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Fighting Fantasy Gamebook
Outline
Location: Allansia, Titan
References: 400
Publication Details
Author(s): Marc Gascoigne

Illustrator(s): Alan Langford
Puffin
Figfan31
Cover illustrator: David Gallagher
First published: February 25 1988
Number 31
ISBN: ISBN 0-14-032412-7
Previous Book: Chasms of Malice
Next Book: Slaves of the Abyss
Wizard (Series 1)
Wizard (Series 2)
Scholastic


For other uses of Battleblade Warrior, see Battleblade Warrior

Battleblade Warrior is a single-player role-playing gamebook written by Marc Gascoigne, illustrated by Alan Langford and originally published in 1988 by Puffin Books. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the 31st in the series in the original Puffin series (ISBN 0-14-032412-7). There are currently no announced plans to republish this book as part of the Scholastic series.

Creation[]

Vymorna Besieged![]

The fate of Vymorna lies in your hands!

For six years Vymorna has been besieged ... but soon it must fall to the evil Lizard Men. Day after day you fight alongside your war-weary mother, Queen Perriel, but only divine assistance can save you now.


Then the great Lord Telak appears in a dream. YOU are the one chosen to seek out the weapon which will aid you and your city against the dark forces. Your mission will be fraught with danger but you must succeed ... YOU are Vymorna's only hope!

Part story, part game, this is a book in which YOU become the hero! Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need. YOU decide which routes to take, which dangers to risk and which foes to fight.

Battleblade Warrior - Back Cover ("Dragon" Edition)

Battleblade Warrior is set in the usual Fighting Fantasy world of Titan, on the continent of Allansia, and revolves around the besieged city of Vymorna. The player assumes the role of the city's prince who, upon receiving a vision from the god Telak, slips out through the ranks of the invaders in pursuit of a means to end the invasion once and for all.

Your Character/Hints on Play[]

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

Unique Rules[]

The player can carry a maximum of 4 provisions at any one time and may only eat 1 at any one occasion.[1]

Equipment List[2][]

and the player is given the choice of two of the following:[2]

  • A bow and 3 silver arrows
  • A bottle of pale liquid
  • A small glass globe filled with a swirling cloud of dust specks

Cover and Illustrations[]

Main article: Battleblade Warrior (illustrations)

Cover[]

The original cover of the book was designed and illustrated by David Gallagher.

Battleblade Warrior Cover Variants
1988 1989 1990 1993
Figfan31 31 03 31 04 Scan 2
Dragon ver.I Dragon ver.II Dragon ver.III Dragon ver.IV
£2.251 £2.252 £2.993 £X.xx

NOTES
  1. Price of 1st~2nd Impressions.
    David Gallagher erroneously credited on title & copyright pages for 1st Impression;
    only on copyright page for 2nd Impression
  2. Price of 3rd Impression
    David Gallagher erroneously credited on copyright page only
  3. Price of 4th Impression; £3.50 for 5th~6th Impressions
    David Gallagher erroneously credited on copyright page only (5th Impression only)

Illustrations[]

FF31 Map - Area around Vymorna in Southern Allansia from The Book of Atlan - Titan's Atlas

Colour Map

The interior illustrations were by Alan Langford. There were 31 full page illustrations and 6 minor repeated illustrations scattered throughout the text. The paragraphs with a full page illustration were: "Vymorna Besieged!", 8, 21, 34, 47, 60, 73, 86, 99, 112, 125, 138, 151, 164, 177, 190, 203, 216, 229, 242, 255, 268, 281, 294, 307, 320, 333, 346, 358, 372 and 397.

In some editions of the book, it mistakenly says on the copyright page that David Gallagher was also responsible for the interior illustrations, but they are clearly by Alan Langford and comparable to his interior illustrations from Island of the Lizard King (for the Lizard Men) and Portal of Evil (for the Dinosaurs). Other editions have Langford correctly receiving the copyright.

The colour map on the inside front cover was by Leo Hartas.

Intertextual References[]

Other Media[]

Main Characters[]

YOU: Hero of Battleblade Warrior

Locations[]

Encounters[]

Further Notes[]

  • A particularly memorable scene in the book is a sequence based around an Orc funeral.
  • Lecarte's use of flashpowder is a rare occurrence of explosives in Titan.

Errors[]

  • When breaking out of Vymorna by force you can fight the Lizard Man Champion (333) an infinite number of times if you do not defeat him - this depends, of course, on your stamina score. (333) makes no mention of you having encountered him previously. However, the real error is that you can face him again even if you defeat him, if you decide to leave the battleground on foot.
  • Beyond the woods east of the Orc funeral, you meet Katya (396), a female messenger from Coppertown far to the north. She has come to fetch help and her Horse is now near to death from the long journey. If you choose to travel with her (113), you set up camp along the road and her horse dies during the night. In the morning you set off together on foot, yet in the next paragraph (272), the story describes the two of you as "riding" along the road. Riding on what?
  • When trying to sneak past the guard (237) you must Test your Skill. But the reference numbers are swapped with a skilful outcome being directed to (121) instead of the correct reference at (37).
  • (388) refers to an item as a "healing balm" but at (42) it turns into a "healing draught".

Dedication[]

For Bob N., Maggie S., Kevin W. and Stephen K.,
and all the staff at Greylight Industries plc,
for all the fun they're giving me[3]

See Also[]

Reviews[]

External Links[]

References[]

  1. Battleblade Warrior - pg.16
  2. 2.0 2.1 Battleblade Warrior - 1
  3. Battleblade Warrior - pg.5
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