Exploring Titan 15: Temple of Terror

It's odd to think that the fourteenth Fighting Fantasy gamebook, Temple of Terror, is just the second to be specifically written with Allansia as an established setting.  Previous books such as Deathtrap Dungeon and Island of the Lizard King had minor bits of connective tissue, but it wasn't until book 9 - Caverns of the Snow Witch - that Allansia was named and things were really stitched together into a unified whole. Since that book the series has veered off into all sorts of weird places: modern-day horror, the fantasy world of Orb, vast spaceships, Mad Max post-apocalypse.  It's been a while since the series has been to Allansia, and Ian Livingstone uses that chance to revisit some previously established favourites.  I'll check in with those before I get to the new elements that Temple of Terror introduces.

(Also, it's possible this entry might not be as thorough as the ones I've written in the past. I didn't take notes during my read-through of the book, so I'm doing most of this from memory.)

YAZTROMO

Yaztromo is described in the Background section as an eccentric wizard living alone in his tower on the edge of Darkwood Forest, practising simple magic and communicating with animals. His penchant for selling magic items - literally his entire purpose for being included in The Forest of Doom - is reiterated, and here we learn what he does with the money: he buys delicious cakes from all over Allansia. This is described as pretty much his entire contact with the outside world, but after his pet crow overhears a conversation between some Dark Elves and Malbordus he's quick to rush to the village of Stonebridge to find someone to undertake the quest.

Yaztromo just about recognises the hero of Temple of Terror, implying that it's the same character from Forest of Doom.  Given the level of their interaction, it's not unreasonable that Yaztromo would only half-remember an adventurer who stopped by for a few minutes to buy some magic items.  It's perhaps a little weirder if said adventurer made multiple visits to Yaztromo, as is possible during that adventure, but it's hardly the biggest logical problem that looping back to the start of Forest of Doom presents.

Aside from being the tale's primary quest-giver, Yaztromo also serves to teach the player some spells. This is one of the most jarring things in this book. In most fantasy fiction the learning of magic is a rigorous task, requiring years of painstaking research, but here Yaztromo teaches the hero a handful of spells in what seems like a matter of hours.  This has got to be the only instance in FF where the learning of magic is treated so flippantly. For the sake of consistency, it would have been better for Yaztromo to have offered the hero a selection of magic items, much as he did in his previous appearance.  In my head I've chalked this up as a trick Yaztromo can do, a sort of temporary bestowal of magical power on someone else.

All told, I feel like Yaztromo has been greatly softened as a character here. In his previous appearance he was quite a bit less friendly, and much more prone to transforming people that annoyed him into animals. His "crotchety wizard who just wants to be left alone" bit kind of got co-opted by Nicodemus from City of Thieves, and I guess the setting does need an active wizardly quest-giver. The Grand Wizard of Yore from Citadel of Chaos might have fit the bill, but he's a Steve Jackson creation. Of Ian Livingstone's characters, Yaztromo was probably the best bet to transition into this role.

Speaking of Nicodemus, Yaztromo steals a little personality back from him by showing some absent-minded tendencies.  In City of Thieves, Nicodemus famously gives you too many ingredients for a protection spell, then can't remember which of them you should use.  Yaztromo's blunder in this book isn't quite so bad, but having him send the Hammer of Gillibran - a weapon you need to destroy the dragon artefacts sought by Malbordus - after you've been sent on your quest is not the smartest. Being charitable, I'll say that he didn't know you'd need it beforehand, and only figured that out while doing some more research.

STONEBRIDGE, DARKWOOD FOREST AND VARIOUS RIVERS

Darkwood Forest and the dwarf village of Stonebridge are presented pretty much as they were in Forest of Doom, although the forest as depicted here is a lot less dangerous than it was. That's chalked up to the hero being accompanied by Yaztromo, but it does feel a little odd for such a previously dangerous place to be reduced to a paragraph in the Background section.

Darkwood Forest is said here to be the home of the "darkside elves" that raised Malbordus (more on them later).  They must be well hidden, because there wasn't a sign of them in Forest of Doom.

Catfish River, a few hours travel south of Darkwood Forest, made it's debut in City of Thieves. I don't believe it was ever named in that book, but I could be wrong about that. It was definitely named on the map of Allansia presented in Warlock #1, where it's shown flowing from the Moonstone Hills, south past Darkwood Forest and out to the ocean. In Temple of Terror the hero can buy passage on a trade barge heading down Catfish River to Port Blacksand.

Red River was similarly named and located on that same map. I'd always assumed it was the same river that bisects Darkwood Forest in Forest of Doom, but on the map it's shown as being much closer to Stonebridge.  I guess the river in Forest of Doom is a smaller tributary.

PORT BLACKSAND

Port Blacksand is a pretty quick stop-over in this adventure, although there's still the chance to be ambushed by cutthroats or get into a barfight with a pirate. Of particular note is that this is the first book to really feature the Black Lobster Tavern. It's become one of the more famous fixtures of Blacksand, and yet in that city's most famous outing - City of Thieves - the tavern barely featured at all. It did get a full-page illustration, but the hero of that book never went inside. The hero of Temple of Terror does get to enter, but nothing particularly out of the ordinary happens. (I'd consider being stabbed in the face by  a pirate with a broken bottle to be pretty par for the course for Port Blacksand.)

THE DESERT OF SKULLS

Like the rivers mentioned above, the Desert of Skulls first appeared on that map from Warlock #1. In this book, it's very much a mash-up of desert tropes from the real-world and adventure stories, with some fantasy monsters thrown in for good measure.

The most notable inhabitants are the Nomads the hero encounters. One of them is riding a camel on his way to join a merchant caravan, and will sell the hero a canteen of water. The other is a merchant named Abjul, who sells his exotic wares from his tent. The nomads aren't given much in the way of explanation, with an Arabian flavour being pretty much their only defining characteristic.

THE LOST CITY OF VATOS

This is the where most of the action of the adventure takes place, although it's more accurate to say that the action takes place beneath the city. Vatos being a "lost city" seems a little dubious in the context of the book. Yes, it's situated in a large desert, but the hero of the book makes a direct beeline for it without ever having to learn its location.  It's possible that Yaztromo knew the location and told the hero, but none of that's in the actual story.

Concrete information about the city is pretty scarce in Temple of Terror, but it's apparently supposed to be an abandoned ruin. It's true that it doesn't seem to have much of a population, but the buildings and the surrounding wall appear to be pretty much intact. Whatever happened to Vatos that caused people to abandon it, it went easy on the infrastructure.

There are a couple of possibilities that the book presents as to cataclysmic events that might have destroyed Vatos. The first is a mural, the description of which I'll lift wholesale: "A mass of Undead, whipped by vile Orcs, are pushing back an army of men and Dwarfs. The leader of the Undead is hidden by dark robes, apart from his fleshless, reptilian skull. His cold, evil, green eyes stare threateningly from the mural. He appears to be holding a casket which is drawing in the spirit of the king of the men and Dwarfs, for whom the battle seems lost." This could be a more general scene, or it could be a depiction of the downfall of Vatos. It's a mural painted by a visiting artist, so it really could go either way. (I've pretty much always thought of this as a reference to Ian Livingstone's Casket of Souls, but having never had access to that book I had no way of knowing. Doing a little research, I see that book is set in the world of Amarillia, so it seems unlikely.)

The second of the two options comes from another piece of artwork, an intricate wooden carving of Vatos being attacked by Giant Sandworms. Given that this one specifically depicts the city, it's much more likely to be something with historical precedent. Whether it happened before or after Vatos became a ruin, or if it even happened at all, is left up in the air. This book isn't big on explanations.

Currently, the city isn't completely abandoned, and is mostly home to those who have wandered in seeking shelter and decided to stay for various reasons. There's no law or organisation in the city, with the most powerful getting their way. At present, the most powerful faction seems to be the priesthood led by Leesha.

LEESHA AND THE PRIESTHOOD

As I just mentioned above, Leesha and her priests are the current strongest faction in Vatos. (There may not be any others, as there are no other groups mentioned in the book.)  They are said to raid passing caravans for food. I do wonder where these caravans are going. Are they simply raiding from the aforementioned Nomads, or is there trade going back and forth from the lands north and south of the desert?

Described as a beautiful young woman, Leesha appears to live a life of luxury, tended to by slaves and servants. She has some considerable magical power, at least in terms of her protection magic: the only thing that can harm her is the jagged edge of a Sandworm tooth. This protective power is displayed as she holds aloft a "black, crescent-shaped object", so it's possible that her power comes from this item rather than any magical ability on her part. She's very quick to flee once the hero pulls out the Sandworm tooth, so it might be that she doesn't have any tricks aside from that one.

Aside from general cruelty and evil, Leesha's main personality trait is a love of art. Once a year she secretly invites artists to the city to perform for her. The one she likes best is awarded 300 gold pieces, while the others are sacrificed to "the Dark One".

The question of who this Dark One is is up in the air, as the book never says. One of the Demon Princes is a possibility, but the books haven't established them as a thing yet, and specific evil gods haven't been named outside of the Sorcery! epic.  One thing we do know is that one of Leesha's priests will acknowledge your authority if you show him a tapestry with a phoenix on it.  The phoenix as a mythological creature isn't usually connected to evil, so it all seems like a weird fit and makes me wonder if Leesha has hoodwinked an already existing religion and perverted it into unwitting worship of the Dark One.

One thing we do know is that she's helping Malbordus. No doubt one of the first things he did on his quest was to get in the good graces of the most powerful person in Vatos, and get their help in finding the dragon statuettes. The true extent of their relationship is never fleshed out, but I doubt it continues much beyond Malbordus' stay in Vatos, as Leesha seems pretty content with her current power base.

THE DRAGON STATUETTES

These statuettes could each be transformed into a powerful dragon with a simple incantation. There are five of them, each made from a different material: bone, crystal, silver, wood and gold. It doesn't seem as though these materials correspond to different varieties of dragon: no matter which of them you're missing at the final encounter, the dragon that Malbordus is riding is large and black.

The main question these statuettes raise is who put them there.  My first instinct is to say that they've been there since the city fell into ruin, but I'm not sure that adds up.  They're a little thematically incongruous with the trappings of the city, for starters.  Plus their hiding places don't suggest that they've been lost there for hundreds of years.  I mean, one of them's just hanging in a wooden bucket.

It seems more plausible to me that the Dark Elves placed them there for Malbordus to find. The whole thing has been set up to test his worthiness, so why not just assume that they placed the statuettes deliberately?  It does seem a little odd to make Malbordus go and find these powerful statuettes that they already had in their possession, though. It is explained that the elf magic they want to teach him kills those unworthy to use it, so it does make sense that they want to test him first.  Whichever of these possibilities you go with there are some logical problems, but I think the second scenario works a little better.

MALBORDUS

I've mentioned before that I love Malbordus' origin. He was born during a full moon with wolves howling around his mother's forest hut, and many have used this to explain his evil nature. After his mother abandoned him, he was raised by the Dark Elves of Darkwood Forest, and discovered that he had a natural talent for wicked magic. In him the Dark Elves saw great potential, and urged his magical training so that he would one day be worthy to be taught the arcane and evil magic of the ancient Elf Lords. This magic would kill the unworthy, and so they devised a test for Malbordus to prove himself.

After that intro, there's little to be said for the guy. He does leave a trap behind for you at one point, and sends some assassins to do you in, which points to a certain ruthless pragmatism. His alliance with Leesha is an intelligent one.  His confrontation with the hero is quite brief, and the only magic he displays is a thunderclap that drains the hero's skill. Following that he relies on his swordplay, and one wonders just how extensive his powers are at this point. He's said to be able to make plants wither and die by snapping his fingers, and make animals obey his piercing gaze. He obviously knows how to awaken the dragon statuettes.  Is it possible that he doesn't know much more magic than this, prior to receiving the ancient magic of the Elf Lords?

Aside from lacking in personality traits compared to other FF villains, Malbordus is also something of a fashion victim.  Check out the ornate gear being rocked by Zagor and Balthus Dire, and compare that to the drab smock that Malbordus is stuck with.  Lift your wardrobe game Malbordus!

OTHER MONSTERS

In terms of monsters that have been seen in FF before, there's a Lizard Man, a Harpy, an Air Elemental, a Giant Eagle, a Pterodactyl, a Giant Firefly, a Giant Sandworm and a Cave Troll. There was a Basilisk in Talisman of Death, but I'm pretty sure that this is the first one appearing in a book set on Titan.  The Skeleton Warriors don't appear to be at all different from regular Skeletons.  The Giant Sandworm isn't new, but it is much, much larger than those we've seen before.

Dwarves

Dwarves aren't an unusual sight in FF, but these ones are a little odd in that they comprise the crew of a ship sailing the western coast of Allansia. They're well aware of Stonebridge and King Gillibran, though it's not clear if they are his subjects. It's difficult to see who else they'd be working for, and certainly they're far too friendly to be from the other named Dwarf village of Mirewater.  It's possible they're on their own business, or working for some human power, but the book doesn't elaborate.

Dark Elves

Dark Elves have appeared in the books before, but I believe this might be the first time they've been featured. They are said to dwell in Darkwood Forest, and to possess great elven magic. I gather that later books will make them closer to their Dungeons & Dragons version (dark-skinned and dwelling underground), but here they just seem to be elves who are evil, with nothing else to distinguish them. And as I mentioned above, their powers of stealth are so great that the hero of Forest of Doom didn't catch sight of a single one.

Tentacled Thing

This creature lives in a room submerged in murky water, and has many tentacles that it uses to try to drag the hero to their doom. It's repelled by mermaid scales, and when it's blood mixes with water it becomes an acrid, poisonous vapour. It might be some kind of Octopus, but your guess is as good as mine.

Needle Fly

Giant, wasp-like insects that can be found along the coast west of the Desert of Skulls. They don't seem to have any special abilities aside from being large and pointy.

Phantom

This undead creature roams Vatos carrying a lantern. It has gaunt, skeletal features and its blood-red gaze can paralyze the unwary and drain some of their strength. Oddly enough, the Phantom doesn't do anything to its victim once they are paralyzed; it just slinks away, allowing them to eventually recover. The Phantom can be repelled by an item made from silver, but given that it doesn't follow through on its abilities it hardly seems worth the effort.

Night Horror

A deformed, one-eyed mutant that stalks the corridors of Vatos for prey after dark. It brandishes a silver rod that can shoot bolts of deadly white light. It's described as undead at one point.  For some reason, the ringing of a brass handbell causes it great agony. Whether that's due to the noise or some magical quality of the handbell is unclear. It's tempting to say that the Night Horror is some sort of undead Cyclops that found a magic staff, but who knows? It's not going to be seen in Out of the Pit, which leads me to believe that it's probably a unique creature rather than a member of an entire race.

Death Dog

As far as I can tell, it's just a big vicious dog. That's scary enough for me.

Iron-Eater

A creature made of slime that is harmless to flesh but eats through metal. From what I gather, it tends to lurk on ceilings and drop on those passing by to devour their armour, weapons, or other metallic accoutrements.

Messenger of Death

The most memorable part of the adventure by far. The Messenger of Death is a thin, horrifying creature with ragged clothes, and thick slime filling its mouth and eye sockets. It's described as an assassin, and a sadistic killer that likes to play games with its victims. In this case, it has hidden the letters of the the word DEATH around Vatos, and if you find them all it will show up and drain away your life force. It seems a little silly, but taken in context it just about works. Malbordus uses more than one assassin, and in addition to maybe killing you this one discourages you in your search for the dragon statuettes. There's a logic to it, in a dumb fantasy gamebook kind of way.

Not a lot else is said about the creature, but I'd say it must be demonic or otherwise extraplanar in nature, bound to serve the wizard that summons it. That's pure conjecture on my part though.

Eye Stinger

A round, floating creature with scaly green skin and a single eye in its centre. It's covered in venomous spines, and it uses its gaze to paralyze victims and then sting them to death. (What it does afterwards with no mouth is anyone's guess.) It seems that a single sword blow is enough to kill one, provided the wielder avoids the spines. An onyx egg will cause it close its eye and become dormant, but as with the handbell above it's not clear if this is a due to the physical properties of the egg or some magical power it might possess.

Serpent Guard

Cool-looking enough to make it onto the cover, the Serpent Guard is a snake/man hybrid that guards the gate into Vatos. Who put it there and why is a mystery that the book doesn't answer. Leesha seems like the only answer, but she's not really into the snake motif. We don't know how long Serpent Guards live, so it could have been set there centuries ago.

Skeleton Man

Undead guardians with skeletal heads and the bodies of men. They are stronger and far more intelligent than regular Skeletons. They are described as fanatics who always fight to the death, so it's not entirely clear if they're under Leesha's control or just insanely devoted to her of their own accord. Either way, ever since I was a child who loved Skeletor I've had mad respect for any Jacked Skeletons.

Fiend

This fire-breathing creature resembles a demon or devil, and guards the storerooms of the temple. The oddest thing about it to me is that it seems to live in an urn.

Mutant Orc

This is the other assassin that Malbordus sends, a large, muscular Orc that dual-wields vicious knives.  I have no idea what makes it a mutant, but it does have a much higher Skill and Stamina than your average variety of Orc.

Rat Man

We've had a Wererat in the books before, but these guys do the rat/human hybrid thing without the transformation bit. They're just big, bipedal rat dudes that live in Vatos as scavengers, and they will happily chow down on dead goblins and dead adventurers alike.

Sand Snapper

Screw this thing. It's like a Crocodile that lives beneath the desert sands and has grabbing tentacles that it uses to try and pull you into its mouth. I'm rarely grateful to Ian Livingstone for his adventure design, but in this case I extend my thanks to him for putting this creature on the non-critical path of this book. Oddly enough, the Snapper's tentacles carry its two main nerves, and when those are severed it can no longer function and falls dead. I question this biologically, and also logically: why would a creature have its vital nerves in the appendages it uses to attack?

So, that's it for my analysis of the various setting elements of Temple of Terror.  Hopefully it met with my usual standards; I think I had enough of the book in my head to do a decent job without my usual amount of notes. For the adventures going forward I'll be back to my normal, note-taking self.

NEXT: I'll take a look at the contents Warlock #5 before delving into its solo adventure.