James Spearing wrote a very nice review on the Barbarian Warlord adventure from FF17 here:
linkThe review reads:
Fighting Fantasy – ( Fighting Fantazine no 17 ) Barbarian Warlord.Written by Andrew Wright, illustrations by Johan Tieldow, cover by Tony Hough.
After reviewing the two new Fighting Fantasy gamebook’s that everyone has heard of (written by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson no less), it's time to focus on another Fighting Fantasy gamebook that may have gone under people’s radar.
Fighting Fantazine returned last year after a 5 year break with issue number 17. It’s available as a free PDF (link above), and available as a print on demand copy which is sent from Spain (and therefore pretty expensive – no print on demand via Amazon or Drivethru rpg which would print near to where the customer lives). I went for the print version despite the cost, and was delighted with the quality of the magazine.
It’s over a hundred full colour glossy A4 pages with an amazing cover by the one and only Tony Hough. It’s a must read for all gamebook fans, with a large mix of articles.
These include a fascinating interview with gamebook author Dave Morris, and a detailed examination of the Fighting Fantay gamebook – The Keeper of the Lich-Lord.
But the main attraction for me is definitely the 200 section Fighting Fantasy gamebook – Barbarian Warlord. Right from start, the gamebook manages to pull off trick – to feel very different from the other recent Fighting Fantasy releases, and yet at the same time to be a celebration of so many iconic Fighting Fantasy places and characters.
You are the chief of a barbaric tribe in the Flatlands. You received a vision from your ancestors that prompts you to take your tribe on an epic mission – to attack and loot all of central Allansia until your tribe has overrun the entire region!
This is the perfect excuse to visit (and pillage) many familiar areas of Allansia – this includes Darkwood Forest, the City of Chalice, Trolltooth Pass and, of course, Firetop Mountain. As well as having a personal Skill, Stamina and Luck as usual for times that you fight alone (such as entering Deathtrap Dungeon), you also have a Horde Strike and Horde Strength. This is used for battles between your army and other armies or cities.
By defeating cities, you can choose to take it over or raze it to the ground. To take over a city, you will need to use some of your Horde Strength to help maintain the city, but at the same time you also need to plunder to acquire gold in order to increase your army for larger battles to come. And your cities might not take being invaded very kindly, watch out for sudden attacks later on!
This balancing act of growing your army while maintaining bases made the while adventure feel quite strategic, even amidst all the carnage and bloodshed.
You also have an Honour stat, that tracks how you are seen by your tribes and other enemies, and can be used to test your Honour from tine to time.
Funnily enough, sometimes losing an honourable roll, and being seen as dishonourable can actually be an advantage, and can help in recruiting certain miscreants – bandits for example.
The route to reaching the end game is hidden within a few clues, and requires use of the map of Allansia that is printed at the back cover of the magazine. Despite being a barbarian, there are also several magic items that will help, and with the right sacrifices, you may be able to conjure up an Undead Wizard that will challenge even someone like Zharradan Marr.
This ensures that you won’t reach the climax of the adventure in a hurry, and when you do, it will feel that you have earned the right to tackle the most powerful City in that region – Salamonis (this also ensures a nice accidental resonance with Steve Jacksons latest adventure as well). Altogether, this is a really refreshing take on the Fighting Fantasy adventure, further enhanced by the stunning woodcut style illustrations of Johan Tieldow.
Let’s just hope the next issue of Fighting Fantazine comes a little sooner this time!