The strategic part is the main part of the game. Here you try to negotiate with Lord Holders of Craftsmasters to make allies in your fight against the Thread. The game was considered a forerunner of similar games based on novels. [1] A sequel for the Commodore 64, Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern, was cancelled and not completed. [2] Plot [ edit ] Dragon Riders of Pern ends after a certain number of turns (also to be selected at game beginning), when a player reaches a certain number of “Victory Points” awarded for forging alliances, or when a certain number of Holds are infested by threads. Dragonriders names The game consists of two major phases: Negotiation/Intrigue, where you negotiate with Lord Holders or Craftsmasters, and Thread Fighting. where you fight the Thread from infesting your lands.

Dragonriders of Pern is a video game published by Epyx in 1983 based on Anne McCaffrey's book series of the same name. The game was released for the Atari 8-bit family and Commodore 64. Gameplay [ edit ] A thread fight. The dragon is in the upper right corner of the screen in the frontmost of three "depths". Thread is falling on two of these depths; the larger Threads (like those lower on the screen) at the front, and smaller Threads (examples at the top) in the middle depth.

You can facilitate negotiations by organizing special events: To win the confidence of a Lord Holder who fancies dragons, invite him to a Hatching. Weddings also provide opportunities to score diplomatic points. By 1982 the company had grown very large and Freeman left to work on his own (forming Free Fall Associates). Although Connelley was ostensibly in control of the company, in effect he had removed himself from the day-to-day operations to focus on development. This led to the formation of an internal development team under his direction, known as "The Connelley Group". [2] During this period, the company continued moving its focus from simulations and wargames to action titles. By 1983 the company's management was focusing on the Epyx brand, and changed the name of the company to match. [2] A board game based on the same basic premise was also released in 1983 by Mayfair Games. Like the Epyx game, the board game concentrated on the diplomatic efforts of one to seven players, with the same basic victory conditions. Unlike the Epyx version, there was no action sequence. [3] The parallels between the gameplay dynamics of the two games are striking, but existing sources do not record whether or not this was due to a collaborative effort. Like the books, Dragonriders focuses on the strategic need to form alliances between the Holds, Weyrs, and Guilds. It also had the option of periodic action sequences in which the player has to fight the Thread directly. Thread fighting occurs at the end of each year. During this phase of the game, you mount your dragons and you must pursue the falling Thread and char it in midair with the dragon’s fiery breath before it lands.

Next, enter the name of your dragon when prompted, allowing only ten characters here. Correct dragon names end in “th”. (ex. Mnementh, Kadith, Orth, etc.) Play Dragonriders of Pern online The first book, Dragonflight, is primarily focused on the efforts of Benden Weyr's new dragon master to form an alliance to fight the soon-to-arrive Thread. It has been hundreds of years since the last approach of the two planets, and the planet is ill-prepared for its return. While negotiations are taking place, a map of Pern periodically appears, highlighting a Hold where Thread is falling. Any of the Weyrs can choose to send dragons to fight the Thread, and how many to send. The outcome of these battles has a major influence on the Weyr's perception among the Holds, so sending dragons to allies, or potential allies, has a major outcome during the next turn. When the turn ends, thread is fought. [1]

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Pern is at the mercy of the Thread, a deadly microorganism native to another planet in the Pern solar system. When the two planets periodically approach each other in orbit every few hundred years, the organisms form into long strings of thread that cross the gap through space.