The Bard’s Tale was originally released 40 years ago in 1985 by Interplay Productions and published by Electronic Arts. The game was developed by Michael Cranford, and it stood out because it leveraged the graphical and processing capabilities of 8-bit and early 16-bit systems. The game showcased detailed visuals and complex mechanics that pushed hardware systems.
The Bard’s Tale features a party-based system where players can create a group of up to six characters. The versatility of party creation is a big part of the game and it’s where we’re going to spend most of our focus in this first post. The first thing I wanted to do was create my party.
There are five stats in the game, each with their own uses.
Strength: A high strength score will increase the damage that you do per hit which does not include ranged or magical attacks.
Dexterity: A high dexterity reduces your AC, the lower the AC (Armor Class) the better. In addition, dexterity figures into your turn order, the higher your dexterity the better odds that you’ll go first.
Constitution: Higher constitution scores give better hit points on average when you level up. As you progress in the game, you’ll encounter enemies that cause ranged attacks, so you’ll even want your casters in the back to have higher constitution scores.
Intelligence: A higher intelligence score factors into your magic points per level gained calculations. Any spell caster wants to make this stat a priority.
Luck: This stat is allegedly tied into saving throws against magic and traps.
Now that we have the stats out of the way let’s take a look at the race options. Each race has their own minimum and maximum potential for each stat. You have seven different racial options to choose from: human, elf, dwarf, hobbit, half-elf, half-orc, and gnome.
Fighter: Can wear heavy armor and equip powerful weapons. They get a bonus attack every four levels. Suggested races: Half-Orc with Human and Dwarf as runners-up.
Paladin: Has an increased chance to resist magic but doesn’t have the attack progression that the fighter does. Useful in the later part of the game where spellcasters become more frequent and your casters are doing the lion’s share of the damage output. Suggested races: Humans and Dwarves. The Half-Orc and Half-Elf cannot be Paladins.
Hunter: This class has the advantage of possibly landing a critical blow, melee or with the bow, instantly slaying the foe. However, he can’t wear the same gear that Fighter’s and Paladins can, so his defenses are thus lacking. Suggested races: Half-Orcs or Humans. A Half-Elf cannot be a hunter, and because of their equipment hindrance, you don’t want a Dwarf’s low dexterity weighing you down even further.
Rogue: This class was useful early in the game to save my Conjurer’s magic points, but at higher levels now I am finding this class almost useless. Suggested races: Human, Half-Elf, or Half-Orc.
Monk: A powerhouse in melee. They can wear armor, and their AC is reduced as their level goes up so they can very quickly hit low armor class scores. Their unarmed damage scales very rapidly. By level 3 or 4 they should be unarmed and then remain that way. I will likely soon be dropping my Rogue and adding a Monk to the party. Suggested Races: Human, Half-Elf, or Dwarf.
Bard: You’re going to want one in your party. Their songs are extremely useful when used correctly and this is their tale after all. The bard class, central to the game’s identity, can cast spells through songs, which added a novel gameplay element. Suggested races: Human, Half-Elf, or Dwarf.
Conjurer: The first of the two entry-level magic users. Conjurers focus on utility magic. There is the very important Trap Zap spell, Lesser and Greater Revelation for lighting dark dungeons and discovering secret doors, and so much more. They are also your main healer. A must have in your party. Suggested races: Elf or Hal-Elf.
Magician: This magic user focuses more on combat magic. They have some of the better early access damage spells. In the new version of this game available on Steam, there is a spell entitled Quick Fix which was not available in the original game. It allows you to heal exactly 8 points of damage to a character for only three mana points which is invaluable during the early part of the game. Suggested races: Elf or Half-Ef.
This was one of the very few games that I actually beat and played all the way to the end when it first came out. I had been a huge Wizardry fan and was captivated with The Bard’s Tale which seemed to improve upon the Wizardry dynamic in every way. I can’t remember what my party composition was when I beat the game the first time, and I can’t yet attest that my current party composition is a great winning combination but here is my current party composition:
Paladin: Fost Longstrider
Warrior: Conan
Bard: Markus
Rogue: Shadowspawn
Conjurer: Kellory
Magician: Raistlin
The Rogue seems to me to be a weak point in my party composition, and I may drop Markus and add a Monk to the party. Each of my party members are already 11th level however so I need to think on this further. I am finding the Rogue to be almost useless here.
Once your party is finally completed you have to equip them. When you exit the Adventurer’s Guild you will find yourself on Main Street. If you turn left, you will find Garth’s Shoppe up ahead on your right and this is where you can buy and sell equipment. The town that you are exploring is Skara Brae and the new version of the classic game comes with an automapper of both town and dungeon. You can open your Journal by clicking the J key and this gives you the layout of where you have been and what you have seen.
In my next post I’ll detail my adventures in the sewers underneath Skara Brae and update you on my progress.
Until next time…..