House of Hell

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House of Hell
House of Hell book cover.jpg
Cover of the first edition
Author Steve Jackson [1]
IllustratorTim Sell
Cover artist
  • Puffin: Ian Miller
  • Wizard: Nicholas Halliday
Series Fighting Fantasy
  • Puffin number: 10
  • Wizard number: 7
GenreFantasy
Location: Earth
Publication date
  • Puffin: 1984 [1]
  • Dell/Laurel-Leaf: 1985 [1]
  • Wizard: 2002
Media typePrint (Paperback)
ISBN 0-14031-831-3 (Puffin)
ISBN   1-84046-417-8 (Wizard)

House of Hell (House of Hades in the United States [1] ) is a single-player adventure gamebook written by Steve Jackson, illustrated by Tim Sell and originally published in 1984 by Puffin Books. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2002. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the 10th in the series in the original Puffin series ( ISBN   0-14-031831-3) and 7th in the modern Wizard series ( ISBN   1-84046-417-8). A digital version was developed by Tin Man Games for Microsoft Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS.

Contents

Creation

A short version of the adventure was first published in Warlock: The Fighting Fantasy Magazine . Originally 185 references, [2] the adventure was modified and expanded to 400 references for the final title.

The American edition of the book, published by Dell Laurel-Leaf, was re-titled House of Hades as the word 'Hell' can be considered a profanity in the United States.[ citation needed ]

Rules

As with titles such as Appointment with F.E.A.R. and Sword of the Samurai , House of Hell utilizes an additional game mechanic; in this instance, "Fear Points", which the player will occasionally accrue. If too many Fear Points are accumulated the story ends, as the character is literally scared to death.

Story

House of Hell is a horror story in which the protagonist must escape a haunted house, and survive against monsters such as skeletons, zombies, ghosts, and vampires. [1]

At first a guest, the player discovers the house is home to Satan-worshippers and various monsters. Gameplay is initially devoted to finding a means of escape, although after finding a series of clues, the player must first defeat the evil presiding over the house.

In other media

Reception

In the June 1985 edition of White Dwarf (Issue #66), Chris Mitchell thought the artwork was "of very good quality", the price was reasonable, and the book was a worthy addition to the Fighting Fantasy collection. [5]

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<i>Howl of the Werewolf</i>

Howl of the Werewolf is a single-player roleplaying gamebook written by Jonathan Green and illustrated by Martin McKenna. It was published in 2007 by Wizard Books. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the 29th in the Wizard series. It is the first completely original Fighting Fantasy gamebook published by Wizard. The book is made up of 515 references rather than the usual 400.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Prometheus Books. p. 366. ISBN   0-87975-653-5.
  2. "House of Hell".
  3. "Tin Man Games – House of Hell". Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  4. Lodderhose, Riana (27 April 2010). "Super Team buys 'House of Hell' rights". Variety. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  5. Mitchell, Chris (June 1985). "Open Box". White Dwarf (66). Games Workshop: 7.