A Fighting Fantasy Journey
Recommendations: 1037
About the Project
The Fighting fantasy series had to be my first step into gaming as a child. Growing up in a computer free 80s household the books gave me an escape from the norm before little men came along. After years of neglect I went back to my original collection and went on a mission to complete it. In this project I will be looking at each book and seeing if they were as good as I remember. I have also picked up some of the official Fighting Fantasy minis from Atlantis Miniatures and painting them up to go with my book collection.
Related Game: Fighting Fantasy
Related Genre: Fantasy
This Project is Active
The warlock of Firetop Mountain board game
I recently acquired a copy of the board game version of warlock from back in GWs past. Designed by Steve Jackson this was my gateway game into GW because I knew the rules.
I will be painting the minis. Some people might say don't do it but I can't help myself Book thirty two: Slave's of the Abyss
I was confused in more ways than one with this book. As a kid I thought it was a Sci fi book thanks to the cosmic cover by Terry Oakes. Instead we end up in weird dimensions and astral planes. It took me too attempts to recently replay this adventure. Not because I died bit because I was bored. We get hired to help save a kingdom from an invasion of evil nasties. To defeat them we end up in a weird dimension and this is were I lost interest.
Bob Harvey has popped up again with the interior illustrations but his subject mater is a bit dull. A few images of people standing about and not much going on. Even a recreation of the cover during one of the odd endings you can end up 
One of the many images of men....standing about
This image had me mistrusting this girl from the start Freeway Fighter mini find
I spotted this mini for sale at salute being sold by tangent miniatures although it may not be one of their sculpts. I recognised it immediately 
Book thirty one: Battleblade warrior
This is one of my favourite books in the series. It clips along at a good pace and opens with our hero breaking out of a siege. The city if Vymorna has been besieged for 6 years by lizard men. As the son of the Queen only you (of course) can go in search of a magic sword that can save your people. I like the work of the author Marc Gascoigne such as the work he did in advanced fighting fantasy. The interior art by Alan Langford is a nice nod to island of the lizard King so he stamped his mark on lizard men who have a different look to the stuff we get now for fantasy lizard folk
We get a nice map of the landscape as we leave the city in search of the ruins where the sword is hidden and details the southern areas of Allansia 
At the start of the adventure we get to choose how to escape the besieged city. Fight our way out which is a waste of lives but fun. Sneak through the lines or take a boat. This gives us options to replay this book to see how these options play out
Ding dong
A bushtucker trial
Book thirty: chasms of malice
Written by Luke Sharp this book seems to have a lot going for it. Cover by Les Edwards and interior art by Russ Nicholson two of the greats. Unfortunately I found the book rather dull and a little confusing and when I hit a maze section I rapidly lost interest. I hate mazes. We head off underground to stop the bady Orghuz from rising up with his hordes. Of course your the only one who can stop him as the only living descendant of a legendary hero. At the start of the book you work in the kitchen as third assistant rabbit skinner. Obviously you have the combat skills to fight through a chasm and win the day
Always good to have a map but you spend all your time underground 
Some additions to the adventure sheet. We have a cat that lives in our hood that helps us out. We also have sidekicks to the villain that can be found and killed 
I love the detail of Nicholsons art and his warty orcs ang goblins are my favourite dort of gobo. I couldn't complete this adventure and I have to admit to giving as it didn't grab me despite the art.
Book twenty nine: Midnight Rogue
I have fond memories of Midnight Rogue from childhood. I was drawn to the idea of playing a Rogue character who is a thief going through an initiation to join the thieves guild. It was also great to revisit port blacksand one of the best locations in Allansia. Written by Graeme Davis who worked on warhammer fantasy role play and I get that feel playing this game. We have to choose sone thief skills and limited by how much we can stash in our swag bag.Artist John sibbick does the cover and interior art and captures the atmosphere very well. We slso get to see our hero on the cover
We are sent on a mission to find the eye of the Basilisk a rare gem owned by a merchant named brass who pops up in the book Blacksand. I guess this book hasn't been reprinted in recent years because we don't want kids aspiring to be burglars like I wanted to be
We get to explore the city and we get a map to search for clues to discover the gems location 
Jib jib a living alarm. There is a mini available of this which I need
Not the old snake in the lick trick. I love seeing your own hands on lots of images trying to steal things. Sneaking around people's houses is a great change from hacking your way round a dungeon 
We still get a bit of a dungeon crawl to reach the gem. 
No cheating in this game....not that I was...honestBook twenty eight: Phantoms of Fear
In my opinion the best of Robin Waterfields books helped by the brilliant art of Ian Miller. We play an elf Prince who sets off into the woods defeat Ishra the demon Prince. I remember the cover freaking me out as a child and it put me off playing the book. The game has some interesting features such as entering your own dreams and at the end of the adventure you can flip from the real to the dream world. Millers art perfectly captures that dream state although it makes it hard to distinguish the real world from the dream when it's all so weird 
Israel has the appearance of a medieval demon which is interesting and he's poisoning the forest. Despite this we set off on our quest without provisions thinkingvwe can live off the land. Silly elf ends up starving. We get a choice of how to tackle the main villain, either in the real world or the dream world giving us interesting options 
I good tradition we get a potential companion Eric Rune-Axe who went mad trying to get out of the maze of Zagor. I know the feeling. As always this companion dies.
My favourite moment was meeting the cook. You can disguise yourself as a Dark Elf and sit in the guard room eating dinner. You find human remains in the pot and end up throwing up. I found the adventure to be more fun than I was expecting. There were some odd bits, but it felt like a classic quest to me. Helped by some classic artBook twenty seven: Star Strider
Back to a sci-fi with Lyke Sharps star strider although I don't understand the title. You play a rogue tracer who is a bounty hunter. It feels like someone didn't like that as a title. The cover by Alan Craddock also feels disjointed. Its from a very minor encounter and it feels as if the cover was done first and it was shoe horned in. At first glance the plot sounds fun with nods to escape from new York. Gromulans have kidnapped the Galactic President and you have to find him. You have so many hours to succeed with a ticking clock mechanic like an episode of 24. We also see the return of the fear stat as the Gromulans use illusions to scare folk. For some reason this book didn't work for me. Despite the race against time there's no sense of urgency 
Set on a future earth we spend a lot of time catching buses. We spend time in Madrid and Rome meeting tribes of hooligans are decended from football supporters. Being in Spain we get robot bulls so some funny moments.
Would you buy a used zip car from this man
Maths, I hate maths. This book seemed to have a lot if it.
The Sci fi art by Gary Mayes is good. I like that some artists fit certain genres. Unfortunately for me the Sci fi books just don't hit the mark. Maybeif they had all beenset in the same universe like most of the fantasy books to give them some continuity.
Book twenty six - crypt of the Sorcerer
Ian livingstone returns with a book that felt to me to be more of a novel in its linear approach. The necromancer Razaak has risen again bringing blight to Allansia. All you have to do is collect a magic sword and the horn of a monster. Because Allansia is well establish now we get our first map on the inside cover and a cast of familiar faces. Yaztromo of dark wood forest returns to send you on a mission and the dwarfs of stonebridge give a helping hand. Great classic cover from les Edwards. I love Razaaks long right arm. There is a mini available for Razaak but he's out of stock at the moment. It's very easy to fail on. This adventure if you don't find certain items and relies on a lot on obtaining paragraph numbers which you can't progress without. Finding a helpful imp creature who you can call on later he gives you his number like he has a mobile on him which made me laugh. The use of numbers for paragraphs takes me out if the adventure when they are required in the world. 
I did like that the quest wasn't dungeon bound. We get to explore the map given us in the book and there are lots of references to previous books such as port blacksand. 
Once again we find companions like symm here and the dwarf Borri. Amazingly they both survive 
I am always suspicious of elf girls hanging from trees but surprisingly it's not a trap 
Nice way to get about. 
There are certain finds in this book that you will need later such as the blood from these chaps. Without it you can't win which makes this book difficult 
Not what you want to see if your in a balloon 
The sword you need to kill Razaak is cursed so if you fail to lift the curse your flesh might drop off like the previous owner
I found it more fun playing now than when I was a kid because I probably found it to hard. I liked having companions and found it funny that I needed to know the dietary requirements of a troll to gain access to the villain. John Sibbicks art is great and I was a fan of his work in the series 
Because the book was second hand it's funny to see what school library it came from. Book twenty five - Beneath Nightmare Castle
This adventure written by Peter Darvill-Evans takes us to the town of Neuburg in Khul. In this dark story we visit our friend Baron Tholdur to find the town under the control of some sinister invading forces trying to reawaken a demonic entity under the castle. We start the adventure being captured and locked up beneath the castle but quickly escape. We then spend some time in the town trying to figure out what's going on before going back into the castle to save the baron and defeat the mysterious villains. The game drops you right in to the adventure with no clue as to what's going on. The game introduces willpower as a star which you have to test to not loose your mind. The feel is very warhammer fantasy with the German sounding names. The cover by Terry Oakes shows a very scary lady with metal nails. In the adventure she's a tragic figure whose been experimented on. 
This book has some dark themes illustrated by Dave Carson 
Yodas grandad pops up
And Vaders twin
One of the dark moments in this story is when you get robbed by urchins and you have to hack them up. Murdering kids in a kids book. 
The tragic reality. The one thing I like about this adventure is the mystery of trying to uncover what's happened in the town and exploring the castle feels like the Escape the Dark Castle game of recent years Book twenty four-Creature of Havoc
Steve Jackson is back with another maze filled puzzle ridden head ache. Creature of Havoc had a classic bit of art by Ian Miller whose work reminds me of classic Realm of chaos. I love his illustration of the necromancer Zharradon Marr. The book itself has a very interesting premise. We play a creature of unknown origin who can't speak and has to discover their true identity as the story progresses. So we play a monster who eats his way through hobbits and any other adventurers who try to kill you 
The original book had a map which the second version lacked and I found it useful during my replay. The intro to this book is 20 pages of background rivaling any rpg. Jackson really fleshes out this section of Allansia and was the perfect backdrop for his later novel the Trolltooh wars. This background gives you clues to your true identity which you later discover in this mammoth book which has 460 instead of the usual 400 paragraphs. 
Your first victim. A tasty dwarf. You spend the first half of the book stuck in a dungeon in able to understand a word that's being said and no way to reason with anyone. Guess you'll just have to kill them all. 
There are some very tricky sections to this book and you get hints to add a number when it's needed to turn to the right paragraph but with little prompting so it's easy to get confused. Dome whole sections such as the village of Dree just lead to certain death no matter what you choose. 
In fighting fantasy tradition you can get an ally. The half orc Grog and in good tradition he dies horribly. The book is interesting but frustrating but stands out as very unique and adds a lot to the lore. 
The mini of Zharradon Marr I for some reason had trouble painting. Perhaps I'm used to the character hiding in a mirror rather than being three dimensional. Back to Blacksand
A slight interlude as I acquired minis of the two troll guards from city of thieves. Fat nose and sour belly. You can decide which one is which. They have to be my favourite minis in the range and capture the illustration so well. 
Book twenty three-Masks of Mayhem
Book 23 has us returning to fantasy and the continent of Khul in this adventure by Robin Waterfield. I have mixed feelings about this book as it has a nice rpg vibe with interesting encounters with people that aren't all combat focused. But it also has some of the worse plot twists that could leave a child stumped.... Or adult me such as the who dunnit aspect at the end which leaves you wondering what you missed. The villain is the sorceress Morgana of Kill Garnash who is about to unleash her golems on the world, like the one on the cover who ate under used in the story. She just needs one sigil to control them. So for some reason the i ly person in Arion who can stop her is you the ruler. So in your own you set off to stop her. 
This adventure comes with a map although I'm guessing it's not to scale. You will die alit escaping from a wild fire on the plains where it certainly does not seem to rain. 
Kevin Truehand my faithful friend
Oh... Never mind. Bye Kevin. 
We also get a game within a game in a battleships style hunt for a sabre toothed tiger
Morgana illustrated by the great Russ Nicholson. She's not as tough as we are led to think. 
Has to be the shortest summing up and well done for paragraph 400 so far Book twenty-two: Robot Commando
What ten year old wouldn't get excited about giant robots vs dinosaurs? I was sold on the cover alone and was one of my favorite in the science fiction outings in the series. Written by the ( other ) Steve Jackson we add rules for walking about in giant robots which we use to ranch dinosaurs in the country of Thalos. Unfortunately our warlike neighbours have invaded after releasing a pathogen that puts the whole nation to sleep apart from you. We travel the country looking for the means to defeat our enemies in the various cities that are all set up for one task, such as the city of industry and another for going on holiday too. Just like Scorpion swamp Jackson gives us the ability to revisit locations. We also have more than one way to complete the game such as trying to take down the enemy leadership or finding away to wake everyone up. So unlike most of the books in the series it doesnt end at paragraph 400. 
As the only peron awake we have to dodge the invaders and dinos although as a rancher we aren't exactly the commando the title has us believe. And we aren't a robot.
There is some great imagery in this book and we get to jump from one robot to another each designed for a different purpose. Although each seems very familiar.
Book twenty-two: Robot Commando
What ten year old wouldn't get excited about giant robots vs dinosaurs? I was sold on the cover alone and was one of my favorite in the science fiction outings in the series. Written by the ( other ) Steve Jackson we add rules for walking about in giant robots which we use to ranch dinosaurs in the country of Thalos. Unfortunately our warlike neighbours have invaded after releasing a pathogen that puts the whole nation to sleep apart from you. We travel the country looking for the means to defeat our enemies in the various cities that are all set up for one task, such as the city of industry and another for going on holiday too. Just like Scorpion swamp Jackson gives us the ability to revisit locations. We also have more than one way to complete the game such as trying to take down the enemy leadership or finding away to wake everyone up. So unlike most of the books in the series it doesnt end at paragraph 400. Book twentyone : Trial of Champions
The long awaited return to deathtrap dungeon with Ian Livingstones kinda sequal. Baron sukumvit was clearly upset we got through his last dungeon so he's had an upgrade for this year's contest. This time we play a captive of the barons brother lord carnus who hates his brother. So he wants his own champion to beat the dungeon. But first we need to survive the selection process in the arena of death. The winner gets the honour of going into the dungeon and certain death. Great art and great story this one was always popular with me. 
The original cover really captured the best part of the book for me which was the various desperate trials you have to go through before entering the dungeon. 
We have to collect ringsin this version of the dungeon and once again meet a pair of trial masters who test our intelligence and skill. We also get some nice monsters such as the cold claw and the weird purple tongue coming out of a statue.
I'm not a big fan of the Lord Carnus mini or of my paint job. I would have preferred a mini if the warrior from the book cover in the blindfold mask who we are forced to fight 
Book twenty : Sword of the samurai
Off to the Titan version of the far East and the land of Hachiman in this shogun inspired adventure. I always thought the cover was cool but I don't remember playing this one as a child. By Jamie Thomson and Mark Smith who delve into Japan mythology with some nasty undead types. We are sent off on a mission by the shogun to recover his stolen katanga from ikiru the master of shadows. This book has a skill list we can choose from to improve our character. One interesting rule is an honour system. We gain points for good deeds and if we loose enough we commit suicide. 
This dragon wants you to solve a riddle to get past him so you can't just go killing your way to victory. 
Yay we get a companion who pledges to our service and follows us on our journey. 
Oh
We have to fight a variety of Demons at the end and we can call upon all is to fight them and we can pick and choose who fights who with various outcomes. I enjoyed this book for the first time as an adult and the setting is an interesting change. 
Book nineteen: Demons of the Deep
Great cover by Les Edwards on a return to the fantasy setting of Titan, or under its ocean. Steve Jackson (the American one) is the author of this aquatic adventure. Captured by pirates we are thrown into the sea and are magically able to breath. We have a few hours to search the underwater kingdom for black pearls which can be used to get revenge on the pirates. That's not the only way to win. I managed it without any pearls. You can get help from a sea dragon. Dolphins and water elementals. 
Captain bloodaxe laughing because pirates seem to be the only people in the whole planet of titan to have access to cannons. 
There are some interesting underwater creatures such as this sword fish and the Deep ones who are uppity looking fishmen. I like that one is called Sharkspear 
Gotta have a kraken 
Never trust a dragon. Even one under the sea. Book Eighteen: Rebel Planet
Written by Robin Waterford who will give us four books in the series ans illustrated by Gary mayes who gives us some more comic caprion style art. In Rebel Planet we aim to take down an evil empire armed with a laser sword. Sounds familiar. The Arcadian Empire is made up of three types of aliens all linked by a duper computer. As an oppressed human we have to bring down the hive mind computer. This book has an unusual background section split into sections with enough info for an RPG. We learn all about the planets we are going to visit and the aliens from the SAROS manual. Search and research of space organisation has us working under cover to find the code to destroy the computer. We embark on an espionage trip finding resistance fighters. 
The weirdest robot that spins at you 
Take this puny human
Definitely not a light sabre
Definitely not C3PO
As a kid I found it hard to get into this book. 8 had no real idea what I was looking for nd has so much fluff to get through. Then we have to do Binary code maths. A bit of a switch off for my child brain. I enjoyed it more during my revisitBook seventeen: Appointment with F. E. A. R
I think the game books in teens in the series have some odd outings with Sci fi instead of the usual fantasy. This time it's a comic book super hero adventure by Steve Jackson with his usual approach of messing with the rules. We play the silver crusader fighting crime in Titan City. A nice nod to the world of Titan. We get to pick our hero powers and this gives us clues to stopping crimes in the city. The main mission is to stop the Titanium cyborg and fear which stands for the federation of Euro-American rebels. While hunting them down we have encounters with other super villains. This book has a lot of replay ability as we take on different crimes with a different choice of powers and see if we earn enough hero points than we did last go. My replay had me being the worse crime fighter in history. I slipped in dog mess and nearly got fired. I like the art style in this book which captures the golden age comic book feel. There are plenty of nods to comic books such as Parker Airport and business man Wayne Bruce. We get calls on our crime watch by gerry the snitch. 
