Paul Toderas of Ulisses Spiele previewed the game at the UK Games Expo earlier this year, but now everyone, all over the world, can see what it's all about.
On Monday 7th October 2024, Sir Ian Livingstone, co-creator of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, will be taking part in a webinar with debut author, Iqbal Hussain.
He will be discussing his life, writing process, inspirations, as well as his latest FF adventure, The Dungeon on Blood Island, and Unbound’s new book Magic Realms, a celebration of the iconic artwork in Fighting Fantasy.
In other FF news, or rather AFF news, the crowdfunding campaign for the Advanced Fighting Fantasy board game Dark Dungeons, launches on Kickstarter on Tuesday 1st October 2024. To find out more and register your interest, click here.
The news is out! Steve Jackson's F.I.S.T., the dial-up dungeon sensation of late '80s, will return on Saturday 7 September 2024, with the official launch of the game at Fighting Fantasy Fest 5!
Just as amazing as it was back in 1988, this time F.I.S.T.will bein the digital realm. The Sound Realms team will be attending FFF5to celebrate the launch of the new adventure and give attendees and exclusive taste.
To access F.I.S.T. once it is released, download the Sound Realms app - available on IOSand Android- now.
Solo RPGs are proving very popular in this day and age. However, Advanced Fighting Fantasy Second Edition relies on having a Director to run your gaming sessions. But very soon, you will be able to run your AFF adventures without the need for a Director, thanks to the Advanced Fighting Fantasy Solo Guide.
To find out more, watch the video below by Graham Bottley, the man behind Arion Games, the current holder of the AFF licence.
The Advanced Fighting Fantasy Solo Guide launches on Kickstarteron Tuesday 30 April 2024.
With excitement building regarding the return of Steve Jackson's F.I.S.T. to audio, courtesy of Sound Realms, gaming historian Jordan Sorcery has published a YouTube video that is an in-depth take on the history of Fantasy Interactive Scenarios by Telephone, and you can watch it below.
Sir Ian Livingstone was recently interviewed by Mira Manga for her YouTube channel. They talked about inspiring American authors and science fiction movies, as well as where the creative muse comes from.
Sir Ian also showed Mira an original 1975, boxed and shrinkwrapped Dungeons & Dragons, and the flowchart map for one of his Fighting Fantasy gamebooks.
To watch the interview yourself, click on the image below.
After all the excitement of Fighting Fantasy's anniversary year in 2022, by comparison 2023 has been a little quieter. Nonetheless, we have still celebrated the 40th anniversary of five Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, new editions of FF adventures have appeared in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, and Denmark, and the Fighting Fantasy Adventures card game funded on Gamefound.
Click on the image above to place a late pledge.
As well as all the highs, there was one very poignant low in 2023, and that was the passing of FF legend Russ Nicholson, the artist who gave Zagor the Warlock his iconic look.
Steve Jackson's F.I.S.T.(Fantasy Interactive Scenarios by Telephone) is set to return in 2024! The first ever interactive phone game returns to mobile devices, with the original audio and gameplay intact, courtesy of Steve Jackson and Sound Realms. Watch the trailer below and then pre-order the game here!
Taking refuge in the infamous House of Hell has to be the worst mistake of your life!
The dangers of the torrential storm outside are nothing compared to the blood-curdling adventures that await you inside. Who knows how many hapless wanderers like yourself have perished within its gruesome walls? Be warned! Tonight is going to be a night to remember ...
Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need to make your journey. YOU decide which way to go, which dangers to risk and which monsters to fight.
Talisman of Death, by Mark Smith & Jamie Thomson
The once-peaceful world of Orb is in terrible danger!
Dark forces are at work to unleash the awesome might of the Evil One, but their plans cannot be completed without the legendary Talisman of Death. YOU are the one who carries the Talisman, and only YOU can stop the Dark forces. YOUR mission is to destroy the Talisman before the dark lord's minions reach you. But beware! Time is running out!
Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need to make your journey. YOU decide which way to go, which dangers to risk and which monsters to fight.
Beneath Nightmare Castle, by Peter Darvill-Evans
Creatures from your worst nightmares lie beneath Neuberg Keep!
In this book, you find yourself in Neuburg, once a pleasant town in Khul, but now home to the vile monsters begotten of warped sorcery. An age-old horror has been re-awoken deep beneath the Keep, and it is up to you to face it and free the town and your friend, Baron Tholdur, from evil enchantment. But beware! Deep underground lie hideous traps and terrors, waiting to ensnare you! Will you succeed? Only if you are the resourceful hero you claim to be ...
Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need for this adventure. YOU decide which routes to follow, which dangers to risk and which monsters to fight.
Vault of the Vampire, by Keith Martin
Can you put an end to Count Heydrich's evil reign of terror?
YOU are a hardy adventurer and have journeyed to the icy mountains of Mauristatia in search of great wealth and fortune ... but what you find there makes your blood run cold.
You discover by chance the terrible secret of the local villagers. Can YOU free them from the evil tyranny of the bloodthirsty Count, or will you too succumb to a horrifying fate?
Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need. YOU decide which paths to take, which dangers to risk and which foes to fight!
Dead of Night, by Jim Bambra & Stephen Hand
The Demon Lord Myurr seeks revenge!
YOU are renowned throughout the land as a Demon-Stalker, waging war against the creatures of Chaos. More than once you have thwarted the Demon Lord's evil schemes, but now Myurr has discovered a cunning way of exacting his revenge. There is no alternative. YOU must confront and destroy the Demon Lord, for the whole of the free world is threatened! Myurr's evil powers may soon enable him and hordes of his vile demons to cross from the Demonic into the Earthly Plane!
Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need. YOU decide which paths to take, which dangers to risk and which foes to fight!
Island of the Undead, by Keith Martin
Ancient evil has come to Solani Island!
The mysterious sorcerers of Solani Island have protected the local people from danger for many years. Now, it seems, their power has been usurped. An evil force holds sway across the land, an evil that seems to hold the power over life and death itself!
A hero is urgently needed to journey to Solani Island and discover what has happened to the wizards. Dare YOU be that adventurer? Who knows what terrible fate awaits you on the island where death rules? There is only one way to find out. Are YOU brave enough to solve the mystery of Solani Island?
Revenge of the Vampire, by Keith Martin
Count Heydrich, Vampire, is back from the dead!
A half-forgotten evil has arisen from the grave to stalk the Old World in search of fresh blood and new victims to enslave. Count Reiner Heydrich, undead Vampire Lord, is ancient beyond the reckoning of mortals. This time, however, there is someone on his trail, a brave hero who is determined that he shall not succeed in his evil plans. That someone is YOU!
Howl of the Werewolf, by Jonathan Green
Lupravia is a cursed land; a chill place of snow-capped mountains, brooding forests and mist-shrouded moors, haunted by the spirits of the restless dead. Peasants struggle daily with survival, living in constant fear of attacks from ravenous wild beasts. Only the foolhardy or insane would willingly pass beyond its borders and enter that benighted realm of predators.
But enter you must, after a vicious wolf attack sets you on the path to murder and madness. Steadily succumbing to the call of the wild and the beast within, YOU must seek out a cure to your condition before the next full moon. But how long can you survive in a land where the powers of darkness hold sway and all live in fear of the Howl of the Werewolf?
Part story, part game, this is a book with a difference - one in which you become the hero! A pencil and an eraser are all you need to make your journey. YOU decide which route to take, which creatures to fight & which dangers to risk.
Night of the Necromancer, by Jonathan Green
Returning to your castle home, Valsinore, after three years away crusading against the forces of darkness, it seems as though evil has been laid to rest. But then, out of nowhere, you are cut down in the final stages of your journey.
Caught between the living world and the Lands of the Dead, your ghostly form must battle to uncover the most malignant evil of all that has taken root in the heart of Valsinore. Before the night is out you must have your revenge or face a fate even worse than death itself.
Blood of the Zombies, by Ian Livingstone
Terrible things are happening in Goraya castle...
Insane megalomaniac Gingrich Yurr is preparing to unleash an army of monstrous zombies upon the world. He must be stopped and his undead horde defeated. In this life-or-death adventure the decisions YOU make will decide the fate of the world. Can YOU survive or will YOU become a zombie too?
Watch Sir Ian Livingstone's interview with Olly Mc of The Storymaster's Tales about Blood of the Zombies below.
40 years ago today, BBC South East at Six explored the magical world of Dungeons & Dragons, with the help of Games Workshop founders Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. The clip also features Fighting Fantasy author Peter Darvill-Evans!
#OnThisDay 1983: BBC South East at Six explored the magical world of Dungeons & Dragons, with the help of Games Workshop founders Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. pic.twitter.com/dxuhI5k2pe
This year International Gamebook Day has a Halloween horror theme and so Sir Ian will be discussing Blood of the Zombies*, the Fighting Fantasy adventure he wrote to celebrate the series' 30th anniversary.
Make sure you follow the IGBD 2023Facebook page to keep up to date with developments, such as when Sir Ian's interview will be broadcast on the day.
Fighting Fantasy Adventures, the new co-operative card game by Martin Wallace, is relaunching on the crowdfunding platform Gamefoundon Tuesday 8th August 2023.
Fighting Fantasy Adventures’ gameplay will be powered by an elegant card-based system that gives the feel of a roleplaying game without the need for a games master. The rules are easy to pick up, with players rolling dice and levelling-up between adventures.
Fighting Fantasy Adventures’ gameplay will be powered by an elegant card-based system that gives the feel of a roleplaying game without the need for a games master. The rules are easy to pick up, with players rolling dice and levelling-up between adventures.
Sir Ian Livingstone joined industry veterans Marc Gascoigne (author of Titan, Out of the Pit, Battleblade Warrior, and much more), Dave Morris (co-author of The Keep of the Lich Lord), and James Wallis, to reminisce about the legend of fantasy art that was Russ Nicholson.
You can watch the discussion about his life and work, which was hosted by Inside the Rookery, below.
The miniatures that can pre-ordered are the Bloodbeast, the Shape Changer, Shareella the Snow Witch, the Demonic Three (Zagor the Warlock, Balthus Dire, and Zharradan Marr), the Dark Lords (Razaak, Zanbar Bone, and the Archmage), and the Lizard King along with his Black Lion.
The Citadel of Chaos by Steve Jackson was published 40 years ago today on 31 March 1983.
"After Warlockhad done so well, Puffin wanted to know if we could turn this into a series," recalls Steve Jackson. "And yes, we could. At a meeting in Philippa Dickinson’s office, she wanted to
know what we should call this series. Ian came up with ‘Fighting Fantasy’. I
think at the time it was just expected to be a working title. But it never got
changed!”
Work started immediately on another two titles, with the authors of The Warlock of Firetop Mountainnow working on one new book each.
Jackson did not stray that far from the familiar format of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.
Although it was set within a castle, The Citadel of Chaos was effectively another dungeon bash, but with the
addition of rules for using magic.
Atop his sinister Black Tower, the dread sorcerer Balthus
Dire is making plans of conquest. The hero of the adventure is a student of
the Grand Wizard of Yore, charged by King Salamon with
penetrating the stronghold of the fell magic-user, and stopping the fiend
before he can unleash his army upon the peaceful Vale of Willow.
Before beginning the adventure, the hero has to determine
his MAGIC score and then choose a corresponding number of spells from a pool of
twelve that includes such enchantments as Creature Copy, Fool’s Gold and
Levitation. But where did the inspiration for Balthus Dire and the lethal
Ganjees come from?
Jackson: “Creating names for new characters monsters and
places was always a brainstorming exercise. I’d write lots of contenders on a
sheet of paper and eventually pick one which to my mind sounded evocative...
‘Balthus’ was the name of a French painter. At the time I was constantly on the
lookout for inspiration for names for characters, places and creatures. I came
across Balthus the artist – his name, not his art, which I have never seen! I
thought: ‘Yes. That’s a cool name. Sounds kind of demonic, or like a dark religious
pontiff.’ I used to use a thesaurus a lot for inspiration. ‘Dire’ sounded
particularly bad. And thus Balthus Dire became the boss of the adventure.”
Internal art was by Russ Nicholson, while the cover
was produced by the enigmatically-named Emmanuel.
“The only art I really didn’t like was the cover of the
original Citadel of Chaos,” reveals
Jackson. “As this was the second book in the series, it could have been
interpreted as a significant statement of art intent. But it was followed by
Iain McCaig’s cover of The Forest of Doom
which set a new standard. I asked Penguin many times to have the Citadelcover recommissioned. Eventually
they gave in and Ian Miller did a fine job.”
One of the rewards sent out to backers of the Kickstarter to fund production of YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2, the second part of Jonathan Green's history of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, was an 'album' of music inspired by the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. One of these was a track inspired by Steve Jackson's first solo gamebook...
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