Who knew that the makers of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks published a short-lived magazine series in the 80s? Join Rediscovered Realms as we explore this newly acquired classic Warlock Magazine.
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I’m always surprised at how many cool fantasy products were produced in the 80s in the US, but that surprise has been extended in recent months to so many fun things made in the UK.
Another really fun UK fantasy creation was the Dungeons & Dragons Annuals from 1986 & 1987!
Imagine my surprise as a huge fan of the D&D Cartoon when I for the first time found out the UK had published not just one, but two hardcover books about our teen heroes all the way back in 1986 and 1987! We didn’t have these in the US, but thanks to 3 “I”-things:
Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson are legends with their Fighting Fantasy single-player role-playing gamebooks and other Games Workshop RPG & wargame products.
It only makes sense they would have been tapped to create a magazine for the rocketing fantasy RPG hobby.
Enter “Warlock: The Fighting Fantasy Magazine” in 1984.1
excerpt from the book, “Dice Men: The Origin Story of Games Workshop by Ian Livingstone with Steve Jackson”
Published quarterly through Penguin Books until 1986, there were only ever 13 issues.
Warlock, issues 1-6
“ウォーロック (Warlock) was also published in Japan under the same title by Shakaishisou Sha. Established in December 1986, the Japanese version had a much longer lifespan (63 issues) and continued until March 1992. It began as a direct translation of the original magazine, but soon developed with its own original material.” - fandom.com
Warlock, issues 7-13
Although mainly covering Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, they also expanded to other parts of fantasy gaming. Some referred to it as a junior version of White Dwarf magazine (also published by Games Workshop).
Why name this magazine “Warlock”?
The 1st ever Fighting Fantasy gamebook was “The Warlock of Firetop Mountain”!
1st UK cover of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain
“The Warlock was a manifest character of the magazine, referenced through most of the features as a diabolical overlord of the publication (subordinate only to the Grand Wizard at Penguin for the first five issues); most likely originally an alter-ego of Jackson himself.” - fandom.com
1st US cover of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain
Some of the regular features of Warlock included:
Derek the Troll: a regular comic strip written and illustrated by Lew Stringer. He became one of the most enduring characters of the magazine (especially since he also rated products in his own troll-like fashion)
Out of the Pit: a bestiary of Fighting Fantasy monsters contributed by various authors and readers throughout the issues.
The Arcane Archive: latest gamebook reviews
Check out Derek the Troll’s rating system!
Did you know?: Caverns of the Snow WitchFighting Fantasy gamebook first saw print in Warlock: The Fighting Fantasy magazine.
“I’d written FF books set in dungeons, forests and islands,” says Livingstone, “and decided it was time for some freezing mountain snow for adventurers to survive. I thought about the irony of Caverns of the Snow Witch during a charity climb of Kilimanjaro years later. It had been snowing the whole day. At such altitude it was miserable.”
Each issue of Warlock included a mini-solo adventure with the Fighting Fantasy Rules used in the gamebooks. In this particular issue, the solo-adventure was made by Graeme Davis (UK game designer legend) for BOTH Fighting Fantasy AND Dungeons & Dragons!
There was even a regular Paint 'Yer Dragon section by Rick Priestley, where he did tutorials about miniature-painting and model-making.
Other articles expanded on the Fighting Fantasy universe, providing additional rules, characters, monsters, scenarios and game system conversions.
Did You Know?: Arion Games regularly publishes, "The Warlock Returns” magazine on DriveThruRPG. These contemporary issues bring new material for fans of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy Roleplaying game and the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks.
Some other fun things I found in issue 10 of Warlock:
Sir Ian’s “Trial of Champions” contest.
A feature about how the cover was created by artist, John Blanche, who won the “Paint The Warlock” competition.
An interview with Lone Wolf gamebook creator & legend, Joe Dever!
A weird occurrence where hustlers were attempting to capitalize on the popularity of Fighting Fantasy and particularly “Forest of Doom”
BTW: Did you celebrate Forest of Doom’s 40th Anniversary with Rediscovered Realms?
Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks are some of the most fun you can have by yourself (keep it clean, now). The Forest of Doom was released 40 years ago yesterday, on April 7th, 1983, as the third installment in the Fighting Fantasy series by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone (Ian wrote this one by himself). It was a groundbreaking adventure that introduced many …
And of course, what is a fan magazine without some really cool ads?
As you can see, this was a very well-done magazine. Although I wish I had them back in the day, at least I can now clip this form and send it in for a subscription. Gee, I wonder how long it will take Gertrude to start sending them to me?
A special thank you to Adam Deverell who discussed Warlock magazine with me on Rediscovered Realms Facebook page. I wouldn’t have known about it without him. Thanks, mate!
Thanks for the share. The First Quest album is wild. I sold my copy to Stu Horvath and he covered it on his Patreon, so it's cool to see Retroist do a piece as well. Natch, I gave them a follow.
Warlock! Now you're talking!! Found out recently that one of the art competition winners in this was a young Henry Flint who went on to become a legendary comic-book artist for 2000 AD!
Thanks for the share. The First Quest album is wild. I sold my copy to Stu Horvath and he covered it on his Patreon, so it's cool to see Retroist do a piece as well. Natch, I gave them a follow.
Warlock! Now you're talking!! Found out recently that one of the art competition winners in this was a young Henry Flint who went on to become a legendary comic-book artist for 2000 AD!