Fable

Fable is the first in a series of action/role-playing games for the Xbox and the PC. Players take the role of an unnamed boy who becomes a hero in order to discover why his village was destroyed and his family murdered.

The sequel, Fable II, takes place 500 years after the events of the first game. The player character, who now may be either a boy or a girl, witnesses the murder of his or her older sister as a child. The player character must unite three other heroes in an effort to gain retribution and save the world.

Fable III is set just 50 years after Fable II. The hero of the last game has died after becoming the king of Albion, leaving the kingdom to his older son, Logan. Unfortunately, Logan becomes a tyrannical ruler, and his younger sibling&mdash;the PC&mdash;must overthrow him.

All three games have a character morality system. The main character's appearance will change depending upon what actions he or she takes. The more evil a character does, the more sinister (pale skin, horns, etc.) he or she will look.

The second game also has a dog, which can be trained to dig up buried items and pee on enemies.

Setting
The game takes place in the fictional land of Albion, a fantasy version of England. During the events of the first game, the technology available to the player is equivalent to that of the Dark Ages of the Real World. PCs wear suits of armor for protection. Melee weapons include swords and maces, while ranged weapons are limited to longbows and crossbows.

The second game updates Albion's technology level to that of the Renaissance. There is no notable armor; instead, PCs wear time-appropriate clothing. Bows have been almost completely phased out (except for a few crossbows) in favor of flintlock pistols and rifles. Melee weapons remain generally unchanged.

In the third game, Albion is poised to enter an industrial era.

All three games utilize a four-prong experience system. The categories of this system are General, Strength (relating to melee damage and health), Skill (relating to ranged damage and accuracy) and Will (relating to magic-casting).

Badfic
Since the PC's actions can have vastly differing effects on the world in-game, it may be difficult to determine what is canon and what isn't in this 'verse. The creators are very careful not to invalidate any course of action the PC takes. In fact, the second game features residents of Albion commenting on inconsistencies in their history books, and suspecting that the historians probably made half of it up.