Fabled Lands is a revered open-world series but can be tough to get started. So here's a few starting quests and a few quests more, plus some other tips.
Wandering Aimlessly is the Default
Fabled Lands is the 100 Endings Book Club read for March 2026, and it's a great series, the first of the Open-World series. It's a hard series to get started in. There is no main plot in Fabled Lands, so it's all about where you go, what you do and how you choose to do it.
Players often report wandering aimlessly, finding it hard to get achievable quests, money or places to get started.
So here are a few options for Book 1, the War-Torn Kingdom.
5 Starting Quests in The War-Torn Kingdom
These are quests or opportunities to get you started in Fabled Lands book one.
- In Blessed Springs, there's a monster up the hill. It's not particularly tough, and has some treasure.
- The knights of the Castle of the Dragon Knights (west of Caran-Baru) will challenge any who enter to a joust. However, they're not very good at it and they like to give away their nice, valuable, protective plate armour. (More than once!)
- If you explore the city in Marlock City, go to the Street of Entertainers. When you leave the casino, if you help a man being mugged he gives you something and a possible place to investigate. (It's more valuable in the long run than robbing him)
- If you talk to the high priest of Alvir and Valmir in Yellowport, he'll ask you to get a net from under the sea (There are two ways at Shadar Tor to get underwater breathing)
- There is a quest for each of the Professions. These should all give a Rank if completed. These are found...
- For a Mage, it's more involved than the others. You need to investigate the Street of Entertainers and help a guy and follow his instructions to get your quest (detailed in the Marlock City quest above)
- For a Priest, its in the House of Priests in Marlock City
- For a Rogue, go talk to the high priest at the Temple of Sig in Marlock City.22
- For a Troubadour, you'll get asked to do something if you buy drinks for people in the Three Rings tavern in Marlock City
- For a Warrior, leaving Yellowport to head towards Trefoille
- For a Wayfarer, in the forest settlement on the Isle of Druids, they ask something of you when you leave the market.
5 More Quests in the War-Torn Kingdom
And then here are five more involved and/or harder quests
- The merchant guildmaster in Yellowport will pay you to destroy the rat king below the city.
- If you can get an audience with the provost marshal in Yellowport, he has a proposal for you (which might lead to a more extended adventure)
- The villagers in Venefax have a problem you might be able to help with. You can talk to them on the rooftop. (Not the scorpion-folk, that's another quest)
- In the temple of Nagil in Marlock City, the warden will ask you to track down a Ghoul.
- If you buy drinks at the Gold Dust Tavern in Yellowport, you'll meet someone who asks you to rescue a book from Scorpion Blight.
Other Tips
Fabled Lands is far more of an old school experience, with insta-deaths and tough rolls or fights coming out of nowhere.
One way to make it easier is to start in one of the later books (such as 4 or 5) with a higher rank, and then head to book 1 or 2.
In general, I usually prioritise...
- A Resurrection Deal from one of the temples
- Better armour and weapons, because there's always things to fight you
- Getting and keeping as many blessings at any time as possible
- Somewhere to store things, including a backup stash of money, weapon and armour.
Also, you can play the game any way you want to, including ignoring insta-deaths or using some sort of Scars system to see how deadly it was (gain a Scar instead of dying permanently).
Finishing Up
If you want a gamebook book club, join us on the 100 Endings Discord. The monthly Rand Roll Newsletter also has a gamebooks section. There's also a whole section of Gamebook Articles, including interviews.
