Advanced Dungeons Dragons Hillsfar

Instead of one single combat style, you bounce between different challenge segments that test different skills. The fun is in building your character so those challenges feel less brutal over time. It plays like a quest journey made of trials you gradually learn to master.

Enter the dangerous city of Hillsfar, where survival depends on skill, speed, and quick thinking.

Hillsfar challenges players to create a hero and survive a series of deadly trials set within the infamous city-state of the Forgotten Realms. Instead of traditional turn-based combat, success is earned through reflex-based challenges, careful preparation, and mastering a variety of action-focused encounters.

Unusual, demanding, and unapologetically different, Hillsfar delivers a Dungeons & Dragons experience unlike any other on the NES.

Hillsfar is best described as an action-RPG hybrid, replacing classic RPG combat with skill-based mini-games.

Core Gameplay Structure
Rather than exploring a large overworld, players:

Create a D&D character (class, race, stats)

Enter the city of Hillsfar

Accept missions and challenges

Face action-based combat sequences

Each type of encounter uses a different gameplay style, demanding versatility rather than repetition.

Combat Challenges
Combat is broken into specialized sequences:

Melee combat – Timing-based attacks and positioning

Archery – Precision aiming under pressure

Spellcasting – Limited, tactical use of magic

Arena fights – Endurance and reaction speed

There is no grinding for experience in the traditional sense. Advancement comes from surviving encounters, not leveling through repetition.

Difficulty & Precision
Mistakes are punished quickly. Poor timing, hesitation, or misjudgment can end a run abruptly. Preparation—choosing the right gear and stats—matters just as much as reflexes.

Set in the Forgotten Realms, Hillsfar takes place in a brutal, lawless city ruled by tyranny and fear. Outsiders are mistrusted, and only the strong—or clever—survive.

Rather than following a grand narrative, the story is about earning your place. Each mission represents another step toward proving yourself within a hostile system that doesn’t care if you live or die.

The tone reflects the darker side of D&D’s world-building: cities aren’t safe, heroes aren’t celebrated, and survival is never guaranteed.

Released in 1989, Hillsfar was developed by Strategic Simulations Inc., a studio known for deep, rule-heavy RPGs.

Instead of replicating tabletop mechanics directly, SSI experimented—asking a bold question:

What if D&D combat was about player skill instead of dice rolls?

The result was divisive.

Strategic Simulations Inc. – Developer & Publisher
A pioneer in adapting tabletop RPG systems to video games.

TSR – License Holder
Creators of Dungeons & Dragons and the Forgotten Realms setting.