fate history

''[=FATE=]'' is a {{Diablo}} clone developed and published by [=WildTangent=]. From its humble beginnings as a single game, ''[=FATE=]'' has since expanded into a series encompassing two different storylines across four games, including the original.

The first game of the series, simply titled ''[=FATE=]'', was released in 2005, and follows an adventurer and his pet who had arrived at the town of Grove, a resting spot for travellers heading beyond, into the Dungeon Gate. The adventurer's arrival coincides with the rise of a monster residing deep within the dungeon who threatens to envelop the town with its evil influence. The adventurer is thus given a task to travel down the dungeon and slay this monster.

''[=FATE=]: Undiscovered Realms'', released in 2007, continued the story of this adventurer who, after slaying the evil within the dungeon on the outskirts of the town of Grove, is hailed as a hero by the town's inhabitants. During the celebrations, an old man arrives. The old man speaks of undiscovered realms and a temple located below the dungeon, containing the Book of Fate, a tome that he claims will save the town of Grove from a new evil. The adventurer escorts the old man to the temple, where it is revealed that the Book of Fate kept these realms safe from evil. The old man promptly reveals that ''he'' was this new evil and steals the book after knocking the adventurer unconscious. The old man's attack creates portals to two other realms, and both are now in danger of being overwhelmed by the influence of this new evil, Kaos. The adventurer is then tasked with recovering this book by defeating two of Kaos' minions before confronting Kaos itself and retrieving the Book of Fate.

In ''[=FATE=]: The Traitor Soul'', released in 2009, the adventurer, now called the Champion of Grove, retrieves the Book of Fate and returns it to where it originally belongs. Not too long after this, the Champion meets a Traveller who claims that within the Temple of Fate lies a Chamber of Trials to prove one's worth. The Champion decides to follow the Traveller back to the Temple of Fate and venture into the Chamber of Trials.

The fourth game of the series, ''[=FATE=]: The Cursed King'', was released on March 30, 2011, and takes place in a separate realm. As a citizen of the city of Ektaban, the PlayerCharacter grew up hearing great tales of good and evil, particularly [[ContinuityNod the heroic deeds of the Champion of Grove]], and resolves to eventually do great deeds worthy of the Champion's attention. One day, while adventuring just outside the city, the player enters a small cave and finds a chest. Unable to make out the writings on it, the player opens the chest, only to realise that it was the tomb of an evil necromancer, T'Kala, and that by opening the chest, T'Kala's evil spirit was unleashed upon Ektaban. The player is unable to warn the King of Ektaban fast enough, and the city is destroyed. Miraculously alive, Kurosh, the Beggar King of Ektaban, now bestows upon the player the task of ridding the city of T'Kala's influence.

Story aside, the basic mechanics of the game has remained the same throughout the series. The PlayerCharacter arrives in town to undertake a quest to defeat a [[BigBad dangerous monster]] down at the bottom of the nearby dungeon ... aaaaand [[ExcusePlot that's it]], [[RetiredBadass retire]] and [[AncestralWeapon pass down a heirloom]] to a [[NewGamePlus descendant]] or [[WideOpenSandbox go dungeon-plunging]]. Point-and-click hack-and-slash gameplay, SocketedEquipment created by the RandomNumberGod, so on and so forth. It wasn't really anything new, but it ''did'' refine the formula by adding some new features, which are about to be covered in the following paragraphs.