The Gates of Death (book)

Fighting Fantasy Gamebook
Outline
Location:	Allansia, Titan
References:	470
Publication Details
Author(s):	Charlie Higson
Illustrator(s):	Vlado Krizan
Puffin
Wizard (Series 1)
Wizard (Series 2)
Scholastic
Cover illustrator:	Robert M. Ball
First published:	April 5 2018
Number	12
ISBN:	ISBN 1-40718-630-2
Previous Book:	The Shamutanti Hills
Next Book:	Caverns of the Snow Witch

For other uses of The Gates of Death, see The Gates of Death

The Gates of Death is a single-player role-playing gamebook written by Charlie Higson, illustrated by Vlado Krizan and originally published in 2018 by Scholastic Books. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the 12th in the Scholastic series (ISBN 1-40718-630-2).

Background

“	PART STORY, PART GAME - YOU ARE THE HERO! Are YOU brave enough to face the all-powerful queen of Chaos, growing ever more monstrous behind the Gates of Death? A terrible plague has devastated Allansia, striking its people down with a sickness that turns them into hideous, demonic monsters. You must travel to the Invisible City with a smoke-oil antidote, but the way is full of peril and predators at every turn - you can trust no one, for the demon curse may already be upon them... MAY YOUR STAMINA NEVER FAIL!	”
—The Gates of Death - Back Cover

Rules

The book in general follows the original rules set down in The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (see Game System).

There is a variety of weapons the player can obtain during the adventure, each with different effects on Attack Strength or damage caused.

Equipment List

• Travelling clothes
• Backpack

Cover and Illustrations

Main article: The Gates of Death (illustrations)

Covers

The cover was designed and illustrated by Robert M. Ball.

The Gates of Death Cover Variants

2018

Scholastic Circle

£6.99

Illustrations

The interior illustrations, including the black and white map accompanying paragraph 173, were by Vlado Krizan. There were 20 full page illustrations and 5 minor repeated illustrations scattered throughout the text. The paragraphs with a full page illustration were: 11, 32, 53, 74, 95, 116, 137, 158, 194, 215, 236, 257, 293, 314, 335, 356, 377, 398, 420, and 436. The full-page illustrations in the book were accompanied with a caption giving a short extract from the text.

The Danish edition of the book by Faraos Cigarer was given new illustrations by Bent Holm.

The map was by Leo Hartas.

Main Characters

YOU: Hero of The Gates of Death

• Alesstis - High Priestess of Throff
• Arakor Nicodemus - Wizard
• Blossom
• Brother Tobyn
• Castrabel - Acolyte
• Denka Mansell
• Eli
• Fossick - Dwarf Lumberjack
• Fazilus Astra - Wizard, Beggar
• Grecko - Temple Keeper
• Hikaz Mandeera - Adventurer
• King Salamon LVII - Ruler of Salamonis
• Lady Webspinn - Scholar
• Liara - Handmaid
• Lord Varek Azzur - Ruler of Port Blacksand
• Ludo Hyperion the Wooden Scribe - Dryad
• Monstroso the Blood Feaster
• Oli
• Piscis Austrinus the Fish with a Thousand Voices
• Sandford Swann - Cartographer
• Sinna the Sly
• Uli
• Ulrakaah - Priestess, Demon
• Vigo Sabulkar - Priest of Sindla

Locations

• Crucible Islands
• The Invisible City
• Kaynlesh-Ma
• Plain of Bronze
• Port Blacksand
• Salamonis
• Silverton
• Trolltooth Pass

Encounters

• Bum-Faced Monster
• Clawbeast
• Demon - Blossom/Brother Tobyn/Denka/Gravedigger/Horde/Maid/Merchant/Mother/Pig/Soldier/Spirit
• Drunken Ogre
• Fossick
• Hay Thiever
• Human - Bowman/Highwayman/Thief
• Obsidian Giant
• Sniffer Dog
• Timber Wolf - Timber Wolf/Timber Wolf Pack Leader
• Troll
• Ulrakaah

Further Notes

• A full-page black and white version of the cover art is reproduced on the first page. Other Scholastic titles in the Scholastic Circle cover format before this simply reproduced the entire cover with text, and after this title reproduced the art in the circle only.
• The book has a blue Scholastic logo on the spine (instead of the usual black) as well as a blue Fighting Fantasy logo (instead of the traditional yellow one) and the author's name in blue text (again instead of the usual black). The spine is also silver as opposed to gold of all the other Scholastic releases.
• In a interview with the Fighting Fantasy website, Higson said influences on The Gates of Death included J. R. R. Tolkien and the Eternal Champion stories of Michael Moorcock.
• The character Piscis Austrinus is named after the Babylonian constellation "Fish" and is more than likely a reference to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"'s Babel fish.

Errors

• At (56) it is assumed you're running from an attacking demon, even though you can get there from (107) *after* dealing with the demon.
• At (127) you're instructed to fight opponents two at a time, but the book doesn't give you the rules for fighting multiple opponents.
• At (262) you find a "hard sausage", while at (353) and (371) you find "cold sausage". Of those, only the one at (353) is specified to grant you +2 Stamina when eaten. Most likely all of those should be named "cold sausage" and all of them should be granting Stamina when eaten.
• There is a loop that is causing multiple issues. The loop is the following: You get to the herder's track (either by fleeing from the Highwaymen, or not joining Lady Webspinn in Silverton). You enter the house. You refuse to help Fossick's daughter. You either flee from the house or fight (and subsequently kill) him. You steal his horse from the barn while it's still night (you can have a second chance of killing him). You decide to steer the horse to a direction of your own choosing. After all this you'll be back in Silverton.
  • If, at this point you decide not to go with Lady Webspinn, you get back to the herder's track, which will take you to Fossick's hut again, restarting the whole encounter. Even if you have already killed him.
  • You can witness Lady Webspinn's black coach preparing to leave Silverton in the morning over and over again, if you keep coming back with Fossick's horse.
  • Should you decide to join Lady Webspinn in the coach, she'll greet you as if she knew you, even though you can get here without meeting her previously.
• At (184) you're allowed to try and use a fishhook to pick a lock, but oddly enough you're not offered the use of the far more appropriate thieves' skeleton key.
• At the start of (424) you dismount and send the horse back to Fossic - but it is entirely possible you never learned the owner's name. Also, at the end of the same section, you dismount *again* - even though you have already sent your horse back.
• At (200) you greet Lady Webspinn as an old acquaintance, even though there exists a route where you can avoid her completely.
• At (151) there is a six-pointed star symbol on Logaan's chest, on (132) it turns into a six-headed arrow.
• At (171) you get a silver ring from Lady Webspinn as a marker item that you decided to go with her. However at this point you can still abandon her, keep the ring and continue on the main road, while she goes onwards into a small courtyard. If you later enter a different courtyard further down the road, due to the ring, she will suddenly be there, waiting for you.
• After buying the adventurer's box from Sandford Swann, it is possible to turn it into a Blue Frog at (425). However, there is a check for the frog sooner, at (344). This suggests that the writer's intent was that you should be able to ask about the adventurer and then the adventurer's box after you've bought and destroyed the box (otherwise you would never be able to reach (304)). As an extension to this, you should also be able to ask about the box multiple times after you've bought it and opened it with the Icefinger Key the first time. Which means you should be able to buy the box multiple times as well.
• (351) contains a short encounter with Logaan, where the Trickster God puts our pants on fire for lying about having 200 Gold Pieces. However there are two ways to get this much money without anything that can be considered cheating. On one hand the loop makes it possible to obtain 5GP each time (you can get it from the Hay Thiever). With a high enough skill value, Fossick can easily be killed 40 times. On the other hand, buying the adventurer's box costs 10GPs, but it contains 20GPs, making it a nice money-maker.
• At (73) it is possible to leave the shop alive and to get to Titan Square to find some hidden treasure, while if you simply try to leave, you might get killed by the Demons waiting outside.
• It is possible to return to (298) and get the hidden gold several times. (At least the skill deduction limits the number of times it is safe to return here.)
• At (327) you lose 1 Stamina from exhaustion; however, to keep consistent with other sections in the book, it should allow you to ignore the loss if it would kill you.
• At (137) you find a certain adventurer that supposedly you've been seeking. It's entirely possible you've never learned his name, however, and it's not a given conclusion that he is somehow integral to your mission.
• At (280) and (310) you should be offered to use of Compass or Nostalgia, for consistency with other sections in the book. However, at this point in the book, those would transfer you to (459) and ultimately to (200), which doesn't make sense, as you haven't visited (200) before. (So, alternatively, the error might be (266) sending you to (427) - which allows the use of the items and the transfer to (200).)
• At (185) you should be allowed to take the Cleaver weapon, but the text doesn't instruct you so.
• (314) and by extension (341) are both orphaned paragraphs that cannot be reached through normal play (especially notable as (314) features a full-page illustration and both are quite long paragraphs). (216) was probably meant to direct you to turn to (314) rather than (261) if you try to escape by leaving the road.
• (322) asks you to "add it your Equipment List" (rather than "Add it to your Equipment List")
• (336) says "ruins of a fort where there a lookout tower". It should probably say "ruins of a fort where there is a lookout tower"
• At (342) it is assumed you have learned a certain spell, but you can reach that section without having done so.
• (193) is missing the option that we have already taken the Seed of Knowledge.
• At (384) if you choose to ask about the temple, you are told to go to (234). The correct section is (440).
• (389) incorrectly refers to the Seed of Power as a Seed of Strength, despite both (402) and the first half of (389) having established its correct name.
• (402) suggests that the Seed of Mastery might increase the Initial skill as well (or at least allow the skill points it to go above the Initial value), but there is no confirmation of this at (389).
• At (422) you may be in a situation where you can not choose one of the three given options. The possibility to go back to (406) needs to be added.
• At (105) you are asked if you are wearing a pair of magic boots, but you cannot possess one at this stage of the adventure, due to the fact you lost almost all your equipment before. This renders the book unbeatable without cheating.
  • In the Italian edition, the request for the magic boots is changed to a simple STAMINA check, you just need 5 STAMINA to pass it.
• At (118) after a Demon swallows us and spits us out through the roof, we find ourselves back in the Garden, somehow without a scratch.
• (129) says that there are double-headed axes on the table, however the picture on (420) is showing the beast to be holding one-headed axes.
• The story suggests you should be using the Weakwater (obtainable at (409)) to easily get killed by the Obsidian Giants. However if you do that, you have a very good chance to die in the next two battles. At (366), the skill should probably be reset to its Initial value as well.
• If the Demon Horde beats us and we get to (60), we pass back to the realm of the living, with unknown stamina points.
• You can complete the book without giving a smoke-oil to the High Priestess. You don't even have to have any smoke-oils with you when you enter Throff's Temple.

Dedication

none