For those that don't know in the 80s, 90s Fighting Fantasy was a series of adventure game-books. Written by steve Jackson & Ian Livingston, later of GW fame.

Yesterday we found a box of all my old FF books in my parents house. So after 15 years I can go back and re-read all the old favourites. Also in there was Out of the Pit, a kind of Fighting Fantasy bestiary. It is interesting to see in the FF universe the genesis of many ideas and concepts in warhammer. For example various evil creatures are collectively described as the forces of Chaos.

Of the game books I have Warlock of Firetop Mountain, Scorpion Swamp, Seas of Blood, Armies of Death, Siege of Sardath, Masks of Mayhem, to name but a few... I seem to have about 15 in total. :D

EDIT: I have started adding FF book-reviews to this thread, so scroll down for the latest reviews. *Ratings are 1-5.

Review Index:

Page 1
(1) Warlock of Firetop Mountain
(16) Seas of Blood
(6) Deathtrap Dungeon
(9) Caverns of the Snow Witch
(2) Citadel of Chaos
(21) Trial of Champions
(8) Scorpion Swamp

Page 2
(S1) The Shamutanti Hills
(S2) Kharé: Cityport of Traps!
(49) The Siege of Sardath
(20) Sword of the Samurai
(23) Masks of Mayhem
(44) Legend of the Shadow Warriors
(14) Temple of Terror
(50) Return to Firetop Mountain

Page 3
(40) Dead of Night
(W11) Howl of the Werewolf
(W4) Stormslayer
(5) City of Thieves

Page 4
(S3) The Seven Serpents
(S4) The Crown of Kings
Shrine of the Salamander (fan fiction)
In search of the Mungies Gold (fan fiction)
(35) Daggers of Darkness
(24) Creature of Havoc

*S=Sorcery! Series, W=Wizard Series.

For more FF goodness visit:
http://fightingfantasy.eamped.com/

When I was growing up I found reading to be such a chore, especially with all those rubbishy childrens books. One night my dad brought home a copy of "the forest of doom" and I stayed up all night reading it! To this day I remember it as a pivitol time in my growing up. I remember finding one of the halves of the hammer in an ogres cave and the other in some under ground layer with fishmen. Yaztromo didnt take any messing around with though!

Fronm then on I bought all the series, I think I had 30+ at some point. My favourites were Starship Traveller, Space assassin, Robot Commando, Sword of the Samurai, seas of blood and creature of havoc - though I never did get out of that dungeon!



Fighting Fantasy page.

Absolutely. I played all of them I think.

My fav ones are Starship Traveller, Armies of Death and Sorcery.

Not to discount the Lone Wolf series either! Great series.

Can't remember why, but our junior school had a big batch of Grail Quest books for sale. Almost everyone got a copy, i remember having about 4 of that series. They were set in medieval england, alot darker than the FF books, and Merlin was your mentor. From there we discovered Fighting Fantasy books and a shop called Games Workshop.

I think Grail Quest was a copy of FF book formula. GQ was 1984, Warlock of Firetop Mtn was released in 1982. (i also had the warlock of firetop mtn board game)

Loved the FF books, my favourite was a 2 player book called Clash of Princes. One of you had the warlock book, the other had the warrior book. The outcome of your adventure depended on decisions your ally had taken.

Well in the last 2 days I replayed Warlock and Seas of Blood. Thought it would be fun to write a little review of each.



Warlock of Firetop Mountain (1) -

A must for any FF fan as this was the original book of the series. Here you see the genesis of many concepts used throughout the series. The plot is the standard dungeon-crawl, exploring rooms and solving puzzles until you meet the big baddie at the end. The first half of the book is quite initially linear, though it does later branch out somewhat. The second half however has you trying to solve a maze, which I found really enjoyable. One deft feature being a random-encounter table which kicks in if you spend too long searching in any particular corridor.

As the writing style was in its infancy it does not play as smoothly as some later books, for example superflous choice-entries like "at the end of the corridor is a plain wooden door, do you wish to open it?" whereas in later books you would only have to make a choice if there was some reason ie. "you hear screaming inside the room". There are also a few too many "do you wish to turn east? or west?" with no opportunity to backtrack if you feel you may have missed something down the other corridor. On balance though these are relatively small issues with what is otherwise an enjoyable book.

Stats needed: Not too many tough combats, a character with average stats should make it through.

Book Rating: ****



Seas of Blood (16) -

Of the 15 or so FF I've read this is one of my all-time favourites. Unlike most FF where you are the good guy you get to play a pirate! The plot is that you are in a contest with another pirate captain to see who is the greatest, the winner being he who collects the most plunder within an allocated time and delivers it to a remote island. As the book progresses you sail around the map choosing which places to visit and plunder. Uniquely you get stats for your pirate crew (for larger battles) as well as yourself. This again gives the book something different.

A lot of people who reviewed it online were disappointed with it as it did not live up to what they expected. Aspects of it can be frustrating, for example there are bits where bad things seem to happen for no apparent reason. And for a seasoned pirate you seem to have limited knowledge of the area you are exploring. On the whole though I really enjoyed the freedom of movement with the book allowing many different routes along the way. Though of course you may well reach the end and not have enough gold to win the bet. I had to play at least 5 times to discover the right route with the most potential gold, and even then you need a fair amount of luck to actually make it through.

Stats needed: You need roughly SKILL 10. The key difficulty is large battles, for any chance at all you need a minimum CREW STRIKE 11 and CREW STRENGTH 15.

Book rating: ****

Continuing the theme I have decided to review each book I play from the series. For anyone who hasn't played FF these books are a real bargain and easy to get hold of. In the 2000s another publisher rereleased them with new covers, but the originals are changing hands for as little as £1 on amazon. I recently ordered 2 books for £1 each with free delivery!

The next review is...



Deathtrap Dungeon (6) -

Again this is one of the better entries in the series and arguably the most popular of the early books. The plot is that a local ruler called Baron Sukomvit has designed a fiendish dungeon full of traps and monsters and offered a reward huge to any challenger who can find his way through. Each year many have tried, all have failed. You are one of the contestants who takes up the challenge.

The book is one that really makes you think, and keeps you in suspense as every room and every passageway could potentially be loaded with booby traps. As with all FF the key is to try and collect objects that may be useful later on. But which ones? There are a lot of red herrings in there to keep you guessing. During the walk through the dungeon you are also competing against 5 other contestants. The latter device adds a nice extra dimension to the plot, abeit one that could have been utilised slightly more. If I were nit-picking however I would say this leads to discrepencies in the plot as you sometimes find corridors blocked by monsters that logically-speaking should already be dead. That aside I found this book fairly well written in terms of descriptions and events.

Stats needed: I rarely roll for stats since some FF books are just impossible on low dice rolls. I usually test the book with average stats to get a feel for it. To complete this one you need at least SKILL 11.

Book Rating ****

I love this series.

Sorcery! is fantastic. And Moonrunner is warhammer roleplay: the gamebook.


Down with the Livingstone books though! They are weak.

Ooh strong words. I think some Livingstone books are ok, Deathtrap Dungeon for example. Caverns of the Snow Witch though was dire. Another thing I think really makes a good book is the quality illustrations.

I never read the Sorcery! series, might get round to that some day.

One thing I never noticed when I was younger is that Livingstone & Jackson only wrote a few of the books themselves, many were written by guest authors with Livingstone & Jackson simply credited as the editor.



Caverns of the Snow Witch (9) -

The first FF I bought and read. At the time it was a window to a whole new world, despite its flaws. Looking back however this is one of the weakest entires in the series. In the first third of the book you discover the Snow Witch is plotting to destroy/enslave the realm of Allansia and you decide to enter her icy caverns and stop her. This bit is fairly generic FF, you explore the caverns and eventually meet and defeat the aforementioned lady. However having done the job you then spend just as long trying to escape again, which involves dodging a large number of 'sudden death' paragraphs. Only then you find the Snow Witch isn't dead and you have to defeat her again via a silly game of luck.

But even then you ain't done, oh no. You have a pointless walk back to civilisation accompanied by 2 slaves you rescued. By now your LUCK and STAMINA are about 1 point above zero, only then to discover that you have been cursed and must go and find a healer to lift the curse before it kills you. By this point you will be ready to throw away the book.

The problem with this book seems to originate from the fact that it was originally written as a short adventure for publication in a magazine. The author later decided to extend the storyline to republish it as a full length book. In hindsight this was obviously a mistake. What you get is a very long very linear narrative with no real continuity between sections.

Stats needed: maximum on everything, but even then it will be impossible to complete the final section without cheating.

Book Rating: *

Of the entire collection of books, I'm only missing a few.

Most of the novels and Allansia! and Blacksand!

I've got all of the gamebooks themselves (including the newer ones released over the past few years) and have got to say that this was the inspiration that got me into Warhammer :D

(Okay, so I've mentioned it a number of times when this topic comes up, but still...).

Unfortunately, I can honestly say that there were only a few of them that I have ever 'legitimately' completed (ie no cheating). But with that said, there were only a small handful of them that I disliked. Starship Traveller, for example, I felt was very poor.

Favorites of mine are: The Legend of Zagor; Knights of Doom; Dead of Night; Demons of the Deep; and Night Dragon :D

The early Livingstone books are good, mostly. But the later ones are absurd item hunts where you lose if you miss any of twenty or so different items. To make things worse, his books are full of ridiculously powerful enemies.

The ultimate example is 'Crypt of the Sorcerer,' which is virtually impossible without cheating.


Still, most fighting fantasy books are great fun. Keep writing those reviews!

I read Legend of Zagor, and borrowed Dead of Night from a friend. Dead of Night was awesome. :)

Yeh I totally agree some books are annoying like that. :vomit: Though as I say I have only read a modest selection.

The Citadel of Chaos (2) -

Written by steve Jackson this is possibly my all-time favourite. Quite remarkable considering the fact it was only 2nd in the series! The plot is that an evil sorceror named Balthus Dire is plotting to invade the kingdom of Vale of Willow. You are an apprentice wizard sent on a daring mission to enter his citadel to assasinate him before it is too late.

The book is immediately different from Warlock of Firetop Mountain in that you get to choose spells before the start. The magic system works fairly well and the choice of spells makes a lot of encounters in the book more interesting. The structure of the book itself is also very well crafted. One issue with Firetop Mountain was that the route was fairly linear thus lending itself less well to repeat play. In Citadel however there are three possible routes across the outer courtyard, followed by at least seven (yes seven!) routes through the first floor of the citadel. Thus when you play a 2nd time you don't have to follow the exact same route over and over.

On the upper levels there is one particularly tricky room which is home to deadly magical creatures called GANJEES who will not let you proceed without the correct item. Odds are you will have to play the book several times to find what you need to appease them. However each repeat-play gives you the chance to discover more clues and items that help you later on. Beyond the GANJEES are some other tricky rooms to solve. In particular the final encounter with Balthus Dire himself is really well crafted. Lastly there is a nice inventive selection of memorable creatures throughout the book. One of my all-time FF favourites is the GARK (a hulkish type of creature that is half-goblin and half-giant).
:D

Stats needed: It is theoretically possible to complete with any stats. However the Balthus Dire showdown at the end is potentially difficult, depending on how you choose to fight him.

Book rating: *****

There are some awkward moments in that book (like finding the door combination), but otherwise it's great.

Clear evidence that Steve Jackson was better at writing these books than Ian Livingstone!


It has lovely illustrations too.

Trial of Champions (21) -

This book is a sequel to the popular Deathtrap Dungeon. Baron Sukomvit has now redesigned his dungeon to make it 'more lethal' and once again challenges anyone to find a way though and claim the prize. This time you play a different character, the twist is that you have been captured as a slave by Sukomvit's jealous brother Lord Carnuss who forces you to enter the dungeon. But first you must be chosen as his champion via a series of gladiator-style challenges vs other slaves in his arena.

I found this book enjoyable and frustrating in equal measure. First of all the dungeon is interesting to explore, and like its predecessor there are some memorable rooms and creatures. As before there are rival contestants you will encounter. The most memorable is a badass Chaos Champion. Unlike the other guys he actually feels like a real contender.

Now the problems. First of all the arena sequence at the beginning does not really affect the rest of the book. There are no objects to collect and you get a full stamina restore at the end of it. It is also a very linear sequence and thus not appealling for repeat-play. On the flip-side this issue can be overcome if, having completed this early sequence, you then create for yourself a 'saved game'.

Regarding the dungeon itself... As I said in my Deathtrap Dungeon review it is a shame you do not get more chance to interact with other challengers and make alliances. A bigger issue is the 'treasure hunting', lets just say you need to collect very many copies of a certain item - to collect such a high number of objects invariably involves much repeat-play and you basically have to open every door, fight every monster, fall down every pit in order to find them all. There are a number of magic items scattered around that increase your skill, yet the rules in the front explicitly state your skill can never go above its initial level. Here the author's intent is unclear so you must decide for yourself whether to play by the letter of the law.

Finally there are also a number of unexplained plot holes in the book. Of course the whole dungeon premise needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. But my main issue was the fact that Lord Carnuss has around 50 warrior-slaves but sends only 1 to the Dungeon, why not enter several of them and spread his bets. Secondly even though Carnuss chose you to succeed he does not lend you any armour, or provisions or other useful hero-items, other than a mere sword?!

Flaws aside this is still a reasonably enjoyable game-book, but as I say certain things should have been done better.

Stats Needed: Maximum on everything. Even then you will probably run out of stamina and die.

Book Rating: ***

Scorpion Swamp (8) -

The first in the series to be written by a guest writer, amazingly Scorpion Swamp was written by a guy also named Steve Jackson (seriously!). Basically you are an adventurer who decides to try his luck exploring Scorpion Swamp. For added incentive there are three different quests you can choose from, aquired from one of three wizards who are good, evil and neutral respectively.

The book is almost unique in the FF series in the fact it allows complete freedom of movement. Its mapping system allows you to choose your direction of travel and even retrace your steps to revisit previous sites. Any gamebook fan who enjoys making maps will like this book. To aid you in your quest you also get to pick spells, another feature that works fairly well. Once you get into the swamp there are plenty of interesting and memorable creatures to encounter. Who can forget the dreaded SWORD TREES for example.

The only minor gripe is that besides exploration there is not much puzzle-solving. The good wizard quest for example requires you find an object, when you eventually do the object is just sitting there unguarded save a pair of easy low-level wolves - ideally there would be some sort of test or obstacle to figure out before you pick it up. By contrast the evil quest is probably the most hazardous.

Stats Needed: Average stats, e.g. SKILL 10, will allow about the right level of difficulty.

Rating: ****

You've made me want to dig my collection out of storage mate. My favourites were always City of Thieves and the futuristic car one, I forget the name. I knew hanging onto my copies was a good idea. Time to take a stack on holiday with me! I think I even have my Dungoneer, Advanced Fighting Fantasy. That thing was great fun.

Never tried Advanced FF. By the time I discovered Advanced FF me and my friends had already graduated onto other RPG.

Its amazing though with all the advancements in computer games and such how these type of game-books have stood the test of time.

Bump.

Found this nice resource, thought I'd share: http://fightingfantasy.eamped.com/forum/ca...icial-material/ Its a fans-forum that also produces its own fanzine you can download to read with lots of awesome goodness, in effect a FF version of DWQ.
:D

great, i read this thread, and now I've bought 8 books from play.com :D

also, 5 titles exists as electronic versions in the apple App store

Just did my first run through "warlock of firetop mountain"

It was fun, but it did have a few annoying parts. The river in which I kept falling, the maze that took me ages to get out of. I didnt win, but it gives me reason to do it again!

Glad you enjoyed it. hope you have fun on the rest. :)

Just had a quick read through the FF forum - and I just realised I haven't read my copies of Stormslayer OR Night of the Necromancer yet! And I bought them as soon as they were available :blink:

Think I'll sign up to the FF forum AND crack out my books to get reading...

So after seeing various reviews I decided to try the Sorcery! series by Steve Jackson. This works very similar to normal fighting fantasy except for the fact the 4 books in the series form one continuous quest. Meaning, among other things, you can keep your character from one book to the next. The books also feature a more complex spell system that requires you to memorise spells.

The plot is that an evil wizard has stolen the fabled Crown of Kings and now threatens the world, you are the lone hero sent on a perilous journey to retrieve it. Given the mission is so vital and the journey is so dangerous it doesn't seem plausible to send just 1 character alone. But then I guess that this is always the way in Fighting Fantasy.



The Shamutanti Hills (Sorcery 1) -

In the first stage of your epic quest you must cross the Shamutanti Hills, a frontier-land of remote villages and various strange creatures. In this book I really liked the way the environment has a real 'lived in' feel to it. I also liked the fact that rather than just walk around fighting monsters you also have to consider basic necessities, things like where to camp for the night or where to obtain extra provisions. On the whole it does feel like an introductory book, most of the adventure is not too difficult until you get to the cavern-section at the end where it suddenly gets pretty dangerous. In this bit you get to complete a sort of mini-quest which rounds off the book nicely, the end-encounter is pretty neat.

The aforementioned magic system works fairly well, my only complaint however is that there are a lot of spells you can't actually use in this book. These unused spells obviously come into play later in the series. Nonetheless its a bit frustrating if you spent a long time memorising your spell book.

Stats Needed: If you play a wizard you can probably get through on SKILL7.

Rating: ***** (edited 19/08/2011)



Kharé Cityport of Traps (Sorcery 2) -

To continue your journey you must cross the city of Kharé, notoriously unruly and dangerous. I have to say I found the reason given for entering such a lethal place a bit too contrived. Apparently its the only crossing place on the river, which begs the question why didn't you simply come by boat, or at least find a local fisherman to ferry you across. Once inside Kharé you have to find 4 lines of verse which make a spell to open the North Gate. Again seems a bit contrived.

But if you put the premise aside then on balance the rest of it it is pretty well written. There are a number of interesting puzzles and encounters. Like Shamutanti before it Kharé has a rich 'lived in' feel. One gripe I had however was the second half was a bit too linear. You will more or less follow the same route each time, the only slight detour is if you happen to fall down a hole into the sewers.

Stats Needed: If you play a wizard you can probably get through on SKILL7.

Rating: ***

Siege of Sardath (49) -

In a break from playing the Sorcery! series (see above) I went back to my old collection and pulled out Siege of Sardath. The plot begins with an unknown threat to the forest where you live, involving mysterious Black Flyers, and as you investigate further the truly epic scale this threat is gradually revealed.

Of all the gamebooks I've played this one reads most like a novel. For one thing there are very few short paragraphs, every step of the journey is padded out with extensive narrative description. The author creates a detailed landscape where everything has a sense of place and purpose. On the downside there is a very long tortuous route to success which requires doing a very long list of things in the right order. This can be somewhat frustrating if and when you get stuck near the end and have to start over. Also there are several necessary-to-success encounters that require you 'pass a skill test or die', something I regard as unfair to the player. On the other hand the storytelling element of the book is done really well and for that reason I would be willing to recommend it.

Stats Needed: I recommend at least Skill 9 or 10.

Rating: ****

I was just reading Shamutanti again. I thought I had been everywhere on this book but just discovered a path to whole new section I seem to have missed on previous journeys. My map-making skills obviously need a little improvement! With this new discovery in mind I think the book deserves an extra star.
:D

2 more...



I love this book. It is set on Titan but is different in the sense it is based on Japanesse mythology and culture. One thing I like is that you get to pick special fighting skills. Also the fact that unlike some books, where the incentive is to evade tough combats as much as possible, this book rewards you for taking risks and being heroic - notably via the award of Honour Points which become important later.

Its quite a unique book-structure as well because in paragraph 1 you basically choose between 2 pathways and these 2 paths don't rejoin each other until the final showdown. Path 1 is really satisfying to play. The only gripe I have is that path 2 is significantly harder and you probably need Skill 12 to be sure of getting through, also path 2 does not award honour points which is a shame. However the final section at the end of the book, the main showdown with the bad guys, is done really well.

Stats Needed: Skill 10.

Rating: ****



This book combines some of the best and worst things often seen in Fighting Fantasy literature. First off the illustrations are great, secondly the writer creates a series of interesting creatures and memorable encounters. The best bit is probably a sub-game within the book where you have to hunt a sabre-tooth tiger.

On the downside the plot is full of holes. Also the one true path is very narrow and difficult to follow, often even irrational. One of the items you need is impossible to discover except by extreme luck on a certain dice roll. There are numerous sudden death paragraphs in situations where they are uncalled for, and one unavoidable event where survival from death depends simply on the roll of a dice. Lastly the ending is under-written and when you finally get through it feels like a big anti-climax.

Stats Needed: Skill 10.

Rating: **

A brief update on 3 more books (I am getting through my collection fast!)



Legend of the Shadow Warriors:

The Shadow Warriors are ancient warriors returned to life and you are the mercenary hired to defeat them. This book has a great storyline and is very well written. As well as the usual swords and sorcery the author creates a rich lived-in setting. There are also multiple routes you can take through the book. To round things off there are superb illustrations as well. One of my firm favourites.

Rating: *****

Temple of Terror:

The biggest problem in this book is that the gameplay is too linear and restrictive. The first half is a tedious trek to a lost city, repeating the same set of unavoidable encounters. The second half is a very linear treasure hunt with a weak ending that makes no sense. Admittedly there are some good encounters within the story, but its not enough to overcome the negative issues.

Rating: **

Return to Firetop Mountain:

The premise is that Zagor the Warlock of Firetop Mountain has returned to life, so once more he must be defeated. This was book 50 and published on the 10th anniversary of FF. Given the expectation in the title this book is a real disappointment. The one good thing is the high quality illustrations. The main problem with the book is the structure, its basically a tedious treasure-hunt, tedious mainly because the route is so linear. To win against the Warlock the player must find 4 magic teeth used for summoning 4 elementals. I just found the whole use of this plot-device clunky and contrived. Finally the dungeon you explore just seems a shadow of its former self.

Rating: **

I didn't notice if you've mentioned it anywhere, Craze_b0i, but do you have the whole series, or only a few of them?

I have about 20. Most are pretty old copies. Except the Sorcery! series which I bought quite recently.

So there's a fair few you're missing then!

Are you planning on grabbing a copy of the others if they come your way?

Most of my collection I bought second hand (and a LOT of it was all at the same time in one big box), so most of my copies are pretty old too!

Well I just ordered a couple of Jon Green ones from the new series.

But I doubt I will ever build the entire collection. Foe example most of the sci-fi or super-hero themed ones don't really interest me. My brother had Space Assasin and I probably I played it only once.

Freeway Warrior is probably the only non-fantasy one I actually enjoy, too, to be honest :P

Jon Green's works are some of my favorite - especially Knights of Doom (as hard as it might be to complete), and one of the art-pieces in that particular books has had me itching for years to make a Warhammer Conversion based on it!

The Beastman Champion wielding a scythed chariot wheel :D

There is an awesome beastman illustration in Return to Firetop Mountain. If you flick through the pictures you will see the one I mean. I always thought that would make a cool mini.
:)

The one standing in front of the ornate door? Yeah, that guy's awesome too!

Come to think of it, there's a lot of FF artwork that would be great as a mini :P

Which reminds me, since I started reading FF before I got into Warhammer (FF was my 'gate-way drug'), the first illustration of a Manticore I ever saw was the one in, I think, Deathtrap Dungeon. Body of a lion, massive scorpion tail and the face of an old man. So even though I like a lot of the Manticore models I've seen, for me anyways, the FF version is the one I think of when I hear the word Manticore.

Anyways, which book are you planning on reading/reviewing next?

Ah yes the manticore. There was one in Shamutanti Hills as well. Actually the first manticore I saw was in He-Man, in one of the comic books. I must have been about 6 years old.
:lol:

Dead of Night. I hope I don't get nightmares from it. :o

Well next review as promised...



In this one you play a Demon-Stalker, a type of warrior priest. As such you get a neat list of special skills to pick from including the likes of Banish Undead, Healing, Sense Demon etc. Your character's arch enemy is the Demon Lord Muyrr. In the book he has kidnapped your parents and you are trying to find them.

I am not a big fan of horror-fantasy, however I must admit this was very well written and the gameplay was very fairly balanced. I thought the writers made good use of the character's special skills as well. Like in many later FF books there is a nice colour map on the inside cover, which I feel adds to the gameplay experience.

Stats Needed: Almost any starting stats should be ok.

Rating: ***

I love this one :D One of my top 5 books.

In fact, Tony Hough did a version of the Blight Demons that I absolutely love the look of (Martin McKenna ended up doing the artwork for Dead of Night).

You can find it here on his DevianArt page (plus a bunch of other FF and other artwork he did too).

As I say I found it a good read, even though this type, pure horror, is not to my taste. But I can imagine anyone who likes horror genre will really like this one.

There is also a non-too-subtle LOTR reference in there. A big red eye sitting on the roof of an orc watchtower and scanning for intruders. Hmmmmm. :D

Having said I don't normally like horror books that much I just read yet another one. :) I picked this one up since alot of people seem to recommend it...



In this book you character has contracted the curse of the werewolf, after being bitten by another werewolf, and needs to lift the curse before its too late. The book is set in a remote province called Lupravia, home to all sorts of ghoulish beasties and Were-Creatures. It is very long and has 515 paragraphs.

On the whole I thought this was really well-written, in particular the gameplay element was excellently done, everything was very fair and well balanced. I really liked all the hidden encounters and sub-quests, and all the extra places you didn't need to visit but could if you wanted. At first I thought 500 paragraphs was going to be too long and repetitive (imagine if Ian Livingstone added an extra 100 paragraphs to his works) but in fact the opposite was true, the extra length allowed the author to throw in lots of extra variation and bonus events/encounters, in other words too fully flesh-out the setting. I really liked some of the characters I met along the way, the book had various NPCs you could join forces with really added to the experience. Refreshingly these are NPCs who stay around for enough time that you get to know them somewhat.

In general I still prefer generic sword & sorcery to horror-genre, however as far as horror adventures go this one is very good.

Stats Needed: Any

Rating: ****