Eye of the Dragon (book)

Fighting Fantasy Gamebook
Outline
Location:	Allansia, Titan
References:	407
Publication Details
Author(s):	Ian Livingstone
Illustrator(s):	Martin McKenna
Puffin
Wizard (Series 1)
Cover illustrator:	Martin McKenna
First published:	April 7 2005
Number	21
ISBN:	ISBN 1-84046-642-1
Previous Book:	Legend of Zagor
Next Book:	Starship Traveller
Wizard (Series 2)
Cover illustrator:	Martin McKenna
First published:	June 3 2010
Number	10
ISBN:	ISBN 1-84831-123-0
Previous Book:	House of Hell
Next Book:	Howl of the Werewolf
Scholastic

For other uses of Eye of the Dragon, see Eye of the Dragon

Eye of the Dragon is a single-player role-playing gamebook written by Ian Livingstone, illustrated by Martin McKenna, and published in 2005 by Wizard Books. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2010. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the 21st in the modern Wizard "Series 1" (ISBN 1-84046-642-1) and 10th in "Series 2" (ISBN 1-84831-123-0). There are currently no announced plans to republish this book as part of the Scholastic series.

Creation

Despite being the first new gamebook from Wizard Books, Eye of the Dragon is actually based on an earlier mini adventure Ian Livingstone had written for the book Dicing with Dragons.

Background

“	In a tavern in Fang, a mysterious stranger offers YOU the chance to find the Golden Dragon, perhaps the most valuable treasure in all of Allansia. But it is hidden in a labyrinth beneath Darkwood Forest and is guarded by the most violent creatures and deadly traps. To begin your quest YOU must drink a life-threatening potion, and to succeed, you must find maps, clues, artifacts, magic items, jewels and an imprisoned dwarf. Part story, part game, this is a book with a difference - one in which you become the hero! A pencil and an eraser are all you need to make your journey. YOU decide which route to take, which foes to fight & which dangers to risk.	”
—Eye of the Dragon - Back Cover

Eye of the Dragon is set in the usual fantasy world of Titan, in the Allansia region. The player must claim a solid gold Dragon from within a dungeon beneath Darkwood Forest. The book is written like an older style gamebook typical dungeon trawl (see Deathtrap Dungeon for possibly the definitive Fighting Fantasy example of this).

During the journey the player allies with a character called Littlebig, a relative of a character from a previous Fighting Fantasy gamebook. The player must collect keys during the journey. These keys will allow the player to open boxes at the final puzzle, which contain a clue. The player must pull five weapons out of the wall in the correct order or be electrocuted and killed. The player must also find the second emerald eye of the Dragon or be killed by poison darts while trying to move the golden Dragon.

Fighting Monsters

• The book in general follows the original rules set down in The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (see Game System).
• In the Wizard "Series 2" edition, instead of rolling the stats for a character as per tradition in Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, the player has the option of choosing a pregenerated character from three choices (see "Further Notes" below for choices).

Equipment List

No equipment list is given. It is assumed, since you start with no skill penalties, that you begin the adventure with the standard sword, leather armour, and backpack. In the "Background" section the player is given the statue's first gemstone eye and 10 Gold Pieces and a backpack is noted as existing.

• 10 Provisions

Cover and Illustrations

Main article: Eye of the Dragon (illustrations)

Covers

The original cover of the book was designed and illustrated by Martin McKenna. The 2010 edition makes use of a section of the previous edition's cover art.

Eye of the Dragon Cover Variants

2005	2005	2010
Wizard Special	Wizard	Wizard Shield
£4.99	£4.99	£5.99

Illustrations

The interior illustrations were by Martin McKenna. There were 31 full page illustrations and 5 minor repeated illustrations scattered throughout the text. The paragraphs with a full page illustration were: 1, 8, 20, 35, 49, 64, 79, 97, 111, 126, 142, 160, 176, 185, 197, 211, 233, 243, 254, 266, 277, 290, 301, 323, 329, 343, 354, 362, 378, 393 and 400.

Intertextual References

• In the encounter with the Inquisitor (the guardian of the path to the inner sanctum of Firetop Mountain) in Return to Firetop Mountain, the player, if successful, is invited to peruse his library. Of the books in the library, five are named and two of these are titles of other books by Livingstone: Casket of Souls (which you do not get to read in the book), and Eye of the Dragon which had appeared as a short adventure in Dicing with Dragons.
• Littlebig is the nephew of Bigleg from The Forest of Doom.
• In the Niblicks' trove is a cursed sword made for the evil sorcerer Razaak, villain of Crypt of the Sorcerer.

Main Characters

YOU: Hero of Eye of the Dragon

• Floresto - Master Swordsman
• Gereth Yaztromo
• Henry Delacor aka Sharcle - Thief
• King Gillibran Ironhelm III - Dwarf
• Littlebig - Dwarf
• Lo Lo Mai
• Malbus - Wizard
• Pia - Alchemist
• Thomas Cornpepper - Merchant
• Vigdis - Witch

Locations

• Darkwood Forest
• Deathtrap Dungeon
• Fang
• Firetop Mountain
• Labyrinth of the Dragon
• Moonstone Mines
• Pagan Plains
• Red River
• Saffrica
• Stonebridge
• The Blue Pig

Encounters

• Cyclops
• Doppelgänger
• Dragons - Black/Red
• Evil Wizard
• Ghost Guardian
• Ghoul
• Giant Rats
• Giant Sandworm
• Giant Spider
• Gigantus
• Goblin
• Gremlin
• Hell Demon
• Howling Wolf
• Humans - Mercenary/Thieves
• Littlebig
• Master Swordsman
• Niblicks
• Ogre
• Skeletons - King/Regular
• Snake Witch
• Two-Headed Troll
• Uglukk Orc
• Vampire
• Vampire Bats
• Verminspawn
• Zombies

Further Notes

• Ian Livingstone makes a cameo appearance as a friendly merchant, in the illustration accompanying (329).
• The successful conclusion is not contained in (407), but at (400).

Series 2 Additions

• Pre-generated player characters: Enzo Wolfeyes, Jamlo Ray, and Hannabella Dehab.
• 10 paragraphs from Howl of the Werewolf.

Errors

• It is unclear if the player starts with a shield equipped or not. The rules at the back of the book do not have a section detailing the starting equipment, no shield is mentioned in the Background section, and there is a check to see of if you have a shield at (216) which would be completely redundant if you started with one, as there is no way to lose it before this. However, (302) (which 'resets' the player to how they were at the start of the book) mentions that the player has a shield. Most likely this mention of a shield at (302) is an error.
• The battle against the Snake Witch at (12) or (57) states she has "two attacks to your one" but the book does not explain how to handle this rule as there are no rules given in the book for multiple attacks nor even for fighting two opponents simultaneously.
• The chronology of events if the player is bitten three times by the Snake Witch at (12) or (57) doesn't make sense. The text implies that you should turn to (357) as soon as you are bitten three times (ie, in mid-combat) - however, if you do this and have a Potion of Healing, then you somehow have time to rummage around your backpack, drink the potion, and feel better a minute later all mid-combat, and then (somehow?) automatically defeat the Snake Witch by turning to (201). Alternatively, perhaps the wording is incorrect and the player should be turning to (357) only after completing the combat if you've been bitten three (or more times), but this still seems odd too, as if you do not have a Potion of Healing, the Snake Witch is still standing there, gloating, as the poison overcomes the hero.
• There are three instances where both you and Littlebig fight a single opponent but they are handled inconsistently. At (87) and (266) you and Littlebig together are able to make 'two attacks' and Littlebig is given a skill score, while at (35) (which occurs earlier in the story) you are merely told that his presence gives you 'two attacks' and no skill score is given for him. Just like (12) and (57), none of the above sections properly explain how to handle 'two attacks' in combat.
• There is an option to Escape (written in italics) at (107). However, unlike previous Puffin releases, there is nothing in the rules explaining how Escaping works, so it's unclear if you are meant to automatically lose 2 stamina points, as per the standard rules for Escaping or not.
• The "magnificent" polished, rune-etched shield obtained at (155) provides no bonuses to skill, despite a bronze shield obtained at (295) providing a bonus to skill.
• (159) should perhaps include an option to refuse using any key, to avoid breaking it.

Dedication

To the Warlocks of Kilimanjaro:
Andy, Charles, Darren, Dave, Dorron,
Graeme, Harry, Jeff, John, Kelly,
Mark, Roger, Sean and Tony.
Special mountain, special guys,
special memories

See Also

• Casket of Souls
• Dicing with Dragons

External Links

• Fighting Fantasy (Wizard Series 1) at Gamebooks.org - Retrieved 2019-10-27
• Fighting Fantasy (Wizard Series 2) at Gamebooks.org - Retrieved 2019-10-27
• Eye of the Dragon at Gamebooks.org - Retrieved 2019-10-27