- 10 Nov, 2025 *
I want to say I was 12 or 13 when I found Majesty. I had already played Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate II, and was hungry for more games of high fantasy heroics. My parents and I were at Walmart and I had wandered away to check out the video game aisle. I passed by the ‘budget’ games section and there I found Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Simulator.
And with artwork like that, how could I not get it?
The major selling point of the game (which I did not know at the time) was that you were not the heroes of the story. It was more of an RTS game but, even with that, the gameplay was unique in that you had no direct control over your recruited heroes. They did as they liked in accordance wit…
- 10 Nov, 2025 *
I want to say I was 12 or 13 when I found Majesty. I had already played Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate II, and was hungry for more games of high fantasy heroics. My parents and I were at Walmart and I had wandered away to check out the video game aisle. I passed by the ‘budget’ games section and there I found Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Simulator.
And with artwork like that, how could I not get it?
The major selling point of the game (which I did not know at the time) was that you were not the heroes of the story. It was more of an RTS game but, even with that, the gameplay was unique in that you had no direct control over your recruited heroes. They did as they liked in accordance with their philosophy. For example, Ranger Heroes would go and explore the map on their own, rogue heroes would rob your own houses, and barbarian heroes would charge recklessly into battle.
However, you could influence them. By placing bounties for gold (such as on a monster, exploring some far off place, or an enemy castle), you could convince heroes to take out threats to the kingdom. So, the game was as much a challenge against the enemies as it was to a challenge of corralling your heroes in the direction you wanted them to go.
Another major portion of the game was building up your kingdom. Getting a strong cash flow would enable you to open fairgrounds, open and improve blacksmiths, create stores for heroes to get magical equipment, and more. Outfitted heroes became much more powerful, able to punch above their weight class, and survived longer. As they did, they would gain levels, making them even more of an asset.
You got very attached to those higher level heroes too, even if they were generic.
There were some minor political considerations as well. As you leveled up your castle, you could establish temples. There were seven temples and you had to navigate their alliances. For example, if you wanted Paladins, you would need to invite a Temple of Dauros. But let’s say you wanted a pack of wild animals prowling and protecting your streets, you would need to invite Fervus. However, the two churches are at war, and so you must choose.
As a kid, by default, I picked Dauros and Agrela because healers from Agrela are amazing, and Paladins of Dauros are the best hero you can recruit. However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown more attached to Fervus and Krypta. Fervus’s followers are worse than their law-oriented equivalents, and the units they bring can summon a horde of critters (Fervus) and undead (Krypta). And they’re not evil, either.
Then there’s Lunord and Helia. They are unlocked at your level 3 temple. They are in conflict with one another. Between the two, I usually picked Helia since her priestesses would charge into combat along with the Paladins. Or you could pick the temperamental Krolm, and have only a single temple.
Then there were the demi-humans. You could invite the elves, who made all your gold sources much more profitable and were solid archers to boot. However, they also brought brothels and gambling dens, distracting many of your heroes. However, they were quite gold motivated. They build the gambling den on their own, and you can’t destroy them.
Gnomes also build additional buildings when you invite them - in this case, they built additional gnome hovels. They were cheap to produce and completely useless in combat, but they had a very strong niche: They prioritized repairs over combat and often fleeing. I distinctly remember one time a dragon was attacking a temple, and the heroes were trying to stop it. Its health got so low. Then, it began to heal – A gnome had crossed by and stopped to repair the temple. This tiny gnome was repairing the temple faster than the dragon could damage it.
Finally, there are the dwarves. They also repair, but not as high a priority or as quickly as the gnomes (but more so than typical peasants). They can fight pretty well, but they’re pretty slow. Where they excel are defense - their dwarf homes have ballistae, and they bring with them the ability to build trebuchets.
These three are mutually exclusive. I usually invited the dwarves or the gnomes, and very rarely opted for the elves.
The game was ported to IOS, and re-released on Steam, where you can get them still today. The mobile port is particularly amazing as it maintains that distinct gameplay.
Plus, it makes you feel like a DM. The pantheon in my campaign world is heavily based off the Majesty pantheon, and the tropes and parodies the game use still inform my campaign planning.
Definitely worth checking out.