Friday 29 January 2021

The Return of Sourbelly and Fatnose

We first met them in Ian Livingstone's seminal Fighting Fantasy gamebook City of Thieves...

And more recently, Atlantis Miniatures turned them into 3D models...

But everyone's favourite Port Blacksand law enforcement duo - Sourbelly and Fatnose - will also be making an appearance as supporting characters in Chameleon Comix's City of Thieves graphic novel.


Not many details have been released about the plot of the graphic novel yet, but we do know that one Ebonious Malfante is the villain of the story...


And that the cults of Tanit, Goddess of Envy, and Slangg, the God of Malice, clearly also have a part to play, judging by these character illustrations by artist KrisztiĆ”n Balla. 



Are you looking forward to the City of Thieves graphic novel? And who else do you hope will make an appearance during the course of the story? Let us know in the comments below.

Friday 22 January 2021

Beyond the Pit - Set XIII

This week, Arion Games have released another set of Paper Miniatures for Advanced Fighting Fantasy.

As they are continuing to work their way through Beyond the Pit, this set presents another 16 hand-drawn miniatures that are bright and stylish, and will enhance any tabletop game. Set XII includes the Giant Stormbird, the Stegocephalian, the Thassaloss and the Toadman.

To purchase this new set, as well as other Advanced Fighting Fantasy products through DriveThruRPG, simple click on the image below.


In case you missed it before, Set XII is also available, and features the Giant Spider, the Skeleton King, the Sleepless Ram, and the Spike Demon.


Friday 15 January 2021

The Warlock Returns... once again

Available now from Arion Games, via DriveThruRPG, is issue #2 of The Warlock Returns, the fanzine that brings you new material from fans of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy Roleplaying Game and the Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks.

Inside the latest issue you will find:

*Denizens of the Pit - New monsters from Titan

*Jungle - Starting Characters for use in the jungles of Titan.

*Interview with Rhianna Pratchett - about her Fighting Fantasy adventure Crystal of Storms

*Dream Labyrinth of Apollones II - An adventure for AFF

*Director Advice Articles - Suggesting rumours and plot hooks

*A History of Mauristatia - An area in the Old World of Titan

*Travelling the Multiverse - A Stellar Adventures setting

*The Legend of Gareus - Comic Strip and Agony Aunt page

*Torra-Factions - Continuing the Stellar Adventures setting

*Letters from Arion

*AFF & Roll20 - Creating a character sheet in Roll20

Plus a new Stellar Adventures character sheet from Ade Sant


Friday 8 January 2021

Blast from the Past! Clash of the Princes

In 1986 the first two-player Fighting Fantasy gamebook experience, Clash of the Princes, was published.

“I remember one of the Penguin editors saying they’d had a submission from Australia which was a two-player FF game,” Jackson recalls. “We agreed it should be in the FF series.”

Clash of the Princes was written by Andrew Chapman (author of Space Assassin, The Rings of Kether and Seas of Blood) and Martin Allen (who would go on to write Sky Lord).

As to what Clash of the Princes was all about, the blurb on the back of the book said it all:

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 PrincesThe Warrior’s Way and The Warlock’s Way – were released as a boxed set. They could be still be played as standard solo Fighting Fantasy gamebooks but of course they could also be combined to create a unique two-player role-playing experience. Two new attributes were used in the two-player version, ACTION and STATUS. These allowed the two players to synchronize their individual gaming experiences.

The Warrior’s Way cast the hero as Clovis, Warrior-Prince of the golden city of Gundobad. The Warlock’s Way made the hero Lothar, the Warlock-Prince, Clovis’s twin brother and rival. In the books, both set out upon the somewhat draconian Trial of Kingship to see which of them will succeed to the throne of Gundobad.

The two books were both illustrated by John Blanche, inside and out. “I think Clash of the Princes came about because Geoff Taylor recommended me to the publishers,” reckons Blanche.

Minotaur and Warthog Guard, by John Blanche.

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.

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.

The map that appeared in the Clash of the Princes, by Dave Andrews.

Friday 1 January 2021

What is your Fighting Fantasy New Year's Resolution?

Is it to play through all the books in order? Is it to replay some classic adventures using only honest dice rolls? Is it to complete your collection of green spines? Or is it to pick up one of each of the titles published by Scholastic?

If you're unsure what your Fighting Fantasy New Year's Resolution should be, perhaps you could gain some inspiration from these individuals...

Mungo
To keep an eye out for crabs.

Throm
To never trust a Dwarf again.

Baron Sukumvit
To increase the Bloodbeast quotient in Deathtrap Dungeon by 300%.

Lord Azzur
To stop at nothing to bring Zanbar Bone's murderer to justice.

Shareella the Snow Witch
To bring about the end of the world by bringing on a new ice age.

Zagor the Warlock
To hide the Eye of the Cyclops where nobody can ever find it again.
And to look for the keys to the treasure chest.