Melanda: Land of Mystery is a role-playing game published by Wilmark Dynasty in 1980.
Melanda is a fantasy role-playing system.[1] The game includes rules for character creation, combat, and magic, with descriptions of monsters, equipment, six character races, and the world of Melanda.[1] Ability scores are determined by what skills the character studies as a youth.[1] In the game's rune-carving magic system, a character learns various magic runes that modify and act on each other to create varying effects.[1]
Melanda: Land of Mystery was designed by John M. Corradin and Lee C. McCormick and published by Wilmark Dynasty in 1980 as 56 loose-leaf pages, an outer folder, and two dice.[1] The second edition was published in 1981 as a 64-page book.[1]
Lawrence Schick called this game "several years ahead of its time", the combat system "quite original" and the magic system "Perhaps the most innovative".[1]
. Lawrence Schick. Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Prometheus Books . 1991. 0-87975-653-5 . 189.