The Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight

Interplay Productions

Company type	Private
Industry	Video games
Founded	1983
Founder	Brian Fargo
Headquarters	Irvine, California , United States
Products	The Bard's Tale series

The Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight (commonly known as The Bard's Tale 2) is a fantasy role-playing game created by Interplay Productions in 1986. Serving as the direct sequel to The Bard's Tale, it marks the final entry in the series developed and coded by Michael Cranford.

Expanding on the foundation of its predecessor, this installment incorporates Dungeons & Dragons-style character archetypes and broadens gameplay with an extensive environment that includes an open wilderness, six cities, and numerous dungeons, highlighting its dungeon-crawling focus. New additions encompass casinos, banks, and the debut of the Archmage as a playable magic user.

Although initial critical reception was mixed, The Bard's Tale II earned the Origins Award for Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Computer Game of 1986. In 2018, Krome Studios issued a remastered version within The Bard's Tale Remastered Trilogy collection.

Plot

Players command a group of adventurers tasked with locating seven fragments of the shattered Destiny Wand scattered throughout The Realm. Along their journey, they face mercenaries and explore various dungeons such as The Tombs, Fanskar's Fortress, Dargoth's Castle, and the Maze of Dread. After gathering all pieces, the party confronts Archmage Lagoth Zanta; the individual who successfully reforges the Wand attains immortality as the Destiny Knight.

An optional introductory dungeon in Tangramayne provides an opportunity for character development before embarking on the main quest, which involves navigating increasingly difficult dungeons to recover all wand fragments and complete the final confrontation.

Setting and characters

Set within "The Realm," The Bard's Tale II unfolds in a land that has enjoyed peace for seven centuries thanks to the Destiny Wand—crafted by Archmage Turin—until it was stolen and broken. The game world features an expansive wilderness and six cities: Colosse, Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, Tangramayne, and Thessalonica. Each city contains taverns, banks, and entrances to dungeons.

Players form parties of up to seven active members at each city's Adventurer's Guild. Characters can be imported from The Bard's Tale, Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (Apple II), or Ultima III: Exodus, or created from scratch. Playable races include human, elf, dwarf, hobbit, half-elf, half-orc, and gnome. Unlike its predecessor, monsters may be recruited indefinitely into the party.

Initial classes available are warrior, paladin, rogue, bard, hunter, monk, conjurer, and magician. Advanced roles such as sorcerer, wizard, and the newly introduced archmage require progression; archmage status demands at least three levels in four different magic-user classes. Character attributes—strength, intelligence, dexterity, constitution, luck—are assigned randomly and affect gameplay mechanics. Vacant party slots can be filled through encounters or magical means. The Bard class maintains its unique magical singing abilities with seven supportive melodies.

Gameplay

The interface in The Destiny Knight resembles that of its predecessor but features updated animated portraits for characters along with enhanced sound design—including richer Bard songs and atmospheric temple chants—boosting player engagement. The game primarily appeals to fans of dungeon crawling who appreciate mapping challenges and tactical combat reminiscent of Dungeons & Dragons.

Combat complexity is heightened with an extended range reaching up to 90 feet. Melee weapons excel at close quarters; ranged weapons like bows and spells exhibit varying effects depending on distance. Early battles rely heavily on fighters; spellcasters become dominant later as monsters grow stronger—some boasting over 1,000 hit points.

Magic plays a crucial role with a repertoire of 79 spells encompassing offensive magic, teleportation, site detection ("Scry Site"), illumination, and summoning allies. Spellcasters generally occupy rear positions for protection while casting. Certain items also possess spell-casting capabilities. Cultivating an archmage is vital for advancing through tougher encounters.

Exploration covers wilderness areas—introducing new creatures—cities, and multi-level dungeons. Non-player characters such as the Sage provide guidance for a fee. Teleportation spells facilitate swift travel between cities.

While city layouts vary mainly in design, they share common features including new establishments like banks and casinos along with traditional shops and taverns. Players can purchase, sell, or identify items at Garth's Equipment Shoppe; conduct financial transactions at Bedder's Bank; engage in gambling at casinos; seek information from bartenders; receive healing or resurrection services at temples; replenish spell units at Roscoe’s Energy Emporium (albeit expensively); and level up at the Review Board. Some unmarked buildings may harbor hostile creatures.

Dungeons span 25 levels filled with hazards such as spinners, teleporters, magic-draining areas, and darkness that complicates mapping efforts—though an automap feature is included in the remastered edition. Exploration uncovers clues essential for solving puzzles.

A significant gameplay element introduced here is the seven challenging Snares of Death—complex real-time puzzles set within dungeons under strict time constraints in magic-null zones with limited lighting. Parties cannot exit until these are solved; success rewards players with segments of the Destiny Wand while failure results in death. Only an archmage possesses the capability to reassemble the Destiny Wand to restore harmony to The Realm.

1980s release

The Bard's Tale II emerged as a continuation of the expanding fantasy role-playing genre during the 1980s, following the debut of The Bard's Tale I in 1985. Its development commenced immediately after the original game's completion, utilizing additional floppy disks to allow for a more extensive gaming experience. By the time of its 1986 launch, reviewer John Ryan observed in 1989 that it fulfilled a significant demand for the series. Enhancements in both visual presentation and narrative contributed to its commercial success.

Interplay Productions created The Destiny Knight, with Michael Cranford as the designer, drawing creative influence from The Lord of the Rings. Initially released by Electronic Arts for the Commodore 64 in December 1986, the title was subsequently ported to platforms such as Apple II, Atari ST, Amiga, MS-DOS, Apple IIgs, PC-98, and Nintendo Entertainment System through 1992. The game was followed by The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate, which debuted in March 1988.

Reception

The Bard's Tale II received the Origins Award for Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Computer Game of 1986.

Critical responses were varied. Scorpia of Computer Gaming World acknowledged the game's improvements yet criticized its repetitive traps and gameplay that favored magic users, ultimately recommending it "with reservations." By 1991, she regarded it as "the worst of the series." James Trunzo similarly pointed out frustrations with recurring traps and challenging interactions. On the other hand, Charles Ardai praised it as "a fine sequel," while Bob Guerra commended its introduction of new adversaries and animations that provided a robust challenge for enthusiasts. Compute! characterized it as challenging and best suited for seasoned players. Meanwhile, Ahoy!'s AmigaUser considered it at least on par with its predecessor.

Dragon magazine reviewers Hartley and Patricia Lesser strongly endorsed it for fantasy role-playing fans due to its broad scope. Michael Bagnall highlighted its distinctive features that appealed both to longtime players and newcomers seeking fresh challenges.

Legacy

In conjunction with the 2015 Kickstarter campaign for The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep, inXile collaborated with Rebecca Heineman's Olde Sküül to update the original trilogy for contemporary Mac OS and Windows systems. After encountering development difficulties, responsibility for the project shifted to Krome Studios.

Krome Studios launched a remastered edition of The Destiny Knight on October 23, 2018, featuring upgraded graphics and an added automap function. Subsequently, a legacy mode was incorporated.

Following Microsoft's acquisition of inXile Entertainment, the revitalized trilogy was released on Xbox One on August 13, 2019, with support for Xbox Play Anywhere. Earlier versions had appeared on PC-98 (1991) and Nintendo Entertainment System (1992).

Reception

In 2018, Alex Santa Maria acknowledged The Destiny Knight as an integral part of a classic PC gaming franchise. A review by Old Game Hermit in 2020 assigned it a score of 55/100, citing its high difficulty and repetitive gameplay while recognizing its satisfying challenge. In 2023, Scott Orgera included the trilogy among his "10 Best Offline RPGs," emphasizing its reputation as the "Best Old-School RPG."

See also

• Silversword

External links

• Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight – Comprehensive game details including spell catalogs, item descriptions, and interactive maps available at BardsTaleOnline.com
• Bard's Tale II, The Destiny Knight – Information on the Commodore 64 version hosted at Gamebase 64
• Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight – Extensive item lists, maps, and step-by-step guides provided by Poverello Media's Bard's Tale Compendium
• The Bard's Tale 2 – The Destiny Knight – Archived copy accessible via Internet Archive