Part story, part game, this is a book in which YOU become the hero!

This is the basic premise of the Fighting Fantasy books, which are essentially one-person RPGs. The series was founded by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, and the first book was published in 1982. Since then, the series has grown to 59 main books, plus four in the Sorcery! series by Steve Jackson. Though Jackson and Livingstone did indeed write the original FF books, most of them were actually written by other people, though these did not get their names on the covers. A number of the books, those written by Jackson and Livingstone themselves, were recently re-issued, most of them with different sequential numbers to the originals. By now you're probably wondering what the first sentence is talking about, so here goes.

Reading

The way the FF books work is that the reader reads a paragraph told in the second person, then has to decide between two or more courses of action. These lead on to more paragraphs, with different choices. There are often multiple routes to the same area, though the different choices allow the reader to pick up different items or information. A typical paragraph might go like this:

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Additionally, there are often occasions where the reader must work out which paragraph to turn to. These generally take the form of finding keys which for some reason have numbers carved on them. It may also include other items, but in most cases, the reader adds up the numbers of the keys or items they are using and turns to the paragraph with that number.

However, this is not the only way. In Creature of Havoc, there was a ring which could be used by adding 32 to the number of the paragraph the reader was reading. Magehunter had a body-swapping ability which could only be used at certain points, in which he reader added up the numbers of the paragraph they were at and added them to the number; for example, if they were at paragraph 123, they would add 1+2+3=6, add this to 123, and turn to paragraph 129. Many books require the reader to convert a word or name into a number with the code A=1, B=2...Z=26, and turning to that paragraph. There are often instructions to follow for if the new paragraph is wrong, which is determined by it not making sense.

The aim of each book is simply to get to the 'victory' paragraph, which is generally (but not always) number 400. However, in Moonrunner it was 99, and Scorpion Swamp has three different quests, each with their own ending. In both these cases, paragraph 400 was no different to any other. Along the way in all the books, there are wrong turnings which can lead to death; in these cases, the paragraph describes the character's death, which is often slow and painful.

The word 'paragraph' is here used slightly loosely. 'Section' might be a better word, but most of the books use 'paragraph,' and therefore, so will this entry. Many of the longer and more important paragraphs/ sections technically contain two or more real paragraphs. Most of the FF books have 400 paragraphs, but some have more, and a couple have less.

Attributes

There are thee main attributes in the FF books: skill, stamina, and luck. Skill and luck are both determined by rolling one die and adding six, a different roll being used for each. Stamina is determined by rolling two dice and adding twelve. None of these attributes can ever go above their initial scores unless the book specifically says so, for example if the character is holding a particularly powerful magical weapon. Each book provides a special page at the beginning to record all this info, called and Adventure Sheet.

Skill refers to the character's fighting prowess, dexterity, and agility; a high skill score allows the player to fight enemies easier, and is handy for climbing mountains or for doing tasks which require intelligence (although in Magehunter, due to excessive mind-swapping, a low initial skill score was ultimately conducive to winning). Stamina reflects the character's fitness, endurance, will to survive, and overall health; the higher the stamina score, the longer they can live and the more damage they can take. If stamina falls to zero, the character is dead. Luck simply refers to how naturally lucky they are overall, though is structured in a way that the more times they are lucky, the less likely they are to be again.

The text in the FF books often call for the reader to test either their luck or their skill. This is done by rolling two dice; if the result is equal to or lower then the appropriate score, then the player is lucky or successful, depending on which attribute is being tested. This will result in something good happening. If the result is higher then the score, the player is unlucky or unsuccessful, and will suffer in some way. It may be something minor, such as a small loss of stamina, or it may be serious, such as missing an important item, or even death. Also, whenever luck is tested, the reader must subtract 1 point from their current luck score, regardless of whether they are lucky or unlucky - thus, the more they rely on luck, the less likely they are to be lucky. No modification is made when testing skill. The procedure for testing skill is not described at the start of ever FF book; if it is not, the player might be told the procedure and results in the relevant paragraph. The procedure for testing luck is always described at the start of each book.

Other Attributes

A few FF books contain other attributes as well as skill, stamina, and luck. These may include such things as resolve, which determines how much effect undead beings have on the player (The Keep of the Lich-Lord), or presence, which measures how good a person is overall (Island of the Undead). These attributes and others like them are generally determined and tested by similar methods to those of skill and luck.

Another attribute, honour, showed up in Sword of the Samurai and Knights of Doom, where doing good things lead to an increase in honour, and evil acts caused it to decrease. Towards the ends of these books, high honour ad good results, low honour could have serious repercussions; in Sword of the Samurai, if the character's honour fell to zero, they ended up committing seppukku, or ritual suicide. In these books, the character started off with three and six honour points respectively.

Honour also turned up slightly differently in Night Dragon, where the character started with zero honour and could increase it by going out of their way to help people. Honour was not nearly so critical in this book, but it could give the reader an advantage in the final combat with the Night Dragon.

Changing Attributes

Skill does not generally change much over the course of a book, though it might fall if the character loses a weapon or gets injured. It may also increase as a result or receiving combat training or finding a magical weapon.

Stamina generally changes a lot, as a result of combat and falling victim to traps. It can be restored in various ways, the most common of which is by eating provisions, each of which restore four stamina points. In most books, the player starts with enough provisions for ten meals, though this number may also be five or twelve. Some books occasionally tell the reader that they must eat a meal. In this case, they must either deduct the provisions or lose stamina. Eating a meal when they are told they must does not regain the character any stamina points. If no provisions are given, there will generally be some other way to restore stamina, such as magic potions, energy tablets, etc.

Luck also changes quite a lot due to constant testing. It can be restored by magic, or sometimes if the player is particularly lucky; for example, if they manage to infiltrate a heavily-guarded enemy camp without being detected. Non-standard attributes have their own ways of being restored.

Special Skills

These are special abilities for the character which were in several books, and were chosen at the start. Which skills were chosen made no difference to the player's ability to finish the book, but could often allow for different tactics to certain situations, or give the player an advantage in combat. Sword of the Samurai had four special skills, and the player chose one; Moonrunner had twelve, and the player chose four. Special skills might include the ability to use a bow, lead an army, or perform acrobatic feats.

Magic

Many of the FF books allow the reader to cast magic spells in some way. There is generally some limiting factor to the amount they can cast, such as having to sacrifice stamina, only being able to cast each spell a certain number of times, or starting with a certain number of magic points and each spell draining a certain number. Again, spells are generally chosen from a list at the beginning of the book, and which spells are chosen has little bearing on the reader's ability to complete the book.

Time

A few of FF books require the character to complete their quest in a certain amount of time. Time could be taken up by going on unnecessary side-quests, for example exploring graveyards to fight evil undead demons when there is no need. In books with time, the reader is generally told at various points to add one day. The importance if time is variable. In Night Dragon, taking one's time simply made the final enemy a little harder to beat. However, in Knights of Doom, the reader would fail if their character took longer than six days.

Combat

The reader will often come across an orc, goblin, android, monster, dragon, demon, knight, or evil wizard who wants nothing more than to redecorate the walls with the character's blood. In this case, a combat is begun. The procedure is as follows: the reader rolls two dice and adds their skill score, then does the same for the enemy. Whoever has the lower total loses two stamina points; if both totals are the same, they are assumed to have blocked each other's attacks, and neither loses any stamina points. When one loses all the stamina, they are dead - if this is the character, they must restart the book (though readers have been known to cheat and simply act as if they win every fight, without actually resolving it).

In the case of multiple opponents, the reader will be instructed to treat them as a single opponent (for example, a flock of bats), fight them one at a time, or fight them simultaneously. If the final case is taken, then the reader must chose who they will attack each time before rolling the dice. If their total is higher than their opponent's, the opponent loses stamina. If it is higher than the total of any other attackers, no damage is done; the character is assumed to have blocked the attack. Any enemies who have higher totals will still inflict damage, however. The reader may also test their luck at any point during combat. If they are lucky, they will do more damage to or suffer less damage from an opponent. If they are unlucky, the opposite will occur. Since testing luck always reduces the reader's luck score by one, they are generally encouraged not to use it in battles except in order to stay alive when an opponent's attack would otherwise kill them.

The World of Fighting Fantasy

Most of the FF books are set on a planet called Titan, which bears many similarities to Middle-Earth and even more to the world of Warhammer. This should come as no surprise, as Jackson and Livingstone were the founders of Games Workshop, the company than makes Warhammer. However, since most of the FF books are written by different people, there are very few recurrent locations, although Port Blacksand, the village of Willowbend, Firetop Mountain, and the town of Chiang Mai, Castle Heydrich, and the Tower of Yaztromo all appear in more than one book. That being said, even these places do not appear very often, and generally with only a tenuous storyline to connect them. No two books have the reader being the same character. The exception here is the Sorcery! series by Steve Jackson, a set of four FF books which each tell different sections of one greater story, which sees the character embarking on a quest for the legendary Crown of Kings. These books contain 800 paragraphs each, and can be read individually; one does not have to read each one to enjoy the next.

Titan has three main continents: Allansia, Khakabad, and Khul. Allansia is the biggest and greatest continent, the richest, most powerful land, and the place where good is the strongest. Khakabad, also called the Old World, is not as great, but contains some interesting sights. Good and Chaos are more or less even here. Khul, the dark continent, is the land mass where Chaos rules for the most part. Orcs outnumber Humans, who are forced to wall themselves in in increasingly overpopulated cities. Beneath Khul, there is a portal to prehistoric Earth.

Titan is essentially ruled by good and evil factions, called Good and Chaos. Both sides include humans, elves, dwarves, spirits, dragons, and fairies. Chaos also includes monsters, demons, undead, goblins, and, of course, orcs, the mainstay of many fantasy games. Good appears to be at a disadvantage, but their magic and soldiers are often stronger, and more dragons seem to be good than evil. The largest Chaos factions are led by three warlocks: Zagor, Balthus Dire, and Zharradan Marr.

The unit of currency on Titan is the gold piece. However, sub-divisions can get a bit confused. Most books so not bother with sub-divisions at all. In Portal of Evil, one gold piece is worth two silver pieces, and one silver piece is worth two brass pieces. However, in Magehunter, one gold piece is worth ten silver pieces. Money can be used to buy things whenever the reader comes to a paragraph with a market.

The people of Titan worship a pantheon, though which gods and goddesses appear depends on what book it is. Cheelah, the goddess of luck, and Telak, god of courage, tend to appear more than others.

Not all the FF books are set on Titan. Legend of Zagor takes place in the parallel universe of Armillaria, Freeway Fighter is set on post-apocalyptic Earth, Appointment with F.E.A.R. casts the reader as a Superman-style superhero in this world, and a number of the books which take place in the distant future, when Earth has mapped out an empire among the stars.

Other Stuff

As well as the main FF books and the Sorcery! series, there were also some other books worth mentioning which were classed as Fighting Fantasy. Fist of all, the Fighting Fantasy Novels: The Trolltooth Wars, Demonstealer, and Shadowmaster, set on Titan and chronicling the adventures of the hero Chadda Darkmane in his quest to fight evil. There was also The Zagor Chronicles, a series of three books which were novelizations of the FF books The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, Return to Firetop Mountain, and Legend of Zagor. Then there was Fighting Fantasy, a guide to writing your own FF books, The Riddling Reaver,, an expansion book for Fighting Fantasy, and Dungeoneer, an introductory book to multi-player RPGs and core book for RPGs set on Titan. For those who don't know, a core book is a book necessary to play an RPG, as it contains the basic rules and possibly a couple of simple, beginners' adventures. There were also two source books, or expansions, for Dungeoneer: Out of the Pit and Titan, which described various monsters and the planet itself respectively in detail. Two further source books, Blacksand! and Allansia, contained a lot of information on their eponymous locations, allowing for even more adventures with friends.