Treasures of the Savage Frontier

                 Reviewed by Julian Gregory

Treasures is the second in a series after Gateway to the Savage
Frontier and before Pools of Darkness.  The storyline continues
from Gateway and it is possible to transfer characters from the
game to Treasures. This does have an advantage in that the
characters moved are likely to have greater experience than those
which can be created in the game, so that you can start with a
larger amount of hit points and giving access to more spells that
much quicker.

The manual starts with an introduction to set the scene. The story
starts far to the south of where Gateway to the Savage Frontier
was set. Llorkh is the ancient stronghold where you met the
besieged dwarves at the end of Gateway. The monsters you summoned
had almost destroyed the Zhentarim legions (the baddies). When
news reached the dwarves they realised that this was their chance
to revolt and overthrow the Zhentarim. But, and there is always a
but, the Zhentarim leader had held back a large force and a great
battle is now underway for control of the city. That is where you
come in, surprise, surprise. Your task is to assist the dwarves
and free the city.

All the above is fairly typical of RPGs in general.

As with all these types of role-playing games you will need to set
up a well rounded party, if you do not choose to use the transfer
option.  You need a balance between fighters and magic-users. Most
of the battles in Treasures are quite easy. However every so often
you come across several groups of the enemy and they are well able
to destroy you very quickly. If you read the manual which comes
with the game you will see that it is recommended that you move
your characters around to take advantage of any natural cover such
as doorways. I have never found this hint to be of any use, until
this game. In my opinion some of the fights are among the toughest
I have come across in this series. You will not be able to survive
very long without the use of magic, hence the need to have and
protect your clerics and magic-users.

You will need to travel to various other cities during your
mission.  The plot is fairly linear. When you finally succeed with
a difficult battle you normally can find a scroll which will give
further information or you will then be able to meet someone who
will help you onto the next part by telling you which city to go
to next.

Overall this is a well put together game, but, for my liking, some
of the fights are too difficult, particularly towards the
beginning when your characters do not have that much in the way of
experience or spells. Having said that, you will be rewarded if
you are prepared to put the necessary work into building up your
team of characters.





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