In June 2019 we presented two offers featuring the Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG from Arion Games based on the bestselling Fighting Fantasy gamebooks by Steve Jackson (the British one) and Ian Livingstone. We revived the original March 2017 Advanced Fighting Fantasy Bundle with the core rulebook and early supplements — and alongside it, the all-new More Fighting Fantasy with recent AFF supplements and adventures — three of which debuted in this offer.
If you’re old enough to recall the Fighting Fantasy publishing phenomenon of the 1980s — well, you’ve probably stopped reading and already clicked through to buy these nostalgic collections. Originally published in 1989 as Dungeoneer, and now available in a handsome 2011 Second Edition, Advanced Fighting Fantasy is a complete RPG set in the classic Fighting Fantasy world, with a fast and adaptable system ideal for beginners and well suited to long-term campaigns. Captivating artwork (much of it drawn from the gamebooks) enhances the appealing setting, a large and varied fantasyland called Titan. And touchstone locales like Firetop Mountain will bring a smile to every grognard gamer who spent hours happily flipping from one numbered paragraph to the next.
1. Advanced Fighting Fantasy
[from March 2017]
The original Advanced Fighting Fantasy Bundle had the core rulebooks and early supplements. There were four titles in this revived offer’s Starter Collection (retail value $41) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks:
- Advanced Fighting Fantasy Second Edition: Graham (Maelstrom) Bottley’s completely rewritten RPG (2011) that revises Marc Gascoigne’s original 1989 rules and adds lots of new material.
- Heroes Companion: Mass battle rules, loads of new magical styles, wilderness creation, organizations, hirelings, and more.
- The Sorcery Spell Book: The AFF version of the grimoire from Steve Jackson’s four-book Sorcery! gamebook series (1983-85).
- Out of the Pit: The original, indispensable monster book with 250 loathsome creatures.
Those who paid more than this offer’s threshold (average) price also got this revival’s entire Bonus Collection with seven more titles worth an additional $59:
- Crown of Kings – The Sorcery Campaign: A full-length campaign based on the Sorcery! series.
- Beyond the Pit: Another 250 dangerous and intriguing denizens of Titan.
- Titan: A 128-page sourcebook about the Fighting Fantasy world. Discover Titan‘s history, kingdoms, and great powers. Includes the Titan Map.
- Blacksand: The City of Thieves, Port Blacksand, is home to rogues and pirates, and a destination for the bravest Heroes. This sourcebook adds rules for Firepowder weapons, naval sorcery, and sailing. Includes the Blacksand Map.
- The Warlock of Firetop Mountain: A full-length RPG scenario based on the first and most famous Fighting Fantasy gamebook.
2. More Fighting Fantasy
[all-new]
The titles in this More Fighting Fantasy offer enhance both AFF and its standalone companion space-opera game, Stellar Adventures. Three of these supplements debuted in this offer.
There were six titles in this offer’s Starter Collection (retail value $38), including the bestiary Rough Guide to the Pit, the rules expansion Demons of Doom, and your handy fungus identification guide The Titan Herbal, plus three short AFF adventures: Crooked King’s Cup, The Floating Dungeon of Varrak Aslur, and Inn of Lost Hope.
This offer’s Bonus Collection added seven more titles worth an additional $57, including three new books that premiered here: the monster manual Return to the Pit, the city guide Travels in Arion (plus the Map of Arion), and the Weapons and Armor Catalogue for Stellar Adventures. The bonus books also included the rest of the Stellar ebook line — the rulebook itself, its Starship Catalogue, and the four-part scenario The Kaladarian Response.
Ten percent of each payment (after gateway fees) went to the charity chosen by Arion Games owner Graham Bottley, CoppaFeel. “My wife has been selected to be part of a team of 100 inspirational people trekking through the Himalayas in October to raise money for the breast cancer awareness charity CoppaFeel,” says Graham.
Fighting Fantasy resources
- Arion Games, publisher of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG
- FightingFantasy.com
- The Fighting Fantasy Project, a collection of fan-written Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, many playable online
- “The retro cult around Fighting Fantasy gamebooks” (BBC, 25 August 2014)
- Jonathan Green, author of the comprehensive Fighting Fantasy history You Are the Hero (part of our November 2016 Indie Cornucopia 4)
