Author's Note

Although "Warlock of Firetop Mountain" was the first Fighting Fantasy book I ever saw, it was only from a distance- my brother had the book. Unfortunately, I didn't realise the potential of the series at that time. It wasn't until the books started appearing in our school's Book Club that I first played anything in the series. The first book that I played, then, was "The Forest of Doom", and as such, FF 3 has always had a special place in my heart. Although the book might be one of the easiest in the series, as well as being (potentially) one of the least satisfying (where is the big enemy to fight?), for me this book is the very definition of Fighting Fantasy. It comes from a time when the series was still fresh, when there were still new avenues to explore in the standard hack 'n' slash formula, and there was still great potential in the idea.

It was therefore my intention to write a book which had a similar feel to Forest of Doom, whilst resolving some of the problems that the book had. Did I succeed? Only partly. There is, now, a real race against time in the book. There is a big enemy at the end. The book is now exceedingly difficult. I also corrected a number of mistakes that I feel I made with "Horror of Craggen Rock". The book now feels huge. It is very non-linear (more so than most of the official books). The basic system is far less complicated, whilst still remaining original.

Once again, I have created a number of links to other books- most notably, of course, "The Forest of Doom", but also to "Warlock of Firetop Mountain", and "The Horror of Craggen Rock". There is even a reference to the Sega hit "Golden Axe" in there (answers on a postcard). The book leads nicely into "Doom", and has (for me) a very satisfying end. So why am I not completely happy with my story?

The answer is simple. I failed to create a book which had the same "feel" as the "Forest of Doom". No doubt, part of this is due to nostalgic memories of the original. However, it is also to do with the writing style. Ian Livingstone still writes, in my opinion, at a level which I cannot. Although I feel that my book is designed better than his, I do not feel that I am in the same forest that he wrote about. Compare this, for instance, with the Black Tower in "The Horror of Craggen Rock". Reading those sections transported me straight back to "The Citadel of Chaos". I genuinely felt as though I were back in Steve Jackson's creation. As far as I am concerned, then, "Forest of Dreams" is a great attempt, but it is not, really, a prequel to "Forest of Doom".

I must strive harder.

And onto other matters. When "Horror of Craggen Rock" was written, I did not have access to "Out of the Pit" or "Titan". In fact, I do not even know if there books were avaialble at the time- As such, the monsters and creatures I used were rather limited- mostly Orcs, Wizards, Goblins. After starting "Forest of Dreams", my sister found me copies of these books, and suddenly things changed. I was able to use a wider variety of creatures, with attributes more in line with the FF "norm". Many of these created situations that I just would not have thought of on my own. However, I was also hit with a great disappointment when I read "Out of the Pit". When I first met the Shape-Changer in "Forest of Doom", I assumed that the reptilian creature it turned into was its "fighting form"- just another shape that it could change into. I had therefore intended to write an encounter in "Dreams" with this reptile. Unfortunately, "Out of the Pit" stated otherwise. This reptilian form was, in fact, the Shape-Changer's natural form. Rather than using alternative bodies for fighting purpose, the Changer merely used them to lure its enemy in, before reverting to its original form for fighting. Some of this, I was forced to accept. Since I like, wherever possible, to accept the official books as canon, I had to scrap the proposed encounter. Not to great a loss- I replaced it with an encounter with another Shape Changer. However, I did have to deviate from the use that the Shape Changer makes of its abilities, sticking with my original intention to have a creature that fights by assuming other creature's forms. It made for a better story.

The northern half of the Forest is also extremely rushed- I was running out of paragraphs far more quickly than I thought, and as such the Forest is a lot smaller than I originally intended. I think it just about holds together, but the deficit shows. The southern half of the Forest is good, the northern half is not. The other huge chunk of the book that is missing is pictures. I had intended to have around 25 illustrations for this book- line drawings, similar in style to the original books'. I had even commissioned an artist to do these. Unfortunately, he backed out of the deal, and my book is now, for the most part, pictureless. Maybe next time then.

So where do I go from here? I have no intention whatsoever of writing a prequel or sequel to "Starship Traveller". Warlock of Firetop Mountain, and Zagor, have been done to death. City of Thieves? I don't think so somehow- theres is, perhaps, scope for another book there, but there is very little to work with. Deathtrap Dungeon? That is a very clear possibility- I never liked "Trial of Champions", as I feel I could have done much better. The book has far too many sudden death scenarios without warning for me. I have a lot od ideas for this one though, and it will be some time coming. "House of Hell" is another title I have my eye on.

Or I might try something else entirely. I have been considering the possibility of writing an epic book for some time. A multi class, multi quest adventure would be fun to write, but would take ages to do justice to. How many paragrpahs would it have to be. 1000? 2000? I dread to think.

The other book I have been considering would be entitled "Shards of Darkness, Shards of Light". I have a plot sketched out for this one, and know exactly where it would go. It would not be based on any of the original books, and so would be harder to create a believable world. Loosely based around the ideas I was toying with in "Horror of Craggen Rock", it would cover a multi-generational epic.

Only the future will tell.

For a while, at least, I will not be writing any more, other than in "Doom and Gloom", and "Knight's Quest" (see Moloch's Gamebook Garden, in my links section). I need a break. I hope you enjoy "Forest of Dreams"- please tell me what you think!

Nathanael Page

This book was created with much effort, sweat, and blood (I got two paper cuts) as well as:

6 litres of Coca-Cola
4 litres of Orange Tango
5 pizzas (Meaty Ones)
12 pieces of fried chicken
4 apples
and a Mars Bar

Please respect the wishes of the author, and do not copy or reproduce this book either in part or its entirety without my express permission.