40 years of Ian Livingstone's Temple of Terror

Sir Ian Livingstone's 8th Fighting Fantasy gamebook, Temple of Terror, was published 40 years ago this year.

The majority of the adventure 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.

Temple of Terror was the only FF gamebook to be illustrated by Bill Houston. The cover was painted by ’80s fantasy art legend Chris Achilleos, the second time he contributed a cover to the main series (after Space Assassin).

“I was dealing with Ian,” Achilleos recalled in 2014, “and he called me and said, ‘I’m going to leave it to you to design me the creature for this new book I’m writing. I’m going to tell you the scene and you come up with the creature, because you probably don’t need guidance on this from someone like me.’ And I said, ‘That sounds great, yeah. Then you can describe it from my painting.’

“It was a guardian of this gate, and it was a desert scene – a city half buried under sand – so I designed this creature that lies in wait, buried under the sand... It was something I’d seen in a wildlife programme, these desert snakes that hide in the sand and just have their eyes out and then they pounce on you. So I imagined the same creature sort of lying in wait for someone to try and pass the gate. I drew that and he was delighted with it. In fact, he bought the original from me.”

You can find out more about Chris Achilleos' contributions to the Fighting Fantasy series in Magic Realms: The Art of Fighting Fantasy, by Sir Ian Livingstone and FF author and historian Jonathan Green.

Temple of Terror has yet to be republished by Scholastic Books, but who knows what the future might bring? And what of Steve Jackson Games' plans for the series in the US? Could Temple of Terror be among those adventures slated for a release Stateside?

You'll just have to wait and see...

Temple of Terror is on Fighting Fantasy Classics on Steam

Armies of Death is coming to Fighting Fantasy Classics!

Tin Man Games recently announced that the next much-loved Fighting Fantasy gamebook to be added to the Fighting Fantasy Classics library will be Sir Ian Livingstone's Armies of Death.

And today, the Warlock can exclusively reveal the cover art for the game, which features a new logo as well as Chris Achilleos's original cover painting.

New artwork has been produced for the game by Joshua Wright. How many of these encounters do you recognise from the Armies of Death gamebook?

Armies of Death will be released on Steam in a few months' time and it will be the first of three gamebooks to be added to the Fighting Fantasy Classics  roster in 2024.

Keeping checking the official Fighting Fantasy blog to be kept up to date regarding these exciting new developments for Tin Man Games' Fighting Fantasy Classics.

Coming Soon...

Are YOU ready to raise an army?

Ian Livingstone's Armies of Death is coming to Tin Man Games' Fighting Fantasy Classics library!

Can YOU defeat the nightmare army of the undead? Agglax the Shadow Demon is amassing an army of undead warriors to conquer Allansia. Setting off from Fang with over two hundred veteran fighters, YOU journey east to meet the enemy. But the Shadow Demon is not of this world and special powers are needed to destroy him. The longer you spend searching for these powers the stronger he will be.

One of three incoming additions to the Fighting Fantasy Classics library, Armies of Death is a direct sequel to Sir Ian Livingstone's second Deathtrap Dungeon-set adventure, Trial of the Champions.

Having survived the deadly dungeon and claimed the prize of 20,000 Gold Pieces, YOU must raise an army using your newly won fortune to save Allansia from the Shadow Demon's invading army.

Agglax the Shadow Demon, by Nik Williams.

Armies of Death uses a new combat system that allows your troops to fight against multiple opponents, as you take the battle to Agglax. The digital adaptation will feature new interior illustrations but you will doubtless be pleased to hear that Tin Man Games have secured the rights to use the original cover artwork by Chris Achilléos, who sadly passed away last year. 

Keep your eyes peeled for more announcements before the end of the year!

Chris Achilleos (1947-2021)

We were very sorry to hear the terrible news that renowned fantasy artist Chris Achilleos passed away after a short illness on Monday afternoon.

Ian Livingstone posted this tweet in response to the announcement:

For many young fans in the 1980s, the cover of Temple of Terror was their first introduction to the work of the legendary artist, although he had already painted the cover for Space Assassin, and would go on to produce others for the series, including Armies of Death and the seminal background lore books, Out of the Pit and Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World. His painting appears in The Fighting Fantasy Poster Book an unprecedented four times!

Chris (full name 'Christos') was interviewed about his work for YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, and even provided the cover for the second volume. This was what he had to said about the creation of the cover painting for Temple of Terror:

“I was dealing with Ian and he called me and said, ‘I’m going to leave it to you to design me the creature for this new book I’m writing. I’m going to tell you the scene and you come up with the creature, because you probably don’t need guidance on this from someone like me.’ And I said, ‘That sounds great, yeah. Then you can describe it from my painting.’

“It was a guardian of this gate and it was a desert scene – a city half buried under sand – so I designed this creature that lies in wait, buried under the sand... It was something I’d seen in a wildlife programme, these desert snakes that hide in the sand and just have their eyes out and then they pounce on you. So I imagined the same creature sort of lying in wait for someone to try and pass the gate. I drew that and he was delighted with it. In fact he bought the original from me.”

This trust that the writer had in the artist, also resulted in Chris producing one of the most recognisable cover paintings in British fantasy gaming, that of Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World:

“With that Ian said, ‘Just draw a dragon picture, Chris,’ and then left it to me. So I had to consider first of all that’s it a double spread… and then come up with something. When you don’t get a manuscript or a story that already describes what you need to do, when you’re left to yourself, you tend to go round in circles with many ideas and not focusing on one, not knowing quite what to do. Time flies and you’re still wondering which way to go.

“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 story in my head about a shape-shifting wizard, who is attacking this city, in the form of this giant dragon, being held back. He’s destroyed the army that you can see… The drawbridge is down, he’s holding onto one of the chains – the other one’s already been broken – and the rest of the bridge is broken and down… The best of the knights have been killed. In desperation the baron comes out with his magicians, or druids or priests, to do magic with the dragon – not to hold him, not to destroy him, but to turn him back into human form and conquer him.

“The clue I put in there that the dragon is not just an animal – it’s a shape-shifting being, a super-being if you like, a magician – is that I put earrings and bracelets on him. That’s what that’s saying. That’s also why it’s called ‘Dragon Spell’. They’re putting a spell on him and trying and revert him back to a human being so they can defeat him. The question in that picture is, will he turn back to human or will he just snap out of it and literally bite the heads off them? That’s what the picture’s saying. People either see that consciously or unconsciously.”

Chris also had the honour of providing the cover art for the first Fighting Fantasy novel, Steve Jackson's The Trolltooth Wars:

“I was given the outline of the story and it was left up to me. I quite liked the concept of an orc fighting off a disgusting skeleton.”

Fans will be deeply saddened by the passing of a great artist and a fine man, but Chris leaves behind an immense body of work that has adorned everything from Doctor Who novels to Whitesnake album covers, as well as FF gamebooks. But certainly, the worlds of Fighting Fantasy would be diminished without Chris's contributions, and our thoughts remain with his friends and family at this difficult time.

In memory of

Chris Achilleos

1947-2021

Appreciate a Dragon Day

Dragons have long been a staple of fantasy games and fiction, and that is as true of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks as it is of any other popular fantasy setting.

Today is #AppreciateADragonDay and there are certainly plenty of dragons to appreciate in Fighting Fantasy, from  Russ Nicholson's Dragon in the first ever FF gamebook, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, and Chris Achilleos's 'Dragonspell' cover for Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World...

... through to Robert Ball's reimagined White Dragon from the Scholastic edition of Ian Livingstone's seminal Caverns of the Snow Witch, and Stephen Lavis's Brimstone Dragon from Steve Jackson's The Tasks of Tantalon...

... not to mention Tony Hough's 'Night Dragon' and Martin McKenna's 'Eye of the Dragon'.

So which Fighting Fantasy Dragon will you be appreciating this #AppreciateADragonDay?

Chris Achilleos to attend Fighting Fantasy Fest 3

Following hot on the heels of yesterday's announcement that Geraldine Cooke will be attending Fighting Fantasy Fest 3 on 31st August*, we are delighted to report that fantasy art legend Chris Achilleos will also be joining us at the gamebook event of the year.

Over the past 40 years, Chris has created some of the best loved fantasy and glamour art and is acknowledged as one of the top fantasy artists in the world.

However, Fighting Fantasy fans will doubtless fondly remember Chris's cover art for such classic gamebooks as Ian Livingstone's Temple of Terror and Armies of Death, as well as Steve Jackson's The Trolltooth Wars, and the sourcebooks Out of the Pit and Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World.

More recently he painted the wraparound cover for Part 2 of Jonathan Green's YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks.

So don't miss out this opportunity to meet the man himself and collect another signature. Make sure you secure your ticket for Fighting Fantasy Fest 3 today!

* I don't know, you wait ten weeks for a new guest announcement and then two come along at once!

The Second Swordsman – Preparing for The Port of Peril

With Ian Livingstone's The Port of Peril published this Thursday, it's time for another in Malcolm Garcia's Second Swordsman series. Enjoy!

The Second Swordsman – Preparing for The Port of Peril

By Malcolm Garcia

With the imminent release of Ian Livingstone’s new FIGHTING FANTASY gamebook, The Port of Peril, I decided to get ready for attempting the latest adventure by trying the Second Swordsman process on a trio of his books from the original series. The last time I entered his part of Allansia was in Island of the Lizard King (which was the seventh of his books that I’ve attempted). This was the adventure where I set a new record by dying within four choices, so I was hopeful this was just one-off failure and I’d find more success if I tried three of his books in quick succession.

In each of these three, YOU ARE THE HERO trying to save the world of Titan from impending doom by attempting to destroy an evil ne’er-do-well. Temple of Terror has the evil wizard Malbordus, who will be given unchecked power if he can get his hands on several dragon artifacts which are hidden in the lost city of Vatos Crypt of the Sorcerer has the necromancer Razaak, who has risen from the grave bent on vengeance and can only be defeated by his own long-lost sword. And Armies of Death has the shadow demon Agglax, who is amassing an army of evil in northern Allansia.

The internal illustrations for both Temple and Armies were done by artists who would only do this once in the FIGHTING FANTASY series, being Bill Houston and Nik Williams respectively. Crypt was illustrated within by John Sibbick, who also did Midnight Rogue and the cover for Masks of Mayhem. And both Temple and Armies had covers by Chris Achilleos. Armies is also unique in that it’s the only time YOU are the adventurer in a direct sequel, it following on from your successful attempt at Trial of Champions. While the opening of Temple seems to suggest that the wizard Yaztromo knows you from The Forest of Doom, although whether this is actually the case is not explicitly revealed.

The three adventures all started well with either fair or good starting scores for my SKILL, STAMINA and LUCK. Temple added the ability to use several magic spells – although I never actually had the opportunity to use any. Crypt dispensed with the usual ten provisions and gave me a five-portion healing potion instead – although I never got to use it. And Armies added the opportunity to have skirmish battles between soldiers – although I didn’t get to try this modification either.

In Temple I was able to reminisce about good times as I visited Port Blacksand early on and stayed at the Black Lobster tavern, although while there I was robbed of all my gold (which is apt for the City of Thieves). I was later rescued from a sinking pirate ship by a crew of sea-going Dwarves, but not before I was quizzed about who was their King (the answer is in the background section of the book – well played Mr. Livingstone!). Then I started across the Desert of Skulls looking for Vatos. I fought some Needle Flies but then ignored too many opportunities to gather information and objects and was finally killed by a Giant Sandworm. This is only the fourth time the Second Swordsman process has failed due to a fight (the previous time was against a Kraken in Demons of the Deep). With the Giant Sandworm’s SKILL score of ten I figure I either (a) had gone the wrong way entirely, (b) had failed to find a special object to help kill it, or (c) this was just a test to cull the weaker characters before they reached Vatos where more fearsome foes dwelled.

Crypt also starts with a chat with Yaztromo where he tells me that Razaak’s sword is to be found in the Lost Lake which is somewhere in the Moonstone Hills.  I headed into the Hills on horseback but then, through two unlucky rolls of the dice, I was thrown from my horse and then robbed and left for dead by some Chameleonites. Thus a new record has been set – dead after just two choices. No fights. No puzzles. Just an ignominious end.

In keeping with its title, in Armies YOU start with an army of 220 warriors. And YOU still have 700 gold left over from your success in Trial. For this I can forgive the lack of any provisions at the start of the adventure. Through using the Second Swordsman process I don’t muck about and immediately start marching to find Agglax’s army. In doing so I ignore the advice of people I meet on the way and anonymous cries for help (ignoring things seems to usually be the second choice in Ian Livingstone adventures). I reached the town of Zengis in record time, and then before nightfall I managed to ignore six opportunities in a row to spend my loot or otherwise gain information or objects. After leaving Zengis, no better off than when I arrived, I then entered the Forest of Fiends and continued to rush and ignore things. I found Agglax’s army and, while I had not yet lost a single warrior, I had also not gained any more troops or objects or information to help me to victory. A combination of Chaos Warriors, catapults and an arbitrary dice roll cut my troops by half and I then suffered an instant death at the hands of a goblin armed with a crossbow.

I did get into several one-on-one fights in Armies, taking on a Fishman (possibly related to those in The Forest of Doom – another Ian Livingstone adventure), a trio of Robbers, a Mountain Orc, a Hill Troll, and a Werewolf. While none of these were too difficult, because of my good starting SKILL, it was annoying not being able to replenish STAMINA that was lost from the occasional unlucky dice roll. And even though the Werewolf managed to inflict one wound upon me when it only had one STAMINA point, I still needed to do a LUCK test to see whether I’d contracted lycanthropy.

So once again, the Second Swordsman process has been unsuccessful in my quest for glory. But while I set a new record for failure in Crypt, I did manage to find Agglax’s troops in Armies. It will be interesting to see how I perform in The Port of Peril. In all of my adventures I’ve yet to die in Port Blacksand, but will choosing every second option mean I continue to ignore too many opportunities for new objects or knowledge and fail tantalisingly close to the finish? We will find out in just a few days...

YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 has just 24 hours left to run - pledge your support today!

YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 has just 24 hours to go on Kickstarter and is creeping ever closer towards its final stretch goal...

Backers who have pledged to receive physical copies of the book will already be receiving two bonus art prints and an MP3 download of Fighting Fantasy-inspired music, but if the next stretch goal is reached they will also receive a full-colour print of Leo Hartas's map of Allansia, as well as having their softback of YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 become a hardback.

A new art add-on has also been announced. Add £120 to any other pledge (or select the Golden Fleece reward by itself) and you could be the proud owner of a canvas art print of Chris Achilleos's cover art for YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2.

So if you've been holding out, hoping that YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 would be published as a hardback, don't delay - back the Kickstarter today!

YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2

The Kickstarter to fund YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 - the sequel to 2014's YOU ARE THE HERO - is already well underway, having launched at 1:00pm on Saturday 11th March 2017, and funded at just after 10:00am on Sunday 12th March!



If you would like to back the project yourself, which will see Jonathan Green continue to chronicle the history of the world's premier gamebook series, then a £10 pledge will get you an eBook, a £20 pledge will get you a physical copy of the book, and a £250 pledge will win you a place at Balthus Dire's banqueting table in the Black Tower, along with the Masters of Firetop Mountain themselves, Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone!

Having already funded, the Kickstarter is heading towards its first stretch goal, to have legendary FF cover artist paint a brand new cover for YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2!

So you know what to do...