This system is deceptive in its simplicity. Despite the lightness of the rules, the mechanics are elegant, and there is a lot of depth here. There are no classes, but this is not a limitation - you define your own class through Special Skills and Talents. Fighting Fantasy was my first touchstone for RPGs, and also for solo play. I certainly encountered Warlock of Firetop Mountain before D&D... those books led me to D&D, as a matter of fact. And those books also blew my mind. I remember the thrill of seeing the newest one when it arrived at my local bookstore. Citadel of Chaos. Forest of Doom. City of Thieves. Starship Traveller, a sci-fi adventure. And then, probably my fave, Deathtrap Dungeon. I can picture every cover. Absolutely epic moments in my childhood. I play a lot of D&D. I also do a lot of solo gaming and create solo gaming products, and I've tried a lot of so-called "Rules-lite" systems. All of them have something to offer. DCC, Warlock, The Black Hack. They're all awesome in their own way. AFF, however, rises above all these I think. Deep? Yes. Old-school feel? Certainly. And rules-lite? Definitely. It takes you less than a day to learn the rules. And there's not many special rules you have to remember, in addition to the Core Resolution Mechanic. I'd list the extra rules I'm aware of so far thusly.

• THE MAIN ONE TO REMEMBER: Resolution/attack mechanic - Roll two dice, compare to Skill or Magic + Mods. If the roll is equal or lower, you pass.
• You can voluntarily test for LUCK.
• Monsters use SKILL when testing LUCK.
• Number of attacks for a monster (given in "Out of the Pit") refers to the maximum number of opponents that a creature can fight in one attack round.
• Invest your spell with a few more Magic Points if you want it to succeed. The Luck test by the target must be modified by the same amount.

The one thing that I didn't find in there was an explicit reference about how to avoid traps, but I thought it was probably the following method: - Avoid Traps = Skill + Dodge. If fail, take 1d6 STAMINA. That's how I've been playing it anyway. Anyway, I know I've rambled a bit, but all in all this is an elegant and deep system which makes for incredibly satisfying gameplay. Can't recommend enough.

I have all the first editions of the AFF system so wondered whether it was worth my while getting the 2nd edition version. I'm glad I did as everything seems far more slick and more straightforward. I'm working through the adventures from the original books using the new system, it is a shame these couldn't be included, but there do seem to be a lot of adventures written under the AFF system available.

Awful. I was scammed by Drive Thru RPG. I paid for a hard copy to be sent, they said it shipped, but Purolater confirmed it never did. Drive Thru RPG refuse to contact me to resolve issue. Avoid buying anything from this company. They are a scam.

If you like your fantasy RPGs old-school this is the go-to choice for me.

Really straight forward core-mechanics combined with the old-school mentality that encounters should be lethally dangerous without being unfair really lands as intended. I really like the experience system allowing characters to feel like they're legitimately improving and growing without having the uneven power jumps present in some level based systems.

If you're a fan of old school british RPG art and concepts or simply want a fantasy RPG that hits that game design sweet spot of 'easy to learn, difficult to master' Advanced Fighting Fantasy is a great choice.

MAY YOUR STAMINA NEVER FAIL!

The second edition of Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG is a very quickstarting ruleset, that allows literally to start playing in 5-10 minutes, under the guidance of a reasonably experienced Director. If you want it, you can find a lot of variety (for example of different spellcasting styles) and complexity (the simple and straightforward combat system can be made more complex by deploying various refined stances or fighting styles...) but you can just keep it simple and focus on the roleplaying, with simple character generation (or you can use a pre-generated characters, of course) and simple and straightforward action checks. There are also some sections about the world of Titan, its stories, its creatures and its gods, but they are dealt in more detail in other books.

Graham Bottley's update to a classic RPG from my childhood does not disappoint in the least. He has managed to retain the simple effectiveness of the system, while also making a number of significant improvements. More importantly, it still feels like the old Fighting Fantasy books, which is definitely a good thing. Fighting Fantasy used to be marketed as "The Introductory Role-playing Game", but this system now stands on its own two feet. I'm quite happy to make this my system of choice.

Simple system, yet plays really well, and covers all the stuff any good fantasy games do. Really feels like an old school fantasy game for all the right reasons!

The Fighting Fantasy gamebooks were my gateway into the world of roleplaying, although by the time of the original publication of these advanced rules (called Fighting Fantasy Dungeoneer back then) I had already moved onto more complex rpgs. It is with renewed eyes that I now look back ot this system, and this current edition of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy rules feels both nostalgic yet fresh at the same time.

No character classes, yet its quick point-build character generation allows you to replicate all the fantasy archetypes, as well as lets you make up your own character concept from scratch.

This system is perhaps the best thing to emerge from the OSR! It really has the flavour of handwaviness, yet none of the restrictions or confounding rules that came with the early editions of many other OSR games such as TSR D&D/AD&D etc.

The world of Titan is pure gonzo Classic Fantasy at its best. It is essientially a High Fantasy setting with lots of old school British Sword & Sorcery elements; all mixed in and underscored with a whimiscal fantasy flavour that would make the likes of Brian Froud, Terry Pratchett, Terry Jones, Tim Burton, or even Lewis Carroll smile.

This game is great for the younger crowd starting to venture into rpgs, but also has enough meat on the bones to attract grognards back for beer & pretzels gaming.

I cant recommend this game highly enough, it simply is a must have rpg for so many reasons, and should not be overlooked by any true fantasy rpg fan!

A great introductory system for younger players and a superb rulebook for returning long-time FF fans. The game works off a 2d6 + modifiers system that is a breeze, the flavor is great and the spell fumble table is called The Oops! table. It allows for your character to grow their hair to floor length in an hour, among other results.

At this price, this is a no-brainer purchase.

Finally, a word of thanks to Mr. Bottley who led a long and ultimately successful crusade to release this beauty in PDF format!

The Fighting Fantasy books passed me by -- I once found Sorcery and wondered what it was -- but a few years ago I discovered the AFF softcover. I was transported back to my first taste of RPGs, Metagaming's Melee and Wizard, where characters had only two or three characteristics, all directly relevant to the rules.

AFF characters have up to five: SKILL (how good you are at ... everything), STAMINA (how much punishment you can take), LUCK (how well you do when SKILL can't help you), and for magic-users MAGIC and (sometimes) MAGIC POINTS. Characters in AFF can also take Specialty Skills in particular tasks and Talents for an extra edge or advantage. Combat is straightforward: all combatants roll two dice, add SKILL and modifiers, and compare; if a character rolls higher than his target, the target takes damage. The rules have a few artifacts from the original FF books, e.g. roll under SKILL for unopposed tests but SKILL + 2d6 for opposed tests, but those simply add to its charm; an optional rule makes all uses of SKILL consistently roll-over.

Despite simple mechanics there's a wealth of information here: skills, talents, four forms of magic (Minor Magic, Wizardry, Sorcery, and Priestly Abilities), the history and geography of the Fighting Fantasy default world of Titan, GM advice, sample monsters, treasure, and optional rules. In short, this book everything you could want from a fantasy RPG, save a long list of monsters (that's Out of the Pit) and a detailed gazeteer (that's Titan).

Despite (or because of) its simple framework, AFF is an excellent vehicle for fantasy role-playing (and beyond, if a recent Kickstarter is any indication). In my mind it's on a par with RuneQuest, Warhammer Fantasy, classic/OSR D&D, and many of the newfangled indie systems elsewhere on this site.

I began my journey through the RPG hobby with those little green books where you chose where to go next, which action to take and what would you say. The Fighting Fantasy books were a great introduction to fantasy gaming, and when I found out about Advanced Fighting Fantasy (Dungeoneer) I was thrilled!

Now, almost 20 years have passed, and a second edtion of AFF has been released by Arion Games. But this is essentialy the same game. The same simplicity and elegance remain in the system, with some improvement I might say. There isn't a set in stone class system, so you can make your character anyway you want it. You even have the option to do "Point Buy" character creation or go full "Random Stats" as a traditional Old Schooler, which I love!

The setting isn't fully described in this book (that's what the Titan book is all about) but you get the feeling of it and it's really great! It's a more mature, sober and darker fantaasy setting than the ones we usually get from the more well known fantasy RPG. This is british fantasy after all.

This game system also comes with two different magic systems and rules for priests that makes each type of caster feel very different from one another. Yet, they are all very simple to use, which is a plus.

All in all, this is one of the best game systems to introduce new players into the hobby, and a great game even for experienced tabletop gamers that what a system with a simple framework to work upon and explore a fantasy campaign more focused on the actual play than on the rules!