Aveyond 1: Rhen's Quest

Aveyond 1: Rhen's Quest
Developer	Aveyond Studios
Release Date	November 26, 2006
Previous Installment	Ahriman's Prophecy
Next Installment	Aveyond 2: Ean's Quest
Game Engine	RPG Maker XP

Aveyond 1: Rhen's Quest is the first game in the Aveyond series, expanding on the success of its predecessor Ahriman's Prophecy.

Did you already forget what I told you about your BRAGGING?! This article provides detailed information on the game's story and characters, and thus includes spoilers. Proceed with caution.

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Blurb

"Fight monsters and explore a medieval world. Aveyond is packed with more than 60 quests, hundreds of places to explore, and over 30 hours of game play. If you like games like Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, and Dragon Warrior, you are going to love Aveyond.

A powerful deity, Ahriman, has opened the Demon Portal and dark creatures now threaten the great isles. You must stop the destruction and destroy Ahriman before it is too late. The Sword of Shadows is the key to your redemption. You must find it in the mystical isle of Aveyond and use it to seal the Demon Portal and stop Ahriman."

Plot

Backstory

Some time after the events of Ahriman's Prophecy, Alicia Pendragon and Devin Perry marry, become Queen and King of Thais, and have a daughter, who is prophesized to one day slay a great demon. Shortly after her birth, demons attack Thais, killing Queen Alicia and destroying much of the surrounding area.

During the same time period, Talia Maurva becomes the Druid of Dreams and has a son, Dameon, with the Sun Druid. However, the Sun Druid allies himself with the demons. Talia kills him in an attempt to prevent further bloodshed, and Dameon becomes the new Sun Druid.

Aveyond 1: Rhen's Quest

When Talia is attacked in the Dreamworld by the daeva Agas, it is confirmed that Ahriman's return was put off, not prevented. Talia summons the true chosen one, Rhen Darzon, a girl from Clearwater; Rhen pulls Talia through the portal back to her village. Meanwhile, Ahriman informs Agas he was unsuccessful in killing Talia. Rather than try again, Ahriman's newest recruit, the new Sun Druid Dameon, suggests they have Talia sold as a slave. As a result, when Talia gives Rhen her Priestess Ring to protect her, it instead has Rhen mistaken for Talia, kidnapped, taken across the ocean to the Eastern Isle, and sold into slavery. Rhen is freed after three months when it's discovered she has immense sword magic capabilities, and is enrolled at Shadwood Academy.

The mistake is discovered by Ahriman. Indra, a daeva with the power of future sight, warns Ahriman that if he destroys Rhen, he will also be destroyed. Indra suggests Dameon ingratiate himself to Rhen and convince her to join Ahriman. The daevas scatter across the world to attack the Druids.

After a year of training at Shadwood, Rhen finds the Priestess Ring again, and summons Talia to her location by touching it. Talia immediately introduces Rhen to the Oracle, who informs her that she is destined to save the world from Ahriman. To do so, she must find and unite the eight Druids, who will then unlock the mythical Sword of Shadows, the one weapon powerful enough to destroy Ahriman. Lars, the son of Rhen's former slave owner, is selected to accompany her on the quest. On a trip to the sun temple in Aveyond, Dameon joins their party.

The group travels across the Isles, growing in strength and numbers. During the quest, Rhen returns home to Clearwater, where her father explains that he adopted her as a baby, and she is actually the missing Pendragon princess. He urges Rhen to assume the throne of Thais after her quest is completed.

Endings

For full details, see Rhen Pendragon -> Biography -> Legacy.

Join Dameon

Just before the final battle, Dameon reveals his role in Ahriman's plot and attempts to persuade Rhen to join him, promising her immortality and great power. If the player agrees to join him, Rhen accepts, and she and Dameon aid Ahriman in enslaving the world. Daemon and Rhen are empty inside.

Fight Dameon

If the player refuses to join Dameon, Rhen throws Fairy Dust in his eyes, a magical substance which makes people see the truth. He recognizes Ahriman is evil and fights alongside Rhen. After the final battle, Rhen returns the Sword of Shadows to Aveyond and can choose one of four endings:

• Become a hermit: find the cabin in the south west of the Wildwood forest and live the rest of your days alone.
• Become a queen: go to Thais with Daemon and marry Daemon
• Go back to Clearwater: go back to Clearwater and talk to Danny to marry him and live a simple life. Rhen tells Daemon she doesn't choose him since he's unstable. Daemon cries. Life is simple, but Rhen is happy.
• Go back to Veldarah: go back to Veldarah with Lars and talk to the headmaster at Shadwood Academy. Lar and Rhen may or may not have gotten married.

Canonically, Rhen chooses to ascend the throne of Thais and become Queen. Dameon leaves his post as Sun Druid to join her, and the duty is filled by Devin Perry. Rhen and Dameon marry, and together usher in a new golden age for Thais, helping the mainland rebuild after the destruction of the demons.

Mechanics

Aveyond 1: Rhen's Quest set many of the standards for game mechanics across the series.

The game supports both keyboard and mouse input. Using the keyboard, the player navigates with arrow keys and spacebar, accessing the menu through ESC. With mouse support, the player navigates using the mouse and left clicks, and opens the menu with right clicks.

The game has eight total party members. All of them can be in the party at once, but only four can be active in battle. Rhen must always be active. Those that are not active do not level up. The game allows the player to set a Leader from the active party to walk around the map as.

The game also marks the switch to turn-based combat. Enemies are still visible on the map, but now, touching them opens a turn-based combat system.

Aveyond 1: Rhen's Quest relies on either sequences of events or ending choices for its Party Relationships. The game also includes a manor, where the player can walk around as the various party members (by setting the Leader) and have them interact with each other. The player can also buy pets from across the world.

The game has five total endings, that are determined by player choice before or after the final battle.

Important Characters

Party Members

• Rhen Pendragon (mandatory): A girl from a secluded mountain village who discovers she is the lost prophecized princess, destined to defeat Ahriman and ascend the throne of Thais. She has immense magical potential and becomes a powerful Sword Singer.
• Lars Tenobor (mandatory): The mean-spirited son of Rhen's former slave-owner. He has great magical skills, which fuels his sense of superiority over others. He becomes a Sorcerer and can class into one of four Guilds over the course of the game.
• Elinidana'terLithir: A demon summoner from Veldt whose good with a whip. She comes from Veldt, a kingdom where women have multiple husbands, and originally joins the party because she is in search of a fourth.
• Dameon Maurva (mandatory): The young but powerful Sun Druid who has turned away from the light and joined Ahriman. He intends to convince Rhen to join Ahriman, but falls for her in the process.
• Te'ijal Ravenfoot: A vampress who wishes to explore the surface, who can join the party if gifted sunblock. She has a mean bite and an unhealthy appetite for pure-hearted paladins.
• Galahad Teomes: A royal paladin who sees the world in black and white. He is convinced that magic does not exist and joins the party because he thinks Rhen must be protected from the forces of evil.
• Pirate John (mandatory): An unabashed pirate who is good at getting into trouble. In his earlier days, he was a daring dragon rider in Veldt, but left to avoid an unwanted marriage.
• Mad Marge: A mercenary bar maid with a soft spot for John. Owns the aptly named Sour Ale Tavern and is as mean as a bear with a sore tooth.

Non-Playable Characters

• Talia Maurva: The Druid of Dreams, who once defeated Ahriman herself. She is forced from the Dreamworld by Agas, and attempts to guide Rhen to succeed where she once failed.
• Devin Perry: The disgraced king of Thais, who has been living as a hermit since he washed up on the Eastern Isle during his escape.
• The Oracle: A mysterious prophet who oversees Aveyond and urges Rhen towards her destiny.
• Druids: Eight immortal guardians of the world, each devoted to a different element.
• Ahriman: The main antagonist and final boss; a dark mage-turned-demon determined to enslave the world.
• Daevas: Ahriman's highest ranking demons, who attack the druids and steal their souls, turning them to stone.

Version Differences

The broadly available version of Aveyond 1: Rhen's Quest is Build C, and is what this page describes. Before it came Build A and Build B.

Build A and Build B have the most substantial differences. In addition to bug fixes:

• Name: Build A of "Aveyond 1: Rhen's Quest" was simply named Aveyond. The Rhen's Quest subtitle was added in subsequent builds.
• Art: Build A uses more realistic facesets, while Build B swaps them out for a more anime-inspired set. Aveyond Studios released a downloadable Goodie available which enabled players to swap the faceset styles as they pleased. Build B's title screen added an image of Rhen. The battle windowskin in Build B is brown and wood-textured, while the battle windowskin in Build B is light blue, matching the windowskin of dialogue. A few NPCs (such as Rona Tenobor) had their sprites changed between builds.
• Music: Several music tracks were replaced.
• Mechanics: In Build A, traveling runes are available at shops across the game. Later builds turned traveling runes into a goodie, and expanded the number of locations with runes.
• Linearity: Build B is more linear than Build A. Theoretically, the Druids could be saved in any order in Build A: both the rowboat and the skudder are available from the beginning, the Empty Bottle is available in the Sedona junk shop from the beginning, Aesma does not need to be slowed down with the clock, and neither the Halloween Hills nor the Peninsula is locked.
• Dungeons: Build B adds several new dungeons to the game: Mt. Orion and the Mt. Orion Cave System, the Mystery Manor, and Lamp Castle. Included in these added dungeons are new enemies and dialogue scenes. It also expanded the Crypt Maze in Ghed'ahre.

Build C is largely an upgrade of Build B, resolving glitches and making quality-of-life improvements. In addition to bug fixes:

• Story: The Veldarah ending was added.
• Music: Several music tracks were replaced.
• Quality of Life: Autosave, mouse support, and difficulty levels were added.

Credits

Developer: Aveyond Studios

Publisher: Aveyond Studios

Game Designer: Amanda Fitch (credited as Amanda Fae)

Writer: Amanda Fitch (credited as Amanda Fae)

Art: Jim Moore (art lead), Daniel Rendon, Katherine Fitch, Martin Rebas, HungryMouse

Composer: Aaron Walz

Music Performers: Eva Maass (Flute), Suzanne Eraldi (Oboe & English Horn), Adrian Gormley (Clarinet), Erik Franden (Bassoon), Krisha Montmorency (Violin and Viola), Muftiah Martin (Violin), Maury Cohen (Cello), Karl Hartmann (Bass and Electric Bass), Mark Nemoyten (Trumpet), Danielle Gilmore (Trumpet), Charles Wilson (Trombone), Aaron Walz (Counter Tenor, Keyboard, Finger Cymbals), Mike Silverman (Guitar)

Music Production: Walz Music

Additional Music: Mike Stobbie: Introduction

System Requirements

Operating System: Windows 98/XP/Vista

RAM: 256 MB

Also available on Google play store for Android and Pixel users as of May 2019

Reception

The game has been hailed as "funny, innovative and wildly imaginative". Independent gaming website Game Tunnel awarded Aveyond their Game of the Month and Gold Award in March 2006. Game Tunnel also awarded Aveyond Game of the Year in 2006 in the "Sound" category for the soundtrack by Aaron Walz.

On the other side, Game Chronicles reviewer Jason Porter highlighted awkward key mapping (which cannot be remapped) and criticized the main character's personalities, dialogues and evolution throughout the game.

Publication	Response
Ace Gamez	9/10
Gamezebo	3.5/5
Game Plasma	8.8/10
Netjak	5.1/10
RPGFan	83%
Game Chronicles	5.5/10