The fourth of the Fabled Lands instalments takes the reader to the barren steppes and vast mountain ranges of the northern continent. As such the bulk of the surface area to be explored involves a lot of traversing the eponymous plains. They aren’t as daunting as the title might suggest, especially if your ‘scouting’ attribute is high. In fact they can be a lot of fun. There are plenty of encounters and scenarios to be found scattered around, if you can find them. The central core of the area is quite considerable as it stretches the length of the northern continent. This means it can be a bit tricky to locate certain things you have been given suggestions to find but has the advantage that you are frequently encountering things you haven’t before because they are so spread about and easily missed.
There is certainly a historical Mongolian influence loosely based around the wandering nomad tribes of the Gobi before the unification under Genghis Khan. It is certainly a marked difference to the environment of the other three Fabled Lands books that take place on the northern continent, which were all set in very much a fantasy/mediaeval European mix. The writers have successfully created an authentic feel to the environment that anyone who has travelled in the Gobi should recognise.
The journeys across the plains and steppes (and you will travel across them a lot) are not the most involved or interesting areas of the book, however.
The city of Yarimura, really the only major settlement in the book, is a multicultural conglomeration. There is clearly influence from across the various other civilisations, especially from the eastern Akatsurai. It gives it an east-meets-west feel. The islands off the eastern coast of Yarimura also have a lot to entertain concealed within them and offer a change of landscapes from the plains.
This book, with its territory spread across the length of the northern continent, perhaps more than its fellows, relies on interaction with the other books in the series. The scenario at Velis Corin is much more worthwhile if you possess knowledge of the political events within ‘The War Torn Kingdom’ of Sokara and there are multiple places like the Ruby Citadel or Kaschuf’s Keep that require knowledge gained in previous books. Nerech isn’t accessible without ‘The War Torn Kingdom’. Most of all though, ‘The Plains of Howling Darkness’ needs to be read in conjunction with ‘The Kingdom of Hidden Faces’ to unlock its best aspects (it is also impossible to set sail from the west coast of the continent without it). Of course this means the purchase of another book but it is definitely worthwhile playing these two books almost simultaneously.
The mountains that form the northern border of the map give a fascinating visual impression. The concept of a mountain range at the edge of the world that looks out to space is quite an awe inspiring image. Unfortunately, although they are worth visiting for the effect they are of little benefit to the adventurer. They suffer from the same problem that litters the Fabled Lands series; that of spending ages trying gain the rights skills, items and information to access a previously locked area only to succeed and find no reward but some form of teleportation that sends you back to a place in another book that you then have to spend ages to get back from. Annoying as that can be though it is part of the gameplay. Enjoy the mountains but don’t venture to far into them.
The quests on offer within ‘The Plains of Howling Darkness’ are sometimes a little more complicated and difficult to those in the previous Fabled Lands books but they are generally more rewarding and beneficial to the reader. Essentially this is due to their interaction with the other books in the series. Without this interaction the adventuring on offer may feel a little shallow at times.
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