Record of Lodoss War

 is a franchise of fantasy novels by Ryo Mizuno based on the work he originally created for a world called "Forcelia" as a rules-free setting for role-playing games (RPGs). There have since been multiple manga, anime and computer game adaptations, several of which have been translated into English. The plots generally follow the conventions and structure of the RPG systems including "Dungeons & Dragons" and "Sword World RPG", in which several characters of distinct types undertake a specific quest.
Origins.
"Record of Lodoss War" was created in 1986 by Group SNE as a "Dungeons & Dragons" "replay" serialized in the Japanese magazine "Comptiq" from 1986 to 1988, though they also used the setting with other systems such as "Tunnels & Trolls" and "RuneQuest". Replays are not novels, but transcripts of RPG sessions, meant to both hold the interest of readers and convey the events that took place. They have proven to be popular, even to those who do not play role-playing games but are fans of fiction (including fantasy fiction). Similar to light novels, many characters and parties in replays have become popular as characters of anime. An example of such a character is the female elf Deedlit in "Record of Lodoss War", who was played by science fiction novelist Hiroshi Yamamoto during the RPG sessions.
The popularity of the "Record of Lodoss War" replays was such that the Dungeon Master Ryo Mizuno started to adapt the story into some of the earliest Japanese-language domestic high fantasy novels in 1988.
When the replay series went on to become a trilogy, Group SNE had to abandon the "Dungeons & Dragons" rules and create their own game, dubbed "Record of Lodoss War Companion" and released in 1989. All three parts of the replay series were eventually published as paperbacks by Kadokawa Shoten from 1989 to 1991:
Two other replay volumes have been published later:
Mizuno's novelizations were published by Kadokawa Shoten between 1988 and 1993, and followed by two collections of short stories in 1995, with illustrations done by Yutaka Izubuchi. The first volume was published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment in 2018.
The first volume forms the basis for the first eight episodes of the "Record of Lodoss War" OVA series, as well as the two "Record of Lodoss War: The Grey Witch " manga series. The second was also adapted in manga form, and as a four-CD audio drama. The final five episodes of the OVA series are loosely based on the story told across the third and fourth novels and, having caught up with the ongoing novelization at that point, feature an original ending. The "Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight" TV series and manga are a more faithful adaptation of volumes three to seven. The first collection of short stories was adapted into the "Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit's Tale" manga series.
Mizuno later went on to pen other series of novels: a prequel titled (1994 to 2002, 5 volumes) and sequels (1993 to 1996, 4 volumes, part of "Legend of Crystania" setting) and (1998 to 2006, 6 volumes); "Legend of Lodoss" was adapted into the "Record of Lodoss War: The Lady of Pharis" manga series and "Legend of Crystania" was adapted into a radio drama, manga, an anime film, and OVA series. In 2019, he began writing a novel sequel series . The new series takes place 100 years after the events of the original series, with Deedlit as the lead protagonist.
Plot.
"Record of Lodoss War" recounts the adventures of a youth by the name of Parn, the son of a dishonored knight. Part of his motivation for adventuring is to find out what happened to his father, and to restore his family's honor. Despite his inexperience, Parn is considered the leader, who is accompanied by his childhood best friend Etoh, his friend and sometimes advisor Slayn (and later by Slayn's lover Leylia), and his newfound mentor Ghim. They are accompanied by Parn's romantic interest, the high elf Deedlit, who comes from the Forest of No Return seeking an answer to her people's isolationism and an end to what she sees as a slow march to extinction; and a thief named Woodchuck. Throughout the series, Parn comes into contact with friends and foes alike. His allies include King Kashue, King Fahn, Shiris, and Orson; his enemies include Emperor Beld, Ashram, and the evil necromancer Wagnard.
The volumes three to seven, adapted into manga and anime "Chronicles of the Heroic Knight", continue the adventures of Parn for the first eight episodes, but then focus on Spark and his adventures to complete a quest tasked onto him to protect Neese, the daughter of Slayn and Leylia. He is accompanied by his own cast of friends in the form of Leaf, Garrack, Greevus, Aldo, and Ryna. The television series shares similarities with the plot of the OVA, such as Wagnard seeking to kidnap Neese in order to use her as a reagent for the resurrection of Naneel, a priestess and the Avatar of Kardis who was slain by Leylia's mother, the high priestess Neese a short time after the battle with the demonic god. Leylia was the reincarnation of Naneel, but when she lost her virginity she was no longer capable of being the doorway or reagent needed to unseal Naneel.
The "Legend of Crystania" setting places the former villain Ashram into the seat of a would-be hero who is placed under a spell by a "god beast" of Crystania. One of the prominent characters is Pirotess, his dark elven lover, as she tries to find a way to free him from the clutches of the spell and to restore him back to his living self.
Other media.
Home video releases.
The original OVA series and the TV series had both been released in North America through Central Park Media on VHS and on DVD. The OVA and TV series were slated for a Blu-ray release through Media Blasters, but they had dropped all plans to re-release the series. On April 14, 2017, Funimation announced their license to both the OVA series and the "Chronicles of the Heroic Knight" TV series and released the OVA on both Blu-ray and DVD and the TV series on DVD in one set on July 18, 2017.
"Record of Lodoss War Online".
GameOn released an online game for PC, "Record of Lodoss War Online", in April 2017 and closed it on October 31, 2019. Ryo Mizuno, the novelist and co-creator of the franchise, served as a supervisor on the development of the game. The game was also released outside Japan.
Books on tape.
The first three are original stories.
Reception.
The novel series has sold over 10 million copies in Japan.