Temple of Terror (book)
From Titannica
| Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks | |
|---|---|
| Outline | |
| Location: | Allansia, Titan |
| References: | 400 |
| Publication Details | |
| Author(s): | Ian Livingstone |
| Illustrator(s): | Bill Houston |
| Puffin | |
| |
| Cover illustrator: | Christos Achilleos |
| First published: | April 25 1985 |
| Number | 14 |
| ISBN: | ISBN 0-14-031832-1 |
| Previous Book: | Freeway Fighter |
| Next Book: | The Rings of Kether |
| Wizard (Series 1) | |
| |
| Cover illustrator: | Martin McKenna |
| First published: | June 3 2004 |
| Number | 19 |
| ISBN: | ISBN 1-84046-528-X |
| Previous Book: | Appointment with F.E.A.R. |
| Next Book: | Legend of Zagor |
| Wizard (Series 2) | |
| Cover illustrator: | N/A |
| First published: | N/A |
| Number | N/A |
| ISBN: | N/A |
| Previous Book: | N/A |
| Next Book: | N/A |
- For other uses of Temple of Terror, see Temple of Terror (disambiguation)
Temple of Terror is a single-player role-playing gamebook written by Ian Livingstone, illustrated by Bill Houston and originally published in 1985 by Puffin Books. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2004. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the 14th in the series in the original Puffin series (ISBN 0-14-031832-1) and 19th in the modern Wizard "Series 1" (ISBN 1-84046-528-X).
Contents |
[edit] Creation
Dragon Master is believed to be the working title for Temple of Terror.[1]
[edit] Background
“ The dark, twisted power of the young Malbordus is reaching its zenith!
All he needs now is to retrieve the five dragon artefacts which have been hidden for centuries in the lost city of Vatos, somewhere in the Desert of Skulls. Each day that passes brings him closer to them and only YOU can stop him! YOUR mission is to reach the lost city before Malbordus and destroy the treasures he seeks. But beware! Each step you take leads you closer to your doom ...
Two dice, a pencil, and an eraser are all you need for this adventure. YOU decide which route to follow, which dangers to risk and which monsters to fight.[2]”
In this book the player is hired by the Good wizard Gereth Yaztromo and pitted against the Evil Malbordus, who is poised to gain the power of the Dark Elves and lead an army to conquer Allansia. All that he requires are the five Dragon artifacts, which are hidden in the lost city of Vatos which lies somewhere in the Desert of Skulls, and which the player must locate before the final confrontation with Malbordus.
Temple of Terror's desert setting lends the story a unique Middle Eastern feel, both in terms of the setting and the opponents faced. As with many Livingstone adventures, such as City of Thieves and Crypt of the Sorcerer, the player must collect a series of artefacts in order to be successful in the final confrontation, an element which is given an unusual twist by the presence of a character known as the Messenger of Death, who has placed the letters which make up the word death along the character's route and will claim the character's life if they are all found.
[edit] Fighting Monsters/Equipment/Hints on Play
The book in general follows the original rules set down in The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. (see Game System)
[edit] Unique Rules
- Temple of Terror also utilises a simple spell-casting system. Ten different spells can be used: Create Water, Creature Sleep, Detect Trap, Fire, Jump, Language, Light, Magic Arrow, Open Door, and Read Symbols; and the player must choose only four.
- The book is the first fantasy based one to not feature the use of the generic Potions and not offer a replacement in the form of something else such a healing spell.
[edit] Equipment List
- Sword
- Leather Armour
- Backpack
- Lantern
- 10 Provisions
[edit] Cover and Illustrations
Covers
The original cover of the book was designed and illustrated by Christos Achilleos.
Interestingly, on the spine of the Adventure Gamebooks editions of this book, there was no Puffin Books "Puffin" symbol, the logo appearing on later editions. This only occurred on one other book, Chasms of Malice, although in that case the logo does not appear on any edition.
When the book was republished by Wizard a new cover was designed and illustrated by Martin McKenna. Here he states that "Ian [Livingstone] wanted me to depict the Mutant Orc from the adventure. He suggested that we could see the Orc in close-up, an idea inspired by the close-up of Zagor on the Return to Firetop Mountain cover. I [Martin McKenna] did a rough which showed the Mutant Orc in mid-shot, with his long knives as seen in the internal artwork. But Ian wanted to zoom right into the Orc's face in extreme close-up."[3]
| 1985 | 1987 | 1989 | 1990 | 1993 | 2005 | 2005 |
| |  | |
| |||
| Zig-Zag Banner | Dragon Format | Dragon No No. | No. Spine Only | No Bronze-Foil | Wizard "Special Limited Edition" | Wizard |
| £1.751 | £1.952 | £? | £? | £3.993 | £4.99 | £4.99 |
- Price of 1st Impression; £1.95 for 5th~6th Impressions
- Price of 9th Impression
- Price of 12th Impression
Illustrations
The interior illustrations were by Bill Houston. There were 33 full page illustrations and 5 minor repeated illustrations scattered throughout the text. The paragraphs with a full page illustration were: 1, 10, 24, 38, 47, 59, 68, 79, 93, 106, 119, 128, 140, 151, 164, 180, 196, 206, 216, 227, 237, 249, 262, 274, 288, 302, 316, 329, 341, 354, 365, 377 and 389.
[edit] Intertextual References
[edit] Prequels
Depending on interpretation, this adventure can be deemed a sequel to The Forest of Doom, itself a sequel to Caverns of the Snow Witch.
[edit] Other Media
- Main article: Temple of Terror (computer game)
The book was loosely adapted into an Adventure Soft adventure game for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro and Acorn Electron home computers (published by U.S. Gold).
[edit] Main Characters
YOU: Hero of Caverns of the Snow Witch
- Abjul - Merchant
- Gargo
- Gereth Yaztromo - Wizard
- King Gillibran - Dwarf
- Leesha - High Priestess
- Malbordus
- Murkegg - Artist
- Thitta
- Vermithrax - Crow
[edit] Locations
- Catfish River
- Clog Street
- Darkwood Forest
- Desert of Skulls
- Harbour Street
- Port Blacksand
- Red River
- Stonebridge
- The Black Lobster
- Vatos
- Whitewater River
- Yaztromo's Tower
[edit] Encounters
- Cave Troll
- Dark Elves
- Death Dog
- Fiend
- Giant Centipede
- Giant Eagle
- Giant Fireflies
- Giant Sandworm
- Harpy
- Human - Dark Disciples/Pirate/Robbers/Servant/Slave Guard/Torturer
- Lizard Man
- Malbordus
- Mutant Orc
- Needle Flies
- Night Horror
- Pterodactyl
- Rat Men
- Serpent
- Serpent Guard
- Skeletons - Men/Warriors
- Stone Golem
- Swords
- Tentacled Thing
- Tentacles
[edit] Further Notes
[edit] Errors
- (38) In one room the player will encounter an effigy which is described as being made of bronze. But in (291) when the player has to fight the statue (which turns out to be magically animated), it is labelled a Stone Golem.
- (292) An option is given to lift the lid of a black pot (156), when it should be a red pot (183). You have already looked inside the black pot to get to (292).
[edit] Dedication
To Chris Achilleos and Iain McCaig for making fantasy a reality
[edit] See Also
[edit] Reviews
[edit] External Links
- Character Sheet
- Fighting Fantasy at Gamebooks.org
- Fighting Fantasy (Wizard Series) at Gamebooks.org
- Temple of Terror at Gamebooks.org
- Temple of Terror at the Internet Archive record of the old Fightingfantasy.com
- Temple of Terror at the official Fightingfantasygamebooks.com
- Temple of Terror at Wizard Books
[edit] References
- ↑ The working title is mentioned in an advert in Sorcery! 3 (The Seven Serpents).
- ↑ Temple of Terror - Back Cover ("Golden Dragon" Edition)
- ↑ Interview with Martin McKenna about Temple of Terror at the official Fightingfantasygamebooks.com
