The Port of Peril - the Bulgarian edition

Available now from GENY-Gamebooks, is the Bulgarian language edition of Ian Livingstone's The Port of Peril, the English edition of which was published to coincide with Fighting Fantasy's 35th anniversary in 2017.

The cover features Iain McCaig's cover art for the limited edition UK hardback release, while the internal illustrations first appeared in the Brazilian edition.

The book also includes a brand new map of Allansia, with all the place names translated into Bulgarian, naturally.

If you would like a copy of the Bulgarian edition of Ian Livingstone's The Port of Peril, either because you can read Bulgarian or because you are an avid collector of all things Fighting Fantasy, you can buy it here.

The Crown of Kings - 35 years of magic

2020 marks the 35th anniversary of the publication of The Crown of Kings, the fourth and concluding adventure of Steve Jackson's seminal Sorcery! series.

Jackson conceived the epic gamebook experiment after holidaying in Nepal, and several of the settlements that appear in The Shamutanti Hills, the first book in the quartet, are named after actual villages he came across on a five day trek he undertook from the city of Pokhara.

The Shamutanti Hills concludes with the hero - the Analander - battling the Manticore that has appeared on the cover of every edition of the book ever published. The second book in the series, Kharé – Cityport of Traps, charts the hero’s challenging journey through the titular city to the spell-locked Northern Gate, through which he has to pass to continue the quest for the Crown of Kings.

The Seven Serpents, the third book in the series, takes the hero across the inhospitable Baklands – a treacherous wilderness of deserts, forests, and swamps – and a vast lake, as the Analander attempts to hunt down and do away with the Archmage’s assassin-agents of the title, seven deadly and magical serpents. And in The Crown of Kings, the hero has to climb through the Xamen Peaks to the Mampang Fortress, and then battle his way through the Archmage’s lair.

The Crown of Kings was a whopping 800 references in length - a record yet to be broken by any other Fighting Fantasy gamebook) – was a suitably epic finale to Sorcery! series, and featured one of the most memorable (and clever) denouements of any adventure ever published, not to mention encounters with a god-headed Hydra and entire societies of birdmen and she-satyrs.

When Jackson talks about the Sorcery! series, he does so, understandably, with great fondness. When pressed on the subject of which of the gamebooks he has written are his favourites, he cites two: “Warlock because it was the first. And Sorcery! because it was the most complex. Creating a four-part adventure in which your actions in Book 2 might affect your choices in Book 4 was a real challenge. Also making sure they were all good adventures in their own right; you didn’t need to have completed Sorcery 1 to play Sorcery 2. I was very proud of Sorcery!”

Of course, in more recent years, the Sorcery! series has been turned into a series of apps by inkle studios, as well as a multi-player role-playing campaign published by Arion Games, while the first two parts of the Analander's momentous quest are now in print again, courtesy of Scholastic Books.

     

Deathtrap Dungeon – The debut Interactive Fiction title from Branching Narrative

Branching Narrative today announced its first gaming title: a new take on Deathtrap Dungeon, the classic Fighting Fantasy gamebook by Ian Livingstone. Showcasing the company’s new Interactive Fiction engine, the game stars British actor Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan, Fast & Furious Presents Hobbs and Shaw, Deadpool 2), who will act as narrator and guide in a high-quality interactive video production that faithfully recreates the beloved fantasy book.

Deathtrap Dungeon, arguably one of the most popular titles in the Fighting Fantasy series, was originally released in 1984 and challenges the player to survive the Trial of Champions that takes place in the labyrinth of Fang, full of fiendish traps and deadly creatures set by the devious Baron Sukumvit.

Branching Narrative’s Deathtrap Dungeon will be delivered as a video stream that prompts the user to make choices and direct the flow, offering enhanced gameplay over other recent high-profile ‘interactive movie’ offerings, fully utilising the mechanics from the book.

Matt Spall of Branching Narrative, said: “Our innovative take on Deathtrap Dungeon is a choice-based adventure, presented as an interactive video storybook with the fantastic Eddie Marsan narrating the story and guiding players as they find their way through Baron Sukumvit’s treacherous corridors of power.”

Ian Livingstone said: “Deathtrap Dungeon has consistently been a fan favourite, so I am excited about the approach that Branching Narrative is taking in bringing my book to a new generation of players in a new format. Eddie Marsan is brilliant, and with the storytelling being an interactive rather than passive experience, this ain’t no Jackanory!”

Eddie Marsan said: “It’s an exciting challenge to guide Deathtrap Dungeon adventurers, both new and experienced, as they take on the perils of the deadly Trial of Champions.”

Fighting Fantasy fans will be able to meet the Branching Narrative team and see an early prototype of Deathtrap Dungeon at Fighting Fantasy Fest 3, taking place on Saturday 31st August at the University of West London, in Ealing.

Deathtrap Dungeon is due for release on PC, Mac and Mobile later this year, commemorating the 35th anniversary of the book’s original publication, with other formats, including console, to follow in 2020.

Classic Cover! House of Hell

2019 marks the 35th anniversary of the publication of a number of classic, and ever-popular, Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, including Steve Jackson's House of Hell.

For almost thirty years following its initial release back in 1984, House of Hell remained unique; it was the only FF adventure to have a wholly ‘contemporary’ setting. It was not a futuristic, superhero sci-fi yarn, or a post-apocalyptic adventure, but was Fighting Fantasy’s one and only specifically horror-themed adventure. That was until Blood of the Zombies was published in 2012.

House of Hell is the sort of nightmare you could imagine yourself ending up in if your car broke down on a lonely country road in a thunderstorm only for you to discover that you were in a mobile phone dead spot.

Other than the fact that there’s no mention of mobile phones, the plot of the book hasn’t dated in the intervening decades. As a result of the aforementioned breakdown and thunderstorm, the hero takes refuge in an old house, but it’s a decision that turns out to be the worst mistake of his life, since the house is home to a cult of devil-worshippers and their demonic Master.

The late games designer Alan Bligh was interviewed about the influence of the gamebook back in 2013: “Speaking as a kid who stayed up late to watch old Hammer movies, which I loved, I was absolutely there in my imagination, and that strange Ian Miller cover? Fantastic.”

Although his artwork later appeared on the cover for The Citadel of Chaos, House of Hell was Ian 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 Ballingall when he was interviewed for the Fighting Fantazine in 2012. “I did a series of roughs, four I think, and Steve chose the version he liked best. It was an easy process.

“When I did cover work (I’m not often asked these days), I worked maybe one or two up on the published book size. The image would be pencilled in, then inked and coloured. I used illustration board for the most part… I always read the books I did covers for. It made sense in my opinion… I think the first, House of Hell, was the best of the bunch.”

Steve Jackson was so impressed by Miller’s work on House of Hell that he purchased the original painting.

House of Hell is available again, in a new edition, courtesy of Scholastic Books, with cover art by Rob Ball, and can be picked up here.

Scorpion Swamp artist Duncan Smith to attend Fighting Fantasy Fest 3

What do the Fighting Fantasy gamebook Scorpion Swamp (written by the US Steve Jackson) and Fighting Fantasy - The Introductory Role-playing Game (written by the UK Steve Jackson) have in common? Well, apart from sharing their 35th anniversary in 2019, they were also both illustrated by artist Duncan Smith.

What some Fighting Fantasy fans may not realise is that Duncan also provided the pictures for the first iteration of Ian Livingstone's legendary Caverns of the Snow Witch that appeared in Warlock Magazine.

Mammoth and Snow Witch, by Duncan Smith (c) 1984 and 2018.

Duncan is now based in London, having moved there after graduating from the Glasgow School Of Art.

Duncan Smith: Luckily I had some good friends who'd moved down the year before, Iain McCaig and Joe Graham. (You've probably heard of Iain, does a bit of drawing for films, writes, directs, film maker and educator, all round renaissance man! Joe Graham is a designer, writer, singer and used to make a great man-mountain pizza!) Anyway, after dragging my portfolio around all the Publishers I started to get lots of work. Iain was working on the FF books and they were looking for new artists and I ended up doing a whole bunch of fantasy work for Puffin Books and White Dwarf. They were really enjoyable books to do, and Iain and I would have great fun, taking turns posing, for each others drawings for some of the more outlandish characters in our respective books, from Lizard men, centaurs, wizards and the occasional giant! The rest as they say, is history, as that was over thirty years ago.

The Warlock: So what have you been working on since illustrating Fighting Fantasy gamebooks?

DS: My work is quite varied now, I work for a variety of publishing houses producing illustrations and some concept work for film, I write and illustrate children's books and how to draw books. I'm also an avid photographer and educator.

TW: Many of your original FF illustrations are now for sale. What prompted you to give fans the opportunity to own a piece of classic '80s fantasy art?

DS: One of the reasons that I'm selling this artwork is a chat I had recently with my old friend Tim Olsen. (Tim stayed in the flat below us and was then the manager of Games Workshop. Tim is another multi-talented guy - writer, artist and humanitarian - and has the biggest heart!). When I mentioned I still had all the artwork for the books tucked away in my plan chest, he said that I should put them up for sale as there was a lot of interest from fans and collectors for FF art. So, Tim put out the word that I was selling some work and remarkably there was a lot of interest! So, here for the first time, all in one place, the artwork finally sees the light of day!

Pool Beast and Fenmarge Tavern, by Duncan Smith (c) 1984 and 2018.

Some of Duncan's original pieces for Scorpion Swamp and Fighting Fantasy - The Introductory Role-Playing Game are still available to buy, direct from the artist himself here.

The exciting news is that Duncan is going to be one of the guests attending Fighting Fantasy Fest 3, on Saturday 31st August 2019. To find out more about the event, click this link. Tickets go on sale in the New Year.

35 years of French Fighting Fantasy

Today sees the release of new French editions of the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks - or Défis Fantastiques - from Gallimard, marking 35 years of Fighting Fantasy in French.

France is the only country where Fighting Fantasy never went out of print. And it's not only the original gamebooks that have a dedicated following in France - thanks to Scriptarium there is also a French language version of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG.

The Warlock caught up with the man behind Scriptarium, Florent Haro, to ask him about his history with FF and what the future holds for Défis Fantastiques – le Jeu de rôle.

The Warlock: Which was the first Fighting Fantasy adventure you read? 

Florent Haro: That was Citadel of Chaos. My brother offered it to me for my 11th Christmas, but it probably looked weird to me, as I waited some months before opening it, a day when I was ill and forced to stay in my bed! That was such a fantastic discovery and experience that I can still feel the pleasure I had more than 30 years later! And that's why I'm so proud to have added some background text in the new French edition, a kind of tribute to this marvellous book that opened the door to gamebooks and RPGworlds to me, and that I have never left. 

TW: Which is your favourite FF gamebook?

FH: Probably House of Hell. I’m not fan of horror and contemporary horror, and much prefer medieval-fantasy adventures. But this gamebook is so well written and illustrated that you can't forget its ambience. It's also very challenging to play, with impossible (and nicely cruel) paths. And probably the only gamebook which really provoked fear for me... a major gamebook!

TW: Do you have a favourite writer or illustrator? 

FH: The first gamebooks I played were Fighting Fantasy, and Steve Jackson is my favorite FF author as he wrote the gamebooks I prefer (the ones I already talked about and Creature of Havoc and Sorcery!). Nevertheless, I must recognise that some of the gamebooks Jonathan Green wrote are maybe better in some aspects; I particularly loved Stormslayer and Night of the Necromancer. My favourite FF artist is Russ Nicholson; his style is a mix of naive, exotic and detailed drawing. And not too realistic; realistic illustrations are often impressing, but they lack the bit of fantasy and mystery Russ can provide with his art. I'd like to mention Malcolm Barter too, who became a good friend of mine. I didn't love all his art from The Forest of Doom, but its style is so special that he puts you into the ambience very well and some of the pictures are great. I love most of the many illustrations he made for our books, even better than his old art.

TW: What made you decide to publish a French language edition of Advanced Fighting Fantasy? 

FH: Mainly because I had never understood why the first RPG and the first AFF hadn’t been translated in French, when FF sold very well. FF were sold without interruption from 1983 by Gallimard - all the existing gamebooks were translated - but, like anywhere, the golden age was in the 1980s. I seized the opportunity in 2011 with Scriptarium. For Titan, we wanted to have the possibility of promoting and developing the game and becoming the official publisher for the French version. Then we contacted Steve Jackson, who accepted kindly my offer, and we agreed on a licence.

TW: How well-received has the AFF RPG been in France (and elsewhere)? 

FH: AFF was nearly unknown when we proposed a French version - only some true FF fans like me had bought second-hand copies of the original AFF books, or Arion's new edition. Then we thought it would interest many FF fans, as there were still a solid French-speaking community on the web, and sales in all the bookshops and even in large-scale distribution. But the success was greater than we thought, sales of the Rulebook never dried up, for instance, and now we have to re-issue it. We even had some sales in non-French speaking countries (UK, USA, Australasia) when some collectors understood the French version, and had many exclusive illustrations and maps (for example Créatures de Titan, our last translation, has around 100 illustrations not present in the original book), including by famous FF illustrators, or exclusive items, such as game-screens or a Yaztromo miniature.

TW: How many AFF books/products have you released so far? 

FH: We've released 3 sourcebooks, some colour maps and some accessories: the Rulebook, including a 97-page campaign, Le Tambour de Gondrim, taking place in Old Allansia; the Titan sourcebook, including 25 pages of additional rules linked with Marc Gascoigne's text, a 130-page campaign with pre-generated characters and some exclusive Steve Luxton maps, A la recherche de la Jeunesse perdue, taking place in Lendleland and Analand, and a folder of 5 colour maps, including a location map of all the FF books; the map of Allansia by Jidus (including some exclusive Steve Jackson, Ian Livingstone and Jon Green geographical features), first issued as a high quality vinyl poster, sold separately (and now out of print); the Créatures de Titan sourcebook, a translation of Out of the Pit, including 60 pages of additional rules, and 80 pages of play, with a 2-player adventure by Gwalchmei, in which you play an adventurer and a Marsh Hopper on Fire Island (La Huitième Plaie) and a solo adventure by tholdur where you play a Jib-Jib chaser (Odyssée pour un Jib-Jib); L'Ecran du Meneur de Jeu, a cardboard game-screen illustrated by Jidus - 2 editions with a different illustration, and the second one has coloured tables (the first edition included the 90-page adventure Pirates à la dérive by Paragraphe 14, taking place in the Ocean of Serpents and the Black Ocean, the second edition having the 104-page adventure La Quête des Oiseaux de Sagesse by Sébastien Urbanek, taking place in Gallantaria and the Cragrock Peaks; The Nécessaire de Magie, a card set with all the basic spells of the Rulebook and 5 new spells; the miniature of Yaztromo (and Vermithrax) by David Ayral, our most limited item (200 copies only) that will never be re-issued; Les Accessoires du Meneur de Jeu is the main out of print item: a set of tiles, furniture and figurines drawn by Eric Chaussin, to cut-out, intended to play the Rulebook beginner adventures or any other dungeon/tunnel adventure. We also released some free PDF-only adventures, available on our website.

TW: Is there one particular product of which you are most proud?

FH: I'm naturally very proud of the first product, the Rulebook, as that was a kind of achievement for the huge fan I am, and I wrote most of the campaign; a good part of me is in this book. Créatures de Titan is, to date, the product in which we put the most creation, but my favourite work is the Titan sourcebook: I love Marc Gascoigne's text, our own additions to the text, the campaign is exactly what I love in an RPG, and the work on the maps with my friend Jidus: hours to re-read in a detailed way absolutely all the sources, talks with Steve and Jon to complete some uncharted areas... I'm a geographer, then I absolutely loved that!

TW: What are your plans for the range?

FH: First, the re-issue of the Rulebook soon, with slight improvements, but that's not a reboot. We prefer to put our energy into new stuff. We are currently working on the Old World sourcebook, in which we were involved: Thomas Roesch and I wrote, respectively, the Kakhabad and Lendleland chapters, and we worked with Brett Schofield and Stuart Lloyd, authors of other chapters, in a way to be fully consistent with the sources... including with our adventure La Quête des Oiseaux de Sagesse. We should issue a French version soon after the Arion version will be available.

We should issue, mid-2018, our very first campaign as a single book (not included in a larger sourcebook, like the ones already issued), hoping that will sell enough! It's called Maudit Trésor ('Cursed Treasure'), includes a revised and expanded version of the Pirates à la dérive adventure and the second part of Paragraphe 14's campaign. It takes place in the Black Ocean and its different islands. Seven very original and endearing ready-to-play characters are provided.

Next we should translate a new Arion book, probably the Heroes Companion, and release an Adventure compendium, to play anywhere on Titan, and at different levels of experience, including some translations from English stuff but also new material. But we are interested by other translations, Blacksand or the Atlantis Campaign, and are working on some background stuff about Khul (Arion and Hachiman areas) that could be issued in English too, like for the Old World. Many many things to occupy our evenings and nights for years. :-) 

Thank you to Florent for taking the time to answer the Warlock's questions. Fighting Fantasy fans should be aware that Scriptarium have a section in their forum in English - all non French-speaking fans are welcome - and they are present on the various social networks, mainly on the Défis Fantastiques Facebook page.

Un Livre dont vous êtes le Héros!

2018 marks the 35th anniversary of Gallimard publishing the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks in France*. To mark this special occasion, Gallimard are relaunching the series in hors serie trade editions and featuring the artwork of Robert Ball.

March sees the release of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain/Le Sorcier de la Montagne de Feu, The Citadel of Chaos/La Citadelle du Chaos, The Forest of Doom/La Forêt de la Malédiction, and The Port of Peril/L'Anneau des Serpents de Feu**, the latest FF adventure penned by the series' co-creator Ian Livingstone.

To more classic titles will follow in October, City of Thieves/La Cité des Voleurs and House of Hell/ Le Manoir de l’Enfer. In October Gallimard will also be releasing a collector's edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

To celebrate the 35th Anniversary, Gallimard (working with Scriptarium, publishers of Advanced Fighting Fantasy in France) have added bonus material to the new editions, with readers being able to choose which adventurer they want to tackle the various quests as.

In The Warlock of Firetop Mountain/Le Sorcier de la Montagne de Feu you can play as either the Dwarf Crowald, a veteran of the Stonebridge militia, Chaelza, a wandering thief from Chalice), or Raedhell of Silverton, a penniless noble.

Take on The Citadel of Chaos/La Citadelle du Chaos as Barlun Sicklin, from the Vale of Willow, Fingwilas the Half-Elf from the Forest of Yore Disciple, or Adhrinaël of Ulinort.

Brave the dangers of The Forest of Doom/La Forêt de la Malédiction as Caldra Jordhun, and antiques dealer and adventurer from Zengis, Tibur Drinkbarrel, a notorious Fangthane Dwarf, or Harlak Erilsson, a warrior from far-off Frostholm.

The new editions will also include The Allansia Files, a collection of information about important places, famous characters, and monsters from the world of Fighting Fantasy, and they will be different in each title.

Très bon!

* The only country where the series never when out of print in all that time!

** Which translates as 'The Ring of Fire Snakes'.

Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone to attend DRAGONMEET 2017

Celebrate 35 years of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks at Dragonmeet this December.

Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, the co-creators of the world's most popular gamebook series, will be giving a special seminar at Dragonmeet, on Saturday 2nd December 2017, to mark this incredible milestone.

Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone in 1982.

The event runs from 10:00am until midnight, and Scholastic Books will be there, selling copies of the Fighting Fantasy re-issues, and so will Fighting Fantasy historian Jonathan Green, who will have copies of YOU ARE THE HERO Parts 1 and 2 on sale.

We'll see you there, and may your STAMINA never fail (in the signing queue)!

Charlie Higson to write a new Fighting Fantasy gamebook!

This weekend saw the epic Fighting Fantasy Fest 2: Return to the Convention of Firetop Mountain take place at the Universtiy of West London, in Ealing. (More on that later.)

But the big - as in Storm Giant big! - news, which was announced by Ian Livingstone on Saturday during the talk he gave with Steve Jackson, is that actor, comedian, and highly successful author Charlie Higson will be writing a Fighting Fantasy gamebook!

Charlie Higson and Ian Livingstone at Fighting Fantasy Fest 2

Charlie, who was most recently on our television screens in the last series of Broadchurch, wrote the phenomenally successful Young Bond series which has sold over a million copies in the UK and has been translated into over 24 different languages. The series began with SilverFin and was followed by Blood Fever, Double or Die, Hurricane Gold and By Royal Command. All five novels entered the children’s bestseller charts in the top five.

The first novel in his bestselling zombie-adventure series for teenagers, The Enemy, was published by Puffin in September 2009, and was followed by The Dead, The Fear, The Sacrifice, The Fallen and The Hunted.

Charlie is also a successful adult novelist and has written four thrillers, King of the Ants (1992), Happy Now (1993), Full Whack (1995) and Getting Rid of Mr Kitchen (1996).

Charlie is a huge fan of horror films and books, and even studied gothic literature at university. Will that influence his gamebook, The Gates of Death? Although a highly experience author and television writer, Charlie is new to writing gamebooks and so experienced FF author Jonathan Green will be working with him on the project, in an advisory role.

The Gates of Death will be published in April 2018, as book #12 in the Scholastic sequence, alongside Creature of Havoc (#7), Deathtrap Dungeon (#8), Appointment with F.E.A.R. (#9), Island of the Lizard King (#10), and Sorcery! 1: The Shamutanti Hills (#11).

This is certainly a very exciting time for Fighting Fantasy and Scholastic Books. As Charlie Higson himself says: “Before there were video games, before kids could get lost in the labyrinth that is the Internet, before The Lord Of The Rings films, Game of Thrones and the reboot of Doctor Who turned everyone onto fantasy and sci-fi, there were the Fighting Fantasy books. A new way of telling stories and in many ways the birth of modern gaming, these books captured the imagination of a generation of kids – and locked them in Deathtrap Dungeon. It’s great to think that a new generation of kids are going to be similarly captivated.”

Charlie Higson addressing a captivated audience at Fighting Fantasy Fest 2