Happy New Year!

Back in 1985, the Fighting Fantasy series was in full swing. During that year, seven FF gamebooks were published, five of which just happened to have a non-traditional fantasy setting.

The seven books were, Space Assassin, Freeway Fighter, Temple of Terror, The Rings of Kether, Seas of Blood, Appointment with F.E.A.R., and Rebel Planet.

The final book in Steve Jackson's Sorcery! series was also published in 1985 - The Crown of Kings!

And then there was the Fighting Fantasy monster manual, Out of the Pit.

Last, but by no means least, was the FF adjacent puzzle book The Tasks of Tantalon, written by Steve Jackson and illustrated by Steve Lavis.

Over the coming year, you can expect deep dives into these classic gamebooks and other publications, that are marking their 40th anniversary this year, here on the official Fighting Fantasy blog. 

But in the meantime, you can get an insight into the creation of all of these titles in YOU ARE THE HERO: An Interactive History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks.

Blast from the Past! The Tasks of Tantalon

Having already written several gamebooks, including the seminal Sorcery! series, 1985 saw Steve Jackson experimenting with a different kind of puzzle book. The finished product was a hardback, lavishly illustrated throughout by Stephen Lavis, called The Tasks of Tantalon.

Can YOU solve The Sorcerer's Grand Puzzlequest?

The land of Gallantaria is reeling from the aftermath of a long and costly war. Tantalon, wizard of the court, rules the kingdom over an Inner Council of scheming knights, jealously vying for power. But Tantalon's years are drawing to a close...

In order to seek out the kingdom's sharpest minds, Tantalon has devised an epic adventure quest. One which will test the wits of its contestants to the full. From near and far, contenders come to Royal Lendle to take up the challenge.

YOU are a competitor in the ageing sorcerer's puzzlequest. Can you steal the Brimstone Dragon's treasure hoard? Will you find a way to free Sir Dunstable from imprisonment in the Stinn dungeon? And how will you catch the Demon Fish?

Do you have the courage and a mind sharp enough to complete...

The Tasks of Tantalon?

Seek the Ting Ring, by Stephen Lavis. (© Stephen Lavis, 1985 and 2021)

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 book but its execution was something else.

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 with Steve Jackson and David Fickling in a pub and, as a young illustrator, was greatly impressed when Steve Jackson arrived in his Porsche, already successful on the back of the FF books. This was very different from previous illustration work where I had made a name 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 more like an FF book whereas I wanted the book to be more beautiful, along the lines of Masquerade.”

Hornhelm’s Crown, by Stephen Lavis. (© Stephen Lavis, 1985 and 2021)

The solution to the puzzle contained within the book has vexed many an adventurer over the years, so what is the secret to solving Tantalon’s tasks?

Jackson: “I self-published a small booklet which gave the entire solution to The Tasks of Tantalon. I actually dug out a copy of Tantalon recently, and found two letters from readers who claimed to have solved it (before the Solution Booklet). I admit, it was extremely hard to solve.”

Did you know...?

Steve Jackson’s smiling face can be seen in the artistic surround of the map that accompanied the hardback edition of The Tasks of Tantalon.

Happy St David's Day!

Seeing as it's St David's Day in the UK, in honour of the patron saint of Wales, today on the official Fighting Fantasy blog we're celebrating the various dragons that have appeared in Fighting Fantasy gamebooks over the years.

So here we go, counting down from number ten to number one, but be warned - there are some spoilers ahead...

10. Pocket Dragon (FF51 Island of the Undead)
Dragons are cool, right? So how cool would it be to have a dragon that you could keep in your pocket? Ice cold, right?

Pocket Dragon (and Stonewight), by Russ Nicholson.

9. Wyrm (Allansia)
Not technically a dragon, but close enough. This monster of the icy wastes is encountered by the Heroes in the multi-player Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG adventure A Darkness of Kaad.

Allansia cover (featuring the Wyrm) by John Sibbick.

8. Skeletal Dragon (FF54 Legend of Zagor)
Even though it's dead, this dragon is still deadly. (Legend of Zagor also features a Wyvern and a War Dragon!)

Skeletal Dragon, by Martin McKenna.

7. Stone Sentinels (FF39 Fangs of Fury)
Six massive stone dragons guard the tiny kingdom of Zamarra. But the fire they breathe has been extinguished. And now Zamarra is under siege by Ostragoth the Grim and his swarming hordes...

6. Brimstone Dragon (The Tasks of Tantalon)
The keeper of a treasure hoard in the Old World kingdom of Gallantaria. But how many gold pieces were really in that hoard?

Brimstone Dragon, by Stephen Lavis.

5. Wyvern (FF3 The Forest of Doom)
Also technically not a dragon, but the Wyvern's dramatic appearance towards the end of The Forest of Doom made a big impression on many a young role-player.

Wyvern, by Malcolm Barter.

4. White Dragon (FF9 Caverns of the Snow Witch)
One of the guardians of the Snow Witch's Crystal Caves.

White Dragon, by Edward Crosby and Gary Ward.

The same dragon, by drawn by Robert Ball for the Scholastic edition of Caverns of the Snow Witch.

3. Titan (Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World)
The name given to the dragon that appears on the cover of Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World. This particular dragon was even immortalised as a sculpture, to mark Fighting Fantasy's 10th anniversary, by Clarecraft.

Dragonspell, by Chris Achilleos.

2. The Night Dragon (FF52 Night Dragon)
One of the Ancient Dragons, corrupted by Evil, that fought against the gods themselves. A dragon so bad-ass that even after it's been killed its head grows legs and attacks you!

The Night Dragon, by Tony Hough.

1. The Dragon of Firetop Mountain (FF1 The Warlock of Firetop Mountain)
The original and still the best. A memorable encounter near the climax to The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, for many young readers this was the first dragon they had ever gone toe-to-toe with in a role-playing game. And it has appeared on the cover of every edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain since the book was first published in 1982.

Dragon, by Russ Nicholson.

Bubbling under...
Kilanirax, Lord of all Dragons, and the Dream Dragon (both from FF51 Night Dragon), the War Dragon (from FF54 Legend of Zagor), the Sea Dragon (FF19 Demons of the Deep), the golden dragon statue from FF60 Eye of the Dragon, and the dragon, from the Dragon Cover Format, by Chris Achilleos.

Eye of the Dragon, by Martin McKenna.

Dragon Cover Format, by Chris Achilleos.

What do you think of our list? Are there any egregious omissions that you believe should have made it into the Top Ten?

Let us know in the comments below and also let us know if there are any other Fighting Fantasy Top Tens you would like to see.

Blast from the Past! Dead of Night

Today being the eve of All Hallows' Eve, it seemed like an appropriate time to revisit this chilling classic of yesteryear - Dead of Night!

First published on 2 November 1989, Dead of Night (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. It 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 Steve Jackson's 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 studios in the 1960s and ‘70s.

They agreed that their version of the Old World would 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).

In Dead of Night, the hero is a Demon-Stalker, who has dedicated his life to waging war against the creatures of Chaos. Having thwarted the evil schemes of the Demon Prince Myurr on more than one occasion, the hero’s nemesis exacts his revenge, striking directly against the Demon-Stalker’s family. On top of that, Myurr’s powers are growing and he will soon be able to transport his demonic hordes to the Earthly Plane. The Demon Lord must be stopped!

"On that first book, what happened was that Jim and I plotted all the scenes and characters together," Stephen Hand explained in an interview with AdvancedFightingFantasy.com. "Then we divided the different scenes between us, so I would write one area, and he would write another. When we finished, we actually swapped documents and edited each other's work. This may sound strange, but it worked and lead to a fairly even book written by two very different writers."

In addition to the regular attributes of SKILL, STAMINA and LUCK, Dead of Night features an EVIL score, which start starts at zero. Throughout the adventure, the player may encounter people or creatures, or do things that will increase this score. As a result the player is asked to Test Your Evil at certain points in a manner similar to Testing Your Luck.

The player also has a choice of three "Talents" for their Demon-Stalker, which include Banish Undead, Dark Veil, Heal, Holy Circle, Meditation, Sense Demon, and Speak Demon.

The gamebook was illustrated by Martin McKenna, with a cover by Terry Oakes.

The Abomination, by Martin McKenna.

Dead of Night remains both the first and last time that Bambra contributed an adventure to the FF series, but what a memorable entry it was! Hand, on the other hand, would go on to contribute two more Gallantaria-set adventures before quitting the series - the equally impressive Legend of the Shadow Warriors and Moonrunner.

Dicing with Dragons

Seeing as it's St David's Day in the UK, in honour of the patron saint of Wales, today on the official Fighting Fantasy blog we're celebrating the various dragons that have appeared in Fighting Fantasy gamebooks over the years.

So here we go, counting down from number ten to number one, but be warned - there are some spoilers ahead...

10. Pocket Dragon (FF51 Island of the Undead)
Dragons are cool, right? So how cool would it be to have a dragon that you could keep in your pocket? Ice cold, right?

Pocket Dragon (and Stonewight), by Russ Nicholson.

9. Wyrm (Allansia)
Not technically a dragon, but close enough. This monster of the icy wastes is encountered by the Heroes in the multi-player Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG adventure A Darkness of Kaad.

Allansia cover (featuring the Wyrm) by John Sibbick.

8. Skeletal Dragon (FF54 Legend of Zagor)
Even though it's dead, this dragon is still deadly. (Legend of Zagor also features a Wyvern and a War Dragon!)

Skeletal Dragon, by Martin McKenna.

7. Stone Sentinels (FF39 Fangs of Fury)
Six massive stone dragons guard the tiny kingdom of Zamarra. But the fire they breathe has been extinguished. And now Zamarra is under siege by Ostragoth the Grim and his swarming hordes...

6. Brimstone Dragon (The Tasks of Tantalon)
The keeper of a treasure hoard in the Old World kingdom of Gallantaria. But how many gold pieces were really in that hoard?

Brimstone Dragon, by Stephen Lavis.

5. Wyvern (FF3 The Forest of Doom)
Also technically not a dragon, but the Wyvern's dramatic appearance towards the end of The Forest of Doom made a big impression on many a young role-player.

Wyvern, by Malcolm Barter.

4. White Dragon (FF9 Caverns of the Snow Witch)
One of the guardians of the Snow Witch's Crystal Caves.

White Dragon, by Edward Crosby and Gary Ward.

3. Titan (Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World)
The name given to the dragon that appears on the cover of Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World. This particular dragon was even immortalised as a sculpture, to mark Fighting Fantasy's 10th anniversary, by Clarecraft.

Dragonspell, by Chris Achilleos.

2. The Night Dragon (FF52 Night Dragon)
One of the Ancient Dragons, corrupted by Evil, that fought against the gods themselves. A dragon so bad-ass that even after it's been killed its head grows legs and attacks you!

The Night Dragon, by Tony Hough.

1. The Dragon of Firetop Mountain (FF1 The Warlock of Firetop Mountain)
The original and still the best. A memorable encounter near the climax to The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, for many young readers this was the first dragon they had ever gone toe-to-toe with in a role-playing game. And it has appeared on the cover of every edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain since the book was first published in 1982.

Dragon, by Russ Nicholson.

Bubbling under...
Kilanirax, Lord of all Dragons, and the Dream Dragon (both from FF51 Night Dragon), the War Dragon (from FF54 Legend of Zagor), the Sea Dragon (FF19 Demons of the Deep), the golden dragon statue from FF60 Eye of the Dragon, and the dragon, from the Dragon Cover Format, by Chris Achilleos.

Eye of the Dragon, by Martin McKenna.

Dragon Cover Format, by Chris Achilleos.

What do you think of our list? Are there any egregious omissions that you believe should have made it into the Top Ten?

Let us know in the comments below and also let us know if there are any other Fighting Fantasy Top Tens you would like to see.