| Fighting Fantasy Gamebook | |
|---|---|
| Outline | |
| Location: | Allansia, Titan |
| References: | 400 |
| Publication Details | |
| Author(s): | Ian Livingstone |
| Illustrator(s): | Nik Williams |
| Puffin | |
| |
| Cover illustrator: | Christos Achilleos |
| First published: | December 1 1988 |
| Number | 36 |
| ISBN: | ISBN 0-14-032486-0 |
| Previous Book: | Daggers of Darkness |
| Next Book: | Portal of Evil |
| Wizard (Series 1) | |
| |
| Cover illustrator: | Martin McKenna |
| First published: | September 4 2003 |
| Number | 14 |
| ISBN: | ISBN 1-84046-436-4 |
| Previous Book: | Sorcery! 3: The Seven Serpents |
| Next Book: | Sorcery! 4: The Crown of Kings |
| Wizard (Series 2) | |
| |
| Cover illustrator: | Martin McKenna |
| First published: | March 31 2011 |
| Number | 15 |
| ISBN: | ISBN 1-84831-234-2 |
| Previous Book: | Forest of Doom |
| Next Book: | Appointment with F.E.A.R. |
| Scholastic | |
- For other uses of Armies of Death, see Armies of Death
Armies of Death is a single-player role-playing gamebook written by Ian Livingstone, illustrated by Nik Williams and originally published in 1988 by Puffin Books. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2003 and 2011. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the 36th in the series in the original Puffin series (ISBN 0-14-032486-0) and 14th in the Wizard "Series 1" (ISBN 1-84046-436-4) and 15th in "Series 2" (ISBN 1-84831-234-2). There are currently no announced plans to republish this book as part of the Scholastic series.
Creation[]
Background[]
“ Can YOU defeat the nightmare army of the undead?
Agglax the Shadow Demon is amassing an army of undead warriors to conquer Allansia.
Setting off from Fang with over two hundred veteran fighters, YOU journey east to meet the enemy. But the Shadow Demon is not of this world and special powers are needed to destroy him. The longer you spend searching for these powers the stronger he will be.
Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need for this adventure. YOU decide which paths to take, which dangers to risk and which monsters to fight.” —Armies of Death - Back Cover ("Dragon" Edition)
The reader assumes the role of the winner of the Trial of Champions, who has a newly won purse of 20,000 Gold Pieces. The reader must defeat an Evil Shadow Demon, Agglax and his undead army and stop them from taking over the region of Allansia using an army bought with the coins.
Introduction[]
The book in general follows the original rules set down in The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (see Game System).
Unique Rules[]
- The player begins the adventure with no Provisions.[1]
- The book contains rules for mass-battle combat between opposing armies.[2]
Equipment List[]
The book makes no reference to any equipment carried at the start of the adventure.
Cover and Illustrations[]
- Main article: Armies of Death (illustrations)
Cover[]
The original cover of the book was designed and illustrated by Christos Achilleos.
This was the last book in the range (bar the exception of Return to Firetop Mountain) to feature the number of the book on the front cover.
The first printing of Armies of Death marked the point at which the series started boasting on the back cover that the range had "over 10 million copies sold worldwide!" This small fact was celebrated by having this back cover banner (for this Fighting Fantasy gamebook only) printed in foil like the credit on the front cover and, unlike later printings, the foil was gold instead of bronze. The only other books printed in this way (with this back cover "over 10 million copies sold worldwide!" being in foil writing) were the Black Dragon Sub-Format of the Sorcery! series and the first two books of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy series.
The never released cover of the Wizard "Special Limited Edition" as shown on the inside front cover of Curse of the Mummy
When the book was republished by Wizard the cover was once again re-worked, this time by Martin McKenna. There was no Wizard "Special Limited Edition" for this book. With their 2003 reprint of the title, Wizard did not print a "Special Limited Edition" due to the pressures of releasing the series in Australia at the time. However, on the inside cover of a number of the later books, the "Special Limited Edition" cover of Armies of Death was shown along with the covers of other Wizard editions. The 2011 edition makes use of a section of the previous edition's cover art.
| 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1993 | 2003 | 2011 |
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| Dragon ver.I | Dragon ver.II | Dragon ver.III | Dragon ver.IV | Wizard | Wizard Shield |
| £2.251 | £X.xx | £2.992 | £X.xx3 | £4.99 | £5.99 |
NOTES
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Illustrations[]
The interior illustrations were by Nik Williams. There were 34 full page illustrations and 6 minor repeated illustrations scattered throughout the text. The paragraphs with a full page illustration were: 6, 17, 28, 39, 52, 63, 76, 87, 100, 112, 121, 134, 143, 155, 166, 178, 188, 199, 209, 217, 230, 241, 252, 265, 278, 292, 307, 323, 338, 352, 368, 381, 394 and 400.
The colour map on the inside front cover was by Leo Hartas. It was not reproduced for the Wizard edition.
The upcoming digital release of Armies of Death by Tin Man Games will have new artwork by Joshua Wright.
Intertextual References[]
It is a sequel to previous Fighting Fantasy book Trial of Champions (the player assumes the role of the adventurer who successfully completed this earlier book), which in turn was a sequel to Deathtrap Dungeon.
Other Media[]
Main Characters[]
- Agglax - Shadow Demon
- Big Belly Man
- Barnock - Captain of the Flying Toucan
- Drek
- Enk
- Fats - Barman
- Jip
- Laz
- Lexon
- Max - Leader of Max's Marauders
- Obigee - Landlord of Helen's House
- The Oracle
- Roob - Treehopper
- Sukumvit Charavask - Baron of Fang
- Tanaka San- Elite Fanatic
- Thog - Guide
- Vine - Hill Man
Locations[]
- Anvil
- Claw
- Darkwood Forest
- Fang
- Forest of Fiends
- Helen's House
- Icefinger Mountains
- Karn
- Kaypong
- Red River
- River Kok
- Starstone Caves
- Stonebridge
- The Black Dragon
- The Blue Pig
- Zengis
Encounters[]
- Calacorm
- Chaos Warrior
- Elite Fanatic
- Enk
- Fish Man
- Giant Lizard
- Giant Spider
- Goblins - Regular/Sewer
- Hill Trolls
- Humans - Axemen/Barman/Robbers/Town Guard
- Jip
- Laz
- Max
- Mountain Orc
- Mudgrinder
- Nandibears
- Ogre
- Rogue
- Rock Man
- Shapechanger
- Tree Man
- Werewolf
- Wyvern
Further Notes[]
- Ian Livingstone makes a cameo appearance as Obigee, the landlord of Helen's House in Zengis who is exceptionally proud of his sailing achievements, in the illustration accompanying (368) of Armies of Death.[3]
- The answer to the question posed at (248) is not contained within the book itself and can only be found in Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World.
Series 2 Additions[]
- Pre-generated player characters: Arran Gottspeed, Baldar Liefsson, and Ariel Elfhart
- 11 paragraphs from Appointment with F.E.A.R..
Errors[]
- The Wizard Books "Series 2" edition lists Nicholas Halliday as the illustrator of the cover when it is Martin McKenna.
- The Wizard Books "Series 2" edition offers to the player 3 pre-generated characters. Each is listed as starting with 6 Provisions and a different Potion, despite the fact that those are not given to characters generated in the regular manner.
- (113) says "cross the River Kok and and march south"
- (248) says "Which of the three star pupils who trained at the school of the Grand Wizard of Yore was was the son of a priest from Salamonis?"
- At (199), you are instructed to turn to (33) after five attack rounds. However, the Mudgrinder can be killed in five or fewer rounds if you use Luck to increase your damage during combat, rendering (33) nonsensical.
Dedication[]
Puffin Edition[]
To
Helen, Andrew and Sarah[4]
Wizard Edition[]
For Steve, Skye, Mark, Peter and Clive
of the Games Night Club[5]
See Also[]
Reviews[]
External Links[]
- Character Sheet - Retrieved 2019-10-26
- Fighting Fantasy at Gamebooks.org - Retrieved 2019-10-26
- Fighting Fantasy (Wizard Series 1) at Gamebooks.org - Retrieved 2019-10-26
- Fighting Fantasy (Wizard Series 2) at Gamebooks.org - Retrieved 2019-10-26
- Armies of Death at Gamebooks.org - Retrieved 2019-10-26
- Armies of Death at the Internet Archive record of the old Fightingfantasy.com - Retrieved 2019-10-26