Legacy of the Ancients

Legacy of the Ancients is a fantasy RPG computer game published by Electronic Arts in 1987.

The player takes on the role of a young shepherd who finds and loots a recently dead body while on a first trip to the city, taking a black disk (see Copy Protection, below), a bracelet, and a leather scroll. The player is mysteriously transported to a galactic museum. The player learns that by taking these items he has become the next in a line of adventurers attempting to destroy the Wizard's Compendium, the leather scroll the player picked up.

The museum had various diaplay cases that required the insertion of special coins of various types to access. Some coins could be bought in random encounteres with NPCs, some can be found as loot after combat, and some coins can only be found at the bottom level of various dungeons, meaning the player cannot proceed beyond a certain point until that dungeon is finished.

Unlike many CRPGs, the game did not use an experience point system. The player gained levels only through the successful completion of various quests.

The game was mostly in top-down style for the world maps, towns, and castles, but switched to a 3D style in the dungeons and in the museum.

Several different areas of the game, like games in towns and certain museum displays, allowed the character to play in special mini-games which if done successfully will permanently increase attributes. Also, various casinos about the towns let players gamble to win money. It is also possible to rob banks in cities, but this attracts the attention of the powerful guards, who will remember the robbery for quite some time after the player leaves.