Titan (Fighting Fantasy book)
OCLC 17230613 | |
Titan: The Fighting Fantasy World is a book in the
Summary
The book was first published in size 21 by 30 centimetres, with colour illustrations inside the covers. A smaller edition (with more pages) was published in 1989 without the colour illustrations. There was a new edition as an
The cover was by
After a foreword by Jackson and Livingstone, the rest of the book deals with the following topics:
- The three continents of the fictional world of Titan
- Astronomy (the stars visible from Titan)
- History and legend
- Gods, demons and hell
- The various humanoid species who live there (such as elves, dwarves, snake people, lizard men)
- Notable individuals (good, evil and neutral)
- Underwater kingdoms
- Titan's calendars
- Money and trade
- A description of life on Titan
Geography
The fictional world of Titan is the setting for the majority of the Fighting Fantasy titles. There are three main continents: Allansia, Khul and The Old World, and other remote locations such as the Isles of the Dawn and Arrowhead Islands.
Allansia is apparently the largest continent and the setting for many of the earliest Fighting Fantasy titles. The first Fighting Fantasy gamebook, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, was set in the titular mountain in Allansia.[2] In the far north of the continent are the desolate Icefinger Mountains (the location for the book Caverns of the Snow Witch) South of these mountains is the city-state of Fang, (location for the book Deathtrap Dungeon). Further south are the Pagan Plains, which stretch from the lawless city-state of Port Blacksand in the west ( location of City of Thieves) to the monster-haunted Darkwood Forest, to the prosperous city of Salamonis.[3] To the east lie the desolate plains of the Flatlands.[4] In the northeast of the continent is Sardath, a city built on stilts over a lake.[5] Further east is Frostholm, a kingdom inhabited by Dwarfs.[6] South of Port Blacksand lies the Desert of Skulls, home to the lost city of Vatos. Further south lies the region of Arantis. The capital of Arantis is the city of Kaynlesh-Ma, a centre of learning which sits on the River Eltus.[7] Arantis is bordered by two regions that are home to human-hating powers. These are the Snakelands, ruled by a snake-like race, the Caarth; and the Swamplands of Silur Cha, home of the Lizard Men. The Lizard Men in this region are constantly besieging the human city of Vymorna, northwest of Silur Cha.[8] Nearby is the Plain of Bones, home to numerous dinosaurs, and the almost impassable Mountains of Grief. Southwards is Kallamehr, a city of wealthy merchants.[9] The majority of the Fighting Fantasy books are set in Allansia.
West of Allansia lies the "Old World" continent. The Old World is a largely civilized land mass which escaped the cataclysmic wars that devastated the other continents of Titan. It is divided into several kingdoms. The eastern land of Kakhabad is the setting for the
Khul is a continent to the south of the other two. It is named "the Dark Continent", both due to its remoteness from the other continents and the dark blackish colour of its earth and rocks.
Characters
Titan is not a novel, but it describes various characters and their biographies. Many of them are characters who had already appeared in gamebooks (usually the main opponent who has to be defeated at the end of each book), but some were taken from Warlock magazine or were invented by Gascoigne for this book.
Characters encountered in gamebooks who appear in Titan include:
- Zagor (from The Warlock of Firetop Mountain)
- Balthus Dire (from The Citadel of Chaos)
- Yaztromo (from The Forest of Doom)
- Baron Sukumvit (from Deathtrap Dungeon)
- Shareella (from Caverns of the Snow Witch)
- Malbordus (from Temple of Terror)
- The Archmage (from The Crown of Kings)
- Zharradan Marr (from Creature of Havoc)
Reviews
Reviewing Titan in White Dwarf #84, Graeme Davis said that "the contents are impressive", and stated that the book had a "wealth of rich background information". He also said "the whole thing is beautifully produced and lavishly illustrated", and concluded his review by saying Titan was "probably the best value around in fantasy RPG source books".[24]
References
- ^ YOU Are The Hero: A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, Green, Jonathan (2014, Snowbooks), p. 66
- ISBN 0-14-032127-6)
- ^ Gascoigne, 1986, (pp. 12-17).
- ^ Gascoigne, 1986, (pp. 12-17).
- ^ Gascoigne, 1986, (pp. 12-17).
- ^ Gascoigne, 1986, (pp. 12-17).
- ^ Gascoigne, 1986, (pp. 12-17).
- ^ Gascoigne, 1986, (p. 93).
- ^ Gascoigne, 1986, (pp. 12-17).
- ^ Gascoigne, 1986, (pp. 18-21).
- ^ Gascoigne, 1986, (pp. 18-21).
- ^ Gascoigne, 1986, (pp. 18-21).
- ^ Gascoigne, 1986, (pp. 18-21).
- ISBN 0-14-036290-8
- ^ Gascoigne, 1986, (pp. 18-21).
- ^ Gascoigne, 1986, (pp. 18-21).
- ^ Gascoigne, 1986, (pp. 22-26).
- ^ Gascoigne, 1986 (pp. 22-26).
- ^ Gascoigne, 1986 (pp. 22-26).
- ^ Green, 2014, (pp.109-110)
- ^ Gascoigne, 1986 (pp. 22-26).
- ^ Gascoigne, 1986 (pp. 22-26).
- ^ Green, 2014, (p.104)
- ^ White Dwarf #84, Games Workshop, December 1986. (p. 3)
External links
- Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks – the official website
- Wizard Books – the Publisher's site