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Post by King Gillibran on Jun 10, 2023 9:25:30 GMT
This is a list of 30 unpublished adventures. 27 of them are described in You are the Hero Part 1 so I recommend reading Chapter 20 Lost Tales of Firetop Mountain before voting. The last three are from my Fighting Fantasy Ideas poll. The three winners.
Vote for the ones you like and comment in chat for the ones you don't. Enjoy
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Post by CharlesX on Jun 10, 2023 10:29:49 GMT
So is it three or five? I don't remember most of these titles and I'm unwilling to spend an hour plus researching and thinking about each title, I don't know whether you could provide a helpful description for some of them. Off the top of my head: Anything Stephen Hand would have done would have been brilliant (Blood Of The Mandrake I think). Jonathan Green had an idea for a paladin-based gamebook that he even planned to turn into a series if it was successful, I forget the title but the concept sounds a good one. Edit: Knights Of Renown? Several of these gamebooks (e.g. Outlaws Of Kaan) were later incorporated into other gamebooks by the same author. I have voted for the only two I can remember, Knights Of Renown and Blood Of The Mandrake, they say not to try too hard at things which aren't really your scene so I'd take that as a win King Gillibran . Heart Of The Labyrinth sounded like a poor redo\rip of WOFM. Curse Of The God Kings sounded like it would be as hard as Crypt Of The Sorceror or Spellbreaker. Paraphrasing You Are The Hero - "this would be the hardest Fighting Fantasy book yet". Yikes, right? Edit: Thank you King Gillibran for elaborating, as I like Deathtrap Dungeon I have voted for Thief Of Fang and Deathtrap Dungeon 3 and Smugglers Gold on the gamble this mystery box is as good as it might be (bet it wouldn't be). I've always been heavily into Arthurian stuff such as R.L. Green, Sword In The Stone, playing with Knights and CYOA from that era, House Of Hell is also one of my favourite FFs, so I suspect we don't have the same view, but that's cool.
More Edit: Swapped my vote from Deathtrap Dungeon 3 to Green's proposed War Of The Wizards trilogy as it seems ambitious.
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Post by King Gillibran on Jun 10, 2023 11:02:59 GMT
Sorry for the confusion vote for 5. I will now give a definition of the ones I remember of the top of my head. Knights of Renown was an adventure designed by the authors of keep of the lich Lord it was set in Authorian Britain and is about you trying to become one of the Knights of the round table. It is in my opinion the worst of the lot as you shouldn't have ff in this world. Other than house of hell and futuristic ones of course.
Blood of the Mandrakes is the last of Stephan Hands Mandrake trilogy. Smugglers gold is an adventure by Stephen Hand that no one knows anything about as it was so unique he claimed no one had ever used the idea before. War of the wizards trilogy is a proposed Jonathan Green series going through the war of the wizards and you could play as four different profession's. Master of Firetop Mountain is another Jonathan Green in which you are Zagor conquering Firetop Mountain. Hell and High Water is a sequel to Bloodbones. Darkstorm Rising is a Jonathan Green in which Volgera Darkstorm returns. Deathtrap Dungeon three was to be designed for the deathtrap dungeon video game. The thief of fang is a Jonathan Green where you chase a thief into deathtrap dungeon and get trapped. Those are all the ones I remember at the moment will post more later.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,462
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Jun 10, 2023 15:30:14 GMT
Lord of Shadow Keep was actually published - but as a Golden Dragon book rather than an FF. It's perfectly mediocre.
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Post by a moderator on Jun 10, 2023 17:29:08 GMT
The Wailing World was one of Paul Mason's ideas. An infiltrate-and-rescue quest with a couple of twists, the endgame involving an escape through a subterranean realm which can send anyone who spends too long in it insane.
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Post by sleepyscholar on Jun 11, 2023 3:10:44 GMT
The Wailing World was one of Paul Mason's ideas. An infiltrate-and-rescue quest with a couple of twists, the endgame involving an escape through a subterranean realm which can send anyone who spends too long in it insane. And it will be published this year as an FF RPG adventure by GM Warlock in two parts. If it comes out before the poll ends I'll let you know so it can be taken off the list. Unfortunately my favourite parts of it couldn't be used. It was written in order to use the original Magehunter cover brief, by Ian Miller, but Miller didn't respond to requests that he do the artwork for the new adventure. And of the absurd 'mythic' magic items, only the Trumpet of Transport remained, in a much more limited form. |
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Post by misomiso on Jun 11, 2023 8:57:55 GMT
Is there a full list of all the book descriptions somewhere? ty
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Post by linflas on Jun 11, 2023 9:48:54 GMT
I'd like to take advantage of this poll - which unsurprisingly puts Blood of the Mandrake in first place - to ask again if anyone has and could share the fanfiction of it that was written a few years ago...
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Post by CharlesX on Jun 11, 2023 10:10:50 GMT
Is there a full list of all the book descriptions somewhere? ty
The other three are from King Gillibran's FF Ideas Poll a few months back in which he wrote a list of some of his ideas for possible FFs (the three winners of the poll, King Gillibran mentions).
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Post by CharlesX on Jun 12, 2023 7:56:21 GMT
Lord of Shadow Keep was actually published - but as a Golden Dragon book rather than an FF. It's perfectly mediocre. Lord Of Shadow Keep is one of my favourite gamebooks and speaking personally I would never describe it as "mediocre". It could be cliche and wasn't particularly original but I enjoyed the setting, format and difficulty level. OTOH it might be that I'm comparing it with over-ambitious Keith Martin epics and CYOA dross.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,462
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Jun 12, 2023 8:17:51 GMT
Lord of Shadow Keep was actually published - but as a Golden Dragon book rather than an FF. It's perfectly mediocre. Lord Of Shadow Keep is one of my favourite gamebooks and speaking personally I would never describe it as "mediocre". It could be cliche and wasn't particularly original but I enjoyed the setting, format and difficulty level. OTOH it might be that I'm comparing it with over-ambitious Keith Martin epics and CYOA dross.
Fair enough. I do like the quirky items you can use like the bowling ball. |
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Post by CharlesX on Jun 13, 2023 12:46:07 GMT
I miss the old days when it woudn't just be Jackson, Livingstone and celebrities who would write FF but lots of intelligent scribes as well. Even as recently as the 2010s Green's works were easily some of the best in the series. Yes, some of these ideas aren't so good, and granted, a few were even adapted into other gamebooks later, but truthfully there were some really good ideas we'll just never see in likelihood because the 'gamebook market' isn't a patch on what it was when it was big, and Apps like Tin Man prefer more accessible and modern works over some of this proposed literature. AIUI the pre-cancellation system didn't pay writers enough and the current system is even worse and a huge disincentive. I don't know how new writers are being chosen but Charlie Higson was absolutely awful and Rhianna Pratchett little better, you might think "it doesn't take Dave Morris" to write better than them?! Actually, frankly I think half published FF writers have been better than Ian Livingstone, especially his Scholastic stuff.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,462
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Jun 13, 2023 14:16:25 GMT
I miss the old days when it woudn't just be Jackson, Livingstone and celebrities who would write FF but lots of intelligent scribes as well. Even as recently as the 2010s Green's works were easily some of the best in the series. Yes, some of these ideas aren't so good, and granted, a few were even adapted into other gamebooks later, but truthfully there were some really good ideas we'll just never see in likelihood because the 'gamebook market' isn't a patch on what it was when it was big, and Apps like Tin Man prefer more accessible and modern works over some of this proposed literature. AIUI the pre-cancellation system didn't pay writers enough and the current system is even worse and a huge disincentive. I don't know how new writers are being chosen but Charlie Higson was absolutely awful and Rhianna Pratchett little better, you might think "it doesn't take Dave Morris" to write better than them?! Actually, frankly I think half published FF writers have been better than Ian Livingstone, especially his Scholastic stuff.
Ultimately it's about sales not quality. Charlie Higson might not be a great gamebook designer, but a book with his name will probably sell more than a competent one by some nobody. And us die-hards will buy it regardless. It's a shame but it is what it is. |
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Post by nathanh on Jun 23, 2023 14:04:54 GMT
Think that's pretty harsh on Pratchett; with the assistance of an editor that understood the genre well and a front cover of the same quality as the back cover, I think Crystal of Storms would have been very favourably received.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,462
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Jun 23, 2023 14:19:28 GMT
Think that's pretty harsh on Pratchett; with the assistance of an editor that understood the genre well and a front cover of the same quality as the back cover, I think Crystal of Storms would have been very favourably received. Yeah I definitely would be up for a second Pratchett book, especially if she addresses some of the criticism of Crystal of Storms. |
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Post by CharlesX on Jun 23, 2023 15:48:37 GMT
Think that's pretty harsh on Pratchett; with the assistance of an editor that understood the genre well and a front cover of the same quality as the back cover, I think Crystal of Storms would have been very favourably received. I thought Crystal Of Storms was easily an A grade concept but continuity and other errors\ambiguities broke it for me (the difficulty level and curve was also definitely a factor). They'd be just as make-or-break in any further books by herself or any other author. I didn't mind the cover and I thought the illustrations inside were above-average. It was a misfire not a failure imo. I'm afraid Editors who would take a heavy interest, never mind the actual ability, in a gamebook seems both unrealistic and unfair as an ask, isn't that what playtesters are for?
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