Aethra's Chronicles

[Scythe]

Game: Aethra's Chronicles

Genre: RPG, with strategic turn-based combat

Made by: Michael W. Lawrence

Released: 1994

Status: Originally released as shareware - part 1 of 3, with the option to register to get the last parts - it has, as far as I can tell, been freeware since the author decided to give up on parts 2 & 3.

Get it: Sorry, don't. A registered, non-shareware version seems to be the only one that can be found online.

Description: To clear your father, the king's, name, you must travel the lands with your band of friends, delve into dungeons and fight bandits, monsters and demons.

Comments: Surprisingly entertaining RPG that suffers from a number of smaller problems but remains, overall, quite enjoyable. It's not really for the uninitiated player - a heavy RPG background is recommended.

[eMTe]

I have serious trouble with running this game. It works only with DOSBox for me, but even with its help it crashes. It has crashed three times already, always during character development (runtime error ### (dont remember exactly, but it wasnt 200 for sure)) and mouse cursor disappeared once + keyboard refused obedience.

Any help is appreciated.

[Scythe]

I wish I could help you... I've had no problems running it.

[Scythe]

Alright, I retried it on the old comp. I found quite the opposite of what I expected. It clearly states in the in game manual that it is the registered version and cannot be distributed, so I think we should abide by that.

This is the first chapter though, which was released as shareware, but this particular version must be a registered one that has been spread. There is a shareware version that can be freely distributed, if it exists anywhere still, but I can't find it.

I think we should let this one drop.

[Chroelle]

I wonder if we can find that version?

[Drasir-Vel]

I think this is the one: http://rapidshare.com/files/21841899/Ae ... nicles.zip

[DrJones]

the game was released as freeware by the author, Mike Lawrence, on his own website (which no longer exists), around 1998 I think. I found it on 2004 while looking for him as I wanted to buy his previous game "Dungeons of Kairn". I didn't know Aethra was so popular (in fact, I never played it), so I thought it would be good to announce that the author released it in good faith for all people to enjoy.

The game file can be downloaded here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vzyykj0bhebs6iw/aethra.zip

At first it might look as if this is the shareware version, but if you look in the ingame manual, it should say somewhere that it is the registered version (it will also tell you not to distribute it, but that message no longer applies).

The full game included a spell list, which can be downloaded here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2jpvakitxg5gq ... lllist.zip

The pack also included some tool to edit the save files, it looks like it was done by another person, but it was also hosted on Mike Lawrence's site. Here's the file:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/f8pl61epa1318 ... module.zip

Too bad I didn't think at the time to keep a copy of the website. I can no longer find it.

Even though the author didn't keep a copy of the full version of Dungeons of Kairn in his site, he had a more recent version of the shareware version (v.1.2), so I'll share it. The only copy I own might have one party already created, which you can delete inside the game if you want to start fresh:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/v55u5id3g2c9vbo/kairn12.zip

Hope I helped someone!!

[Pater Alf]

Thank you for the infos and the links!

And welcome to CWF! Hope you enjoy your stay.