Titannica
Register
Advertisement

Fighting Fantasy Statistics details the stats used to run the gamebooks in the multi-player versions.

Primary Statistics[]

Skill[]

The number given for a creature's skill score is a measure of its expertise at fighting, its agility and its capability in a range of other activities, such as sneaking, climbing, or dodging.[1] It is also (erronously) used for purely physical or intellectual skills, such as Magic or Languages, Dark Seeing, or Strength.[2] Naturally, a high skill bestows more advantages.[3]

Stamina[]

The number given for a creature's stamina score shows just how fit and healthy the creature is, and how determined it is to survive. Every time a creature suffers a wound, its stamina score is reduced by one or more points. If a creature's stamina score ever reaches zero, it is dead.[4] Thus, the higher a creature's stamina, the longer it will survive.[3]

Luck[]

The measure for how much the whims of fortune and chance are on the character's side. The higher the luck score is, the more chances a character can take. However, with each test of his or her luck, the score is reduced by one point, making it riskier to rely soley on luck the more one tests it. In the Advanced Fighting Fantasy rules, luck can be used in place of certain skill rolls (for dodging or evading traps and dangers) if the player so desires.[5]

While primarily a player character's score, in Blacksand! and Allansia several major side characters and villains are featured who have a luck score in order to make them either optional player characters or tougher opponents.[6]

Notes[]

For monsters and creatures, skill and stamina indicated in the rules are average values, as not all creatures of the same species are exactly alike. In a large group of creatures there will be some variation in these scores, usually by one or two points.[7]

Attacks[]

Solo players may ignore this score as it is only used in multi-player games. The number of Attacks indicates the maximum number of opponents that a creature can fight in one Attack Round. If the creature has more Attacks than there are opponents, it does not get any "extra" Attacks, unless otherwise noted in the creature's description. Each Attack will be conducted from the single Attack Strength rolled for the creature, again, unless it says otherwise in the creature's description.[7]

Weapon Used[]

This category did not appear in the original Out of the Pit but was later introduced in The Riddling Reaver (albeit in a limited version) and Dungeoneer, the first volume in the Advanced Fighting Fantasy system. It indicates what type of weapon the creature will use when fighting. The following table lists the number of points of damage to stamina various weapons will do.

Damage Table (Roll 1 die)[8]
Weapon 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 or more
Battle-axe 2 2 2 2 2 3 3
Club 1 2 2 2 2 2 4
Dagger 1 1 2 2 2 2 2
Pole Arm 1 2 2 2 3 3 3
Spear 1 1 2 2 2 3 3
Staff 1 2 2 2 2 2 3
Sword 1 2 2 2 2 3 3
Two-handed Sword 2 2 2 3 3 3 4
Arrow 1 1 2 2 2 3 3
Crossbow bolt 1 2 2 2 2 3 3
Javelin 1 2 2 2 2 3 3
Throwing dagger 1 2 2 2 2 2 3
Fist/kick, human size 1 1 1 2 2 2 3
Fist/kick, larger size 2 2 2 3 3 3 3
Bite/claw, small 1 1 2 2 2 2 3
Bite/claw, large 1 2 2 2 3 3 4
Bite/claw, very large 2 2 3 3 4 5 6

More unorthodox weapons include:[9]

Hand-held

  • Bench - as Sword
  • Chair - as Club
  • Table - as Two-handed Sword
  • Tree - as very large Bite

Thrown

  • Ale flagon, plate - as Arrow
  • Rock, light - as Crossbow bolt
  • Rock, heavy - as Battle-axe
  • Boulder, huge - as Two-handed Sword
  • Tree - as very large Bite

Interestingly, an earlier and slightly different version of the "Damage Table" appeared in The Riddling Reaver, and was as follows:

Damage Table (Roll 1 die)[10]
Weapon 1 2 3 4 5 6
Battle-axe 1 2 2 2 2 3
Dagger 1 1 2 2 2 2
Mace 2 2 2 2 2 2
Spear 1 1 2 2 3 3
Morning star 1 2 2 2 3 3
Sword 2 2 2 2 2 2
Two-handed sword 1 2 2 3 3 3

Additional Statistics[]

Habitat[]

This indicates the general area a creature may be encountered in. Where more than one habitat is listed, the first is where the creature is most often found, the second where it is less frequently found, and so on.[7]

Out of the Pit also included Encounter Tables for the following habitat types: Caves, Desert, Dungeons/Ruins, Forest, Hills, Ice, Jungle, Mountains, Plains, Marsh, Rivers/Lakes, and Sea/Seashore.[11] With the exception of Dungeons/Ruins and Caves, all of these tables later turned up in Allansia, the third volume in the Advanced Fighting Fantasy series.[12]

Other habitat types include: Wilderness, Towns (and Towns (sewers)), the Demonic Plane, the Magical Planes of Air, Earth, Fire and Water, and more exotic examples such as "Anywhere Men are", "In the company of a sorcerer" and "At the heart of a hurricane". None of these habitats had Encounter Tables.

Number Encountered[]

These numbers show how many creatures will be encountered by one to three adventurers. If there are more adventurers than this, the Number Encountered can be doubled or trebled. Some beings are solitary creatures, however, and will only be encountered on their own: the description of the creature will have further information in this case.[7]

Rolling the numbers is simple: "1-6" means roll one die, and that many creatures are encountered; "2-12" means roll two dice, "3-18" means roll three dice, and so on. "1-3" means roll one die and halve the result, rounding any fractions up. "1-2" means roll one die: if the result is an odd number the score is 1, if it is even the score is 2. There are also a few other special numbers, which are explained in the descriptions of the creatures concerned.[7]

Type[]

This gives a rough indication of the nature of the creature, and is also used to generate Treasure for it.[7] In practice however, there are only four categories used for generating Treasure: Humanoid, Monster, Undead and all others.[13]

All together, Out of the Pit uses 22 categories to define creatures, including: Humanoid (this includes numerous sub-categories), Monster, Animal, Magical Creature, Undead, Demon, Insect, Reptile, Plant, Bird, Fish, Amphibian, Mollusc, and Crustacean.

However, given both the inconsistent way that these Types are applied, together with the vast hordes of new monsters from adventures that came after Out of the Pit, new categories are needed. To the above should be added: Elemental, Construct, Arachnid, Myriapod, Worm, Slime, and Fungi, as well as some obscure but numerous types such as Cnidarian and Ball Beast.

Reaction[]

When adventurers first encounter a creature it will react to them in one of a number of ways. If if is "Friendly", it greets them warmly and shows no hostility. It may share food or provide useful information for the adventurer(s). If it is "Neutral", it is wary of them, but does not show open hostility; it will probably react if attacked, but may be fairly friendly if treated carefully. If it is "Unfriendly", it shows obvious displeasure at encountering them, but does not leap into battle immediately; it may wait to sum up the situation before deciding one way or the other. If it is "Hostile", this often means it is hungry! The creature will attack immediately![7]

You will often notice that for a few creatures two or more of these reactions are listed together. In these cases the creature may react either way, depending perhaps on what the adventurers are doing.[7]

Intelligence[]

This final detail shows how clever a creature is. There are four scores for this: "High", "Average", "Low", and "None". Humanoids will generally be rated as High (Humans come somewhere in the middle of this category). Most monsters and some animals will be Average; the rest are Low. In general only plants have no intelligence at all. Intelligence should be borne in mind when considering the reaction of a particular creature. Clever beings will obviously use more cunning in their attack, and may even have spells or special weapons which they can use. Stupider creatures are more likely just to leap into battle regardless![7]

See Also[]

References[]

Advertisement