Fantasy Empires
A D&D wargame with neural net AI and fog of war.
Fantasy Empires is a 1993 MS-DOS title that blends role-playing and wargaming, developed by Silicon Knights and published by Strategic Simulations. It operates under the Dungeons & Dragons license and takes place in the world of Mystara. Players begin by creating a character based on classic D&D classes, who acts as an army commander but never directly fights. The core gameplay unfolds on a strategic map, where the player expands territory by invading neutral or enemy provinces, constructs buildings on owned land, and recruits troops—only possible once the necessary structures are built. Beyond human units, provinces can produce orc, dwarf, elf, halfling, and shadow elf soldiers. The game offers two map visibility modes: full view, which reveals the entire world, and fog of war, which limits sight to adjacent kingdoms. Its AI is powered by a neural net. Additional features include making truces (breaking them may shift lawful or neutral characters toward chaotic alignment), creating hero types such as fighter, dwarf, elf, magic user, and cleric, adjusting battle scale from 20:1 to 1:1, and casting spells using points from magic user, clerical, and druidic heroes. Troops that survive multiple battles against 50 or more opponents can advance to veteran or elite ranks. Several NPC opponents are included, some reaching the 36th level and posing a significant challenge.
In 1994, Computer Gaming World praised the game, stating it "succeeds at all levels," highlighting its randomized countries and the "seamless integration" of human and computer players. Sandy Petersen reviewed it in Dragon #207 that same year, awarding 3 out of 5 stars. The German magazine POWERPLAY gave the original 1993 floppy disk version a 61% rating in its December 1993 issue. GameSpy later described Fantasy Empires as "a solid and fun strategy game, as well as an oddly forgotten credit for an excellent developer."
- Developer
- Silicon Knights
- Publisher
- Strategic Simulations
- Release Year
- 1993
- Platform
- MS-DOS
- Genre
- Role-playing fantasy wargame
- License
- Dungeons & Dragons
- Setting
- Mystara
Lore & Background
In Fantasy Empires, the player first creates a character along iconic Dungeons & Dragons roles, which serves as the army leader but does not fight. The main gameplay occurs on a strategic map where the player expands territory by invading provinces, constructs buildings, and hires troops—only possible if appropriate buildings exist. Provinces can produce units of humans, orcs, dwarves, elves, halflings, and shadow elves. The game offers a full view or fog of war option, with the latter limiting knowledge to adjacent kingdoms. The AI uses a neural net. Players can make truces, though breaking them may shift lawful or neutral characters to chaotic. Heroes of various types (fighter, dwarf, elf, magic user, cleric) can be created, and magic spells are cast using points derived from heroes (magic user, clerical, druidic). Battle scale can be set from 20:1 to 1:1. Troops surviving multiple battles against 50 or more opponents may become veterans or elites. The game includes NPC opponents, some reaching the 36th level.
Reader's Guide
Fantasy Empires holds a modest place in gaming history as an early example of a D&D-licensed strategy game that integrated role-playing elements with wargame mechanics. Its use of a neural net AI was innovative for 1993, and the fog of war option added strategic depth. Computer Gaming World praised it in 1994, stating it 'succeeds at all levels,' particularly noting randomized countries and seamless integration of human and computer opponents. However, Dragon #207 gave it 3 out of 5 stars, and the German magazine POWERPLAY rated it 61% for the floppy disk version. According to GameSpy, it was 'a solid and fun strategy game, as well as an oddly forgotten credit for an excellent developer.' Its legacy is that of a competent but overlooked title from a developer that later gained fame for other works.
Did You Know?
- The game uses a neural net for its AI.
- Troops can become veterans or elites after multiple battles against 50 or more opponents.
- The game includes NPC opponents that go through the 36th level.
- Breaking a truce can cause lawful or neutral characters to become chaotic.
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