Gateway to the Savage Frontier

Gateway to the Savage Frontier is a Dungeons and Dragons computer game developed by Stormfront Studios and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. for the Commodore 64, PC, and Amiga personal computers. The title was the #1 selling game in North America in August 1991. "Welcome, Travellers, to the Forgotten Realms. Our story takes place in the western lands between Icewind Dale in the North and Waterdeep in the South. To the West the Sea rolls to the shore and the eastern border is made up by Anauroch, the impassable Great Desert.

Exactly this notorious desert the evil armies of Zhentil Keep are planning to cross, to subdue the western lands and so further tighten their already iron grip on the Forgotten Realms. To achieve so vast a goal, they need magic items of great power. And that's where YOU come into play..."

Plot
The game revolves around a standard (for Gold Box adventures) party of six adventurers who inadvertently get caught up in a plot by the Zhentarim to conquer the entire Savage Frontier area.

The party starts off in Yartar, having just escorted a caravan from the dwarven stronghold Citadel Adbar, ruled by the dwarf king Harbromm. At the tavern, while the party is enjoying a feast and spirits, something is slipped into their food that causes them to pass out, and they are robbed of all gold and gear, especially the magic longsword that one member used to slay a griffon at Longsaddle. Fortunately, each character keeps a purse of coins under their pillow so they can buy armor and weapons.

By rescuing Krevish, the party is hired by the Kraken Society in Yartar to assassinate a cleric of Bane at Nesme, only to discover that this evil priest was the only individual standing in the way of the conquest.

The party rescues the magic-user Amelior Amanitas from Everlund, an eccentric and somewhat absent-minded wizard who explains how to stop the Zhentarim. Returning to Yartar, the party is captured and imprisoned in a Kraken base below the city. There, the magic longsword stolen at the start is recovered but the party has to fight four giant squids in a huge tank before escaping.

They must find four magical statues scattered across the frontier before the Zhentarim, led by a General Vaalgamon, gets to them. Zhentil Keep plans to use these magical statues to open a way through an otherwise-unpassable desert for their armies. Finally they travel to the dead city of Ascore to end the Zhentarim plot. If successful, the party are hailed as the "Heroes of Ascore", which is carried over into the sequel.

Gameplay
The gameplay is very similar to other games in the series. The player creates and manages a six-member party of adventurers following the AD&D rules. The game is first-person view, and uses turn-based combat. There is a world map travel mode, which allows for enemy encounters and side quests. Side-quests are activated by finding and talking to certain NPCs.

Characters

 * Companions: Erek • Krevish • Murthur • Princess Jagaerda
 * Other: Amanita • Brinshaar • Broadhands • Ceptienne • King Redaxe • Rishpal • Vaalgamon

Creatures

 * Aarakocra • Displacer beast • Ettin • Fire giant • Griffon • Harpy • Hell Hound • Kraken • Lizard men • Manticore • Margoyle • Giant Snake • Goblin • Medusa • Mummy • Ogre • Orc • Otyugh • Owlbear • Scrag • Shambling mound • Stone golem • Troll

Locations

 * Buildings & Sites: Hosttower of the Arcane • Gallant Prince • Kraken Complex
 * Inns & Taverns: Valhalla Here
 * Shops: Broadhands Forge and Tack • Allis Lhyssich Fine Hand Crafted Weapons • Eanlin's Shop of Adventuring Supplies
 * Roads: High Road
 * Settlements: Everlund • Llorkh • Luskan • Nesme • Neverwinter • Port Llast • Secomber • Silverymoon • Sundabar • Yartar
 * Rivers: Delimbiyr • Greyflow
 * Wilderness: Frozenfar • Gundarlun • High Forest • Purple Rocks • Star Mounts • Trackless Sea • Trisk • Tuern • Uthreaal
 * Realms:
 * Ruins: Ascore
 * Regions: Delimbiyr Vale • Gray Vale • Savage Frontier • Silver Marches • Western Heartlands
 * Planes:


 * Moonsea • Zhentil Keep

Magic

 * Magic items: bracers of defense • cloak of displacement • gauntlets of dexterity • necklace of magic missiles • pale blue ioun stone • ring of reversal • sword of Icewind Dale • sword of stonecutting • wand of defoliation • wand of ice storm
 * Spells: bless • cure disease • cure light wounds • fireball • magic missile • prayer • stinking cloud

Organizations

 * Zhentarim • Kraken Society • Company of the Brazen Pennant

Religions

 * Bane


 * Mielikki

Miscellaneous

 * Materials: meteorite

Game Credits
From the game manual, the Gateway to the Savage Frontier Adventures Journal.
 * Amiga:
 * Design: Don L. Daglow
 * Programming: Linwood Taylor
 * Art Director: David Bunnett
 * Illustration: Sergio Lobato, David Bunnett
 * Map Graphics: Arturo Sinclair
 * Theme Music: Linwood Taylor
 * Encounter Authors: Don L. Daglow, Mark Buchignani, Cathryn Mataga, Linwood Taylor


 * Commodore 64:
 * Design: Don L. Daglow
 * Programming: Mark Manyen, Mark Buchignani
 * Graphics: Sergio Lobato, Arturo Sinclair, David Bunnett
 * Music: Linwood Taylor
 * Encounters Authors: Don L. Daglow, Mark Buchignani, Cathryn Mataga, Linwood Taylor


 * DOS:
 * Design: Don L. Daglow
 * Programming: Cathryn Mataga
 * Graphics / Artwork: David Bunnett, Sergio Lobato, Arturo Sinclair
 * Art Director: David Bunnett
 * Project Manager: George MacDonald
 * Writing: Mark Buchignani, Don L. Daglow, Cathryn Mataga, Linwood Taylor
 * Sound Effects Driver: John Ratcliffe
 * Music Production: Linwood Taylor
 * Journal Entries in Manual: Don L. Daglow
 * Game Development: George MacDonald, Rick E. White
 * Documentation: Richard Wilson
 * Playtest Manager: Larry Stephen Webber
 * Playtesting: Philip L. Alne, Mike Balajadia, Glen A. Cureton, Cyrus G. Harris, John Kirk, Alan Marenco, Jason Ray, Jeffrey Shotwell, Eduardo Trillo, André Vrignaud, James Young, Dennis Zahina
 * Art, Graphic Design, and DTP: Peter Gascoyne (for Louis Saekow Design)
 * Pre‑Press Production: Ray Garcia (for Louis Saekow Design), Kirk Nichols