogy is probably the best of his (co-)work.
  - xen0 4y ago
    Both Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon both feature a very literal party, gathering at a very literal tavern.
skocznymroczny 4y ago
Wish the game was remade, it has many interesting concepts, especially for its time, but the visual presentation and some gameplay elements hadn't aged well. It was an example of an early open world game. The most interesting part of the game is the first chapter. The game very directly makes you go south towards Krondor, and the path north contains some large enemy packs. But if you manage to defeat the two large enemy packs, it gets much easier later on and you can take a very long detour around the entire map. This means you can access some high level equipment and spells early on in the game. The game designers actually planned for this possibility, because there are some quests in those areas that can only be completed in the first chapter (normally you'd explore these areas around the third chapter at least).
- 2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
  I played BaK several times and never knew that.
- brolumir 4y ago
  While the game itself is not getting remade, there is an “inspired by” game in the works: https://www.callofsaregnar.com/ https://www.callofsaregnar.com/
  - ccanassa 4y ago
    Damn! They managed to update the graphics while keeping the "feel" of the original game, that's quite an impresive feat.
    - feanaro 4y ago
      Indeed. I'm a fan of both Daggerfall and Might and Magic, so this looks seriously good.
- Delk 4y ago
  On the other hand, I think one of the unique(?) elements of the game was perhaps because of the rather limited visual presentation. Betrayal at Krondor uses written descriptions of events and environments a lot. It felt natural, at least to me, perhaps partially because the graphics didn't really allow for showing a lot of detail visually. Extensive voice acting wasn't really a thing in the floppy era either. Nowadays, with the incredibly detailed graphics and professionally voice-acted spoken dialogue of AAA games, it might seem a lot more weird if what the characters saw were described in writing.
PostOnce 4y ago
Betrayal in Antara (the sequel to Krondor) was like Skyrim to me. The reviews mostly focused on the outdated graphics, but we've long since moved beyond "graphics keep getting better" and I suspect it would be more happily reviewed in 2022 than it was back then. Also, I consistently think about art (music, games, movies, books, etc), that while you may not have massive international fame, your work might still be somebody's favorite.
busterarm 4y ago
This game and Might and Magic VI have always been my high water marks for computer RPGs, despite their flaws. This website is serious nostalgia for me. The Mordhel wordlocks from this game are a mechanic I desperately wish other games would pick up (who doesn't like riddles?).
xen0 4y ago
I have very fond memories of this game; I played it a lot as a child and can still probably recite a great number of the word-locks. I'm pretty sure my parents would still recognise the riddle music too, even after 20+ years. I remember this site too and am saddened to learn of the author's passing. It's heartwarming to see a relic such as this preserved, when so many similar things are left to disappear with the communities that made them.
- busterarm 4y ago
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgRBXulWKXE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgRBXulWKXE Yep.

93 points by ccanassa 4y ago

The book "Magician" by Raymond E. Feist, which this game came from, is a great read and interesting in as much as the book came after and grew out of a long-running RPG campaign, if I remember correctly.

RektBoy 4y ago
It is, would be interesting as a movie or game.
- bencollier49 4y ago
  That's a good shout actually. It would make a terrific film in the right hands.
  - woolly 4y ago
    It's recently been re-optioned after the initial deal fell through to a company called Six Studios: https://www.tor.com/2022/02/03/riftwar-cycle-series-in-development-raymond-e-feist-janny-wurts/ https://www.tor.com/2022/02/03/riftwar-cycle-series-in-devel...
mabster 4y ago
There's also "Krondor, The Betrayal" where he turned the game back into a book! Unfortunately not as good as his earlier works.
- 2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
  Yeah, the later works were very much fan service. Very easy reads if you’re on a holiday though.
- xen0 4y ago
  That trilogy (Betrayal, Assassins, Tear of the Gods) is weird. 'Krondor: The Assassins' is 'readable' at least, but is also the only one not based on a game; it can be a little more focused, although it retains it's DnD campaign style story.
stevekemp 4y ago
There's a good writeup here with some more background https://www.filfre.net/2019/10/betrayal-at-krondor/ https://www.filfre.net/2019/10/betrayal-at-krondor/
Andrew_nenakhov 4y ago
It is not from the "Magician", it is set between 4th and 5th books in the main series and later was made into a novel.
- bencollier49 4y ago
  I mean to say that Magician was the book which introduced the world.
luciusdomitius 4y ago
It is a great book, somewhat better than the competition, but being aware of Feist in the age of Tolkien, GRRM and even the Harry Potter lady, simply means a lonely childhood hah.
kemayo 4y ago
Magician was the start of a reasonably entertaining sword and sorcery series. The RPG campaign roots are really visible once you pay attention, but (as far as I can remember) in a better way than, say, Dragonlance managed. I always enjoyed the political fantasy spin-off series Daughter of the Empire by Janny Wurts more, though. :D
- TillE 4y ago
  Feist gets a lot of flak for being yet another Tolkien ripoff, but I think he's by far the best of the ripoffs. The first trilogy, anyway. And yeah, the Empire trilogy is probably the best of his (co-)work.
- xen0 4y ago
  Both Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon both feature a very literal party, gathering at a very literal tavern.

skocznymroczny 4y ago

Wish the game was remade, it has many interesting concepts, especially for its time, but the visual presentation and some gameplay elements hadn't aged well. It was an example of an early open world game. The most interesting part of the game is the first chapter. The game very directly makes you go south towards Krondor, and the path north contains some large enemy packs. But if you manage to defeat the two large enemy packs, it gets much easier later on and you can take a very long detour around the entire map. This means you can access some high level equipment and spells early on in the game. The game designers actually planned for this possibility, because there are some quests in those areas that can only be completed in the first chapter (normally you'd explore these areas around the third chapter at least).

2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
I played BaK several times and never knew that.
brolumir 4y ago
While the game itself is not getting remade, there is an “inspired by” game in the works: https://www.callofsaregnar.com/ https://www.callofsaregnar.com/
- ccanassa 4y ago
  Damn! They managed to update the graphics while keeping the "feel" of the original game, that's quite an impresive feat.
  - feanaro 4y ago
    Indeed. I'm a fan of both Daggerfall and Might and Magic, so this looks seriously good.
Delk 4y ago
On the other hand, I think one of the unique(?) elements of the game was perhaps because of the rather limited visual presentation. Betrayal at Krondor uses written descriptions of events and environments a lot. It felt natural, at least to me, perhaps partially because the graphics didn't really allow for showing a lot of detail visually. Extensive voice acting wasn't really a thing in the floppy era either. Nowadays, with the incredibly detailed graphics and professionally voice-acted spoken dialogue of AAA games, it might seem a lot more weird if what the characters saw were described in writing.

PostOnce 4y ago

Betrayal in Antara (the sequel to Krondor) was like Skyrim to me. The reviews mostly focused on the outdated graphics, but we've long since moved beyond "graphics keep getting better" and I suspect it would be more happily reviewed in 2022 than it was back then. Also, I consistently think about art (music, games, movies, books, etc), that while you may not have massive international fame, your work might still be somebody's favorite.

busterarm 4y ago

This game and Might and Magic VI have always been my high water marks for computer RPGs, despite their flaws. This website is serious nostalgia for me. The Mordhel wordlocks from this game are a mechanic I desperately wish other games would pick up (who doesn't like riddles?).

xen0 4y ago

I have very fond memories of this game; I played it a lot as a child and can still probably recite a great number of the word-locks. I'm pretty sure my parents would still recognise the riddle music too, even after 20+ years. I remember this site too and am saddened to learn of the author's passing. It's heartwarming to see a relic such as this preserved, when so many similar things are left to disappear with the communities that made them.

busterarm 4y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgRBXulWKXE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgRBXulWKXE Yep.