Back From the Pit...

Hi all, sorry for the long delay between posts. My life has been consumed with a recent wedding and honeymoon, both of which went wonderfully well. In a great bit of timing my copy of You Are The Hero finally arrived via courier just as we were about to set off down south for a week. It proved to be excellent reading material and I hope to write up my thoughts on it another time.

But for now I'm going to take a brief look at another iteration of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, the Lost Chapters game by Commando Kiwi. This game was developed as part of the Make Something Unreal competition in 2012. Four teams (Commando Kiwi - The Warlock of Firetop Mountain: Lost Chapters, Derp Studios - Citadel of Chaos: Dire Consequences, Digital Mage - Armies of Death: Rise of Agglax, Indigo Jam - Deathtrap Dungeon) each designed a game based on the Fighting Fantasy brand and using Epic Games Unreal game engine. Commando Kiwi's entry was judged the winner by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone.

The game itself is quite rough, and boils down to hacking and slashing your way through simple dungeons populated with blocky Orcs. It features many familiar locations from Firetop Mountain, such as the kitchen, torture chamber, chieftain's room and helmet room, as well as some new areas such as the mechanical room and tomb. I must admit that I've barely played the game itself, but I have spent some time trawling through its assets. In it I have discovered an interesting alternate version of our beloved Firetop Mountain.

In Lost Chapters the old infamous Warlock has taken over Firetop with his Orc army. Before he came along, however, the mountain fortress was once the seat of power of King Gregory. Gregory led his people to the mountain after the Battle of Spirescroft, where they constructed a mighty bastion to protect them from the wars that were ravaging Allansia.

Miners delved deep into the mountain, uncovering a vast network of caverns. Unfortunately tunnel collapses and Cave Spiders claimed too many lives and the King ordered the mine shafts to be sealed up forever.

Gregory lived from the years 353 - 426. After his death he was entombed within the fortress with his trusted retinue of knights.

At the time of the Warlock's invasion Sir Yotu Bourne, the sole heir of Gregory's line, was king of Firetop. The Orcs quickly took the outer halls, forcing Bourne to sabotage the great mechanical portcullis to hold them off while he and his men escaped through the caverns.

The King and his knights quickly returned to Firetop and fought their way to the throne room, where they found the Orc Chieftain waiting for them. The Orcs overwhelmed the knights and slaughtered them, ending the line of King Gregory once and for all. In the following years many brave and foolhardy adventurers have met their end inside Firetop. You, the player, are the latest to try their luck in its dark depths.

So, how do we reconcile this with what has already been established in FF canon? Dwarfs built the fortress inside Firetop, not Men. The years that Sir Gregory lived are in the distant future of the current timeline, so that doesn't fit either. Do we simply discard the storyline presented here, or is there some way to integrate it into the existing lore?

By the way, Lost Chapters should still be available to download for ios devices on the iTunes website.

Until next time, may your STAMINA never fail!

Your Adventure Continues Here...

Just a quick post today, I'm a busy, busy Baddu-Beetle!

Check out these two great FF-related websites I have discovered recently.

Under the Firetop Mountain (http://underthefiretopmountain.blogspot.fr/) features incredibly-detailed dungeon tiles and character tokens that are perfect for, oh, I don't know, perhaps running the AFF adaption of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain? There are also adventure sheets, house rules and more, so go check it out.

Groatsworth (http://www.groatsworth.net/) have some awesome FF, Warhammer and general geek-related t-shirt designs. Clothing is a bit of an unexplored area as far as FF-themed merchandise goes, so I'm excited to see what they come up with next. Go grab a tee and wear your fandom proudly!

Til next time.

Beardy Wimmen

Continuing on with the Dwarf theme, where are all the Dwarf women? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think a female Dwarf has ever been featured in a Fighting Fantasy publication (nor a Dwarf juvenile, for that matter). So where are all the beardy womenfolk?

Do they even exist at all? Or are all Dwarfs male. Perhaps they spring out of the ground fully-grown, or are planted like particularly hairy Cabbage Patch Kids? Maybe male Dwarfs can carry young around in their beer bellies?

If Dwarf women do exist, why aren't they out mining and advenuring with their male counterparts? Do Dwarfs have strict gender roles, perhaps where women are restricted to all the hard work (cooking, cleaning, raising Dwarflings) while the men do all the fun ale-quaffing and orc-clobbering?

Or maybe Dwarf women are revered and hoarded away in their fortresses like precious jewels? Throff, chief deity and creator of the Dwarfs, is a woman, so its entirely possible that female Dwarfs fulfil religious duties. Dwarf priests may only be females? That would explain why they are rarely seen abroad.

In any case, its a mystery without a firm answer as yet. What do you all think out there in the Abyss?

Dwarf Players for AFF

Here is a more in-depth look at creating a Dwarf player for Advanced Fighting Fantasy. As always your thoughts and opinions are appreciated.

DWARF
Doughty warriors and skilled craftsmen, Dwarfs are a long-lived race that enjoys three things above all: gold, ale and a good tale of heroic deeds. The allure of potential treasure or a monstrous opponent can sometimes be enough to lure a Dwarf from the comfort of his underground stronghold and into an adventuring party.

Personality: Most Dwarfs are earthy in character, favouring plain speaking and plainer actions. They prefer to take things slowly and surely, but can be quick to anger if slighted. They can also be honourable beings, however, and they appreciate bravery and good fighting. Above all, Dwarfs love precious jewels and metals, and they spend much of their time mining it from the earth and securing it away.

Physical Description: A typical Dwarf stands only a metre tall. They almost always have a long bushy beard, which they take great pride in growing and grooming. Their clothes are usually made from fine worked leather, covered with a light cuirass of strong Dwarfish mail. They favour wielding hewing weapons such as battle-axes and war-hammers.

Relations: Dwarfs tolerate, work and live alongside humans in many parts of Titan, therefore adventuring alongside them is also no issue. Some Dwarfs do not like Elves, owing to an ancient and traditional quarrel, but there have also been several notable adventuring partnerships between an Elf and a Dwarf.

Dwarfs loathe and despise Orcs, Goblins and other evil, non-human races; it would take an extraordinary event to convince a Dwarf to work alongside one without bloodshed!

Alignment: Dwarfs are generally followers of Good, upholding the ways of peace and justice wherever they lay their axe. There are examples of evil Dwarfs, such as the denizens of Mirewater, but they are extremely rare.

Dwarf Lands: Large communities of Dwarfs can be found across Titan, but most commonly in northern Allansia, such as Stonebridge and Fangthane. Dwarf adventurers are slightly less common in the more southerly lands.

Religion: Dwarfs worship the earth goddess Throff (whom they know as Kerillîm) with surprising intensity.  Dwarf priests will never be found outside of their subterranean, jewel-encrusted temples.

Language: The native Dwarf tongue is known as dethungar. It is never spoken in the presence of non-Dwarfs. Their writing consists of simple runes, which they often chisel into stone and engrave into metalwork.

Names: Bakulor, Bigleg, Biltur, Corin, Darkflint, Fangnir, Gillibran, Habul, Harlak, Hellura, Kagand, Littlebig, Lokimur, Roxsir, Stoneharrow, Stubb, Thorgrim, Trumble, Ulgrad, Wendle.

Racial Traits: A Dwarf Hero receives an additional 2 points to their Initial STAMINA score, to reflect their stocky frames and hardy metabolisms. 

They will also receive one point in the Underground Lore and Crafting Special Skills, as well as three points in Languages (Common) and four points in Languages (Dwarfish). Note that the Dwarfish language encompasses both the spoken dethungar and the written Dwarfish runes.

In addition a Dwarf Hero also starts with the Dark Seeing Talent.

Many Dwarfs lack experience in riding horses, and may have difficulty in doing so. When it comes to checking for actions such as hiding and sneaking, a Dwarf will count as Small in size.

Magic: Dwarfs prefer to shun magic in favour of a sharp battle-axe. Dwarfish spell casters are very, very rare, and usually still carry an axe as part of their equipment. The few spells they do use are very specialized, such as casting sharpness into an axe, or for searching out the purest seams of gold ore deep underground. Dwarf priests are slightly more common, but will almost never be encountered above ground.

Centaur Players for AFF

Here are some rules for playing a Centaur character in AFF. I cobbled it together from information in Allansia and Out of the Pit, and the guidelines for creating new player races in AFF (p.153-155). Let me know your thoughts in the comments section. :)

Centaurs are strange creatures with the upper quarters of a human and the lower quarters of a horse. Proud and fierce warriors, they usually remain confined to the grassy plains of their homelands, but young warriors sometimes choose to leave their tribe and seek their fortune elsewhere. 

Personality

Centaurs are brave and doughty warriors, fearless in battle to an almost suicidal degree. Noble and haughty, they place great value in martial prowess and personal reputation. The pettiest of disputes or slights against their honour are swiftly settled with cold steel. Much importance is also placed on family, as Centaurs see themselves as descendants of a lineage that stretches back through the generations to the very first horses. They will always talk of themselves as being ‘son of X, son of Y, son of Z’ and so on.

Physical Description

The average height of a Centaur is just over two metres tall. Because of the nature of their bodies Centaurs do not make ideal adventurers. Subterranean exploration, for example, can be a difficult process. Out in the open is another matter entirely. They are able to run far faster than any humanoid, even when bearing a heavy load.

In times of war they may combine human armour and horse barding to provide comprehensive protection.

Relations

Centaurs have had mixed dealings with humans and elves, and as a result are apt to be wary of the intentions of such races. Indeed, many tribes indulge in the hunting and eating of humans with scant regard for their racial similarities.

Most humanoid races look down upon Centaurs as little more than brutish savages. They can sometimes be found serving alongside Orcs and Trolls in the armies of Evil, where their appetite for battle is sure to be sated.

Alignment

 Strongly neutral creatures, Centaurs will do whatever is required to keep themselves alive and their saddlebags full of gold. They hold allegiance to no one but themselves and their tribe, but may grant grudging respect to anyone who has proven their worth in battle.

Centaur Lands

 Centaurs favour warm grasslands, such as the Pagan and Windward Plains of northern Allansia, the Pikestaff Plain in north-eastern Khul, or the vast steppes of Lendleland in the Old World.

Centaur Heroes will be considered by other centaurs to have abandoned their tribesmen, and should expect an icy reception if they return to their native land.

Religion

 Centaurs believe themselves to be horses that were cursed for some past misdeed by the great Hunnynhaa, Lord of Horses, and forced to suffer the indignity of a sluggish human body. They delight in the telling and singing of tales that speak of their curse and their desire to be free of it.

Despite their sometimes savage nature, they are at heart a spiritual people and are always in touch with the land.

Language

 Centaurs have their own oral language (which has no written form) but can usually also speak Common. They can also communicate with any horse.

Magic

 Centaurs can use magic with no penalties. They tend to favour spells which increase personal strength and courage. Centaur Priests may worship most of the standard deities, particularly Fourga and Telak, but their chief deity will always be Hunnynhaa.

Racial Traits

 A newly created Centaur Hero starts out with the following characteristics:

SKILL: 5
STAMINA: 9
LUCK: 7

A Centaur Hero receives 2 an additional points to his Initial STAMINA score, to reflect his greater body mass and resultant strength.

They will also receive one point in the Hunting and Plains Lore Special Skills, as well as two points in Languages (Common), and four points in Languages (Centaur).

In addition a Centaur Hero will start with the Fleet-footed Talent.

A Centaur Hero may not choose any of the following Special Skills: Acrobatics, Mounted Combat, Ride. These abilities are plainly of little use to a Centaur. Most others, however, can be chosen and used without modification.

Note that, for combat purposes, a Centaur’s definition of a ‘narrow corridor’ will be wider than that for a human.

A Centaur Hero will have all the same modifiers as for someone on horseback when it comes to rolls for escaping and the like. A Centaur’s Jump can be up to twice a human’s distance or height. All Sneak rolls incur a -2 penalty due to their size and shape; certain situations may prove success to be impossible. Similarly, a Centaur counts as Large for Hide rolls. It is assumed that a Centaur can carry as many ‘items’ as it has current STAMINA points. Any Climb rolls will incur penalty of -3, unless the surface is sufficiently open, level and stable enough to allow its hoofs to grip.

Myriador's Multiple Mistakes

As many of you may know, a company called Myriador published a series of D20 adaptions of several of the more popular Fighting Fantasy gamebooks for use with the Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition rules. These adaptions contradict the previously established lore numerous times. Under the guidance of 'FF Consultant' Dave Holt, the D20 adventures frequently ignore or change existing setting material in favour of making everything a bland and uninspired standard fantasy setting.

Here for your enjoyment (or not) are a list of some of these changes...

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain

• The D20 series incorrectly claims that Gilford (a new village created for the adventure) is the starting town for the heroes. Warlock Magazine has previously established that this village was Anvil. In the end I included Gilford as another possible starting point in my AFF adaption (along with Haven, which was introduced in the Salamonis Gazette).

The Caverns of the Snow Witch

• The Gnome cook in the Crystal Caverns has been changed to a human.

Deathtrap Dungeon

• The settlement of Fang has been transformed from a sleepy river port into a bustling walled metropolis with a standing army and navy. 
• The army of Fang contains an elite unit of Elven archers, despite Elves on Titan being portrayed as an insular, secretive folk that seldom leave the borders of their homelands. 

The Shamutanti Hills

• The village of Birritanti has been transformed into a much larger settlement than it was in the original Sorcery! series. According to the D20 adaption it now has huge guard-towers, a militia and a mayor. Steve Jackson has previously stated that the Sorcery! series was inspired by his travels through Nepal, but the D20 adaption has fully ignored this flavour, instead changing Birritanti into a standard medieval town.
• Similarly, all through the D20 book the inhabitants of the hill villages have been given cliched fantasy names, again ignoring the Nepalese-inspired setting and flavour.

 Trial of Champions

• The D20 book claims that Chadda Darkmane was the first hero to successfully navigate Deathtrap Dungeon, something that has been mentioned nowhere in previous books.
• The Strider creature in the cave below the rope bridge has been changed into a human assassin whose name is Strider.
• The Witch summons Stirges, a D&D monster that does not belong in the FF setting.
• The Tusker is changed to a boar-headed Minotaur.
• The Siren is changed to a Black Elf called Anistasial.

There are plenty more changes throughout the series, but this will give you a taste of the sacrifices (and plain bizarre choices) that Myriador made to conform the FF adventures to D&D standards. In the end I guess it was fortunate that they never ended up finishing the Sorcery! adaptions and butchering Crown of Kings.

Chopping Block - Part Three

Hi everyone,
Back again with a final look at some of the crazy critters that lurk inside the Nintendo DS game The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. For those that are interested, the webpage for the game developer, Big Blue Bubble Inc., can be found here.

Nobbler: A Dwarf who is willing to sell his wares to anyone, as long as they don't stink of Orc. He can be found inside the common room of the Dwarf stronghold.

Og: A White Orc who is so lonely that he is willing to sell his weapons to anyone. He did some terrible things when he worked for Zagor and Giles.

Giles: An evil man in league with Zagor. Knowledge, not power, is his only desire, which is why he gets along so well with the Warlock. He somehow charmed the Dwarf leaders into believing he is their friend, although they are fully aware that he is also cavorting with Zagor. No-one's really sure how and when he came to Firetop. He seeks a sample of one of the undead Dwarfs so that he can learn its secrets and use it to infect his enemies.

Gorrin Briarbeard: This Dwarf guards the entrance to the Dwarf stronghold. He has red hair and wears a patch over his left eye. He wields a huge battleaxe and carries a dagger. He is on the lookout for spies and distrusts Giles immensely.

Oliphant: An insane Dwarf priest who hides out in a chamber accessed via a secret passage from the Trophy Room. He is balding, grey-haired and wields a sledgehammer. He believes the hero to be a new initiate and orders him to go to the Room of the Three and collect the Book of Right from the compartment beneath the statues.

Zagor: The evil Warlock of Firetop Mountain. Some say he looks young and came from the direction of Darkwood Forest, followed by a Red Dragon and leaving a string of burned-down villages behind him. Others say that he is very short, wizened and old, and say he came from Darkwood with a lot of green servants. Zagor and his legions stole the home of the Dwarfs and their ancestors as well as their possessions. Those he defeated have been raised from the dead to serve in their former home.

Firetop Dwarfs: Many Dwarfs still live inside Firetop, but they can't be counted upon to be friendly. They have a military outpost on the upper levels and they are still on guard against 'invaders'. All non-Dwarfs are attacked on sight. The Dwarf warriors think it is their skill and loyalty that keeps them safe from the Warlock, but others think that the Warlock lets them live for his own amusement. None of them mine the mountain anymore. There are some among them who are organising an army to chase the monsters away from their home.

Golems: The Dwarfs created the Golem to serve them, but the gods punished them for their laziness. The Golems were released from their burden of servitude until Zagor the Defiler came and added them to his legions. Now they are deadly killers. The Cyclops guards the entrance to the Upper Keep; it can shoot fireballs from its eye. Lesser Golems can be found beyond, of different colours and lesser power.

Orcs: Green-skinned Orcs are the weakest, then grey-skinned Orcs, Red Orcs and the powerful White Orcs.

Skeletons: Although undead, the Boat House Skeletons are not evil. Engineers have been tasked with running a ferry to Stonebridge, but the Dwarfs have prevented them from travelling downstream. The industrious Skeletons have dreams of trading with Stonebridge and someday creating their own merchant empire.

Eye Stingers: These creatures appear to be an advanced or magical breed, for they are covered in many eyes instead of just one, and can shoot bolts of magic from their main eye. Spikes emerge from their body when enemies get too close. Pink Eye Stingers shoot fireballs from their main eye, while Green Eye Stingers shoot green blasts that poison their opponent.

Misc. Info:
- Zagor wishes to be rid of the Dragon. He offers its hoard to the hero who kills it. 
- Killing the Dragon yields a mysterious vial of Dragon Essence, probably what Zagor seeks.
- One of the Dwarfs can be found drinking in the Orc Tavern. He wears a necklace of human ears.
- Zagor's Inner Sanctum is sealed off by an iron portcullis, which has been further barricaded by the Orcs who removed the handle from the winch. This was to prevent the Undead Dwarfs in the room beyond from getting through. Too many Orcs were careless, so the chieftains blocked the way. The Warlock teleports in if he needs to visit the outer rooms.
- No Orcs are allowed in the Fortress proper, which is protected by a spell that blocks the doorway with magical chains unless the hall is lit by a special blue candle. Most Dwarfs don't think twice about it, because in their glory days the hall was always filled with blue candles.

I hope you enjoyed this look at how the Nintendo DS game chose to portray the iconic Firetop Mountain. As you can see it varies quite a bit from the previously established setting, but I think there is still a lot of value in it and perhaps some of the lore here can be used to enrich the setting or perhaps portray a future version of the Warlock's lair. What do you think?