| Warlock | |
|---|---|
 Warlock Issue 6 | |
| Outline | |
| Location: | Titan and various |
| Publication details | |
| Editor(s)-in-Chief: | Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone |
| Editor(s): | Peter Darvill-Evans (Assistant Editor) Mary Common (Art Editor) Peter Darvill-Evans (Publications Manager) |
| Interior Illustrator(s): | Mark Dunn, Trevor Hammond, Bill Houston |
| Cover illustrator: | Christos Achilleos |
| Publisher: | Games Workshop |
| First published: | September 1985 |
Warlock Issue 6 was published in 1985 and was the first edition to be published by Games Workshop. The editorial focuses on the change from Penguin Books to Games Workshop, and discusses the demand for a Fighting Fantasy club, the ability of Games Workshop to support the fanbase, and the fact that Warlock is now available for subscription.
Cover[]
The cover was by Christos Achilleos and originally used for the UK (Orbit) edition of Swordships of Scorpio by Alan Burt Akers.
Contents[]
"Out of the Pit"[]
Features an array of "awesomely unpleasant creatures, chosen from the many hundreds sent in by readers".[1] The monsters detailed were:
- Killer Dice by S Wilson
- The Soul Stealer by Anonymous
- Sewer Beast by Matt Gillman
- Whistle Buds by Paul Croley
- The Cloud of Chaos by M D Freake
All five were illustrated (logo by Tim Sell), but none were featured in the subsequent book Out of the Pit as by this point the book had been published.
Omens and Auguries[]
Replacing the "Fighting Fantasy News" section of previous issues, this issue featured the first appearance of a new column written by Jamie Thomson - then Assistant Editor of White Dwarf. It had a wider brief than the previous news section and was to detail upcoming events and publications that might be of interest to Fighting Fantasy fans which included material outside the publication of Penguin. This issue, the column included information on:
- Jamie Thomson and Mark Smith's The Way of the Tiger and Falcon adventure books (announcing the third in The Way of the Tiger series, Usurper!, was to be released in the November of that year).
- The release of Appointment with F.E.A.R. in September.
- The upcoming release of Out of the Pit, also set for September.
- The Cretan Chronicles series is mentioned as having the first title published already.
- The Tasks of Tantalon, Starflight Zero, and The Path of Peril (the last mis-titled as Path of the Peril) are listed as belonging to a new series of full colour picture books due in October.
- The ongoing design of the The Warlock of Firetop Mountain by Steve Jackson.
- An upcoming "Fighting Fantasy Day", which was to include guest appearances by Steve Jackson, Ian Livingstone, John Blanche and Ian McCaig.
- The release of two Lone Wolf books - Shadow on the Sand (mentioned as being already available) and Kingdom of Terror (due in November).
- Release of a new Lone Wolf series of books entitled Grey Star (due in October).
- Publisher Methuen is to publish a range of horror gamebooks. The series is entitled Forbidden Gateway and the first two books are Where the Shadows Stalk and Terrors Out of Time.
- Marks & Spencers are to release The Eye of the Idol, a boardgame and solo gamebook.
- Corgi publishing are to release the role-playing game Dragon Warriors in a three-book format. Written by Dave Morris with the adventures are designed by Oliver Johnson.
The Arcane Archive[]
A new section for Warlock, "The Arcane Archive" was the reviews page with the first selection of titles reviewed by Paul Cockburn. These reviews included:
- Castle Arcania by James M Ward (TSR, £4.95 - 1-on-1 Adventure Gamebook): Paul states that while they are a good idea, they don't work so well in practice.
- Temple of Terror by Ian Livingstone (Puffin, £1.75 - Fighting Fantasy Gamebook): Paul advises readers to read carefully as there are plenty of opportunities to come to a sticky end.
- The Tasks of Tantalon by Steve Jackson (Oxford Hardbacks, £5.95 - PuzzleQuest Book): Paul admits that he has yet to solve the final puzzle.
- Seas of Blood by Andrew Chapman (Puffin, £1.75 - Fighting Fantasy Gamebook)
- Prisoners of Pax Tharkas by Morris Simon (TSR, £1.95 - Super Endless Quest Gamebook): "Worst thing about these books is that they are very poorly written, and heavily over-dramatised."[2]
- Avenger! and Assassin! by Mark Smith & Jamie Thomson (Knight Books, £1.75 each - The Way of the Tiger Gamebooks)
Tricks and Traps Competition[]
Competition results from issue 4's "Tricks and Traps Competition". The winners were:
- Kiran Ghanekar (£20 winner) - The Death Trap.
- Martin Franks (£10 runner-up prize) - Venus Fly Trap Tomb.
- Steven Timothy (£10 runner-up prize) - Mirror of Mayhem.
- Edward Young (£10 runner-up prize) - Fake Rope Trap
- David Leith (£10 runner-up prize) - "...who although less than seven years old, has sent in no less than four wickedly inventive traps".[3]
Arkenor and Max - Part III[]
A continuation of the characters by Ian McDonald, the winner of the "Cartoon Competition" of issue 2.
Pearls of Wisdom[]
A new regular feature devoted to readers’ suggestions for improving or changing solo gamebooks and role-playing games. This issue includes articles on:
- Cloak & Dagger by Mark Hodgson - Thieves and Assassins in Fighting Fantasy
- Beasts of the Storm by James Wallis - Animals in Puffin’s 'Maelstrom Role-playing game
Illustrated by Trevor Hammond and Bill Houston.
Brain-Blistering Difficult Maze Competition![]
- Main article: Fighting Fantasy Competitions
Features a maze for readers to complete and then encourages them to send in the completed maze along with a Fighting Fantasy-themed maze of their own (entries into the original maze competition would not be accepted without a copy of the correctly completed maze presented in this issue).
Cartoon Competition Winners[]
The winner of this competition (announced in issue 4) was Spencer Chapman, winning £20. Runners-up (winning £10 each) were:
- Alexander Garland
- Mark Smith
- Peter Sidebotham
- Cathy Watt
- Patrick Blaine McIntyre
The Warlock's Quill[]
This section had letters from readers published and responded to by the editor.Fromt his issue onwards the Grand Wizard at Penguin is no longer mentioned. Subjects canvased included subscribing to Warlock, the difficulty of the "Maze of Zagor", whether or not Warlock should branch out into covering non-Fighting Fantasy RPG material and gamebooks and rule modifications.
The Dark Chronicles of Anakendis[]
- Main article: The Dark Chronicles of Anakendis (mini-ff)
The short adventure this issues was submitted by Andrew Whitworth of Rotherfield, East Sussex. It introduces the town of Kokbridge, found somewhere along the route to Fang. It was illustrated by Mark Dunn.
Fantasy in Miniature[]
An article about making model figurines for RPGS.
Monster Crossword Competition Results[]
Results of the crossword competition from the last issue. The winner was Paul Ackerley, who managed to get all the correct answers, including the one for which the clue had been missing!
Fighting Fantasy Feedback[]
Results of Issue 4's questionnaire. It was broken into three parts.
Who Are You?[]
- Only 8 of the over 500 survey respondents were female.
- Nearly all were between 9 and 17 years of age.
- At least one third also read White Dwarf.
Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks[]
- The most exciting gamebook was Deathtrap Dungeon.
- The best illustrated was also Deathtrap Dungeon.
- Fantasy was the most popular setting requested for future adventures.
- The Game System was deemed to be about right, although with quite a number wanting some complications creeping in.
Warlock Magazine[]
- The most popular part of the magazine was the solo adventure.
- Also well-liked: "The Warlock's Quill", "Out of the Pit", news, Arkenor and Max, and "Tricks and Traps".
- Readership not keen on artist profiles or crosswords.
- Would like to see scenarios for RPGs, short fiction and more boardgames.
Adverts[]
With this issue advertising was obviously opened up to things beyond Fighting Fantasy. Therefore, only Fighting Fantasy-related adverts are listed here.
- Page 14 had a black and white half page advert for a "Fighting Fantasy Day", scheduled for November 2nd, 1985 at The Corn Exchange, Manchester. Admission was £1 (Free for Puffin Club members) and promised "Citadel Battles", Warhammer, Fighting Fantasy Computer Games, and a Fighting Fantasy maze.
- Page 15 was a black and white full-page advert for The Tasks of Tantalon.
- The inside back cover was a colour full-page advert for Out of the Pit.
