[Fighting Fantasy] Gamebooks -- anyone else?

Desdichado

Hero

• Feb 29, 2004

• #1

Although I did first experience D&D before these babies were released, it wasn't until after I did some of the Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks (a natural enough evolution from Choose Your Own Adventure, I might add) that I really got excited about the concept. I think it was my 12th? birthday and my folks got me Forest of Doom and City of Thieves which were probably pretty new at the time. I later picked up The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, Scorpion Swamp and a number of others. I also had a straight 1-6 or so of the Lone Wolf books, and my favorites of them all were the three TolkienQuest books I had, with the little hexmap.

Unfortunately, I no longer have any of these books; I have no idea where they are anymore either. The Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks are available dirt cheap on Amazon used, but the TolkienQuest are a bit harder to find.

Anyone else have any fond memories of these books?

 

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T

The_Dood

First Post

• Feb 29, 2004

• #2

Yeah, I own the first fifty or so of the books (from firetop mountain to return to firetop mountain) and I only just picked up the Sorcery! set a couple of months ago at a small country town, 13 years after I got my first FF book.

 

B

Beretta

First Post

• Mar 1, 2004

• #3

Joshua Dyal said:

Anyone else have any fond memories of these books?

Click to expand...

I sure do - they were my introduction to D&D.

When I was 10 I had AU$10 pocket-money and was looking for something to read. I was in the bookstore and was looking at the old Choose your Own Adventure books but the ones on display I had read from the school library.

There were some similar ones nearby with a green spine; I had a look at a few and I guess the cover of Demons of the Deep must have won me over (I think it cost me AU$6 - it's hard to get a decent book for less than $18 now). In the years from then I collected up to Stealer of Souls (or something); by then I was in University and my reading tastes had matured, so I stopped picking them up. I wish I had got them all now.

Two years from buying that first book I changed schools and noticed a couple of others reading books from the series and from that new friendships were born. One had an older brother that played D&D - I borrowed some of them and then went out to get my own Basic D&D Red Box.

I enjoyed those books then as much as I enjoy D&D now - I owe what became many future friendships to the Fighting Fantasy books.

 

Last edited: Mar 1, 2004

Herremann the Wise

First Post

• Mar 1, 2004

• #4

Joshua Dyal said:

Anyone else have any fond memories of these books?

Click to expand...

Our bookclub at school - hop in the wayback machine to Sydney Australia 1983 and 5th Grade - had the Warlock of Firetop Mountain on offer and when it came in I was transfixed by this book. I think even now, I'll look back at that book as my purest "fantasy" moment.

However I thought it was a once off at the time and was surprised to find a year later in Cambridge England books 2 and 3 - The Citadel of Chaos and the Forest of Doom. After this, I was well and truly hooked. It was the Red Box of D&D for me and so my life went.

I think if I had to pick the two best FFG books, I could not go past City of Thieves and Deathtrap Dungeon - the two were actually linked "in game" so to speak through that dumb orc and her cousins Sourbelly and for the life of me the otherone I can't remember. I think the illustrations by Iain McCaig were the real bonus here. They really brought the world to life - the picture of Nicodemus, the Fire Imp flying straigt at you and the final door in deathtrap being absolute standouts.

Ahhh... those were the days.

Out of interest, would it be possible to do a similar design but using a basic form of the d20 rules? I was thinking about this theother week when planning out a campaign. I think it could work.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

 

R

rounser

First Post

• Mar 1, 2004

• #5

For those who are unaware of the FF/d20 crossover products:
http://www.myriador.com/

 

M

Moulin Rogue

First Post

• Mar 1, 2004

• #6

Oh yeah, I eventually had the first 20+ of those. I saw Forest Of Doom at the book store and wanted it based on the cover. I think that was the summer of '85. I guess that was my first experience with pen-and-paper game abstraction how you could heal battle wounds by eating your food, just like in video games when you replenish your energy bar by walking over a steak

Among my favourites must be the fantasy horror-themed Beneath Nightmare Castle.

 

MerricB

Eternal Optimist

Supporter

• Mar 1, 2004

• #7

They've recently been reprinting the Fighting Fantasy books.

http://www.fightingfantasygamebooks.com/

I've got Creature of Havoc in the new edition; however I've had trouble tracking down others in the new series.

They've so far reprinted:
* Warlock of Firetop Mountain
* Citadel of Chaos
* Deathtrap Dungeon
* Creature of Havoc
* City of Thieves
* Crypt of the Sorcerer
* House of Hell
* Forest of Doom
* Sorcery: The Shamutanti Hills
* Sorcery: Khare, Cityport of Traps
* Sorcery: The Seven Serpents
* Sorcery: The Crown of Kings
* Caverns of the Snow Witch
* Trial of Champions
* Armies of Death
* Return to Firetop Mountain
* Island of the Lizard King
* Temple of Terror (forthcoming)
* Appointment with Fear (forthcoming)

The reprints are available in the UK, Canada and Australia. The site says about the US:

USA Books

At the moment, the re launched Fighting Fantasy books are not sold in the United States. However, we hope to have more information on US publication of the series soon. For fans in the USA who can’t wait to get their hands on copies, the FF books can be ordered from Canada: try Chapters book stores (www.chapters.ca) or Amazon (www.amazon.ca).

Click to expand...

Cheers!

 

S

Staffan

Legend

• Mar 1, 2004

• #8

I never got into Fighting Fantasy, but I really liked the Lone Wolf books (and World of Lone Wolf, about Grey Star). Fortunately for LW fans, they're being made available online at www.projectaon.org.

 

Eternalknight

First Post

• Mar 1, 2004

• #9

Herremann the Wise said:

Out of interest, would it be possible to do a similar design but using a basic form of the d20 rules? I was thinking about this theother week when planning out a campaign. I think it could work.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

Click to expand...

Myriador are doing a FF role-playing game, of which I am proud to say I am involved in.

 

Dirigible

Explorer

• Mar 1, 2004

• #10

FF > Advanced FF (dungeoneer, blacksand, allansia) > D&D

The cycle cannot be resisted!

First one I played was Spectral Stalkers... I have good memories of that atypical, offbeat adventure. And when I say atypical and offbeat, I mean featuring transdimensional, betentacled creatures relentlessly seeking a magical sphere. Great book.