| Fighting Fantasy Gamebook | |
|---|---|
| Outline | |
| Location: | Allansia, Titan |
| References: | 400 |
| Publication Details | |
| Author(s): | Jonathan Green |
| Illustrator(s): | Martin McKenna |
| Puffin | |
| |
| Cover illustrator: | Martin McKenna |
| First published: | October 26 1995 |
| Number | 59 |
| ISBN: | ISBN 0-14-037553-8 |
| Previous Book: | Revenge of the Vampire |
| Next Book: | was to have been followed by Bloodbones |
| Wizard (Series 1) | |
| |
| Cover illustrator: | Martin McKenna |
| First published: | April 5 2007 |
| Number | 27 |
| ISBN: | ISBN 1-84046-802-5 |
| Previous Book: | Bloodbones |
| Next Book: | Spellbreaker |
| Wizard (Series 2) | |
| |
| Cover illustrator: | Martin McKenna |
| First published: | February 3 2011 |
| Number | 14 |
| ISBN: | ISBN 1-84831-243-1 |
| Previous Book: | Forest of Doom |
| Next Book: | Armies of Death |
| Scholastic | |
Curse of the Mummy is a single-player role-playing gamebook, written by Jonathan Green, illustrated by Martin McKenna and originally published in 1995 by Puffin Books. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2007 and 2011. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the 59th (and last) in the series in the original Puffin series (ISBN 0-14-037553-8), 27th in the Wizard "Series 1" (ISBN 1-84046-802-5) and 14th in "Series 2" (ISBN 1-84831-243-1).
Creation
Background
“ Beware the Curse of Akharis!
Helping an eccentric archaeologist unearth an ancient tomb in the Desert of Skulls seems like an easy task for a heroic adventurer like YOU. But when that tomb turns out to belong to Akharis, a legendary ruler from a previous age, and when you discover some of his followers are trying to return the evil pharaoh to life, YOU must act quickly. Soon you will have to learn the true meaning of The Curse of the Mummy! It will take a real hero to defeat Akharis and win the treasure. Dare YOU take on the challenge?
FIGHTING FANTASY — THE WORLD'S MOST POPULAR ADVENTURE GAMEBOOK SERIES[1]”
The player must defeat Akharis, an Evil ruler from a former age, before he is resurrected. If the player fails, his curse will spread across all of Allansia. The player must search for Akharis' tomb in the Desert of Skulls in a race against time.
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 and specifically no Lantern.[2]
- The adventure features a poison score which begins at 0. Should the player's poison score reach or exceed 18 the player dies from the poisons in their bloodstream.[3]
Equipment List[2]
- Sword
- Backpack
- 5 Gold Pieces
Cover and Illustrations
- Main article: Curse of the Mummy (illustrations)
Covers
The original cover of the book was designed and illustrated by Martin McKenna.
Curse of the Mummy is only the second book to retain its original cover image when republished by Wizard. The 2011 edition makes use of a section of the previous edition's cover art.
| 1995 | 2007 | 2007 | 2011 |
|
|
| |
| No Bronze-Foil | Wizard "Special Limited Edition" |
Wizard | Shield |
| £3.991 | £4.99 | £4.99 | £5.99 |
NOTES
- Price of 1st Impression. Some 1st Impressions (#90102) have a sticker replacing the entire barcode and have a new price of £4.99
Illustrations
The interior illustrations were by Martin McKenna. There were 30 full page illustrations and 6 minor repeated illustrations scattered throughout the text. The paragraphs with a full page illustration were: 1, 20, 34, 48, 62, 75, 89, 105, 121, 134, 149, 163, 176, 189, 202, 216, 229, 242, 255, 268, 281, 294, 307, 320, 333, 346, 359, 372, 384 and 397.
The black and white interior map was by Jonathan Green.
Intertextual References
Other Media
Main Characters
YOU: Hero of Curse of the Mummy
- Akharis - Mummy
- Amentut - Akharis' Vizier/Mummy
- Cleomina - Sabre-Toothed Tiger
- Cranno the Great - Legendary Thespian
- Don Huan Fernandez - Knight of Vastille
- Gordo - Fernandez's manservant
- High Priestess of Sithera
- Jerran Farr
- Lopar - Shaman
- Princess Nemset - Ghost
- Rhehotep - Ghost
- Sphinx
Locations
- Adventurers' Guild
- Arantis
- Bay of Elkor
- Desert of Skulls
- Gold Tunnels
- Halak
- Kaynlesh-Ma
- Necropolis
- Oasis of Iash
- Pillars of Antep
- Pirate Coast
- Port Blacksand
- Rimon
- Spirit Rock
- Temple Ruins
- Temple of Sithera
- Tezra
- The Monkey's Paw
- Tomb of Akharis
- Uron Heights
- Western Ocean
Encounters
- Accursed
- Akharis
- Amentut
- Baboons - Great/Regular
- Black Lion
- Caarth - Sorcerer/Warrior
- Crocodiles
- Cyclops
- Death Spider
- Decayer
- Demonic Servants
- Denu of Tezra
- Dracon
- Fernandez
- Giant Lizards
- Giant Scarab Beetle
- Giant Scorpion
- Golden Sentinel
- Great Serpent
- Guardian of the Dead
- Humans - Cultists/Elite Cultist/High Priestess/Trapper
- Jackals
- Ka
- Lord Sarroth
- Mummies - Ancient/Cobra/Crowned/Decayed/Festering/Jackal/Mummified Monkey/Tiger
- Nandibear
- Ptahnem the Mighty
- Rasaur
- Sabre-Toothed Tiger
- Sand Golem
- Scitalis
- Skeletal Guards
- Snapperfish
- Statues
- Swarm
- Temple Guards
- Tomb Guardians
- Tomb Stalker
- Xoroa - Regular/Warriors
- Zoth-Lar
Further Notes
The cover of the first video release of Pyramids of Mars
- The sarcophagus illustrated on the front cover is identical to the over-sized ones produced for the Doctor Who television story Pyramids of Mars. Further to this, one of the mummies in the illustration for (149) matches the design of the Servitor Robot Mummies from the same story. Perchance the artist, McKenna, is a fan of Doctor Who?
- The theatrical entrance of Cranno is likely based on a scene from the 1981 fantasy film Clash of the Titans, where the character Ammon makes his first appearance.
- The Wizard Books edition of Curse of the Mummy has been revised in order to make it more playable by making several enemies have lower skill scores (see "Errors" below for more details). The description of a certain item has also been changed.[4]
Series 2 Additions
- Pre-generated player characters: Zofia of Shazâar, Lucius Arandyce, and Sartosa 'Vatos' Lux
- 10 paragraphs from Forest of Doom
Errors
Revisions were made to the Wizard Books editions which introduced a couple of errors:
- (50): The Caarth sorcerer now has skill 9, stamina 8. However, in (307), when the Caarth sorcerer is preparing to throw a fireball at you, his skill is still 10. This is corrected in the "Series 2" edition with the skill score now noted as 9 in (307).
- (242): The Giant Scorpion's skill has been reduced from 10 to 8. However, the other rules still tell you to treat it as if it has two attacks, each with skill 10. It also still tells you to turn to (137) immediately if its Attack Strength is 22, even though the Giant Scorpion's maximum Attack Strength is now 20 with its reduced skill of 8. With the "Series 2" edition, the fight rules were corrected to say a skill score of 8 and an Attack Strength of 20.
- The "Series 2" edition has a typo in the "Background": twin mountain peaks, area a haven for... should read: twin mountain peaks, are a haven for...
- (307): In the "Series 2" edition, at the end of the paragraph, you're instructed "If the sorcerer's Attack Strength is higher, turn to 353.". You should turn to 335 instead.
- (280): In the "Series 2" edition, the Snapperfish STAMINA entries are titled SKILL instead.
Dedication
Puffin Edition
To Richard, Charlotte, Kieron, Fiona, Sara, Nats
and Anne. Memories of temples, tombs and the
last drink before you die.
Wizard Edition
none
See Also
Reviews
External Links
- Fighting Fantasy at Gamebooks.org
- Fighting Fantasy (Wizard Series 1) at Gamebooks.org
- Fighting Fantasy (Wizard Series 2) at Gamebooks.org
- Curse of the Mummy at Gamebooks.org
- Curse of the Mummy at the Internet Archive record of the old Fightingfantasy.com
- Curse of the Mummy at Wizard Books