Stealing Stuff from Gamebooks... #1 - The Warlock...

Showing the full glory of the wrap-around cover...

I first encountered the whole RPG scene the same way as a lot of people my age or older - transferred to a new school aged 7, I found The Warlock of Firetop Mountain in the school library.

And then the Puffin order-by-mail book club that all schools in NZ had in those days had the other books, as they were released, for a really cheap price (getting kids to read... if only they knew). I think I got up to Number 7 (Island of the Lizard King) that way, as I don't remember seeing Scorpion Swamp until I reached University... This was something different, and the feeling of not knowing what to do or how to react in some situations was exciting. I think a lot of my RPGing these days is trying to recapture the immersion of that first couple of decisions in the Warlock, along with the concept that my choices matter...

Anyway, I've started collecting them again, as they are no longer the cherished possessions of kids, and can be found in second hand book stores for a handful of dollars these days.

And I'm TRYING to use them as cheapish inspiration for my current GMing and worldbuilding endeavours.

So, without further ado, here's what I've gathered from the Warlock...

- A Mage's Power - rumours in the village suggest the Warlocks power may come from an enchanted deck of cards, or from shadowy gloves he always wears... Perhaps a PC's sorcerous abilities don't come from strange dimensions or ancient runes, but from a mundane object they acquired.

For the deck, give them a card every spell they learn. Use an ordinary deck - most people are smart enough to connect the two. This means that they can also 'lend' the odd spell to their friends or comrades, by physically giving them the card. But they can't use it again until it's returned, and if it gets eaten or burnt, then it's lost forever...

And gloves? A subtle form of magic, but perhaps while they can only use magic when wearing the gloves, there's something they can't do while wearing them.  Eating, drinking, sleeping...

- The magical tools extending the dungeon as you watch (no, I'd never come across anything like this before). Adds a different sense to the adventure than I've been using recently. Perhaps I need more whimsy...

- Di Maggio's Spell of Dragonfire, or anti-Dragonfire, actually. Worth a quest or two to get hold of.

- Random dungeon furnishings - a hidden chamber containing a jar of pickled eggs, random levers behind loose stones (the power of temptation) and a trapped rope...

- a Healing Fountain, with a cheap misspelled sign reading "Do not drink"

- Holy Water, blessed by the Overpriest of Kaynlesh-Ma. Where-ever that is, it sounds impressive.

- A room, containing a table with two helmets - one bronze, the other iron. Which one to wear? Which one might be cursed? What happens if you grab both?

- Don't have ghouls jump out and attack people immediately. Wait until they search the decomposing body for gold, and see how they jump when it reaches out and grabs them.

-Living Murals, lining a room or corridor.  Writhing and twisting, and silent when light shines on them, but in darkness, they howl and scream in an unearthly (and monster summoning) manner. And what is the truth behind them?

-The Giver of Sleep.  A magnificent bow and one silver arrow, in a labelled ornate case. The bow will only fire that one arrow, and it is rather pitiful unless used against one key foe.

-And boots abandoned in a dungeon, that register as magical, and stick to the floor when worn.  The old gags are the best....

All B&W illustrations, of course, drawn by Russ Nicholson, who is posting a lot of them on his website, The Gallery.

It's interesting, picking out the small, incidental bits that are completely incidental to the main quest, and I'm seeing these dry up as the series gets into the high numbers.  Here, everything is highly orchestrated, and there is little time or space for mere dressing. Still, we'll see...