&sq=Google&lang=en&file=File:Game_logo_of_Legends_game.jpg){kind=logo} Game logo | |
| Designers | Jim Landes |
|---|---|
| Publishers | Midnight Games, Harlequin Games |
| Years active | 1989 to current |
| Genres | sword and sorcery, heroic fantasy, play-by-mail |
| Languages | English |
| Playing time | fixed, months to years |
| Materials required | instructions, order sheets, turn results |
| Media type | play-by-mail/email or web |
| Website | https://www.harlequingames.com/ |
Legends (or Legends PBM) is a turn-based, role-playing game with a medieval setting. It is currently published in English by Harlequin Games. Jim Landes—owner of Midnight Games, the game's first publisher—began developing the game in 1984, eventually publishing it in December 1989 as a play-by-mail (PBM) game after over a year of playtesting. The initial game comprised a module and game system built on the publisher's existing game, Epic, and was run briefly as Swords of Pelarn before publication as Legends. The first of multiple game modules was Crown of Avalon, which allowed up to 200 players per game. Demand by 1991 was "incredible" according to Bruce R. Daniel in White Wolf.[1] Games could be lengthy, initially between three and ten years of play, settling into an average of three years by 2002.
Midnight Games eventually licensed the game to other companies including Epic Games in the United States, Rhann Postal Games in the UK, PBM Associates in Australia, and others. The various publishers launched multiple subsequent modules over time, primarily fantasy-themed, but with some modules containing non-standard elements such as a Starfarer character class. The game today is run by computer.
Basic gameplay is in the sword and sorcery style. Some modules vary from this model, including military force-on-force play. Players design characters with numerous available options. All game elements are interactive, allowing players to explore, roleplay and interact with non-player characters (including monsters) and other player characters, gameplay combat on various scales, and improve their position over time. Modules vary in duration and requirements for victory.
Legends has won various awards. The Swords of Pelarn module won an Origins Award in 1995 for Best New PBM Game and The One Ring—based on the Lord of the Rings—won the Origins Award for Best PBM game in 2010. Legends won a Gamer's Choice award at Origins 2005. The game has also been voted PBM Game of the Year multiple times in the early 1990s by the readers of Paper Mayhem magazine.