Wizards Warriors & You
Encyclopedia
Wizards Warriors & You was a series of children's gamebook
s, inspired by Dungeons & Dragons
and early text adventure games like Zork
and Colossal Cave
, published by Avon Books in the 1980s. They were published by Parachute Press Inc.
The books were invariably set in Medieval England, which was ruled by King Henry. They all starred a nameless Wizard and Warrior, and began with the reader choosing which of the two characters (s)he would "play", with the other character providing a supporting role. At the back of the book the reader would find individual inventories for the characters: The Book of Spells for the Wizard, The Book of Weapons for the Warrior. The two characters' paths through the book were independent of one another, diverging after the introduction, and only reconverging at the end.
). Many of these weapons were enchanted in some way, or their origins were shrouded in mystery.
The Wizard and the Warrior were friends and companions in their duty to King Henry, and would set out on quests to defend either Castle Silvergate, King Henry's home, or the wider country. Each story involved some sort of fantasy element, including magic, dragons, enchanted forests, even alternate universes and time travel.
The U.S. release of the series was illustrated by Earl Norem
, including covers in full colour. Curiously, the Warrior's full face was never shown in any of the books. Even when the visor of his helmet was raised, most of his facial features remained in shadow.
The books followed the standard "Choose Your Own Adventure" formula (i.e., "You're standing in front of a castle. If you go though the front door, turn to page X, if you go around to the side, turn to page Y"), but also featured "flagged" choices that were determined by choices earlier in the book (i.e., "If you already have the Bottomless Basket of Ravencurse, turn to page X, otherwise, turn to page Y." or, in the Warrior's story, "if you brought along the Whistling Mace, turn to page X. Otherwise you'll have to use your trusty sword and turn to page Y.") The books attempted to introduce a further "RPG
-like" element with the inclusion of randomization to determine events such as the outcome of a battle or success of a spell, which would be influenced by the reader flipping a coin, rolling a die, or by the current day of the week. These RPG-like elements were designed for young readers, and were thus very simple, as opposed to the complex mechanics of the teen-oriented Fighting Fantasy
and Lone Wolf
series of gamebooks.
Many of the books in the series were written by R. L. Stine
, who later rose to fame for his Goosebumps
series of children's horror novels.
The Warrior's choice of weapons, and the Wizard's repertoire of spells, changed every six books.
Gamebook
A gamebook is a work of fiction that allows the reader to participate in the story by making effective choices. The narrative branches along various paths through the use of numbered paragraphs or pages...
s, inspired by Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
and early text adventure games like Zork
Zork
Zork was one of the first interactive fiction computer games and an early descendant of Colossal Cave Adventure. The first version of Zork was written in 1977–1979 on a DEC PDP-10 computer by Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels, and Dave Lebling, and implemented in the MDL programming language...
and Colossal Cave
Colossal Cave Adventure
Colossal Cave Adventure gave its name to the computer adventure game genre . It was originally designed by Will Crowther, a programmer and caving enthusiast who based the layout on part of the Mammoth Cave system in Kentucky...
, published by Avon Books in the 1980s. They were published by Parachute Press Inc.
The books were invariably set in Medieval England, which was ruled by King Henry. They all starred a nameless Wizard and Warrior, and began with the reader choosing which of the two characters (s)he would "play", with the other character providing a supporting role. At the back of the book the reader would find individual inventories for the characters: The Book of Spells for the Wizard, The Book of Weapons for the Warrior. The two characters' paths through the book were independent of one another, diverging after the introduction, and only reconverging at the end.
The Warrior
The Warrior was a knight of King Henry, and one of his most trusted lieutenants. This character was highly skilled in individual combat, an expert marksman, and highly intelligent. If the reader chose the Warrior, he could choose three weapons listed in The Book of Weapons to take with him on the adventure, along with the Sword of the Golden Lion (an indestructible sword forged by the same smith as ExcaliburExcalibur
Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...
). Many of these weapons were enchanted in some way, or their origins were shrouded in mystery.
The Wizard
The Wizard was King Henry's wise and powerful sorcerer. His spells and concoctions were known to fell even the mightiest foe. Unfortunately, even though The Wizard could always conjure his spells successfully, some of them were unpredictable in their effectiveness or duration. At times they would have the reverse effect of what was intended. If the reader chose the Wizard, he had access to all of the spells listed in the back of the book.The Wizard and the Warrior were friends and companions in their duty to King Henry, and would set out on quests to defend either Castle Silvergate, King Henry's home, or the wider country. Each story involved some sort of fantasy element, including magic, dragons, enchanted forests, even alternate universes and time travel.
The U.S. release of the series was illustrated by Earl Norem
Earl Norem
Earl Norem , often credited simply as Norem, is an American artist primarily known for his painted covers for Marvel Comics books and magazines...
, including covers in full colour. Curiously, the Warrior's full face was never shown in any of the books. Even when the visor of his helmet was raised, most of his facial features remained in shadow.
The books followed the standard "Choose Your Own Adventure" formula (i.e., "You're standing in front of a castle. If you go though the front door, turn to page X, if you go around to the side, turn to page Y"), but also featured "flagged" choices that were determined by choices earlier in the book (i.e., "If you already have the Bottomless Basket of Ravencurse, turn to page X, otherwise, turn to page Y." or, in the Warrior's story, "if you brought along the Whistling Mace, turn to page X. Otherwise you'll have to use your trusty sword and turn to page Y.") The books attempted to introduce a further "RPG
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
-like" element with the inclusion of randomization to determine events such as the outcome of a battle or success of a spell, which would be influenced by the reader flipping a coin, rolling a die, or by the current day of the week. These RPG-like elements were designed for young readers, and were thus very simple, as opposed to the complex mechanics of the teen-oriented Fighting Fantasy
Fighting Fantasy
Fighting Fantasy is a series of single-player fantasy roleplay gamebooks created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. The first volumes in the series were published by Puffin in 1982, with the rights to the franchise eventually being purchased by Wizard Books in 2002...
and Lone Wolf
Lone Wolf (gamebooks)
Lone Wolf is a series of 28 gamebooks, created by Joe Dever and initially illustrated by Gary Chalk. The series began publishing in July 1984 and sold more than 10.2 million copies worldwide....
series of gamebooks.
Many of the books in the series were written by R. L. Stine
R. L. Stine
Robert Lawrence Stine , known as R. L. Stine, and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American writer. Stine, who is called the "Stephen King of children's literature," is the author of hundreds of horror fiction novels, including the books in the Fear Street, Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, and The...
, who later rose to fame for his Goosebumps
Goosebumps
Goosebumps is a series of children's horror fiction novels written by American author R. L. Stine and first published by Scholastic Publishing. It is a collection of stories that feature semi-homogenous plot structures, with fictional children being involved in scary situations...
series of children's horror novels.
The Warrior's choice of weapons, and the Wizard's repertoire of spells, changed every six books.
Books in the series
- The Forest of Twisted Dreams (1984)
- The Siege of the Dragonriders (1984)
- Who Kidnapped Princess Saralinda? (1984)
- Ghost Knights of Camelot (1984)
- The Haunted Castle of Ravencurse (1984)
- Revenge of the Falcon Knight (1984)
- Challenge of the Wolf Knight (1985)
- Conquest of the Time Master (1985)
- The Dragon Queen's Revenge (1985)
- Tournament for Terror (1986)
- The Imposter King (1986)
- The Scarlet Shield of Shalimar (1986)
- Cavern of the Phantoms (1986)
- Carnival of Demons (1986)
- Invaders from Darkland (1986)
- Attack on the King (1986)
- Conquest of the Barbarians (1986)
- Warrior Women of Weymouth (1986)
External links
- Wizards Warriors & You at Demian's Gamebook Webpage