You Are The Hero

A History of
Fighting FantasyTM Gamebooks

By JONATHAN GREEN
YOU ARE THE
HERO
A History of Fighting FantasyTM Gamebooks

By JONATHAN GREEN
 To my mother, who bought me my first Fighting Fantasy gamebook.

YOU ARE THE HERO – A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks copyright © Jonathan Green

Jonathan Green asserts the right to be identified as the author of this work. All rights reserved.

First Edition

Proudly published in 2014 by

Snowbooks Ltd.

Chiltern House
Thame Road
Haddenham
Bucks
HP17 8BY

www.snowbooks.com

Hardback ISBN: 978-1-909679-38-2

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-909679-36-8

Fighting Fantasy Gamebook Concept copyright © Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, 1982.

Fighting Fantasy is a trademark owned by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, all rights reserved.

The Fighting Fantasy logo is used with permission.

Official FIGHTING FANTASY website: www.fightingfantasy.com

Judge Dredd® Judge Dredd is a registered trademark, © Rebellion A/S, all right reserved. Used with permission.

Cover illustration copyright © 2014 Martin McKenna

Internal illustrations and photographs © copyright Alan Craddock, Alan Langford, Andi Ewington, Brett Schofield,
Chris Achilleos, Christopher Bird, Dave Allsop, Dave Andrews, David Gallagher, Duncan Smith, Edward Crosby,
Emerson Tung, Gary Mayes, Gary Ward, Gothic Manor Ltd, Iain McCaig, Ian Livingstone, Inkle Studios,
Jim Burns, John Blanche, John Sibbick, Jonathan Green, Kate Copestake, Leo Hartas, Les Edwards, Lew Stringer,
Maggie Kneen, Malcolm Barter, Martin McKenna, Nicholas Halliday, Pat Robinson, Pete Knifton, Rebellion A/S,
Rodney Matthews, Russ Nicholson, Scriptarium, Sean Riley, Stephen Player, Steve Jackson, Steve Luxton,
Tin Man Games Pty. Ltd., Terry Oakes, Tony Hough

Copy edit: Tony Riseley

Layout and production: Emma Barnes

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any means, without prior permission in writing from
the publisher.
 Contents

Tales from the Black Lobster Tavern

Background

How to negotiate this history of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks

YOU ARE THE HERO

10

Acknowledgements

268
 Tales from the Black Lobster Tavern

Little did we know that when The Warlock of Firetop When Jon Green first mooted the idea for writing
Mountain quietly appeared on the shelves of UK a book about the legacy of Fighting Fantasy we were
bookshops on 27th August 1982, a mighty tome surprised, flattered and delighted. The fact that he
dedicated to the history of Fighting Fantasy would be wanted to chronicle the history of Fighting Fantasy
written 32 years later. And little did we know that was just brilliant! There were so many stories and
during that time more than 17 million Fighting Fantasy anecdotes to tell, and so many people who needed to
books would have been sold worldwide in over 30 be thanked for helping make Fighting Fantasy what it
languages. And little did we know the effect that is today. And we couldn’t think of a better person to
Fighting Fantasy would have on a generation of children take on the challenge of telling the story. Jon started
of the 1980s and early 1990s, or the fondness that has out as a huge Fighting Fantasy fan in his youth and grew
endured ever since for our books. Yet the very existence up to become a respected Fighting Fantasy author in
of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain was a result of its his own right. And now he is probably the ultimate
own attributes of SKILL, STAMINA and LUCK. authority on Fighting Fantasy! In writing You Are The Hero,
We would like to claim some SKILL in writing what he has been relentless in his research and dedication
started life as The Magic Quest in 1981. We certainly to the task. The result is a fantastic achievement and a
needed a lot of STAMINA to meet the demands of wonderful celebration of our life’s work for which we
our publishers who were suddenly eager to publish are very grateful. You Are The Hero. It’s been quite an
more and more books in what became the Fighting adventure.
Fantasy series, but there was a lot of LUCK involved
beforehand in meeting the brilliant Geraldine Cooke
of Penguin Books who eventually persuaded her
Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone
employers to publish The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.
London, 2014
So here we are in 2014. Fighting Fantasy is very much
alive and kicking in book form and now also in digital
formats. For us, Fighting Fantasy is like a child. We
have seen it start out in life without any knowledge of
where it might go. We have seen it grow up and have
influence far beyond anything we could have imagined.
Like parents, we are immensely proud of Fighting
Fantasy.

6◉
 Background
‘At last your two-day hike is over. You unsheathe your sword, lay To say that I was obsessed with Fighting Fantasy in my
it on the ground and sigh with relief as you lower yourself down youth would be an understatement. I collected the books
on to the mossy rocks to sit for a moment’s rest. You stretch, rub religiously. I started writing my own. In time I was forced
your eyes and finally look up at Firetop Mountain.’ to stop buying every new publication because it was
considered to be a craze I should grow out of.
And so began my love affair with Fighting Fantasy
gamebooks. I remember the day quite clearly. It was In my teens, my grandmother once asked me when I was
bright and sunny, and I had been dragged into town to go going to “grow out of monsters”, as she put it. It was
shopping with my mother. The torment was lessened by always about the monsters for me, and I wasn’t the only
the promise of a visit to a bookshop. one. “There were loads of different types of monsters
and encounters,” says Black Library editor turned author
As I walked through the doors, I was hit by the smell Nick Kyme, “one of the aspects of FF I always loved.”
of dusty carpets and freshly-printed books – a smell I Or, as Jamie Fry, current keeper of the official Fighting
still savour today. And there, on a small display in the Fantasy website puts it, “it wasn’t often you went on a
middle of the shop, was The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, dungeon romp, experiencing otherworldly finds and
by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. At the time I had monsters only the wildest imagination could conjure.”
no idea who the two authors were, but the image of the
mysterious wizard summoning a dragon from his crystal A couple of dice rolls of years later, my grandmother was
ball had me gripped. Then I opened the book… the first member of my family to read my first published
book, Spellbreaker. Twenty years after that momentous
It was like nothing I had ever seen before. It soon became occasion in my life, and now aged 42, it doesn’t look any
apparent that this was not a book you simply read more likely that I’m going to “grow out of monsters” now
from cover to cover; you made decisions and turned to than it did when I was a teenager.
different paragraphs, directly influencing the course of
the narrative. Then there were the monsters, fabulous No one book has had a greater impact on my life than
creatures of legend sat alongside the unfamiliar denizens The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. If it had not been for that
of a new and terrible fantasy world. Not only that, but book, I would not have had my first Fighting Fantasy
you fought them as well, rolling dice to determine the gamebook published, which would have meant I would
outcome of your battles with these horrors. not have become a freelance writer, and I would not have
written the book you are now holding in your hands.
And then there were Russ Nicholson’s magical
illustrations. I had read books with pen and ink Writing a book such as this was always going to be a
illustrations before, but nothing like this; graphically- highly personal experience, but then its content taps into
realised images of horrific beasts, partially-eaten human what was a highly personal experience for young readers
remains and sinister sorcerers were a revelation! I bought and role-players the world over. So, just as writing this
the book there and then – or rather, I persuaded my book has been a highly personal experience, I am sure
mother to buy the book for me – took it home and that reading it will be too.
devoured it. The reading experience would never be the
same again. I was ten years old. Those first Fighting Fantasy adventures made such a
massive and vital impact on their readers that today
Mention Fighting Fantasy, or The Warlock of Firetop many of the movers and shakers in the games and genre
Mountain to adults of a certain age and they will either go industries cite Fighting Fantasy as a major influence. But
misty-eyed or become a little over-excited, as they recall in the early days of FF, such a glorious future was far
their own battles with monsters like the Bloodbeast and from certain.
the Ganjees, or such despicable villains as Balthus Dire
and Zanbar Bone. So how did what started out as a book that was
originally considered to be no more than a risky one-
Fighting Fantasy had a profound impact on a off experiment, as far as its publishers were concerned,
generation of children in the 1980s and early 1990s. become the worldwide, multi-million selling phenomenon
As a result, people’s interactions with the books, and it is remembered as so fondly, and by so many, today?
their recollections of the hours spent poring over the
adventures held within their pages, are now inextricably Well, there’s only one way to find out…
linked with that vital stage of their development into
literate adults.
NOW TURN OVER
◉ 7
 How to negotiate this history of
Fighting Fantasy gamebooks

A number of abbreviations are used throughout this this rule, namely the Sorcery! adventures, which are
book. Fighting Fantasy is frequently shortened to numbered S1 to S4, the Clash of the Princes duology and
FF, while AFF is the abbreviated form of Advanced the Adventures of Goldhawk.
Fighting Fantasy. A capital letter S, accompanied by
a number, refers to one of the titles in Steve Jackson’s The terms ‘paragraphs’ and ‘references’ are used
legendary Sorcery! series. interchangeably throughout and refer to the numbered
sections found in Fighting Fantasy gamebooks.
It is worth mentioning here how the Fighting Fantasy Also, while it is accepted that the hero of the FF
gamebooks have been numbered in YOU ARE THE adventures rarely had a specified gender, partly in
HERO. Puffin Books published adventures 1-59, acknowledgement of the fact that most of the series’
but when Wizard Books took over publication they readership was male (and partly for sanity’s sake), for
published the original adventures in a different order the purposes of this book the eponymous hero of the
(not once, but twice) and started numbering the books title is referred to as ‘he’.
from 1 again (both times).
The terms Fighting Fantasy and the images associated
For the purposes of this book, individual solo with the books are used throughout by kind permission
adventure gamebooks are numbered as they would of the copyright and trademark owners, Steve Jackson
have been had Puffin continued publishing the series. and Ian Livingstone, and the creators of those original
So, Eye of the Dragon, the first brand new title published artworks.
by Wizard Books, becomes FF60, Bloodbones FF61 and
so on, up to the most recently published adventure, May the luck of the gods go with you on the adventure
Blood of the Zombies, FF65. There are exceptions to ahead.

8◉ Right: Dragon, by Russ Nicholson. (© Russ Nicholson, 1982 and 2014)

◉ 9
 Chapter One

The Origins of Firetop Mountain

A Fateful Meeting

W hen The Warlock of Firetop Mountain was

published on Friday 27 August 1982, Steve
Jackson and Ian Livingstone could not have predicted
feed’. Livingstone became accustomed to winning
at Monopoly at school, and years later narrowly
missed out on winning the 1975 British Monopoly
that the world’s first true gamebook would go on to Championships by virtually the last roll of the dice.
spawn an entire series that in turn would inspire a He came second, just missing out on qualifying for the
generation of children and gamers like never before. World Championships in the USA.
Nor could they have guessed at the impact this
publishing phenomenon would have on the culture, At Altrincham Grammar he also discovered Diplomacy.
society, learning and economy of not just Thatcher’s In the early 1970s he produced covers for Albion, one
Britain, but the whole world over and for decades to of the first magazines that supported correspondence
come. play of the board game Diplomacy, edited by the
late Don Turnbull who also lived in Altrincham.
But the premier adventure gamebook series that was Livingstone and Turnbull remained in contact after
to become the Fighting Fantasy phenomenon did not Livingstone moved to London, with Livingstone later
begin in 1982. It did not even begin in 1980 when commissioning Turnbull to write for White Dwarf. Issue
Penguin Books commissioning editor Geraldine Cooke 1 featured Turnbull’s legendary Monstermark System,
met Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone for the first and Turnbull went on to edit The Fiend Factory in White
time. In fact, it actually all began thirteen years before Dwarf for Livingstone.
that.
It was Livingstone who suggested to Gary Gygax to
allow Games Workshop to take the best monsters from
The Warlocks of Firetop Mountain The Fiend Factory to produce an AD&D compendium
entitled The Fiend Folio. Livingstone tasked Turnbull as
Ian Livingstone was born in Prestbury, Cheshire, its editor, and it included sixteen of Livingstone’s
in England, in December 1949, although he is a creatures including the infamous Hook Horror. “I was
true Manchester boy at heart. His parents lived in a very proud that Workshop had put the whole thing
Coronation Street-style terraced house in Rusholme, together, from getting Don Turnbull on board as editor,
which is where Livingstone first grew up. (The only using White Dwarf Fiend Factory monsters,
reason he was born in Prestbury was because the local commissioning the artwork and the cover which I’ve
Manchester hospital was full when the crucial moment still got today, and seeing the Fiend Folio on sale as an
came.) The Livingstone family moved to Altrincham in official AD&D manual,’ Livingstone recalls. (Gary
1960. Gygax later asked Turnbull to set up TSR UK after
merger talks between TSR and Games Workshop
Games have always been in Livingstone’s blood. He
broke down).
met Steve Jackson while at Altrincham Grammar
School where they discovered their common interest Steve Jackson was born in Manchester, in May 1951.
in playing board games. Livingstone captained the His family moved to Canada when he was 4, only to
chess team and played Monopoly incessantly. It return again when he was 11. At school Jackson was in
was his playing of Monopoly that earned him his a special year which did ‘O’ Levels at 15 instead of 16
school nickname ‘Feed’ because he did not bother and so he went to university when he was 17 years old,
to collect the small rents from his opponents as he rather than at 18 which was the norm. Both gaming
considered them to be nothing more than ‘chicken enthusiasts, Jackson and Livingstone met at Altrincham

10 ◉ Right: Out of the Pit, by Chris Achilleos. (© Chris Achilleos, 1985 and 2014)
◉ 11
 Fighting Fantasy Fact 1
Steve Jackson still owns a rare, white box second edition
of Dungeons & Dragons, signed by the game’s creators,
the late Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. However, Ian
Livingstone has
all the original
Advanced Dungeons
& Dragons books
signed to him by
Gary Gygax, as well as owning
the original cover artwork for the
Fiend Folio.

Steve’s signed copy of Dungeons &

Dragons. (© Steve Jackson, 2014)
Ian’s signed Dungeons & Dragons
books. (© Ian Livingstone, 2014)

Grammar School during the 1960s and became great up rats for a living. Jackson remembers it as the worst
friends, and still are today nearly 50 years later. job he ever had. “I really wanted to get into Nature
Conservancy and got a job in 1974 with the Dorset
After leaving school with only one A Level, in Naturalists’ Trust as a Nature Warden looking after the
Geography, Livingstone studied at Stockport College colony of Little Terns (Britain’s rarest breeding seabird)
of Technology and gained an HND in Business Studies on Chesil Beach, near Weymouth. But the solitary life
and a Diploma in Marketing before setting off for the of a Nature Warden was not for me. I wanted to move
bright lights of London, where he ended up working as to London where my mates were.”
a Marketing Assistant for an American oil company.
Jackson followed Livingstone south to the capital, the
Jackson, on the other hand, went on to study at the two of them sharing a flat in Shepherd’s Bush with
University of Keele, graduating in 1972 with a 2.2 another friend from Altrincham Grammar School,
in Biology and Psychology. “My finals project for John Peake.
Psychology was a game designed to teach players
the meaning of road signs,” says Jackson. “But more Jackson: “I got a job as a model maker, building
significantly, in 1970/71 I started the Keele University a miniature model of the new Department of the
Games Society. As far as I am aware it was the first Environment building in Petty France. In 1974 I got
ever board games society at a British university. We a second job as a freelance writer for Games & Puzzles
received copies of games from Waddingtons to start us magazine, writing games reviews and drawing up
off. I still have the membership card which guarantees crossword grids.”
me Life Membership if the society is still in existence!”
The three flatmates would spend their evenings playing
Following a gap-year-type trip to the US in 1973, board games as a way of escaping the drudgery of
Jackson returned to the UK with boxes of Avalon Hill their uninspiring day jobs. And then, in 1974, the role-
games, which he played with Ian. “Stalingrad, Baseball playing game Dungeons & Dragons was published and
Strategy and Acquire were favourites,” recalls Jackson. their lives changed for ever.

From Altrincham, Jackson moved to Oxford to work in

Oxford University’s Biochemistry Department, cutting

12 ◉
Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone with the game that would Livingstone and Peake decided to start their own
change everything. (© Ian Livingstone, 1976 and 2014) business. In February 1975 Games Workshop was
established. Later that year they secured the exclusive
European distribution rights for Dungeons & Dragons.
Dicing with Dragons Games Workshop started slowly but became a huge
success over time, expanding from a bedroom mail-
The three young men had heard about D&D through
order company to become a major retailer and
fanzines such as Europa and News from Bree, although
publisher of wargames and RPGs in its own right.
they did not actually get hold of a copy of their own
until 1975. Jackson once described the arrival of Games Workshop’s first ever
D&D as “manna from heaven”. He and Livingstone order (© Steve Jackson,
enjoyed playing military-inspired strategy games such 2014)
as Diplomacy and Warlord but had been brought up on
a diet of science fiction novels, fantasy classics such as But not everyone was
The Hobbit, and Marvel comics. Dungeons & Dragons was delighted by the fact
the game they had been waiting for. that Games Workshop’s
mail order company
For the last month he spent working for someone else, continued to go from
outside of the games industry – a company called strength to strength
Gallenkamp that sold scientific instruments – Jackson – namely Jackson
says, “I had a sheet of graph paper on my knee under and Livingstone’s
the desk on which I was designing my dungeon. And landlord. The young
I spent all day staring out the window dreaming up entrepreneurs were
monsters and traps. Many of these appeared later as running the company
encounters in the Fighting Fantasy and Sorcery! books.” out of the top floor flat
at 15 Bolingbroke Road,
London. All of the flats in the building shared one
The Birth of a Monster
payphone located in the ground floor entrance hall.
Overwhelmed by the possibilities such role-playing Whenever the phone rang it became a race to see who
games offered imaginative individuals, Jackson, could get to it first – Games Workshop or the landlord.

◉ 13
If it was the latter, when asked by callers if they had Workshop’s first retail shop at 1 Dalling Road,
got through to Games Workshop, he would reply with Hammersmith, at the premises the estate agents had
an emphatic ‘No!’ and slam the phone down. It was found for them. When Fighting Fantasy celebrated its
only a matter of time before the three friends would be 30th anniversary in August 2012, there were more than
asked to leave. 400 Games Workshop stores worldwide.

Not being a fan of D&D, John Peake departed

the company in early 1976, leaving Jackson and The Sorceress of Firetop Mountain
Livingstone to continue the business without him.
Having been turfed out of their flat in Shepherd’s Meanwhile, a young editor at Penguin Books was
Bush, they found themselves an office, round the back finding her feet, having been given the ailing science
of an estate agents, at 97 Uxbridge Road in Shepherd’s fiction, fantasy and horror list to look after. That editor
Bush. was Geraldine Cooke.

With only a tiny office and nowhere to live, Steve “Nobody cared about it,” she says, speaking of the
Jackson parked the beat up old blue van he owned state of the Penguin SF list when she took it over. “It
(affectionately known as ‘Morrison’) in the street did have some wonderful authors and my predecessor
outside, and he and Livingstone camped out in that. Paul Sidey had commissioned stunning new covers,
In order that they might have somewhere to shower in and he handed me the torch when he left. I brought
the mornings, they joined the local squash club. A side some back into print as early Penguin Classics, like
effect of this was that they became rather good at that Olaf Stapleton’s The Last and First Men in a larger B
particular game too! format and tried to think of ways to inject new life
into the list. That is how I came to approach Steve and
Jackson: “We would regularly get visits from customers Ian… I was the Games editor as well as the SF editor.”
who thought we were a proper shop. This office was
also our stockroom but it wasn’t big enough for more Cooke’s best friend Geoff John, an avid Dungeons &
than two people, so when customers arrived, Ian Dragons player of several years standing, told her all
and I would have to go outside into the courtyard so about Games Workshop. “He told me to ring these
they could do their shopping! Sometimes it rained guys, Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, and see if
and we had to shelter in amongst the rubbish bins! they could turn the game or something like it into a
When we started getting lots of customers arriving, book with a similar playing experience built in. ‘If you
the estate agents got fed up and asked us to leave. We can get them to do that,’ Geoff said, ‘you’ll be onto a
had nowhere else to go so we told them: ‘You’re Estate winner.’”
Agents. So find us another office and we’ll leave.’”

Clearly a proper retail outlet was required, and so in The queue outside the first Games Workshop store on its opening
April 1978 Jackson and Livingstone opened Games day. (© Ian Livingstone, 1978 and 2014)

14 ◉
So Cooke set out upon a fateful journey to deepest, hand and of course I thought he was going to reject it
darkest Hammersmith. but he said, ‘We’d like to take this on for Puffin’. I was
overjoyed; at last someone who got it! The rest, as they
“I well remember walking down the road in say, is history.”
Hammersmith looking for Games Workshop. They had
been very friendly on the phone and pleased to take The editor given the task of making the manuscript
the call with the approach from a Penguin editor. They publishable was Philippa Dickinson, then a junior
couldn’t have been more welcoming and friendly.” editor at Puffin Books and now Consultant Children’s
Publisher at Penguin Random House UK, and Sir
As a direct result of Cooke’s interest in Games Terry Pratchett’s editor.
Workshop, Penguin Books took a stand at Games
Day 1980 (Games Day being the annual retail and “I do remember Geraldine being very excited about
gaming event established by Jackson and Livingstone it,” says Dickinson, “and me looking at it and being
in the same year they co-founded Games Workshop) able to articulate to my bosses what it was, because
ostensibly to promote a new book called Playing Politics. I have two younger brothers who had been utterly
boring about Dungeons & Dragons. So at least I
Fired by a combination of entrepreneurial bravado understood the concept, even though I’d never seen a
and youthful enthusiasm, Jackson and Livingstone tried Choose Your Own Adventure book beforehand. I absolutely
to persuade Cooke to publish a book on the growing knew all about Games Workshop, and White Dwarf
Fantasy Role-Playing hobby and so she invited them to and D&D because I had to sit through my younger
send in a synopsis. brothers being, as I say, terminally boring about being
seventeenth level wizards, or whatever it was. I mean I
“We had a wonderful chat,” says Cooke, “and they
was a very arrogant teenage girl, and my brothers were
agreed to work up a proposal and outline for a
these annoying beings in our household and this was
gamebook... and that was the beginning...”
one of their more annoying aspects… I had no interest
The book was intended to be a ‘How to’ manual of in it at all, at that point, but at least when it came to
role-playing, but the synopsis that the two of them being able to articulate what it was, what these guys
submitted was for a simple solo role-playing game were and what this world was… I found that I had that
presented within the pages of a book. And so the language.
concept of The Magic Quest was born.
“The thing is now of course, everybody thinks, oh, it’s
When Cooke received the synopsis, she suspected she entirely obvious, but at the time it wasn’t. This really
had something special in her hands, but she found it was small boy geekdom – small boy and a certain
hard to convince anyone else this was the case. kind of slightly older boy geekdom – and about as far
away from what Puffin was doing as it was possible
“The idea was thrown out on its ear at the Penguin to be at that point. But at the same time we were also
editorial meeting,” explains Cooke. “Senior Penguin very attentive to what was going on in the playground,
management roared with laughter at the idea, one so around that same time we did the BMX Handbook,
laughing so much at the crazy idea of a game without You Can Do The Cube… There was something about
a board and with all sorts of imaginary figures involved playground crazes.
[Dungeons & Dragons] that he lay his head on the table
and howled with laughter. I managed to keep the idea “D&D wasn’t really a playground craze. The
on the agenda for months and kept on batting away at remarkable thing about Fighting Fantasy was that by
it. In end I was so angry that I withdrew the idea and publishing the books it became a playground craze. It
went off to my room to brood. This all took about a came out of that role-playing game niche.”
year.”
With the decision to publish made at last, Jackson and
So how did Cooke eventually manage to persuade the Livingstone set to work. It took the pair six months
powers that be to commission the book? to complete the first draft, running Games Workshop
during office hours and working on the book during
“One day, inspiration struck: I phoned up Patrick evenings and weekends. Livingstone wrote the first half
Hardy who was Head of Children’s Publishing and of the adventure, setting it in a dungeon under Firetop
told him about Warlock. He agreed to take a look and Mountain. Jackson wrote the second half, having the
came down to my floor. That was unusual as Children’s hero face off against the evil warlock Zagor at the end.
Publishing and Adult were entirely separate and it was And so The Magic Quest became The Warlock of Firetop
completely unusual for a Penguin editor to take an Mountain.
idea to the Children’s side. He had the proposal in his
◉ 15
 Chapter Two

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain

The Magic Quest begins

T he concept of the gamebook is that the reader

participates in the events of the story, making
choices that ultimately influence the course of the
the Tiger books, by Fighting Fantasy alumni Mark
Smith and Jamie Thomson, and Joe Dever’s Lone
Wolf adventures, illustrated by Gary Chalk. Both
narrative. In many such examples of interactive fiction, series imitated Fighting Fantasy’s gamebook structure,
such as the Fighting Fantasy series, the reader is cast and it can be no coincidence that those involved in
as the hero of the adventure (which is related in the their creation had all been employees of Jackson
second person present tense), being forced to turn and Livingstone at Games Workshop, at one stage or
backwards and forwards through the book to different another.
numbered, jumbled paragraphs.

Although interactive fiction had existed before the

The Not-So Endless Quest
publication of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, having
been toyed with as far back as the 1940s, there had In June 1982 the first four titles of TSR’s Endless
Quest books saw print in the USA, one month before
never been such a thing as a gamebook before. In
the publication of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain in the
the USA, the Tunnels and Trolls role-playing system, UK. A total of 36 books were released between 1982
designed by Ken St Andre, published solitaire and 1987, with another thirteen titles being added from
adventures beginning with Buffalo Castle, written 1994 to 1996 (not to mention the various spin-off series
by Rick Loomis, in 1976, but these were solo RPG that were published in between).
supplements rather than actual books. Edward Packard Despite being produced by TSR, the guardians of the
Dungeons & Dragons franchise at the time, the Endless
and R A Montgomery’s Choose Your Own Adventure
Quest books were not gamebooks. They were modelled
titles appeared around the same time, and although on the Choose Your Own Adventure series and
they were books, they did not feature any game rules. involved the reader making simple choices to progress
It was Fighting Fantasy that created the gamebook the story, but without any actual gaming mechanics
genre, going on to popularise the genre in the UK being involved, as there were in Fighting Fantasy
and Commonwealth, and its success was certainly gamebooks. There wasn’t even very much in the way of
actual narrative branching either.
responsible for the glut of imitations (many of them
The series was briefly revived by Wizards of the Coast’s
horribly inferior in quality) that other publishers rushed publishing division Mirrorstone in 2008, with a revised
out after seeing the level of success Puffin Books were reprint of the 34th Endless Quest adventure Claw of
enjoying with the format. the Dragon. Where in the original the reader’s character
was given a gender and a backstory, the new version
One of the things that many of these rival publishers followed the FF practice of making the character
failed to realise was the importance of the artwork, gender neutral.
commissioning immature, picture book-style
illustrations or barely any illustrations at all, which
automatically helped to put the FF series head and May your STAMINA never fail
shoulders above the rest.
What made The Warlock of Firetop Mountain different
FF artist Pete Knifton: “Other gamebooks just weren’t from other mass market paperbacks that had been
as good! FF had the best writers and some of the best published up until that point was the inclusion of
artists.” simple dice-rolling game mechanics, reminiscent of
such classic role-playing games as the landmark, not to
Two rival series that got it right were the Way of say legendary, Dungeons & Dragons.

16 ◉ Right: Zagor the Warlock, by Russ Nicholson. (© Russ Nicholson, 2014)

◉ 17
 “When Ian and I first decided how to split the Warlock
writing duties, we agreed to site a river in the middle of
the adventure and force all readers to cross the river at
the same place,” explains Jackson.

“Ian would write the adventure up to the river, and

I would do the river and beyond, including the maze
and the treasure chest puzzle. So we both started
writing. After a month or so we realised we were both
using very different combat systems. We’d discuss this,
and both realised it needed sorting out. But there was
nothing between them; there was no reason why we
shouldn’t use Ian’s ‘Strength’ instead of ‘Stamina’. I
think Ian’s combat was simultaneous rather than turn-
based.”

Ian Livingstone’s original plan for the first half of the Warlock’s
dungeon. (© Ian Livingstone, 2014)
The three characteristics, or attributes,
the reader had to keep track of were
SKILL, STAMINA and LUCK. To
enable them to do so with ease, the now
familiar Adventure Sheet was created.

“There is often a virtue in simplicity in

games design,” says games designer and
author Alan Bligh, “and ‘S-S-L’ has it;
it’s intuitive enough and simple enough
in expression for novices to grasp and has
enough depth in its application to provide
a breadth of possibilities and scenarios
to play around with as a writer. It’s a
great system for the level of interaction
involved in a gamebook – just enough to
make a reader feel that the character they
are playing/reading about is both active
and at risk without getting bogged down
in minutiae and too much book keeping.
It’s been unashamedly copied and
imitated since, and the reason for that is
simple; it works!”

Jamie Fry, currently the Warlock’s

envoy to this Earthly Plane, is another
advocate of the SKILL, STAMINA,
LUCK system. “Its simplicity allows
you to replay the book and try different
strategies, but you are beholden to the
randomness of the dice roll, each time
giving a different experience.”

However, the genesis of the Fighting

Fantasy rules system wasn’t as
straightforward as it might now appear.

18 ◉
 “My job was to make sure it worked, really, ‘cos
normally you edit in a fairly linear fashion, but this you
couldn’t edit because you needed to follow every strand
through and I needed to make sure they’d covered all
the options and make sure there weren’t dead-ends and
that if you’d dropped this sword there or that sword
there that you didn’t suddenly find that by going that
way round the options that you still had it… It was a
really interesting logical puzzle to make it work.

“The bit that was unusual was having to do the

checking that all the steps worked, and so I had these
huge, long bits of paper with maps, and the first one,
I remember, I actually did it with maps and tunnels,
and eventually, after a few books, I realised that I didn’t
need that, I just needed lines, cos I didn’t need to draw
it… So I was actually drawing corridors and tunnels
and caves the first one, or possibly two, but certainly
had it in the first one… Later on I just needed to map
the options with lines, like some absolutely crazy mind-
map, I suppose, just to make sure that all the loops
came back. That there weren’t dead-ends or if there
were that you ended up dead.”

A few of the teething problems the book went through

included the fact that choices were not presented in
one uniform style, there was both a Wolfman and a
Werewolf at different points in the adventure, and a
Ian Livingstone’s draft Adventure Sheet and the opening sections copyright-protected song even appeared in the first
of the first draft of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. (© Ian draft.
Livingstone, 2014)
Dickinson: “What I absolutely remember is sitting
“It was a joint decision to keep the combat as simple as them down and saying you’ve written two different
possible,” clarifies Livingstone, “so as not to interrupt books here because they had very different writing
the flow of the adventure. Adding Luck was a later styles… Ian’s was quite analytical and Steve’s was full
decision. The final terminology was Steve’s; Skill, of exclamation marks… You cross the river and it’s a
Stamina and Luck over my Combat, Strength and completely different voice. So one of the things that I
Luck.” asked them to do was to even it up…

Jackson: “To sort it out, someone had to back down “I can easily imagine that one of them would have had
and agree to use the other’s system. We’d meet at Ian’s lots of options and multiple whatevers, and the other
to discuss all this but end up playing pool and drinking one did something completely different. Part of my job
beer. No decision was made. In the end, when we was to point this out to them, to say, actually you need
handed our two halves of the book in to Philippa, the to meld this so that it is actually all one adventure.
difference in writing styles was obvious.”
“I understand that sometimes the things that the
Philippa Dickinson started to go through the editor says are very annoying, and Steve and Ian
completed manuscript and immediately made some were very tolerant of the annoying things I came up
crucial observations. “When confronted with this thing with, and they would mostly listen to what I had to
I thought how do you edit something like this? And the say. Somebody once described the skill of an editor
way I did it was I got large sheets of paper – wallpaper as being to help an author not muck up a book. It’s
lining paper – and just started mapping all the different always got to be the author’s book and what you have
choices and options. So I actually tried to make a to do is to find a way of communicating what you’re
graphical representation, I tried to make a map of saying, and you must to be able to flex your editing
what they were doing. style to work with an author… It’s a very satisfying
process when it works.”
◉ 19
 But other than struggling to agree on the initial game
mechanics, how did Jackson and Livingstone find
the process of writing what was to become the first
Fighting Fantasy gamebook?

Livingstone: “Writing gamebooks is a lot harder than

people might imagine. The first job is to come up
with a good plot, then the ‘boss’ adversary has to be
created and all the creatures to be encountered along
the way. Next is the map and devising imaginative ways
of luring people down passageways to their ‘death’.
That was a lot of fun and used to make me laugh to
myself as I wrote the paragraphs. People assume that
we use some sort of template and fill in the boxes. It is
anything but that. I always constructed the flowcharts
by hand, crossing off the 400 references as I wrote.
Then the manuscript, which I wrote by hand, had to
be checked for accuracy, difficulty, balance, numbers
and consistency. It was, and still is, very challenging to
write a gamebook, but at the same time very rewarding
when it’s done. Looking back, I suppose it was a bit
like writing code. I recently read online somebody
describing the writing of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain
as writing ‘analogue hypertext.’ Another described it
as the first example of ‘gamification of literature.’ It’s
funny how some things become described over time.”

Jackson: “Writing The Magic Quest (as Warlock was called

originally), was an exciting time. All the techniques of
numbering the references, making sure you didn’t get
into endless loops, how to make sure readers couldn’t
cheat their way through the adventure… We were
developing the libraries and tools for the gamebook
program! Warlock was signed up as a one-off adventure.
Philippa Dickinson’s ‘Notes for discussion’, prepared after reading But we did realise that if it did well, there was the
the first draft of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. (© Ian possibility of a series. I really enjoyed developing new
Livingstone, 2014) game mechanics which hadn’t been done before in
gamebooks, like the keys and the Warlock’s chest.”
The biggest problem was the obvious change in writing
styles that occurred halfway through the adventure.

Jackson: “In the end Muggins here volunteered to

rewrite Ian’s section so as to keep the styles consistent.”
(As word processors had yet to be invented, this meant
retyping huge sections of the manuscript.) “And that
also sorted out the combat system. I was doing the
rewrite, so I stuck with my combat.”

Steve Jackson’s handwritten notes regarding the familiar Fighting

Fantasy rules for combat. (© Steve Jackson, 2014)

20 ◉
 Fighting Fantasy Fact 2
In 1982, Livingstone wrote the how-to guide
that The Warlock of Firetop Mountain was meant to
be, but for Routledge & Kegan Paul rather than
Puffin. “Dicing with Dragons was the book about the
role-playing games hobby that Geraldine Cooke
originally suggested we write until Steve and I
convinced her that a role-playing gamebook which
you could actually play would be much better,”
says Livingstone. “We were right. The Fighting
Fantasy series sold over 17 million copies and
Dicing with Dragons sold a few thousand copies. It
proves that playing games is much more fun than
reading about them!”

Illustrating the Magic Quest But while PAJ had two attempts to get the cover right,
another artist had already tried three different concepts
With The Magic Quest having found a home at Puffin and had them all rejected, for one reason or another. “I
Books, and editor Philippa Dickinson busy going had trouble with the cover as the editors kept changing
through the text with a fine-toothed comb to make every time I submitted an idea,” says Nicholson.
sure the adventure actually worked, the next thing that “After three, and the deadline for the black and whites
needed sorting out was the artwork. looming, I gave up. The last editor used his favourite
SF artist.” Which, of course, turned out to be Peter
Russ Nicholson was the artist who was finally Andrew Jones.
entrusted with producing the black and white interior
illustrations. “My work just happened to marry well
with FF,” he says, with disarming dismissiveness. It was
Nicholson who came up with the Warlock’s distinctive
look, including the strange snake-like creature wrapped
around Zagor’s head. “My thought was that it was an
elemental familiar, part lamprey, part snake, and part
living scarf, which had its own properties and was very
protective of the wizard.”

Peter Andrew Jones’ first take on the cover for The

Warlock of Firetop Mountain wasn’t the iconic image fans
remember most clearly. It was actually his second take
on the subject (in which his portrayal of Zagor matches
Russ Nicholson’s portrait of the spell-caster inside the
book), but it’s one that fans of the series who picked up
the first book the first time around in 1982 will never
forget.

But how does it feel to have been the artist who

produced such an iconic cover for such a legendary
book, one that is still much loved and admired today?
“I have to be honest and say I enjoy enormously the
e-mails I get every week from fans of all generations
from around the globe who like my work, whether it be
Dragon, by Russ Nicholson. (© Russ Nicholson, 1982 and 2014)
Fighting Fantasy or otherwise,” says Jones.
◉ 21
 Steve and Ian, and then we played the first book on
Turn to 400 the phones, during the course of a programme, where
you had kids ringing in and doing it.” This gaming-
It just so happened that by the time Jackson and
publicity experiment made an enormous impact.
Livingstone finished writing The Magic Quest it came to
399 numbered references. With a nice round number “They actually invited us back to do it again. In my
like 400 just around the next turn in the Maze of memory, that was one of the biggest turning moments.
Zagor, as it were, it was decided to add a false reference The books really started taking off when we had that
part way through the adventure to achieve that magic Radio One publicity.
total. Paragraph 192 just asks you to turn to 169,
without adding anything to the adventure in terms of “It became a complete playground craze, and in those
plot or bonuses, or even penalties, for the hero. days that was the tipping point. Word of mouth and
peer group pressure… We were very heavily supported
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain by WHSmith, so it was in those mass outlets in terms
of books. That was pre-Waterstones days, so the
So, with the manuscript now written in a uniform support of someone like Smiths was huge. But, as I say,
style and the artwork completed, finally, in August the Radio One thing sticks in the mind as being a big
1982, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain was published publicity breakthrough for us.”
by Puffin Books. Announced with little fanfare, sales
were nothing exceptional until word started to spread
around schools and colleges, as well as within the
gaming community, thanks in part to advertisements
run in Games Workshop’s White Dwarf magazine.

Advertisement for The Warlock of Firetop Mountain that

appeared in issue 34 of White Dwarf magazine.

Barry Cunningham,
now Managing Director
of Chicken House
publishing, was the
marketing director at
Puffin at the time. “We
didn’t have huge budgets
in Children’s Books in
those days but we did
a lot of work with the
Puffin Club,” recalls
Cunningham. “I know
that Steve and Ian used
to complain in the early
days that we weren’t
spending enough money Promotional poster for The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. (© Ian
on the covers and we Livingstone, 2014)
weren’t putting much
direct advertising behind “I think The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is always going
it… The boys, of course, to be my favourite,” says Dickinson, remembering
were not millionaires at the series with obvious fondness. “I think it’s partly
that time and we did a because of the enormous amount of fun it was to edit,
lot of trucking around and probably the long, long hours that I put into it,
the country, at various because it was a voyage of discovery… Not so much
events and so on. the characters or what happened in it, but actually
that journey of how to get that, the manuscript they
“We got a slot on Radio presented, into a book which then turned out to be a
One, on a Saturday massive bestseller. That’s very satisfying.”
morning show, with

22 ◉
Within the first three months Warlock was reprinted
three times. Within the first year it had been reprinted
twenty times! With sales that strong, Puffin Books soon
came knocking, looking for a sequel, and more.

Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, in 1982, with the first edition
of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. (© Ian Livingstone & ,
1982 and 2014)

Fighting Fantasy Fact 3

Over the years, many people have doubtless wondered about the origin of the name
Zagor (pronounced so that the ‘Za’ rhymes with ‘bay’, rather than with ‘baa’). It
was Livingstone who came up with the name
having been inspired by the moniker attributed to
the crossword compiler whose work appeared in
Owl & Weasel, Games Workshop’s original gaming
fanzine, Zailin.

But who was Zailin? Who else, other than Ian

Livingstone? Livingstone devised the puzzles
while his then girlfriend was the one who actually
typed them up. Zailin was an anagram of their
first names, Ian and Liz!

The Owl & Weasel fanzine issue 6. (© Steve Jackson

& Ian Livingstone, 2014)

◉ 23
 Chapter Three

The Phenomenon of Firetop Mountain

Fighting Fantasy outsells Roald Dahl

S teve Jackson: “After Warlock had done so well, Puffin

wanted to know if we could turn this into a series.
And yes, we could. At a meeting in Philippa
to promote GW’s brand, i.e. Citadel Miniatures,”
explains Jackson. “So the adventure had to be set in a
Citadel. And some of the illustrations of the Citadel
Dickinson’s office, she wanted to know what we should were reminiscent of the Citadel Miniatures logo. It
call this series. Ian came up with ‘Fighting Fantasy’. I was, if you like, a promotional in-joke.”
think at the time it was just expected to be a working
title. But it never got changed!” Atop his sinister Black Tower, the dread sorcerer
Balthus Dire is making plans of conquest. The hero
Work started immediately on another two titles. Any of the adventure is a student of the Grand Wizard of
differences in writing styles would no longer be an issue Yore, charged by King Salamon with penetrating the
since the authors were now working on one new book stronghold of the fell magic-user, and stopping the
each. fiend before he can unleash his army upon the peaceful
Vale of Willow.
To have a clearer idea of how big a success Fighting
Fantasy was in those early days, just compare the Before beginning the adventure, the hero has to
average print run for a typical children’s book at the determine his MAGIC score and then choose a
time with that of a new FF title. “I have a memory corresponding number of spells from a pool of
of, in its heyday, printing around 80,000 copies as a twelve that includes such enchantments as Creature
first printing,” says Dickinson. “In those days, with Copy, Fool’s Gold and Levitation. But where did the
children’s books, it could be 3,000. It was huge, a huge inspiration for Balthus Dire and the lethal Ganjees
bestseller.” come from?

Jackson: “Creating names for new characters monsters

The Citadel of Chaos and places was always a brainstorming exercise. I’d
write lots of contenders on a sheet of paper and
Jackson did not eventually pick one which to my mind sounded
stray that far from evocative... ‘Balthus’ was the name of a French
the familiar format painter. At the time I was constantly on the lookout
of The Warlock of for inspiration for names for characters, places and
Firetop Mountain (FF1). creatures. I came across Balthus the artist – his name,
Although it was set not his art, which I have never seen! I thought: ‘Yes.
within a castle, The That’s a cool name. Sounds kind of demonic, or like a
Citadel of Chaos (FF2) dark religious pontiff.’ I used to use a thesaurus a lot for
was effectively another inspiration. ‘Dire’ sounded particularly bad. And thus
dungeon bash, but Balthus Dire became the boss of the adventure.”
with the addition of
rules for using magic. Internal art was by Russ Nicholson again, while the
cover was produced by the enigmatically-named
“I wanted to name my Emmanuel.
second book in such a
way as it served

24 ◉ Right: The Forest of Doom, by Iain McCaig. (© Iain McCaig, 1983 and 2014)
◉ 25
 Magda Knight, author of speculative and YA fiction.
“The castle itself was a pretty surreal and trippy
place to hang out in, and there were hints that the
Ganjees were tough motherfluffers, and they did not
disappoint.”

The Forest of Doom

While Jackson was
struggling with adding
a workable magic
system to the nascent
Fighting Fantasy system,
Livingstone set to
work on his first solo
FF outing, The Forest
of Doom (FF3). His tale
had the hero braving
the perils of Darkwood
Forest in order to
recover the pieces of
the stolen Hammer of
Stonebridge, fashioned
by the Dwarfs to protect
their village from the predations of Hill Trolls.
Gark, by Russ Nicholson. (© Russ Nicholson, 1983 and 2014) “I’d thought about writing another dungeon crawl,”
says Livingstone, “but coming out just months
after Warlock, I decided to set the adventure above
“The only art I really didn’t like was the cover of the ground. But where? I had two ideas in mind. One had
original Citadel of Chaos,” reveals Jackson. “As this was a working title of Blackhill Manor and the other was
the second book in the series, it could have been called Doom in Darkwood Forest. I finally decided on the
interpreted as a significant statement of art intent. But forest adventure. Blackhill Manor would have to wait.
it was followed by Iain McCaig’s cover of The Forest of Thirty years on and Blackhill Manor is still not written,
Doom which set a new standard. I asked Penguin many but the synopsis was influential in part for City of
times to have the Citadel cover recommissioned. Thieves and Caverns of the Snow Witch.
Eventually they gave in and Ian Miller did a fine job.”
“For the book title, I had a shortlist of three; Doom in
“I remember taking Darkwood Forest, The War Hammer of Darkwood Forest and
The Citadel of Chaos the third – The Forest of Doom.”
on a school trip to
France and having it
confiscated because
I refused to stop
reading it,” admits FF
Fighting Fantasy Fact 4
fan Damian Butt. “I
remember slavishly Jackson once named his favourite
copying the illustrations character from the Fighting Fantasy books
because I thought they as being Balthus Dire, the villain from
were so cool.” The Citadel of Chaos, while his favourite
monster is the Jib-Jib, which first
“I really liked the appeared in the final instalment of
Ganjees in The his Sorcery! series, The Crown of Kings.
Citadel of Chaos,” says

26 ◉
 Doom or Darkwood
Forest. The creature
on the front cover of
the book I named
the Shape Changer as
that was exactly
what it was when
it metamorphosed
from a goblin into a
flesh-ripping reptilian
man-eater! I also
came up with names
that had something
to do with my own
world. The grand
wizard Yaztromo is
a good example of
this. Ridiculous as it
may seem now, the
name was made up
by combining the
nickname of a baseball
player and a spaceship!

“Unusually for a
Brit, I used to follow
baseball. I saw my
first game in 1976 at
Fenway Park, home
to the Boston Red
Sox. The Red Sox’s
hero at that time was
Carl Yastrzemski, a
power hitter whose
nickname was ‘Yaz’. I
watched in awe as the
fans went crazy when
Yaz launched one of
his mighty home runs
into the right field
bleachers. So I became
a fan too. A few
Ian Livingstone’s original notes for The Forest of Doom. (© Ian years later I saw Ridley Scott’s Alien for the first time.
Livingstone, 1983 and 2014) The atmosphere and suspense he created on board
the Nostromo was powerful and it became my favourite
The book introduced several characters and locations science fiction film. So it was a simple matter of adding
that would reappear later throughout Livingstone’s ‘Yaz’ to ‘tromo’ to give my grumpy old wizard his
contributions to the FF series, including the village name!”
of Stonebridge, Darkwood Forest of course, and
the wizard Gereth Yaztromo. Yaztromo was the most commonly recurring character
in the Fighting Fantasy series, appearing in numerous
Livingstone: “When writing Fighting Fantasy books, gamebooks and novels, even out-doing Zagor the
I like to create names and places that are both Warlock in terms of the number of guest appearances
descriptive and evocative. Readers would know what he made.
to expect when they read the words The Forest of

◉ 27
 But what of the book’s seminal
cover?

Livingstone: “When I finally

finished writing the adventure,
I wanted to make sure that the
art reflected my own vision
of the creatures of Darkwood
Forest. It was at that time
when I was lucky enough to
meet a young artist called
Iain McCaig who visited us
at Games Workshop looking
for a commission. I looked at
his portfolio and asked Iain
if he would like to illustrate
the book cover, and was very
happy indeed when he said
yes. We talked about the cover
a lot and settled on the Shape
Ian Livingstone’s handwritten first draft of The Forest of Doom. Changer as the central character. It is still one of
(© Ian Livingstone, 1983 and 2014) my favourite Fighting Fantasy covers, beautifully
painted, full of threat and atmosphere. I purchased the
Illustrated by Malcolm Barter, The Forest of Doom was original painting from Iain – an amazing water colour
the last Fighting Fantasy gamebook to have every full- – and today it hangs proudly in my home with my
page illustration accompanied by a caption that gave other Fighting Fantasy book covers.”
the number of the paragraph depicted alongside a
short extract from the text.

“The commission came via my then agent John

Craddock,” says Barter. “I remember, along with
a couple of other illustrators I was asked to submit
a sample picture, as the original artist Penguin had
intended to use was unavailable… I was fortunate
enough to get it.

“My favourite illustration would have been the sample

I drew to get the job! It wasn’t used in the book and
that pissed me off. I don’t think they could find it at the
time.”

Fighting Fantasy Fact 5

Ian Livingstone has stated that his favourite
character from the Fighting Fantasy range
is Gereth Yaztromo, who first appeared in
The Forest of Doom, as did the Shape Changer.
And it is the Shape Changer that vies with
the Bloodbeast from Deathtrap Dungeon for the
honour of being recognised as Livingstone’s
favourite monster from the series. Illustrator Malcolm Barter’s try-out piece for The Forest of
Doom. (© Malcolm Barter, 1983 and 2014)

28 ◉
Yaztromo’s Tower, Fishman and Wyvern, by Malcolm Barter.
(©Malcolm Barter, 1983 and 2014, colours by John-Paul Bove)

“We were hugely chuffed to be writing for such a well- money. And not just children, this was boys, who were
known publisher,” says Jackson. “But after three or four extraordinarily difficult to reach.”
titles, we were asking ourselves: “Why didn’t we do this
through GW instead?” But by now the series had been However, not everyone was as impressed by their
established as a Penguin brand. To suddenly switch achievements as Jackson and Livingstone and their
to Games Workshop would have been very confusing publishers were. When Livingstone appeared on the
and unprofessional. So we decided GW would have to popular children’s TV show Saturday Superstore,
publish its own solo RPG series. Joe Dever, who ran despite the first three FF titles being at numbers one,
the GW mail order department, volunteered to create two and three on the Sunday Times bestseller lists,
the series and drafted in Gary Chalk, a GW staff artist. veteran children’s news reporter John Craven still had
They set to work on creating GW’s solo RPG. But the gall to ask him, “When are you going to write a
when they finally finished, they announced that they’d proper book?”
signed a deal with a third party publisher who had
But Jackson and
commissioned more books and they were leaving GW.
Livingstone were
It seemed to us like a major double-cross.”
unphased by his
The Citadel of Chaos and The Forest of Doom were comments. After
published together, and in March 1983 the first three all, by then they
titles in what was fast becoming the Fighting Fantasy were already
series topped The Sunday Times bestseller charts. hard at work
on the next two
“Puffin’s ‘star author’ was Roald Dahl, whose books titles in the series,
always topped the Children’s Bestseller charts,” Starship Traveller
explains Jackson. “In March 1983, Warlock, Citadel (FF4) and City of
and Forest topped the Children’s Charts in the Sunday Thieves (FF5).
Times... Roald Dahl had finally been out-sold…”

“You absolutely know you’ve got something when

children are paying their own money to buy the
books,” adds Philippa Dickinson. “I remember going
Map of Darkwood
to work one day and watching a boy walking along the
Forest sent to Ian
road to school with his nose in this book and thinking,
Livingstone by a
that is extraordinary. Because here were books that
fan.
children were voluntarily buying with their own

◉ 29
 Chapter Four

The Art of Firetop Mountain

The Monster Makers

O ne of the things that fans regard most favourably

about Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, and which
gets new young readers enthused about the books
Russ Nicholson
For many young readers who picked up The Warlock of
today, is the art. Firetop Mountain when it first came out back in 1982,
it was the first time they had been exposed to such
People love the monsters, and never more so that gritty, detailed and twisting pen and ink linework in a
when there’s an image of one rendered in black and children’s book.
white there on the page before them – or, even better,
in full colour, whether it be in the digital medium or The mature style of the art was something that Jackson
traditional acrylic or oil paint, on the cover! and Livingstone had to fight hard for. They had been
running Games Workshop for several years by this
Who can fail to remember the myriad-eyed point – and even been interviewed on television by
Bloodbeast, staring hungrily from the cover of Deathtrap Ben Elton at one point, for a piece about Dungeons
Dungeon, its pustule-scarred tongue licking the bloody & Dragons – and had built up a network of talented
juices of its most recent victim from its fangs? What fan artists who really understood the genre, and for whom
doesn’t feel a frisson of excitement at witnessing the creating dark fantasy, gothic, threatening, intimidating
Shape Changer’s transformation on the cover of The and (within reason) realistic monsters, came as second
Forest of Doom? And who can fail to be excited by the nature. In their negotiations with Puffin, Jackson and
prospect of an undead horror smashing through the Livingstone insisted that they be allowed to choose
door on the cover of Blood of the Zombies? the artists. According to Livingstone, “Puffin wanted
to commission gentle covers, with nice fluffy creatures
In total, forty-three artists have contributed to the in the woodlands and hopping bunnies on the front,
Fighting Fantasy gamebooks series alone – providing because they didn’t want to upset any children. We
cover art, internal illustrations, and glorious maps – wanted hideous creatures with drooling fangs that
with the majority of them illustrating the fantastical threatened to bite the reader’s face off !”
world of Titan itself. The list of artists is an impressive
roster of legends of British fantasy art, including The two creators were adamant that their books should
the likes of Rodney Matthews, Brian Bolland, Les have powerful covers, backed up by powerful internal
Edwards, Chris Achilleos and John Sibbick. art, because, as they rightly surmised, children are not
scared by this sort of thing. Rather, they are excited
However, there are two artists in particular who, as far by it, as time and their fans’ fond memories have
as fans of the original run are concerned at least, really proved, vindicating their management of those original
defined what many people came to think of as the negotiations.
‘look’ of Fighting Fantasy – Russ Nicholson and Iain
McCaig. “Russ Nicholson’s drawings were the first I
encountered in the world of Fighting Fantasy (as I read
through part 1 of Warlock of Firetop Mountain in Warlock
magazine),” says FF fan Steve Brown, “and they really
captured for me the essence of the whole Fighting
Fantasy world.”

30 ◉ Right: City of Thieves, by Iain McCaig. (© Iain McCaig, 1983 and 2014)
◉ 31
 Fighting Fantasy Fact 6
It was also Russ Nicholson’s art that appeared on various
promotional items, including the Fighting Fantasy Quest
Pack and the iron-on dragon transfer that came as part of
the set. Released by Puffin Books in 1984, and marketed as
‘A Game Kit for all Fighting Fantasy Players!’, as well as the
transfer the pack contained a Puffin GamesMaster badge
(featuring the FF logo), two Fighting Fantasy pencils with
erasers, a pad of Adventure Sheets (as found in the front of
every gamebook) and a pair of dice.
So whose idea was the adventurer’s pack? “Steve and I
suggested the idea to Puffin as we knew that readers wanted
The Fighting more Fighting Fantasy merchandise to supplement the
Fantasy Quest books,” says Livingstone. “I can’t say that Puffin had the same view since their
Pack and contents. business was book publishing. Hence there was not
much merchandise ever released.”
“Little did they realise what a collectors’ item they
were creating,” adds Jackson.

After illustrating The Warlock of Firetop Mountain,

Nicholson went on to provide more internal art for
Fighting Fantasy books than any other illustrator,
including seven solo gamebooks, Out of the Pit and Titan
– The Fighting Fantasy World, two out of the three books
in the Advanced Fighting Fantasy series, all four of
The Adventures of Goldhawk, and the first three
Fighting Fantasy novels, The Trolltooth Wars, Demonstealer
and Shadowmaster. (He has even contributed a brand
new illustration of Zagor the Warlock for this history
of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks.)

Ghoul, by Russ Nicholson. (© Russ Nicholson, 1982 and

2014)

32 ◉
 “Looking back, the flaws in drawing
or design become painfully clear,” says
McCaig. The YOU ARE THE HERO
commission, “was a welcome attempt
to put some of those errors right,
though I’m sure in ten years’ time I’ll
want to do them again!”

The artist’s first professional

commission was with Games
Workshop, “back when my drawing
board was a piece of wood propped
up on bricks borrowed from a local
building site,” explains McCaig. “They
[actually Ian Livingstone] commissioned
me to design their carrier bag” –
which became the shop logo – “which
led to assignments for White Dwarf,
which eventually led to the Fighting
Fantasy books.”

He might have only provided the

internal pen and ink illustrations for
two solo gamebooks – City of Thieves
and Deathtrap Dungeon – but they
were two of the most popular ever
published, with Deathtrap Dungeon
selling over 350,000 copies in its first
year alone.

McCaig: “I seem to recall that the

two projects flowed nicely one after
the other... Deathtrap Dungeon is my
favourite. Ian kindly allowed me to
chip in ideas as he was writing, making
it more the kind of collaboration you
experience on a feature film.
Zagor the Warlock, by Russ Nicholson. (© Russ Nicholson,
2014) “There was a bit of a rush at the end of Deathtrap
Dungeon, though, and I finished the last illustration (the
one of Ian Livingstone as the prisoner with his hand
Iain McCaig chopped off) in one of the offices at Penguin Books,
The number of gamebooks he contributed art to may only to find they’d all gone home and locked me inside
have been fewer, but Iain McCaig’s art was no less the building.”
important in helping to create the look of the Fighting
But it wasn’t only Deathtrap Dungeon that made Iain
Fantasy universe.
McCaig a household name, among FF fans at least.
Now known as the man who designed Darth Maul While Nicholson did not produce any covers for the
for George Lucas’s Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom series, McCaig painted four and then went on to work
Menace, McCaig took time out from working on Star with Livingstone on the lavishly-illustrated Puzzle
Wars Episode 7 to produce not one but two brand new Quest Book Casket of Souls.
pieces of art for this very book, updating the look of
Overleaf: Zanbar Bone the Night Prince and the Bloodbeast, by
two iconic Fighting Fantasy creations – Zanbar Bone
Iain McCaig. (© Iain McCaig, 1983, 1984 and 2014)
the Night Prince and the infamous Bloodbeast.

◉ 33
34 ◉
◉ 35
36 ◉
◉ 37
Casket of Souls, by Iain McCaig (© Iain McCaig 1987, 2014)

McCaig is Livingstone’s favourite fantasy artist, drama and movement in his work, it’s genius. I wanted
and has been ever since the author set eyes on his to collaborate with him on a large format puzzle book
artwork for the first time. “I looked at his portfolio and which would be full of his incredible art. He painted
immediately loved his gritty, realistic fantasy art style,” Casket of Souls in water colour which was ridiculously
says Livingstone. “There was so much detail, mood difficult when you see the incredible detail he produced
and movement in his work. His creatures leaped off in each painting. It was such a challenging job but he
the paper at you.” nailed it. The paintings deserve to be on display in a
public gallery.”
It was McCaig’s art that inspired Livingstone to write
Casket of Souls in the first place: “The covers he did for McCaig is a celebrated figure among Fighting Fantasy
The Forest of Doom, Deathtrap Dungeon, City of Thieves and fandom as well. As Lin Liren from Taiwan puts
Island of the Lizard King were nothing short of amazing. it, McCaig’s illustrations, “are not so much drawn
Working with Iain was brilliant. He was full of ideas as they are shot, such is their sheer cinematic and
and energy, always excited by possibilities. His art photographically realistic nature. Every ‘speaking
captured moments frozen in time even though those part’ has a unique personality, and there is a sense of
moments never actually happened. There is so much perpetual motion in the action sequences in spite of

38 ◉
them being captured as still images; they always make Prince Zanbar Bone and his bloodthirsty Moon Dogs.
you feel like you are there, as a part of the action
rather than just a passive observer.” This was the first occasion on which Iain McCaig
produced not just the internal illustrations but also,
“It was his artwork that sold me the books originally,” what has since become a classic cover.
adds FF fan Matthew Smith. “This man has produced
timeless classics again and again. A lot of his work “I’ve always been
from the mid ‘80s does not look out of place even now. fascinated by graveside
Just compare that to some of the other fantasy and sci- sculptures of the Grim
fi art that was around then and even in the ‘90s; most Reaper,” says McCaig.
of it generally doesn’t stand up to the test of time.” “I eventually designed
one for Harry Potter and
McCaig is also film-maker Sean Riley’s choice for the Goblet of Fire. Zanbar
favourite FF artist: “Iain, has to be – the iconic covers Bone is an early attempt
say it all. There’s not a massive amount in it though, I to bring one to life.”
respect all the fantasy artists, God knows they don’t get
the recognition they deserve in the wider art arena.” Jackson and Livingstone
originally asked McCaig
“He’s such a brilliant draughtsman,” says fellow FF to work on The Warlock
artist Duncan Smith, “and the fantasy world just flows of Firetop Mountain but
from his pencil onto the page, and he makes it all so at the time he was busy
believable.” painting a Jethro Tull
album cover and had to turn them down. “Fortunately,
“The amount of detail that Iain McCaig pours into his the timing worked out better for Ian’s first solo book,
work is staggering,” says comics writer Andi Ewington, The Forest of Doom,” explains McCaig, “for which I did
“and the bar he sets is almost insurmountable. Just the cover, and both his follow-up books, City of Thieves
look at the projects he’s been involved in, he is a living and Deathtrap Dungeon, for which I did both the interior
legend.” and cover art. I don’t think I ever enjoyed such a close
working relationship with any other author, before or
since,” says Iain.
City of Thieves
For his second gamebook with sole writing credit,
Ian Livingstone plumped for a city-based adventure.
Deathtrap Dungeon
City of Thieves (FF5) sends the hero to Port Blacksand The follow-up to City of Thieves is, after The Warlock
for the first time, searching for the means to save the of Firetop Mountain, probably the most well-known
prosperous town of Silverton from the evil Night Fighting Fantasy gamebook – Deathtrap Dungeon (FF6)!

Ian Livingstone’s handwritten

first draft of City of Thieves,
in which it can clearly be seen
that Port Blacksand was to have
been called Port Blackstone. (©
Ian Livingstone, 2014)

◉ 39
 As Steve Jackson puts it, “I went trekking in Northern Thailand in 1981,”
“Surely the best ever name explains Livingstone. “I passed through Fang and
for a gamebook!” crossed the River Kok on my way to the jungle near
the Burmese border. I took lots of photos of villagers
Inspired by a holiday and scenery on the trek. It was an incredible adventure,
Livingstone had taken to and one not without drama. Our guide was constantly
Thailand the year before, fretting about armed bandits coming over the border
the plot of the adventure to rob us! The trek made a big impression on me,
saw the hero taking up enough for me to want to reference the people and
the challenge of the Trial places in Deathtrap Dungeon which I began writing in
of Champions, devised late 1983. But the dungeon plot itself was a product
by the devilish mind of of the dungeons I’d designed during the years I’d
Baron Sukumvit, entering been playing D&D. When Penguin Books told us they
the eponymous dungeon, wanted a sequel to The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, I
braving the labyrinth’s thought I’d write a classic dungeon-bash next, but I
fiendish traps and put it on hold and wrote The Forest of Doom and City of
monstrous denizens, in the Thieves before Deathtrap Dungeon.”
pursuit of fame and fortune.

Ian Livingstone’s rough map of Deathtrap Dungeon. (© Ian

Livingstone, 2014)

40 ◉
As well as the River Kok and Fang, the names of “Deathtrap Dungeon has a fantastic, totally immersive
several other places Livingstone visited on that setting and it’s really tricksy; I probably had up to
fortuitous trip made it into the book, including Chiang six fingers nestled in the pages as bookmarks at one
Mai. Baron Sukumvit himself was named after point,” says author and FF fan Magda Knight. “Some
Sukumvit Road in Bangkok. The marriage of both may argue that the original books were less richly
eastern and western influences in the adventure plotted than their successors, but I loved the setup of
created something entirely new, helping to give the the Trial of Champions, the original Hunger Games. It
world of Fighting Fantasy a truly unique flavour. appealed to my competitive nature. The illustrations
flash up in my memory to this day, and the concept of
an underground maze full of traps worked so well with

the nature of the books. I also loved how Fang was

One of Iain McCaig’s illustration roughs for Deathtrap Dungeon
placed so near to Port Blacksand, which meant that I
alongside Ian Livingstone’s handwritten first draft. (© Iain
was beginning to build up a picture of a world through
McCaig and Ian Livingstone, 2014)
these adventures.”
Deathtrap Dungeon was a huge success, selling over
Like City of Thieves before it, Deathtrap Dungeon was
350,000 copies in its first year alone. It was the best-
illustrated inside and out by Ian Livingstone’s favourite
selling children’s book in April 1984 and was ranked 8th
FF artist, Iain McCaig.
out of all books sold that month, coming just behind
Dick Francis in 7th place and ahead of Stephen King’s “My favourite black and white illustration is the image
Christine in 9th. (Three of the top one hundred books of the inscrutable Trialmaster on his dragon-hide
sold that year were Fighting Fantasy gamebooks.) throne from Deathtrap Dungeon,” muses McCaig. “It was
Deathtrap Dungeon was so successful that Livingstone’s the height of my love affair with croquill pens, and the
eighth gamebook was a sequel, Trial of Champions quintessential riddle picture that would lead to Casket of
(FF21, published in 1986). It even spawned a video Souls.”
game.

◉ 41
 Deathtrap on Legs
Deathtrap Dungeon’s enduring popularity resulted in various sequels
and reinventions, but the first of these was Deathtrap on Legs, a multi-
player role-playing game module written by Paul Mason and Steve
Williams, the men behind The Riddling Reaver. It was published
in issue #7 of Warlock magazine with illustrations by Simon Ecob.

Dwarf Trialmaster, by Iain McCaig. (© Iain McCaig, 1984

and 2014)

A Wider World
Growing in confidence with how he portrayed his and
Jackson’s creation, and the ever-increasing popularity
of the series, City of Thieves and Deathtrap Dungeon –
along with the subsequent Island of the Lizard King (FF7)
– were the first time that Livingstone really tried to
build a cohesive fantasy world.

Although it is not explicitly stated anywhere, it is

implied, via the Background sections of the three
books, that the hero of Deathtrap Dungeon is also the
hero of City of Thieves, who later journeys from Fang
to Oyster Bay and from there to the deadly Island of the
Lizard King.

Ian Livingstone in Sydney on a Fighting Fantasy PR trip in

1984, just after Lizard King was published, happy to see lots
of FF books on display in a shop window. (© Ian Livingstone,
1984 and 2014)

42 ◉
Island of the Lizard King
The third title in this
trilogy of sorts, Island
of the Lizard King (FF7)
had the hero fighting
to free the young men
of Oyster Bay from the
tyranny of the insane
Lizard King who ruled
his island domain
through a combination
of black magic, voodoo
and sheer force of arms.
McCaig’s cover bears
the intimidating image
of the Lizard King
holding back his deadly
pet, a Black Lion.

Lizardman riding a Styracosaurus, by Alan Langford. (© Alan

Langford, 1984 and 2014, colours by Joshua Wright)

If Nicholson’s style encapsulated the untamed wilds

of Allansia, and McCaig’s art captured the look of the
cities, and both defined the look of the myriad deadly
The typed draft of the Background section of Island of the dungeons dotted about the Fighting Fantasy world,
Lizard King. (© Ian Livingstone, 2014) then Alan Langford was the go-to guy for dinosaurs.

Having rendered the Lizardmen of Fire Island in all

their terrible glory, after a brief sojourn realising the
denizens of Hachiman for Sword of the Samurai (FF20)
and the monsters of Creature of Havoc (FF24), he would
Fighting Fantasy Fact 7 go back to drawing myriad lizardine horrors for
Battleblade Warrior (FF31) and the prehistoric reptilian
One of the characters in City of Thieves is beasts of Portal of Evil (FF37), before making his final
a Troll guard called Sourbelly. In Deathtrap contribution to the Fighting Fantasy series illustrating
Dungeon it is possible for the hero to
Spellbreaker (FF53).
encounter a female Troll called ‘Poison’
Ivy. It turns out that Sourbelly is Ivy’s
brother of whom she is very proud since “Zdeněk Burian, Ray Harryhausen and Frank Frazetta
he has risen to the rank of city guard – they were my influences as far as dinosaur art went,”
of Port Blacksand. says Langford. “The illustration I enjoyed doing most
of all, the one that sticks in my mind, was the Cyclops
bearing the axe. I had compliments from lots of kids
from that.”
◉ 43
 The art of Fighting Fantasy was celebrated in 1990
when The Fighting Fantasy Poster Book was published
by Fantail Publishing (an imprint of Penguin Books
specialising in titles that showcase artwork). The large
format book contained poster prints of fifteen paintings
by eight different artists.

Peter Andrew Jones’ artwork featured twice, in the

covers for The Warlock of Firetop Mountain and Talisman
of Death. Ian Miller was also featured twice, with his
covers of House of Hell and Creature of Havoc, as was
David Gallagher, with Stealer of Souls and Fangs of Fury.

Brian Bolland, Les Edwards and John Sibbick all

appeared once each, with the covers for Appointment with
F.E.A.R., Daggers of Darkness and Dungeoneer respectively.

Iain McCaig had his art appear three times – The Forest
of Doom, City of Thieves and Deathtrap Dungeon – while
Chris Achilleos was featured an unprecedented four
times, with his covers for Temple of Terror, Armies of Death
and Titan - The Fighting Fantasy
World, and his original artwork
for Out of the Pit being reused on
the cover.

Cyclops, by Alan Langford. (© Alan Langford, 1984 and “I like Peter Jones’ work,” says
2014, colours by Joshua Wright) fellow FF artist Alan Craddock,
whose painting of Fog Devils
featured in 1985’s Out of the Pit,
The Fighting Fantasy Poster Book “although I prefer his SF stuff.”

Fog Devils, by Alan Craddock. (© Alan Craddock, 1990 and

2014)
44 ◉
John Blanche
Another artist whose legendary status far outweighs
his physical contribution to the FF series in terms
of numbers of gamebooks illustrated, is the force
of nature that is John Blanche, currently Games
Workshop’s art director and the man responsible for
coming up with the look of the worlds of Warhammer
and Warhammer 40,000.

“Warhammer and 40K fill my mind completely and

utterly… It’s a bit like method acting – it’s where I live
24/7 – so individual books or any product will often go
past without me even noticing. A big part of this is the
time gap between producing illustrations and the final
book hitting the shelves. I’m currently working a good
two and a half years ahead of release.”

So what is the reason for Blanche’s legendary status,

as far as Fighting Fantasy fans are concerned? Steve
Jackson’s Sorcery! epic, of course.

Living Corpse, by John Blanche. (© John Blanche, 1984 and

2014)

Birdman, by John Blanche. (© John Blanche, 1985 and 2014)

Martin McKenna
If there is one artist who encapsulates the way the art
of the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks has developed over
the years, in terms of tone as well as subject matter, it
has to be Martin McKenna.

McKenna doesn’t attribute his success to one big

break: “It was probably more like a lot of little breaks.
Really early stuff like meeting Steve Jackson and
Ian Livingstone in ‘86 was helpful. They liked the
fanzine work which had included a Fighting Fantasy
spoof, and they recommended a submission to Warlock
magazine. Coincidentally Marc Gascoigne had seen
my fanzine stuff and liked it, and he was then editor
of Warlock. Most importantly, an invitation came from
John Blanche, then art director at Games Workshop, to
produce work for him. John’s initial contact came as a
result of me entering an art competition featured in the
Citadel Journal. Instead of the hoped-for prize of a two
quid postal order, I got a letter from John expressing
interest in my stuff. This led to my very first paying
commission: illustrations for an Out of the Pit article in
Warlock. So a bunch of things came together in the very
◉ 45
beginning. And one way or another they’ve continued same sort of stuff ! Occasional goblins and things with
to do so ever since.” spikes.”

Caricature of Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson drawn when

Martin McKenna was only 14. (© Martin McKenna,
2014)

His fine pen and ink work is now produced digitally,

allowing him to draw fine white lines on black, as well Werewolf, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna, 1989
as vice versa. “Yeah, drawing in a pen and ink style and 2014)
digitally is a bit like doing a scraperboard thing, which
I enjoy. I still prefer doing things in black and white... McKenna’s influence has partly been down to his
I really should do more.” That, coupled with modern frequent collaborations with writers like Stephen Hand
printing techniques, means that his more modern and Jonathan Green.
illustrations are some of the most detailed ever to
appear in Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. “I love Martin’s artwork on both Fighting Fantasy and
his other works,” says Jamie Wallis, who worked with
Thanks to the resurgence of interest in the gamebook McKenna on Myriador’s D20 FF conversions. “The
genre and Wizard Books reprinting the series, new versions of the covers gave the FF gamebook
McKenna has now illustrated twelve FF gamebooks in rereleases in early 2000 a contemporary look.”
total. And although he only really got to produce one
cover for the series when it was published by Puffin “I like the fear and terror he brings to his illustrations,
Books – the last of the initial run, Curse of the Mummy in particular his early work such as Vault of the Vampire
(FF59) – he has now produced a total of eighteen and Dead of Night,” says FF fan James Aukett. “They
covers for seventeen books, producing different artwork had a lifelike menace to them which particularly struck
for different editions of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. me as I was reading those books.”

McKenna: “Fighting Fantasy got me started working in It’s not only the fans who appreciate the contributions
the gaming industry and helped direct me into the field these artists made to the Fighting Fantasy series either.
of fantasy art generally. So I owe it a lot, especially for
Ian Livingstone: “If I had to pick a second favourite
helping to get me established and find early success
artist after Iain McCaig, it would have to be Martin
in my career. These days I’m doing a lot of much the
McKenna. He was fantastic to work with on the Legend
46 ◉
 Cameos
For those who are sharp of eye, there’s a great deal to take from the myriad illustrations
that appear in the Fighting Fantasy books. Take Iain McCaig, for example: “I left both
clues and red herrings in the drawings, little things that the astute puzzle-hunter would
pick up on. Occasionally, I also snuck things in just to see if anyone would notice, like
the image of the howling prisoner with the severed hand in Deathtrap Dungeon, which is
actually a portrait of Ian Livingstone.” Following McCaig’s lead, other artists began to
put Jackson and Livingstone into their pictures.

Deathtrap Prisoner, by Iain McCaig. (© Iain McCaig, 1984 and 2014)

Steve Jackson, by Stephen Lavis. (© Stephen Lavis, 1985 and 2014)
Beast Man Champion, by Tony Hough. (© Tony Hough, 1994 and 2014)

of Zagor game and his attention to detail is amazing. who guards the way to Zagor’s inner sanctum), Legend
And for SF art, Jim Burns.” of Zagor (as the merchant known as Three-Eyes Haag,
and even appeared on one of the cards in the board
“I particularly admire the work of Martin McKenna game version), Eye of the Dragon (as another friendly
and Iain McCaig,” says Gary Mayes, Fighting merchant), and in Blood of the Zombies (in the form of a
Fantasy’s most prolific SF interior artist. “Both make bust on display in Goraya Castle).
images that work so well in the medium of black
and white. They both create genuine characters and Steve Jackson’s smiling face can be seen in the artistic
compose great images for books of this nature which surround of the map that accompanied the hardback
are limited in size and by monochrome.” edition of The Tasks of Tantalon, while both Jackson and
Livingstone appear in portraits on the wall of a room
As well as the wretched former competitor in Deathtrap in the Archmage’s stronghold in The Crown of Kings
Dungeon, Ian Livingstone also appears in Caverns of (S4), and among the bottled dinner guests at a feast in
the Snow Witch (as one of the masks on the wall of The Riddling Reaver, not to mention among the heads
the Healer’s cave), Armies of Death (as Obigee the tied to a Beastman’s belt in Knights of Doom!
landlord), Return to Firetop Mountain (as the Inquisitor

◉ 47
 Chapter Five

The Archmage of Firetop Mountain

Steve Jackson’s Sorcery!

W ith Fighting Fantasy a certifiable hit for Puffin

Books, one person who had been so instrumental
in bringing the FF phenomenon to the masses was
Jackson. “A lad called Kakhabadse... I think he was a
prefect. I remember him as tall and a bit nerdy with
unkempt black greasy hair. He wasn’t a friend; I didn’t
feeling rather left out. And that was Penguin Books know him at all. But for some reason his name popped
commissioning editor Geraldine Cooke. into my mind when I thought of the body of water to
the south of Analand. It was a Sea. A Kakhabad Sea.
Jackson promised Cooke that he would write a more So the land above would then be… Kakhabad! Job
advanced series for the Penguin imprint. What he done!”
came up with was the legendary Sorcery! series, set
within the deadly and unruly land of Kakhabad. As
Penguin’s own advertisement put it, “Well, why should The Shamutanti Hills
kids have all the fun…?”
The first book in the
Sorcery! series, aimed
squarely at adult gamers,
was released in late 1983.
The Shamutanti Hills (S1),
which bore the dedication
‘To Ian Livingstone’, saw
the commencement of
an epic quest to recover
the Crown of Kings
from the evil Archmage
of Kakhabad. In the
adventure, the hero has
to make his way through
the hills of the title,
“alive with evil creatures,
lawless wanderers and
bloodthirsty monsters, the land is riddled with tricks
and traps waiting for the unwary traveller.”

Despite being for adults, the game still used the usual
Fighting Fantasy gaming mechanics, the cover proudly
stating the mantra familiar to Fighting Fantasy fans
that, “Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need
for this adventure – YOU decide which paths to take,
which dangers to risk and which monsters to fight.”
The big difference came from what gave the series its
“The land of Kakhabad – more specifically the name. As well as being a mighty warrior, the hero of
Kakhabad Sea – was directly inspired by the name of the Sorcery! series could also be played as a powerful
a fellow pupil at Altrincham Grammar School,” says magic-user.

48 ◉ Right: The Shamutanti Hills, by John Blanche. (©John Blanche, 1983 and 2014)
◉ 49
The ‘simple’ version of the adventure involved the use There was another illustrator involved in the creation
of no magic whatsoever, as with most FF adventures of the Sorcery Spell Book, one Maggie Kneen. “I
up until this point (with the notable exception of The distinctly remember receiving a phone call from Ian
Citadel of Chaos). However, there was also the option Livingstone. I can’t remember how they found me; I
whereby the reader could opt for the ‘advanced’ didn’t join an illustration agency until 1987. It may
version of the game, which relied heavily on magic, have been through my art college, the Central School
with the hero being able to cast a wide range of spells. in London, where I had recently finished an MA in
Each spell cost between 1 and 4 STAMINA points graphic design. Or it might be because I had recently
to cast, and each was denoted by a three letter word designed a product called ‘Psycards’ which had just
(following the pattern consonant-vowel-consonant), been published.”
and often required very specific ingredients to be cast
successfully at all. It was Kneen who produced the cover of the Sorcery
Spell Book. “I really enjoyed the job because painting
There was also the option to call on Libra, the goddess leather, gold and garnets, and designing lettering was
of justice, once during the course of the adventure, right up my street… The internal illustrations were
either to enable the hero to escape a tricky battle, to be by John Blanche, who was given copyright on those
cleansed of curses or diseases, or to have his starting images, and my name was not mentioned. So it looks
attributes restored to their Initial level. as if he did that cover too!”

Despite this, Kneen still has fond memories of her

The Sorcery Spell Book brief involvement with the Sorcery! series. “I’m still
proud of the work that I did for FF and feel glad to
The Sorcery Spell Book have been a part of it. It helped me to strengthen
was, to begin with, just the medieval/gothic sort of character in both my
that – a separate book, illustration and lettering, at an impressionable time in
detailing the spells used my career.”
in the Sorcery! series, that
came packaged with
The Shamutanti Hills in a “An epic adventure awaits YOU in the dark
special slipcase edition. land of Kakhabad!”
It featured a number of
illustrations, which were By far the easiest of the Sorcery! series to complete –
cut when the Spell Book and the shortest, despite having 456 references in total,
was later incorporated numerous paragraphs being given over to spell-casting
into the Sorcery! rather than plot development – The Shamutanti Hills
gamebooks themselves, concludes with the hero battling the Manticore that
when they were has appeared on the cover of every edition of the book
republished under the Adventure Gamebooks banner. ever published.
Original slipcase editions of The Shamutanti Hills and
The Sorcery Spell Book are now veritable collector’s items!

Fighting Fantasy Fact 8

Steve Jackson conceived the Sorcery! epic

after holidaying in Nepal. Several of
the settlements that appear in The
Shamutanti Hills are named after actual
villages Jackson came across on a five
day trek he undertook from the city of
Pokhara.

50 ◉
 The second book in the the first. And Sorcery! because it was the most complex.
series Kharé – Cityport Creating a four-part adventure in which your actions
of Traps (S2), came out in Book 2 might affect your choices in Book 4 was a
the following year, with real challenge. Also making sure they were all good
the reference count adventures in their own right; you didn’t need to have
rising to 511! It charts completed Sorcery 1 to play Sorcery 2. I was very
the hero’s challenging proud of Sorcery!”
journey through the
titular city to the spell- The Sorcery! series was a high point for FF author
locked Northern Gate, Graeme Davis as well, the second book in particular:
through which he has “Kharé – Cityport of Traps… because I love city
to pass to continue the adventures, but also because of the way Steve was
quest for the Crown of working to expand the system by adding magic. On
Kings. the whole, although I respected Ian’s inimitable skill at
creating challenging dungeon adventures, Steve’s work
never failed to intrigue me for the way he was always
pushing the envelope in terms of rules and settings.”
The Seven Serpents
(S3), the third book
in the series, takes The Dark Art of John Blanche
the hero across the
inhospitable Baklands Of course, Jackson’s writing and game design are not
– a treacherous the only reason why the Sorcery! books remain such firm
wilderness of deserts, favourites for so many people.
forests, and swamps
A series that was intended – originally, at least – to
– and a vast lake, as
appeal to adults required a more mature art style. And
he attempts to hunt
whilst it was clearly from the same stable as Fighting
down and do away
Fantasy – albeit a stable in which you were likely to
with the Archmage’s
find demonic steeds and fully-barded warhorses – the
assassin-agents of the
art in the Sorcery! books needed to have its own distinct
title, seven deadly and
look.
magical serpents. It
had a total reference To give the series a cohesive feel, it was decided that
count of 498 and was the job of illustrating the quartet – producing both
the first of the Sorcery! books to be published under the the fully-painted artwork for the covers as well as the
Puffin banner. Strangely, in the United States the book black and white internal illustrations – should be the
was published under the Penguin Books banner, but responsibility of one artist. To find that artist Jackson
featuring the same cover art. once again looked to the pool of artists employed by
Games Workshop at the time – a roster that now reads
The conclusion of the Sorcery! series saw the hero climb
like an honour roll of
through the Xamen Peaks to the Mampang Fortress,
legends of the fantasy
and then battle his way through the Archmage’s lair.
art world – and picked
The Crown of Kings (S4) – published in 1985 and coming
John Blanche.
in at a whopping 800 references (a record yet to be
broken by any other Fighting Fantasy gamebook) – was “Working with
as epic an adventure as any Sorcery! fan could hope for Steve Jackson came
and featured one of the most memorable (and clever) about because I was
denouements of any adventure ever published, not to producing work
mention encounters with a god-headed Hydra and for White Dwarf
entire societies of birdmen and she-satyrs. [magazine] and Games
Workshop… so I was
When Jackson talks about the Sorcery! series, he does so,
there talking to them
understandably, with great fondness. When pressed on
on a regular basis,”
the subject of which of the gamebooks he has written
says Blanche.
are his favourites, he cites two: “Warlock because it was

◉ 51
Below: God-Headed Hydra, by John Blanche. (© John Blanche, Right: Kharé – Cityport of Traps, by John Blanche. (© John
1985 and 2014) Blanche, 1986 and 2014)

“We love the artwork,”

says Jon Ingold of Inkle
Studios, the team that is
currently redeveloping
the Sorcery! series for the
iPad. “It captures the
style and sensibility of
the world so well. It’s a
weird world – not comic,
but always out to subvert
expectations and surprise
you; always teasing and
mischievous, but often
quite dark; warped and
bent and patchwork. One
look at one of Blanche’s
illustrations and you see
all of that come through.”

So how does Blanche

explain the success of
Fighting Fantasy and the
Sorcery! books?

“The FF books were

the early thoughts
about fantasy needing
to be dark and grim
that became more fully
developed in the worlds
of Warhammer – and it
is still happening today.
The punk thing is a
tribal street visual that
pervades all history as
far back as you wish – it’s
a hint of shamanism,
tribalism, barbarism,
etc. People relate to that
in a very enthusiastic
manner. Fantasy is not
about fairies and golden
knights but about guys
with shaved heads and
zombies and a multitude
of macabre horrific
nastiness.

52 ◉
“John arrived one day at our little office on the
Uxbridge Road,” explains Jackson. “He was clad head-
to-toe in black leather, very skinny, with winklepicker
boots. When he showed us his portfolio we were really
impressed – unique style – so impressed in fact that he
was commissioned to create the first ever colour cover
for White Dwarf – number 7 I think. When it came to
choosing an artist for Sorcery!, I wanted someone who
could do the whole series, not a number of artists like
we used in the main FF series. John was my first choice.
And I have never regretted the decision. He did a
fantastic job with Sorcery!, giving it its own distinctive
artistic character.”

◉ 53
 Fighting Fantasy Fact 9

In the run up to Christmas 1983 one small boy had an unexpected encounter
whilst out shopping. “I went with my dad to the Games Workshop in the
Arndale Centre in Manchester. I spotted the new Sorcery! box-set – The
Shamutanti Hills and the Spell Book – and had enough pocket money saved up to
buy it. The person serving us at the till told us that the author was out back and
my dad, being my dad, asked if I could meet him and have him sign my book,
which Steve did. Who’d have thought that eighteen years later I’d be contacting
Steve and negotiating bringing the series back into print!” That young boy
was Simon Flynn, who in 2001 was Publishing Manager at Icon Books, the
company responsible for relaunching the Fighting Fantasy series in 2002.

are better at doing than adults anyway) and a couple of

Big Boots to Fill pictures of topless lady satyrs, the Sorcery! series never
When the Sorcery! really lived up to its ‘adult’ tag and was eventually
series was fully rebranded as part of the FF series, with Analand,
integrated into the Kakhabad and the Old World being subsumed into the
Fighting Fantasy wider Fighting Fantasy world of Titan.
range when Wizard
Books started But the books still made a huge impact on readers
reprinting the
and gamers, adults and children alike, and are fondly
gamebooks, to keep
the look of the books remembered to this day, so fondly that fans still ask if
fresh new artwork there will ever be a follow up to the Sorcery! epic.
was commissioned.
The man tasked “I absolutely loved the Sorcery! series,” enthuses FF
with filling the shoes enthusiast Steve Brown. “The idea of carrying your
of the mighty John character from one book to the next was awesome.
Blanche was artist Also, the spell system was something entirely new and
Mel Grant.
added a new dimension to the books – trying to find
ingredients to cast spells. My favourite two were The
Shamutanti Hills and The Seven Serpents. Trying to find the
“I’ve been called the art director at Games Workshop Seven Serpents was great fun and the illustrations were
for a number of years, which has meant building up fantastic in all the books.”
an art department coming up with art solutions and
“Sorcery! is an incredible achievement,” says FF fan
graphic schemes and mainly developing the imagery
Andy Jones. “To have the vision and the ability to
of the Warhammer universes. The embryo of this
create such a cohesive and brilliantly epic quest,
was in the Sorcery! books; I’ve just changed my role,
and spread it over four books, as well as invent a
concentrating on creating and extending imagery
comprehensive magic system, is just mind-boggling.
for models, which is where I live in my head because
Steve deserves all the credit in the world for Sorcery! and
these are the denizens who populate the Warhammer
it still holds up well today.”
worlds. These connections I have with the punk/
history/dark/dystopian view of fantasy are shared But would Jackson ever contemplate taking on such a
by many. It’s linked to our past and the internal challenge again?
fears that are common to us all, like the dark, death,
thunderstorms… The list is huge.” “Wow! That’s a big ask. If I’m suitably inspired by a
new idea, then perhaps. But probably not as a stand-
Apart from its increased level of difficulty, the idea that alone book series. I’d want to do something more
you should memorise the magic system (which children contemporary. More… digital.”

54 ◉ The Sorcery Spell Book, by Maggie Kneen. (© Maggie Kneen, 1983 and 2014)
◉ 55
 Chapter Six

The Expansion of Firetop Mountain

From Scorpion Swamp to The Riddling Reaver

I n March 1983, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain,

The Citadel of Chaos and The Forest of Doom topped
The Sunday Times bestseller charts. Two more titles,
business with Games Workshop. So the book was: Steve
Jackson & Ian Livingstone Present: Scorpion Swamp… by
Steve Jackson. Very confusing!”
Starship Traveller and City of Thieves, appeared later that
same year. Having seen how successful the series was, “I was visiting London,” explains US Steve, who
other publishers began jumping on the bandwagon, was already known to the UK Steve Jackson and Ian
rushing out competing gamebook series of their own. Livingstone since Games Workshop was distributing
But Puffin Books, fully aware at last that they had a his games on this side of the Pond. “They described
certifiable hit on their hands, were keen to maintain their travails in creating FF books, and the difficulty of
their position at the head of the game. flow-charting. I sat down and wrote the first third of
Scorpion Swamp, and they liked it.”
“Puffin decided our best battle strategy would be to
publish a new FF book every month,” says Jackson. There are still people to this day who do not realise
“There was no way Ian and I could write a book a that the Steve Jackson who wrote Scorpion Swamp,
month, so we decided to commission other authors… Demons of the Deep and Robot Commando, and the Steve
and called it the ‘Jackson & Livingstone Present’ Jackson who wrote such classics as The Citadel of Chaos,
series.” House of Hell and Creature of Havoc are two completely
different people.
To begin with, Jackson and Livingstone appointed
the ‘Presents’ series authors. “Jamie Thomson, Paul “Occasionally I am presented with a copy of one of
Mason, Steve Williams, Mark Gascoigne, Peter Darvill- UK Steve’s books to sign,” says US Steve. “I always
Evans were all Games Workshop staff. So it was easy to explain, and if they really want me to, I will sign it ‘The
keep a check on their FF books.” wrong Steve Jackson’.”

The impact Jackson and Livingstone’s involvement

in Fighting Fantasy had on Games Workshop at the Scorpion Swamp
time was considerable. Peter Darvill-Evans, a GW
Published in 1984,
employee at the time, has this to say on the subject. “I
with cover and internal
remember… driving a van to a hobbies trade fair with
art by Duncan Smith,
Ian Livingstone in the passenger seat, a pad on his
Scorpion Swamp (FF8)
knees and a pen in his hand, writing his next FF book.”
sent the hero into
“We simply could not keep up with the demand for the foetid fens of the
Fighting Fantasy,” adds Livingstone. “It’s funny, really, title with nothing
that when The Warlock of Firetop Mountain was first but his sword to
published, Puffin were not very enthusiastic about it. defend himself, and
Within a year they wanted to publish a new book every a magic Brass Ring
two months! We needed help and got it.” that detected evil as
well as letting the hero
Jackson again: “As it happens, our first ‘Presents’ series know which way was
author was Steve Jackson – the American one, designer north.
of GURPS – who had come over to the UK to talk

56 ◉ Right: Dragon Spell, by Chris Achilleos. (© Chris Achilleos, 1986 and 2014)
◉ 57
Unlike other Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, Scorpion Caverns of the Snow Witch
Swamp allowed the player to choose one of three
quests, from a selection of patrons who are Good, Evil The ninth title in the FF series was another
and Neutral. The gameplay was non-linear in design, contribution by Ian Livingstone, and one that had first
enabling the hero to revisit locations and explore the seen print in Warlock, the Fighting Fantasy magazine.
swamp as he so desired, and a direct consequence of Caverns of the Snow Witch (FF9) sent the hero into the
US Steve’s background in RPGs. freezing depths of the Icefinger Mountains. Having
initially been hired to hunt down and slay the Yeti that
But how did Duncan Smith come to join the esteemed has been attacking trade caravans in northern Allansia,
ranks of Fighting Fantasy illustrators? “My mate Iain the hero hears from a dying trapper of the great riches
McCaig had been doing some for Puffin and suggested to be found in the Crystal Caves, home of the evil
me to the art director as they were looking for artists enchantress the Snow Witch. And so he sets off to
for another few books,” explains Smith. “Our styles make his fortune, but in time he learns the true cost of
were quite similar and so they liked my work and that’s his greed.
how it came about.”
“I’d written FF books
The artist cites the illustrations of Poomchukker and set in dungeons,
the Giant as being his favourites from the book. “I forests and islands,”
actually like Scorpion Swamp,” he says, referring to says Livingstone, “and
the work he did on the title, “though I’d do it very decided it was time
differently now.” for some freezing
mountain snow for
adventurers to survive.
I thought about the
irony of Caverns of
the Snow Witch during
a charity climb of
Kilimanjaro years
later. It had been
snowing the whole
day. At such altitude it
was miserable.”

The fact that the adventure was first published in a

shortened 190-paragraph form in Warlock magazine
goes some way to explain the adventure’s unusual
structure. Having defeated the vampiric Snow Witch,
the hero escapes the Crystal Caves in the company of
Redswift the Elf and Stubb the Dwarf, only for the
three companions to discover that the witch has cast a
Death Spell upon them. The adventure then turns into
a race against time as the hero struggles to find a way
of counteracting the effects of the spell.

Having been illustrated by Duncan Smith for the

Warlock version, for the extended paperback edition,
two artists, Gary Ward and Edward Crosby, worked
together to provide the interior illustrations, the only
time this has happened in the entire history of Fighting
Fantasy.

“We worked out roughs for each illustration, had

Giant, by Duncan Smith, www.duncansmithstudio.com. (© someone pose for photo reference (that locked the
Duncan Smith, 1984 and 2014) overall pose and angle of the figures in place), then
Edward and I worked on the agreed illustrations at

58 ◉
separate locations,” explains Ward. “Edward then
delivered the final pencil drawings once a week or
so. I tended to work on the more human characters.
Edward’s style suited the goblins and monsters more. I
inked them all to keep a constant style.”

White Dragon, by Gary Ward and Edward Crosby.

(©Gary Ward and Edward Crosby, 1984 and 2014)

This was scaled down and traced off at college using a

machine called a Grant Enlarger. Those were the days
before scanners and Photoshop.”

Ward: “The deadline was tight and having just finished

Yeti, by Gary Ward and Edward Crosby. (©Gary Ward and Art College both of us lacked experience at producing
Edward Crosby, 1984 and 2014) artwork under a schedule like that. To hit the deadline
we had to have a drawing started and finished each
“Gary Ward brought me onto the project,” says
day. At one point I was inking them at the rate of
Crosby. “We were both doing an Art and Design
four a day and there was no room for mistakes!
diploma at Goldsmiths College, London and had a
That’s not enough time when you are trying to design
mutual interest in fantasy art. During 1983/84, Gary
elaborate armour or monsters etc. We tried to vary the
was doing illustrations for White Dwarf magazine which
compositions as much as possible.
I helped out with. This work led to him meeting Ian
Livingstone and he was offered Caverns. Once Gary
accepted the job he asked me to join him as co-
illustrator.

“We had to create thirty-two full-page illustrations and

Fighting Fantasy Fact 10
four fillers to a pretty tight deadline. I pencilled about
fifteen and Gary did the rest. We worked on them When the US Steve Jackson visited Games Workshop,
separately at home but would meet up at college and the plan was that UK Steve and Ian Livingstone would
show him the sights of London. However, having been
discuss ideas. Every week, I would hand over two or persuaded to write a Fighting Fantasy book for them that
three finished pencils ready for inking. Gary inked all was what he did – right then and there in their office!
The planned tour of London never happened, but ever
of them and his confident bold style really gave them since many thousands of readers have enjoyed exploring
a unified look. All the originals were at A3 size though Scorpion Swamp instead.
some of my preliminary drawings were much larger.
I remember drawing the centaurs at almost A1 size.
◉ 59
“For some reason a lot of the other FF illustrations House of Hell
tend to feature full length figures. We used a lot more
half figures or close ups (the witch’s face or Crystal For almost thirty years following its initial release back
Warrior half in panel) to create a more claustrophobic in 1984, House of Hell (FF10) remained unique; it was
feel or an impact. Illustrating FF books is different from the only FF adventure to have a wholly ‘contemporary’
most children’s books or stories. The structure is very setting. It was not a futuristic, superhero sci-fi yarn,
jumpy and disjointed with few characters and locations or a post-apocalyptic adventure, but was Fighting
repeating in the illustrations. It’s also very first person. Fantasy’s one and only specifically horror-themed
Unlike say the story of Robin Hood where you would adventure. That was until Blood of the Zombies was
be seeing the hero and the same characters again and published in 2012.
again in the artwork.”
There have been other FF adventures that play with
Both Ward and Crosby cite the White Dragon as being familiar horror tropes – notably books like Vault of the
among their favourite illustrations from the book, but Vampire, Moonrunner and Howl of the Werewolf – but all of
what fans remember most about their work was its these are primarily fantasy adventures with a good dose
woodcut-like nature. So what led them to develop this of horror thrown in. House of Hell, on the other hand,
unique look? is the sort of nightmare you could imagine yourself
ending up in if your car broke down on a lonely
“An attempt to make the illustrations look like a cross country road in a thunderstorm only for you to
between comic book and old illuminations from discover that you were in a mobile phone dead spot.
books,” says Ward, “plus it seems to suit the limitations
of b&w inking and the subject matter.” Other than the fact that there’s no mention of
mobile phones, the plot of the book hasn’t dated in
“For the White Dwarf illustrations, Gary was using a the intervening decades.
medium tipped felt pen that gave a nice bold line,” As a result of the
elaborates Crosby. “When it came to Caverns this aforementioned breakdown
style developed naturally into a more ‘wood block and thunderstorm, the
print’ look which seemed entirely appropriate for the hero takes refuge in an old
subject matter, as if Caverns was an ancient manuscript. house, but it’s a decision
Also the artwork in the preceding books was quite that turns out to be the
naturalistic with plenty of fine line work and we worst mistake of his life,
wanted to go in a different, more graphic design since the house is home to
direction.” a cult of devil-worshippers
and their demonic Master.
The original cover of the book was designed and
illustrated by Les Edwards. When the book was House of Hell also first
republished by Wizard Books almost twenty years later, appeared in a shortened
Edwards produced a brand new cover painting of form (only 185 references
Shareella the Snow Witch. this time) in Warlock
magazine. A significant
“I enjoyed doing
numbers of references were
them,” Edwards says,
modified for the paperback version, with rooms being
when asked about how
moved around and secret passageways added.
his work for Fighting
Fantasy differed from The book is a favourite of professional writer and
other illustration jobs. games designer Alan Bligh. “Speaking as a kid who
“I always liked using stayed up late to watch old Hammer movies, which I
that kind of material as loved, I was absolutely there in my imagination, and
it wasn’t anywhere as that strange Ian Miller cover? Fantastic.”
commonplace as it is
now. We seem to have Although his artwork later appeared on the cover
Fantasy-like material for The Citadel of Chaos (FF2), House of Hell was Ian
wherever you look now.” Miller’s first work for the Fighting Fantasy series.

“I got the job through the art agency Young Artists,

which is now known as Arena,” Miller told Alex

60 ◉
Ballingall when he was interviewed for the Fighting heated response… and that illustration, I think I was
Fantazine in 2012. “I did a series of roughs, four I asked, internally, whether I really thought that was a
think, and Steve chose the version he liked best. It was suitable illustration for a book, or for that age group.
an easy process. I said, well, in context – ‘cos everything you have to
take in context – it’s fine, but actually this is going to
“When I did cover work (I’m not often asked these damage the book. We would never have taken the
days), I worked maybe one or two up on the published illustration out without consulting the authors…
book size. The image would be pencilled in, then inked
and coloured. I used Illustration board for the most “At one point I remember consulting my uncle, who
part… I always read the books I did covers for. It made was then quite a senior cleric, and I said, ‘Can you tell
sense in my opinion… I think the first, House of Hell, me, have I done something really bad here?’ And he
was the best of the bunch.” said no, because in his experience people who quote
Revelations are usually on that end of the spectrum…
Steve Jackson was so impressed by Miller’s work on It was something to do with corrupting children, and if
House of Hell that he purchased the original painting. you corrupted children you’d be thrown into the fiery
pits… I don’t remember what the exact quote was but
The book was illustrated internally by Tim Sell.
there seemed to be rather a lot of them, and they were
However, one of his illustrations was removed from
all arriving on my desk, and I thought, ‘Maybe I have
subsequent printings after a number of complaints
done something wrong.’
were received by Puffin Books.
“I do remember one of the people who was
The illustration in question accompanied paragraph
interviewed for television said that her child had come
264 and depicted a naked woman on an altar dripping
out with the mark of the Devil on his body and when
with blood (although her modesty was protected by a
she threw the book into the fire the marks on his body
convenient cultist’s sleeve). The result of the removal
disappeared.
of the illustration was that paragraphs 255 through
to 263 had to be moved about and spaced out with “It was of that time, and it was because the books
additional filler pictures. were so successful, and boys were getting so obsessed,
so what were we doing? They were being obsessed
“That did give us a problem,” recalls editor Philippa
by something, so this can’t be healthy, because
Dickinson. “We had a lot of complaints. The media
they’re obsessed. But they’re reading! What are you
suddenly got hold of, ‘was this suitable for children?’
complaining about?
We had various, no doubt very well-meaning people,
claiming that we were encouraging children to believe “At that time our office in New York was at 666 Fifth
in Satan and Satanism. Avenue… Every so often, they’d get people saying
that the company was clearly run by an agent of evil
“There was a woman who was really very distressed
because we operated out of the offices at 666 Fifth
on television about the fact that her child had become
Avenue.”
so obsessed by these books, because of course by that
time they had become quite successful. And all of a It was clearly a difficult time for the young editor.
sudden we were fielding media requests. We probably
did take that illustration out in the end because it was “That was surprising, because that was the first time I
borderline okay, and it was going to go on causing really had to deal with really a lot of major complaints,
problems so we might as well take it out. and also because I was the only person who really
knew what the content was.
“But we had a lot of very bonkers letters. Some were
genuinely concerned about whether this was suitable “So internally, when our chairman and managing
and you could be respectful of their views, and we had director got complaints from people, essentially it
a few who quoted Revelations at us. comes back down to the editor to say, ‘Do you know
what you’re doing?’ To which the short answer is,
“There was a moment where there seemed to be a ‘Yup!’ and then that’s fine. Nobody could really
lot of this, and I think we had somebody threaten to complain. We were printing huge quantities, and then
chain themselves to the railings outside the building” – it was, could we do more?
actually an Anglican vicar – “not that there were any
railings outside the building, insisting that we withdraw “In the middle of all of this craze, and all of the people
these books. So there was a lot of that kind of over- saying that we were corrupting children, we also had

◉ 61
 Fighting Fantasy Fact 11

The dedication written by Steve Jackson for the Wizard Books edition of
House of Hell reads:

Games Night —
to Clive, Ian, Mark, Peter and Skye.
May their Dinner Winnerships be few.
But always more than mine...

The list of names are the members of an exclusive gaming group that’s
been running since the mid-1990s, and which includes Peter Molyneux of
Populous and Lionhead fame (and more recently with 22 Cans and Godus)
among its membership. Games Night is still a regular event, and at the end
of each season a cup is awarded.

as many, if not more people saying, ‘Thank God! My once peaceful world. However, their nefarious plans
son is finally reading.’ Because the boys were reading cannot be completed without the legendary Talisman
because they saw it as a game, not a book. They were of Death, which is in the possession of the hero. He
reading because everybody else was doing it.” is tasked with destroying the talisman before the dark
lord’s minions can reach him, but time – as always – is
This wasn’t the only time that Fighting Fantasy courted running out…
controversy. The FF series has had its fair share of
vehemently outspoken enemies in the UK. Talisman of Death wasn’t
set on the world of Titan
“The Evangelical Alliance published an eight page (not that any such place
warning guide about the potential danger of reading had been referenced in
Fighting Fantasy leading to devil worship!” says a the gamebooks up to this
clearly stunned Livingstone. “And a worried housewife point) but on the fantasy
in deepest suburbia reportedly said on radio that after world of Orb instead. “I
having read one of my books, her son levitated. Kids have often been told that
thought, ‘Great – for £1.25 I can fly!’ This was all one of the reasons Talisman
wonderful PR for Fighting Fantasy.” of Death is such a favourite
is because of my world
setting,” says Smith.
Talisman of Death
Long-time FF fan Damian
The eleventh book in the Fighting Fantasy series
Butt agrees: “It seemed to
was a collaboration between Mark Smith and Jamie
have so much more scale
Thomson, although it could be argued that Talisman
than its predecessors – a real adventure epic.”
of Death (FF11) was, in fact, the first of the Way of the
Tiger adventures, a series of six gamebooks in which “I was working for Ian and Steve at Games Workshop
the hero is a young ninja, created and written by the as an editor on White Dwarf magazine,” explains
same team, and illustrated by Bob Harvey. Thomson, when asked how he came to write for the
Fighting Fantasy range. “They really needed new FF
The plot of the adventure has dark forces threatening
titles, so I was there and available, talking to Ian every
to unleash the awesome might of the Evil One into a

62 ◉
day. That’s how I got my first FF gig.” Quite simply, he Fantasy into a more conventional role-playing game,
was in the next room! such as those that had inspired The Warlock of Firetop
Mountain in the first place.
So how did Smith and Thomson go about writing their
masterpiece in the making? “I remember Talisman of “I wanted to see how simple I could make a role-
Death being written entirely in long hand, and then playing game based on FF,” he says. “So instead of the
being typed up with an old-fashioned typewriter. GamesMaster describing the room you’d just walked
Subsequent books were done on computers and word into, the illustration was in the book. You’d just say:
processors. Some of these would have like 2 meg of “The door opens and you see… THIS!” and show the
RAM, and that was really high in those days. Yes, 2 players the room. I had no intention of creating a new
meg. And a 30 meg hard drive. Now 5 gigs is quite Dungeons & Dragons or anything like that. It was just
low. Also, you actually handed in a 400 page paper supposed to tie FF in as a multi-player game as well as
manuscript. Nowadays, hardly any paper is involved in a solo RPG.”
the process at all, other than the contract!”
The truth is, of course, that FF already was a new type
Nonetheless, Smith and Thomson had lofty ambitions of RPG and Fighting Fantasy the book was just another
for their contribution to the gamebook series. iteration of this, and would go on to inspire Gascoigne
and Tamlyn’s Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG a few
“I had read all of the FF books that had been years later.
published to date to make sure Jamie and I could
outshine them all – we were very determined on that As well as the usual FF rules, modified for the multi-
score,” explains Smith. player experience, Fighting Fantasy came complete with
two ready-made adventures, the introductory The
Talisman of Death was the first of four FF gamebooks Wishing Well and the significantly longer and more
to feature the black and white line art by Bob Harvey, challenging Shaggradd’s Hives of Peril.
while Peter Andrew Jones returned to paint the cover.
It was also the book that introduced Jamie Fry, current Jackson: “FF the RPG was supposed to be the simplest
keeper of the official Fighting Fantasy website, to the possible format for a RPG; minimum work involved
wonders of interactive fiction. for the GM. So instead of the GM having to keep
referring to a GM’s map, there was a map offered at
“Talisman of Death… was the only Fighting Fantasy every location... Having been used to full-blown RPGs
adventure in my local newsagent at the time when I which got more and more complex, this was, as it said,
first discovered the series!” says Fry. “I liked it enough an introductory rulebook. Excellent art by Duncan
to look for more and the green spines and numbering Smith, don’t you think?”
helped with that. It was frustrating to see all those
books lined up in a bookshop and only being able to Duncan Smith produced all of the book’s internal art,
buy one now and again, so I resorted to borrowing including maps, as well as the dramatic cover which
from the library as often as I could.” showed an angry Weretiger bursting out of a huge
dice.

Fighting Fantasy – The Introductory Role- “I think the deadlines were very tight,” Smith says,
Playing Game recalling the time he spent working on the cover, “and I
remember they wanted everything in it including
With other authors the kitchen sink. Dwarfs, dragons, dice, monsters ,
now writing for the etc. I just had to come up with an idea to have all the
main FF line, the elements on the cover, and make it look good. I wanted
original creators to do a more traditional painting but they liked this,
found themselves so...”
with more time to
expand the Fighting
Fantasy world, as
well as the FF brand,
in new directions.
Steve Jackson, set
himself the challenge
of turning Fighting

◉ 63
 Fighting Fantasy Heroes
In 1985 Citadel Miniatures produced a range of plastic Fighting Fantasy miniatures,
which, along with the Fighting Fantasy Paint Set and the Fighting Fantasy Battlegame
rules set formed the Fighting Fantasy Heroes range.
The range consisted of 27 different figures, divided into Heroes (Wizards, Barbarians,
Knights, Dwarfs and the like) and Monsters (which included Skeletons, Goblins, Orcs and
Ogres). The figures came with interchangeable heads, helmets, weapons and shields.
“I was involved in the technical aspects of manufacturing them,” says Bryan Ansell, who
had founded Citadel Miniatures along with Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone in 1979.
The Fighting Fantasy Paint Set (also referred to as the Fighting Fantasy Paint and Painting
Guide) was described as “the best way to begin the hobby of painting the miniatures.” It
contained ten water-based colours, which came in small sampler pots, and the ‘How to
Paint your Models’ guide written by none other than one-time FF map illustrator Dave
Andrews.
The Fighting Fantasy Battlegame was also known as the Fighting Fantasy Battlegame
Rules and Dice. Although early adverts boasted that the final game would include a large,
three-dimensional dungeon, made out of polystyrene pieces with movable walls, in the
end only a limited number of dungeons were actually produced and sold through Games
Workshop stores. The Fighting Fantasy Battlegame Rules and Dice set was the product
that was made available more widely.
However, as far as your typical Fighting Fantasy consumer was concerned, tabletop games and plastic miniatures, it seemed, did
not have the broad appeal that the gamebooks did at the time. “I have memories of them not selling terribly well,” says Ansell. “We
found out a lot of interesting things by making them though, and the experience led to us selling vast quantities of much smaller
plastic models for Warhammer. Before our FF experiment we made only metal models. Games Workshop now sells only plastic and
resin. I suppose that the FF plastics were the first step on that path.
“We had a gaming group visiting our factory, and one of them brought one of the FF plastics along that he was using as a Giant.”

Out of the Pit tome various monsters from the Titan-set Fighting
Fantasy books, as well as creating a host of new
For many, the most memorable aspect of the FF enemies with which to vex adventurers. It has to be
gamebooks, are the myriad monsters the hero met said that some of these were simply FF versions of
during the course of his various adventures. The beasties familiar to players of other established RPG
burgeoning fan scene was made up of plenty of settings.
eager amateurs who
wanted to create their Every monster profile was illustrated, with familiar FF
own Fighting Fantasy artists brought in to draw portraits of those monsters
adventures. that did not already have one thanks to appearing
in a previously published adventure. Chris Achilleos
As a means to aiding produced a striking cover for the book, realised in
them with this, Jackson shades of red and orange.
and Livingstone
convinced Puffin to “I called it ‘Scary Monsters and Super Creeps’,” says
publish a large format Achilleos, “because that’s what it reminded me of. I
bestiary of Fighting used to love David Bowie in the ‘80s, and before, and
Fantasy monsters, such I thought it was a great title for a picture as well as a
as had been available to song. I pinched it from him.”
players of Dungeons &
One of the highlights of the book as far as fans were
Dragons and the like for
concerned, were the full colour, full page portraits that
some time. The fathers
appeared in the middle of the book, that included Alan
of Fighting Fantasy
Craddock’s take on the mysterious Fog Devils.
wanted to build their gaming world just as TSR had
built up that of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons system. Out of the Pit also featured maps of Allansia and
Kakhabad, drawn by Dave Andrews.
In the book, named Out of the Pit by Ian Livingstone,
Marc Gascoigne (a youthful Games Workshop Right: Brain Slayer, by Terry Oakes. (©Terry Oakes, 1985 and
employee at the time) set about collecting into one 2014)

64 ◉
◉ 65
Titan – The Fighting Fantasy World from The Hobbit) and the Forest of Night, both used by
Keith P Phillips in Siege of Sardath (FF49).
With Out of the Pit having proved that there was a
market for FF background material, and not just more Chris Achilleos also contributed the cover for the book,
gamebooks, Jackson and Livingstone were able to and although the image is often referred to as ‘Titan’
convince Puffin to do for the Fighting Fantasy world or ‘Titan the Dragon’, its actual name is ‘Dragon
what Out of the Pit had done for its monstrous denizens. Spell’.

Also written by Gascoigne, Titan – The Fighting Fantasy “With that Ian said,
World was a guide to the continents, cultures, and ‘Just draw a dragon
clashes of the FF world, containing everything from picture, Chris’ and then
information about the various religions of the peoples left it to me,” recalls
and creatures of Titan, to the price of a horseshoe in Achilleos. “So I had to
the Baddu-Bak plains. consider first of all that
it’s a double spread…
“Out of the Pit, the FF monster book, had showed that and then come up with
I was a safe pair of hands in creating new detail for something. When you
the FF world,” Gascoigne explains. “As we started don’t get a manuscript
planning Titan, it became clear… that it needed to be or a story that already
a fully rounded world, so many more gamebooks could describes what you need
be set there.” to do, when you’re left
to yourself, you tend to
Within the pages of book was the first time complete go round in circles with
maps of the three continents and various adjoining many ideas and not
islands had been revealed, drawn by cartographer focussing on one, not knowing quite what to do. Time
Steve Luxton, who even contributed a detailed plan flies and you’re still wondering which way to go.
of the streets of that notorious city of thieves, Port
Blacksand. “In this case, this was what was going on. I felt like,
I’ve got to stop here; it’s not working. So I made up a
Luxton: “I have been drawing real-world maps story in my head about a shape-shifting wizard, who
as part of my day job since 1974, so technically it is attacking this city, in the form of this giant dragon,
wasn’t a challenge. Making them look interesting being held back. He’s destroyed the army that you can
required a completely different approach and a lot of see… The drawbridge is down, he’s holding onto one
experimentation. I started with the maps in The Lord of the chains – the other one’s already been broken –
of the Rings and worked in some ideas from real-world and the rest of the bridge is broken and down… The
cartographer Chris Saxton.” best of the knights have been killed. In desperation
Despite being provided with a master map of Titan the baron comes out with his magicians, or druids or
by Ian Livingstone, Gascoigne still had to reconcile priests, to do magic with the dragon – not to hold him,
all the settings created for the fantasy FF gamebooks not to destroy him, but to turn him back into human
published up until that point (apart from those that form and conquer him.
appeared in Talisman of Death). All the places that did “The clue I put in there that the dragon is not just
not yet have a cohesive geographical home were placed an animal – it’s a shape-shifting being, a super-being
within Titan’s third continent, Khul. Hence Scorpion if you like, a magician – is that I put earrings and
Swamp (from the book of the same name), Arion and bracelets on him. That’s what that’s saying. That’s also
Pikestaff Plain (from Masks of Mayhem) and the Inland why it’s called ‘Dragon Spell’. They’re putting a spell
Sea (from Seas of Blood) all appeared somewhere within on him and trying and revert him back to a human
the Dark Continent, as Khul was also called. being so they can defeat him. The question in that
Gascoigne added a host of other names and places, picture is, will he turn back to human or will he just
that would later go on to inspire the settings for snap out of it and literally bite the heads off them?
future books, such as the ruined city of Kabesh, that That’s what the picture’s saying. People either see that
appears in Keith Martin’s Master of Chaos (FF41), the consciously or unconsciously.”
Arrowhead Islands that are the focus of The Keep of the Both Out of the Pit and Titan – The Fighting Fantasy
Lich-Lord (FF43) by Dave Morris and Jamie Thomson, World would later, retrospectively, become part of the
and Sardath (a Fighting Fantasy version of Lake Town

66 ◉
Advanced Fighting Fantasy series, helping form a the other interfered and made suggestions,” Mason
complete set of FF RPG manuals. recalls. “Basically, much of that book was genuinely
co-written. For later parts, and for chunks of later
“I never really saw these books as books to be books, we would parcel off certain sections, and one of
played,” admits FF fan Steve Brown. “I saw them us would do some prewriting (in pencil, of course), but
more as reference books but I had all of them. I loved we still shared the writing very equally. I would guess
Out of the Pit and Titan as the info on the monsters that a scholar of style would recognise a big difference
and illustrations were just like the D&D Monster between my solo books and the ones co-authored with
Compendiums and allowed me to make up my own Steve, and conclude that Steve wrote most of the co-
adventures.” authored ones. In fact, the difference in style of the
co-authored books is down to that interaction as we
put the words together.”
The Riddling Reaver
However, the authors
In 1986 a spin-off of Steve Jackson’s Fighting Fantasy
did not appreciate Steve
– The Introductory Role-Playing Game was published. The
Jackson changing the
Riddling Reaver was an extended campaign made up of
design of the book’s
four interlinked multi-player adventures, written by
cover at the time.
Paul Mason and Steve Williams, who both worked for
Games Workshop at the time. The interior illustrations Mason: “He certainly
were by Brian Williams while the cover was another knows more about what
painting by Peter Andrew Jones. The book also kind of cover will sell
featured a number of maps by Leo Hartas. a book, but we were
annoyed at having our
“Steve Jackson wanted a book of adventures to back
main character changed
up the original FF RPG,” explains Mason. “He came
(the Riddling Reaver
into the Warlock office [at Games Workshop], presumably
was never a lizard man).
knowing that we were role-players, since Steve W and
And I think we wanted
I had written an FF RPG scenario for that mag. He
a cover that had a
asked us to pitch him an adventure for inclusion in
different visual logic to
the book. We rapidly pitched the whole book, and he
the usual ‘central figure in action pose’ approach.”
accepted.”

Set in southern Allansia, a band of heroes find

themselves in a battle of both wits and brawn pitted
against the Riddling Reaver, an inscrutable servant of
Logaan the Trickster, who is determined to upset the
balance between Order and Chaos so that Chance and
Luck might rule supreme. 12
Fighting Fantasy Fact
This was to be Paul Mason’s first foray into the realms
of Fighting Fantasy, but it certainly wasn’t his last. It was Ian Livingstone who drew the first
Both the Riddling Reaver and Lady Carolina, who also map of Titan, which Marc Gascoigne
later expanded upon. And the reason
appears in the adventure, and the city of Kallamehr
why there were three major continents
itself would feature in Slaves of the Abyss (FF32), written on the fantasy world was a very simple
by Mason and Williams and published in 1988. The one; Allansia was meant to have been
Reaver would later make another appearance in ring-fenced for Jackson and Livingstone
Mason’s solo gamebook Magehunter (FF57). to set their adventures in, the Old World
was for the Sorcery! books, and Khul
A prequel to The Riddling Reaver exists in the form was supposed to be where the ‘Presents’
of The Dreaming Sands. This was a mini multi-player authors could set their stories. Anyone
adventure that appeared in issue #13 of Warlock with even the most basic knowledge of
magazine, and which featured, once again, the the later Fighting Fantasy titles can see
how well that plan worked out.
Riddling Reaver himself.

“When we were writing Riddling Reaver, we had

one computer, so one of us would sit typing, while
◉ 67
 Chapter Seven

The Cartogr aphers of Firetop Mountain

Mapping the Fighting Fantasy World

L ike all the best fantasy worlds, Titan, its continents,

Allansia, the Old World and Khul, and its many
islands, have been illustrated in map form over and
originally drawn by Ian Livingstone, it was realised
in black and white by illustrator Maggie Kneen and
focused on places mentioned in the first six books,
over again by everyone from keen fans (with an which were the only ones in print at the time.
obsession bordering on the compulsive) to the author
of this book. But four names in particular spring to Livingstone: “I tried to position the towns and places
mind when considering maps of the Fighting Fantasy from the original books as accurately as possible before
world – John Blanche, Dave Andrews, Steve Luxton adding new places, towns and villages. I really enjoyed
and Leo Hartas. designing and building the world.”

That said, the first map of Allansia appeared in issue Allansia, by Maggie Kneen. (© Maggie Kneen, 1984 and
#1 of Warlock magazine in 1984. Based on a sketch 2014)

68 ◉ Right: Demons of the Deep, by Les Edwards. (© Les Edwards, 1986 and 2014)
◉ 69
Kakhabad, by John Blanche. (© John Blanche, 1983 and colour map that formed the exterior art for the Sorcery!
2014) box set, and which also appeared on the back of issue
#5 of Warlock magazine.

John Blanche
Dave Andrews
John Blanche was the artist who created the first
map of Kakhabad for Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! series. The maps of both Allansia and Kakhabad were
He produced both the black and white version that redrawn by Dave Andrews for Out of the Pit. Andrews
appeared in the books themselves, as well as a full- is now better known for the terrain and scenery he

Allansia, by Dave
Andrews. (© Dave
Andrews, 1985 and
2014)

70 ◉
makes in his role as Lead Hobby Designer at Games “I’d done a couple of maps for GW at the time,”
Workshop, so how did he find the process of mapping explains Andrews, when asked how his contribution to
the FF world as it was then? “I remember it being very FF came about. “John Blanche was my boss and Steve
last minute and rushed. I think I only had a couple of Jackson and Ian Livingstone were frequent visitors to
evenings to produce the maps.” the GW studio. I guess it was inevitable.”

Andrews went on to produce his only painted maps One of the more mysterious elements of Andrews’
of Arion and Pikestaff Plain in Khul, and the area map was the addition of the name Vatos in brackets,
surrounding the village of Coven in Allansia, for a reference to the lost city that was the focus of Ian
Robin Waterfield’s Masks of Mayhem (FF23), and Steve Livingstone’s seventh FF gamebook as solo author.
Jackson’s Creature of Havoc (FF24) respectively. He also
illustrated the map that appeared in the Clash of the
Princes books. Temple of Terror
The majority of Ian
Livingstone’s Temple
of Terror (FF14)
takes place in the
waterless wastes of
the ominously-named
Desert of Skulls. The
book begins with the
wizard Yaztromo (who
first appeared in The
Forest of Doom) hiring
the hero to thwart the
plans of the sorcerer
Malbordus, the so-
called ‘Storm Child’.
The evil sorcerer’s
power is reaching its zenith, and all he needs to lead
his army of conquest across Allansia are five Dragon
artefacts which lie hidden within the lost city of
Vatos.

Vatos was named after a small beach resort in

Corfu where Livingstone had holidayed more than
once, hence it being used as the name of a lost city
swallowed by sand. As well as its desert setting, the
book is particularly memorable for its introduction
of the lethal Messenger of Death.

As far as games designer and novelist Alan Bligh is

concerned, a near contender for favourite Fighting
Fantasy gamebook would be Temple of Terror, “which
I remember getting for Christmas as a surprise
present and pretty much spent all that Boxing Day
buried in.”

FF fan Lin Liren also holds the adventure in high

esteem. “By the time you finally succeed, having
mapped every nook and cranny of the dungeon and
collected every piece of Dragon Artefact, and saved
Gundobad and its envrions, by Dave Andrews. (© Dave the world from Malbordus, you can honestly take a
Andrews, 1986 and 2014) look at yourself in the mirror and sigh, ‘I earned it.’”

◉ 71
Temple of Terror was the only FF gamebook to be The adventure is unusual because it allowed for
illustrated by Bill Houston. The cover was painted by combat between vessels, and between the Banshee and
‘80s fantasy art legend Chris Achilleos, the second time seas monsters, utilising both crew strike and crew
he contributed a cover to the main series. strength scores.

“I was dealing with Ian,” Achilleos recalls, “and he Seas of Blood was illustrated by Bob Harvey (his second
called me and said, ‘I’m going to leave it to you to of four contributions in the gamebook series) and bore
design me the creature for this new book I’m writing. a cover by the legendary album cover artist Rodney
I’m going to tell you the scene and you come up Matthews.
with the creature, because you probably don’t need
guidance on this from someone like me.’ And I said, Matthews’ art medium of choice is pigmented
‘That sounds great, yeah. Then you can describe it acrylic ink. “I do it with those inks because they’re
from my painting.’ transparent, or at least translucent, and you can build
up the colour gradually,” says the artist. “That’s why
“It was a guardian of this gate and it was a desert scene I use them, so you don’t overstate something, you can
– a city half buried under sand – so I designed this build it up and keep in control of things.”
creature that lies in wait, buried under the sand... It
was something I’d seen in a wildlife programme, these But while the cover implies a Classical theme, the
desert snakes that hide in the sand and just have their adventure itself (as FF fans will know already) has a
eyes out and then they pounce on you. So I imagined more strongly Arabian
the same creature sort of lying in wait for someone to feel to it. And the
try and pass the gate. I drew that and he was delighted reason for this mix-up?
with it. In fact he bought the original from me.” According to Matthews,
it was down to a
junior editor at Puffin
Seas of Blood misleading the artist
when he was given the
Andrew Chapman’s third (and final) contribution to cover brief.
the FF series, Seas of Blood (FF16) saw the hero take on
the role of captain of the pirate ship Banshee, who Despite this mix-up,
undertakes a contest with rival buccaneer Abdul the Matthews is still proud
Butcher. Whichever one reaches the island of Nippur of his involvement
within fifty days, and with the most gold, will be with Fighting Fantasy,
declared King of Pirates. however fleeting it
might have been: “I

Fighting Fantasy Fact 13

As with a number of locations from the other early Fighting
Fantasy gamebooks, when FF editor Marc Gascoigne set about
compiling Titan – The Fighting Fantasy World the lands surrounding
the Inland Sea, where Seas of Blood is set, were slotted into the
newly-created continent of Khul. However, the book’s author,
Andrew Chapman, had already developed a more extensive
geography and history for the lands of the Inland Sea which he
would later go on to use in two more books – one of which, Ashkar
the Magnificent, features the same map as appeared in Seas of Blood
– as well as the unpublished FF adventure Deathlord.

72 ◉
enjoyed doing the cover. I think it probably enhanced Seas of Blood, Demons of the Deep was illustrated by Bob
the book, but a bit inaccurately.” Harvey. However, this time its cover was painted by
fantasy and FF art veteran Les Edwards, and depicts
the Bone Demon, from the book, rising from its cave
Demons of the Deep beneath the sunken ruins of Atlantis.
Another nautical “I always enjoy making up monsters,” says Edwards,
adventure (after a “although sometimes what works in the written word
fashion) Demons of the doesn’t necessarily work visually.”
Deep (FF19) was the
second Fighting Fantasy Demons of the Deep is also notable for including the
gamebook to be written marine-dwelling Deep Ones, which appear to have
by American games been inspired by the creatures of the same name from
designer Steve Jackson H P Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.
(as opposed to the
British games designer Much of the action takes place in the sunken ruins of
and co-creator of the Atlantis, meaning that when Marc Gascoigne came
FF series Steve Jackson). to write Titan – The Fighting Fantasy World, he had to
In it the hero becomes shoehorn the legend of Atlantis into the history of
the first mate of the Fighting Fantasy’s made-up world.
merchant ship Sunfish.
Atlantis, now located on a vast antediluvian island,
Right at the start of the lying in the shadow of the massive volcano Atlan’s
book, the Sunfish is attacked by the pirate ship Troll, a Beacon, appeared on a map in Titan – The Fighting
vessel under the command of Captain Bloodaxe, the Fantasy World, which, like the other maps in that
terror of these seas. The only survivor of the attack, particular book, was created by Steve Luxton.
the hero is forced to walk the plank, but as he sinks
to the bottom of the ocean, mysterious magic takes
Steve Luxton
over, enabling him to breathe underwater. Saved from
drowning, the hero sets about discovering the means When Puffin came to publish Titan – The Fighting
by which he might be revenged upon the murderous Fantasy World, the continents of both Allansia and
Bloodaxe. the Old World (where Analand, Mauristatia and
Kakhabad could be found), had grown considerably
Like Fighting Fantasy’s previous sea-based adventure
in terms of both size and detail. New, more

Titan, by Steve Luxton.

(© Steve Luxton,
2014)

◉ 73
comprehensive maps were needed, including a new Allansia, by Steve Luxton. (© Steve Luxton, 2014)
global map that would include the newly-created
continent of Khul. In stepped Steve Luxton.
Leo Hartas
“All the FF work was produced by me as a fan and not
related to my career. Most of my earlier training was There is one man who has done more for the
in poster advertising and exhibition work,” explains cartography of the various Fighting Fantasy worlds
Luxton. “My day job at that time involved cartography than anyone else, and that is illustrator Leo Hartas.
and technical illustration on civil engineering projects.
His first map was for Ian Livingstone’s Crypt of
After that I worked in town planning and architectural
the Sorcerer (FF26), centred upon the Moonstone
conservation. I applied professional standards as well
Hills of central Allansia. But his often beautifully
as I could, but I think it is fair to say that FF had very
painted, almost isometric maps, also appeared in the
little influence on my career in those days.”
gamebooks Battleblade Warrior (FF31), Stealer of Souls
So how did his involvement with FF come about? “I (FF34), Daggers of Darkness (FF35), Armies of Death
had read six or seven gamebooks before working on (FF36), Portal of Evil (FF37), Dead of Night (FF40), Master
Midnight Rogue. Before that I had produced maps for a of Chaos (FF41), Black Vein Prophecy (FF42), The Keep of
few RPG scenarios in White Dwarf, and the FF work the Lich-Lord (FF43), Legend of the Shadow Warriors (FF44),
was developed from those.” and Tower of Destruction (FF46), the FF RPG campaign
The Riddling Reaver, and the first Fighting Fantasy novel
As with a number of creators involved in the Fighting The Trolltooth Wars.
Fantasy series, Luxton says, “After almost twenty
years away from FF I am now back in the game and Hartas also produced art for the frontispieces of both
producing maps for Arion Games.” Slaves of the Abyss (FF32) and Spectral Stalkers (FF45),
although neither of these were maps (at least not in the
topographical sense).
74 ◉
Tower of Destruction was the last book to
feature such inside cover art. Hartas did
go on to produce black and white maps,
however, for the gamebooks Moonrunner
(FF48), Siege of Sardath (FF49), and Return to
Firetop Mountain (FF50), the four novels of The
Zagor Chronicles series – Firestorm, Darkthrone,
Skullcrag and Demonlord – and two out of
the three books of the Advanced Fighting
Fantasy game system – Dungeoneer and
Allansia.

His wonderfully illustrated maps are rightly

regarded as works of art in their own right,
and when many think of Fighting Fantasy
gamebooks they think of his fully painted
cartography accompanying them.

“I loved the process of drawing the maps,”

Hartas says, “because the editor always gave
me a completely free hand. He would initially
send me a poor photocopy of a scribble by
the author with the very basic information
of locations etc., and I could go off and
embellish to my heart’s content.”

The veritable atlas of maps Hartas produced

for the Fighting Fantasy series is quite some
legacy, and one that means he can proudly
claim to have contributed to more individual
FF books than any other creator in the series

◉ 75
76 ◉
◉ 77
78 ◉
– other than Jackson and Livingstone, the
series’ originators, of course – outdoing
even modern cover artist extraordinaire
Martin McKenna.

One of the most up to date maps of

Allansia in existence has been produced
by French RPG publisher Scriptarium,
which incorporates elements of Jonathan
Green’s unpublished Saga of the Stormchaser,
effectively making the place names he came
up with for the islands of the Giant’s Teeth
chain canon.

The Titan Atlas, by Leo Hartas. (© Leo Hartas,

2014)

Allansia, by Jidus. (© Scriptarium, 2014)

◉ 79
 Chapter Eight

Firetop Mountain in Space!

Fighting Fantasy Boldly Goes from
Starship Traveller to Sky Lord

A part from a few notable exceptions, Fighting

Fantasy’s various forays into the realms of science
fiction were never the most successful gamebooks
the episodes where Kirk & Co landed on a planet
where they encountered alien races and philosophies.
Never liked the deep space battle episodes. Starship
Puffin ever produced, but the company still published Traveller was unashamedly based on Star Trek. And
nine of them over the course of half a decade. the long dedication was a listing of the entire Games
Workshop staff as it was at the time. Some of the GW
department heads appeared in the adventure too.
Starship Traveller ‘Bran-Sell’ was a reference to Bryan Ansell, who ran
the Citadel division and later became GW Managing
Having only written
Director. There was a race called the Dar-Villians; a
one fantasy gamebook
reference to GW’s Sales Manager Peter Darvill-Evans.
by himself, why was it
Fioral was Albie Fiore, who ran the Production Dept.
that Jackson abandoned
And lots more.”
an alternative Tolkien-
esque past for a Both the cover artwork and the internal illustrations
gleaming, rocket-fuelled were by Peter Andrew Jones, a first and last for the
future? Fighting Fantasy series. But would Jones have liked to
do more internal illustrations?
“I liked to try new things
out,” says Jackson. Jones: “The budget was so tight on that job I’d have
“Sorcery! had a new done more if asked but it would have been difficult.”
magic system, Starship
Traveller was the first SF “I’d love to give an honourable mention to Starship
adventure.” Traveller as a great FF gamebook,” says author Magda
Knight. “When I first picked it up I was terribly sniffy
Set in the distant about it. ‘What’s this? Science fiction? What are you
future, Starship Traveller (FF4) had the hero become the chatting about, chaps? It’s called Fighting Fantasy
commander of the eponymous starship and its crew. for a REASON.’ However, the illustrations were so
After his interstellar vessel is sucked through a black enchanting, so full of character, and the book had such
hole into an unknown quadrant of space, the hero has fantastic world-building and throwaway genius ideas,
to search the local star systems for the coordinates to like the alien race that grows backwards so it’s the kids
another black hole and the way home. you need to speak to. Genius. I was a bit sad to win
and make it home in the end.”
As well as keeping a track of his own attributes,
the reader had to keep a note of the attributes
of his officers. Starship Traveller also added the Space Assassin
stats WEAPONS STRENGTH and SHIELDS so that
the reader could re-enact battles between spacecraft. In 1985 Puffin Books published only the third
Fighting Fantasy gamebook not written by Jackson
Jackson: “I was a big Star Trek fan. Always preferred or Livingstone, and only the second to be given a
it to Doctor Who. Mr Spock was my hero. I liked futuristic science fiction setting. What Jackson had

80 ◉ Right: Rebel Planet, by Alan Craddock. (© Alan Craddock, 1985 and 2014)
◉ 81
started with Starship Traveller eight books previously, Five months later Cooke wrote to Chapman again,
Andrew Chapman continued with Space Assassin (FF12). who by this time had also submitted The Rings of
Kether for consideration. Buried within the letter was
Chapman started work on Assassin (without the ‘Space’) the immortal phrase, “We have now decided to set
as soon as he saw The up a series of STEVE AND IAN PRESENTS....
Warlock of Firetop I am writing to ask whether you would wish your
Mountain in his native manuscripts to be included in this series.”
Australia, deciding that
as Jackson and Space Assassin was illustrated by Geoffrey Senior, a
Livingstone had stalwart of the British comic book scene back in
cornered the fantasy end the 1980s – working predominantly for Marvel UK
of the gamebook market and probably best remembered for his work on the
he would write Transformers series – and featured cover art by Chris
something to appeal to Achilleos (credited as Christos Achilleos on the back
science fiction fans. At cover).
the time he did not
know his book would The hero was the assassin of the title, his mission:
later become a part of to stop the crazed scientist Cyrus from unleashing a
the FF canon and so gruesome mutation experiment upon his homeworld
created his own combat from the vast hulk of the starship Vandervecken in orbit
rules for the adventure. above it.

The final manuscript was 360 paragraphs long and it The book introduced ARMOUR as an attribute,
was this that he sent off to Penguin Australia. In due which worked much in the same way as Testing Your Luck
course a rejection letter arrived, but one suggesting did in more traditional Fighting Fantasy gamebooks,
that he send Assassin to the UK branch of Penguin and instead of Provisions, the hero used Pep Pills to
instead. This he did and whilst waiting for a response, boost his STAMINA levels.
set to work on the book that would become The Rings
of Kether.
Freeway Fighter
After much to-ing and fro-ing of missives and
For his sixth solo
manuscripts, Chapman received a letter from
contribution to the FF
Geraldine Cooke herself:
range, Ian Livingstone
ventured into the realms
of near-future, post-
11 October 1983 apocalyptic dystopian
science fiction. Clearly
I am writing to you again about your manuscript inspired by the Mad
ASSASSIN. Max movies, set in
2022, Freeway Fighter
If you have still got the manuscript, and have not sent
(FF13) had the hero
it out to another publisher, I would be most interested
crossing the wilderness
to look at it again as our policy has slightly changed in
in his heavily-armed
this area. I am now trying to broaden the scope of our
(and armoured) Dodge
Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. If I am able to consider
Interceptor, to reach the
your manuscript, it is possible that we could talk about
distant oil-refinery of
other ideas.
San Anglo so that he might return with vital supplies
I look forward to hearing from you and hope that you do for the inhabitants of the peaceful town of New Hope.
not find this change of heart too extraordinary. But success is anything but certain, since the wilds
that lie between the scattered, fortified towns are the
Yours sincerely, territory of lawless bandits and brigands.
Geraldine Cooke Vehicular combat was a feature of this particular
adventure with the Dodge Interceptor having both a
FIREPOWER and an ARMOUR score to represent

82 ◉
Kevin Bulmer’s illustrations for Freeway Fighter. be. However, we have an idea of how the book might
(© Kate Copestake, 2014) have looked since McCaig did start work on an image
for the book.
its offensive and defensive capabilities.

Like Starship Traveller (Jackson’s one and only foray into

hard sci-fi Fighting Fantasy), Freeway Fighter has fewer
than the standard 400 references, coming in at only
380 paragraphs. How come? “Because 400 references
was a guide,” explains Livingstone, “not an absolute
requirement.”

The cover was by the sci-fi artist Jim Burns. When

the book was republished by Wizard, the cover was
reworked by Jim Burns. However, this is not an original
piece of artwork for the range, the illustration having
already been used as far back as 1984 to illustrate
the Games Workshop RPG Battlecars.

The interior art was by Kevin Bulmer. It was

completed in only nine days, as a favour for Ian
Livingstone after the original illustrations that had
been commissioned were rejected at the last moment.

As well as being an illustrator for White Dwarf, Bulmer

went on to create some of the early computer games
in the same genre, including Legends of Valour,
Chronicles of the Sword, and Druid. Aged just 47, he
was diagnosed with prostate cancer and sadly passed
away two years later in 2011.

One of the early contenders for internal artist on

Freeway Fighter was actually FF legend Iain McCaig, Proposed Freeway Fighter illustration by Iain McCaig. (© Iain
but other commitments meant that it simply wasn’t to McCaig, 1985 and 2014)

◉ 83
The Rings of Kether of Jean Lafayette and his alter ego, the crime-fighting
Silver Crusader.
As has already been hinted at, Andrew Chapman’s
second Fighting Fantasy title was another foray The Silver Crusader does battle with such colourful
into science fiction. Although published as the characters as the Scarlet Prankster, the Serpent and the
fifteenth gamebook Alchemists, as he struggles to discover the time and
in the main FF line, location of the next meeting of F.E.A.R. – the
The Rings of Kether Federation of Euro-American Rebels – an evil
(FF15) was originally organisation led by Vladimir Utoshski, a.k.a. the
advertised in both the Titanium Cyborg who is the subject of the book’s
first edition of The cover art.
Seven Serpents and issue
The book was illustrated
#3 of Warlock magazine
by Declan Considine,
as book 12, the slot
who made his artwork
actually filled by Space
look like panels from the
Assassin.
pages of a comic book.
The Rings of Kether was The adventure begins
much more meticulously with the reader choosing
planned compared one of four superpowers
to its predecessor for the Silver Crusader
Space Assassin. The from Super Strength, Psi-
plot revolved around the hero (a narcotics officer) Powers, Enhanced
attempting to break up a drug ring on the planet Technological Skill
Kether. Unusually, the hero is given some degree of (or ETS), and Energy
freedom in regards to where he can travel between Blast. Appointment with
various locations on the planet’s surface, and in orbit F.E.A.R. also made use of
as well, which in turn means that there are multiple a new HERO POINTS
paths leading to the final confrontation with the leaders attribute. These points are awarded for every villain the
of the drug cartel. Battles in the book take the form Silver Crusader captures and every potential disaster
of hand-to-hand combat, projectile weapons fire and he manages to avert. (Although it doesn’t necessarily
ship-to-ship combat. affect the outcome of the game, it does allow players
to compare performances from one read-through to
The Rings of Kether boasted the first FF cover by artist the next.) Rather like Batman, the Silver Crusader is
Terry Oakes who would go on to become one of the not permitted to kill his enemies, and any such deaths
series’ most prolific cover contributors. Nik Spender that may occur result in the loss of precious HERO
provided the internal illustrations. His favourite POINTS. In one-on-one combat, when an enemy’s
illustration is, “Probably the little robotic insect” STAMINA score drops to 2 STAMINA points, the
whereas the greatest challenge he faced with the enemy simply surrenders.
commission was, “The sheer volume of drawings!
Trying to come up with something fresh and unusual It could be argued that Appointment with F.E.A.R. is only
based on the supplied descriptions.” a science fiction adventure in as much as Spider-Man
or Superman comics are science fiction stories. It is,
in truth, a comic book superhero gamebook; nothing
Appointment with F.E.A.R. more, nothing less. If that fact was ever in any doubt,
just consider who it was that produced the book’s
Steve Jackson had not written a Titan-set FF adventure memorable, and ageless, cover image – only Brian
since The Citadel of Chaos and his fifth title in the series Bolland, the legendary comic book artist famous for
continued this trend. Appointment with F.E.A.R. (FF17) drawing such iconic comic book characters as Batman
took as its inspiration the comic books Jackson had so and Judge Dredd!
loved as a child and involved more problem-solving as
opposed to the item collection ‘shopping list’ approach “I reserved my writer/artist fangirl love for comics,
of some gamebooks. specifically 2000AD,” admits Magda Knight, author of
speculative and YA fiction. “So when I read Appointment
The action takes place in the suspiciously familiar with F.E.A.R. Bolland’s art blew me away, as it always
sounding Titan City with the hero assuming the role does.”
84 ◉
 Rebel Planet was adapted to become one of a select
group of FF computer games, available for the ZX
Fighting Fantasy Fact 14 Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, BBC
Micro and Acorn Electron. The cover was provided by
artist and colourist Alan Craddock with Gary Mayes
Appointment with F.E.A.R. proved so popular
producing the internal black and white illustrations,
that a short sequel was published in issue
just as he would for the next two SF FF titles.
#12 of Warlock magazine. Deadline to
Destruction was written by Gavin Shute,
and featured such villains as the Cuttlefish,
Elastic Eddie and the Dynamo.

Rebel Planet
The fifth Fighting
Fantasy sci-fi title,
Rebel Planet (FF18) was
Robin Waterfield’s
first contribution to
the gamebook line as
writer, having already
edited a number of
titles in the series. “I
was working in the
Penguin/Puffin copy-
editorial department
when the series began.
My desk was free to edit
Alan Craddock’s cover rough for Rebel Planet, which at the time
one of the books, and
went by the title Emperor of Arcadion. (© Alan Craddock,
after that I became the
1985 and 2014)
default copy-editor for them all, having got the hang of
them. Later, after leaving Penguin, I became the series “If I remember correctly, the opportunity arose
editor from 1986-1988, when I handed over to Marc through the Games Workshop magazine, White Dwarf,
Gascoigne. and I think my name was put forward to the publishers
Puffin, as a likely candidate,” says Mayes, recalling how
“By the time I wrote my first one, I had edited quite a
he came to contribute to the Fighting Fantasy series.
few, and was already involved in reading (and rejecting)
“In many ways it was a breath of fresh air to illustrate
the countless submissions from hopeful kids. So I knew
a whole book and particularly to work in black and
how the games worked, and I’ve been a lifelong games-
white, something I had wanted to do for quite a while.
player (though I was not involved at all in the RPG
My work at that time was varied and came from a
world). So I didn’t find them too difficult to write. The
number of different sources and this [Rebel Planet] gave
first one I wrote was non-Titan (Rebel Planet), but that
me an opportunity to work within the fantasy/science
was because Philippa specifically asked me to do an SF
fiction genre, which I had wanted to do since I had
one.”
started drawing as a child.
In the adventure, the leaders of SAROS (a secret
“The opportunity to work on the illustrations was
Earth organization) are fighting to overthrow the alien
something that I had been looking to do for a number
Arcadian Empire. Having gathered together their last
of years. My early influences were illustrators like
few resources, they send the hero on one last daring,
Frank Bellamy, Frank Kelly Freas, and numerous others
and foolhardy, mission to strike at the heart of the
that I had pored over as a teenager and inspired me
Arcadian homeworld.
◉ 85
to think about work of that nature. The FF books FF gamebook it would also prove to be his last.
were a significant step along the way and provided an
opportunity to develop my skill and method of working “It was inspired by the mecha genre,” explains US
with a subject I loved.” Steve, “of which Transformers was the first big-deal
popularization in
English.”

The hero of Robot

Commando is a dinosaur
rancher in the country
of Thalos, on a distant
planet, who finds
himself in the middle
of an attack by the
militaristic Karosseans.
An unknown weapon
is activated which
causes everyone, save
the protagonist, to
fall into a deep sleep,
leaving Thalos free to
be invaded. During the course of the book the hero
uses a number of different giant robots to battle both
the dinosaurs and the Karosseans while searching for a
way to wake his fellow countrymen.

Robot, by Gary Mayes. (© Gary Mayes, 1985 and 2014)

But what of Craddock? Did he have a background in

RPGs? “I had played Waddington’s Risk board game
for many hours with my friends,” says Craddock.
“During the sixth form school holidays we would play
games which would last days at a time. So I knew
the pleasure a good board game could provide. And
when I had finished reading Tolkien I wanted more,
and obviously a role-playing game could be a way of
achieving that. But painting was my particular outlet.
Once I became a professional artist in 1979 and got
married soon after, those long balmy summer days of
playing Risk for days on end were gone. I wanted to be
the best artist I could be; no time for playing games. I
also had to decorate and wash dishes!”

Robot Commando
Wrapped inside a powerful Transformers meets Jurassic
Park cover by David Martin, with internal illustrations
by Gary Mayes, Robot Commando (FF22) was written by
the other Steve Jackson (the US author behind Scorpion Triceratops Attack, by Gary Mayes. (© Gary Mayes, 1986 and
Swamp and Demons of the Deep). As well as being his third 2014)
86 ◉
“I always liked Robot Commando because it was the than their fantasy counterparts. “Even if you are in a
first time I ever came across the idea of having different part of Titan, you still feel like you are part
vehicles which varied immensely in their usefulness of the same big story. Much like when Terry Pratchett
and changed the game dynamics,” says FF enthusiast publishes a non-Discworld book. Undoubtedly a
Matthew Smith. “It makes me wonder, how far superb story, written by a master of the art, but still
can you push the complexity of the book without somehow not the same.”
losing that easy pick up and play that made them so
popular?” Sharp, however, is a fan of the SF titles. “I like the non-
Titan books but I think the world created by the Titan
Robot Commando was one of only a few entries in the authors is very strong and grows on you and becomes
Fighting Fantasy series to feature multiple successful all enveloping.”
endings. Paragraph 400 was not one of them.
Luke Sharp is actually a pen-name of Alkis Alkiviades.
But why use a pen-name at all?
Star Strider
“With a name like Alkis Alkiviades in the good old days
The next sci-fi FF it was tough to convince people you could speak
title came out over a English let alone write. I chose the name from a
year later. Illustrated George Formby film “... come into the parlour George
once again by Gary and look sharp about it.” I thought it was snappy but was
Mayes (who had clearly always a joke name.”
become the FF sci-fi
artist of choice) and
wrapped inside another
Alan Craddock cover,
inspired by the movies
Blade Runner and Escape
From New York, Star Strider
(FF27) is notable for
being the first of what
would become four FF
titles by Luke Sharp.

“I have to confess that I didn’t read FF before I started

writing for FF. Well I did read Rebel Planet by Robin
Waterfield before I submitted a proposal for what I
called Rogue Tracer which eventually became Star Strider.
That’s why my first book is SF. It was pure luck that
I got a commission. I was working with Dave Robins
a well-known writer who had books published by
Penguin Books and I had helped him with a book he
had written on movies. His agent suggested he submit
a proposal for FF because there was little work around
at the time and Puffin needed writers for FF. It was
Dave who suggested I put in a proposal in the envelope
along with his. I got the gig and he didn’t.”

Star Strider featured Earth again, as Rebel Planet had, but

a very different Earth. And maybe this was part of the
problem with the SF titles; there was no single coherent
setting for them all to take place in as there was for the
majority of FF’s fantasy titles.

Graham Bottley (current guardian of the AFF

Dragon vs Helicopter, by Gary Mayes. (© Gary Mayes, 1987
franchise) certainly believes that this lack of continuity
and 2014)
is why the non-Titan adventures were less well-received

◉ 87
Sky Lord removed from Titan, FF becomes just a game system
rather than a rich fantasy adventure.”
The thirty-third FF
adventure, and the ninth “I think they were less well-received because they were
science fiction title, one shots,” says Portuguese fan Tiago Sequeira. “If
was the first and only they were all set in the same world they would be better
solo gamebook written received.”
by Martin Allen, who
“I think not all members of the original target group
had already co-written
were into sci-fi, while sci-fi fans were not so attached to
the Clash of the Princes
FF in the first place,” adds Zsolt Matyusz, another FF
double-header with
aficionado. “These stories were also not embedded in
Andrew Chapman.
a broader context, they were stand-alone adventures,
In Sky Lord (FF33) the hence they could not refer to previous books or Titan.”
hero is Jang Mistral, a
Phil Williams, Art Manager at Egmont Creative
four-armed soldier from
Center, agrees: “Anything which stepped out of the
the planet Ensulina.
Titan universe didn’t feel right to me.”
His mission is to travel
to a lawless artificial “It interrupted the ‘drive’ of the series,” opines
planet and capture a scientist named L’Bastin, who children’s writer David Lee Stone.
has created a species of dog-headed humanoids
(called the Prefectas) to be the ultimate warriors in the Thomas Nielsen encapsulates the views of many FF
universe. fans when he says, “I think part of it is because what
people want from Fighting Fantasy is fantasy. It’s like
The gamebook features a RATING attribute, which if you were to unwrap a chocolate bar, and found a
determines Jang’s skill at piloting a variety of combat biscuit inside. It isn’t bad, just not what you were in
vehicles. the mood for. However, I also think that many of these
books were just genuinely not that good.”
Once again, the interior illustrations were provided by
Gary Mayes, while Les Edwards painted the cover, his But not everyone is of the same opinion. “I was partial
fifth for the series at the time. “Sky Lord is one of my to Starship Traveller, and Appointment with F.E.A.R. is one
favourite Fighting Fantasy covers,” admits Edwards, that sticks in my memory too,” says fantasy and science
“because it has a certain amount of humour in it.” fiction author Gav Thorpe. “I was getting a bit of a
fantasy fix from D&D so I suppose the non-fantasy
With the sci-fi titles never selling as well as the Titan-
titles appealed more at the time.”
set fantasy adventures, and lacking consistency in terms
of both style and game design, Sky Lord remains, to “I prefer the non-Titan stuff,” adds gamebook author
date, the last FF science fiction title. extraordinaire Dave Morris, “and when I’m writing
my own books I generally like to create a new world for
“The problem was that the non-Titan books diluted
each book.”
the FF brand somewhat,” says freelance writer and
FF fan Andy Jones. “For many fans, FF is synonymous
with Titan so when a book appears that is quite far

Right: Battlecars, by Jim Burns. (© Jim Burns, 1984 and 2014)

88 ◉
◉ 89
 Chapter Nine

The Magazine of Firetop Mountain

Warlock Magazine

T he Warlock of Firetop Mountain had only launched

the summer before, but by mid-1983 the first issue
of Warlock: The Fighting Fantasy Magazine was already
Peter Darvill-Evans took over for just one issue, issue
#6, with Steve Williams and Paul Mason working
jointly on the magazine for issues #7 to #9. The
available from newsstands around the world. Initially last four issues, #10 to #13, were edited by Marc
published by Penguin Books, from issue #6 onwards it Gascoigne.
was published by Games Workshop.
Mason might seem a strange choice to edit the Fighting
“Steve and I knew how important White Dwarf had Fantasy magazine when you bear in mind what he
been to us as a platform and focal point for role-playing thought of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks when he first
games,” says Livingstone. “We wanted Warlock to came across them.
be the same sort of platform for Fighting Fantasy
gamebooks.”

With Jackson and Livingstone installed as the

magazine’s editors-in-chief, other editors were actually
responsible for putting the individual issues together.
This job was undertaken by Philippa Dickinson for the
first five issues, with Tony Lacey’s help for the first four.

“I think I was involved

in the very first edition
of that,” recollects
Dickinson. “One of the
things I find so weird
is that on Wikipedia it
says that I edited it and Warlock cover roughs by Alan Craddock. (© Alan Craddock,
I have this sort of… It 1983 and 2014)
doesn’t resonate with
me in quite the same “I had read a couple, including The Warlock of Firetop
way that the books do, Mountain. But I didn’t like them,” Mason confesses. “I
but clearly I did. I just was a student, and a hard core pursuer of the dizzy
don’t remember it as heights of role-gaming excellence, and gamebooks
being one of the most were just exploitation of the kiddies... or so I thought.
important things I did. I judged them solely on whether or not they were the
role-playing I knew and wanted, and of course they
“I must have been weren’t, so I dismissed them. Actually FF didn’t feel
involved in the first one, I do have a memory of that, the full force of my wrath so much as Joe Dever’s Lone
but I don’t know what happened after that. Given Wolf. He was kind enough to send me a sample review
that actually the books were the most important thing, copy; in my review I tore it to shreds.
probably that’s what I was focusing on.”
“Editing Warlock was a lot of fun, and probably the

90 ◉ Right: Warlock #1, by Alan Craddock. (© Alan Craddock, 1983 and 2014)
◉ 91
 Fighting Fantasy Fact 15
The Warlock himself was a manifest character who appeared in Warlock magazine. He was
most often referenced through the features, which created the illusion that he was the cruel,
tyrannical overlord of the magazine that bore his name.
This idea was revived long after Warlock magazine ended when Jackson and Livingstone hired
Dave Holt to set up the official Fighting Fantasy website, www.fightingfantasy.com. The current
Warlock is Jamie Fry, the man behind www.fightingfantasycollector.co.uk. So what is it like being
the Warlock’s earthly representative?
“I am humbled by it and immensely proud,” says Fry. “To be recorded as part of the history
of Fighting Fantasy I feel is an achievement I never thought would come true. I am one lucky
person and the biggest thing for me is the direct open contact I enjoy with Steve and Ian. I still
feel a little awkward when people address me as ‘The Warlock’ as I feel I should be in some
sort of garb fit for a Warlock and get into character, but it feels good. I have also met some
great people who have been involved with FF over the years. I try not to take it for granted and
remember my place in all this. I do get delusions of grandeur on occasions but they are the true
Warlock personified. My hard work as a collector has paid off as I have added to my collection
beyond what I could have done without the connections.”

thing which turned my attitude to FF round more than of the magazine, which focused mainly on fantasy
anything else. It was a bit odd, as Steve and I were also adventures and with the emphasis on the Fighting
editing the abortive Good Games Guide, and I was having Fantasy adventure gamebooks in particular. ‘The
to flit over into the White Dwarf offices. And we had the Warlock’s Quill’ featured letters from Fighting Fantasy
knell of doom hanging over us for much of the time as fans. ‘Omens and Auguries’ informed readers of what
Bryan Ansell had decided to close us down. was new in the world of gamebooks. The ‘Arcane
Archive’ was the name given to the reviews feature,
“The magazine’s strength was its atmosphere. I think while the ‘Out of the Pit’ monster profiles proved so
Marc Gascoigne really popular that a book of the same name was published
nailed this, after the in 1985.
move to Nottingham,
but me and Steve did “I used to borrow it from a mate,” says long-time FF
our best. In the age fan Phil Williams. “I remember it was very funny, and
before online forums, it felt like being part of an exclusive gang – lots of in-
magazines could offer a jokes and stuff.”
sort of community, and
that’s what we tried to Every issue of the magazine featured a mini Fighting
do. Not too in-jokey, but Fantasy adventure and it was here that readers first
with enough that readers encountered Shareella the Snow Witch and discovered
felt they were part of the horrors of the House of Hell. There were even
something.” tutorials in how to paint Citadel fantasy miniatures
written by Dave Andrews and other luminaries of
Readers quickly became Games Workshop games design such as Rick Priestley.
familiar with the layout

92 ◉ Right: Warlock #4, by Alan Craddock. (© Alan Craddock, 1985 and 2014)
◉ 93
Warlock magazine was published in the United to have my work published. I submitted the first Derek
Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand and ran for the Troll strip (“It’s Tough to be a Troll”) and they liked
thirteen issues from mid-1983 until December 1986. it so much they gave me a regular spot in the mag… I
was quite a novice then, so it was very uplifting to have
Despite its relatively short run, many Fighting Fantasy work accepted by Warlock magazine.”
fans have fond memories of Warlock magazine. As
one fan, Steven Dean, says, “it was a great stop gap Derek even managed to escape the confines of his strip
between books to have those mini adventures.” to review books and comment on other sections of the
magazine.

Bigger in Japan Stringer: “I was quite flattered that they thought the
character was strong enough to be used like that, as a
Warlock magazine was put out in Japan by publishers kind of mascot for the magazine. I didn’t write those
Shakaishisou Sha under the same name, which in reviews by the way, but I supplied all the illustrations.”
Japanese is written asウォーロック. Established
in the December of 1986, it continued until March In issue #13, the Derek the Troll strip was turned into
1992 during which time 63 issues were published! a mini sixteen panel version of a gamebook. Entitled
Starting out as simply a direct translation of the Derek the Troll’s ’Orrible Troll-Playing Game, readers had
original English language magazine it inevitably to keep Derek safe from the malevolent undead entity
ended up developing its own original material which that was Trev the Vampire.
went far beyond articles solely about Fighting Fantasy
gamebooks. “I liked the Troll-Playing Game as it allowed me to be
experimental, and with its alternate endings, hopefully
it provided more laughs.”
Derek the Troll
Given the character’s enduring popularity, did Stringer
Derek the Troll was a comic strip created, written and ever consider experimenting to see if Derek could have
illustrated by Lew Stringer, whose work has appeared a life beyond Warlock magazine?
in such publications as The Beano, The Dandy and Viz.
First appearing in issue #7 of Warlock, Derek fast “I always intended to bring him back but became busy
became a fan-favourite, making regular appearances on other strips so he became forgotten and neglected. I
right up until the end of the publication’s run. did draw a Derek the Troll mini-strip for a ‘dummy’ issue
of a proposed comic years ago but the comic didn’t get
“I entered a talent competition they ran, back in the go ahead.”
1984,” explains Stringer.
“I can’t remember how
I found out they were
running it, as Warlock
wasn’t a mag I’d normally
pick up. Anyway, at the
time my career was still
in its early days so I was
looking for opportunities

Lew Stringer’s pencils for

Derek the Troll. (© Lew
Stringer, 2014)

94 ◉
Derek the Troll’s ‘Orrible Troll-Playing Game, by Lew Stringer. (© Lew Stringer, 1986 and 2014)
◉ 95
But now, at long last, Derek is back in his first brand
new strip in almost thirty years, written by Stringer
especially for YOU ARE THE HERO! So how did it feel
to draw him again?

Stringer: “Fantastic! I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed

drawing the spotty little urchin. I’ll have to do another,
when I have time. For a while now I’ve been intending
to collect all the Derek strips into one comic and
self-publish it. Perhaps I’ll do it in 2014 for his 30th
anniversary.”

Derek the Troll, by Lew Stringer. (© Lew Stringer, 2014)

96 ◉
◉ 97
 Chapter Ten

Beyond Firetop Mountain

Branching Out

A s well as seeing the solo gamebook series continue

to go from strength to strength, the period from
1985 to 1987 saw the Fighting Fantasy brand and its
Stephen Lavis: “It was a great opportunity for me to
illustrate The Tasks of Tantalon which took me a solid
year to complete. I can remember my first meeting
co-creators branching out in a number of different with Steve Jackson and David Fickling in a pub and, as
ways, Puffin Books was also branching out by a young illustrator, was greatly impressed when Steve
introducing other gamebook series to the world, Jackson arrived in his Porsche, already successful on
including Starlight Adventures (aimed at girls) and the the back of the FF books. This was very different from
Cretan Chronicles trilogy (aimed at classical scholars, previous illustration work where I had made a name
perhaps). for myself as a book cover artist... There was some
professional friction between Steve and myself over
the level of blood and gore. Steve wanted to make
The Tasks of Tantalon The Tasks of Tantalon more like an FF book whereas I
wanted the book to be more beautiful, along the lines
1985 saw Steve Jackson
of Masquerade.”
experimenting with a
different type of puzzle
book. The finished product
was a hardback, lavishly
illustrated throughout by
Stephen Lavis, called The
Tasks of Tantalon.

Jackson: “We’d been

approached by David
Fickling at Oxford
University Press. David was
interested in publishing
an FF book in colour,
concentrating on puzzles instead of quests. This was
going to be something like Kit Williams’ Masquerade
– the treasure hunt puzzle book where you had to
discover the location of a buried silver hare. Only with
The Tasks of Tantalon there wasn’t a prize. But David
had a great gimmick; printing text at a size that made
it look like a straight line, but under a magnifying
glass you could read the sentence. It meant you could
design quite an elaborate puzzle, which appealed to
me. On a memorable train journey coming down from
Edinburgh with Ian, I came up with ten of the twelve
puzzles.”

It might not have taken Jackson long to conceive the Hornhelm’s Crown, by Stephen Lavis. (© Stephen Lavis, 1985
book but its execution was something else. and 2014)

98 ◉ Right: Casket of Souls, by Iain McCaig. (© Iain McCaig, 1987 and 2014)
◉ 99
“The Tasks of Tantalon looks gorgeous but I could never Deathtrap Dungeon, City of Thieves and Island of the Lizard
get anywhere with it!” admits FF fan Andy Jones. “It King were both outstanding and inspirational. The
was only when I met Steve Jackson recently that he painstaking effort and the detail he went into were
revealed the secrets of the book, so I’m really grateful unbelievable. Iain would never compromise on his art.
to him for that!” He went way beyond the call of duty in his work. But
there was a price to pay. The delays were endless and
“I loved it,” enthuses another long-time FF fan, Phil the publishing date kept getting pushed back much
Williams, “the artwork is beautiful, although I couldn’t to the frustration of the publisher. Oxford University
for the life of me solve the puzzles. I only recently Press were going mad but I didn’t really care as the
found out that a magnifying glass may help.” book was going to look amazing.”
The solution to the puzzle contained within the book “After Deathtrap Dungeon, Ian offered to let me come up
has vexed many an adventurer over the years, so what with a story for a Masquerade-style book that I would
is the secret to solving Tantalon’s tasks? illustrate and he would write,” explains McCaig. “We
were lucky enough to have the amazing David Fickling
Jackson: “I self-published a small booklet which gave
as our editor, and I besieged them both with ideas
the entire solution to The Tasks of Tantalon. I actually
and images for the project – everything from a Weird
dug out a copy of Tantalon recently, and found two
World of grown-up babies and belly racers to a story
letters from readers who claimed to have solved it
about a future King Arthur returning to save humanity
(before the Solution Booklet). I admit, it was extremely
from a post-apocalyptic world. In the end, Ian chose
hard to solve.”
my premise of a soul-stealing demon from the land of
Chaos invading a peaceful land of Order, and spun it
Casket of Souls into a puzzle-laden tale. I, meanwhile, dove into the
paintings like Ahab going after Moby Dick, driving
There has always been nearly everyone mad in the process. Buckets of blood,
an element of healthy sweat and tears later, Casket of Souls was born.”
rivalry to Jackson
and Livingstone’s
relationship, rather like
that shared between
siblings. Not to be
outdone by Jackson,
in 1987 Livingstone
published his own puzzle
quest book. However,
the two authors had
actually been signed up
by David Fickling at the
same time; Casket of Souls
only came out so much
later than The Tasks of Tantalon because of the time it
took Iain McCaig to complete the intricate artwork for
the book.

Casket of Souls took as its setting the world

of Amarillia, which was further explored and linked
to the world of Titan in the gamebook Legend of Zagor
(FF54) and the novels The Zagor Chronicles. Like The
Tasks of Tantalon, it contained puzzles that were hidden
in both the text and the pictures, and, like Jackson’s
book, it was renowned for its difficulty.

When asked what the inspiration was behind Casket

of Souls, Livingstone replies, “Iain McCaig was the
inspiration. The covers he did for The Forest of Doom,

100 ◉
 At last — a thrilling TWO-PLAYER, two-
book Fighting Fantasy adventure!
The perilous Trial of Kingship awaits you! In the golden city
of Gundobad, you are twin princes – one a Warrior-Prince and
one a Warlock-Prince – each with your own particular skills and
strengths. It is time for one of you to succeed to the throne, and
you must face the Trial of Kingship. But only one of you can win
through. Which brother will it be?

Beware! Vile monsters and deadly dangers lie in wait. Two dice,
a pencil, an eraser – and a friend! – are all you need.

The two books that

made up Clash of the
Princes – The Warrior’s
Way and The Warlock’s
Way – were released as
a boxed set. They could
be still be played as
standard solo Fighting
Illustrations from Casket of Souls, by Iain McCaig. (© Iain Fantasy gamebooks but
McCaig, 1987 and 2014) of course they could
also be combined to
create a unique two-
Livingstone is disarmingly honest when it comes to player role-playing
talking about the complexity of the book today: “Yes, it experience. Two new
was virtually impossible to solve! That was largely my attributes were used in
fault.” the two-player version,
ACTION
“Like everything in the book, the puzzles were a and STATUS. These
collaboration,” says McCaig “I came up with the visual allowed the two players
trickery while Ian wrote the riddles. The publisher to synchronize their
worried that the puzzles might be too difficult to solve, individual gaming
but I seem to recall we had many mailbags of correct experiences.
entries, from which an eleven-year old boy won the
gold-plated replica of the Casket of Souls.” The Warrior’s Way cast
the hero as Clovis,
Warrior-Prince of
Clash of the Princes the golden city of
Gundobad. The
In 1986 the first two-player Fighting Fantasy gamebook
Warlock’s Way, made
experience, Clash of the Princes, was published. “I
the hero Lothar, the
remember one of the Penguin editors saying they’d
Warlock-Prince, Clovis’s
had a submission from Australia which was a two-
twin brother and
player FF game,” Jackson recalls. “We agreed it should
rival. In the books, both set out upon the somewhat
be in the FF series.”
draconian Trial of Kingship to see which of them will
Clash of the Princes was actually written by Andrew succeed to the throne of Gundobad.
Chapman (author of Space Assassin, The Rings of Kether
The two books were both illustrated by John Blanche,
and Seas of Blood) and Martin Allen (who would go on
inside and out. “I think Clash of the Princes came
to write Sky Lord). As to what Clash of the Princes was all
about because Geoff Taylor recommended me to the
about, the blurb on the back of the book said it all:
publishers,” reckons Blanche.

◉ 101
Minotaur and Warthog Guard,
by John Blanche. (© John
Blanche, 1986 and 2014)

Both books have a total

of 500 references each,
making a grand total of
1,000 altogether. Chapman
would later remark on
how frustratingly hard
and time-consuming the
project was to get right.
Unsurprisingly, it took a
great deal of work to make
sure the mechanics worked
properly. Chapman and
Allen envisaged the books
as being released separately
but simultaneously. Puffin,
however, made the decision
to release them as a boxed set.
“I can appreciate that an attempt was being made to
There are a couple of notable peculiarities about Clash do something new with FF through the two-player
of the Princes, beyond the usual errors in game design idea,” says long-time FF fan Andy Jones, “but I think
that crept in to so many FF books. The colour map by they would have worked better as a two-part solo
Dave Andrews, other than showing two cities called adventure like a mini Sorcery!”
Gundobad and Kalamdar, does not mesh with large
“I loved Clash of Princes and played it with my best
sections of the adventure. Features mentioned during
friend from school,” counters another FF fan, Steve
the course of the adventure either do not appear or are
Brown. “We had great fun playing the books and
not named, while Dragon Hove, which is named on
because we enjoyed Clash of Princes so much, we tried
the map, is not presented in the story itself.
the DuelMaster series that came out separately but
How could such a slip up have occurred? “I don’t didn’t quite get the same experience with them –
have a clue,” says Andrews. “I was usually given a maybe because it was an unfamiliar system.”
rough sketch with the key names and places and left to
redraw it as a finished map.”

There are also inconsistencies in some of the stats of

the monsters Lothar and Clovis can meet during the
course of the adventure, even though they are the
same monsters.

Despite Puffin being keen to push Clash of the Princes

as a two-player FF experience, they were not keen
to repeat the experiment. The Warrior’s Way and The
Warlock’s Way were the first Fighting Fantasy titles to
drop out of print as retailers at the time were not fans
of boxed sets, and so Clash of the Princes was not only
the first two-player FF gamebook experience, it was
also the last.

102 ◉ Right: Casket of Souls, by Iain McCaig. (© Iain McCaig, 1987 and 2014)
◉ 103
 Chapter Eleven

Tales of Firetop Mountain (Part 1)

From Sword of the Samurai to Vault of the Vampire

W ith new writers on board and word of the

Fighting Fantasy phenomenon spreading
rapidly in Australia, Canada and the United States,
compared to cinema and even games like Monopoly
and stuff, but a big niche. We had early ideas about
Way of the Tiger as well, but at the end of the day, we
as well as the UK, Puffin Books had been publishing were really just into Samurai and Ninjas at the time.”
a new Fighting Fantasy title every two months. The
series had really found its feet, enabling authors to try Sword of the Samurai was only the second time that
out alternative settings from those presented in the Alan Langford had appeared on internal art duties,
almost exclusively Allansia-based fantasy adventures to while Peter Andrew Jones contributed his first cover
date. since Talisman of Death (the other Smith and Thomson
collaboration).

Sword of the Samurai

The twentieth book
in the series presented
readers with the
Fighting Fantasy version
of Japan, in the form
of the mystical land of
Hachiman and Sword of
the Samurai (FF20).

The adventure was

written by Mark Smith
and Jamie Thomson,
back on writing duties
after premiering with
their original non-Titan
set adventure Talisman of
Death.

The hero of the adventure is a young Samurai, Kensei.

He is tasked with recovering the Dai-Katana, the
Shogun’s great sword, which has been stolen by Ikiru,
the Master of Shadows, who dwells deep in the Pit of
Demons.

“At the time, the whole Samurai/Ninja thing was big

and breaking out of the niche world it was in, into
the bigger niche of gamebooks and RPGs, which had Tatsu, by Alan Langford. (© Alan Langford, 1986 and 2014)
become substantially more popular than they had
been for a long time,” says Thomson. “Still a niche,

104 ◉ Right: Creature of Havoc, by Les Edwards. (© Les Edwards, 2002 and 2014)
◉ 105
 “I’ve been fascinated with the East ever since I read a
Way of the Tiger book called The Earth is the Lord’s by Taylor Caldwell,”
Smith and Thomson are probably better known today says Langford. “It’s about the early life of Genghis
as the creators and authors of the Way of the Tiger Khan – Temujin – and that fired up my interest. The
series of adventure gamebooks. The books are set other source is Kubla Khan, and that was illustrated
within the fantasy world of Orb, the setting used for by Frank Fazetta. So Sword of the Samurai was quite an
the FF adventure Talisman of Death but with the reader interesting job for me to do.”
taking on the role of Avenger, a young ninja out for
revenge.
So what prompted the dynamic duo’s decision to break
away from Fighting Fantasy and write their own series
Trial of Champions
of gamebooks?
“It was an easy decision once Talisman of Death became
Number twenty-one in
the second bestselling children’s book of the year, only the series was a follow
beaten by Roald Dahl, which is interesting because up to the fantastically
last year Jamie Thomson won the Roald Dahl prize successful Deathtrap
and this year he is judging it,” said Smith in 2013. “I Dungeon, published only
was able to get all of the biggest publishers (leaving two years earlier. Trial
out Penguin of course, who published FF) to compete
in a month long auction for Way of the Tiger, and in
of Champions (FF21)
a separate similar auction for our Falcon time travel wasn’t a direct sequel,
gamebook series.” but in the game world
“There we were, Min [Mark Smith] with his entire world it is set a year after
background, me with publishing contacts and ‘pulse the hero of Deathtrap
on the finger of gaming in the UK’ through working Dungeon has beaten
on White Dwarf magazine,” explains Thomson, “so
it was a logical fit. At the time, ninjas were new and
Baron Sukumvit’s
exciting and everybody loved them (this was in the deadly labyrinth.
early ‘80s) whereas nowadays they are all over the place
and everyone knows what they are etc. So, back then it All the familiar Deathtrap Dungeon tropes are there to
made sense. So, basically ninjas meets Lord of the Rings be enjoyed, including a host of deadly monsters and
was what we ended up with and it turned into a hugely deathly traps, other competitors who are encountered
successful game book series.” as the hero takes ‘The Walk’ through the dungeon, and
Mark Smith: “We were absolutely committed to writing the massive cash prize for anyone who actually makes
the best series but our dreams didn’t really run that
far – we did, however, hope and plan to go beyond
it through to the other end alive.
six books. Our publishers Hodder and Stoughton
originally had signed for seven books but they cancelled
However, the story adds an element of sibling rivalry to
the last in a fit of pique, which is why Inferno! ends so the tale, with the hero having been taken captive by the
unsatisfactorily – they re-wrote the end themselves to Baron’s jealous brother Lord Carnuss and sent to Fang
kill the series. specifically to beat the dungeon and shame Sukumvit.
“The story here is that the then CEO of Hodder, Eddie
Bell, left to become CEO of Harper Collins (a bigger Author and creator of the Illmoor Chronicles, David
publisher, same scale as Penguin). He took us with him Lee Stone, cites Trial of Champions as being one of
so that we could write the DuelMaster series for Harper his favourite gamebooks. “House of Hell or Trial of
Collins and Hodder revoked the contract for Book #7
in revenge. They said it was for commercial reasons,
Champions: both are absolutely brilliant fun, and classic
but the series was still successful and reprinting.” examples of two authors completely focused on
In the summer of 2013, Megara Entertainment ran creating an atmosphere for the games they’re
a successful Kickstarter project to publish re-edited constructing. I couldn’t choose between them.”
hardback collector’s editions of the Way of the Tiger
gamebooks, adding a prequel – Ninja! written by David Trial of Champions was the only time Brian Williams
Walters – and with the original authors returning to illustrated an actual FF gamebook, providing the
write the long missing Book #7, Redeemer! In December striking cover art as well as the internal black and white
2013, it was announced that Tin Man Games would
release the original six books of the series on digital
illustrations (although he also illustrated The Riddling
platforms. Reaver, published the same year). His clean line art and
representations of the human form were exquisite.
Sadly, Williams passed away unexpectedly at his home
on 4 October 2010.

106 ◉
Masks of Mayhem
Following the alliterative title pattern of many a
previous FF adventure gamebook, Masks of Mayhem
(FF23) was Robin Waterfield’s second contribution
to the series, but the first set within a fantasy setting.
“Of those I wrote,” says Waterfield, “I think Masks of
Mayhem is the best.”

The hero of Masks of Mayhem is the ruler of the

kingdom of Arion. He is sent by his court wizard
to slay the evil sorceress Morgana before she can
unleash her twelve dreaded Golems upon Arion.
Despite the fact that the
villain of the piece is
Morgana the Sorceress,
Waterfield’s inspiration
for the adventure wasn’t
consciously Arthurian.

“In general I’m not

in tune with British
paganism,” the author
points out. “But when
it comes to metaphysics
and astrology, it’s another
matter entirely. If you
divide a circle into six
equal arcs you now have
six equidistant points
around the outside of the circle. Now join the dots
without taking the pencil off the paper. Of course,
Morgana the Sorceress, by Russ Nicholson. (© Russ Nicholson,
there are many different orientations of the shapes you
1986 and 2014)
can make, but there are, oddly, only twelve shapes that
emerge. Some of them are used in Masks. Some friends
of mine and I thought they were interesting, and Creature of Havoc
possibly of metaphysical and astrological importance.”
Written by Steve Jackson, the twenty-fourth book in the
The ever reliable Nicholson came up with the goods series has quite rightly gone on to achieve legendary
once again in terms of internal black and white status and remains a firm favourite with
illustrations, while the book featured a many FF fans today, despite the fact that
fantastic cover by renowned painter of it is so complex and challenging.
all things prehistoric John Sibbick: “I
think Puffin saw some of my mythology Utilizing a device that has been imitated
books with monsters and magic effects in numerous gamebooks many times since
and they gave me a trial with the Masks (and not just Fighting Fantasy ones), the
of Mayhem cover.” story begins with the hero waking up with
no memory of where he is, how he came
The book is dedicated to Philippa to be there, who he is or even what he is.
Dickinson, the editor who worked on The The hero is the havoc-creating Creature
Warlock of Firetop Mountain, and for many of the title.
years an “Unsung hero of Titan”.
The book even goes so far as to initially
give the beast no concept of language
or reason. The hero attempts to make

◉ 107
choices but is often thwarted, in the early stages of the
adventure, when the beast all too often resorts to acting
on instinct alone. Slowly, however, the greater plot
unfolds as the hero begins to discover what exactly has
happened to him and who is responsible.

Featuring a flying ship, an undead Half-Elf and

Zharradan Marr, an evil witch-born sorcerer, it is a
truly memorable adventure with some wonderful set
pieces. And no doubt many readers raised a snigger
when they discovered that the Creature’s snack food of
choice is Hobbits.

The book took Steve Jackson five months to write and

contains the longest background section of any FF
adventure (running to nineteen pages and containing
information on everything from Elven birthing
practices to the sorcerer Volgera Darkstorm).

Jackson: “With Sorcery! I’d written each adventure

longer than the previous one. I didn’t have the same
400-reference limit which had kind of become a
standard like the main FF series. Always looking for
new angles, I’d decided that Creature of Havoc would
set the reader as a monster. That was a new feature.
And that I wouldn’t be bound by the 400-reference
adventure. I was particularly pleased with the reader
having to learn a language.

But how was Jackson able to include Hobbits in the

book? “I can remember there being some debate at
the time as to whether Hobbits were copyrighted or Ophidiotaur, by Alan Langford. (© Alan Langford, 1986 and
not. Someone somewhere came up with a reference to 2014)
Hobbits in medieval literature.”
So which is the artist’s favourite image from the book?
The book featured another Ian Miller cover. The
“I think it’s one with the shadow of the monster in the
green-skinned figure that appears upon it was
foreground and a Dwarf cowering in the background.
originally supposed to be Darramouss the undead
That one stays in my mind in particular, not because
Half-Elf. However, when Jackson saw the finished
it was my favourite, because it… sort of turned
painting, he was so impressed he went back and
the situation around in a visual way. You got that
changed the text so that the figure on the front became
experience all the way through the written part that
the Creature’s vile nemesis, the black-hearted, half-
Steve did, but my illustration… that was the one that
demon sorcerer Zharradan Marr.
sort of brought it together. The rest could have been
“In truth I did not know this,” Miller told Alex just an ordinary Fighting Fantasy book, but that’s the
Ballingall, when he was interviewed for the FF fanzine one that stays in my mind.”
Fighting Fantazine, “but it’s nice to think the image
resonated so. Maybe that comes of reading the book
and meeting the author.
Fighting Fantasy Fact 16
Alan Langford produced the internal illustrations for
the book, including such fondly-remembered monsters Vault of the Vampire had a blood-soaked
as the Clawbeast, the Toadmen, and the disturbing sequel, Revenge of the Vampire. This was
undead Master of Hellfire. “I enjoyed doing that one,” the only occasion when a direct sequel
says Langford. “I didn’t like the murder of Hobbits to a gamebook was written by an author
though; I’m quite fond of them.” other than the series’ co-creators Jackson
and Livingstone.

108 ◉
 pleasant town in Khul, which has become home to a
host of vile monsters begotten of warped sorcery. The
hero has to free his friend, Baron Tholdur, from this
evil enchantment.

“I was there when the first FF books were being

written,” says Darvill-Evans, “so I had some idea of
their contents and the FF system before the books were
published.”

However, to begin with, it is fair to say that Darvill-

Evans wasn’t the world’s biggest Fighting Fantasy fan.

“Steve and Ian started to have meetings with executives

from Puffin books in the boardroom at the GW
head office. My loyalty was to Games Workshop,
so my attitude to the proposed arrangement with
Puffin changed according to whether I thought the
books would be good for GW’s business. At first I
thought only good could come of it: a range of books,
published and distributed by the premier UK children’s
book publisher, would provide invaluable publicity for
Games Workshop and would introduce huge numbers
of readers to the basics of role-playing games – there
would be an army of new customers for our products.

“However it seemed to me that increasingly there

were drawbacks. The books, it became apparent,
would not publicise Games Workshop. Steve and Ian
were required to write the first books within very tight
deadlines, and were inevitably drawn away to some
Cowering Dwarf, by Alan Langford. (© Alan Langford, 1986 extent from hands-on management of the business.
and 2014) When it became clear that the success of the FF series
demanded more books than Steve and Ian could write,
Creature of Havoc (FF24) was the last FF title to bear the
several of the GW staff were recruited to write for the
green zigzag banner across the top of its cover and is
series; others took matters into their own hands and
also the last Fighting Fantasy gamebook Jackson ever
approached rival publishers with their own proposals
wrote.
for gamebook series. By 1985 it seemed that everyone
The book remains a fan-favourite to this day. “It was in the place was writing gamebooks. It seems po-faced
full of great details and ingenious puzzles,” says Jon now, but at the time I didn’t approve of any of this.
Ingold of Inkle Studios, the people behind the app
“The London-based
versions of Jackson’s Sorcery! series, “and really pushed
manufacturing,
the boundaries of how these books could work.”
publishing, importation,
sales and distribution
Beneath Nightmare Castle business that had grown
so successful seemed to
Where Creature of Havoc remains, to this day, one of the me to be under threat.
most famous Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, then Beneath And in short order so it
Nightmare Castle (FF25) must surely be one of the most proved: Steve and Ian
infamous, and not just because of its atmosphere of handed management
brooding menace and insidious madness. of the whole business
to the head of the
The first Peter Darvill-Evans scripted adventure, and Nottingham miniatures
the second to feature a cover by Terry Oakes, it is set factory, and not
in and around (as well as underneath) Neuberg, a once

◉ 109
surprisingly he wanted to consolidate the business in “I wanted to write something different – something
Nottingham, with the emphasis on Warhammer and removed from the sub-Tolkien sword’n’sorcery world
figures sold through GW’s own shops rather than on that so much fantasy role-play inhabits (or did then),”
manufacturing and importing a wide range of games admits Darvill-Evans. “So I went for horror, and I
for distribution to other distributors and retailers. thought readers would like Lovecraftian Cthulhoid
monsters with tentacles and obscene appetites…
“Soon the London head office and warehouse were I don’t think many artists could have done justice
empty apart from me, the magazine staff, and some to Beneath Nightmare Castle in the way that Dave Carson
warehouse staff packing up boxes for shipment to did.”
Nottingham: by this time we were publishing Warlock,
the FF magazine started by Puffin, as well as White But how does the author feel about the offending
Dwarf. It was a situation that couldn’t last, and after image being removed from the book?
I was made redundant I worked for a time as a self-
employed consultant to GW, supervising the clearing “When you’re a previously unpublished author
of the warehouse and the redundancies of the working on a book in a standardised series, you have
remaining staff. no alternative but to obey the publisher. I did argue
with Annie Winterbottom at Puffin, in fact – probably
“Steve and Ian still came occasionally to the office, much more than I should have done. I was probably
and in any case I had known them for years by now regarded as a nuisance. I took the view that children
and we were friends, so we met occasionally outside like to be scared (you just have to look at the gruesome
work. Once I knew that there was no future for me in deaths in fairy tales), and I thought FF readers would
GW I felt free to offer to write a book for the FF series, cope with a picture of a woman whose open mouth
and so once I had completely finished at GW I wrote was sprouting tentacles. But when Puffin said no, Dave
Beneath Nightmare Castle. I had just enough time to finish and I just lived with it.”
it before taking up my next job: Marketing Director at
Argus Press Sales & Distribution Ltd, the news trade The irony is that much more graphic images have
distributors of White Dwarf (and many, many other appeared in later Fighting Fantasy adventures,
magazines). particularly in the case of some of the newer titles
published by Wizard Books. Take, for example, the
“I’m not saying that FF gamebooks caused the massive illustrations in Howl of the Werewolf or Night of the
changes at Games Workshop: there were other factors Necromancer (a title which would not have passed muster
at work, and it might well have happened anyway. But back in the days when the Puffin ruled the roost).
the success of FF books certainly influenced when
it happened, and in large part how it happened. I
was disappointed at the time: I had spent six hugely Crypt of the Sorcerer
enjoyable years at GW and I loved it. But without
Originally pitched as
FF books I might well have had much more difficulty
Crypt of the Necromancer
getting my words into print, and the whole of my
(until someone at
subsequent career (and in particular the sheer joy of
Puffin decided that
publishing Doctor Who books in the 1990s) might have
you couldn’t have the
been very different.”
word ‘Necromancer’
Beneath Nightmare Castle features some particularly in the title of a book
disturbing failure references but quite possibly the aimed at children),
reason why many remember the adventure now is Ian Livingstone’s
because of something that did not appear in the book, tenth Fighting Fantasy
as opposed to something that did. adventure saw the
return of some familiar
Dave Carson was a tried and tested fantasy illustrator FF faces and places,
before he was tasked with producing the art for Beneath whilst also introducing
Nightmare Castle. His sinister, and sometimes downright readers to a whole new
insane, images matched the tone of creeping dread region of Allansia and
and rising madness. However, his image of a woman some new allies in the hero’s quest to defeat Razaak,
with tentacles emerging from her mouth was deemed the undead sorcerer of the title.So in Crypt of the Sorcerer
too much for Puffin editorial at the time. (FF26) we have a return to Darkwood Forest and an

110 ◉
appearance by the Wizard Yaztromo (both originally and white art by John Sibbick, Crypt of the Sorcerer is also
from The Forest of Doom) whilst the hero is transported notable for being the first book to feature a colour map
aboard a hot air balloon to not only the Moonstone by Leo Hartas.
Hills but also the baking Plain of Bronze. The
adventure is incredibly hard, but full of wonderfully
evocative encounters, backed up by the talented fossil- Phantoms of Fear
reconstructor John Sibbick’s captivating artwork.
By the time Robin
Sibbick: “I found it quite easy to create a style for the Waterfield came to
interior drawings – more than I expected really… write Phantoms of Fear
Although it could be pretty relentless churning out the (FF28), he had already
drawings – and I had no time for any ‘rough’ sketches given up his job as desk
– now and again I look at the originals and am amazed editor at Puffin and
at the work and detail involved.” was now working as a
freelance writer.

“I was wanting to try

to make a living as
a writer. After I had
copy-edited a few of
the books, Philippa
Dickinson (the in-house
commissioning editor
of the books at the
time) asked if I’d like to write one. This enabled me to
leave office work and make a start as a writer. Despite a
couple of hiccups, I haven’t stopped yet!”

The hero for this adventure takes on the role of a

Wood Elf prince who is chosen by the gods to bring
down the Demon Prince Ishtra and his gathering army
of evil, chaotic creatures. What makes Phantoms of Fear
remarkable – other than for the fact that it is the only
Fighting Fantasy gamebook to have been illustrated
inside and out by Ian Miller – is the way in which the
Elven hero is able to switch between the real world and
an alternative nightmarish dream world. There are, in
fact, two ways to successfully complete the quest. One
involves collecting magical items to defeat Ishtra in
the physical world, while the other involves combating
Ishtra in the dream world.

Phantoms of Fear made a big impact on FF fan Andy

Demonspawn, by John Sibbick. (© John Sibbick, 1987 and
Jones. “I definitely flicked through most of the first ten
2014)
books several times when I used to visit my local
“My favourite artist is John Sibbick,” says FF enthusiast library, but the first one I ever bought for myself and
Thomas Nielsen. “I think his illustrations hit a nice read/played properly was Phantoms of Fear – I probably
balance between being realistic, stylised and dirty, and picked it up because of the cover! I got it from my
he knows how to make a monstrous creature really local Woolworths and played it until I felt I’d covered
monstrous.” every inch of Affen Forest! I also thought the ability to
swap between the dream world and the real world was
Crypt of the Sorcerer was the third FF adventure to feature exceptionally cool.”
an original Les Edwards cover, showing the deformed
Razaak preparing to cast a spell upon the hero. As well
as being the first gamebook to feature internal black

◉ 111
Midnight Rogue
Midnight Rogue (FF29)
was written by Graeme
Davis, who, like many
of the other FF writers
at the time, was an
employee of Games
Workshop. It remains the
one and only occasion
he wrote a full length FF
gamebook, although he
had previously written
a short 200 paragraph
adventure called Rogue
Mage that appeared in
Warlock magazine the
year before.

“I forget how many books I’d read, plus Warlock

magazine,” says Davis, “but it was after the multi-
player game came out that I started sending articles
to Warlock: the first was published in issue 4, and I
wrote a few other pieces aimed at the RPG. Midnight
Rogue was my first attempt at creating a numbered-
paragraph adventure for FF, although I had written
some rules-free fantasy gamebooks before that.” Chest Creature, by John Sibbick. (© John Sibbick, 1987 and
2014)
Midnight Rogue casts the hero in the role of an aspiring
member of the Thieves’ Guild of Port Blacksand, at Unlike many of the FF adventures up to this point,
the commencement of the aspirant’s final test to prove Sibbick’s cover illustration does not illustrate a
his worthiness. The first half is a city-based adventure, particular scene from the book. Unusually, it also shows
while the second half takes the form of a more the hero himself – the rogue, or thief, of the title – one
traditional dungeon bash. of the monster encounters – the gargoyles – and the
ultimate object of the hero’s quest, the massive jewel
Davis: “I have loved city adventures ever since the known as the Eye of the Basilisk.
first time I played in the Thieves’ World setting using
the multi-system Sanctuary source pack. Even before I Sibbick would continue to contribute more covers,
came up with the story I knew I wanted to revisit Port this time for the Advanced Fighting Fantasy series and
Blacksand.” the novel Shadowmaster, but what of Davis, the book’s
author? How come he never penned another FF
The book once again featured the artwork of John adventure?
Sibbick. “Midnight Rogue had a different approach,”
explains Sibbick. “The reader became the thief “I did start another book a few years later,” admits
character and their hands were seen manipulating Davis. “It was a desert-themed adventure... I got as
locks and purses. I enjoyed doing this story as they far as writing the outline and the standard 100 sample
were claustrophobic – more shadowy and closed in. I entries, but nothing came of it. This was at a time
felt I inhabited this world while drawing [the black and when Puffin wasn’t commissioning so many new FF
white illustrations].” titles, and I had the impression (wrongly, as it turned
out) that they were winding the series down.”

Right: Midnight Rogue, by John Sibbick. (© John Sibbick,

1987 and 2014)

112 ◉
◉ 113
Chasms of Malice In the book, the hero begins the adventure as a
simple assistant in the underkitchens of Gorak Keep.
Luke Sharp’s second However, he also happens to be a direct descendant
Fighting Fantasy title, of Tancred the Magnificent, and so with the Shining
Chasms of Malice (FF30) Sword in his hand, and the feline Tabasha the Bazouk
featured a striking, at his side, he sets off into the aforementioned Chasms
orange-hued Les of Malice to seek out and destroy the evil Orghuz.
Edwards’ cover and
more fluid pen and ink Chasms of Malice was the first of three fantasy titles by
illustrations by Russ Luke Sharp. Just like the other adventures that would
Nicholson. follow it, Chasms of Malice is set in the minor kingdom
of Gorak in south-west Khul, an area that Sharp,
Sharp: “I like Russ along with Peter Darvill-Evans, was to develop in some
Nicholson – his style significant detail. And Sharp’s reason for using this
suited what I wanted region? “I did not want to tread on any toes so I chose
for ‘in text’ illustrations. the least frequented section of the map.”
For cover art I really
wanted Les Edwards. I Tabasha the Bazouk, the hero’s companion during the
was very keen on getting adventure, is unusual as the moggy is in fact one of a
the cover art right and designed all the elements for the long line of cat goddesses. In game terms she behaves
artist. I chose a deliberate over the top style.” in a not dissimilar way to Libra, goddess of justice, in
the Sorcery! books, restoring the hero’s attributes during
the game, or alternatively adding to a player’s food
supplies as well as performing other tasks as required
during the course of the adventure.

Chasms of Malice remains Sharp’s favourite title of the

four he contributed to the FF series. “Infuriatingly
difficult to complete but great fun to write and packed
with incidents and impossible to map logically, it’s a
brainstorm of a gamebook, unpopular in forums, but I
still love that subterranean world.”

Among FF fans Sharp remains a controversial figure,

due to the extreme difficulty of his gamebooks. “I am
often left frustrated by Chasms of Malice due to its many
abrupt and unpredictable instant deaths,” says FF
aficionado Thomas Nielsen.

Battleblade Warrior
Interestingly, Battleblade
Warrior (FF31) is Marc
Gascoigne’s only
FF gamebook. Why
interestingly? Because
Gascoigne was consultant
editor on the range
towards the end of
Fighting Fantasy’s run
with Puffin, the man
responsible for subbing
Cavern, by Russ Nicholson. (© Russ Nicholson, 1987 and every FF manuscript
2014) that was due to go to
print as well as having to

114 ◉
field unsolicited proposals from all manner of aspiring Slaves of the Abyss
writers.
Slaves of the Abyss (FF32) marked the
In the book, Gascoigne took a number of plot hooks first entry for another new writing
that he had created for Titan – The Fighting Fantasy World team for the Fighting Fantasy range,
– the city-state of Vymorna, a Lizardman empire, a that of Paul Mason and Steve
merchant and his pet sabre-toothed tigers – and ran Williams, although they had already
with them, developing them into an exciting narrative written the quartet of FF RPG
set against the backdrop of a city under siege, with adventures that were contained
forays into jungle swamplands as well as the ruins of a within The Riddling Reaver.
forgotten city.
The lion’s share of the adventure
Battleblade Warrior was the first book to feature a cover takes place in and around the city
painted by David Gallagher, another Games Workshop of Kallamehr in southern Allansia. The hero is one
artist. of a number of famous adventurers summoned by
Lady Carolina to defend the city against a mysterious
“Battleblade was the first cover I did for Puffin,” says
threat, which leaves whole villages deserted. The
Gallagher. “I was freelancing and this was Puffin’s
hero investigates and runs into the extra-dimensional
response to my initial approach for work.”
warlord Bythos. And that’s only the start.
The internal illustrations were by Alan Langford,
Mason: “Where the planning of The Riddling Reaver had
matching the style of those he produced for Island of the
been quite free-form and wild, with Slaves we had to get
Lizard King, a style that he would continue with later for
to grips with this whole idea of a fractured narrative. I
Portal of Evil.
don’t think either of us really approached the planning
with the mathematical rigour that we should have: we
just flew by the seat of our pants. In my biased opinion,
this not only accounts for many of the weaknesses of
the book, but also for its quirky charms. We didn’t
really ‘know the rules’ most of the time.”

Mason and Williams had to fight to get the cover they

wanted for the book, but had to compromise when it
came to the ending. Originally the book ended with
the hero sacrificing himself, remaining in the Abyss in
order to free the prisoners. Mason claims that this did
not go down well with Steve Jackson who thought that
the hero should walk away from the adventure with lots
of money and treasure at the end, so Mason changed
it, providing the hero with godlike powers instead.

Mason: “The book is weird. I feel it myself, and would

suggest that it’s something about the chemistry of me
and Steve Williams… Slaves was the product of an
almighty, but very peaceful, battle between Steve and
my ideas of what an FF book could be. You can also
see this on Black Vein Prophecy, where my concept of the
Isles of the Dawn as very Chinese runs into Steve’s
peculiar Renaissance courtier sort of vision.”

Slaves of the Abyss was the first adventure set in and

around the city of Kallamehr, which has a very
familiar Arabian Nights vibe to it, after Mason and
Williams developed the setting in Act One of the
multi-player adventure The Riddling Reaver.
The Siege of Vymorna, by Alan Langford. (© Alan Langford,
1988 and 2014) In fact, a number of names are taken from the tales

◉ 115
of One Thousand and One Nights, including Albudur, adventure, the hero becomes some kind of fantastical
Dunyazad, Ikhtiyan and Yunan. medallion man, collecting medallions to prove his right
to rule the kingdom.

Stealer of Souls Daggers of Darkness is

notable for being the
Stealer of Souls (FF34) was first book to feature
the first title by Keith illustrations by a young
Martin, an author who Martin McKenna. “I
would go on to become started doing some
one of the most prolific illustration work for
FF writers, contributing Games Workshop while
seven titles to the series I was still at school,”
overall. McKenna recalls,
“and John Blanche
Keith Martin is the
recommended I send
pen-name of Carl
some samples in to
Sargent, another games
Puffin which resulted in
designer who was
me being commissioned
working for Games
to illustrate Daggers of
Workshop at the time,
Darkness when I was seventeen.”
but the only one with a
PhD in psychology and
experimental parapsychology.

In this particular book, the hero accepts a quest

from Vanestin of Pollua, a mage who wants him to
rescue the wizard Alsander. To do this the player must
travel to the Isle of Despair, a small island off the
eastern coast of the Island of Scars, which itself is
located somewhat to the east of Allansia.

Stealer of Souls was the fifth Fighting Fantasy gamebook

to be illustrated by Russ Nicholson and the second to
feature a cover by David Gallagher.

One FF fan has particularly fond, if bizarre, memories

associated with the adventure. “I once read Stealer of
Souls in the European Parliament,” relates Thomas
Nielsen. “My parents had dragged me in there on
a vacation, to hear a four-hour political debate on
European farming politics, so I read it to stay awake. It
certainly felt like my soul was being stolen.”

Daggers of Darkness
With its unforgettable Les Edwards cover painting of a
leather jockstrap-wearing warrior riding two Fangtigers
– not just one, but two! – Daggers of Darkness (FF35) was
Luke Sharp’s third addition to the series and his second
set in the south-west corner of Khul.

Time is running out – dark forces are massing in the

ancient land of Kazan and unless the hero can reach Gnarled Oak, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna,
the Great Throne in time, the murderous vizier 1988 and 2014)
Chingiz will take power. During the course of the

116 ◉ Right: Stealer of Souls, by David Gallagher. (© David Gallagher, 1988 and 2014)
◉ 117
But how did the young artist cope with the pressure The inside cover of the original edition of the book
of illustrating what had, by then, become a national also featured another fully-painted map by Leo Hartas.
institution?

“Illustrating Daggers of Darkness when I was so very Armies of Death

young was a terrifying experience! I barely coped with
the burden of the job and the pressure I felt working A follow-up to Trial of
for Puffin, which for me at that age felt like the big Champions (FF21), of
time! I struggled through it and thought I’d done a sorts, Ian Livingstone’s
terrible job, and was truly amazed when they asked me Armies of Death (FF36)
to illustrate another one... For some reason I wasn’t begins by continuing
deterred and accepted the commission and, maybe the tale of the
because I’d gained some confidence having one book champion of Deathtrap
under my belt and the editors’ praise, my second Dungeon, explaining how
book Vault of the Vampire was much more enjoyable to he came to spend his
do.” prize money on a castle
and set about hiring a
force of two hundred
and twenty veteran
fighters.

However, when
the hero learns that Agglax the Shadow Demon is
amassing an army of undead warriors to conquer
Allansia, he journeys east with his troops in tow to
meet the enemy head on.

The book features a cover by Chris Achilleos, his first

since Livingstone’s Temple of Terror (FF14) and Nik
Williams’ only contribution as illustrator. As befitting a
book with the name Armies of Death, it was the first FF
gamebook to contain rules for skirmish battles between
opposing forces.

When Livingstone started writing the book it went by

the working title Shadowmaster.

Portal of Evil
Peter Darvill-Evans
returned to the area
surrounding the city
of Neuberg with his
second FF title Portal of
Evil (FF37). The story
of magical portals and
Tusker Mammoth, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna,
a dinosaur invasion
1988 and 2014)
of Khul featured
Sharp, the book’s author, was pleased with McKenna’s illustrations by Alan
contribution too. “My editor Annie Eaton warned me Langford (back on
Martin was young and keen and I pretty much mapped dino duties following
out each illustration, but he came up with the goods Battleblade Warrior), all
and did a first class job. Obviously not as experienced wrapped up inside a
an illustrator as Russ Nicholson but I liked his clear David Gallagher cover.
style and he followed the brief very well.”

118 ◉
“Again, I wanted to write something different,” Fantasy version of Transylvania, realised within the
says Darvill-Evans, “so a portal to another world of mountainous Old World realm of Mauristatia, with the
dinosaurs seemed appropriate. And everyone likes obligatory wolves howling at the moon, creepy forests,
dinosaurs.” headless coachmen, and bat-haunted castle. And the
plot is what you would expect from such a story too,
involving the rescue of a damsel in distress from a
bloodthirsty vampire count.

The book introduced a FAITH score, an attribute that

would later be used by Jonathan Green in Knights of
Doom (FF56).

Les Edwards painted the cover for the book, his

seventh for Fighting Fantasy. “Vault of the Vampire turned
out to be one of those classic images. I can’t say why
exactly. It’s just one of those cases where everything
works the way that was intended. It’s a pretty
traditional Vampire but maybe that’s part of its
strength. It’s a simple and dramatic image and very
direct. It was a big influence on Vampire paintings
that I did subsequently. I remember that the publishers
asked me to make the girl’s breasts smaller, which I
did reluctantly. I suppose this was in the days before
silicone was so all-pervasive.”

Martin McKenna, who was still only eighteen at the

time, turned his hand to producing some very Hammer
horror-esque images for the book’s internal illustrations
that have stood up very well to the test of time.

Wizard, by Alan Langford. (© Alan Langford, 1988 and

2014)

Vault of the Vampire

Number thirty-eight in the series saw publication of
another Fighting Fantasy classic. Incredibly, despite
blood-suckers appearing on a regular basis throughout
the previous thirty-
seven titles, up until
this point not one of
the princes of the night
had ever taken centre
stage and become the
Big Bad to be dealt
with at the climax of an
adventure.

Keith Martin rectified

that with Vault of
the Vampire (FF38),
transporting the Giant Raven, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna,
reader to a Fighting 1989 and 2014)
◉ 119
 rushed so I was never really happy with those… Pretty
much all the colour work was in gouache; black and
white was in ink.”

Sentinel, by David Gallagher. (© David Gallagher, 1989 and

2014)

This book features an appearance from Astragal, a

Tigerskin Rug, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna,
recurring character in Sharp’s books.
1989 and 2014)
Sharp: “I like my wizard Astragal The Mage, the Cat
Goddess Tabasha the Bazouk, Aspra Smoothcheek and
Fangs of Fury of course my alter ego Alkis Fearslicer.”
Fangs of Fury (FF39) saw Luke
The adventure also shares a number of similarities
Sharp return to south-west Khul
with his previous book, Daggers of Darkness in terms of
once again. Six massive stone
game design. Interestingly, the copyright page identifies
dragons guard the tiny kingdom of
the author by his real name, Alkis Alkiviades, rather
Zamarra but the fire they breathe
than by his pseudonym.
has been extinguished. With the
kingdom under siege by Ostragoth Fangs of Fury would turn out to be Sharp’s final
the Grim and his swarming hordes, contribution to the series.
the hero is tasked with restoring the
Sentinels’ fire, which involves visiting an active volcano! Sharp: “If you study my three [fantasy] FF books they
are based around the elements Fire, Earth and Air.
The adventure was illustrated inside and out by David The fourth, based on Water, was to be an adventure
Gallagher, the first time this had happened despite the through the four hundred islands just off the coast of
artist having already produced three previous covers south-west Khul. I put in a proposal as usual for this
for other gamebooks in the series. But why had he book just when my two editors left Puffin and, as so
not contributed interior black and white illustrations often happens, the new editor Marc Gascoigne did
before? not like my style. Instead of the two-page proposal I
usually sent in he asked me to write 100 paragraphs (a
Gallagher: “I was never asked until then… The covers
quarter of the book) and then rejected my proposal.
were always very tight deadlines and some of them
It’s 28 years ago and I’m still peeved.”
were a bit rushed. The internals were even more
120 ◉ Right: Battleblade Warrior, by David Gallagher. (© David Gallagher, 1989 and 2014)
◉ 121
 Chapter Twelve

The Chronicles of Firetop Mountain

From The Trolltooth Wars to The Zagor Chronicles

H aving published thirty-eight Fighting Fantasy

adventure gamebooks as well as various
background books, multi-player adventures and the
When asked how the first Fighting Fantasy novel came
to be, Steve Jackson has this to say: “As you might have
noticed from my list of books, I liked to try new things
like, in April 1989, Puffin did something they had not out. Sorcery! had a new magic system, Starship Traveller
done so far, in all the years since The Warlock of Firetop was the first SF adventure, House of Hell (Horror),
Mountain had first taken the world by storm. They Appointment with F.E.A.R. (Superheroes), Fighting Fantasy
published a Fighting Fantasy novel. Role-Playing (RPG rulebook)… I’d always fancied
having a go at writing a straight novel. So I did.”

The Trolltooth Wars As with previous FF titles, despite being a novel, The
Trolltooth Wars was heavily illustrated throughout, and
Written by Steve by none other than Fighting Fantasy stalwart Russ
Jackson, The Trolltooth Nicholson. The suitably grim FF-style cover, showing
Wars told an alternative an orc removing the head of an undead creature using
tale of the rivalry its blunted cleaver, was produced by Chris Achilleos.
between three of the
most notorious villains “I was given the outline of the story and it was left up
in FF history, the so to me,” says Achilleos. “I quite liked the concept of an
called Demonic Three orc fighting off a disgusting skeleton.”
– Zagor the Warlock
(from The Warlock of But of course writing a novel is a markedly different
Firetop Mountain), Balthus discipline compared to writing a gamebook. So how
Dire (from The Citadel of did Jackson find the process, having only written FF
Chaos), and Zharradan adventures and what were effectively rules manuals up
Marr (from Creature of until this point? “I have to say, I found it much more
Havoc). difficult than writing a gamebook! The gamebook is
basically a puzzle to solve. But a novel…? You have
But a tale featuring not to develop characters, end paragraphs with dramatic
one but three villains needed a hero, and so Chadda effect… It took me a year. And when I finally handed
Darkmane was cast in the role that, up until this point, it in, I was anxious to hear how Puffin would be
had always been played by the reader in Fighting launching FF’s first novel. How would they make sure
Fantasy gamebooks. FF fans knew it existed? Would they at least be placing
adverts in games magazines? But I couldn’t get anyone
The story starts with an ambush, when Balthus to tell me. In the end, Liz Attenborough told it to me
Dire’s Goblins mount a raid on a Strongarm caravan straight: ‘It wasn’t Puffin’s policy to advertise individual
carrying a mystical herb destined for Zharradan books.’ So after all that work, they wouldn’t put a
Marr himself, an action which leads to all-out war penny behind promoting the book. They’d just run it
between the two rivals. As the war escalates, the city of through their distribution system and hope the fans
Salamonis comes under threat and Darkmane is tasked found out about it by word of mouth. It was the last FF
with turning the war to the kingdom’s advantage and book I wrote…”
prevent the Vale of Willow from being invaded.

122 ◉ Right: Shadowmaster, by John Sibbick. (© John Sibbick, 1992 and 2014)
◉ 123
 Fighting Fantasy Fact 17

When Jackson wrote The Trolltooth Wars, his plan was to send
Darkmane through the Firetop Mountain dungeon in such a way
that the reader could work out the solution to The Warlock of Firetop
Mountain by following Darkmane’s travels. “Having read through
it, our editor didn’t like this,” says Jackson, “mainly because it took
up half the book! So it was edited down considerably. You can still
work out the solution, though.”

This lack of any effective marketing wasn’t Jackson’s encountered in any Fighting Fantasy gamebook.
only regret regarding his first novel. Vast numbers of
pages were cut from the book by Puffin to trim it for The story begins with a burglary from the tower of
length as well as to excise some of its more bloodthirsty Yaztromo the sorcerer, which sees the thief escape with
descriptions. an ancient scroll, the secrets contained within which,
unsurprisingly, could spell doom and destruction for all
A new concept introduced in the novels that never Allansia. Darkmane sets off in pursuit, the trail leading
actually filtered through into the gamebooks him to the Pirate Coast and the town of Rimon, where
themselves was Amonour, the measure of a hero’s fame he encounters the Skinless Ones, demons summoned
and prestige. And yet it could be argued that Amonour is by the thief to help him complete his nefarious quest.
what the hero of the Fighting Fantasy books has been
questing for since the very beginning! Once again, Demonstealer featured the familiar pen and
ink illustrations of Russ Nicholson while Terry Oakes
produced the cover.
Demonstealer
But how long did it take to produce a cover like the one
Despite the complete for Demonstealer?
lack of a marketing
campaign for this “It all depended on the amount of detail demanded by
new Fighting Fantasy any particular cover, of course,” says Oakes, “but as a
venture, The Trolltooth general rule-of-thumb it took about five to seven days
Wars wasn’t the last FF to complete. However, on occasions commissions could
novel. Fans loved it and, be ‘dropped in my lap’, as the saying goes, whereby
as it turned out, Jackson everything became governed by the dreaded deadline –
had created another in which case I would put in an extra effort by working
offshoot of the Fighting longer hours… Now and then I did manage to finish a
Fantasy brand that piece in three to four days when required.”
fans were keen to see
continued.
Shadowmaster
And so, two years
Having had one novel written by one of the creators
later, Demonstealer was
of Fighting Fantasy, and one written by the consultant
published. Despite the
editor on the line at the time, in 1992 it was the turn of
ending of The Trolltooth Wars making the return of
Ian Livingstone to contribute a story to the burgeoning
Chadda Darkmane seem highly unlikely, in Demonstealer
fiction line.
he did return, this time pitted against enemies not yet

124 ◉ Right: The Trolltooth Wars, by Chris Achilleos. (© Chris Achilleos, 1989 and 2014)
◉ 125
The plot for the novel delved into the origins of the fantasy subjects you may have multiple sources, flames,
reptilian Shape Changers, a species that had first the moon, wizard’s magic light – also have a focal
appeared in The Forest of Doom (and subsequently in the point in the action so that all the title graphics don’t
Livingstone penned adventures Island of the Lizard King overwhelm the drama. Some designs work better than
and Armies of Death). others...”

However, Livingstone was busy with other things at the The design for Shadowmaster worked very well indeed.
time and so turned to Gascoigne for help in turning
his outline into a fully-fledged novel. But there was also
another collaborator on the book, who is given credit Spiderbones
in the novel’s dedication. “This book is for Bill King,
As it turned out, Shadowmaster was the last Chadda
the real Master of Shadows.”
Darkmane novel to be published. However, around
William ‘Bill’ King is now probably best known for the time of Fighting Fantasy’s tenth anniversary, there
his work for Black Library, and for creating the ever- was a fourth outing for the hero in the works that
popular adventuring double-act of Gotrek and Felix. went by the working title of Spiderbones. The intended
“He advised on some tricky passages later in the book,” subject of the story was cunningly woven into the text
explains Gascoigne. of The Fighting Fantasy 10th Anniversary Yearbook. In Zagor
the Warlock’s profile, mention is made of Fighting
The book is notable for giving the Shape Changers Fantasy’s greatest ever villain having a son and heir…
distinct identities and
personalities. There is
also a thrilling battle Rumours of my death have been greatly
scene during which the exaggerated…
abilities of Shape
Towards the end of Fighting Fantasy’s time with Puffin
Changers are properly
Books, Marc Gascoigne asked the FF authors to submit
explored for the first
short stories set within the world of Titan. Keith P
time, with one of the
Phillips offered to write the whole collection, while
creatures changing
Jonathan Green completed a story featuring the wizard
shape as the battle
Yaztromo. But before any of the stories could see print
progresses in order to
the project was shelved.
defend itself as
effectively as possible, But FF fiction was not done yet and Shadowmaster wasn’t
growing new armour the last Fighting Fantasy novel to be published, not by
and sprouting lethal a long shot. After all, there was a certain warlock who
claws as required. refused to stay dead and kept coming back for more.
Russ Nicholson illustrated Chadda Darkmane’s third
adventure (making it three for three) while John Sibbick The Zagor Chronicles
produced what was probably the most accomplished
cover of the series. Between 1993 and 1994 four short novels were
published under the banner The Zagor Chronicles. The
But how does an artist go about producing such an books were a spin-off from Ian Livingstone’s Legend
incredibly detailed painting? of Zagor board game (published by Parker Brothers
in 1993), reusing characters and events from both
“The artwork for all the covers I worked on were
the game and the Legend of Zagor gamebook released
naturally larger than repro,” says Sibbick. “I would
around the same time. But when asked how much
have gone mad painting Shadowmaster so small
of The Zagor Chronicles was his idea, Livingstone
otherwise. The initial pencil sketch with notes and
mischievously confesses, “The name!”
remarks took two to three days, and I think the art took
at least three weeks at 150% repro. The action passed between the magical world of
Amarillia, first seen in Livingstone’s book Casket of
“I work in designers gouache – a watercolour medium
Souls, and Allansia, with each of the four books reusing
in small tubes – and I use the most permanent colours
one of Iain McCaig’s paintings originally created for
in the range. The technique is always the same; work
the Puzzle Quest book, which shared only a passing
out the light source and where it comes from – in
connection with the story contained within.

126 ◉
The series features the exploits of three heroes from
Legend of Zagor, the exception being Sallazar the wizard
who is already dead before the first adventure begins. His
place is taken by his sister Jallarial.

While the first two stories, Firestorm and Darkthrone,

take place within Amarillia, for the third book in the
series, Skullcrag, the action transfers to Allansia, with the
heroes meeting the notorious ruler of Port Blacksand,
Lord Azzur, before heading into the depths of Firetop
Mountain and the Crystal Caves of the Snow Witch
Shareella.

Demonlord (the fourth book in the cycle) returns to

Amarillia for an apocalyptic finale. Zagor has taken
demon-form, and his power seems almost without limit.
A cruel tyrant, he crushes all opposition to his regime
of torment and death from the depths of his undead-
infested fortress Castle Argent. Having failed to destroy
their enemy once on Amarillia itself, and again on Titan,
the heroes risk all in a final, desperate struggle against
their nightmarish opponent.

FF fan Lin Liren found The Zagor Chronicles to be,

“surprisingly grim, bleak and brutally violent for novels
aimed at a 13-15 year-old audience, and the bittersweet
ending is unforgettable.”

Leo Hartas was once again tasked with producing the

maps that appeared inside The Zagor Chronicles.

All four books were written in haste and after 1994, there
would never be another published Fighting Fantasy novel.

FF fan Andy Jones echoes the sentiments of many when

he says, “I loved the novels because I thought they were
a natural progression from the gamebooks. They were a
great opportunity to add further depth and background
to familiar characters and locations. I wish there had been
more of them.”

Dragonback Attack, by Iain McCaig. (© Iain McCaig, 2014)

◉ 127
 Chapter Thirteen

Leaving Firetop Mountain

What Steve and Ian Did Next

I t is worth remembering, that while Steve Jackson

and Ian Livingstone are both games industry
pioneers and entrepreneurs, having co-founded Games
of its creators and owners, Jackson and Livingstone
would also have time to exercise their enthusiasm for
gaming in new ways.
Workshop in 1975 to launch Dungeons & Dragons in
Europe, they are also authors and games designers
in their own right. They should be credited as having
Steve Jackson
started the gamebook boom in the UK in 1982
following the publication by Penguin Books of their
first Fighting Fantasy gamebook, The Warlock of Firetop F.I.S.T.
Mountain. They still indulge their passion for Fighting
Fantasy today, although perhaps less so than they did In 1988, Computerdial got in touch with Steve
in the past. But back in the mid-1980s they found it Jackson, asking if he thought it would be possible to
tough running the business of Games Workshop and create any games along the lines of Fighting Fantasy
managing the demands placed upon them by Penguin but using the system the company had developed that
Books who wanted more and more Fighting Fantasy could read the clicks of a rotary dial telephone.
titles to publish. “Computerdial wanted to use this to create an FF-style
audio adventure. ‘If you want to turn right, dial ONE;
“We were spending ten hours a day in the office, if you want to turn left, dial TWO’ etc.,” Jackson
then going home and typing until midnight, and all
weekend,” says Jackson.

“My girlfriend at the time was not amused!” adds

Livingstone.

Their solution was to promote one of Games

Workshop’s senior executives to a position whereby the
operational side of the business could run without their
daily input. Thus Bryan Ansell (with whom Jackson
and Livingstone had founded Citadel Miniatures) was
promoted to the role of Managing Director of Games
Workshop. Ansell would, over time, buy a majority
stake in the company, with Jackson and Livingstone
retaining a minority stake. It was all change again in
1991 when Tom Kirby became Managing Director of
Games Workshop after a management buy-out, and
two years later Games Workshop was floated on the
London Stock Exchange to become a public limited
company.

With Games Workshop going from strength-to-strength

independently, and Fighting Fantasy in the safe hands

128 ◉ Right: War of Wizards, by Iain McCaig. (© Iain McCaig, 2014)

◉ 129
explains. He likens their request to someone telling him at the time. I was quite worried about this aspect as it
they had just invented a pack of cards and asking him would inevitably attract gold miners. Was the design
if he could think up any games to play with them. robust enough to ensure that the gold score couldn’t be
hacked? But I don’t think we had any trouble.”
Clearly the system was a perfect fit for a Fighting
Fantasy-style adventure. “F.I.S.T. was originally After placing an advert in The Mirror newspaper,
supposed to be a Fighting Fantasy adventure, based Computerdial had 5,000 people phoning in every day
on a book to be published in six months’ time, so to play. But when they put an ad on the back page
they could be cross-marketed. But when I looked at of The Sun, to use Jackson’s words, “it went ballistic.”
it in detail, it was obvious this wasn’t going to work.
In a gamebook you can have a page and a half of “Initially I’d call up from my home phone,” reminisces
background. But as an audio adventure on the phone, FF fan Steve Brown. “It wasn’t a touch tone phone but
no one would listen to five minutes of background at one of those where you had a dial so selecting option
25p per minute. So I set about designing an original four or higher was a real pain. I also remember the
adventure, designed specifically for phone play.” phone bill coming in and my mum and dad flipping
out. After that, I tried to play from public phone boxes
The creative process was the closest Jackson ever came on those funny phone cards you used to be able to
to programming a computer. He wrote two scenarios buy, but my £1 (10 credits) barely got me through the
for F.I.S.T. (as it was called by then, an acronym of opening dialogue welcoming me to F.I.S.T. After that, I
Fantasy Interactive Scenarios by Telephone). The gave up on F.I.S.T as too expensive a hobby to pursue.”
first, Castle Mammon: Lair of the Demon Prince, was
released in September 1988. The adventure saw the Despite the cost involved in playing the game, F.I.S.T.
hero battling his way deep inside Castle Mammon was still a colossal success. “It did incredibly well,”
in order to slay the Demon Prince Kaddis Ra. The says Jackson, “spawning two further F.I.S.T. sequels
player was bombarded by sound effects, while voice- and a couple of other games, notably, Gladiators of
overs described what was going on. Castle Mammon was the Roman Empire (G.O.R.E.). Computerdial even
followed by a direct sequel, The Rings of Allion, which launched F.I.S.T. in America and I was there for
came out in March 1989. the moment the lines went live. Very exciting. The
Computerdial adventures clocked up over 5 million
telephone minutes. I think F.I.S.T. was the first ever
play-by-phone game.”

BattleCards
In the early 1990s, Jackson developed a collectible
card game that was released only a few months before
Richard Garfield’s Magic: The Gathering. BattleCards
(sometimes known as Steve Jackson’s BattleCards) came
out in 1993, from Merlin Publishing. Although
Combat consisted of the player first listening to a supposedly a separate entity from Fighting Fantasy, for
description of what their opponent was doing, and fans of the genre there are some very obvious links.
then pushing a key combination to dictate their
For example, Vangoria, the world in which the
response, either a supposed physical action or the
BattleCards game is set, is bounded to the east by The
casting of a spell. The game also worked with touch
Eelsea, which is also the name of the body of water
tone phones and could be saved at any time. Although
that lies to the west of the Old World in the Fighting
it was played as a solo game, those who phoned in
Fantasy world of Titan. Secondly The Orb of Shantos
could listen to the rankings of the high scores of other
is mentioned in The Tasks of Tantalon and Moonweed,
players, and actual cash prizes – in the form of physical
referenced in The Cursewitch’s Quest BattleCard, appears
gold coins – were awarded at the end of each month to
in The Trolltooth Wars, as does the name Cursewitch.
the highest scorer.
However, Jackson denies there is any link between
Jackson: “Every month the person who had emerged
the two at all. “I can’t remember why I decided not
out of the F.I.S.T. dungeon with the highest score won
to locate BattleCards in Titan,” he confesses. “Other
an actual gold sovereign, probably worth around £100

130 ◉
 Fighting Fantasy Fact 18

Steve Jackson may have been the first person to come

up with the phrase ‘role-playing game’. In early 1976,
he wrote a review of En Garde! for Owl & Weasel (Games
Workshop’s original gaming news fanzine). This was a
3 Musketeers quest game which used a gamesmaster.
Struggling to find an effective way to describe how the
Dungeons & Dragons-style experience differed from other
games, he described it as a “a role-playing game”. Some of Martin
McKenna’s
BattleCards
illustrations. (©
Martin McKenna,
2014)

’sideline’ projects like Tasks of Tantalon had been set Craddock, who had produced the covers for the FF
in Titan, so why not BattleCards as well? I guess with adventures Rebel Planet and Star Strider.
F.I.S.T. and BattleCards I was thinking they would do
better set in their own universes rather than having Unfortunately, BattleCards was eclipsed by the success of
to keep checking whether these new projects were Magic: The Gathering, and Jackson admits that the game
consistent with what was happening in Titan.” was, “probably too complicated”. He also has no idea
how many people actually completed it successfully.
The aim of the game was to win the Emperor of Vangoria
card (numbered #150) by collecting eight Treasure
cards. These in turn were won by undertaking The Abandon Art
Quests of Vangoria, or purchased using gold collected
Abandon Art was the world’s first gallery devoted
from winning battles with other cards, which involved
entirely to Fantasy and Science Fiction art. It was
scratching off foil-coated spots on each, hoping to find
founded by Jackson in 1993, in the London Borough
blood symbols beneath. Other features included spell
of Richmond.
battles and shield cards (in the UK version), which
added a level of complexity to the game. Jackson: “Originally I bought 16 King Street as my
office away from home, and as an investment property,
A number of Fighting Fantasy artists contributed
set right in the town centre of Richmond, two minutes’
artwork for the game, including Peter Andrew Jones,
walk from the river. I had my office upstairs and
Les Edwards, Iain McCaig, Alan Craddock, Terry
opened up the shop as a SF/F art gallery; the first one
Oakes and Martin McKenna.
in Europe. Maybe even the US too. I contacted all the
BattleCards was later released in the US, the major artists I had met through FF, and a few, like Patrick
difference between the two editions being that Martin Woodroffe, who I knew by reputation only.”
McKenna’s box art was replaced by a painting by Alan

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The artists Abandon Art had on its books included the off the page at her as her son was a fan of Fighting
likes of John Blanche, Ian Miller, Chris Achilleos, Jim Fantasy gamebooks.
Burns, Les Edwards and Peter Andrew Jones.
The very first Games Page appeared on 21 January
“Everyone was prepared to send me some of their 1995, and ran every Saturday for two and a half years.
works to offer for sale. Abandon Art even published “The Games Page consisted of a games-related story,
its own range of signed Limited Edition prints. We a video game review, a self-working magic trick (I like
had several customers who made pilgrimages to the card magic), a couple of word/number puzzles and
gallery. But after four years my wife, a physiotherapist, a Scrabble puzzle,” says Jackson. “Alan Simmons’
persuaded me to let her use the shop for a Scrabble Puzzle is still there after all these years. But
physiotherapy surgery she was starting with a friend. the rest of the page has been replaced by a Giant
And so it was that Abandon Art was replaced by General Knowledge crossword.”
Richmond Physiotherapy.”
Along with various logic puzzles and lateral thinking
problems, the Games Page included an item called Pun
The Games Page Pix.

When he was still running Games Workshop, Jackson Jackson: “I seem to have become known for
had written to The Times, in an attempt to persuade excruciating puns – ask Ian. The plan with the Games
them to publish a weekly games page in the newspaper, Page was that, apart from the Scrabble puzzle, there
but his suggestions fell on deaf ears. In 1994 he sent would be two others – one a classic puzzle which
out another such proposal, only this time to The Daily readers might not have come across before – which
Telegraph. It just so happened that one of the editor of had to be both interesting and solvable by the ordinary
the Saturday Weekend section, Bernice Davison, was person. Previously the Telegraph had been running
looking to run a new feature and Jackson’s name leapt original maths puzzles as prize competitions which

Steve Jackson with the other Directors of Lionhead celebrating after Microsoft
132 ◉ bought the company in 2006. (© Steve Jackson, 2006 and 2014)
were impossible for the ordinary man in the street
to fathom. They typically received only 4-5 entries
Ian Livingstone
each week. We couldn’t run the classic puzzles as
prize comps as many people would have seen them Board Games
before. So I set about coming up with a new puzzle. I
wanted it to be a picture puzzle, to liven up the page. In a career spanning almost forty years in the games
The result was Pun Pix. You had to identify photos of industry, Ian Livingstone not only co-founded Games
celebrities and that would lead to a song title. One of Workshop, co-created the Fighting Fantasy series and
my favourites was Bjorn Borg, a Ninja Turtle, Hugh launched Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, he also designed a
Grant, Herman Hess and a bale of Hay. So: Bjorn number of board games.
Ninja Hugh Hess Hay. Say it quickly and you get
Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born in the USA’.” “I’ve always had a passion for playing board games,”
says Livingstone. “From Chess and Monopoly at
During his time writing the Games Page, Jackson school, to Diplomacy and Avalon Hill games played
interviewed video game designer Peter Molyneux in my youth, to today’s strategy games that come
about the success of his company Bullfrog Productions under the banner of Euro games, I never tire of board
and their (at the time) forthcoming game Dungeon games. For indoor entertainment value, it’s hard to
Keeper. This led to the two men forming a firm beat getting friends around the table to play a great
friendship, the two of them sharing a passion for board game. Social interaction, negotiation, deals,
German board games. alliances, back-stabbing, the bragging rights of victory!
I have over 1,000 board games at home and would
In fact, Jackson is such a fan of board games that in never dream of getting rid of them.
1993 he won the title of Best Individual Player at the
Intergame World Boardgame championships at Essen. “I’ve been Secretary of the Games Night Club since it
formed in 1986. There are only six members - myself,
Steve Jackson, Peter Molyneux, Mark Spangenthal,
Lionhead Studios Skye Quin and Clive Robert. We score points for each
game played and I publish the results in the Games
When Peter Molyneux set up Lionhead Studios in
Night Newsletter as well as ridiculing the members.
1996, he asked Jackson to join the team in game
I’ve just published, ironically, issue 400 for the loyal
design. However, Jackson’s lack of programming
readership of six subscribers. At the end of the year,
skills meant that he ended up working on the business
the winner gets to keep the Pagoda Cup for the year
side, bringing a wealth of experience to the company,
and has it engraved for posterity. I’m delighted to say
earned during his days establishing and running
I won the cup again in 2013. It’s all very tongue-in-
Games Workshop twenty years before.
cheek, but great fun.
In 1998 the company released Black & White, one of
“Call me old-fashioned, but I really treasure the
the god game genre, and went on to create such classics
physical presence of my games, recounting great
as the Fable series.
games played as I cast my eyes over the boxes lining
Jackson: “Those were great years, working on Black & the shelves. The production values these days are
White and Fable. They were pretty hairy years too, but it incredible. All the plastic and wooden bits to get
was a big adventure, and it had a happy ending.” excited about! I used to be worried that so few UK
shops stocked good board games, but there are so
In 2006, Lionhead was taken over by Microsoft and many great online stores these days, it’s not a problem.
Jackson’s involvement with the company came to a Boardgamegeek.com tells you all you need to know,
natural end. and now there’s Kickstarter.com enabling games to
go into production which otherwise would never have
been made. It’s all good!”

Livingstone says he likes designing board games almost

as much as playing them. His first published game was
The Barbarian which was part of a ‘double pack’ for
Task Force Games in 1981. This was followed by Judge
Dredd, a fast-action game of crime fighting in Mega-
City One published by Games Workshop in the same

◉ 133
year as The Warlock of Firetop Mountain was published in various ways. For each $10,000 profit a player earns,
1982. Battlecars was his next game published by Games their scoring marker is moved one space along the
Workshop in 1983, designed, ironically, with Gary scoring track. Naturally, first round the track wins.
Chalk who soon after left Games Workshop along with
Joe Dever to write and illustrate Lone Wolf books. The
big boxed dungeon exploration game Legend of Zagor Card Games
for Parker Brothers was Livingstone’s most successful
Legend of Zagor wasn’t the only FF-related game
game, selling across Europe. Other games designed
designed by Livingstone. When Deathtrap Dungeon was
by Livingstone include Dragon Masters for Games
released as a video game in 1998, it was accompanied
Workshop in 1991 and Ali Baba for Abacus Spiele in
by a card game also inspired by the eponymous
1993.
dungeon as well as by the ancient Chinese card
Livingstone decided to publish two of his own designs game Zheng Shang Yu.
as limited editions of 1,000 copies under the imprint of
The deck consists of 82 cards that depict characters
Livingstone Games. The first, Boom Town (1990), is
from the computer game, including Imps, Alchemists,
described on Boardgamegeek.com as a ‘famous rare
Skeletons, Orcs, Ratmen, Zombies, Snake Girls and
game’ which had players constructing a new English
Pit Fiends. There are even cards representing the
town set in the 1950s. This was done by laying tiles to
video game’s infamous Exploding Pig, the Killing
represent residential areas, shops and factories.
Machine, and the two heroes Red Lotus and Chaindog,
However, there are spoiler tiles as well, such as the
which all have unique special properties.
rubbish dump, which reduce a player’s score. The
game features a strong element of mutual caution To play the game, the cards are shuffled and dealt.
which only lasts as long as nobody lays any bad tiles, Whoever receives the Exploding Pig card starts by
and then all hell breaks loose. discarding the Pig along with one other card of their
choice. Play proceeds clockwise from there
on, with players putting down any number
of cards of equal value, of increasingly
higher values, until a player does not have
a suitable combination of cards, or chooses
to pass. Once every player has had a chance
to put down their cards, whoever put down
the cards of highest value gets to start the
next hand. A hand may also be ended
abruptly by the playing of the Killing
Machine, which can be played at any time,
and allows the person who played it to start
the next hand. A round ends when only one
player has any cards left, but the winner is
whoever was first to go out.

Interactive Telephone Games

Boom Town was followed in 1991 by Automania: The Game Like Jackson, Livingstone also dabbled with interactive
of The Motor Giants, which was again a limited edition telephone games. War of Wizards was a phone-based
of 1,000 copies. The game featured a board, wooden spell battle as opposed to a role-playing game (like
car-shaped playing pieces, and a numbered deck of 56 Steve Jackson’s F.I.S.T.) and did not prove to be as
Market Cards which affect the game each round. In popular. However, the advertisements for the game did
Automania players represent national car manufacturers feature brand new artwork by Iain McCaig.
who are trying to export cars to six other countries.
Each market has an export limit that it can accept and
the cars go for a fixed price in each market, so whoever Video Games
spends more money on advertising gets to sell their cars Back in the mid-1980s, Ian Livingstone was
first. But before revealing the spending, players play commissioned to carry out some design work for a
one of their Market Cards, which affect the Market in

134 ◉
new computer game publisher Domark, as a direct on the London Stock Market. Centregold brought
result of the success he had had with his third solo with them an action/adventure game being developed
gamebook, Deathtrap Dungeon. The game he designed by Core Design. The game in question was Tomb
for the company was called Eureka! Released in 1984, Raider. Livingstone discovered Tomb Raider during the
Eureka! was the launch game for the company and took due diligence period of the acquisition. For him it
the form of a text adventure with simple graphics for was ‘love at first sight’ when he first saw Lara Croft
the Spectrum and Commodore 64. A prize of £25,000 on screen when he visited Core Design which was
was offered to the first person to solve the final puzzle. managed by Jeremy Heath-Smith. Lara Croft was the
It was programmed in Budapest for secrecy so that the creation of Toby Gard, a 2D artist at Core Design,
solution of how to win was not leaked. Livingstone who got the studio’s backing in having a female lead
recalls some interesting times during his visits to character in their tomb-raiding game. Following the
Communist Hungary back in the mid-1980s. The first successful launch of Tomb Raider which helped drive
person to solve the puzzle would discover a phone the success of Sony’s PlayStation, Eidos became the
number to ring to claim the prize. Ian handed over the darling of the City of London. Revenues soared and
£25,000 cheque to the eventual winner on national the company quickly became a major developer and
TV. publisher of a portfolio of commercially successful and
critically-acclaimed video games that included Hitman,
With Jackson and Livingstone having sold their Deus Ex, Thief and Championship Manager as well as the
remaining interest in Games Workshop as part of multi-million selling Tomb Raider franchise.
a management buy-out in 1991, Livingstone joined
Domark (at the company’s invitation) in 1992, only this
time not as an external game designer but as a major
investor with a seat on the board of directors. Domark
was focused on developing video games for 16-bit
consoles and Livingstone had joined the company at
a time when the market had started to go into decline.
Livingstone was immediately tasked with helping to
turn the company’s ailing fortunes around.

In 1993 his favourite Domark title was Championship

Manager, which he considered to be of significant value
to the company because it was both a great game and
Domark owned the intellectual property in the name.
He advised the company to focus on PC games in the
short term, rather than rushing into developing more
expensive titles for the yet-to-be established 32-bit
console market. He was well aware that the company
needed much more working capital for that ambition. Ian Livingstone hands the Man of the Match Award to Danny
Tiatto during the 2001-2002 season, when Manchester City
In late 1994 Domark began merger talks with Eidos won promotion back to the Premier League, as Liam Gallagher
Technologies, a research and development technology and Lara Croft look on. (© Ian Livingstone, 2002 and 2014)
company which specialised in compression and
decompression of video in software. Two more games Livingstone: “Video games today have become mass
companies were brought into the proposed merger, market entertainment. From immersive, cinematic
Simis and Big Red. The merger went ahead and the games played on consoles for the core gamer to bite-
new company floated on the London Stock Exchange sized chunks of fun available to casual gamers on their
in October 1995. Charles Cornwall became CEO of smart phones, there is now something for everybody.
the Eidos plc group of companies, and Livingstone Single-player or multi-player, the immediacy of video
was appointed Executive Chairman, a position he games is very appealing. High-speed broadband means
held until 2002. The flotation raised the much-needed that players don’t have to be in the same room to
additional working capital for the company to get back play against each other. And with smart phones and
to console game development. tablets you can play anywhere, anytime with anyone
you like for as long as you like. All the record-keeping
In 1996 Eidos acquired Centregold (U.S. Gold), the is done for you, and for me that is a big plus. But (big
only other publicly-quoted UK video games company admission time) if there was a fire in my house and I

◉ 135
only had time to escape with one game, it would be my Word, PowerPoint and Excel is never going to get
favourite board game.” anybody a job in the games industry. We need more
digital makers. And it’s not just about games. The
Despite the number ones and spectacular growth, world has become exponentially reliant on technology.
Eidos suffered problems of its own when the 32-bit We are totally dependent on computer programmers.
market went into decline. When Eidos was taken Computing is no longer a marginal skill for experts and
over by SCi in 2005, Livingstone was the only former geeks – it’s essential knowledge.”
member on the board asked to stay on. He convinced
the new owners to retain the Eidos company name The recommendations in the Next Gen review helped
because of the equity in the brand. convince Michael Gove, The Secretary of State for
Education, to disapply the current ICT curriculum,
But in 2009, Eidos changed hands again. replacing it with a Computing curriculum for schools
Japanese video game company Square Enix became in England beginning in September 2014. Welcoming
the new owners. Livingstone’s long involvement the announcement, Livingstone said, “Brilliant.
with the company and his creative legacy were both Children will learn how to make games, not just play
recognised when he was given the title Life President them.”
of Eidos. He remained in that position until October
2013. After 20 years with Domark/Eidos/Square And then in July 2014, Business Secretary Vince
Enix it was time to say goodbye. He was gone but not Cable appointed Livingstone as the Department for
forgotten. Businesses’ Creative Industries Champion. In his new
position, Livingstone will play a key role in both the
promotion and support of the creative sector and its
Skills Champion skills base, helping to ensure that business and skills
policies are well tailored to the creative industries.
It wasn’t only gamers who were aware of the expertise
Livingstone had acquired over nearly forty years spent
working in the games industry. In 2010, Ed Vaizey, Awards
the UK Minister for Culture, Communications and
Creative Industries, invited Livingstone to act as the Like the hero from one of his gamebooks amassing
government’s Skills Champion and tasked him with a veritable shopping trolley’s worth of special items,
producing a report to review the state of the UK video Livingstone has acquired a number of awards in
games industry at the time. The Next Gen review, recognition of his work in the games industry.
which he co-authored with Alex Hope of computer
visual effects company Double Negative, was published In 2000, the University of Abertay, Dundee, awarded
in 2011 by NESTA (www.nesta.org.uk). About the him an Honorary Doctorate of Technology, while
review, Livingstone said, “Next Gen highlighted the in 2002 he won a BAFTA Special Award for his
poor quality of ICT outstanding contribution to the computer games
teaching in schools industry.
as one of our biggest
Livingstone was appointed an Officer of the Order
obstacles to growth.
of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2006 New Year
Against all odds, ICT
Honours List, for ‘Services to the Computer Games
had managed to put
Industry’. In 2011 he received another honorary
children off digital
degree, this time an Honorary Doctorate of Arts
creativity despite
from Bournemouth University. Add to that a British
them running their
Inspiration Award and the Develop Legend Award.
lives through their
mobile devices. ICT In the Wired 100 list for 2012, he was ranked the 16th
taught children how to most influential person in the UK’s digital economy.
consume technology Most recently, in 2013, he was made Commander
but gave them no of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) again for
insight into how to ‘Services to the Computer Games Industry’.
create it. In effect
it taught them how Having received so many awards how would
to read but not how Livingstone most like to be remembered?
to write. Learning

136 ◉
Livingstone: “Hopefully for bringing a bit of fun into The Livingstone Foundation
people’s lives. We are all playful by nature, but many of On 30 September 2013 it was reported that Livingstone
us don’t like to admit it. The media wrongly portrays was leaving Eidos after twenty years with the company,
games as being trivial or even bad for you. I hope I to focus on projects outside of Square Enix. A statement
have helped to change the perception of games. As released by the company read, “All of us at Square Enix
well as being great fun, games teach life skills such do want to take this opportunity to publicly thank Ian for
his unparalleled tenure and contribution to this business
as problem-solving, intuitive learning, collaboration, and the UK games industry. And we wish him every
communication, risk-taking, trial and error, and success with his future projects and new ventures.”
encourage creative thinking. For me, life is a game.” These new ventures included setting up The Livingstone
Foundation to open Free Schools and Academies
based on the ethos of creativity, collaboration, coding,
No time like the present communication and problem-solving skills for a
curriculum where games would be used contextually as
So what has Steve Jackson done since leaving learning tools.
Lionhead?

Jackson: “These days I am Professor of Game Design development. Judging by the photo, should it ever
at Brunel University, where I teach a class of Masters- go into production, it’s destined to become a very
level students how to get into the industry. I’ve been important collector’s item.
doing this for six years [as of 2013] and the original
MA course has expanded to undergraduate courses as
well. I also involve myself in Fighting Fantasy licensing.
Over the last few years we’ve licensed FF as iOS, DS
and Kindle games, plus Advanced Fighting Fantasy: The
Role-Playing Game and two Chinese versions of the
original FF series.”

And what of Ian Livingstone? How does he fill his days

now?

Livingstone: “I seem to be busier than ever these

days. I’m working on a new book and a game idea.
I’ve invested in several indie games companies and
am helping to grow their businesses. I’m Chairman
of Playdemic Ltd, Chairman of Midoki Ltd and
Chairman of PlayMob Ltd. On the advisory side, I
chair Skillset’s Video Games Council, chair Next Gen
Skills Committee, and am Vice Chair of UKIE. I’m a
Member of the Creative Industries Council, Trustee
of GamesAid and an Adviser to the British Council. I
also do quite a bit of public speaking around the world.
Last but not least, I’m applying to open a Free School.”
If things work out as he would like, his school ambition
could well be a long-lasting legacy that Livingstone will
be remembered for in years to come. What’s noticeable
is that in spite of everything else Jackson and
Livingstone have achieved in the fields of big business,
gaming, publishing and education, Fighting Fantasy
remains very important to both of them. “It’s like our
child has grown up!” says Jackson.

Livingstone teased the Dragonmeet 2013 audience,

at which he and Jackson spoke, with a photo of a
Bloodbeast model, implying that a Fighting Fantasy
board game with highly detailed figures might be in The Shapechanger and the Bloodbeast, sculpted by
Damien Sparkes. (© Ian Livingstone, 2014)
◉ 137
 Chapter Fourteen

Tales of Firetop Mountain (Part 2)

From Dead of Night to Siege of Sardath

I n 1989, seven years after The Warlock of Firetop

Mountain was first published, the Fighting Fantasy
series entered middle age, with the publication of its
be a grimly realistic place, a slice of a horrific medieval
world in which politics would play its part too (as can
be seen more clearly in Hand’s later, solo titles).
fortieth title occurring before the year was out.
In Dead of Night, the hero is a Demon-Stalker, who has
FF40 also introduced a new creative team to the series. dedicated his life to waging war against the creatures
The names Jim Bambra and Stephen Hand might of Chaos. Having thwarted the evil schemes of the
have been new to the majority of Fighting Fantasy’s Demon Prince Myurr on more than one occasion,
youthful readership but they were already well-known the hero’s nemesis exacts his revenge, striking directly
to gamers, having written for such RPGs as Dungeons & against the Demon-Stalker’s family. On top of that,
Dragons and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, and both were Myurr’s powers are growing and he will soon be able
former employees of Games Workshop as well. to transport his demonic hordes to the Earthly Plane.
The Demon Lord must be stopped!

Dead of Night The gamebook was illustrated by Martin McKenna,

with a cover by Terry Oakes.
Dead of Night (FF40, story copyright Jim Bambra and
Stephen Hand) took as its setting the kingdom of
Gallantaria (the adventure taking place after the events
related in The Tasks of
Tantalon) and helped
complete the integration
of the Old World into
the wider Fighting
Fantasy milieu, being
the first solo gamebook
to be set there since The
Crown of Kings concluded
the Sorcery! series back in
1985.

Working together –
rather like Jackson and
Livingstone had in the
beginning – Bambra
tackled the task with
his standard approach to writing fantasy scenarios,
whereas Hand was keen to push the limits of what was
possible in a gamebook. Hand was also hugely inspired
by pulp horror, such as the kind produced by Hammer Funeral Procession, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna,
studios in the 1960s and ‘70s. 1989 and 2014)

They agreed that their version of the Old World would Dead of Night remains both the first and last time that

138 ◉ Right: Master of Chaos, by Les Edwards. (© Les Edwards, 1990 and 2014)
◉ 139
Bambra contributed an adventure to the FF series, but Creature of Havoc, only minus the encyclopaedia’s worth
what a memorable entry it was! Hand, on the other of information that came with it at the start!
hand, would go on to contribute two more Gallantaria-
set adventures before quitting the series. “We had the chance to write another book so had to
put some ideas together,” says Mason. “Steve Williams
came up with the ‘twins’ theme, and probably the
Master of Chaos terracotta warrior lift as well. I had enjoyed the faux-
Arabian bits of Riddling Reaver, but my main interest
Master of Chaos (FF41) was China, especially The Water Margin TV series and
was Keith Martin’s third book, so that was what was driving me. And I think
entry into the FF series. Sorcery! suggested we could do a little something with
Set upon Khul, the Dark magic. After that it was just Steve and I brainstorming,
Continent, it has the much of it in front of the computer with drink in
hero tracking down a hand.”
Staff of Power stolen by
the eponymous Master Black Vein Prophecy was illustrated inside and out by
of Chaos. Warped by Terry Oakes.
centuries of evil, this
madman plans to unite
the forces of Evil and The Keep of the Lich-Lord
Chaos and plunge Titan
Where Bambra and
into a new Dark Age.
Hand had collaborated
Illustrated internally by on the creation of Dead
David Gallagher, the of Night throughout the
book also featured another fully-painted Les Edwards design process and on
cover (as had Keith’s previous entry in the series, Vault into the writing stages,
of the Vampire) consisting of a conjured two-headed the forty-third FF title
crocodile – actually the Zoalinth, a mutant creation was written in much the
and chief servant of Shanzikuul, the Master of Chaos. same way as the first, as
Dave Morris, one of its
co-authors, explains: “We
Black Vein Prophecy split the work right down
the middle: Jamie wrote
The forty-second 200 sections to get to the
book in the series saw keep, then I took over
another departure and did everything from
from the norm. By that point.”
now the addition of
new attributes was the In The Keep of the Lich-Lord (FF43), freed from his crypt,
norm, rather than the undead Lord Mortis seizes Bloodrise Keep on
the exception, but no Stayng Island. It’s up to the hero to assassinate
attributes? And not even the Lich-Lord before his zombie hordes overrun
any rules? That was how the Arrowhead Islands.
Black Vein Prophecy (FF42)
began. There wasn’t Morris has mixed feelings about his one and only
even a Background contribution to the FF series: “I submitted several story
section and so, with no proposals (along with Jamie Thomson, my co-author)
explanation whatsoever and that was the one they liked. I don’t think it was the
of what was going on, strongest one. I’d have rather done Keeper of the Seven
the reader was thrown straight in at paragraph #1, Keys.”
apparently waking up inside his own tomb.
He wasn’t the only one. “The manuscript got sent back
The usual stats and combat rules were introduced by Marc Gascoigne because there were too many cut
later as the adventure developed, but what a great way and paste sections – including about fifty paragraphs
to start an adventure, with echoes of Steve Jackson’s spent searching a cemetery. I agreed with Marc; those

140 ◉
bits were tedious. I rewrote a big chunk of the book the problem, it’s the number of ideas and encounters.
and I’m happy to have my name on the finished A normal book might have two or three central plot
version.” arcs that drive the whole story. A gamebook will have
those, but also another twenty little encounters, each
Both the cover and internal art were by David of which could be an entire novel on their own, if you
Gallagher, who was becoming known for really putting wanted them to be. So having two brains bouncing
the black into black and white illustrations. ideas off each other really helps with that sort of
product. It’s also a hell of a lot more fun. Plus I think
you can get more books out in a given time with two
of you, than you could on your own, i.e. the sum is
greater than the whole.”

Legend of the Shadow Warriors

Legend of the Shadow
Warriors (FF44, story
copyright Stephen
Hand) was a new
entry in the series put
together by three-
quarters of the creative
team behind Dead of
Night. Set in Gallantaria
once again, it cast the
hero as a veteran of
the War of the Four
Kingdoms who sets out
to discover whether
the five ghostly figures
that are putting entire
villages to the sword are really the Shadow Warriors of
legend.

Hand’s horror movie influences – everything from

Universal, Hammer and Amicus, to Spanish and
Italian films and ‘80s Splatter – were even more
obvious in this book, particularly with the introduction
of Kauderwelsch’s Frankenstein-like Monster. The
Lord Mortis, by David Gallagher. (© David Gallagher, 1990 adventure is formed from a series of vignettes that
and 2014) give it the feeling of a long-running RPG campaign,
more epic in scope, rather than just a one-off solo
The book includes a reference to one of Jamie gamebook.
Thomson’s earlier books. At the beginning of the
adventure the hero comes across an inn called The However, the climax to the adventure remains unique
Sword of the Samurai. out of all the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks ever
published, with the hero having to forgive and heal the
The Keep of the Lich-Lord was also the third time enemy rather than kill and destroy him.
Thomson had collaborated on a Fighting Fantasy
gamebook with another author. (It would also turn out “‘You put your arms around an old man, crying
to be his last.) But had he never been tempted to write with the simple joy of being alive’ is simply the most
one by himself ? emotionally satisfying conclusion to the series next to
retrieving the Crown of Kings,” says FF fan Lin Liren.
“I should have squeezed a couple in!” admits
Thomson. “But really, having a creative partner is great
for gamebooks – it’s not the amount of words that is

◉ 141
 Spectral Stalkers
Even though it was the
forty-fifth entry in the
series, Peter Darvill-Evans’
Spectral Stalkers (FF45) still
managed to do something
entirely different with the
FF setting. In fact, it could
be argued that it isn’t a
Fighting Fantasy adventure
at all, only that it uses the
rules system devised by
Jackson and Livingstone.

The plot involved the

hero retrieving a trans-
dimensional teleportation
device called The Aleph, and then having to stop the
villain of the piece, Globus the Archmage, from getting
his hands on the artefact, whilst being pursued by
trans-dimensional hunters, the Spectral Stalkers of the
title.

Darvill-Evans was driven by the same impulse that

had been at work when he was writing his previous FF
titles: “The impulse to write a story that would stand
Haggworts, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna, 1991
out a bit. I also wanted to stretch the FF envelope.”
and 2014)
The book featured fantastic cover art by Ian Miller
and it was also the first time a young artist by the name
The memorable pumpkin-headed Haggworts that of Tony Hough, another Games Workshop alumnus,
appeared on the cover were realised in acrylics by would contribute to the series. But how did it compare
Terry Oakes. But how successful did Oakes feel to commissions he had received in the past?
his contribution was compared to other covers he
“A dream job! The challenges imposed by format,
produced for the series?
deadlines and style are intriguing. Every illustration
“Sometimes opinions can be swayed by the ego,” says must fit within that small rectangle yet somehow be a
Oakes, “by this I mean one of my favourites is Rings window into a vast and varied universe, as seen from
of Kether, possibly followed by The 10th Anniversary the reader’s own point-of-view. Each has to tell a story
Yearbook... The reasons for my choice are the ‘trick’ in little more than a glimpse.”
I pulled by using a very tall, very thin man as
How does he feel his work on Spectral Stalkers stands up
reference for the totally obese image on the cover of
now that he looks back on the illustrations more than
the former, and the freedom I was given concerning
twenty years later?
the second. None of the creatures or monsters are
described in any of the books; they all came from my “To me now they look a bit overworked since I was
imagination. layering on shading and details with a tiny 0.18 Rotring
pen – pretty unnecessary considering the small print
“But – I’m a little ashamed to say – as stated above,
size of the finished product. However since I’d been
my ego was tweaked by the comments I later
doing copious amounts of art for Games Workshop
spotted regarding Legend of the Shadow Warriors, whereby
for quite a while by then, my technique was quite well
someone at Puffin had written high praise for the idea
practised, and with Puffin’s sensible deadlines I could
across the top half of the pencil rough I had sent off.
redo stuff that came out too badly!”
So, speaking in my most shallow guise, let’s say the last
mentioned became my favourite in retrospect.” Hough has recently returned to those original

142 ◉
illustrations, as a means of helping him hone his
Photoshop skills.

“Initially it was an exercise in digital art spurred by a

combination of the resurgence of interest in Fighting
Fantasy (which spurred me to scan the originals) and
my acquiring a decent Wacom tablet which I wanted
to practise with. I used the tablet with Photoshop 7 for
all of them.

“Although I enjoy the discipline of creating pen

images, it’s also quite a restrictive medium where
colour, shade and textures are all conveyed by way of
black marks on a white background. There’s always
more room for developing an image beyond this!
When the job itself is done it’s tempting to want to
carry on and see how one can represent the images in
a different style I thought the FF illos would make a
sound foundation from which to proceed.

“What I was attempting to produce were not

just colourised drawings. Although I decided I wasn’t
to radically alter composition or content, I was aiming
to transform the A4 sized drawings into large fully
fledged digital paintings in their own right, changing
half-tones and cross-hatching into tonal shading for
instance, adding textures and altering light sources
and yes, correcting mistakes in the underlying
drawing where necessary, too. In most cases I added The Hunt of the Gods, by Tony Hough. (© Tony Hough,
considerable detail to background and characters since 2014)
I wanted the images to blow up quite large.”

Tower of Destruction
Tower of Destruction
(FF46) was Keith
Martin’s fourth foray
into the worlds of
Fighting Fantasy,
and the first of his
adventures to be set in
Allansia itself. As with
his previous entries into
the series, Martin added
various additional
attribute scores to keep
track of, more than in
any of his books up to
that point.

After his northern

home is destroyed by a blazing sphere of death, the
hero sets out to discover where the object came from,
who made it, and whether or not it can be stopped. But
the sphere is only the key to a far greater danger – the
Marvip the Magician, by Tony Hough. (© Tony Hough, 2014) Tower of Destruction itself.

◉ 143
The book featured another cover by Terry Oakes, his
seventh for the FF series. He had become the go-to guy
for covers at this time, producing five out of the ten
covers of the FF gamebooks numbered in the forties,
and was one the most prolific FF cover artists of the
Puffin era.

Tower of Destruction was the first gamebook to have

Pete Knifton – an artist who had previously provided
artwork for Games Workshop’s Blood Bowl game – on
interior art duties.

“Marc Gascoigne suggested I send in samples to

Penguin,” explains Knifton. “Subsequently I drew two.
The editors were lovely and very encouraging. I did
the best work I could in the time available. I aimed to
do one illo a day. Sometimes the pictures took longer. I
was fond of the picture of the ice zombies.”

Night Demon, by Pete Knifton. (© Pete Knifton, 1991 and

2014)

The Crimson Tide

The first Fighting Fantasy
title of 1992 was The Crimson
Tide (FF47), Paul Mason’s
third entry into the series,
but the first with him given
sole writing credit. Unusually
the book featured internal
illustrations by Terry Oakes,
the second and last time he
would perform those duties,
having previously produced
Black Vein Prophecy’s internal
images.
Ice Ghosts, by Pete Knifton. (© Pete Knifton, 1991 and 2014)
Oakes: “Whereas my goal
in painting remained pretty
much constant – i.e. I simply toiled to try and execute

144 ◉
a piece that was as realistic and believable as possible drew attention to the fact that the Isles of the Dawn of
– my approach to pen and ink varied. The medium Black Vein Prophecy was a much weirder place than the
gave me opportunities to experiment with different China-knock-off I wanted to write about.”
and differing styles – some more successful than others;
also, it gave me a chance to alter the pen work to suit Cover art was by Alan Craddock whose last
the subject matter.” contribution to the series had been the SF title Star
Strider.

Alan Craddock’s
cover rough for
The Crimson
Tide. (© Alan
Craddock, 1992
and 2014)

Moonrunner
Book number forty-eight
was another adventure
by Stephen Hand, which
was set in Gallantaria
during the aftermath
Yuemo, by Terry Oakes. (© Terry Oakes, 1992 and 2014) of the War of the Four
Kingdoms, first referred
With The Crimson Tide Mason tried something that had
to in Steve Jackson’s The
not been attempted in a Fighting Fantasy gamebook
Tasks of Tantalon. Echoing
before; the storyline took the hero from childhood
the final scene of Legend
through to adulthood. This ambitious idea did give rise
of the Shadow Warriors, the
to one unforeseen problem however. One of the first
conclusion has the hero
enemies the hero encounters is a Giant Mudworm.
having to capture the
At this point in the adventure, the highest SKILL
archetypal Fu Manchu/
score the hero can have is 6 but the Mudworm had its
Moriarty villain, the war
SKILL score raised from 6 to 12 during the editing
criminal Karam Gruul,
process, making the battle almost impossible to win,
so that he might stand trial for his crimes, rather than
the editor concerned forgetting that the hero started
simply killing him in revenge for what he did to the
the story as a child.
hero during the course of the war.
“The Crimson Tide was me, bereft of Steve Williams’s
“Stephen Hand would be the author of my favourite
febrile imagination, going back to the setting of the last
FF books,” says FF author Paul Mason, “just because
book, and putting in a few continuity references,” says
I enjoyed the way he did that Hammer Horror pastiche
Mason. “But in a way that was a mistake, as it just
approach with such relish.”

◉ 145
With Moonrunner (FF48, story copyright Stephen Hand) sorcerer and the Storm Giant’s castle was painted by
Terry Oakes was on cover art duties again while Les Edwards, while Pete Knifton produced the internal
Martin McKenna’s internals made it three for three for black and white illustrations.
the creative trio.
“FF had a great effect on my career in terms of
kudos,” says Knifton. “They were very popular, and
people were interested that I had been a contributor.
You had to be spot on with the details in FF. They were
respectable illustration jobs!”

Beggar, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna, 1992 and

2014)

McKenna and Hand were both clearly inspired by the

same source material, namely Hammer horror films.
However, Hand was also heavily influenced by his love
of such 1940s American pulp film serials as The Crimson
Ghost, The Whispering Shadow, and SOS Coastguard.
He wanted to make the player feel like he really was
a hero in a pulp serial, so from the very first scene (in
which the hero is found beside a dead body and is
wrongly accused of murder) the pace never lets up for
a moment.

Moonrunner, like Hand’s other titles, is a favourite of Xanthic Horror, by Pete Knifton. (© Pete Knifton, 1992 and
many a Fighting Fantasy fan, including Zsolt Matyusz. 2014)
“I love detective stories and Moonrunner provides us with
an exciting investigation and manhunt. The storyline The story starts with a dramatic aerial pursuit and
is logical; if you play well, then you will succeed. If builds from there. Including an encounter with a
you are stupid, you will be punished. Unfortunately, in demi-god and the perception-warping architecture of
many other books there were twists like, ‘Okay, so you the Dark Elves, it is a memorable adventure and it is a
turned left, well sorry you’re dead because of a trap’ shame that it was Phillips’ only
which can be quite annoying. A lot of action is packed contribution to the range.
into the book; it feels like more than 400 sections. Also,
the book is not unreal in terms of difficulty… The Siege of Sardath was also rather
enemies are more down-to-earth... Stephen’s other overshadowed by another
books – Dead of Night and Legend of the Shadow Warriors – publication that year. For 1992
are also excellent in my opinion.” saw the tenth anniversary of
the publication of The Warlock
of Firetop Mountain, an event
Siege of Sardath marked by the publication of
a brand new Fighting Fantasy
Siege of Sardath (FF49) introduced a new writer to the gamebook and the first one
FF stable (the first new writer since Dave Morris took written by Ian Livingstone
Sukumvit’s shilling when he co-wrote The Keep of the since Armies of Death, four
Lich-Lord with Jamie Thomson), one-time teacher years earlier…
Keith P Phillips. The cover image of the Dark Elf

146 ◉ Right: Mould Zombie, by Pete Knifton. (© Pete Knifton, 1992 and 2014)
◉ 147
 Chapter Fifteen

The Dungeoneers of Firetop Mountain

Advanced Fighting Fantasy

F requently, during the 1980s, Fighting Fantasy was

marketed as an introductory role-playing game, but
this belittled what it offered gamers as a system. After
the content of the adventures, while Gascoigne wrote
the rules sections and, as editor, gave the adventures
their movies-in-the-making style of presentation.
all, simplicity should not be confused with childishness.
Yes, the Fighting Fantasy system was very simple,
with only three basic attributes involved in character Dungeoneer
creation, but that did not mean that it wasn’t extremely
Dungeoneer (AFF1) was the first book in what would
flexible.
become the Advanced Fighting Fantasy series.
Steve Jackson had already written up rules for a Published in 1989, it had both cover art and internal
multi-player Fighting Fantasy RPG back in 1984. Paul illustrations produced by
Mason and Steve Williams had then run with the idea, the same artist, dinosaur-
creating The Riddling Reaver campaign for the system resurrector John Sibbick.
two years later.
When talking about the
“I think everyone in the industry had always seen FF project, Sibbick says that
as a gateway drug to full-fledged role-playing,” says he, “enjoyed the process
Cheryl Morgan, Hugo award-winning science fiction of creating on-going
critic and publisher. characters for Dungeoneer.
I had to design their
But then in 1989, Marc Gascoigne, the consultant armour, clothes and
editor on the FF line at the time, and his games general ‘look’ from a
designer friend Pete Tamlyn, set about updating the 360 degree viewpoint,
system to produce an expanded Fighting Fantasy including above and
RPG for a younger audience, who might not have below.”
played a more traditional RPG before. They restyled
the traditional GamesMaster role as that of a movie Dungeoneer started
Director, and the player heroes as the Cast of a fantasy where the FF series in general had begun – that is,
epic. underground. Much of Tower of the Sorcerer, the very
first AFF adventure in which the heroes have to rescue
The Advanced Fighting Fantasy titles are full of the kidnapped Princess Sarissa of Salamonis, takes
Gascoigne’s trademark wit (which served him so well place inside the peak upon which stands the castle
when he was writing Sonic the Hedgehog books) whilst lair of the jealous mage Xortan Throg. Although
also allowing Tamlyn’s talents as a games designer to the second adventure in the book is set partly in Port
shine through. Blacksand, the majority of Revenge of the Sorcerer unfolds
in the sewers beneath the notorious City of Thieves.
Considering that Gascoigne had written both Out of It has the heroes hunting down the real Xortan Throg
the Pit and Titan – The Fighting Fantasy World, as well in the ruins of the city of Carsepolis (upon which the
as guiding numerous FF titles to publication, it may harbour area of Port Blacksand now stands), aided by
come as a surprise to many to learn that by the time he a ghostly priest called Sargon. One of the players can
and Tamlyn sat down to develop Advanced Fighting even play as the hero from the Ian Livingstone-penned
Fantasy, it was Tamlyn who came up with the bulk of classic City of Thieves.

148 ◉ Right: Dungeoneer, by John Sibbick. (© John Sibbick, 1989 and 2014)
◉ 149
 image of a two-headed Troll city guard, while the
ever-dependable Russ Nicholson was called upon to
produce the stunning internal illustrations.

Where Dungeoneer had featured two pre-prepared

adventures, Blacksand! only had the one, A Shadow Over
Blacksand. What starts as a murder mystery tale ends
with a Brass Golem running amok through the City of
Thieves like some kind of clockwork King Kong. And
all of it has something to do with the mysterious, and
now corporeal, Sargon the Black and the Priests of
Elim.

Griffin, by John Sibbick. (© John Sibbick, 1989 and 2014)

Blacksand!
A sequel, focusing on
city-based adventures
rather than ones set
underground, followed
a year later in 1990
and was named,
appropriately enough,
Blacksand! (AFF2).

The book contained a

detailed map of Port
Blacksand that first
appeared in Titan – The The Golem Walks, by Russ Nicholson. (© Russ Nicholson,
Fighting Fantasy World. 1990 and 2014)
In Blacksand! Gascoigne
was able to expand on Blacksand! allowed one of the players to take on the
what he had begun in guise of another of the heroes from a previous FF
that previous title, adding detail to the City of Thieves, outing, in this case the eponymous thief-hero from
giving an insight into the individuals, the taverns, Graeme Davis’ Midnight Rogue. This way of reusing
businesses and temples of Port Blacksand, as well as its characters from existing FF books, really helped to tie
various guilds and nefarious cults. AFF into the on-going continuity of the Allansian-
based adventures.
John Sibbick returned for cover duties, painting an
150 ◉
Allansia wilderness aspect of the book. In A Darkness Over Kaad,
the band of heroes travels from glacial mountain passes
It would be another to tangled forests and stinking marshes, gathering
four years before fans an army to take on Sargon the Black and his Elimite
were treated to the hordes along the way.
third instalment of the
Advanced Fighting Sibbick and Nicholson returned for art duties, painting
Fantasy line, but it was the cover and producing the internal black and white
most definitely worth illustrations respectively.
the wait. Allansia (AFF3)
covered wilderness
adventures, taking in
everything from frozen
mountain peaks and
arid, baking deserts, to
fetid swamplands and
even the ocean’s depths.

Allansia seemed even

more like an appendix to Titan – The Fighting Fantasy
World than Blacksand! had, adding more detail to an
already richly developed world. It also continued to
develop the pantheon of supernatural beings which,
according to ancient Allansian legend, had created the
better known pantheon of gods that by now appeared
regularly throughout your average FF adventure.

In fact Allansia introduced a whole new set of rules

to the AFF system to deal with religion and player-
character priests, even covering the Animal Court first
touched upon in Titan – The Fighting Fantasy World.

But by far the biggest change, compared to the

previous AFF titles, was the introduction of rules for
conducting massed battles between whole armies (not
that these rules were ever effectively tested, according
to Gascoigne).

It was both these elements – religion and battling Sky Battle, by Russ Nicholson. (© Russ Nicholson, 1994 and
armies – that influenced the campaign that appeared 2014)
within the pages of Allansia just as much as the

Fighting Fantasy Fact 19

Tamlyn wrote the Advanced Fighting Fantasy

adventures on the beach during summer holidays
spent on the Isles of Scilly – a far cry from the
wilds of Allansia or the dark alleyways of Port
Blacksand – because that was the only time he
was able to clear his mind enough from work
concerns to write them.

◉ 151
Just as Dungeoneer had taken the hero from City of Thieves with Jamie Wallis at Greywood Publishing who had
and plonked him slap-bang in the middle of the AFF published some FF RPG stuff, who put me in touch
campaign setting, and Blacksand! had done the same with Steve Jackson. The rest was easy. Well, easy-ish!”
with the hero from Midnight Rogue, so Allansia allowed
for the heroes from the previous AFF adventures to AFF 2nd edition has also seen a former contributor
be incorporated into the campaign as well as the hero return to the franchise, cartographer Steve Luxton:
from Return to Firetop Mountain (FF50). “After almost twenty years away from FF/AFF I am
now back in the game and producing maps for Arion
And just as the FF books had lent something to the Games.”
AFF books, so the favour was to be later returned.
Jonathan Green’s second FF adventure, Knights of Doom The response from fans in recent years has been very
(FF56), features the Assassin’s Dagger spell that first encouraging.
appeared in Allansia, while Howl of the Werewolf (FF62)
“I think it is better than the original AFF series as
features the Silent Death Demon that first appeared
the gameplay is more balanced,” says FF fan Zsolt
in the opening scene of A Shadow Over Blacksand from
Matyusz. “In the original books a group of Heroes was
Blacksand!
just too strong for ordinary monsters. The catch here
The humour levels were raised in A Darkness Over Kaad, is that FF promotes single adventurers but in an RPG
perhaps to contrast with the very real darkness of parts you have a whole team, so the rules have to be adjusted
of the adventure, one laugh out loud scene being the accordingly.”
insult contest undertaken against the Tanglewood
Fellow fan Lin Liren agrees that Arion Games’ reissues,
Goblins.
“are more balanced than AFF First Edition, even if
After Puffin pulled the plug on FF a year later, in 1995, your heroes do start out humbly weak. With a bit of
fans thought that would be the end of AFF as well. tweaking, I do intend to use the system, though not the
But people who had discovered role-playing games via setting of Titan. The AFF second edition is just that
the system were not so ready to give up on Advanced flexible and elegant a system!”
Fighting Fantasy; people like Dave Holt, who during
Such positive reviews have enabled Bottley to release
the lean years of the later 1990s worked on a new
more and more content, as well as multi-player
edition of the AFF system, and Graham Bottley.
campaign versions of a couple of FF classics. “I have
recently finished the Crown of Kings campaign book…
Second Edition and I am planning more AFF releases.”

In 2011 Advanced Fighting So, for the time being at least, it would appear that
Fantasy Second Edition was Advanced Fighting Fantasy is just as alive and well as
released by Arion Games Fighting Fantasy itself.
(through games publishing
company Cubicle 7)
updating Steve Jackson’s
Fighting Fantasy – The
Introductory Role-Playing Game,
with the addition of some
new rules.

But how did Advanced

Fighting Fantasy – The Role-Playing Game end up being
revived seventeen years after Allansia had seen print?
“FF Gamebooks got me into RPGs nearly 30 years
ago,” explains Bottley. “I read and reread them and I
can honestly say much of my life has been influenced
by the knock-on effect of those early books… I had
republished the classic Maelstrom RPG and in an idle
moment asked my contact there about the rights for
AFF, which I had played a lot in earlier years. Puffin
no longer held the rights, but she put me in touch
Right: Allansia, by John Sibbick. (© John Sibbick, 1994 and 2014)
152 ◉
◉ 153
 Chapter Sixteen

A Decade of Firetop Mountain

Ten Years And Counting

H aving published as many as six Fighting Fantasy

gamebooks a year from 1984-1988, along with a
number of other titles that expanded the FF world in
The story has the diabolical sorcerer Zagor returning
from the dead, ready to wreak his terrible revenge
upon Allansia. The hero, a brave adventurer used to
one way or another, by the early 1990s releases were dealing with such troublesome mages, must enter the
down to three a year. This is still impressive for any labyrinthine tunnels beneath Firetop Mountain once
series of children’s books, but nothing like the level of more to face the resurrected villain in his lair.
success or popularity Fighting Fantasy had enjoyed in
its heyday. The book’s highly detailed cover, showing the various
degenerate denizens of Firetop Mountain, was created
“There was a certain cost involved in publishing a by fantasy art legend Les Edwards, while Martin
new FF book,” explains Jackson. “Author advances, McKenna provided the black and white internal
artwork, production work… You had to be sure the illustrations.
book would sell enough to break even at least. It was
becoming a close thing whether it was worthwhile to
publish more than 50 books.”

It was decided between the team at Puffin Books, Steve

Jackson and Ian Livingstone, that the publication rate
would be ramped up again, with the intention that the
release of the fiftieth gamebook, planned to coincide
with the tenth anniversary of the publication of The
Warlock of Firetop Mountain, would draw the series to
a close. With this in mind, Ian Livingstone set about
writing Return to Firetop Mountain, an adventure in which
the hero would return to the eponymous mountain
and encounter such legendary FF characters as Zagor
the Warlock and the Darkwood’s guardian Gereth
Yaztromo one last time.

Return to Firetop
Mountain
Return to Firetop Mountain, as
the title might suggest, had
the hero returning to that part
of Allansia where Fighting
Fantasy had begun all those
years ago, whilst adding
details to the area, especially
with the chance to visit the
town of Kaad. Chaos Beastman, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna,
1992 and 2014)

154 ◉ Right: Return to Firetop Mountain, by Les Edwards (© Les Edwards, 1992 and 2014)
◉ 155
 Fighting Fantasy Fact 20

Back in the days of Puffin’s guardianship of the FF brand, the art produced for the books
remained the property of the artists who created it. This meant that they could sell these images
again and again, in fact as many times as they liked. This is why Edwards’ cover for Return to
Firetop Mountain appeared as the cover of the fantasy anthology book Battle Magic, published in
1998 (edited by Martin H Greenberg and Larry Segriff).

Sometimes the artwork in question was generic enough for it not to matter. Take for example,
Edwards’ cover for Vault of the Vampire, or Martin McKenna’s cover image for Howl of the
Werewolf, which has appeared on everything from magazine covers and heavy metal gig posters
to a man’s back, in the form of a tattoo! But on other occasions the use of such images could
appear wholly out of place.

A case in point is the painting of Kharé that John Blanche produced for Titan – The Fighting
Fantasy World. This was later reused on the cover of a Games Workshop licenced product for the
Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play system The Dying of the Light, published by Hogshead Publishing.
In this instance the image was supposed to represent the free port of Marienburg, although the
name of the goddess Libra is still quite clearly visible daubed on the river wall.

Livingstone dedicated Return to Firetop Mountain to the

crew of his sailing boat, an Ultra 30 ten-man racing
dinghy, that was sponsored by Games Workshop and
which won The Daily Telegraph Ultra 30 Grand Prix UK
Championship in both 1990 and 1991, as well as the
Ultra 30 World Championships held in Falmouth in
1990.

“To all members of my Ultra 30 Race Team without whom

this book would not have been necessary!”

The ‘necessary’ part of the dedication gives an insight

into how much it cost to run the boat, which was
actually called ‘Games Workshop’ as the company was
the main sponsor. A stylised illustration of the boat
even appears inside the gamebook, as do the crew, the
names of the characters they represent being Fighting
Fantasy versions of their real names.

The Ultra 30 Team aboard ‘Games Workshop’. (© Ian

Livingstone, 1990 and 2014)

156 ◉
Livingstone makes a cameo appearance in one of the Most unusual is probably a near complete Clarecraft
illustrations as the Inquisitor, the guardian of the path figurine collection including the massive Titan
to the inner sanctum of Firetop Mountain. If the hero dragon.”
passes the Inquisitor’s trial he is invited to peruse the
guardian’s library. Five of the books in the Inquisitor’s
collection are named. One is Casket of Souls while
another is Eye of the Dragon.

Clarecraft
Clarecraft Designs Ltd are probably most well-known
for producing statuettes of characters from Sir Terry
Pratchett’s Discworld series, but back in 1992 the
company released a series of figurines based on famous
characters – or more accurately infamous characters,
in most cases – from the Fighting Fantasy books.

Thirteen were originally designed, but only twelve were

actually produced, after the Hydra from Crown of Kings Steven Dean with his Fighting Fantasy Statue Plaque. (©
was deemed to be too complex. They included Zagor Jonathan Green, 2014)
the Warlock, Titan the Dragon (inspired by Chris
Achilleos’s cover for Titan – The Fighting Fantasy World),
Zhandar Marr The Undead Sorcerer (from Creature of The Fighting Fantasy 10th Anniversary
Havoc, ‘ Zhandar’ being a misspelling of ‘Zharradan’), Yearbook
Shareella the Snow Witch, the Shape Changer (based
on Iain McCaig’s seminal cover for The Forest of Doom), At the same time as
a Doragar, Gillibran Lord of the Dwarfs, a Minotaur, Return to Firetop Mountain
the Hell Demon (from House of Hell), the Ghoul (from was unleashed upon the
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain), and the Skull Bearer world, another FF title
(that appeared in Return to Firetop Mountain). was released. Compiled
by Marc Gascoigne,
Possibly the most collectable piece is the Fighting The Fighting Fantasy 10th
Fantasy Statue Plaque. The plaque – which can, rather Anniversary Yearbook was
appropriately, also be used as a bookend – bears the presented in the form of
image of the traditional ‘FF’ Fighting Fantasy logo a diary, with pertinent
and the names ‘Steve Jackson’ and ‘Ian Livingstone’ dates in the Titan
surmounted by a dragon, tying it in to Puffin’s later calendar appearing
editions of the gamebook series. alongside those of the
real world for 1993, but
When the range of FF figurines was rereleased in 2004, given a Fighting Fantasy
with Wizard Books now publishing Fighting Fantasy twist. Each month’s entry began with an Out of the Pit-
gamebooks, the plaque and Titan the Dragon did not style profile of a classic monster from the series, which
make a reappearance, although Titan the Dragon was included the Shape Changer and the unforgettable
rereleased by Clarecraft but as part of another series Bloodbeast from Deathtrap Dungeon.
dedicated to dragons sculpted by Leigh Pamment.
There were also profiles of famous heroes and
At one stage, Yaztromo the wizard was listed as being infamous villains from the series, including Malbordus
part of the ‘Fighting Fantasy Collection’ even though it the Storm Child from Temple of Terror, and Zagor the
had never been part of the Clarecraft series. Warlock. And it was here the subject matter of the
unpublished fourth Fighting Fantasy novel Spiderbones
FF fan Steven Dean has made it his mission to collect
was alluded to.
these rare items, and his FF collection is extensive, to
say the least. “First edition, first printings of all the Since this was a Fighting Fantasy product, the
books from all the UK series. Same with all the US yearbook also contained a 200 paragraph adventure
releases. Loads of boxed sets and computer items. entitled Rogue Mage. The story is nothing special.

◉ 157
Attempting to steal from a merchant, having wasted introduction to his new publisher! Liz Attenborough
all your cash living the high life, you are captured the Head of Puffin sweetly presented me with a Puffin
and arrested. At that moment, a wizard from badge and made me an honorary Puffin. I was chuffed!
the Guild of Magicians rocks up and offers you I’ve still got my badge!”
a way out of your tricky predicament. Defeat the
rogue mage Galthazzeth in his dungeon lair and you “It was quite a party but a bit of a blur,” confesses
can be a free man once more. Livingstone. “I can’t remember much about it really
except that Steve and I were presented with two
Rogue Mage had actually appeared before, in issue #10 enormous hand-painted dragons cast in resin. And the
of Warlock magazine. Originally written by Graeme actor Patrick Mower turned up and caused quite a stir.
Davis (the author of Midnight Rogue), the yearbook He’d starred on TV and in many Carry On films and I
version included minor amendments made by knew him from charity golf days. That connection led
Gascoigne. to Parker Brothers using him as the voice actor in the
Legend of Zagor game.
When asked how he came to write Rogue Mage, Davis
replies, “I worked a few desks away from Warlock editor “Another Puffin Books party I do remember was one
Marc Gascoigne in the Games Workshop design where I met Roald Dahl. He had incredible presence
studio, and if memory serves he let me know that he and I couldn’t think of anything worthwhile to say. But
was short on adventures.” And how did he feel about the great man was brilliant and made me relax. He
it being reprinted in the anniversary yearbook? “I was told me he knew about Fighting Fantasy and said that
very pleased. The first I knew of it was when Marc told he thought interactive fiction was very powerful. He
me that Puffin was going to reprint it, but I got to go was surprised at how young I was (which I wasn’t). Alas
to a big tenth anniversary shindig in London and meet nobody took photos.”
a lot of other people whose names I knew from FF
books.”

Unusually, the anniversary books were displayed in

shops on point of sale bookstands. Previously many
authors had felt that the series wasn’t promoted well
enough by Puffin, who seemed happy to rely on its
existing fan base and word of mouth to keep people
buying the books.

Puffin Party
The tenth anniversary of Fighting Fantasy was also
marked by Puffin Books, with a party held at their The buzz surrounding the landmark ten year
offices in London. But what was it like for those who anniversary had an unexpected side effect on the FF
were there? series. “Return to Firetop Mountain sold better than the
last few titles,” explains Jackson, “so Puffin agreed to
“I remember Steve saying some very nice things in continue the series.”
his speech,” reminisces original commissioning editor
Geraldine Cooke, “and signing my copy [of The And so Gascoigne was tasked with organising a new
Warlock of Firetop Mountain]. I had just successfully won release schedule and finding writers who could come
the auction for a terrific book called Film Stars Don’t Die up with the goods – and fast! Enter Keith Martin
in Liverpool, and the author Peter Turner, who arrived (a.k.a. game designer, parapsychologist and ex-Games
at the same time as the party to meet me for the first Workshop employee Carl Sargent), who wrote two new
time, was hauled off by me to the party on the floor titles back to back, and new author Jonathan Green…
below. He didn’t seem to mind at all this rather odd

158 ◉ Right: Fighting Fantasy’s 10th Anniversary, by Terry Oakes. (© Terry Oakes, 1992 and 2014)
◉ 159
 Chapter Seventeen

Tales of Firetop Mountain (Part 3)

From Island of the Undead to Revenge of the Vampire

T he 10th anniversary and Zagor’s return over and

done with, Fighting Fantasy commenced its
second decade looking like there would be no stopping
the front of the next entry in the series, Night Dragon.
Another Keith Martin adventure, the hero makes a
hazardous sea crossing to discover what has become of
the series reaching one hundred published gamebook the wizards of Solani
titles in 2002. Island, who are supposed
to protect the coastline.

Island of the Undead Artwork was by the

redoubtable Russ
FF saw its tenth anniversary year out with the Nicholson and the cover
publication of Island of the Undead (FF51) – curiously art conjured up by
listed under its working title of Plague of the Undead in airbrushing wizard Terry
Oakes.

Left: Stonewight, by Russ

Nicholson. (© Russ Nicholson,
1992 and 2014)

Night Dragon
Hot on the heels of Island
of the Undead came Night
Dragon (FF52), written
once again by Keith
Martin, quite possibly the
hardest-working FF writer
at the time. A creature of
pure evil from before time
existed, the eponymous
Night Dragon is awakening
in its lair deep beneath the
savage Dragon Reaches,
absorbing powerful
magical energy that will
soon allow it to cross into
this world. Of course, if it
succeeds, all Allansia will be crushed beneath its claws!

The beginning of the book marked the third time

an adventurer was able to explore a part of Port
Blacksand, before heading off into uncharted territory.

160 ◉ Right: Revenge of the Vampire, by Les Edwards. (© Les Edwards, 1995 and 2014)
◉ 161
The adventure also featured a great deal of additional confident with since we were taught to use it at art
rules, and whole sections which should probably have college. Gouache allows wet blending and reworking
been broken up into multiple additional references, on the picture surface since the paint remains soluble
had there been greater flexibility at the time regarding even after drying. The colours aren’t as intense as
the 400 reference page count. acrylics but can be bolstered by mixing with inks. I was
pretty happy with the finished result but by the time
Even though it was the fifty-second entry in the series, Knights of Doom came around I was ready to move on to
Night Dragon still marked another first. It was the first acrylics.”
time Tony Hough had produced a fully painted cover
for a Fighting Fantasy gamebook, and not just internal
pen and ink illustrations.

Night Dragon, by Tony Hough. (© Tony Hough, 1993 and

2014)

Spellbreaker
Iron Serpents, by Tony Hough. (© Tony Hough, 1993 and June 1993 saw the
2014) publication of the first
book by an author who,
“I had done lots of black and white work for both
twenty years on, remains
Puffin and Games Workshop,” explains Hough, “but
the newest writer on the
hadn’t been asked for colour work by anyone. So I took
series. Spellbreaker (FF53) was
some colour samples to a Fighting Fantasy function at
written by Jonathan Green
Puffin and waved them at the art editor over a couple
when he was still studying at
of sherries and on the strength of that he agreed I
university.
could do the cover of Night Dragon... a totally black
dragon in a dark cave! Not an easy gig! The story begins with the
hero inadvertently enabling
“In my private pieces I had been experimenting with
Nazek (another Warlock)
acrylics for a while but for my first commissioned cover
to steal the Black Grimoire
I decided to work in gouache, a medium I was more

162 ◉
from its guardians at Rassin Abbey in the Old World Legend of Zagor
kingdom of Ruddlestone. To make amends, the
hero sets off to track the villain down and stop him The last gamebook
from opening the legendary Casket of Shadows, and release of 1993 was
releasing the evil imprisoned within it. Ian Livingstone’s Legend
of Zagor (FF54), which
Art – both exterior and interior – was provided by Alan tied in directly with the
Langford. It was the first and last time that Langford release of the board
painted a cover for the series, despite having illustrated game of the same
five FF adventures before Spellbreaker. name, published by
Parker Brothers.
“They just asked me to do it,” says Langford, “which
was rather nice, because you get paid rather more for The reader plays the
cover art than you do for your inside work.” The image book as one of four
was produced using predominantly watercolours. “I different heroes – Anvar
used a little bit of permanent white gouache as well, the Barbarian, Braxus
which is my normal technique for watercolour.” the Warrior, Stubble the
Dwarf or Sallazar the
Wizard – each having
his own strengths and weaknesses.

The Devilworm, by Alan Langford. (© Alan Langford, 1993

and 2014) Mungus, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna, 1993
and 2014)
However, it was John Sibbick’s cover image of a
dragon attacking a band of adventurers, determined
to steal its treasure hoard that appeared on the front of
Dungeoneer that inspired Green to write Spellbreaker in the
first place.
◉ 163
 Fighting Fantasy Fact 21

For many years, the gamebook version of Legend of Zagor was the
subject of a rumour regarding the authorship of the adventure.
Livingstone is credited with writing the book but the adventure
uses elements more common to those written by the prolific Keith
Martin. In fact, many of the new Unique Rules featured within
(Test Your Spot Skill for example) appear in Keith Martin’s other
gamebooks such as Island of the Undead and later, Revenge of the
Vampire.

Keith Martin, of course, was a pen name of parapsychologist and

game designer Carl Sargent who wrote The Zagor Chronicles, which
connect both directly and indirectly with not only Legend of Zagor
but also Casket of Souls.

So did Ian Livingstone really write the gamebook version of the

board game? “It’s about time somebody asked me that! Yes, Carl
Sargent did write the gamebook version of Legend of Zagor. I was
too busy working on the game to find time to write it myself, but
I was very aware that Parker Brothers wanted the gamebook to
be published at the same time as the game to benefit from cross-
promotion at launch. So I commissioned Carl in December 1992
to write the book based on the characters and settings I’d created
for the game. I asked him to stay as close as possible to the game
narrative, ensuring the four main games characters were playable
in the book. Carl was brilliant and delivered the manuscript in two
months. The book and game launch went ahead as planned. In
hindsight it should have been credited as an ‘Ian Livingstone and
Carl Sargent’ book, but nobody in marketing liked that idea at
the time. If it is ever published again, I will make sure that Carl is
correctly credited.”

“I think of myself as the Legend of Zagor warrior the four heroes, also originally produced for the boxed
Braxus,” admits FF fan James Aukett. “In his game.
description at the beginning, it is centrally focused on
his versatility and that was a thoughtful moment for me Legend of Zagor is the only FF gamebook to be set
when I read that paragraph. I am always aiming to be in the world of Amarillia, the same setting as Ian
versatile in life and learn to become adept at whatever Livingstone’s Casket of Souls puzzle quest book,
challenges I may come across, like Braxus himself.” although the hero does briefly communicate with
Yaztromo the wizard, safe in his tower at the edge of
The cover reused the artwork Jim Burns’ created for Darkwood Forest in Allansia, at the beginning of the
the boxed game, and Martin McKenna’s sketches of book.

164 ◉
Deathmoor
Having been away Fighting Fantasy Fact 22
from Fighting Fantasy
for some years, Robin
Two of the characters the hero can meet in
Waterfield returned in
Arion during the course of Deathmoor are a
the 1990s with Deathmoor
pair of plumbers named Oiram and Igiul.
(FF55). In the book
If you spell the names backwards you get
the hero has to rescue
Mario and Luigi, of Nintendo games fame.
the Princess Telessa of
Arion who had been
kidnapped by Arachnos
the ‘Life-Stealer’, from Once more Russ Nicholson was on art duties inside,
the Deathmoor of the with the ever dependable Terry Oakes producing the
title. cover, although the art department’s reproduction of
the image allows you to see the canvas it was painted
on quite clearly.

Knights of Doom
Having had his first FF
adventure published in
1993, Green returned
a year later with an
adventure that was even
harder than the now
infamous Spellbreaker.
Why the reason for
such complexity?
Quite simply Green
was trying to cheat the
cheaters.

As Green confessed to
Fighting Fantazine back
in 2010, “I’ve actually
tried to tone that sort
of thing down. At the end of the day I feel that I’m
in the entertainment business. When people sit down
to read one of my books I want them to put the book
down half an hour, an hour, two hours later and feel
that they’ve enjoyed the time they’ve spent reading, or
in the case of Fighting Fantasy, playing it.

“If people want to cheat, and still get a buzz from the
imaginative encounters and dramatic set pieces, then
that’s up to them. If they want to play the adventure
fairly, then I feel that I should be just as fair in how I set
out the information they need to know.”

Ghoul, by Russ Nicholson. (© Russ Nicholson, 1994 and Knights of Doom (FF56) cast the hero in the role of a
2014) mystical Templar Knight, not unlike the Demon-
Stalker of Bambra and Hand’s Dead of Night, only this
time he was a servant of the warrior god Telak. The

◉ 165
hero’s quest is to destroy the undead sorcerer Belgaroth “Warlock,” the author replies. “Simple as that. Oh and
and his order of Chaos Knights. a desire to get back to the Arabian setting and do it in
a more mysterious way,
Knights of Doom was only the second time the word probably inspired by
‘Doom’ was used in a Fighting Fantasy gamebook Robert Irwin’s Arabian
title, and it was also only the second time Tony Nightmare… I should
Hough produced both internals and the cover for an point out that I learned
adventure. from my mistake
with The Crimson Tide,
and deliberately built in
multiple victory paths,
and different levels of
victory.”

During the course of

the adventure, the hero
meets many familiar
Fighting Fantasy
monsters, which are
instantly recognizable
to the regular FF reader, but not to the Magehunter
himself. So we have the Golden Lion-Lord (really a
Dracon), a Bird of Prodigious Size (a Roc), the Demon
of the Ring (a Genie), and the Dweller Below (actually
a Dark Elf).

Chaos Steed, by Tony Hough. (© Tony Hough, 1994 and

2014)

Magehunter
Paul Mason returned in 1995 with another adventure
set in and around the southern Allansian city of
Kallamehr. The hero of Magehunter (FF57) is the
Magehunter himself who comes from an alternate
fantasy world a little different from the more familiar
Titan. Having been transported to Titan by foul
sorcery, the hero must hunt down and slay the wizard
Mencius before returning to his own alternate
dimension.

So what was Mason’s inspiration for writing the Genie, by Russ Nicholson. (© Russ Nicholson, 1995 and
adventure? 2014)

166 ◉
Magehunter sported a cover by Ian Miller at his best
(a view not shared by author Paul Mason), while the
inside art was produced by the seemingly indefatigable
Russ Nicholson.

Mason: “There are some artists I really like, whose

best work may not be for FF – Ian Miller, for example,
who I think is wonderful, but whose Magehunter cover
wasn’t as dynamic as my wife’s draft. I very much liked
John Blanche as a person. I think I’ll have to plump for
Russ Nicholson, who may not be the most technically
accomplished of the FF artists, but whose style I
particularly like.”

Revenge of the Vampire

Revenge of the Vampire
(FF58) was Keith
Martin’s seventh
contribution to the
Fighting Fantasy
gamebook series.
Although Vault of the
Vampire had appeared
only six years before,
it had proved to be an
instant classic – rather
like the original source
material that had
spawned it. So popular
was it, in fact, that Puffin
commissioned a sequel
– only the fourth time in the series’ run, after Trial of
Champions, Return to Firetop Mountain and Legend of Zagor.

In the story, Count Reiner Heydrich returns from the Demon Steed, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna,
dead once more to stalk the Old World in search of 1993 and 2014)
fresh blood and new slaves. It is up to the hero (who is
not the same hero as featured in Vault of the Vampire) to
put an end to him once and for all. Revenge of the Vampire was originally going to be
called Curse of the Vampire, until a proposal for a
As well as being written by Keith Martin, author of
new gamebook arrived on consultant editor Marc
Vault of the Vampire, once again Les Edwards painted the
Gascoigne’s desk for a book called Curse of the
stunning cover image while Martin McKenna came up
Mummy…
trumps with the internals.

◉ 167
 Chapter Eighteen

The Young Pretender of Firetop Mountain

The Adventures of Goldhawk

B y 1995, despite Puffin publishing three new

Fighting Fantasy gamebooks a year since the tenth
anniversary and the resulting resurgence of interest
to younger children. “Puffin wanted to reach a younger
audience which I attempted to do with the Goldhawk
series. I did not enjoy writing them as much as Fighting
in the series, little did fans know it at the time, but Fantasy which was a process of self-indulgence, writing
Fighting Fantasy was on its last legs. for myself rather than trying to guess what a very
young reader might want to read.”
Sales were down – although still competitive compared
to other kids’ books, just not at the heady heights To ensure the books appealed to younger readers,
they had once enjoyed – and there was an underlying a different cover artist was employed, one Simon
concern at Penguin that what had started out as a Dewey. However, once again, the original FF illustrator
series for children had grown up over the intervening provided the internal illustrations, although this time
decade, leaving its target readership behind. Russ Nicholson was allowed to express himself in
colour as well!
Rather than alienate those teenagers and gamers who
loved the books and were continuing to pick them up The Adventures of Goldhawk consist of four books in
from their local branch of WHSmith or Waterstones, total – Darkmoon’s Curse, The Demon Spider, Mudworm
the editorial team at Puffin decided to bring out a new Swamp, and Ghost Road. The over-arching plot of the
line intended to appeal to younger readers and grab a adventures had the hero being magically transported
new market share while they were at it. to the world of Karazan and made to look like Prince
Goldhawk, before setting about thwarting the evil
wizard Darkmoon’s plans. During all of this he is
First Fighting Fantasy accompanied on his quest by Orlando, a once-Dwarf
now turned tin pig, and Edge, a talking sword.
Sometimes referred to as First Fighting Fantasy
Adventures, it was Ian Livingstone who was tasked The Adventures of Goldhawk featured a pared down,
with writing the books that, it was hoped, would appeal simplified version of the Fighting Fantasy system in

168 ◉ Right: Mudworm, by Russ Nicholson. (© Russ Nicholson, 1995 and 2014)
◉ 169
which there was only one attribute – SKILL – which Livingstone denied themselves the chance to cash in on
was used both to keep track of the hero’s health and to a host of potential merchandising.
resolve combat with the various monsters that
inhabited the adventures. It was also necessary to keep Livingstone: “The appeal of the reader being the hero
a track of how much gold the hero was carrying, as in in Fighting Fantasy is that the reader is the hero! It is
many other FF adventures. more exciting to assume the adventuring role yourself
rather than directing a third person character. The
To help make them downside is the merchandising opportunities are
appeal to their intended reduced as there are no central characters. However,
audience, the books the world of Fighting Fantasy is rich in having been
were in a larger format developed over such a long period of time. There are
than your typical plenty of characters, creatures and places that resonate
Fighting Fantasy fare, with our readers. Characters like Zagor, Yaztromo,
considerably shorter, Balthus Dire, Nicodemus, Baron Sukumvit, Lord
and in full-colour Azzur and Throm. Creatures such as the Bloodbeast,
throughout. Another Shape Changer and Ganjees. Places like Firetop
difference between First Mountain, Darkwood Forest, Port Blacksand, Fang,
Fighting Fantasy and the Trolltooth Pass and Kakhabad. I think there is plenty
main range was that The of future potential for merchandise, especially now
Adventures of Goldhawk with the opportunities available via Kickstarter.com.”
formed one on-going
storyline. While four Goldhawk adventures were published in
the UK, only the first two in the series were given a US
Had the new books been release. And while realistic covers appeared on the UK
more successful, this change in narrative structure and editions, Nicholson himself provided the artwork for
the characterization of the hero could have led to new the American covers.
marketing opportunities for Jackson and Livingstone,
something they had denied themselves with the main Despite releasing four titles within a space of only a
FF line. By making the reader of the Fighting Fantasy few months, The Adventures of Goldhawk did not make
books the hero, without even specifying the hero’s the big impact Puffin was hoping for and did nothing
gender, rather than having the reader play the part to build the readership of Fighting Fantasy. However,
of a specific named character (as the Lone Wolf or with hindsight, many now believe that the fate of the
Way of the Tiger books did, or in the way that video Fighting Fantasy franchise had already been decided.
game franchises have in recent years), Jackson and

170 ◉ Right: Stone Giant, by Russ Nicholson. (© Russ Nicholson, 1995 and 2014)
◉ 171
 Chapter Nineteen

The Fall of Firetop Mountain

Puffin Pulls the Plug

U pon leaving university in the summer of 1994,

with two titles already under his belt, Jonathan
Green was commissioned to write his third Fighting
It wasn’t only the cover of Curse of the Mummy that
referenced one of Tom Baker’s most memorable
Doctor Who stories. An illustration showing multiple
Fantasy gamebook. mummies included, amongst their number, one of the
servitor robots from the same serial.

Curse of the Mummy

Curse of the Mummy
(FF59) sees the hero
helping Indiana Jones
impersonator Jerran
Farr unearth an ancient
tomb in the Desert of
Skulls – a tomb that just
so happens to belong
to Akharis, legendary
ruler from a previous
age, whose followers are
attempting to return to
life. If they succeed, all
Allansia will suffer the
effects of the Mummy’s
curse.

Amazingly, Curse of the Mummy was the first time that

artist Martin McKenna was given solo responsibility
for the cover art for a Fighting Fantasy gamebook.

Green had been keen to have McKenna illustrate one

of his FF adventures ever since being commissioned
to write his first book, Spellbreaker. Despite turning in a
fantastic cover image (that was in part an homage to
the Doctor Who story Pyramids of Mars) unfortunately
the internals were rushed, and were not all they might
have been.

McKenna: “I remember Curse was done in next to no

time because time had run out, and I was reduced to Death Spider, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna,
desperately scribbling in felt tip, and weeping.” 1995 and 2014)

172 ◉ Right: Curse of the Mummy, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna, 1995 and 2014)
◉ 173
FF60 and beyond to do on the rest of the series to bring it into line with
Puffin’s new vision for Fighting Fantasy.
With Curse of the Mummy in the hands of the editors at
Puffin Books, Green began discussing plans for a fourth Bloodbones was finally commissioned in January 1996,
title with series consultant editor Marc Gascoigne. with an intended publication date of October or
Gascoigne was planning on writing the sixtieth book November that same year. The book was written and
in the series himself but he told Green that the slot for artist Mike Posen commissioned to produce both the
book FF61 was available. internal illustrations and the painted cover (although
Martin McKenna had been offered the gig first, but
Green set about working up a proposal for a Norse- had to turn it down due to other work commitments at
inspired Fighting Fantasy adventure but, despite the time).
submitting a third of the book and a detailed plan for
the rest for consideration, Gascoigne preferred an idea However, 1996 came and went with still no sign of
Green had previously mentioned concerning voodoo Bloodbones seeing print. “It had now been a while since
zombie pirates. FF59 had come out and there was still no sign of a
publication date for Bloodbones either,” explains Green.
So, putting the proposal for Saga of the Stormchaser “Every so often I would hear from Puffin only for them
to one side, Green set to work developing this new to tell me once again that they were postponing the
gamebook under the working title Pirates of the Black relaunch of the series. I think the last date I was given
Skull. This proposal passed the submissions process and for Bloodbones being published was March 1998 but, of
was commissioned by Puffin, but underwent a change course, it never happened. At least not until Wizard
of name to become Bloodbones. Books took over the licence to publish Fighting Fantasy
gamebooks.”
It had now been some time since Green had written
Curse of the Mummy and in that time, Puffin Books had Finally, in 1997, Green was informed by Puffin Books
been considering how best to proceed with the series. that his fourth gamebook would not be published, as
Green began to suspect that something was wrong he had already suspected by then anyway, meaning
when the release of Curse of the Mummy was delayed. that the range concluded with his previous book. Had
Richard Scrivener was commissioning editor on the the Mummy’s Curse struck again?
range at the time.

“Richard wrote to me in August 1995 explaining that The End of an Era

the delay in commissioning me [to write Bloodbones]
was due to Puffin looking at ways of revamping the Having enjoyed very good sales throughout the
entire series,” says Green. “The thrust of this was 1980s, Fighting Fantasy ran into trouble in the early
the inclusion of some kind of electronic dice in a 1990s, along with the rest of the role-playing industry,
fold-over cover. There was also talk of improving the as video games became more and more sophisticated
paper quality and of having full-colour illustrations and more and more prevalent in homes, not just in the
throughout. In the end the electronic dice idea didn’t UK but right around the world.
prove to be viable but other changes still needed to be
“There were several attempts to make FF books into
finalised.”
games but they did not translate and of course the old
Puffin Books was considering a shake-up of the text adventures such as The Philosopher’s Stone came out
range in the hope of winning back a younger reading about the time FF appeared,” FF author Luke Sharp
audience for the series. The plan that was finally points out. “Initially I did not really think computer
settled upon was to commission all future titles at only games captured the all-enveloping feel of the FF
300 paragraphs rather than the usual 400, and for books until stuff like Doom appeared on fast PCs. They
Gascoigne to go through the entire back catalogue had the blood pounding fear factor of the books.
and edit all of the books to make them only 300 The claustrophobic feel of Doom reminded me of my
paragraphs long as well. very own Chasms of Malice. Then as the graphics got
better and faster, video games took off in their own
The first title to follow this new format was to be direction.”
Bloodbones, which was now scheduled to be number
60 in the series, Gascoigne’s own Night of the Creature Author Paul Mason believes the reason for the series’
having been delayed due to the work he would have cancellation was money: “It wasn’t bringing in enough

174 ◉
profit to counteract the fundamental distaste with Fighting Fantasy come to an end, although they were
which the posh types who ran Puffin viewed it. I don’t not entirely surprised either. “Well, it wasn’t just FF
think many Puffin staff had ever really liked FF very that died,” says gamebook author Jamie Thomson.
much. They never made much effort to promote the “The whole Gamebook thing just faded away ... the
series... In a way FF was a victim of its own success. market was dead.”
Its early sales were so spectacular that when it settled
down it seemed to be doing so badly in comparison
that it could be axed with relative impunity.” The Lost Treasure of the Pirates of the Black
Skull
It is still not entirely clear at what point Puffin finally
decided to pull the plug on the series, but when the For a long time Bloodbones was regarded as the long-
company did, the rights to the series reverted to Steve lost Fighting Fantasy book, but little was actually
Jackson and Ian Livingstone. “In 1999 they formally known about the book, as far as fans and the general
advised us that FF was being dropped from the back public were concerned. Rumours varied widely,
catalogue and we could have our copyrights back,” including one which claimed that the book had been
recalls Jackson. written by FF scribe Paul Mason. And that was how
things stayed until Green himself got online for the
It was a sad day when we heard the news,” says first time and discovered all the random rumours that
Livingstone. “We’d had an amazing run... Millions had been spread about the book in the intervening five
of copies had been sold and we’d enjoyed topping years.
the Children’s Bestsellers’ Charts for years. We never
wanted it to end, but the incredible sales we had In 2001, Green wrote a letter to Fighting
enjoyed during the 1980s were simply not sustainable. Fantasy fan John Stock regarding the true story of the
However, I think it was the wrong decision to stop unpublished Bloodbones, how it had been commissioned
publishing the books. The market for them might to be only 300 paragraphs long and how it was to be
have reduced but there was still a market for them. the first in a revamped Fighting Fantasy series designed
Gallimard proved that in France.” to appeal to a younger audience.

Of the 17 million Fighting Fantasy gamebooks sold As far as Green and everyone else was concerned at
worldwide, three million were in France. the time that was the end of that. The Fighting Fantasy
series was dead and buried. But Bloodbones wasn’t the
Many of the series’ authors were disappointed to see only lost Fighting Fantasy gamebook…

Fighting Fantasy Fact 23

Online book retailer Amazon continued to advertise

Bloodbones as being available to order for a number of
years after the cancellation of the FF series by Puffin,
even listing it as having been published in July 1999.
This listing remains in place to this day, with one used
copy once being offered for purchase for the princely,
Deathtrap Dungeon competition-winning sum of
£1,192.73!

◉ 175
 Chapter Twenty

Lost Tales of Firetop Mountain

The Gamebooks That Never Were

W ith the Fighting Fantasy range really starting to

take off in the mid-1980s, Puffin Books took to
promoting forthcoming titles inside the pages of newly
The Rings of Kether appears in the #12 slot, with Lord
of Shadow Keep listed as #13, Freeway Fighter at #14,
and the intriguingly titled Dragon Master at #15. Space
published adventures. However, because of the lead Assassin, which eventually saw print as the twelfth
times involved in producing a book, sometimes these Fighting Fantasy adventure, was originally simply
titles got bumped, were changed, or in some cases going to be called Assassin. Freeway Fighter became
never saw print at all. the thirteenth title, while Dragon Master was actually
released in the number fourteen slot, only now under
These ‘missing’ Fighting Fantasy adventures enjoyed the title of Temple of Terror.
something of a cult status and it wasn’t until the age of
the Internet that many ever discovered what became of Issue #5 of Warlock magazine had Appointment with
these long lost titles. F.E.A.R. (FF17) and Rebel Planet (FF18) listed as
Superheroes and The Aliens of Arcadion respectively. The
adventure that would eventually be known as Crypt of
What’s in a name? the Sorcerer had two alternative working titles during its
gestation, The Howling Tunnels and the more sinister
Many Fighting Fantasy fans may well be surprised
sounding Crypt of the Necromancer. It was only at the last
to learn just how many of the books underwent a
minute that ‘Necromancer’ was changed to ‘Sorcerer’.
change of name before seeing print. For example,
an advertisement appeared in the back of the first At the time, Puffin Books did not believe that a
edition of The Seven Serpents (S3) listing a number of book could be marketed for children with the word
forthcoming Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. ‘Necromancer’ in the title. But times change and in
2010 Night of the Necromancer was published, intended to
appeal to children as much as it was to forty year-old
FF fans riding the wave of nostalgia that the series was
enjoying in the run up to the 30th anniversary.

Strangely, Island of the Undead (FF51) was listed in Night

Dragon (FF52) – the book that came after it in the series
– as Plague of the Undead, its original working title, while
Revenge of the Vampire (FF58) was originally going to be
called Curse of the Vampire.

The legendary ‘lost’ FF gamebook Bloodbones (FF61),

was originally pitched to Puffin under the title Pirates
of the Black Skull. Eye of the Storm became Stormslayer
(FF63) after the title Eye of the Storm was deemed to be
too close to Eye of the Dragon (FF60), although more
than thirty alternative suggestions were banded about
between Green, Jackson, Livingstone, and Wizard
Books before the name Stormslayer was finally settled
upon.

176 ◉ Right: Bloodbones, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna, 2006 and 2014)
◉ 177
Blood of the Zombies (FF65) did not exactly have a Puffin for the FF range since 1988. In fact, before The
different working title – it had two working titles. Keep of the Lich-Lord was accepted for publication they
Zombie blood is a vital element of the plot, while submitted six other ideas that were all rejected for
the adventure takes place in a Romanian castle. one reason or another. These were, Dinosaurs of Death,
Livingstone did not know whether to call the adventure Knights of Renown, Masters of Combat, The Mists of Horror,
Blood of the Zombies or Escape From Zombie Castle, and so, Curse of the God Kings, and The Thief of Arantis.
for the first time ever in the history of Fighting Fantasy
gamebooks, he let the fans decide, with the vote being
cast via social media. Dinosaurs of Death
But of course adventures that underwent a change of Dinosaurs of Death was set after the lifting of the siege
name are one thing. The adventures that fans really of Vymorna (which features in Marc Gascoigne’s
want to know about, and are still intrigued by to this Battleblade Warrior). The hero is summoned to the palace
day, are those that were never to join the Fighting by Queen Perriel and told that the Lizardmen of Silur
Fantasy stable, for one reason or another. For a while Cha have prepared an army of dinosaur cavalry to
– almost ten years, in fact – Bloodbones (FF61) was the make one last, desperate assault on the city. And so the
most notorious of these, until it eventually saw print hero heads behind enemy lines to the edge of the Plain
in 2006. But there are still a number of titles that have of Bones, with the intention of plunging the dinosaurs
never seen print and two that strangely did, but not and their Lizardmen masters into a volcanic fault deep
as Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. One of them was the beneath the earth.
aforementioned Lord of Shadow Keep.
The book was to feature an aerial joust between the
hero and a Lizardman champion, utilising rules that
Lord of Shadow Keep would allow for combat in three dimensions, in which
altitude would be a factor that would need to be
“Lord of Shadow Keep was originally planned as the carefully considered. Morris also planned on referring
eleventh or twelfth in the FF series,” Dave Morris to the dinosaurs by more literal names, as opposed to
explains, “and I was going to write it with Oliver correct paleontological ones, such as ‘Thunder Lizard’
Johnson. It was even advertised in the back of the or ‘Three-Horn Mask’.
Sorcery! books. Then Oliver decided to put it in the
Golden Dragon series instead. Which would have been
fine, except that he didn’t tell Philippa Dickinson, who
was in charge of FF then.”

“Dave and I were doing freelance work for Games

Workshop and contributing to White Dwarf at the
time,” explains Johnson. “I guess I was aware of other
Choose Your Own franchises, and I actually ended up
re-editing the whole Tunnels and Trolls line as one of my
first jobs in publishing. Steve and Ian approached us to
write in the FF series but Dave and I thought we’d go it
alone, hence Golden Dragon.”

The Lord of Shadow Keep (the title now including the

definite article in the title) was published in 1985 by the
Dragon imprint of Grafton Books, written solely by
Oliver Johnson, and illustrated by renowned Fighting
Fantasy cartographer Leo Hartas.

Masters of Mayhem
As every Fighting Fantasy fan knows, Dave Morris
and Jamie Thomson collaborated on The Keep of the
Tyrannosaurus Rex vs Triceratops, by Alan Langford. (© Alan
Lich-Lord (FF43). But maybe not every fan knows that
Langford, 1988 and 2014)
Morris and Thomson had been submitting ideas to

178 ◉
Knights of Renown inn, his clothes in tatters and mumbling a few cryptic
remarks about ‘the Faerie King’ and ‘the Unseelie
Rather than being set on the world of Titan, Knights Court’ before collapsing. The next day, with the
of Renown was set in Arthurian Britain, with the hero terrified locals preparing to sacrifice the innkeeper’s
being a young knight. The hero’s quest was to best a daughter to the Old Gods in order to close the portal
giant, the Grey Knight of the Wastes, and win a place to the magical Otherworld and keep the spiteful fays
for himself at King Arthur’s Round Table. Along at bay, the hero offers to close it himself using his own
the way he would meet such familiar characters as magical powers.
Lancelot, Gawain, Guinevere and Mordred.
As a consequence, throughout the adventure, the hero
The gamebook was actually pitched as both a Fighting would need to be careful to conserve his magic ready
Fantasy adventure and, potentially, the first in a new for a no holds barred battle with the Faerie King.
series of gamebooks. If it had become an FF adventure
the knightly hero would have had a variety of new
abilities including Renown, Chivalry, Jousting and Curse of the God Kings
Piety.
The idea behind Curse of the God Kings was based on an
epic role-playing campaign that Morris and Thomson
Masters of Combat had once undertaken with Oliver Johnson and Mark
Smith. It was to begin with the hero being tasked with
Master of Combat made the hero one of the brothers at a a new mission by his old friend the wizard Aramanthis,
martial arts monastery in the mysterious quasi-Oriental to travel to Titan’s uncharted south-west continent and
land of Hachiman. One evening, the monastery stop Chargan the Golden from using the Language of
funeral bells are rung to announce the death of the the Gods to un-make the world.
old abbot. A new abbot must be appointed. It is the
tradition of the order, to which the hero belongs, that Morris and Thomson told their editors at Puffin that
this decision will be determined by a series of martial the adventure had the potential to be the toughest
contests. The hero decides to join the best warriors in Fighting Fantasy gamebook ever written, as the hero
the monastery in the contests to prevent a rival from explored a land that was unlike anywhere else on
overturning the noble virtues the order stands for. Titan. A cunning twist in the game’s design was to
have Chargan lose his memory and join the hero’s
The combat system, which would have been the main expedition, believing himself to be a travelling priest.
feature of the book, would allow the hero to choose It would only have been as they made their way inland
from a range of martial styles and develop these for use towards the ruins of the lost civilisation of Kamada
in battle. The various challenges he would face would Varrentis that Chargan would remember who he was
not be limited to physical ones, but would involve tests and begin to exert his reality-warping powers.
of initiative, strategic thinking and courage.
However, Puffin preferred the duo’s proposal for The
Keep of the Lich-Lord and so that was what they got
The Mists of Horror instead.

The Mists of Horror was to be set in Ruddlestone in

the Old World, and cast the hero in the role of a The Thief of Arantis
journeyman-sorcerer travelling to a new College of
Magic where he intends to continue his studies. Having The Thief of Arantis (also known as The Best Thief
ridden ahead of his retinue to arrange lodging at an in Arantis) was to have been Dave Morris’s first solo
inn further along the road, the hero returns to the contribution to the FF series. In the adventure, whilst
party only to find himself riding into a thick fog. There visiting the port of Arantis, the hero hears of an object
is no sign of his servants, nor the books and travelling- of priceless value – the egg of the Roc, a mythical
chest being carried by the mules travelling with them. bird of gigantic proportions. This One Thousand And
The hero returns to the inn, hoping his servants will One Nights-inspired tale included everything from
turn up there in due course, but as night falls there is shipwrecks to genies and even the possibility of the
still no sign of them. hero ending up as Vizier to the Sultan.

As the clock is about to strike midnight the miller Despite having been submitted to Puffin Books in
from the next village down the road stumbles into the 1989 and rejected, the book eventually saw print in

◉ 179
1994, after a fashion, relocated to the Baghdad of the going to fall into two unequal parts. The opening
Arabian Nights, and now entitled Twist of Fate, one section would be a journey through the desert,
of the Virtual Reality Gamebooks series that Morris braving various hazards, and the second would be the
wrote with Mark Smith. The book was reprinted in exploration of a lost city full of mummies (this was four
2013 now under the title Once Upon a Time in Arabia, as years before Curse of the Mummy), undead, djinn, and
part of the Critical IF Gamebooks series. so on. The final encounter would be with a mummy
liche-priest – something like a Warhammer Tomb
King, although I don’t think Games Workshop had
Outlaws of Kaan developed the Tomb Kings army at that time.
In the summer of 1990 a then as yet unpublished “The outline got a lukewarm reception from Marc
writer set about preparing a submission for the [Gascoigne], and I think there were two reasons for this.
Fighting Fantasy series. Jonathan Green was eighteen Firstly, my 100 sample entries were all from the journey
years old at the time and the name of his submission section (I was very rigid in those days about doing
was Outlaws of Kaan. Set in north-western Allansia, the things in order) so they did not really show off what
plot of this adventure had the hero heading into the I planned to do with the heart of the book. Secondly,
forests north of the town of Kaan to sort out a band of of course, Puffin was planning to wind up the series
evil bandits and their sorcerous leader. at #50, which was to be published in July 1992. By
the middle of 1991 when I sent the proposal, they
Sharp-eyed fans (especially those who have read Return
probably had more proposals in house than they had
to Firetop Mountain or the third Advanced Fighting
open slots.”
Fantasy volume Allansia) will already be thinking,
“Kaan? But there’s no such place in Allansia. Now
Kaad – well that’s a different matter.” The End of the Line
This confusion over the name of the town came from When Puffin pulled the plug on the Fighting Fantasy
Green’s reading of Dave Andrews’ map in Out of the line, there were a number of gamebooks already in
Pit, although when he submitted the idea (not once, but development, which ended up being canned. With the
twice) this error in naming was never raised. rise of the Internet, several gamebook authors have
since come forward to talk about the projects that they
Outlaws of Kaan did not make it through Fighting
were in the process of planning when the series was
Fantasy’s rigorous gamebook selection process, but
cancelled.
the best bits were recycled in Green’s future published
FF adventures. The noble outlaw Lord ‘Filthy’ Lucre
became Spellbreaker’s ‘The Mask’ (while the name was Night of the Creature
reused fourteen years later during the writing of Howl
of the Werewolf ), and the Nightmare-riding nemesis The book that was supposed to follow Jonathan
became Belgaroth the Sorcerer, the Big Bad at the end Green’s Curse of the Mummy (FF59) was called Night of
of Knights of Doom. the Creature and was to have been FF consultant editor
Marc Gascoigne’s second contribution to the standard
FF line.
Desert of Desolation
The plot (as Gascoigne once outlined it to Green)
“I started writing in about 1991,” explains Graeme involved the hero being employed to stop the villain
Davis. “The previous October I had left Games of the piece from bringing his monstrous creation to
Workshop, moved from Britain to the USA, and life, having been hired by a local wizard, and given a
embarked upon a freelance game writing career. particular potion to take upon reaching the villain’s
Midnight Rogue had been a modest success for me, so it tower to enable him to complete his mission. However,
was natural that I would be interested in writing more as soon as the potion was imbibed the hero would
FF books. shrink to the size of a doll and from there on in would
have to complete his mission in this new state of
“I picked a desert theme because at that time it was
reduced stature, creeping through the hollows between
an environment that no other FF book had touched”
the walls of the antagonist’s tower.
– apart from Temple of Terror, and Master of Chaos to a
certain extent – “and I thought it had some possibilities The hero would have encountered two different
for new challenges and new monsters. The plot was

180 ◉
factions within the tower, one bat-like, the other a tribe while I set about preparing the proposal for Pirates of
of Gremlin-esque creatures, before ultimately making the Black Skull.”
it to the techno-sorcerer’s lab just as the villain was
about to waken the creature of the title. During the plotting phase of the adventure, Green
drew a detailed map of the Iceberg Straits and the
However, when it came to actually writing the sixtieth Giant’s Teeth island chain, naming many of the islands
book in the series, Green was farther advanced with of the archipelago as well as creating different cultures
Pirates of the Black Skull (now renamed Bloodbones) and for each of them. If it had not have been for the fact
so his next title was brought forwards in the schedule, that Gascoigne had preferred his idea for an adventure
with Gascoigne’s Night of the Creature bumped to #61. involving undead voodoo pirates, Saga of the Stormchaser
Only the FF series was cancelled before Gascoigne might have seen print when Wizard Books revived the
could ever put pen to paper, or at least set fingers to series seven years after Puffin’s run ended.
keyboard.

Saga of the Stormchaser

Saga of the Stormchaser was actually the idea Green
submitted for his fourth gamebook after Curse
of the Mummy. Set in north-east Allansia, in the
Scandinavian-inspired region of Frostholm, it cast the
hero as the King of Vynheim, who sets out with his
trusted crew aboard his longship – the Stormchaser of
the title – to stop the evil sorcerer Mambres bringing
about the End of the World.

“The plot involved Lord Logaan the Trickster setting

you the task of thwarting Mambres and stopping him
from awakening an ancient evil,” says Green. “You
set off from Vynheim on board the Stormchaser with a
trusty crew and a band of even trustier companions.
In my second gamebook, Knights of Doom, I utilised Plagues of the Mummy
a system of introducing different skills that the
reader could choose for their hero. In Saga of the Just as Knights of Doom had, in the initial planning phase
Stormchaser your crew took the place of these skills at least, started out as a direct sequel to Spellbreaker
with individual characters displaying a whole range of (FF53), one of the ideas that Green had been mulling
different abilities. There was a barbarian strongman, a over when Puffin cancelled the Fighting Fantasy series
Valkyrie warrior-woman, a Dwarf, an archer, a bard, was a sequel to Curse of the Mummy (FF59) that variously
and various others, including new companions you went under the name The Sands of Time or Plagues of the
could collect during the course of the adventure. Mummy.

“Navigating the treacherous waters of the Iceberg The sequel would have featured the snake-like Caarth
Straits, on your voyage across Bjorngrim’s Sea towards in much greater numbers, quasi-Biblical plagues and
a distant isle at the end of the Giant’s Teeth chain, you even a visit to an Ancient Egyptian-inspired afterlife.
fought with sea monsters such as the Orca killer whale,
you visited the Claw, a rocky island that was home to a
tribe of savage birdmen, and came across the demonic, The Wailing World
shape-shifting Mara.
The Wailing World was another submission in progress
“Having written the introduction to the adventure, the when Puffin ceased publishing new Fighting Fantasy
first hundred paragraphs and a detailed plot synopsis, gamebooks.
I sent the whole lot off to Marc Gascoigne. I awaited
“It was probably the most ‘thought-through’ of all
a response with baited breath. However, at an earlier
the FF books I started,” says Paul Mason, who came
meeting I had mentioned to Marc that I also had an
up with the adventure. “I was clear that I wanted to
idea for a pirate adventure and he liked the sound of
do a ‘dungeon’, because I’d been so sniffy about them
this better. So, Saga of the Stormchaser was put to one side

◉ 181
for years, and yet playing Empire of the Petal Throne had Lord). Set in the Dead City, close to Kish in southern
shown me there were many wonderful possibilities to Khul, the plot involved the imminent destruction
be found in the underworld. I also wanted a tighter of Titan due to the appearance of a Demon Lord,
plot than most of my previous ones. But I wanted to the Chaos creature’s very presence beginning to
retain the characteristic of my books that they play disintegrate the planet.
with genre expectations somewhat. So the enemies
were not necessarily going to be the obvious ones.”
Deathtrap Dungeon 3
The story was to begin with the hero being employed
by the ministers of Lagash to rescue the prince of that Other than The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, the only FF
particular city-state, who had been kidnapped by a gamebook to have another adventure written featuring
mad sorcerer whose tower was conveniently located the same setting as well as characters was Deathtrap
only a short walk away. However, what seems like a Dungeon. While The Warlock of Firetop Mountain actually
relatively straightforward job turns into something had two sequels – Return to Firetop Mountain and Legend
much more complicated and treacherous. The prince of Zagor – Deathtrap Dungeon only had the one, Trial of
has, in truth, joined the sorcerer of his own free will, Champions.
seeing him as some kind of guru.
However, with the release of the Deathtrap Dungeon
Conversing with the sorcerer, the hero learns of the video game in 1998 another follow-up to the ultimate
Wailing World, a subterranean realm that the sorcerer dungeon bash was mooted, and got so far as acquiring
has only recently discovered. Ultimately returning to an author.
Lagash, the hero discovers that the city is in effect a
Dave Morris: “It was supposed to be based on the
huge prison and that his only way out is to brave the
Deathtrap Dungeon computer game, which didn’t really
dangers of the labyrinthine Wailing World itself and
have a story to speak of
confront its spike-covered inhabitants.
– Barbarian enters the
Mason: “I liked the idea of giving the reader some medieval equivalent of a
level of choice over how they approached the book: reality TV game show
a crude ‘role’, which the Virtual Reality books – i.e. it was last man
had shown could work well. And I wanted to make it standing in a dungeon
straight fantasy. Up until then my books had reflected full of monsters and
my interest in other cultures, but I wanted to tap treasure. No logic to it.
into the stuff I had liked when I first got into fantasy, There was an insect
especially Leiber, Vance and so on. level, a circus level,
exploding pigs, shotguns.
“FF was not just the mechanic but the whole fantasy A female character was
ethos, and I was always a little estranged from that. suddenly added because
Wailing World was to be my attempt to find space for Tomb Raider was doing
myself within it, and that never happened.” well and somebody got
the idea that every game
Mason had already planned the adventure to fit into needed a busty heroine.
300 paragraphs, as had been proposed by Puffin Nobody missed anything, believe me. The world did
Books for their revamp of the series before they ceased not need it to happen.”
publication of Fighting Fantasy altogether. But what
did he think of the publisher’s plans to change the Rather than publish a new FF Deathtrap Dungeon
length of the FF books? adventure, a new edition of the original Deathtrap
Dungeon gamebook was published and released with
“I thought it was stupid,” says Mason. “Symptomatic certain versions of the video game, using the same
of their distaste for the whole series.” cover artwork as the video game box art.

However, the idea for a third Deathtrap Dungeon

Deathlord adventure resurfaced in 2009 when Jonathan Green
was invited to submit ideas to Wizard Books for
Deathlord was a collaboration between Andrew
possible new FF titles. Entitled The Thief of Fang,
Chapman (of Clash of the Princes, Space Assassin and
Green’s adventure was set during the dungeon’s
Seas of Blood fame) and Martin Allen (who wrote Sky
off-season. It began with the hero pursuing a thief

182 ◉
through the city of Fang. Eventually the thief finds the story from Evil’s point of view. It would still make a
a shaft leading into the hill beneath which lies Baron great book or game though I think.”
Sukumvit’s dungeon. The hero follows the thief inside,
only to find his quarry dead at the claws of some The performing of certain hourly rituals would
terrible beastie. However, now trapped inside the have been an important part of the game, while the
dungeon himself he has to find his way out again… hero would have also needed to deploy his forces –
And that’s only just the beginning. everything from Demonkin and Orcs to Hellgaunts
and Homunculi – across his castle’s defences to stop
It is not long before the hero discovers that a rebellious the ‘good guys’ from stopping him.
Trialmaster is creating an army for himself, made up
of the denizens of the dungeon, with which he plans
to seize Fang from Sukumvit’s control. The adventure Blood of the Mandrake
would have revisited some familiar encounters from
In Legend of the Shadow Warriors, Stephen Hand had
the previous books, whilst also having parts of the
introduced the sinister Mandrakes to Fighting Fantasy
dungeon being rebuilt ready for the next year’s Trial
– sentient plant-creatures that mimicked human beings
of Champions. Who knows – maybe Deathtrap Dungeon
(clearly inspired by the 1978 remake of Invasion of the
3 could still happen, one day – but not without Ian
Body Snatchers). Blood of the Mandrake was intended to
Livingstone’s blessing!
conclude Hand’s Old World series, following on from
Moonrunner. Hand himself has said that it would have
The Keeper of the Seven Keys contained more horror and melodrama.

One of the most intriguing and exciting ideas for a Having taken a full-time job with PC games company
gamebook that never came to fruition was another MicroProse, Hand had less and less time to devote
collaboration between Dave Morris and Jamie to his freelance work. Series consultant editor Marc
Thomson. Set close to the city of Arkand in Khul, Gascoigne kept hassling him to write another Fighting
in The Keeper of the Seven Keys the hero was the bad Fantasy gamebook and used to wind him up by saying
guy, Karabane the Banelord. (Anyone who has ever that he was grooming another author to copy his style,
played Dungeon Keeper will see plenty of similarities here, ready to replace him. As a result of Gascoigne’s urging,
although it should be noted that The Keeper of the Seven Hand actually started work on two books, Blood of the
Keys was pitched before that particular video game Mandrake and Smuggler’s Gold.
came out.)
Blood of the Mandrake would have seen the Mandrake
In actual fact Karabane – Master of the Seals and conspiracy brought to a suitably dramatic end and
Runes, Knower of the Way and Member of the would have featured the return of such recurring
Honoured Society of Sages – isn’t the bad guy, but characters as Doctor Kauderwelsch. As well as tying
a misunderstood sorcerer whom everybody thinks is up many of the themes Hand had developed through
bad. In reality, he’s the only person capable of keeping his previous solo books, Blood of the Mandrake was also
the dreaded Archdemon bound. The gamebook intended to set up some new ones to be explored in
would have featured groups of ‘good guys’ invading future adventures.
Karabane’s tower – a berserker, a knight errant, a
rogue, a wizard, an alchemist-priest, a master of
Smuggler’s Gold
martial arts, a lord-less samurai, an amazon, and a
princely warrior-mage – but sadly it was not to be. Hand claims that the plot of Smuggler’s Gold would have
been unlike anything seen in any other gamebook ever
Although the idea has been aped in numerous video
written. He cannot be encouraged to expand upon this
games since, when they started planning The Keeper
claim since he stills considers the concept to be truly
of the Seven Keys, Morris and Thomson knew they had
original and is saving it for use elsewhere in the future.
struck on something truly innovative.
What is known is that it would have been a change
“We thought it was really original back then,” says
of pace from his usual fare. Whilst retaining the grim
Thomson. “I suppose it was. Since then we’ve had
reality of the Old World, as Hand saw it, the plot
various Dungeon Keeper-type products etc., and it seems
would have been much lighter and more humorous in
old hat, but it was logical progression at the time. I
tone.
suppose my Dark Lord series of comedy books come out
of that. I guess Dave and I have always wanted to tell

◉ 183
Heart of the Labyrinth Citadel of Chaos) and Zharradan Marr (from Creature of
Havoc).
Steve Lyons, author of a number of Doctor Who spin-
off novels amongst other things, also pitched an idea In the lead up to Fighting Fantasy’s thirtieth in 2012,
for an FF adventure when the future of the series was Green attempted to encourage Wizard Books to really
in doubt in the mid-’90s, called Heart of the Labyrinth. embrace the anniversary by releasing not just one new
“I had been a fan of the books in the early ‘80s, but adventure, but a whole glut of new material.
I’d long since drifted away from them, I’m afraid, by
One of his ideas cast the hero as Zagor the Warlock
the time I submitted. Maybe, if I’d been more familiar
himself. Master of Firetop Mountain would have been set
with the newer books at the time that would have
after the Demonic Three – Zagor, Balthus Dire and
helped!”
Zharradan Marr – go their separate ways to claim
According to Lyons his proposal was for “a fairly bog- their respective inheritances, having murdered their
standard dungeon crawl, with a Minotaur and an evil tutor Volgera Darkstorm. During the course of the
wizard at the end of it and a couple of nice twists, but adventure, Zagor would have entered the Dwarf hold
nothing too startling.” Herein lay the reason why the under Firetop Mountain, battling his way through its
adventure was never actually commissioned to become ancient halls, enslaving monsters as he went, until he
a Fighting Fantasy gamebook. could claim dominion of the mountain and become
the Master of Firetop Mountain.
“Marc [Gascoigne] turned it down, mostly on the
grounds that there was nothing really new about it, But possibly Green’s most ambitious idea was an
which is fair enough. I was trying to do The Warlock of epic trilogy, very much in the style of Steve Jackson’s
Firetop Mountain again, and that had already been done. Sorcery! Set almost three centuries before the ‘current’
I did start work on another proposal, but other things FF timeline, it would have recounted the legendary,
must have got in the way as I never finished it, and catastrophic, and world-changing events of the War
then of course the series ended.” of the Wizards, as first related in Titan – The Fighting
Fantasy World. Green planned on extrapolating the
material from this ‘official’ account of the war to create
Post Puffin a storyline that spread over three books, with the last
one culminating in the apocalyptic Siege of Carsepolis.
Green pitched a number of different ideas for
adventures to Wizard Books around the time of The player would have been able to choose from
their ‘Series 2’ relaunch. As well as The Thief of Fang a selection of different heroes, who could draw
and Saga of the Stormchaser (mentioned above) his on different abilities, characterised as being either
list included Tooth and Claw (an adventure set in the MAGIC, STRENGTH or WARRIOR. A Wizard
dinosaur-haunted Plain of Bones), Blood War (featuring character would select special abilities from MAGIC
a war between werewolves and vampires, set in the only; a Knight would select from WARRIOR only.
Mauristatian principality of Bathoria, which went on However, a Giant would select from STRENGTH and
to become the Warhammer Path to Victory gamebook WARRIOR (but fewer from each list), whilst a Dragon
Shadows Over Sylvania), Assassin’s Blade (in which the ninja would select from STRENGTH and MAGIC (and
hero has to slay an evil high priest in Arantis), Hell and again fewer from each). Yes, that’s right, the War of the
High Water (a follow-up to Bloodbones), and Darkstorm Wizards trilogy would have allowed readers to play as
Rising, about the return of Volgera Darkstorm, the evil a Giant and a Dragon for the first time as well, but,
wizard who trained not only Zagor the Warlock (he unfortunately, it wasn’t to be, just like so many other
of Firetop Mountain) but also Balthus Dire (from The great gamebook ideas.

184 ◉ War of the Wizards, by Alan Langford. (© Alan Langford, 1986 and 2014)
◉ 185
 Chapter Twenty-One

The Gamesmasters of Firetop Mountain

Fighting Fantasy Board Games

I t was board games such as Diplomacy and Warlord

that had got Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone into
gaming in the first place (amongst other things) so it
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain
“The Warlock of Firetop
seems only right that they should come to make their Mountain was a board
own contributions to the world of traditional board game design I had come
games in their own right, each in their own time. up with some time
before,” says Jackson.
But what prompted the move from gamebooks to “Games Workshop
board games? “We liked the world that we had created agreed to publish it and
and wanted to do more with it,” explains Livingstone. did a really excellent
“As games designers it seemed natural to base two of job with the design. It
our board games in our own fantasy world.” was published in French
and German as well as
It was Jackson who would dip his toes in the board English and sold quite
games lagoon first. While Livingstone was penning well.”
such classics as Freeway Fighter, Temple of Terror and Trial
of Champions, Jackson was busy turning their original
FF collaboration into a board game.

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain board game.

186 ◉ Right: Legend of Zagor, by Jim Burns. (© Jim Burns, 1993 and 2014)
◉ 187
The box art was produced by Peter Andrew
Jones while the interior illustrations, and the board
itself, were created by Dave Andrews. The game’s
design was loosely based on Cluedo. Intended to be
played by two to six players, the average game lasts
about two hours, although the Maze of Zagor still
foxes a lot of people.

For the board game, Jackson made use of the

three attributes used in almost all Fighting Fantasy
gamebooks; SKILL, STAMINA and LUCK. In the
game, the players wander through the tunnels beneath
Firetop Mountain, battling creatures and collecting
treasures, with the winner being the first to reach the “I spent the best part of a year designing the game,”
end of the dungeon and open the Warlock’s treasure says Livingstone. “It got a lot of play-testing and I
chest. thought it was a very enjoyable board game that could
go head-to-head with HeroQuest. It had a working
The box set included six plastic playing pieces, which title of Monstermaze when I took it to Parker Brothers
were used to represent the players in the game; a to see if they would be interested in publishing
wizard, a fighter, a priest, a Dwarf, an Elven archer, it. Parker Brothers liked the game because of the
and a barbarian. Fighting Fantasy-style game mechanics combined with
exploration and dungeon crawling. But they wanted
something else. That something else ended up being a
big chunk of plastic that was the electronic voice and
game moderator. I thought that was an unnecessary
addition but Parker management thought it was a
unique selling point. The game had superb plastic
miniatures and board, but for me, the gameplay was
compromised by the electronic voice box.”
But is the route through Firetop Mountain that features Designed for four players, the game began with each
in the board game the same as that in the original player choosing which character they wanted to be –
gamebook version? either Anvar the Barbarian, Stubble the Dwarf,
Braxus the Warrior,
“There are elements of the route through Firetop
or Sallazar the
Mountain,” admits Jackson, “but it’s not an exact
Wizard. Each player
copy of the Warlock dungeon. When I wrote the first
was then issued with
FF novel, The Trolltooth Wars, the plan was to send
the appropriate
Darkmane (the hero) through the Firetop Mountain
plastic figure and
dungeon in such a way that you could work out the
Hero’s Character
solution to the adventure by following his travels. But
Sheet. There was also
having read through it, our editor didn’t like this;
a plethora of
mainly because it took up half the book!”
counters – everything
from gold coins to
Legend of Zagor Stamina and
Strength tokens, for
In 1993, it was Ian Livingstone’s turn to produce a the monsters the
Fighting Fantasy-themed board game, this time for heroes would
Parker Brothers. Much more complex in terms of its encounter, and for
physical design – in that the ‘board’ was made from the heroes themselves
injection-moulded plastic – much was made of its 48K – as well as various
chip at the time, which allowed Zagor to interact with spell cards and
the players, issuing commands and generally berating treasure tokens, not
them for daring to trespass inside his castle lair. to mention the
obligatory dice.

188 ◉
 A game of Legend of Zagor in progress. (© Jonathan Green,
2014)

Unfortunately, the game did not sell particularly well.

Some have put this down to the fact that the entire
Fighting Fantasy range was in its dying phase, while
others have suggested it was because another similar
game, The Key to the Kingdom, was available at the time
for half the price, although it had a much more low-
tech spec.

Is Livingstone disappointed that Legend of Zagor did not

make more of an impact at the time? “That depends
on whether you think sales in excess of 100,000 copies
should be deemed a failure! I was pretty pleased with
Anvar the Barbarian’s
the sales but I guess the numbers weren’t high enough
Adventure Sheet and
for a company the size of Parker Brothers. Sadly it
introduction to the
never made it to the USA.”
Legend of Zagor.
However well the game did or didn’t sell, twenty
years later the Legend of Zagor board game has become
The heroes began something of a legend itself.
in the Chambers
of Death before
moving into the
Halls of Fear,
battling Goblins, Orcs, Zombies, Skeletons, Trolls,
Ogres, Chaos Champions and Hellhorns along the
way, as well as collecting Tower Chests. These chests Fighting Fantasy Fact 23
contained the Golden Talismans and Silver Daggers
that were necessary to complete the adventure. The Shamutanti Hills app by Inkle Studios uses
126MB, while the iOS version of the latest
The Forest of Doom app from Tin Man Games
Once a player had collected enough, his hero could
takes up 135MB – a whopping 2880 times the
enter the Dragon Cave and from there, hopefully, the amount of memory as Legend of Zagor’s 48K
Crypt of Zagor. Only there could he face the villain chip!
of the piece and either defeat the evil Warlock or lose
everything in the attempt.

◉ 189
 Chapter Twenty-Two

Return to Firetop Mountain

Rise of the Wizards

W hen Curse of the Mummy was published in 1995,

the Fighting Fantasy series had sold over 15
million copies worldwide and had been translated into
couldn’t, they simply scanned in each page as a jpg.
When it came to doing Sorcery!, this wouldn’t work so
well as the original Sorcery! books were a different size.
more than 20 languages. Clearly this was a series with The text would appear too small. So to fit the Sorcery!
a significant global fan base, no matter how poorly the text to the Icon size the solution was to have my son
money men at Penguin might have regarded the books Ben OCR [electronically convert scanned images of printed
at the time. text into computer-readable text] all the Sorcery! pages so they
could be easily reformatted to Icon size.”
In 2001, the small independent publisher Icon Books
was looking to enter the children’s book market. Simon In June 2002, twenty years less two months after The
Flynn was the company’s Publishing Manager at the Warlock of Firetop Mountain was first published by Puffin
time. “We had an idea for a book that would involve Books in 1982, Wizard Books began republishing
the choose-your-own-adventure format. The Fighting the series in a different order from the original series,
Fantasy series were the main reference point, mainly but still starting with The Warlock of Firetop Mountain,
because I’d been a huge fan of them as a child. But followed by The Citadel of Chaos, Deathtrap Dungeon and
it’d been a while since I’d read/played them and I’d Creature of Havoc.
originally stopped around the twentieth title. I wanted
to get some new copies and contacted a number of
bookshops who told me the series was no longer in
print, which seemed amazing given their original
success. So, after a bit of hunting around on the
Internet, I managed to find Steve Jackson’s contact
details and the rest, as they say, is history.”

Flynn felt that children in the new millennium would

fall in love with Fighting Fantasy, just as a previous
generation had, if they only knew the books existed. As
far as Icon was concerned, it was the perfect series with
which to launch their new children’s imprint, Wizard
Books (named after Zagor and The Warlock of Firetop
Mountain).

A deal was struck with Jackson and Livingstone at Joe

Allen’s restaurant in Covent Garden, London. Ever the
gamers, the final advance for each book was decided Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone relaunch the premier gamebook
by a game of Spoof ! (No prizes for guessing who won.) series in 2002. (© Wizard Books)

“The original books were written in the days before Dave Holt, a long-time FF fan, was asked by Jackson
word processors,” explains Jackson. “I think The and Livingstone to set up the series’ official website,
Trolltooth Wars was the first book I wrote on a word www.fightingfantasy.com. (As of 2007 the site’s fan
processor. Icon were expecting us to be able to give club, The Adventurer’s Guild, had over 15,000 members.)
them digital versions of all the books. But since we The years 2003 and 2004 saw a TV advertising

Right: House of Hell, by Nicholas Halliday. (©Nicholas Halliday, 2010 and 2014)
190 ◉
◉ 191
Fighting Fantasy, as seen on TV!

campaign that declared, in a tone not dissimilar to produced for the new edition of Temple of Terror), while
the Warlock’s electronic voice from the Legend of Zagor fans of House of Hell could see immediately that the
board game when the batteries were starting to run out new cover, although undeniably striking, gave away the
of juice, “In Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, YOU are final twist of the tale.
the hero!” and for a while the series became established
in the hearts and minds of a new generation of young Fighting Fantasy stalwart Les Edwards painted a
readers. brand new cover for Creature of Havoc. “I don’t have a
favourite book,” admits Edwards, “but I think Creature
of Havoc is my favourite cover of the ones that I did.”
Wizard Books ‘Series 1’
Jim Burns was another artist who got to have another
The new releases, which are now officially referred to crack at a cover for a book he had illustrated the
as Wizard Books’ ‘Series 1’, featured the same familiar first time around, contributing a new image for the
artwork, text and even typefaces as the Puffin editions, rereleased Freeway Fighter.
but a few things had changed. Gone were the different
title fonts favoured in Puffin’s days. Instead, foil- Other artists new to Fighting Fantasy, Mel Grant and
stamped titles sprang out from the covers. The books Kevin Jenkins, were tasked with creating new art for
also featured brand new cover art, some of it by some Deathtrap Dungeon and The Citadel of Chaos respectively
very familiar FF artists. (even if Grant’s cover was a reworking of one of Iain
McCaig’s original black and white illustrations).
It has to be said, some of these covers were more
effective than others. While it could be argued that Martin McKenna – an artist almost totally overlooked
even if they did not actually improve upon the when it came to producing cover art during the Puffin
originals, then at least the new art produced for The era, but who had worked for Ian Livingstone at Eidos
Forest of Doom and Island of the Lizard King was a pleasing during the interim – took on the eponymous Warlock,
homage to Iain McCaig’s seminal covers. Some and his infamous pet dragon, for a reworking of The
images, however, ended up looking rather dull, to the Warlock of Firetop Mountain.
point of being virtually irrelevant (such as the cover

192 ◉
McKenna quickly became the cover artist of choice editions of Sorcery!, was the inclusion of dice rolls on
for the new era, producing brand new art for the bottom of pages throughout the book.
fourteen out of the twenty-nine titles released as
part of ‘Series 1’. When Island of the Lizard King was
republished by Wizard, McKenna wanted his cover Not the 20th anniversary!
to reflect something of Iain McCaig’s original, whilst
Although 2002 marked the 20th anniversary of
incorporating the jungle elements Ian Livingstone
Fighting Fantasy, the release of the new editions was
wanted to be included in the revision. To keep the
not promoted as marking any kind of anniversary at
composition clean, McKenna left out the Lizard King’s
all. After all, Wizard Books were keen to appeal to new
Black Lion, whilst adding some suitably sinister-looking
readers, and wanted children to think that they were
statues to the background, having them half hidden by
reading something new and as up to date as they were,
impenetrable undergrowth.
as opposed to something that had been around when
McKenna’s work on the ‘Series 1’ covers has garnered their own parents were kids.
praise from one very significant individual in particular.
However, equally aware of how important the fans
“I’m very fond of Martin McKenna’s covers for the
of the original series would be in bringing Fighting
books,” says Iain McCaig.
Fantasy to a new generation – be they booksellers,
teachers or parents introducing their offspring to the
That Old Black Magic stories they had loved as children – Wizard Books did
arrange a number of events to help relaunch the series,
Under Wizard Books’ tenure, Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! giving old and new fans alike the opportunity to meet
series became amalgamated into the main Fighting their idols, Fighting Fantasy’s creators, Steve Jackson
Fantasy line. Something else that the new books had, and Ian Livingstone.
which was borrowed from Penguin Books’ original

◉ 193
Myriador and the d20 Conversions of Doom Hills, Kharé – Cityport of Traps, and The Seven Serpents.
Due to the nature of the product, Wallis was able to
At Gen Con Europe, in 2003, games company expand upon the world that had been created in the
Myriador launched RPG modules of classic FF gamebooks, and so, for the first time, role-players were
gamebooks, converted by Jamie Wallis, making them invited to explore the city of Fang properly.
compatible with the popular d20 system (created
by Wizards of the Coast). The first two titles to “The d20 adventures were faithful reproductions of the
be converted were The Warlock of Firetop Mountain FF books. You can follow any of the eight gamebooks
(inevitably), and Caverns of the Snow Witch, and took using the maps that appear in the d20 versions. The
Fighting Fantasy back to its role-playing roots. biggest changes were the ‘Your adventure ends here’
passages from the FF books. Those had to be changed
“I was a huge fan of the FF books when they came into situations where a difficulty check could mean that
out,” explain Wallis. “I was already playing RPGs by you could survive that encounter rather than instantly
then which is what made the solo gamebooks more dying.
appealing to me. They were something that I could
immerse myself in with little preparation and on my “The d20 conversions didn’t suffer from the linear path
own. We did play Deathtrap Dungeon as a ‘gamesmaster of the FF gamebooks. If you failed to find a key in
and player’ a couple of times, which was fun to do.” d20 Warlock, you could go back and recheck rooms or
areas that you missed. All of that had to be taken into
So how did he come to be involved with Myriador’s account with wandering monsters or how monsters in
d20 FF conversions? un-encountered rooms would react to hearing a fight
in a corridor or room. The books could be played
“I was off work due to personal injury and was with one Dungeon Master, and one to four players,
approached by Mike Dymond (one of my D&D group) by following the ‘scaling the adventure’ section in
if I would mind doing the conversion as I had more the appendix of each of the d20 adventures. These
knowledge of the books (being several years older than accounted for the party’s extra firepower and kept the
most of the group). We formed Myriador and gained adventure challenging.”
the license to produce ten d20 conversions of books of
our choosing.” “I thought Jamie Wallis did an excellent job of creating
d20 versions of the original adventures,” says FF co-
A further six FF d20 modules followed; Deathtrap originator Steve Jackson. “Myriador had signed up to
Dungeon, Trial of Champions, The Forest of Doom, and the publish ten FF d20 adventures, but they didn’t all get
first three titles in the Sorcery! series – The Shamutanti published. Perhaps Myriador were over-optimistic of
the demand for FF d20.”

Unfortunately, Wallis was not fully aware of the rich

depth of information already available about the
Fighting Fantasy world and so, inevitably, some errors
and inconsistencies did slip in.

“All the books were run past a Fighting Fantasy

expert, as requested by Steve Jackson, and all of those
instances should have been picked up. We are only
human I guess. Some of the reviews picked up on little
elements of the game that were not run of the mill,
such as shops in the middle of dungeons etc. The d20
adventures weren’t reviewed as faithful reproductions
of the FF books but rather as stand-alone d20
adventures.”

So does Wallis have a favourite d20 adaptation out of

the eight he worked on?

“My favourite d20 conversion was The Warlock of Firetop

Mountain. It was one of the gamebooks that I never

194 ◉
actually completed. I played
the d20 version several times The Year of Fighting Fantasy
with my D&D group using
the pre-generated characters
and they never completed
it either. Steve Jackson also
played d20 Warlock of Firetop
Mountain, with me as DM,
at the launch at GenCon
London. He didn’t make it
either.”

But simply publishing new

editions of old books wasn’t
what Wizard Books were
about, and so, as the line
began to expand again, and
interest in Fighting Fantasy
grew anew, commissioning
editor Simon Flynn started to
look for potential new titles
for the range.

In 2003, Wizard Books brought out a Fighting Fantasy 2004 calendar to help
boost sales of the books. The calendar featured art by Les Edwards, Martin
McKenna, Kevin Jenkins, Mel Grant and Nicholas Halliday.

Fighting Fantasy Fact 25

Only three artists have had the cover artwork they produced
for the original Fighting Fantasy series, as published by Puffin
Books, reused on the editions put out by Wizard Books. They
are Peter Andrew Jones, whose very first image of a white-
haired Zagor the Warlock was reused on the 25th anniversary
edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, British comics
legend Brian Bolland, who produced the original cover art for
Appointment with F.E.A.R., and Martin McKenna, who digitally
remastered his painting of Akharis the Accursed for the 2007
reissue of Curse of the Mummy.

◉ 195
 Chapter Twenty-Three

Tales of Firetop Mountain (Part 4)

From Eye of the Dragon to Night of the Necromancer

I n 2002 Wizard Books had begun reprinting many of

the original Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, while the
official website featured a poll calling for fan requests
Inkle’s version of Sorcery!, which they launched in May
2013, has shown that there is definitely a market for
digital FF.”
with regard to upcoming reprints. (The list included
the unpublished Bloodbones as one of the possible Martin McKenna revised Nicholson’s original
choices.) illustrations, adding a fair few new ones to go with
Livingstone’s newly created encounters. McKenna
However, in 2005 something happened that many also produced a computer-painted cover that actually
Fighting Fantasy fans had scarcely believed would ever worked better shrunk down for Wizard Books’ ‘Series
happen. Ten years after Puffin Books published Curse 2’ relaunch.
of the Mummy, Wizard Books published the first brand
new Fighting Fantasy gamebook seen in a decade.

Eye of the Dragon

To be fair, Eye of the Dragon
(FF60) wasn’t an entirely new
gamebook. Just as Caverns
of the Snow Witch and House
of Hell had appeared as
truncated versions published
in Warlock magazine, the
first half of Eye of the Dragon
originally appeared in Ian
Livingstone’s Dicing With
Dragons: An Introduction to
Role-Playing Games, published
in 1982. In its previous
incarnation it had featured an entirely different combat
system, had been illustrated by the ever dependable
Russ Nicholson, and was only 134 paragraphs long.
Revisiting the adventure he had first composed twenty-
three years earlier, Livingstone clearly had to expand
the adventure, and dump the original rules set.

But what does Steve Jackson think about the idea of

him writing a brand new FF gamebook?

“I would love to design another FF adventure. But the

idea of doing another book has less appeal. We’re in the
Skeleton King, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna,
digital age now and I would be much more enthusiastic
2005 and 2014)
about doing something digital. Tin Man’s FF Apps and

196 ◉ Right: Howl of the Werewolf, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna, 2007 and 2014)
◉ 197
The adventure begins with the hero imbibing a commissioned new artwork for the book, the writer
poisoned potion and then continues with him setting was also able to change the subject matter of some
off to recover a solid golden dragon from a dungeon of the pictures, cutting those that had not worked so
that lies beneath Darkwood Forest. During the well in Mike Posen’s original illustrations, and adding
course of the story the hero meets an ally, a common illustrations for scenes that had been cut from the
aspect of many of Livingstone’s FF adventures, the original (such as the Giant Octopus).
imprisoned Dwarf Littlebig.
Art duties were provided by a pair of artists who had
both worked on Green’s books before. Tony Hough
Bloodbones returned to produce the new set of interior images,
while Martin McKenna used digital painting methods
The next new FF title to to create a stunning image reminiscent of something
be published by Wizard out of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies (although
Books appeared the Bloodbones was written long before the first movie in
following year in 2006, that particular franchise was released). Curiously, up
making Bloodbones the until Bloodbones, all of Green’s adventures had only
sixty-first solo player one illustrator work on both the cover artwork and the
gamebook in the series, internal black and white images.
as it had originally been
commissioned to be,
back in 1995.

The plot of the book is

centred upon the return
of the dreaded pirate-
lord Cinnabar – also
known by the moniker
‘Bloodbones’ – scourge of the twelve seas. The hero
has his own score to settle with the voodoo-practising
buccaneer, Cinnabar having murdered the hero’s
family when he was only a child. And so he sets out to
bring the pirate captain and his crew of cutthroats to
justice, come hell or high water.

Ironically, the very first sentence of the Background

sections reads, ‘It all started ten years ago.’ This
was not a revision made by Green in preparing the
adventure for publication by Wizard Books in 2006
but had been in the original manuscript submitted to
Puffin. And ten years after he had written the first draft
of the gamebook, Green found himself rewriting it in
2005.

The manuscript needed to be drastically reworked as

it ran to only 300 paragraphs, to bring the adventure
into line with Puffin’s misguided plan to make the
gamebooks appeal to a younger readership again. The
books might have been shorter, but the language and
the adventures the writers were creating, attempting to
push the boundaries of the gamebook genre, were no
less complex. Behemoth and
The Witch
Green’s original submission had been for a 400 Doctor, by Tony
paragraph book, so when it came to rewriting the Hough. (© Tony
adventure he was able to put back in much of what Hough, 2014)
he had originally been asked to take out. As Wizard

198 ◉
Howl of the Werewolf Fearing that he might never be offered the opportunity
to write a new FF gamebook again, Green really went
Keen to bring out at least one new title a year, while to town on the adventure, throwing in every werewolf-
continuing to reprint the Jackson and Livingstone related horror reference he could. He was also
back catalogue, Wizard Books talked to the series’ indulged by Wizard Books, the completed manuscript
co-creators, who in turn coming in at a whopping 515 references, the longest
approached Green to see gamebook published after the cyclopean Crown of Kings.
if he would be willing
to write another new
adventure for publication
in 2007. Green leapt
at the chance to write
his first wholly original
gamebook in twelve years,
although for the plot he
did dust off an idea he
had first come up with
when writing for the series
back in the 1990s.

Howl of the Werewolf (FF62)

kept things grounded and
personal. Rather than having him stopping some mad
mage from taking over the world, the story sees the
hero trying to save himself from the curse of
lycanthropy after he is attacked by a sinister black wolf
on the boundary of the Mauristatian principality of
Lupravia.

The Headless Highwayman, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin

McKenna, 2007 and 2014)

In writing the book, Green wanted to create an

adventure that drew on the mythology and folklore
surrounding werewolves, disappointed that their
previous appearances in Fighting Fantasy had taken
the form of shallow side-encounters. The book was
listed on online book retailer Amazon.co.uk as being
Fighting Fantasy meets An American Werewolf in London!

Howl of the Werewolf changed how the hero’s SKILL

and STAMINA scores were calculated at the
beginning, and the reader also had to keep track of
a CHANGE score, which measured how far the hero’s
transformation into a werewolf has progressed. Green
toyed with the idea of having the hero change into
Count Varcolac, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna,
a fully-formed lycanthrope during the course of the
2007 and 2014)

◉ 199
adventure, but settled instead for subtle changes that I could walk into any first or second hand bookshop
were on-going throughout the story, and which could knowing those spines would be the key element in what
be both a blessing as well as a curse. to look out for, alongside Steve Jackson and/or Ian
Livingstone’s name followed by the gamebook’s title
Martin McKenna provided both the cover and the and (in most cases) the number of the Fighting Fantasy
internal illlustrations, which were some of his most gamebook. It’s impossible not to locate them when
dramatic to date. you have some Fighting Fantasies from the Puffin era
batched together, and on the odd occasion one could
even stumble across some Advanced Fighting Fantasy
Wizard Books ‘Series 2’
books or novels as well.
With both sales and interest in the range flagging, in
“The first set of Wizard reprints just didn’t match
2008 Wizard Books decided a rebrand was needed,
that feel in my opinion, and thankfully that was
to give the books in the Fighting Fantasy series a
rectified when Wizard decided to reprint some of the
more cohesive appearance (like many other series for
Fighting Fantasies again for a second time, with all
children at the time, such as the Beast Quest books).
the gamebooks more identifiable with a grey coloured
It was also decided to relaunch the series, as well as
spine. This made me happy as those spines were always
rebrand the books, and so Wizard’s ‘Series 2’, as it is
what I was going to be looking out for.”
now known, was born.
As well as giving all of the covers a consistent shield
“What makes Fighting Fantasy special for me is those
design and making the name Fighting Fantasy the
distinctive green spines that adorned most of the
dominant title on the cover, inside the rules section
classic Puffin series,” says FF fan James Aukett. “If
was moved to the back while three pre-generated
I wanted to bolster my Fighting Fantasy collection,

200 ◉
characters were introduced. Wizard did not want artist Stephen Player, who had previously illustrated
younger readers to be put off by the presence of the some of Terry Pratchett’s books, amongst others, but
rules, hoping that they would simply dive straight into only after Player had submitted a test piece based on
the adventures. an encounter the hero has during the course of the
adventure with an ill-tempered Giant.
The new ‘Series 2’ editions were in a larger format
than before, and bore a new introductory tagline on
the back cover. “The book you hold in your hands is a
gateway to a world in which YOU are the HERO! You
decide which route to take, which dangers to risk, and
which creatures to fight. But be warned – it will also
be YOU who has to live or die by the consequences of
your actions.”

The first four titles chosen for the 2009 relaunch were
the classics The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, The Citadel
of Chaos, Deathtrap Dungeon, and a brand new title,
Stormslayer.

Stormslayer
As with Howl of the
Werewolf, Stormslayer
(FF63) was developed
from an idea Green had
first had fourteen years
earlier. Originally pitched
as Eye of the Storm, the
adventure underwent
a change of name so
as to avoid there being
any confusion between
it and the still relatively
recently published Eye of
the Dragon.

The first FF adventure Steam Golem, by Stephen Player. (© Stephen Player, 2009 and
to be set in Femphrey in 2014)
the Old World, Stormslayer had the weather mage
“It was one of my all-time favourite jobs so far,” says
Balthazar Sturm interfering with the climate in order
Player of his first Fighting Fantasy commission. “As
to wreak his revenge upon those he saw as having
a fantasy illustrator there is nothing I like better than
passed him over for greatness in the past. Green
drawing monsters. This was an orgy of monsters and
describes the adventure as, “an attempt to write a book
mayhem; never a dull moment. I also love working in
that was more like the original adventures and also
black and white line; you can put all your time into the
one that didn’t rely on Demons, Chaos or Undead for
design and atmosphere and it also means the process
the villains. It was to be more elemental altogether.”
is shorter with no time for boredom to set in. Jon
As with the other titles published as part of ‘Series
Green’s imagination is so fertile, the locations, events
2’, Stormslayer featured a set of three pre-generated
and creatures in Stormslayer so exotic and varied. It was
characters.
like illustrating the climactic moments from twenty-five
Simon Flynn, publishing manager of Wizard different books.
Books’ parent imprint Icon at the time and the man
“There were also new challenges. How to keep the
responsible for the relaunched Fighting Fantasy series,
poses different and fresh when so many figures are
wanted to find a new artist whose style might appeal to
advancing towards the viewer was one issue I had to
a younger audience. He settled on San Francisco-based

◉ 201
Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone signing at the UK Games Expo in 2010, and the queue of people waiting to
meet them. (© Ian Livingstone, 2010 and 2014)

wrestle with. Illustrating a collection of objects and for its cover (the other being Night of the Necromancer), as
weapons in an interesting manner was another.” the image only had to fit inside the circle in the centre
of the new shield design, one compromise too far in
the eyes of many of the older generation of FF fans.

Night of the Necromancer

Keen to maintain the momentum and interest achieved
by the relaunch, even before Stormslayer saw print in
September 2009, Flynn contacted Green and asked if
he would be willing to write another new gamebook for
the series at short notice.

The adventure Green came up with, Night of the

Necromancer (FF64), began where up until that point all
other Fighting Fantasy adventures had ended – with
the death of the hero. Returning from fighting in a
crusade against the forces of Darkness, the hero is
ambushed and killed. Rising again as a ghost, he must
set about solving his own murder and bring the
scheme’s perpetrator to justice.

Of course, the hero

being a ghost put
restrictions on what
could and could not
happen in the game,
but also created the
opportunity to try
things that had never
Abyssal Horror, by Stephen Player. (© Stephen Player, 2009
been done in a Fighting
and 2014)
Fantasy gamebook
before. For example,
the hero cannot collect
Stormslayer was one of only two Fighting Fantasy items, as his spectral
gamebooks not to have a full page painting produced form is unable to hold

202 ◉
 Fighting Fantasy Fact 26

In 2009, prior to the publication of Night of the Necromancer,

Wizard Books ran a competition suggested by author Jonathan
Green, whereby one reader could make a cameo appearance in
one of Martin McKenna’s illustrations for the book. Nicki Gray
was the winner, having taken a photograph of herself looking
frightened out of her wits whilst holding a copy of Stormslayer
(FF63).

Nicki Gray poses for her winning entry, and Martin McKenna’s portrait of
her, lurking behind Van Richten the Ghost
Hunter and his henchman Streng. (©
Martin McKenna, 2010 and 2014)

anything, so he has to gather information instead. On

the up side, being a ghost means the hero can walk
through walls, fly, and even possess other characters
encountered during the adventure.

Martin McKenna returned for art duties, as much as

a favour to Green as anything else, but still managed
to produce some utterly awesome and memorable
images, such as those of the Grave Golem, the Skeletal
Serpent, the Sea Demon and the Hellfire Golem.

Sea Demon, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna, 2010

and 2014)

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 Chapter Twenty-Four

The Silver Peak of Firetop Mountain

Fighting Fantasy’s Twenty-Fifth Anniversary

I n 2007, Wizard Books celebrated the 25th

anniversary of the publication of the original
Fighting Fantasy gamebook, The Warlock of Firetop
“I thought the Warlock 25th edition was a fantastic job,”
says Jackson. “Simon Flynn worked really hard to
compile the ‘extras’ section at the back. And as a
Mountain, with another new release – The Warlock of hardback book it had a great ‘feel’ to it. I was hoping it
Firetop Mountain! However, this was a special hardback would be a great success and would herald a new dawn
25th anniversary limited edition of the gamebook that of FF format, relaunching the entire series in
started it all. In fact it remains the only FF gamebook hardback. But sadly it was not a success sales-wise and
to be published in hardback. I think many copies were simply pulped. The trouble
was that no one knew it existed. As a one-off it was lost
This new old edition of the book featured Peter in the bookshops, and the FF website made little
Andrew Jones’ original wrap-around cover, and mention of it. So it just made no impression at all. No
previously unpublished material including a brief one knew it existed.”
history of Fighting
Fantasy, the first draft of It just so happened that the 25th anniversary year
the opening of The also saw the reprinting of two of Jonathan Green’s
Magic Quest, a solution to gamebooks – Curse of the Mummy and Spellbreaker – and
the game, Ian publication of the brand
Livingstone’s hand- new adventure Howl
drawn map of his half of the Werewolf, which
of the adventure, and a featured a plot twist as
fold-out map of the yet unseen in the series.
dungeon beneath
Firetop Mountain in its
entirety. The Evolution of a
Logo
The map was created by
Nicholas Halliday: “The Fighting Fantasy
original route came gamebooks have enjoyed
from a simple drawing various different cover
by Steve Jackson, which I used to create my final four- formats over the years,
page map. There was a degree of revision after my first but it is the FF shield and
draft when notes flew back and forth describing steps dagger logo that is easily
going up or down, right or left twisting corridors and the most recognisable
levels of detail.” across the range, even though it was only used from
1984 to 1995 (until it was reinvented for the thirtieth
So was Halliday a fan of Fighting Fantasy before he anniversary release of Ian Livingstone’s Blood of the
contributed to the 25th anniversary edition of The Zombies).
Warlock of Firetop Mountain?
The first edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (FF1)
“I must confess I’ve never followed one to its natural did not bear the name Fighting Fantasy anywhere
conclusion,” admits Halliday, “but truly appreciate the upon its cover, as creating a series of gamebooks had
skill involved in the writing.” not even been considered at this stage, let alone what
to call it.
204 ◉ Right: Spellbreaker, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna, 2007 and 2014)
◉ 205
 The simultaneous releases of The Citadel of
Chaos (FF2) and The Forest of Doom (FF3) were
the first books to bear the coloured number on
the front. The
last book was
Island of the Lizard
King (FF7). Only
one Sorcery! title
used this format,
and that was the
first edition of
Kharé - Cityport of
Traps (S2).

Scorpion Swamp
(FF8) was the first
adventure to bear
the now infamous
green zigzag
Adventure
Gamebooks
banner and the
fondly-
remembered
Fighting Fantasy
logo, which was
also green at the
time. Even though the zigzag only remained in
use until Creature of Havoc (FF24), the spines of
FF gamebooks stayed green until the end of
Puffin Books’ run in 1995.

Beneath Nightmare Castle (FF25) saw the

introduction
of what is
now known
as the dragon
cover format.
The dragon
surmounting
the cover credit
box was created
by fantasy art
veteran Chris
Achilleos. The FF
logo still featured
in this revised
cover design but

Map of Firetop Mountain, by Nicholas Halliday. (© Nicholas

206 ◉
Halliday, 2007 and 2014)
now appeared at the bottom right-hand corner and in
yellow, rather than green.

Each adventure’s number in the series also appeared

on the cover until the publication of Portal of Evil
(FF37) when it was removed completely. This proved
unpopular with fans and
numbers were reinstated
from Dead of Night (FF40)
onwards, although now it
only appeared on the
spine. The only exception
was Return to Firetop
Mountain (FF50), which
had the number of the
book front and centre,
and finished in gold foil.

When Wizard Books took

over publication of the
series in 2002, the company
completely revised the cover
format. The name of the
When Wizard relaunched the series in 2010, the shield
book appeared in silver foil, and always in the same
logo changed again, taking up the whole of the front
font, while the FF logo became a circular silver shield.
cover with the art restricted to a small circle at its
centre. The words Fighting Fantasy were now the most
prominent part of the design, with the title of the book
The twenty-fifth appearing beneath the series’ name in a smaller font.
anniversary edition of
The Warlock of Firetop For the release of the thirtieth anniversary adventure
Mountain sported a retro Blood of the Zombies (FF65), the
cover look that used the series was given another
same wraparound cover makeover. Livingstone insisted
as the very first edition that the green spine was
of the book from 1982. restored after an absence of
seventeen years, as was the
yellow FF dagger and shield
logo, although in a subtly
modified form. It was this
version of the logo that would
go on to appear on all of Tin
Man Games’ app versions of
Fighting Fantasy gamebooks.

◉ 207
 Chapter Twenty-Five

The Fandom of Firetop Mountain

Fan-sites, Fanzines and Fanatics

W hen Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone sat down

to write The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, they had
no idea that this one, simple adventure would go on to
that I could control my own destiny in (to a degree) and
were a lot of fun. They were the first books to really
engage me and turned me from a casual reader into an
become a publishing phenomenon, let alone begin to avid bookworm.”
guess at the impact it would have on a generation of
children growing up in Thatcher’s Britain during the “I did not like to read novels when I was young,” says
1980s. Sebastien Boudaud, editor at Le Grimoire Publishing,
publishers of the French translations of recent FF titles.
What did become quickly apparent, however, was that “With gamebooks, I discovered that it could be funny
children (and adults, in some cases) had never read to read some books. Then, I discovered RPG books
anything like a Fighting Fantasy gamebook before. and I played L’oeil Noir, Warhammer... Then in 1992 I
Certainly there had been examples of interactive decided to publish some material for these universes…
fiction before, but despite them having a branching I did not know what Fantasy was before FF. Today
narrative structure, there was no actual quest to Fantasy is everywhere.”
complete, and no puzzles to solve. The diverging
narrative structure of many such choose-able path Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, “made reading far less
books also made a read through of the story a brief passive, and I think for kids that were not natural
and fleeting experience. And then along came Fighting readers, this was a massive boost,” says author
Fantasy… Anthony Reynolds. “They put the reader squarely in
the centre of the story and let them choose their own
Where (the often inane) Choose Your Own Adventure path forward; a sure-fire way to get readers engrossed
titles provided a rambling random storytelling in the story and really care about what happens.”
experience, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain presented
the reader with a challenge; there was only one right Fighting Fantasy came to the attention of teachers
way through the mountain labyrinth hidden within its nationwide because of the peculiar effect it was
pages and it was up to the reader to find it! having on their pupils – particularly the male ones. It
was making boys read, and not just that, but making
Just as a crossword fanatic effectively enters into a them enthuse about reading. A level of energy and
battle of wits with the puzzle-setter every time they enthusiasm that had formerly been reserved for talking
tackle a crossword, so with The Warlock of Firetop about what they had watched on TV the night before,
Mountain the reader was taking up the challenge set by or the latest unmissable football match, was now being
Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone – even when the expended talking about the characters and monsters
book was first published two of the biggest names in from a series of fantasy books.
the games industry! And it was this aspect of the books
that engendered such passion in their readership, a Six things in particular engaged these so called
group that was all too often written off as reluctant reluctant readers. First there were the plots – exciting,
readers. dramatic, heroic, epic in scope and personal in their
execution. Second was the fact that the reader was
FF fan Steve Brown could have been classed as one of the hero, the story putting him right at the centre of
those reluctant readers. “Fighting Fantasy was a major the action, and not once making him feel like he was
part of my childhood and teenage years and was a being talked down to due to the sometimes challenging
massive revelation in reading for me. Here were books vocabulary that the writing employed. Third there

208 ◉ Right: Eye of the Storm, by Emerson Tung. (© Emerson Tung, 2010 and 2014)
◉ 209
was the interactive aspect of the adventures, the fact Artist Russ Nicholson says of the books that they were,
that the reader was instrumental in deciding what “unique and according to teaching friends helped a
happened next. Fourth there were the illustrations lot of lads who did not read… and according to those
– frequently of suitably hideous monsters – which same friends it was my illustrations that were a key for
once again helped to make a bizarre fantasy world many. I was pleased when I heard that.”
the reader’s reality for the duration of the reading
experience. Fifth was the structure of the book itself. Gary Mayes, FF SF illustrator, had his own first-hand
The individual references, or paragraphs, were in experience of seeing how the books helped encourage
the main relatively short, ensuring that the reader children to read. “When I was a teacher for a while,
wasn’t put off by having to wade through a chapter many of the children I taught were very familiar with
ten pages long (or longer). Due to the very nature of the books and enjoyed reading them simply because
a gamebook, having to continually turn to different it wasn’t necessary to plough through a book from
pages, backwards and forwards throughout the book, cover to cover. I guess it was an early development of
the reader never really had any clear idea of how far interactive storytelling.”
through the book he was and so wasn’t put off by the
Fighting Fantasy “has an enduring quality which I
feeling that he had been reading for a day and wasn’t
think is a tribute to the guys actually,” says original
even a quarter of the way through the story. And last
editor Philippa Dickinson. “I had thought that with the
of all there was the fact that the reader was playing
advent of computers, and all the games you can play…
a game as well as reading a book, enjoying the tactile
There’s so much that’s available now that doesn’t
sensation of actually rolling dice, their pulse racing as
involve turning pages and rolling dice, is there still an
they awaited the outcome of those random dice rolls.
audience for this? And there clearly is.”

As well as reluctant readers, Fighting Fantasy inspired

a new generation of young writers.

Author Anthony Reynolds’s first experience of

FF gamebooks was Ian Livingstone’s The Forest of
Doom. “I read it back to front over and over again until
it fell apart. I loved it. It felt like I’d just found the
gateway to a whole new world… FF certainly played
its part in cementing my love of the fantasy genre. I
spent many hours lost in the worlds of the FF books
as a kid – in some ways, I guess I’m still wandering
around in those realms.”

“I got together with a friend of mine at school when

we were about ten and we started writing one called
Trauma of the Timewarp,” says FF fan Andy Jones. “It
had something to do with warping back and forth
through Titan’s history, trying to collect gems. I can’t
remember what the gems were for, though... Anyway,
we never finished it because we found the process too
difficult so I have every respect for all the FF authors
for putting their books together so well!”

“I was about 15 and can remember being sat at

my mum’s old electronic typewriter tapping out
paragraphs and having the numbers 1 through to
300 written out and crossing them off as I used each
one up,” says Steve Brown, another FF enthusiast.
Serpent Queen, by Iain McCaig. (© Iain McCaig, 1983 and “It wasn’t a particularly good attempt and blatantly
2014) plagiarised certain favourite bits from a number of
gamebooks of the day – Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf,
Bloodsword and the Golden Dragon gamebook series.”

210 ◉
“I have a whole series myself and a mate used to Traveller, Aftermath, Toon, Heroes, Car Wars and other
write, scribbled in exercise books and including an tabletop role-playing games which instantly appealed
Out of the Pit style monster guide, and never-finished to my lifelong love of fantasy and science-fiction.
guide book to our world,” admits Phil Williams, now Such gaming offered me a whole new interactive and
Art Manager at Egmont Creative Center, a Danish- participatory way of engaging with such stories...
based company that creates content for Donald Duck
Weekly and Disney Preschool magazines, then an “Then someone lent me a copy of The Warlock of
aspiring gamebook author. “Somehow, the headmaster Firetop Mountain… Solo gaming within a system that
at my high school found out that I was writing books played fair, in the sense of punishing stupidity as well
(Fighting Fantasy style ones). My school was a huge, as rewarding intelligent thinking, and still with the
tough comprehensive and it was unlikely you’d ever added edge of unpredictable dice rolls landing you in
actually speak to the headmaster as he was this strange, no-win situations. Because game systems should be fair
distant and pretty scary figurehead. So to be called to but, as the Goblin King reminds us in Labyrinth, real
his office was pretty scary… life simply isn’t. Which was great, because the endless
variations and possibilities meant you could play the
“When I got there, it was even stranger – some book time and again. Even once you’d won, you could
dignitaries from the city council were there… I go back and see where the roads not taken might have
recall being rather confused by all these old guys in led.”
red robes and chains. They all shook my hand and
congratulated me… presumably because it was such So what was it about Fighting Fantasy that appealed to
a rarity for someone to be writing stories, rather than girls in particular?
beating up teachers. God knows what they’d have
“I really did love that the books never provided an
thought if they’d bothered to read one of my books…
illustration of you, the hero,” says Knight. “They never
Making your own decisions? Killing zombies and orcs?
alluded to your gender. It was superficially about your
Fighting trolls and conjuring spells? A specific section
non gender-specific identity and profession (traveller,
you read if you get killed? Maybe they wouldn’t have
starship captain, thief), and 99% about the decisions
been so congratulatory!”
you made. Even at the time, I found the lack of gender
enormously satisfying because it really helped to make
The Female of the Species me believe I was capable of doing these things.

Although primarily aimed at boys, only very rarely did “It’s very liberating to not have to imagine you’re a
a Fighting Fantasy adventure ever specify that the hero different gender... just to imagine you’re playing a
was male. As a result, large numbers of girls also ended different role. It saves up your belief points so you can
up reading and enjoying the books. spend more of them on the game, book and essentially
the story itself.”
“The first Fighting Fantasy gamebook I ever read
was The Warlock of Firetop Mountain,” says author, and “The gender-specific issue didn’t particularly cross
feminist, Magda Knight. “I was there at the start and my mind as a child,” says writer and games designer
consider it a crowning achievement in my life. Sarah Newton, “I guess that was part of the fun of
role-playing. However, it was very cool that Fighting
“I will never forget the day my grandparents bought Fantasy didn’t predetermine your character’s gender;
me The Warlock of Firetop Mountain… on our caravan I tended to create both male and female characters. I
holiday in Brighton after I’d tugged on their sleeve a think if the books had tried to dictate gender, then they
bit. At the age of ten, I still harboured hopes I was wouldn’t have been quite as appealing.
a fairy changeling, born to be queen in a magical
kingdom. Once I started flipping through the pages of “I remember playing a separate solo adventure for The
Firetop Mountain, I realised I’d been right all along. Fantasy Trip called GrailQuest, where your character
There really was a magical kingdom. My job, however, was supposed to be a knight. They didn’t specify
was not to rule it but to plunder it. Fortunately, I was you had to be a male knight, but you did do a bit of
okay with that. Kids are flexible that way.” maiden-rescuing, as I recall. Even then, if anything,
solos of that type flagged up the ideologies of the
“I encountered Fighting Fantasy gamebooks not too genre they were addressing; I never felt like they were
long after they first appeared,” says fantasy author saying, “Hey, you’re a girl, this isn’t for you!” but they
Juliet E McKenna. “I’d gone up to university in 1983 did make me realise how confining women’s roles often
and that’s where I discovered Dungeons & Dragons, were historically.

◉ 211
“I do find it a bit tiresome when fantasy worlds decide Keeping the Dream Alive
to replicate traditional male/female roles in their
societies. When you’ve got elves, dwarves, dragons, and Fighting Fantasy captured the imaginations of a
magic, is it really so tough to imagine a world where generation of young fans, and it was the loyalty and
women can have roles beyond the traditional faux- passion of those fans that helped keep the franchise
mediaeval ones? That’s perhaps less of an issue these alive after the books went out of print in the 1990s.
days, but I think it’s a trap fantasy can easily fall into. And it is thanks to a handful of those fans that Fighting
I guess I hope FF and RPGs in general rise up and Fantasy has been reborn, not once, but twice; first in
above these limitations – but the temptation is always print, through Wizard Books – thanks to Simon Flynn,
there.” who was publishing manager at Icon Books at the
time – and once again in app form, thanks to the likes
Juliet E McKenna: “I love the way these books of Neil Rennison and Ben Britten Smith of Tin Man
endured despite the arrival of computer games. I Games, as well as Joseph Humfrey and Jon Ingold of
remember playing early attempts at those and being Inkle Studios.
very unimpressed, both by the quality of the writing
and plotting and by the inadequacies of the graphics. Ironically, computer games, which many blamed for
Fighting Fantasy gamebooks offered far superior game Fighting Fantasy’s premature demise in the mid-‘90s,
play for a good long while as well as the fabulous now appear to be the future of the gamebook genre;
pictures inside my own head, spun off the wonderful so not so much a demise as a transition. As computers
cover art and the line drawings inside. It’s only in became more and more common place in homes
recent years that computer games have come anywhere around the world – with gamebooks being put to one
near matching such visuals, never mind such intricate side in favour of playing games like Doom and Tomb
storytelling and replayability.” Raider on the family PC, or latest gaming console – so
too did the Internet. And some of those Net-connected
But has the series’ influence followed its female fans homes were places where ardent FF fans still dwelt.
into adulthood?
It was the rise of the Internet that helped keep the
Knight: “FF influenced my writing career a huge memory of Fighting Fantasy and other gamebook
amount. I like to mix fear with quirk and genuine series alive, as fans set up websites, blogs and forums
surprises. I like to set traps and puzzles for the reader where they could share their love of the genre with
in my stories, and to take them on a journey where like-minded individuals the world over, whilst also
they wonder ‘How would I handle this?’ It has given attracting new fans along the way.
me a healthy respect for tight corners, strangers on the
road and being prepared. It has taught me to think fast No doubt some, if not all, of the following list of
and not make assumptions. It also filled my brain with websites will be familiar to many readers.
wonderful images and encounters when I was young
enough to get really and truly saturated with this stuff.
The FF creators generously gave me their dreams so I FightingFantasy.com (official)
could go and make some dreams of my own.”
AdvancedFightingFantasy.com
“I bet I’m not the only one currently writing epic
fantasy fiction with such fond memories of flipping Amaylase
through an increasingly creased paperback, pencil
between teeth and dice ready to hand,” adds The Book of Legends
McKenna.
Fang’s Finest Emporium
So, in this age of gender equality geekdom, what of
Fighting Fantasy Collector
the next generation of female Fighting Fantasy fans?
The Fighting Fantasy Project
Knight: “I frequently recommend FF to young female
readers! They’ve been brought up on Lord of the Rings The Unofficial Fighting Fantasy Forum
and Game of Thrones and many of them want to be
Arya or a dragon… FF books are not just a lovely part Rebuilding Titan (and Titan Rebuilding)
of our geeky heritage, they’re still here... and they’re
empowering (and fun, naturally) whoever you are. All The Black Tower
for choice, and choice for all!”

212 ◉
The Fighting Fantasy Vault Treasures of the Warlock
The Shrine of Hamaskis Fighting Fantasy Collector is a Fighting Fantasy-
orientated website run by Jamie Fry and launched
Yaztromo’s Fighting Fantasy Site
in 2004. The introductory paragraph of the site
Fighting Dantasy reads: “This site I hope will satisfy any Fighting
Fantasy collector looking for an archive of all
Fighting for your Fantasy known related FF material.” It is well-known
amongst hardened fans for its lists of collectibles
Turn to 400 and accompanying price guide. But how did www.
Redswift’s Tower fightingfantasycollector.co.uk first come about?

Demian’s Gamebook Web Page “It roughly started back when Icon released the books
again under the Wizard imprint. I started collecting
Lloyd of Gamebooks the books again on the back of this and felt the need
to collect all the originals as well. In order to establish
The Fighting Fantasy Webring the full back catalogue I looked to the Internet for
a full inventory but it was lacking in this area. Sites
FF Reviews Archive
existed but not one had everything in one place and it
Mithrandir’s Gamebook Grotto was then I saw a gap and sought to fill it with my own
site that drew on all that content to create a one-stop
World of Fighting Fantasy shop.”

So what’s the rarest item in the Fighting Fantasy

Collector’s collection?
Two of these sites are particularly worthy of note.
Advancedfightingfantasy.com was set up and “I have a pen and ink colour map of Allansia by Leo
launched by David Holt in 2001. As well as featuring Hartas that I am particularly proud of that my wife
information about the gamebooks, maps and solutions, bought me, and is the only one in existence. Original
it also hosted a number of interviews with some of the posters and box-sets are rare and a must in any
artists and authors involved in the series. The site was collection as these rarely survive. I also own an original
replaced in 2003 by the official website. This was also Puffin Books counter display once owned by Steve and
created, and to begin with maintained, by Holt (with no one has ever seen another since.”
some assistance from Wizard Books) after Jackson and
Livingstone invited him to do so. When Holt had to step down from running the official
Fighting Fantasy website due to ill health, Fry took up
the Warlock’s mantle, again at the behest of Zagor’s
overlords, Jackson and Livingstone.

The Official Fighting Fantasy Website – fightingfantasy.com.

Steve Jackson, Jamie Fry and Ian Livingstone at Train2Game/

Epic Games ‘Make Something Unreal’ event at the 2012 Gadget
Show Live in Birmingham. (© Jamie Fry, 2014)
◉ 213
The advent of the Internet brought many FF fans and the black and white illustrations from numerous FF
the series’ original creators together. “I was a tad late adventures – all ones which he wrote himself, of course
getting into the Internet, but was blown away by what – and the card art created for the Legend of Zagor board
was on there re: The Forest of Doom and me!” says artist game.
Malcolm Barter. “It didn’t quite shock me into action
though. Seven years later I decided to contact a chap Steve Jackson also owns most of the original art
named Demian Katz on one of the RPG sites and created for his Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, including
quell the rumours concerning my possible early death... both the original Peter Andrew Jones The Warlock of
I’d no idea the influence it had had on other people Firetop Mountain cover and all of John Blanche’s Sorcery!
and I’m still amazed by it all… In the last few months art.
I’ve been in touch with artists, publishers, authors and
RPG enthusiasts in the UK, USA, France and Spain.”

The art of Fighting Fantasy has become just as

collectible as other items associated with the series.
Some fans have made it their mission to collect as Fighting Fantasy Fact 27
much original cover art as they can – now that they
have the disposable incomes needed to indulge such a Fighting Fantasy has its own unofficial, and yet highly
comprehensive, wiki (a web application which allows people
hobby – people like Pat Robinson and Irina Ivashova. to add, modify, and delete content in a collaboration with
others) containing over 7,400 articles. Founded in 2007 by
Amongst the couple’s collection are Pater Andrew Ken Beuden, it is named Titannica, after Titan, the Fighting
Jones’ covers for The Riddling Reaver and Sword of the Fantasy World, and can be found at www.fightingfantasy.
wikia.com.
Samurai, Les Edwards’ covers for Sky Lord and Demons Fighting Fantasy fans also have their own Facebook group.
of the Deep, and Terry Oakes’ covers for Dead of Night, The 400th person to join the group (on 18th April 2014) was
Jonathan Hicks, the Farsight Blogger.
Slaves of the Abyss, Island of the Undead, The Rings of Kether
and Beneath Nightmare Castle.

Fighting Fantazine
Fighting Fantasy fanzines (or ‘fan magazines’)
have been around for as long as Fighting
Fantasy gamebooks. Even the author of this
book ran one back in the ‘80s (not that he knew
what a fanzine was, at the time).

But there is one that has made more of an

impact in recent
years than any
other, with
those behind it
helping to raise
awareness of the
gamebook genre’s
renaissance, and
Irina Ivashova with some of the original Fighting Fantasy art conducting in depth
she owns along with husband Pat Robinson. (© Pat Robinson, interviews with many of
2014) the original FF creators.
Unsurprisingly, Ian Livingstone has his own extensive Fighting Fantazine was
collection of FF art, including the original cover art launched in 2009 by
for The Forest of Doom, City of Thieves, Deathtrap Dungeon, Alexander Ballingall,
Island of the Lizard King, Caverns of the Snow Witch, with the support of such
Freeway Fighter (both of Jim Burns’ versions of the FF fandom champions
cover), Temple of Terror, Trial of Champions, Crypt of the as Andrew Wright and
Sorcerer and Blood of the Zombies. He also owns all the Warren Maguire, and contributing editors Demian
watercolours Iain McCaig produced for Casket of Souls, Katz, Guillermo Paredes and Stuart Lloyd.
214 ◉
Part of Ian Livingstone’s Fighting Fantasy
art collection. (© Jonathan Green, 2014)

◉ 215
“I came to FF fandom relatively recently in 2007,” sort of definite body of criticism of the FF range. The
says Ballingall, “when I discovered the existence of other was to be a platform for fans to present their own
the official FF magazine Warlock from the ‘80s. I was interpretations and extensions of the FF mythos in
inspired to try and replicate that in a form for today’s word and art.”
fans.”
Such was fandom’s support for the fanzine that in
In many ways, Fighting Fantazine is just like an online 2013, Fighting Fantazine appeared in print form for the
modern version of Warlock magazine, resurrecting first time, rather than just as a web-based magazine.
the ‘Omens and Auguries’ column that appeared
in the original, whilst also introducing new, regular
features such as ‘The Fact of Fiction’. And just like
Fighting Fantazine
Warlock magazine, each issue comes with a complete,
is also notable for
and brand new mini-FF adventure, which many older
carrying out a survey
fans have come to rely on for their regular fix of new
of its readership
Fighting Fantasy gamebook material. Some of these
in 2010, to find
have been unofficial sequels to well-known adventures
out which was the
such as Return to the Icefinger Mountains, a follow up to Ian
most popular FF
Livingstone’s Caverns of the Snow Witch (FF9).
gamebook at the
time. Each adventure
was rated according
to four criteria:
Plot, Gameplay,
Atmosphere and
Illustrations. Helped
in no small part by
illustrator Martin
McKenna’s contribution, the book which ended up
topping the chart was one of the newer Fighting
Fantasy titles published by Wizard Books, Howl of the
Werewolf (FF62).

Movers and shakers

Another aspect of fandom that aided the resurgence
of interest in gamebooks in the lead up to Fighting
Fantasy’s 30th anniversary was the fact that many of the
series’ original young fans are now movers and shakers
in both the world of publishing and the gaming
industry. People like Neil Rennison, founder of Tin
Man Games, and Graham Bottley of Arion Games, as
well as the likes of New York Times bestselling author
Graham McNeill and New York Times bestselling
editor Christian Dunn.
Toiling in the Mines, by Brett Schofield (from The Shrine of
the Salamander mini adventure by Andrew Wright). (© Brett McNeill: “Without The Warlock of Firetop Mountain I
Schofield, 2014) wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today. It was the first
book I read that really opened my eyes to the possibility
Ballingall: “Primarily I wanted the magazine to do
of being a writer. I wrote a couple of FF style books
two things, both of which could be seen as helping
myself (Silver Death and Fortress of the Desert Lord) which
the FF legacy to endure. One was that it provided
I still have, handwritten in school jotters. I’ve read
a place where both straight and occasionally more
bits of them over the decades since I wrote them, and
amusing analysis of the books could be represented in
though they’re clearly the product of a young teenage
a way that wouldn’t be lost in the ever expanding haze
imagination, there’s some good, solid stuff in there.”
of ephemeral blogs and forums, thus creating some

216 ◉
For Rennison the series, “introduced interactive an important role in gamebooks coming back to
gameplay, which at that point I’d only experienced on prominence. The advance of digital reading devices
my ZX Spectrum and adventure games were few and has encouraged the interest in gamebooks because
far between… My love of gaming continued through they allow all of the interactive logic to work by just
school and university and into working in the video pressing the touch screen. I also believe that fantasy is
game industry itself. Years later I now find myself full cool again after The Lord of the Rings films and massive
circle, creating my own interactive gamebooks. I think online computer games like World of Warcraft. As
it’s safe to say that finding Fighting Fantasy was a gamebooks are traditionally tied into fantasy themes,
pretty important event in my life.” it makes sense for people wanting to get their fantasy
reading fix, and what better way than influencing the
Christian Dunn, whose time with Games Workshop’s story yourself ?”
Black Library publishing arm included, “helming
the Path To Victory brand which is our name for the Author Anthony Reynolds: “Partly retro-cool, partly
Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 gamebooks we nostalgia, partly a response to console/computer
publish” also credits FF with setting him on his current gaming. They [gamebooks] are still a great way to help
career path. “I think it’s safe to say that if it wasn’t for youngsters develop a love of reading.”
Fighting Fantasy then I wouldn’t be doing what I’m
doing today.” Of course the gamification of literature is proving
to be a boon for reluctant readers all over again, as
So how do fans of Fighting Fantasy and gamebook children’s author David Lee Stone has discovered.
aficionados explain the gamebook resurgence of recent “I’m a school governor, so I’m very aware of how the
years? attention span of young readers has shortened over the
years. Having FF arrive back in the school playground
FF fan Damian Butt: “Pure nostalgia. There are is just wonderful. You can’t really describe the sense of
hundreds of thousands of people who fondly victory when something great from your childhood re-
remember thumbing those precious pages whilst emerges: it would be like finding out that Knightmare
clutching a pencil and dice, their imagination going had been recommissioned by CITV!”
into overdrive. Those same people have now settled
down, they’re most likely parents, more affluent, and Jon Ingold, creative director and narrative designer
new FF books are a direct link to their childhood – and at Inkle Studios: “We’re the gamebook generation,
who doesn’t want to relive memories like that?” and we’re now, finally, in the position of being able to
decide what gets made. We remember how great these
FF fan Matthew Smith: “I think the surge in eBooks experiences were and can’t understand why they aren’t
and the associated book readers has allowed people around anymore, so we make them again.
to rediscover reading and in doing so the whole
gamebook genre. Even the video gaming side of things, “Secondly, iPads and Kindles – and this is the bit that
more and more people are enjoying the games that got Inkle started, and makes me really interested. An
have a good solid plot and storylines, and even more so iPad lets you read, but it can also remember everything
games where you can influence the ending, change or you’ve read. An iPad lets you make choices really
tamper with fate so to speak. Either that or just accept fast, so you can have a lot more choices. And an
that sometimes things just come back into fashion, even iPad doesn’t need the words on the page to be fixed.
mullets.” There are places in the Sorcery! books where Steve has
really carefully worded a paragraph so it makes sense
FF fan Steve Jones: “I think the gamebook resurgence regardless of which branch you’ve taken, avoiding
is partly due to the success of fantasy in the film using too much detail because a character might be
industry. It wasn’t long ago that Dungeons & Dragons, lying dead, or standing around nearby, or whatever...
Wizards and Goblins and swords and sorcery were With a digital gamebook, there’s no need for that. The
all seen as very geeky and uncool. Then we have the text can change on the fly. That’s an exciting prospect.”
emergence of Harry Potter and films of Harry Potter,
The Lord of the Rings and the recent Game of Thrones TV Magda Knight, author of speculative and YA fiction:
series and suddenly fantasy has become mainstream “Those FF kids have grown up, and some of them are
with everyone looking into everything the genre has to commuters. Train journeys are boring. Holding an FF
offer.” book in your hands makes you look cool, and playing
a gamebook app is a rewarding and snack way to live
“It’s all down to us!” quips Neil Rennison of Tin Man in the world you want to live in during that blissful train
Games. “I joke, but I do like to think we’ve played

◉ 217
ride to work. An orc-encrusted adventure sets you up Grand Thieves and Tomb Raiders
for the day.” In March 2014, Ian Livingstone presented Sam
Houser, founder of Rockstar Games and the creative
“I think nostalgia is playing quite a large part in the maverick behind the Grand Theft Auto series, with
resurgence of interest,” says Ian Livingstone. “When his BAFTA for Best British Game. At the time Houser
parents think of the books they used to read as children told Livingstone that he loved FF when he was young
themselves, they imagine that going through a Fighting and tweeted the following to his 2.4 million followers
Fantasy gamebook with their own children would be on Twitter:
@ian_livingstone it was an honour to receive it from
a lot of fun. Collectors are also looking to revisit their
you! We’ve been huge fans since Warlock of Firetop
childhood passions.” Mountain & Games Workshop Hammersmith!
“It’s an interesting phenomenon,” adds FF cover
artist Les Edwards, “and I’ve had several private
commissions from FF fans who are now ‘grown up’
and would like to own an FF style painting.”

FF fan Steven Dean has his own theory for the

gamebook revival: “People are bored of the first person
shooter-style game which doesn’t leave any room for
intelligence or strategy.”

FF artist Pete Knifton agrees: “The resurgence is due

to people becoming bored with video games. They
want something more tactile. Also FF has a lovely retro
charm.”

And it’s not just popular authors and the people

running the small, independent games companies who
are FF fans.
Ian Livingstone and Sam Houser at the British Academy
Games Awards. (© Ian Livingstone, 2014)
Famous Fans
Fighting Fantasy has some particularly famous fans, showed the possibilities of literature in a way that was
who are happy to recognise the influence the books engaging for kids.
have had on their lives and, in some cases, even
directed their future careers. These individuals are Michael Acton Smith cites The Forest of Doom as his
now household names and yet many fans may not favourite FF adventure and credits the series with being
have known that they share a common bond: people a huge influence on what he is doing now at Mind
like comedy game show host and science boffin Dara Candy. “The books really sparked my imagination, so
O’Briain; screenwriter and novelist Alex Garland; much so that I started to create my own. There wasn’t
comedian, actor, writer and producer Charlie Higson; really anything like it at the time. It made reading
fantasy author Joe Abercrombie; entrepreneur dot.com so much more fun and exciting. They inspired a
businessman, and creator of the newest kids’ craze generation and I’m sure many video game makers of
Moshi Monsters, Michael Acton Smith; thriller writer today will cite them as hugely influential.”
and author of the soviet crime thriller Child 44, Tom
Author Gavin G Smith is also a life-long fan of the
Rob Smith; Gadget Show presenter Jason Bradbury;
series. “Deathtrap Dungeon really stumped nine year-
Labour MP Tom Watson; and comedian Richard
old me. I then played The Warlock of Firetop Mountain
Herring.
which had been serialised in a games magazine. I quite
“I think probably Warlock was my favourite,” says enjoyed the non-fantasy ones like Starship Troopers and
Herring, “but I also recall enjoying the one set in Freeway Fighter. However, I remember The Forest of Doom
space… I enjoyed the books, and the geekery behind and Island of the Lizard King with fondness… You can’t
that and other sci-fi stuff has certainly informed my beat a big lizard for a bad guy. Actually I think I liked
adult persona… The interactivity and element of the Lizard King because my tastes in fantasy lean more
random chance made it particularly exciting and towards Howard/Leiber and less toward Tolkein and
the Lizard King seemed to support that.”

218 ◉
 Claiming to be “a skilful comic account of the
Thirty Years of Deathtrap Dungeon drudgery of modern
life” married to “a
On 29 April 2014, Ian Livingstone posted the
following tweet via Twitter: thrilling adventure
populated by creatures
of myth and legend”
the book was intended
to appeal to those
former fans of Fighting
Fantasy, who were then
twenty- and thirty-
somethings who had
grown up to discover
The tweet was viewed over 87,000 times and within that the real world
twenty-four hours had received 900 re-tweets. It also wasn’t as exciting as the
received 614 favourites, including one from Edgar world that existed inside
Wright, writer and director of zombie rom-com the pages of The Warlock
Shaun of the Dead, who passed it on to his 440,556 of Firetop Mountain and
followers, and another from Graham Linehan, the its ilk. Neither was The Regional Accounts Director of Firetop
comedy writer responsible for such classics as Father Mountain.
Ted and The IT Crowd, who spread the news to his
363,272 followers! Described as “a geeky treasure-chest of comedy, fizzing
with ideas and wit” by comedian David Schneider,
But how much of an impact did Fighting Fantasy have Enemy of Chaos, by Leila Johnston (published by
on Smith’s writing career? “I think they were part of Snowbooks in 2009)
the influence that gaming has in a lot of my writing. has the Fighting
They were very good at engaging and challenging the Fantasy devotee of the
reader. By keeping the reader engaged they taught 1980s coming out of
some valuable lessons in pacing.” retirement one more
time, to put his dice-
Fantasy and science fiction novelist Gav Thorpe rolling skills to good use
also learnt a portion of his writing craft from FF and defeat the rise of
gamebooks. “I’ve always admired the interactivity chaos; or, as the book’s
of the storylines, and I suppose they helped me cover blurb puts it,
understand the nature of narrative conflict and “What if the fate of the
character choice.” world hung upon your
ability to choose wisely
between turning to p36
The Sincerest Form of Flattery or p75?”
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Comics writer, author
Well, just like anything that achieves a certain level
and Fighting Fantasy
of success, as well as spawning a host of inferior
fan Al Ewing acknowledged FF’s achievement, and
rival gamebook series, and a few good ones, Fighting
the gamebook genre in general, in a Judge Dredd strip
Fantasy has also attracted its fair share of parodies.
published in 2000AD Prog 2012. In ‘Choose Your
Like a cocky literature student meeting his author idol Own Xmas’, which was drawn by comics legend John
for the first time, The Regional Accounts Director of Firetop Higgins, the unfortunate protagonist of the story is
Mountain (published by Bantam Press in 2008) is an one Jackson Packard, a citizen of Mega-City One who
out and out spoof of a certain well-known Fighting works as a lab technician at West 17 Test Labs with a
Fantasy adventure gamebook. certain Steve Livingstone. (During the course of the
story the city-within-a-city-sized residential building
Joe Dever Block is destroyed by an exploding chemical
tanker.)

◉ 219
Judge Dredd: Choose Your Own Xmas, by Al Ewing and John
Higgins. (© Rebellion A/S, 2014)

But despite the various parodies and spoofs, the

original gamebooks are still held in high regard – you
could even go so far as to say loved – by thousands of
fans worldwide, but particularly in the UK. After all,
the Fighting Fantasy adventures are the books that
shaped a generation.

Spoof Fighting Fantasy covers created by Christopher Bird.

220 ◉
◉ 221
 Chapter Twenty-Six

Le Sorcier de la Montagne de Feu

Foreign Editions

I t wasn’t only rival British publishers who wanted a

piece of the gamebook genre pie when it became
clear that Puffin Books had a hit on its hands with The
and in Estonia it was Võitlus-fantaasiad. In Brazil the
publishers called the series Aventuras fantásticas (as they
were in Portugal), while in both Sweden and the Czech
Warlock of Firetop Mountain, and the Fighting Fantasy Republic, it was known simply as Fighting Fantasy.
series as a whole. From their gloomy towers far across
the sea, other publishers saw what was happening on Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! series also made the transition
balmy British shores and wanted in. into various foreign language formats, being known
as Die Analand Saga in Germany, Artes mágicas! in
Over the last three decades, Fighting Fantasy Portugal, and as both ¡Brujeria! and Brujos y guerreros
gamebooks have been published in Australia, Bulgaria, in Spain. In Hungary the quartet was classified
Brazil, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, as Kaland játék varázslat, while the Czech version was
Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Holland, called, simply, Magie. In Bulgaria Sorcery! became
Hungary, South Korea, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Magosnichestva, in Italy it was Sortilegio, while in France
Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, it was renamed Sorcellerie! The Danish version was
Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, USA, and the former called Sagaen om den magiske krone, which translates,
Yugoslavia. But it all began with France. appropriately enough as, The Saga of the Magical Crown.

“The publishers Gallimard really did a fantastic job It is clear that Fighting Fantasy was very popular in
with the series,” says Livingstone. “They branded every Eastern Europe, as Hungarian fan Zsolt Matyusz
title ‘Un livre dont vous etes le Hero’ in large letters on the can attest: “Many of the books were translated into
front cover. It was their ‘Ronseal factor’ description Hungarian and published mostly between 1989 and
that was very effective. Fighting Fantasy never went out 1993. Thirty books out of fifty-nine were published in
of print in France and Gallimard are still publishing Hungarian, plus the four Sorcery! books and Titan… It
and promoting the series to this day.” was a huge thing in Hungary in 1989 when the series
(and with it the genre) came in and FF became the
gamebook series very quickly, thanks to its high quality
Fighting Fantasy by any other name level. It is an excellent series, simple as that.”
Depending on which country the gamebooks were However, non-English fans were not treated to the
published in, the Fighting Fantasy range underwent same wealth of material as their English-speaking
a number of name changes. In France the books counterparts. “I have only read The Trolltooth Wars,”
were known as Défis fantastiques, in Germany as says FF devotee Thomas Nielsen, “since that was the
FantasyAbenteuerSpielbücher, in Italy as both Serie di only one that was published in Danish. I think it was
avventure and Dimensione avventura. In Holland, Fighting decent and worth reading, though not mind-blowingly
Fantasy became Fantasy Avonturenboeken, in Denmark awesome. The best part of it was definitely to see
the series was called Sværd og trolddom, and in Norway some new sides to some of my favourite characters like
it was Fantastiske farer. In Spain the books were labelled Zagor, Balthus Dire and Yaztromo.”
as Lucha ficción, while in Portugal they became Aventuras
fantásticas. In Bulgaria they were known as Bitki Portuguese FF fan Tiago Alexandre da Cruz Correia
Bezbroy, and in Hungary they were variously Fantázia Sequeira: “The Warlock of Firetop Mountain was my
harcos or Kaland, játék, kockázat. In Iceland Fighting first one, so it will forever have a special place in my
Fantasy became Leikjabók, in Finland it was Taistelupeli, heart, but I also enjoyed Legend of the Shadow Warriors,

222 ◉ Right: Seas of Blood, by Rodney Matthews. (© Rodney Matthews, 1985 and 2014)
◉ 223
 A Pizza the Action Défis Fantastiques and Vous Etes le Hero
It took a little longer for gamebooks to find their niche Défis fantastiques (or ‘Fantastic Challenges’) was the
in Italy, but in 1985 Italian publisher Edizioni EL French name for the Fighting Fantasy series as
coined the term
published by Folio
‘librogame’ and set
about spearheading a Junior, an imprint
campaign to bring of French language
gamebooks to an publishers Gallimard.
Italian audience, The Fighting Fantasy
including Fighting titles were grouped
Fantasy gamebooks.
together with French
So successful were
they that by the late translations of other
Eighties gamebooks gamebook series
had become almost under the umbrella
mainstream in their title of Un livre dont
appeal in Italy. vous êtes le héros.
Bookshops had whole
sections dedicated to The French titles of
librogames and so
the books often were
popular were they
with the nation’s not actually literal
children that Disney produced both Mickey Mouse and translations of the
Donald Duck gamebooks. English ones. So there was Le Sorcier de la Montagne de
During the Eighties, as in the UK and elsewhere, Feu (The Wizard of the Mountain of Fire), La Forêt de la
librogames saw a massive drop in sales, but a Malédiction (The Forest of the Curse), La Galaxie tragique
dedicated hardcore fanbase hung in there, utilising the
(The Tragic Galaxy, a.k.a. Starship Traveller), and Le
burgeoning Internet to share their love of gamebooks.
The biggest, and most regularly frequented, Italian Combattant de l’autoroute (The Combatant of the Motorway, in
gamebook fan website is Librogame’s Land (www. other words Freeway Fighter).
librogame.net), which is not just an invaluable resource
for authors, translators and artists, but also a meeting “Gallimard Publishing is one of the three biggest
place for Italian Fighting Fantasy fans. publishers in France,” explains French editor Sebastien
Boudaud. “The gamebooks never went out of print in
thirty years.”
probably because I had to play it so many times, as a
problem with its translation into Portuguese prevented Steve Jackson’s The Tasks of Tantalon was also translated
me from solving it. into French. It first appeared in the second issue
of Piranha, a magazine edited by Gallimard, before
“Fighting Fantasy kept me interested in reading and
being released as a hardback book entitled Les Douze
introduced me to a world of fantasy that stimulated my
Secrets du Sorcier (The Twelve Secrets of the Sorcerer).
imagination. I am a creative person today and I know
that I have to thank Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone Since Wizard Books started publishing the FF series in
for it. 2002, several of the newer Fighting Fantasy adventures
have been translated by new imprint Gallimard
“Back in the day, I was an authority as far as Fighting
Jeunesse (now published under the heading Vous Etes le
Fantasy was concerned. All that was available to me
Hero), including Bloodbones, Night of the Necromancer and
was the Portuguese translations. As some of the puzzles
Howl of the Werewolf. Interestingly, Eye of the Dragon has
weren’t translated into Portuguese, it was very hard
become L’Oeil d’Émeraude (The Emerald Eye).
to solve them properly. I was, however, the only kid
around that did solve those puzzles and I was known Graham Bottley’s update of the Advanced Fighting
for having finished books like Tower of Destruction or Fantasy RPG has also recently been published in
Vault of the Vampire.” France by Scriptarium, a project that has been driven
forward by publisher Florent Haro. So what motivated
But of all the foreign markets, France, the USA and
him to start translating the AFF adventures and
Japan were the biggest – in other words best-selling –
publishing them in France?
as far as Fighting Fantasy was concerned.
“Mainly because I had never understood why the
first RPG and the first AFF hadn’t been translated

224 ◉
into French, when FF sold well,” explains Haro. “I Shakaishisou Sha even arranged a Fighting Fantasy
seized the opportunity in 2011 with Scriptarium… Day and went so far as to register the names of the
We wanted to have the possibility of promoting co-creators in Kanji (the system of Japanese writing that
and developing the game, and becoming the official uses Chinese characters).
publisher for the French version. Then we contacted
Steve Jackson, and agreed on a licence. Jackson: “First event was a signing at a big bookstore in
Tokyo. We arrived to find a queue stretching from our
“We have managed to publish an augmented rulebook signing table, right across the shop floor and up three
with new illustrations and layout, an exclusive colour flights of stairs. And people had brought us small gifts.
poster map of Allansia, a game-screen with a new Next day was a ‘Fighting Fantasy Convention’. The
adventure, and a set of tiles and paper figures, much hall was packed with fans who we spoke to through our
appreciated by most of our clients. I’m very proud interpreter. Then we went on the Bullet train to various
of our work, and hope the creation part will be soon other cities for signings, etc. We were overwhelmed by
translated to be shared via Arion Games with the the response to this tour.
English-reading AFF fans.”

Big in Japan
ファイティング・ファンタジー was the name
given to the Fighting Fantasy series in Japan, which
translates simply as ‘Fighting Fantasy’. In 1986,
Shakaishisou Sha, the Japanese publishers of the
range, arranged a publicity tour for the two co-
founders of Fighting Fantasy, and invited Jackson and
Livingstone to visit Tokyo to sign copies of their books.
Fans turned out in their hundreds.

“Shakaishisou Sha was a small publisher of mainly

dry, academic works; sociology and the like,” Jackson
explains. “Penguin’s Japanese agent approached them
with Fighting Fantasy. It wasn’t their thing at all. But
the editor gave a sample of Warlock to his teenage
son, who was studying English. The son was so
enthusiastic that they signed up a deal. I have no idea
what happened to bring the books into the public eye.
But suddenly FF was something of a sensation. And
Shakaishisou Sha, who would normally sell 5-10,000
copies max of one of their academic books, suddenly
found they’d sold 250,000 copies of Warlock! Through
Penguin we got them to agree that if they sold two
million plus books in Japanese they would invite us
over for a publicity tour. They honoured their promise.

“And so it was that in 1986 Ian and I flew to Tokyo

and embarked on a memorable publicity tour. On our
Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone on tour in Japan in 1986.
arrival, our hosts gave us both envelopes which we
(© Ian Livingstone, 1986 and 2014)
assumed were itineraries. But later we found they had
given us around £1,000 cash each! I suggested this was “On the Bullet train to Kyoto we asked our editor how
to pay the hotel and put a limit on our expenses – so our names would appear on the book covers in
they didn’t have to pay for long phone calls back to traditional Japanese. He explained that Western names
our families in the UK, but no. As we checked out of were not really translatable, but they could be
the hotel we were told that the company had paid for registered in Kanji. It was a bit like the trade mark
our rooms already. The cash was simply our ‘pocket system. You put some characters together and officially
money’!” registered them. And from then on they meant

◉ 225
something in Kanji. He offered to create Kanji a distinctly manga, or anime, style, and wearing the
characters that would represent our names. Mine was a sort of outfit that you would hardly expect a warrior
combination of three existing characters which to wear to the beach, let alone for the duration of a
translated into ‘Happy Emperor Samurai’ or gruelling dungeon bash! As a result, it is referred to as
something like that. Three weeks after we returned the ‘Double-D’ cover in some circles.
home I received a packet from Japan which contained
official ink stamps with our Kanji translations, and a Both the Fighting Fantasy Puzzle Quest books The
few T-shirts with our characters printed on them. The Tasks of Tantalon and Casket of Souls were published in
only problem was we couldn’t tell which was which! So Japanese editions, as was Warlock magazine, of course.
for all I know, Ian has three T-shirts with ‘Steve
Jackson’ on, and I have
Beyond the Pond
the Ian Livingstone
ones!” Fighting Fantasy gamebooks were published in the
United States of America, in the 1980s, by Laurel
To the English-speaking
Leaf, an imprint of Dell Publishing, the publishers
reader, the literal
commissioning new cover art from artists Richard
Japanese translations
Corben and R Courtney. It wasn’t until book #14,
of some FF titles seem
Temple of Terror, that they started reusing the original
particularly peculiar,
UK cover art.
whilst still making
(im)perfect sense. “We were quite chuffed that they had commissioned
Richard Corben to do the covers,” says Jackson.
When Wizard Books
“He’s a very famous fantasy artist. But I remember
began reprinting
we weren’t too keen on the Warlock cover because it
the Fighting Fantasy
showed the Hero. And in FF YOU are the Hero. But
series in the new
by then it was too late.”
millennium, the Hobby
Japan company took over publishing the Japanese The first eleven covers featured a white background,
translations. When looking at these new editions of while from book twelve onwards the white was
Japanese FF gamebooks, what stand out the most – changed for black. Long before Wizard Books’ second
after the Kanji characters and the layout of text on the relaunch of the series in the UK in 2009, the American
page – are the illustrations. editions of the FF gamebooks had a cohesive look,
even if the style of cover art wasn’t what it might have
Where Shakaishisou Sha reused the original
been.
illustrations, Hobby Japan had them redrawn
(meticulously copying the originals in many cases) The first FF title, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain,
to include the hero of the books who never really appeared in the States towards the end of 1983.
appeared in the UK editions (other than a hand here, The last title to be published State-side was Trial of
as in Midnight Rogue, or a foot there, as with Night of the Champions (FF21). It is interesting to note that when
Necromancer). This means that in Deathtrap Dungeon for House of Hell was released in the US it was renamed as
example (or rather Underground labyrinth of trap of death) House of Hades, since ‘Hell’ was a more common swear-
the artwork features a busty, female warrior drawn in word with religious connotations in America than it

FF English title Literal translation of the Japanese

name
1 The Warlock of Firetop Mountain Magical using of fire blowing mountain
4 Starship Traveller The space ship which you can wander about
11 Talisman of Death Necklace of dead god
15 The Rings of Kether Federal criminal investigator of outer space
17 Appointment with F.E.A.R. Push down the cyborg
18 Rebel Planet Electric brain destructive manoeuvres
21 Trial of Champions Labyrinth exploration competition
32 Slaves of the Abyss Monarch of basement

226 ◉
was in the UK. Chinese Takeaway
In October 2003, iBooks of New York republished The two newest foreign translations of Fighting
the first two Fighting Fantasy adventures, The Warlock Fantasy gamebooks
of Firetop Mountain and The Citadel of Chaos. The will bring the series
company was the first trade publisher to publish their to a new market that
titles simultaneously in eBook and print formats. makes up one
Unfortunately no other FF titles were released by the seventh of the
company and iBooks filed for bankruptcy in February world’s population,
2006. Jackson and
Livingstone having
“We had great hopes for US sales through iBooks,”
signed deals with
says Jackson. “But the whole thing was not a great
not one but two
success. This was a big deal that had been set up by
different publishers
Icon, with minimum guarantees. But when the iBooks
in China.
editions were a flop, it all went out the window.”
“There’s one
publisher in
mainland China

◉ 227
(simplified Chinese) and another in Taiwan (traditional
Chinese),” Jackson explains. “We are still waiting to
hear how they are doing.”

Hungary for more

Gamebooks proved to be very popular in Hungary
during the 1980s, since they were the first Western
books released in the country whilst it was still under
Communist rule. In the 1990s, Hungarian authors and
gamers took to writing their own adventure gamebooks
inspired by the Fighting Fantasy titles. Building on
their popularity, two books were published around the
year 2000 (Legend of Zagor and Knights of Doom) but the
venture proved to be a financial failure.

Today, the Hungarian gamebook community is very

small, understandable when you consider that the
entire population of the country is only 10 million
people, and mainly made up of people who were
teenagers back in the ‘80s, with a particular interest
in rare Western books. The website Zagor.hu is now
the hub of the fan community in Hungary, offering
downloadable content and free gifts for members, who
share their love of Fighting Fantasy through eBooks
translated from English into Hungarian.

Various foreign language editions of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks,

and the Casket of Souls, from Ian Livingstone’s personal
collection. (© Jonathan Green, 2014)

228 ◉ Right: Geant, by Jidus. (© Scriptarium, 2013 and 2014)

◉ 229
 Chapter Twenty-Seven

The Technomancers of Firetop Mountain

The Rise of the (Fighting Fantasy) Video Game

T he 1980s are not only remembered for the

Falklands War, the Miners’ Strike and Fighting
Fantasy gamebooks, of course. It was also the decade
Puffin Books published the first three Fighting Fantasy
computer games in the form of a Software Pack, which
included the game and the original book it was based
that many families acquired their first home computer. on.
Those who were around at the time remember the
rivalry between Commodore 64 owners and those with The Forest of Doom was the last FF computer game
a ZX Spectrum at home. You were either one or the published by Puffin Books, AdventureSoft taking over
other – never both! the licence in 1985 after signing a deal with Steve
Jackson and Ian Livingstone. Over the next three years,
The companies that had a vested interest in this three more computer adaptations were released, this
burgeoning craze, producing games for the home time marketed for the Amstrad, BBC Micro and Acorn
computer market, were not slow to associate themselves Electron, as well as the Spectrum and Commodore 64.
with something that was an even bigger craze at the
time – Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. Strangely, rather than continue the series with Starship
Traveller (FF4), City of Thieves (FF5) and Deathtrap
The first book to be adapted in 1984 by Crystal Dungeon (FF6), the programmers chose Seas of Blood
Computing, and published by Puffin Books, was, (FF16), Rebel Planet (FF18) and Temple of Terror (FF14) to
naturally, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. A simplistic be their next releases.
arcade maze game, released only for the ZX Spectrum,
the game bore virtually no resemblance to the book
whatsoever. It was said to bear a striking resemblance,
An advertisement for the Rebel
however, to Halls of the Things, a game created by Neil
Planet computer game.
Mottershead and Simon Brattel of Crystal Computing
in 1983, and named game of the year by Sinclair User Sword of the Samurai (FF20) was
Magazine. advertised as a future release,
and both Appointment with
One positive outcome of the release of the game,
F.E.A.R. (FF17) and Demons of
however, was that it led to Fighting Fantasy being
the Deep (FF19) were rumoured
covered more frequently in the increasingly popular
to have gone into production
Spectrum-oriented magazines.
as well, but in the end none
Adaptations of The Citadel of Chaos (FF2) and The Forest of these adventures were realised in a computer game
of Doom (FF3) – for both the ZX Spectrum and the format.
Commodore 64 this time – soon followed, but these
Ironically, considering that it was the advent of
thankfully stuck to the plotlines of the original books
video games that – even if it did not actually kill the
and took the form of text adventures. This meant
gamebook genre, at least beat it to a pulp and left it
that the experience of playing the games was little
in a coma for the best part of a decade – in the early
more than reading a Fighting Fantasy gamebook on
days of the home computer boom, the adaptations
the screen, only without the advantage of being able
of the early Fighting Fantasy gamebooks were a weak
to flick backwards and forwards through the book to
substitute for the real thing. Computer graphics and
admire the art, or cheat when things did not go your
sound effects at the time came a poor second to the
way.
fantastic artwork of the original gamebooks coupled

230 ◉ Right: Temple of Terror, by Chris Achilleos. (© Chris Achilleos, 1985 and 2014)
◉ 231
with the readers’ vivid imaginations. Once you got past Sukumvit’s personal labyrinth of death, and some
the novelty of playing a Fighting Fantasy adventure on familiar faces made an appearance along the way –
your computer – and, in the case of many, had got fed such as the prehistoric Pit Fiend, as well as various
up with the games failing to load time and again – it Orcs and Giant Spiders – much of it made little sense
quickly became apparent that, as with so many other in terms of structure, with the dungeon acquiring
things in life, the original really was the best. an entire Circus level and such absurdities as flying
turtles and exploding pigs. That said, there were some
“There wasn’t much the developers could do in terms creations that it would have been fun to see make it
of graphics with the memory of a 48k Spectrum in into the long-rumoured Deathtrap Dungeon 3 gamebook,
the early 1980s,” says Ian Livingstone. “They did their such as the gut-squashing and fire-breathing
best, but the computer games did not add anything Automatons, and the four-armed Demonwitches.
more than the books offered. In fact the art was much
worse than in the books!” One of the designers who worked on the game
was FF alumnus Jamie Thomson. The experience
FF fan Matthew Smith is less generous in his of working on the game was, “Long and hard and
assessment of those early Fighting Fantasy computer difficult,” according to Thomson, “but very interesting.
games: “Let’s face it, the graphics weren’t really there Unfortunately, the game went in a direction I didn’t
and it was a backwards step from actually having a think was right for it, too ‘Lara Croft action’ and not
book with its unique artwork, and the computer game enough RPG. But I wasn’t in a position to do anything
actually taking longer to use.” about that.”
It wasn’t until the arrival of gaming consoles such In the game, the player took on the role of either the
as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the muscled male hero Chaindog or the leather-clad,
Sega Mega Drive, the Sony PlayStation, and more buxom female adventurer Red Lotus. But was the
powerful home PCs with greater processing power, in addition of Red
the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, that Fighting Fantasy, and Lotus purely a
the gamebook genre in general, came under threat response to the
of being wiped out entirely by the new, full colour, success of Lara
surround sound, digital role-playing experience they Croft in Tomb
offered. Raider?

“A little,” admits
Ian Livingstone’s Deathtrap Dungeon Thomson, “but
also to the fact
In 1998, with the gamebook effectively dead as a
that there were
literary form,
more women
Eidos
in gaming than
Interactive
there had been
retaliated,
before (but still
introducing the
in much smaller
world of
numbers than
Fighting
men back then),
Fantasy to a
but also to the
new generation
fact that in FF,
of gamers (as
and gamebooks
well as
in general,
reintroducing it
you could
to a host of
choose your
older fans) with
own hero, and
the release of
the text never
Ian Livingstone’s Deathtrap Dungeon.
said whether
Described as a medieval action/adventure video you were male or female (or tried not so say). In the
game, for the PlayStation and Windows PC, it bore computer game, the hero was there on screen for all to
only a passing resemblance to the book of the same see. That meant names, and providing both genders
name. Although the adventure still took place in Baron to play as. Of course, in those days it still suffered a

232 ◉
little from the usual ‘gaming sexism’ in its portrayal of gamebook author, to design the game. But the
women. As many still do today, in fact.” programmers in the inexperienced team struggled to
code a game with a 3D character moving through a
3D world. The scope of the game had to be trimmed,
and much to my disappointment, the RPG element
had to be dropped. On publication it certainly got
mixed reviews, but there are fans to this day who still
love the game.”

Big Blue Bubble

For more than a decade no new FF games were
released. Then in 2009, developer Big Blue Bubble
asked if they could produce a version of the enduring
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain for the Nintendo DS.
However, rather than being an adaptation of the
original book, Big Blue Bubble actually approached
Jackson with a completed game that they wanted to
promote using the Fighting Fantasy name.

If the addition of Red Lotus was not exactly evidence

of more women playing video games, it was proof of
the fact that teenage boys liked playing video games
featuring impossibly proportioned maidens. The fact
that a young Kelly Brook featured in the original
advertising campaign for the game probably did not
hurt initial sales either.
“Big Blue Bubble had developed quite an impressive
Deathtrap Dungeon’s success suffered in part as a result 3D engine for Nintendo DS,” says Jackson, “and
of being subject to a number of delays that meant they had been working on a traditional dungeon-type
it wasn’t released until several years after it was first adventure. Ian persuaded BBB that if it was going to
announced. In that time, video game graphics had be successful sales-wise they needed to hang it on a
improved, but unfortunately those that featured in license, specifically the FF license. A deal was signed
Deathtrap Dungeon had not. This gave the game the look up. But as
of a first generation PlayStation game when it was it had not
having to compete in a market saturated with third originally been
generation titles. The consequence of this was that it designed in the
went largely unnoticed by critics and consumers alike. FF universe,
BBB needed
“It wasn’t the best game ever developed to put it mildly, help to turn
yet it sold over 500,000 copies,” Livingstone says in it into an FF
defence of the game. “I’d say that was pretty successful, adventure.
but not if you compared it to the first Tomb Raider
which sold over 7 million copies. I’d hired Richard “I did a lot of
Halliwell, one of the original Warhammer designers, work on this,
and Jamie Thomson, ex-editor of White Dwarf and introducing

◉ 233
Firetop Mountain characters and creatures” – as well With the Big Blue Bubble licence for FF having
as taking out references to pizza – “but it just didn’t expired, it was announced in May 2012 – first via the
work out well. It was too obviously a botch-up. There official Fighting Fantasy website, and later at the UK
was not enough of the Firetop Mountain adventure Games Expo the same month – that Tin Man Games
to make it seem like it really was based on the FF had secured the licence to bring Fighting Fantasy
universe. Aspyr came in as publishers to fund the to both the iOS and Android platforms. Remaining
development needed to turn it into a finished product. respectful of the advances Big Blue Bubble had
In the end it was rushed out, only in the USA, and already made into the gamebook app arena, Tin Man
shortly afterwards Aspyr went bust. So it was a bit of a Games agreed not to adapt any of the titles already
disaster, that one.” released as iPhone adventures in their first slew of
releases. As a result the company’s first four FF apps
Ever the shrewd businessmen, Jackson and Livingstone were Livingstone’s Blood of the Zombies, Jackson’s House
signed a deal whereby, as well as producing the game of Hell, the classic The Forest of Doom, and Island of the
that was now entitled Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Lizard King.
Firetop Mountain (published by Aspyr Media in 2009),
Big Blue Bubble would continue developing and “The Big Blue Bubble adaptations were serviceable,
releasing adaptations of other classic titles from the though clinical and dry in their presentation,” says
Fighting Fantasy FF enthusiast Lin Liren. “This is a problem that Tin
vault, but as iPhone Man Games more than adequately rectified with their
games rather than adaptations, which are fine combinations of nostalgia
DS titles. enhanced with technological and artistic progress. I
eagerly await each and every new release!”
These were almost
identical to the The Tin Man Games versions of Fighting Fantasy
published books gamebooks differed from previous iPhone apps in that
but with the they included animated, and physically realistic dice-
addition of some rolling, achievements to be collected and unlocked, and
basic animation a range of difficulty settings.
and colour added
to the original With the release of their version of The Forest of Doom,
illustrations, with Tin Man Games also added a self-drawing map to
dice-rolling and the app. As FF fan Steven Dean points out, “Part of
battle damage the joy of FF was constructing a map so you could
being calculated by gradually work your way through the adventure.”
the phone’s internal
“One of the biggest decisions we had to make when
processor. The
taking up the Fighting Fantasy license was just how
adventures released in this format include The Warlock
to present the gamebooks of old in this spanking
of Firetop Mountain, The Citadel of Chaos, City of Thieves,
new digital format,” explains Neil Rennsion, the Tin
Deathtrap Dungeon, and Creature of Havoc.
Man behind Tin Man Games. “We felt it was very
important to capture the nostalgia of the series as
Tin Man Games much as possible, so we kept in the dice rolling as a
priority and even introduced a retro mode where you
Founded in 2008 by gamebook fan Neil Rennison, could read the gamebook without all the coloured
Tin Man Games was the company that really brought illustrations and snazzy interface that we designed. We
the concept of adventure gamebooks to the iPhone knew a lot of thirty- and forty-somethings would really
generation. Despite having been inspired by Fighting love that. From the feedback we’ve had, that decision
Fantasy gamebooks and the like, the company built has been completely validated!
up its reputation based on its own fantasy world and
by releasing a gamebook app featuring future lawman “With our first few releases like House of Hell and The
Judge Dredd (from the British anthology comic Forest of Doom, we chose not play with the words too
2000AD). This led to a meeting between Neil Rennison much, although I think as we progress through the
and Ian Livingstone at Dragonmeet, the annual series we’ll certainly tinker more and more with the
London games convention, in 2011; a meeting which narrative, expanding and modifying it. We’re also
proved to be very fateful indeed. looking to make more use of the digital platform and

234 ◉
 introduce more pointing at a game and demanding that people play it.
complex mapping This is one of those times. Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! is an
as well as remove absolutely marvellous fantasy storybook adventure.
the dice rolling from Lushly illustrated and expertly told, it should not be
a few of the books missed by anyone even remotely interested in the
completely and genre.”
visualize the combat
in a brand new In Inkle’s hands, the adventure had morphed from
way.” being a book-based experience to a map-based RPG,
incorporating a completely new combat system, with
“I’d love to see a the player watching the hero enter into animated
way to develop battles with a host of monstrous foes.
something like The
Forest of Doom app Jon Ingold, Inkle’s creative director and narrative
into a more physical designer: “We started off talking with Steve about
environment,” says directions we could take the books. How much
Phil Williams, another devoted FF fan, “a way to hide rewriting were we willing to do? Any extra mechanics?
the mechanics of ‘turn to 23’ at each choice, so you How were we going to adapt the spell-casting and the
feel more like you can go anywhere.” combat, to make them feel easy for newcomers to pick
up and play? How could we mimic the ‘fingers-in-the-
As at the time of publication, future FF titles scheduled page’ gameplay of the original books without making
for development by Tin Man Games include the player’s decisions feel throwaway?
Appointment with F.E.A.R., Starship Traveller, Caverns of
the Snow Witch, Bloodbones, Freeway Fighter, Sword of the “Our initial design brainstorms left us with a huge
Samurai, The Citadel of Chaos and, once again, The pile of ideas to try. Then that’s what we did - tried
Warlock of Firetop Mountain. things out, and saw what worked. The writing was

Inkle Studios
In September 2012 another exciting development
occurred in the world of Fighting Fantasy apps. It was
announced that Steve Jackson had teamed up with
Inkle Studios to put a twenty-first century spin on the
Sorcery! series.

The first game, based on The Shamutanti Hills, was

released in May 2013 and was an instant hit.
Gaming website Gamezebo had this to say about
the app: “Sometimes I feel like I’m wasting my
time writing a review when I should really just be

◉ 235
a particular pleasure, as we discovered that the players to feel ‘left out’, and we didn’t want returning
encounters in the Sorcery! books lent themselves players to feel let down! That was a really hard line to
beautifully to being pulled apart, turning one or two walk. But the response so far from fans has been really
decisions in the original into sequences of lots and lots good. I think a lot of old Sorcery! fans have been excited
of little decisions, all building towards one outcome or to see something they loved given so much attention
another. and new work.”

“The spell-casting was particularly difficult: the original But why did the app’s designers feel the need to
mechanic of memorising spell names was such a stand- completely change the classic combat system as
out feature it was hard to do anything different, but we featured in the original books?
didn’t believe that a modern player would be willing
to make the effort at the start of a game! In the end, “That was a hard decision. How do you replace
the solution we came up with for the first release was something so famous? And whatever new mechanic
probably still a little too opaque – we didn’t provide a you come up with has got to be really good, because
way for players to read the spell book directly from the otherwise new players won’t like it, and old fans will
spell-casting screen.” (This is something Inkle changed be disappointed. But it was Steve’s call. He wanted
for their app version of Kharé – Cityport of Traps.) to try and find something that suited the iPad form;
something that was truly ‘digital’.
“The biggest discovery was the map: we originally
wanted to include it, to make sure there was a stand- “For us, it was a question of finding a fight system
out visual element, but once we tried it, lots of other that felt truly seamless. We wanted to make sure that
elements slotted together. Having a map meant the combat slotted into the story without a break. When
player could tell how far through the adventure they you fight, it generates more story, and when you finish
were – a problem the original FF books never solved! you’re back into the main flow without a break. We
Having a map provided some context to decisions wanted to ensure combat didn’t feel like a mini-game
about which path to take – left or right becomes ‘left, that got in the way of the story, but instead was a core
up into the mountains and the caves, or right, through element of the interactivity.”
the forest with the house?’ It also became the basis of
So what can players expect from Inkle’s second Sorcery!
our ‘fingers-in-the-pages’ mechanic: the map provides
game, Kharé – Cityport of Traps? “The app has a map of
a clear way to rewind to any previous point in the
the city of Kharé through which the player journeys,
book. But it also lets us not provide a rewind mechanic
and one of our goals is to stuff every interesting-
within a given location. We actually took away some
looking location in the city with someone to meet,
of the rewinding ability that players had in the original
something to do, an encounter – either good, bad
books! But that added some risk to the gameplay.”
or strange. So we’re throwing in a tonne of extra
With a project full of challenges, which was the content, but making sure it fits with the original style
toughest obstacle Inkle had to overcome? and tone of the book. This is my favourite part of the
adaptation process: when you’ve got coverage of the
Ingold: “The biggest challenge was trying to make sure game, and can start playing it and saying, ‘What can
that we kept a balance between changing things and we add that’ll make this even better?’
keeping them true to the books – we didn’t want new

236 ◉
“In Kharé the book describes a situation – an empty
shop, perhaps, that you could search for valuables, The Keep of the Lich-Lord
but whose owner could appear at any time – and then In 2012, Megara Entertainment released an app
provides a list of different approaches the player could version of The Keep of the Lich-Lord. However, this was
take. Each one ups the tension a bit, things happen, the not an official Fighting Fantasy release.
different routes weave back and forth, and in the end “Mikaël Louys, the man behind Megara
the encounter ends one of two ways – a big monster, Entertainment, needed something he could do for his
next iOS product,” explains Jamie Thomson, who
or you get away with the gold – but as a player it’s hard co-wrote the original gamebook with Dave Morris.
to exactly track all the routes because they criss-cross “He’d been talking to Ian and Steve about Keep, and
so much. And that idea, of lots of small, interesting they were fine about him doing it as long as he made it
choices, that weave together to make an interactive clear it wasn’t an official FF title anymore. It is actually
scene, is something I’ve always strived for in the games set in Titan, but Mikael stripped out the places and
I make.” references to the FF world and set it in the Fabled
Lands universe.”
So how has this new take on a veritable FF classic been The intro blurb to the adventure now reads as follows:
“Vognar Keep has fallen to a deadly foe. The safety of the
received? northern continent of the Fabled Lands is threatened once more
by the forces of Evil! After two centuries of peace the dark
Ingold: “We’ve had great reviews in the mainstream necromancer, Lord Nydaedus of Hagor, has returned from the
gaming press, with 90%+ reviews from Pocket Gamer, grave to rekindle the flames of war with his own legions of foul
GamesMaster, Touch Arcade, Gamezebo, IGN, undead warriors. YOU are a mercenary, battle-hardened and
Kotaku, and positive write-ups in Eurogamer, Forbes, USA cunning. You will need all your skills if you are to penetrate
Today and The Sunday Times. It’s worth noting some Vognar Keep and destroy the threat to the land. Many dangers
of those sites don’t really cover mobile games, and lie ahead and your success is by no means certain. Powerful
adversaries are ranged against you, and it’s up to YOU to decide
certainly don’t cover gamebooks, books, or publishing. which route to follow, which dangers to risk and which foes to
But they’ve been willing to step outside their comfort fight!”
zone, play Sorcery!, and report back to their readers to
say – this thing is fantastic, and unusual, and you’re
going to love it.” At the time of publication, the Sorcery! apps have sold
over 140,000 copies across a variety of platforms.

Fighting Fantasy Fact 28

Developer Laughing Jackal Games brought out two Fighting Fantasy
adventures for the PSP Minis range. Interestingly Talisman of Death
was converted first, followed by The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. The
games both featured a Tarot Card character generation system, along
with the classic dice-rolling rules set, and optional all-new Battle and
Test Your Luck systems for bold adventurers to explore. An intuitive
Inventory system and Log Book were added to aid the hero in his
endeavours.
Another company, Worldweaver Ltd, produced Kindle versions
of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, The Citadel of Chaos, Deathtrap
Dungeon, City of Thieves, House of Hell and Creature of Havoc, but these
adaptations were only available to users with a US-registered Kindle
account.

◉ 237
A Digital Future across the rooftops of Port Blacksand as an aspirant of
the Thieves’ Guild.
Returning to where this chapter began, considering
that many blame video games for the demise of “I truly believe that the industry has unwittingly made
Fighting Fantasy and the gamebook genre in general in a lumbering sloth of the collective imagination,”
the mid-‘90s, it is an irony worth noting that modern laments Illmoor Chronicles’ creator David Lee Stone.
handheld devices appear to be the genre’s salvation “I do think that back in the days of classic computer
and where the future of gamebooks lies. RPGs like Eye of the Beholder II or Dungeon Master,
interactive gamebooks could still compete due to the
“Now we enter a new golden age,” suggests FF fan basic nature of the graphical interface. Nowadays, the
Matthew Smith, “where the FF book format lends makers of Elder Scrolls and others really do lay it all
itself perfectly to the technology available for discreet out for you... but they still haven’t quite managed Port
read and play on the go, without getting funny looks Blacksand. Not yet.”
from people on the bus for producing a set of dice, or
even funnier looks from anyone that has heard of The “I’d kill to wander Port Blacksand in the way Skyrim
Dice Man.” allows you,” enthuses FF fan Phil Williams. “But of
course, those games have already done it, even if their
“Both FF and computer games offered that sense source material relies heavily on FF’s heritage.”
of agency, and as the graphics got better, it was clear
where people were going to go,” says Fighting Fantasy “The one thing I’d love to see would be a ‘proper’ FF
scribe Paul Mason. “In the same way that radio video game,” says another FF fan, freelance writer
survived the advent of television, however, because it Andy Jones. “By that I mean an epic adventure
has its own advantages, FF has just managed to keep its with high-quality graphics on a next-gen console.
head above water.” Something like Batman: Arkham Asylum but obviously set
on Titan, either following the general storyline of one
of the existing gamebooks or a completely new story.
What fans really want to see… Done right, this would be absolutely brilliant.”

But of course, with the release of another new Perhaps it’s even time to return to Deathtrap Dungeon
generation of consoles in 2013 (with the Xbox One once more, or perhaps City of Thieves for all those
and PlayStation 4), and games such as Skyrim, Assassin’s wishing to visit Port Blacksand and meet Zanbar Bone!
Creed 4, and Batman: Arkham Origins, what FF fans are
really hoping for one day is a Fighting Fantasy version
of the above, where you can wander the wilds of
Allansia battling monsters left, right and centre, or run

238 ◉ Right: Starship Traveller, by Simon Lissaman. (© Tin Man Games Pty. Ltd, 2014)
◉ 239
 Chapter Twenty-Eight

The Phantasmagoria of Firetop Mountain

Fighting Fantasy Goes to the Movies

S urely it is every author’s dream to see one of his

books turned into a multi-million dollar movie. It is
certainly this author’s dream, and it is certainly true of
in the gamebook of the same name to make it work
as a movie, including having two lead characters who
could interact with each other.
Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. But married to that
excited desire to see The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, The Paterson planned on utilising something he calls 2.5D
Citadel of Chaos or The Forest of Doom adapted for the which, so he claims, creates the illusion of 3D without
silver screen is an even stronger desire to protect the the need for special glasses or any new technology
Fighting Fantasy brand and have it treated faithfully whatsoever. If the system had worked, it would have
and sensitively by the movie moguls. meant that cinema-goers would have been treated to
such nerve-shredding visions as spiders emerging from
Before there was ever talk of producing a Fighting the screen and appearing to scuttle up the wall of the
Fantasy movie, Jackson and Livingstone were cinema beside them, or blood dripping from the roof
approached, more than once, by interested parties who of the screening room onto the floor in front of them.
were keen on bringing the publishing phenomenon to
the small screen.

“We were approached by a couple of TV companies

way back when,” says Jackson. “But these always
stumbled when it came to how the interactive bit
would work in a linear TV format. We did get a couple
of TV interviews where they had attempted to stick
with the FF theme. In particular one in New Zealand
where they created an FF set, but only as a backdrop
for the interview.”

Despite having had interest from various quarters,

including a producer in Germany who suggested
turning Sorcery! into a movie, it wasn’t until Ian Before approaching Jackson, Paterson – whose
Paterson of Superteam Productions got in touch with background as a director includes having made music
Steve Jackson, expressing an interest in creating an videos and Internet webisodes – had a dry run, making
interactive movie based on Jackson’s 1984 classic House a short twenty minute film with a budget of only
of Hell, that the idea of a Fighting Fantasy film looked £30,000 (most of which went on lighting rigs). “We did
like it might actually become a reality at last. a short film called Forest of Fear before we started, just
to test out certain ideas,” Paterson reveals. “The most
important thing for us was to get the balance right in
House of Hell – The Movie
terms of scariness.”
“House of Hell is the story of a stranded young couple
The rights for making a cinematic adaptation of House
who seek shelter at an old house in the middle of
of Hell were obtained by Superteam Productions
nowhere. They soon find the house is not all it seems,”
in 2010. This allowed the company to produce a
says Paterson, who understandably had to make some
conventional live-action movie but also interactive
changes and additions to the original story as presented

240 ◉ Right: Deathtrap Dungeon, by Iain McCaig. (© Iain McCaig, 1984 and 2014)
◉ 241
versions utilising BluRay technology, as well as iPhone I’d love to make The Warlock of Firetop Mountain into a
apps (which would have differed from those produced film; that would be brilliant.’
by Tin Man Games or Inkle Studios due to them being
in a video format rather than a digital book) and the “My brother Daniel was working for the Department
Internet. of Health and he got seconded to the Department
of Trade and Industry. He went to a do and Ian
“The ninety minute feature film version is the ‘one Livingstone was there giving a presentation about
true way’ through the book,” explains Paterson. games. Daniel went up to him afterwards and said,
“The online version will be interactive and will allow ‘Look, my brother Martin has been banging on for
viewers to choose their own paths like the BluRay years about turning The Warlock of Firetop Mountain into
version, but clues will be hidden within the online a screenplay. Why don’t you have a chat?’ And Ian
adventure. Playing online incurs a small download fee gave my brother his card.
per segment. But if viewers find the clues they can win
valuable cash prizes. We are currently in talks with Gooch and Livingstone met up, following which the
mobile content providers to push the segments on to director went away to work on his FF movie idea.
phones, allowing everyone to download and watch the However, it wasn’t The Warlock of Firetop Mountain that
film.” was going to get the screenplay treatment anymore, but
Deathtrap Dungeon.
The material needed for all the interactive versions
meant that the director was planning on shooting six “I don’t think he ever thought he’d hear from me ever
movies’ worth of footage, but for the price of one. again,” says Gooch, but two years later, Livingstone
Unfortunately, during the writing of this book, the did hear from the director again. “I went off… and I
House of Hell movie site closed down and the status of broke Deathtrap down. I bought two copies. I actually
the movie remains in doubt. However, House of Hell
was not the only Fighting Fantasy gamebook that has Knightmare
been optioned to be made into a movie… First broadcast on 7 September 1987, on British
television channel ITV, five years after the publication
of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, Knightmare was an
Deathtrap Dungeon – The Movie adventure game show for children. It featured a team
of three children guiding a fourth around a blue screen,
Another film-maker keen to introduce a modern Chroma key-generated dungeon, a process which
multiplex-going audience to his childhood passion is used the same technology as employed by weather
Martin Gooch. “When I was a kid the FF books came forecasters at the time. These young adventurers pitted
their wits against a variety of puzzles and obstacles as
out and I just thought they were the best things ever.”
they explored the non-existent dungeon, meeting a host
Gooch has worked on more than 200 productions, of unusual characters along the way.
from Harry Potter to Big Brother and everything in Clearly riding the zeitgeist of role-playing games that
between (including EastEnders, Doctors, Hollyoaks and was so prevalent in the 1980s, producer Tim Child
Robot Wars) but he was a fan of Fighting Fantasy before was unable to approach either the Dungeons & Dragons
he knew he wanted to make films for a living. or Fighting Fantasy franchises when it came to making
the show due to the negative publicity that both had
“Those images in The Warlock of Firetop Mountain – the received from certain religious groups.
However, things came full circle, taking the show back
Russ Nicholson ones – are just brilliant. I loved his
to its early gamebook and RPG roots, when a series of
drawing. Those books (it’s been documented) helped Knightmare books was produced. Written by gamebook
people read and develop. For me they got me into veteran Dave Morris (co-author of the Fighting Fantasy
creative writing and art. I was copying the Iain McCaig adventure The Keep of the Lich-Lord), four of the titles,
illustrations from Deathtrap Dungeon, and drawing which were intended for older readers, took the format
dragons, and that hugely improved my artistic ability, of half-fiction and half-interactive story. The next two
books retained the interactive format, but were aimed
because there was nowhere else to get hold of artwork
at a younger readership. The interactive sections of
like that.” the books had the reader keeping track of Life Force,
as well as the objects they had collected. Some of the
So how did Gooch make the move from reading books even had additional statistics or special skills that
Fighting Fantasy gamebooks to tackling the frankly needed to be monitored as well.
daunting task of turning an interactive adventure like Knightmare’s final television episode was broadcast on
Deathtrap Dungeon into a movie? “Judge Dredd, that was 11 November 1994, although the show was revived by
my first film – back at Shepperton Studios, Stage D – Google for a one-off special in August 2013, as part of
YouTube’s Geek Week.
and then I did lots of stuff. But I always thought, ‘God,

242 ◉
cut it down the spine so I could put it all out on my “In the collective mind of the audience, I would
table and look at it in one go. Heart-breaking to tear imagine, the scenes in the book they remember the
the book to pieces, but it was the only way to do it, most are the ones that were illustrated. So I very
and I discovered that the story was there, but it wasn’t specifically chose scenes that were illustrated.” So does
really enough for a feature film. So I went to Trial of that mean the prehistoric Pit Fiend will be making an
Champions, which is the sequel, and I found that the appearance? “We don’t have the Pit Fiend, because I
good bits of Deathtrap and the good bits of Trial of thought it was too much like the Tyrannosaurus Rex
Champions, plus the narrative I had to write to fit it in Jurassic Park, and in terms of budget, it would blow
together, was enough for a feature film. a whole chunk. We’ve got the Bloodbeast, of course,
and the Bloodbeast is unlike anything else. He turns up
“At the end of Act One the hero’s shipped off to Fang, three times; three is the magic number.”
on the banks of the River Kok, and he spends a night
in a pub, because all medieval fantasy films have to
have a tavern, and meets the other adventurers or
challengers, and at the beginning of Act Two we’re
into the dungeon.” It’s clear that Gooch is passionate
about his pet project. “I wrote the screenplay, and I got
back in touch with Ian, I handed it over, and he read it
and he said he really loved it. He thought it was great.”

Pit Fiend, by Iain McCaig. (© Iain McCaig, 1984 and 2014)

Gooch has also tried to impose rather more logic upon

the world presented in Deathtrap Dungeon than might
The Deathtrap Dungeon movie screenplay by Ian Livingstone and have come through in the original gamebook. “If
Martin Gooch. (© Ian Livingstone and Martin Gooch, 2014) you lived in that world, and every year there was the
Trial of Champions, Deathtrap Dungeon, and you’d
travelled all the way to Fang, just to watch it, you’re
having a great time, you’ve eaten a rat on a stick, and
Although it is only one man’s interpretation of
you’ve had a couple of pints of mead, and you see all
Deathtrap Dungeon, rather than a doggedly faithful
these seven people all go into the dungeon, and then
adaptation of the original adventure, there is plenty in
they’re gone – then what do you do? Just sit around
Gooch’s version that fans will recognise and, no doubt,
twiddling your thumbs? And then no one comes out,
will be delighted to know is in there.
and it’s all a little bit of an anti-climax.
◉ 243
 “I thought, you’re in the Deathtrap, you’re only in
there for a day, and I think it should stop at sundown,
and if you’re not out as the sun sets behind Firetop
Mountain in the distance… either they lock the doors
and even if you turn up after that it doesn’t matter,
they just leave you, or they flood it, or they send a herd
of raging Troglodytes through to kill everything. Or
they set fire to it. Or they send in a dozen Bloodbeasts.”

Like Paterson, Gooch ran into one obvious problem

in turning the story that runs through the book into
something that would engage with cinema-goers.

“The biggest problem was there’s no dialogue and

no character, and the most important thing about a
movie, really, is story and emotional attachment to
the character. So if you, the audience, don’t give a
toss… We need to have two people, because if there’s
one person, there’s no one for them to talk to, and a
silent film is a bit dull, so it’s a bit of a buddy movie.
But I thought it would be much more interesting if
it was a moral question – a fantasy adventure with a
moral question – and the moral question is, of course,
that you have to team up with your colleagues to get
through the dungeon but only one person can win. So
if you team up with Throm, or the Elf, or the Assassin,
you’ve got to kill them.

“So what happens if you team up with someone you

really like? Then you’ve got a double dilemma. So the
The Dungeon Awaits, by Iain McCaig. (© Iain McCaig, 1984
obvious answer to that was you’ve got to have a male
and 2014)
character and a female character and there’s some sort
“So the way I wrote it, I thought, well, Sukumvit’s built of shenanigans going on between them. They like each
it in the side of the hill, so we’ve got little viewports on other.”
top of rooms, so that once the adventurers go in, you
If his hero is your typical, hard-bitten Fighting Fantasy
can then scramble over the top of the dungeon and
hero, what’s his heroine like? “She’s this beautiful half-
look in. So when they meet the Dwarf Trialmaster
Elven woman, a bit like a medieval Lara Croft, but
he’s in an open room like an amphitheatre, and he
more Elvish.”
plays to the crowd. People are betting, and Baron
Sukumvit has got spies looking at things, and there are Various characters from other gamebooks are
little peep-holes so people can look in and see how the referenced in Gooch’s script and he’s hoping to involve
adventurers are doing and see if they’re dead. The some of the original Fighting Fantasy creators in
hero might trip over his bootlace and smash his skull making the movie, if he is able to secure the financial
in, and no one will know, so they’ve got to have little backing that any such project inevitably needs.
things to look through and check – and the Baron’s
got the whole of the dungeon mapped out on a table “The exciting news is that Iain McCaig has agreed to
in front of him, and he keeps track of things. So if be Head of Production,” reveals Livingstone. “Apart
they’re doing quite well, Baron Sukumvit might turn from illustrating Deathtrap Dungeon originally and being
to his little snivelling toadie and say, “Let’s bring on my favourite artist, Iain has plenty of movie experience
the Bloodbeast.” And you’ll see, in the background, having created Darth Maul for George Lucas.”
this big sort of bamboo truck just being wheeled in,
But what of the interactive element of Deathtrap
and you see maybe a tentacle whip out, and see it kill
Dungeon? How is Gooch planning on addressing that
something with its scorpion sting, and then they pop it
in his film? The simple answer is, he doesn’t intend
in. I don’t think the Bloodbeast sits in its little slimy pit
to. “Ian and I talked about the interactivity of the
all year long waiting.

244 ◉
book, but the thing is, a book is a book, a film is a “I would love a cameo role in the movie if it were ever
film, a game is a game… The film has to work as a to go into production,” admits Livingstone, “even if it
film. You’ve got to be able to invite people along who was just an old bloke in the background sweeping up
haven’t played the game or read the book (or done the the entrails of some poor soul who’d been half eaten
app) and they’ve got to be able to watch it as a film, by the Bloodbeast!”
and it’s got to make sense as a film, and that for me, as
a film-maker was really important.” At the time of publication of this book, there have
been rumours of some serious on-going discussions
It all sounds very exciting, and something fans of happening with regard to an option over the movie
Fighting Fantasy would give their eye teeth to see. “If, rights. Let’s hope the rumours are true.
like me, you’re a fan of the dungeon bash adventures
of yesterday, where is that in cinema? No one’s ever
done it. There’s a little bit of it in the first Lord of the Turn to 400 – The Fighting Fantasy
Rings film when they go into the Mines of Moria. They Documentary Film
go into the tomb room, and the goblins and the troll
It’s not only
come in, and that is the best bit… They’re scared,
directors with
and there’s skeletons, it’s in your face, then they go
aspirations to
off and there’s millions of orcs and goblins. But that
become the new
little bit when they’re in this claustrophobic tomb, I
masters of the big
thought that’s what I want to create, that feeling of
screen summer
claustrophobia; the ceiling isn’t very high, and there’s
blockbuster who
cobwebs on your face, and it’s nasty, and you don’t
have shown
know what’s up ahead, and you turn a corner and who
an interest in
knows what’s going to be there… That’s the attraction
Fighting Fantasy.
of the original Fighting Fantasy.”
Documentary film-
And with someone as passionate and as well-versed in makers have too.
the FF gamebooks as Gooch, we can only hope that,
one day, the essential financial assistance is forthcoming
and Deathtrap Dungeon – The Movie becomes a reality. On 31 October 2012, former BBC cameraman Sean
Riley launched the Turn to 400 Kickstarter, to raise

Fighting Fantasy Fact 29

Martin Gooch’s feature length, tragi-comic sci-fi drama The

Search for Simon features Ian Livingstone as a member of a
gaming group. The original green-spine Fighting Fantasy
gamebooks also feature in the movie, on a bookcase in the
home of the protagonist David, as well as in a passing reference
David makes to The Rings of Kether (FF15).

Livingstone also made a cameo appearance in Gooch’s debut

feature film After Death, as a postman.

Ian Livingstone as Derek the Postman in Martin Gooch’s After Death. (©

Gothic Manor Ltd, 2014)

◉ 245
£40,000 to make a television documentary historical Does Riley think he will ever relaunch the ‘Turn to 400’
retrospective of the FF series, rather like a film version Kickstarter one day, so that he will be able to finish
of YOU ARE THE HERO. Rewards on offer included filming his Fighting Fantasy documentary?
Turn to 400-themed USB keys, T-shirts, DVDs, posters,
and even the chance to appear in the finished film. “I’d really like to, but again, I’ve been quoted as saying
Unfortunately, the funding period ended with £15,659 that running a crowd-funding campaign is not for the
having been raised – an impressive amount but a long faint-hearted! You effectively run it like a campaign
way short of Riley’s goal. and you have to work very hard at it for however long
it is on for. Put it this way, I would still like to make the
“I think there were a couple of problems with getting film, my ideal would be that someone else would run
Turn to 400 funded,” says Riley. “One was lack of the campaign and once the money’s together we make
understanding of the crowd-funding model. I made the the film together!”
decision to be one of the first UK projects to launch
on Kickstarter in the UK, believing (mistakenly it turns So what would he do differently next time?
out!) that we’d ride a wave of crowd-funding publicity
“I think I’d try what many are doing, to set a more
as it splashed into the consciousness of the public.
achievable (lower) total but with stretch goals. Though
Kickstarter seemed to go for a soft launch though, and
I maintain that to make what I’d envisaged I really
in hindsight probably wanted a number of projects to
needed that amount… in theory I could make the film
be running already before announcing themselves.
for a lot less money if I do all the jobs myself as I’m
“Two was probably getting the word out there. I was not eligible for VAT, but though I’m an experienced
quoted a few times as saying that we had no problem shooter/editor there’s nothing like working as part of a
reaching the hard-core, but it was the lapsed gamers team to get the best results!
we needed. The ideal would have been to have reached
“It’s worth pointing out that the turnto400.com
a small percentage of the people who bought the 17
website is the property of MEDIAmaker who I was
million books originally! I had Facebook advertising
working for. I’m on good terms with them, though they
targeting the correct age-range, and was accused of
may decide to do something different with that IP, so
spamming several times as I tried to reach fans of
it’s another thing that’s at the back of my mind. They
things that were either contemporaries or related
funded all the work that went into both the crowd-
hobbies (such as early micro-computer games sites and
funding campaign and the promo film we had made
D&D sites).”
originally to pitch the idea to Channel 4 and BBC4.
Understandably, when the project did not achieve
“If people are interested in helping reboot TT400,
funding, Riley took it badly.
I’m still admin on the Facebook page, still manage the
“I was gutted. It felt like I’d put all that effort into the @turnto400 twitter and have set up an email address
crowd-funding campaign, and you become friendly at my own site for contact purposes: tt400@boardie.
with all sorts of people who want to help you. Not to com.”
mention the help I’d had from Steve and Ian. Also, I
You can see the footage Riley managed to put together
still think it’s such a great story – the idea of living in a
for his Kickstarter project on YouTube at http://youtu.
van while you get your business off the ground!
be/vEvH12X95hE. And if you too would like to see
“I was excited about the 30th anniversary as I thought his documentary finally get made, you can register your
it tied in nicely with Channel 4’s 30th anniversary interest via Turnto400.com.
and was intent on pitching the documentary idea to
For the time being, at least, a Fighting Fantasy movie
them. They, however, weren’t interested in it, citing it
remains a dream. But who knows… If a written history
as too niche – a problem fantasy has had since time
of the FF phenomenon can find backing via crowd-
immemorial. I also tried BBC4, but they had similar
funding, what’s to say that one day Riley’s retrospective
reservations. It might have worked as part of a themed
documentary won’t get made, or that there won’t be
‘season’ but not standalone.”
a big screen special effects-laden movie version of
Deathtrap Dungeon? One day…

246 ◉ Right: House of Hell, by Dan Maxwell (© Tin Man Games Pty. Ltd, 2014)
◉ 247
 Chapter Twenty-Nine

Thirty Years of Firetop Mountain

From Blood of the Zombies to You Are The Hero

H aving released four gamebooks simultaneously

in the autumn of 2009 to launch their ‘Series
2’ revamp of the Fighting Fantasy series, during the
need shotguns and other missile weapons to mow
down swathes of zombies, so I decided to make the
adventure contemporary, albeit set inside a medieval
course of 2010 Wizard Books added eight titles to castle.”
the list, including Night of the Necromancer. But in 2011,
with the series still struggling to find a significant new In February 2012, Livingstone took to Twitter, inviting
following among 7 to 12 year-olds, momentum was fans to help determine what the adventure should be
lost, with only four books being reprinted that year and called – Blood of the Zombies or Escape from Zombie Castle
with no new titles added to the franchise. – via an online poll. Blood of the Zombies won, with 65%
of the vote. Close to 1,000 votes were cast in two days,
After March 2011, as far as fans were concerned, 172 of them being cast within 30 minutes of the poll
things had gone ominously quiet in the worlds of going live.
Fighting Fantasy and Wizard Books, with many
decrying that the world’s premier gamebook series was The following announcement was made, again via the
gone for good this time. But unknown to the general official website, on 21 February 2012:
public, behind the scenes plans were being made
The Zombies are coming... in August!
regarding the fast-approaching 30th anniversary of the
publication of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain in 1982. In this adventure YOU are kidnapped and sold to a deranged
megalomaniac who wants to build an army of undead to
Feeling the need to scratch that gamebook itch one
exact terrible revenge on those who once mocked him. He hates
more time, Ian Livingstone had already started writing
everybody except for his scientists and servants. The scientists
a new adventure. By the autumn of 2009 it was already
were instructed to develop a mutated gene in human blood
half-written, but other work commitments and his role
which would be injected into innocent victims, turning them
as a government skills advisor regularly got in the way
into Zombies. The madman’s henchmen kidnapped hundreds of
of the important business of completing the adventure.
people who were locked up to await their fate. YOU are about
(At a meeting between Livingstone and Jonathan
to be injected with Zombie blood. The Zombie army is almost
Green in September 2009, Green cheekily offered to
complete, ready to be unleashed upon the world in a frenzy
finish writing the book for him.)
of killing and wanton destruction. YOU have to avoid being
In November 2011, the Warlock (a.k.a. Jamie Fry) transformed into a Zombie. YOU have to kill all the Zombies,
finally announced via the official Fighting Fantasy dispose of the madman and escape from the castle. To do this you
website (www.fightingfantasygamebooks.com) that will need a lot of firepower to take down the hordes of Zombies.
Livingstone was writing a new gamebook to coincide But don’t kill everybody as there is one person who needs to be
with the 30th anniversary the following year. rescued...

“People were expecting me to go back to Firetop It wasn’t just the present day setting that was a change
Mountain or Port Blacksand,” says Livingstone. “I from the norm – the first time a modern setting had
certainly started the project off with Allansia in mind. been used since Steve Jackson’s House of Hell in 1984.
Zombies had never featured much in my books and Livingstone tweaked the game mechanics as well,
I decided to make up for it by making them central doing away with SKILL and LUCK altogether.
to the new adventure. I’d been working in the video
But while such an action was regarded as being on the
games industry for twenty years and was well aware of
verge of sacrilege for some, others felt that Livingstone
the continued popularity of zombies. But you really
248 ◉ Right: Blood of the Zombies, by Greg Staples. (© Ian Livingstone, 2012 and 2014)
◉ 249
did not go far enough in changing the mechanics. “As says Livingstone. “I’d met Andi Ewington through
a designer I was always disappointed with them,” says Matt Woodley, another ex-Eidos employee. Andi
Jake Thornton, the man behind such modern classics seemed to know every comic book artist in the known
in the making as Mantic Games’ Dreadball and Mars universe. He showed me some of Kev’s illustrations
Attacks! tabletop war games. “They are sort of D&D and I thought he would be perfect for the job. I spoke
lite that you can play without the effort of a Dungeon to Kev and signed him up to do the black and white
Master. However, because you still need pencil, paper illustrations.”
and dice, they are still tied to a table. I always thought
that they missed a trick. Why not design them to need “Andi Ewington told me he ‘might have a cool project’
nothing but the book then they could be played on I’d be well suited for,” explains Crossley. “I rolled my
buses, trains and in the back of a car on the way to the sleeves up and instructed him to tell me more. When
seaside?” he told me what the project was, and who I would be
working with, I was a bit stunned!
In March 2012, an illustration from the book, went up
on www.fightingfantasy.com. It was to be the first of “The process began with me producing a couple of test
several. The style was clearly quite different from what illustrations for Ian to see if I was suitable, so I worked
fans of the series were used to seeing. The illustration to a brief which described eight zombies attacking
was by Kev Crossley, an artist familiar to readers of you in an old blacksmith’s. I spent a full week drafting
British anthology comic 2000AD but new to Fighting the image, getting the perspective nice and dramatic
Fantasy. and cramming as much detail into it as I could. (Ian,
I was enthusiastically informed, was something of a
detail fan!) Detail is what he got, and luckily he loved it!

“So, I met with Ian and we got along just fine! It was a
special treat for me as well, because he’d brought along
a fat folder stuffed full of original art from lots of the
FF books he’d written in the 1980s! I loved his concept
for the new book, and I left that day with a signed copy
of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, plus a monstrous pile
of zombies to start sketching!

“It was a great experience, when the project got into

its stride, but gruelling too! Keeping that level of detail
up within a set time period is always draining. But
Ian was a pleasure to work for, and he didn’t mind
when I needed to let up for a few days from time to
time to recharge my batteries! He was also very focused
with regards his vision for particular scenes, so quite
often we would work closely together. I’d send him
a sketch, he’d send me comments about what he’d
like changed, then I might come back with my own
ideas etc. It actually impacted on the delivery dates
a bit sometimes, but it resulted in some fantastically
rewarding, creative exchanges, and you don’t get that
with all art directors. As a result, the images I did for
Blood of The Zombies are still some of my favourites.”

Livingstone found those creative exchanges equally

rewarding. “I really enjoyed working with Kev. His
Zombie Attack, by Kev Crossley. (© Ian Livingstone, 2012 and
attention to detail was incredible, and he seemed
2014)
undaunted even when I asked for tiny changes that
“I knew of Kev Crossley from the days when he probably weren’t necessary. The end result was
worked at Core Design when I was Executive fantastic and I bought all the originals. Andi [Ewington]
Chairman of Eidos, but didn’t actually know him,” also introduced me to Greg Staples who was likewise
brilliant to work with.”

250 ◉
 On 15 June 2012, the cover art for the book was
revealed. Livingstone had wanted a cover that had a
future-retro look, harking back to the glory days of
Fighting Fantasy whilst also suggesting that Blood of
the Zombies was something new and forward looking.
And that was precisely what he got with Greg Staples’
painting of a Zombie bursting through a broken door,
looking like a cross between Jack Nicholson in The
Shining and something out of Shaun of the Dead. But
what did the book’s author think of Staples’ cover for
Blood of the Zombies?

Livingstone: “Amazing! Realistically drawn and

colourful, it captures an exciting moment in the book
with movement and danger. It was true to the ethos of
the covers of the original series in that the zombie is
threatening to leap out and attack the reader.”

Staples went on to give a detailed breakdown of the

procedure by which he had produced the image in
issue #88 of Imagine FX magazine, and a fascinating
insight into the artistic creative process at the same
time.

But possibly more exciting even than the cover

reveal, as far as older fans were concerned, was the
news that Blood of the Zombies would see the return
of the traditional green spine, which had made the
gamebooks stand out so effectively on bookshop
shelves back in the 1980s and ‘90s, along with an
updated version of the original yellow FF dagger logo.
Livingstone was determined that his new book would
have the classic FF look but with a contemporary
update. Icon Books agreed to the idea even though
Blood of the Zombies would look very different in style
from the current range of FF titles. Livingstone
commissioned a new FF logo which was an updated
version of the original dagger logo. He insisted on
the green spine coming back, and also commissioned
the cover art himself from Greg Staples, making sure
the zombie leapt out at the reader in true FF style. “I
was hoping that fans of old might enjoy a bit of FF
nostalgia with the graphic style of Blood of the Zombies,”
said Livingstone. They certainly did!

Retweet it to be in it
Thanks to social media, and Twitter in particular, two
FF fans ended up making cameo appearances in Blood
of the Zombies. They were Labour MP Tom Watson,
and author, actor, comedian and television producer
Charlie Higson.

Higson is the author of a series of young adult zombie

Amy Fletcher and Zombie Chainsaw Massacre, by Kev Crossley.
horror novels called The Enemy. “I guess that’s why Ian
(© Ian Livingstone, 2012 and 2014)
◉ 251
Charlie Higson and Ian Livingstone at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in 2012. (© Ian Livingstone, 2012 and 2014)

Livingstone put me in the book,” muses Higson. “The Literature Festival, on Sunday 6 October 2012, when
series is about what happens when a disease wipes out the two authors conducted a seminar on the enduring
everyone over the age of 14 except for the unlucky appeal of zombies in modern children’s fiction.
few who become mindless flesh eating cannibals.
So basically, kids versus adults in a post-apocalypse
London.” The Blood of the Zombies Official Launch
Although older than the average FF reader when the The summer of 2012 saw Wizard Books – but
series was first launched in the earlier ‘80s, Higson was Livingstone in particular, with a little help from his old
still a fan and cites the gamebooks as a valuable writing friend Steve
aid when it comes to learning how to structure a story. Jackson –
promoting Blood of
“The FF books are really interesting as a way of the Zombies in
storytelling and are very useful when looking at how to earnest.
construct plots. In each book there are many ways to Livingstone even
get through to the end. I suppose when I write a book travelled as far as
I am always asking myself the same questions you get Sydney in Australia
asked as a reader of FF books. Do you open the door to spread the word
on the right? Do you use an axe or a morningstar? Do of the new
you kill the monster or try to talk to it… They are also adventure’s arrival.
interesting in that they show you that there are many
ways to tell the same story… I can’t imagine what kind On 26 May
of a mind-churn writing these books must be. Having 2012, Jackson
to keep so many plots going, so many storylines, but and Livingstone
always folding it all back in so that the choices don’t attended the UK
become limitless and you can actually get to the end Games Expo
of the book/game. I’d love to work on a computer in Birmingham
game adventure of some sort, but prefer to write novels where they gave
the traditional way, where I’m fully in charge of the a talk about their
storyline and in control of the reader.” favourite games
and met fans of the FF series, getting them all fired up
Ian Livingstone later met Higson at the Cheltenham about the forthcoming brand-new gamebook.
252 ◉
The official launch took place on Saturday 4 August know that those who had grown up with the series back
2012 at the Forbidden Planet Megastore, on London’s in the 1980s still had a lot of love for Fighting Fantasy.
Shaftesbury Avenue, and was attended by fans both A few had brought their own children along, hoping
young and old. Among those in attendance were Jamie to get them into Fighting Fantasy. I numbered the first
Fry (the current Warlock responsible for maintaining 100 copies that I signed, adding ‘Zombies win!’ as a
the official Fighting Fantasy website), Neil Rennison warning about the difficulty they would have in getting
(creative director of Tin Man Games) and fantasy through the book without cheating.”
artist (and FF alumnus) Tony Hough.
Later the same year, in December 2012, Jackson and
“That was a great experience,” says Fry, “as I Livingstone also attended Dragonmeet (a gaming
actually felt part of the team and part of Ian’s official convention the two of them had originally set up back
entourage. It was a memorably historic moment that in 1978) where they gave a talk about the creation of
I played a part in it and watched from the other side the Fighting Fantasy series, and Blood of the Zombies, to a
for a change. Watching all the fans in the queue, seeing packed auditorium. (It was at this event that YOU ARE
what they brought along to be signed, and listening to THE HERO – A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks,
all the stories. It was a very exciting time for everyone was first publically announced as well.)
because of the release of the new book.”
But how was the book received by the people who
“I hadn’t been to Forbidden Planet for several years really matter – the fans?
so I was looking forward to exploring the new shop, as “I think Blood of the Zombies is a great addition to the
well as catching up with the friends I’ve made through series,” says FF fan Andy Jones. “It fills a gap in the
my association with Fighting Fantasy,” recalls Hough. FF library because it’s an all-out zombie-fest and I
think FF needs one of those. Steve started it off with
“Having not done a book signing for many years, I House of Hell and Ian has taken the spirit of that and
was a bit apprehensive about whether or not anybody just ramped it up a few notches. In typical Livingstone
would turn up!” admits Livingstone. “But my worries fashion, though, it’s a very hard book!”
soon disappeared as a long queue built up ahead of the
signing. What was slightly odd is that it was a line of 30
and 40 year-olds masquerading as 10 year-olds! The
fans had turned out in number to talk about Fighting The official Blood of the Zombies launch at the Forbidden Planet
Fantasy. It was a brilliant day, and very gratifying to Megastore in London. (© Jamie Fry, 2014)

◉ 253
“The genre was a good choice,” says fan Zsolt
Matyusz. “Zombies are quite popular nowadays and To cheat, or not to cheat
there aren’t many horror-oriented FF adventures in For many people, cheating was as much a part of the
the series. The Easter eggs related to Zagor, the 30th Fighting Fantasy gamebook experience as the monsters and
birthday etc., were really funny to read. I was also very dice-rolling. “What’s really nice is that you can play it how
happy that the protagonist travelled to Hungary as well you want to,” says author Magda Knight. “Sure, there were
in the Introduction as I am from this country.” end puzzles where you had to figure stuff out and do some
maths, maybe... but you could smoothly cheat and win every
“I thought it was a great read that simply oozed fight, or you could obsess lovingly over probabilities and
tactics. It’s your call, your choice. Giving people choice is a
nostalgia,” says FF enthusiast Damian Butt, “and I’m wonderful thing.”
glad it has been so successful.” Certain gamebooks became notorious for the difficulty of
the quests their authors had created or the linearity of the
Taiwanese fan Lin Liren thinks that Blood of the Zombies One True Path that wound torturously through them. This
is “vintage Ian Livingstone; his most punishingly hard was certainly true of Luke Sharp’s contributions to the
and brutal book since Crypt of the Sorcerer. This book series and Jonathan Green’s early adventures written at the
makes you feel that every small victory is hard-earned. end of Puffin Books’ run. Among the hardest FF titles are
After three zombie apocalypses resulting from bad- Creature of Havoc (FF24), Crypt of the Sorcerer (FF26), Chasms of
Malice (FF30) and Knights of Doom (FF56).
mapping, the final victory makes you feel like the King But what of the difficulty level of Blood of the Zombies? “I’d
of the World.” say it would be virtually impossible to finish the first edition
of Blood of the Zombies without cheating,” admits Livingstone.
“I’m really glad “Players start with just 2d6 + 12 STAMINA points. I
that Ian Livingstone increased this to 2d6 + 20 STAMINA points in the second
marked the thirtieth edition, but it is still rock hard. I figured that most of the
anniversary of Fighting readers would be in their 30s or 40s and they would relish
Fantasy by writing a tough challenge. Of course cheating in Fighting Fantasy
is perfectly fine as far as I’m concerned. It’s just ‘taking a
Blood of the Zombies,” peek around the corner’ really. Long live the five-fingered
says FF enthusiast bookmark!”
James Aukett. “It was
a brave and totally
different step away liked to have seen greater and more widespread
from previous Fighting acknowledgement of that achievement.
Fantasy gamebooks.
Damian Butt: “A signed limited edition collection of
The alternative combat
hardback editions of the first 20 books, some kind of
system worked really
super-special dice, and an accompanying tribute book/
well and the twist at
DVD film.”
the end when you think
you’ve won but then have to double check was very (Well one out of four’s not bad.)
ingeniously worked out. And I can’t help but confess
to falling oh so ever slightly in love with Amy Fletcher!”
Rise of the Zombies
Blood of the Zombies has received some great reviews.
One particularly amusing quote appeared in PC However, there was one more treat in store for fans,
PowerPlay which gave the book 10/10. “Blood of the particularly if they were iOS or Android smartphone
Zombies is awesome! My friend Shane doesn’t like it or tablet owners. In October 2012, an app version of
but that’s because it’s really hard and Shane is dumb.” Blood of the Zombies was released by Tin Man Games,
garnering both critical plaudits and popular acclaim
Spain was the first country after the UK to publish from fans and reviewers alike. As well as being awarded
a foreign language edition of Blood of the Zombies, a 9 out of 10 by Pocket Gamer (accompanied by their
but Livingstone recently announced that it is to be Gold Award), a fine 4.5 out of 5 from Gamezebo, an 8
published in France and Bulgaria in 2014. out of 10 from Starburst Magazine, and the 148Apps
For a series that started out as what was considered Editor’s Choice award, the game also reached the
to be a one-off novelty book to celebrate its 30th coveted No.1 spot on the UK iPad RPG chart.
anniversary is no small achievement, and despite
much coverage in the press some fans would have

254 ◉
 Fighting Fantasy Fact 30

Blood of the Zombies includes the original Fighting Fantasy adventure gamebook,
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, within its pages. It appears in paragraph 347, in
the description of a windowless room that could almost be Ian Livingstone’s own
private gaming archive. But this was not The Warlock of Firetop Mountain ‘s first cameo
appearance. The book can also be seen in Appointment with F.E.A.R., where it can be
found, appropriately enough, in a bookstore.

One of Kev Crossley’s illustrations for Blood of the Zombies includes an appearance by
the sequel to The Warlock of Firetop Mountain
– Return to Firetop Mountain – on a shelf in
Goraya Castle’s library.

Zombie Librarian, by Kev Crossley. (© Ian

Livingstone, 2012 and 2014, colours by Joshua
Wright)

“I was very pleased indeed with the Blood of the Zombies

app,” says Livingstone. “Tin Man Games really did an
excellent job in porting the book to a digital platform.
And it wasn’t just a straight port of the book. It has an
automated Adventure Sheet to keep track of stats and
inventory, physics-based dice rolling, an artwork gallery,
a bookmarking system which saves your position –
much like putting your fingers between pages to mark
a previous page when reading the gamebook. Not that
anybody did that of course!”

Where many readers of the print version of the book

Kickstarter
had found the adventure incredibly challenging, the Towards the end of the year, Fighting Fantasy’s 30th
app introduced varying difficulty levels. “There is anniversary was marked by two further, not dissimilar
‘Hardcore’ that mimics the book,” explains Tin Man projects, both involving a crowd-funding website that
Neil Rennison, “‘Medium’, which makes it slightly could only have been dreamt of back when The Warlock
easier, and ‘Free Read’ which allows open reading.” of Firetop Mountain was published in 1982.
◉ 255
 The first, launched on 31 October 2012, was Turn to
400 – an ambitious project to produce a documentary When the Warlocks gathered
about the history of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, On Wednesday 8 May 2013, four particularly dedicated
set up by independent film-maker Sean Riley. Fighting Fantasy fans became honorary Warlocks for the
Unfortunately, ultimately the project proved unviable. day when they gathered at the office of Eidos Interactive
in Wimbledon, south-west London, to meet their idols
In December, following its announcement at Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. One of those fans
Dragonmeet, another Fighting Fantasy Kickstarter was freelance writer Andy Jones. “They say never meet
project was launched. Entitled YOU ARE THE HERO your heroes, but I was not in the least bit disappointed.
Both thoroughly nice guys.”
– A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, it sought to
But it wasn’t the first meeting for all the Warlocks.
raise money to produce a written history of the FF “First time I met Ian was at a Brighton Festival where
phenomenon, offering such rewards as signed copies of he was chatting to kids and teaching them how to write
the finished book, themed adventurer’s sets (including adventures,” explains Steven Dean. “He was so engaging
the ever vital pencil, eraser and dice), and original art and obviously still loves the books.”
prints by well-known Fighting Fantasy artists. After quizzing the fathers of Fighting Fantasy about
their legendary creations (not to mention numerous
In this instance the photo opportunities) the Warlocks headed out into the
wilds of Wimbledon for lunch with their heroes.
Kickstarter was a
Lin Liren had travelled all the way from Taiwan for
success, and on 6 the gathering. “Ian struck me as a serious, thoughtful
January 2013 the and meticulous fellow who is efficient in thought, clear
project achieved and sincere in his words. Though the straight-man of
funding, thanks the two, he has a restrained yet undeniable passion for
to the enthusiasm his work. I would expect no less of the man who put us
through the roller-coaster rides of hair-pulling difficulty
and generosity of
that were Crypt of the Sorcerer and Blood of the Zombies.
a host of Fighting “If Ian embodies the mature mind of the duo, then
Fantasy fans. The Steve is the enthusiastic and vibrant, boyish heart and
rest, as they say, is soul. If ever anyone asks you to define ‘young at heart’,
history… show him a photo of Steve in 2013. Even though sober
of wit and calm, this is a warm, kind and funny
man who has never lost the devilish wit and
enthusiasm that allowed him to give us the darkly
hilarious yet always exciting world of Kakhabad
with Sorcery! If only every boy can grow up with
an uncle as fun and cool as Steve!”
The fourth member of the intrepid and exclusive
party, Thomas Nielsen, had flown over from
Denmark that very morning in order to dine out
with Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. “It was
a somewhat surreal experience to finally meet
them after having been a fan-boy of their work
for so long, but that was also because I had been
up since half past four in the morning to fly to
London. Still, it was very nice to meet them and
hear all their tales from the times when they
wrote FF and ran Games Workshop. It was
great to feel that we were appreciated as
fans, as well as for still supporting the work
they did thirty years ago.”

The Warlocks gather, first at the Eidos offices

in Wimbledon and then at a nearby restaurant,
for lunch with their heroes. (© Jonathan Green,
2014)

Right: Blood of the Zombies, by Martin McKenna. This image is actually an Easter Egg hidden in Tin Man Games' Blood of the Zom-
bies app. The player has to collect four pieces of canvas and the painting will then appear in the Art Gallery. Not many people know about
it, since not many people have found it! (© Ian Livingstone, 2012 and 2014)

256 ◉
◉ 257
 Chapter Thirty

The Legacy of Firetop Mountain

And the Geek Shall Inherit the Earth

P ublished in almost thirty languages and with

worldwide sales now approaching 20 million, as
digital apps as well as in printed book form, there can
Mountain, it is just as socially acceptable for adults of
any age to still do the same.

be no denying the impact Fighting Fantasy has had “Fighting Fantasy gamebooks empower the reader,”
on the worlds of gaming and genre literature. In fact, says Ian Livingstone. “There are thousands of
it could be argued that the popularity of Fighting traditional books which are of course brilliantly
Fantasy, and the many imitators it spawned, has written and have incredibly exciting storylines and
driven forward the gamification of literature that is thought-provoking philosophies. Yet traditional books
inextricably linked to the way in which we enjoy mass have a linear storyline and a hero which the reader
media today. may or may not relate to. As soon as the reader is put
in control of the action, it’s a whole different story
Just think of the popularity of DVD and BluRay – excuse the pun! We all like to imagine ourselves in
bonus content, including deleted scenes and alternative the shoes of some legendary hero. Fighting Fantasy
endings; or consider how popular video games have allowed people to do just that by becoming the main
become, and the depth of story that is revealed only character in an interactive adventure.”
when you play through the game multiple times; or
online shared gaming worlds, where players direct the The Fighting Fantasy experience solves that particular
course of the narrative through their actions. And it all problem for the reader. And it is one that has stayed
began with Fighting Fantasy. with its fans down through the years. “I would like
to be a Hero,” says FF enthusiast Tiago Sequeira.
“I guess it was an early development of interactive “A sword for hire, the one who saves the world at the
storytelling,” says FF SF artist Gary Mayes. end of the day. I had the opportunity to be that guy
hundreds of times playing Fighting Fantasy. And I did
“It really tapped into that interactive zeitgeist that without stopping being myself. I was me, the dragon-
happened thirty years ago, when the age of home slayer. Wow! I didn’t think I had it in me.”
computing and home video games was dawning,” adds
film-maker Sean Riley. “I remember reminiscing about “FF instilled in me a love for heroes; brave folks who
Fighting Fantasy in the pub and this opened my eyes are the last bastion of decency, stalwartly refusing
as to just how many people shared my childhood love to back down in the face of all the world’s apathy,
of the series. I also suspect that many people of my age
cynicism and cruelty, courageously battling to make
who loved the series then are now trying to get their
own kids into them!” the world a kinder and gentler place,” says Lin Liren,
echoing his fellow fan’s experience. “The Sorcery! series
Fighting Fantasy combined stories and games, the in particular inspired me to reshape myself into a
proverbial meat and drink of ten year-olds left to their warrior-scholar through martial arts at university.
own devices. Everybody plays games when they’re
ten; everybody reads stories at that age too. Thanks to “Fighting Fantasy allows you to be unfettered by the
Fighting Fantasy, and the trail it blazed for gaming to limitations of your mortal form, and let your inner
becoming more and more central to our culture, three hero out into a world where things like honour, bravery
decades since the publication of The Warlock of Firetop and kindness can still make the world a better place.”

258 ◉ Right: YOU ARE THE HERO, by Martin McKenna. (© Martin McKenna, 2014)
◉ 259
Yachar Demon, by Dave Allsop. (© Dave Allsop, 2014) at the heart of the story, an experience once unique to
gamebooks, is now the standard in mass market, mass
appeal video games.
“Most folks in games started out on D&D,” says artist “In the early days of computer and video games there
and games designer Dave Allsop. “I started with the simply wasn’t enough available memory to include
Fighting Fantasy books. One of my favourite books a compelling story, let alone graphics, speech and
from the series was Out of the Pit... The creature that music,” says Livingstone. “But today that’s all changed,
really intrigued me was called a Yachar Demon – a and storytelling has become an important and integral
monstrous-looking guy with two rams’ heads on either part of a video game.”
shoulder.”
It would seem that over the last thirty years we have
For author and games designer Alan Bligh, Fighting become a game-focused culture. In the marketing
Fantasy was, “to use a slightly dubious, but rather apt world, gamification is key, with a thousand Facebook
analogy, something of a ‘gateway drug’ for me into games exploiting our rabid hunger for games in order
the fantasy genre and gaming in general. From here I to sell us products. In her 2010 TED talk, game
went ravenously on to Dungeons & Dragons, Robert E. designer and academic Jane McGonigal asked if
Howard, Warhammer and all sorts of other cool stuff, gaming could help make a better world. Her argument
and the rest, as they say, is history.” was that an estimated 1.5 billion ‘virtuoso’ gamers
represents a huge and untapped resource of expert
“The idea of a thrilling fantasy adventure where YOU
problem solvers who could be set the challenge of
are the hero is more than just a clever marketing line,”
solving the world’s current challenges!
Damien Walter said in a piece in The Guardian about
the impact Fighting Fantasy has had on our society and Just as The Warlock of Firetop Mountain first did back
culture, “it’s central to the success of Fighting Fantasy in 1982, today games are still putting players at the
and a very significant part of how games have changed heart of the story. More than that, gamers are the
stories.” beating heart of the story. Without the player directing
the action, there is no game. Just as without those
The way Fighting Fantasy adventures put the reader

260 ◉
first young readers picking up The Warlock of Firetop on for pages to then present two options that both go
Mountain, and all the adventures that came after it, on to more lengthy sections (I’m looking at you, US
there would have been no Magic Quest. gamebooks of the ‘80s) and so kids get to feel involved
on a more consistent basis. The art is gorgeous and
doesn’t bland it up simply because of the age of the
The Cult of Fighting Fantasy target audience. The rules aren’t a simple Choose Your
Own Adventure pick a decision, which makes a kid
But just what is it that makes Fighting Fantasy so
work to win an adventure and gives them a sense of
special, and gives it its enduring appeal?
accomplishment afterwards. At the same time, they
“It was the first gamebook series; it was published by aren’t of Dungeons & Dragons complexity.”
the UK’s best-known children’s book publisher; Steve
“FF has something that is rare these days,” suggests
and Ian had a rags to riches story that was a publicist’s
cover artist and map illustrator Nicholas Halliday.
dream,” says FF author Peter Darvill-Evans. “They
“Originality. The series was published at a time when
also had access to a team of potential writers in the
printed books still dominated the written word and
GW staff; they knew the artists who were working in
children weren’t distracted by computers. A book
the fantasy genre. All of which explains why FF books
becomes personal in a way a computer game can’t
were successful.”
really match and FF is now part of thousands of
“It was the first, commercially published professionally people’s childhoods (and adulthoods).”
produced ‘arted up’ version of solo fantasy role-
FF author Paul Mason agrees: “Compared to
playing,” agrees Jamie Thomson, while his old writing
video games, books offer a ‘ludic’, immersive
partner Mark Smith adds, “You are the hero, and they
experience. Their disadvantage is that they only go one
started the whole gamebook cult.”
way. FF offers some of the interactivity of video games,
FF fan Andy Jones is vociferous on the subject. “I think but keeps that imagination-fuelled dreamscape from
each book has such immense replay value; you can books. That’s the combination that explains the appeal,
literally have a completely different experience every I reckon. And of course, the setting is high fantasy,
time you read/play one. I also love how each book has which as the current success of Game of Thrones and The
its own distinct identity and atmosphere, even the less Hobbit demonstrates, has many attractions.”
popular ones. To experience every little battle, trap, set-
“They were the console games of their era,” adds
piece and trick in the series would take a long time and
publisher Oliver Johnson. “But at least people read
as most of the books are set on Titan, that has become
them, and we used to get a lot of feedback how they
an incredibly rich and deep fantasy world which still
helped reluctant readers to get to the written word, so
has plenty of room for exploration.
they were a force of good.”
“Also, the quality of the artwork (covers and interiors)
“I’m still amazed how those books could create what
had an awful lot to do with FF’s early success. It’s vital
felt like an open-world of endless possibilities within
that we acknowledge the importance of the artists’
just 400 paragraphs,” says FF fan Phil Williams. “I
contributions over the years, as they’ve really helped
prefer not to see the maps of the book’s construction,
bring Titan to life.”
as it shatters that incredible illusion that within a pretty
Jamie Fry agrees. “I think FF without the artwork thin paperback book is a massive universe waiting for
wouldn’t be so special… It is the artwork that helps you you to explore. It blew my teenage mind, I can tell
immerse yourself into that world beyond the words… you.”
I think it has to do with the way you unpack the book
Author Magda Knight is equally effusive about the
in your mind, as you build up in your imagination the
series. “FF builds worlds in people’s brains. Any strong
scenarios you are in, and then act them out. The added
creative project helps to rewire people. When it first
dimensions of using dice and mapping makes it an
came out, it put power and responsibility in the hands
even better experience.”
of young kids in a way that was fun. That was probably
Alex Ballingall, creator and editor of the Fighting great for the self-esteem of a lot of younglings.
Fantazine: “I see the FF audience primarily as 7-14
“Fighting Fantasy is an interactive solo adventure
year olds and the books hit this sweet spot with
in which YOU are the hero,” reiterates Livingstone,
precision. Compared to other gamebooks it makes the
getting back to basics. “It was ground-breaking in its
right decisions… There aren’t lengthy sections that go
day and Steve and I are immensely proud of it.”

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The Future of FF higher from the story-telling point of view so that is
pushing new gamebook writers to explore new ways of
It is the current generation of movers and shakers telling an interactive story. This can only be good for
that is responsible for the recent resurgence of the the future of gamebooks!
gamebook genre, driven by an almost over-whelming
sense of nostalgia to recapture the golden days of their “As for the future of FF itself, I’m sure it will always be
youth. For when the future looks bleak, society looks around and the license will be used in many different
backwards to a more fondly remembered past. ways. I for one would welcome a brand new run of FF
stories!”
But while so much of what is great about FF is bathed
in the warm glow of nostalgia, harking back to people’s New York Times best-selling author Graham McNeill
childhoods, what of the future? Where can Fighting is more philosophical in his analysis of where the
Fantasy and the wider gamebook genre go from here? gamebook genre needs to go next. “The same place
all books need to go, deeper into more complex,
Oliver Johnson: “I think enhanced FF-style epub more challenging stories, with robust plots, interesting
gamebooks with a smooth game mechanic, sound characters and unexpected plot twists. The readers of
effects, music and graphics might be successful as a FF books demand exactly the same as any other reader
bridge between eBooks and video games. The written demands, so let’s give it to them!”
word is in my view more immersive than the image on
the screen.” “I think the possibilities are limitless if we’re talking
about a fan-based hobby,” says FF author Graeme
So rather like the apps being produced by Tin Man Davis. “If the mobile apps catch on, then the sky’s
Games and Inkle Studios then? the limit. In book form, a lot is going to depend on
eReader support and suchlike. But the only possible
“The obvious application (if you’ll pardon the pun) limitation I can see is the commercial one – is there
is on smartphones, I would have thought,” says Peter enough of a market to make it practical to keep writing
Darvill-Evans. “They replicate the portability of and publishing? Creatively there are no limits at all,
books.” and never were.”
Jon Ingold of Inkle Studios agrees. “I think the print Michael J Ward, author of the Destiny Quest
form may have had its hey-day. The digital space, gamebook series: “We’re used to being active
however, is wide open. With Sorcery! we’ve been trying participants. It’s all about choice and accessibility.
to show that a ‘written game’ doesn’t need to be niche, As technology continues to permeate our lives, with
or complicated, or particularly geeky. I think the kind eReaders and mobile apps becoming primary delivery
of seamless interactive storytelling we’re experimenting platforms, I think the very idea of what we consider a
with has a great future. Certainly, we’ve got quite a ‘book’ is starting to be challenged – and I really believe
few ideas, and we keep meeting and talking to people gamebooks could play quite a vital role in this literary
who have ideas too. There are lots of directions to go revolution.”
now – multiplayer, serialisation, all the different kinds
of interactivity available on a computer... That’s the FF gamebook artist, Tony Hough: “There’s a whole
future, I think.” multiverse out there! Text-based adventures in some
or other form will always have an appeal, whatever
Tin Man Games’ creative director Neil Rennison: “I technology they are implemented on.”
think it’s about making sure that gamebooks evolve,
while remaining true to their roots. It’s very easy to add “It’s going to be interesting to see how eBook
features into a gamebook which turn it into a modern and app technology affects the presentation of
role-playing game and then it is no longer a gamebook gamebooks,” says author and video game scriptwriter
in my eyes. We need to further investigate what it James Swallow. “In a way, these things bring
means to be an interactive story and finding new ways gamebooks closer to video games – but I certainly
within the writing itself to tell better stories. We also think that one of the strengths of the concept is
need to encourage innovative designs that still fit within that gamebooks are portable, simple to play and
the gamebook mould. entertaining, and all those are values that eBook and
smartphone users would find appealing.”
“Fantasy, science-fiction, horror have all really matured
as a creative medium in the video games space as well Michael Acton Smith, dot.com businessman and
as in movies and comics. Audience expectations are creator of Moshi Monsters: “With the growth of

262 ◉
video games, FF style books have become much more And Steven Dean’s requirements are even more basic
niche. They may not have a huge mainstream future than that: “Back into the dungeons for me.”
but they will forever be remembered fondly by the
thousands that grew up playing them.” “The beauty of the FF formula,” says gamebook fan
Damian Butt, “is that there are so many ideas that
FF fan Thomas Nielsen: “I think gamebooks still do could be turned into amazing books. How about an
have their merits next to video games. They are not alien invasion of Earth? Or time travel? Or gladiators?
limited by graphics engines and can potentially be Or gangsters? The list is endless.”
much more versatile in the experience they provide the
player. However, it would require that this potential is But whatever Fighting Fantasy adventures may, or may
properly used. It is not going to work, if the publishers not, end up being written in the future, many people
just keep rereleasing the same titles over and over. are feeling more positive now about the future of the
Fantasy and gaming in general have both moved on gamebook genre than they have had reason to be in
since the Eighties.” a long time, even in this age of next gen consoles and
hyper-realistic video games. One of those is long-time
“There are always more stories to tell and more FF fan Graham McNeill.
adventures to get immersed in, more witch-kings to
dethrone and more dungeons to delve in,” says games “Video games are a quick hit of fun, one that is more
designer and author Alan Bligh. “Why? Because it’s visceral and immediate; one you can play over and
fun. Obviously there are new forms of media that over again without having to actually engage your
spring up, and new ways of interaction, but good brain. But having said that, the new breed of games
escapist entertainment in a myriad forms is never going like Dragon Age, Skyrim, Mass Effect and Knights of the Old
to go out of fashion.” Republic are bringing back that love of storytelling and
exploration. So as those games are completed and put
Games designer and author Sarah Newton: “I think back on the shelf, there’s going to be a whole lot of
the more we play RPGs, the more nuanced the people who want more. Enter the gamebook...”
portrayals of female and male characters is going to
become, and the better the storylines. FF is a great “FF books will never disappear into the technological
venue not just for exploring the world, but for pushing black hole of changing computer specs!” adds Inkle
the world’s boundaries, exploring alternative ways of Studios’ Jon Ingold. “Our Sorcery! app certainly won’t
doing things, the ultimate ‘what if ?’ RPGs in general exist in 30 years’ time, because iPads won’t exist
let you change the world around you – I see no reason anymore. At least books don’t become obsolete.”
why FF shouldn’t continue to be a great vehicle for
If people feel that there is still a place for books in this
aspirational adventure for everyone, regardless of
brave new world we are entering, what about comics,
gender.”
or, more specifically, a Fighting Fantasy comic?
So, given the opportunity, what sort of adventures
would fans like to see being published in the future?
Fighting Fantasy – The Comic Book
Über-fan Zsolt Matyusz certainly knows what he would
like to see. “As there was a return to Firetop Mountain “City of Thieves was my first taste of the Fighting
and to Baron Sukumvit’s dungeon, there may be a Fantasy universe awaiting me,” says comics writer
return to the Citadel of Chaos. Though Balthus Dire Andi Ewington, the man who plans to take the classic
is dead, it is not impossible that his wife was already gamebook series into uncharted waters. “I had been
pregnant with their child. So this sequel would take reading TSR’s Endless Quest series for a while,
place 20-25 years after The Citadel of Chaos… There and even though they were enjoyable, I found they
are at least two adventure opportunities: either the didn’t quite leave you feeling ‘heroic’ at the end… I
player could impersonate the heir of Balthus as he remember being drawn to that iconic Iain McCaig
or she is trying to regain full control of the Citadel cover featuring Zanbar Bone. Picking it up and several
and Craggen Rock with the help of (or against) their brief scans of the interior later I realised I was holding
mother. Or it could be the classic heroic adventure to the Holy Grail of single player gaming experience in
destroy the again increasing influence and power of my eleven year old hands.
the Citadel once and for all against the new heir.”
“I’ve been writing and creating comics since 2009 and
Thomas Nielsen has simpler tastes: “Just a good old- trying to break into the mainstream comic market,
fashioned, adventuring romp through Allansia.” all this while working a regular nine to five job as

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a graphic designer... It’s a tough industry, but one
I’m totally in love with; there are no boundaries in
writing and I’m free to build worlds and craft stories
as I see fit. I’ve got several comics at various stages of
development, and I hope one day I’ll be writing for
Marvel or DC rather than just myself.”

Ewington cites FF as a massive influence on his career

and what he’s doing today: “I tried creating a Fighting
Fantasy fanzine at the age of twelve, and even though
I was laughed off the shelf, I was determined to build
on my love of RPGs and in particular Fighting Fantasy.
Fast-forward twenty-eight years and through a quirk
of fate I found myself sitting in Ian Livingstone’s
house, sharing a glass of wine, reading through Blood
of the Zombies. I have always maintained that Fighting
Fantasy shaped me and my imagination, and helped
me become the comic writer I am today.

“I was fortunate enough to move in the same circles as

Ian Livingstone when he was at Domark Interactive.
I had been working for an agency as a designer and
when I found out that Ian was a client I remember
turning up with a copy of Deathtrap Dungeon for him to
sign. Our paths wouldn’t cross again for nearly twenty
years, but after my debut comic, 45, was released in
2009 a mutual friend gave a copy to Ian to read, and
somehow (I still don’t quite remember how exactly)
we met up and chatted about comics. Ian loved the
medium and was interested in developing a comic for
the Fighting Fantasy franchise. I instantly said I’d be
up for the challenge and offered to write a Deathtrap
Freeway Fighter, by Ian Livingstone and Andi Ewington. (© Ian
Dungeon comic as it seemed the most obvious choice,
Livingstone and Andi Ewington, 2014)
as it was one of the most popular titles in the roster.
I developed a comic script and presented it to Ian, a
few edits later and the first Fighting Fantasy comic
script was ready. Sadly a lack of funds has prevented us So how do you go about converting a gamebook into
taking this and the Freeway Fighter comic I have penned a comic? “The answer is very carefully! One thing I
further at this point. I’m not one to give up, I’ll find a had to be mindful of was being as faithful to the book
way to bring this comic to life, even if I have to ‘Test as possible without interfering with any established
my Luck’ with Kickstarter.” And we all know where timeline. For Deathtrap Dungeon, I saw the dungeon
that can lead… as the main focus of the story in the same way the
Twilight Zone works, stories and characters come
and go, but Deathtrap Dungeon will always be there,
constantly testing anyone brave enough to take those
first fateful steps inside.

“The plan for the comic was to act as a prequel to a

movie script, to throw a contestant into the depths
of the dungeon with their own agenda that is slowly
revealed to the reader. This would then neatly lead us
to the main hero character of the film and complete
the story arc. For Freeway Fighter, I wanted to know the
background story to the Dodge Interceptor you end up
driving in the books. I always found it strange such a

264 ◉
car would be found at New Hope without a bigger tale don’t want to give Fighting Fantasy fans an alternative
to tell. The comic fills in those gaps and brings a depth gamebook, but a background story that delves deeper
to an already existing story. into these adventures and maybe answer a few long-
burning questions.”
“Once I had the germ of the plot and I had my main
characters, I would cherry pick scenes, encounters and So if Ewington’s FF comics eventually make it onto
baddies that fans would be familiar with and weave newsstands, are there any other classic titles he would
them into the narrative. It was imperative not to mess like to give the graphic novel treatment?
with the world so it would conflict with the gamebooks
too much – for example, if I killed off the Bloodbeast “Seas of Blood would make an excellent comic; lots of
– so every step I took in the comic I would ensure I visually stunning set pieces that could be artistically
wasn’t creating a ripple that would disrupt the source interpreted. I’d also love to see Trials of Champions
material. It was tricky, but I think I’ve managed to adapted; there’s nothing more gritty than a story
carefully tip-toe my way through it without causing too peppered with a revenge plot.
much disruption.”
“I can see Fighting Fantasy making a real impact with
comics, and with other media such as films, TV, or
webisodes. Fighting Fantasy still has a story to tell, it
just needs to find a way to reach the masses again.”

The 60th Anniversary

Whether Fighting Fantasy ever manages to reach the
masses in the same way that it did back in its heyday of
the 1980s, do the fans and creators of the series believe
that people will still be talking about Fighting Fantasy
in another thirty years’ time?

Steve Jackson is stoical: “I hope so. But it will be a

miracle if I’ll be there to see it!”

Ian Livingstone on the other hand (and the older of

the two) is more optimistic: “I hope so. And I hope I
will be still talking about it too!”

“I think if something is good, a quality product, then

there’s no reason why not,” says science fiction writer
Gavin G Smith. “Thirty years ago I believe they were
considered a flash in the pan. They’re still here.”
Deathtrap Dungeon, by Ian Livingstone and Andi Ewington. (© Author Graham McNeill: “I know I will be, crusty and
Ian Livingstone and Andi Ewington, 2014) cantankerous on a panel at SFX Weekender 33.”

Novelist Gav Thorpe: “FF is one of those properties

that has had a profound effect on the gaming and
Has Ewington ever considered making an actual
fantasy landscape, and now that it is being discovered
gamebook comic?
by a new generation (and rediscovered by this old one)
“I remember a rather unsuccessful game comic it can have that impact all over again.”
called Dice Man which featured a similar mechanic
Cartoonist Lew Stringer: “As with any specialist interest
of choosing your way through different comic panels
it’s never going to go away because it has followers that
rather than reading blocks of prose. As novel as the
are passionate about the subject. And with fantasy the
concept was at the time, it failed to capture the market
scenarios are as boundless as the imagination.”
and lasted only five issues before being pulled. I don’t
want the Fighting Fantasy comics to suffer a repeat The Forest of Doom artist Malcolm Barter: “Yes. Whilst
of this, so have opted to avoid the interactive element playing the holographic version.”
of the gamebooks and focus purely on the story. I

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“If the current interest in FF is anything to go by, yes, ‘city setting’ was absolutely vital inspiration for the
I would imagine people will still be talking about FF in creation of Dullitch in the Illmoor Chronicles, a series
another thirty years,” affirms FF SF artist Gary Mayes. we initially sold to Hodder and Disney back in 2003.
“However, it may have developed in a way that we I actually started an FF novel in 1994 that I sent
know nothing about at the moment, like eBooks for to Steve Jackson; it was called Skullsong. Steve liked
example, or animated illustrations. Who knows what’s it, and replied with a very surprising letter explaining
around the corner?” that he’d have seriously considered it had the series not
just been cancelled by Penguin! Unsurprisingly, I still
“I hope so,” muses best-selling author David Lee have the letter.”
Stone. “I’ll still be talking about it if I’m around,
though I’m not sure muttering ‘Balthus Dire’ while Marc Gascoigne, now publisher of Angry Robot
dribbling over a blanket in a retirement home really Books, remembers his involvement with the series with
counts…” pride: “These days, I look back on a huge body of
work, with the many gamebooks, novels, game rules
“Regardless of what may happen in the future,” states and spin-offs, and can scarce believe we all made it
FF fan James Aukett, “I hope that thirty years down happen with such apparent ease.”
the line Fighting Fantasy is still fresh in people’s minds
and being discussed as vividly as it is now, ranking It’s not only Gascoigne who was given a helping hand
alongside classics by the likes of Geoffrey Chaucer and along the way by Fighting Fantasy.
Charles Dickens.”
Philippa Dickinson is now Consultant Children’s
FF cartographer Steve Luxton has one last thought Publisher at Penguin Random House UK. “It
to add on the subject of where there might be left for definitely helped my career in that it was an enormous
Fighting Fantasy gamebooks to go. “Has anyone done success. Since then, I keep bumping into authors,
a scratch and sniff version yet?” who – when I say I used to work at Puffin and I used
to work on the Fighting Fantasy books – they go ‘Oh,
I love those books!’ and you sort of think, ‘Really?
The Legacy of Firetop Mountain You can hardly have been born!’ And then it turns out
they’ve read them the second time round.
The world would doubtless be a very different place
from how it is today without the influence of Fighting “I was just enormously fortunate to be handed this
Fantasy. project, that I was able to contribute to, which then
became an incredible success… And obviously I’m
Over the course of the last thirty or more years, the
very happy at whatever part I had to play in that but it
premier gamebook series has directly touched the lives
was of its moment.”
of millions the world over. It has also made an indirect
impact on millions more who have come into contact Jamie Thomson is happy to credit the series for
with books, games and philosophies created and kick-starting his writing career too. “I am a novelist,
expounded by people who were themselves originally script writer and game designer. None of that would
influenced by The Warlock of Firetop Mountain and its have been possible without Way of the Tiger, Falcon
kind. and Fabled Lands. None of those would have been
possible without FF. If I hadn’t written the Talisman of
“I think it’s very easy to underestimate just how
Death, I probably would have been an accountant or
ground-breaking the FF books were,” points out author
something.”
Gavin G Smith. For the vast majority, “they were
pretty much the first time that there was any sort of Considering the impact Fighting Fantasy has had on
non-passive interaction between the reader and the the world, and its lasting legacy, some are amazed,
text. I also think that even more so than a normal novel and disappointed, that the series isn’t more widely
they encouraged the reader to both think and use their recognised.
imagination.”
“I can’t quite understand why an FF book was not
David Lee Stone, another best-selling author, has included in the Mars Rover,” says speculative fiction
this to say about the series: “Fighting Fantasy was and YA author Magda Knight. “They should be on
the single biggest influence that launched me on Mars by now. But they’re not, and I think that this
the road to becoming a published author. Along with error on humanity’s part is making us look pretty
Terry Pratchett’s Ankh Morpork, the Port Blacksand backward. Embarrassing really.”

266 ◉
Hugo Award-winning expert on role-playing games Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. (© Steve Jackson, 2014)
Cheryl Morgan agrees: “Mars needs Fighting Fantasy.
Think of all those poor, deprived Martian kids who
anniversary] on my @ian_livingstone Twitter account.
have never had a chance to play.”
So I have suggested to Steve that we co-write a new
“FF is still a great game and never went away,” says Firetop Mountain book for the 40th Anniversary. At our
Fighting Fantasy cartographer Steve Luxton. “Older age it will probably take us ten years to write!”
players can introduce it to their children and it is being
But whether Jackson and Livingstone continue to
used as an educational resource. Gamebooks provide a
return to the series themselves, it looks as if FF will be
great alternative for those of us who are not very good
influencing the game creators and best-selling genre
at video games.”
authors of the future regardless. Novelist and games
In fact, Fighting Fantasy taught many a young FF designer Sarah Newton certainly thinks so: “Story
fan valuable life lessons. One of those impressionable telling is fundamental to human beings, and FF plays a
young readers was Matthew Smith. So what was it that key role in carrying that social experience forwards. If
Fighting Fantasy gamebooks taught him, precisely? “I it meets the challenges and exploits the opportunities
know not to push my luck and that if I ever want to get of the eBook era, I think it has a shining future.”
a tattoo, make sure it’s the right one. Oh, and never
It is an indisputable fact that without Fighting Fantasy
leave home without a bone monkey charm.”
the worlds of gaming and genre fiction, and life in
general, would be all the poorer for it. And so, united
Fighting Fantasy’s 40th Anniversary by our passion for adventure, tricks, traps and terrors
unknown, let us gather, once more, in Port Blacksand’s
In 2022, the Fighting Fantasy series will be forty years Black Lobster tavern, and raise a flagon of Cloud Ale to
old, and there will doubtless still be many a fan eager the greatest gamebook series of them all.
to commemorate such a momentous occasion. But will
the series’ co-founders, the original Warlocks of Firetop “To Fighting Fantasy! May your STAMINA never fail!”
Mountain, be back to mark the event with another new
title?

Ian Livingstone: “I was bowled over by the positive

reaction I received when I announced that I was
writing a new Fighting Fantasy gamebook [for the 30th

◉ 267
 Acknowledgements
You Are The Heroes

So many people have helped in so many different ways mention must go to Martin McKenna, Iain McCaig,
to make this history of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks Russ Nicholson and Tony Hough, who all contributed
what it is, from passing on contact details and sending brand new artwork. I would also like to acknowledge
me photographs and scans, to spreading the word the help of all the people – ranging from writers and
about YOU ARE THE HERO in the first place. artists, to editors, publishers and fans – who patiently
However there are some individuals I would like to answered my endless questions, in many cases revealing
single out for particular attention. all kinds of previously unknown titbits about the
creation of the premier gamebook series.
First of all Jes Bickham and David Bradley, who
respectively commissioned my original article about And that brings me to Steve Jackson and Ian
the history of Fighting Fantasy for the SFX Fantasy Livingstone. Without their encouragement and
Special and promoted YOU ARE THE HERO through support, the YOU ARE THE HERO Kickstarter would
the SFX website. I also need to thank all those people never have succeeded, and without their endless
who offered rewards for the original Kickstarter, patience and the permission they granted me to
including Neil Rennison and Ben Britten Smith of Tin reproduce never before published material, the book
Man Games, Dr Mike Reddy, and Mark Stoneham. would not be the mighty tome it is now.
I am very grateful to Tony Riseley for his sharp-eyed
copy edit, as well as Emma Barnes of Snowbooks for But most of all, I would like to say a huge and heartfelt
doing such an excellent job on the layout of the book thank you to Fighting Fantasy’s legions of faithful
and publishing it in the UK. fans the world over, who pledged their support to this
project. Without them, YOU ARE THE HERO could
A debt of thanks is due to all those artists who allowed not have happened at all.
me to reproduce their work in the book, but a special
So here’s to you, all of you…

YOU ARE THE HERO!

Kickstarter Backers

Cyclops • Erik Odeldahl • Daniel Trevurra Pearce • James

Graham • Kyle Cherry • Andrew “Brewin” Drage •
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• Adam Sparshott • Joshua Wright • Edwin Tan
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• James Long • Mel Hall • Rob Smith • Steven Parry •
Campbell • Matthew Turner
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de Silva • Richard McColm • David J Williams • Paul
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Paco Garcia Jaen • Duncan Bailey • Franck Teixidó Gooch • Pauline Martyn • Bryce Undy • Matthieu
• Martin Beijer • Jamie Oliver • Geoffrey Bertram Vallée • Paul Comis • Benjamin C Gray • Marc Wilson
• penwing • Tony Lane • Claire Roberts • Danny • Ciarán Bohane • IlJoon Kim • Neil Gardner • Aidan
Morgan • Rhel ná DecVandé • John Ossoway • Paul Thomson • Gordon Macleod • Nicholas Millar • Björn
Smith • Adrien Maudet • Adam Layzell • Michael Lottner
Hartley • Emma Hyam • David “Yabon Gorky”
Lallemand • Israel Perez Luque • Grant Easton •

Dr agon
Richard Barley • John Berry • David L Clegg • Sean
Franks • Psigh Dimitrios • Aaron Dembski-Bowden
• Dirk Smith • Matt Sheriff • Jason Chaplin • Tiago
Damian Butt • Steve Brown • Tiago Alexandre da
Vieira Perretto • Clay Carter • Chris Brind • Iain
Cruz Correia Sequeira • James Aukett • Matt Smith •
Lowson • Donall Tansey • Jon Spillett • Pat Robinson
Zsolt Matyusz
& Irina Ivashova • Gary Blower • Ade Bardy • Freddy
B • Ed Brenton

Warlock
Vampire Steve Dean • Andy Jones • Lin Liren • Thomas Dan
Nielsen
Matt Zitron • Matthew Sylvester • Richard Griggs •
Gabriel Seah • Stuart A Harris • Matt Gilbert • Bill
Heron •Vincent K A Wood • Hopper Boys • Ross
Warren • Niki Lybæk • Michael Reilly • Ashley Knight You are the Hero
• Matt Curzon • Rich Dodgin • Jamie Fry a.k.a The
Steve Jackson • Ian Livingstone
Warlock • Rachel & William West • Scott and Yasmin