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Advanced Fighting Fantasy (AFF), or the "Advanced Fighting Fantasy System", is the name given to a role-playing game based on, but substantially expanding, the simple rules of the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks.

Introduction[]

AFFbanner

AFF banner

A role-playing game based on the solo gamebooks had started development early on in the life of the Fighting Fantasy phenomenon with the 1984 publication of the first role-playing book, Fighting Fantasy - The Introductory Role-Playing Game (Steve Jackson). The ability to develop this game further was enhanced by the publishing of the first manual, Out of the Pit in 1985. In 1986, a further role-playing book was published, The Riddling Reaver (Paul Mason, Steve Williams, and Steve Jackson) and also the second of the two Fighting Fantasy manuals, Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World. The role-paying books did not diverge too far from the game system of the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, and it was only when Marc Gascoigne teamed up with Pete Tamlyn that a more fully fledged role-playing system was to be developed.

First Edition[]

The Books[]

AFFSpineLogo

AFF logo on spine of the Puffin books

Advanced Fighting Fantasy Books
DungeoneerFoil Blacksand! Allansia

Eventually three books, all written by Marc Gascoigne and Pete Tamlyn, would be published by Puffin Books

All of the books were published as "B Format" paperbacks in size (130mm x 198mm (5.12" x 7.8")) as opposed to "A Format" paperbacks that are 110mm x 178mm (4.33" x 7.01") size, and which the main Fighting Fantasy gamebooks series was published as.

Out of the Pit and Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World[]

Main article: Fighting Fantasy Manuals
Reprinted Manuals
OotPBookSmall TitanBookSmall

The books were originally published in 1985 and 1986 respectively, before the term "Advanced Fighting Fantasy System" was coined in 1989. When AFF was crystallized as a role-playing system with the publishing of Dungeoneer, it was a logical fit to have this book as an accompaniment, along with the other Manual, Out of the Pit. The two books were reprinted, this time in a smaller B Format editions to complement the size of the AFF book Dungeoneer. From 1989 onwards the books were both listed as being part of the "Advanced Fighting Fantasy System" in the book listing at the front of all Fighting Fantasy books where the "Advanced Fighting Fantasy System" was shown as a sub-title.[1] Interestingly, however, neither book was ever published with the distinctive AFF banner or AFF logo, or with the blue spine associated with AFF. Hence, they remained separate in that sense. Also, in the 25th Aniversary Edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, the books are grouped with Fighting Fantasy - The Introductory Role-playing Game and The Riddling Reaver as well as the pure Advanced Fighting Fantasy books, under the singular heading "Fighting Fantasy: The Role-Playing Game and Advanced Fighting Fantasy", which suggests that the compilers of the "The Fighting Fantasy Collection" section did not want to distinguish them as belonging to Advanced Fighting Fantasy alone.

The Modules[]

  • Tower of the Sorcerer (Puffin - 1989)[2]
  • Revenge of the Sorcerer (Puffin - 1989)[2]
  • A Shadow Over Blacksand (Puffin - 1990)[3]
  • A Darkness Over Kaad (Puffin - 1994)[4]

Criticism[]

Despite its name, Advanced Fighting Fantasy has been pointed out as being a comparatively simple role-playing game: "Although this results in a loss of realism and, to a lesser extent, versatility, this is not a problem for those players who enjoy the interactivity aspects of role-playing more than mindless die-rolling."[5]

Second Edition[]

First Three Second Edition Titles
AFFRPG OotPAFF TitanAFF

A "Second Edition" version was announced in late 2010 with Graham Bottley in charge of the project. While the majority of material would remain, it would be completely overhauled: We are reusing much of the original art in the new core book.[6]

The Books[]

The Modules[]

Fanzines[]

Paper Minis[]

Fantasy

Science Fiction

French Language Version of Second Edition[]

Modules[]

See Also[]

References[]

  1. Although this listing intermittently including "The Advanced Fighting Fantasy System" as a sub-title. For example, in Master of Chaos the "The Advanced Fighting Fantasy System" is shown as a sub-title, with the books listed beneath it, but in the next book, Black Vein Prophecy, this sub-title does not exist and the books are simply listed at the bottom of the page. The sub-title intermittently returned later on, but whenever it did so, both Titan: The Fighting Fantasy World and Out of the Pit are included.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Published in Dungeoneer.
  3. Published in Blacksand!.
  4. Published in Allansia.
  5. Internet Archive record of Advanced Fighting Fantasy Rules at The Shrine of Hamaskis - Retrieved 2019-10-27
  6. Post by Graham Bottley in page 1 of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy 2 thread at RPGnet Forums - Retrieved 2019-10-27
  7. 7.0 7.1 Published in Advanced Fighting Fantasy – The Roleplaying Game.
  8. Published in Demons of Doom.
  9. Published in The Warlock Returns Issue 7.
  10. Published in The Warlock Returns Issues 7, 8, & 9.
  11. Hardback edition.
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Out of print.
  13. Published in Défis Fantastiques - Le jeu de rôle
  14. Published in L'Écran du Meneur de Jeu - 1st Edition.
  15. Published in Titan - Le Monde des Défis Fantastiques
  16. 16.0 16.1 Published in Créatures de Titan
  17. Published in L'Écran du Meneur de Jeu - 2nd Edition.
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Published in Périls dans les contrées de Titan
  19. Published in Jeu de rôle Magazine - Issue 57
  20. Published in Voyages en terre d'Arion
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