Saturday, 17 July 2021

The Warlock Returns - Issue #4

Available now from Arion Games is Issue #4 of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy fanzine The Warlock Returns.


This issue contains more new material from fans of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy Roleplaying Game and Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, including:

* Denizens of the Pit - Creating island creatures on Titan

* Jungle - Shamanism within the jungles of Titan

* Troika! Deep-Dive & Review - A look at the AFF-inspired roleplay game

* Sorcerer Spell Cards - For use with your magic users

Director Advice Articles - Suggesting rumours and plot hooks

* Everyone-Games - An online accessibility-driven RPG convention

* New Races: Slykk and the Rhino-People

The Legend of Gareus - Comic Strip and Agony Aunt page

* Torra: Bringing Down the House - A location and NPCs

Letters from Arion

Plus further information on the Warlock Returns charity auction


Friday, 9 July 2021

Are YOU Game?

I understand that on your Earthly Plane you are facing a weekend of noble sporting endeavours, it being the finals of both the ball-blugeon contest Wimbledon, and the foot-the-ball competition of the Euros.

While I prefer the gladiatorial games of Blood Island myself, sport is nonetheless enjoyed by all manner of races, all across the world of Titan too. Port Blacksand - that notorious City of Thieves - even has its own Sports Arena, where events such as Dwarf-tossing, Pixie Throttling, and Shoot-the-Apple-Off-The-Goblin's-Head - entrance 1 Gold Piece - may be enjoyed.

However, without doubt, the most popular sport undertaken within the arena is that of Bays' Ball.

Bays' Ball is a game played by the small Goblin-like creatures known as Bays, hence its name. It is their favourite game.

The game is played by two teams of small, Goblin-like creatures, known as Bays (hence its name), who alternate between fielding and batting. A small leather ball is thrown or "pitched" by a designated member of the fielding side to an opposing player who, armed with a wooden stick, hits the ball and then attempts to run around a circuit delimited by cloth bags manned by fielding Bays.

If the ball is hit over the wall of the stadium or arena the game is being played in then the batting team will score a complete circuit and can potentially win immediately. If the batter misses completely then they are out and this is denoted by the words "You're out!" being called behind the batter. The score is often displayed on the walls of the arena through the employment of cloth banners suspended from wooden hangers. These are updated as the score changes by designated Bays.

Bays are passionate about the game and players and supporters alike will react badly to losing. On the other hand, they are overjoyed when they win and supporters have been known to shower gifts upon the player responsible for the victory. It has been known for non-Bays to be allowed to play, and even spectators are sometimes accepted onto the field to play.

Other sports popular across Allansia and beyond include Ogreball, and Bataar Racing. What's your favourite of all the Titan games?

Oh, and good luck England!

Monday, 5 July 2021

Artist of Allansia

Ian Livingstone recently visited artist Karl Kopinski at his studio to collect the incredible cover painting Karl produced for the limited edition hardback of Assassins of Allansia, back in 2019.

It will now join other classic FF covers - by the likes of Iain McCaig, Les Edwards, Jim Burns, and Brian Williams - in Ian's home, as part of his unique Fighting Fantasy art collection.


Ian Livingstone and Karl Kopinski with the cover painting for the Fighting Fantasy gamebook Assassins of Allansia.

Ian will be selling copies of the limited collector's edition hardback of Assassins of Allansia at the UK Games Expo, when the convention returns to the NEC at the end of July.

You can find out more about what is happening at the incredibly popular event here.

Friday, 2 July 2021

Ian Livingstone to attend the UK Games Expo

Having been cancelled altogether last year, and postponed again this year, the UK Games Expo is taking place at the NEC in Birmingham from Friday 30 July - Sunday 1 August, 2021. And what's even better is that Ian Livingstone will be there, flying the flag for Fighting Fantasy!

Ian has a stand at the event for the whole weekend, and will be selling copies of the collector's hardback edition of Assassins of Allansia. He will also be giving his 'Life is a Game' talk on the Friday evening, from 5:30-7:30pm.

Ian will give an entertaining and visual account of his struggles as an entrepreneur in the 1970s when he and Steve Jackson founded Games Workshop and launched Dungeons & Dragons and Warhammer in Europe.

He will talk about the history of the multi-million-selling Fighting Fantasy gamebook series, which are still in print today almost 40 years later, and will end by listing his top ten favourite board games from his collection of more than 1,000. 

Ian's talk will be followed by a Q&A, and a book signing session. This is a free event and will take place in the Toure suite.

To find out more, and to purchase your ticket for the UK Games Expo, click here.