[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/functions.php on line 4285: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /includes/functions.php:3493)
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/functions.php on line 4287: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /includes/functions.php:3493)
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/functions.php on line 4288: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /includes/functions.php:3493)
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/functions.php on line 4289: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /includes/functions.php:3493)
Forum in Aggro • View topic - Legend of the Red Dragon
Board index   FAQ   Search  
Register  Login
Board index Entertainment Gamer's Paradise

Legend of the Red Dragon

Everything related to games~

Legend of the Red Dragon

Postby Joseph Collins » Tue Apr 03, 2012 4:32 pm

Well, this is pretty much the reason I started coming here, so why not a topic about it?

Who here remembers Legend of the Red Dragon? I mean aside from the vague reference Bear made in March 30th's comic. Anyone? No? Well, Legend of the Red Dragon was a text-based competitive fantasy/role-playing Door Game (external application) that was played on the precursor to the Internet, BBSes (Bulletin Board Services). The story was simple: A red dragon decided it would be fun to terrorize an (as of that point) unnamed town and its people, eating children and the like, so the town put a call out for heroes to go kill it.

As you might expect, you couldn't just march up to the dragon and lop off its head. No, before you could do that, you had to go through a series of trials, killing nearby lesser threats in the forest and gaining experience points. After enough experience was earned, a player could go fight their current "master" to seek advancement. Beating the master would raise your level (and stats) and give you a new master. Beating the Level 12 master, Turgon, would allow you to go track down the Red Dragon and try and kill it. Beating the dragon would either finish the game completely, or send you back to Level 1 to do the whole thing over, depending on how the game was set to work. (The BBS SysOp (System Operator) could set the number of "Dragon Kills" it took to win the game.)

Now, the big thing about this game is that it had to be played over the course of days, weeks, and sometimes months. The was done on purpose to bring interest into BBSes. Here's how it worked:
You couldn't just blitz through the game in one day (on most BBSes, anyway). You had a set amount of "Forest Fights" you were allowed per-day. (I think 40?) While you may have been able to advance a level one day, you'd have to come back to challenge the next level, and so-on and so-forth. And this isn't taking into consideration that some of the monsters could kill you, ending your gaming session for that day prematurely, forcing you to come back tomorrow to try again.
In addition to the usual monsters and whatnot, you could also find random events in the forest, such as chatting with the magically-reanimated head of a princess, rescuing prince(sse)s from random towers, or harassing fairies for fun and profit! Some of these events could give you bonus items, such as gems (to buy stats with), a horse (to access the semi-hidden tavern in the forest), or experience and gold. There weren't really any negative events, but the "rescue the prince(ss) quest could end badly, depending on if you make the wrong choice or whatnot.

Another aspect of the game was its player-vs-player options. The basic PvP was that you could go and kill other players for whatever gold and gems they had on-hand, as well as half of their experience points (they lost 10% of their total, but you earned 50%), but there were other competitions that could be had in the realm. For example, the leaderboard shows who has the highest level and experience, but there's another leaderboard in the Dark Cloak Tavern as well, which is kept updated by an old man who likes to gamble. But enough about that.

All and all, Legend of the Red Dragon was a darn good way to kill a few minutes a day. With social and competitive aspects, wacky characters, an assortment of the more peculiar enemies and trials, and good old-fashioned ANSI graphics, it was an alluring way to get people to keep dialing in to your website on a regular basis and a darn lot of fun to play for everyone! It was... and it still is, in fact!
Many people continue the tradition of running Legend of the Red Dragon on their BBSes to this day. Yes, BBSes still exist. Some are the traditional dial-up kind while most can be reached via TelNet program. The BBS linking service of SynchroNet houses a multitude of these BBSes, most of which actually do run the game. However, I'm sure that after reading my monologue, you're more interested in just playing the game itself. Right?

Yes... Now comes the part where I ruin everything by turning my monologue into an advertisement. Sigh. T_T

It just so happens that there are a couple places on the web dedicated to hosting and playing Legend of the Red Dragon. One of the biggest and best places to do so is a place called "" (Mature Content Warning: The game contains some PG-13 content.) It's an extremely organized group with "first to five dragon kills" rotations, three realms to play on each with their own difficulty rules, a friendly and competitive community, and the same old Seth Able Robinson Legend of the Red Dragon all two of us remember so fondly!

As I type this, the "casual" rule set realm -- Blue Realm -- has already finished their game for this round while the "hardcore" rule set realm -- Red Realm -- is about a couple weeks short of finishing, give or take circumstances, so now's a good time to pop in and get familiar with how the game works! If anyone's interested, drop on by and give the game a go! There's no obligation to stick around if it's not your thing, but it's definitely worth trying, since it's free and takes roughly 15 minutes a day to play.

(Note: If any of this sounds at all familiar, then you've probably played Kingdom of Loathing, which uses a very similar "play-per-day" setup and was directly inspired by Legend of the Red Dragon, as well as other BBS Door Games.)
I'm not that hard to find… if you know where to look.
-=()=-
User avatar
Joseph Collins
Archer LV 11/1
Archer  LV 11/1
 
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2012 7:24 am

Re: Legend of the Red Dragon

Postby Pie » Thu Apr 05, 2012 12:58 am

Welcome the forums Joseph! =D

ooo~ This piques my interest. Bear told me about it before, but it's nice to read your write-up to get some more background on the game. =) I think I'll look into this more and probably try it out once I have more time. XD Thanks for the post. /thx
User avatar
Pie
Gypsy LV 87/55
Gypsy  LV 87/55
 
Posts: 502
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 2:44 pm
Location: Cookie Crunch!

Re: Legend of the Red Dragon

Postby Joseph Collins » Thu Apr 12, 2012 9:41 pm

You're quite welcome! I always enjoy talking about old games other people may not even be aware exist.

And now, for interesting news. Round 47 has officially come to an end on Nuklear LORD (linked above), so the new round should start any time soon! Now is an opportune time to poke your heads in and see why Legend of the Red Dragon was and still is the #1 rated BBS Door Game ever made! :D
I'm not that hard to find… if you know where to look.
-=()=-
User avatar
Joseph Collins
Archer LV 11/1
Archer  LV 11/1
 
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2012 7:24 am

Re: Legend of the Red Dragon

Postby Bear » Wed Apr 18, 2012 2:26 am

Thank you for this nice post Joseph, it was really great to reminisce about LORD!

I really loved this game when I played it and I can imagine that making a LORD themed comic might be difficult, but I certainly wouldn't be opposed to it =)

I think LORD was the only real text-based adventure that I played religiously. I had very little exposure to PC and Western gaming influence, sadly, because all my cash went to the Nintendo games I HAD to own. It was tough getting exposed to them too because all my friends were Mac users, while I was staunchly PC and I didn't know anyone who was into DND type stuff or typical Western fantasy. I believe I was in high school when my group of friends played together and I still fondly remember wanting to get home so I could do my daily forest romp, do my PVP and even hitting on the bar maid Violet in hopes of getting laid! Woo! (It's funny because the women players get to hit on Seth (I think his name was), the bar minstrel.

I know this might be a bit retro for a lot of people here, but if you have a sense of adventure, I highly suggest checking it out. Maybe it is even something we can check out together on a Saturday play date (I definitely want to show Pie the game) and if people are interested, they can stick around.

But yeah, back when this was new, the idea of playing on a server with other people blew my mind and was probably a big factor in what lead my curiosity of telecommunications, which I later followed as a career path. Social gaming really is the best. =)
User avatar
Bear
Arc Bishop LV 149/120
Arc Bishop  LV 149/120
 
Posts: 1938
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2008 3:16 pm

Re: Legend of the Red Dragon

Postby Joseph Collins » Thu Apr 19, 2012 1:08 pm

I think Legend of the Red Dragon was a lot of peoples' first experience in the world of online multiplayer gaming. (And if not that, then probably Doom. But that's another topic in and of itself. X3) Unlike a lot of other games of the time, though, it barely required anything at all to run! So long as you had a computer and a little patience, you could play it. Playing with other people was a little more tricky, of course. For that, you needed a modem of 300 baud or faster (and a bit of patience, if you're running anything slower than 2400 baud), a phone line, and a dial-in BBS program, and of course, a BBS to dial into which hosted the game!

Seth Able the Bard was actually named after Seth Able Robinson, the guy who created the game. Violet wasn't named after anyone in particular, but the ability to seduce and eventually sleep with either character was something that a number of players strived for in a number of the games. Not only did it provide players with bonus experience points, but it was just plain fun to do. Even if they turned you down, it was pretty funny how they went about doing so.
They weren't the only lovable characters, of course. Pretty much every NPC in the realm, from the shopkeepers to the training center masters, all have unique personalities and quirks about them that made them all quite memorable. Chance, a man who knows about colors... The bartender who thinks all the new warriors are idiots... Halder the Level 1 trainer and Turgon the Level 12 trainer. And of course, who could ever forget Barak the Level 2 trainer? (For some reason, I always envision Barak looking like from his self-titled series of games.) Seth certainly didn't! He even managed to take over Turgon's Warrior Training in the sequel, Legend of the Red Dragon II! But I digress.

As you said, another big part of Legend of the Red Dragon was the fact you're playing with other people at all times. Sometimes live! You can chat in the bars, trade mail back and forth, flirt, and even leave messages in the Daily Happenings or other places for players to appreciate! And of course, you're always welcome to spread your wealth of Gold with other players... or perhaps kill them instead. On top of that, you could always communicate with them in the main BBS itself to strategize or socialize, which just reinforced the whole idea of getting and maintaining traffic on your BBS.

Now, you mentioned something about a Saturday play-date for Legend of the Red Dragon? I should mention that Legend of the Red Dragon isn't exactly suited for once-a-week scenarios or for those lacking dedication... It's a serious game that is played on a daily basis by up to 100-some players on any given bulletin board system for a mindbogglingly intense 15 minutes a day!
In all seriousness, though, 15 minutes may not seem like much, but you have to realize that if you miss even one day, you may fall behind the other players and lessen your chances of claiming that coveted Dragon Kill for yourself! Of course, if you're just playing to see how far you can get, then just play whenever you can and hope for the best. However, organizing everyone to hop in on a random Saturday to get their feet wet might be an interesting idea. just literally started a new round of gameplay today, and given that not everyone is going to jump right in immediately, I don't see the harm in delaying a few days so that everyone can experience it at their own pace. (I do strongly recommend people give it a look independently, though!)

Edit: I fully support the idea of a Legend of the Red Dragon comic in the future. Given the wide variety of completely messed up enemies which all seem to live in the forest just outside of town, as well as the eccentric and awesome NPCs, I don't think it would be as hard to write a comic for his game as you think! X3
I'm not that hard to find… if you know where to look.
-=()=-
User avatar
Joseph Collins
Archer LV 11/1
Archer  LV 11/1
 
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2012 7:24 am

Re: Legend of the Red Dragon

Postby Bear » Thu Apr 19, 2012 7:05 pm

For anyone who DOES try LORD, be warned. I messed up pretty big time on my first day, not realizing at ALL that there was a 30 minute connection time limit >_<

Kinda put off by the fact that there was a time limit with no apparent warning on the opening screen, but I understand why they must enforce a limit; you can't PVP unless someone is logged off and they don't want people to stay logged in all day to prevent themselves from being killed. You need to pony up the cash at the inn for a better chance of not being killed during your logout session, but that isn't a guarentee since the bartender CAN be bribed.

I ended up without using all my forest fights, challenging the first trainer (which I believe you can do in the first day) AND worst of all, I had all my money on hand, which means I've lost at least some of that gold to whoever killed me.

Ahh well...I'm sure whoever killed me was happy lol
User avatar
Bear
Arc Bishop LV 149/120
Arc Bishop  LV 149/120
 
Posts: 1938
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2008 3:16 pm


Return to Gamer's Paradise

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 15 guests