Advanced Fighting Fantasy: Science Fiction

And so it begins. Again.

Last year I began work on the sci-fi rules version of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy rules from Arion Games. This was to be a stand alone rulebook encompassing the science fiction gamebooks of the Fighting Fantasy series.

Sadly, other project commitments on both my side and Arion Games meant that the project was put on what we thought would be an indefinite hiatus, but recently I put out my first-draft basic rules and notes to see if there was any interest - and there certainly was. After a brief meeting with Arion Games it has been decided to release the rules as a supplement to the original core AFF rulebook, and basically add plenty of material to give players a sci-fi option to their games.As before, my first job is to make sure that this game would serve as a decent addition to the core rulebook, familiar to players yet with enough material to make it worthwhile.

My primary work will be the setting itself. Fighting Fantasy has Titan: The Fighting Fantasy World as it's playground and the majority of the books were set in,or made part of, this fantasy world. The science fiction gamebooks didn't have a campaign setting; they were all in different places at different times doing different things. So, I have to create a campaign setting called 'Titanreach', in which most aspects of the science fiction gamebooks will be represented, from starships to lasers to psionic powers to post-apocalyptic wastlelands. This, I think, will be the largest slice of the work. I already have some ideas but it's hanging it all together that's going to be the issue. For now I'm going to take my cues from Starship Traveller, as this was the first sci-fi gamebook, and that's as good a starting point as any.

Watch this (deep) space.