tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244825942034612802.post2632718866049763185..comments2023-05-02T17:46:04.421+01:00Comments on The World of Fighting Fantasy: Another early Fighting Fantasy trilogy?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244825942034612802.post-62629421192317443232013-11-21T15:53:16.321+00:002013-11-21T15:53:16.321+00:00Zagor is a complicated case, appearing in various ...Zagor is a complicated case, appearing in various FF gamebooks, novels, and two worlds. He deserves a post (or several!) of his own I think, so that I can unravel his uncertain history.Paltoguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00961821462981797028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244825942034612802.post-8367918497269817162013-11-21T14:38:55.482+00:002013-11-21T14:38:55.482+00:00And don't forget the Zagor Trilogy!;)And don't forget the Zagor Trilogy!;)deadshadowrunnernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244825942034612802.post-85794025375001163212013-11-21T11:31:46.998+00:002013-11-21T11:31:46.998+00:00Just to make clear, I'm not arguing that we ha...Just to make clear, I'm not arguing that we have to interpret the hero as the same in each book; I like the fact you can make that choice for yourself (except for the unnecessary retcon in the blurb of the 2nd edition Wizard Trial of Champions).<br /><br />The world-building explanation doesn't necessarily follow. Although it helps you to work out the relative positions of the places in the adventures, there's some other world-building in the books anyway (e.g. Ivy, Mungo's father) which tells you you are in the same world. And why, for example, start two days' travel east of Blacksand at the beginning of DD when you could just have started in Blacksand itself (likewise for IotLK, why start in Fang and not Blacksand or Silverton?), and the relatively positions of the locations would still have been recoverable.<br /><br />The equipment and money issue is of course a bigger problem, and has to be the case to allow the books to be stand-alone adventures. No doubt we could work out scenarios to explain it (stashing money away in case you lose it, Sukumvit not allowing you to bring special equipment into the dungeon, not bringing much with you to Oyster Bay, as you are going on holiday, etc.).<br /><br />Anyway, as I said, I think IL's intention was to allow you to imagine that you could be the same individual across the books, not to force you to be so. In any case, they form a trilogy (and indeed longer series) not just because you can pretend you are the same character in each but because they are linked in other ways. I'll talk about this more in later posts, but there are other sub-series in FF which definitely don't have the same hero, but which nevertheless are sub-series (e.g. the 'Astragal' trilogy).Paltoguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00961821462981797028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244825942034612802.post-20644828073031508362013-11-21T11:20:34.714+00:002013-11-21T11:20:34.714+00:00You definitely need to be the ultimate warrior (an...You definitely need to be the ultimate warrior (and a lucky so-and-so) to get through these books. Or a cheater of course!Paltoguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00961821462981797028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244825942034612802.post-87308636100190599952013-11-21T10:41:28.827+00:002013-11-21T10:41:28.827+00:00There was no reason for Livingtone to start each b...<i>There was no reason for Livingtone to start each book in the place the previous one finished unless he wanted to suggest that the heroes could be the same person.</i><br /><br />How about worldbuilding? There's nothing in <b>Warlock</b>, <b>Citadel</b>, <b>Forest</b> and <b>City</b> to suggest that the eponymous locations are anywhere near each other. The references to previous books in <b>Dungeon</b> and <b>Lizard</b> are the first indications that different FF books are even set in the same fantasy world, let alone the same region. <br /><br />Nowadays it's generally accepted that all the fantasy FF books (bar <b>Talisman of Death</b>) are set on Titan, but back in 1983 there were no in-story connections between the adventures. It wasn't until the map of NW Allansia in issue 1 of <b>Warlock</b> (or the references to Firetop Mountain, Stonebridge and Port Blacksand in <b>Caverns of the Snow Witch</b>, for people who only accept the books as 'canon') that a common context was established for all of Ian's books.<br /><br />Another difficulty with the 'it's all the same person' theory is the disappearance of all non-standard equipment between adventures. Wouldn't the Attack Strength-boosting treasures from <b>City</b> have come in handy in <b>Dungeon</b>? But there's no sign of them in it. The hero of DD wins a fortune, but the hero of IotLK has no money, so if it's the same hero, where did the winnings go? Do fresh Provisions cost 1000 gold pieces per portion in Fang?<br /><br />Same setting? Definitely. Same character? Unsupported.Ed Jolleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07293815550517824166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244825942034612802.post-30903777252973717682013-11-21T05:49:22.731+00:002013-11-21T05:49:22.731+00:00Name,huh?I still like the Unicorn one,or maybe the...Name,huh?I still like the Unicorn one,or maybe the "Skill 12 Stamina 24 Luck 12" Hexalogy,because those are the stats you need for even having a chance to complete it(or DD and ToC,at least).deadshadowrunnernoreply@blogger.com