Advanced Fighting Fantasy (AFF), or the "Advanced Fighting Fantasy System", is the name given to a role-playing game based on, but substantially expanding, the simple rules of the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks.
Introduction[]

AFF banner
A role-playing game based on the solo gamebooks had started development early on in the life of the Fighting Fantasy phenomenon with the 1984 publication of the first role-playing book, Fighting Fantasy - The Introductory Role-Playing Game (Steve Jackson). The ability to develop this game further was enhanced by the publishing of the first manual, Out of the Pit in 1985. In 1986, a further role-playing book was published, The Riddling Reaver (Paul Mason, Steve Williams, and Steve Jackson) and also the second of the two Fighting Fantasy manuals, Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World. The role-paying books did not diverge too far from the game system of the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, and it was only when Marc Gascoigne teamed up with Pete Tamlyn that a more fully fledged role-playing system was to be developed.
First Edition[]
The Books[]

AFF logo on spine of the Puffin books
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Eventually three books, all written by Marc Gascoigne and Pete Tamlyn, would be published by Puffin Books
- Dungeoneer (1989)
- Blacksand! (1990)
- Allansia (1994)
All of the books were published as "B Format" paperbacks in size (130mm x 198mm (5.12" x 7.8")) as opposed to "A Format" paperbacks that are 110mm x 178mm (4.33" x 7.01") size, and which the main Fighting Fantasy gamebooks series was published as.
Out of the Pit and Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World[]
- Main article: Fighting Fantasy Manuals
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The books were originally published in 1985 and 1986 respectively, before the term "Advanced Fighting Fantasy System" was coined in 1989. When AFF was crystallized as a role-playing system with the publishing of Dungeoneer, it was a logical fit to have this book as an accompaniment, along with the other Manual, Out of the Pit. The two books were reprinted, this time in a smaller B Format editions to complement the size of the AFF book Dungeoneer. From 1989 onwards the books were both listed as being part of the "Advanced Fighting Fantasy System" in the book listing at the front of all Fighting Fantasy books where the "Advanced Fighting Fantasy System" was shown as a sub-title.[1] Interestingly, however, neither book was ever published with the distinctive AFF banner or AFF logo, or with the blue spine associated with AFF. Hence, they remained separate in that sense. Also, in the 25th Aniversary Edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, the books are grouped with Fighting Fantasy - The Introductory Role-playing Game and The Riddling Reaver as well as the pure Advanced Fighting Fantasy books, under the singular heading "Fighting Fantasy: The Role-Playing Game and Advanced Fighting Fantasy", which suggests that the compilers of the "The Fighting Fantasy Collection" section did not want to distinguish them as belonging to Advanced Fighting Fantasy alone.
The Modules[]
- Tower of the Sorcerer (Puffin - 1989)[2]
- Revenge of the Sorcerer (Puffin - 1989)[2]
- A Shadow Over Blacksand (Puffin - 1990)[3]
- A Darkness Over Kaad (Puffin - 1994)[4]
Criticism[]
Despite its name, Advanced Fighting Fantasy has been pointed out as being a comparatively simple role-playing game: "Although this results in a loss of realism and, to a lesser extent, versatility, this is not a problem for those players who enjoy the interactivity aspects of role-playing more than mindless die-rolling."[5]
Second Edition[]
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A "Second Edition" version was announced in late 2010 with Graham Bottley in charge of the project. While the majority of material would remain, it would be completely overhauled: We are reusing much of the original art in the new core book.[6]
The Books[]
- (CB77000) Advanced Fighting Fantasy – The Roleplaying Game - Quickstart (2011)
- (CB77001) Advanced Fighting Fantasy – The Roleplaying Game (2011)
- (CB77002) Out of the Pit – Monsters of Advanced Fighting Fantasy (2011)
- (CB77003) Titan – The Advanced Fighting Fantasy World (2011)
- (CB77004) Crown of Kings – The Sorcery! Campaign (2012)
- (CB77005) Heroes Companion (2013)
- (CB77006) Blacksand (2013)
- (CB77007) The Sorcery Spell Book (2013)
- (CB77008) Beyond the Pit (2014)
- (CB77009) The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (2014)
- (CB77010) Advanced Fighting Fantasy Deluxe (2016)
- (CB77011) Stellar Adventures (2017)
- (CB77012) Starship Catalogue (2017)
- (CB77013) The Titan Herbal (2017)
- (CB77014) The Kaladarian Response (2018)
- (CB77015) Demons of Doom (2018)
- (CB77016) Rough Guide to the Pit (2019)
- (CB77017) Weapons and Armour Catalogue (2019)
- (CB77018) Travels in Arion (2019)
- (CB77019) Return to the Pit (2019)
- (CB77020) Creatures of Mishna (2020)
- (CB77021) Combat Companion (2021)
- (CB77022) Citadel of Chaos (2022)
- (CB77023) Encyclopedia Arcana Vol I - Treasures (2022)
- (CB77025) Atlantis Campaign (2023)
- (CB77024) Heroes of Titan (2023)
- (CB77026) AFF Adventure Creator (2024)
- (CB77027) Forest of Doom (2024)
- (CB77028) Magic Companion (2024)
The Modules[]
- The Wishing Well (2011 - Arion Games)[7]
- Agbar's Retreat (2011 - Arion Games)[7]
- The Curse of Meraki (2011 - Fighting Fantazine #7)
- Raiders of the Desecrated Temple (2011 - Arion Games)
- The Tower of Credos (2012 - Fighting Fantazine #8)
- The Hunt for the Black Whale - (2012 & 2022 - Fighting Fantazine #9 & #17)
- Pit of Filth (2013 - Paul Baldowski)
- The Trials of Chronada (2016 - Fighting Fantazine #15)
- Holy Order (2017 - Fighting Fantazine #16)
- (AFA001) The Floating Dungeon of Varrak Aslur (2018 - Arion Games)
- (AFA002) The Inn of Lost Hope (2018 - Arion Games)
- (AFA003) Crooked King's Cup (2018 - Arion Games)
- No Rest for the Wicked (2018 - Arion Games)[8]
- (AFA004) The Vault of the Old Kingdom (2019 - Arion Games)
- (AFA005) The Taskmasters Tower (2019 - Arion Games)
- (AFA006) Dogs and Goblins (2019 - Arion Games)
- (AFA007) World of War (2019 - Arion Games)
- (AFA008) The Weird Wood (2020 - Arion Games)
- Scarlet Blue (2022 - Arion Games & Scriptarium)[9]
- Into the Doors of Eryx (2022-ongoing - Arion Games)[10]
- (AFA009) Temple of the Ice God (2022 - Arion Games)
Fanzines[]
- The Warlock Returns (2020-present)
Paper Minis[]
Fantasy
- (AFM001) Advanced Fighting Fantasy Minis: Jungle
- (AFM002) Advanced Fighting Fantasy Minis: Dungeons I
- (AFM003) Advanced Fighting Fantasy Minis: Mountains
- (AFM004) Advanced Fighting Fantasy Minis: Forests
- (AFM005) Advanced Fighting Fantasy Minis: Oceans
- (AFM006) Advanced Fighting Fantasy Minis: Plains
- (AFM007) Advanced Fighting Fantasy Minis: Marshes
- (AFM008) Advanced Fighting Fantasy Minis: Plains II
- (AFM009) Advanced Fighting Fantasy Minis: Caves
- (AFM010) Advanced Fighting Fantasy Minis: Caves II
- (AFM011) Advanced Fighting Fantasy Minis: Deserts
- (AFM012) Advanced Fighting Fantasy Minis: Dungeons II
- (AFM013) Advanced Fighting Fantasy Minis: Hills
- (AFM014) Advanced Fighting Fantasy Minis: Ice & Lakes
- (AFM015) Advanced Fighting Fantasy Minis: Monsters I
Science Fiction
- (SAM001) Stellar Adventures Minis: Alien Mercenaries
- (SAM002) Stellar Adventures Minis: Kaladarians
- (SAM003) Stellar Adventures Minis: Space Heroes
- (SAM004) Stellar Adventures Minis: Bounty Hunters
- (SAM005) Stellar Adventures Minis: Aliens I
French Language Version of Second Edition[]
- (SCR01) Défis Fantastiques - Le jeu de rôle (2013)
- (SCR01R) Défis Fantastiques - Le jeu de rôle (2013)[11]
- (SCR02) Carte d'Allansia (2013)[12]
- (SCR03) Les Accessoires du Meneur de jeu (2013)[12]
- (SCR04) L'Écran du Meneur de Jeu - 1st Edition (2013)[12]
- (SCR05) Titan - Le Monde des Défis Fantastiques (2014)
- (SCR06) Nécessaire de Magie (2014)
- (SCR07) Yaztromo Figurine (2014)
- (SCR08) Créatures de Titan (2016)
- (SCR09) L'Écran du Meneur de Jeu - 2nd Edition (2017)
- (SCR10) Maudit Trésor! (2019)
- (SCR11) Périls dans les contrées de Titan (2022)
- (SCR12) Voyages en Terre d'Arion (2022)
- (SCR13) L'Ombre d'Elim (2023)
Modules[]
- Le Tambour de Gondrim (2013 - Scriptarium)[13]
- Pirates à la Dérive(2013 - Scriptarium)[14]
- À la Recherche de la Jeunesse Perdue (2014 - Scriptarium)[15]
- Odyssée pour un Jib-Jib (2016 - Scriptarium)[16]
- La Huitième Plaie (2016 - Scriptarium)[16]
- La Quête des Oiseaux de Sagesse (2017 - Scriptarium)[17]
- Maudits Trésors... (2019 - Scriptarium)
- La Malédiction du tigre (2022 - Scriptarium)[18]
- L'Œuf Géant de Sombrelune (2022 - Scriptarium)[18]
- Quel merveilleux cadeau! (2022 - Scriptarium)[18]
- Sur la piste du cristal (2022 - Scriptarium)[18]
- Au-delà des apparences (2022 - Scriptarium & Titam)[19]
- L'Écume des Songes (2022 - Scriptarium) [20]
See Also[]
References[]
- ↑ Although this listing intermittently including "The Advanced Fighting Fantasy System" as a sub-title. For example, in Master of Chaos the "The Advanced Fighting Fantasy System" is shown as a sub-title, with the books listed beneath it, but in the next book, Black Vein Prophecy, this sub-title does not exist and the books are simply listed at the bottom of the page. The sub-title intermittently returned later on, but whenever it did so, both Titan: The Fighting Fantasy World and Out of the Pit are included.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Published in Dungeoneer.
- ↑ Published in Blacksand!.
- ↑ Published in Allansia.
- ↑ Internet Archive record of Advanced Fighting Fantasy Rules at The Shrine of Hamaskis - Retrieved 2019-10-27
- ↑ Post by Graham Bottley in page 1 of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy 2 thread at RPGnet Forums - Retrieved 2019-10-27
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Published in Advanced Fighting Fantasy – The Roleplaying Game.
- ↑ Published in Demons of Doom.
- ↑ Published in The Warlock Returns Issue 7.
- ↑ Published in The Warlock Returns Issues 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12.
- ↑ Hardback edition.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Out of print.
- ↑ Published in Défis Fantastiques - Le jeu de rôle
- ↑ Published in L'Écran du Meneur de Jeu - 1st Edition.
- ↑ Published in Titan - Le Monde des Défis Fantastiques
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Published in Créatures de Titan
- ↑ Published in L'Écran du Meneur de Jeu - 2nd Edition.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Published in Périls dans les contrées de Titan
- ↑ Published in Jeu de rôle Magazine - Issue 57
- ↑ Published in Voyages en terre d'Arion